FORESHADOWING

Judging from what is happening in our lives right now and if we will just look very closely, I guess, we can find ourselves saying that there is a time in our life too, when just like Abram we experienced a deep terrifying darkness which enveloped our whole being and felt very afraid. I did and it was the time when I had to make this life changing decision of mine to come and stay in the US. It has always been God's reassuring words and promises in the scriptures and the perfectly fitted situations that go with it which helped me remain steadfast in the Lord. I have shared several times already about how the Sea of Galilee has impacted my life in a very special way while I was still in the Philippines and in the planning stage of coming here to the US. Not to forget the several occasions and circumstances which I encountered and further built my confidence in the decision that I made to stay here in the US. One of the most extraordinary situations that I encountered here in the US was when I got this petal from a healing service of Bro. Carmelo at Glendale in Oct 2007. The petal when placed in my chest miraculously formed a very distinct image of an angel and to be more precise, a cherubim. It was also at that time that I encountered God's word from Habakkuk 2:2-3 which is:

Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.
All these things were happening one after another in a very precise and consistent way. And they continue to go on with the several significant times I was inspired in sharing the various levels and stages of the Sea of Galilee experience and most recently with my angel petal also. When I met a lady named Alpha Snow whom I showed my petal to, first saw the map of the USA instead of seeing the angel. Just a week after that the same thing happened with Mr. Datu. At that time Fr. Rolly Clarin was showing me his petals, 3 in all which has the image of the Pieta, Crucifixion and Our Lady of Guadalupe which are also from Bro. Carmelo. When in turn I showed them mine, Mr. Datu said the same thing as Alpha Snow, that what he saw is the USA map. Only after further scrutiny was he able to see the angel which was very rare since almost everybody who have seen my petal can almost always see the image of the angel and not say otherwise at first glance. These experiences further confirm the decision I made in Oct 2007. It really caught my attention there since not only 1 person said the same thing about it which inevitably points and relates to that major decision I made which is somehow confirmed again through another incident. It is also very significant, I should say that I got this e mail about the USA map and the wonderful story that went with it from Evelyn Lim barely 2 days apart from that incident. Here it is: A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl. She wanted to know what the United States looked like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to her and said, 'Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today...After a few minutes, she returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. 'Oh,' she said, 'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together. Sooo........ when we get Jesus back where He Belongs -- our country will come together.  -end of e mail-
It's like everything was coming into play in a very special and reassuring way. All of these have deepened my faith even more. Though, some may not believe and doubt the experiences we've had in the Lord, what's most important is that we follow the example of Abram who put his faith in the Lord. It is noteworthy that we find several passages in the Old Testament which foreshadowed the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of knowing about this from EWTN. Today’s 1^st reading has the specific passage cited which is considered a foreshadowing of the death of Jesus when He descended into the dead as a deep and terrifying darkness that enveloped Abraham which is prior to the covenant that was made by God with him. The same is true for us when we received the gift of eternal life through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This becomes significant to us not only in the major events of our profession of faith but also as we go through our daily personal lives. If we are conscious enough of what’s really going on with us then we come to realize that prior to major breakthroughs and successes that we gain are certain events in our lives that we can call our own deep, terrifying darkness preceding the fulfillment of the covenant or the personal passion and death experiences we have to go through before the resurrection. Isn’t it true that we often hear people say things like, “If you’ve only known what I have to go through before I was able to achieve something and so on and so forth.” It is like we need to pass a certain process just like Jesus who did not refuse the cup of suffering instead said, “Let this cup pass me by, not my will but yours be done.” These things will serve as a reminder to us that whatever hardships, challenges and trials we are going through right now we can always count on God who is always true to His promises and is sure to fulfill the covenant He has made. Amen. Hallelujah!

Genesis 15:1-12.17-18.

