GOD'S REWARDS

Today is "All Saints Day" and we may have wondered what set them apart from all others. Today's readings answer in a way everything there is to know about them and to do to be like them.  We must realize that it is not only them who have been given the privilege to be a saint but all of us. We are called to fulfill our destiny in being in union with God. We must remain hopeful that when that day comes we will be one of those fortunate ones bearing the seal of the Lord. God is constantly reminding us of His great love for us, calls us by name and considers us as His own. We should always be aware of this privilege and not forfeit the benefits and honor to be counted as one of these people being spoken of in today's 1st reading. Only the tough gets going and the survivor lives. This is a standing regulation in most extreme challenge game shows or high rating reality shows that are very popular nowadays. This is exciting for most of us to watch on television because we see how they battle with their skills and find their way up to the winner’s spot. The winner gets home with the trophy and the most exciting prizes that they could think of.  A very attractive package of gifts and surprises are in store for the winner. This is one of the things that lure people to go for it. Only those who dare to take the challenge can emerge as the winner. Somehow we could connect this type of thing with this passage from today’s 1st reading. We ought to realize that just like those extreme challengers, we are also participants of this game called life and in the end when everything is over and done, a prize awaits us. No eye has seen, no ear has heard nor can we imagine what God has ready for those who love Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

Book of Revelation 7,2-4.9-14.

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel. After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count,

from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, and exclaimed:

“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

We can't claim to be this kind of person, a Christian but conduct ourselves in a very unlikely way. Let us no longer be deceived by the false and misleading truths and principles that this world presents to us every single day. We have to be grounded at all times on this truth that today's psalm is telling us. There was a time when Tita Neds complained that something is wrong with the television. She said that somebody fixed it already but it didn't stay fixed for long. It wasn't the manufacturer who repaired it that was why. If it was brought to its manufacturer they would definitely know what to do with it. We've got to be conscious of this reality and apply it to ourselves. When something goes wrong we should know where to go, to whom we really belong, the Lord. This is the covenant: we belong to the Lord and He belongs to us for we are His people and He is our God. If we look at what's happening in the world today most especially the economic crisis wherein even the leading nations are being challenged by the present situation then we are really bound to anticipate the worst. Not even those people who used to be very confident of their present jobs in their respective stable companies can be too sure of what's going to happen next. There have been so much speculations of what will be the outcome of this worldwide problem of the economy and most of them are not good. With all these rubble, there is just really one thing we need to focus on and that is God. It is not easy to live life in this world but we can rejoice and be glad, we have an army, a battalion, a full house of saints with all the angels constantly and endlessly praying and singing in heaven, the so called triumphant Church/army of God, who intercede in our behalf and is joyously inviting us to be one of them. We are being reminded by the readings today to always keep ourselves blameless before the Lord no matter how tough things are. God wants to be with us, there is no doubt about that. But just like water and oil which can not be put together and mixed so is God and man if we are in sin or harbor anything that can not be attributed to the holiness of God. We can not force two different things to go together. Water is a polar molecule and oil is non polar. They do not mix because they are two different substances as in the adage, "Like dissolves like." God can not change. He is already who He is, Holy in all His ways. We can change. We can be like God in His holiness and goodness if we want to be with Him forever. Let us not lose sight of what a mighty God we serve who made the heavens and the earth. We pray to God to open our eyes that we may see the wonders of His love. We should think profoundly of our daily walk with the Lord which consists of not only a leisure stroll in the plains and valleys of life but a steep climb up to the top of the mountain. We must avail of the sacrament of reconciliation. It gives us renewed strength and hope. Our life consists of steep and dangerous climbs but we must not forget that God is always at our side. If we are to carefully assess our life we would find that it feels good whenever we are able to overcome most of our pitfalls though there are some that still needs improvement. We must praise and thank God that every time we experience a fall back and backslide we can immediately go back to Him through the sacrament of confession which restores us to our original path and right track. It is God's desire that we will someday come face to face with Him. There is a need for us to prepare for that day. We are sometimes guilty of not focusing on God's countenance alone, there are times when we get distracted by other things and today's psalm reading serves as the reminder. I heard a story about God's radiating and blinding light that when we stand before Him nothing is hidden from Him, He will never turn away from us but if we ourselves are tainted with the guilt of our sins then we can not withstand His presence and will definitely hide and ran away from Him, far from His ever blinding Light that penetrates us. Let us all hope that when that day comes we can stand in His Holy Presence and claim with confidence our rightful place in His Kingdom. For our information, all of us are eligible to be in heaven with God. There is no doubt about this since we have been made and washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. A virgin is with child. The Old Testament scriptures have foretold of this and point to the coming of Christ. The prophets preannounced and prefigured His coming and pointed to the fulfillment in Jesus in the New Testament. He has loved us first and continues to do so. He encounters us ever anew in the sacraments especially in the Eucharist. The Church helps us to respond to God’s initiative through word and teaching and the gathering of believers who respond faithfully. We have to be firm, resilient and faithful people of God. We’ve got to really focus on what is truly important and essential. We live in a world where there are so many distractions that we tend to lose sight of what should be our greatest and most important concern. After all has been said and done we will find in the end that what truly matters is not what will last only in this lifetime but for all eternity, a reward from God our Savior. When somebody invites us for a party we just don't go there without preparing ourselves for it. Much more gatecrash and just go to a party without an invitation. We are blessed that God has invited us. The best we could do being privileged, honored and counted to come to His banquet in heaven is to make preparations and always be ready to take part in it, really belong and not end up an outcast. We should not lose sight of this standing invitation that God gives us in our daily life. There is indeed a need to always be prepared so that when the final moment comes we can reside in the heavenly abode of God. In every game there is a rule to follow and only those who play it fair and square can finish to the end and win their prize. Today’s psalm gives us a guideline to follow in order to make it through. We should always long to see the face of God at all times in every person, event and circumstance in our lives. Let us always hold on to this image so that someday when we finally come face to face with God we will receive a blessing and reward for He will surely bring about what He said He would do. In the course of the time and in the history of mankind we hear of people like Abraham chosen by God. The chosen people were given laws and ordinances to follow. The remnants of the chosen people or those who were faithful to God in keeping these commandments like Simeon and Anna, Joachim and Anne are those who belong to the Hebrew generation, kept the Jewish tradition and prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah. This initiation of God in loving us first should bring us to act and make love blossom as a response on our part. We've got to be aware that the no one but the Lord is the King of glory. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M 

Psalm 24:1b-2. 3-4ab. 5-6

R: Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

1 The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (R) 3 Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? Or who may stand in his holy place? 4 He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. (R) 5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward from God his savior. Such are the people that love the LORD, that seek the face of the God of Jacob."

