"Christ calls everyone to open themselves to God’s forgiveness"

Mt 23:27-32

Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!" 

Commentary of the day :

Pope Francis
General Audience of 02/10/2013 (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Christ calls everyone to open themselves to God’s forgiveness

You could say to me: but the Church is made up of sinners, we see them everyday. And this is true: we are a Church of sinners; and we sinners are called to let ourselves be transformed, renewed, sanctified by God. There has been in history the temptation for some to say: the Church is only the Church of the pure, the perfectly consistent, and expels all the rest. This is not true! This is heresy! The Church, that is holy, does not reject sinners; she does not reject us all; she does not reject because she calls everyone, welcomes them, is open even to those furthest from her, she calls everyone to allow themselves to be enfolded by the mercy, the tenderness and the forgiveness of the Father, who offers everyone the possibility of meeting him, of journeying toward sanctity…
In the Church, the God we encounter is not a merciless judge, but like the Father in the Gospel parable (Lk 15,11). You may be like the son who left home, who sank to the depths, farthest from the Gospel. When you have the strength to say: I want to come home, you will find the door open. God will come to meet you because he is always waiting for you, God is always waiting for you, God embraces you, kisses you and celebrates. That is how the Lord is, that is how the tenderness of our Heavenly Father is.
The Lord wants us to belong to a Church that knows how to open her arms and welcome everyone, that is not a house for the few, but a house for everyone, where all can be renewed, transformed, sanctified by his love, the strongest and the weakest, sinners, the indifferent, those who feel discouraged or lost.

"Love" the great greatest commandment

Mt 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

Guide for reflections:

1. Hove i loved my God above all things?

2. Have i learned to control my-self's wants and needs?

3. Have i tests my God's love to me?

4. Have i love my KAPWA or my neighbor?

I will be very happy to see and know your reflections for this passage.

with gratitude and prayers,

Sem. Carlito Brazil- Gemina

"Who then can be saved?"

Mt 19:23-30

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB 



Commentary of the day : 

Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church 
Counsels and maxims, nos. 352, 355, 356, 364, 1693 edition (trans. David Lewis, rev.) 

Spirit of ownership or poverty of spirit?

Have no other desire but to enter, for love of Jesus, upon detachment, emptiness and poverty in everything in the world… You will never have to do with necessities greater than those to which you submit your heart. The poor in spirit (Mt 5,3) are most happy and joyous in a state of privation, and whoever desires nothing finds fullness everywhere.

The poor in spirit give generously all they have and their pleasure consists in being thus deprived of everything for God’s sake and out of love for their neighbor (Mt 22,37f.)… Not only do temporal goods, the delights and the tastes of sense, hinder and thwart the way of God, but spiritual delights and consolations also, if sought for or clung to eagerly.

"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"

Mt 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, " 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother'; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 

      In our morning mass for this day i was really touch by the homily of our very own spiritual director in the seminary by stating 3 important points of reflection in the Gospel for the day.

         

        I was really moved by the second point of reflections, "Leaving our attachments."

        Have you discovered some of  your attachments in life? Somehow you will say yes, but how sure are you?

        For me i am now trying to deviate my self into this possessions of mine through pens. I really have a lot of pens from the cheapest to the expensive ones. I just learn that they are one of the causes of my burdens in life and i can't move on easily. It's really difficult to give them if you learn to value them that much. But mind you, you give more importance to our attachment than giving more time to our LORD. It pulls me to the wrong path and so i learn to share them to my brothers and friends though it hurts. But, it is only in this way of letting go where i can my self free.

   Let us not be like the young man, who cannot let go of what he has. The very invitation of our Lord is free yourself from your mundane wants and look instead of our needs and the needs of others. Instead, some of us are very selfish and self- centered that they really wanted to accumulate things or even wealth in life. Accordingly, they are the hindrance in our journey for they are our baggage's in life.

  Attachment could also be emotional or relational. Our relationship that we cannot let go and so we cannot moved on. Partly i am affected by this, because in the future our ministry calls for leaving behind everything that we have. To serve others and serve God is our utmost concern and so i need to learn of letting go. It is only in this process where i can attain freedom in me and freedom to serve others.

