A Mother's Heart

 "Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother... 

When Jesus saw His mother there 

and the disciple there whom He loved 

He said to His mother, 

"Woman, behold your son." 

Then He said to the disciple, 

"Behold, your mother." 

And from that hour the disciple 

took her into his home." John 19:25-27

 Can we imagine how Mary felt 

seeing her son on the cross? 

Even if there were so many times 

that she had to accept 

God's inconceivable will for her life, 

I don't think it can ever be enough 

to cushion her from this last agonizing pain! 

Perhaps she couldn't think anymore. 

She could only be aware of her heart 

breaking into a million pieces.

 Elizabeth Stone said, "Making the decision 

to have a child-it is momentous. 

It is to decide forever to have your heart 

walking around outside your body." 

 That must have been true of Mary 

more than of any other mother! 

From the moment she conceived, 

there was so much hinging on the way 

she would love this child, nurture Him, 

teach Him, protect Him, and then 

surrender Him to the world to do with as we pleased!

 "Behold, your mother." 

Before Jesus died, He made sure 

His mother would be cared for. 

I think He would also want us 

to honor her and love her. 

Just as there is a place in 

Jesus' heart for His mother, 

we should also find a place in our hearts 

to honor a woman who gave up her heart 

to lodge in her son's body, 

and allowed it to be trampled on 

so God's plan would be accomplished!

 "If you listen to my words and act on it, 

you will be like a man building a house, 

who dug deeply and laid foundation on rock..." 

Luke 6:43-49

When I was 12 years old, 

I clearly remember listening to the news 

about a 6-storey apartment building 

that collapsed after an Intensity 7 earthquake. 

The name will stick forever in my memory. Ruby Towers. 

More than 200 survived this tragedy 

but many more were not found even 

after a mammoth rescue effort 

involving more than 6000 volunteers. 

The Arellano High school in front of the site 

was like a morgue, 

with body parts strewn all over and the 

smell of dead bodies permeating the air.

 Many people were charged for this disaster, 

from city officials who approved and 

were supposed to inspect the plans and require 

tests to be done on the soil, 

to the architect and structural engineer 

who made a poor design, 

the owners who used substandard materials 

to save money and deviated from the approved design.

In Luke chapter 6, Jesus warns us 

that if we do not listen to Him, 

and act on His words, 

this is what will happen to our life! 

God has a wonderful plan and purpose for our life. 

If we deviate from that blueprint 

which takes into consideration our gifts and talents, 

our natural inclinations, 

our passions and interests, 

we will be a disaster waiting to happen. 

Our "house" will crumble.

 Whether we like it or not, 

we are all building a house. 

It is our decision whether to 

make it a hodgepodge of styles, 

choosing whom to follow, doing it our way, 

or always going to the Master Architect and consulting Him. 

Where will we get the materials to build our house? 

Do we go to the source of wisdom? 

Or will we choose to listen to an easier gospel, 

one that is more comfortable, 

one that does not require us 

to examine our life and change?

Let us build our house on the sure foundation!

 "We have sinned in complaining against the Lord..." 

Numbers 21:7

How hard should it be to cultivate an attitude of gratitude? 

We are soooo rich! 

Consider how much a blind man 

would pay to have even one eye? 

How much a paraplegic would give 

to be able to move around and not have 

others help him do what we take for granted every day? 

How much for a kidney, a heart, a leg or a hand? 

We are billionaires! 

If you can read this, 

you have access to a computer or a cellphone. 

842 million people in the world don't even have enough to eat!

A few years ago I had so many 

canker sores in my mouth for months at a time. 

I couldn't eat, I couldn't talk, I couldn't sing! 

But sometimes I would get respite and 

it felt so good to be able to sing songs 

during mass and in my community. 

Do we have to wait to lose things 

before we can praise God for what we have? 

There was a time I had difficulty walking. 

It turned out I had some 

compressed discs in my spine. 

So now I have resolved to praise God 

for the "ordinary, every day things" I can do. 

I can walk, I can talk, I can breathe, 

I can paint, I see colors, I can read...

So much to praise God for! COUNTLESS!!!

What other ordinary, everyday things 

should we be grateful for?

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