Aside from the rules to follow there are also certain criteria to meet in order to qualify for certain games. It is a consolation to know that we have all been pre-qualified through our Lord Jesus Christ to enter into His Kingdom. We are God’s children and the rest is up to us. If we are to live up to this honor and privilege or not is all in our hands. Let us always be faithful to Him, who alone can deliver us. We may have heard stories of how people who died come rushing to be with the Lord and describe the unexplainable joy of being able to see God face to face. Since we are still part of this mortal body we still do not feel the urgency of being with the Lord since we still belong to this world as stated " See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. " That is why we are always continuously struggling between good and evil because technically we are still in this world and somehow attached to it that we should make a conscious effort to always cling to the Lord. But as earlier stated in the bible passage only the clean and pure of heart can stand before Him so we should always guard our actions that each day be an offering to the Lord as we continuously work toward this goal. It is not easy but it is also said that the Lord will bless and save those who love Him. It is with this hope that we persevere in what we do. The 2nd reading for today emphasizes to us the truth and privilege we have as God's children. We must not neglect and forfeit this by always being mindful of the good things that God is continuously showering upon us and strive to really be deserving of the blessings He has bestowed on us. With the confidence of a beloved child of God, we all strive to become like Him in every way. Human parents although imperfect are capable of giving to their children all the best that they could offer. Parents could relate to this and would definitely agree to it. What can our Father in Heaven give to us more than the title, children of God? Today's 2nd reading gets even better by continuously affirming not just me but each one of us as well, who long and hope in the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

First Letter of John 3,1-3.

1 Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

Thomas Aquinas said that the perfect exemplification of the beatitudes can be seen if we look at Jesus. He is a happy man, a picture of freedom and joy. The main point is detachment. Jesus is detached from the things which we typically seek. He loved doing the will of His Father. We need to look to our Lord on the cross and despise what He despised on the cross, wealth, pleasure, power and honor.  Wealth, he has none he was stripped naked even of His clothes. Pleasure he was at the limit of physical and psychological suffering. Power, he was nailed on the cross. Honor, he was mocked as he was publicly displayed and crucified. On the cross, he is the ultimate peace maker and the bringer of divine mercy, if Aquinas is right then Jesus on the cross is a picture of a happy man. We are all on the building business, building a life that will endure, we are each a foreman to our building, we are masters of our own faith. Others take a material build a shack, a cathedral or build a tragedy, as William Shakespeare says, “to be or not to be” We are each given a bag of tools, a stepping stone or a stumbling block. The buildings we build are … Lost of a loved one, broken relationship and how we react to them depends on whether we have built a house on sand or rock, the test is the daily grind.  There is no end to the daily grind we just have to live one day at a time. The challenges depend whether we have taken the words of our Lord seriously. Take the extra mile. Is the Lord right? Nothing is built on hatred. Nothing lasts until it is built on love. Forgiveness is important. A person who is unforgiving suffers from various ailments. PJPII forgave the person who tried to kill him. Have we built our life on Him who is the rock? Or think that we know better. Our house is in ruin until the Lord come to make it a fitting dwelling. There is only one thing that can make us truly happy, to get to heaven. When our Lord saw the sadness of human beings he gave the formula in the sermon on the mount. Not once does He mentioned, money, fame, houses, entertainment and exotic cruises. The formula for happiness lies in the truth that our heart is at rest. According to Oscar Wilde there are 2 terrible tragedies in life, not to get what our heart sets upon or to get it. Some of us get this truth the hard way. Poverty in spirit means that we are empty. By nature of course we are like a vacuum because we have to be filled with something. When we finally get what we long for, that is when we realize that we can not have them nor could we own them forever. The only way to attain true happiness is to be possessed by the Lord. We have to learn to let go of yesterday. For example, the joys of our youth we must enjoy God’s gift to us today which is called the present. We must learn to face all these challenges with our Lord and be empty of everything except Him. The beatitudes will serve as our map in our quest to heaven. Beatitudes are like eyeglasses that help us to see what is important so as not to lose sight of what is right. Whenever we are to decide and act on something we might as well ask ourselves this, “Is this choice going to bring me closer to heaven?” The more we get our vision corrected the more we get closer to heaven. What is going to bring us closer to heaven? St. Francis of Assisi is a pilgrim in search of the glory of God. He renounced his riches and served God. These are the kinds of choices that pilgrims make to get closer to heaven. We spend our whole lives to get closer to God. We are in contact with God and making choices to be closer to God. If we live our lives as pilgrims in a journey to heaven then we will be happy. We will be recognized for our love and joy. We are not expected to take this journey alone and walk in a lonely path. The Church is with us to help us in this journey and help us to stay in the right path. The sacraments, mass, baptism and penance are the tools to reach our heavenly destiny. God never wants us to be discouraged. We can bring all our sins to Him in confession. The Eucharist the guiding light of our journey is the earthly physical presence of Christ on earth. It guides, feeds and reminds us of the manna in heaven. We also have the Blessed Mother when Jesus gave us His own mother at the cross. She loves us as her children. The final destination of our pilgrimage and journey is heaven. A reward awaits us in heaven just like any rewards program that you hear of, the more usage of a credit card the more rewards and so will it be when we have used all our talents for the Lord and offered all our sacrifices to Him. Funny how some people would prefer patronizing a certain establishment over another based on the reward but what we don't realize is that our God can reward us more than any other in this  whole  wide  world  so let us be conscious  of our actions  and always  prefer God above  everything.   Whenever we allow ourselves to be affected by the negativity of this world and the people around us then we succumb to the possibility of discord and open ourselves to further disagreement. We do not realize that when we answer back and try to vindicate ourselves we just end up complicating things even more. We should just keep silent and not say anything at all. This reminds me of what I read about preaching, it is said that we should preach with our life, live by example and just use words when necessary. We need to listen more attentively to God and commit to Him unconditionally. We should all humbly pray to God that we will be able to perseveringly live up to that challenge of being truly poor in spirit and become part of His kingdom. We have all been called to take part in this game called life.  The best way to win the game is to know how to play it and be actively involved in it. How would you like the idea of a game wherein you need not run all the way to the finish line to get your prize? We may not be aware of it but we could already be winning prizes along the way and need not wait for the final moment. The answer lies in today’s gospel and also in the version of Luke's gospel. The beatitudes has a semi hidden meaning in it. In a retreat we were asked to read them all and find out what that is, nobody was able to come up with the answer. It was just very simple. All the beatitudes are in the future tense only the first one which is “Blessed are the poor in spirit” is in the present tense. It means it is already happening right now and it is already in their hands. For it is written, theirs is the kingdom of heaven and it didn’t say will be. This means that we begin possessing it even now and have its fullness when we die and raised on the last day. The Kingdom of God is among us. Whatever relationships we have that with Jesus is above all. We prize the access to material things and all other worldly pleasures without realizing that loyalty to God is access to all. He is primary above all other things, above all our troubles, fears and whatever may be our ills and even death itself. God rules above all and He has authority on heaven and earth. We have the free will to do as we want. We have to be fully aware that the Kingdom of death has been conquered and defeated we can stand on the authority of God in Jesus who resurrected that can't be stopped because the Kingdom of heaven has already been handed to us. When Jesus' blood came upon us we are saved. But we have to acknowledge it and admit our sins and turn away from it. Jesus is the source of forgiveness and healing. We have to bear witness and reveal how great a Savior we have in Jesus, risen from the dead and only Savior of humanity. God gives us these beatitudes. It means supreme blessedness and felicity that comes from God. Being poor in spirit in the biblical sense is like the man who discovers his own limitations being a creature before the Creator. Our suffering and sorrow create a hollow place in our hearts, get our attention and make us thirst for help and love. God comforts and fills us with Himself. We accept our limitations in order for the kingdom to be a reality. For those who mourn beatitude, a Christian writer said that troubled souls are safe and the untroubled are the ones unsafe. The reason for this is because we are just in the place where God can reach us. We seem to remember God more often when we have problems. The meek and docile seek God’s will patiently in contrast to using force and control. We need to wait on Him and receive everything from the Lord with gratitude. We learn to appreciate the things in this world better, look at it in the right perspective and use it according to God's purpose. God is not limited by any circumstance and He comes to those who want Him and hunger for righteousness. We can't be pure of heart if we are fractured by sin. If we put God first in our life, He’ll come to us in a deeper way. A child of God is transformed by His grace to bring peace to the world. We become like Christ and help redeem the world. The world is contrary to the gospel. As we look to the blood of the martyrs which became the seed of the Church we also unite our own sufferings with Christ. It becomes redemptive suffering. We need to have the spirit of the beatitude to transform the world and maintain the saltiness in this life. This is the way that a Christian becomes effective to the world and be salt of the earth.   Amen. Hallelujah!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5,1-12.

