CAST IT OUT (08-31-13)

Luke 4:35

“Be quiet! Come out of him!”

Growing up in a depressed community of Tondo in Manila, I had my share of things which I can say are improper – demons of life.  Gambling, betting, uncontrolled drinking, pornography, cursing and more that you can think of.  It is not because I like doing it, but because that is the place where I grew up.  Fortunately, I have my parents to guide me in my formative years, instilling in me and my siblings, the love, mercy, forgiveness and fear of the Lord.  If without those, I would have forever been swallowed by the immorality of the environment in which I grew up.

It is a fact nowadays, and let face it; there are so many temptations for us to fall into sin. They are simply all around us.  Just turning on the TV and you can come up to something you never intended at all to watch!  How can Christians live upright, moral lives with so many temptations?

Temptation always involves choice - do we obey God and cast it out or give in to our own desires?  The good news is that with God's help, we can end the cycle.  There may be pain and anguish in our heart and mind when declining temptations of the flesh, but overcoming temptation is treasure for the soul.

We need to realize that when the temptation comes, one victory is not enough.  We need to stay on constant guard, to keep our self calm and let the Lord God enter our hearts.  Let Him cast out the demons so we may live in total harmony with His words and love.  It may not happen overnight, but if we let ourselves to be totally overtaken by God, it will happen eventually.  Are you now ready to cast out all the demons in your life?

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, I acknowledge who You are in my life.  You are majestic and mighty.  You are powerful and true.  You are my God, my Lord, and my King.  I honor and worship You this morning, even in front of this computer screen.  I have faith in my faith, because I am confident that You are a God that honors faith!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen +

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?

HIS CALL TO LIFE (08-30-13)

Luke 4:21

“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The whole attitude of faith in God is one of trusting when things make little or no sense to our own way of thinking.  As human beings, we have a certain kind of understanding about how the world should work.  Our understanding comes from the ways we happen to perceive things, and from the experiences we have.  It could also be based on things that we learned from other people or by reading books that were written by men.

But only God knows how all things truly work together.  As we understand the universe, such things are impossible.  But nothing is impossible with God, who knows all things and gives accurate meaning and reality to all of life. The perspective that God has is superior to our own.

When God says that a thing is true, then we can and should believe it, no matter how impossible or strange it might seem to us.  When God calls us to a certain way of life and to a certain path of faith, we need to listen to that call and obey the Lord — even if it makes little or no sense at all to our rational minds.

Because God knows what is real and true about human nature, about life on earth, and about eternity itself.  The Bible, in many places, encourages us to believe God, to walk by faith, to be true to whatever God is saying — even when the whole world seems to be opposing God's message.  The Bible makes it clear that God's ways and thoughts are better than ours.  In fact, it says that very thing for it is the wisdom of God, inspired by God for us to learn, understand, appreciate and share with others.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, I know I have a choice to make, and I take the path of faith instead of the path of unbelief. I commit my ways to You and put my trust in You for everything.  Teach and give me sound wisdom and good instruction for my life so I may be happier and greatly blessed.  For your power is truly great and my life is for You alone.

Amen +

The Lord comes to judge the earth.

WHAT FILLS THE HEART (08-29-13)

Mark 7:15

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.

When was the last time an evil word came out of your mouth – maybe yesterday or maybe, just this morning.  Have you really thought of the repercussions that those evil words have caused to the one who heard it?  He may now be full of grief because of your careless words.  Why not approach that person and seek his forgiveness?  Let the goodness in your heart pour out through your mouth, blessing others so we may all live in harmony.

Devastating criticism, gossip, intrigue and machination are denounced in the Scriptures as the greatest sins after idolatry, because they are all violence against our brother, the image of God.  They are ways of sinning with the tongue.  The tongue has great power to set ablaze.  It can enflame either false accusations or truthful encouragement, prideful bombast or humble thanksgiving, bitter hatred or forgiving mercy.

What fills the heart is spoken by the tongue: from a good heart, good words are born, and no gossip stems from it against any person.  If we let our speech be molded according to the pattern of Sacred Scripture, then we will not let ourselves become like a withered tree with bad fruit, but rather like a healthy tree bearing good fruit for the uplifting of the Body of Christ.

