COME TO MY AID!

Psalm 88:3

Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my call for help.

You can receive Christ right now. Remember that Jesus says, "I'm standing at the door and I'm knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in." Would you like to respond to his invitation? Let me share with you another beautiful song…

Come and heal.

Every prayer I say, You hear.

I place my trust in you,

my Lord.

Answer me now!

Stay not away! Come to my aid!

My transgressions and pain overwhelm me; they weigh me down.

I go mourning all day, groaning with heart full of anguish.

Don't rebuke me in rage. Don't allow foes to conquer me.

Please forsake me not! Come to my aid, my Lord and God!

‘In my hour of darkness:

As I seek truth and peace, as I love all that's asked of me,

I walk humbly with God, knowing what's good and what's holy.

In my hour of darkness:

Be with me!

As I wait, all my hope rests in You. Save me from my every foe.

Hear my cry for protection and strength. Heal me that I may be whole.

In my hour of darkness:

Be with me! Answer me now!

Stay not away! Come to my aid!

Come to my aid! Come to my aid!

Let us pray +

Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of Your brightness. Fill us with Your holy love, and open to us the treasures of Your wisdom.

Amen +

O LORD, my God, by day I cry out; at night I clamor in your presence.

ARCHANGELS

Feast of Archangels Raphael, Michael and Gabriel

John 1:51

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

As what St. Thomas Aquinas once remarked – Angels transcend every religion, every philosophy, every creed. In fact angels have no religion as we know it… their existence precedes every religious system that has ever existed on earth. They are forever our guardians – guiding us and keeping us from harm. Feel then, hear them. The Angels are waiting for you to speak to them. Listen closely and you will hear them sing their sweet harmonious melodies into your heart and soul.

St. Raphael the Archangel - Raphael's name means "God heals”. This identity came about because of the biblical story which claims that he "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the apocryphal book of Enoch. He was sent by God to help Tobit, Tobiah and Sarah. He is also the patron of the blind, of happy meetings, of nurses, of physicians and of travelers.

St. Michael the Archangel – The name Michael signifies "Who is like to God?" and was the warcry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven against satan and his followers. Holy Scripture describes St. Michael as "one of the chief princes," and leader of the forces of heaven in their triumph over the powers of hell. St. Michael is the patron of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police and sickness.

St. Gabriel the Archangel – The name Gabriel means "man of God," or "God has shown himself mighty”. He was the angel who appeared to Zachariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptizer. Finally, he announced to Mary that she would bear a Son Who would be conceived of the Holy Spirit, Son of the Most High, and Saviour of the world. Gabriel is the patron of communications workers.

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day, be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen +

In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

NOT BAD AT ALL

Matthew 21:31

"Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”

The condominium community where we live in is composed of very diverse people. But I cannot really tell if there are “bad elements” living in one of those units, but until now, we really haven’t experienced police coming in to nab a druglord or an estafa queen. But if some of them do live in one of those units, then it is a fact of life. In this world, good and bad people live in “perfect harmony”. However, Jesus is saying that compared to some religious people of His time, these people tagged as “bad” would even enter the Kingdom ahead of them. For most of them have come to Him for forgiveness, and eventually mended their ways.

What the Lord was saying was that there aren’t going to be any more special mountains you need to go to. There are no special anointed places you need to seek out. No special religions that can take to themselves as being the true religion. There are no great religious figures you need to bless you. True worship will be of the heart – accepting Jesus as our Lord.

Jesus is present with every one of His people. He is in their hearts. He is in their mouths. He is in their lives. Christ Himself builds His Church, and He flocks His people as He wills. He calls us one, by one, by one. And as for our flock of gathering, we just need to find out where the Lord would have us to be. So, would you allow tax collectors and prostitutes to enter the kingdom before you? Or worse, they enter it and you do not!

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, I may not be a tax collector or a prostitute but I know that I've done wrong through my thoughts, my actions, and the things that I've said, sometimes by mistake and sometimes on purpose. I have gone my own way and not put you at the center of my life. I am very sorry and ask that you please forgive me. Please help me to follow you more closely every day and live a life which gives glory back to you. I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen +

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

BEYOND SUFFERING

Luke 9:22

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected… and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

It is a fact that we are men of flesh. Therefore, it is only true that we shall experience suffering, rejection and death. Even the Son of God has gone through all of these human emotions – crying, laughing, depression, suffering and death. But unlike most of us, Jesus looked beyond the cross in accepting His fate. He is more interested with the resurrection. For it is the resurrection that would fulfill all the promises of God and give us our salvation.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead not only demonstrated the truth of His teaching, but the value of His death. It proved Him to be the Son of God. It transformed discouraged and disbelieving disciples into fearless preachers of the gospel. Those who shrank back from suffering were now gladly willing to suffer and die for the cause of Christ. One new element transformed the course of history. That element was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.

