Inspirations at your Fingertips!

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....

Jesus and us Luke 21:29-33  I would simply like to dwell on the Word as spoken in the Book of Daniel and the Gospel for today.  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away," Jesus said. Another reality that is congruent to the word that will never pass away or "eternal" is the Incarnate Word himself - the Son of Man who's sovereignty is eternal; his empire will never be destroyed. Let us reflect on Jesus; but in knowing him let us reflect on who we are. Who is Jesus?  Who are we then? Jesus is eternal, we are temporary, fleeting.  We will pass from this earth.  Our lives are short but He will remain forever.  Yet he offers us everlasting life. Jesus is powerful and we are powerless. But Jesus gives us power only to manage and build and not destroy. Finally, Jesus is all in all, we are nothing, but by his love we become something. Love brought us to this world. Pray that in the littleness our lives, in the temporarin...

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...

Because of you John 1:29-34 What would it be like after Christmas? Would we end up the same persons or something happened that changed our lives and our outlook of life?  Reflect on the words "Dahil sa yo": Dahil sa iyo, nais kong mabuhay Dahil sa iyo, hanggang mamatay Dapat mong tantuin, wala ng ibang giliw Puso ko'y tanungin, ikaw at ikaw rin Dahil sa iyo, ako'y lumigaya Pagmamahal, ay alayan ka Kung tunay man ako, ay alipinin mo Ang lahat ng ito, dahil sa iyo. It is because of Jesus that we got to be like this. It is because of this the God chose to forgive us and called us His sons and daughters. It is because of Christ that we can change. Why are we like this? Because of his presence or his absence.  Why do we choose to do good?  It is because of him. After Christmas, only we can know what happened to us, whether we have grown in faith or lack of it; only our knowledge of Jesus can determine our life and our salvation.

Only Jesus alone  The first reading from Isaiah 41:13-20 when the Lord said, "Do not be afraid, I will help you" is very much consoling considering the loss we experienced last voting against the RH bill.  But the Lord seems committed to convert us into something beautiful.  He is committed to change all of us for good. Problems happen so when the hour of triumph comes, we shall know that only through the power of God can we conquer such problems. "Only Jesus alone ... " even the gospel (Matthew 11:11-15) who speaks about "the least of the kingdom of God is greater than he."  When Christmas comes, all of the good works are Jesus' works.  All renewal is done by him. May we be strengthened to follow him always.

No compromise I believe that this is the glimpse of the beatific vision - to see Jesus for who He really is for us as One sent by the Father and how he brings healing to a world wounded by sin and division. Must we continue compromising the Lord's values just because we think it to be pleasurable or it would give us more money or power? If we know who Jesus really is for us, we would give ourselves totally to serve him.

Tuesday of the 23rd week, year 1 An inspiring idea today is what our new faith that is deeply rooted in Christ could do. This is in contrast with the values and philosophies of this world that is devoid of the presence of God. Don't believe in secularist theories or even pro-structuralist theories.  God is unchanging.  He is not a set of beliefs.  He is real. His teachings change us to the core of our being. Christ makes us unto Himself.  He changes our hearts to be like his. Imagine a world where Christ dwells in every heart; where the theme of life is in giving; where all can see the hand of God in everything we do.  There is life for all.