ANCIENT TEMPTATIONS

This Lenten season we may want to think of ourselves on a spiritual journey. We should travel very lightly and take no baggage at all. In this so called journey we might want to consider also how each of us has been planted with a seed. We should develop but must not miss the fact that in the parable of the sower it didn’t all grow. All developments grow in a hostile environment especially if we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Life is a battle with evil that we can see in our own selves, in the world and the principalities. The kingdom of God suffers violent assault as St. Paul puts it and uses the army of salvation (Ephesians 6:10-11). It helps to make use of these analogies. We must keep in mind that those who are not willing to battle for good in this world may not accomplish anything. Although it is also written that those who take the sword will perish by the sword but there are battles in other forms that we clearly should make a stand on.  As today’s 1st reading calls us to do, we should release our brothers and sisters from the fangs and claws of our present day culture of death. The battle of pro-life against abortion to defend our helpless fellow human beings who could not fight to preserve their own lives is one. We may not be totally aware of the gravity of this act but it is slowly eating away the moral fabric of our beings. This is something that we should all face and not turn our backs on. We are called by God to cooperate in His Divine will in maintaining justice and peace among His people, young or old. The Lord is calling us to go much further from the fast that we have all been used to doing. We need to come up with concrete effects within ourselves and the people around us when we fast as specifically stated in today's 1st reading. We can not just go on fasting for the sake of obligation but we need to do better than that. We have to do things right in order to really benefit from it. When we always associate fasting with food I'd like to quote, Mother Angelica from EWTN when she said that it isn't our stomachs that's in bad shape but it's our souls. Sometimes our souls could be very calloused and desensitized to sin and error that goes on today. It's the worst kind of evil when people totally push aside the truth and doctrines of the Church. It is extremely necessary that we become sensitive to error. Our thoughts are important to God. The worries of our lives is a form of penance and always offer the sacrifice of the moment to God. It should be a daily thing and should keep on going and live it up even after Lent and not end up being good for nothing. Sometimes we get too focused on the fasting and abstinence issue during the Lenten season, we tend to overlook and fail to see the real meaning of what we are doing. We are reminded to go further in our commitment to the Lord. God challenges us to face our daily struggles in life with a brave and courageous spirit. We should be true and genuine Christians inside and out. Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 58:1-9a

...“Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. 4 Yes, your fast ends in quarrelling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! 5 Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance that a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? 6 This, rather, is the fasting that I wish releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; 7 sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;

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. 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. 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 the 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!  

Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19

R: A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

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) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) …For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept. My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.

God created us with a brilliant mind and a loving heart. In today's gospel Jesus was questioned by John's disciples, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?" Sometimes people question us, too. May we think and feel just like Jesus and always be guided in the things we say or do. May we always find ourselves justified in Jesus name. It is not just what we see that matters but what we truly value and treasure in our hearts. Our innermost motives and intentions should always be in line and conformity to the values of Jesus. We may be doing one thing but may be intending to do another, there is no unity in our actions, words and deeds when we are just after the outward appearances and does not really mean what we are doing. Or worse we're just doing something for the sake of just doing it without really putting our hearts into it. We get carried away by what seems to us as important but fail to see what's most essential. People are not blind to all these and we can not deceive people for long or if even sometimes we can, there is a God who knows everything. We are called to conversion and holiness. It is helpful to take hold of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus and  keep this constantly before us. We may want to look at what’s behind the particular mystery of Jesus’ life when He fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days. Immediately after His prayer and fasting, was the temptation of Jesus in which Jesus rebuffs this attack and points to Adam & Eve’s temptation and Israel’s journey in the desert for 40 years. There are 3 basic temptations represented. Eve was tempted to eat of the fruit because it is pleasing to the eyes. This tempts us to greed because it looks good to eat and can satisfy one’s self. The desires of the flesh tempt us also to lust. It is also said that it is desirable for the knowledge so it can give power and prods a person to pride. From the very beginning since the fall of Adam & Eve in the garden, the devil has capitalized on these 3 things, greed, lust and pride. Even before the fall these were with us already and the devil capitalized on it to trick Adam & Eve hence the fall. As we can see, the devil also used these 3 basic temptations to Jesus. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus was hungry and tempted to turn the stone to bread for satisfaction of the flesh, which is connected to lust. The devil also told Jesus to throw Himself off from the top of the temple since the angels would be there to catch Him. This is the sin to get a hold of power and pride.  The devil asked Jesus to look at all the cities and offered to give Him power and glory which is the sin to greed. As we can see these are the same 3 temptations that Adam & Eve fell into but the devil is dumb to think that Jesus could be tempted with the same temptations. We may also want to look at Israel’s journey in the desert which took them 40 years trying to get to the Promised Land. This is the salvific meaning of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. He is the new Adam, who remains faithful to fulfill the promise to Israel. He is totally obedient to the divine will and is the devil’s conqueror. He binds satan that tricked Adam & Eve in giving into and robbing us of all the graces we have before the fall. He takes back the plunder and anticipates His further victory at the passion on the cross which is the supreme act of obedience. Jesus’ temptation reveals the Son of God who is the Messiah. He is our high priest who has been tested as we are and yet did not fall into sin. This is the mystery that the Church wants to unite us with, Jesus in the desert who is the same Christ who vanquished the tempter for us. We should always keep this at the back of our minds and connect it to the mystery of Jesus at the desert which has a two fold character. First is by recalling our baptism. What it means to be a baptized person and what does it entail? Do we recognize that? Second is to recognize the need for penance. Think of what we have done to offend God. It is time to reflect at where the state of the world is heading and the culture which we have been disposed of. It calls us to pray more diligently and be faithful to the word of God.  We should become predisposed to a faithful reception of the graces that Christ merited on his death on the cross. We can also observe interior penance which can best be manifested in many ways which the scriptures insist on always. There are 3 forms, prayer, fasting and alms giving. These once again make connections to the mystery of Christ in the desert for 40 days. These 3 forms are what every person struggles with most of the time but can help us in many ways to fight those 3 main temptations. Prayer expresses conversion in our relationship with God. Alms giving make better our relationship with other people to overcome greed and selfishness. Fasting to one’s self which is the focus for today’s readings is to fight against lust and sensuality. It develops mastery over our instincts and attains freedom of heart. In this way, we are recalling our baptism as the Church unites herself to Jesus on the desert. Not to forget the 3 forms of penance which help us in conversion to fight the ancient temptations of pride, greed and lust. Everything we do should always have a clear and sincere intention and motivation to put Jesus in the center of it. If we find Jesus comfortably seated, happy and very contented in the midst of our activities just like a bridegroom on the day of his wedding then we can be assured that we are on the right track. God has always been giving us all kinds of reminders, be it direct or indirect, in the form of a parable or a simple story just like in today's gospel. If we would read on further the gospel for today we would find the practicality of the message being conveyed by Jesus is not only applicable to its direct and obvious meaning with regards to new clothes and wine but most especially to our daily lives. Come to think of it, although we all are very knowledgeable about life after having studied and experienced a lot of things we still end up, at times doing the wrong things and end up ruining not only ourselves but the people close to us. We might as well ask ourselves why we sometimes end up doing crazy things that we know already won't work! We all know that only Jesus can make things right and make us whole. If we only remember, we even sing this often, too. He can give us peace, sweet love, joy and heaven too for only Jesus can satisfy our souls. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 9:14-15