Indeed, death is really the path that opens the way to this wonderful place, called Heaven. If we lived forever, we would never have an opportunity to shed this sinful state. But God wants us to have a new body, and He wants us to dwell with Him forever. We should look beyond suffering and death. Those who put their trust in Christ as Savior have a wonderful hope—they can spend eternity with the Lord in a place where there will be no more death. In suffering, there is joy. In death, there is eternal life.

Let us pray +

O Risen Lord, the way, the truth and the life, make us faithful followers of the spirit of your resurrection. Grant that we may be inwardly renewed; dying to ourselves in order that you may live in us. Use us as your instruments for the renewal of society, bring your life and love to all and leading them to your Church. This we ask of you, Lord Jesus, living and reigning with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever.

Amen +

Blessed be the LORD, my rock… my shield, in Whom I trust.

GRIEVE NO MORE

Ecclesiastes 11:10

Ward off grief from your heart and put away trouble from your presence…

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear it's weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then open another door and pick any cross you wish." The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and did as he was told. As he looked around the room he saw many different crosses; some so large the tops were not visible. Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied, "My son, that's the cross you brought in."

A burden is the heaviness of the heart, soul and spirit. But instead of asking God to carry them for us, we grieve and demand from Him to totally take them away from us. For us, it gives us so much trouble that we blame Him for everything bad that happens to us. However, we must not focus on the burden we have. We must focus on how God has blessed us. We must let God handle our burdens.

Let us ask God to teach us to be a burden-bearer, not a burden-passer. And as we help lift other people’s burden – let Him also lift ours, for He is a merciful God. We should never think that we are too important to help someone. We should not think that it is only us who suffers. The sufferings we experience may only be a small cross to carry as compared to other.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, may we share each other's burdens, and in this way, we obey the law of Christ. The rest that You give, we know we don't deserve it. But we believe that You will give us the ability to have peace and confidence of mind. You may not remove the whole burden, because You want us to see how great are You. But we must still come to You; we lay it all out to You, for we trust in You forever and our lives to You we surrender.

Amen +

Fill us with your kindness, that we may shout for joy…all our days.

MY ONLY DESIRE

Luke 9:9

And he kept trying to see Him.

The telenovela is a hit among Filipinos especially the superhero types and the “rags to riches” genre. We like superheroes because we like someone to always save us, instead of trying to do it ourselves - depending on someone (or something) to help us or give us good luck in everything that we do.

On the other hand, we also like to watch “rags to riches” shows not because we can emphatize with the character in the story. Rather, it brings us satisfaction and that inner desire to see someone suffer so we can feel better ourselves knowing that what we are experiencing is not that bad at all. And finally, it brings us hope, for at the other end is joy and triumph, as we conquer all and redeem ourselves.

Herod, after beheading John the Baptist, was again troubled by the news about Jesus who many believes was Elijah or another prophet who has risen from the dead. He desired and was trying to see Him, not because he wants to praise Jesus, but because he wants to see how He can do such miracles – and maybe learn to do it himself. But we are not Herod. We were created to desire God. We were created to desire the goodness and beauty of God's creation. We were created to desire to share that goodness and beauty with our neighbor.

There is nothing wrong desiring to be a superhero, as long as we become a superhero to others. There is nothing wrong seeing other people suffer, as long as we help and lift them up so they may experience joy and triumph. That is our mission. That should be our hearts’ desire.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You. Grant us the grace to desire You with our whole heart, that in desiring You, we may seek and find You. That in finding You, we may love You and share equitably with our neighbors. Through Christ Jesus we pray this.

Amen +

In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM

Luke 9:2

…and He sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God…

Jesus viewed the whole world as His harvest field. It is the harvest season with the winter season coming soon. He knows that all his harvests will be ruined if he did not harvest now. Many souls will perish without hearing his message of the kingdom of God. But the harvest workers were few. So, He is depending on all of us to work for Him in spreading the good news. The Kingdom of God was clearly the theme of Christ's ministry. And it should be ours, too. As Christians, we are called to go into the world and proclaim the good news to all of creation. We are to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand. We are to proclaim the Gospel, showing people that it is through faith in Jesus Christ that we gain access to the kingdom of God, for He alone is the way to the Father.

The kingdom of God gives us true joy and peace and the love of God while on earth. But that’s not all. The kingdom of God is our eternal home. It gives us a clear destination and direction of life. It gives us a living hope in this troublesome world. When we accept Jesus in our hearts, we have the promise of heaven as our everlasting inheritance. Proclaiming the kingdom of God should be our number one priority in our mission life. We have such urgency to proclaim the message of the kingdom of God so that one more sinner may be saved into the eternal kingdom of God.