"...Blessed are the poor in spirit, 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....."

STRONG ENOUGH

Today’s 1^st reading is kind of special because it is one of the things that I first learned when I became a charismatic and it has never left my memory. It is something that I always remember especially when I encounter people who have lived very long.  It’s funny how I always ask old people if they have honored their parents well.  This promise does not just say long life but it may also go well in life. If we sometimes get disappointed with the promises that people make, we can always count on the promises of God. In everything, let us give praise and glory to God. God knows every single thing about us, nothing is hidden from Him. If we abide by  His will then we will surely find that it is the best for us, nothing else could be above or over it for whatever God wants for us is surely what is good for us if we will just do it wholeheartedly for the Lord.

Amen. Hallelujah!

Ephesians 6:1-9

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise, 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.” ...as you are obedient to Christ not only when you are under their eye, as if you had only to please men, but because you are slaves of Christ and wholeheartedly do the will of God. Work hard and willingly, but do it for the sake of the Lord and not for the sake of men. You can be sure that everyone,... will be properly rewarded by the Lord for whatever work he has done well.

There is really none like our God. We can have all the things that this world can offer but in the end we will still be wanting and not satisfied if we do not have God in the center of our life. The Lord has always been faithful and not a single moment would He ever not be. We should have the confidence always of a beloved child of God and the honor of being on top of God's creation. The Lord is always ready to extend His help and shower His blessings on us, His people. The question is, are we willing to accept His help and stay within the circle of His blessings? This question is very critical and sometimes left unanswered, neglected and taken for granted. When we choose to continue in the path that does not lead us closer to God the answer is clear, it is a no. When we direct our actions in things that draw us closer to God then it is a yes. If this is so true for us then we ought to do as the psalm reading today tells us. All our thoughts, words and actions should reflect how great our God is. As humans we tend to downplay God's role in our life because we subject our experiences to human terms and conditions. We are still bound by the limitations of this world we are in and we can't help it. We sometimes just go with the flow and get carried away by the pressures imposed to us by our present and existing situations. Our study of World History tells us of the different and various kinds of kingdoms and dynasties which ruled throughout the length of time. None of the most famous and powerful of these kingdoms still stand today and remain as influential to the entire world as it used to be. This tells us one thing that earthly kingdoms will eventually cease to exist. Only God's Kingdom prevails for eternity. Sometimes we might even have to come to a point when we look and sound strange  for others or even suffer the ridicule of not just others but the very people who comprise our circle of close family, relatives and friends. What matters most is that we ought to give God what He rightly deserves, to be extolled and praised forever. Today's psalm tells us that we owe God more than just plain courtesy for His goodness. Whenever we watch box office hit super hero movies, news about it spread like wildfire and the promotion for it is international that almost everybody around the globe gets to know about it and watch it. If only we can devote that same fervor and enthusiasm in spreading word about the greatest Super Hero of all times, Jesus and make a decision to watch His life unfold and be part of our own, then we can someday be a part of God's great Kingdom in Heaven. If we truly desire this then we should always be mindful of the words of God written in the bible since it is indeed what its acronym stands for which is B - basic I-instructions B-before L-leaving E-earth. It is very important that we have read and understood well what is written in the bible before we exit this world. This reminds me of the video games that my sons used to play. When they finish one level they have to enter into the next level which is more difficult and so on and so forth until they reach the ultimate task and win the final battle. It was like they needed to be well prepared and more skillful for each level. This somehow reminds us of how we should approach our final day here on earth. The gate of heaven has been opened and made accessible for us, there is no question about it but the question is, "Are we ready and able to go through it?" As in Eph. 6:13, "Therefore, put on the armor of God,  that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground." Another thing is we have no idea when will that day come because we really do not know the time or the hour. One thing for sure, the only way to go through it is by being well prepared for it. Thus I wanted to share this story which I got from an email.

