Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Tuesday of the 2nd week of Lent Matthew 23:1-12 The Immaculate Conception Cathedral rejoices for the Lord has visited his people through the holy relic of the Saint of Little Things, St. Therese of Lisieux. Inasmuch as the readings for today, the 14th day of Lent, deal very harshly against evildoers and hypocrites and calls on everyone to repent so that we can be "whiter than snow", on a positive note, St. Therese is a true picture of a person of authority unlike the scribes and pharisees who were interested only in outward appearances. St. Therese was proclaimed "Doctor of the Church" by St. Pope John Paul II last October 19, 1997.  The original "doctors" of the church - the scribes - have so little as compared to her.  What makes her "Doctor of the Church" and how do we imitate her? First, her progression came very rapidly since she was beatified last 1923.  Two years later, she was canonized.  He message "the little way", ...

Monday of the 2nd week of Lent Luke 6:36-38  This 13th day of Lent calls us to reflect how much we are rendering to God and our neighbors. The weighing scale is a symbol of justice.  It should not be skewed to either side.  But it also mirrors our love for God and neighbor. When we were children, everything seemed to be skewed to our favor; otherwise, we wouldn't live. However, if we continue in this state even after our education, then we are simply living the self-centered lifestyle. Jesus said, "The measure that we measure will be measured back to us."  What measure is this? First, the measure of our relationship with others. First, the measure of our relationship with persons.  Look at the image of a mirror.  What we see is ourselves.  As regards others, look at them.  What do we see?  We should see our own images on what we have done to them.  If we don't accord them care and concern, it reflects how lowly we treat o...

Saturday of the 1st week of Lent Matthew 5:43-48 This 11th day of Lent, we are reminded of our responsibility to deepen our commitment and relationship to our brothers and sisters most especially our enemies. The glorification that God will extend to man does not simply apply to individuals but to an entire nation.  It is to lift up our state above others if we do what he wills.  And what does he will?  That we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  I believe that "enemies" here are not just the enemies but all others whom we consider "insignificant" - all others outside our circle of friends and family.  Jesus commands us to love them as much as we love ourselves. How do we love the unlovable?    First, remember that all of us are created with the same dignity as sons and daughters of the Lord.   So, rue all possibilities or compartmentalizing people according to race, creed, economic status or even affiliations....

Friday of the 1st week of Lent Matthew 5:20 - 26 This 10th day of our observance of Lent, as in Ezekiel, the Lord clarified his rule on justification and punishment, while in the Gospel, Jesus commanded surpassing the present virtues of the scribes and pharisees as regards relationship with people.  The gauges are as follows: First, go beyond simply "not killing" to actually respecting every person in level of the heart.  Relationships need not be based on classifications or binaries like family and others, friends and foes, or rich or poor as well as significant or insignificant other.  As long as there are these binaries, it's possible that we're killing people even in the level of thought and heart. Second, go beyond mere precepts of religion.  The offering should be a symbol of a pure heart, even to others.  This is consistent with the offering of self to be available to others, even to the poor, the insignificant, and to the enemy.  This pure...

Saturday after Ash Wednesday Luke 5:27-32  Day 4: What we can do this day is reflect on the repentant heart. A repentant heart needs a change in one's outlook of life; an overhaul perhaps, on one's outlook at regards faith and relationship with God.  God's graces may be likened to a flowing river filled with fresh waters to enrich the body and soul.  It is always on the giving end, never losing its freshness, nor falling into the danger of drying up. The faith that God gives us comes from his very Godhead, a loving Father who supplies every good thing to us.  Furthermore, Jesus supplies us with the grace of forgiveness and salvation to help us rise up from our death to sin to resurrection to life. The Holy Spirit supplies us each day with graces to be shared to others; endless amount of graces to help our brothers and sisters with life. What we can do is to offer to the Lord a repentant heart that seeks to change one's life into what God wants.  We c...

Friday after Ash Wednesday Matthew 9:14-15 Day 3: In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet clarified fasting not just an external action, but a manifestation of the intentions of the heart.  He checked on the injustices and abuses done by people against another even though they are fasting. Jesus further clarified the meaning of fasting in terms of relationship. "Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast." In our generation today given extreme consumerism and materialism, we don't give enough importance to the language of the soul and the heart.  What results is greed, gluttony, and overexposure to material things.  But with fasting: We are to check the injustices we have done against others, even neglect in taking care of the poor, needy, and victims of injustices and discrimination due to economic status...

Ash Wednesday Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 Lent, as it means "length", is preparation for encountering the Lord in his passion, death, and resurrection. We need ample time to develop our relationship with the Lord.  Love needs time to blossom. We also need time to know and be committed to our neighbor.  We need enough time to get to know the Church.  Finally, we need time to understand who we are.  And who are we?  Disciples.  We are not small gods.  We are molded to be followers of Jesus.  We need ample time for that. We need to engage in prayer, fasting, and alms giving to prepare ourselves for this divine encounter. Prayer opens our world to the Lord.  We also need time to engage in prayer with our neighbors and families. Fasting is not just abstaining from meals and food.  We deprive ourselves of the things we love so we can open our hearts to what we can't see; but eventually, we can feel deeply that he's with us. We engag...

