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.

Mathew 25: 14-30 (Saturday, September 1, 2007)

God has blessed us with so many gifts. The reason he has given us these gifts is that we might use them and build up the kingdom of God. God, however, has also given us the freewill to use these gifts as we wish. Some people have truly used these gifts to build up the body of Christ, others have been lukewarm since after their confirmation. For others, confirmation is their send off from the church, we see them again only during their wedding ceremony, when they come to please their parents and grandparents. One fact that we cannot run away from is that, one day we would be held accountable for how we spent the talents God gave to us. Those who truly used them to build up the kingdom of God, they would be rewarded abundantly and those who were so selfish that they kept their talents to themselves, hell would be their reward.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit of God, inspire us that we might know the gifts we have received from God. Come and help us to use these gifts to build up the body of Christ here on earth.

Matthew 13: 47-53 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)

In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us a glimpse into what will happen at the end of time. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous. We live in a world in which hell is never talked about – it sounds too mean to be taught to children, we deceive ourselves. Our children grow up without knowing the consequences of living an evil life. God is all loving and all rewarding, young people think. We delude ourselves of two eternal options: heaven or nothing. It is either every one goes to heaven or nothing happens at death. The scriptures is unambiguous that there is going to be a day of reckoning, when God will separate the good from the bad; the righteous from the unrighteous. God will not only reward the righteous for a life well lived, but he will also reward the unrighteous. While the righteous will go to heaven where they shall know no pain or sorrow, the unrighteous would be thrown into an everlasting furnace of fire where they shall burn. This is the truth of the scriptures we must take seriously to heart as we continue to live our daily lives. It is not the wish of God that we go to hell fire, but if we make hell our option by not living a righteous life, God shall certainly grant us that desire.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, your plan for us is that we may live a life with you in eternity. In this world, Satan lures us with many offers that constantly lead us to a life of unrighteousness. We acknowledge you as the righteous one. Share your righteousness with us today so that we may continue to make righteous decisions that lead us to you rather than foolish decisions that make us stray from your path. Give us the graces we need to live a righteous life, so that at the end, we will be receive into your eternal kingdom where we truly belong.

Matthew 13: 24-30 (Saturday, July 28, 2007)

We are all created good. God created us in his own image and likeness. God’s image and likeness is perfect. The Psalmist says we are created a little less than the angels; and the author of Genesis says, God saw all that he made was good. Our evil or failure to be good is not God’s fault but our own freewill to choose evil over the good. Even when the human person chose evil over the good, God still wished salvation for all of us and he sent Jesus Christ to come and die on the Cross that we might be save.

On the other hand, the devil has been sleepless ever since he was defeated and thrown out of heaven. He has constantly sought to lead God’s people astray. St. Peter tell us that our enemy the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for who to devour. He is the one that sows the seeds of sin in our hearts. Jesus constantly gives us the opportunity to repent; to turn to him. The parable of today clearly tells us that the day of reckoning is coming, when we shall give account of how we lived our lives. On whose side are we? The reward of those who are on the side of Jesus is eternal life in heaven; and the reward for those who picked the side of Satan is the eternal fire of hell.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ we acknowledge that we were created out of love and you offered your life for us because you love us. We go through life facing many temptations from the evil one the devil. We promise to follow you, yet we constantly fall again and again in sin. Do not condemn us in your justice O Lord, but through your loving mercy, give us the strength to continue to be faithful to you, so that on the last day, we will re-unite with you, together with the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints in our eternal home in heaven.