Sunday July 13, 2008: Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23; Matthew 13:1-23 or 13:1-9

In today’s second reading, St. Paul continues his teaching concerning life in the Holy Spirit. Paul discusses the theme of our adoption in Jesus Christ. His understanding of adoption is different from the way we will understand adoption today in our society. An adopted child today has access to his biological family when he has reached certain age. In some instances, the child continues to have communication with his or her family. Adoption in the Greco-Roman world was a total separation from the previous family. All ties with the person’s family were completely severed once the person was adopted and no longer had access to his original family. The person in a sense took on a new life in which his debts of the previous life cannot be carried over to this new life. It wasn’t uncommon to have people take on a new name to signify their new personality. For St. Paul, this is what our adoption in Christ Jesus means.

By virtue of our baptism in Christ, we are adopted sons and daughters of God. As Jesus Christ tells us in the Gospel of John 1:12, “But to those who accept him he gave power to become children of God.” Our baptism empowers us to become the children of God and we can rightly cry “Abba, Father.” Our adoption eliminates our previous debts, debts that were paid by the precious blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. We can now embrace a new life free from corruption and sin. That is rightly the reason at baptism we take a new name to signify that we have become a new creation in Christ.

We are a privileged people to receive this special gift from God. We are privileged because we are the “first fruits of the Spirit.” What God is intending to accomplish in the whole of creation, he has chosen us as the first. The revelation which all of creation awaits with eager expectation, we have already experienced that revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ and this we celebrate at every Eucharistic celebration. We have seen what the world have not seen – the Way, the Truth and the Life. We have been already set free from sin and corruption. All we wait for is the redemption of our bodies when we will truly unite with our heavenly Father in His/Our kingdom.

Given this rare privilege that we have, we must live truly as people who have hope. We must live in hope because what we have awaiting us is greater than whatever we experience in this world. The pains and sufferings of this world may overwhelm us and we begin to doubt God’s promises for us. We need to stand firm in faith knowing that the glory that is to be revealed to us is greater than the pains and sufferings of this world. These pains and sufferings are only temporal but the glory of God lasts forever. In his glory, there is righteousness, peace and Joy.

As first fruits of the Holy Spirit, we have an active role to play in God’s salvation of all creation. We need to be the face of Christ to all of creation by how we love. We must actively work to lead people away from the bondage of sin into the freedom of the children of God which we all have received. We have a lot of work cut out for us but it is easy if we live each day of our lives in the love of Christ and the love of neighbor. If we do this, then we are active agents in God’s revelation to all of his creation.

Sunday June 1, 2008: Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28, 32; Rom 3:21-25, 28; Mathew 7:21-27

In today’s readings, we are presented with a choice: a choice between doing the will of God and doing our own will. At the heart of this is an expectation from God that we his people will chose to do his will rather than our own will. God expects us his own chosen people to be obedient to him. In the Gospel of today, as Jesus concludes his sermon on the mountain, he reminds all of us his followers to choose to do the will of God. At the end of day, it is not enough to profess that we are Christians, it isn’t even enough to do many good works in the name of Jesus. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading of today, we are not justified by the works we do, we are justified by our faith, doing the will of the Father.

To choose to do the will of God comes with many blessings and to choose to do our own will comes with curses. God will expect us to choose his will over us because he believes that if we look at history, it is more rational to choose his will. Throughout history, he has always been faithful to us even when we were not faithful. He has always been present to us in the most difficult circumstances when all our hopes were lost. At the moments we felt that we had hit the rock, God was there to lift us up and change our lives. In Deuteronomy 11, he reminded the people of Israel how he saved them from the hands of Pharaoh and his army. He also reminded them how he sustained them at the desert and how he conquered the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram and the ground opened and swallowed them. Beneath these stories is also the consequences of disobediences. When Pharaoh refused to obey the command of the Lord to let his people go, he was severely punished; When the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram opposed the rule of Moses, a man placed in their midst by God in Numbers 16, God punished them severely, the ground opened and swallowed them. The historical lessons of God’s goodness and faithfulness to the people of Israel should be enough to make them accept the commands of the Lord.

