MOVE BEYOND

When we come to a situation when we are not getting any good advice as to what we should do next while the unpredictable turn of events made matters worse then we feel trapped.  This happens when our waiting period has been unusually long and delayed already for a very unreasonable time and some are already having doubts and speculations as to the outcome of our present situation. Despite all the negative things that are up coming we continue to hold on to God's word and promise. We may not have expected things to happen the way it did and as we try to look back and recall what we could have done or not, we have to come to the realization that if we have done what God has led us to do and decided then we can be at peace like the royal official in today's gospel who believed what was told of him. Due to the urgency of his request which is a matter of life and death since his child is dying, he was expecting Jesus to go with him. He could have insisted on it but instead believed and obeyed when instructed to just go by himself. The gospel for today speaks to us the same message of Jesus to the royal official to just believe and obey while anticipating for the time when we will be met by the bearer of the good news that we have already claimed, declared and believed in. The sufferings of Jesus won for us the key that opened the gate of heaven. It was through His suffering and death on the cross that we have been saved. It is a huge key that opens up a lot of things. The saving power of God brought about by His sufferings should make us see our own suffering as something that can bring about wisdom, power and transformation. It is in our suffering that our ego and flesh dies. We should allow suffering to make sense and give meaning in our life. In doing this we can be of help and inspiration to others who are going through the same thing. We have to develop a peaceful disposition in the midst of suffering. We have to deal with suffering the proper way by suffering with grace. Just consider everything as preparation. We've got to have joy in the midst of suffering in the knowledge that God's will is in it. If we can only develop this profound understanding that God permits or allows everything that is happening in our life. Though, it is sometimes difficult to accept when we ourselves are confronted with suffering but we have to hold on to the truth that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). God has the power to see and help us through it all. Do we have knowledge of who truly the Lord is as spoken of in today’s 1^st reading in Isaiah. The Lord speaks that the things of the past shall not be remembered. This is a passage that needs to be heard when we go to confession. The Lord is all powerful and is a God who means what He says. When He says, I forgive, He means it. Do we really believe and take His word and what He said? If we truly know who God is then we should believe that the things of the past shall not be remembered. He wills to leave the things in the past. Although we may have no concept of how some things are, the devil wants to play with us, until the day we breathe our last. He would taunt us with such questions as, did the Lord really forget our sins? The saints who have moved into a deeper level or increase of faith believe this scripture. Yes we have sinned and offended the love of God to the point of shedding tears for true contrition but we do not fall into the path of taking back the guilt and shame upon us. The Lord has taken it away, He has healed us. The Lord pushes it away and forgives us with the tremendous love, mercy and power of God to forgive sins. But this is what the devil does, he wants to build a wall to prevent us from moving into a relationship with God. The Lord can forgive everyone as long as we take claim of our sins, shed our tears and fix our attention on the love of God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;

We sometimes think that God does not answer our prayers but He does. Let us not fall into this wrong notion, lose hope and turn into different kinds of addictions which cause so much wasted pain and suffering. This is a wicked age and our life should redeem. Only the Lord our God can bring about this redemption in our lives. If the Son of God had His enormous and most unbearable share of suffering for our sake don't we think that we should also bear our own daily crosses? We should have the courage and the strength to suffer for the gospel most especially at this time of the world when there is great hostility to the gospel. To suffer always with the confidence that God who sees and knows all would definitely see us through it all. God is above all our troubles, fears and anxieties, whatever it may be, our ills and even death itself. The "culture of death" and its kingdom has been robbed of its power. Jesus has resurrected from the dead and the kingdom of God is among us. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. John 3:35-36, "The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." Notice that it is written in the present tense, which means now and will have its fullness when we die and raised on the last day. We begin possessing it even now. There is really no denying to the truth in life that we all have to go through a process of trial and hardship but what's most reassuring is the fact that despite all the disappointment and pain we can all be rescued by our Mighty God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-13

R: I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

1 [2] I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. 3 [4] O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit... For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. (R) 10 [11] “Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper.” 11 [12] You changed my mourning into dancing; 12 [13] O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

There are many ways that God can manifest His healing to all of us. Sometimes it comes to us in the most unexpected and unique way. All we need to do is believe and it will be done. As humans we sometimes make the wrong call and end up suffering the consequences of our decisions. When we do, we eventually learn the lessons of our mistakes and become more capable of making the right choice, hopefully.  It is always safe to put ourselves in the center of God's will.  God do not make wrong calls the way we do. We can always trust God to do the right thing at the right time and place. In today’s gospel, the royal officer is an example of a person who exhibited an increase in the level of his faith. One of the fathers of the Church said that there are degrees of faith. This man’s beginning of faith started when his son was on the verge of dying. He hears that Jesus is there so he went and walked from Capernaum to Cana and typically it would take 14 hours to do that.  This is the 1^st degree, it takes an effort to walk for hours to see the Lord. The next step is when he hears the word although he doesn’t see that his son is healed, he believed. After that, there’s a deepening of faith that comes. When he heard what Jesus said, he realized that there is power in the word of Christ for what he was told he believed and also for the rest of his household.  There are moments in our faith when we don’t see but do we truly believe that the word of the Lord is true. We know the words but are we convinced and do we really believe Him? It happens to each one of us, we know that the Lord has the power and we come and turn to Him with all our needs but have we reached to the point when we have increased and perfected our faith. During this period of Lent we are invited to deepen our faith. We can’t stay in the level of our 1^st communion level of faith. We need to deepen our relationship with God and it must not remain that way. It is good to look at the level of our relationship with God and see if we have grown mature. We often have an excuse for ourselves. We ought to maintain that relationship with the Lord in the level of a child and yet we are called to mature in that relationship with Him. There is a need to broaden and expand our heart to a greater love. It takes effort and dedication on our part to do this. We must not sound to the Lord as an always, “I need, give me” person who is just concerned about ourselves. God will help us but we have to put our trust in Him. We ask the Lord for assistance and He responds but when we get what we want we forget Him and we don’t go back to Him. This is an immature way of interacting with the Lord. We need deepening of our relationship and to move beyond our current level of faith. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 4:43-54

...Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” 49 The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. 51 While he was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. 52 He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” 53 The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe.

ABOVE ALL

The Lord gives and the Lord takes. But if He takes something from us there is always a reason and it is always for the best. It doesn't matter whether we realize and understand this or not what matters is the truth that God gave up His only Son for our sake and there is nothing more that God could do for us that He wouldn't do. Amen. Hallelujah!

Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
...No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

The considered powerful and mighty of this world is what appear to be the blessed and favored ones as far as human logic and reason are concerned. The exact opposite of what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount and Plain (Beatitudes) in the gospels. A lot of people find it difficult to really understand the beatitudes since it contradicts the values of this world we live in. The poor, weak, hungry and sorrowing are called blessed. This may not sound acceptable for everybody and would even go around its meaning to get away with the real issue that Jesus wants us to face. Whatever it may be that's still stopping us from grasping the wisdom of God let us pray to God that we will always hold on to His word as He assures daily. Our God indeed is a perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without questioning believing that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth that it is by His power that we exist in this world. We’ve got to have the right heart, mind and attitude. Be poor in spirit and receptive to the Word of God. It doesn't make sense that despite these truths that are ever before us we still reject Jesus. Let's admit that we do it one way or another, knowingly or unknowingly. Pope John Paul II narrated a story when he was in the hospital for his operation. Just before the surgery, he went out of his room unnoticed and visited a very sick boy on the verge of dying. His mother was so depressed that no amount of words was able to console her. She told the Pope to tell God to go away. The Pope answered her that he did tell God to go away but He wouldn't listen. He embraced the inconsolable mother and told her that God knows exactly the place where He needs to be and that is none other than with her. We should realize that God never leaves nor forsakes most especially in times of despair. He is always there for us. Our God indeed is a perfect God and we must entrust everything to Him without questioning believing that He knows what's best. We must be aware of the truth that it is by His power that we exist in this world. Have you heard of blind obedience? Following without knowing exactly why you follow. Take the example of suicide bombers, who willingly die to spread terrorism. What courage! We should know that it is always worth it to obey God, obeying and knowing fully well that it is for our own good. We all have fears in life and sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be the case. If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells us then there is no reason for it. We may have encountered situations wherein we were not able to plan ahead and totally placed us in a very unexpected, uncertain and insecure position.  They just happen suddenly that we have no time to prepare and really caught us off guard. This has caused us to feel at a loss. Just imagine how it feels to be blind not knowing where to go and groping in the dark. But we can be assured that God will rescue us from all distress and deliver us from our troubles. The wickedness and the hatred may persist but let us not lose hope and despair because we have a mighty Savior and Redeemer in our Lord Jesus. This truth stated in today’s psalm reading should keep us going and do exactly what we are told. The Light of the World already came and judgment day is coming soon. In fact, judgment is happening even now. In Deuteronomy 30:15 "Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom..." God asked us to choose. It's got to be one way or another. There should be no mingling or ambiguity. It is all up to us. We can be assured that if we take God’s side then we’ll definitely taste and see His goodness. If we will just seek God at all times then we surely find Him. Let us not turn to anything or anyone else but to God alone. Let us be firm and wise in our dispositions to really stick to God's ideals and principles alone instead of the suggestions and insinuations of the so called wise and learned of this world's standard. For if we do, we'll find ourselves rescued, saved and  truly blessed. We should always keep our hopes up in the Lord no matter what our situations are because it can never change the fact that He is God and always in charge and in control. There are times when we feel forsaken or abandoned but we must always hold on to the truth that He loves us so much. He would never leave us in misery. Let us remove all doubts and fears. Nothing should make us feel afraid for God hears our cry. He will surely carry out what is clearly for our own good and the best. All we need to do is allow God to work in our lives and stop hindering His grace to flow in our lives. If there's one big obstacle that is blocking this flow then it is surely not God. It is time we analyze the things in our life that continue to build up and shut out God. We don't want that happening and it's all up to us for the Lord hears and saves us. Although there are times when we do not have to sweat at all and things just come and fall into place we also have to know that our life is mostly a product of the choices we make. Our choices must always be responsible and carefully decided on. We've got to have a reliable standard for it. One without fail and is sure to work. Actually there is only one thing that we can surely depend on and that is the goodness of the Lord. If we always have this in mind then nothing should stop us to always look at God, listen and follow Him. We should not care so much about gaining the approval and admiration of men rather than God. Our focus first and foremost should be to please God and everything else will follow. Even if it sometimes does not work the way we expected and planned things to be. We can be assured that the Lord heard, hears and will hear all our prayers and surely has the best answer at hand in His most perfect time. In guarding our faith the bible passage from Ephesians 6:10-11 which is about the armor of God is an important tool. If we read it we will find the only weapon mentioned in the said bible passage is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. We should check it once again and be aware of this important information as Catholic Christians. In the gospel about the temptation of Jesus the devil also demonstrated his knowledge of the scriptures. As it is written, we need to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. We are undoubtedly engaged in this battle every single day that's why we are in need of a weapon. This reminds us of the importance of knowing the word of God by heart since it is our only weapon. God never fails. He would always make things work for our good and rescue us in our distress. I have always believed in angels even before I got this petal from a healing service with the image of a cherubim miraculously imprinted on it. It's been a while since I got it and has served as a testimony of God’s abiding love. I have no doubt in my mind that God will always deliver me from all my fears. I always keep my rose petal with me and show it to almost everyone I meet, as a way of propagating God's goodness to me. I can still remember and will never forget how my mother used to narrate to us how I was miraculously saved by my angel several times. First was when I was about 2 months old, and I fell from a height of 2-3 ft countertop when the nanny after giving me a bath left me for only a second to get something and upon returning found me already unconscious and lying on the hard, ceramic tiled floor. I was rushed to the doctor but he told them that if I fail to regain consciousness within an hour then he said I am gone. To everybody's surprise I started to cry even before the time is up. Another one was when I was barely 2 yrs old when I almost got hit by a speeding jeepney. My parent's house is right beside my grandparent's house which is right in front of the school where my mother used to be a public school teacher. She said she was standing in the center of the stage of the school that was why she had a good view of the things around her even the terrace of my grandparent's house so she got the shock of her life when she saw me there alone running very fast heading toward the open gate while a speeding jeepney was coming and looked as if I would really get hit and it would be too late even if somebody was there to stop me. She was already screaming from afar together with the other teachers who saw it and was trying to call the attention of the driver but to no avail for he didn't even slow down because their screams were of no match to the loud engine of the jeep.  It was just a miracle that the moment I stepped on the side of the road, I suddenly stopped and stood very still as if someone was holding me back. She said it was my guardian angel who held me and prevented me from getting hit by the jeep.  I don't remember personally any of those experiences it was only through my mother's stories that I came to know about them. But when I was older like in 4th grade I could already remember how I was spared again from being hurt seriously when the fluorescent lamp right on top of my head fell on my desk a split second after I stood up and left my chair.  My classmates were really shocked and were hovering around me and told me that it was really close. One of my bestfriends, Myrsa got me even more scared of what could had happened when she said that fluorescent lamps are laden with poison that once it gets broken, the poison is released and if the broken glass cuts your skin open the poison will get in and the wound caused by it will never dry up or get healed. From then on I developed this childlike trust in God and thanked God for saving me from death. There was another instance in my life as a child when Myrsa and I were left all alone in school while waiting for our ride home and the deafening sound of lightning and thunder got me very scared. Myrsa played the role of my guardian angel when she tried to calm and stop me from crying by telling me that I should not be afraid because the lightning is the flash bulb of God's camera. She continued by saying that I should not cry but instead smile for God was just taking our picture. Myrsa's legendary stories played a role in my developing a great faith in God. Another funny story was what she told me about the needle. She said that we must be careful with needles because it will find its way into our bodies and once it's inside it will go to our bloodstream and very quickly end up pricking our hearts which can cause us to die right away. There was one time when I lost a needle and couldn't find it anywhere. I went to bed very early that day which surprised my mother and was asking me if there was anything wrong. I decided to myself that I would just wait for my death silently and not tell anybody. I was praying to God not to give me a painful death and let me not feel it once the needle pricks my heart. When I woke up the next day I was so glad that I was still alive and thanked God for sparing me from death. Those were the early formative years of my faith which started out in a funny, amusing but definitely amazing way. We all have fears in life and sometimes they drive us to the point of despair. This should not be the case. If we truly believe with all our mind, heart and soul what today's psalm tells us then there is no reason for it. If we will just constantly nourish and fill ourselves with the words of God in scriptures then there is really no reason for us to fear rather be always filled with joy. He will never allow us to be defeated and conquered for He is always there to rescue us. Amen, Hallelujah!

Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (9a)
R: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
1 [2] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. 2 [3] Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R) 3 [4] Glorify the LORD with me, let us together extol his name. 4 [5] I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (R) 5 [6] Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. 6 [7] When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.

Not everyone is fully aware of this truth in today's 2nd reading. They say that what we don't know couldn't hurt us. Therefore we could say that what we know could hurt us and if this is true then we have to take responsibility for what we know about God. It is not enough that we believe in God because even the devil does and we should do better than that. We need to turn away from all our sins and wrong doings and be reconciled to God. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Corinthians 5:17-21
...God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

We will never ever come to the full realization of this great and immense love that is above all and what God has for us until the time we come into perfect union with Him in heaven. For that to happen we have to die first, leave our human bodies and depart from earth. For the mean time God is trying to get this across to us in a variety of ways that we can relate to, in the things that we are familiar of, here on earth. Today's gospel, Jesus cited not just 1 but 3 parables like the love of the Holy Trinity, just to get His message across. The story of the Prodigal son never ceases to amaze us. By man's standards what the son did was unforgivable for it is an act of disrespect and dishonor for a father. By God's standards we may not fully understand for it is simply His nature to love us with such careless abandon even if we don't measure up. In other words we have a God who loves us to the max, no holds bar. Thus, these passages of the Parable of the Prodigal Son from the gospel today invite us especially during this Lent to be like the son who rehearses his lines when he said “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.” In response, his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Or we could be like the older son who became angry and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. Judging from these we can say that neither of these sons younger or old truly knew their father. When the younger son squanders the property and said "I am not worthy, just treat me like your hired hands." He did not grasp the depth of His father's love and mercy. Sometimes we are like this when we are not totally convinced that God will receive us back. Many of us can identify with the older son upon coming back and hearing the celebration instead of welcoming back his younger brother was dominated with the hardness of his heart. When his father came to him, the oldest son reveals his depravity and voices out his bitterness as he recounts the sins of the younger brother. This is what resentment does, he makes his own the sins of his brother. He was not able to welcome back the younger brother. He is in fact like the younger brother to a certain degree. This is because every single thing that he does he will calculate as shown by his words as he said that all these years the father hasn’t given him a darn thing. This is deep seated resentment and bitterness. Both sons wanted to lay claim of all that their father possess. They just wanted to take hold of what their father has. All that the father wanted them to do is to be like him. This is very important in our relationship with God our Father. We need to become better in whatever relationship we presently have with God. We could be one of the 2 sons and could definitely learn a lesson from this. There is a need for us to assess what kind of relationship we have with God. We might think we are in a higher level of relationship with God but we could be wrong. In the same way that the older son taught that what he and his father had was the real thing. It turned out that he had not perfected yet the kind of love that God wanted us to have in our hearts. We sometimes fall into the same trap when we think we are doing everything that is good. Our love should know no boundaries in the same way that God loves us. We should realize that if we become like God the Father that’s when we truly inherit everything. Do we truly know our heavenly father? Well, we can do better than these two sons, if we wish to lay hold of heaven and the glory that is His.  The beautiful thing to effect here is that God has given us Jesus and the way to do it is through Him. Jesus knows the Father and He and the Father are one. Since the story tells us of a father's great and unconditional love for his son this reminds me of the 4 levels of happiness. The 1st level is known as laetus which is short lived just like eating a favorite dish. The 2nd one is felix and is much like the 1st one also. It could be something that we've been hoping to have and received as a gift from someone. Although the happiness here is not as short lived as the 1st and may last longer it would still eventually wear off. The 3rd is beatitudo which is the happiness coming from service to others and emanates from the joy that we feel when we help other people. We could probably take the example of the saints who lead a selfless life dedicated to others. This is long lasting happiness. Although this definitely lasts longer than the 1st and 2nd it is still not everlasting happiness. The 4th level of happiness is gaude which is perfect since it is depicted by agape, unconditional love of God. This produces everlasting happiness. Let us not settle for anything less. It should drive all of us to attain and reach this level as the father who loves his son so dearly in today's parable in the gospel. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

...“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.” ’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, youare here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ ”

WRONG IMPRESSIONS AND MINDSETS

We have a tendency to overlook the ordinary and simple things around us. We must not be impressed with just the extraordinary. Our approach to Christian life should not neglect the day to day and the ordinary things we do. The very thing that is right in front of us is our next good step. This is how we will walk to holiness. We may be in a gloomy and dark situation at the moment but we must not lose hope and put our best foot forward.  Is there something that we have been waiting, longing and hoping for a long time already and is yet to come? Are we on the verge of giving up and losing hope because of the seemingly endless waiting period that we are going through? Does it look like things are not getting any better and would just end up in nothing? Do we sometimes confuse God as someone who is stern and rough rather than a loving father who would pull us through any difficult situation? We have to do our best and be immensely patient even in times of great difficulty and trial. We imitate Christ in his humanity as he went through his passion and death with the certainty of resurrection. We should remember that if we pray to God, He would definitely and absolutely answer in the best way possible for us in His perfect time. Amen. Hallelujah!

Hosea 6:1-6

1 “Come, let us return to the LORD, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. 2 He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. 3 Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” ...For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.

