OPEN WINDOWS

Believe it or not, we still have brothers and sisters in the faith who think that God punishes and wants to see us suffer. This may not be directly implied but just the same we have the tendency to think this way. We must not forget that we are in a constant battle in this world that could be compared to a tug of war between good and evil. Sad things are not willed by God, He wills only the good things. Let us ask the Lord that we see these things with understanding and ask Him to preserve us from evil and the father of lies, promising peace when there is no peace. This is a reality that we have to keep in mind always but the greater truth lies in the fact that Jesus has won this battle. Once again we should ask ourselves the same question over and over. Will we allow Jesus to have power over us and defeat the role of evil in our life? We have our worries, fears and insecurities for a future that is planned which may never come. We must not forget what we are destined for. There is a place in heaven already waiting for us with our names on it. God loves us so much that He intended everything for us to be with radiant love.  There was a time when I decided to stay away from eating meat as much as possible and just eat fruits and vegetables obviously due to reasons known to many of us already. We need to commit to a good healthy diet and exercise. The 1st reading for today says something almost similar to abstinence from meat. God is affirming a decision to really be serious about eating more healthy and nutritious foods and watch our weight. It is God's will for us to take care also of our physical bodies in order to live a longer life dedicated to serve Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

Acts 15:22-31

...we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth: 28 ‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, 29 namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’ ”...

Just as David did not take vengeance into his own hands and relied on God's mercy and protection. We should also do the same and follow today's psalm reading. God never ceases to amaze us each day especially when we are greeted with some wonderful turn of events and circumstances that are happening before us. It may be just petty and little things for some but if we have faith in God then every single thing that happens is always Divine Providence. There was this Roman emperor, Diocletian in 303 AD in North Africa (presently known as Tunisia) who persecuted Christians at that time. He ordered the tearing down of Churches and imprisonment of people who would be caught in Christian worship which was considered illegal at that time. In fact inhabitants of entire villages were put to death when they refused to submit to pagan worship. These martyrs persevered to the end. Their love and devotion to God can not be denied and was even documented in the record books. When they were asked if they owned a bible they answered that they keep the bible in their hearts and it can not be destroyed. Furthermore they said when asked why they received Christians in their homes to gather for Holy Mass, they answered, " Si ne Dominico non possimus" which means "Without the Lord's day we can not cope. We are unable to live as we should." They became the Holy Eucharist Models up to the present time. This is a truth that we should be aware of, we can not live without the Eucharist, in order to cope with the toil and exhaustion of the journey in this world we are presently in. The Eucharist is at the root of all holiness. How many saints have advanced to holiness through the Eucharist? Holiness has always found its center in the Eucharist. It is the highest form of praise to God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 57:8-9, 10, 12

R: I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.

7 [8] My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast; I will sing and chant praise. 8 [9] Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn. 9 [10] I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord. I will chant your praise among the nations, 11 [12] Be exalted above the heavens, O God; above all the earth be your glory!