… the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great."… As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,…

There is a lot to learn from the life of Abraham especially the part when he kept on with his faith in God. He was already of age when God promised him to be the father of all nations. All we need to keep in mind is that our time will come and all we have to do is just continue to trust God in His goodness and mercy and never let go of our faith. Just imagine what Abraham had to go through. If it were us and not Abraham who had fallen into this kind of fate we could have responded and reacted to this situation differently. Are these words familiar to us? I do not deserve to be treated this way. I did not do anything bad for God to punish me like this, as if God is a tyrant that is ready to strike us with every wrong move. Why me and not the others who are a lot more sinful than I am. And all these kind of things that we say without much thought. If we are to look at the life of Abraham very closely we would discover that he never let go of his faith in God despite the seemingly irrational and hopeless situation he went through. Imagine in his old age when his wife Sarah finally bore him a son God asked him to offer him as a sacrifice which meant losing his son. He remained firm in his faith and continued to trust in the word of the Lord. Abraham was tested and found to be true. In our own lives, we too are called to prove ourselves worthy before the Lord in order for all of the blessings to flow freely without any block or hindrance. We don't expect a mango fruit if we planted a banana tree. It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive to live up to the expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and praise then we will surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God inhabits the praises of His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or become out of focus since we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements most especially the physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly things. We become sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where God is leading us. Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the wonderful truth that we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us. Almost everybody knows this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father Abraham has many children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all of them are beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant and remain obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and the source of all good things. Sometimes morbid thoughts enter into our mind and immediately we'd think that it is always the devil who does it but whether it is true or not this thought could be a wake up call and reminder that in worst case scenarios or life and death situations there is always a God ready to help us at any time. All we have to do is call on Him. It is indeed good advice to always look intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us. There is really no doubt that we need to further explore, know and understand our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him and recall His goodness. Jesus' name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure. Its worth is more than all the riches we can gain in this world. There is really nothing we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low, more than what the Lord can offer. We could go on and on with so many options we are confronted with daily in our lives. There is an endless list of "To Do Things" but what comes first and last is always dependent on our priorities. In deciding on our priorities we have to always involve God in all the things happening around us. We would  be so glad to discover that as we place Him in the center of our heart, body and soul He never fails in guiding and directing us. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. There is a need to go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time and a season for everything. Thus, we all go through different situations and circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense if we fail to acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things that we can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of. We’ve got to acknowledge that despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and prevails now and forever. Whenever we experience difficulties in life we tend to question God right away and somehow blame Him for what came upon us. Sometimes we come to a point in our lives when we tend to question the will of God in our lives. I have plans and you have plans but sometimes things do not fall into place and ask why things happened the way it did and not the way we planned and expected. We just need to always remember the marvels the Lord has done and always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which is perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound with joy and gladness as we further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall His goodness, keep our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's psalm is telling us about. We may have experienced a situation in our life when we encountered a lot of trials and difficulties. Just when we're about to give up and lose hope, suddenly we came across a particular incident or inspiration that perfectly fits or matches our specific problem which gave us this hope and feeling that God knows exactly what we're going through and promises to see us through it. The Lord is telling us is in today's psalm and assures us that He remembers what He has promised and will surely bring about what He said to us that He would do. If God remembers, so must we. Every single day we are confronted with so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to go through the different seasons throughout the year before the dawning of a new beginning. There is indeed a time and a season for everything. It has the same message which is hope and victory for after the passion and death of Christ is His resurrection. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

R: The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

...Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly...Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds!

Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds!

Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!…You descendants of Abraham his servant, offspring of Jacob the chosen one!

The LORD is our God who rules the whole earth.

He remembers forever his covenant, the pact imposed for a thousand generations,

Which was made with Abraham, confirmed by oath to Isaac,

When we are unaware of some things that are going on around us we end up doing the wrong things. Only after we’ve done it do we realize it and sometimes we are still blessed that we can still undo or edit what we did but sometimes too, there are things that are so difficult to undo or edit or no longer possible at all. Today’s gospel gives us an important tip in order for us not to fall into this trap. It is important that we know what fruits we should look for. It is not the fruits that this world bears that should serve as our guide but the fruits of the Holy Spirit. They are love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. I believe that God is continuously manifesting His gifts to us. Together with all the gifts that He wants to bestow us through the Holy Spirit are the fruits that will mark our whole being as God's own. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.”