Fiat!

 

They say that great things start from small beginnings. And today’s gospel http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120811.cfm shows us that.

It started with Mary’s Fiat. Mary’s Yes to allowing God’s will to happen, to cooperate with God’s will.

Mary was surprised when the angel visited her, much more when the angel addressed her as “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” She was even more surprised when the angel told her God’s plan. Yes, she asked a question, but eventually said yes. She may not know what she’s getting herself into. She probably knew the consequences of saying “yes” during that time, being pregnant outside marriage is a grave offense. She would be stoned for it. But she still said yes to God’s plan. She trusted in God so much, that even if there were doubts, even if there were questions, even if there were possible consequences of her yes, she still gave it to God. That’s faith. That’s grace.

As we commemorate and celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception today, may we also rejoice, not just because Mary was conceived without original sin (which was illustrated in the first reading), but because God loves us so much. God wanted Jesus’ earthly mother to be pure, because God wants to show us what we can become when we come to Him. Jesus died to save us from our sin, a sin that he, or his mother, did not have. That’s pure love. And the bible tells us that we are new creations if we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The second reading affirms that “God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.”

As we participate in the celebration of the holy mass today (being one of three holy days of obligation in the Philippines, the other two being Christmas (Dec 25) and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,(January 1)), may we rejoice with and for Mary. May we feel extra blessed because Mary, our mother, was so special to God and to Jesus. Let us ask for God’s grace so we could be like Mary, who consistently said Yes to God and gave her life for God.

Reflection questions:

Do I always give my “fiat” to God, even if I don’t fully understand what He is asking of me? What is hindering me from always saying “yes” to God’s call? Do I trust God completely with my life, knowing that He loves me so much? Do I have faith that like the angel said in the gospel, nothing is impossible with God?

Tired?

All of us feel tired from time to time - be it from working, studying, serving, or whatever we do, it's normal to feel tired. However today's readings http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120711.cfm remind us what we should do. It reminds us where we can get rest, and strength to carry on. 

Reading 1

The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
…
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles' wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.

Gospel Mt 11:28-30

Jesus said to the crowds:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Yes, God can give us rest if we come to Him, and we can do great things if we allow ourselves to be used be him, to be refreshed by Him.

Jesus is inviting us to come to Him because he will give us rest. He will not solve our problems then and there. He will not make all our concerns and fears disappear. Rather, he will help us put things in perspective. He will help us feel the love of God, and that it is what matters most. He will help us realize that things and concerns of this world is not as important as we think it is, because everything will eventually disappear. What’s important is how we prepare for eternity with Him. He will carry our burdens and share the pain we are experiencing. Then, despite all our problems, fears and concerns, we will find rest, we will find true peace, knowing that God loves us so much and that He is always there to help us.

Coming to Christ alone is not enough. We have to subject ourselves to Him. He is not a pitstop where we can recharge, or an ATM we can get money to get us by. When we come to him, we should do so in humility, allowing him to change us, to mold us, to make us into the persons he wants us to be, the persons we are destined to be. Then, we can find the rest and strength only He can give.

Tired? You know what to do.

God bless!

Special Ka!

How much God loves us!

The readings for today reminds us that http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120611.cfm

Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care

The first reading reminds us that a mighty and strong God loves us! But mighty as He is, he is also gentle when he needs to. He is like a shepherd carrying the lambs with care. This mighty, strong yet caring God of ours loves us so much. Each and every one of us is special in his eyes.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?

And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost."

No matter how little we look at ourselves, He finds us so special and worthy of his love. He is willing to leave the others and search for us. Hindi sya yung magsasabing “pasaway ka ha, alis ka ng alis, sige bahala ka”, rather, he leaves the others and goes after us. Kahit nagiisa lang tayong nawawala. Kahit pasaway tayo. He always goes out of His way to find us, to bring us back. It maybe through a friend, a bible verse, a realization… but he always finds a way to bring us back, to get his message across. It’s just up to us if we will heed his call.

Life may seem unfair. There may be unavoidable circumstances which may lead us to go astray – maybe out of loneliness, rebellion or desperation. However, as we can see in the readings, God loves us so much. Even if we look down on ourselves, God sees us worthy of his love, so much that He sent his only son to die for our sins. If that doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, I don’t know what will.

Have a blessed day!

Do You Give Up Easily?

Things does not always come easy.

