Lifted Up

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040913.cfm) encourages me that God should be lifted up in our lives.

In basketball, or in majority of sports where players wear uniforms, there is a saying that goes: "you play for the name in front of your uniform, not the one at the back". It reminds us that we should play for our team, not for ourselves. We should work for our team, concerned with doing our part in making the team win, and not to work hard to glorify ourselves and show people how good we are in the sport. As some athletes say, "I would rather sit on the bench and see our team win, than play a good game on the court and see our team lose." Team over self. Lift the team, not the self.

God wants us to live that way. Glorify Him, not ourselves. Seek praises and honor for him, not for ourselves. We should live our lives lifting him up, not ourselves.

As we live our lives, and as we go on our day to day activities, may we be challenged and inspired to lift Him up in our lives. May we work hard so that others can see how great, loving, caring and merciful God is not just when we are in church, but most importantly, as we live our lives as children, parents, relatives, friends and officemates. May God be seen and lifted up in our everyday, day to day life.

Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for reminding me how I am called to praise and lift you up in my life. Lord, i ask that as i live my life, help me glorify you in the simple things, in the everyday things i do. May other people see you in me. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,
-g-

Ps
See related reflection
http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/03/high-and-lifted-up.html

Annunciation 2012

The Word today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040813.cfm) reminds and encourages me to always give God my yes when he asks for it.

God loves us so much that's why he gave us free will. He does not force us to do good or follow him, even if it is what God wants for us. We have our choice if we will give God our yes or no.

God always calls us and gives us opportunities to serve Him. As we commemorate the Annunciation, the start of it, the first joyful mystery, we see God giving Mary an opportunity to serve Him. That must have been scary for a young woman, but that did not stop her. Her obedience overcame her fear and we see Mary giving her sweet yes to serving God.

In life, we also get opportunities to serve God. Might not be in a way like Mama Mary, but God gives us opportunities to serve Him. Problem is we are not always saying yes. There are a lot of things that stop us - Fear. Concerns in life. Worries. Some are valid, like Mama Mary's. but may today's word inspire us to trust in God when he calls us, and have full faith and surrender to Him as we respond.

Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for the gift if time. Thank you for the gift of family. Lord, i ask that i always be appreciative of your blessings. And as i remember how much you love me, may i have the heart to love you back and give you my yes. As i do, help me completely surrender and trust that you will equip me and use me mightily for your purpose. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,
-g-

Divine Mercy 2013

The WORD today reminds me of God's divine and unending mercy.

Today is divine mercy sunday, and the gospel reminds us of it. Jesus says it to his disciples three times - "peace be with you"

Why was this his first greeting? Probably because he wanted to assure his disciples that they are forgiven. From what? From abandoning Jesus during his darkest moments. They left him when times were tough.

Another peace he was giving them was probably the peace amidst all worldly distractions. Times were tough and challenging, and Christ wants us to know that he gives us peace from everything. This is what he says in Philippians - "and the peace of Christ which surpasses all human understanding will guard your minds and hearts"

May we always remember God's divine mercy. No matter how much we have hurt him, he is always ready to give his peace. We just need to be humble and come to him to receive his peace coming from his forgiveness, and surrender our lives to him to receive his peace amidst all the worldly distractions.

Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for opportunities to spend time with people important to me. Lord may I always remember your mercy and may i humbly come to receive your mercy and forgiveness, and submit my life to you to get peace only you can give. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,
-g-

Untiring

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040613.cfm) reminds me that God is untiring in his love and concern for us.

The gospel shows us Jesus appearing a lot of times to his disciples and friends after he was risen. He did not take his sweet time and rejoiced on his victory over death, rather he went straight back to work and appeared to his friends and continued to minister and teach them. God is really untiring in his love and concern for us.

As human beings, it is not easy to be untiring in anything. After a certain number of times of trying or after a certain length of period of doing something, we get tired. We lose hope. We give up. We lose faith. It is normal for us, but it is good to know that with God, this is not the case. It is refreshing to know that God is and will always be untiring in his manifestation of his love, in his sending his blessings, in his protection over us – even if we do not recognize or appreciate them.

May we find joy in God’s untiring manifestation of his love and concern for us, and do our part to be untiring in spreading his kingdom here on earth.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for reminding me how untiring you are. Lord, I am sorry for the times I give up on you, I give up on my faith, I give up on people. Lord, I ask that you always remind me how untiring you are with me, and may it remind me to be untiring in my service for you, through others. Amen.

Blessed weekend!

In Christ,

-g-

Let's Eat!

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040513.cfm) reminds me that God can turn the simplest things into opportunities to spread the faith.

We Filipinos generally love eating. I personally love to eat, that’s why the gospel caught my attention.