Organizing all my daily reflections since 2007 made it easier for me to locate and retrieve them. I have found it very rewarding and beneficial. It has given me the opportunity to access with ease, the insights and reflections I wrote in the past. Thus paving the way to recall, reflect, and share it again. In light of the readings today I am reminded of Fr. Alex Amayin, the associate priest in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. His talk was about reconciliation which is very much in line with the 1st & psalm readings for today. It was centered on 4 things which is 1. SIN 2. GRACE 3. FORGIVENESS 4. RECONCILIATION. He said that the 1st 3 are all a reality but #4 is only a possibility. There is no doubt that SIN happens but the GRACE of God is always present and available for us even before we ask for FORGIVENESS. When we ask FORGIVENESS, God is always ready to give it.  RECONCILIATION calls us to true conversion. We should always find our way back to God and never doubt His mercy. He cited the example of a snake and caterpillar since both of them undergoes conversion. The snake sheds off its old skin but comes out the same while the caterpillar emerges into a butterfly. We can either choose to be the snake or the caterpillar. Take your pick. The sacred heart of Jesus should be our model and guide as we strive to live out the call to be a genuine follower of God. “When we open our heart to the love of God and to others, it makes us capable of shaping history according to God’s plan.”  - said Pope John Paul II. In His fourth apparition to St. Margaret Mary, our Lord revealed His Sacred Heart, declaring: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love.” The center of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Enthronement of the image of the Sacred Heart in the home. By the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, we link the tabernacle of our parish church to our home, inviting our Lord to be our constant and most intimate companion.  The Enthronement is a way of life. It means that Christ is King of our hearts, and we desire Him to be present with us always. In other words, by the Enthronement we signify our desire to make our hearts and our homes holy, to sanctify our lives in every aspect. God will not refuse nor turn His back on us if we are truly sorry for our sins and are willing to mend our ways. Let us not be so naive into thinking that we can get away with anything and cheat God. Let us be fair and truly square in dealing with things that concern not just our future but our eternal destiny. Whether it's heaven or hell, we would have to decide for that not God. If we choose to do evil then we are surely headed where it's bound but if we remain faithful to God and all that He represents then we are headed to a place prepared for us by God in heaven. We are sure to go where our hearts lead us. The problem is that there is a great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure.  But God commands them to be used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us who we are.  The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. God created us when we came out of the womb, our mothers and father have a great role in that but our creation continues every single day of our lives. We’re even becoming someone more beautiful, mature and stronger or someone weaker and more despicable. There’s no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Let us always ask God's mercy for our sins and repent of it. The Lord said that He is not sent for the well but for the sick. We have a disease in our souls that if left uncared for can cause death. We all have a terminal disease called sin, we need a doctor to give us advice. We have been saved by God but we can lose it just as we can lose our human life for not caring for it. We go to God who is our Divine Physician to be healed. He alone can make us whole. God's presence in our lives is inevitable just like the coming of dawn before the break of day and if we have mastered the art of loving back God then we become a pleasing sacrifice before Him. And in his good pleasure makes us prosper, then we find ourselves rebuilding the walls of our boundaries as we expand our borders. It is of prime importance that we take extra care in attending not only to our temporal needs but our spiritual as well. We have this mindset that it pleases God whenever He sees us going through hardships and difficulties in life. We tend to equate God to an oppressing tyrant that would pin us down for every wrong move. Or worst to a slave driver that would not be satisfied unless his subjects exhaust all their strength to his service. The people during the time in the Old Testament could borrow a good excuse for having this kind of mindset because Jesus has not come yet. We who live in this time of the New Testament do not have a good alibi because God already demonstrated the greatest expression of His love for mankind when He sacrificed His only begotten son, Jesus, to suffer and die for our sake. With this truth always engraved in our hearts and minds we could no longer harbor wrong impressions and mindsets of our God. Whenever a particular human right is being violated certain activist groups passionately rally to defend such right that is in question. What about the right of God? We are so concerned about our own personal agenda and we fail to realize that we need to address it more than anything else. According to Pope Benedict XVI, Jus Divinum is the right of God which constitutes the proper and correct response of God’s creatures such as man to his Creator. This we ought to realize and take action. We should do all the good that we are supposed to do to a God who created us. There is something more to what we see, hear and feel about people. We really couldn't judge a book by its cover. It's in knowing what is hidden in the heart that we can truly say for sure what is real. But who can see through our hearts? Nobody but God alone. What is unknown and hidden from us, God knows. We may be able to hide from men but never from God. We can only pray to God to create in us a clean heart. For where our treasure is, there also will be our hearts. This should all be our prayer, “Change me Oh God, mold me in accordance to your pattern and plan and not mine” Dirt stain in clothes sometimes doesn't want to come off even after several times it has been machine washed. There are really some dirt and stain that do not go away that easily with regular washing. There is a need to scrub it manually with soap and water so that it will come out clean. Our souls are just like clothes which are stainable by our sins. It is a consolation to know that our sins are washable in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can always come to Him and acknowledge our sins with a sincere and repentant heart so He can cleanse us, wipe out our offenses and blot out all our guilt. There is nothing that could separate us from the love of God. Let us not be deceived nor dissuaded to believe otherwise. Just like clothes that need to be washed after being worn and got dirty so our souls need to be cleansed too by the blood of the Lamb. God’s love ever present in the body and blood of Christ is always present and available for us. All we need to do is reach out for it because God is a gentleman and would never force Himself on us. There has always been a raging battle between God and satan. Though it has already been won, satan just won’t give up. He continues to wreak havoc and evil among us in his desperation to bring misery into our lives and share in his condemnation. He doesn’t have the tiniest power over us and he can only have it if and only if we give in to his lies, deceptions and false promises. We need to make this conscious decision each and every single day for the Lord. We need to purge ourselves of the impurities of our souls we have to go through a certain process that will render us with a clean heart. As we strive to nurture a heart that beats for God alone we also go through a process of cleansing as stated in the psalm today. God's mercy is greater than any of our sins. If we are to repent and turn away from our sins then we've got to do it right now and really do it fast. God sees through our hearts, our motives and intentions. What God wants of us is to truly acknowledge His great mercy and goodness to us that in doing so will abound a natural inclination to repent and repair all our iniquities and lead to a brand new, wholesome and clean Christian in the truest sense of the word. We need to stand in all humility before God and confess our sins. The body and soul are good but it demands a need for physical asceticism. We have to submit our bodies to an act of sacrifice without neglecting that conversion is first of all interior. Total conversion demands not only expression in works of penance but also of the heart. God is able to do anything. All the more should we be full of confidence that He can create a clean heart and steadfast spirit for us if we truly ask for it. God our Father will never turn His back on us. Let us get this straight, it is the sin that God hates and not the sinner. If we are in sin then that's the time we drive away God's Holy Spirit dwelling in us for it is impossible for God's presence to exist with sin. It's our call then to respond to the psalm's invitation to rise and go to God or remain slumped in the mud of sin. Our God will always be the best Father a child could ever have, the best Brother/Friend and the best Comforter and Guide all in one. Bottom line, to Him alone shall we go because we don't know that much and if we don’t then we end up doing one of these things, take for granted, ignore, forget or neglect the things God is telling us to do. What's worse it could be all of the above! We get blinded and become preoccupied with a lot of things that lure us away from doing what God wants us to do. We are deceived into believing all the lies of this world disguised and packaged by the enemy in an inviting and convincing truth. We should realize that it is always for our own good that He commands us to do the right thing. It is not merely to impose but for us to freely decide for a life lived to the full. There is no other way to maintain the Holy Spirit dwelling in us but to let it reside in a clean heart.  We drive away God's Spirit in us if we don't strive to let our hearts remain clean. Today's psalm is a song that I have come to know and sing by heart without the aid of a song book. I always love to sing it and hear it being sung most especially by the choir during mass. It is well for us to not just love to sing it with our voices but with the sincerity of our hearts. The words "take not your Holy Spirit from me" made me realize that God has the power to give and take. The thought of the Holy Spirit being taken away from us is the worst thing that could ever happen. If we don't feel God's presence in our life anymore and we've become numb and insensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit then now is the time to reconnect and realign ourselves to God's Spirit most especially during this Lenten season. It is important that we always maintain a clean heart and a steadfast spirit so that we are constantly in God's presence. It's not that God loves us any less, no matter what we do He will always love us. It's just that a Holy and Loving God can not dwell in an impure heart and spirit.  It is of prime importance that we take extra care in attending not only to our temporal needs but our spiritual as well. Amen. Hallelujah!  

