Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Reflections on bread Stephen died a martyr's death for giving witness to the resurrection of Jesus. In the gospel, Jesus is inviting the people to believe in Him, the real bread that came down from heaven. Bread connotes a lot of things. Life is simply one of these. Every bread is meant to give life. Jesus and Stephen gave their lives so others may live. With bread, there is no space for death, only life. Bread is not just for the self to enjoy; rather, bread, shared with others, causes others to live. With bread, there is no space for others to die; all live. Finally, bread is what connects us with God in total inticmacy let us take in the reality of bread. Let us be signs of life to others. Let Jesus' life be upon us.

Jesus is Himself the gift  Our Easter observance takes us now to Stephen, the first martyr. He was a deacon. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he gave witness to Jesus' resurrection even he hadn't seen him. Two signs that he was living out Jesus - his vision of the heavens opening and seeing the angels, and asking for forgiveness for those who were persecuting him. Stephen is a living sign of the resurrection of Jesus. In the gospel, Jesus invites us to purify our intention for serving Him. It is not because of the many gifts that we receive from him; rather, he himself is the gift. And through the Holy Sacrifice of the mass, he freely gives himself to us. Jesus, his very person, is the gift. On our pilgrim way to heaven, may we opt to be like Jesus day by day, believing totally in His care and love, and slowly be transformed according to His image and likeness.

In God's heart is life itself "If it is God's work, nobody can stop it." The point is, after thinking this way, the apostles continued their mission to bring about God's reign here on earth. In the multiplication of the loaves, on can see the very heart of Christ - he wants to feed us all and fill us with life.  Who are we to stand in his way? May we know God's will and his desire for all of us.  Life.  He intends us to experience the fullness of life.

Where have we left off? Yesterday, we witnessed Peter giving an account of Jesus' resurrection in the light of Scriptures, to the amazement of the Pharisees who were supposed to be the learned in Israel. He was talking from the heart.  From a direct testimony of Jesus who resurrected, he now proceeds to touching people's lives with the authority of Jesus himself. In the gospel, an intimate experience with the Lord makes the apostles fully convinced and without question that the one who was directing them was Jesus himself.  But what struck me was not just because Jesus had risen from the dead.  Rather, he continues to give them life as he continues to give us life. He converts the sadness of people into joy.  He fills them with food.  He consoles and he heals.  He has the power to give us life everyday of our lives. Let us be sensitive to the signs of life.  Let us vow to give life and only life to others.  This will be our direct testim...

I told you so! "See I told you so!" is a term we use to prove to another we are right all along.  In explaining to another, everything we say now makes sense.  Sense is what finally molds us into who we are. Peter didn't know any better about Jesus.  But after Pentecost, his spirit was way above to explain to people the mystery of Jesus and who he was - the Son of God, the resurrected Lord. The "I told you so" syndrome is finally realized in Peter who, in experiencing Jesus crucified and resurrected, now becomes the source of strength for the new converts to Christianity. Jesus also told the apostles in the today's gospel, "This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you ... " I told you so.  All the apostles need to do was to be faithful to Jesus until he reveals his full self to them. In our lives, how many times have we lost faith and hope in God?  How many of us thought that following God makes no sense and that people who ...

What do we do after the resurrection? It's two days after the resurrection. What has become of us? Peter makes an offer others can't refuse.  What is Easter for us?  That through the communion of God and man in Jesus Christ, our lives are already meant from heaven. Our new vocation is simply to tell the story of Jesus' resurrection.  We tell it through our words and actions.  What seemed impossible is now possible.  We can now live holy lives.  We can generate holiness in the world instead of the usual folly of man.

Father, forgive them As Jesus lay hanging on the cross, the first words he uttered are words of forgiveness instead of hatred and vengeance, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." There are two realities to this: first, Jesus' willingness to forgive not a few, but all of us.  But the second one is worth reflecting: "for they know not what we do." It pays to realize that we do not know what we are doing in this world.  If we know what we are doing, we could not have acted the way we are doing today, considering the coldness of our actions and dedication to God while we pour out all efforts making things work in our companies where we are paid.  We may not know it, but because we know not what we do, we consequently put Jesus on the cross. We know not what we do when we think that life is simply eating and drinking, raising a family, doing a bit of good, and dying. We know now what we are doing when we think religion is for kids. We k...

To be healed As we are entering the holiest of days, i.e, Thursday - Sunday, the Lord continues to implore to us to listen and learn from him and in learning, that his word may bear fruit in our lives. Learn from his wisdom, his gentleness and compassion, and his capability to bring life to the wearied soul.  Live out his truth and it shall set us free. This intimacy with the Lord makes us totally secured.  In whatever situation in life, given its imperfect and wounded stature, we pray that as the Lord enters the situation, we find ourselves and this world healed. After reflecting on betrayal and the destruction it does on our humanity, I would like to focus now on healing.  Healing can only be possible if we embrace these important truths: first, that it is not our power that brings order into our lives but God's power.  Second, if we confess our wounded nature and bring it into the light, then nothing will be kept hidden; God will help us.  Third, if w...