God doesn’t ask much from us. He only asks three things from us. In Deuteronomy 10: 12-22, he tells us what these three commands are:

1. Fear the Lord your God and follow his ways exactly. Fear here does not mean being afraid to approach him. Fear here means a deep reverence and respect for him. We must acknowledge God for who he is and give him the respect that is due to him. This is recognizing him as the author and finisher of life. If we know this, then we must follow his ways and not our own way. To follow our way is to make God our equal, is to deny him the respect and honor that he deserves and at the same time elevating ourselves to the rank of God.

2. Love and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. We have been first loved by God. He should have our first love. Our first love shouldn’t go to ourselves, not our spouse or even our children but to God. This is because he is love himself and our love is only a generous gift from God. If we love him, then we must serve him with all our hearts and souls. He deserves all that we have. This means we must put him first in our list of priorities. Sunday worship of God is not one of those things I have to do in order not to incur a mortal sin, but it is part of my being – it is a place I love God in return for all his love for me.

3. Hold fast to him. In and out of season, we must hold fast to the Lord. In the story of the people of Israel, every now and then we see some of them let go of him and beginning to make their own gods. When things became rough and challenging in the desert, they begin to complain and try to abandon God for other Gods. This is repeated again and again through the Old Testament history of the people of Israel. Letting go of God signifies our lack of trust in him. We must hold on to him when things are difficult, we must never let go. God will always be faithful to us.

If we do these things, God promises his blessings. I want to share with you four of those blessings.

Ø God will look after your land. He will take charge of your home and be the head of your household. He will make his peace reign in your home and there will be happiness in your home.

Ø He will provide rain to water our crops and for grass to grow so that our animals will feed on them and we will not lack food. The promise here is that we will not lack anything. He gives this same promise in Deuteronomy 28: 12, The Lord will open up for you his rich treasure house of the heavens, to give your land rain in due season, blessing all your undertakings so that you will lend to many people and not borrow from anyone. You will be at the head and not at the tail and you will always go higher and not decline.

Ø There is nothing that shall stand on your way. You will dispossess mightier and greater nations and people. You will dispossess those problems in your life that will try to crush you. You will overcome disease, financial problems, family problems, etc. In Exodus 23: 25 he tells us that our reward for obedience is that, he will bless our food and drink and he will remove all diseases from our midst and he will give us a full span of life.

Ø The last promise is the one I love the most. The Lord will spread fear and dread of us in any land were we set our foot. Even before we approach the place, God will dispossess those who wish us evil. Before you begin that new job, God is ahead of you to prepare the place for your arrival. That meeting in which some people were going to be against you, God will dispossess their attacks even before you enter into the meeting. In Deuteronomy 1: 29-30, he tells us, “have no dread or fear of them. The Lord, your God, who goes before you, will himself fight for you.”

When you obey the commands of the Lord, it means you have God on your side. What better person can you have on your side? That is the reason Jesus Christ tells us in the gospel of today that when you do the will of God, when you keep to his commandments, it is like you have built your house on a solid rock. When you keep to the commands of the Lord, you have built your life on a solid rock and as we heard in the Psalm today, God is our rock of safety. There is no need to be afraid because God will always be there to save you.

Tuesday May 13, 2008: James 1:12-18; Mark 8:14-21

Imagine a life without temptations? Imagine if you did not have to make any choice? The greatest gift God has given to us is the gift of freewill. We have the freedom to choose between good and evil. Without this freedom, we would be robots remote controlled by God. When we face temptations, it is not God that tempts us to do evil. Evil is not created by God but it is the absence of the good. Every temptation however gives us an opportunity to choose God or evil. The classic “the devil made me do it” argument is not a good enough excuse for choosing evil over God. The sins we commit are borne out of our own selfish desires. Think about most of the sins you commit and see how many of them have to do with your desires? We must root out selfish desires from our hearts - the desire for material things; the desire for earthly things and things of the flesh. Our whole lives should desire God. When we desire God, he will help us to overcome temptations and at the end, we will receive the crown of life.
What are some of the evil desires in your heart? What must you do concretely to root them out?

