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LEAD KINDLY LIGHT

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   It is our destiny to be bathed with the light of God for all eternity. If we go into the darkness but place our hand in the hands of God then we'll experience and discover something better than life. It is the hand of God that leads us to the breaking of the day when we walk into the darkness. Cardinal John Henry Newman was a devout Anglican and was a major figure in the Oxford Movement in bringing the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. During this time he was greatly confused and restless. As he was returning to England in a ship, one night he got up and paced the deck under the stars of the Mediterranean feeling the intensity of God and his own littleness. He composed this famous poem:  The Pillar of the Cloud (Lead, Kindly Light)   Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,  Lead Thou me on!  The night is dark, and I am far from home --  Lead Thou me o...

NOT ON THE GIFTS BUT ON THE GIVER

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  Life is so fleeting and uncertain. Sometimes we wonder why we are here. What are we doing here on earth? We know and we are taught that we are here to know, love and serve God and be happy with Him now and hereafter. We are not just to know Him as we may know a person in History or a best friend but to know God with an intimacy, satisfaction and completeness that is more than we can know of a human being. When we were baptized we were given a right which enables us to have a relationship with our God. This is the most satisfying experience of our lives. Where is our God? He is within us and nearer to us than we are aware of. He is living in the depths of our beings day and night. God wants us to spend eternity with Him. He is our Good Shepherd who says, "I know my sheep and my sheep know me." There would be no other greater tragedy in life than to be in the grave's edge and still not know God to whom we pray. St Augustine once said, May I know God that I may know myself...

TLC FOR SOULS

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  Sis Rose, Sis Mercy and I had breakfast together. It was such an interesting and enjoyable time we shared together. We were discussing a lot of different things when all of a sudden we shifted to the topic about a soul separated from the body since there's this new soap opera in TFC (The Filipino Channel) entitled, "Momay" about a little girl's soul. This suddenly shifted our discussion about people who are able to experience a certain state wherein their souls or spirits got separated from their bodies. They claim to have seen their own bodies while they were sleeping. Which made me recall how my cousin, Richelle told me a frightening experience which happened a long time ago when she saw herself unable to move while her spirit was just there floating in front of and staring at her own body. She said that it was only when she saw me tap her shoulder was she able to go back to her body and regain consciousness. What she experienced and all others with similar storie...

STRAIGHT INTO THE EYE

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  No figure of speech can actually depict the beauty and glory contained in the Word of God. You may have read numerous stories and poems, or even watched lots of movies with very inspiring and beautiful content but all of them is just part and parcel of, a glimpse of or just a tiny bit of the real message which is the enormous love in God's Word. Is there a promise or word of God that holds a special place in our hearts? If we do then we can always be assured that what it says it will surely deliver and fulfill. Sometimes things do not appear and happen the way we expect it to be. It should not discourage us but rather be firm in our convictions that God's word and promise remains forever. Amen. Hallelujah! 1 Peter 1:18-25 ...“All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts; 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”... If we claim to be true followers and believers of our Lord Jesus Christ then we can put a c...

VITAL TRUTH

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   There are so many distractions in this world that break us away from our God given destiny to be holy. From that period when time is not yet known, up to this present age, God has already been telling us of the things we ought to know and believe in. We have a tendency to fall away because of the many things that we encounter daily in life. We fail to hold on to what should truly be our priority and become totally oblivious of the real and genuine call of God. Today's 1st reading reminds us of this most important task that we ought to stick and commit to for our own sake and welfare. Let us grasp this vital truth as if holding on to our very life. Let us clear things up and set everything right so as to build the highest level of confidence and conviction to lead a holy life. Amen. Hallelujah! 1 Peter 1:10-16 ...the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them. 12 It was revealed to ...

NOBLE TASK

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       Everything that is attributed to Mary points to Jesus all because she accepted the will of God to happen in her life. We, like Mary are invited too, by the Angel Gabriel to conceive Jesus in our hearts. It is by our own decision that we should answer God's call just like what Mary did. We thank Mary for her obedience. She did not disobey God like what Adam and Eve did in today's first reading. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs that "Genesis 3:15 is called the Protoevangelium -first gospel: the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers." Even before the time when Mary was not yet born, she can already be found in the scriptures owing to the great role entrusted to her to be the Mother of God. It is God's original plan that we live in paradise but Adam and Eve fell into sin that He immediately switched to another plan through Mary who did not fru...

PENTECOST

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        The talk entitled, "Opening to God's love" by Dominic Berardino broadened my understanding of God's love. I was specifically touched when the speaker said that God has so much love that He is not able to contain it and it overflows. God's creation is His way of making room for His love. We are all expressions of God's love. It was impressed to me that as pro creators of God we too are capable of expressing this love and make it grow and multiply through the help of the Holy Spirit. Allow God to change our hearts and live that love not just in words but in action, deeds and in truth. He further said that peace is still unfulfilled, which is very evident in the prevailing conditions worldwide because people or we are not yet fully transforming our hearts to love. He said he used to be a "Cultural Catholic" who never heard the personal message of God's love. Although he already felt the love of God at age 7 when he had his 1st communion, he ...