SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

   Today's 1st reading is about a widow and reminded me time and time again of my nanay's (mother) strong faith in God when she was still living. My brothers and I were still very young when my mother was widowed. We were aged 3,2, and 1. We were such a pitiful sight then when we lost our father in a very sudden and unexpected way but my mother weathered through it all for she had always believed and held on to God's promise. The story of Elijah in today's 1st reading arouses a certain sense of confidence and trust in a Supreme Being who has everything under control. If we are to read a few verses before today’s 1 st reading we will find that at first Elijah was asked to hide beside a brook and when it ran dry he was instructed to stay with this widow in Zarephath. If we try to examine our own life experiences we'll find that we do not differ that much from Elijah in the sense that we too are undeniably led and guided by the Lord. The only difference lies in the fa...

   We may have experienced making decisions and doing things that make people, in a manner of a joke, sarcasm or mere insult, question our sanity. We can not be totally sure at all times but we should be aware of the fact that if we always go to God in prayer we can be assured that whatever situation we are in right now we can be sure of the love and care of God finding its way to us. Just like in today's 1st reading, Elijah followed God's bidding and found himself well taken care of in the midst of nowhere. Amen. Hallelujah! 1 Kings 17:1-6 1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead , said to Ahab: “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.” 2 The LORD then said to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan . 4 You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he left and did as the LORD had commanded. He went and remained by t...

  The Holy Eucharist is at the root of all holiness. How many saints have advanced to holiness through the Eucharist? Holiness has always found its center in the Eucharist. Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. God recognizes the fact that we are material beings in embodied souls. God uses sensible signs to lead us to spiritual realities. This time, God did not just use a sign or symbol. Jesus offered bread and wine and turned it into His own body and blood. We remember the Holy Eucharist models, martyrs and saints who discovered the secret in the Body and Blood of Christ. We can not live without the Holy Eucharist. It is only through it that we can cope with the toil and exhaustion of this life journey. God is the source of every good thing and He pours it out on us from the moment of creation up to the present time. When we receive the bread and wine turned into the body and blood of Christ during the mass, He becomes a part of us. It is a c...

 There are times when we find ourselves praying just to manipulate God. We must realize that we do not pray to change God. He is immutable but He does use prayer to change us especially our hearts in order to conform us to His own heart. St. Theresa said to God, "Give me what you want." We pray that God gives us what He wants. As a good Father, He does not spoil His children neither does He deprive us. He gives us what we lack and what we need. If there's something that we want but God recognizes as not what's best for us then He doesn't give it to us. On the other hand God sometimes wants us to wait. We often become impatient and wonder why the wait. Oftentimes too, God gives us what we want in order to gain our trust and ultimately come to a point when we want what He wants. This is because of the fact that we can trust God to know what is best for us more than ourselves. Whenever an election is upcoming it is expected to hear all kinds of things just for a cand...

 The instruction to Timothy gives us the classic test showing us the Divine inspiration of the scriptures. All of the books of the Old Testament (OT) are divinely inspired as it prepared the New Testament (NT) while the NT fulfilled the OT. One who belongs to God should be competent. We need to know sacred scriptures and live it. It is important for us to be fully equipped by sacred scriptures as understood by the church. God Himself came up with His own plan on how to make of this. As to how all men and women can be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth and Jesus Christ. This is brought about by apostolic tradition, transmission of the message of Jesus Christ through preaching, bearing witness, instruction, worship, holy mass and inspired writings. The Apostles transmitted all that they received in Christ to all generations. As we listen to the same content of Divine revelation in Jesus Christ, we need to internalize, practice and help transmit it to someone else throughout...

   This is the hardest part of the deal. We can know and feel everything there is to know about our Lord Jesus Christ but if we don't live it out in our lives then it's for nothing. We should always have faith, hope and trust in the word of God despite the prevailing situations all around us. These things do not change the fact that He is God and in control. We have a God who is trustworthy and reliable and whom we can rely, depend on and will never forsake nor abandon. If there are moments in our life when we are faced with trials and persecutions we can be assured of the fact that God never leaves His gaze on us. He knows exactly what is going on with our life and will always be a loving, merciful and powerful God who is able to see us through whatever we are going through. Amen. Hallelujah! 2 Timothy 2:8-15 ...But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Ch...