Always With Love

 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

I have often quoted this verse when interceding for someone in a group. It's a comforting verse that says when there are two or more of us, Jesus is present. But we know that we don't need other people for Jesus to be with us! He is with us whether we are in a huge prayer rally or when we are alone in our prayer room at dawn. He is with us even when we are busy working or when we are asleep!

So what is this verse about? 

I may be wrong but it seems to be about judgement against sin. We need to be very careful about accusing others of sin. “Take one or two others with you, so that every fact may be established in the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses," it says in verse 16 of the same passage. If we can't work out our problem between just two of us, best get other brothers and sisters to help out! And never talk behind each other’s back! 

Jesus also instructs in the same passage about how to behave towards an offending party: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Lest we think we are supposed to shun him or shame him, we must remember how Jesus treated the tax collectors and Gentiles. Always with love, compassion and acceptance! 

Sound teaching! As usual, I am preaching to myself! 

Like a Little Child

 “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” Matthew 18:3-5

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” Matthew 18:3-5

In Matthew 18, Jesus called a small child over to Him, and said to His disciples, “I assure you, unless you ...become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven....” What a lot to chew on! 

What is it about children that enchants and beguiles us? I remember this pretty little  girl named CK who visited our office once. She came to see Pepper, one of the cats who came with us to work. She was so excited and eager when she saw Pepper. She wanted to hold him. She held his paws in her little hands to rub on her face. She had so many questions. Her eyes danced and she literally pranced around in joy. 

What is it about children that Jesus wants us to be? He wants us to approach Him like a little child, eager to learn, with lots of questions, excited about what He can teach us, delighted with His gifts. Every morning, we can open up the greatest treasure, the Bible, and He will eagerly share His secrets with us. 

If we are persistent and teachable like a little child when we approach God, we will find He is so generous. When was the last time we were amazed at a new revelation? The last time we read something in the Bible and our heart leapt? Oh the things we miss when we just skim over the Words in a rush. We need to savor God’s Words to us because it is the sweetest love letter we will ever receive! We need to spend time with the One who loves us best! Isn’t it absolutely, mind bogglingly amazing that the King-Creator of the Universe wants us beside Him? 

In Matthew 18, Jesus called a small child over to Him, and said to His disciples, “I assure you, unless you ...become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven....” What a lot to chew on! 

What is it about children that enchants and beguiles us? I remember this pretty little  girl named CK who visited our office once. She came to see Pepper, one of the cats who came with us to work. She was so excited and eager when she saw Pepper. She wanted to hold him. She held his paws in her little hands to rub on her face. She had so many questions. Her eyes danced and she literally pranced around in joy. 

What is it about children that Jesus wants us to be? He wants us to approach Him like a little child, eager to learn, with lots of questions, excited about what He can teach us, delighted with His gifts. Every morning, we can open up the greatest treasure, the Bible, and He will eagerly share His secrets with us. 

If we are persistent and teachable like a little child when we approach God, we will find He is so generous. When was the last time we were amazed at a new revelation? The last time we read something in the Bible and our heart leapt? Oh the things we miss when we just skim over the Words in a rush. We need to savor God’s Words to us because it is the sweetest love letter we will ever receive! We need to spend time with the One who loves us best! Isn’t it absolutely, mind bogglingly amazing that the King-Creator of the Universe wants us beside Him? 

NOT FOREIGNERS

 “Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for Me and for you.” Matthew 17:27

This story about Jesus and Peter does not appear anywhere else in the Bible, just in Matthew. When Jesus and His disciples reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” Peter quickly answered yes but I have a feeling he did not really know the answer, and just wanted to defend Jesus. The temple tax was collected from Jewish males over 20 years old, for the maintenance of the Temple. This started during the time of Moses when God told him to collect this tax in Exodus 30:13-16. 

When Peter went back to Jesus, Jesus already knew what was in Peter’s mind. He asked, “From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their children or FOREIGNERS?” Peter answered, “Foreigners.” “So,” Jesus concluded, “the king’s children are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.” 

