Feels Like Heaven

"How awesome is this shrine!" - Genesis 28:17

Ever wonder how it feels to be blind? My grandfather, "Tatay David," who died in June 1985 due to complications from diabetes, was blind for nearly eight years. Even so, fancy dinners and concerts were what he enjoyed most when out family would take him out on Friday nights. And as I sat beside him all through the night, I made sure to give him complete details of what transpired.

Looking at the brighter side of it, it was his blindness that made him closer to God. He started his day listening to daily Scripture (courtesy of his apos), praying the Rosary (3x/day) and receiving communion every day from a volunteer nun. Oh! And a priest also saw him regularly for his confession.

A week before my lolo died, he shared with me his strangest dream of all. He narrated that he found himself in a big beautiful garden, The size, unimaginable, and the beauty, indescridable. This time he could clearly see everything. He no longer needed assistance in walking either. His experience of seeing and enjoying such beauty made him decide to stay there forever.

Today, 21 years have passed and I know in my heart Tatay David still enjoys walking around that "big beautiful garden." A glimpse of heaven, anyone? Marissa E.

Reflection: Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed...

How marvelous are Your works Lord! It is wonderful in our eyes! With the joy of seeing You face to face!

St. Godfrey, martyr, pray for us.

Wrestling With The Lord

“I will not let you go until you bless me.” - Genesis 32:27
How could he? He knew he never had a chance. He knew it was always God who would prevail! How irreverent, above all, to “wrestle with the Lord!”
Ah, but this is Jacob - persistent, relentless, single-minded in his pursuit for blessing. Jacob never waited for his destiny. He made it happen. To Jacob, divine destiny should be met by human response. And he was named Israel!
Know what’s the most amazing of it all? The Lord allowing Jacob to wrestle with Him! It might have cost Jacob’s hip, but he surely developed some “inner muscles” in the process.
My favorite talk as a preacher is on the topic of surrendering fully to God. “Let God, let go!” Yet, how can I disagree with Jacob’s wrestling with God when I too have been “wrestling with Him all my life”?
“I will not let you go until you bless me.” I pray hard and offer at the Lord’s altar my dreams and my goals. But I also work hard in pursuing them. Persistently. Relentlessly. Stubbornly. Even if I know that it is always He who will prevail!
And you know what’s the most amazing of it all? The Lord allowing me to wrestle with Him!
So far, my hips are still intact, and I sure am developing some “inner muscles” too. Alvin B.
Reflection: Do you feel guilty when you “wrestle with the Lord”? Do you see that sometimes, for some divine purpose, He allows you to?
O God, teach me when to submit fully to you, and teach me when You allow me to “wrestle with You.” Amen.
Blessed Emmanuel Ruiz, martyr, pray for us.

Favorite

In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations… - Genesis 41:57
We all know the story of Joseph. He was a favorite son, the only one who received a coat of many colors as a gift from his father.
He was also the one sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, the guy who was accused by Pharaoh’s wife of attempted rape, the guy who was imprisoned for most of his young life.
Well, it seems to me that his experience of being loved from a very young age was enough to permanently take on the perspective that life is good. His terrible experiences never erased that from his heart and mind. And when times of famine came, he had enough in his storeroom to share with others. Enough even for the very same brothers who had caused him so much misery.
What a contrast to his bitter and envious brothers!
When famine time came, they only saw punishment. Probably because guilt lurked in their consciousness of how evil they had been to their brother.
Is our experience of the Father’s love in our early Christian walk enough to take us through possible years of famine and deepen our faith maturity? Victoria L.
Reflection: Is our experience of the Father’s love in our early Christian walk enough to take us through possible years of famine and deepen our faith maturity?
May we always have the experience of early blessings fresh in our hearts especially as we go through darker times.
St. Cindeus, martyred priest, pray for us.

Rejection

“But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues… Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.” - Matthew 10:17, 21-22
Who does he think he is? Negative thoughts come streaming through my mind as I talk to a rude individual about a business idea. I want to choke to life out of him. After all, I am younger that he is and yet I am as successful as he (if not more).
Can you relate? Rejection triggers a lot of negative reactions that reflect our internal issues: Pride, a hidden grudge, insecurity and so on…
Today the Lord talks about rejection, but the kind due to a much more noble cause: following Him.
If Jesus expects me to respond adequately to rejection to a godly mission, shouldn’t I do the same for secular ones?
Rejection is a unique “hands on” teacher in life. Obviously, humility is one of its lessons. It has brought me maturity - what won’t kill me will make me better. But most of all, it has increased my dependence and trust in the Lord.
Accepting rejection is painful but it is worth it. Ariel D.
Reflection: The first step is to decide to follow. The rest is an adventure with God’s grace.
Whether I am serving in ministry, doing my job or expanding my business, I am supposed to be Your follower. Thank You for Your immediate assurance: “You will be given at that moment what you are to say.”
St. Francis Solano, pray for us.

Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67
Psalm 106:1-5
Matthew 9:9-13

“Those who are well do not need a physician but the sick do.” - Matthew 9:12

I was Obet: the “great pretender.” I puffed up with pride when people admired me because I was strong, intelligent and talented. At day’s end when I removed all my masks, I could’nt even look at the mirror. I dreaded to see the hypocrite staring back at me.

My self-definition was shaped by what others thought of me. But what they saw was just the tip of the iceberg. Below the facade of power were layers of ugliness:

I had chronic asthma.
I was terribly lazy and irresponsible.
I was insecure and had poor self-esteem.

When I couldn’t bear the emptiness any more. I surrendered. Then God moved and sent people as instruments of His truth and love. When I admitted I was sick, healing took place. Truth is beautiful.

St. Catherine’s song “I am Beautiful” best describes my experience. Every time I sing it, I am moved to tears reliving the moment of being immersed in His love.

A priest friend was right when he said, “The church of Christ is not a museum for saints. It’s a hospital for sinners, like you and me.”

Who am I? I am Obet, I am beautiful. I am loved. I am forgiven by the mercy of God! Obet C.

Reflection: Are you enjoying the lie? Afraid of the truth? Ask for His mercy and grace.

May I live in Truth O God that I may truly live. Amen.

St. Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr, pray for us.

Who's Your Isaac?

Genesis 22:1-9

Psalm 115:1-6, 8-9

Matthew 9:1-8

“When they came to the place… he tied up his son Isaac…” – Genesis 22:9

Early in the Bible, we are given a story such as this.

It’s the story of a man to whom was promised a multitude of descendants, so many that they will be like the sands in the seashore and the stars in the heaven. All this in spite of the fact the he and his wife are past childbearing age.

The promised was fulfilled with the birth of a son. But then the Lord asks him to offer the boy as holocaust!

What a twist, eh?

And we know what he did, right?

“Early the next morning, Abraham saddled his donkey, took with Him his son Isaac…”

He went “early the next morning.” No dilly-dallying regarding what the Lord commanded.

It was then that Isaac asked, “Father, here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?”

“Son, God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust,” replied Abraham.

Then they continued going forward.

What courage it took Abraham to take every step! What faith!

“Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.”

Then God intervened. Lallaine G.

Reflection: If you were Abraham, who or what would your “Isaac” be? Let the Lord speak to your heart.

Lord, teach me about the sacrifice of Abraham. How boldly he went to follow You! May I do the same today.

St. Zoe, martyr, pray for us.