14 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

CHOICES

I believe that if we offer all our choices to God he will not refrain from blessing us in so many ways. We have the power to make our lives prosperous and filled with blessings. All we have to do is make that decision and take charge. God gave us the freedom to choose let us hope and pray that we are always inclined to do the will of God in our lives to carry out His plan of prosperity in our life. We always have a choice. It's all up to us whatever we want to choose and it would help a lot if we will always be guided by these bible verses in today's 1st reading from Deuteronomy. The instructions are all very clear and specific and all we have to do is resolutely follow with all our might and strength what God is asking us and never yield to the deceptions and false presentations of the enemy. At this early stage of Lent, the Church calls us to look at the summons of Moses in today’s 1^st reading. This should make us consider our own lives and reflect on it. The summons calls us to a moral decision about one’s faith. Do we choose evil or goodness, prosperity or doom? The goodness of the law and our Lord is something we must choose or destruction must come upon us. The commandments of God are given for our own good. It is not simply an imposition of something to spoil what we think is fun.  Why is it good to follow the commandments? Think of our parents preventing us when we were still young from playing ball in a wide street. They are doing this not just to spoil the fun but to protect us. This is a cause for reflection to make us think of the commandments that God has given us to follow. When we realize that our parents do this to protect us and work for our own good, this will help us to understand God’s commandments. Part of the Lenten season is to obey the commandments. If we may recall, in the year 587, Judah was conquered by the Babylonians but maintained their identity and continued their Jewish tradition. Their difference from people in the north lies in the fact that they have the stronger propensity to worship Baal and pagan gods. Those from the north diffused their faith in the Lord their God. They lost their identity and ceased to exist as tribes. In fact studies show that there is no trace or any idea where they are right now. They were just known as the 10 lost tribes of Israel. Whereas the tribe of Judah listened to the prophets, like Isaiah and Ezekiel, while in Babylon and continued to worship the one true God. We may identify with them in our present life. We have forces that would tear us away from God. We need to cling and hold fast to God by loving and obeying His commandments. This is what will preserve our identity. We are a nation under one God, indivisible. Amen. Hallelujah!