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adored her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.'

Thus, he asked the 4th wife , 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No way!', replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word.

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'No!', replied the 3rd wife. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!'

His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me.

When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?'

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the 2nd wife. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'

Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.'

The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the King said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives:

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout Eternity. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14

R: The Lord is faithful in all his words.

10 Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. 11 Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. (R) 12 Making known to men your might and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations. (R) The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. 14 The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.

I am reminded of this old lady whenever her birthday is upcoming her loved ones who always throw a party for her would tell her that she needs to be strong enough so that she can enjoy it. She said that it was not easy for her to do her daily walking exercises most especially after she had fallen. She had become so unstable every time she stands up to walk but she painstakingly works on it despite the difficulty it was causing her. This bible passage from today's gospel somehow reminded me of it. I can't help but think of her the moment I read it. I could remember very well the words, “strong enough” that was specifically spoken to her. She knew what was required of her to achieve this as advised by her Physical Therapist (PT), to keep on walking as much as she can. We can see from the reading that Jesus advised the man to strive to enter through the narrow gate. It is not like anybody can just enter the narrow gate since it is stated that not all will be strong enough to do so. Just like this old lady who committed to her physical regimen despite her discomfort in order to achieve her goal, we too should devise a plan on how to be strong enough on that final day. It is never easy for an old lady who just suffered a fall and is afflicted with other illnesses to do such a thing. I have heard a lot of amusing statements on growing old like, “It isn’t any fun getting old, growing old ain’t for sissys, stay young and never grow old.” I guess being old itself is already a narrow door that we have to face with God’s grace if ever we will be given the chance. We all have our discomforts and difficulties that we have to tackle in life. The same thing is true with my son, Allan. He trained really hard to the point of having to wake up as early as 4am daily to swim at least 20 laps before going to school. On top of this was the need for him to comply with all the demands of his academic subjects. He had always been very positive with a lot of things and full of confidence with the rate he is going with his physical stamina. He trains rigorously and regularly. He is very committed to his goal and does everything that is needed in order for him to improve and excel. He has gone a long way already from that overweight kid in LSM (Lourdes School of Mandaluyong) Grade School to a varsity swim team captain in DLSU (De La Salle University) and now a college graduate of the same school. As far as his physical state is concerned, he has achieved his tip top shape. The need to be strong enough to enter the narrow gate as gospel today mentions is not about the physical strength that we can build up through training and workout but the strength of our souls. If we can gain insight from this it is the fact that just like Allan's physical regimen, we need strength training, workout and dedication too for our souls to last through eternity. Perseverance is the key! Not everybody we expect to be first always turns out to be first. Sometimes, things don't work out the way we thought it would be, happen the way we planned it, or look the way it may seem. All our hard work will be for nothing if we will not persevere, while holding on to His promise that He will be faithful to complete what He has started in us. Serving the Lord is not a bed of roses 'coz there are times when we fail and falter. We must always reconcile ourselves to Him lest He find us in an unprepared state and everything we've worked for will all be for nothing. The present time is what counts so let us always choose the "narrow gate" leading to God. "For many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough." May we always nourish our soul so that we will cultivate a strong faith in God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Today's 1st reading specifically commands the husband to love the wife while the wife was told to respect the husband. If we are to look very closely then we'll find that it is very characteristic of a man and a woman. We can say basing from this statement that respect is primary for a husband and love for a wife in order for a marriage to really work. Basically speaking it is just as it says so and as simple as that. Let us not make things complicated, take seriously what the scriptures tell us and get down on it. This has always been an issue for married couples. Who calls the shot and who's on top of things. As suggested in Companion, the key here is for the couple to work out how the dynamic of mutual submission works! There is no ‘one rule that fits all situations.’ Such would be a denial of the individuality of the human person. It is a mystery. We get mixed up with a lot of things and just have to make things right. When we commit blunders whether it is our own doing or not we just ought to strive to make things work with everybody's best interest in mind but always in reference to Christ and the Church. The love of Christ for the church is like the love of the groom for his bride. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ephesians 5:21-33

...In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband. ...This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.

The Sacrament of Matrimony is very sacred because it reflects God's desire to be in a relationship with man. This is how we should look at marriage instead of just a union between man and woman, God should be at the center. When people petition for marriage annulment cases several things are investigated, 1. whether it’s defective consent there was defective diriment impediment or a defective form. In a formal marriage annulment case usually it’s a defective consent. In such case the direction of the tribunal would like to know whether the spouse has an intention against children.  There are 4 goods of marriage and one of those goods is to have children. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1643 "Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values."  The openness to children is one of the essential parts of marriage. If a party chooses marriage and somehow chooses in some way to avoid having children to frustrate the marital act to exclude children from inception through to end then that’s an invalid marriage. It’s a  great starting point for the tribunal to investigate. This is a canonical opinion from a canon lawyer and to find out whether the marriage is invalid or valid there is a need to petition a tribunal where a person resides.   No relationship in this world can last if God is not in the middle. We always have to put God in the center of everything. One of the purposes of marriage is for procreation. When we enter into it we should be open to having children and the responsibilities that go with it. It is a very challenging task and we need to know how to really walk in God's ways in order to live a happy and favored life. There is only one thing needed and that is to follow the ways of the Lord. Whenever we come to a point in our lives when we encounter trials and difficulties and standing up firm in our faith in God seems to be an impossibility then all the more should we remain faithful and true to God. The psalm reading tells us exactly why. This fear being spoken of in today's psalm is the holy fear of the Lord and is different from other kinds of fear that we know. It's more of the kind of fear that is coupled with respect and is the beginning of wisdom as written in Proverbs 1:7. We have to be perfectly aware of this and strive to maintain it within ourselves so as not to lose sight of this aspect of God's Holiness. Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and pureness. The olive tree and olives are mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, in both the New and Old Testaments. It is one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible, and one of the most significant. For example, it was an olive leaf that a dove brought back to Noah to demonstrate that the flood was over. The Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem is mentioned several times. Olive oil has long been considered sacred; it was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic Games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. Today, it is still used in many religious ceremonies. Today's psalm mentions and compares children to olive plants. We have always been awed by such great affection a mother has for her child. We've seen a lot of things throughout time that attest to this. I am a mother myself and I have done things beyond my capacity because of how much I love my children.  This love of mothers for their brood grows into something very special which explains why they are referred to or likened to olive plants around the table. Let us hope and pray that the Lord will continue to look after our families. No matter how difficult this year is, for our families we have to be confident in God's assurance in today's Psalm reading. If we truly believe that we have an Extraordinary and Awesome God then we, too must be willing to take on the challenge of doing something out of the ordinary and really get out of our way to live out what God calls us to do. Nothing is ever wasted for it has always been proven throughout all generations that those who follow and obey the Lord will surely be blessed not only today but all the days of our lives. We really have to always start with the basics, keep it simple and really get down with the real stuff. We've got to take things one step at a time. We know for a fact that we humans have a tendency to make things complicated.  We know exactly why. It is because we want to make excuses, create our own rules and get away with it. God tries to make it as simple as possible for us but we just don't want it His way because we've got to have it our own way. That's when the problem starts. It is always easier said than done but we've got to take God's word for it. I like the writing on the shirts of my son, Jude and these young people when they attended the YFC (Youth for Christ) Youth Camp. It says, "It's not about me, it's all about God." It's right on target and what it is all about. For in the end and to top it all, it will all come down to us as a blessing and favor from God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

