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Tag: bible

  • WALK IN HIM, ROOTED IN HIM, BUILT UPON HIM

    WALK IN HIM, ROOTED IN HIM, BUILT UPON HIM

    September 9, 2025 – Tuesday 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090925.cfm)

    How do we make decisions? What are the things that we consider as we choose what is essential in life?

    Paul in his Letter to the Colossians, reminded the people not to be persuaded by selfish desires, “seductive philosophy” and perhaps appealing ideologies at that time. People might be tempted on impulse to choose and make decisions in their life based on what was popular and appealing to many.

    Hence, Paul said, “as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

    To walk in him, be rooted in him and be built upon him is to make Jesus Christ at the very center of our life, of the decisions we make and the things that we do and we want to be. This is how we share in the fullness of Jesus’s humanity and divinity.

    And the Gospel today gives us the invitation on how we will be able to remain in Jesus and share in the fullness of God’s grace. This is shown himself by Jesus, and that is through the basics of prayer. As Jesus chose his closest disciples whom he also called apostles, Jesus spent a night in prayer to his Father in heaven.

    Jesus prayed. In fact, he spent the whole night in prayer as an act of communion with the Father, He listened to his Father’s voice speaking in him. This means that he did not choose the 12 just out of compulsion or feelings. Jesus chose each of them according to God’s desire. This was how Jesus also saw something in each of them, including Judas. Jesus saw something very good in Judas. Yet, Judas failed to see and recognize what the Lord had seen in him. As a result, Judas betrayed Jesus because Judas failed to recognize God in the person of Jesus.

    The Gospel also tells us that the people who were gathered around Jesus sought to touch the Lord. They realized that by mere touching him, they were healed. Power came forth from Jesus himself. And Jesus allowed them to touch him. This expressed God’s desire that indeed we are welcomed to share in the fullness of God’s grace that brings healing and gives life.

    We too are invited to touch God. Because it is in touching God that we will become grounded in whatever decision we will make. In touching the presence of Jesus in our sacraments, in the scriptures and in the lives of others that we too are able to walk with Jesus. When we become more aware of God in our life, then, the more we become sensitive to God’s desire for us and be rooted in Jesus. So, let us seek God’s desire in prayer and be built upon him. Hinaut pa.

  • TO AFFIRM, TO REJECT, TO BE ALONE

    TO AFFIRM, TO REJECT, TO BE ALONE

    I learned three things in my recent Youth Encounter Facilitators’ Training – To Affirm, To Reject, To be Alone is Good.

    Indeed, these three lessons are part of our life situations. Some of us may have avoided one or all the three. Some are afraid to face it. Some may not be able to recognize that they are doing something good. During our sessions, a question popped up in my head, “ Is it okay to not experience this or feel such emotions?”

    I used to struggle with receiving affirmations from others. When someone would complement me, I would easily downplay it or say ‘it’s nothing special.’ I would respond with ‘dili uy’ or ‘taka raman ka’  (It is not true) instead of simply acknowledging it and saying “thank you.”

    I felt uncomfortable receiving praise. I worried that people were just joking or being insincere. This made it hard for me to give affirmations too. I feel pressured to maintain a certain image and expectations. Even in expressing my faith like in simple praying, felt challenging. I struggle to acknowledge God’s blessings and goodness in my life.

    Yet, I was so touched with Simon’s story who became Peter after Jesus’ affirmation. That story inspired me. It challenged me to practice receiving and giving affirmations, genuinely. I want now to acknowledge others’ efforts and kindness, and express gratitude for God’s blessings. Though, it is still a work in progress, but I’m learning to embrace affirmations as a way to build connections and celebrate goodness.

    When we too are rejected or doing the rejection towards others, it can leave us feeling disappointed, hurt, and uncertain. However,  the story of the 2 blind men shows me a different perspective. They were rejected by the crowd, who saw them as helpless and dirty. The crowd judged them and got angry, but Jesus listened to their cries for help. Jesus stopped, called them over, and asked what they needed. At that moment, the blind men felt seen, heard, and valued. Jesus recognized their worth and importance, and they felt accepted.

    This story teaches me that even in rejection, we can find acceptance and love. Jesus’ actions show me now that everyone deserves to be heard, seen, and valued. I learned that I must offer kindness, compassion, acceptance. It is a call for me to listen to others and to recognize the worth and value in every person I encounter.

    I used also to fear being alone, left out, or not chosen. Many young people, including myself, dread silence, thinking that it means being alone. Yet, I’ve learned that being alone can also be good. To be alone, we can also sense God’s presence, recognize His work, and find peace. When we are feeling down, it’s okay to be alone because God is always with us.

    In silence, we can Hear God’s gentle voice, reflect on our thoughts and emotions, find calmness and peace and grow closer to God. I realized that being alone doesn’t mean being abandoned, it can also mean being with God. Embracing silence helps us trust in His presence and love.