“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father” (Eph. 5:18-20)

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, teach us not return evil for evil or insult for insult.  We should return a blessing instead.  This we have been called to do, that we may receive a blessing for our inheritance.  We want to enter into life and see prosperous days.  Teach us to keep our tongue from evil and our lips from uttering deceit.  My soul proclaims the Your greatness and my Spirit rejoices in Jesus Christ, my Savior.  Amen +

One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

WITHOUT INIQUITY (8-28-13)

Psalms 98:9

He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity.

I have always thought life is unfair.

I have been faithful to my wife for 18 years, yet, here is an actor who has 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 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 and 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, because our concept of fairness is tainted by envy and selfishness – it centers on ourselves and what we believe ought to be.  But God has His plans and purposes.  And believe you me, those are fair and for the goodness of all.

The Father is a just and faithful God.  He always look at our hearts, for He is the only One who can really judge the hearts of men.  We may perceive others to be worthy of His wrath or even hell, but He is the only one who knows what should be done.

Life may never really look fair to us, but His grace is much bigger than we have sometimes allowed ourselves to believe.

Let us pray +

Lord God, Your work is perfect, Your ways are justice, You are God of truth and without iniquity.  And in all of these, we only trust in You.  Amen +

The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice.

HIS MORALITY (08-27-13)

1 Thessalonians 4:3

This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality…

We all live in an immoral world.  Mass media like TV, movies and billboards are now filled with contents that would make us think, and eventually perform immoral acts.  No wonder the news today is filled with stories about adultery, murder, and robbery of all nature.  And the lack, or the loss, of belief and faith in God could lead to even more immorality among the generations to come.

A life of personal holiness is not easy.  But it is important – both for us, Christians, and for those we would encounter and for those whose lives we might someday touch.  Isn’t it awkward for us to tell our brothers to live a holy life and yet we, ourselves, are wallowing in sins of adultery and covetousness.

A life of personal morality is not easy.  Even the best and the brightest Christian leaders, pastors and priests often fall prey to the attacks of Satan.  And when that happens, precious lives are left in ruin, promising ministries are destroyed and priceless future opportunities for sharing God's love are lost.  The cost is simply too high.  But we must not give up and just tell ourselves that this the way it is.  For it is not!

There is only one course for us to take – stay very close to our Lord.  Admit to Him our weaknesses and surrender to Him our fear ... and then flee from all temptations.  Flee every form of evil, and take ourselves out of harm's way.  Read the bible and fellowship with one another.  Not giving Satan any opportunity to put our lives to waste again.

And pray.  We really do need to pray for one another.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, bless every home to again become a sanctuary and in every household will be rekindled the flame of faith to teach patience in adversity and moderationin prosperity and to promote order, peace and harmony in all things.  Amen +

Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

AWAKEN IN HIS PRESENCE (08-26-13)

Matthew 24:42, 44

“Stay awake!  You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

As soon as we go to sleep, we do nothing anymore.  Until we wake up the next morning, we would just lie there – helpless, motionless at most and very unproductive.  But we need to sleep to rest our weary body.  So when Jesus said to his disciples, “Stay awake!”, He is not telling them NOT to sleep since He is not pertaining to the body.  Rather, He refers to our soul.

We believe and know that God is with us right now.  However, due to our worldly affairs, we easily forget that fact and get too preoccupied with the "more important stuffs" and ignore Him. 

Unfortunately, we are not always awake to the presence of God in our lives.  God is often crowded out of our consciousness by other things that occupy us during the day.  Because of our hectic schedules, it is easy to give God the back seat. 

We need to KEEP AWAKE. That’s very hard for people to do. When we’re really sleepy, staying awake is extremely hard to do.  We all die, yes, and there is nothing we can do about it.  What we have is a choice on how to live life.  We can live well, or we can live badly. 

We can forever shut our eyes to the goodness of the Lord or stay awake to the presence and arrival of Jesus in our hearts, our lives and our actions.

May we awaken to the presence of God in the wonders of His creation, in His people, and in all of us.  May we be always on guard, prepared, vigilant and awake to life so that we do not squander the life that God has given us.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, through Your Spirit in me, strengthen me to persevere.  Give me the endurance to serve you, and perform my duties.  Do not let me, in a moment of weakness and give me the light of your presence so I may stay awake and help me to endure as a good soldier of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen +

Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!

