NOTHING CAN COME BETWEEN US

 We are engaged in a battle that has been won but does not stop there since we have to always put on our guard for the enemy does not rest. The whole process of being saved is "justification".  Man is saved by God's grace alone based on Catechism of the Cathollic Church (CCC )1996. Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life. The 1^st reading for today clearly speaks of God's tremendous power manifested in the Spirit that dwells in us. Wow, we are heirs of God, it makes me think of rich families who leave vast properties to their heirs and people will always say how fortunate those people are being left with such an inheritance. In the same way we should realize the inheritance being handed over to us by God our Father. Every inheritance has its conditions and with God's we are all invited to live a life worthy of this inheritance. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Letter to the Romans 8,12-17.

".....For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him....."

I grew up without a father because he died when I was barely 3 years old. My nanay (mother) was the only one who practically raised us up when we were still very young then. With all that we've been through, I can never ask God for more, for He was with us every step of the way just as nanay had said and believed when she was still living always emphasizing God's special care to orphans and widows. This should remind us why we must always be hopeful in His divine providence. Aren't we all blessed to have a God and Father who is our Savior and Redeemer. There are still more to be thankful about and it made me realize that if we will only be focusing more on the goodness and blessings that God send our way then there is really no more reason for us to be afraid or be discouraged. There is no doubt that God will always come to our rescue and will never forsake nor abandon. 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 God’s power remains to be above all things no matter what it may seem to be. These experiences we have been through should bring our faith to greater depths, heights and lengths that we never could have thought or imagined possible. We can associate today's psalm with the first beatitude which is, "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit theirs is the kingdom of God." We can always find solace and consolation in the words of God but more than these is the truth that His words go beyond these feelings and emotions. Our God is able to bring into reality what He said He would do. The Holy Spirit is invisible but we can see its effects. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, peace, joy, kindness, goodness, patience, self control, humility and faithfulness. We should all be reflecting these fruits in our lives. We may still have a long way to go but we can start now. We need to make these effects visible by making the Holy Spirit work through our lives. Whether it be in the face of hardship, embarrassment, ridicule and always under the scrutiny of the self righteous judgments of other people, if we know that we've ran the race, finished to the end and fought a good fight of faith at all cost we can be assured of God's abiding presence. The Lord pours down His blessing on us. We have a task to do for the greater glory of God.

In our Catholicism study in St. Martha the speaker cited an example why we Catholics look up highly and venerate Mama Mary. He took Monalisa the famous and considered one of the masterpieces if not the greatest work of art of Leonardo Da Vinci. He said that Mama Mary is a reflection of God's greatness and His greatest masterpiece or creation. He explained further by citing another example of the moon getting its brightness from the sun. That's the true basis of Mary's greatness that some people even us Catholics do not realize so well. Our veneration and devotion to Mary is a way of worshipping God since we confess to the power of God manifested in the Blessed Mother. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 68:2 and 4. 6-7ab. 20-21

R: Our God is the God of salvation.

1 [2] God arises; his enemies are scattered, and those who hate him flee before him... [4] The just rejoice and exult before God; they are glad and rejoice. 4 [5] Sing to God, chant praise to his name, whose name is the LORD. (R) 5 [6] The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. 6 [7] God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity.  Blessed day by day be the Lord, who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation. 20 [21] God is a saving God for us; ... Father of the fatherless, defender of widows-- this is the God whose abode is holy, Who gives a home to the forsaken, who leads prisoners out to prosperity, while rebels live in the desert...Our God is a God who saves; escape from death is in the LORD God's hands...."

God displayed His awesome power that He just laid his hand over the crippled/bent woman and she was instantly healed. But some people remain blind of His great power that sometimes we have a tendency to dwell on the negative aspect of things rather than the obvious and better side of things. The leader of the synagogue did not see the healing but instead focused on the sabbath day when according to the law prohibits work on this day. We tend to maximize the little non essential things and forget the whole point for which the law was made.  The law is meant to protect people but sometimes we forget why it's made and use it for our personal agenda. May we always be open to God's healing in our lives and never miss the essence which is God's mercy and love for us. When we are in sin we become bound and spiritually bent. Just like this woman who Jesus healed of her infirmity on a sabbath despite the restrictions being imposed by the culture and tradition during that time we can also be healed. We must realize that nothing can ever come between God's goodness, love, healing and us. If we are bent down by our sins spiritually then we are depraved and prevented from experiencing a life of grace. Just think of a person who experiences back problems we may find that one of the reasons could be the inability to maintain a good posture, tends to slouch and result in pain and discomfort. We could straighten up, not look as if our face is tied to our feet, raise our eyes up to heaven in prayer and face Jesus. We are indeed set free from all our infirmities through the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. We should maintain this and observe our posture as we stand up straight and give glory to God now and forever .Amen. Hallelujah! 

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 13,10-17.

...When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”