Guard

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032815.cfm) reminds me that God guards his people.

Bodyguards or protective agents as they are called nowadays are very important to high value people. They protect their subjects from danger and harm at all cost, even ready to take a bullet for them. That is why people feel secured when they have good and loyal protective agents guarding and protecting them. This is also how we should feel with God protecting and guarding us.

God will guard his people.

In the first reading, we see the great plans God has in store for his people. Then the psalmist says that the Lord will guard his people. It probably is a prelude to what Jesus will go through. We see in the gospel that there are already plots to kill him. It is assuring that God will guard him from harm, aside from the passion he was to experience. No human is powerful enough to harm Jesus to prohibit him from doing God’s work. No matter how powerful leaders were back then, their evil plans could not stop Jesus from proclaiming God’s kingdom and doing God’s work.

No matter how powerful or influential people are, they are not powerful enough to disrupt God in using you to do his work.

God protects his people, and as we continue to love and serve him, we should be assured that his power is greater than anyone or anything. Nothing happens without his permission, and we need not fear others as we live and serve him. We can hold on his word and promise of love and protection.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another weekend. Thank you for all the blessings. Lord, thank you for your promise of protection. I ask that you continue to remind me of how powerful and loving you are. May this lead me to live brave, knowing that the most powerful God is protecting me all the way. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

---------------------------------------------------------

March 28, 2015

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 256

Reading 1 Ez 37:21-28

Thus says the Lord GOD:

I will take the children of Israel from among the nations

to which they have come,

and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.

I will make them one nation upon the land,

in the mountains of Israel,

and there shall be one prince for them all.

Never again shall they be two nations,

and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.

No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,

their abominations, and all their transgressions.

I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy,

and cleanse them so that they may be my people

and I may be their God.

My servant David shall be prince over them,

and there shall be one shepherd for them all;

they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.

They shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob,

the land where their fathers lived;

they shall live on it forever,

they, and their children, and their children’s children,

with my servant David their prince forever.

I will make with them a covenant of peace;

it shall be an everlasting covenant with them,

and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.

My dwelling shall be with them;

I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD,

who make Israel holy,

when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.

Responsorial Psalm Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,

proclaim it on distant isles, and say:

He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,

he guards them as a shepherd his flock.

R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

The LORD shall ransom Jacob,

he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.

Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,

they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings:

The grain, the wine, and the oil,

the sheep and the oxen.

R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,

and young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.

R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

Verse Before the Gospel Ez 18:31

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD,

and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Gospel Jn 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary

and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.

But some of them went to the Pharisees

and told them what Jesus had done.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees

convened the Sanhedrin and said,

“What are we going to do?

This man is performing many signs.

If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,

and the Romans will come

and take away both our land and our nation.”

But one of them, Caiaphas,

who was high priest that year, said to them,

“You know nothing,

nor do you consider that it is better for you

that one man should die instead of the people,

so that the whole nation may not perish.”

He did not say this on his own,

but since he was high priest for that year,

he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,

and not only for the nation,

but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.

So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,

but he left for the region near the desert,

to a town called Ephraim,

and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near,

and many went up from the country to Jerusalem

before Passover to purify themselves.

They looked for Jesus and said to one another

as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?

That he will not come to the feast?”

Challenges

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032715.cfm) reminds me that challenges accompany discipleship.

When people recruit for organization memberships in schools and even outside, and even for work, they say the benefits and how fun it would be to be when you join. However, not all would explain what it entails – the tasks and the challenges that come with it. This is not the same with God, for in the bible he tells us that there will always be challenges and even persecution for those who follow him.

In the first reading, we see the persecutions Jeremiah was facing. People were out to get him, but Jeremiah just called out in faith for God to save him. David in the psalm echoes this, that he calls upon God in time of distress. We also see in the gospel how Jesus himself, the Son of God, experienced challenges and persecution from people at his time.