    Is it okay to not experience this or feel such emotions? It can be yes or no. Yet, for me, this is necessary to be in touched with myself and be closer with God. It teaches me to  also rely on God’s strength in my weakness or darkest time

    A reflection by Joseph S. Funo-an, who was sent in Cebu City last August 17-22, 2025 for the Youth Encounter – Virac Model and YE-Facilitators Seminar Workshop (YE-FSW). He recently graduated at Mindanao State University, Main Campus, Marawi City, in Bachelor in Elementary Education.

  • SELFLESS

    SELFLESS

    September 7, 2025 – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090725.cfm)

    A recent Facebook post catches my attention. It is about a young man named Seth Adam Smith who realized, after being married for a year and a half, and said that: “Marriage is not for me”…. Why? Because after all these months of marriage with his teenage sweetheart, he comes to understand now what his father’s advice to him before his wedding day, is becoming true and right before his very eyes.

    His dad once said to him then: “Seth, remember marriage is not for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy. You marry to make someone else happy. More than that, marriage is not for yourself. You are marrying FOR a family and for your future children. Marriage is not for you. It is not about you. Marriage is about the persons & people you marry to.”

    Surely married couples here could relate to this realization or advice. For marriage is indeed not really for the sake of oneself but for the sake of your lifetime partner and family.

    And so eventually married couples have to learn along the way that marriage is not all about me or about I but about US. And surely such realization is a hard-lesson to learn where learning happens only through trial and error experience. To be SELFLESS, i.e. to be not selfish and self-centered then is the very challenge of committed love we called marriage.

    For love is more than just a feeling or emotion but a commitment and decision to go beyond and give up oneself for the sake of the other. In other words, in marriage – in committed love, couples are to love their own spouse as much as, and as more than they love themselves and they love one another.

    This is the very kind of love Jesus asked of us in His commandment of love when he said: “Love one another as I have loved you”. A love much and more than our kind of love, but a selfless love for the sake of the other, and a love that leads us to a life and a world that is not the same as it is, but for the better of us. A married life committed in love not for your own but for the sake of your loved ones and of loving them, and above all for our Lord Jesus Christ.

    It is indeed easy nowadays for people to say: “Not for me”. Priesthood? Not for me. Religious life? Not for me. Marriage? Not for me. And even perhaps, Christianity? Not for me. But come to think of it, priesthood, religious life, marriage – following Jesus is indeed not for Me nor for You, but for Him; not about Me or You, but about Him whom we love & follow in life as Christian. And Christians who opted for Christ is saying that their discipleship is SELFLESS – not for them but for Him whom they choose to follow in life.

    For what it is to be a Christian? What does it cost to be a disciple of Christ? To be a Christian, as Jesus taught us today is like marriage, more than just a preference but a commitment.

    To follow Christ is not just we prefer Christ in our dealings with life – that we want and like Christ to be part of our lives, but it is to commit ourselves to the Christian way of life. To commit to Christ then is to be selfless, i.e. letting go of ourselves and letting God be God in our lives.

    On one hand, selflessness involves letting go, i.e. as Jesus said: to renounce – to give up everything. And this us not easy, because usually we prefer to have, possess, acquire, and own everything.

    But Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is more than what we prefer and desire (want and like) in life, but it is what God’s wants and wills what is best for our life. Like Seth who realized that “Christian Marriage is not for me…not for my sake but for the best and sake of my partner, and my own family”.

    Being His disciples then is not about being self-oriented, self-centered & inward-looking, but rather being other-oriented, other-centered & outward-looking. And the Kingdom of God is then not about You and I, not even about yours & mine. But God’s kingdom is all about We and Ours, and above all about HIM, as our Lord and we, as His disciples.

    On the other hand, selflessness requires to letting God be God, that is to submit to God’s will. Human as we are we like to be in control, to lead and to be the master. In a way we prefer to take the driver’s seat and take the steering wheels, and go where we want to go.

    But following Christ means to commit and submit to God’s will for us, and let God control, lead, guide, and form the direction of our lives. This means that we become passengers, and let Jesus takes the wheels and brings us to place and time in our life beyond our imaginings.

    Again, be reminded what Jesus is saying to us in our gospel today: to BE HIS disciple is to hate our life, carry our crosses & follow Him, and renounce all our possessions… all for the sake of and because of HIM.

    Jesus himself, by his words and examples, has shown us how to be selfless by letting go and letting God be God. In the same way, for us to fully fulfill God’s kingdom in our lives, as Christians, pray we must that we selflessly commit our lives to Christ (as Christian husband, wife, mother, father, priest, religious nuns or brothers, sons and daughters, family) by letting go and letting God be God with total commitment for Him (and, not for the sake of me, you, & ours alone) in faith & life. AMEN.

  • Not out of Fear but from Gratitude & Generosity

    Not out of Fear but from Gratitude & Generosity

    August 30, 2025 – Saturday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/083025.cfm)

    People who struggle with low self-esteem may find it so difficult to share their talents and express themselves. The fear of being judged and being rejected by others could hamper a person to share and express himself or herself. Many times, one could not avoid such fear because people tend to easily notice the negatives, failures and the ugly.

