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Showing posts from March, 2015

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!” - Mark 11:10

When they were in Mount Olives, Jesus prayed to the Lord saying “Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will.” Following Jesus is never easy. You need to sacrifice, give something up and maintain a child-like faith. It is never what the world wants, but what God wants for us. Though we can live the world by our own choices, however, certain consequences will be there for us to face – there’s these nonstop envy, anger, insecurity, worry, anxiety and etc. Nevertheless, God will never leave us on our own despite our stubbornness and sinfulness. He is always there to guide us. For some period of time, I’ve been praying to the Lord for things I really want to have. However, days gone by and He has not answered any of my prayers. I wondered why it worked for others but  it didn’t for me. I kept on asking God whether or not He was punishing me for my sin. I kept seeing myself disappointed every time I asked. Despite of these disappointments, I kept on reminding myself

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified..." - John 12:23

Nowadays, we are all busy with earthly concerns and even sometimes take God for granted. We are too preoccupied with school, work and extra-curricular activities. The sad part about it, when bad things happen, we immediately fail to see the bright side on those circumstances, worst, blame God. But have we thought that maybe, often, those circumstances are not of God’s but of our own decisions? It was written from the Catechism of Catholic Church: “God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it.” We are not perfect but this is not an excuse especially that we are in this community, we should know better. I am guilty of this, though. I have been serving the Lord for 13 years now, but I am still struggling to be like Jesus Christ. Which reminds me, that everyone here, even having part already in a community; more so, still experience trials

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. - John 3:16

In the olden times, there were many gods where people believed to be their king. They serve them and believe in them, gave their full lives over them, even if the things they are doing are already evil. In order to stop these fallacies, God send down His only Son to save the world from evil. This evil means the state of doing bad and making wrong. True enough, when Jesus was in His public ministry, He was able to persuade many to do well and change their wrong ways. Many argued with Him but still He was always there to prove them that He was right. And it was when He died on the cross that He best exemplified the greatest love of all, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus was successful in sending the message God wants everyone to know, to do good and avoid evil is to LOVE. And love means, doing what is right and doing what is good not just for the benefit of oneself but also the benefit of others. It means making sacrifices and promoting the welfare of everyone. In our

“Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” - John 2:16

The Gospel is telling us that our relationship with God should be like a child to his parent, full of love, respect, and with no thought of any gain or loss personally. Attending our Sunday mass out of fear of mortal sin and consequent eternal punishment is a wrong attitude of a Christian.  In the same way, following the Ten Commandments for the purpose of having heavenly rewards is merely profit motive actions, where this should not be the main reason for doing acts of charity. I am guilty of this said attitude. Sometimes I attend mass because my parents wake me and my siblings up, and force us to attend the mass. When in mass, my mind is not focused with the homily of the priest but is divided with thoughts that are not related to the word of God.  Following the Ten Commandments is as not simple. But in our own simple way we can do as much as helping a person in need, feeding a hungry person, and donating what we have to others who are in need. After doing these good deeds,

“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” - Mark 9:7

Whoever told it's easy and rewarding to become a Christian has no idea with everything that he's saying. Rewarding, yes. But nothing worthy comes easy. In today's Gospel Jesus Christ transfigured in front of His followers Peter, James, and John. His transfiguration symbolizes how even when we're already with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and are equipped with wisdom, we are not excused to the harassment caused by the other side. As long as there's light, darkness would always try to tag along. With this, we come to realize that there's no end to needing God in our lives even when we think we already have everything we need and we can do anything by ourselves. On the verge of fulfilling our service in the Lord, we also continue to fix and re-fix ourselves. Human as we are, we change our ways and repent as we correct our mistakes. And none of these would be made possible if not with the power of the Big Man up above. He is so great, even when we are