My Mercies are New Every Morning

 The Message: Stop revisiting the chapters I have already closed. Your past mistakes do not define your future favor. I have washed you clean, and I am calling you forward. Shake off the guilt of yesterday; I have already forgiven what you are still dwelling on.

Key Thought: My grace is bigger than your biggest mistake.

Call to Action: Forgive yourself today, just as I have forgiven you.

I Am Pruning You for Greatness

 he Message: You might feel like you are in a season of "waiting" or "hiding," but I am actually planting you. Do not despise small beginnings or quiet moments. Just as a seed must be in the dark before it breaks through the soil, I am working on your roots so you can sustain the fruit that is coming.

Key Thought: Growth is happening even when you can’t see it yet.

Call to Action: Trust the process today. What is one small thing you can be grateful for?

When the Waves Rise, Look to Me

 The Message: Life often brings unexpected storms financial stress, health scares, or emotional burdens. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, but remember that the wind and the waves still know My voice. You are never alone in the boat.

Key Thought: Peace isn't the absence of a storm; it’s My presence within it.

Call to Action: Take five minutes today to sit in silence and hand Me your heaviest burden.

FRATERNAL CORRECTION - By: Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

In the Bible, we sometimes come across passages that are as relevant and practical in our lives today as they were thousands of years ago when they were first written. Today’s readings (Matthew 18:15-20) are good examples of such passages. They remind us that, as faithful Christians, it is our responsibility to reach out to our not-so-faithful brothers and sisters and bring them back into the fold. They even recommend practical steps on how to go about doing this.

       Broken relationships are common everywhere. Gossiping, telling the sins and faults of others behind their backs, is even more common. It is obvious that this destroys relationships. Jesus knows this only too well and so tells us what to do when we see somebody making mistakes — to confront the wrongdoer in an open and face-to-face dialogue.

       I know that is not part of the Philippine culture. In Europe, this is common and it is not taken personally, while here, every word that sounds critical is taken personally. And yet, we cannot say, “Lord, sorry, what You teach us today does not apply in our culture.”

       Some people correct others because they are busybodies. Others, like the Pharisees, do so in order to exalt themselves as they put others down. The disciple, however, intervenes out of love — love for God and His children, but especially for the sinner who is damaged the most by his own sin.

       “But,” you may say, “they won’t listen, so why bother?” Simple —because God says so!

         In baptism and confirmation, you were anointed priest, prophet and king; you share in Christ’s priestly, royal and prophetic roles. It is easy and pleasant to participate in Christ’s priesthood and royalty, but we tend to avoid the prophetic role. The bottom line is, we owe a debt of love to our brothers and sisters, as St. Paul writes in today’s Second Reading (Romans 13:8-10). If we proceed in a spirit of love, with God’s help we have a good chance of bringing back a child of His gone astray. It is well worth trying.

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you correct others? And if you do, what is your motive — pride or love?

GOSPEL READING TODAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2014 - MATTHEW 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20

15 Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

25

PANGAKO SA LIKOD NG PANANAGUTAN

Ika-23 Linggo ng Taon A - MATEO 18:21-25
Setyembre 7, 2014

PANGAKO SA LIKOD NG PANANAGUTAN - Homily of Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

Matindi ang panagimpan o adhikain ng ASEAN, na binubuo ng 10 bansa sa Timog Silangang Asia – ang pangarap ng isang nagkakaisa at nagmamalasakit na region, na magiging ganap nang katotohanan simula sa 2015 – ang ASEAN Economic Community o AEC.

Nagkatuig na ang pangarap ng ASEAN ay siyang pananagutang iniaatang sa balikat natin ng tatlong pagbasa sa Linggong ito. Pangaral ni Ezekiel na tayo ay itinuturing ng Diyos bilang “bantay ng Israel” – mga taong may pananagutan sa kapwa. Pangaral din ni Pablo sa ikalawang pagbasa ang dapat gawin ng taong may pagmamalasakit sa kapwa – ang hindi pagkakaroon ng sagutin kaninuman, “liban sa saguting tayo’y mag-ibigan; sapagka’t ang umiibig sa kapwa ay nakatutupad sa kautusan.”

Subali’t ang pinakamatindi ay ito … ang pananagutang handang magtiis sa pagkakamali ng kapwa at sa pagpapasensya na nauuwi sa pagtatama sa gawang mali at sa pagsunod sa tamang paraan ng paglilitis sa nagkamali: “Kung hindi siya making sa iyo, magsama ka pa ng isa o dalawang tao upang ang lahat ng pinag-usapan ninyo ay mapatunayan ng dalawa o tatlong saksi.”

Mahirap ngayon ang maging responsable para sa ibang tao. Uso ngayon ang laglagan. Ang mga dating nagsisipalakpakan sa kapalpakan ng dating Presidente ay ngayon ay silang nagpapalakpakan sa bagong dispensasyon. Inilaglag na nila ang wala na sa poder at sinuportahan ang bagong may kakayahang magpabuya sa kanila.

Mahirap ngayon ang magsilbing tagapagtanggol o bantay ng kapwa. Pag napuruhan ka, ay ikaw pa ang masama. Ikaw na ang tumulong ay ikaw pa ang mananagot kung pumalpak. Ilang pagkakataon na may nabundol sa gitna ng daan at wala ni isa man ang tumigil upang tumulong, kahit sa ating bansa!

Mahirap ang magparangya at magpatawad, lalu na’t ang pinatawad mo ay siya pang patuloy na gumagawa ng lahat para mapasama ka. Mahirap ang magsikap magtama sa mali sa ating panahon, kung kailan ang tama ay nagiging mali at ang mali ay nagiging tama. Salamat sa showbiz, ang Simbahan ay nagmumukhang makaluma dahil sa pagtuturo ng tama, at ang mga pakawala ng palsong propeta ang siyang pinakikinggan at hinahangaan.

Mahirap ang paghamon, nguni’t hindi imposible. Matindi ang paghamon, subali’t hindi nangangahulugang wala nang pagkakataong maikalat at maipahayag. Tunay ngang mahirap pero hindi imposible. At paano ito nagiging posible?

Ang panagimpan at pananagutan ay may haliging matibay na kinasasandalan – ang pangako na “kung saan may dalawa o tatlong nagkakatipon dahil sa akin, naroon akong kasama nila.” Ito ang pangakong hindi dapat natin kalimutan!

ANG MABUTING BALITA NGAYON AYON KAY SAN MATEO 16:24-28

24 Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad, "Ang sinumang nagnanais sumunod sa akin ay kinakailangang itakwil niya ang kanyang sarili, pasanin ang kanyang krus, at sumunod sa akin. 25Ang naghahangad na magligtas ng kanyang buhay ay mawawalan nito; ngunit ang mawalan ng kanyang buhay alang-alang sa akin ay magkakamit nito. 26 Sapagkat ano ba ang mapapala ng isang tao makamtan man niya ang buong daigdig, ngunit mapapahamak naman ang kanyang sarili? Ano ba ang maibabayad ng isang tao para mabawi niya ang kanyang buhay? 27 Sapagkat darating ang Anak ng Tao na kasama ang kanyang mga anghel, at taglay ang dakilang kapangyarihan ng kanyang Ama. Sa panahong iyo'y gagantimpalaan niya ang bawat tao ayon sa ginawa nito. 28Tandaan ninyo: may ilan sa inyong naririto na hindi mamamatay hangga't hindi nila nakikita ang Anak ng Tao na dumarating bilang hari."

Gospel Today, November 14, 2013 - LK 17:20-25

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,Jesus said in reply,“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,

and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples,“The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.There will be those who will say to you,

‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

Reflection in today's Gospel:

In the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan hundreds gave whatever they could no matter how small. Hundreds prayed also, they stormed the heavens pleading to the good Lord. Nations gave humanitarian aid without any condition they simply wanted to help and show their solidarity with the suffering Filipino people.

Jesus said in today’s gospel that the kingdom of God is among us. Yes indeed! It’s among us most especially if we feel that urgent need to give and to help those who were ravaged by typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan.

Jesus is not only a figurehead God. He is the God of mercy and we allow this God of mercy to be with us once we become merciful also. Amen…

THE ESSENCE OF PRAYER - Fr. Joel O. Jason

Anyone familiar with the Gospel knows that there are many times when the Apostles were not so “apostolic,” so to speak. There were times they were cowardly, lazy and acted like spoiled brats. Today’s Gospel (Luke 11:1-4), however, is one of those moments when they act like true followers of Jesus. Look at their request: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” They wanted to pray like Jesus. If I were one of the Apostles, I think I would have requested Jesus to teach me some magic so I can impress people on my own, or maybe a magic word or formula that God can never refuse to heed.

       What is prayer? In some other parts of Scripture, Jesus said, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you” (John 14:13). To ask in Jesus’ name is not a magic spell we cast on the Father, i.e., blackmailing God to act according to our liking. To pray in Jesus’ name is what the disciples requested in today’s Gospel. To pray like Jesus, to pray in His name, is to pray according to His heart, His mind, His will. Whatever we ask the Father in Jesus’ name will surely come to pass if it is according to the heart and mind of God.

       Prayer therefore is not so much a changing of the mind of God by a force that is irresistible. Prayer in its very essence is the changing of our hearts and minds, such that whenever we pray, we pray for what is true, beautiful and good. Prayer is conforming our hearts to God that even when our own desires are actually in conflict with His way and time, we remain steadfast in following Him.

       This is why Jesus asked us to pray daily, “Your will be done on earth as it in heaven.” Prayer is not conforming the mind of God to ours, whether  He likes it or not. Prayer is conforming ourselves to God — then everything else will follow. 

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Have you transitioned from seeing prayer as a transaction to a relationship?

 

Lord, may Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Amen.

GOSPEL READING TO DAY - Luke 11:1-4 - THE OUR FATHER

Lords prayerNow once he was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’. He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:

“Father, may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”‘

Reflection on Luke 11: 1-4

In today’s gospel, Jesus Christ teaches us how to pray. He gives us a very simple way in which we can pray effectively. What matters in prayer is not the quantity but the quality. The Lord’s prayer gives us the core elements in our prayer: thanksgiving to God for his goodness to us; surrendering to God and trusting in his plans for our lives; living in his providence by asking him to provide only for our needs of the day; recognizing our sinfulness and asking for forgiveness while at the same time we forgive all those who have offended us; and finally, asking God to help us avoid anything that will lead us away from trusting and living in him. In this prayer, we see how God wants us to live. Apart from being a prayer, it is also the way a Christian should live his or her life. Our challenge today is to make this prayer a part of our own lives.

Gospel Reading & Reflection for the 25th Sunday Ordinary Time Year C – September 22nd 2013

FIRST READING: Amos 8:4-7

Listen to this, you who trample on the needy
and try to suppress the poor people of the country,
you who say, ‘When will New Moon be over
so that we can sell our corn,
and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel,
by swindling and tampering with the scales,
we can buy up the poor for money,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.’
The Lord swears it by the pride of Jacob,
‘Never will I forget a single thing you have done’

GOSPEL: Luke 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”

Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty”. To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty”.

‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’

‘And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’

GOSPEL READING TODAY - LUCAS 7:7-17 - Muling Binuhay ang Anak ng Isang Biyuda

 7 ni hindi rin po ako karapat-dapat na humarap sa inyo. Ngunit sabihin lamang po ninyo at gagaling na ang aking alipin. 8 Ako po ay nasa ilalim ng mga nakakataas sa akin at may nasasakupan naman akong mga kawal. Kapag sinabi ko sa isa, 'Pumunta ka roon!' pumupunta siya; at kapag sinabi ko naman po sa isa, 'Halika!' siya'y lumalapit. Kapag sinabi ko po sa aking alipin, 'Gawin mo ito!' ginagawa niya iyon."

               9 Namangha si Jesus nang marinig ito, kaya't humarap siya sa napakaraming taong sumusunod sa kanya at sinabi, "Kahit na sa Israel ay hindi ako nakakita ng ganito kalaking pananampalataya."

               10 Pagbalik nila sa bahay, naratnan ng mga isinugo na magaling na nga ang alipin.

Muling Binuhay ang Anak ng Isang Biyuda

               11 Pagkatapos nito, nagpunta naman si Jesus sa isang bayang tinatawag na Nain. Sumama sa kanya ang mga alagad at ang napakaraming tao. 12 Nang malapit na siya sa pintuan ng bayan, nasalubong nila ang libing ng kaisa-isang anak na lalaki ng isang biyuda. Napakaraming nakikipaglibing. 13 Nahabag ang Panginoon nang kanyang makita ang ina ng namatay kaya't sinabi niya rito, "Huwag ka nang umiyak." 14 Nilapitan niya at hinipo ang kinalalagyan ng bangkay at tumigil naman ang mga may pasan nito. Sinabi niya, "Binata, makinig ka sa akin, bumangon ka!"

