Today's 1st reading calls us to repentance. We may not be aware of this but we are sometimes doing things differently than what we are called to do. All the things that are happening to us call us little by little to conversion. We have to make that step of faith and trust in God as we are encouraged to do in the reading. If we do it would be like the obstacles that stand in our way to God were removed. If we give in to sin we would only find that it provides satisfaction only for a fleeting moment. We turn only to the Lord for only Him can truly satisfy us in an everlasting way. Amen. Hallelujah!
Sirach 17:20-24
To the penitent he provides a way back, he encourages those who are losing hope! 20 Return to the LORD and give up sin, pray to him and make your offenses few. 21 Turn again to the Most High and away from sin, hate intensely what he loathes;...
Jesus is fully human and fully divine. These are the 2 opposite parts that make up the arch of Mark's gospel and joined in the fulcrum or apex of its architectural structure.
The first half of the gospel represents the Jesus as the Son of God and image of power and might and can be found in Chapters1-8:26, Jesus who is in charge, giving orders, an exorcist, and walks on water. Jesus is in control and source of strength, drive and power. The Son of God focused on His mission who engages into rapid phase of exorcisms and healing. He is truly the Son of God. Second half of the gospel (Ch. 11:1-15:47), Jesus as the Son of Man and image of weakness and suffering. No longer in charge and the one receiving orders, suffered greatly which is the prelude to the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, dying and rising of Jesus from the dead. We can often encounter in Mark's gospel, Jesus ordering them not to tell anyone about the miracles He had done. It's because they won't understand until Jesus is nailed on the cross. This is core purpose of Jesus' becoming man to save mankind. The fulcrum or apex of the arch is found in the middle of the gospel, Jesus as Savior which is the central theme of Mark's gospel where Jesus' divinity meets His humanity in the cross as the perfect victim (sacrificial lamb/scapegoat) of man's salvation. Mark is telling us and intended for us to discover the arch in ourselves that will bring us closer to the center/apex/fulcrum of our lives who is Jesus. We are too preoccupied with our physical and material needs that we end up neglecting the most important need, that of our eternal soul. When we get sick, we try to look for cure and treatment in order to bring our bodies back in shape. We even resort to different means in order to maintain our health and keep it in perfect shape by eating the right kind of food and exercising. This kind of care that we give our bodies should also be the same and even more for our spiritual bodies, our souls. There is not much difference, when our souls are inflicted with wounds of our sins, we must try to cure ourselves by going to God and asking forgiveness right away before it gets any worse. We have to treat our souls with utmost care and diligence. Though, nothing is ever impossible for God because He can make us whole. The problem lies with us when we are deeply stuck in our sins or we could also be just comfortably wading in the seashore of sins. When these happen we either fall into the trap of false impressions that little things won't hurt but before we know it we have become entangled in those little things that we thought we could easily get away with. As scriptures say, we ought to be ready at all times we might be caught unaware and empty handed just like the Parable of the Virgins and the song which says, "Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning until the break of day." We don't want to be found with no more oil in our lamps. Or we could be too deeply stuck in the mud of our sins that we tend to choose just to be left in our misery. The small and unnoticeable wounds that we inflict on ourselves can eventually amount into a big and ugly scar so it would be easier for us not to wait until we're in a total wreck before we go to God. Leprosy is a disease that makes a person look very ugly and unwanted. I remember this time when a friend and I shared some thoughts about physical beauty when we met a priest from Italy . Just by looking at him, one could not help but think that he could really pass off as an actor in Hollywood . He is very tall and handsome. During our conversation we both came up with this thought that physical beauty could sometimes obstruct a person's holiness if the person is not careful of his/her choices. It could lure him/her to a lot of worldly options that are presented to him/her. It is a lot better to have a beautiful soul for eternity than to be physically beautiful for a limited time. We admired this priest for offering himself to God for he was not only handsome physically but surely very wise for he realized the importance of making it big in the kingdom of God
Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R: Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
1 Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile. (R) 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin. (R) 6 For this shall every faithful man pray to you in time of stress. Though deep waters overflow, they shall not reach him. (R) 7 You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
Many years ago we had the opportunity to take part in a very unique activity in the prayer meeting facilitated by a guest speaker from the Philippines . It was an enjoyable and learning experience for all of us that made us more focused on what Jesus is trying to tell the rich man in today's gospel. The activity was likened to an auction sale but the things on sale are not material things but values that are most important to us. The Values for Auction Sale are the ff.:
