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It's about time we look at adversity, trials and difficulties in a different way if we claim to be true witnesses of God our Savior. We can start off with a close look at our very lives. Can we honestly say to God that we live a life of testimony to the gospel. I read in today's gospel reflections of Fr. Bobby Titco from Kerygma that the word witness means martyr in Greek. We, the present day Christians, are better off than those times because we need not die and shed blood to witness to the truth about Jesus but the tragic reality lies in the leniency of our testimony as witnesses to Jesus that we have a tendency to get lost. That I think is the worst thing that could happen to us even overshadowing and bringing to the point of  obscurity the morbidity of the bloody death of the martyrs. You know why? Nothing can compare to being in heaven with God our Creator. As Catholics we remember to pray for the souls of our beloved faithful departed during the month of November. In fact in St. Martha's church, pictures of the faithful departed loved ones, friends and relatives are on display at one area of the church. Some people may find it strange that I have a devotion to pray for the souls of the dead. Of the so many Catholic devotions that we know of, praying for the eternal repose of the souls is one devotion that I have committed to surprisingly and extraordinarily, I should say. It all started in 2006 when I had this very unusual experience with a hit and run victim who was lying dead for around three and a half hours already based on what the onlookers said. The accident happened very early in the morning in EDSA a main street in the heart of the city in the Philippines. My heart was moved with pity for that poor man that I offered the rosary prayer for his soul. After that incident, as far as my disposition for the dead souls are concerned things were never the same again. Something very unnatural happened immediately after that because I was on my way to a very important appointment which I was already late for. Earlier I had been told that I would no longer be entertained and would just be wasting my time if I would still go. Anyway, I still did and there it happened. I was not declined and was still allowed to enter. It was most unusual that those who came earlier and on time although they were allowed entry failed to have their document signed due to a misspelled name of a signatory. The unimaginable happened, the document I submitted contained the same misspelled name but somebody facilitated it for me so it was overlooked, signed and approved. There was only one thing in my mind at that time while it was all happening, that dead guy’s soul that I prayed for, whom I rendered some love and mercy. The same understanding and mercy was extended to me since I was accommodated but the others were not. As I've said earlier, things were never the same again thus I believe that there is life after death and it pays to pray for our departed brothers and sister. Someday when we come face to face with that reality, may we receive the breath of life everlasting from God. I've had several more special experiences related to it and also with other souls that I have prayed for. They are too many to narrate right now. This particular story strikes me more that I got inspired to share this again because the details closely resemble the passages from today's 1st reading Amen. Hallelujah!

Revelation 11: 4-12

I, John heard a voice from heaven speak to me: Here are my two witnesses...When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them...Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city...But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them. When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here.” So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.

When I first saw that man lying dead in the street partially covered by newspapers, it may look a lot like there is no hope left for him considering the kind of fate and death he met. It was an untimely, unprepared and unexpected turn which also became the end of his life on earth. When things seem to look so bad as in this kind of bad that I've seen for myself or even worse, I know for sure that it is not the way it appears to be. What could one ever think of a man left dead lying on a main street of a great city where a lot of people see it as they come and go. Nothing seems to be the way it really is for there is always hope. We may not yet fully understand the truth about heaven at this time while we are still bound here on earth but we can always hold on to God as fast, strong and firm as we can. To God alone, we look to be saved. We can defeat the giant problems we are facing right now. Let us not limit God's power for the bigger our problem is and the more it is heightened by its difficulty   the more God's glory is revealed. It is only right that we entrust everything to God for we have a giant God. If at the present time we are encountering so many trials and difficulties in life then consider everything as preparation for the victory God has reserved for all of us. In spite of all the discouraging and heart rending events that we’ve experienced and witnessed in our lives there is one thing sure about it. In every tear that fell and heartache, God’s mercy is always upon us. He is our fortress and stronghold that we can not be moved. A preacher on TV said that we have to go to the right frame and never turn back.  Once we are in the right frame then we should not be dissuaded because only immovable people can move mountains. We have to stick to the right frame because it is our fight of faith. It was also Jesus who told us in Mt. 17:20, “…Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." We should not lose focus and realize that we are standing on a firm foundation, solid as rock, and we can entrust everything unto Him. If we will always decide to listen and follow the advice of God and be willing to be under His guidance and direction then we will surely emerge victorious in all our battles. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 144:1b, 2, 9-10

R: Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. (R) 2 My refuge and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust, who subdues peoples under me. (R) 9 O God, I will sing a new song to you; with a ten-stringed lyre I will chant your praise, 10 you who give victory to kings, and deliver David, your servant the evil sword. (R)

Our amazement of God must never stop instead it should continue to build on top of each other every single day. We may not see it but we are blessed with circumstances and events that are very appropriate and timely for our situation if only we will always look to God and truly ask, seek and knock at the door of God’s heart. The daily mass readings do not fail to inspire and encourage us. If we commit to taking time and effort to reflect on them we will be surprised to find the treasure that lay hidden in it. The bible passage from today's gospel speaks of marriage. It tells us that marriage is very legitimate and could be availed of several times without violating any Church laws for as long as there are no impediments to it. In fact it is considered as one of the 7 sacraments in the Church. What's important here is the fact that just like any other sacrament, we should keep in mind that it is a covenant not just between 2 people who love each other but with God  most of all. In the event that marriage came to an end we could still have something to hold on to that is not bound by anything in this world nor in our life after death. It should remind us that we must always put God in the center of everything. In all our relationships and commitments, it is the one with God that will persist to the end and through eternity. Time will come when everything in this world will cease to exist and nothing in it will matter anymore to us the way we used to feel and think about it. Although it may all seem unimaginable at this time especially for us who are still bound to this world and still attached to it, it can help us a lot if we reflect carefully on what Jesus said in today's gospel. Let us all strive to attain a deeper understanding of the message being conveyed to us and be deemed worthy to attain to the coming age. Just when we thought that a lot of things seem to be unanswered, let us not forget that God in His ultimate intelligence is capable of answering everything we can ever imagine, that we should never doubt His greatness encompasses all that is concrete or abstract so let us not dare to question His will in our lives. We are all looking forward to that one unsurpassed, unequaled and endless glory of being in union with God. There is life after death. Just when others may think that death is the end of everything and nothing else follows, for those of us who believe in the resurrection, we hope to discover on that dreaded day for unbelievers that it is just the beginning of new and eternal life with God in heaven.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 20:27-40

...Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; 35 but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise...