Inspirations at your Fingertips!

As we progress through Holy Week, we see more and more the signs of violence of evil men; but the good men become more godly.  It's really a matter of asking which side we are on. The Holy Week is a definitive time to confront our state of humanity whether we are for or against God; whether we are instruments of heaven or the world. It's not much of a question of what our orientation is but rather, it is more of how we can attain godliness. As the word implies, is is a life that is directly related with God.  "Without God, I am nothing."  But I wish to push it a step further - God becomes the reason of my life. Secondly, it is a life that pleases him.  I practiced discernment practically my whole life. Thirdly, it is in the process of perfection; not of self, but of charity. As I celebrate twenty two years of priesthood, I have been a witness to a growing relationship with God, a life that pleases him alone, and a life of perfection in charity.

St. Joseph is prefigured in the Old Testament as the descendant of David who through his lineage would come the Son of God ("I will be a father to him, and he, a son to me."). In the gospel, St. Joseph, after dreaming, makes an unwavering decision to do God's will and take Mary as his wife. In another gospel he became a good father to Jesus "who lived under his authority." How do we emulate St. Joseph, graced by God to be the foster father of Jesus and from his lineage would come God's only begotten Son? First, fatherhood is a divine gift only God the father can supply and delegate. Second, fathers need to be discerning of God's will on what is best for the family and their children. Finally, fathers produce sons and daughters in the likeness of Jesus who was reared under his authority. May we live out the fatherhood in us, mirroring God's fatherhood, discerning of God's presence in the world, and deciding to produce the next genera...

Life of forgiveness Matthew 18:21-35 Azariah prays to the Lord to deliver them from the fiery furnace using the mercy of God. In the gospel, Jesus gives an invaluable lesson on forgiveness - that as God forgives, so too must we forgive in the same measure. What can we learn from forgiveness as a way of life? 1. Forgiveness gives importance to the salvation rather than the condemnation of the other. 2. Forgiveness establishes who we are before God. - that we are mere human beings who have no power except that which comes from God who forgives us almost endlessly. 3.  Forgiveness strengthens our mission to do what we need to do in this world - to reconcile others to one another and to Christ.

Faith Luke 16:19-31 There are two persons whom Jeremiah was referring to in the first reading: the one without faith and the other with faith.  The one without faith is barren and is likened to dead land, while one with faith is likened to a rich soil. The two characters in the gospel also typify these two sets of persons: one being the rich man who in spite of his wealth, refused to share food to Lazarus, and the poor man Lazarus, who yearned even for the crust that fell from the rich man's table. The effect of this attitude is immediate: hell or heaven.  Let us reflect if in our case, the motivation of all our action is really to give glory to God and to have a glimpse of heaven.  If not, the opposite effect is immediate.