John 13: 21-33; 36-38 (Tuesday, March 18, 2008)

One of you will betray me. How stunned we will be if we were sitting in that table. We may wonder why any one of us would be so stupid to betray him. He has revealed himself to us as truly the Son of God. Through his ministry, many people have been blessed. We are living witnesses to this. We may think of Judas as being foolish. Yet, sometimes, we are more foolish than Judas. Jesus Christ has revealed himself to us in the breaking of the bread and has given us a rare privilege of becoming the sons and daughters of God, yet we find ourselves denying him. We deny Jesus, if we fail to respond to his love. When we are unfaithful to him, we deny him. When we are ashamed of speaking about him to another person during that rare moment we should have evangelized, we deny him. We did not receive the spirit of timidity, St. Paul tells us. We must always stand with and for Jesus.

In what ways do you betrayed Jesus?

John 12: 1-11 (Monday, March 17, 2008)

How easy it is for us sometimes to make excuses why we cannot spend more time in worship of God. When I retire, then I will spend more time in prayer or volunteering in the church. When I get a better job, then I will begin to tithe. Whatever you need to do for Jesus, you must do it now. The last time I checked with retired people, they are busier now than before they retired. If you cannot tithe 10% now, you will probably not tithe 10% when you make more money. Judas in today’s gospel is trying to excuse his selfishness. We must be vigilant to do what we need to do at the proper time so that we do not miss our moment. You may not have the opportunity to retire before you die; you may not get that higher paid job before you die. Whatever you can do for Jesus, do it now.

What can you do for Jesus today?

January 3, 2008 - 1John 2: 29-3:6; Psalm 98:1, 3cd-4, 5-6; John 1: 29-34

The mystery of Christ’s incarnation, passion, death and resurrection is a restoration of the human person to Jesus Christ. It is through this mystery which expresses the infinite love of God for us human beings that we truly become God’s children. After the fall of our first parents, the human person became indebted to God in ways that he could not repay. The debt was paid by Jesus Christ. Not only that he paid our debt, he adopted us and made us his children. We are adopted by virtue of our baptism. As adopted children, we are guaranteed a new life and we have all the rights and privileges of children. Our adoption is not because of any thing we have done for God, but it is the generous love of the Father. The only responsibility we have to enjoy this spirit of adoption is to believe in Jesus Christ. John 1: 12 tells us that all those that believe, he has given them the power to be called sons and daughters of God.
As sons and daughters of God, we belong to a family of the sanctified and sin should not be part of our lives. We must get rid of all sin from our lives so that we can live fully our vocation as God’s children.
What are the things that hold you from living out fully your Christian vocation?

My response:


Today I will:

January 2, 2008, 1John 2: 22-28; Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; John 1: 19-28

One of the ancient Greek wise saying is, “man know thyself.” It is important that we know who we are. The problem in the world today is that many people pretend to be something they are not. They either do not know who they are or they pretend to be what they are not. Although John the Baptist was a holy man and had numerous followers, he knew that he was not the messiah; he recognized his role as the one who prepares the way for the messiah. John in humility knows that the one that comes after him is so great that he is not even worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.
God has called every one of us to different ministries in the Church. Some are called to be priests, others to be religious; many people are called to the married vocation; some people are called to serve as altar servers or lectors, or knights. Each call is intended to prepare the way for God’s kingdom to come upon the earth. It is important that we look at our respective ministries as ends in themselves but as our contribution to furthering God’s mission here on earth.
In what ways is God using you to build his kingdom on earth?

My response:


Today I will:

Luke 19: 11-28 (Wednesday, November 21, 2007) - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

It is important that we put into action the gifts that we have received from God. God has richly blessed us with various gifts but some times we do not use these gifts to further God’s kingdom on earth. How can we be better stewards of the resources that he has entrusted to us? I believe this is what the last judgment would be. Are we going to be like the first two servants who invested the master’s treasures or are we going to be like the last servant who did not invest? As members of Christ’s family, we are called to be investors of the treasures entrusted to us. When the Apostles received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, they did not go back to the upper room; they used their gifts to minister to other people. We also are invited to be active in ministry. The most rewarding ministry we can do is the ministry of our lives - living radically our Christian vocation in the midst of the world.


Prayer:
Lord, help us to be better investors of the treasures you have given to us. Mold our lives according to your Christian image that we may daily minister with our lives to others.