A MODEL FOR OTHERS (08-25-13)

2 Thessalonians 3:9

Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us.

When I was attending a statistics class, I learned about something called the KISS rule.  It is a simple acronym that means “Keep It Simple, Statistician”.  In every analysis, we must look at the problem as simple as possible, analyze the causes as simple as possible and implement simple actions.

This is a simple model of success even with our lives – being simple and humble.  When my mother taught me to recite little prayers, she taught me simple ones first.  But she established a cornerstone upon which a castle of faith could be built.

My spiritual castle is still under construction.  I know that God isn’t finished with me yet.  The point is to start small, keep it simple and build on that, one prayer brick at a time.  Then, become the model for others to imitate.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul advised them no to be distracted by what will happen in the future and even think of the end of the world.  They should focus on today and live their lives for God and for others, “being the model for all”, as they imitate the ways of the disciples.

St. Paul was a power preacher who practiced what he preached.  A very great model of our faith.  Even if words failed him, he sought to conduct himself as a worthy disciple so that his life would be his sermon.

Acknowledge God's presence gratefully every moment of our lives, not just on Sunday mornings.  Be a model for others, as we see new faces of God every day in every person we meet. 

Let us pray +

Lord Jesus, protect us from hypocrisy; help us to live as You lived and make of our lives Your word to the world.  Amen +

For You darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day.

WHITER THAN SNOW (08-24-13)

Matthew 23:26

“…cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

Glutathione to whiten the skin.  Cellophane to make the hair straight and shiny.  Astringent and makeup to make the face flawless and smooth.  Supplements to make the body firm and sexy.  Do not get me wrong.  There is nothing with all of these.  We have to take care of our body, since it is the only we’ve got. 

Your body is part of how God created you.  He wants you to treat it with respect.  As expressed in Corinthians, “…know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God… Therefore honor God with your body.”

Still, as expressed by Jesus in the beatitudes, God is still more concerned with the cleanliness of our hearts, and not just enough to clean up our body on the outside.  He came to the world in order to reform the hearts of sinners like you and me.

So the heart is utterly crucial to Jesus.  Jesus did not come into the world simply because we have some bad habits that need to be corrected.  He came into the world because we have such dirty hearts that need to be purified, so we may live perfectly as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

You do not need to buy expensive stuffs to have a clean heart.  Just let Him come in to you and listen to His words.  Let Him purify your mind, let Him cleanse your spirit, let Him create in you a clean heart.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, wash me and cleanse me and purify me!  Do a work in my innermost being, in the hidden part of me.  Cleanse the inside of my cup!  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sinfulness.  Wash me so I shall be whiter than snow!  And be worthy of joining your Kingdom in Heaven.

Amen +

You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

FAITH WITH WORKS (08-23-13)

John 1:50

“Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?  You will see greater things than this.”

We must be doers of the Word and not hearers only.  A person who claims to have faith without works is like a person who puts all their effort into building the foundation of a house and never builds anything on that foundation. 

But a person who displays great works but has no faith is like a person who builds their house on sand without any foundation. 

Our response to God’s love is to be more than simple belief.  It is to be a belief so strong it calls us to action.

Works toward God are to do His will and His work and, yes, to obey His laws.  Works toward our neighbors are to serve them and to do good for them.  Faith without works is dead.  Faith with works is life—eternal life!

We must believe that we cannot separate faith and works. They must go together or your faith is a dead faith. 

We are not talking about our own works or that our works earn us eternal life... but that, by the grace of God, we act in faith working through love to cooperate with the gift of grace and gain eternal life.

 Let your faith works with love!

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, We are not helpless, we are certainly not weak, we are children of the King and His rightful heirs. Turn our hearts toward worship, praise, and thanksgiving when we start to wallow in self pity, selfishness, or pride.  I am blessed beyond measure already, and I praise and thank You for all You have provided.  Amen+

Make known to men your might…the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.

HOLY ONE OF GOD (08-22-13)

John 6:69

You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.

