The WORD
today (see http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052218.cfm) reminds
me that God wants me to trust in Him wholeheartedly.
They
say that we all have problems and concerns. These are things you cannot escape
in life. You will only be free from these when you die. However, in as much as
these are parts of life, we should not be bothered by them too much. God wants
us to trust him.
There
is a story of a 7 year old boy riding an airplane alone. He was seated on the
window side and was looking outside, admiring the beauty of the sky when the
plane experienced heavy turbulence. It was shaking hard that people started
panicking. Some were already crying, and some prayed the rosary together –
despite the announcement of the Captain of the plane that people should be calm
and there is nothing to worry about. However, even if people were panicking,
the boy remained calm and continued to marvel at what he is seeing outside.
Finally, his seatmate asked him – why are you so calm? Are you not scared we
are going to crash? To this the boy replied: “I am not afraid. My dad is
the captain – I trust him”
This
is what Jesus wants us to have. This is why Jesus wants little children. In the
gospel, he says that whoever receives children receives Him – and
ultimately God. Why the special love for children? Probably because during
those times, children were helpless. They were the least in
society (together with women) so they were not given much importance.
But more than that, I believe Jesus has special love for children because
of their faith. Like the child in the story, children cannot do
anything on their own. They have to rely on other people – to eat, to get
dressed, to live their lives. They put their faith on their parents that
despite what’s happening around, their parents will continue to take care of
them.
God
wants us to trust him.
We
will experience challenges and problems, but we should not worry. We
should have faith that God will continue to take care of us. In the first
reading, we see that God wants us to surrender to Him. Surrender
every aspect of our life. Surrender even if it does not make sense. Surrender
even if the human being in us wants to do something.
Like
the child in the story, may we not focus on the challenges and persecutions or
on what’s happening outside. Instead, may we have faith that God, our
Father and Captain of our lives, will always be there and
will not leave us.
What
are the current problems and challenges that worry me? What am I doing about
these? Do I lift these up to God, or do I try to solve them on my own? What is
God telling me today? How can I improve my faith in God?
May
we always remember to trust in God no matter what the situation may be, and
heed the psalmist and throw our concerns to God, and have faith that he will
support us.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live.
Thank you for the inspiring and strengthening reminder. Thank you for your word
that continues to inspire me, that continues to encourage and strengthen
my faith. Lord, I am sorry for letting challenges overwhelm me. I am sorry
for focusing on my emotions and on the challenges I am experiencing, instead of
focusing on your love and power. Lord, I thank you that your reminder always
come perfectly. I pray Lord that I be like a child, fully trusting and relying
on you as I live. May i always focus on you and your love as I live my life and
as I serve you, and not on other things. May I learn to let go and just trust
in you, for I know you hold me in the palm of your loving and protecting hands.
Amen.
Blessed Day!
In Christ,
-g-
May
22, 2018
Tuesday of the Seventh Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 342
Lectionary: 342
Reading 1 JAS 4:1-10
Beloved:
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.
Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly,
to spend it on your passions.
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.
So submit yourselves to God.
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you of two minds.
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.
Responsorial Psalm PS 55:7-8,
9-10A, 10B-11A, 23
R.
(23a) Throw your cares on the Lord,
and he will support you.
And I say, "Had I but wings like a dove,
I would fly away and be at rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would lodge in the wilderness."
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
"I would wait for him who saves me
from the violent storm and the tempest."
Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
In the city I see violence and strife,
day and night they prowl about upon its walls.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
And I say, "Had I but wings like a dove,
I would fly away and be at rest.
Far away I would flee;
I would lodge in the wilderness."
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
"I would wait for him who saves me
from the violent storm and the tempest."
Engulf them, O Lord; divide their counsels.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
In the city I see violence and strife,
day and night they prowl about upon its walls.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed.
R. Throw your cares on the Lord, and he will support you.
Alleluia GAL
6:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MK 9:30-37
Jesus
and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
"If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.
They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
"If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.
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