Dt 30:15-20

Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish;… I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, 20 by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you  to live on the land which the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Today’s psalm brought back memories of what I witnessed on television in 2010 when miners in Chile had to be rescued in a mine. Nobody would ever want to be trapped in a dark mine that is 2000 feet below. What caught my attention was the fact that although some of them had been rescued and brought up to the light they were still prevented from exposing their eyes to the light and were given dark shades to wear to protect them. This is what happens when we dare to step into the darkness and stay there too long we adapt to it and wanting to go back to the light instantly could be harmful. Let us not be led into the dark and imbibe it for too long that we find it difficult to adapt to light. Until now, we have no idea who we are and still in a conflict. Look at the things we do and engage in. This is because we don’t understand who we are. We will be judged by God according to our behavior. We should have God in the core of our identity. What builds our confidence? Think about it. This same reason should apply in our relationship with God. If we know and are aware of how we look right before God, then we should have the confidence of a beloved child of the God most high. How can we not be, knowing that we are covered by the most precious blood of His Son Jesus who took all our sins and died on the cross for our sake then we should be the most confident person of all. Remember, we have the composure of a child of God.  Nothing should stop us from behaving in the way He has meant us to be, lifted up on a pedestal as His very dear children. Today's psalm tells us that if we follow the Lord we will not be in darkness and will have the light of life. God is true to His word and we can always hold on to it more than we can hold to our life. Just like any person striving to maintain a good standing in any aspect of life there are some rules to be followed. People nowadays have become increasingly divided, there are the poor and the wealthy and sometimes we see the not so good, arrogant, bad people cheat in order to get money and get away with it. We must always have this hope in God and not be tempted by the evildoers of their taunting that despite the goodness we do we are not getting anything out of our sacrifices. God knows the private conversations and thoughts and He exposes them and records everything. The idea that we can get away with anything we do is not a good idea. God knows our words, thoughts and deeds. Fear of the Lord in a positive way is one of the greatest virtues as in the book of Wisdom. It is stated that it is the beginning of wisdom if it is paralleled with trust that we will not be put to shame. Those wicked people who think that they have a lot of money, power, disobey God and don't use their resources in accordance to God's will can be compared to chaff that can easily be burned. If we have the right relationship with God then we too can be exposed to the heat of God's love like the sun that can make things go on fire but instead of burning becomes a source of healing like the rays of light shown in a monstrance which symbolizes being in God's presence. We should never lose hope nor fall into despair. Whenever we sin, we must not just acknowledge it. The lesson we always have to remember is to have humility to approach Christ as we acknowledge our sins. This should remind us of Peter and Judas, they both sinned and acknowledged it. Peter wept bitterly after denying Jesus 3x while Judas threw away the silver coins that were paid to him. The difference lies in the fact that Peter as the scriptures say, when he wept, looked at Jesus with a heart, humble and contrite, which God would not despise and ran to Mary. While Judas, fell into despair and hanged himself. Thus we remember these things and always run to God with humility and also to Mary, the mother of Christ who will obtain for us true contrition. There is really a need for God's people to always be connected to Him in order to survive whatever is going on at present and what is to come. We've got to always keep ourselves motivated to do all in our power for the glory of God. All other things fade in the background and should not get our attentions any more than we ought to believe that God is our only hope. We may have started at the peak but as time goes by we may have started to lag or worse go on a downward path. Or could have started off but never worked our way up then it's time we get things straight and be focused so as not to lose sight of the unsurpassed and unfading trophy and blessing that await those who are victorious in the Lord. Today’s psalm continues to give us the guidelines we need to live by to truly prosper in the Lord. God assures us that even though life may bring us so many heartaches and pains we can still stand firm and hope that we will have the light of life if we will persevere, not waver nor falter in following the Lord. Let us choose to live in the light rather than stay in the dark.  God gave us the freedom to choose let us hope and pray that we are always inclined to do the will of God in our lives to carry out His plan of prosperity in our life. It has been impressed to me that God has already given us the gift, all we have to do is open it and use it as intended to serve its purpose. Sometimes we remain stubborn in our old ways we don't realize that everything is just within our reach, it's just a matter of committing and deciding what is right before God. We all know that life becomes difficult when it comes to commitments and making decisions but it will always be worth it after all the hard work as implied in the psalm reading. It doesn't matter who or what we are, whether young or grown up, God will always find a way to bless us in various ways. We just have to open ourselves to Him and always draw near to Him and never stray away from His side. The scriptures say it all. We need not hesitate, stall, delay nor look for anything else further but just follow what the scriptures tell us to do. In fact the bible has an acronym which stands for (B) Basic (I) Instructions (B) Before (L) Leaving (E) Earth. Another thing I am reminded of is my son Jude when he was just a little boy aged 6. When my mother was hospitalized I was the one taking care of her during the day and my brother who is the eldest is the one who slept in the hospital at night and stayed by her bedside. When she died we were both not by her side or no one for that matter because she was brought to a different room for removal of water in her lungs and also the time when my brother and I had changed shift. I just arrived home coming from the hospital and had no thought whatsoever that my mother already passed away. I was in complete denial of the fact that she would be leaving us soon during that time, I had always hoped for a miracle and extension of her life although my mother kept on telling us back then that she is ready to go anytime. I could never forget when I was just entering our home, my son Jude suddenly came up to me while holding a bible in his hand and opened a page in front of me with a picture of a tree beside a river and animals grazing on the land. What my son told me was this, "Nanay (Mother) let’s do a bible study." Since I was so tired, I got the bible from him closed it and told him that we'll do it later. But he was persistent he opened the bible again and lo and behold saw the same picture and page that he showed me a few seconds ago. He did it again for the 3rd time and the same page in the bible was showing up. Because of that I was prompted to finally give in to his persistence and read the bible passage underneath the picture. It was exactly the same message in today's psalm reading. After reading it something in me prompted me to say to him that her grandmother is already healed and will soon be coming home to us from the hospital. This is without knowing yet that it was the same time too when she passed away. Later on I realized that it was God's way of telling us that indeed my mother is healed and has gone home although not to our earthly house but to a place of eternal rest and perpetual light, in paradise. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 1:1-2. 3. 4 and 6

R: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

1 Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 2 but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. (R) 3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. (R) 4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.