Jesus became man to pay the price for our redemption. Only He can pay the price because He is sinless. He can stand before His Father and pay for our transgressions. Today we, the King’s children, are NOT FOREIGNERS, and we are exempt from paying the price of our sin, eternal damnation, because Jesus paid for us on the cross.

Thank You Jesus for paying with Your body and blood so we may enter with You to our eternal home! 

Miracles

 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

The twin of this verse can be found in Corinthians 5:7 which says: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In our pilgrim journey, we may not realize it but God is always asking us, “Do you trust me?” He is always with us, but He allows us to experience difficulty and hardship in order to stretch us, to grow us. This is painful, all the time, unless we can see with His eyes, and surrender to His will. 

My condition right now is not the best. I need oxygen 24/7, and get breathless going up the stairs, or even lifting up books, which I tried to do the other day in order to organize my working space. To a person who was always busy with all sorts of tasks, and someone who has so much stuff to take care of, this can be frustrating. But I wake up in the morning with a song in my heart for God who has never failed me. I know He will not fail me now. I can look back to when I was totally unafraid before my open heart surgery, and know that God’s grace is a very real, concrete gift. I remember when I thought I would be devastated when my mom would leave us, but instead God chose to show me a revelation of heaven so real that I was able to rejoice on the day she died. When my brother was admitted to the hospital in December 2020 because of excruciating pain from his colon cancer, even if I was ready in my heart for God to take him away from us, God chose instead to give us a Christmas miracle and remove his pain and discomfort. Yes, I can say, I trust You Lord, with my life, and with the life of those I love. 

“Walk by faith, and not by sight,” is the motto of Sarah Claudia, who literally has to walk without sight. She has had to navigate each and every day, blind and partially deaf, since 2015. She wrote: “Without my sight or a pillar of fire to guide me, I had to turn to my faith. When faced with my disability, I couldn’t see the whole staircase, the whole big picture of my life, but I just took one little step at a time. Trusting that God would show me that next step and guide me as I went, just like Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness.” She shares in her book, “Blind Faith”, how God continually pivots her trials into triumphs, and her messes into messages. She has a blog where she gives her testimony and her experiences about how God can use us where we are. She even shared about ‘blind’ dating, and praying about marriage, and getting a proposal from a very prayerful man. Through her experiences, she shows how important it is to “trust that God can still work miracles within whatever circumstance we find ourself in, and how we must have the faith to allow Him to do so.”

While writing this now, I can hear this beautiful song in my head, “There can be miracles, When you believe, Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill, Who knows what miracles you can achieve? When you believe, somehow you will, You will when you believe!”

Harden Not Your Hearts

 “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Psalm 95:8

It would be so easy if we heard God’s voice every morning and just had to follow what He said. We would be successful, have the perfect family, security for the future and know with absolute certainty we were going to heaven. Life would be simple, and we wouldn’t be confused about our priorities and busy ourselves about things that had no value. True? Maybe not. There is nothing easy about obedience. 

God wants to speak to us, and if we read His Word every morning, and keep quiet enough to hear Him, we may get His heart for those He loves. If we want this enough, usually God will oblige. 

One day in 2007, when Christine Caine, an evangelist and speaker, was in the Thessaloniki airport in Greece, she saw many handmade posters of missing girls. She found out that these young girls were trafficked and some sold on an auction block like slaves. She heard God tell her to help. “But God,” she argued, “I just gave birth! But I’m a woman! But I’m an Australian who lives so far from here...” Her buts were a mile long. God knew all those buts. He also knew that in 2008, Christine with all her buts would obey and start the A21 Campaign with her husband Nick, and would be instrumental in rescuing babies from pedophile rings, and young girls and women from sexual trafficking. Their crucial work continues and over the years, thousands of female survivors have been assisted to safety and have found restoration through their Aftercare programs worldwide.

Christine studies the Word, listens to God, and obeys. First it was the little things. How about us, do we listen and obey the little things God instructs us to do? Let us not harden our hearts so God can put His dreams into our hearts.

