The Lord is faithful

May 9th, 2008 by admin |

Meditation

Paul’s Exhortation to be Steadfast Finally, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.

Pray, too, that we will be saved from wicked and evil people, for not everyone believes in the Lord. But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are practicing the things we commanded you, and that you always will.

May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 NLT

 

‘He who is not for Me is against Me’

May 9th, 2008 by admin |

God – The Great Divider
___________________
Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.
Luke 12:51 NIV
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Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him.

John 7:40-43 KJV
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All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Matthew 25:32-33,46 NASB
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God, Whose grace is all sufficient, be glorified! Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him.

 

Bible Readings

May 2nd, 2008 by admin |

Grace To Persevere

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:20,21 KJV
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Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Jude 24,25 KJV
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And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ” Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Revelation 4:9-11 NASB
__________________

God, Whose grace is all sufficient, be glorified!

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

arcamax.com

 

The End of Your Rope

May 1st, 2008 by admin |

“The end of your rope is a very holy place.”

~Author Unknown~

pix I took in Pielenhofen during our walking in the woods

 

Bible Readings

May 1st, 2008 by admin |

Feast of St. Joseph the worker
TOUGH ACT FOR CONRAD

“A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.” – Matthew 13:57
My friend Conrad (not his real name) recently became a lay minister. Now 52, he and his wife, Emily, have three teenage kids. Ten years before he became a lay minister, Conrad hardly went to church. He smoked, drank heavily, swore a lot, and sometimes bullied his children.
Then one day, Conrad and Emily were invited to attend a Life in the Spirit Seminar and they were spiritually renewed. Conrad stopped smoking and drinking, dropped the bad words and struggled to be a better father. He was a changed man. On the first Sunday that he served as a lay minister, his children, though proud of their father, hesitated to receive Holy Communion from him. “Coming from Dad, the host might not be effective,” they said in jest. Well, if it would console Conrad, he is not the first person to suffer such a rejection. In today’s Gospel, Jesus, who never had to clean up His act, was rejected by His own family. So to all the Conrads out there, remain faithful to your ministry.
Rejection will come and go, but God’s acceptance is forever. Bo Sanchez

REFLECTION:
When the going gets tough, the tough remain faithful.
Lord, when I am rejected, cheer me up.

THE VALUE OF WORK

May 1, “Labor Day,” was instituted in 1889. It is a red-letter day for Communism. As a system of thought and analysis that developed in reaction to the Industrial Revolution in Europe, Communism wanted to underline the fact that given a number of people who invested capital on machines that increased productivity and trade, the laborers who man the machines and the industries remain to be vital contributors to productivity. Therefore, they argued that profits should not just be for the capital owners. Aside from the day wages that is due to them, the manual laborers must be part sharers of the profit.
In 1955, Pope Pius XII established the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker to coincide with Labor Day. This gesture shows how the Church also values the basic rights of workers. In the Gospel, we can see how, even during the time of Jesus and His legal father Joseph, there was the tendency to belittle manual labor. Initially impressed by Jesus’ eloquent and authoritative teaching, the people later remarked: “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is He not the carpenter’s son?”
While the Communists define the value of labor in terms of political and economic considerations, the Church invites us to appreciate labor and work in terms of the following values:
l VOCATION – Through labor and work, we give meaning to our existence. We realize that we are not just here to waste time and to occupy space. We have a unique role to play; we have contributions to make in our world.
l STEWARDSHIP – Through labor and work, we show the highest accountability for all the talents and abilities that nature and education endowed on us.
l SERVICE – Through our labor and work, we employ our talents and abilities not only to make a living, but to meet the needs of others.Fr. Domie Guzman

Reflection Question:
What work are you engaged in? What keeps you going in your work? What sense of meaning do you find in your work?
Lord, give me the grace to value the work I do. May my labor always glorify You.
St. Andeolus, martyr, pray for us.

1st READING
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. It would be good for us to remember the plight of workers and laborers throughout the world, particularly those who are not paid a just wage for their labors. Let us all pray for justice in the workplace —a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. Employers ought to ponder on this as they will also be required to give an account of their practices on the Last Day.

Acts 18:1-8
1 Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them 3 and, because he practiced the same trade, stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6 When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 So he left there and went to a house belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next to a synagogue. 8 Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized.

P S A L M
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The LORD has made his salvation known in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R)

G O S P E L
Sometimes we tend to ignore the plight of those in need—either because we are ignorant or we fail to realize the full significance of a their suffering. This is not a valid excuse in our time of rapid world communication. If we are aware that a multinational company does not enforce fair work-practices in its factories then we have a moral obligation to shun their products. This may be inconvenient to us but it is better than profiting from the injustices imposed upon others.

