Love One Another!

April 28,2013

Reading 1, Acts 14:21-27

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13

Reading 2, Revelation 21:1-5

Gospel, John 13:31-33, 34-35

³⁴ I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you.³⁵ It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognize you as my disciples. John 13:34-35

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. ³ Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'Look, here God lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them.⁴ He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone.' Revelations 21: 1, 3-4

LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

Moses in the Old Testament got the Ten Commandments encrypted in stone tablets by God that he was not even able to see. In the New Testament it was Jesus speaking directly to His disciples a New Commandment of Love. And not only did He give His disciples a command He has shown by His examples how each one must love one another. In this Sunday’s gospel scene, Jesus already had done the lowliest of the low job of a servant by washing their feet. Jesus by this time already had shown them that He has gone through the sacrifice of dying in the cross for the sins of men, and that he already told them to be of service to many like a faithful shepherd to his flock. This scene in the gospel I liken to a “habilin” (a last will) to His disciples before He is lifted to Heavens. Jesus is commissioning His disciples to continue His ministry on Earth by loving one another as we are loved unconditionally by Him our Lord Jesus, our God. Thus Jesus say “³⁴ I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you.³⁵ It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognize you as my disciples.” John 13:34-35

It is all about LOVE. Love will restore us to the new heaven: “1 then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. ³ Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'Look, here God lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them.⁴ He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone.” Revelations 21: 1, 3-4

Love is so exciting and wonderful feeling. But it is not too easy to do all the time even to the person I dearly love. Envy, distrust, and other deception by the evil one sometimes win over my decision to love. I keep falling out and in love. A continuous struggle which I believe is true for most of us. But I am so driven and praying even harder that I would be able to follow the new commandment of love for I am looking forward to the reward of being part of  the “new earth without a sea”.  Wow, we can traverse the world on foot. We can reach out to so many people and places.” A new earth where God lives with humans.  A new earth where there will be no more death, no more sadness or pain, no more tears.” A new earth filled with love. It is really all about LOVE. And all I have to do is LOVE. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, we praise You, we adore You, we glorify You! You are so loving You don’t give up on us. We continuously fall for sin of envy and hatred yet You continually give us hope of eternal life with You!  We pray You grant us a new heart filled with Your love that we may be able to love one another and follow the new commandment that Your dearly beloved Son has given us! We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother, AMEN!

The Good Shepherd

April 21,2013

Reading 1: ACTS 13:14, 43-52

Responsorial Psalm: PS 100:1-2, 3, 5

Reading 2REV 7:9, 14B-17

Gospel: JN 10:27-30

“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.” Jn: 27-28

In today’s Gospel I vividly see an image of a loving, caring shepherd. The “Good Shepherd” who is willing to lay His life for His flock. And His flock re not just the chosen people. His flock are those who hears His voice. Those who follow Him. Even the Gentiles (non-Jews) is His flock. When Paul and Barnabas spoke to the Gentiles: “The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.”

In Jesus’ time, to be a shepherd is a low level job. Even in today’s standards, the shepherds are still low level farm hands. Whole day you take care of nothing but your flock. That could be boring and tiring. If you do not really care about your flock, they get to stray away or is lost and you don’t do anything about it for what you care about is just the pay you get from it. But Jesus is the “Good Shepherd. He continues to show us that He is even willing to give up His life for us. The Psalmist say “The LORD is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. R. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” The question is do we know Him? Do we hear His Voice? Do we follow Him? How?

I have been consistently attending the Light Of Jesus Community for more than 4 years now. I attend the weekly gathering which is aptly called “The Feast” at PICC. Weekly I get a dose of inspiration from Bro. Bo Sanchez; the Spiritual Leader of the community. I have deepened my relationship with our Lord through the love filled, and most often down to earth and funny sharing of this wonderful person called Bo. It is where I learn to know more about Jesus, hear His Voice through the sharing, and follow Him by doing what I am inspired to do for my fellowmen. The disciples had Jesus as their Shepherd. The Gentiles had Paul and Barnabas as their shepherd. I have Bro Bo as my shepherd. Now, I am doing my best to be worthy to shepherd people too to the right path, the greener pasture, to “springs of life-giving water.”

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, we thank You and glorify You for You have given us Your only begotten Son to be our “Good Shepherd”. May we continue to hear His voice and follow Him in our day to day activities. May we know Him more dearly so we can follow His example of being a good shepherd to our own family, our friends, and our entire community, and most especially to people who do not know Him yet. All this we ask in the mighty name of our Good Shepherd: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen!