Tuesday of week 6 in Ordinary Time Mark 8:14-21 We shall be entering Lent. In its etymology, it means length or long. We need length of time to deepen our relationship with Jesus.  It takes time to know his leaven.  It takes time to know the leaven of the pharisees.  It takes time and wisdom to know the ways of temptation. The fruit of temptation is sin.  It is rendering nothing what God has made.  It is to destroy what God has built.  The starting point of temptation is desire.  The desire to commit sin is not yet sin.  Desire is a free gift from God who have us free will so that we might desire freely heaven and our Lord.  As there is a tendency to use desire to please self, we use more the desire to come closer to God. Thus, we can counter temptations by desiring for the ultimate goodness - God, and serve him.  Be repulsed with temptation.  Counter it immediately as it comes.  Fight nothingness and destruction w...

Saturday of week 5 in Ordinary Time Mark 8:1-10 No doubt Jeroboam's term was one of the most corrupt in Israel's history.  God didn't intervene; he allowed such abomination to happen.  Yet on the final verse, Jeroboam's house was obliterated from the face of the earth. In the gospel, Jesus performed the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.  Not only were the loaves multiplied, even the leftovers were gathered for the consumption of the multitude.  Not a loaf was wasted.  Even this gesture is a sign of grace from God. The issue is about sin and grace.  And for the apparition at Lourdes, we can partake of these insights: First, there are graces in the midst of poverty.  Bernadette, in all her simplicity and poverty of spirit, was most happy in seeing the Blessed Mother and choosing her as her humble instrument.  Let's also rejoice not in power and wealth, but in our poverty before the Lord. Second, the mystery of the grotto, a ...

Thursday of week 4 in Ordinary Time Mark 6:7-13 All in all, David lived a fruitful, meaningful life.  God was well-pleased with him.  He conducted his affairs in complete obedience to God.  He also suffered due to sinfulness, but he was repentant.  He transmitted the faith to Solomon, his son and heir to the throne. His life is likened to Jesus Christ.  He also started with humble beginnings, was elected, became fruitful, suffered because of love, and rose again to leave a lasting legacy. In the Gospel, Jesus sent his apostles to proclaim the Good News.  But he is also implanting his presence in our times today.  Everything may seem ordinary, but our lives may also reflect that of Jesus. Our humble beginnings.  We are still the weak human beings that God created when we were born.  Let's proclaim our humility before God. Our election.  He chose us to do particular tasks and missions when we were gifted with the Holy Spirit....

Wednesday of week 5 in Ordinary Time Mark 7:14-23 Today's readings focus on wisdom; more particularly, that of Solomon and how he impressed the Queen of Sheba.  She was moved to bless Solomon for his wisdom; her gifts were nothing as compared with Solomon's wealth of wisdom.  Eventually, Solomon's wisdom is an offshoot of God's wisdom. We admit that we gain wisdom in the length of days.  Unless we share to the next generation our mistakes and frailties, they risk committing the same mistakes we've committed.  This is wisdom. Wisdom is what Jesus explained in the Gospel: "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean."  What comes out of man's heart renders him clean or unclean.  To search the real motives of the heart is what constitutes wisdom.  It is aligned with following God's will and not one's own. For a Par...

Thursday of week 4 in Ordinary Time, 2 Mark 6:7-13 All in all, David lived a fruitful, meaningful life.  God was well-pleased with him.  He conducted his affairs in complete obedience to God.  He also suffered due to sinfulness, but he was repentant.  He transmitted the faith to Solomon, his son and heir to the throne. His life is also likened to Jesus Christ.  He also started with humble beginnings, was elected, became fruitful, suffered because of love, and rose again to leave a lasting legacy. In the Gospel, Jesus sent his apostles to proclaim the Good News.  But he is also implanting in our his presence as live in this world.  Everything may seem ordinary, but we know it, our lives may also be the same as Jesus'. Our humble beginnings.  We are still the weak human beings that God created when we were born till now. Our election.  He chose us to do particular tasks and missions when we were gifted with the Holy Spirit. Our f...

The Presentation of the Lord Luke 2:22-40 We celebrate today the presentation of Jesus in the temple. The Scripture mentions the reason for such presentation: "Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." We reflect on three things that go with today's feast: First, purification.  Purification is a loaded word; it carries with it realities of "purity" or "purifying".  Through purification, "hearts will be laid bare".  Our transparency before God is always exposed.  Let's allow him to purify all our intentions. Second, light.  Jesus is our light; he lights up our paths.  It's time to give our fullest selves to him and seek his guidance. Third, pure offerings.  The presentation is about offering "the purest sacrifices" coming from our hearts.  Our offerings should be as p...