MIRACULOUS MEDAL SERIES

 When we attended an MI (Militia Immaculata) Village Meeting at the St. Maximillian Kolbe Missionary House. The topic was about the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal whose feast we will be celebrating on Nov. 27. A lot of memories started to come back to me. I know about the stand of the Catholic Church with regards to artificial contraception but I felt then I had no better choice  but to take the pills. This happened many years ago, it was during my 2nd month of taking the pills that I decided to finally stop it due to a persistent message I heard during the prayer meetings I was attending back then. Nobody knew that I was taking the pills that was why I got the surprise of my life when the preacher said this," I know that you know who you are and the Lord is telling you that He is not pleased with artificial family planning." It happened for 3 consecutive prayer meetings and was consistently being said in the end like a parting word for all of us. The preacher didn't even know me personally then. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence but when she consistently said the same message for the 2nd and 3rd time that was when I finally got bothered and gathered all my courage and determination to stop taking the pills. I was determined to just stick to the natural family planning method despite the serious warning of the doctor that an abrupt stop in taking it could cause another pregnancy right away. I was perfectly aware of the repercussions of my sudden decision which reminds of the plight of the Israellites in today's 1st reading. Although my situation was a lot less difficult than theirs I felt the same determination and firmness in my heart to stick to my part of the covenant with God. The terrible did happen when immediately after I stopped taking the pills I suddenly missed my period. It was the month of the feast of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and was more than a month delayed. I can never forget what happened on the feast day (Nov 27) itself when I went to attend mass and was asking Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to intercede on my behalf because on that very day after coming home I got my period. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Maccabees 1:10-15. 41-43. 54-57. 62-63

...They covered over the mark of their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing... and many Israelites were in favour of his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath...Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant, and whoever observed the law, was condemned to death by royal decree. 62 But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; 63 they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Terrible affliction was upon Israel...

“Don't trust too much, don't love too much, don't care too much because that "too much" wiil hurt you so much...” This is a quotation I came across on Facebook. It somehow answers the part where we have to hurt so much. We use our mind to sort out what is true. God has given us the intellect, will, passions and emotions. Sometimes our emotions lead and carry us away in the search and to discern the truth. Our mind can seek the truth and our will can choose the truth freely. After the fall of our 1^st parents, even if we know what is right we have been infected by the malice of the world and our will have become weakened. Our emotions play a big role in our will. This is why it should be properly directed. Our emotions go up and down and it is not the proper gauge. Some relationships should not just be built upon a bunch of good feelings. It is a very dangerous basis for love. We need to ask the question of truth and get a hold of our emotions so that we can put our relationships in proper perspective. There are so many things that we are worried about but only one thing is needed and we have to be sure that we pick the best option. We need not confuse ourselves by even considering the options that the world enticingly and seductively present to us. Does this song sound familiar? "Gusto kong bumait pero di ko magawa." (I’d like to be good but I just can’t) Because we are still in this world and its laws  dominate  us it  is  indeed  hard  to  serve the  law of  God.  But we are constantly reminded  that  if  we   only  make a stand  on which side we are then God will deliver us. There is only one thing needed and we have to choose the best part. We have to do things according to God's statutes and precepts which is the only sure way to live a happy and abundant life first here on earth and then for eternity.  There is one thing we need to do. Let us always focus on Jesus and follow the example He has left for us to live by. What a friend we have in Jesus. He is never amiss on anything. Let us not hesitate to reach out to Him for in Him we find a true friend who is ready to help us. If we come to Him at all times for guidance and direction, He will always be there to take our hand and lead us to the right path. The Lord knows exactly what's in our hearts. There are times when people judge us based only on what they see but what matters most is that we are right before God. The truth is that we ought to realize by now that only God can deliver us from all evil and there is no one else to whom we can go but to Him. The Lord has promised and He will fulfill. This should give us so much joy and peace in knowing this. There is no doubt that God in His goodness surely sheds light, giving understanding to the simple in times of affliction. We need to always hold on to God at all times and never lose hope in Him. We just got to hold on tight! No matter what happen let us always keep in mind that God fulfills all His promises. It may not be right away and could be later but He will surely reveal things in His most perfect time. We've got to realize that there is no love greater than the love God is offering us. We need to make sure that what we sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine riches, true delight and the most precious treasure which the world can not give and only God can bring about. Just imagine ourselves walking in the dark without knowing what we are stepping on and where we are headed. It is very difficult there is no doubt about it. We need light to guide our steps and show the way. We have to realize that loving God means obeying with all our heart. Have you experienced waking up or going to bed at the same time everyday? It's because of the circadian clock or the rhythmic biological cycles that happen or recurring everyday in us. Let us pray to God that we develop in ourselves an instinct and discipline to naturally follow His commands like the circadian clock. The time to act is now. Let us seize every opportunity to know the Word of God while we still can.