               15 Naupo ang binata at nagsalita; at siya'y ibinigay ni Jesus sa kanyang ina.

               16 Natakot ang lahat at sila'y nagpuri sa Diyos. Sabi nila, "Dumating sa kalagitnaan natin ang isang dakilang propeta! Dinalaw ng Diyos ang kanyang bayan!"

               17 At kumalat sa buong Judea at sa palibot na lupain ang balitang ito tungkol sa ginawa ni Jesus.

A MOTHER’S REQUEST - Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS

Jesus, no doubt, loves His mother very much. Remember how the first miracle happened through the prodding of His mother when they ran out of wine at the wedding feast in Cana? It was not yet Jesus’ time, but His love for His mother prevailed. After all, most of us children usually give in to the requests of our mothers — even if sometimes they are against our will. Mothers are mothers.

       At the foot of the cross, in the midst of Jesus’ agony before He breathed His last, His still sharp heart and mind never failed to remember the mother He was leaving behind. He entrusted Mary to John: “Son, behold thy mother.” No amount of pain will make Jesus forget His mother, so He put her under the care of John. Somebody’s got to be with her. From the cross, He also saw and felt the agony of His mother, who must have been crying a river at the foot of the cross.

       In today’s Gospel (Luke 7:11-17), Jesus could have seen a familiar situation: a grieving mother who was a widow and whose only son died. He must have sensed that it would happen to Him someday, how His own mother, Mary, would grieve heavily at His death. He might have seen in this woman a “Mater Dolorosa,” wailing before the lifeless body of her son.

       The scene was too much for Him to bear. The heart of Jesus, so meek and mild, breaks every time He sees a mother in mourning. He could not bear to see His own mother suffering the same fate (although He knew already that it would happen in His Calvary).

       Thus, the miracle. He brought the dead son back to life — not so much to show a miracle but on account of a mother who was moving heaven and earth to bring her son back to life. “He was moved with pity and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’”

         A mother’s gentle request never fails to break the heart of Jesus.

       Because He loves His mother. Because He loves all mothers! 

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you show your concern for those who weep and seek for help?

 

Heart touching inspirational story - The Boy & the Apple Tree

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow.

He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.

“Come and play with me”, the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more” the boy replied.

“I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

“Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.”

The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited.

“Come and play with me” the tree said.

“I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”

“Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.

“Come and play with me!” the tree said.

“I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.

“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you”, the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the
man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now” the man said. “I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.

“I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.

“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest.” The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy.

You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them for granted; we don’t appreciate all they do for us, until it’s too late.

~ Moral ~ Treat your parents with loving care…. For you will know their value, when you see their empty chair…We never know the love of our parents  for us; till we have become parents .

MODEL OF FAITH - Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS

           Filipinos are fond of having idols. We either have a favorite movie actor or actress, a favorite writer, a favorite sports personality, and even a favorite impersonator! We play favorites, yes, and sometimes, we are influenced, consciously or unconsciously, by those whom we idolize.

       While having idols is not bad, we need to also help ourselves by way of asking: “How am I growing in my relationships because of the people I look up to?” More than anything else, we need to have role models rather than idols — people we can get inspiration from and motivation to be better than our best selves.

       Our role models need not be the best actors, writers, sport personalities or impersonators in town. In fact, they are not the best role models because they hide behind certain general criteria, which elevate them to the “idol” standards. We need not look too far and beyond to find our role models. They can simply be at home, in school or within the Church.

       The Gospel today (Luke 7:1-10) surprises us with Jesus’ words: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith,” and He was referring to a centurion. Being responsible for the training and discipline of the legionaries under his command, a centurion has a well-deserved reputation for dealing out harsh punishment among his subjects. But what do we read in the Gospel today? The centurion says, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.” It is the heart of the centurion speaking, proclaiming his love for his ailing servant.

       Find this centurion within you. Like a centurion, you may be the leader of a hundred or so people, or maybe even only a handful. But the invitation is the same: to be a leader with a heart for his people, who truly cares and is humble enough to recognize that he is also under a greater Leader, one he considers to be his role model. 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you show your love and concern to the little servants under your watch?

 

Lord, give me the heart of the centurion who humbly sought from You the healing and well-being of his lowly subject. Amen.