I once had a discussion with a lawyer regarding using titles before our names.  He mentioned that for doctors and lawyers, it is okay for them to use “Dr.” and “Atty.” before their names because they have undergone more than the normal 4 years of college (8-12 years).  So they consider themselves “nagpaka-dalubhasa” (specialist).  While for engineers (like me), we only studied 5 years, and yet we always put the title “Engr.” in front of our names. 

Well, I just responded that for me, it doesn’t really matter.  A person should be known not by titles but by the things he does to help others become better.  That title should only be vested in you by those people you helped, for they know that your life was lived for that purpose – saving lives, defending the truth and making the world a better place to live in.

Doctor, President, Mayor – they are all titles.  They speak of the office that the person holds; the task he was called to do.  So it is with the one we worship, the one whose title we bear when we call ourselves “Christians”.  His proper name is “Jesus”.  But His title, reflecting the title He holds and the task He was called to do, His title is Christ.

Christ is the Greek word Cristos, a translation of the Hebrew Meshiach, or as we say in English “Messiah”, or the Anointed One.  There are a lot of mayors and presidents.  But in Jesus’ case it is different.  There is only one office of Messiah, of Cristos.  He came to the world not to be served, but to serve.  And only Him fully deserve to be called the King… the King of all Kings!  Jesus - the Christ - who will one day return to proclaim, with the sound of the trumpet, that he is here as almighty Judge and King to usher in the Year of the Lord's Favor.

Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Savior and our King, I choose today to take refuge in You.  I choose to fear the Lord and not man, and I choose obedience over willfulness and submission over pride.  I am blessed beyond measure already, and I praise and thank You for all You have provided, knowing that we will lack no good thing as we seek You first above all else.  To You be all the honor and glory!

I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be ever in my mouth.

UPON THIS ROCK (08-21-13)

Matthew 16:18

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

He denied our Lord not just once, but three times.

He tried to imitate the Lord and walked on water, but his faith simply cannot sustain him.

He was even likened by the Lord to Satan, for he cannot accept that the Lord Jesus would have to die for our sins.

Simon Peter is a simple man, a fisherman, that was called by the Lord for His ministry.  And as a man, he has weaknesses and frailties, that could make him an easy target for the devil.

But unlike Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus and killed himself, Simon Peter repented, asked for forgiveness and was forgiven.  And as soon as he accepted the Spirit of the Lord, he started preaching and sharing the Word without fear and hesitation.

Satan may see us an easy target.  We may even fall into sins. 

But it is in rising up again that would make us a better individual, fully believing that the Spirit of the Lord could sustain us in our spiritual life.

We are all called to a life of ministry.  And once we strengthen our faith like a solid, rock foundation, then even the devil cannot prevail upon us.

Be that rock… strong in Spirit, truly believing, and reliant in the Lord.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, who hast given unto Thy blessed Apostle Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and the power to bind and loose: grant that we may be delivered, through the help of this intercession, from the slavery of all our sins:  Who livest and reignest world without end.  Amen +

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

BE HUMBLY BLESSED (08-20-13)

Matthew 23:12

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Most of the time, either as the host or the guest, we forget the real purpose of why we offer a party or a dinner.  As the host, we would like to invite the rich and the famous so in the future, we might be invited by them in return.  We would serve the best and expensive foods, so our friends would exalt us, telling us how rich and blessed we are.

And as guest, we would come in lavish gowns and dress and would seat ourselves near the host, so we would be included in all the pictures.  Also, so everyone would notice the dress and jewelries that we are wearing, so our friends would exalt us, telling us how rich and blessed we are.

This is exactly what Jesus, in his parables during the dinner with the Pharisees, wants us to realize and eventually refrain from doing.  Every dinner that we have to host or attend, do it out of love, invite out of the goodness of your heart.  Don't look for status, but rather bless each other with your generosity.

God invites to his own table not those who can do something for Him, who can bring him expensive gifts and loud praises; but the hurting, the oppressed, those who have nothing to bring, the crushed and brokenhearted. The Father invites them to His table, not to help Himself, but to help them. Not to receive a blessing, but to bless them fully.

Through Jesus, we received the open invitation of the Father.  You and I have received an invitation to His table for no other reason than love, abundantly seasoned with grace.  Accept the invitation, and live.

