OUR STORY

From the very beginning it was not God's intention for man to know what is good and bad but we have our free will so when man was tempted by the serpent and gave in to it man lost his innocence. From that time on we were banned from heaven and not allowed to eat of the tree of life and live forever. As we can see the condition of the world today, these are all products of our 1st parents' disobedience. God is good, despite that big mess we got into, we are still given another shot or chance in heaven. The gates of heaven were opened when Jesus died on the cross and redeemed us from all our sins. Everything that is attributed to Mary points to Jesus all because she accepted the will of God to happen in her life. We, like Mary are invited too, by the Angel Gabriel to conceive Jesus in our hearts. It is by our own decision that we should answer God's call just like what Mary did. We thank Mary for her obedience. She did not disobey God like what Adam and Eve did in today's first reading. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs that "Genesis 3:15 is called the Protoevangelium -first gospel: the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers." Even before the time when Mary was not yet born, she can already be found in the scriptures owing to the great role entrusted to her to be the Mother of God. It is God's original plan that we live in paradise but Adam and Eve fell into sin that He immediately switched to another plan through Mary who did not frustrate God's plan in her life but instead accepted God's will in her life. We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young is against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, he didn’t create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything, they trusted a stranger. They disobeyed God and listened to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin. Don’t allow the trick to be on us. We are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the one true source of Life. Amen. Hallelujah!

Genesis 3:9-24

...The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.” ...Then the LORD God said: “See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever.” 23 The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. 24 When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life

Our first parents were the original sinners and we are just the copy cats. In a way we are better off than Adam & Eve in the sense that we have their example of disobedience set before us. We can choose to follow their lead or footsteps by giving in to deception which we know is a bad idea or we can learn the moral lesson of this story and gain wisdom of heart. We are destined for much greater things that we can see right now. Thus we should set our goals higher than what people normally aim for in this life. Let us not reach the end of our lives regretting what we should have done or not and do what we have to do right now. We marvel at the capability of the human mind to function the way it was made to be but how much more can we not be amazed at how the mind of the Lord works from whom all things come. As humans we can not even go past a hundred years old and too lucky to be able to make it to that age nowadays. Everything passes away but what we can depend on to last for a lifetime through eternity is to fortify our soul with wisdom of heart. Time will come when there is no more room for sadness once we've decided for happiness for we have a God who prospers those who offers all his/her work for the Lord. God is Almighty and Powerful. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He has the final say on all things. Nothing is beyond His power and might. Isn't it a very nice thing to know that this very same God has also been our refuge and strength in every age. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 90:2, 3-4, 5-6, 12-13

R: In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

…You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. (R) 5 You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, 6 which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. (R) 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.

We must admit that we have heard this story in the bible of the multiplication of the bread so many times already since we were children and somehow lost the awe and wonder that we experienced when we first heard about it. Or as mature Christians should the case be so? Rather we should have developed a deeper and better understanding of this story and relate it to our life in the most meaningful way. The truth is that we should always feel the reality of these stories in our life and not treat it as "their story" but rather be in a position to say that it is also "our story". There is a God who loves and cares for us even before we ask. He already knows our needs and will provide for it. There is only one thing that could satisfy all our needs and that we can find in Jesus. If sometimes we feel like we're about to give up just focus on Jesus because He has been through a lot more than any of us could imagine and He is Son of God the Most High. If we will just faithfully follow His leading in our lives no matter how difficult life may seem, we can always count on Him to fill us to satisfaction with all the good things and more. The multiplication of the loaves is the only miracle that can be found in all 4 gospels. It is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist and emphasizes the importance of this sacrament of the breaking of the bread and wine. Its counterpart in the Old Testament is the falling down of manna in the dessert. There are some important points to ponder about this miracle in relation to the Eucharist. When Jesus fed the multitude there is always some left over. The tabernacle in the Church where the Sacred Host is kept is reserved for the sick, homebound and dying and is also for private devotion for adoration. We should keep in mind the beautiful effects of the Eucharist. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the effects of the Eucharist, cleanses and separates us from venial sins and commits us to solidarity with the poor. In the miracle it is said that they had nothing to eat which is symbolic with the poor.  It communicates to us, through worthy reception, the mystery of the communion with the Trinity. It also establishes the community of believers and a foretaste of the future life in heaven. It is a way of advancing in virtue and helps transform the person through Christ, by shunning and rooting out vices. It provides increase of grace received in baptism which is a source of penance. The effect to the human heart is immeasurable because it is true spiritual food as we receive the body and blood of Jesus, the very author of grace Himself. It unites one into belief with Christ.  Through the Eucharist, we assimilate the life of Christ and unites Christians. It unites us with the heavenly liturgy to be realized fully at the end of time for those who are saved. We participate in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross because mass represents that one sacrifice on Calvary. Take note of the word represent which our protestant brothers and sister mistakenly take as repetition of the sacrifice. St. Ignatius of Antioch said that the Eucharist is the medicine of immortality without which we have no life. This is what he said as he was on his way to his death sentence to be fed to the lions. He assimilated himself with Christ and considered himself like the crushed wheat in the mouth of the lion or that of the crushed grapes in the wine press. As we eat the Bread of Life we are gathered into Christ's body and made members so that we may receive the power belonging to this divine food. We assimilate the suffering of Christ to allow one’s self to be crushed in our own suffering. It could be any difficulty that we want to assimilate to the life of Christ. St. Peter Chrisologus said that we should ask for our daily bread as in Our Father prayer, as the bread of heaven, baked in the tomb of heaven, sown in the virgin and brought to the altars to furnish the faithful with food in heaven. The sum and summary of our faith and our way of thinking should be attuned to the Eucharist and vice versa the Eucharist should be attuned to our own thinking as stated by St. Ireneus. These are only a few of the quotes from the Church doctors who tell about the beauty of the Most Holy Eucharist. The source and summit of the Christian life, the Most Blessed Sacrament exalted above all the other 6 sacraments. Baptism the gateway sacrament is received before any other sacrament, penance wipes away sin and each of the other sacraments has its own private place and effect the place it signifies. All of these sacraments are bound up in the Eucharist which is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of the communion of the divine life. It is the culmination of Christ’s action to sanctify the world. We must conform our life to the Eucharist and must realize the great gift we have in this sacrament. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 8:1-10

 In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied. He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over — seven baskets. There were about four thousand people. He dismissed them and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.