Psalm 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab

R: It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 16 [18] For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offerings, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn...

Let us always be reminded of the truth that as we soar high and become blessed, there is a tendency to claim it for our own personal glory. We must always strive to keep our feet on the ground and bring back all the glory to God. We should always go back to the truth in this gospel by becoming like Jesus who stooped down to our level, became man, served and died for humanity. Sometimes we are so preoccupied with how we are faring in the eyes of men without realizing that God's point of view and criteria should come first. We've got to discover the secret hidden in today's gospel and genuinely live it. Without truly understanding the real meaning of being humbled before the Lord then we can never apply what today’s gospel is telling us. It is important to know how we picture God in our life. It will automatically create a series of reactions in us. Let us not be caught off guard or unprepared. We may be getting the wrong impressions. Just like the Pharisee in today's gospel who thought that he was right before God and the tax collector was the one who was unacceptable to God. Jesus, who is God the Son, King of Kings and Lord of Lords humbled Himself to the point of a most humiliating and painful death on a cross during that time when only the worst criminals were punished in that manner. God the Father, suffered to see His Beloved and only Begotten Son shed His blood and became the Sacrificial Lamb of God who took away all our sins. If this could not move us to true humility then nothing else could. Let us always conduct ourselves with all humility, though, there are times when we tend to forget. We must keep in mind that we must avoid following the example of the Pharisee and be like the tax collector although sinful was honest before God and humbly admitted his iniquities. God doesn't care if we are as dirty as a rag, all we have to do is be humble in admitting it before Him and He will make as brand new. Even when we go through a spiritual rut we must not hesitate to come before God and cling to him even more, knowing that only He can deliver us from all evil. Let us examine ourselves very closely, we may not be thinking and acting the way God expects us to. They say a lot of people die because of wrong impressions or Maraming namamatay sa maling akala. Let us strive to align everything in our lives in accordance to God's standards and not ours most especially if we truly want to be in union with a Perfect God. When we go to God in prayer we must keep in mind that God is the source of all good things and without Him we are nothing. When we get the real picture of our relationship with God we become better and better. We need not say or do anything to exalt ourselves because our efforts are merely nothing as compared to God’s. All we have to do is trust that God who sees and knows all will put everything in our life in its perfect order. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 18:9-14

...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

CHRISTIAN REVOLUTION

Let us not harbor any ill feelings, negative thoughts and guilt in us. It is a very heavy burden that we are needlessly carrying along with us. We may not be fully aware of it but these things are going to pull us down if not abruptly then gradually. Before we even know it we are already stuck in the mud of this vicious and malicious deception of the enemy.  Let us always maintain a good disposition no matter how difficult and wearisome our situations are. Whatever painful or hard situations we are going through right now is just part of God's plan to bring out the best in us. If we stay in faith and turn away from sin with a firm and good heart then we will surely see the path of the Lord very clearly before us.I could never forget the East San Gabriel/Pomona Valley Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women District Meeting (ACCW). It was a very rewarding and productive experience because the speakers were all good. Sister Rose Marie Tulacz of the Sisters of Notre Dame gave a talk entitled, "A Future Full of Hope: Growing Spiritually in a Time of Scarcity and Lack" She said that we should always bring to God all our burdens and sufferings most especially during the time of consecration during the mass. Jesus has the power to transform us and make us better and not bitter persons. She said that when Jesus came to this world, He did not talk about being rich, famous and powerful rather he talked about the poor and simple and becoming better through it all. In her prayer she said, "God open the door that You want us to walk through, close the door that You don't want us to walk through and place us in the center of Your will.” In today’s 1^st reading, we are called in this conclusion of the Book of Hosea to respond to God’s love. It is a calling to all people to a change of heart as it says, Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Though, it speaks of a golden age of God’s love for His people to heal their defection, love them freely and the beauty of this time that is to come. As we look at our world today we see so many things that cause sorrow. We are assured from today’s 1^st reading that a Christian revolution is emerging which is changing without any noise to build a civilization of love. It will change the minds and hearts of people from a culture of death to a culture of life and love. Amen. Hallelujah!

Hosea 14:2-10

2 Thus says the LORD: Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. 3 Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls. 4 Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion.” 5 I will heal their defection, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. 6 I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, 7 and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. 8 Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 9 Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. “I am like a verdant cypress tree” — Because of me you bear fruit! 10 Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.

The Bread that God gives us will never cause us to hunger or thirst and will give us eternal life with God in heaven. If we have consulted and entrusted to God all our decisions and continue to believe then we can be assured that what God started in us, He will be faithful to complete. In the midst of all the commotion in our lives we need to press harder to hear God's voice and direct all our focus and attention in that one voice of God who alone can show us the right way and give us the right instructions. Our Catholic Church has endowed us with a very sacred or apostolic Tradition. According to Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 82: As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence."  St. Paul in 2 Thes. 2:15 said "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours." And so the Catholic Church is also consistent with the warning of St. Paul in Colossians 2:8,  "See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world  and not according to Christ." We should constantly listen to His voice and not be distracted nor tempted to change loyalty. It is in God alone that we can find true satisfaction. There is no in between with God. We have to be aware of the fact that we have to make a stand on which side we really are. We've got to make a commitment every single day and protect our faith. It is through good works and prayer that we can safeguard the victory that Jesus has already won for us since the enemy does not want to stop and continues to wage war on us, Christians and followers of Jesus Christ. There is no denying to Jesus saving and redeeming us from all our sins. Jesus opened the gates of heaven for us when He died on the cross and paid our sins but it doesn't mean that we are all bound for heaven. Our daily choices and actions could lead us to a path that may not lead to the pearly gates of paradise. We still have to work our way into that gate and not be lenient about guarding this gift of salvation which the enemy wants to steal from us. We are bombarded day in and out by the harsh reality of life and the influences of this world we live in. There is no cause for despair if we encounter these things because we have a God who constantly whispers in our ear in the midst of the noise created by our surroundings. All we have to do is press our ears closer to God and do as He says. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 81:6-8, 8-9, 10-11, 14, 17