Let us pray +

Father, sometimes I can be a cynical as the Pharisees sitting at this table. Cleanse and renew me. Perfect and refine my motives so that your heart might fill mine, and your desires might become my own. Forgive me and make me whole.  In Jesus' name, I pray.   Amen +

The Lord will not abandon his people.

GRAND BANQUET (08-19-13)

Matthew 22:14

“Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Upon receiving an invitation, aside from the date, time and venue, we also have to check whether we need to advise someone that we are accepting the invitation (“RSVP”) and what attire we should be wearing.  Sometimes, we forget these two so we ended up not being allowed to join the party. 

In the gospel today, an invitation was sent to everyone, but no one attended at first.  And from those who did go to the party later on, only a few are chosen to enter the banquet.  The invitation has gone out to all who care to listen, but some just refused, and some wanted to come but refused to submit to the requirements of entrance into the kingdom.

Those Jesus refers to as "chosen" are the people who had done two things - respond to the invitation to come (“RSVP”), and respond in the proper manner so that they are prepared to enter the kingdom (“Proper Attire”). 

This is the message of the Gospel, the good news.  It is only good news if salvation delivers us from darkness and accepted the invitation of God.  And upon entering, we should be clothed in righteousness needed to enter God’s Kingdom - the total acceptance in God’s eyes that Christ is our only Savior, Lord and King.

Christ has provided this garment of righteousness for everyone, but each person must choose to put it on in order to enter the King’s banquet (eternal life).  There is an open invitation, but we must be ready – RSVP and Proper Attire.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, I accept Your invitation to Your grand banquet in Heaven.  I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward.  Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life.  In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen +

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

A THANKFUL HEART (08-18-13)

Matthew 20:15

Are you envious because I am generous?

Taken from Kerygma - August 20, 2009

He worked for this company for more than 30 years.  The company grew and prospered… but not his career.  Some of his officemates who were younger than him in age and in years of service had been promoted to officer level and became his immediate supervisors.

He resented his superiors for that. “I have been with this company for so long and this is what I get?  It’s so unfair,” he would say.

In today’s Gospel, the owner of the vineyard paid all the workers equally regardless of the number of hours they worked. Consequently, the workers who toiled the whole day grumbled and complained that they did not get a fair share.

How often are we like these workers? Are we jealous of what God blesses another person with, thinking that we deserve more because we have been serving Him longer? Are we envious of other people’s “good fortune” considering that we are more talented, intelligent and hardworking?

The cure for envy is a thankful heart. Let’s stop comparing and start thanking the Lord for His blessings.

Let us pray +

Forgive me, Lord, for the times that I was envious of what others had. Grant me the grace to be contented and be appreciative of everything You have blessed me with. Thank You.

Amen +

You have granted him his heart’s desire… refused not the wish of his lips.

ABUNDANCE OF BLESSINGS (08-17-13)

Matthew 19:30

“But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

As a student, my parents would tell me to always excel in class, trying to be number 1.  Well, I did try my best, but it is not always good enough – graduating 3^rd honor in both elementary and high school.  But I did not hear them grumbling.  They pushed me to my limits, yes – but they really expected nothing in return. 

And during graduation time, I would give them my medal, whatever color it is, a symbol of their hardwork and patience so we all would grow right and God-fearing.  I may still end up the last in class, but still I know that I would always be the first in their hearts.

Similarly, God loves everyone.  And everyone shall receive His grace and mercy.  We would always be first in His heart.  Not because you are first in knowing Him, doesn’t mean that you will receive more grace and love than those who just knew Him yesterday or this morning. 

Reward in the kingdom is not dispensed according to seniority or time in service.  There is equality in the abundance of blessings that citizens in the kingdom receive.  And it is reckoned by grace and not time cards (so much work, so much pay).  So the last to enter the kingdom would still have full remission of sins and hope, just as those who are veterans in the field.