1. Integrity & good reputation
2. Gaining respect and recognition in my parish, community, office, etc.
3. Being united with God in heaven
4. Lasting marriage or relationship, loyalty of spouse and family
5. Clean conscience, precious in God's eyes
6. Having someone to love me or take care of me
7. Peace of mind
8. Intimate relationship with God
9. Having plenty of money for my needs and to secure my future
10. Accomplishing my parish projects and witnessing the fruits of my labor
11. Having plenty of friends and/supporters
12. Academic excellence-like advance/special studies locally or abroad
13. Enjoying life comforts-house, car, appliances, provision for night life, etc.
14. Getting higher position in my company, parish, community
15. Good health, free of any chronic disease
16. Making a big difference in the lives of others
17. Long life
The following statement which is very enlightening came with the speaker's module, "It is our investment in these accounts that our real worth and value is measured before God and humanity. And it is in this measure that our life finds real meaning and purpose. We have to start looking for our wealth. And if we have not invested enough, we still have time. Don't wait until it is too late."
We have to be wise in our investments and willing to make the highest bid, let go of the lower values to lay claim on the higher values and truly benefit from it not just in this temporary life but in eternity. It is not true that God makes it difficult for us to enter heaven rather it is ourselves who make it difficult. When we cling to people and things more than we cling to God then that's when it becomes difficult. We've got to realize by now that nothing is impossible for God and by uniting ourselves to Him we can overcome anything. Instead of focusing on the enormous problems and impossibility of the tasks we are facing it is better to dwell on the truth that we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. We've got to surrender everything to God and unite our wills with Him so that what seems to be impossible becomes possible. St. Dominic Sabio said that he would choose death rather than sin. We have to know what helps us to overcome sin in our life. St. Ignatius of Loyola said that we have to retrace the steps that led us to fall into sin and strive to eliminate it. It is in the beginning when sin is easily overcome. We have to attack sin at a point where it can still be easily removed or put to a stop. One more important thing is to avoid occasions of sin. We must not underestimate the effects of original sin. If we play with fire we will get burned. Furthermore, "Curiosity kills more than just cats, it can kill the soul." We have to resist temptation and offer negative resistance but when a temptation is difficult, we offer positive resistance through prayer. We do this by invoking the presence of God in moments of temptation. We can also do the opposite virtue for which we are being tempted. For example we are tempted to hate and despair we make an act of love and hope. If it's an attack to chastity then we direct ourselves to other things. There is a parable about making it is easy to live virtuously. It is about a man who said that there are 2 wolves fighting within us. When asked who won he answered it is the one who we feed the most. We have to feed the good wolf in us through spiritual reading, frequenting the sacraments, spending time in prayer and engaging in healthy spiritual friendships or anything that can inspire and strengthen our character to what virtue is in need of. We’re not Pelagians who believe in the theory that we can be holy by our own strength alone. We need the grace of God. If we know we are lacking in devotion we ask for fervency and a fiery love of God. We should work and develop abhorrence for sin as in hate intensely what God loathes. We should see sin for what it really is. Eve looked upon the fruit and saw that it is pleasing to the eyes. It may have an appeal but it brings destruction. An offense to God is an attack to our own dignity. Sin is a threat to our union with God because it delays or prevents it. Sin may appeal to us in a very irresistible way but we have to keep in mind that all it can give is just a momentary sort of delight. We need to think of ourselves walking on the edge of a cliff. If we want to strive for holiness and perfection we need to move further away from the cliff so as to increase the distance between us and the cliff and thus prevent falling into sin. It is a difficult task but as the gospel tells us today, "All things are possible for God.” Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 10:17-27
...“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ...“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God
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