R: I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“There shall be no strange god among you nor shall you worship any alien god. 10 [11] I, the LORD, am your God who led you forth from the land of Egypt.” (R) 13 [14] If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, 16 [17] I would feed with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

In today's gospel Jesus said to the man who answered with understanding that the kingdom of God is not far from him. We may wonder why He didn't say he belong to the kingdom of God instead. It's because there's still a lot of work to do after the understanding is the part where we live it which comprises the greater challenge. Things that are happening around us may not be very pleasing and acceptable the way we all wanted it to be. Life is never easy but there is really no need to complicate it further by trying to figure it out and rationalize it with our limited minds and comprehension. When Jesus ascended to heaven He has promised to send us the Helper and the Comforter. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to endow us with the gift of understanding so that we can truly appreciate and grasp in our minds the true and most essential things that should matter in the Kingdom of God. The gospel is known to all people whether learned or not because it is the law that God has inscribed in our hearts. The problem lies in the hardening of our hearts and pollution of our minds. Whenever we allow ourselves to stray farther away from God and fall deeper into the pit of sin then it becomes very difficult for us to always grasp this truth. It helps to always be in touch with this truth so we don't end up forgetting and neglecting it the way we usually do when we are bombarded with so many different and contradicting things that we encounter every day. It is a wise move to take advantage of every opportunity God is sending our way to always be surrounded by God's reminders instead of being carried away by the world's enticing but empty promises. We've often heard people say that in a relationship we should never put everything in it and should leave some for ourselves. This is quite true in a way because we can only give what we have and if we end up empty and with nothing at all left to ourselves then we become unable to love anybody in the process. But with God, the more we love Him, the fuller and more abundant we become thus enabling us to fulfill all other things. With God we are sure that we have invested our love wisely and will surely not lose. We are called to a response to love God and be an instrument of this love to the world and build a civilization of love. We should enthrone Christ as the king of our homes and daily live out the beating of the sacred heart of Jesus. It is not just a call but a command to commit to consecrate our lives to higher goals for our salvation. We enthrone the sacred heart of Jesus in our homes because He is king of our homes.  Everything that we do should have reference to Him. We make an effort to love His holy name, His sacred heart and speak of His sacred love. We have to keep on believing and always on fire. When we look at the world we can easily fall into despair but we can do otherwise and bring hope and build a civilization of love through the sacred heart of Jesus. Souls on fire are ignited through the experience of our love for the Lord. We need to be always aware of who we receive especially during Holy Communion so we can grow and be instruments of His love, that’s our mission. We need to be part of the Christian revolution and be a builder of a civilization of love. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

WHO ARE WE IMITATING?

 I could never forget what I saw when I went jogging at the grounds of the Pacific Palms Hotel. I came across someone with his 2 dogs. I was really impressed to see that his dogs were not on a leash and simply jogging along his side without straying away from him. They looked so disciplined and focused on their master. I really loved the way they looked. The man was just jogging and looking straight ahead while his dogs jogged close to his side and was looking at him from time to time as if making sure that they don't miss a single thing from their master. This was the first time I had seen something like this and to think that it was an open space where they could easily ran off. I guess, these dogs were really trained and have developed a deep trust in their master's voice and command. I have seen many dog lovers and we would just be amazed to see how they love and care for their pets. It may sound outrageous but sometimes it went as far as the extraordinary to the point of exceeding the love and care a person would give to another human being. Come to think of it, if this is possible then how come we humans can not even be as half obedient to God the way a lowly dog is to its master. Humans rank as the topmost creature in the hierarchy of God's creation. In fact the bible says in Psalm 8:5-7 What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them rule over the works of your hands, put all things at their feet and in Psalm 139:14 I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. Let us not just know this bible passage but proclaim it with dignity and conviction knowing that we should live up to who God made us to be. Jeremiah reminds us today that we ought to follow God's commands. He even reminded us of the day His people left the land of Egypt.  God has done wonders and miracles as in Exodus 8:15 "the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." Yet Pharaoh remained obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold." Plagues overwhelm the magicians of Egypt. Each of the plagues were all attached to Egyptian deities like frogs and flies. By using these plagues God has clearly demonstrated  His power to defeat Egypt and showed that their gods is not god at all. We should not be lacking in understanding how great the power of God is and finally come to our senses that our faith should rely on the one true God alone. Amen. Hallelujah!

Jeremiah 7:23-28

23 Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. 24 But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. 25 From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. 26 Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. This is the nation which does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.

