Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Develop intimacy with God Matthew 23:1-12 The second week calls us to a moment of intimacy with the Father.  Anything other than this constitutes sin. Consider the two options: following and not following Him.  Following him entails life and blessings.  There will be blessings everywhere.  Goodness will abound.  Anything other than these implies death.  It is true. Jesus in today's gospel warns us against the yeast of the Pharisees, the message being, "The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted." (Mt. 23, 12) Anyone who humbles himself while exulting the Lord shall live forever.

His love Matthew 7:7-12 I also used to pray and ask for a million intentions.  I even memorized Jesus' words from my youth, "Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." I dreamt to receive all these graces with such fervor and commitment that I was not ready to let them go. But as time passed, I realized that indeed, God heard all my prayers, and much more.  He revealed himself to me as a friend that I can turn to.  At the core of all those prayers is an invitation to get to know Him who loves me through and through. Now, I still pray as I did when I was a child.  But these do are nothing compared to the real grace I receive every moment of my life - Jesus' very own heart that I desire.

Why fast in preparation for Holy Week?  Matthew 9:14-15 There are three reasons I see why we should fast.  First, to fast is to give way to the Spirit.  It is to tame the senses and control it so we can be more sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit who is beyond material things. Second, to fast is to feel the sting of being deprived, of hunger, thirst, of the comforts of life.  And this, more than 50% of our brothers and sisters are suffering from.  How can we help if we ourselves cannot feel their hunger nor can we hear their cries? Third, it is to be totally one with Jesus Christ; for this is the through being deprived of life that he was able to save us. He rid himself of all comforts to take us up to the Father. Fast and the Lord will reward us with the food of life. 

Trust  Mark 7:1-13 God blessed man and woman, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.’ (Genesis 1:20ff) It is obvious that God's intention for man is not simply to multiply the earth, but to be caretakers of his creation.  He entrusts his authority upon them to be stewards. He trusts that we become masters of his creation, not abusers of creation.  Are we trustworthy now? We can only be trustworthy if we entrust our whole selves to his service.  If we don't have any time for him, how can we have time to manage God's affairs?  What is our time on earth for? And now, we are talking about managing his creation.  How can we actually do that if we are more concerned with taking everything only for us and not for others? We are simply caretakers of the earth.   God is our master.  Serve only the Master and we sha...

Fill the world with good works  Mark 6:14-29 Faith doesn't remain only in the confines of the church or in one's prayer spaces. True faith leads to actions. Actions are reflections of the God who loves us, the Son who intercedes on our behalf, and the Holy Spirit who fills our lives with joy. Our lives should always be reflections of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in works that will unite us while celebrating our diversity. Ask the Master what our work on earth will be.  Whatever it is, always fill the world with good works that reflect the saving power of the most Holy Trinity.

Keep close to Jesus Mark 5:21-43 As you will agree with me, reading every story and account on the bible gives us great consolation, because it is always a story of the triumph of good, healing, of grace, as well as the end of death, evil, and hardships. The Letter to the Hebrew reminds us to cling to what is good till the very end and to throw away everything that hinders us from clinging to the Eternal Good.  The gospels tells of two related accounts of healing, one who is on the verge of death and another who died. Our goal is to stay faithful to Jesus till the end.  Be also faithful to his teachings and let them bear fruit in our lives.  As he healed and raised the dead to life, he also wants that our day to day existence be filled with stories of miracles, conversions, and fruitfulness.  As a servant captures the heart of the Master, so too may our hearts be molded to Christ so we can be fruitful in winning souls for Christ.  The key is to stay close...