It has been a nostalgic couple of days due to the readings.Several days ago I was sharing about my son, Jude, now it’s Allan’s turn. Today’s
1st reading brings back memories of the time when Allan was still undecided
what course to take and what school to go to for College. At that time he had
several options. It was kind of hard to say what he would finally decide on
since he was still waiting for the results of his other exams in other schools.
Although I had spoken my mind to him and said my piece of advice, I knew then
that he has plans of his own. On the other hand it is noteworthy that just recently something came up which I must say has compelled me to impose on him. With this development I honor my son's yielding to heeding my advice as he proceeded to do what I have requested him despite the inconvenience and discomfort of the said task. We see the importance of this story of Samuel
when we come to the so called crossroads in our very own lives. We may all have
reached a point where we should make major life changing decisions. No matter how good and helpful it is to
solicit the good advice and opinion of others in the end we would have to
decide for ourselves. We can not make others decide for us. We would have to
own our actions and make the decision ourselves. Thus it is important that we
establish a living relationship with the Lord. Only in this way can we truly
listen and open our hearts as Samuel did.
Today's 1st reading speaks of Samuel unable to discern God's call right
away and so I spoke the same words of Eli to Samuel to my son, Allan. We may
have other things and plans in mind for our loved ones that don’t fit in their
own. But no matter what they have decided to do and what they have been working
hard for to achieve the bottom line here is to know that it is always for the
best to pray, entrust everything to God and always listen to the instructions
that come from Him. We could almost feel what Samuel felt in today’s 1st
reading because just like any other person who is comfortably lying and
sleeping very soundly through the night of our lives, we never want to be
disturbed. Whatever disturbance and discomfort we may be all going through
right now we must not lose hope and realize that it is through our
deficiencies, imperfections and inadequacies that we continue to seek God. For
only Him can make us whole. There are times when we don't realize that God is
calling us several times and we don't know where to go and what to do. One very
important thing we should do is to respond to Him in the way Samuel did and
find ourselves growing in faith in the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
1 During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under
Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent. 2 One day Eli
was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could
not see. 3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in
the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. 4 The LORD called to Samuel,
who answered, “Here I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called
me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to
sleep. 6 Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,”
he said. “You called me.” But he answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back
to sleep.” 7 At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the
LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. 8 The LORD called Samuel again,
for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You
called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. 9 So he
said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD, for
your servant is listening.’ ” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, 10 the
LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 19 Samuel grew up, and
the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. 20
Thus all Israel
from Dan to Beer-sheba came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of
the LORD.
We need to persevere in prayer so that as we improve and
daily grow in His knowledge and ways then we can easily discern and be more
sensitive of how God speaks to each one of us in a very close and personal way.
We should always listen intently to what God is telling us so we could
effectively carry out what He wants us to do. It is God's will that we engage
in activities that will enrich and deepen our faith in Him. In order to love
someone better we have to know him/her better. The more you know about a person
the more you become close to each other. The same way with God there is a need
to really know more or everything there is to know about God. We must not be
distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset with problems and
difficulties. If we have developed a great sense of confidence and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and undauntedly do whatever He wills
for us. We've got the very best friend we can ever have in Jesus. All we have
to do is listen to and follow Him. He is the Rising Sun and Light of the world
who came to live with us to direct our feet into the path of peace. Doing God’s will may not be easy but if we
have placed it in the center of our hearts then it will just come naturally as
it becomes the powerhouse or mitochondria of our beings. The transcendent
nature of humanity calls for dialogue and human understanding. In the face of
difficulty and sign of contradiction we should never lose heart. Remember these
words from the gospel, Mt. 5:10-12, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for
the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you
when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you
(falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Violence is not
overcome by violence. The world needs God. Authentic weapon for peace is
religious freedom as in to practice faith without coercion. Today we remember
the plight of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who suffer greatly
for the faith. We pray that religious freedom will not be eroded for those who
can practice it. We continue to hope in the grace of God for that alone will
suffice. It is also very important that we follow the example of Mary's perfect
obedience to God's will so that we can find delight in following God's laws.
May our Lord show us the path to peace and use us as instruments and builders
of peace. Nothing should ever stop us from doing the will of God for it is
ultimately the best option we've got. If we have developed a great sense of
confidence and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and
undauntedly do whatever He wills for us. Once we've known who God is and what
He is capable of doing in our lives then there is really nothing that should
stop us in saying with all our hearts the responsorial psalm for today. Amen.
Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Psalm 40:2 and 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
R: Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
1 [2] I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped
toward me and heard my cry. 4 [5] Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry or to those who stray after falsehood. (R) 6 [7]
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.
How we live our life in each passing day is a testimony of
how we follow the will of God in our lives. There is a need to constantly and
regularly connect to God everything that we do. If we make a conscious effort
to do this everyday then we'll surely find it easier to obey the things that
God wants us to do and be more sensitive in knowing the will of God in our
lives. If we will just honestly and sincerely seek God then we will surely find
Him. As we do this we will eventually discover a lot of things that we need to
know in order to live our faith in accordance to God's will and be able to
overcome all trials and difficulties that come our way. Amen. Hallelujah!
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
We may be encountering disappointments and setbacks but
every now and then God does not fail in turning something that had gone wayward
for the good. Things get suddenly fixed and fitted perfectly as planned by the
Master. We should be thankful that God continues to reveal His greatness not
only as King of Kings, Mighty Healer, Lord of Lords, Master and Savior but also
as a God of order. What are we looking for and expect especially this year 2014?
We must repent for looking for the wrong things and center our lives in God. If
we don’t know God we can not do His will. One of the greatest ways we can do
God’s will is to be faithful to our daily duties. Whatever that may be, single,
married or a religious. This is one of the preeminent ways that we can have
moral satisfaction that we are doing the will of God. We have to take note also
that it is where the devil wants to mess up. Example, for married people when
their marriage crumble, the consecrated begin to doubt their vows and a high
school student could turn to drugs. The devil loves to mess up in faithfulness
to daily work. We have to do our daily work in the manner He wills it and do it
because it is God’s will. To do what is supposed to be done and do it in the
way it is supposed to be done. Do every act with exactness and do it in the
most perfect manner. God wants to make us a saint right where we are, as said
by Jose Maria Escriva. The devil hates it if we are faithful to our daily
duties so he causes worry and doubt in our daily pattern. The Sacrament of the
present moment tells us that the evils of today is enough and we must just
focus on our daily duties. As the scriptures tell us, “Seek first the kingdom of God
John 1: 35-42.
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw
them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They
said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where
are you staying?" He said to them,"Come, and you will see." So
they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It
was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who
heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told
him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). Then
he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the
son of John; you will be called Kephas" (which is translated Peter).
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