Today's psalm reading is used as a preparatory psalm in the Liturgy of the Hours just as it was used in the Old Testament. Each time we hear it, there is an emphasis to the fact that is just the same as it is proclaimed today. During the time of Moses there had been an incident of great rebellion and testing on the part of the chosen people of God. The same message is being said to us because there is a possibility that we also harden our hearts today. Massah means rebellion and Meribah means testing. It refers to the time they rebel when they had no water. Moses struck the stone in the desert and water came out. We can read in Numbers 13 when Moses sent out spies to check out the promise land and when they returned in Numbers 14 they were full of discouragement. They came back and reported that the Land of Canaan is too strong to conquer but Joshua & Caleb, trusted God. They didn’t look at the problems of the walls of the Canaan. But the people believed the spies and concluded that it’s impossible to overcome these barriers. They wanted to choose new leaders and kill Moses & Aaron and go back to slavery in Egypt. Due to their unbelief the whole generation never entered Canaan only the new generation with both Joshua & Caleb did. The goal is to enter into rest in the land of Canaan but they refused because they believed their fears rather than believe what they’ve already seen in God’s miracles in Egypt. Psalm 95 is used so often in the Liturgy of the Hours and encourages us how today we must listen well. They do not just apply to the people in Numbers 13& 14. It also applies to the Church and we consider ourselves the New Israel. Let God call us to attention. We don’t have to fall back to the same sin of disbelief. No matter how hard the world makes us do so. The Church is beginning to experience persecution. Today we have to keep in mind what God already said in the past especially as we hear the words of His Son today. Jesus Himself gives us a greater authority than the prophets and the angels. When we look at our day, there are a number of strains that we have to alert ourselves.  There are New Age beliefs that everything is God including the forces of nature. It is moving towards the act of depersonalizing God by a vague force. It clouds the truth of God the Father, God the Son & God the Spirit. There is this New Age notion vs. the Christian notion of God. The catch here is the fact that there are no demands upon the faithful to be obedient. A hardened heart is equivalent to disobedience. There is no longer a clear distinction about the truths of the faith. It's just a matter of loving nature and taking care of the environment. No other demands like obeying the 10 commandments. The truth is not existent with the New Age. They water down the Person of Jesus and lead others to disbelieve in Him. Certain scholars deny Him as a historical figure or is believed that He had a wife as depicted in the fictitious Da Vinci Code. These are all things that are far from the authentic gospel. The image of Jesus is being shaped to imitate our worst moments and sins. It makes him appear like He is no better than we are and attack His moral character. It is an act of impunity to God’s character as if He is just a character of fiction. It looks like God is on the dock as C. S. Lewis put it. Instead of us being on trial, God appears to be the one who’s on trial. Let us not fall into this kind of thinking nor continue in our lack of faith or let anything shake our faith. Some dogs are amazing in their ability to show devotion and faithfulness although they do not even measure up to the dignity and standing of human beings they are capable of obeying their master with so much love and respect.  This should make us realize all the more can we do it and a whole lot better than that. We have to make a decision to be with Christ. God is the Good Shepherd. He will not scatter but draw people to holiness, righteousness and goodness. How can we be lost or led astray? There are things we need to do if we want to be under the care of the Good Shepherd, listen to His voice, follow His guiding hand and stay within the circle of the flock He tends. The truth is that we should never have any doubts about our decisions for as long as we know that it is all for the glory of God first and foremost and everything else will follow. We have this faith and confidence in God as in Philippians 4:6-8, "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." When someone speaks to us we sometimes ignore, refuse to listen, simply pretend that we haven't heard anything or misunderstood what we heard because we are too distracted or busy to give time to listen well. Let us always open our hearts and mind so that we become sensitive to the voice of God talking to us.  Surely there were times when we heard and experienced the voice of God giving us “out of this world” instructions and we responded nonchalantly as if we never heard anything, refused outright and rejected it. If before we just choose to do it whichever way we wanted it without much thought from now on let us respond to God in the best way we can with hearts full of love and obedience. When we grumbled and complained we all know for a fact that it didn't make things any better. We would have to practice more and make perfect the art of trusting and hearing God's voice. God is never short of anything. God is God and He will always be. Let us no longer confuse ourselves with the inaccuracies and discrepancies of our human hearts and minds. Let us keep it focused on Him who is Holy and Perfect. Let us all acculturate ourselves to the Kingdom of God to become a true member of His society. In this way we become a fit and authentic member of God's nation. No one can ever love and care for us more than God. He is the source of living water thus we thirst no more. Indeed, if today we hear His voice, let us not harden our hearts and let Jesus come. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

...For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R) Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.”

There is no neutral or middle thing for the Lord. It is either we are with Him all the way without any exceptions or we are against Him. We could not choose to divide our loyalty because it will only destroy us in the process. It's like we are in a battle and our full strength and cooperation is needed to keep our defenses up or we end up losing it and captured by the enemy. We've got to make a clear stand by now in all areas and aspects of our life whether big or small and from the least to the most important or significant. We have to be aware of the fact that what we are dealing with here is a "no fuss and beat around the bush thing". We have to know on which side we are in and really go for it. Exorcism of demons is part of Jesus’ ministry. In today's gospel people were amazed at how Jesus was able to cast out evil spirits. These various evil gods and demons are a real presence at the time of Jesus and appear to rule even in the ancient world. The crowd is looking for a sign and they have seen enough to bring them to amazement but with it go together, the blindness and the hardness of the heart. This is a perennial problem when people see what God is trying to do but because of the hardness of heart it just won’t sink in. We have to examine our conscience and should ask ourselves what are the signs of the presence of God in our life. How are we paying attention or listening to the signs that God gives us. This is the call of today’s readings. Christ answered His critics in the gospel that every kingdom divided against itself will be laid to waste. Is satan divided against itself? Do we think that satan will tolerate a civil disobedience in his kingdom? The answer of course is that satan is not divided against itself, he won’t tolerate that. He will terrorize and make people absolutely frightened to make them follow his bidding. This is satan's way. As God works in His mercy, satan operates through terror. Who are we imitating?  There is no doubt that God can defeat Satan and has already shown this since time immemorial to all generations.  Jesus' ability to cast out demons is similar to God casting out the power of Egypt. Christ is using the power of God to liberate his people. He is the new Moses. He is doing a great liberation from delivering us from satan and sin. Like the multiplication of the loaves and the manna from heaven. Christ is leading and invading the power of evil and bringing the kingdom of God into the presence of this darkness, to Israel and the whole world to gain freedom of the demonic. In His short parable in the gospel he likened a strong man and his army to satan and his devils. He controlled people’s lives and continue to debilitate and deform human nature. We are made in the image and likeness of God but he distorts this image because that’s his goal. There are other ways he does this, through violence and any of the capital sins. He uses the lust industry and distorts human love. This demonic distortion is what Christ wants to conquer. The violence, oppression, anger, lust and the capital sins are all part of the distortion but Jesus has overcome and the forces of evil are defeated. He can take souls away from the clutches of evil but He sets a challenge for us. He said that whoever is not with me is against me. We see so many forces of the anti Christ in the world today through violence, avarice and sex which are very rampant. They are the demonic devices and ways which the evil one works. We should make a decision to always be for Christ and not compromise with the enemy. Satan is considered as one of the major obstacles of the Kingdom but we need to know that not everything is due to Satan's evil schemes. We are reminded that there is also the human intervention like personal ambition, attitude, ignorance and arrogance of people who are supposed to be models of faith but turned out to be the obstacles themselves. Testing the spirit if it is of God’s or not is very important. We should always remember the WWJD (What would Jesus do?)principle. We are God's temple and we have to make sure that we are well protected or else someone is going to take over us. We take note in 1 Peter 5:8 it is written, Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour. If we are not careful with the way we live our life before we know it we have already been conquered and defeated. We have a very cunning and deceitful adversary who is always on the lookout for an opportunity to attack us in the most discreet and unsuspecting way. If our enemy is this determined then we too have to get our acts together. We must not lose heart for we have a company of angels and saints that are surrounding us. We should remain confident that no other battalion or army can defeat the entire legion of angels and saints of God in heaven. They are on our side to guard and defend us. We should feel great knowing that we have a Great and Loving God who would move heaven and earth for our sake. We just got to be very clear on which side we are. Are we for or against God, there is no in between. Our action will speak for itself. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