John 16:16-20 (or Matthew 13:54-58)
16 “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
my reflections
think:What can I do to battle injustice?

kyregma.com

 

Bible Readings

May 1st, 2008 by admin |

MASTERAL PROGRAM

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now…” – John 16:12
I just finished a two-year masteral program that is a zillion miles unrelated to my being a dentist. Naturally, it was very difficult for me to absorb the new concepts which my mind was not accustomed to. Our professors were patient in explaining all these concepts and theories and helping us apply it through our practicum month after month, semester after semester, until we truly had mastery in that field.
I believe that that’s how God works with us, too. He patiently teaches us the ways of the Kingdom by giving us tests and trials that will draw out that virtue in us. Then He gives us more challenging adversities that are never beyond our strength, until we learn to respond to our circumstances the way He expects us. We are always a work in progress until that day comes when we have completed our masteral program in Kingdom life. On that day, He will say, “It is finished.” Ronna Ledesma

REFLECTION:
Have you mastered your response towards that person who constantly irritates you?
Father God, I pray that all who would see me would see You.

BE COOL! THE SPIRIT IS WITHIN

When our time is almost up and we still have many things to say or do, we always end up frantic. Panic leaves even more things unsaid and undone.
The earthly time of Jesus is almost up and still, as He says in the Gospel today, He has many things to tell His disciples. But Jesus is not panicking. He is a picture of a cool man even under pressure. He is not worried about tomorrow. He does not overfeed His disciples with His teachings, lest they suffer from spiritual indigestion. Did He not already say in Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Jesus never worries; He is the best example of what He teaches.

Jesus has confidence on the other Two Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity. He trusts the Father to send the Holy Spirit and He trusts the Holy Spirit to fulfill His role in the work of salvation.
The Holy Spirit teaches in two ways. First, He teaches by clarifying what Jesus already taught His disciples through inner illumination. Second, He reminds the disciples what they forget about the teachings of Jesus. The Holy Spirit teaches nothing new. This is because Jesus is already the final, complete, and definitive revelation of God. There is nothing new after Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s role as the Teacher of truth is to enlighten and to remind us about Jesus. Upon being enlightened and reminded of Jesus – who He is and what He stands for – we come to grasp the teachings of Jesus. The tremendous significance and indispensable role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all believers. Fr. Bobby Titco

Reflection Question:
Panic makes me forget. The Holy Spirit helps me remember.
Slow me down, Lord, through Your Spirit when I rush through each day. Cool me down when the pressures start to boil in me. Help me remember the example You gave me and the Spirit You poured into my heart. Amen.
St. Pius V, pope, pray for us.

1st READING
Paul is very clever. He allows that perhaps the Athenians already had a latent belief in Christ in terms of an altar he found inscribed “to an unknown God.” It is this same cunning we need in proclaiming the Gospel today. We need to know how to make the Gospel appeal to the minds and hearts of the people without compromising its truth or message. This is the task of inculturation – a difficult job that has to be done with wisdom and care.

Acts 17: 15, 22-18:1
15 After Paul’s escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. 22 Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: “You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’ What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. 26 He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, 27 so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’ as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ 29 Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination. 30 God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent 31 because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We should like to hear you on this some other time.” 33 And so Paul left them. 34 But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. 18: 1 After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.

P S A L M
Psalm 148: 1-2, 11-12, 13, 14
R: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
1 Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights; 2 Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his hosts. (R) 11 Let the kings of the earth and all peoples, the princes and all the judges of the earth, 12 young men too, and maidens, old men and boys. (R) 13 Praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. (R) 14 He has lifted up the horn of his people. Be this his praise from all his faithful ones, from the children of Israel, the people close to him. Alleluia. (R)

G O S P E L
The Holy Spirit is a spirit of truth. He will guide us in the truth and protect us from error if we open our hearts and minds to His guidance. Oftentimes, the problem is individuals want to be their own arbiter regarding truth and falsehood. This is a disastrous position to take. We see that the Garden of Eden is where Adam and Eve first asserted this desire. This act opened the way to sin. I wonder why we keep repeating this mistake today?

John 16:12-15
12 “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

my reflections
think:
Have we opened our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit’s guidance?

kyregma.com

 

Wordless Wednesday

April 30th, 2008 by admin |

Photobucket

I took this photo as we went to Berching. This cross monument serves as a memory of people who were dead during the WW2 in Berching.
Hope everyone had a great Wednesday!!

 

Messiah’s Triumph

April 29th, 2008 by admin |

Meditation

The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom

Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,

“Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
He who [b]sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them.

Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
“But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give
the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

Psalm 2:1-8 NASB

source:arcamax.com

 

Thy Kingdom Come!