1. Do we see God as the Primary agent?
God is the Primary Agent of Evangelization. It is not about us but about God.
2. Do we see Evangelization as everyone's responsibility?
We must not end up like the Dead Sea that just received water but did not give out. The same thing happens to us when we do not take the responsibility of evangelization as our own. We have to work on improving our skills for the work of God.
3. Do we communicate God's love?
4. Is total human betterment part of the ministry?
5. Do we respect other traditions?
God does not take sides. There is an equal opportunity for all but we have to make sure that we are on God's side. We need to rid ourselves of any triumphant or arrogant attitude towards people of other faith. The Abrahamic religion has a common denominator which is belief in God. We are not the sole professor of truth. We need to listen for God's revelation from others, too not only from us.
6. Does our love go beyond Catholic borders?
The kingdom of God is older and a broader reality than the Catholic Church. We need to live a humble life and forgive each other.
7. Is our approach ecumenical?
We do not have the monopoly of God because the Good News has no border and dealt with a common faith.
8. Do we use all available media?
The best media is our own life, no need for TV. The example of how we live our life is the best means to evangelize. Walk the talk.
9. Do we fully utilize existing groups like ministries that renew and energize members?
10. What is our total image?
We've got to maintain a wholesome image unlike the Crusaders, though they were able to convert many to the faith, the spread of the Good News was carried out using the sword. We must take extra care in projecting the right image as Good Messengers of the Good News. We can't just take one passage and take it as a whole, we have to consider the entire scriptures. It must be read within the living tradition of the Church. It is written in the Church's heart in the very essence of who Jesus is. The analogy of faith and inner harmony should co-exist and take all of them together as a unity. To take just one part of the truth and depend solely on it for everything else to unravel would end up in heresy and find ourselves outside the truth. The depository of faith is entrusted by the apostles to the whole of the Magisterium of the Church. This task of giving an authentic teaching of the depository of the faith is given to the living successors of Peter who is the Pope and the Bishops in our Catholic Church. We must have the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the Magisterium of the Church. If the Church is not a Divine institution it would have crashed 2000 yrs ago. Living tradition and sacred scriptures are the means to transmit the faith. We need to know this to understand how God's plan works through things revealed by God to us and recalled by faith.

Another interesting event I am reminded of is one of the MI (Militia Immaculata) Meetings we had in the past  wherein we were asked to introduce ourselves briefly by saying our names, parishes where we belong and the time when we were consecrated to the Mother Mary. I can never forget the date I was consecrated (March 15, 2008) since it was the same date, but in 1995, of my mother's death anniversary but I would rather call it her birth to eternal life. It was highlighted by another significant event which was a dream I had at that same time of my aunt, Tita Edna who also passed away on the same month, March 24 in the year 1992. The dream was quite interesting and very vivid because I saw Tita Edna  riding in a van and the moment I saw her I took off immediately and ran after the van which I almost missed if I did not leap and managed to make it to the door of the van from which I almost fell. When I finally made it inside the van, I saw that she was about to eat so I offered her a hand sanitizer and saw that it made her so glad that I had it. She immediately applied it in her hands and thanked me for it. It suddenly gave me the impression that the van could be a symbol of our transportation to heaven. It is very difficult to catch that ride, we have to be always alert and vigilant we might end up missing it and worst never be able catch the ride ever again. That is, if we are too busy with other things we tend to neglect what should we be paying attention to and end up missing out on our ride and get a different ride which instead of bringing us to heaven, be brought to another destination which I guess none of us would like to be. We must always know on whose authority we are basing our actions. It will always help to examine ourselves and really be aware where our loyalty lies. Are we for God or against God or are we just for God in the superficial sense?  If we are deeply rooted in Him then we can withstand that horrible day of trial  and still find ourselves persevering in our faith. Just the thought of ending up in hell should really make us pray fervently to God.  Today's psalm teaches us the way to always be attuned to God's Spirit in order for us to truly see the word of God, as the light shining like a lamp for our feet. If we really want to be truly happy then there is just one thing we have to always do that is to always keep ourselves blameless before the Lord. We can never run away from the probing eyes of God because nothing is hidden from Him. We sometimes have this impression that our God requires impossibilities from us. We misinterpret and take things in a different way whenever we hear of rules and regulations to be followed. The decrees of our Lord are not meant to make things difficult for us nor do they burden or tie us down. This is the deception and we should start looking at it the right way. Just imagine life without God's decrees to guide us, it would be very disorderly and chaotic. It's like driving in the freeway wherein one can just go his or her own way without any regard for any traffic rules and regulations. Real freedom is the ability to follow God and being totally free of the grasp and hold of sin that brings death. Some sins bring instant death but others just like cancer slowly creep in and before we know it has already eaten us up whole.  God loves us so much that He has given us His decrees because it is in following them that we become totally free and live. The only way to true freedom is by following God's commands. In doing this we become free of the bondage of sin and live a power filled life based on the Truth. We should believe that if there is someone in and out of this world who is most reasonable, just, fair and at the same time loving, caring, slow to anger and rich in kindness that is no other than our God. One thing for sure, if He requires us something, He will definitely equip us for it because it is written, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." If we commit ourselves to following God then we will surely be blessed. Allow me to use the word "luck" or "swerte" in Tagalog in lieu of any other more appropriate word like blessed or pinagpala in Tagalog since I have always been hearing this word being used very often by some people in reference to certain situations within the broad context of this word. I just couldn't help but share it, first and foremost due to some personal circumstances. We often hear people say to another who is about to embark on something challenging, “good luck” If the word luck may have been associated with whatever negative meaning then consider it excluded from here and out of context for the mean time. Let's just say we would like to broaden the scope of our vocabulary. This is to further drive the point or message in today's psalm and is actually the catch here. This is to come up with an induction that following the law of the Lord is just as synonymous to being blessed, lucky, swerte or pinagpala or any other word that we could closely associate with this. It is not very easy to lead a life like that of the saints who followed the example of Jesus. Ignorance is not an excuse. We should always seek to enrich our knowledge about God so that we will continuously grow in our faith. Our world is ever changing with all the new technology coming up, it's so surprising that whatever is considered the latest and gold standard today may not hold true the following day. If there's one thing we should rely and hold on to in this very dynamic world of ours, then it should be something constant and enduring.  It gives us great consolation that we have a God who is true to His word. We may have heard it but we haven't learned yet. It is a lifelong journey and quest to know God better. Nothing can be more rewarding than having great peace in our lives. We can make this possible by adhering to God’s law and committing to following it in word and deed. It will always be well for us to consult the scriptures that shed light and give understanding. We've got to make sure that what we sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine riches, true delight and the most precious treasure which the world can not give and only God can bring about. It is only right that we follow the law of the Lord if we are really for God then our works should follow us and testify to who we really are. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 119:53. 61. 134. 150. 155. 158