Real followers of Christ experience challenges.

Jesus was not exempt from challenges and persecutions, much more will his followers be. There will be people saying bad things about us or doubting us and our intentions. There will be unfair situations. There will be hardships and challenges. However, like we see Jeremiah, David and Jesus in today’s readings, we just have to trust on God. We just have to surrender to God and ask him to fight our battles with us. We just have to have faith and know that he will be with us, and that eternal reward is waiting for us as long as we remain faithful to him.

May God’s love and strength always be bigger and stronger than our 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 blessings. Thank you for all the challengs. Lord, I am sorry for the times I succomb to these challenges and allow these to dampen my spirit. Sorry for letting these challenges affect me so much. Lord, I call on to you and hang on to your word. i have faith that as I continue to follow you and remain faithful to you, you will fight my battles with me. Give me strength to fight these challenges. I just focus on you and allow you to live through me. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

-------------------------------------

March 27, 2015

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 255

Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13

I hear the whisperings of many:

“Terror on every side!

Denounce! let us denounce him!”

All those who were my friends

are on the watch for any misstep of mine.

“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,

and take our vengeance on him.”

But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:

my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.

In their failure they will be put to utter shame,

to lasting, unforgettable confusion.

O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,

who probe mind and heart,

Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,

for to you I have entrusted my cause.

Sing to the LORD,

praise the LORD,

For he has rescued the life of the poor

from the power of the wicked!

Responsorial Psalm PS 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7R. (see 7)

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,

O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

My God, my rock of refuge,

my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,

and I am safe from my enemies.

R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

The breakers of death surged round about me,

the destroying floods overwhelmed me;

The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,

the snares of death overtook me.

R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

In my distress I called upon the LORD

and cried out to my God;

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

Verse Before the Gospel See Jn 6:63c, 68c

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

Gospel Jn 10:31-42

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.

Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.

For which of these are you trying to stone me?”

The Jews answered him,

“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.

You, a man, are making yourself God.”

Jesus answered them,

“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?

If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,

and Scripture cannot be set aside,

can you say that the one

whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world

blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;

but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,

believe the works, so that you may realize and understand

that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Then they tried again to arrest him;

but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan

to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.

Many came to him and said,

“John performed no sign,

but everything John said about this man was true.”

And many there began to believe in him.

Blessed

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032615.cfm) reminds me how good God is.

Children are blessings from God. During the time of Jesus, having children is very important for couples. A couple is incomplete if they don’t have children. That is why when God gave Abraham and Sarah a child in their old age, it was a big blessing. But not only that, as we see in the first reading that God promised Abraham that he will have many children.

God’s blessings can turn your life around.

The psalmist says that God remembers his covenant forever. And we see that fulfilled in the gospel during Jesus time, how people have high regard for Abraham. From having no children in their old age, God gave Abraham a lot of descendants, and great descendants at that. No matter how hopeless the situation may seem, God can do something about it. And when God moves, when he comes into or lives, he blesses us abundantly.

God wants us to keep our end of the covenant.

In the first reading, just as God promised all these things to Abraham, he asked Abraham to keep his end of the covenant and serve Him alone. He too is asking this from us. God is asking us to make him God in our lives, not because he needs it, but because he loves us so much, that he wants to give us a lot of things and blessings. However, we cannot handle these things if our hearts do not rest on Him. We will not be ready to receive his blessings if our eyes are not fixed on him.

May we be inspired to know how much God is generous and loving, and that he has a lot of blessings in store for us...and may this move us to serve God and him alone.

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. Lord, I know I don’t deserve all these, but still you just love me so much that you continue to shower me with your love and blessings. I allow myself to experience your love and goodness. As I do,  may it transform me to be more appreciative, to be more thankful, and may it make me love you more. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

-------------------------------------------------------

March 26, 2015

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 254

Reading 1 Gn 17:3-9

When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:

“My covenant with you is this:

you are to become the father of a host of nations.