1 Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! 2 For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; happy shall you be, and favored. (R) 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table...may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

We have encountered the words of "Kingdom of God" several times already in the bible especially the gospels. In today's gospel from Luke a reflection of St. Maximus Turin is referring to Jesus as the mustard seed planted in the garden. He wrote, "... a man named Joseph, a member of the council, from Arimathea»... He went to Pilate. He asked permission to take down the Lord's body and bury it. When permission was granted he placed it in the tomb he had prepared in his garden (cf. Lk 23,50-53). That is why Scripture says: «A man took it and buried it in his garden». In Joseph's garden there mingled the scent of many different flowers but such a seed as this had never yet been placed there. The spiritual garden of his soul was embalmed with the scent of his virtue but Christ's embalmed body had not yet occupied its place. When he buried the Savior in the memorial place of his garden, he received him even more deeply into the crevice of his heart." Once again we are being called to elevate, deepen and widen our knowledge of the Lord. Our faith also has the capacity to be just like this mustard seed, it will not only grow but will shelter others, too. God invites us to touch other people's lives by our example of faith shown and reflected in our lives. It took some time before the small mustard seed became fully grown into a large bush and so is the wheat flour mixed with yeast. Both of them did not instantly grow big. With regards to the mustard seed it was first planted in the garden and for it to grow must surely be cultivated and nourished. The same is true with the Kingdom of God, we have to take good care of the seed planted in our hearts. There are so many things that could hamper its growth or even cut it dead. Or we can't rush things, hasten the process and by pass the necessary stages of growth. We've got to take things one step at a time. We ought to take responsibility of making sure that this seed will reach its full maturity and be a pleasing testimony of God's kingdom. We all come to think of life as a mystery. We can't get all the answers that we want all at once but we can somehow work our way to it. As in the tiniest seed which eventually grew gigantically. Let us be assured that we will all get there sooner or later as we plant, cultivate and nurture the Kingdom of God as a seed planted in the rich soil of our heart. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.’ ” Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

OBSERVE OUR POSTURE

There are times when we tend to forget and get carried away by our feelings, emotions or give in to temptations without realizing that it could harm our relationship with the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The 1st reading today reminds us of this very important tip to always keep watch and guard our motives, intentions and actions.  It is not an easy task to be a true child of God. Somehow and somewhere you will encounter people who are obviously not convinced of this total and complete imitation of God. It is utterly impossible to do so on our own but if we are always reminded that as we stand before God we are holding in our hands the best offering who is none other than His most precious Son, Jesus, then there should be nothing to stop us from coming to Him and be one with Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

 Ephesians 4:32–5:8

 Brothers and sisters: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. 5: 1 So be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma...Live as children of light