R: Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands.

53 Indignation seizes me because of the wicked who forsake your law. (R) 61 Though the snares of the wicked are twined about me your law I have not forgotten. (R) 134 Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may keep your precepts. (R) 150 I am attacked by malicious persecutors who are far from your law.

 A lot of things that already happened many years ago were all suddenly coming back to me now. The speaker in the MI Village seminar mentioned something about the apparitions of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to Catherine Laboure as related to the apparitions to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France. This struck me as very significant information too. Aside from the fact that we were married in the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, our 2 sons are both products of the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong. Our lives are very intertwined with the Blessed Mother in a very special way. I choose to give recognition to these things and treasure it very dearly in my heart. Today's gospel speaks of a blind man who was healed by Jesus. He called out to Jesus as Son of David which means that he was able to recognize Him as the Messiah unlike the Jews who remained stubborn in their unbelief. We too, are blind at times of the good things that God has been doing to us since we came to this world. Or we may not be necessarily blind but slow in recognizing God in every single turn in our life just like the Jews. We have lost the awe that is fitting to a great God who can really make things happen and not happen in our lives. We go through life and just let such things pass by unnoticed or taken for granted. This happens most of the time that’s why we really need to learn from the enthusiasm, determination and most of all faith of this blind man in today's gospel. It also shows us how a blind man gained his eyesight and gave glory to God. This means that blindness can be a barrier to giving praise and glory to God. We may not be physically blind but our souls are. We've got to see not only with our physical eyes but most importantly our souls should have eyes too. In this way we can respond and act in accordance to what is truly essential and lasting. We should always be alert, sharpen our senses just like the blind man who was able to hear that Jesus is passing by, though his sense of seeing is impaired he was able to call Jesus' attention and it did not stop him from drawing Jesus near to Him. We may be broken in some aspects of our life but let us not be stopped in utilizing other faculties in order to receive the miracle of Jesus in our lives. We should continue to seek other means to attain our goals and let us continue to call on Him no matter how big the obstacles are in front of us. Just like the blind man in this gospel, we need to see more clearly and have a glimpse of how to serve a God who is more than enough. Unless we see God face to face, we can never fully understand the totality of who our God is. His infinite goodness to us makes us long to serve Him more but our disabilities like this blind man keeps us from doing so that there is really a need to be persistent and calling out to God all the more no matter how embarrassing and difficult our situation happens to be. We simply should never stop and give up for not even our entire lifetime can ever live up to a Holy, Mighty and Immortal God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 18:35-43

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.