John 12: 24-26 (Friday, August 10, 2007 – Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr)

If there is one principle I have tested over and over many times and can confirm that it works, it is the principle of generosity. Sometimes it works so magical. I will give and that same day I gave, I will receive as much or more than what I gave. This is an important Christian principle. St. Lawrence whose feast we celebrate today lived this principle thoroughly. He took care of the temporal welfare of the Church in Rome and gave his life in service to the poor. His dedicated service earned him the honor of the patron saint of Rome, after the prince of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Some times we justify why we don’t give much. We claim the reason is because we do not have much. It is important that we give generously from the little that we have. If we cannot give from the little that we have, we will even find it difficult to give from our surplus. If we give generously from the little, when we are called to give our lives for the sake of the kingdom, we will be more willing to give them. St. Lawrence generously offered his life for the sake of the kingdom, and he was burnt alive. As the gospel tells us, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces more fruit. The church has always taught that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. His martyrdom strengthened the faith of the Christian community and led many people to believe in Christ.

We too are invited to be every day martyrs. We can die to our bad habits such as smoking, drinking too much, lying, arrogance, pride, injustice, in order that the faith may be strengthened and many people would come to believe that Jesus Christ is truly the Lord.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have called us to be every day martyrs so that others may believe that you are the Lord. We ask you to help us with our addictions. Most especially our addictions to alcohol, drugs and pornography. Give us the courage we need to quit and the graces we need to live sober. May St. Lawrence intercede for us that we will develop a spirit of generosity, so that we will generously give of some of our resources to the poor.

Matthew 16: 13-23 (Thursday, August 9, 2007)

Who do you say that I am? Who is Jesus Christ to you? This is a very important question every Christian must sincerely answer. Peter’s response to Jesus is not an intellectual response derived from scholarly studies. Peter’s response is that of faith revealed to him by God. That is the reason Jesus says to him, “It is not flesh and blood that has revealed this to you.” Given our knowledge of the Christian faith, it would be easy to give such responses as “the messiah, the savior, the redeemer, the Son of God, etc.” We have learnt all these titles of Jesus in our Catechism or in the Bible. This is important knowledge. However, do you truly believe that Jesus is your savior? That He is your redeemer? When faced with challenges and difficulties, do you call upon him as your savior? When sick, do you truthfully invite him as the greatest healer? Until you truly understand who Jesus is for you, you can never know his plans for your life. It was after Peter’s confession that he started revealing to them his plans for the journey to Jerusalem and the subsequent persecutions.

I want to invite you to spend some time today and sincerely ask yourself who Jesus is to you. Acknowledge his presence and let him reveal his plans for you.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have revealed yourself to us in the scriptures as the Son of God, the Messiah and the redeemer. It is difficult for us some times to claim you in our lives. We want to invite you to reveal yourself once more to us and help us to know your plan for us. We absolutely believe that your plan for us is of good. We want to live according to your plan.

Matthew 15: 21-28 (Wednesday, August 8, 2007)

One of the strong themes in both the first reading of today from Numbers and the gospel is thinking positively about yourself. This is really important. Sometimes we get into an attitude of wishing evil things. We speak about our situation or our family’s situation only in negative terms. We in a sense make ourselves victims. Christians should always keep a positive attitude. We need to keep things positive because the event of the cross and the resurrection has brought us liberation. In the first reading, the people of Israel referred to themselves as grasshoppers. The Lord’s response to them was simple, “I will do to you just what I have heard you say.” In the gospel, the Canaanite woman persisted that Jesus can extend the blessings meant for the lost sheep of Israel to her and bring about the healing of her daughter possessed by a demon. Jesus’ response to her was also very simple, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you have wished.” These two reasons give us a god contrast. The people of Israel in the Old Testament reading were negative and they received the negativity they wished for; and the Canaanite woman was positive and she got a positive response.

As Christians, we are encouraged to always trust in the Lord. To know that he is aware of our situation and that he will help us. Let us always pray good things about ourselves and always let other people know how good the Lord has been to us rather than dwelling in the negative.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have liberated us from bondage and given us freedom. Help us to always experience your presence in our lives. When we have the tendency to become negative and fail to realize all you have done for us, always help us to acknowledge your goodness and think positively about our situation.

Matthew 15: 21-28 (Wednesday, August 8, 2007)

One of the strong themes in both the first reading of today from Numbers and the gospel is thinking positively about yourself. This is really important. Sometimes we get into an attitude of wishing evil things. We speak about our situation or our family’s situation only in negative terms. We in a sense make ourselves victims. Christians should always keep a positive attitude. We need to keep things positive because the event of the cross and the resurrection has brought us liberation. In the first reading, the people of Israel referred to themselves as grasshoppers. The Lord’s response to them was simple, “I will do to you just what I have heard you say.” In the gospel, the Canaanite woman persisted that Jesus can extend the blessings meant for the lost sheep of Israel to her and bring about the healing of her daughter possessed by a demon. Jesus’ response to her was also very simple, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you have wished.” These two reasons give us a god contrast. The people of Israel in the Old Testament reading were negative and they received the negativity they wished for; and the Canaanite woman was positive and she got a positive response.