GOSPEL READING TODAY (Luke 7:1- 10) - September 16, 2013 - CURE OF CENTURION's SERVANT

GOSPEL

Let us seek to develop the same depth of faith of this official, who is not even Jewish but trusts that Jesus has the power to heal His servant. The faith of the official is phenomenal and something to be imitated. Let us draw inspiration from his faith so that we will grow and be able to trust Jesus as deeply as he did.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Luke 7:1-10

1 When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,

and he was valuable to him. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” 6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. 7 Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

BLESSING

LIST

Think:  Let us pray that only worthy leaders will be elected to office.

GOSPEL READING TODAY, LUKE 6:27-38 - LOVE OF ONE'S ENEMY

GOSPEL

  

Christians must act differently from those who are not Christians. Some non-Christians will get morality right most, and maybe all, of the time. However they cannot be motivated by love to the same extent that a Christian is. Why? Simply because they have not explicitly experienced and recognized God’s love for them in the same way we have.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

 

If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

 

Luke 6:27-38

27 Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. 35 But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. 37 Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. 38 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

 

Think:  It is love that must motivate us to maintain a truly human character.

FORGIVING ONE’S SELF - By: Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS

        

          In the pursuit of our dreams, we inevitably commit mistakes and encounter defeat along the way. And more often than not, we feel bad because our mistakes and failures seem to indicate that we are never good enough. But have we pondered on this statement deeply? Whoever said we were not good enough?

       Most of the time, it is our own self — our own pride — trying to tell us: “You are no better compared to him; you should have been number one, not him,” and so on. We hate not being number one. But what’s wrong with being the second best?

       We are held in bondage by the competitions we impose upon ourselves, without realizing that the true delimiting figure in our life lies at the very core of our being, hidden in the deepest recesses of our heart. We will never be able to win the race that is not ours in the first place. We need to free ourselves from competition.

       The Gospel today (Luke 6:27-38) talks about forgiveness: “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” It invites us to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful. But more than being other-directed, forgiveness should first spring from within us. We can only truly begin to forgive others if we first learn to forgive ourselves for our shortcomings, our failures, our indecisions.

       Know that God always forgives those who forgive others, including themselves. And He is a God of second chances. We should not be restricted by the mistakes, defeats and indecisions of the past. The present has the power to redeem our past; it has the capacity to change our future.

       Let us ask ourselves today: What are we capable of doing? And then, quite calmly, go off in search of our own immense potential,  claiming boldly that gifts will be given to us — a good measure, packed together, shaken down and overflowing! 

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Have you totally forgiven yourself and others?

 

Lord, thank You for giving me a second chance each time I fail and fall. Amen.

HAVING GOD — ONLY GOD - By: Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS

        During my childhood, our poor family ate simple food. We would only experience a semblance of luxury when we would have our annual Christmas shopping trip on the 24th of December, as the Christmas bonus of my father as a company guard would only be given on that day.

       Our poverty was evident. We would eat hotdogs, grapes and apples only once a year. Even a single apple would be divided into four, and we would have two pieces of grapes each for Noche Buena.

       We were poor, but we never knew what poverty meant. We were happy and our house was always filled with boisterous laughter. Growing up, I realized, through the words of my parents, that while we were really poor, the Lord provided for our spiritual, emotional and physical needs.

       Our Gospel (Luke 6:20-26) today reminds us of the same message: “Blessed are you who are poor, hungry, weeping; when people hate you, insult you and denounce you.” How in the world can the poor, the weeping, the hated and insulted be considered blessed in the midst of their misery? They are blessed because they have nothing and no one to turn to except the Lord. And what stronghold can be any sturdier than what the Lord offers — the Kingdom to the poor, satisfaction to the hungry, laughter for the weeping?

       On the other hand, while the Gospel says, “Woe to you who are rich... who are filled now... who laugh now,” it has to be clear that God does not condemn the rich. It’s surely not true that they are hell-bound. This part of the Gospel refers to those who, in spite of their privileged and happy life, do not know how to share their abundance and excesses with others.

       To be blessed is to accept misery, believing that God will one day make their sufferings vanish and give them heavenly rewards. Those who have been blessed and fail to recognize the needs of others, those who attribute their fortune to sheer personal egoistic competence, sadly won’t share the blessings that the lowly will receive from God.

       Blessed are the poor and lowly. They have God. Only God. 

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Why do you consider yourself blessed?

 

GOSPEL READING TODAY, September 11, 2013, Luke 6:20-21,24-25 (The Great Discourse)