SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

       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...

      Today’s reading from Sirach presents a very profound level of wisdom for offering sacrifices. It is written, "To keep the law is a great oblation, and he who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering." To show obedience to the moral law of God is as important as the offering of animal sacrifices in  Israel . It is counted as being as good as the offering up of sacrifices. It should not call for rebellion against the law for the just one’s offering is most pleasing, as written, "The just man’s offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High." The offering up of sacrifices is very much part of what people ought to do. Doing so and obeying God's commands are both morally right.    In the book of Pope Benedict XVI he said that  Israel  is freed from  Egypt  not just to gain freedom but in order for them to go to the land of promise and worship properly. This is the goal of the liberation from...

 Today's 1st reading calls us to repentance. We may not be aware of this but we are sometimes doing things differently than what we are called to do. All the things that are happening to us call us little by little to conversion. We have to make that step of faith and trust in God as we are encouraged to do in the reading. If we do it would be like the obstacles that stand in our way to God were removed. If we give in to sin we would only find that it provides satisfaction only for a fleeting moment. We turn only to the Lord for only Him can truly satisfy us in an everlasting way. Amen. Hallelujah! Sirach 17:20-24 To the penitent he provides a way back, he encourages those who are losing hope! 20 Return to the LORD and give up sin, pray to him and make your offenses few. 21 Turn again to the Most High and away from sin, hate intensely what he loathes;... Jesus is fully human and fully divine. These are the 2 opposite parts that make up the arch of Mark's gospel and joined in th...

 We have some fairly easy questions in life that we can answer right away but the committing part is the one thing we all have difficulty in doing. In this regard we can start by heeding the warning in today's 1st reading. We have to abandon all our hurts and injuries to the Lord, be turned to compassion for those who have caused us so much pain and forgive. God who is full of mercy and love is the one who did it first for us and we ought to follow. We must surrender and abandon everything to the Lord especially when we go through suffering and trials. We will do well to learn the basic thrust of this reading and apply it in our lives. Amen. Hallelujah! Sirach 27:4-7  When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;  so do one’s faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so  in tribulation is the test of the just.  The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;  so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind.  Pr...

  We have been wonderfully created by God. This is something that we all so often neglect or sometimes do not realize.    Let us live up to this image that He made us to be and show forth the beauty of God's creation. Amen. Hallelujah! Sirach 17:1-15 God from the earth created man, and in his own image he made him...He endows man with a strength of his own, and with power over all things else on earth. 4 He puts the fear of him in all flesh, and gives him rule over beasts and birds. 5 He forms men’s tongues and eyes and ears, and imparts to them an understanding heart. 6 With wisdom and knowledge he fills them; good and evil he shows them. We can never fathom the wisdom of God but we can always remain confident in the truth that His kindness is perfect and everlasting. He makes all things work for good. When we feel so helpless, miserable and alone, never ever doubt that He can't help but be the loving God that He is. God loves us so much that he will adjust to our needs ...