May we always be focused on the truth above all truths and not be distracted by the clamor of this world as presented in today's gospel. Whatever it is we are going through right now, it is always best to always focus on Jesus on the cross, King and Lord, but chose to be man and suffer for our sake. May we be able to come up with this thought that if Jesus, the Son of God went through all of these torments and sufferings but with all power and glory resurrected from the dead, then we too as His faithful followers should not be moved and be reminded always of what truly matters no matter how heavy our trials and difficulties may be for Jesus is our mighty Savior and Redeemer. We must not lose the sense of who we are as a people. We are given choices, life or goodness, death or destruction.  This choice is a moral choice. It does not mean that if we obey God we are going to win big prizes. It means also that we are picking up the cross and following Him. This is the season of prayer and fasting in preparation for holy week when we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. He calls us to do the same by picking up the cross to which we die. We all know that we actually don’t die daily but only once but there is a sense of dying when we daily pick up our cross and die spiritually. The evil within us dies so that we can respond to our daily call to follow Jesus. It is to have a daily conversion to follow Jesus to choose goodness and life over death and evil, so we’ll have the power to die to our cross and do what is for ourselves possible. Somehow when we die to ourselves we lose a certain type of prosperity by following Christ. We don’t acquire great riches but that doesn’t mean failure. As the gospel tells us today, we gain eternal life, salvation in heaven and inherit the kingdom that God has prepared for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Lk 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected

by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

ASH WEDNESDAY

Today is the beginning of Lent. It is Ash Wednesday. We are called by the Church to a supreme act of obedience to God the way Jesus did. This is the time of fulfillment to repent and believe in the gospel. We have to do it now and everyday. Lent brings that message at the forefront. We are called by the Church as Catholics to take advantage of this Lenten season to receive God's grace and mercy. Our first conversion is in baptism when we are made into a new creature. Our 2^nd conversion should take place daily, the act of having to turn from sin and turn to God everyday. This is why we practice abstinence and fasting as part of our penitential practices that express our change of heart and conversion during this season. The Liturgical seasons bring into focus the different mysteries especially the need for penance and repentance. We are always in need of purification. We should constantly follow the path of penance and renewal. This is the sign of ashes. The sign of repentance that reminds us that we are dust and unto dust we shall return. We are sinners and mortals that are destined to one day die. We are on a journey and everything we see here is passing. This is the despair of men when we trust in ourselves and become hopeless without God. We need Him for conversion. The outward sign we bring to the world is the ashes on our forehead. We acknowledge Jesus and the power of the cross. We admit that we are sinners. In doing this, as to acknowledge and admit who we are before God is a relief. We should know why, as the 1^st reading tells us today, the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. Everything that the bible tells about God is true. There is no doubt about this but can we truly testify to this with all our hearts, minds and souls? Are we really convinced about this truth all the time? If not then we should, because we have the Most Perfect God whose love for us knows no boundaries. There is no out giving or over praising a God of Infinite Mercy, Goodness and Love. I guess we can only give to God and do so much as provided by our imperfect and limited nature. But since our God is Perfect and Limitless then there is only one solution to that, to always go back to God who alone can make all things beautiful and perfect. There is really nowhere to go but to God. This we should have figured out by now. How come we kept on doing the same old wrongs over and over again? This is precisely why we have to be reminded always. Amen. Hallelujah!

Joel 2:12-18

12 Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 13 rend your  hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

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.”  - 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. 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. God’s love 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 the 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!  

Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

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) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) 10 [12] A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) 12 [14] Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. 15 [17] O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

We should not delay in doing any good thing. Let us not put off for tomorrow what we can do today. A day spent is past and over but we still have today and we should make good use of it while we still can. We are called in today’s 2^nd reading to be no less than anything or anyone else for we are ambassadors for Christ. It is through Jesus that we are now enjoying the gift of eternal salvation, let us not forfeit nor miss this great opportunity of accepting wholeheartedly this gift that is above any other and greater than anything that we can ever receive here on earth. Let us seize the time and opportunity to be the best child our Father could have, the best brother/sister/friend and most obedient Christian to the inner voice/Spirit of God dwelling in us. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

20 Brothers and sisters: 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. 6: 1 Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says: “In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

