I haven't seen the movie, “The Untouchables” yet but I have heard much about it. It has become a byword when a person gets away with crime, murder or something evil then that person is labeled, the untouchable. But wait, consider this for a moment, how do you think does it feel to be God's Untouchables? Wow, I am sure it is the best thing that could ever happen to us. Since we are still in this world, things are far from ideal and perfect around us. We are always confronted by the enemy's plans and schemes. But if we put to heart and take action on what is said in today's 1st reading then we'll gain the confidence that we are protected because we belong to God. We can not deny the fact that God makes His presence known to us in many wonderful ways that we can all think about. This sharing in Didache is inspired by a bible passage from today's 1st reading and is very reflective of a God who does not hesitate to answer our prayers. We too have experiences when we feel God's answer to our prayers in the form of circumstances and events that surround us. It is surely nice to hear about testimonies that acknowledge the truth that God answers prayers like this one from Didache entitled: MESSAGE FROM THE PIANO
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. – 1 John 5:14
Lian, the daughter of my older brother, invited me to her wedding to be held in Virginia on November 21, 2008. I wanted to attend the wedding, but because I had 101 commitments in Manila , I thought I’d never make it.
Two days before my flight, I was at a mall shopping for stuff to bring to the US . I still had doubts that God really wanted me to go. I just needed one more confirmation.
Then, as I marveled at how an electronic grand piano in the middle of the mall operated by itself, it played The Star Spangled Banner. I often shop at this mall and I always hear this grand piano playing mostly love songs. This was the first time that it played a national anthem — and of the US at that! I knew then this was the confirmation I was asking God for.
Yes, I asked God for a confirmation about my trip to the US because I’ve long believed the promise in today’s reading in 1 John 5:14-21, “that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” And, as I experienced, He gives us a definite answer! Cynthia Santiago (boses2go@gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
How confident are you that God hears you?
Lord, strengthen my faith, that I may always be confident that You listen to my pleadings. -end-
Let us make a shift to what I learned from our Apologetics class with regards to what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in (CCC) 1949:
Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, man stands in need of salvation from God. Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the grace that sustains him: Philippians 2:12-13:Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
The devil has acquired a certain domination in man. Man is dominated by greed, pride and lust.
We must be cleansed of impurities, stains of our sins, must be sanctified and not be like white washed tombs. Sins are offenses against a person, society and God. They vary in their degree. Here are the impurities that must be cleansed:
1. Venial sins that have not been forgiven (CCC 1472;1862) 2. Mortal sins (CCC 1857-1859) (1 Jn. 5:16-17) a violation of the 10 commandments, serious in nature, full knowledge, deliberate consent and voluntary. Sins that lead to death. God knows our heart, to whom much is given more is expected. No one is deemed ignorant in the conscience of the Law. There are 2 types of ignorance: a) Vincible ignorance something that a person can overcome since it is our responsibility to know more about our God. If we did not act on the good thing that we have access or within our means then we can not be excused from it. b) Invincible ignorance - something you can not overcome. Ex. pagans who are in unreachable places. Basic goodness is inculcated by God in every person. Our conscience dictates us to worship our Creator.
2.Sins that have not been fully atoned for. We must repair the consequences of our sins. We should fully pay for it. In Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus said, "Listen Sir, I'll give 1/2 of my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anyone, I'll pay him back 4x as much." The consequences of sin are guilt and punishment due to sin (CCC 1473) and also in 2 Samuel 11-12 when David repented of his grievous sins of adultery and murder but also suffered its consequences.