No longer shall you be called Abram;

your name shall be Abraham,

for I am making you the father of a host of nations.

I will render you exceedingly fertile;

I will make nations of you;

kings shall stem from you.

I will maintain my covenant with you

and your descendants after you

throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,

to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

I will give to you

and to your descendants after you

the land in which you are now staying,

the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession;

and I will be their God.”

God also said to Abraham:

“On your part, you and your descendants after you

must keep my covenant throughout the ages.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9R. (8a)

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Look to the LORD in his strength;

seek to serve him constantly.

Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,

his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

You descendants of Abraham, his servants,

sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

He, the LORD, is our God;

throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

He remembers forever his covenant

which he made binding for a thousand generations –

Which he entered into with Abraham

and by his oath to Isaac.

R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Verse Before the Gospel Ps 95:8

If today you hear his voice;

harden not your hearts.

Gospel Jn 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

So the Jews said to him,

“Now we are sure that you are possessed.

Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,

‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

Or the prophets, who died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;

but it is my Father who glorifies me,

of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

You do not know him, but I know him.

And if I should say that I do not know him,

I would be like you a liar.

But I do know him and I keep his word.

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;

he saw it and was glad.”

So the Jews said to him,

“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

So they picked up stones to throw at him;

but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Annunciation 2015

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032515.cfm) reminds me how powerful saying “yes” to God is.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, we see that the readings focus on that. The first reading gives prophecy on what will happen – that a virgin will bear a Son from God. The gospel fulfills that prophecy as Mama Mary said yes to being the earthly mother of God’s Son. Then in the second reading, we see how Jesus lived and quoted the psalm – “here I am Lord, I come to do your will”

Mama Mary’s simple yet powerful yes to God started great things.

Mary was visited by the angel in today’s gospel. She was told she would be the mother of God. How frightening it must have been for a young girl to be told this. She was also told that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and God’s power will overshadow her and make her pregnant. There were a lot of concerns, especially as she did not understand everything that will happen and how things will happen. However, she still said yes. She did not let her concerns or worries get in the way of saying yes to God, to serving God.

It is not easy serving God. Almost always, we are taken out of our comfort zones. Our schedules and plans will changes. That’s why is not always an immediate yes when God calls us. However, we see that Mama Mary’s yes caused great things, and it enabled her to play a great part in God’s plan.

God calls us to do different things. Different and oftentimes, hard. These things may not be within our schedules and plans, but may we be inspired by Mama Mary’s faith filled Yes to God! May we echo the words: “May it be done to me according to your word” and Jesus’ “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will”

In what ways am I being called by God to serve him? How do I respond? Am I ready to give my yes to God? What hinders me from giving my yes to Him? Do I have faith that as I give my yes, God will use me mightily for his purpose, and equip me with the things that I need to serve him? Do I believe that as I die of myself and embrace his will, nothing is really impossible?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for your reminder. Thank you for your love. Thank you for seeing the greatness in me, that no matter how simple and normal I am, like Mama Mary, you give me opportunities to serve you and become part of your great plans. Lord, give me a heart like Mama Mary. Help me to always surrender to you and abandon my concerns and worries and just say yes to you. I have faith that as I respond to your call, you will equip me to do your work. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflections:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/03/fiat.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2014/03/yes-lord.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------

March 25, 2015

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Lectionary: 545

Reading 1 Is 7:10-14; 8:10

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:

Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;

let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!

But Ahaz answered,

“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”

Then Isaiah said:

Listen, O house of David!

Is it not enough for you to weary people,

must you also weary my God?

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:

the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,

and shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us!”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11R. (8a and 9a)

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,

but ears open to obedience you gave me.

Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;

then said I, “Behold I come.”

R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,

To do your will, O my God, is my delight,

and your law is within my heart!”

R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

I announced your justice in the vast assembly;

I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.

R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;

your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;

I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth

in the vast assembly.

