TOTAL RECALL

Today's 1st reading is a call for us to remain true to the faith which reminds me of charismatic seminars like LSS, (Life in the Spirit Seminar) LLS, (Living in the Light Seminar) CLP (Christian Life Program) or whatever they call it wherein people are laid hands on, get baptized and received God's gifts of the Holy Spirit. We all have to recall and not leave to be forgotten the good memories that strengthened our faith the way Paul is doing for Timothy and Titus whose feasts we are celebrating today. Paul one of the greatest apostles did not do everything by himself. He had these 2 greatest collaborators who help him fulfill God's mission. Timothy and Titus served the church and carried out good deeds in whatever situation they are in even in times of challenges. We are encourage also to stir in into flame the same grace given to them, the laity and all the baptized to participate in the mission of the church. When Jesus called the first apostles who were mending their nets to be fishers of men, at once they dropped their nets and followed the Lord. We have to make a decision even in the midst of trials and crosses. We need to surrender to the Lord for He’ll surely lead and show us the way. Our job is to follow, obey and continue in our service to the church and the gospel. We ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the strength that comes from God. Our natural strength tires and we need the gift and inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the way that strikes people’s hearts. We can never deny the fact that one way or another somebody has influenced who and what we are today. For most people it is always the parents or someone very close to us. I have this feeling that today's 1st reading invites us to look at this aspect of our lives too. It is always nice to make a total recall of good memories. As for me the person I can point to with regards to this is my mother. She got widowed when we were still very young and I guess it has developed in her a great faith in God. She would always say that widows are special to God. We all grew up hearing her quote bible passages and words of wisdom to live by. Our loved ones who have impacted our lives so much may not be present with us anymore but we have to remain strong in memory of them for the Spirit of God lives on. Just in case we lose sight of who we really are before the Lord, Paul in today's 1st reading reminds us of the gift that God gave us which is the Holy Spirit who dwells in each one of us. Sometimes we forget, neglect, take for granted or worse are not aware or deny this wonderful reality that God is with us. We ought to exercise our minds to always think of this and be conscious that we have the power. After the “know what you're missing” stage comes the feeling that there is something more to knowing what is written in the scriptures. God gives us His Spirit that transcends all knowledge and understanding that leads to a spontaneous overflow of His love, grace and mercy. Let us be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and really feel and acknowledge His presence in us. The Holy Spirit's action in our lives is most often gentle and not immediately felt and works quietly. It's sometimes hardly perceptible at all. The Holy Spirit's specialty is in sanctifying men and women throughout history from the beginning of time until the end of the world. He is the saint maker of all times. He is the one who transforms sinners to become saints for as long as their willing to cooperate with Him. He is the one who converts the weak disciples of Christ to strong ones. Lukewarm souls turn to zealous ones. He converts coward disciples to bold and courageous disciples. It is like a symphony orchestra made up of a dozen instruments but the conductor is the one who's the focus of the musician and the audience and yet the conductor is not the real sense of the music, the composer is. In front of every musician is a music stand holding a few pages marked with black dots to score the music. This is what the choir looks at and how they are able to sing together, the organist, the conductor, all with same mind, with the same objective and the same purpose. Yet, no one in the audience sees the score and this music score is what brings them together, it coordinates everyone's effort and produces a beautiful and inspiring performance. This is what the Church is like, the Pope is the conductor, guaranteed by God to remain faithful to the music score. We are all musicians contributing our own unique talent to the symphony of holiness that resounds to the world throughout history. The Holy Spirit is the living musical score, Composer of all composers and the one that tells us what to play, when to play them, how fast to play them, how loud or soft to sing them. The Holy Spirit is the silent force behind the power of everything, of every Christian in the Church as a whole. Mother Teresa said, God is the friend of silence. We see how nature grows in silence. The fields, grass and flowers grow in silence. See how the stars, the moon and the sun move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls. We need silence to be able perceive the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in our lives since He works in our lives quietly. The amazing thing that the Holy Spirit does quietly is how he transforms the apostles. Particularly how they were fearful men, and we remember when the Lord was captured at the Garden of Gethsemane. They were afraid, left and went their own way. Then the Resurrection came about 3 days later, they were joyful and yet they didn't know what to make of it at first. Eventually they believed that He was truly the one whom they saw was crucified, and died on the cross but their fear did not go away. Then in the Ascension they saw how the Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father and they were joyful when the Lord left because they were promised the Holy Spirit yet they were afraid and locked themselves in the Upper Room for fear of the Jews. It was not until the Holy Spirit descended upon them during Pentecost that they become bold and courageous disciples of Jesus Christ. Pope Benedict XVI pointed about this role of the Holy Spirit to overcome fear. A lot of us have some form of fear, in one form or another, in our future or whatever, there's some kind of fear that we are suffering. Where do we need to go? We go to the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our fears. Just like the disciples when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, those men went out without fear. They began to proclaim the Good News of Christ, crucified and risen. They had no fear because they felt they were in stronger hands. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, when the Spirit of God enters, He chases out fear. He makes us know and feel that we are in the hands of an omnipotent Love. Whatever happens, His infinite love will not abandon us. The witness of the martyrs, the courage of the confessors, the frankness of preachers, the example of all the saints, even some who are adolescents and children, demonstrate how they were not afraid. It is also demonstrated by the very existence of the Church which despite the faults of men continues in the ocean of history driven by the breath of God, the Holy Spirit and animated by the purifying fire of Divine Love. The Holy Spirit works quietly in our lives as a typical mode of operation. There's the need to spend time in silence in His presence to try to hear His voice and discern His Holy will. Just like St. Rita of Avila, the Holy Spirit was instrumental in transforming her life which was not until her Spiritual Director started to instruct her to pray the Veni Creator. One of the most widely used hymns in the Church, Veni, Creator Spiritus, is attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856). It is used at Vespers, Pentecost, Dedication of a Church, Confirmation, and Holy Orders and whenever the Holy Spirit is solemnly invoked. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite it. A plenary indulgence is granted if it is recited on January 1st or on the feast of Pentecost. It was after that her life was truly transformed. This is how much we are to invoke the Holy Spirit and we are dependent upon Him in our lives. Pope Leo XII said we ought to pray to the Holy Spirit and ought to invoke Him for each one of us greatly needs protection and His help. Come Holy Spirit, come by me through the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to her Beloved Son, Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Timothy 1:1-8 (or Titus 1:1-5)