We should respond to God in a way that is coming from our hearts and not just our minds alone. If we feel that at the moment God is not answering our prayers then we ought to be thankful that God is still giving us all the chances to earn more and receive more in ways that may not be known or visible to us. It is only right that we work to our full potentials and give our best to God. We can sometimes work our way out to win the approval and favor of men, how much more our God who only wants the best things for us. For God sees everything and nothing is in vain if we offer all our sacrifices and sufferings to God whether it be known or unknown to everyone. We can be assured that every single thing that we do for his greater glory and honor will go back to us in full recompense and to the overflowing for nothing compares to God's payback. Whatever difficulty we may all be going through let us always have a good disposition and be very confident of the God in whom we place our trust that no one would even guess that we are experiencing something really problematic knowing that God got us covered. Whatever problems we are encountering at the moment just think that we are on a fast. Fasting on worries, fears and anxieties causes us not to be troubled and brings about the fruits of the Holy Spirit due to our confidence in God's loving providence. We live in a physical world and we can't help it when we conform to its standard. Though, we must keep in mind what St. Paul says in Romans 12:1-2 "I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." When we speak of spiritual things we are sometimes bound to the unseen and hidden things of this world we are in. This should not discourage us to grow in this aspect because we are assured by the Lord Himself when He pointed out in today's gospel that whatever we have worked and done for the glory of God's Kingdom will never go unnoticed before Him. Nothing is hidden from the Lord. He knows every single thing we do, whether good or bad, because He knows and sees all. We need not worry about anything at all, nothing is ever wasted if we entrust all our concerns to God. Though there are times when it doesn't seem to be the case, for as long as we have strived hard and done what is expected of us then it doesn't really matter what may seem to be. What matters most is that God doesn't just seem to be who He is but is truly, deeply and genuinely who He really is. All knowing, loving and always act accordingly in the most acceptable time. This is why the gospel warns us today of the danger of putting on a big show without real change in our hearts. Interior conversion is primary. If our main goal is that we want men to see our penance then it is just for nothing. To truly repent of our sins is the start which is what happens in baptism. We need to change in relation to ourselves, God and to others. Fasting aids in a change in regards to self. Alms giving is in relation to our neighbors. Through these things, real growth is experienced here. If we spend more time in prayer then we can experience prayer growth. It fights the threefold concupiscence in our being which is a disordered drive to satisfy the flesh that our culture is so adept in presenting to us. The distractions that we are confronted with in the form of various entertainments that make us fall into lust are the tools of satan. This enemy is having a field day in our culture by bombarding us with these thoughts of wanting to have more and more. We aim for what seems to be pleasing in the eyes of others and to be in control. This is pride when we want to be the one who call the shots. Satan can device all forms of marketing strategies to get our attention and interest. We need to taper our desires and come to a point when we fast from it. We need to be open and docile to the Lord. We can begin the day by looking at the crucifix. We can see Jesus who followed His Father’s will. We are not out here to accumulate in worldly achievements but rather to follow more and more God’s will for us. We should turn from evil and reclaim the filial relationship with God. We can learn much from what Jesus demonstrated to us especially in the desert when He was tempted. We just surrender and cling to Him with all our beings. We should never doubt God's perfect timing in everything that happens in our lives. Our God is a generous God, He will not withhold from us every blessing  so let us always keep in mind that everything we do for the Lord is never in vain.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you...But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

VITAL TRUTH

There are so many distractions in this world that break us away from our God given destiny to be holy. From that period when time is not yet known, up to this present age, God has already been telling us of the things we ought to know and believe in. We have a tendency to fall away because of the many things that we encounter daily in life. We fail to hold on to what should truly be our priority and become totally oblivious of the real and genuine call of God. Today's 1st reading reminds us of this most important task that we ought to stick and commit to for our own sake and welfare. Let us grasp this vital truth as if holding on to our very life. Let us clear things up and set everything right so as to build the highest level of confidence and conviction to lead a holy life. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Peter 1:10-16

...the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them. 12 It was revealed to them...Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance 15 but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “Be holy because I am holy.”