R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Reading 2 Heb 10:4-10

Brothers and sisters:

It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats

take away sins.

For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;

in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.

Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,

behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,

holocausts and sin offerings,

you neither desired nor delighted in.”

These are offered according to the law.

Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”

He takes away the first to establish the second.

By this “will,” we have been consecrated

through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Verse Before the Gospel Jn 1:14ab

The Word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us;

and we saw his glory.

Gospel Lk 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God

to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,

of the house of David,

and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And coming to her, he said,

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said

and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

Then the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary,

for you have found favor with God.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,

and you shall name him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,

“How can this be,

since I have no relations with a man?”

And the angel said to her in reply,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

Therefore the child to be born

will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,

has also conceived a son in her old age,

and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word.”

Then the angel departed from her

Forgetful

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032415.cfm) reminds me that as human beings, we sometimes become forgetful of what God has done for us.

Human beings have limited memory. They say that we only use a very small percentage of our brain. That is why we don’t get to retain all the information and knowledge we come across. However,  there are things that we should never forget – like the goodness of God in our lives.

In the first reading, we see the people complaining to God and Moses. They focused on their current situation and seemingly forgot all the good God has done to them. They want God to give them their demands, to make their lives comfortable – as if God was at their disposal. This made God punish them, and when they eventually came to their senses, God told Moses how to save the people.

A lot of times, we too are like them. We forget all the good God has done in our lives. We forget all his blessings and provisions. Unfortunately like the people, it takes a lot of pain for us to come to our senses and go back to God. Our stubbornness a lot of times causes us much pain that we could have avoided in the first place if we just listened to God.

Good thing God is so good, and no matter how stubborn and hard headed we become, as long as we repent and come to Him, he will forgive us and help us. May this give us comfort, but also inspire us to not turn away from God in the first place.

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 being patient and loving. Lord, I am sorry for the times I am like the Israelites. Sorry for turning my back on you, for complaining and forgetting all you have done for me. Help me to live my life for you, help me to focus on you and remember your goodness, especially when challenges come my way. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflection:

High and lifted up

------------------------------------------------

March 24, 2015

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Lectionary: 252

Reading 1 Nm 21:4-9

From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,

to bypass the land of Edom.

But with their patience worn out by the journey,

the people complained against God and Moses,

“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,

where there is no food or water?

We are disgusted with this wretched food!”

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,

which bit the people so that many of them died.

Then the people came to Moses and said,

“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.

Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.”

So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,

“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,

and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”

Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,

and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent

looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21R. (2)

O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

O LORD, hear my prayer,

and let my cry come to you.

Hide not your face from me

in the day of my distress.

Incline your ear to me;

in the day when I call, answer me speedily.

R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,

and all the kings of the earth your glory,

When the LORD has rebuilt Zion

and appeared in his glory;

When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,

and not despised their prayer.

R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

Let this be written for the generation to come,

and let his future creatures praise the LORD:

“The LORD looked down from his holy height,

from heaven he beheld the earth,

To hear the groaning of the prisoners,

to release those doomed to die.”

R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

Verse Before the Gospel

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;

all who come to him will live for ever.

Gospel Jn 8:21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

“I am going away and you will look for me,

but you will die in your sin.

Where I am going you cannot come.”

So the Jews said,

“He is not going to kill himself, is he,

because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”

He said to them, “You belong to what is below,

I belong to what is above.

You belong to this world,

but I do not belong to this world.

That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.

For if you do not believe that I AM,

you will die in your sins.”

So they said to him, “Who are you?”

Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.

I have much to say about you in condemnation.

But the one who sent me is true,

and what I heard from him I tell the world.”

They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.

So Jesus said to them,

“When you lift up the Son of Man,

then you will realize that I AM,

and that I do nothing on my own,

but I say only what the Father taught me.

The one who sent me is with me.

He has not left me alone,

because I always do what is pleasing to him.”

Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.