...I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you. 6 For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. 8 So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

This challenge and call to proclaim God's Word has been non stop and very persistent. In fact today's psalm tells us to announce it day after day. There should never be a day that passes without us giving praise and glory to God. When we have an appointment or a schedule it requires us to make necessary preparation for it before the date itself. There are times when we have to go through stressful activities in order to meet some requirements that go with it. This should make us think all the more of the greatest appointment we have to face on that final day and act in accordance to the demand of the inevitability and reality of this day. How much more are we supposed to prepare for that unknown day if indeed we believe that we have to be there and get to our destiny, where we are supposed to be in God's Kingdom. We should always be prepared for the day when we will come face to face with God. Every single day should be lived as if it's our last. How easy it is to put ourselves in the center of the universe. We are not the center of the universe, God is. We are just here on earth for a few fleeting years. 70 if we are strong in which to serve God. St. Theresa of Avila said to never waste a moment in time because she knows that every moment in time can secure heaven. When all is over and the battle has been won as in Revelation, God's name will be written in our foreheads and it will never be night again nor will we still need lamp or sunlight again because the Lord is our Light. There are so many things in life that worry us every day. We encounter people and circumstances that disturb our peace. We can't help but be stirred up and sometimes lose our focus. The truth is there is nothing that should bother us at all. We've got to hold on to the truth always that God is on top of everything. We have to be perfectly aware of the fact that the Lord has the whole world in the palm of His hand and will surely rule it with justice and constancy. It is always worth our all when we stand by the principles of God. No matter what it is that we are going through right now we can always draw strength and inspiration in this truth and not be moved. We look at our own lives and see that it is dark in many ways in the form of bad stories that we hear about. We are not perfect but we can do something to bring the glowing radiance of Christ to the world. We must be able to calm ourselves and silence our mind over a lot of worries and anxiety. In doing so we could immediately feel the peace and assurance that God never ever leaves us every step of the way. It helps to do the 3Rs: Reflecting, Remembering, Renewing. It is really important that we constantly reflect on the word of God, wherein the scriptures become fully alive in our life. We should always remember how God helped us in a certain experience. In doing so, hope starts to rise again. It is equally important that we live a balanced life by renewing so that we don't get worn out by the daily turmoil of our life. Those who toil will reap and will be able to reflect God's glory through the fruits of their harvest. We have 101 reasons to always rejoice and be glad. Jesus came and entered humanity in the most humble way. He loved us as we are and was willing to be born in a manger. He doesn't wait for us to transform ourselves but take us for who we are. It is very consoling to know that we have a God who was willing to be born into the messiness of our lives. We may not have received all the things we have been asking for specifically but we continue to believe that God in His goodness and mercy did answer all our prayers in the way that He deemed is best. It doesn't change the fact that He is God, always in control and every single thing works according to His master plan and divine purpose. We can be assured that He will carry out the plan He has for us, as in Jeremiah 29:11, For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe, plans to give you a future full of hope. God is over, above, around, about and all over the world. It is only right and fitting that we give glory to God who is above all. Let us always be grounded on this truth and make it clear for us so as not to fall into the trap and deception of the gods of the nations which are things of naught. Let us truly be faithful to the one and true God who made the heavens. We should listen, learn and be part of the task of spreading God's word to every person if we are really one with Him. No one is excluded from God's call of love. We often hear people saying that life is unfair but it is always a consolation to know that we have a God who is consistently good and just all the time. We can surely rely on Him all the time. God is sending all of us a friendship despite our coldness towards Him. He gives us all that we need. He is as good as He is great. He is very lavish with His promises and faithful in keeping them.  Whatever situation we are in we should always take the opportunity of showing forth God's glory at its best in our own lives. Nowadays, people tend to make decisions based on money. We must not discount the fact that money is important but it should not be the sole and major deciding factor when we come up with a decision. If we know exactly why we are here and what we are here for then there's no reason to doubt that God is always at our side to love, support and make things work for good. But we need to believe that God's power knows no limit. This world of ours is amazingly designed by God. DNA a double helical structure,   which is found in every living creature, which includes us, humans, is also existent in the solar system. Scientists found out that the pattern in which the planets rotate around the sun is also in a double helical conformation. It is undeniable evidence by the signature of God scattered all over the planet and extends to the entire universe that not even the most intelligent and brilliant astrologers could explain. We are indeed blessed and endowed with a wealth of endless benefits and cures just lying around us and within our reach. He is Great and Mighty and to Him alone do we put our trust. We must not be discouraged and continue to hope in His power. Amen. Hallelujah!