Whenever we have the opportunity to proclaim the kingdom of God, grab it! Proclaim Him in every situation. Proclaim Him no matter how unpleasant the situation is. For truly, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Let us pray +

O Risen Lord, You love us so great that not only did You want to save us, but You want to involve us in Your own salvation and in the salvation of our family and friends – even those we don’t know. From the beginning of time, You wanted us to be Your co-redeemers. Help us fulfill the mission You would give us, that is, to bring the good news of salvation to the whole world.

Amen +

Your word, O LORD, endures forever; It is firm as the heavens.

RIGHT IN HIS EYES

Proverbs 21:2

All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves hearts.

I have been faithful to my wife for 13 years, yet, here is an actor who has a wife and a number of mistresses and children out of marriage. But he is by far, richer than me with all those big houses, money and cars. I have been working for 15 years now, and I can say I have been generally honest in my dealings with my company and suppliers. Yet, here is a politician known to have amassed great fortune from graft and corruption, but he is still free, rich and well-loved. As a child, I would complain because my mother would always ask me to run errands, and point to my brother saying, “It’s supposed to be his turn!”

So many cases and situations in life, I shout “NOT FAIR!” Until I realize that isn’t this the same thinking that Cain has? He thought that God always favor Abel, and out of envy, he allowed sin to enter his door and be his master. He thought God is unfair so he killed his brother.

From this, we shall realize further the basic truth. We are not the true judge of what is fair and what is unfair, of what is right and of what is bad because our concept of fairness is tainted by envy and selfishness – it centers on ourselves and what we believe ought to be. We cannot even say that what we are doing is right and the others are no good compared to us. It is only the Lord God who can judge us. And in everything, He has His plans and purposes. And believe you me, those are fair and for the goodness of all.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, You are a just and faithful God. Gently look at our hearts, for You are the only One who can really judge the hearts of men. I may perceive others to be worthy of Your wrath or even hell, but You are the only one who knows what should be done. Life may never really look fair to us, but Your grace is much bigger than we’ve sometimes allowed ourselves to believe. And in all of these, we only trust in You.

Amen +

Give me discernment, (to) observe your law and keep it with all my heart.

LIGHT OTHERS PATH

Luke 8:18

To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.

The gospel today seems to be opposite from the norm. Normally, if you have nothing or less in life, then it is expected that those with more would provide for you. However, Jesus is not talking about earthly wealth. He is talking more of heavenly treasures. Knowing Him is the only treasure that we should aspire for. And having this treasure in our hearts would mean getting more in our lives – mercy, blessings, forgiveness and salvation. However, those who still do not accept Him as their Savior may lose his life in the end.

However, Jesus is also clear in stating that this message of the Kingdom of God must not be hidden or just whispered in secret. Rather, it must be proclaimed openly and clearly "so that those who come in can see the light," so that it will provide illumination and power. Jesus is instructing His disciples here – do not stifle the message of the Kingdom but proclaim it openly! Share them with others so they may receive more. Being the light that would illuminate the path of others must be our foremost mission in life. We should not hide this treasure “under the bed”, but rather show it to the world so everyone can share in it.

Have you been tempted to hide the light of the message of Jesus' Kingdom? Take it out and let the others see it. Place it where it can be seen and provide light to everyone. Jesus is speaking to you and me. What will you do about it? The time for secrecy is past – now everyone must know.

Let us pray +

Lord Jesus, You have said this with such power and finality – hear and do, hear and put into practice, hear and proclaim. Let me never be ashamed of You and Your Word as sometimes I have been. Forgive me. Let me proclaim it as fearlessly as You and Your disciples did. In Your holy name, I pray.

Amen +

The just one shall live on Your holy mountain, O Lord.

FIRST AND LAST

Matthew 20:16

Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Ask a group of children to fall in line and you will give them each a candy. Of course, you will see that they will run to you trying to be the first in line. There will be a lot of shoving, maybe with the big ones in front and the little ones at the back. Now do this. Immediately go to the back of the line and start distributing the candy. Now, you would hear grudges from those in front and they would start complaining. Most of the time, we are like that. We thought that since we are the first to know Him, then we are already entitled to more things and blessings form God. So we would complain once we see people who get more while they are not even going to Sunday mass services. And this is exactly what Jesus wants to tell us in today’s gospel.

Jesus was telling the people around Him that salvation was available to everyone, but only a few were going to take Him up on his offer. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He paid the price for salvation for anyone who believed on Him. It is His to give to anyone who comes to Him. Some would accept Jesus, and have the joy of working for God for many years. Some people put off accepting Jesus until late in life, even until they are about to die. They only get to serve the Lord a short time. But, God makes salvation available to us all. For those of us who accept the Lord early on, we should be humble and value that we were chosen to develop a wonderful relationship with our Lord. We should not be resentful of those who genuinely confess Christ as Savior late in life.