   "For the Love of God and Love of Neighbor".

"THE MAGIC IS NOT IN THE FAUCET!"

Matthew 17:14-21

14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

"THE MAGIC IS NOT IN THE FAUCET!"

by Rev. Michael Phelps

INTRO:

Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence was born on August 16, 1888 in Wales. Popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence became famous for his exploits as British Military liason to the Arab Revolt during the First World War.

The desert raids of British officer T.E. Lawrence and his Arab rebels tied down many Turkish troops who could have been fighting the main British armies in the Middle East. Lawrence of Arabia's struggle against the Turks during World War I was a classic of guerrilla warfare, and his personal account has become a classic of world literature. And, of course, many of you have seen the movie about the life of Lawrence of Arabia.

Lawrence wrote about his Arabian adventures in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

During the war, Lawrence formed close friendships with many of the Sheiks of Arabia. After the war, he brought some of these Sheiks back to England to show his appreciation for their support against the Turkish domination.

They had a wonderful visit, appeared before the Joint House of Commons and Parliament, had an audience with the Queen.

On the last night of their visit, Lawrence offered them anything they wanted to take back with them to their desert homes.

They led him up to the hotel room, into the bathroom, and pointed to the faucets in the bathtub and said that they wanted to take faucets with them that would provide them with running water in the deserts.

They didn't realize that the faucets were superficial. Behind them was plumbing, a hot water heater, an energy source that heated the water, a city main that supplied the water, and from the city main went a line to an outside source of water!

• The magic is not in the faucet! It is what is behind the faucet that gives the water!

• The faucet can be 24 carat gold, but if its not attached to a water supply, its useless!

• The magic is not in the faucet, the power comes from what is behind the faucet! Things that are not visible to the human eye, but are there nonetheless!

• If the pump, or the plumbing, or the reservoir ever to out of service, the faucet is useless! It's what's behind the faucet that gives it its power!

I am sharing this very nice input of a good friend of mine from U.S.A.

Hope you find it meaningful.

Thank you.

"But who do you say that I am?"

"Who am I to you?"

Mt 16:13-23

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 

Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Reflection:

       Our Gospel for today presents to us if how well we know our God. That is why he uttered and asks his disciples "Who do people say that i am?". Reflecting on this in our day to day life we might ask to ourselves who do people say that i am?

        Your family members would tell you who you are to them but how about other people? your friends?

         I am inviting you today to focus on our relationship with our Lord and our relationship with  our friends and other people. How well you know our Lord Jesus? and how well do you relate to your friends? probably you will tell me or answer this question that you know our God because you pray. Because our God provides your needs day to day. Have you seen God? or Have you seen God to others?

        I personally has the difficulty in knowing my God and acknowledging him in my life. I am like other disciples who sometimes doubt my God, especially when prayers are not answered. And the invitation to me is know him more not just in prayers but also look for him in simple events in my life and acknowledge him to other people. The Love of God and His Mercy is shared to all of us. Jesus gave to St. Peter the keys to heaven, entrusted to him a great responsibility that requires a good and constant relationship to our God.

        Others might give a comment or feedback against you. Take them lightly and reflect on them. Because their words somehow speaks of you whether its true or not according to your discretion. When you ask your friends "who do you say that i am?
" are they honest enough to tell you if who you really are? Take time to talk to them and ask them gently and you will be enlightened.

    Acceptance is the key to happiness.

# " Do not be blinded"

                                                              Mt 15:1-2.10-14

Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash (their) hands when they eat a meal.
He summoned the crowd and said to them, "Hear and understand.
It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one."
Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"
He said in reply, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit." 

 In silence let us ask our self if have we ever judge others' actions or doings?

 Have we ever intimidated others?

 Did we ever realized that our criticisms sometimes affects others beliefs and faith?

Act now! Believe! Do not be blinded by others!

Please allow the scripture passage sink into your heart and allow the reflection questions run into the silence of your heart.

Have a blessed day.