Today’s psalm brought back memories of what I witnessed on television in 2010 when miners in Chile had to be rescued in a mine. Nobody would ever want to be trapped in a dark mine that is 2000 feet below. What caught my attention was the fact that although some of them had been rescued and brought up to the light they were still prevented from exposing their eyes to the light and were given dark shades to wear to protect them. This is what happens when we dare to step into the darkness and stay there too long we adapt to it and wanting to go back to the light instantly could be harmful. Let us not be led into the dark and imbibe it for too long that we find it difficult to adapt to light. Until now, we have no idea who we are and still in a conflict. Look at the things we do and engage in. This is because we don’t understand who we are. We will be judged by God according to our behavior. We should have God in the core of our identity. What builds our confidence? Think about it. This same reason should apply in our relationship with God. If we know and are aware of how we look right before God, then we should have the confidence of a beloved child of the God most high. How can we not be, knowing that we are covered by the most precious blood of His Son Jesus who took all our sins and died on the cross for our sake then we should be the most confident person of all. Remember, we have the composure of a child of God.  Nothing should stop us from behaving in the way He has meant us to be, lifted up on a pedestal as His very dear children. Today's psalm tells us that if we follow the Lord we will not be in darkness and will have the light of life. God is true to His word and we can always hold on to it more than we can hold to our life. Just like any person striving to maintain a good standing in any aspect of life there are some rules to be followed. People nowadays have become increasingly divided, there are the poor and the wealthy and sometimes we see the not so good, arrogant, bad people cheat in order to get money and get away with it. We must always have this hope in God and not be tempted by the evildoers of their taunting that despite the goodness we do we are not getting anything out of our sacrifices. God knows the private conversations and thoughts and He exposes them and records everything. The idea that we can get away with anything we do is not a good idea. God knows our words, thoughts and deeds. Fear of the Lord in a positive way is one of the greatest virtues as in the book of Wisdom. It is stated that it is the beginning of wisdom if it is paralleled with trust that we will not be put to shame. Those wicked people who think that they have a lot of money, power, disobey God and don't use their resources in accordance to God's will can be compared to chaff that can easily be burned. If we have the right relationship with God then we too can be exposed to the heat of God's love like the sun that can make things go on fire but instead of burning becomes a source of healing like the rays of light shown in a monstrance which symbolizes being in God's presence. We should never lose hope nor fall into despair. Whenever we sin, we must not just acknowledge it. The lesson we always have to remember is to have humility to approach Christ as we acknowledge our sins. This should remind us of Peter and Judas, they both sinned and acknowledged it. Peter wept bitterly after denying Jesus 3x while Judas threw away the silver coins that were paid to him. The difference lies in the fact that Peter as the scriptures say, when he wept, looked at Jesus with a heart, humble and contrite, which God would not despise and ran to Mary. While Judas, fell into despair and hanged himself. Thus we remember these things and always run to God with humility and also to Mary, the mother of Christ who will obtain for us true contrition. There is really a need for God's people to always be connected to Him in order to survive whatever is going on at present and what is to come. We've got to always keep ourselves motivated to do all in our power for the glory of God. All other things fade in the background and should not get our attentions any more than we ought to believe that God is our only hope. We may have started at the peak but as time goes by we may have started to lag or worse go on a downward path. Or could have started off but never worked our way up then it's time we get things straight and be focused so as not to lose sight of the unsurpassed and unfading trophy and blessing that await those who are victorious in the Lord. Today’s psalm continues to give us the guidelines we need to live by to truly prosper in the Lord. God assures us that even though life may bring us so many heartaches and pains we can still stand firm and hope that we will have the light of life if we will persevere, not waver nor falter in following the Lord. Let us choose to live in the light rather than stay in the dark.  God gave us the freedom to choose let us hope and pray that we are always inclined to do the will of God in our lives to carry out His plan of prosperity in our life. It has been impressed to me that God has already given us the gift, all we have to do is open it and use it as intended to serve its purpose. Sometimes we remain stubborn in our old ways we don't realize that everything is just within our reach, it's just a matter of committing and deciding what is right before God. We all know that life becomes difficult when it comes to commitments and making decisions but it will always be worth it after all the hard work as implied in the psalm reading. It doesn't matter who or what we are, whether young or grown up, God will always find a way to bless us in various ways. We just have to open ourselves to Him and always draw near to Him and never stray away from His side. The scriptures say it all. We need not hesitate, stall, delay nor look for anything else further but just follow what the scriptures tell us to do. In fact the bible has an acronym which stands for (B) Basic (I) Instructions (B) Before (L) Leaving (E) Earth. Another thing I am reminded of is my son Jude when he was just a little boy aged 6. When my mother was hospitalized I was the one taking care of her during the day and my brother who is the eldest is the one who slept in the hospital at night and stayed by her bedside. When she died we were both not by her side or no one for that matter because she was brought to a different room for removal of water in her lungs and also the time when my brother and I had changed shift. I just arrived home coming from the hospital and had no thought whatsoever that my mother already passed away. I was in complete denial of the fact that she would be leaving us soon during that time, I had always hoped for a miracle and extension of her life although my mother kept on telling us back then that she is ready to go anytime. I could never forget when I was just entering our home, my son Jude suddenly came up to me while holding a bible in his hand and opened a page in front of me with a picture of a tree beside a river and animals grazing on the land. What my son told me was this, "Nanay (Mother) let’s do a bible study." Since I was so tired, I got the bible from him closed it and told him that we'll do it later. But he was persistent he opened the bible again and lo and behold saw the same picture and page that he showed me a few seconds ago. He did it again for the 3rd time and the same page in the bible was showing up. Because of that I was prompted to finally give in to his persistence and read the bible passage underneath the picture. It was exactly the same message in today's psalm reading. After reading it something in me prompted me to say to him that her grandmother is already healed and will soon be coming home to us from the hospital. This is without knowing yet that it was the same time too when she passed away. Later on I realized that it was God's way of telling us that indeed my mother is healed and has gone home although not to our earthly house but to a place of eternal rest and perpetual light, in paradise. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6

R: Behave like God as his very dear children.

1 Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 2 but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. (R) 3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. (R) 4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.

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.” 13 He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. 14 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.”

BEST TIME

Today’s 1^st reading reminded me of Sis Joy's testimony of the victorious court trial that took place in October 13, 2009 (Feast of Our Lady of Fatima). She said that the day of their accident was also the day of their Family Consecration to our Blessed Mother Mary. She was completely at a loss for the right words to say and could not understand the meaning of what happened since they got consecrated as a family in the morning, was full of hope and joy on that day but just before that day ended she met this accident that totally wrecked her car and worst the policeman made an erroneous report that states that she is the one at fault. Despite the discouraging circumstances that took place she said that she continued to trust the loving care of Mama Mary. And she was not disappointed for on the day of the court hearing which was originally set for Oct. 6 but moved to Oct. 13 (Feast of Our Lady of Fatima) she was proclaimed not guilty. Everything really happens for a reason at a time we never expect but definitely the best time appointed by the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Jeremiah 31: 7-9

...They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. 

We really tend to take for granted the things within our reach and sight. There are times when we really have to strengthen our faith and hope for something we do not see and wait with endurance. We may be experiencing right now, so many unforeseen events but we should always wait and hope that the Lord will be gracious and reveal His glory. There is some truth to the famous saying, “Easy come, easy go.” If there are some things that we've been praying for and it seems like nothing is happening we should never give up. Every good work should be carefully planned and carried out to completion. Though the process may be long and hard we can always count on God to stick with us through and through and make it happen. If we are always manifesting in our lives the values of the passion and death of Jesus then we are assured of the resurrection. For this reason it is good to share this prayer of Mother Angelica in times of temptation and whenever we are on the verge of giving up when undergoing trials and tribulations. The prayer suggests that we focus on the 12^th station of the cross which is when Jesus dies on the cross while reciting the following: Eternal Father, I offer you the 6 hours of agony, the death and the piercing of Your Son’s Sacred Heart for… (mention the need or petition). This is effective in the sense that the Lord looks down upon His Son, His agony, death and the piercing of His sacred heart for our sake. Only to God can we look with so much hope and confidence that the desert we are presently encountering at the moment will be turned into a refreshing spring of water. We may be suffering long enough under the heat of this life's difficulties but we must not forget that God is able to turn everything into green pastures. It is undeniable that if we will just look very closely at our lives we'll see and find out that the Lord has indeed done great things for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 126:1-2. 2-3. 4-5. 6 (3)

R: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

1 When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. (R) Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. (R) 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert. 5 Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. (R) 6 Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves.

