If we will just look back and recall the tough times that
we've been through then we can now just laugh it off and shrug our shoulders
but way back then was a different scenario. We sometimes wonder how we were
able to go through that kind of ordeal. Today's 1st reading tells us of the
story of David & Goliath. Everybody knows from the beginning that it was a
mismatch and judging from the standard of this world, David does not stand a
chance against Goliath. The same is true with our giant problems and concerns
in life. Are we faced with our own Goliath?
Take courage! We may have to go up against a very scary giant Philistine
in our life. We must not forget that God can deliver us from all our problems and
can save us from the clutches of Goliath. If like David we entrust all our
battles to the Lord then victory shall be ours. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
32 David spoke to Saul: “Let your majesty not lose courage. I am at your
service to go and fight this Philistine.” 33 But Saul answered David, “You
cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him, for you are only a
youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 37 David continued: “The
LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep
me safe from the clutches of this Philistine.” Saul answered David, “Go! the LORD
will be with you.”...Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand; I will
strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will leave your corpse
and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air and the beasts
of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God. 47 All this
multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD
saves. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he shall deliver you into our hands.”
...
Some people may find it strange that I have a devotion to
pray for the souls of the dead. Of the so many Catholic devotions that we know
of, praying for the eternal repose of the souls is one devotion that I have
committed to surprisingly and extraordinarily, I should say. It all started in
2006 when I had this very unusual experience with a hit and run victim who was
lying dead for around three and a half hours already based on what the
onlookers said. The accident happened very early in the morning in EDSA a main
street in the heart of the city in the Philippines . My heart was moved
with pity for that poor man that I offered the rosary prayer for his soul.
After that incident, as far as my disposition for the dead souls are concerned
things were never the same again. Something very unnatural happened immediately
after that because I was on my way to a very important appointment which I was
already late for. Earlier I had been told that I would no longer be entertained
and would just be wasting my time if I would still go. Anyway, I still did and
there it happened. I was not declined and was still allowed to enter. It was
most unusual that those who came earlier and on time although they were allowed
entry failed to have their document signed due to a misspelled name of a
signatory. The unimaginable happened, the document I submitted contained the
same misspelled name but somebody facilitated it for me so it was overlooked,
signed and approved. There was only one thing in my mind at that time while it
was all happening, that dead guy’s soul that I prayed for, whom I rendered some
love and mercy. The same understanding and mercy was extended to me since I was
accommodated but the others were not. As I've said earlier, things were never
the same again thus I believe that there is life after death and it pays to
pray for our departed brothers and sister. Someday when we come face to face
with that reality, may we receive the breath of life everlasting from God. I've
had several more special experiences related to it and also with other souls
that I have prayed for. When I first saw that man lying dead in the street
partially covered by newspapers, it may look a lot like there is no hope left
for him considering the kind of fate and death he met. It was an untimely,
unprepared and unexpected turn which also became the end of his life on earth.
When things seem to look so bad as in this kind of bad that I've seen for
myself or even worse, I know for sure that it is not the way it appears to be.
What could one ever think of a man left dead lying on a main street of a great
city where a lot of people see it as they come and go. Nothing seems to be the
way it really is for there is always hope. We may not yet fully understand the
truth about heaven at this time while we are still bound here on earth but we can
always hold on to God as fast, strong and firm as we can. To God alone, we look
to be saved. We can defeat the giant problems we are facing right now. Let us
not limit God's power for the bigger our problem is and the more it is
heightened by its difficulty the more
God's glory is revealed. It is only right that we entrust everything to God for
we have a giant God. If at the present time we are encountering so many trials
and difficulties in life then consider everything as preparation for the
victory God has reserved for all of us. In spite of all the discouraging and
heart rending events that we’ve experienced and witnessed in our lives there is
one thing sure about it. In every tear that fell and heartache, God’s mercy is
always upon us. He is our fortress and stronghold that we can not be moved. A
preacher on TV said that we have to go to the right frame and never turn
back. Once we are in the right frame
then we should not be dissuaded because only immovable people can move
mountains. We have to stick to the right frame because it is our fight of
faith. It was also Jesus who told us in Mt. 17:20, “…Amen, I say to you, if you
have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move
from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for
you." We should not lose focus and realize that we are standing on a firm
foundation, solid as rock, and we can entrust everything unto Him. If we will
always decide to listen and follow the advice of God and be willing to be under
His guidance and direction then we will surely emerge victorious in all our
battles. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 144:1b, 2, 9-10
R: Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
...who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. (R) 2 My refuge and