Luke 18: 1-8 (Saturday, November 17, 2007)

Jesus invites us in today’s gospel to never get wearied praying. It is very easy for us to give up. How often do we hear people say, “I have tried, I am giving up.” When we give up, we cut off the channel to our blessings. Prayer is our open channel to God. While sometimes we may think that God is not listening our prayers, it is not true that he isn’t listening. He listens to every petition we make. God even knows what we want to ask for before we open our lips to pray. Sometimes God wants us to persevere, to see how much you trust and love him. At other times, God feels what you ask for is not just right for you at the moment. You have to keep asking until when it is right, he will give it to you. If you cut off the channel of communication with him just because he did not give you what you ask for immediately, when the time is right for him to give you what you asked for, you will not be available to receive it. Today I encourage you to stay in pray even when nothing seems to happen. God works in that nothingness.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, give us the perseverance we need to always stay in prayer. Strengthen us in prayer that we would always be open to your gifts and blessings to us in our lives.

Luke 17: 7-10 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007 – Feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini)

Catholics always have the tendency to want to know what they must do in order to be considered practicing Catholics. The church has done a good job over the years telling them precisely what every Catholic must believe or do. No other religion or Church has as many rule books as the Catholic Church: the Bible, the Catechism, Code of Canon Law, magisterial documents, dogmatic pronouncements, etc. Recently a parishioner asked, what is the basic minimum number of times a Catholic must go to confession in a year? To push it further, some Catholics might ask, what parts of the Mass do I have to be present in order to have fulfilled my Sunday obligation?

True religion is not all about obligations, but it is about the Spirit of God working in you, leading you to act above and beyond the requirements. The servant in the gospel of today is not to be praised because he is only doing what he has been commanded to do. We cannot be saints if we do only the things our faith has obliged us to do. To be saints, we need to go beyond the minimum and do the very ordinary things in an extra-ordinary way.

Prayer:
Lord help us today to serve you in truth and in spirit. Give us the patience to do the little things you have asked us to do in extraordinary ways.

Romans 12: 5-16ab (Tuesday, November 6, 2007)

In today’s reading, we see Paul’s theology of the Church and how members of the Church should live. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 he uses the analogy of the human body to explain the body of Christ. We all are one body in Christ. Anyone who is baptized in Christ is baptized into his body. It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, Asian, African, Indian, etc. Your baptism gives you a new identity, a new passport – you are now a citizen of God’s body. Every citizen of Christ’s body has received a gift and this gift is to be used in building God’s kingdom here on earth. It is important that you know what gift you have and to appreciate the gift. It is only when you that, that you are able to use that gift to build God’s kingdom on earth. No one gift is more superior to another for you to be jealous of another person’s gift; and the gift is not for your own glory for you to want to have another person’s gift. You must accept joyfully whatever gift God has given to you and use it to build up God’s kingdom. When every one of us does this, then we are making God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, help us to know and appreciate the gifts that you have given to us. Holy Spirit of the living God, come to our assistance.

Romans 11: 29-36 (Monday, November 5, 2007)

God’s gift is irrevocable. God has made a covenant with the people of Israel. Though the people of Israel have repeatedly failed to keep their own part of the covenant, God is continues to be faithful to them. He does not revoke the promises that he has made to them. God turns their evil into good. Nothing happens without his knowledge. He knows every detail of our lives. He allows the people of Israel to live a life of disobedience that he might have mercy upon all of them. When we make efforts and try to live good Christian lives, how easy it is sometimes for us to think that we merit it. Our striving is the work of God’s mercy upon us. Our salvation comes through the mercy of God. When we fall in sin, let us not think that God has rejected us and has withdrawn his promises from us, but let us trust in his mercy for us. Even when we are unfaithful, he will always be faithful to us.

Prayer:
God our Father, it is through your mercy that we are saved. Look upon us with mercy and grant us forgiveness for the many times we have been unfaithful to you and help us Lord to always be faithful to you.

