Faith that Sees

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111714.cfm) reminds me that there is no situation that should dampen our faith

Hebrews 11:1 defines is as: “Faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” The blind man in the gospel clearly had this faith.

A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

Being a blind person, he begged by the roadside. Probably he was really desperate, but definitely not hopeless. When he heard the Jesus passed by, he gave all he got and shouted to get Jesus’ attention. When asked by the people to shut up, he did not lose hope, his spirit was not dampened, instead, shouted louder.

Makulit sya.

When he was called by people, not even Jesus, he showed even greater faith. Even if Jesus was not the one who personally called him, he knew that being summoned by Jesus would forever change his life. He had full faith in the power of Jesus, and he was not disappointed. He did not only get his sight, but he was saved as well. And when he did get what he wanted, he followed Jesus.

How about us? How do we react when we don’t seem to get what we want in the first try? Do we get angry or lose hope, or are we like the blind man whose faith was unwavering? What do I pray for right now? Do I have faith that God can grant me that? Do I have faith that he wants to, if it is according to His plan for me?  Am I willing to take a leap of faith? When God gives me what I pray for, do I remember to thank Him and live my life following Him?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another week to live for you. Thank you for reminding me that you do not disappoint. Thank you for reminding me how powerful and loving you are. Lord, help me improve my faith. Help me have faith and be persistent, especially when my prayers seem unanswered. May I have faith like the blind man. When faced with challenges or when I don’t get what I pray for, may my faith get stronger and still do my part. May I be brave enough to take a leap of faith, knowing you are there to guide and catch me. And Lord, when you give me what I pray for, may I never forget to thank you and live my life following you. Amen.

Blessed week!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps.

See related reflection:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-blind-mans-clear-and-unwavering-faith.html

Use IT

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111614.cfm) reminds me that we should use whatever God has given us

There are things that you preserve if you do not use it. Toys, for example. Increases the value if not used and remains sealed in a box. However, other things get wasted if not used. Perishable items get expired and wasted if not used before the expiry date.

In the gospel, we see that God wants us to use whatever he has given us.

His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?

God wants us to use and grow whatever he gave us. God gave us different gifts – Time, talent and treasure, that we should not compare with others and use to grow. Our gifts will not grow and be preserved if we do not use it. We should be generous and not reserve it for special occasions, for if unused, God may take it away from us and give it to those who are using what they have.

God is a generous God, and he wants his children to experience his love, blessings and care. However, we should not just be contented in experiencing it. We should also be willing to share it with others. We should also be willing to be used by God to touch other people’s lives, and one way we can do that is to use whatever he has given us for the benefit of others.

May we be ready and willing to share our time, talent and treasure as we build God’s kingdom here on earth.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to experience your love. Thank you for all the blessings you have given me. Lord, I pray that I may always be generous and share whatever you have given me. May I not keep these things to myself, but be ready and willing to share all your goodness to others, so they too may experience you more. As I do this, I know you will continue to bless me, not because I am doing a good job, but because you want me to share more blessings to others. Amen.

Blessed Sunday!

In Christ,

-g-

Persistent Prayer

  

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111514.cfm) reminds me that we should be persistent in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:!6 tells us that we should pray unceasingly and give thanks in all circumstance. This is what Jesus reminds us in today’s gospel. We should be persistent in prayer.

Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?

We should not give up when we do not get what we want or what we pray for. In fact, we should do the opposite. We should work more and work harder to get it. We should pray harder to get what we want, what we are praying for.

Praying changes us. And when we pray always, when we pray more, we are changed more.

There is no minimum requirement of prayer before God grants our requests. He does not need 1000 Hail Mary’s before he hears us. Saying novena and attending masses are not prerequisites for God to hear us. However, these things, and prayer in general, molds and changes us to become more and more like him. And as we become more like him, as we get to know him more, we get to increase our faith. We get to love him more. And probably that’s what God wants for us, before he grants our requests.

May God’s silence on our prayers not discourage us, but lead us to pray more.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to experience your love. Thank you for another weekend. Thank you for all the opportunities to pray and get closer to you. Thank you for the chance to get to know you more and experience your love. Lord, I pray that you continue to mold me as I pray to you. Amen.

Blessed Weekend!

In Christ,

-g-

Ordinary Day

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111414.cfm) reminds me that God will come in an ordinary day.

They say that death comes like a thief in the night. No one notices it. No one is aware. No one can stop it. In the same way, God will not announce in a grand way when he is about to come. It would be an ordinary day for us when he comes.

Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Ordinary day. Normal day. Same routine. Unlike the president’s convoy that has escorts and vehicles warning people to give way and announcing the arrival of the president, God’s coming will be simple and silent… until he fully comes.

This should lead us to always be ready. Who knows, God may come later, or tomorrow morning. We really do not know, so we must prepare our hearts to welcome him. We must prepare our lives and give an accounting to him. We should continue living our lives, working, studying, running a business, taking care of the family. However, we should not forget to prepare for him as well.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for another weekend coming up. Lord, I pray that you help me remember you always, as I live my life and as I go through my daily activities. May I prepare myself, my heart and my soul so I would be ready when we meet. Amen.

Blessed weekend!

In Christ,

-g-

Nothing Comes Easy

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111314.cfm) reminds me that nothing comes easy in life.

There are a lot of great structures in this world. Great skyscrapers and infrastructures. We all admire the final output, but when we get deeper, we get to appreciate it more because of all the hardwork done for it to be complete. The challenges the people overcame, the blood, sweat and tears that those involve had to shed out, makes these structures more meaningful.

This is what Jesus reminds us in the gospel.

For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation

Nothing comes easy. But when you know the result, it becomes worth it. Even Jesus had his share of suffering and challenges before shining in God’s glory.

There are times in life we suffer and experience challenges. There may be times we want to just give up and surrender. We are reminded today to just focus on the prize, to focus on God and his eternal reward for us as we remain faithful to him. Let us remember that even Jesus had his share of suffering before triumphing. Let us allow God to strengthen us amidst the challenges in life.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for all the opportunities you give me to know about you and to be stronger in faith. Help me remain faithful and focused on you, Lord. I know that nothing comes easy, but it becomes worth it as long as I keep my focus on you and your prize for me. Amen,

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Sulit

  

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111214.cfm) reminds me that a lot of times, we get more than what we want.

We Filipinos generally want to get more than what we pay for. In tagalog, “sulit.” That’s why a lot of products and services offer freebies to get people to buy them instead of the competition. This is what the leper got in the gospel.

And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”

He came back to Jesus simply to say thank you. He wanted to thank the man who healed him. He acknowledged Jesus’ power in his life. Unlike the others who went their own ways, he did not forget who healed him in the first place. However, Jesus gave him more than what he wanted. He gave the man more than he deserved.

Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

In those days, it was believed that people got sick because of sin. Some people see it as a punishment for their sins, or for the sins of their ancestors. Well, regardless or not this is the case, we know that we all sin and we all need healing and we all need to be saved. So Jesus gave that to the man. Jesus saw the goodness in the man, and he saw the man acknowledged and did not forget him, and probably that is enough indication that the man wanted to change, that the man had faith… thus he was saved as well aside from being healed.

In life, we too experience this. God gives us so much blessings, more than we deserve. He answers our prayers with more than we pray for. May this remind us how much God loves us, and how loving God is. And may this realization lead us to love God more.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Lord, I pray for faith and heart like the man in the gospel. May I never forget all the blessings you have given me, and all the love you have been showing me. May this lead me to love you more, to serve you through others. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Focus on Him

  

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/111114.cfm) reminds me to just focus on Christ as we serve.

There are people who value affirmation. To them, it is important to be affirmed, to be told that they are doing a good job, to get a pat on the back. However, others take this a little too far when they expect affirmation in everything they do, and when they don’t do well if there are no affirmation and encouragement. This is the danger Jesus warns us about in the gospel.

Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

The lack of affirmation should not stop us from doing what is right.

We should not expect affirmation all the time. We should remember where we stand, and who we are. We are God’s beloved creations. We should remember that everything that we have, came from God. As such, we should be ready and willing to give back to him everything, we should be ready to serve him with everything we have got.

In the same way, we should also not expect blessings if we do God’s work. Though God is infinitely good and generous, and he will continue to bless us, we should not use our service and work for him as a means of getting favors or blessings from God. Working for God should be treated as such – service and a proclamation of love for God, not as an investment we plan to collect rewards after.

May we allow God to love us always, and may that love encourage us to love him back and serve him. As we do so, may we focus on Him, and not on other things.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to experience your love. Thank you for all the blessings. Thank you for loving me regardless of what I do and how I live my life. Lord, I pray that I may be able to profess my love for you through my life, through serving you. Help me be willing to do so. And help me to focus on you as I serve you. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-