May 31, 2020 – Pentecost Sunday Click here for the readings (http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/053120-day.cfm) Corrie ten Boom, a Nazi concentration camp Christian survivor of the Holocaust once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest”. Though her words wasContinue reading Look at God, and you will be at rest
Jesus is about to leave physically in the world. But it does not mean that Jesus will abandon his friends. In fact, Jesus prays for his friends. “I pray for them,” said Jesus. This means that Jesus remembers his friends in his thoughts.
BEING IN THE THOUGHTS OF JESUS ALSO MEANS THAT JESUS MAKES HIS PERSON PRESENT IN THE LIFE OF HIS FRIENDS. IT IS A PROMISE OF FAITHFULNESS AND OF CONSTANT PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR LIFE, IN EACH OF US.
Today, Jesus reminds us too, that he prays for us and with us. Jesus joins us in our prayer. The Lord is there every time we pray. The Lord makes himself ever present the moment we also dispose ourselves in prayer. We can say this confidently, Jesus prays with me because he remembers me and he is with me.Continue reading Jesus prays for me today, and so I pray for others too
TODAY, JESUS ALSO WANTS US TO HAVE THAT SAME CONVICTION. WE ARE NEVER ALONE. THE LORD IS WITH US, ALWAYS WITH US. THIS IS THE PROMISE OF JESUS TO US TODAY.
His words to his disciples are also his invitation to us today, “I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.”
Therefore, when we feel alone, let it be known that we are never alone. When a terrible sickness strikes us, when a traumatic experience haunts us, when depression bothers us, when anxiety and uncertainty disturb us, remember, God is with us.Continue reading I tell myself today, “I am never alone”
Today, we celebrate the 2nd Glorious Mystery, the Ascension of the Lord. Tradition has it that forty days after His appearances before his disciples, the Lord has ascended back to Our Father, leaving behind and separated away from us His disciples. This reminds us that the mystery of God’s glory is made known to us through Jesus’ departure from our lives. This would mean then that in our life and faith, our homesickness and separation share a part in the story of our normal life and salvation as well. Like the experience of the two disciples in Emmaus where the Lord appeared to them and then disappeared when they recognized Him, salvation also requires the Lord’s resurrection and departure (His coming and going into our own lives). Continue reading Absence makes the heart grows fonder
Instead of praying – “this is what I want and wish Lord,” ask and pray rather first in this way, “what is your desire for me Lord?” Only then that we will be able to get away from our selfish tendencies and intentions because we shift our focus from ourselves to God – from praying that comes only from personal wants to praying in his name.Continue reading Ask anything and you will receive. Really? Anything?
As Paul and the disciples were comforted by Jesus, the Lord also is telling us now, “Do not be afraid, go on and continue because I am with you. Believe that this sorrow you have now will pass away and will turn into joy.”
Moreover, this calls us today to truly believe that God is the God of our life. Then, in that faith, we shall see the many good things we enjoy in this life despite the many difficulties and hardships we encounter. When we also truly believe that God is the resurrection and the life that we also begin to become true Christians who see light in the midst of darkness, who find joy in the midst of sorrow, who capture a smile in the midst of pain, who embrace hope in the midst of impossibility, who find healing in the midst of so much sickness and who find life in death.Continue reading God intervenes to bring us comfort and confidence
In this process of letting go of the Lord, then, the disciples also allowed God to work in them. This was how the early Church found grace and freedom in letting go.
Today, we are also asked to let go whatever is hindering us to encounter the Lord. We may ask ourselves, “What is it that I continue to linger? What is that attachment that I find difficult to let go for me to grow?”Continue reading Grace and Freedom in letting go
Because of the Community Quarantine and Lockdowns, these caused the closing of malls, shops, small and big businesses. We are all asked to “stay at home” as a preventive and protective measure against the Corona Virus. At the beginning of this “stay at home,” more and more people also found ways to entertain themselves while staying at home. One of the most popular entertainments that one could easily observe now is how people where drawn towards their screens to watch South Korean Drama Series. Continue reading On Idols and Obsessions
We are also called to allow the Lord to open our hearts. It is when we listen to God speaking to us through our Sacraments in the Church, through the Bible, through our experiences and daily affairs with the world, that we allow God to challenge us to see God’s surprises in our life.Continue reading When the Lord opens our heart
May 17, 2020 – Sixth Sunday of Easter Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051720.cfm Life under quarantine is without a doubt, difficult. For almost a quarter of the year 2020 now, we find our world on lockdown amid pandemic realities. Definitely these are trying and uncertain times for all of us, humanity as the worldContinue reading Life amidst and after COVID-19