Feed My Sheep!

April 14,2013

Reading 1, Acts 5:27-32, 40-41

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13

Reading 2, Revelation 5:11-14

Gospel, John 21:1-19

¹⁷ Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.

Feed My Sheep!

This Sunday the second Sunday after Easter Sunday Jesus appeared to His disciples: “This was the third time that Jesus revealed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.” John 21:14

In this Gospel scene I am amazed that a carpenter teaches fishermen how to fish. They had been out all night: “Jesus called out, 'haven’t you caught anything, friends?' And when they answered, 'No, ‘he said, 'Throw the net out to starboard and you'll find something.' So they threw the net out and could not haul it in because of the quantity of fish.” John 21:5-6

The first time Jesus appeared to the disciples, they were in the upper room, locked up for fear of the Jewish authorities who were looking for them. In this scene after that first appearance they were already emboldened and had joy and peace in their hearts. The disciples no longer cower in fear but is able to return to their normal life as fishermen.

Then in the final scene in today’s Gospel Jesus is giving his “habilin” (“Last Will”) to Peter by asking him: “‘Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.” John 21: 17

About 4 years ago I was forced to retire in the company I worked for. I looked for a job but days, weeks, months and a year passed by but I have not landed a job. I was devastated and afraid of what will be the future of my family. I was like the disciples who caught nothing for a whole night. But as fate would have it, I obeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. I had a detour. I shifted to another career of helping people get out of debt, save and invest, and get out of employment and be their own business owners. I and my wife shifted our focus not on our own needs but on the needs of others. We spread the love of the Lord through our “Financial Mentoring Ministry”. The more we share (feed the lambs), the more blessed we are financially. All praise and thanks be to God!^“You have turned my mourning into dancing, you have stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. So my heart will sing to you unceasingly, Yahweh, my God, I shall praise you forever” Psalm 30:11-12

PRAYERS

Dear Jesus, we thank You and we praise You so much! You are our source of Hope and Joy! We ask You to continue to bless us, keep us in your mighty care! We ask you to let Your goodness and mercy come alive in us so we can continue the mission you have given the apostles and disciples to “feed your lambs”. We ask this through the intercession of Mama Mary, and through Your most powerful Name: Jesus our Resurrected Lord forever and ever, Amen!

Peace and Joy

April 7,2013

Reading 1, Acts 5:12-16

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

Reading 2, Revelation 1:9-11, 12-13, 17-19

Gospel, John 20:19-31

^“20 and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord,

²¹ and he said to them again, 'Peace be with you. 'As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.' “John 20:20-21

Peace and Joy

First Sunday after the Resurrection Sunday. I imagine the joy and peace that the disciples had when they saw Jesus alive and in their midst. Jesus showed his disciples his hands and his side to prove to them that He is truly alive and not a ghost. It was and is up till today a proof that Jesus is indeed our Lord and Savior! That He had triumphed over death!

The Easter Sunday celebration I attended in SMX MOA impressed in my heart the joy of the Resurrected Christ! My whole family was there and we had so much happiness and love from everyone who were there. There was so much peace and joy in our hearts. We felt Jesus presence in our midst even if he has not shown His physical presence. We believe that He has risen and He does not even have to show His hands and side to prove it. We have felt His mighty presence from the songs, from the people who had gathered in the celebration, from the people who shared their lives, and from the preachers who shared their testimonies.

I really thank God for he has commissioned His disciples to spread the good news of His resurrection, and His Lordship, His Power, His Love. Jesus did not only appear to His beloved disciples but he made sure they are empowered by the Holy Spirit and commissioned them by saying to them again “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” John 20:21

We are also tasked, or better yet, all commissioned as believers of Christ to continue to proclaim in our lives to all people specially those marginalized by the society. The poor and helpless. Those who are sick physically or financially. Those who are hopeless! That our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Just like the disciples, we are not just made believers but missionaries to bring peace, joy and love to one another! In our deeds, words, and most importantly in our works or actions.

PRAYERS

Lord almighty Father, we thank You for giving us your only Son to live with us and die for our sins and conquer death on the cross. We thank you Father for the continuing mission of the disciples handed down to our pope, bishops, and all the clergy from generation to generations. We ask you to continue to bless all people with Peace and Joy that your Resurrected Son gave the disciples from that very first Easter Sunday to our present and till eternity! In Jesus name we pray! Amen