Is there something more we still need to see in order to believe? I guess, we've all seen enough no matter who we are, what we've been through or still going through, how much we've known or learned and where we're all coming from there's always this undeniable reality of a Supreme Being and Power who is God. Except, of course for those stubborn atheists. But if we believe so, then we should all be fully aware that this Almighty God is also All Loving and Most Compassionate that He suffered His only Son to suffer for our sake, what a privilege!  Amen. Hallelujah! 

Hebrews 5:1-6

...No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you”;... 

The homily of Fr. Glenn in the TV mass with regards to the gospel for today spoke of the name origin of Bartimaeus which was taken from the words honor and dignity. He said that Jesus did not heal his blindness alone but also restored his honor and dignity. He further said that all of us have a mission and there is a need to distinguish this mission from ambition. There is nothing wrong with ambition and said that there are 2 kinds of ambitions, positive and negative. In order to recognize which of them is present he spelled the word ambition in Tagalog as in ambisyon and enumerated the words that can be found in it like, bisyo which means vice, isyo=issue and yosi if read backwards which means cigarette. These words are things that can bring about problems that give rise to malas=misfortune and sakit=sickness.The words malas and sakit which are by products of a negative ambition can be turned into something good if we have a positive ambition. Since these 2 words when combined together can become concern which means malasakit in Tagalog. We are called to develop a deep sense of concern for our fellowmen and at least start with something in order to fulfill our mission. In today’s gospel the blind man cries out to Jesus by the roadside upon hearing that Jesus is there. If we hope to grow in our spiritual life then we can learn from Bartimaeus. We often times are struggling with our vices and character flaws. Jesus wants to draw us closer to Him. Bartimaeus showed us how to respond to this by calling out to Jesus as Son of David. This signifies an acknowledgement and awareness of who Jesus is. What keeps us from doing this is our struggle with our anguish and our dependence on our own strength instead of immediately turning to God by asking for the grace to grow in virtue. We can not change without God’s grace. When he cried out to Jesus many told him to be quiet but he kept on crying out. This is a beautiful point that we have to take into consideration. We should not de discouraged or disappointed so easily. Another important thing being pointed out here is the importance of family and friends that help us draw closer to God. We need help from above and our friends and families to help us. Bartimaeus has a strong spirituality because it is written that he immediately followed Jesus despite Jesus' words, "Go your way" but he didn't go his own way but followed Jesus. He was healed by word and in an instant the moment Jesus spoke. During that time, the cloak signifies who you are. He is a beggar and his cloak stands for everything he is and owns since he uses it to place the money he gets from begging. Bartimaeus even left his cloak and rushed to Jesus like he did not care about anything anymore for he found in Jesus everything. Bartimaeus throws the cloak aside, this signifies a great desire for Christ. We can not hide anything from God. In our lives, He sees the motives in our hearts. If we go to Him, we will not be left unconsoled. We call out to God to teach us faith and perseverance. There are times when what we pray for takes a while. We must have the kind of faith that believes that Jesus listens to our cries and answers our prayers. He makes us whole, holy and great saints.  Our faith should give us a new sight about things. This new vision of life should make us see God so close to us. The ways that we encounter Jesus today is no different 2000 yrs ago.  We can receive Him body, blood, soul & divinity in the Eucharist. We are in communion with Him through the sacraments. As Catholics we perfect this new reality & wholeness of the presence of Jesus in the sacraments where we’re given this great buffet of graces.  We can make contact with Jesus in the sacraments. If are we faithful to the sacraments and also in service to our brothers and sisters then we encounter the living God in such a real way. Another similar story that could somehow be compared to this is from Jn. 4:4 of a Samaritan woman fetching water but when she learned about the life giving water which Jesus spoke of she immediately left her jar of water when she realized who Jesus is. She left behind her old life and follow the way of Jesus. On the other hand there's this story of another unnamed blind man in Bethsaida, he was not healed instantly rather slowly and gradually. He was healed by touch with a spittle and was sent home. The evangelist, Mark where today's gospel is from recognizes the differences in spirituality of the members of the community. He knows that there are people that are quick in understanding things concerning matters of the faith and there are those who are slow. But this doesn't mean that we kick them out of the community. Mark sees the community as all sinners because ours is a flawed community and it is for this reason that Jesus came. Peter whom we thought was the first person who got it all right about Jesus as the Messiah denied Jesus 3x but he was not thrown out of the community. He proved himself true to his faith by his succeeding actions which led to his dying on the cross upside down but eventually earned him the honor of becoming the 1st pope of the Church. Just like Peter we have to experience everything in order to fully understand what the secret of the gospel of Mark is all about. For in the end, the Markan community mirrors the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, the Paschal Mystery which is the Markan secret. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 10:46-52

...Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

RESERVED SEAT

We've got to grow in our faith in God. Just as we were born infants when we came to this world but eventually grew into adults so must our spiritual body. We can not remain as baby Christians. We must develop into the full stature of Christ. Just think of a young child left all alone to take care of himself. It is not possible. There should be at least someone who could look after his needs, whereas a grown up man can live independently. We can not remain like the babies who would always be in need of someone all the time. We've got to achieve the full potential of who we are, a child of God who has fully grown up. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Ephesians 4:7-16

...And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ. 14 so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.