April 29th, 2008 by admin |

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

Isaiah 11:6 NIV
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And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

Hosea 2:8 KJV
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“The wolf and the lamb will graze together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox;
and dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will do no evil or harm
in all My holy mountain,”
says the LORD.

Isaiah 65:25 NASB
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May God, Whose grace is irresistible and
all sufficient, be glorified!

___________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith that saves is faith in Him

 

Bible Readings

April 28th, 2008 by admin |

GRIEF AND GRACE

“…grief has filled your hearts.” – John 16:6
My friend’s text message said: “Please help me accept this. We are not ready. I do not understand why this has to happen.” Her mom was diagnosed with stage two cancer.
Grief is a difficult emotion. It could be debilitating. We have experienced sorrow one time or another. It’s a natural, universal occurrence. We all pass through it at different levels. But the question is how. How should we grieve?
Do you know that as much as we have the capacity to feel grief, we have the greater ability to heal? Studies show that diseased cells can regenerate, livers that have been cut can grow back and muscle tissues can repair themselves.
Our bodies do heal. And so do our spirits. We can naturally overcome. And that’s from a human point of view. Now, what if we put God in the picture?
If you are in sorrow now, I speak to you: See the Lord walking with you every painful step of the way. Picture Him embracing you every millisecond, never leaving your side. Feel Him beside you, quietly bearing everything, enduring the anguish with you.
Grief can fill our hearts but Grace shall never depart. Lallaine Gogna
REFLECTION:
Know that after the rain, comes a rainbow.
Dear God, be with me when I need You most. When it seems like You have disappeared, remind me of Your great love and presence. Amen.

THE BITTER PILL

A cliché goes, “The truth hurts.” By experience, we know that this is true. However, we also know that only the truth sets a man free. The truth is like a bitter pill that heals. Lying is a disease. Only the truth can restore to health anyone who is sick with lying.
The truth that Jesus had to leave His disciples was a big blow to the men who left everything to follow Him. They were sad. “Still,” Jesus said, “I must tell you the truth.” He had to go. Jesus did not give them a code to declassify; He spoke in the clearest terms about Himself. Telling them the truth helped them face the issue squarely. Facing issues in life is the first step to conquering them and growing in maturity through them.
When the disciples confronted the issue about Jesus’ farewell, they realized that Jesus’ physical absence from them actually meant the presence of the same Jesus in each of them. From then on, they themselves became an alter Christus, “another Christ.” From then on, they would see Jesus no longer with their physical eyes but with their eyes of faith. The presence of Jesus made the apostles strive to be Jesus to one another and recognize Him in each other as well.
The absence of Jesus paved the way for His abiding presence. In John 17:24, did not Jesus pray to the Father that all those whom the Father gave Him be with Him always? And departing from their sight was part of the answer to this fervent prayer of His. For by vanishing from their midst, Jesus became present in their very midst. His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the living Principle of His life and power, the very Breath of God, came not only upon but also into the hearts of His disciples even as Jesus went away. Letting go of Jesus was like the bitter pill the disciples had to take. It was, however, a bitter pill that gave them the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
The truth hurts. It is like a bitter pill. Anyone who refuses to take it can never be healed. But one who takes it is healed and becomes a healer himself. Fr. Bobby Titco
Reflection Question:
Have you taken the “truth pill” today?
I am scared of the truth, O Lord, because the truth often hurts. But only the truth can set me free. Hold me by the hand as I face the truth about myself and never leave me. Heal me and set me free, Jesus. Amen.
St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church, pray for us.

1st READING
Today is the feast of St. Catherine of Siena. She was a woman of tremendous faith who was never afraid to speak the truth whether to worldly or Church authorities. Undaunted, her sole desire was to give her life in the fulfillment of God’s will. In the reading we find that Paul and Silas are under attack from the people in Philippi, but they do not despair. Today’s Church is in need of more people like these.
Acts 16: 22- 34
22 The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely. 24 When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and secured their feet to a stake. 25 About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, 26 there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew [his] sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.” 29 He asked for a light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.” 32 So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. 33 He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once. 34 He brought them up into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.

P S A L M
Psalm 138: 1- 2ab, 2cde-3 , 7c-8
R: Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
1 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; 2 I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. (R) Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. 3 When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R) 7 Your right hand saves me. 8 The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R)

G O S P E L
There is always a positive aspect to most, if not all, negative events in life. When a loved one dies there is always grief and sorrow. However, there should also be thanksgiving for a life of blessing lived as well as joy in knowing that person has moved on to eternal life with God. Jesus reminds His disciples not to despair when He leaves them, but to look forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:5-11
5 “Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: 9 sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
my reflections
think:What blessings have come out of my negative experiences?

www.kyregma.com

 
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