Responsorial Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10

R.  Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all you lands. 2 Sing to the Lord; bless his name. (R) Announce his salvation, day after day. 3 Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. (R)

I could remember a time when I hesitated for a moment when I was about to hand over to this home health nurse a copy of a daily reflection that I wrote and got inspiration through him the way I normally do with most of the people I am around. A lot of questions popped into my mind like, Would he mind receiving a bible reflection? Is he Christian? Can I really do this? I've encountered a lot of sensitive issues here in the US when it comes to religion and the faith. I suddenly felt like chickening out. We haven't known each other long and might take it in a different way. God is good that when I am about to back out I suddenly received from this very sweet lady who dispelled all my doubts and fears a boost of confidence and courage to carry out this task. Although she did not say the exact words from today's gospel it was just like I was hearing them from the silence of her good heart. For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. We should take every opportunity to let the people we meet see clearly the light of the lamp shining from the lampstand by spreading the Good News. We also recall how in Mt. 13:10-11 the disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.” The seed of the Kingdom of God is planted in mystery and it grows in secret and hidden. We can not fully comprehend it for God is infinite and so is shrouded in mystery. Jesus and the Kingdom can be found at the heart of parables but with certain obscurity and in a sense with a hidden nature.  Faith is a personal adherence to God and as we grow in our faith in Him the mysteries are revealed to those who draw close to Jesus in the condition that we adhere and cling to him. If we remain outside and do not enter into His love then we remain in obscurity. It is not true that the Kingdom of God is just for a selected few, everyone is invited and no one is shut out. In order to enter the kingdom we have to accept the invitation to repentance, conversion and faith.  We have to make a radical choice to give up everything and embrace it. Words are not enough, because we are not just called for lip service. In Mark’s gospel we often see the words of Jesus not to say anything or tell anyone. This is because of the danger to misunderstand the kingdom and misinterpret it. At that time they were under the oppression of the Roman empire. They think of the Messiah as the one to free them from the Roman rule and use the knowledge of the kingdom for power and control. It is like putting Jesus in a box and keeping Him at a distance so as not to allow Him to change us. We have to follow and submit to God. The seed planted in our hearts although a mystery and can not fully be comprehended will draw us closer to him through faith and good works.  It is much different if we are to live our vocation and grow in our knowledge and understanding of the faith. We develop trust and personal adherence in a form of clinging to God. We see this in the life of people with no high theological understanding. They articulate their deep love for God and understanding in simple ways. With people who are still suffering and struggling with difficulties that are not taken away, the hidden nature of the mystery persists. Just like this particular time that was very difficult for a friend of mine whose husband passed away to see the light of hope. But we continue to believe that in a moment of darkness filled with grief and despair of losing a loved one there is still hope that light is still shining through and is bound to be known to all in His most perfect time. We have to have faith in the heart and believe that everything will unfold in His time and be able to discover the light in the midst of trying and uncertain moments. We may not grasp the meaning of all the things at the moment but everything will soon come to pass and only the light of God's truth will prevail.  The veil is lifted and finally see God for who He is through faith, obedience and generous living in the gospel. This is the only way we can experience His love in a very real way. Though, still with the cross but still following his inspiration. This means real change in our lives that only the gospel can bring about as we remain faithful to it. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 4:21-25

Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lamp-stand? 22 For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. 23 Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” 24 He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.