my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust, who
subdues peoples under me. (R) 9 O God, I will sing a new song to you; with a
ten-stringed lyre I will chant your praise, 10 you who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant the evil sword. (R)
Today’s gospel wanted us to realize a
very important and essential matter in following God’s commands. We may all
know the 10 commandments but do we truly know them by heart and abide by them
in the Spirit of God. Sometimes we are
too preoccupied by the letter of the law and have a tendency to neglect what
truly matters, the spirit of the law which is love. There should be no room for
any doubt that God speaks to us through our daily circumstances. We can never
deny that there are moments when we hesitate to do something, hold back or
question the reason for a certain act. It is very consoling to know that we
have a God who knows exactly what we are going through. If we come to Him for
guidance and direction, He will surely not lead us astray. In the gospel a
question arises, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do
evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Sometimes there are instances in
our lives when we are confronted by a dilemma. Whether we do something or not
is always a question that we need to face daily. In fact I was reminded of
doing something I am not totally happy about but just the same I needed to do
what I had to do. I am very touched and felt like God gave me a pat on the back
upon reading Fr. Benny’s reflection from
Sabbath. Here it is entitled , THE WITHERED HAND
The Jews had a very high, if not an absolute, respect for
their laws. These laws were derived and sourced out of the laws given by Yahweh
to Moses. Jesus, a Jew, knew all of these laws by heart and lived them to the
full. In the Gospel today, we can dispense the idea that Jesus was not aware of
this regard for the Law, which includes the law on the Sabbath — that no one is
to cure on that day, among other things.
But Jesus took the opportunity here, in the case of the man
with the withered hand, to bring forth the true and essential spirit of the
Law. He asked the disturbing question to those around Him, “Is it lawful to do
good on the Sabbath rather than do evil, to save life rather than to destroy
it?” Jesus did not really violate the Law but put it in its correct
perspective. The ultimate end is goodness and life. “Good” here is not the
relative worldly good but the absolute divine good. Life here is really more of
life in the Lord than just mere breathing. It is not against the Torah but a
deepening of it. Once I was in a retreat together with priests from other
countries in Europe, Asia, USA
and Latin America, in Novara ,
Italy Italy was playing against Argentina . I could not believe what
I heard! Later, seeing them watch the game made me appreciate the decision even
if I did not fully understand it.
Only God knows whether it was reasonable enough or in
accordance with the Spirit. I tend to believe it is. The message in today’s
Gospel becomes clearer. Each of us, in our heart, has a good connection with
God. The decisions we make are guided and influenced by various people, events
and faith. In the end, it is between us and God. As Cardinal Rosales once said,
“With love and God, you cannot go wrong.” Goodness and life are testimonies of
loving and a spark of the divine! Fr. BennyTuazon
Reflection Question:
Am I a stickler for rules or do I have enough sensitivity to
put the spirit above the law?
Lord, grant me an open heart and mind to always listen to
the dictates of the Spirit rather than the letter of the law.
God's love, mercy and goodness abound and is above any law.
We find in the gospel that Jesus was so disappointed with how the people
responded and reacted to the miraculous healing that took place. It is easier
to understand when people react badly in response to an assault but to
something like restoring a sick person to health it's kind of weird but we also
have to accept that there are times when we act weird. Let's always hope and
pray that we will always be guided by Jesus to respond in a naturally good and
charitable way. There are times when we have a tendency to put God in a box. We
have a specific mindset about life in relation to God that we end up with our
own narrow concept of how we are to conduct ourselves as Christians and
followers of our Lord Jesus. What's worse is that we sometimes can't keep our
imperfect ways to ourselves and project it to others. Sometimes we distort
whatever is stated in the law to our advantage or over rationalize it and blow
it out of proportion. This is where the gift of wisdom comes in. We ought to
think, feel and see the way God does. Only by truly acquiring a mind and heart
that is fashioned and designed like that of the Lord can we truly and sincerely
understand the law of the Lord. We can also read in the gospel that Jesus
looked at them with anger because of the hardness of their hearts. The
Herodians and the Pharisees were great enemies at the time of Jesus but we saw
how they conspired to put Jesus to death. All His works point to His Divine
Kingship and the Pharisees were jealous. The reason behind this is the fact
that Jesus lowers the prestige of the Pharisees before the people by healing
the sick. He showed His Divine nature through this miracle done on a Sabbath.
It is still happening nowadays, when people who live lives centered on Jesus
and His teachings are still being persecuted. It is written in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, realize that it
hated me first. If you belonged to
the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the
world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.”
Let us not lose heart for if we are faithful to Jesus and everything He
stands for then we can share in His great glory that has come for all eternity.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 3:1-6
...He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here
before us.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they
remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their
hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it
out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took
counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
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