SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

      I consider the 1st reading for today as the climax of the story of Joseph. He revealed himself to his brothers and did not harbor any resentment and ill feelings despite of all the things they did to him. In fact he was able to see the plan of God at work in him through the torturous life he had lived when he was sold as a slave. Joseph knew all along that God is with him in everything he went through and experienced and was able to see the purpose of why God allowed those things to happen in his life. Whenever we feel like in 2 Cor 4:8; ...afflicted in every way but not constrained, perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed... Know that God is with us all the way and always strive to see the meaning and purpose of all the things that God allowed to happen in our lives. The grace of God will not bring us to where the power of God can not reach us. No matter what it is God can always make the best out of it. Amen...

   I guess, almost everybody has heard the famous bible story of Joseph the Dreamer. It is considered as one of the all time favorites and has been told and written in children's bible books and made into a movie. This story appeals to everyone in the sense that it has very dramatic and captivating settings like the ones we usually watch on TV and the movies. Most of these that we see on TV and movies are not real stories and are just fictitious. Sometimes we get too fascinated that we tend to think that everything is just too good to be true. Or we tend to focus too much on the highlighted events without realizing the moral lesson of the story. It is not just all about success, fame and glory that Joseph gained from the agonizing and long experience of hardship and trials that should be given emphasis but most of all is the restoration of broken relationships, starting new ones, and strengthening of it for better relationships in the future. The reunion of Joseph's famil...

    Do we have this feeling that we are toiling in vain? Nowadays, some people are working endlessly most especially here in the US but for most of them it's just like work, spend, work cycle and nothing seems to be of worth in what they do. The missing link or the most essential part is to know the driving force behind every action, the wind beneath the wings and the focus of every endeavor which should be for God alone, first and foremost. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and everything will be given to you. Some of us have been very conscious of the food we eat and doing exercise because of some health issues like diabetes, hypertension and the like. Fr. Mitch Pacwa in his homily said that it is important that we take good care of our bodies because it is a temple. The problem lies in the fact that sometimes we are no longer sure if we really make our bodies temples of God. He said that our bodies are made for God and God for our bodies because we are members of...

    This ladder in Jacob's dream is a sign of God's constant presence and desire to reach out, connect to us and provide solutions to our concerns. It is always very reassuring when someone tells us that he/she is always with us to protect us wherever we go, will never leave us and fulfill all his/her promises most especially if it's coming from someone trustworthy, dependable and reliable. There is only one whom we can put our total trust without being disappointed and that is God. Whatever our situations and circumstances in life may be it is always good to know that we have a God whom we can always count on and is able to make all things possible. We have the greatest ladder that reaches to God who is Jesus Himself. If we are trapped or in a situation where we feel like there is no way out and feeling helpless then there is no reason to despair since we have in each of us a Ladder that will surely bring us to where God is. If we keep on climbing up the Ladder which God g...

   Today’s 1 st  reading brought back tender memories of my 2 sons when they were still babies. It is always true that the love between mother and child is something very precious and would always hold a special place in every heart. The most intimate and unforgettable bonding time we had was when I nurse them. I would hold their tiny hands and would not let go until their asleep and full. While they were breastfeeding I would try to communicate with them in our made up baby language and they would mutter incomprehensible sounds not understandable by verbal language but by the heart.  Human relationships are based on human trust, respect and need. And so it is with God’s relationship to us. Isn’t it true that God needed the Virgin Mary to be born, needed John the Baptist to be baptized, needed Simon of Cyrene to help Him carry the cross, needed    the woman in the well to give Him a drink, needed Joseph of Arimathea to give him a place where to be buried an...

  In today's 1st reading we are being reminded to take away all the things that are causing our blindness. Things that lead us to failure to recognize what God really wanted for us in our life. God never wanted anything bad to happen to us nor to punish and make things difficult for us. But there are times when we get blinded by our doubts and anxieties in life that we fail to recognize the best things that God has in store for us. Isaac due to his blindness failed to recognize who Esau really was and mistakenly gave his blessing to Jacob. Although God will always make things work for good, it is always wise to be careful in our decision making especially if we are having doubts and uncertainties with regards to it. It will always pay to take a second look and not misjudge things just based on the way they are presented to us. Which reminds me of what happened at St. Martha's Church when the mass was in Spanish. I always have this habit of downloading the english translation o...