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MYSTERY OF HOPE

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       In the readings this Holy Monday we see how the prophecies are to be fulfilled. There are no more contradictions to the sufferings that are about to unfold as part of the mystery of our salvation. As a Christian believer we should have this same attitude of prayerful and loving acceptance of the suffering that comes to us inevitably. It comes to everyone and we should have the willing acceptance. Although this doesn’t mean that we no longer care about justice but we put up with our sufferings and unite it with God. We recall from yesterday’s gospel how Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested as if there is nothing He could do. The truth is that he could call an army of angels to rescue Him but He didn’t. When we are resigned to the inevitable and still maintain peace in our hearts that is when we encounter the mystery of hope as Fr. Benedict Groeschl says. There are 2 types of people in this world, those who shed the blood of others for their advantage and those ...
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THE WEEK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

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   Today is Palm Sunday which opens for us the great days of our salvation. Jesus enters  Jerusalem  to celebrate the Passover and He is passing over from death to life in anticipation of the resurrection. This is an image of ascending to  Jerusalem  which is 3,000 ft in latitude coming from the  Sea of Galilee . He is fulfilling the Old Testament kingship, in the donkey as He takes  Jerusalem  in peace and humility. As in Zechariah 9: 9 “Exult greatly, O daughter  Zion ! Shout for joy, O daughter  Jerusalem ! Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior is He, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” God lives in the eternal now not past or future. This alone should make us confident and secure that God knows exactly what we went through, we're going through, and we'll still go through. Since all good things come from God all we have to do is entrust everything to Him and follow whatever He tells us. H...
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UNITY

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       We may have heard of the presence of the roaming spirits here in this world and the frightening experience of people who claimed to have encountered such presence. Usually people who engage in the occult practices are the ones mostly susceptible to this type of phenomenon. It would be best not to justify their presence by not thinking of them much more involving ourselves to such activities and staying clear of these practices. It is very relevant in maintaining a good relationship with God and so in line with what is being suggested in today's 1st reading. We have to realize the importance of being focused on just God alone and avoid entertaining thoughts about the supernatural and superstition. What was it that Jesus has done that many came to believe in Him? He raised Lazarus from death and this was when they started to plan to kill him. More and more people are following Jesus, they can’t control Him anymore. The Sadducees unlike the Pharisees were very po...
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PATTERN OF A CHAMPION

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       The readings today speak of opposition gathering and enemies organizing. It’s not just about Jeremiah and Jesus, it’s also about us, our church and the journey of our lives striving to be faithful to God. No matter what those enemies do, the readings speak of the reward of those who are faithful to the Lord and many other passages show us a pattern. As we approach near and prepare for the events for Good Friday like the betrayal of Jesus when his enemies organize and attack, let us not overlook that the one being persecuted and attacked said sing and praise the Lord for He is victorious. The Church wants us to follow this pattern and interpret every persecution and suffering that we undergo in this manner. If we are in a way taken to captivity just as what happened to Jeremiah at that time there is no cause to resist. Jeremiah was even accused to be a traitor and out of his mind. He recognized that they are the instruments for his people to be converted by pla...
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PEOPLE OF HOPE

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      Today’s 1st reading speaks of God promising to Abraham that he’ll be a father of multitude. For the Jews he is the physical father and has an influence greater than anybody in the history of the world. For 75 years he was a pagan and worshipped the god of  Mesopotamia  and had not yet met God. When he met God he was transformed for all the nations of the world. It is ironic for him to be called that name for he has no children yet. His name was changed from Abram to Abraham and exactly what his name means, father of all nations. Abraham was promised that his descendants will be so great just like looking at the stars and not be able to count them. When God gave this promise, he was 99 years old    and Sarah was 90. All he did was trust God. It’s not hard to believe in a God who brought everything out of nothing. Are we going to trust or not? In Gen 18, Abraham was visited by the Lord’s angels. He exercises hospitality to them whereas Sarah laughe...
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THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD

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      Trials, hardships and tribulations are all part of a Christian's life. As gold is tested through fire and so must we if we are indeed true followers of Christ. We may be at a time of difficulty in life when one failure and one disappointment come after another like an endless stream of misfortunes as a person of this world may view it. There are times when we resort to ungodly practices and get carried away by the lure of the extraordinary that arouses our curiosity and wonder. Sometimes we justify our acts by saying that it's just for the fun of it. We do not realize that we are exposing ourselves to danger and allowing the power of the dark side to get a hold of us. We simply take these things for granted and it's a pity that we fail to grasp more than anything else the wonderful and awesome truth of a God who became man for His great love for us. There is nothing more exciting, fun filled and awesome than the truth in this song that says that we ha...
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