THE LADDER

This ladder in Jacob's dream is a sign of God's constant presence and desire to reach out, connect to us and provide solutions to our concerns. It is always very reassuring when someone tells us that he/she is always with us to protect us wherever we go, will never leave us and fulfill all his/her promises most especially if it's coming from someone trustworthy, dependable and reliable. There is only one whom we can put our total trust without being disappointed and that is God. Whatever our situations and circumstances in life may be it is always good to know that we have a God whom we can always count on and is able to make all things possible. We have the greatest ladder that reaches to God who is Jesus Himself. If we are trapped or in a situation where we feel like there is no way out and feeling helpless then there is no reason to despair since we have in each of us a Ladder that will surely bring us to where God is. If we keep on climbing up the Ladder which God gave us and never give up then we are sure to achieve our goals. We should make use of this ladder and never tire in climbing up through our daily struggles in life that in itself, it will bring us to the resurrection and peak or summit of our goals when we do everything with faith in Jesus which is for God's greater glory.  We should continuously seek the goodness in each of us, allow it to prevail and just like Jacob, trust God's word and promise to be fulfilled in our lives. Amen. Hallelujah!

 Genesis 28:10-22a

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran...Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God’s messengers were going up and down on it. 13 And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: “I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants...Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.” ...

It just makes sense that we trust somebody that we know. How can we trust somebody whom we don't know anything about? It's time that we use all our resources in order to grow in knowledge of who really is our Lord Jesus Christ. The more we know about Him the more we will love Him. There's still a lot to know about Him. Nobody can be more interesting than Him, who has the greatest story ever told. There is really no other way but to God. It may not be easy but we can be assured that God will always provide for the means like a very tall ladder that can reach the high heavens. Today's psalm brings back memories of the endless connections and confirmations of the events which took place in Oct 2007. I must say, it is just a prelude to the significant and unforgettable turn of events before the year 2007 ends. Technically speaking, it was culminated on the very last day of the year, Dec. 31, 2007 and also on this very day, I was introduced to Psalm 91. Reading the prayer for the very first time made me shed tears. It felt like it almost summarized the protection and guidance that the Lord has been showing me since that memorable month of October 2007. It was all new to me then since I never knew a single line of it until that day when I met Tita Tess and Tita Piling who gave me an El Shaddai bracelet and handkerchief which I still have up to this day  where the Psalm 91 is imprinted and the rest is history. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 91:1-2. 3-4. 14-15ab

R: In you, my God, I place my trust.

1 You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, 2 Say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (R) For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler, from the destroying pestilence. With his pinions he will cover you, and under his wings you shall take refuge.  (R 14 Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him and glorify him. (R

Today’s gospel tells us that fear is useless, what we need is trust. Jesus throughout the gospels have been telling us, “Where is our faith?”,  “Men of little faith”, “If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed you can move a mountain.” A lot of people were touching Jesus but this one woman in the gospel who touched His tassel was healed and it’s because of her faith. Just as the scene is ending with the healing of this woman they had a confrontation when Jesus was met by this scene when the little girl was pronounced dead. What is very interesting here is that, Jesus tells them, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” In our faith we should realize that fear is useless. Many of us are dominated by fear as we go through life. It dominates our spiritual life. As we know from the rest of the New Testament, when fear goes down and we are following what we are supposed to be doing then our level of love is going to increase. Many times, they are inversely proportional. These are very important principles for us to know. Jesus, when we approach Him and deal with Him, He wants us to have courage and not to fear because He wants to heal and cure us. If we apply this to our spiritual life everyday especially those who attend daily mass, we must realize that this woman just touched the tassel of His garment and did not even touch a part of Jesus’ body. What about us? We actually receive, the Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity in Holy Communion. If we have faith we can be healed. As we grow in our spiritual life which happens and may not realize it, we can be fearful of what Jesus demands of us if He heals us. We should not be afraid and have courage in the spiritual life. Courage is the virtue of bravery in facing difficulty especially in overcoming the fear of consequences. In this case this woman is afraid of the consequences of what was going to happen to her. In general, as we continue on with our spiritual life which is a battle, we all need and should have courage to overcome fear which dominates our life, especially our spiritual life. More courage will enable us to pursue which is deemed to be right whenever a person may incur disapproval from other people. Physical courage is a bodily and emotional strength to withstand opposition. We often speak of soldiers and it’s in the battle field when we see if they are brave or not. Bravery is a virtue in facing difficulties and it differs from fortitude because it is patience to withstand difficulties. We often think of a soldier who goes out in battle to show that he is brave. The lessons we learn today are, fear is useless and we must cultivate the virtue of bravery and courage especially in our spiritual life regardless of how people are going to treat us whether with contempt, disapproval or with great opposition against us. Amen. Hallelujah!

 

Matthew 9:18-26

...“My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When  the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.