As Christians, we are encouraged to always trust in the Lord. To know that he is aware of our situation and that he will help us. Let us always pray good things about ourselves and always let other people know how good the Lord has been to us rather than dwelling in the negative.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have liberated us from bondage and given us freedom. Help us to always experience your presence in our lives. When we have the tendency to become negative and fail to realize all you have done for us, always help us to acknowledge your goodness and think positively about our situation.

Matthew 14: 22-26 (Tuesday, August 7, 2007)

Sometimes we ask the Lord, “Why do you let all these things happen to me?” We wonder why we have to go through challenging times even though we have strong belief in the Lord. We are never promised in the scriptures that once you believe in the Lord, you will no longer have difficult times in your life. What the scriptures however promise is that God is always present with you during those challenging and difficult times. God never abandons us. The most important thing is to keep your gaze on Jesus. That is what is going to help you through that difficult situation and save you. In the gospel, the moment Peter began to doubt, he started sinking. In the same way, the moment we take our gaze off Jesus during those challenging times, we begin to sink. We sink into sin, into doing things ordinarily we would not want to do; we sink into alcoholism, drugs, and lack of concern for our families.

The scripture today assures us that during those difficult times in our life, Jesus is stretching out his hand to catch us. All we need to do is to reach out and hold the hand of Jesus, that he would bring us safely into the boat.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, many times in our lives we have failed to reach out to hold your hand when things are rough. We have resorted to sinful things than holding on to you. Help us to go through the challenging moments of our lives and always keep our gaze on you.

Matthew 9: 28b – 36 (Monday, August 6, 2007 – Transfiguration of the Lord)

Sometimes we wonder how heaven will look like. We look forward to seeing family members who have died. Unfortunately, I have not died and returned to tell the story of what heaven looks like, but fortunately, the scriptures is able to help us have a view of the experience of heaven. The experience of the transfiguration is an experience of heaven in its magnificence. Peter, James and John are able to have a glimpse of heaven – seeing the glory of the Lord. This experience which is beyond words is just so powerful that all Peter could say is, “Master, it is good that we are here.” Even though the apostles were terrified, they knew that is just where they want to be. They just want to stay forever in this presence of the Lord. Their clothes changing colors is merely a human way of describing the transformative moment of experiencing the glory of the Lord.

The presence of the Lord is where we all want to be. We all want to experience the glory of the Lord. Contemplating the scriptures daily is one of the most effective ways of being in the presence of the Lord. We should strive to be in that presence because in his presence, there is love, joy, peace, healing and forgiveness.

Prayer:
Lord, we just want to be in your presence. We want to experience your glory. Only you can bring us to that moment of transformation. We ask you to give us the spirit of patience and silence that we will daily contemplate your scriptures.

Matthew 14: 1-12 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)

In the gospel of today, we see both the witness of Jesus and John. Herod is thinking that John the Baptist has come back to life because of the radical nature of Jesus’ witness. Herod did not understand that something greater than John the Baptist was present. Herod recalled the witness of John the Baptist whom he had beheaded. John was not afraid to say to Herod, it is unlawful to take the wife of your brother. He knew this bold prophecy was going to bring about some consequences.

We are all called to be like John. Being bold in our witnessing. Christianity was never intended to be a secret religion. It is a religion that is radically prophetic. We need to go out and begin to prophecy to our leaders. Sometimes they act as if there is no God. If you see our leaders enacting policies that are unchristian, you have the responsibility to write to them or give them a call and tell them what they are saying or doing is unlawful. Don’t be passive. You can only bring about the kingdom of God on this earth if you actively participate in the processes that will lead to change in our society.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes we are timid and fail to actively bring the gospel to our political leaders who are secular instruments of Change. Give us the boldness we deserve to confront and make our leaders change policies that are unlawful in your eyes. Give us the perseverance to be steadfast in this work of bringing your kingdom on earth, so that at the end, our earth would truly be the way you want it to be.

Matthew 14: 1-12 (Saturday, August 4, 2007)

In the gospel of today, we see both the witness of Jesus and John. Herod is thinking that John the Baptist has come back to life because of the radical nature of Jesus’ witness. Herod did not understand that something greater than John the Baptist was present. Herod recalled the witness of John the Baptist whom he had beheaded. John was not afraid to say to Herod, it is unlawful to take the wife of your brother. He knew this bold prophecy was going to bring about some consequences.

We are all called to be like John. Being bold in our witnessing. Christianity was never intended to be a secret religion. It is a religion that is radically prophetic. We need to go out and begin to prophecy to our leaders. Sometimes they act as if there is no God. If you see our leaders enacting policies that are unchristian, you have the responsibility to write to them or give them a call and tell them what they are saying or doing is unlawful. Don’t be passive. You can only bring about the kingdom of God on this earth if you actively participate in the processes that will lead to change in our society.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes we are timid and fail to actively bring the gospel to our political leaders who are secular instruments of Change. Give us the boldness we deserve to confront and make our leaders change policies that are unlawful in your eyes. Give us the perseverance to be steadfast in this work of bringing your kingdom on earth, so that at the end, our earth would truly be the way you want it to be.