It is noteworthy that in the gospel of John, it is very rare that Jesus gives a commandment. In today's gospel in John, He gives us this commandment, "Remain in my love..." This love is fully given to us but if we look carefully enough we will find that we don't deserve it. It's not because of something good we have done and get in return. It is not based on some kind of contract but more of a relationship. The love of the Father is the kind of love that exists even before the world came to be. The Father loves the world despite of its imperfection being under the power of the evil one. Thus He sent His Son to redeem the world. The death of Jesus on the cross is what draws the people to Him. We have to remain in God’s love which is the source that we should constantly come to. If we keep this commandment then God will remain in us. As we enter into the process of remaining in Jesus and move away from sin then we'll have a joy that lasts forever. There is a temptation for us not to follow the Lord's words and commandments. It is understandable that we sometimes fall into the trap of sin. The temptations make us remember the nice but fake stuff and overlook the real thing. It makes us go with opinions that are widespread. We have to realize that God is offering us something infinitely great. God invites us to offer ourselves to Him wholeheartedly. God is not solitary. Jesus and the Father are one in union with the Holy Spirit. We need to believe this with a childlike faith. What is it to be a child? It is to believe in love and its loveliness and to believe in belief. It is to hold infinity and eternity in the palm of our hands. A child places its hand in yours and just follow wherever you lead. We have our fears, insecurities and worries for a future that is planned but may never come. We must not lose sight of the truth that we have our guardian angels always praying for us that we must not forget what we are destined for. He sees to it that the Lord rules over us so that God's light and life may penetrate every nook in our lives. God's will be on earth as it is in heaven for it is no longer us who live but Christ who lives in us. This commandment of love is repeatedly mentioned by Jesus in Chapter 14 of John’s gospel. This is not the kind of love that the world tries to show that is driven by passion. What the world tries to get across is this love that is shown through the media which is commonly passions of romance and violence. Thus people become poor in understanding this agape love of God. The people in the world follow the passions of our desires as we look into our history we see that these passions end up destroyed. What survived is the passion of the love of God. The kind of Christian love that Jesus gives us. It somehow depicts the aspect of the Blessed Trinity that we are made in the image and likeness of God so we imitate the life of the Trinity. When Jesus speaks and almost always He will say this, "I came not to speak on my own words but the Father's." We are all desirous of self expression. It is good to express one's self, whether it is right or wrong, though, self expression is not the ultimate good. As we come to know this, we must keep in mind that our Lord's word is one of the means of keeping the commandment. In order for us to remain in Him as we maintain our branches attached to Him, we must recognize the need to focus on Jesus, listen to Him as a response to this commandment and call of love. To love Him is keeping ourselves attached to Him. Sometimes we ask, "What about myself?" Many times we react negatively. We sometimes have trepidations and doubt whether we can be able to live out His commands. There is always the temptation not to follow the Lord's words in scriptures. We misinterpret happiness that the world offers.  We give in to it and get drunk by what it has to offer. Only to find ourselves with a hangover and regret of what we have done. When we give in to temptation and start to sin we ought to remember too that only the nice stuff are being presented to us at that time of temptation. We ought to realize that what it offers to us is just a spur of the moment and fleeting joy but would never last. If we respond to Jesus' commandment and enter into the process of moving away from sin then we will have a joy that lasts and a peace that surpasses understanding as St. Paul says in Corinthians. We are no longer kids who want to play with an empty decorated box rather than own a diamond. God wants us to have the diamond which lasts forever. God is an awesome God that all His faithful followers are blessed with His tremendous and unfailing power and grace. This is the reality of the joy that lasts and is complete. The gospel reminded me of the commercial about the vitamins in the Philippines. It claims to be the best vitamins for the body because it is complete. If we remain in God's love then we find complete joy in our hearts. Just imagine being truly, deeply and totally in love with a person to the point of doing everything you can to please that person. Sometimes we still end up disappointed but in the light of God's love we will always feel complete for He is perfect.  The reality that Jesus rose from the dead is at the heart of the reality of the gospel. It is because of the Resurrection that we have the certainty that we are not doomed to eternal damnation and death. We are justified and made righteous because of his resurrection. In our life's struggles and difficulties it is always good to know that we have a friend in Jesus who will never disappoint us. Just like any other relationships, true friendship is put to the test and one thing I am sure of, in Jesus we've found the perfect and loyal friend. We always have a choice. We can be a friend or an enemy to someone whenever we choose to. But think about it, no matter how difficult life situations may be we always have a better choice and it is always wise to settle for the best choice. That is to listen and follow the advice of our one true and loyal bestfriend, Jesus. God is offering us something great and beyond our comprehensions. As in, "no eye has seen nor ear has heard" what God has ready for those who accept this invitation and obey this commandment of Jesus in today's gospel. God has the right to command us because He was the one who chose us first. When God gave up His only Son to die on the cross and Jesus obeyed unto death, even the angels and saints could not take this incredible sacrifice of a God. Jesus, the only Begotten Son of God, stripped Himself of this royalty and was subjected to the most humiliating and excruciating pain. It was through this that Jesus showed us the power of powerlessness. When we ourselves are confronted with such situations we might as well take it as a privilege and invitation to throw our powerlessness to God and receive the power of Jesus to lift us up. God has poured and emptied Himself out in every possible way. This should be our motivation. The great love of God is inexplicably incredible and wonderful. It reaches out to all of us and all He asks of us is that we acknowledge, believe and obey Him. Jesus said, "None of you can be my disciples unless he gives up all his possessions." What Jesus condemns is the selfish clinging. We need to detach from selfish clinging to things for their own sake and not for God. We need to develop a universal surrender to God. We are sometimes ruled by the pleasures being offered by the world. There is a condition in ourselves that we have to achieve before we can be completely free. If we have freed ourselves of that bondage then God can move into our lives. God does not force His way into us. He is like light that comes in open windows. God is very well mannered and will not interrupt. If we cling to things then we can not advance in our relationship with God. We must work for the virtues of prudence, fortitude, justice and temperance. If we are filled with these virtues and not tied down to the worldly things then we become free.  Once we achieve this then God will give us anything we ask of Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” ... I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”...