We should not feel cheated if we receive the candy last. Jesus promised us Heaven, but did not promised that you will be first to reach it. Everyone is entitled to His promise. It is not merely the time that we put in. It is the heart that we put into the time we have.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, give me Yourself, for You are sufficient for me. If I were to ask anything less I should always be in want, for in You alone do I have all. I may be the last to know You, but I know I will always be first in Your heart.

Amen +

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.

SPIRITUAL BODY

1 Corinthians 15:44

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.

It is a grim reality. One day, we would meet our death. But, it is also a reality that we would be raise again. What is "rising"? In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in His almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

How? Christ is raised with his own body but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body". This "how" exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith. Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ's transfiguration of our bodies. To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must "be away from the body and at home with the Lord”. In that "departure" which is death the soul is separated from the body. It will be reunited with the body on the day of resurrection of the dead.

This is the good news for us all: Jesus, the Son of God, freely suffered death for us in complete and free submission to the will of God, his Father. By his death he has conquered death, and so opened the possibility of salvation to all men. To be a witness to Christ is to be a "witness to His Resurrection”.

Let us pray +

O Risen Lord, the way, the truth and the life, make us faithful followers of the spirit of your resurrection. Grant that we may be inwardly renewed; dying to ourselves in order that you may live in us. Use us as your instruments for the renewal of society, bring your life and love to all and leading them to your Church. This we ask of you, Lord Jesus, living and reigning with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever.

Amen +

I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

ALIVE TO GOD

1 Corinthians 15:17

…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain, you are still in your sins.

I’ve been involved in 3 vehicular accidents: the first one, while I am in a jeep with my family. Luckily, my father-in-law was able to slow it down before hitting the back of the truck, or else, no one knows. The second one is when my car got hit by another at the back. We suddenly stopped because a bus cut the taxi in front of us. The last one is in China. The taxi I am in hit another in an intersection. I don’t know anymore whether we have the green light or not, I just remember that I am still alive after that.

Thinking about all of these brushes with deaths really makes me shudder. What if I was not lucky at that time, where would I be the next time I opened my eyes. Would I be facing the devil and his minions or come face to face with God, finally feeling the warmth of His love and care?

Our hearts and souls should always yearn for the latter. For that is the very essence of our lives – to serve and follow His will and be the temple of the living God, so we may join Him in the after-life. This is the very promise of the Resurrection. After the grim reality of death and suffering, we would all be raised again, completely free from sins. I surely believe and know that Jesus lived and died and was resurrected. If I am wrong, well, I am to be pitied, but nothing is lost, and know many would and do. But if I am right...well, imagine the treasure I would have gained in Heaven!

Let us pray +

Oh Lord, make us faithful followers of the spirit of your resurrection. Grant that we may be inwardly renewed; dying to ourselves in order that you may live in us. May our lives serve as signs of the transforming power of your love. This we ask of you, Lord Jesus, living and reigning with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever.

Amen +

Lord, when Your glory appears, my joy will be full.

WITHOUT A WORD

Luke 7:50

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The story of the woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and her hair is one of the most moving accounts in the New Testament. Without saying a word, she proceeded with kissing and washing the Lord’s feet with ointment – a very expensive one. She knows that all the people in the party is condemning her. But she also believes that Jesus will not. She went there to ask for forgiveness of her sins, and Jesus did not fail her. She received forgiveness that the religion at that time could not give to her. Jesus’ love and forgiveness, not religion, changed her heart and her life.

This woman’s worship of Jesus was at a great cost to her. It cost her the expensive vial of perfume, and the humility to kiss, wash, and dry the dirty feet of the Lord Jesus. But the forgiveness she received is worth more than anything in this world. A woman who was considered a great sinner by her peers was forgiven by our Lord, while those who thought themselves righteous went away unforgiven. Jesus’ love and forgiveness can change your life. This is what it means to become a Christian.

You don’t become a Christian by subscribing to the doctrines of the Bible and trying to following the ethics of the Bible. You become a Christian by meeting the Jesus of the Bible—the same Jesus that this woman met, and experiencing his love and forgiveness. It is this encounter with the living Jesus and his undeserved love that changes your heart and gradually transforms your life to thank him and love him and serve him by giving his love to others. May God enable us to worship as this woman did, to the glory of God, and for our forgiveness and salvation.

Let us pray +

Lord Jesus, I cast myself on your mercy. I trust that you are willing and able to pay my sin-debt for me, and I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins. Thank you for loving me and forgiving me as you promised. I want to follow you because of your love.

Amen +

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.