"For God, nothing will be impossible"

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38     

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" 35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible."38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

paulines.ph

Reflection: Today the feast of the Immaculate Conception we honor Mother Mary as one conceived without sin. Being "full of grace" means that she has been singularly blessed with grace to be born without sin.This should be so because the Son of God is to be in her womb. But more than honoring Mama Mary, we give praise and glory to God for His wonderful work of giving us the Blessed Mother as an instrument of bringing His Son to us.  

We could find inspiration in the faith, courage and obedience that our blessed mother has shown in the Annunciation. What the Angel Gabriel said has caused her to be "greatly troubled". This could mean that she was filled with fear because she does not fully understand what was about to happen to her. This is a natural reaction for anyone, because we all fear the unknown. But her faith and love for God gave her courage to obey, and her obedience paved the way for God's plan of redemption to fully unfold. Mary believed that God's ways are truly wonderful, and nothing is impossible with Him. 

Obedience to God will cause us to experience His grace and power in our lives, in the same way disobedience will separate us from it. Mary's faith, courage and obedience is a model for all of us. If we want to bring good into this world and our lives, it is necessary to have faith and courage to obey God's will.

"Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls"

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

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Reflection:  A yoke is a device fitted on two oxens to join them at the neck so they could pull a load together, this makes their work easier and more productive. A yoke is usually used as a symbol of a burden or a load. When Jesus invites us to take His yoke, He does not mean for us to be burdened but rather so He could join us in carrying our burdens! What a wonderful invitation from the Lord! We could all be sure that in the midst of the trials of life, as long as we lift up our burdens to God, all will be well, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

The yoke of Jesus can also mean following His will, which is difficult at times. But then we know that we carry it with the Lord, and if you carry it out in faith and love, life would be much more joyful and peaceful than if you followed your own will. To trust in Jesus is to know that His will is perfect for us and His yoke is fitted well to make life much more beautiful for us.

The Lord wants you to bring your burdens to Him so He could help you carry them. What will your answer be?

"According to your faith be it done to you"

Scripture: Matthew 9:27-31

27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, "See that no one knows it." 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Christ Healing the Blind Man
El Greco

Reflection: Our lack of faith in God causes us to be blind to His power to do wonders in our lives. Our own sinfulness and constant disobedience may cause us to think that God is fed up with us. It's true that sin causes us to be separated from God's grace, but God does not give up on us. He unceasingly calls us to conversion and union with Him. God's mercy is infinite and beyond our limited understanding as humans. If we find it hard to forgive, God does not. He desires to forgive, but first we have to do our part--- repent and turn away from sin.

The blind men did not limit their faith, instead they believed in the mercy of God. Jesus did not just felt compassion, but He was able to experience deeply what the blind men were feeling. In the same way, Jesus knows that being enslaved by sin is the worst thing that could happen to any human being. For this reason, He made the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation.

God asks us to be confident in His mercy. The first step to conversion is believing that God will accept our repentance, forgive our sins and help us turn away from it by His grace.

"Not even in Israel have I found such faith"

Scripture: Matthew 8:5-11

5 As he entered Caper'na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6 and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress." 7 And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven

Reflection: What can we learn about faith from a Roman centurion? In the Roman army, a centurion is a commander of a hundred soldiers. He should not only be courageous but must possess outstanding leadership to earn the respect of his men. One word of command and his men obey him, even in the thick of battle where their lives are at risk. He knew that he is a man whose command is obeyed without question. 

The centurion knew by faith that Jesus possesses supreme authority that even supernatural forces obey His command.  Even if he was a man of influence and stature in the Roman empire, he approached Jesus who was a humble Jewish preacher. (Israel was under Roman rule then). He risked the ridicule of his peers as well as the Israelites. But his faith made him submit to Jesus' power. What is more admirable is his humility was all for the benefit of his servant. 

Jesus is pleased with faith that makes us humbly submit to His power. We should realize that without Him we can do nothing. That is why the Lord never fails to reward those who are humble enough to call on Him with faith. 

"Watch for you do not know when the time will come"

Scripture: Mark 13:33-37

33 Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come.34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Watch therefore -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the  morning -- 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Watch."

Reflection: This first Sunday of Advent, Jesus reminds us to be vigilant and prepared for His coming. The second coming of the Messiah is sure to happen, but no one knows when the time is. Getting ready for the most important event in history should be our priority. No one will be exempt from the day of judgement, even those who have died will be judged on this day along with the living.

How do we prepare ourselves? By being faithful to God's will in our lives. And His will is for us to love as much as we can. Doing whatever duties we have with love no matter how simple it is. As St. John Bosco,  patron of the youth said: "Do your ordinary duties extraordinarily well." We cannot do anything well if we do not do it with love, especially love for God. God is easy to please. We can offer up to Him the most ordinary task as long as it is done with love for Him and others.

We are living in the end times, the time between the first coming of Christ and His second coming. We are constantly reminded to prepare ourselves by living a life of love and doing our best to be God's instruments of blessing to others. Are you God's instrument of love and blessing?

Our Hearts are God's Temples

Scripture:  Luke 19:45-48

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, "It is written, `My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." 47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words.

Christ Driving the Merchants from the Temple
By: Jacob Jordaens

Reflection: God takes the holiness of His temple seriously. The only incident in the bible where Jesus used physical force was when He drove out the money changers from the temple. We may ask ourselves why Jesus was upset by people just trying to make a living. The truth is that the money changers were people who cheat their neighbor out of their hard earned money. They take advantage of the poor and force them to pay a lot more than they owe, and they do this right in the house of God.

Our bodies and souls are temples of God too, that is why when we sin we drive away the Lord from His rightful place. Jesus comes to us everyday knocking on the door of our hearts hoping that it would be ready to receive Him. It is better to welcome Him while he still knocks or He might resort to discipline in cleansing our sinful hearts.

This coming season where we prepare for Christmas, let us also prepare ourselves spiritually to give God a temple worthy of Himself.

Rise Above the Obstacles

Scripture:  Luke 19:1-10

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchae'us; he was a chief tax collector, and rich.  3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchae'us, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it they all murmured, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." 8 And Zacchae'us stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of  anything, I restore it fourfold." 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."

Jesus calls Zacchaeus
Paulines,ph

Reflection: Zacchaeus was a man hated by the people because he was a tax collector. They are considered abusive and greedy by the Jews because they enriched themselves at the expense of others even the poor. Zacchaeus was probably hated more because he was the chief tax collector.

We have to admire the humility and determination of Zacchaeus when he sought to see Jesus even in the midst of a great crowd who is hostile to him. People could have been throwing him dagger looks or cursing him and probably threatening his life too. Still he went on to see Jesus.

Jesus who reads the heart of every man recognized the determination of Zacchaeus and rewarded him with a visit to his house. This was beyond Zacchaeus' wildest dreams!  Jesus was also risking His reputation by befriending Zacchaeus for the Jews regarded hanging out with public sinners as scandalous. But Jesus didn't care; for His mission was to find sinners and bring them back to friendship with God.

In our lives we may also encounter people who will ridicule us for doing what is right. Just like Zacchaeus our humility and determination will help us go through the criticisms, rise up and climb our own sycamore tree. As we rise above the challenges, we would see Jesus clearly and be rewarded by a close relationship with Him.