Today's psalm reminds me of this popular game called, "Trip to Jerusalem" I guess, everybody's familiar with it. We may all have played this game when we were young or even when we're older. The fastest, quickest, most alert person who gets the last seat wins. If we are not paying attention or are too slow then we are bound to lose. We have to put up a good fight in this game in order to win because the chairs are always lacking so every round there is always one person who doesn't get a seat and gets eliminated. It is just a game but people have a lot of fun doing their best so as not to be eliminated and win. People who engage themselves in this kind of game and want to win exert a lot of effort. It is so tiring and can exhaust one's energy in the game. And to think that after all our efforts only one person gets to win. Isn't it a relief that we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.  We need not worry that all our best efforts would just be wasted because God has reserved a seat for each one of us. If we are all set and very sure where we are headed then nothing can stop us from being there. Considering, too that we have a God who has secured a place and our future for us. John 14:1-3, " Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." Nothing or no one can prevent us unless we ourselves decide not to go. The truth is, it's all up to us. We are confronted with a lot of things every day and if there is one thing we should choose and decide for then peace is one of them. It is important that we work and pray for peace to always reign in our midst. If we have peace that passes understanding always safeguarded in our hearts then we can rejoice in the Lord at all times. We should always be confident of the truth that we are blessed and secure in the knowledge and truth that we are where we are right now, doing what we are doing right now at the exact time God has provided for us, for with God there is always a perfect time for everything. When we are feeling tired from all the day's work all we want to do is just go home. Nothing could be more rewarding than coming home to a place where we find rest and peace. Our life here on earth could be compared to something like this. It is nice to know that at the end of the day or our life's journey we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord and find ourselves welcome there. Ideally, there should be no other place we want to be, more than a place where there is peace and prosperity. It is a choice we have to make but sometimes we make the wrong choices and choose to be just anywhere but in a place such as this. We have all the time to be in different places that is fun and exciting. There is nothing wrong with being in these places for as long as we know our limitations but do we get the same joy and fulfillment when we go into the house of God. We should be balanced human beings. We should not just seek to satisfy our physical but spiritual needs as well. Let us tap our dormant souls that are left unattended for so long and revive it to really feel what the psalm tells us today. As much as we are confronted by the fact that we are still inhabitants of this imperfect world we are in we can not live as if it does not exist. We might as well make the most of what we can do while we are part of it. We’ve got to set goals in order to achieve this and keep our eyes focused on it. It helps to go through our daily life if we have set goals that we want to achieve and fulfill. The SMART acronym tells us that our goals should be S for specific, M for measurable, A for attainable or achievable, R for realistic or relevant and T for timely or time based. This is very effective in helping us improve as a person especially at times when we can't get our acts together. We can always set SMART goals from time to time in order to keep track of our performance in whatever field we want to work on and excel. It helps a lot in assessing ourselves in order for us to make an evaluation on how we our doing with our life. After each SMART goal we set for ourselves and have achieved it gives us a sense of fulfillment knowing that we have accomplished something. Little by little everyday we step up the ladder of our SMART goals. All of these should eventually come up to rejoicing with what we have made of our life. These we continue to do until it all sum up to bring us to that ultimate SMART goal. It should all lead us and point to our final destination when we go up to the house of the Lord. There is no greater joy than being with the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

                                                                                                  

Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5

R: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

1 I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the LORD.” 2 And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R) 3 Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity. 4 To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD. (R) According to the decree for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. 5 In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David.

               

Today's parable in the gospel inspires and warns us once again as that of the rest of the readings for today. This also reminds me of the several trees I had the enjoyment of picking fruits from. I could still remember when Sis Zeny's sister in Baldwin invited us over to harvest the tangerines in their home. It was like an endless harvesting because of the numerous fruits hanging from it. The same with Jackie's tangerine and lemon trees in Placentia which my aunt and relatives and a lot of people from West Covina look forward to having a share of, whenever I bring  it home and is extended to Bernadeth's place of work in Rancho Cucamonga. Also with Sis Angela's persimmon in her previous place of work and Sis Fe's guava and lemon trees in Walnut, whom the people from San Lorenzo Bible Study gets to enjoy. Not to forget Sis Loreta's fig tree also in Walnut whose fruits sometimes end up falling to the ground before it gets picked since there are so many. It was like we were picking a lot of the fruits this moment and the next few days it would be sprouting with more fruits. Sis Loreta even calls her fig tree the tree of Jesus. This is why this experience with these richly productive trees always made me think of today's parable. I used to say that these trees would never end up being cut. This should also make us realize that our life should also be like these trees whose fruits have gone a long way in benefiting not just the people around and close to us but extends even to those who are not close to us and believe it or not people whom we don't even know. Jesus challenges us today to bear fruit so as to become a beautiful sight and example for others to see and follow. This should drive us to bear fruits that can be shared and enjoyed by not just the people who are near to us but by everybody. Speaking of the fig tree in today’s parable we should realize that it could be cut down after a certain period if it does not bear fruit. It is the same with our covenant with God if we read today's gospel. It reminds us that just like any other agreement there is a specified period which only lasts until we are still alive once we die, the contract is considered fully paid by Jesus but there are some conditions that apply. Let us examine our part of the deal and make sure that we don't end up like this fig tree in the parable it might finally be cut down unless we take action, allow ourselves to be cultivated, respond positively and bear fruit. The figure of speech used in the passages sounds scary. They were meant to give emphasis on the need to bear fruit as heirs of the kingdom of God, endowed with a gift, we should not waste our inheritance and be aware that although we have a merciful and loving God, He too is a God of justice and order. He has to be consistent to His nature. God is always patient with us but He must also discipline us, if at the appointed time we haven't responded yet after so many pleadings from the Lord then it is not Him who turned away from us, it is by our own decisions that we strayed far away from God, though, He is God, He can easily snatch us from the enemy lines where we have lead ourselves, He can not force us to be in a situation because He loves us so, He has given us the  freedom to choose. Although, we know that  we should choose the  path  to God, the distance  and  hindrances, represented  by  our sinfulness,  have  become  so great that it  will be  more  difficult  for us to find the right path. An example of this is when we decide to go on a trip away from home the longer the distance traveled the longer the time needed, we sometimes grow weary and tired that in our stubborn ways we just opt to stay behind and lose our way. If we haven't prepared ourselves for this trip then we fail to reach our final destination and get lost. I pray that we will prepare wisely for our journey in this present life that we may find ourselves in the loving embrace of the Lord. We must praise and thank God for the patience, opportunity, time and attention He has been giving us in order for us to grow and prosper most especially in the aspects of our life where we really need to improve. God does not give up on us. We all have a reservation in heaven but just like any reservation, it has a validity period and can be forfeited. We don't want that happening to us. We would surely want to avail of it when the appointed time comes. There is a need to fulfill certain requirements in order to fully enjoy it. It is a consolation to know that the hardest part of the requirement has been fulfilled by our Lord Jesus. All that is left for us to do is to respond to it the way the fig tree in the gospel is supposed to do after it has been cultivated and fertilized, bear much fruit. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 13:1-9

...And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. [So] cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’ ”