Is there any other place we would like to be other than in the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we can and should have a straight answer without delay. No one should ever claim that they haven't heard or known about God since it is our prime duty to spread and make it known throughout the whole world. There is no denying to the truth that all of us are given the chance to know who our God is and it is also our duty and responsibility to take part in this mission of spreading the good news and make known to everyone to the best of our ability the saving power of God. We should consider each day as an opportunity to know and learn more about our God. Whether it be an ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be amiss and should be spent in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can never ever deny the greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest part of God’s creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in the world. As in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the sand as limit to the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves may toss but not prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask ourselves how in the world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the ocean in the same way we know that we have a God whose saving power is known throughout the earth. It is our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good which is the will of God in our lives. This is not something that we still have to search and look for. It is already programmed in us and made known to us by the Lord. If by any chance this is not the case especially for those people who have not heard or known about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself knows how to deal with them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For us who have been blessed and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing about Jesus, this is coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those who have been given much, much is also expected definitely applies to it. We have a responsibility in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this vital truth that could spell the difference between life and death. It is always for our good to attend activities that nourish our soul. We are enlightened and inspired because of the many good things we can learn from it. Whenever we hear words of wisdom it could always help us make sense of the things happening around us even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy and gladness in every person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles of God then we will come to know that there is no truth in the saying that faith is against reason. We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as explained by Pope John Paul II that true faith come together with true reason. It is the same thing as saying that Theology tells us that God created the world while Science tells us how God created the world. 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. We, Catholics believe that God gave human beings reason although it sometimes gets darkened by sin but still human reason can figure out some things. One of the things that human beings figure out without God having to reveal it, is that human beings need to meet 4 qualities to be deemed a human being. The philosopher, before even Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, had this figured out. We find it mentioned in Wisdom 8:7, the 4 virtues or qualities are also called the hinge virtues because it is where all the other virtues or qualities of good people would hinge. The word cardinal means hinge. The Cardinals who surround the Pope are the doorway to the Pope. They are also the ones whom he rely the most for advice. Everything else depends on the cardinal virtues. (Prudence or wisdom, justice, temperance and courage or fortitude) We can also find all the cardinal virtues, like justice which means giving each person his or her due in the Book of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the wisdom literature in scriptures. We all know even as kids instinctively how important justice is. The first thing that a kid cries out as soon as he learns how to talk if he has brothers and sisters is “Not fair, he got more than I did” or “You ask me to do more than what that person is doing.” This is because we have instinctively or natively offensive justice. Each person has rights and ought to get their due. There’s also another part of justice that we forget, that is, we have obligations and duties to everyone. A person who is unjust is not a good person. To be just, we need to control our passions. Temperance is a virtue that balances and controls our passions. It is like controlling our desire for that last piece of cake if we know that it belongs to our sister. In order to be just, we’ve got to control our appetites. Make our appetites come into line with justice, truth and goodness. We’ve got to have that balance in our life in order to be a good and effective person. Temperance makes this happen. We also have to be courageous. If we are not courageous then every time a difficulty arises we’re going to shrink back. If there’s any danger involved in doing the right, just and wise thing then we’re just going to crack out and find an excuse because we’re afraid. Courage or fortitude helps us to master fear and not let fear keep us from doing what’s right. In the same way that we want justice to prevail always since it is very frustrating when we encounter situations that are very unjust. We are reminded in today's psalm that we can all be assured of the truth that the Lord rules the earth and He rules with justice there is no doubt. We've got to take hold of the marvelous things that God has done. Nothing else matters than the truth that we are all loved by God and given the privilege of taking part in His great kingdom in heaven. God revealed to us Himself in various different ways. In the gospel of Mark: "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God" (Mk 1:1) is summarized by the phrase - The person of Jesus, and the gospel of Luke:"The gospel of glory to God in high heaven and peace on earth to those on whom his favor rest (Lk 2:14) is summarized by the phrase - Joy to the world, while the gospel of John:"the gospel of the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is summarized by the phrase - Eternal life then the gospel of Matthew is where all this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (Mt 1:22) and is written almost 55x in this gospel and summarized by the phrase - The Coming of the Kingdom. God's saving power is manifested in this treasury of books that have been preserved and handed to us from generation to generation. No one can deny the fact that to all God has been gracious and loving with no exception at all. God's faithful love should compel us to do the best we could ever do. There was a time when my computer got bugged down and happened to be the same time that I heard and was touched by the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong in the healing mass at St. Christopher where Hendrie who fixed my computer was serving as a member of the choir. It had been several years since I heard about this story of a tailor and his needle but I would never forget and always remember it especially the perfect timing and situation when I heard it. This tailor who was about to die spoke his last and they were these words, "Give me my key to heaven." At first those people who were there and heard him did not understand what he was talking about until they realized that he was asking for his needle. In the same way we must have our own keys in heaven as we try to examine ourselves and find out what is it in our life that can be compared to that needle in a tailor's life or our special talents that we can offer to God. I could still very well remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing that because I immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread the word of God through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write and share to others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my heart for all the amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that this computer which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect condition since that time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call to each one of us to become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed in us. We will just run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor and praise to God. There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would have to realize not sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to trust, hope and rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes rely too much on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot of things when sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of anxiety. Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest obstacles to holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust in God's Grace and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even momentarily. Life on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot of things can bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We have to exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the one whom we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about the daily revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround us which points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our hands once we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know that God's grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond our strength. Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's promises. Today's psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise man from the East in the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and served an evil and wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel but from his mouth came forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18 that there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel who will dispossess Edom. A star and a scepter signifies kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise men in the New Testament (NT) during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were looking for a star that would direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus. He is truly our King and the fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to respond with gratitude to the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us. There is no doubt that the God of the house of Israel is still the same one true God of today. The same privilege is handed over to us as the chosen people of God, Israel if we lay claim and hold to the truth that we are the people of God by faith, the New Israel.  Just as the message of God finds its way to us in so many different ways so does His love, mercy and goodness remain forever true. The good news of our salvation which was obtained for us more than 2000 years ago by Jesus Christ on the cross is still being proclaimed to this very day. There is no way we can deny the truth for heaven and earth will fade but God's words will remain. God have always been giving us inspiring, amazing, awesome reasons to have something to praise and thank Him for and even when we don't get those we should still continue in doing so for it can never be denied that great and wonderful are all His works. Today’s psalm also tells us that we ought to sing with all our hearts for the Lord no matter what our situations may be. There is a special joy and gladness felt when we sing with all of our heart. We can even imagine choirs of angels and saints gathered all around and singing. God doesn't just want us to look on but instead join the singing for it has always been said that we pray twice when we sing. Singing belongs to a heart that loves. This hymn of joy is a reflection of the praise for the goodness and beauty of God. It is the glory of God from which all beauty and goodness is derived. We join the singing that unite angels and men to praise God and be a people of peace. Anyone who catches a glimpse of the glory of God breaks out into song with joy. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

R: The Lord has made known his salvation.

1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.

Nothing is ever wasted or taken for granted if we work for the glory of God. We have a Generous and Almighty God who doesn't need anything from us but whom we need everything from. What's at stake here is not just a limited period of time here on earth but eternity. It surely is worth all our time, effort and resources. Let us not continue to be duped by the enemy into believing his lies and deception and switch our total allegiance to God. Be wise and act now. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

AN INHERITANCE

We make difficult decisions in life that some people may find hard to understand. But some things whether seen or unseen, felt or not go beyond the concrete and tangible things in life. Jesus will stop at nothing just to make known to us everything about Him. If we meditate on His brokenness and woundedness on the cross we would find ourselves no longer postponing or delaying to believe 100 % in Jesus if we really want to be blessed. It is a natural reaction from most people who hear about someone entrusted a big inheritance to feel envious of his/her good fortune. I always hear people say that such person is so lucky. Actually, there is no sense in feeling that way if we just realize that we've all been handed down an inheritance from God through Jesus Christ. We are a people beyond lucky but truly blessed. We should realize by now that we are more than royalty because we are heirs of not just a great fortune but an imperishable, undefiled and unfading inheritance. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Peter 1:3-9

