Team Jesus

FEBRUARY 22, 2015 REFLECTION Brothers and Sisters, I would like to share to you one statement that struck me from last Thursdays’ community praise and worship. The priest said…”We are human, we are divine and we have the power to say no to temptation…just like Jesus, when He said, “Be Silent, Satan!” ( Remembering his 40 day fasting in the desert, the 3 temptations and Jesus just brushed him off Mt 4. Jesus: Get away Satan, it is written… The Lord, your God, shall you worship and Him alone shall you serve). What do you think about this? Even if He is the Son of God, Jesus was not excused of being tempted and do you know how Jesus can just overcome any temptation? Because He is the Son of God? But all of us are God’s sons and daughters too? But why do we fail? The difference….Jesus knows what He believes, He acts on what He believes and He lives for whom He believes. Tama ba? Kayo? Do you know what you believe in or do you find time to know more about what you believe? Kayo ba, gina...

I find that the walls of hospital rooms and the sheets on death beds hear more sincere prayers than church pews do. I tend to hear more sincere promises during the last few minutes of a person’s life than I do whenever they ring wedding bells. I find that something happens in a person’s heart when they undergo suffering. Hearts are made raw, people are more vulnerable, unstable, and more importantly, people tend to feel more. Pope Francis implores us to expose ourselves more to emotion, to feel for one another, to give ourselves out to empathy, and not to give ourselves away to the usual predisposition to logic and rational thinking. Do not think of crying and weeping as weakness, it is actually courage. It is actually being brave to let other people know, that yes, I can be hurt. But that means I can still carry on, even when I have this hurt. More importantly, it shows that I have abounding trust and faith in my God, that I can offer my entire burden to Him who is my greates...

In the first reading Job spoke about how bad his life is. He does not know what his life means. He only finds misery in it instead of happiness. He felt depressed with so many reasons. It was like he went through all the depressions people have. Some of us may feel the same way with Job, seeing nothing good in oneself, losing the meaning of life, and feeling a whole lot of self-pity, shame, and anger. In the Gospel, Jesus healed Simon’s mother with just a touch of a hand, and with that the mother began to serve them. Through that we could see how easy it is for Jesus to heal us, and as a response, we should also serve Him. Jesus heals us because He knows that we can love and serve others better if we are well. We can’t love and serve other if we can’t even see the purpose in our life, the same goes with Simon’s mother; she can’t serve Jesus and the people in their town the same way she did if she still felt sick with her fever. Not all of us here have been cured yet, but as w...

Take this quiz: Name the five wealthiest people in the world. Name the last 5 Olympic gold medalists in the 100 meter dash. Name the last decade’s bar topnotchers. How did you do? These names are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Certificates are buried with their owners. Here's another quiz. List a few teachers how aided your journey through school. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special. Was that easier? My point: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, most money or awards. They're the ones who care. People who loved you unconditionally when you thought the world was for haters. People who gave you hope when you had none. People who believed in you when you have written yourself off. They are the people of grace. What's my point? If you remember in the Gospel, Jesus ente...