The gospel paints an interesting scene. I could just imagine what the disciples were feeling. Tired from working all night and catching nothing. Frustrated. Then someone tells them to throw the net on the right side of the boat. Why right? Who is this guy? We were up all night but caught nothing, then this guy tells us to just cast our nets on the right side? These were probably some thoughts on their head, yet they still obeyed, probably thinking they will have nothing to lose. Then came the surprise. Their obedience, their faith, enabled Jesus to bless them in a special way. They caught 153 large fish that their net almost broke. Plus they saw Jesus again!

Then it doesn’t end there! When they arrived to the shore, Jesus was cooking breakfast already! How wonderful it must have felt, that after being up all night catching nothing, they were given a lot, then breakfast was prepared for them. How wonderful God blesses us!

Jesus used eating, the breaking of bread, to remind them of the Eucharist. He also reminded them to come to Him for food, for he alone can give food that satisfies. Jesus is really human, he knows how to maximize eating time, and he made good use of that. He turned a simple and normal breakfast into an opportunity for him to have communion and fellowship with his friends, and strengthened his relationship to those who would eventually proclaim his kingdom.

God is telling me to maximize eating, to use it as an avenue to share God’s word and to build relationships. Let us proclaim God’s love, goodness and power when we break bread. We can enjoy each other’s company and talk about God in a simple meal. We do not need alcohol or a fancy meal to build relationships. We just need to make sure that in the simplest of things, we include Jesus, and that makes the difference.

How do I react when God asks me to do something? Do I justify and reason out, or do I just obey, allowing him to bless me abundantly?  How do I build relationships? Do I need alcohol or fancy meals to build relationships, or do I know that if I include Christ in the simplest of meals, that is enough to build relationships anchored on Him?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for always being there, for never giving up on me, for taking care of me despite my shortcomings. Lord, I thank you for seeing me through the week. It was a fast and busy week, and other than it’s Friday already, I am glad that you were with me every step of the way. Lord I ask that you help me maximize eating. May my love for food be used to build your kingdom and build relationships with each other as we serve you. I also ask that you strengthen my faith and help me just trust in you, no matter what I am feeling, no matter what I am experiencing, may I just follow you when you tell me to do something. Amen.

Let’s eat!

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflections:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/04/ang-sarap-kumain.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/06/rejecting-christ.html

Of Peace and Understanding

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040413.cfm) reminds me of Christ’s Peace and us understanding things in the perfect time

Peace

Jesus was also human, he had emotions, so he was probably hurt when his disciples slept while he was praying in the garden, when Peter denied him three times, when the disciples fled and hid as he was being punished. However, when he appeared to them, his first words were not of anger but of peace. “Peace be with you.” Even before the disciples could apologize and ask for his forgiveness, he gave them his peace. He is a God of peace, and we can also see in the first reading when Peter proclaimed that God will forgive the people who had Jesus crucified and had Barrabas released, if the people would be willing to repent. Peace is ready for them, they just have to do their part.

Understanding

There are times in life where we do not understand what is happening to us. There are times we do not understand God’s wisdom. Well, good news! Even the disciples, who were with Jesus everyday, who was living with Jesus, did not understand everything even as it was explained to them. However, in the gospel, we also see that our minds will be opened in God’s perfect time. “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…” When we do not understand things in life, let us not be frustrated or disappointed. Let us be patient and wait for God’s perfect time. And let us continue to love and serve him while we are waiting.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for reminding me that you are a God of peace. I am sorry for sinning and continuously hurting you. Lord, I thank you that you are always ready to forgive me. May I make the most of the sacrament of reconciliation and be at peace with you. Lord, I also ask that you give me patience to be still and continue to love and serve you when I do not understand things that are happening, or that are not happening. May I have faith that in your perfect time, you will reveal these things to me. Amen..

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Spread the Love

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040313.cfm) reminds me to spread God’s love to others

Airborne viruses are very easy to spread. A few years back, there was a strain of virus that hit the world – the swine flu or A H1N1 virus. Just a few days ago, there have been reports of a new strain, H7N9, that is said to have infected people already. They really spread easily and infect others easily and in a fast pace. Imagine if we spread God’s love in that manner as well. The world would be “infected” with God’s love in a few weeks!

In the first reading, we see Peter and John spreading God’s love and power to the crippled man. They healed him in the name of Jesus. Good point to note – they did not heal the man to bring glory to themselves or to make themselves known. They made Jesus known by invoking his name, and they knew they could not do anything on their own, if they are not attached to Jesus.

The gospel reminds us again of the “Emmaus” story. Jesus spreads his love to the disciples he was talking to. Even if at that time they did not recognize it, they later on discussed that their hearts were burning as they were talking to him.

May we be challenged and inspired to spread God’s love to those we meet and interact everyday.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for always reaching out to me through others. Lord, I ask that as you use others to bless me, may you also use me to reach out and bless others as well. May we all be willing instruments at your disposal. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-