    More so, we may also tend to compare ourselves with others. To realize how others enjoy many things than us or how others possess more than us, could make our heart envious. Among siblings and friends, it can be painful when others stress who is better, brighter, and more talented among us. This can make the “lesser self” become bitter towards others and towards himself or herself.

    Such outlook in life would hold us back from developing healthy and life-giving relationships because of our poor self-image and low self-esteem. We too may tend to hide in fear and bury our potentials. Thus, we endanger ourselves to become stagnant and unproductive.

    The parable in today’s Gospel reminds us of this through the third servant. Yet, it also challenges us to see beyond our limitations and embrace our potentials. This becomes more possible in us as we grow in gratitude and generosity and not out of fear.

    Indeed, the servants were given “talents” (a particular amount of material wealth) by their master. Each was given different amount of talents, “each according to his ability.” The master realized the ability of each of his servant and so they were entrusted as the master saw it fitting for them.

    When we are the ones in this situation and having a low self-esteem, we too might compare ourselves especially when we have received less. We could become bitter and reactive towards the master who entrusted little in our care. We could feel envious of others who received more.

    The third servant represented this kind of heart. He was rather filled with fear and bitterness towards the master, towards others and himself. And so, he decided to bury his talents. That made him unproductive and having a bitter perspective of the generosity of the master. He might have despised the master and his companions too. Yet, he too could have pitied himself for having less.

    However, the two other servants no matter how much they have received understood what the master wanted them to do. With the talents given to them, they began to take risks and invested what they have possessed.

    The two servants have given us the model of becoming grateful and generous. This made them productive and even discovered the wonders behind their abilities and potentials. This was manifested at how the master entrusted them with more.

    This is how we are invited today. There is no reason for constantly comparing ourselves with others. When this becomes an unhealthy behavior in us, it will remove us from being free, grateful and generous. We will be prevented to become more productive in our own way.

    We are challenged, then, to confront and outgrow our fears, our low self-esteem, and begin to affirm ourselves and the gifts we have no matter how small or limited we may think of them.

    Like the two other servants, the Lord wants us to take risks, to be creative, to be productive in our own ways. The Lord gives the grace in each of us, each according to our ability. This is not because God discriminates us but in God’s wisdom, God sees our capabilities.

    And so we pray, “Lord, make my heart more grateful and generous. Teach me to affirm the gifts I have and my very self. Challenge me when I begin to doubt your wisdom and generosity in me. May my heart be more courageous in sharing myself and find joy in it.” Hinaut pa.

  • The Light of our Faith

    The Light of our Faith

    August 29, 2025 – Passion of St. John the Baptist

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/0829-memorial-passion-john-baptist.cfm)

    Evil seems stronger that good. Darkness seems stronger than light. Lies seem stronger than truth. This can be discouraging and frustrating when such things happen in our life and in our society.

    Take for example when ordinary citizens would do their best to earn a living yet powerful political and government officers would suck out the national treasury. Leaders living in comfort and luxury while ordinary citizens living in poverty and suffering from poor social services. Take for example of murders and killings perpetrated by those with money as their power while families of victims being threatened and justice being deprived.

    Yet, in every age and generation, God chooses prophets among us who take courage and the risk to speak God’s desires for us. These are the prophets who make a stand even when their lives are threatened and find joy even when persecuted.

    Today’s feast of the Passion of St. John the Baptist somehow portrays such painful reality. John who prepared the way of the Lord, led people to repentance and proclaimed God’s salvation was beheaded cruelly. John, who died a martyr’s death, paid this price by having the courage to pinpoint the wrong and immorality of those in power.

    Herod who coveted his brother’s wife, Herodias, though liked to listen to John, did not change his ways. Herod was rather submerged into corruption and immorality. Herodias despised John so much for challenging their relationship. Her daughter, who was indifferent towards the situation acted on impulse and without right judgment.

    John was fully aware of the risks but he did as the Lord commanded him to do. John’s life echoed what was written in the Book of Jeremiah, “Gird your loins; stand up and tell them all that I command you.” The voice of John the Baptist became a beacon of light despite the seemingly powerful darkness. He became a hope in the midst of hopeless and corrupt leaders.

    He was beheaded, yet, the spirit of John the Baptist and his voice continued to echo. Hence, his passion does tell us now of God’s power to defeat evil with good, to turn darkness into light, and to correct lies with the truth.

    With his life and his passion, John is now an inspiration for us Christians. The faith that we have received, is our light that shall guide and inspire our conscience. The light of our faith motivates our hearts to love more and to seek what is true and good. The light of our faith brings encouragement and strength in times when we are being tried or threatened. This light of our faith makes us sing and proclaim God’s salvation and freedom for us.

    And so we pray, “Lord, increase my faith in you. Empower my heart and mind that I may be your own prophet in my own family, group of friends and community. Inspire in me the desire to seek the light, what is good and true.” Hinaut pa.