OUR DESTINY

Things happen for a reason. Let us always thank God in every situation no matter how unpleasant it may seem for there is always a lesson to be learned from any experience and use it to make us a better person/Christian for God. Since we have an Infinite God there is always room for improvement as long as we live.  When people die they leave behind them their memories that can always be shared to others. That's why while we still have the time and opportunity, we should work our best in leaving behind good memories that will serve as a reminder and inspiration to our children and children's children. Today's 1st reading tells us that we are to live the covenant and at its heart are the statutes and decrees spoken of by Moses. If we live the heart of the covenant then we could take possession of the Land. This land is a foreshadowing of heaven. Right now we take the land interiorly as we receive communion, we become one with Christ. Jesus is in communion with God the Father and we take communion with Christ. What faith confesses, the sacraments communicate. Baptism makes us sons of God. We see in scriptures, that we have the right to become children of God. As in 2 Peter 1:3-4, "His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire." He has granted His precious and magnificent promises for us to be partakers of the divine nature. Also in Col 2:12 You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.  Baptism makes us sharers of the divine mystery. In Romans 8:14-17, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, 3 Father!" The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” We share in the very destiny of Jesus. We live out this call that we’ve been given. We are called by God and destined for God. We are called to beatitude to take possession of the land and to lay hold of the beatific vision of the light. We have the dignity as human persons and are moved by grace to direct ourselves to this fulfillment. It is by our act of choice and the grace. It is our duty to develop an informed conscience and also through revelation. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1849) Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law." It violates eternal law, reason, humanity and our dignity as children of God. We are sometimes labeled as supermarket Catholics because we treat our faith in the same way when we go shopping in a supermarket. We only pick up what we need and like and leave behind what is not useful or does not appeal to our taste or preferences. We choose what's economical and what's fitted to our budget and sometimes we fail to realize that is for our own good that we have to follow everything and not modify it according to our own liking. The formula for a truly happy life is the 10 commandments. It doesn't limit freedom but instead enhances freedom and be truly wise and intelligent. 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, were 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, it 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, we are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the one true source of life. The problem is that there is a great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure.  But God commands them to be used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us who we are.  The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. God created us when we came out of the womb, our mothers and father have a great role in that but our creation continues every single day of our lives. We’re even becoming someone more beautiful, mature and strong or someone weaker and more despicable. There’s no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Heaven is the realization of being a champion. In heaven we will be glorified magnificently. We will live forever with strength, power and beauty sharing a new humanity with Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Moses spoke to the people and said: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’ For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today? “However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

No matter what we're going through we can always rely on God to uphold and defend our cause. If we claim to be true followers and believers of our Lord Jesus Christ then we can put a claim on these same blessings and privileges bestowed on the chosen people of God. His covenant with His people is everlasting. There is a big difference between a covenant and contract. A contract is an agreement which is all about an exchange of goods while the covenant is an exchange of relationships. God wants to have a relationship with us first and foremost and through it everything else will follow. No poet, writer or artist can ever describe in words or paint in canvass the love of God. For the immensity of its beauty and glory is immeasurable and beyond understanding.  The readings for today point to the fact that we have a responsibility in our hands if we truly claim that we are a people of God. We have to follow and obey God at all times which can only be done and fulfilled if we have full knowledge of what God wants us to do. We’ve got to realize the most essential and important things in life that we sometimes lose sight of and tend to neglect. Let us not be dissuaded nor distracted by the allurement of this world and end up losing what really matters most. Our God is Perfect but we are still part of this imperfect world thus we are bound to experience the daily struggles of life. This reminds me of this incident when this lady who was already very careful in her movements still ended up scraped in her arm. She didn't even figure out how it could have happened. When we bump into something we usually develop a bruise but we would sometimes find one without knowing how it came to be. We sometimes get wounded and bruised even before we know it. Take the example of those people who are taking medications (anticoagulants) that predispose them to bruise easily. Well, things happen even if we do not want or expect it but we can always draw strength and inspiration from today's psalm knowing that God is our Mighty Healer and Savior. There are times when we are in a hurry to work things out on our own and forget to peacefully surrender all our concerns to God. That's when we end up tired and beaten because we've used up all the energy of our mind, body and soul. It's what usually happens to most of us when we are confronted with dilemmas.  If we have learned how to truly wait for the Lord then we are not far from that place of peace where God is leading us. If we look back at what we've been through especially our trials and difficulties, then we can only feel so blessed and find gratitude in our hearts for all the things that lead to now. It will always be good to undergo trials and hardships in life and remain steadfast in the Lord for everything will pay off in the end. Not a single thing that we've been through for the glory of God will ever be in vain. Victory is indeed for those who acknowledge the Son Of God, Jesus Christ. It is only right that we give all glory, honor and praise to God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

R: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

...He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! 16 He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes. (R) 19 He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. 20 He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them.

Jesus is very clear in today’s gospel that He has come not to abolish but to fulfill the law. He comes in obedience to the Father and lives it perfectly. We fall into this vicious cycle of believing in Jesus and still continue to sin.  He did not come to overturn but to fulfill the law.  We are to avoid sin and do good. We trust ourselves to the mercy of God. Though, we still grow as we struggle with sin. We must humble and renew ourselves in charity. Now is the time for conversion of our life to goodness. We should assess ourselves. Are we become holier as we struggle against sins? Are we moving away from sins of our predominant fall? What sins do we usually repeat in our confession? Are we struggling and fighting against it? What do our friends and families remind us of? How do we worship? How is our moral life? Is it lived in the whole pillar dedicated to the commandments? Our personal sin is the enemy that we’re fighting. Our pitfall is that we’re trying to change the external all the time, the other people around us and the situation instead of looking at the battle we have to find in ourselves. The usual loophole is our covetousness towards our neighbor’s goods. It comes up in different forms, these desires that is not in harmony with reason. It is the concupiscence and lust of the flesh. Lust is a huge epidemic and problem to live the 6th & 9th commandment. We need help and God’s grace. We need chastity and must appeal to Him for that grace. We should avoid near occasions that cause us to sin. It’s in the heart so we have to make the radical approach not to let it enter our heart. We need to work on the purity of heart in order to see God face to face when our time comes. We are called to be like Him and see our brothers and sisters as children of God. We also have to fight our desires to have more and more. The more we have the more secured we are. There is this deep tendency in us to place our security in things and people.  We are always confronted with the temptation to do predominant work in our life and pull us away from God. It scatters our energies and focus to do something to build up our esteem, pride and ego. We tend to desire to control others, call the shots and not to submit to God. We need to seek His direction and His will. It should be the trajectory of our life, to prefer God over everything else. When we lack security then we should cling to God. Whatever sin it is that defeat us, we should make a firm and conscious effort to get out of our selfishness, go to others, fight sin and appeal to God for grace. Today's gospel holds the key to excel and be great in the kingdom of heaven. Let us not have second thoughts or falter when it comes to deciding for the Lord. Whatever it is we decide to do, let us make sure that God is always our main reason. In doing so, we can be sure that we are not taking the wrong side and are clearly not supporting the cause of the evil one. It is very sad that nowadays people no longer give much care about this. We sometimes fall into the trap of complacency and tend to conform to the alluring and tempting materialism that this world offers. We always set God aside and place Him in a corner treating Him like a nobody. We always end up calling the shots while we continue to ignore and take for granted what should clearly be taken first place and seriously. If we truly are grateful to the one true God whom we should love, respect and honor above any other gods that try to win our loyalty and praise then we should try to start by following His commandments in heart, body and soul. For only when we do the right thing before God can we find true freedom. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Matthew 5:17-19

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”