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you 5 who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time. 6 In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

An anchor is a great image for faith because it doesn’t move about, held down fast and makes firm our position. Hope with faith does not simply mean a subjective feeling of hope that depends on our own personal feelings. What are the things that we hope for? Our hope should be something objective. We should hope for what God has promised. It should be our hope that we’ll go to heaven. This is the hope that we should have in our mind, our motivation to keep and stir up our faith. It is an extremely important goal for us. We do not simply have hope in seeking for the pleasures of this world. This pleasure is tangible and something that we can get a hold of immediately. The idea of postponing the pleasure, like not resorting to drugs, pre marital sex, alcohol and not depend on what seems to be the sole pleasure in life like possessions and all sorts of material things and focus on a hope in the future. We postpone the pleasures in this life and have the hope that there is a pleasure that surpasses these pleasures of this world. We have to develop virtue or the strength on the inside. The word virtue means strength. Our interior strength comes from the fact that we lose heaven if we seek those pleasures and make them the goal in our lives. It is such a pity if it will be where the anchor of our hope lies. Our hope in the promises of God may seem to be veiled at the moment. We have to reach beyond the veil just like the veil in front of the holy tabernacle or the Holy of Holies. Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God. In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement. The picture of the veil was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13). The veil was a barrier to make sure that man could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins.

“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)

So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain during the history of Israel. However, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. Only God could have carried out such an incredible feat because the veil was too high for human hands to have reached it, and too thick to have torn it. Jesus a forerunner, high priest through His death and resurrection entered heaven. Thus we too are given this free access to enter heaven. If we know that we are standing on a firm and steady ground then we are confident that we are safe and secure. There is no doubt that the will of God will never take us where the grace of God will not protect us and will surely see us through for He is a truly reliable God. We have a God whom we can surely rely on. We've got to focus more on the bright and good side of life at all times because we have a great God who always works wonders in our lives. We can always rely on God at all times and be assured that the wisest thing that we can do for ourselves is to follow His precepts which are all truth and equity. There is nothing more we ought to do but live by it. In this movie about Moses it struck me how many times he kept on reminding the people of God's covenant. Every time God shows His signs, wonders and miracles the people are filled with faith but it doesn't last for each time they easily forget and not remember. Let us always remind ourselves of these signs, wonders and miracles that happened a long time ago even up to the present time for it remains true forever and ever. We have been declared through Jesus as God's own for He has made a covenant with us, the work of His hands. Let us not set this aside or neglect and put ourselves in our rightful place as His people.  God is always true and faithful to his covenant. We can count on Him to carry out and fulfill His part. It is our part of the covenant that we need to be concerned about. We've got to respond to God and fulfill our part of the bargain for our own good. This we need to be aware of and keep in mind always. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 111:1-2, 5-6, 9, 10c

R: The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.

1 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. 2 Great are the works of the LORD, exquisite in all their delights. (R) He has given food to those who fear him; he will forever be mindful of his covenant. He has made known to his people the power of his works, giving them the inheritance of the nations. (R) He has sent deliverance to his people; he has ratified his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name. His praise endures forever. (R).

Several 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! 25 It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” 

TIPS TO BE SUCCESSFUL

The love of God knows no limits. The song, “Hindi Kita Malilimutan” (“I will never forget you” in English) is taken from today’s 1st reading. I am a mother myself and I could not imagine forgetting my infants, (I had 2, now fully grown J) or be without tenderness for them and I couldn’t even come close to being perfect. So every time I hear it and basing from this love I have  for my sons, I just can’t help feeling that gush of emotion coming from the fact that even if a mother forgets and be without tenderness for her baby, God does not forget and does not cease to love us with an immeasurable love. This also reminded me of the dream I had about my mother. It happened several years ago but it is still clearly etched in my mind. I was in a hurry to leave and she just stopped me right there and gave me a tight embrace. It was so real I could almost feel her arms around me and my arms embracing her back. Once again I felt the love and care that my mother used to shower on us when she was still living. This was somehow preempted by what my son, Allan did a week before the dream when all of a sudden he sent me a baby picture of him and his kuya (elder brother). In fact, I still have it in my Yahoo messenger and even made it my profile picture. Every time I look at it, it makes me smile and brings back pleasant memories of the times when I used to care for them when they were still very young. It was also at about the same time when I saw on Facebook Lindsay’s open declaration of her love to her dad (Kuya Babette) who was celebrating his 1^st death anniversary at that time. These related and uniform flow of events happening one after the other steadily built up or triggered feelings and emotions only a loving mother/parent and beloved child can feel. It made me even more aware of the wonderful feeling that makes the bond of a mother/parent and child bring joy to our hearts. What made this experience even more meaningful to me is the fact that this bible verse in today's 1st reading speaks of the same great love of a mother for her child. Though it may seem great and awesome enough, we are still assured of the greatest love ever known. Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 49:14-15

14 Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

We should not be influenced or governed by the manipulations of this world which are the easy come and quick fix deals that most people of our time subscribe to. The psalm reading is very clear in what it is telling us today. Let us choose to do things according to God’s way for He indeed gives back to everyone according to his works. What a consolation it is to know that we have a God whom we can rest our souls. There is no need to fret or worry for God is our safety, the rock of our strength. If we are secured in the love of God then there's nothing we should be afraid of. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 62:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R: Rest in God alone, my soul.