In today’s gospel http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120511.cfm, the men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. Jesus healed the man because of their faith. We know how important faith is in healing (see http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2011/12/total-surrender.html ). The gospel now reminds me to be like the men who did not give up easily.

Their intention was good, they want the paralyzed man to be healed. However, it was not easy. There were a lot of people so they could not get in. Like Zacchaeus who went up the tree to see Jesus, these men went up the roof and lowered the paralyzed man so he can be healed. Effort talaga. This shows that even if our intentions are good, even if we want to serve and bless others, things will not always come easy. However, we should not give up, we should be persistent in doing good, in serving, in living our faith.

Reflection questions:

How easily do I give up? When things doesn’t go my way, what do I do? Do I expect everything to be smooth sailing because I am serving and doing God’s will? What kind of friends so I keep? Are they like the men in the gospel who brings me to God, or are like the Pharisees whose hearts are closed to Jesus? In the same way, what kind of friend am i?

Prepare the way

The readings today http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120411.cfm clearly speak about preparing the way. As we prepare for Christ's second coming, right now we are also preparing to commemorate His first coming. As Christmas draws near, we should also focus on our inner selves and prepare our hearts to welcome him, and not just focus on exernal decorations.

However, what particularly struck me was the gospel. John the Baptist, while preparing himself, also worked to prepare other people for Christ. He did not only want to prepare himself, but also wanted to help others in preparing themselves as well. As he did this, people realized the importance and followed Him. However, he did not lose his focus. He knew that he was not the messiah, and he knew what his role was. That may have been tempting, seeing people follow and respect you for what you do. It may have entered his heart to just say that he is the messiah... but he did not. He was humble all the way. He humbly served the Lord, and prepared the way of the Lord. Thus, by being humble, Jesus said that He was one of the greatest man who ever lived (Mt 11:11).

As the priest mentioned in the mass, God loves us! He will do everything he can to save us. He sends people to help us prepare. He sends messages to help us prepare and realize these things. He has great plans for us (Jer 29:11). We just need to cooperate with his plans and not make things harder as they should.

God bless!

God Wants to Heal You

The readings today http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120311.cfm remind me that God wants to heal me.

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.

As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons

In the gospel, Christ himself went around to heal people, to cure them of their diseases and illness. He then gave this power to the disciples, and instructed them to use it. He really wants to heal and cure us – of course, not just physically. Just as Christ proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom, he also asked the disciples to proclaim this. Their mission was not to just cure and make miracles, but first to proclaim the kingdom. This shows that God does not only want to cure our physical disease, the does not just want to raise up the dead and cleanse lepers. God wants our total healing. He wants to heal us spiritually as well. He wants to cleanse us from everything that is not of Him. He wants to awaken our faith, our spirit. We just need to wait on Him, and to heed his call. As the psalmist says: Blessed are all who wait on the Lord. The first reading affirms this, because when Christ comes, On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people, he will heal the bruises left by his blows

Yes, God wants to heal you. Be it physical disease, be it financial crisis, be it a heart break – He wants to heal you. And he can, if you let Him.

Have a blessed Saturday.

Total Surrender

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/120211.cfm

the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith."

When we say, we believe in Christ, what if he asks us “How much?” When we say we follow His ways, what if he asks “to what extent?”

The gospel today is another story of faith and power. Yes, God is all powerful, he can do everything. Matthew 19:26 says that “With God, all things are possible.” There is no question on God’s power. However, He needs our faith. Matthew 13:58 says that “Jesus did not do much miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Indeed, faith is so important that Jesus said that “nothing is impossible for him who has faith (Mark 9:23)”

What if he gives us only according to our faith, according to what we believe in, or how much we believe in Him?

The blind men in the gospel were desperate. They were usually begging on the streets, so when the heard that this Messiah, the Son of David, was passing by, they put their hope and faith in Him. Maybe they were thinking that this guy right here is our last resort, last chance to be healed and live normal lives again. It was not easy. They shouted and followed Jesus in the house. But in the end, because of their faith and Jesus’ love and power, they were healed.

Sometimes it’s good to be in this state. Sometimes, when we’re down and are helpless, that’s when we cling to God, when we give Him our total  surrender. We know what will happen next. Once we give him total control of our lives, he will bless us intensely and make us feel his love and his power. We just need to surrender and believe in Him. They say that the darkest part of the night is just before the sun rises, so when we’re in our lowest, darkest state, we should have faith that God’s light will soon turn everything around.