SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

  Today’s 1 st  reading reminds me of a sister in the community who is very gracious in sharing her mouth watery and appetizing food during our prayer meetings. She desires to always be of service to our brothers and sisters in the prayer group. It is her way of offering herself to the Lord. We need to think of ways and means on how to serve God and be selfless instead of always focusing on ourselves. If we continue our own selfish ways and not pay attention to God's unrelenting reminders to us then we might find ourselves waging war against God. We can never win this battle and might as well realize by now that God is on our side and should very well decide to be on His side and ours as well. Amen. Hallelujah! Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 ...Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong man shall not retain his strength; the warrior shall not save his life, 15 nor the bowman stand his ground; the swift of foot shall not escape, nor the horseman save his life. 16 And the most stout...

   We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young was against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent,...

   I was reminded of the time when I suddenly felt like I am going to pass out. I could not breathe and was having cold perspiration since I did not eat breakfast and missed dinner too. I was still in Church and almost in a panic when I found myself unable to recite the remaining 2 decades of the Divine Mercy prayer although I was still able to stay until the end of the prayers I barely managed to get myself up to walk to the door. And just right on time and what I needed, a sudden gush of strong wind blew my way as if fanning my whole body. It totally refreshed me and felt better. A lady whom I don’t even know offered to bring me home. Though, I declined and told her I’d be fine since I was already feeling better, I was overwhelmed by her gesture of kindness. Whenever I look at the circumstances that surround it, I must say that God wants to show me how He keeps us safe and sound and never runs out of angels whether in disguise or real people. This is why I am reminded a...

  Today's 1st reading reminds me of a game that my 2 sons and I used to play when they were still kids. We used to run around the house and pretend that an enemy was chasing us. When I got really tired I usually end up lying down in bed and tell my sons to do the same. I would assure them that even if the enemy catches up with us, we won't be hurt or captured because we have a wall that surrounds us. Somehow, this made me realize that God has indeed surrounded us with a protective wall that shelters and secures us. But there are times too when we allow our circumstances to breach these walls just like what happened to the Israelites. We, too are confronted with challenges in life that could sometimes break our defenses and yield. Let us always stand firm in our faith in God and never allow our situations to break us down. We should never doubt the truth that God has each one of us in the palm of His hand. Amen. Hallelujah! 2 Kings 25:1-12 ...when famine had gripped the city, an...

  When a person turns 18 it is considered a milestone and a major turning point in one’s life. I even noticed here in the US that people at the age of 18 are already very independent. They move out of their parents' home and live on their own. Unlike in the Philippines or for the Filipinos, most of them continue to stay knitted even after having a family of their own. But I guess, this is beside the point, whether we live with our parents or by ourselves, are independent and self sufficient or not at the moment what should clearly be our goal is that we do what's pleasing in the sight of the Lord and follow His good example and everything else will follow. Amen. Hallelujah! 2nd book of Kings 24,8-17. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his forebears had done... Most people I believe will agree with m...

  Today’s readings remind me of that incident in 2008 at St. Martha’s when a lady lost her purse. We had already started the Divine Mercy and Rosary Devotion that we regularly pray after the morning mass when the said lady approached us and inquired if we have seen her purse. When we responded that we didn’t see her purse I could tell that she even became more anxious and very worried. The moment we resumed our prayer, I silently prayed for her and felt God spoke in my heart with the message that her purse is not really lost it was just misplaced. I whispered to Sister Marcy who was sitting beside me the message that I got. True enough, after a while the woman came back with her purse, she said that she got it from the rectory because somebody (a senior citizen) took her purse by mistake and she was already on her way home when it dawned on her that she did not bring any purse to church and got somebody else's purse. Upon realizing it she immediately went back to Church but ju...

There are times when we fall into the trap of going through our lives as if nothing makes sense and just go with the flow. This happens when we pray less and become more familiar and adapted to the worldly set up we have grown accustomed to. There is a need for us to make a conscious and determined effort to live each day for God who is our Creator. Everything around us and in our lives become significant and take on a different meaning when we draw close to God. Amen. Hallelujah! 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36 ...“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. 16 Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see!... We may all come to a point in our Christian walk of faith when we are no longer sure if what we are doing is the right thing. It is so hard at times when we are confronted with people and situations that are difficult to handle. Some may look at what...

    Our God is incomparable for He loves us with a love greater than any other. From the moment we were conceived in our mother's womb, even before we were born, God already knows each one of us by name.  Let us always align our will, intentions, motives and actions with God. It is always good to check ourselves constantly and regularly at every given opportunity. Nothing is ever wasted nor considered useless for as long as we offer it to God. We have all been called by God for a purpose. He already had a plan laid out for us even before we were born. We are that special to God. Let us not forget our holy calling from God. Let us become the man or woman God has meant us to be and live each day of our lives in answer to this call. The readings for today continue to reflect on the Holy Servant Songs of Jesus. The mention of being called even from a mother’s womb, the 2 edged sword and polished arrow are symbols of God’s words. The Word that reaches to the ends of the earth,...