Ex-Con

Zephaniah 3:14-18 or Romans 12:9-16
Isaiah 12:2-6
Luke 1:39-56

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. - Romans 12:12

“Wow, Sarah must be up in the clouds. She got acquitted! I wonder how much she gave as bribe to the lawyer,” a fellow inmate once said, sheer envy gleaming in her eyes.

So much time is spent by inmates of the Correctional Institution for Women talking about our yearning for freedom - especially when our parole is up for consideration at the Supreme Court. First five years pass, then 10, then 15, then 20! The yearning grows with each passing minute.

Finally, I tasted freedom. What I longed for the most was granted to me in 2005!

In the many years that I was imprisoned, it is true that I lost so many wonderful things… my looks, a chance at fame, many friends, and even my beloved husband. However, on the other hand. I also gained the best thing in life - a personal relationship with Jesus and a place as a warrior of Mary.

So am I an Ex-con? Absolutely.

Extra Concern is what I constantly receive from the Lord! Beth C.

Reflection: Whenever, wherever, what you hope for is available in His perfect time.

Grant us, Lord, the gift of hope that is everlasting.

St. Thomas Du, martyr, pray for us.

The Cup Of Life

Sirach 36:1, 5-6, 10-17
Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13
Mark 10:32-45

“Can you drink the cup…?” - Mark 10:38

Henri Nouwen, in his book Can You Drink the Cup? offers the cup as a metaphor for life. Like the cup, life is to be held first, lifted up, before we can truly drink from it.

Holding: He says, “Just living the life is not enough; we must know what we are living. Half of living is reflection on what is being lived. Reflection is essential for growth, development and change. When we drink the cup without holding it first, we may simply get drunk and wander around aimlessly.

Lifting: Just like when we make a toast before we drink wine, lifting up our life is life offering it as a blessing for others. “When each of us can hold firm our own cup, with its many sorrows and joys, claiming it as our own unique life, then too, we can lift it up for others to see and encourage them to lift up their lives as well.

Drinking: Drinking our cup means making our own everything we are living. It’s like saying, “This is my life,” as well as “I want this to be my life.” Henri says, “True sanctity is precisely drinking our own cup and trusting that by thus fully claiming our own, irreplaceable journey, we become a source of hope for many.”

God willed that our cups differ from one another so that we can be a blessing to one another. “Cheers!” Tess VA.

Reflection: Once in a while, hold and lift up your cup before drinking.

Lord, help me to see the uniqueness of my life, so that I may be able to lift it up and fully drink from it.

St. Ferdinand III of Castille, pray for us.

To Bribe Or Not To Bribe?

Sirach 35:1-12
Psalm 50:5-6, 7-8, 14, 23
Mark 10:28-31

“But offer no bribes…” - Sirach 35:11

“Can I see your driver’s license, please?” asked the traffic policemen as I rolled down my car window. “What was my violation, sir?” I inquired. “Ma’am, no left turn po dito.”

Honestly, I didn’t notice that there was a no left turn sign. Besides, I used to pass by there before although it had been months since I last passed that road, so the policeman could be right after all.

I tried to reason out with the traffic enforcer but he kept on asking for my license. I had no choice but to give it to him. I pleaded that he let me go. He went again to the back of my car. I looked at my side mirror to check what he was doing. He was holding the booklet but the pen wasn’t touching the paper. He only appeared to be writing on something.

He eventually let me go without giving me a ticket. And I thank him profusely and uttered a blessing for him. I thank God too that I didn’t give in to the temptation to bribe him. Judith C.

Reflection: Trust in the Lord to get you out situations that are not of your own doing.

You find the right way of doing things always, Lord. May I learn to trust more readily.

St. William Arnaud, martyr, pray for us.

Believe

Sirach 17:19-27
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
Mark 10:17-27

“All things are possible with God.” - Mark 10:27

One of the most challenging terms in my college years was when I had to take our thesis proposal subject for the second time. My groupmates and I had failed it the past term - miserably at that.

I was filled with insecurities, guilt and fear. Insecure because I felt like I wasn’t good enough to do what we were doing, guilt because I felt like I was one who slowed down our group, and fear that we would not make it again.

The week before our defense, I went to Mass regularly because that was the only time I felt solitude. Every day during that week, the priest’s homily was always about having faith, on believing in God’s powers that nothing is impossible for Him. My friends in the community also said the same thins: That I should believe that He will bring us through the defense.

Even if it was really hard for me, I asked God to strengthen my faith… and what do you know? We did not only pass our defense, but we got the highest possible score! Truly, nothing is impossible with God! Tina M.

Reflection: What impossible thing do you require God to make possible?

When I believe in Your power and not my own, things happen. Thank You, Lord.

Blessed Robert Johnson, martyr, pray for us.

My Visitors

Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 31, 34, 29-30
Romans 8:8-17 or Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
John 14:15-16, 23b-26 or John 20:19-23

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” - John 14:23

I would like to imagine that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are my visitors.

How do I treat them?

I dare not say that I am always a hospitable hostess. There are times, yes, when I am fully aware of their presence. I meet them regularly in my prayer time, in daily Mass, in the sacraments. But there are times when I don’t even pay attention to them. How many times have I failed to listen to their persistent knocking at my door and I pretend to be sleeping? Or how many times have I looked the other way when they wanted me to see some situation where I could help?

It is not easy to be a perfect hostess when one’s visitors are God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Human as we are, we will always fail. One thing never changes, though. No matter how unwelcoming we may sometimes be, our God never tires of wanting to dwell in us. Tess VA.

Reflection: Ho do you welcome the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in your life?

May I be Your perfect host always, Lord.

St. Frederick, bishop, pray for us.

Candidate #1

Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
Psalm 11:4, 5, 7
John 21:20-25

Peter asked Jesus. “What about him, Lord?” - John 21:21

May I take a stab at explaining Filipinos’ penchant for beauty pageants? I believe that our inordinate fondness for these programs stem from our natural tendencies to find fault.

“Oh my God! Candidate 21’s thighs are bigger than mine - and I’m a varsity soccer player!”

“Candidate 32 should thank Funeraria Paz for her makeup.”

“Candidate 43’s gown reminds me of home - it’s made from the same material as our curtains!”

Admit it: In our humanity and frailty, there’s this natural high in feeling one is better whenever the chance to compare arises. There’s just this innate tendency in most of us to compare ourselves with others.

Take Peter for example. He had just told Jesus he loved Him three time to make up for his three-time denial days before. Yet he already had the nerve to ask Jesus what the fate of John would be.

Step Four of the 12-Step Recovery program states, “We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. “Let’s cease from either taking comfort in comparing ourselves with someone worse off than we are or be envious of people who are making progress. Only when we focus on our own issues will our spiritual progress take place. Roy M.

Reflection: Made fun of anyone lately?

Forgive me, Father, for my penchant to criticize and judge others.

St. Becan, hermit, pray for us.