We are all imperfect.  Eternal life is undeserved by all who shall receive it – but, since God is love, His Son was sacrificed for the salvation of all men.  And everyone is equal to that promise – saints and sinners alike shall be saved, as long as they recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, let me work in Your vineyard, without questioning Your generosity.  You are the Lord of all, and everyone is entitled to your grace, mercy and blessings.  May those who are still outside Your vineyard hear the words of Christ, for His words are spirit and are life.  And may the words that they hear not be stolen from their hearts.  Amen +

I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD–for he proclaims peace…

PERFECTLY HARD (08-16-13)

Matthew 19:21

“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”

How many times have we prayed like this – “Lord, I will donate to a charity, if you will heal me of my lingering illness”, or “Jesus, I will hear mass everyday, if you would let me pass my exam tomorrow”?  This is a selfish prayer, for we are selfish people.

We are all called to a life of holiness and obedience to His will.  In fact, Christ is calling us to a life of perfection – loving one another unselfishly and unconditionally.  Following Christ will fill the void in our hearts and will earn us the gift of eternal life.  However, we are not generous.  Our love, like the man in today’s gospel, is conditional and not willing to make the necessary sacrifices for Christ.

Christ has given us the Gospel to know, love and imitate Him.  He shared to us how we shall face the reality of discipleship.  That is, we must be ready not only to enjoy the benefits of friendship - knowledge, wisdom, understanding, peace, joy - but also to love Him unconditionally whatever the cost may be.

Christ has already provided us with His example of unconditional love – suffering and dying on the cross so our sins may be forgiven.  There is nothing He did not give for our salvation.  He only asks that we love Him in return.

I pray to be perfect.  I pray that I may forego of everything.  I pray that finally, I may come to Him and follow Him.

Unconditionally.  No matter what.

Let us pray +

Lord Jesus Christ, I want to be Your disciple of unconditional love who accompanies You through joys and sufferings.  I only ask You to be patient with me and grant me the grace to be faithful.  My life is Yours, use me for the salvation of souls and for Your greater glory.  Amen +

Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

FULL OF GRACE (08-15-13)

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Luke 11:46-47

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”

According to the Catholic theology and Catechism, the Virgin Mary, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”  Her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen as the symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that they too will be received into paradise.

SHE IS OUR MODEL.  She is a model for us all, in modesty, obedience and humility.  By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity.

SHE IS OUR MOTHER.  This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all that God has promised to us.  Taken up to heaven, she did not totally forgotten us, instead, through her obedience and powerful intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.

Let us give honor to our Mother +

Mama Mary, full of grace.  Truly it is right to bless you, O God-bearer, for you are most blessed, most pure, and the Mother of our God.  Without corruption, you gave birth to God the Word: True God-bearer, we magnify you!  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: now and ever and to ages of ages.

Amen +

The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

GREAT IS YOUR FAITH (08-14-13)

Matthew 15:28

"O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish."  And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

Today’s gospel dwells on a Gentile woman asking the Lord to cast a demon out of her daughter. Not being a Jew, she was totally rejected by Jesus, even comparing her to a dog that ate scraps under her master’s table.  The woman was not insulted by the words of Jesus.  She accepts His judgment. And then she asks Him again for His help.  There is no false pride here.  She does not become offended.  She recognizes her unworthiness, even as she continues her request.  Against all odds, the woman had come to Jesus and had continued to petition Him until her prayers were answered.  And she is doing it not for herself, but for her daughter.  Total humility, indeed!  She had faced a challenge to her faith and she had persisted, wrestling with the Lord until she received the blessing she sought.

The reason God doesn’t answer our prayers is because we really don't believe that He will.  There is a sense in which this woman represents the Gentile world.  Jesus had come to His own people - the House of Israel.  But the leaders of the Jews rejected Him. 

That bread of heaven which was rejected and thrown away by the Jews is now received by the Gentiles.  But there is a warning.  If we do not receive that same bread of life from the hands of Jesus, then it will be taken from us.  If you are going to Christ because you want Him to tell you how wonderful you are, then don’t bother.  But if you are a loser, then call out to Him and He will help you.  An answered prayer because we believed!

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, into your most holy hands I commit the keeping of my heart, asking you for health of soul and body, in the certain hope that you, my most loving Lord, will hear my prayer.  To you I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to your will and that of your Divine Son, Jesus Christ. 

Amen +

Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

SECURED IN HIS LOVE (08-13-13)

Psalms 16:1

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."