Romans 8: 26-30 (Wednesday, October 31, 2007)

Have you experienced moments you don’t just feel like praying? I sometimes do. I don’t feel like praying or sometimes I do not even know what to pray about. For some people that is a good enough excuse not to pray. When you don’t feel like praying or you don’t know what to pray about, it is when you should actually pray. That is actually when you give up the control and let the Holy Spirit who is the prayer warrior carry out his work. It is not uncommon that sometimes I go before Jesus and I tell him “Lord, I don’t feel like being here. I don’t even know why I should even pray. I am not sure of what I should pray about.” After this ranting, I continue to “waste” the rest of my prayer time with him. Usually I come out of the prayer time more fulfilled than even those times I really love to pray. Why? The reason is because prayer is not my work, but the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. It is the Holy Spirit that would help us to cultivate a relationship with Jesus.

Prayer:
Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of they love.

Romans 8: 18-25 (Tuesday, October 30, 2007)

St. Paul in this beautiful reading encourages the people of Romans to endure the pains and anguish they go through now since they hope for something greater in the future. Sometimes it feels like Christians are the losers in the world. If you try to live out radically your Christianity as a business person or as a professional worker, you may not make as much money or grow in your career as others because you are not willing to cut corners. We are invited by St. Paul to enjoy these present inconveniences because the glory of God that is our destiny is greater. Like Jesus would say, of what profit would it be, if you gain the whole world and lose your soul. It is important to keep in mind that our home is not here on earth but it is in heaven and it is that glory and joy of heaven that we should work towards. There, they shall be no pain or sorrow.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ help us to keep our eyes on your glory and not the glories of the world. Amidst the pains and sorrows of this world, give us the endurance to continue to work towards your glory.

Luke 8: 19-21 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)

The primary requirement for becoming a member of Jesus' family is hearing the word of God and acting on it. The Word of God is manifested in the person of Jesus. Striving to be like him is important in order to become members of the family of Jesus. All through the New Testament, we see a new election theology in which not only the people of Israel are called to become members of God's family but everyone who adheres to the Word of God, Jesus Christ. St. Paul does a beautiful job when he reconciles the election theology of the New Testament with that of the Old Testament. He says that Jesus Christ is the singular descendant of Abraham and all Christians are rightful descendants of Abraham by what God has done in Jesus. The waters of baptism are very strong and they make us rightfully members of the family of Jesus. Baptism is not a ceremony that we celebrate in order not to go to hell should we die, it is rather, an election into the everlasting bond of the family of Jesus. This calling is so special that Christians should have nothing more important for them than working to remain in this relationship with Jesus. The key to remaining in this relationship with Jesus is hearing the word of God and acting upon it.

Prayer:
Jesus, thank you from liberating us from our life of bondage and making us your sons and daughters. Help us to always remain in this relationship of love with you and the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Amos 8: 4-7 & Luke 16: 1-13 (Sunday, September 23, 2007 – Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

To understand the first reading of today, we need to understand the historical and social setting in which the prophet Amos was prophesying. Amos prophesied when Uzziah was king of Judah. This prophecy was given two years before the earthquake that destroyed Judah. This earthquake marked the crime of uzziah when he attempted to offer incense in the temple. These were good years for Israel. There was surplus in the land as well as prosperity. Business at this time was good and the economy was very prosperous.

Amos’ message was directed to a people who lived in prosperity, took on the external forms of religion and deprived the poor among them of justice. The people did not abandon the Lord, they continued to worship the Lord in their sinfulness as we too do today. But friends, God is more pleased with righteousness and justice than with sacrifices. We, like the people of Israel are called by the Prophet Amos to abandon our sinfulness and worship the Lord in truth and Spirit. In the first reading of today, I see three crimes Amos prophesied against, and these crimes still exist today.

The first crime is that of trampling upon the needy and destroying the poor of the Land. Amos is speaking against oppression of the poor. What were the rich doing to the poor? They placed heavy taxes on houses and land in order to force the poor to sell their houses to them. This is the greed and avarice of those who rule us. Amos is talking about those land hungry upper class citizens. They want to rob the poor of their land. Land was very important in this culture. In most cases, this land has been handed down from generations to generations and it was one thing the poor could hold unto and be proud of. Placing heavy taxes on the land made it incapable for them to pay and the wealthy bought over these lands at cheaper prices. Our society today is marked by this. We all have friends, relatives, neighbors who have been forced out of their homes because they cannot meet up the high mortgage rates. Many small family run companies have been forced out of business by wealthy leaders of our society. We have enshrined the principle, “I did it on my own, you too can do it on your own.” Saints, have you forgotten that these five fingers are not equal? Have you forgotten that your wealth is not yours, but you are holding it in custody of the poor and needy of our community? God has generously blessed you so that you may generously give to those who do not have.

