BLESSED

 There are people who do not want to listen at all and would stop anybody talking right then and there even to the point of embarrassing the person. This is the worst case scenario but there are some who would be more polite by making excuses. These happen when we are not interested in what the other person has to say because we've heard  it before and it is just an endless repetition of the same old story. Or worst it could just be rumor mongering and the bottom line is just a matter of discrediting the other person for self glorification. Whether we are the one talking and being stopped, the one stopping the person from talking or the one making excuses not to listen is no longer important what matters most is the reason for our action. Today's 1st reading contains the best reason why we should not be stopped or stop another person from doing so. We are invited to enter into the divine light and joy of the Lord to share in his divine nature and light. Only through this can we find the deepest joy of everything we long for in this life which can not be found in riches, fame, power or well being. In God alone can we find the source of everlasting love and happiness. We should always maintain a maximum level of confidence in God Almighty who made the heaven and the earth. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God...“Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

Our present situation may not be a perfect picture yet but we should all rejoice and be glad knowing that God was the one who chose us first and He will carry us through. It feels good to know that someone's eyes is upon us and looking after us. When we come to a point of despair and feel like things are not getting better, we ought to remember always that we are God's people and we are His own. This is the reason why the fallen angels/demons are so jealous of men. We are indeed special in the eyes of God for it is written in Gen 1:26, "Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion..." We are not just chosen by God to be His own even before everything came to be but we are on top of His creation. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 33:12-13, 18-19, 20-21

R: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

..From heaven the LORD looks down; he sees all mankind. (R) 18 But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. (R) 20 Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield, 21 for in him our hearts rejoice; in his holy name we trust.

It is just very sad that despite the many times God tries to convey His love to us, we still sometimes back away. We've got to stand firm, hold our ground and not give in to the world's pressures. Let us not end up like Herod who came as close to knowing what is righteousness and holiness but never really got to the doing and acting part. In the Philippines we have a habit of calling people names. For someone to be called Herod or Herodes means being really naughty and bad. We may all claim to know what is right but we have to realize that we may never be able to come to a point where we can claim to be a better person than Herod. We may have this impression that we are far better Christians than any of the others we know but we may be wrong. For all we know we are not far from being like Herod or much worse. Let us hope not. For there is really more to being a Christian than what we actually know. As what have been mentioned in the 1st reading about the sanctity of marriage, it is now being emphasized once more in today's gospel. John the Baptist paid a great price for this truth. We sometimes don't realize it, but we may also be guilty just like Herodias. We may not be committing adultery like her but we too succumb to the temptation of eliminating the people and circumstances around us that is a source of inconvenience or simply not conformed to our personal statement and views. We also make use of other people to camouflage or hide our true intentions in order for us to carry out our plans without the guilt of having participated in it. We resort to all kinds of disguise without knowing that in the process of doing so we are headed for the worst kind of situation.  Let us not further aggravate it and know in our heart, mind and soul that all areas of our life needs to be totally surrendered to God not just a part, half but our entire being.  In doing so with the gift of free will we allow ourselves to enjoy life at its fullness because we are not bound or tied and can exercise this gift as much as we want and never run out. We should not be too carried away though and forget that it is also because of this free will that we are also presented with horrible things as in today's gospel that are products of the wrong use of this gift. It is of prime importance that we exercise, use and handle this gift with much care. This is the reflection question and prayer that I read in Didache: What do you do when you are under pressure? Do you stand up for what is right or you just go with the crowd because everyone else is doing it? Lord, grant me the wisdom and the courage to do what is pleasing in Your sight even if the world laughs at me. And in Companion, Fr. Martin Macasaet said the following words. "Yes, we, too, are called and challenged to imitate John the Baptist’s courageous act of witnessing —not necessarily in the form of a bloody beheading, of course. Today’s Christian martyrdoms are certainly more of a subtle and sophisticated kind. But perhaps, they are just as compelling and exigent — as when our moral principles are tested in our workplaces, or when our senses are bombarded by sexually suggestive images, or when we are scandalized by the bad examples of our leaders and celebrities, and so on." We all have our own personal Herod, Salome and worst our Herodias tendencies in life. Only we ourselves know these and what specific aspect it is in our lives. Unless we acknowledge them, firmly reject and stand up against it instead of yielding to it then we are no better than any of them. In today's gospel we are also reminded of our stubbornness when we insist on doing things our way. We could somehow relate this to those who insist on wearing something even if it doesn't fit them just because it is the "in" thing. The same way with our life we end up looking foolish when we insist on keeping up with the latest trend and fashion that this world offers when the only thing that is well fitted to us is to always wear the clothes of Jesus which is fashioned in the passion of the cross in order to be the best dressed Christian. People may not be able to know it by just looking at us and we can easily get away with our wrong doings which we have kept in secret or hidden in our thoughts and feelings which no human person can see but God does. We’ve got to believe that there is really somebody watching us as the song says. Sometimes we forget that God can see through us and knows exactly what's inside our hearts and minds. Let us not wait for the time when we like the scribes and Pharisees will be spoken to by God in this manner. Let us choose to hear words of commendation from the Lord rather than be called a hypocrite. Let us truly be the person that God wants us to be, whether there are people who can see our goodness or not. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 6:17-29

...John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him... “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.