CCC 407:
The doctrine of original sin, closely connected with that of redemption by Christ, provides lucid discernment of man's situation and activity in the world. By our first parents' sin, the devil has acquired a certain domination over man, even though man remains free. Original sin entails "captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14)
Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action, and morals. It is also what the 1st reading is telling us today. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 John 5:14-21
14 Beloved: We have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours… We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
We may have seen people who are exercise and health buffs and really take care of their bodies well. Just by looking at them we can already say that they work hard to develop a muscular and strong body. They were able to get good results because they have committed themselves to a strict diet and exercise regimen. In the same way, we should work hard and stick to a regimen that will maintain our souls in perfect shape. No matter who we are, what we do and where we are we can no longer have any excuse not to praise and give glory to God “as is where is”. We are all God's children and we should rightfully assert our place in the kingdom of our God the Father. We are the Church of God which does not pertain to just the physical structure but also the Spiritual Church of God which is our souls dwelling in the physical temple of God Japan . I was late and did not see the demonstration so when I was given the flowers to arrange I just did it for the sake of just getting it over and done with. What do you expect? I was not proud of what I did. In fact I even removed the label from my work so nobody would know that I was the one who did it since I am representing the Philippines . It is a consolation to know that we have a God and Creator who knows perfectly well what He is doing. No matter what we do to ourselves He will never disown us. Since we are still in this world but definitely not of this world, which is temporary. It should always be our daily commitment to God that we reconnect, refocus, realign and all kinds of action that will redirect us to God in order to withstand this constant battle and tug of war between good and evil. We just have to realize that it is ourselves who eventually disown and turn our backs on God knowingly or unknowingly. If we remain faithful to the Lord and live our lives according to His decrees then we will always find ourselves rejoicing as stated in the psalm reading today. We just need to remind ourselves always that when He created us, humans, He saved the best for last. He even fashioned us in His own image and likeness. In fact, up to this present time, scientists and scholars have not fully solved and understood the mysteries and wonders of the human body and soul. As far as science is concerned we the humans are the most advanced living creatures in this planet endowed with all the capacities that no other creatures are capable of. God will never run out of good things in store for us. We might have hit rock bottom or the lowliest place in our lives but we can always be assured that our God speaks in our hearts and will never forsake nor abandon. If there's one thing that should never leave our minds and hearts then that is the truth that we are on top of God's creation and takes delight in us. If we are faithful to God then we can claim all the benefits of being God's kingdom of priests. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 149: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 9
R: The Lord takes delight in his people.
1 Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. 2 Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. (R) 3 Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. 4 For the LORD loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory. (R) 5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches; 6 let the high praises of God be in their throats. 9 This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
We are about to end the Christmas season and immediately enter into the Baptism of our Lord tomorrow. Then it will be followed by the Public Ministry of Jesus our Redeemer and Savior. This is what the Church does as we celebrate these different seasons of the Liturgical Calendar. We are encouraged to participate in the very action of Jesus Christ. We are constantly invited to renew our commitment to God so that we too can have a place in His home and dwelling place which is to spend eternity in heaven. We call ourselves Christians because we want to bear His name and be in a relationship with Him. What we want is to be joined and united with God to whom we really belong. We do not want to be in the care of feeble hands rather we want to be in the hands of Jesus. He has always been spoken of as the bridegroom. Just like a bride waiting for her bridegroom we should also respond to God in this way. We hear of women longing to meet the man who would someday bring her to the altar. A man who is truly in love wants her bride to be beautiful. The bridegroom loves and provides for her bride so that she would be radiant with beauty. The bridegroom joins himself to the bride and brings her home with him. The bride in return shares the identity of her bridegroom by acquiring his name. She loves the reality that she participates in the life of the husband. Somehow these things give as a peek of how God as the bridegroom feels for us as His bride. We are invited to participate in His life and take a hold of it in our hearts just like this young woman in love with a man who has taken her to himself. God has always shown His goodness and mercy to all. No one can deny that despite our unfaithfulness He has always come around to save us. God takes possession of His people as a bridegroom to his bride. What happens when the bridegroom comes? We simply rejoice because the one that all the world has been longing for has come. As in Isaiah 63:19, "...Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down..." God indeed came and dwelt among us. All of our life has meaning because He lives in us. Sometimes we do and say things that not a lot of people understand and agree with. This is just natural because we are all unique and different from each other. Whenever we come to this point when we encounter these things it will always be best to refer to today's gospel. We should always make sure that the intention and motive of our actions are centered on Christ and no matter how difficult it may seem we should never waive nor falter and should continue doing what we ought to do for God's greater glory. Everything that we own, have access to and enjoy right now are all gifts from God and must be used for His greater glory. When we testify to God's word being fulfilled in us, we are overjoyed and feels vindicated especially when we are beset by trials and hardships. But our joy can only be complete if it is perfected in the fact that in all of these things we bring back the glory to God. John the Baptist gave us our ideal , I must decrease and He must increase (John 3:30) . All the foolishness, all the unreality all the intolerance all the selfishness. All the sin that is in us must decrease so that we must fill the vacuum with our Lord who wants to share our life. He wants to be part of the life we are building. Whatever happens to us happens to Him and He wants us to share it with Him because only then will we find the rest that we pray. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 3:22-30
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”
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