Amos also attacked the crime of cheating. We have put in place all forms of laws to rob the poor. Is there anybody here that sells insurance? How many times has your insurance company refused to pay rightful benefits? If you are car dealer, how many times have you really paid too low below the value of a car as a trade-in because you know this person is desperate in getting a new car and has no cash down? If you are a loan officer, how many times have you charged too much interest on that poor person who is trying to get a loan for a house, car or college?

Amos prophesied against the crime of selling the just man for silver and the poor man for a pair of sandals. It was a very common practice in the Ancient Near East to sell people into slavery in order to pay debts. We are told that the poor fell deeper and deeper into debt to wealthy landowners that they finally had to sell their land and even themselves. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 we get a clearer picture of what Amos is saying. In this passage we see the story of a poor widow in the time of Elijah that was being forced to sell her children into slavery in payment for the deceased husband’s debt. Why did Amos use the example of a pair of sandals? This is to show us how cheap it was to buy a poor person. This was a serious crime because in Israel, there was a law against depriving a person of his basic needs even if it serves as collateral. That is why Exodus 22:25-26 tells us that, “If you take your neighbors cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset, for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? if he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”

Saints, Amos has a message for all of us sitting here today. Our country is a rich and prosperous one. Our treatment of the poor in our society is as scornful to Yahweh as was that of Israel. The poor today are those who do not have at all, our brothers and sisters in the streets, our brothers and sisters addicted to drugs and alcohol, our sisters being abused by their husbands, our brothers and sisters who lost their jobs without any just cause or reason. Many of our people have lost their homes and property to the rich because they cannot meet the financial demands of our society. Our courts have denied justice to many of our brothers and sisters because they cannot afford the legal fees, and so they get stuck with a court-assigned attorney that is not interested in their justice. The helpless people we kill everyday through abortion. We have waged unjust wars killing innocent people. We rejoice saying God has given us victory, bring them on, in God we trust. Friends, God is telling us today that we need to do something about our land. God is giving us the responsibility of managing well the resources he has entrusted to us.

This is what the Gospel message today is all about. Stewardship, stewardship, and I repeat again, stewardship. Most of us sitting in this church today are the most lucky of our brothers and sisters in the community. Many are homeless, they have nothing to eat, but thank God most of us gathered here this morning have a home to return to and can afford our meals. Our own possessions should be able to benefit the needy. If we must be truly disciples, we have to convert mammon into heavenly capital by sharing it with others, particularly the needy. We cannot keep all we have to ourselves, less we are only building our treasures here on earth. Christ is telling us today, you cannot serve both God and mammon. You have to be loyal to God or be succumbed to mammon. He puts before you today, Life and death. Choose life that you may live. There is no middle standing. You have to choose one thing. Revelations 3: 14 tells us you are lukewarm, you are neither hot nor cold, because you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. We do not want lukewarm Christians, we want Christians who are active in the community. We want Christians who are ready to share their resources with the poor and needy of the community. In this way, God will bless you abundantly and you would be rewarded with eternal life.

Matthew 9: 9-13 (Friday, September 21, 2007)

In today’s gospel, we see the call of Matthew. Jesus says to Matthew who is a tax collector, “follow me” and without questioning, Matthew stood up and followed him. Tax collectors were considered sinners and were not favorable people in the society. They were known for their cheating and exploitation of the people. Of all the people that Jesus could have called, he decided to call Matthew, a sinner. He will later do greater works with Matthew. In this encounter with the living Lord, Matthew knew the time has come for him to give up his dirty carry and follow Jesus. Matthew could not have followed any rabbi that called upon him to become his follower but they was something special about Jesus that the moment Jesus called him, he knew his time has come to become the person God has called him to be. Sometimes we let our sinfulness or our sins of the past overweigh us that we fail to accept the present invitation Jesus Christ is making to us. Jesus invites us today to leave our past alone and come to him, so that he will transform us and use us to accomplish great works.

Prayer:
Lord, I come before you repenting of all my sins. I know have failed in the past to do your will. I have lied, cheated and exploited other people. Forgive me Lord and use me as you will.