Me and my family lived in Xi’an, China for three years.  Xi’an is where the famed Terracotta Warriors is located.  I have been in the place three times and I can say that the site, which is actually a part of a tomb for Emperor Qin, is a majestic one.  The Terracotta Army was buried with the Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huangdi) in 210-209 BC (his reign was from 247 BC to 221 BC and unified China from 221 BC to the end of his life in 210 BC).  Their purpose was to guard the emperor and help rule another empire with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife.  Consequently, they are also sometimes referred to as "Qin's Armies".

Sometimes, we find security in material things, that is to keep us secured from things we fear that, most of the time, does not really exist.  As a child, I would hide under the blanket for fear of ghost.  The security to which we mostly cling to is mere illusion.  No man-made faith, structure, or religion is secure.  All human efforts to provide security ultimately fails. 

Our faith should not be in blankets, guns, security alarms, gas masks or duct tape.  Our faith should be in God. He alone can save us.

Almighty Father, cover me with the blanket of Your love.  Keep me secured, for in You alone should I turn to in the hours of our needs.  You are my refuge and my fortress, in whom I shall put my trust.

Oh Lord, nothing in this world can separate us from Your love, through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  We walk in the path of sins, through dark fogs, that is why we have fear in our hearts.  Blow away this fog of fears, Oh Lord, and let us feel Your loving and tender care forever.

Amen +

“He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

Out of miry clay,

And set my feet upon a rock

Making my steps secured.”

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

UNBREAKABLE BOND (08-12-13)

Matthew 19:6

“Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

Many people have wondered why Jesus gave such a demanding teaching on marriage.  Forbidding divorce flies in the face of human experience.  This is obvious today when separation or divorce (as allowed in some countries) is so common, but it was true also back in Jesus’ day.  As we heard in the Gospel, Moses had to set up procedures for divorce.  Jesus went against a widespread practice.  He refused to recognize divorce. He says that to divorce your spouse and marry another is the same thing as committing adultery.

The only teaching we have is the one Jesus gave us: that marriage is a lifelong, unbreakable union between a man and a woman.  Because of that firm teaching, the Catholic Church has always considered marriage as the great icon of the union between God and his people. 

Ultimately, as Pope Benedict wrote, Jesus’ teaching about marriage is about more than our human relationships.  It is about the relationship of us to God and God to us: a passionate love which invites a total and exclusive response.  In that relationship above all:  What God has joined, no human being must separate.

And since God is the one who decisively makes every marriage, only God has the right to break a marriage.  And he does it by death.  Which is why the traditional and biblical marriage vows have one and only one limitation: “till death do us part.”

Rekindle your love for your spouse whom God has given you to be your partner for life, for richer and poorer, for better or worse, in sickness and in health – may the Lord our God blesses our marriage forever and ever.

Almighty Father, help us to remember when we first met and the strong love that grew between us.  To work that love into practical things so nothing can divide us.  We ask for words both kind and loving and hearts always ready to ask forgiveness as well as to forgive.  Dear Lord, we put our marriage into your hands.  Amen +

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever;

HAPPINESS IN FORGIVING (08-11-13)

Matthew 18:32-33

I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?

Forgiveness.  Easy to say that you have forgiven someone, but really hard to do, that is, forgiving from the heart – forgiving and forgetting.

And yet, we have experienced it first-hand when Jesus took the cross and died for all our sins.  Jesus Christ humbled himself, became man, and died the death of a criminal.  In so doing, he received upon himself the totality of the wrath that was against all who trust in him.

Practice forgiveness.  I, myself, have a lot of catching up to do here.  Start in the home.  Husbands and wives must practice it.  Parents and children must practice it.  As families practice this, there will be no separation nor will family be destroyed.  Forgiveness in the home will result in healthy families.

Practice forgiveness at the work place.  Do not become bitter toward your employer and fellow workers.  Do not keep score of the offenses of those around you.

And in forgiveness comes joy.  When we repent and receive Christ’s forgiveness, we experience a different kind of happiness.  This joy is as abundant, as rich and as unlimited as the Lord's abundant forgiveness of us.  And by letting others experience this same joy, we must learn to forgive from the heart.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Solidify our understanding of forgiveness as you have done for us.

Amen +

Our help is in the name of the Lord.