1 [2] Only in God is my soul at rest; from him comes my salvation. 2 [3] He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all. (R) 5 [6] Only in God be at rest, my soul, for from him comes my hope. 6 [7] He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed. (R) 7 [8] With God is my safety and my glory, he is the rock of my strength; my refuge is in God. 8 [9] Trust in him at all times, O my people! Pour out your hearts before him.

Faith alone doctrine states that justification simply means being "declared righteous" We can not just be declared righteous but instead we have to be made righteous by not continuing to sin. Whenever things become complicated and difficult with the people around us because of differences in opinion and points of view all we need to do is refer to today's 2nd reading. Justification actually means being "made righteous" i.e. it entails the sanctification of his whole being (CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) 1989, 1990, &1995) We are justified not by faith alone nor by works alone. Justification has its stages i.e. initial and progressive. Initial justification takes place at our baptism. We still have a tendency to backslide and during the hour of death is the period of intense spiritual battle over our soul. That is why we need to mature in our faith.  Certainty of salvation which states, "Once saved, always saved." tends to put off our guard if we believe in this. (1 Jn 5:13-14) We should say instead "I know I am saved, still being saved and will continue to be saved." Justification is a life long process as we can read and stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27, “No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” Another thing I am reminded of is what my mother used to tell me, "Please all and you please none." We can not go on living our lives seeking to gain the admiration and approval of men. We are just setting ourselves for a big disappointment. We only seek to please God. Thus we can learn from Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. He tells us not to make any judgments because we do not know everything. Nothing is final until God says so. It is best that we just rely on God who knows and sees all. We may be in a difficult situation at present or at one time in our life. During this time we can never deny the fact that God sends us direction and guidance. We will never feel lost for He will surely bring all things to light and manifest it in its appointed time. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Brothers and sisters: Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; 4 I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.

There is a need to focus on God alone so that we will not be led astray. In everything we do, we have to make sure that we are completely aware of who the real Master of our life is, the God for whom our hearts beat, the motive and reason for our every action and the Light and Shepherd that leads our paths. There is this little piece of doggerel about a sparrow that says to the robin, “Do you really like to know what motivates those foolish mortals as they rush around and worry so? The robin says to the sparrow, “I think that it must be that they have no Heavenly Father such as one that cares for you and me.” We say we believe in God as not some vague deity above the tower but the God of love who took us out of nothingness in love. Who came down and died for us in love. Who sustains us in love. Who has destined us for an eternity of love. Do we really believe in Him? When trouble comes, we wring our hands, we furrow our brows, we get sleepless nights and headaches. In the official thanksgiving of the priest after mass every morning, there is the use of the Canticle of Daniel, when Daniel calls all creation to praise and worship God, the sun, the moon, the stars, the valleys and the hills. Then there is this line that every bird in the sky bless the Lord. There are birds that fly by very often and sometimes one will alight by the window, rustle the leaves of the bushes and peck the glass in the window to remind us that they neither sow nor spin nor gather into barn and our Heavenly Father takes care of them. How much more will He take care of us? I have always loved this passage from today's gospel. Whenever I encounter it I am always reminded of a good friend of mine during my high school days. I just got into College then and was totally unfamiliar of the hardships and difficulties it entailed. This friend always wrote to me words of wisdom that left me with a certain kind of peace and serenity in me. I have always drawn inspiration and strength from it.  It has been like that for as long as I could remember. What has been planted in my heart remained in me from that time on until this present time. As I look back and recall, I know that I would always be grateful to this friend who is already a priest. Thanks, Father Mike Samaniego. What amazes me is the fact that I never knew back then that those words were taken from the bible. It was for quite some time already when I found out. The words of God has proven once more its double edged quality that never fails to cut through the flesh, bone and to the depths of the soul. The gospel for today is also part of the sermon on the mount and contains valuable information on how to be successful in life. This is what Fr. Glenn said in one of his homilies in The Filipino Channel (TFC) He asked the audience, "Do you want to be successful in life?" The answers and tips to this can be found in the gospel today. The first tip is from Mt 6:24. No one can serve 2 masters. According to Biblical literature mammon is described as greed, avarice, excessive materialism and also referred in the New Testament as a false god. Money if used properly is not mammon. The 2nd tip is from Mt. 6:25 which tells us, "Do not worry." Look at the birds in the sky and the wild flowers as written in the gospel. Did you get it? Did you feel it? There's no reason to worry anymore. The 3rd tip is Mt 6:33, "Seek 1st God’s kingdom..." We must look at the Source and Creator and everything will be added unto us. Let's just take the example of the air we breathe. We are not being charged for every breath of air we take. We are God’s children and we belong to God, what God owns we also own. According to Sis Del Vitangcol, we have to serve the real master if we want to become successful. She gave us the acronym UNLAD meaning Unahin Natin Lagi Ang Dios. Unlad in English is progress and its acronym meaning can be translated as, "Always put God first." Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 6:24-34

...“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.