Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Saturday of week 3 in Ordinary Time Mark 4:35-41 Jesus reprimanded the apostles for having a weak faith.  He nevertheless showed his power to contain the sea. In the first reading, David realized the story of Nathan was about him.  He deserved just punishemnt.  On the other hand, God accepted his repentance and forgave him. David is just like us, faltering in our faith. Let's explore the fruits of a weak and faltering faith.   First, it's prone to sin.   Second, it affects another, more so, the innocent. Third, it blames others and not the self. Let's be more concerned with pleasing the Lord with a livelier faith, a faith that takes responsibility for one's life and vocation, a faith that propagates grace, and a faith that invluences others for good.

Tuesday of week 3 in Ordinary Time 2 Samuel 6:12-15,17-19 Mark 3:31-35  Let’s explore David’s situation as a man who does God’s will as underscored by Jesus. David gives to the Lord all adoration. To adore is to give oneself completely to Go whom we adore. David gives the offering of his life. David teaches us that true worship is not complete without the counterpart of the offering of our time, talent, and treasure for God. Thirdly, he blesses the people and consecrates them to God. The Lord looks inside our hearts and he sees what he sees - love. Perhaps the most important quality David had was to be humble in God’s sight. These are the things that make us “mothers, brothers, sisters” - doing God’s will every moment of our lives.

Friday of week 1 in Ordinary Time Mark 2:1-12 Intercession is an integral part of Christian life.  To intercede means to intervene on behalf of another.  The greatest intercessor is of course, Jesus Christ, God's only Son, who intereceded on our behalf for the forgiveness of sins.  The Blessed Mother too, the saints and angels are great intercessors. Jesus commended the four for bringing to him the paralytic.  We could also be intercessors on behalf of others.  This is the mark of a church, when we pray for one another and support one another in any way. In the first reading, Israel wanting a king to replace God is not the work of intercession.  Nevertheless, God ceded to teach us that as we become intercessors, we need to cling on to God as Jesus clings to His Father.  The intercessor should have the qualitiees of the One whom he asks intercession.  Moreover, he should be totally humble and pleasing to the Lord, with his every action an ...

Thursday of week 1 in Ordinary Time Mark 1:40-45 Photo courtesy of: http://www.fromhisword2u.com/jesus-heals-a-leper-matthew-8-1-4-mark-1-40-45-luke-5-12-16/ There is sea of difference between "I will it" and "You will it for me." Such is the case of the first reading.  The Israelites thought that by carrying the Ark of the Covenant, they would win the war against the Philistines.  They were badly mistaken. The gospel, on the other hand, revealed the heart of the leper, "If you want to, you can cure me." Jesus said, "Of course!" Faith is not a matter of superstition.  Nor is it a set template that leads one to sure salvation.  We sometimes think that by simply doing good and avoiding evil, we could get to heaven.  Others think that by simply serving in the church as liturgical ministers, they're already active Catholics. The only gauge of true faith is in Jesus himself.  We could only adhere to him to save us in his good pl...

Tuesday of week 1 in Ordinary Time Mark 1:21-28 Hannah's case of barreness and the gospel account of the man possessed by the unclean spirit depict a situation of sinfulness; this is also our situation on earth. But Hannah was able to concieve; the man was freed from the evil spirit only through the power of God and of his Son Jesus Christ.  We only need to rely on the authority of Jesus to heal us make our lives straight. Like Hannah, we need a trusting faith that God will manifest his authority.  Let's humbly implore the Master to live out this total, unquestionable faith. And for the people in Jesus' time, in the world of skepticism, Jesus was not purturbed.  He did what he had to do - cure people.  This is authority that comes from God, that complete intention to do His will.  God takes over and heals us.

Saturday after Epiphany John 3:22-30 As we are about to conclude the Christmas Season, let us imitate John the Baptist whose life points to Jesus.  He said, "He must increase while I must decrease."  This is the essence of Christian life.   In the first reading, St. John wrote, "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them." This describes the person whose life is totally attuned to the presence of God. What does it take for a Christian to increase in Christ?  A Christian:  1. is concerned with the spiritual and wholistic wellbeing of others; he  or she treats others as one's  own; 2. follows Christ; an Alter-Christus in the world doing Christ's work, not one's own; 3. pure as Christ; nothing evil can harm him / her.

January 4 John 1:35-42  For St. John the Evangelist, there are only two forces, and they are manifested either in the fruitfulness or destruction of daily life - the one which is born from the ultimate Goodness, God himself, and the one that destroys what God is creating, the devil.  Consequently, this has a bearing on our acceptance or rejection of being children of God. The Gospel describes the genesis of becoming disciples.  The first is the one pointing to the Son of God, "There he is!" The second is the question, "Where are you staying?" The third is the response, "Come, follow me."  Each of these has a bearing on our roles as disciples. The first is responding to the one pointing to Jesus like John the Baptist; yet, we say no because of our preoccupation with the affairs of this world. The second is the intense desire or longing for the Master, in knowing and loving him.  Our preoccupation in this world reflect a loss of interest in getti...

January 3 John 1:29-34 Every item points to something; every cause points to an effect; every life points to someone, something, or somewhere; either to God or to the world. It is stated in the first reading, "You know that God is righteous – then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him."  Jesus is the cause; we are the effects.  And if we are encompassed by sin, then we would surely know who is guiding us. Meanwhile, the kingdom of the Heaven is already here, but not yet.  We still need to purify ourselves in Jesus in order to make our lives truly fruitful. John the Baptist's life and testimony points to Jesus. He did justice to the presence of Jesus among the people of his time till our time today. Pray to give living testimonies of the presence of Jesus to others.

January 2 John 1:19-28 Happy New Year 2020! How do we make alive the Holy Trinity and the work of God in our lives? The knowledge of God is born out of intense experience of faith. St. John gave testimony to the coming of Jesus.  When was the last time we gave witness to God? The revelation of God started with the history of the call of Israel to be "God's people".  The experience of sin even in Israel continued till the time of Jesus.  His resurrection is witnessed by many.  His ascension to heaven was witnessed by many.  St. Paul said, "If Jesus did not rise from the dead, our faith is totally useless." Yes, we are witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus.  We also aim for the resurrection of our lives.  We are giving witness to the end of sin and sinful inclinations only in Jesus.  So, how do we make the work of God alive in our hearts?  Through the practice of daily life - when we are forgiven of our sins, when we practice fo...