SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

    If we take time to study about the bible and our faith then we will discover things we never knew existed before. We will come to a deep and profound understanding of it which will bring us to greater heights in terms of our knowledge of God. This will lead us to love and service in a very meaningful way. Do you know that there is a commandment before the Decalogue or 10 commandments of God? Yes, there is and it is called Pre-Sinai. It is noteworthy that today's 1st reading points to the reason behind this. I learned this from a Lenten Retreat. When the people of Israel complained to God, He sent them quail and manna as their food in the desert. Every morning they gathered food from the ground and whenever they get more than they could eat for a day they discovered the following morning that the excess got spoiled or rotten. The moral lesson of this commandment is social justice. We should remove greed in our midst and learn to care for others. We should also liv...

     The story of Susanna in today's 1st reading tells us that we are always confronted with choices and decisions to make in our lives. Although hers was a matter of life and death and of a grave and serious matter we should not take for granted the fact that daily we are given choices and decisions to make that reflect and speak of our stand in life. We may have been praying to God for guidance and direction for a specific intention and it was not easy that although some things are already obvious and implied we still have to consider one important thing which is to be patient and learn how to wait. We may have the impression that we are already bombarded by signs and instances that point to a decision but trusting and waiting for the right time before we act on something is always good. This could teach us a lot of things especially with our impatient nature that always seek for immediate and instant results. Just like Susanna although she will be justified in whatever...

    The readings for today permeate the truth about life and death. In Ezekiel’s vision which is from today's 1st reading, he saw the release of the Jews from their captivity which is likened to rising from the dead. It is a promise that they will experience new life that springs from God's own spirit. The same is true for us, when our battle on earth is over, then we, too can settle upon the land and kingdom that God has prepared for us. We may all be going through some kind of difficulty in our lives and things look like they will not get any better. When we come to this point and feel like the world is crumbling right before our eyes then we can always remember these powerful words in today's 1st reading. Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones and saw before his very eyes the rattling bones that came together. Bone joining bone, sinews and the flesh came upon them, the skin covered them, the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army. These may ...

    Jeremiah in today's 1st reading cried out for help to God. Our confidence should also be like his as we call on God in our prayers. He reflects the same kind of trust of a lamb led to slaughter and ultimately that of Jesus on the cross. There will always be discord and chaos for as long as we live. But this is so that we can draw closer to God and learn the perfect act of entrusting everything to God. We can never find real security in this world. We may be rich, powerful and successful but these things can only amount to something if we have totally surrendered our lives to God. Only God can bring about true and lasting happiness and security in our lives. It may be true that these things can bring joy to one's life but only up to a certain point. One day we will find out that all these things will never suffice. The world we are in right now is being presented to us in a way that we almost consider it as the only real thing that exists since it is the one that we ca...

      Have you ever experienced feeling so down and out? It's like heading for doom and destruction. It seems so hopeless and discouraging, not wanting to go on with life and just succumb to depression and defeat. Today's 1st reading is a prophecy of the plot of trying to put Jesus to death and this is way before the incarnation took place. According to Bishop Sheen the spirit of enmity is not only present when Jesus lived but as long as time endured. There are people who were persecuted and forgotten when they died but the hatred of the world and against Jesus lives on. It is still happening today. This is because He is alive. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We should never be discouraged and rather be strong as we are reminded how the only begotten Son of God, the Ruler, Creator and Majestic King of heaven and earth was put to the test, condemned unjustly, tortured, and    accepted a humiliating death on a cross all because of God's great love fo...