John 19: 15-27 (Saturday, September 15, 2007 – Our Lady of Sorrows

Our lady experienced sorrow all through her life - from the moment she gave her fiat to Angel Gabriel. She knew this wasn’t going to be an easy task. Who would believe that she is truly conceived of the Holy Spirit? People mocked her and ridiculed her because she claimed her pregnancy was from the Holy Spirit. Simeon prophesied to her that a sword would pierce her heart. She was very faithful to her mission and accompanied Jesus all through his life. Her life was continuously marked by this sorrow that came with her mission. When Jesus was lost for three days, she wept and searched for her only son. Which mother would not weep when the son is lost? Throughout the event of the cross, she was always there. Which mother’s heart would not be broken seeing an only son being tortured and crucified for offences never committed? Yet, our blessed Mother bore all these things in her heart and was faithful to her mission. How appropriate it is that we celebrate this feast just a day after the exaltation of the Cross. The cross is victory over sorrow and pain. It is this victory of the Cross that subsequently wipes away the tears of the Blessed Mother and brings to her heart everlasting joy. It is the victory of the Cross that leads to her coronation as queen of heaven and earth. What do we do with our own sorrows? Bring them to the woman who knows sorrow and let her intercede for you that the Cross would once more be victorious in your own life too.

Prayer:
Dearest Mother, before you could become the Consoler of the Afflicted, you first had to know true sorrow. I pause with you now, and meditate on that great suffering in your life, the death and burial of your most beloved Son.
Oh, how humble I am, dear Mary, when I see before me your Son in the tomb. He gave His life so we may know freedom from sin. Remind me always that any suffering in my life is passing, just as the suffering you experienced passed in the joy of the Resurrection.
Holy Mary, Mother of Sorrows, I mourn with you, knowing the certain joy of your Son and His gift of everlasting life. Through this act of His, you have become our Mother of Consolation. Amen. (Prayer taken from www.olcshrine.com)

John 3: 13-17 (Friday, September 14, 2007 – Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross)

Belief in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation. Sometimes we get overly concerned about what happens to members of other religions who do not profess a belief in Jesus Christ. That is not so much our problem as the problem of God. We have no jurisdiction over that judgment; we leave it for God to decide. The biblical teaching is clear that Jesus Christ is the singular mediator of salvation. In Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter is very clear that, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are saved.” (Acts 4:12) Due to the sin of our forefathers, God condemned the world, but because of his deep love for us, he sent Jesus Christ to redeem us.

The event of the Cross, and his subsequent resurrection opened wide the gates of heaven, in order that we who accept him as our personal Lord and savior would be able to enter into eternal life. It is not the wish of God that any one of us be condemned in hell, but it is our free choice to choose hell over God. A decision to glory in the sinful things of the world, rather than following the path of Christ, is your own personal free choice to condemnation. By the Cross, Jesus has redeemed the world.

Prayer:
O my Jesus, forgive me my sins, save me from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of your divine mercy.

Luke 6: 20-26 (Wednesday, September 12, 2007)

Jesus Christ has four “woes” in this gospel of today. If this part of the gospel is taken literally, it would seem as if Jesus is a sadist. Jesus is not against us being rich; Jesus is not opposed to our being filled; he doesn’t mind if we laugh; and he is not angry when people speak good about us. So, why the “woes”? The problem is with our attitudes to these things. We must always recognize that he is the source of all that we have. We incur these woes upon ourselves when we see these things as an end to themselves and live as if there is no God. Christians must not strive to be rich at all cost – they must not lie and cheat in order to become rich. And when Christians are rich, they must recognize that all riches come from God and they would be held accountable for how they use these riches. Those who are rich, and are selfish with their riches, not using them to help others and build up God’s kingdom, have already received their consolation in this world. Those who have given themselves to the things of the world, indulge themselves and rejoice in this world, they shall not laugh in heaven because their home is hell where they weep and cry. As God’s people, the most important thing for us is Jesus Christ. When we acknowledge him as our personal Lord and Savior, we shall receive consolation in heaven and would rejoice forever in the banquet of the lamb that was slain.

Prayer:
Jesus I love you, all I have is yours, yours I am and yours I want to be, do with me whatever you will.