I Love You

 “I love You, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.” Psalm 18:2

I like reading about saints. They were ordinary people who loved God extraordinarily. Because of their love for God, they were able to fear the Lord (which really means to be in awe of Him), love and serve Him. Today is the Feast Day of a Jewish woman who became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was murdered in the gas chamber in Auschwitz-Birkenau along with her sister Rosa, who was also a Carmelite nun. 

St. Edith Stein, also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, rejected her family’s Jewish piety and became an atheist at the age of 13. In 1917, a colleague, Professor Adolf Reinach, was killed in the war. When Edith met the late Professor’s wife Anna, she was deeply impressed with Anna’s strong Christian faith and convictions. “This was my first encounter with the Cross and the divine power it imparts…my unbelief collapsed.”

She started reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and became drawn to the Catholic faith. After finishing the book, she  declared, “This is the truth!” She was baptized on January 1, 1922. She was very intelligent and she continued studying and writing. She translated the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas into German. Soon she became a teacher and lecturer around Europe about the role of Catholic women. 

When it became difficult to teach because of Nazi restrictions, she entered the Carmelites as Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She devoted her life to holiness and self-offering even as the Nazis forced her to wear the Star of David over her habit. Survivors of the death camp testified she helped all others with her there with great love and compassion. 

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross herself wrote, “I talked with the Savior and told Him that I knew that it was His cross that was now being placed on the Jewish people; that most of them did not understand this, but that those who did would have to take it up willingly in the name of all. I would do that. He should only show me how.”

Yes, Lord, show us how. Show us also how to be a “witness to God’s presence in a world where God is absent,” as Professor Jan Nota wrote of the Saint.

This Much

 “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it.” Matthew 16:24

Deny myself? Take up my cross? We each have our own crosses. When we want to complain, we can think of what Jesus went through. “Excruciating” comes from the Latin excruciare 'to torment or torture', which was based on crux. From the agony in the garden to Jesus’ last breath, He was in torment. 

In Luke 22:44 we read that Jesus was so anguished, “he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” The Christ experienced what is now known as hematohidrosis, a very rare clinical phenomenon in which the capillary blood vessels that feed the sweat glands rupture, causing them to bleed. 

In the very few recorded instances, this has been caused by extreme physical or emotional stress, acute fear or intense mental contemplation. Leonardo Da Vinci wrote of a soldier who sweated blood before going into battle. There are case studies of six men whose sweat glands bled before being led to execution during the London blitz. 

We definitely cannot say that because Jesus was God, He did not experience fear before allowing Himself to be brought before the priests, magistrates of the temple and elders. He knew more than anyone what He would have to go through, and to finish! There was no going back. We can ask Him, “How much do You love me?” 

He spread out His arms, allowed His hands to be nailed to the cross beam, and answered, “This much.”

Awestruck

“We ourselves heard this said from heaven while we were in His company on the holy mountain." 2 Peter 1:18

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and He was transfigured before their eyes (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). Jesus' face became dazzling like the sun, His clothes as radiant as light. Then both Moses and Elijah appeared and started talking to Jesus. 

If we were there to witness this, we would be awestruck, and this would color the rest of our lives. Jesus our brother and friend, the One we walked and talked with, now talking with Moses, the one who led the Jews out of Egypt with many signs and wonders, and Elijah, another wonder worker who defeated 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. So Peter with his usual impulsiveness, exclaimed, "Let us erect three booths here, one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah!" I would have probably agreed with my eyes wide and my mouth stupidly agape. 

But then a cloud came over the three, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him!" Suddenly Moses and Elijah were gone. It was as if God the Father was redirecting our attention to Jesus. Yes, the Law and the Prophets were important, but what was most important was Jesus and His Words. We had to start with that.

Thank You Father for making everything simpler. All the do's and don'ts in the Old Testament were such a heavy burden to bear. Thank You Jesus for teaching us to take Your yoke, for Your yoke fits us perfectly, and the burden You give us is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

Take Courage!

This is what I’ve been working on. 

Templates for Shrinky dink projects. I want to bring it to our branch in papemelroti Manila Bay. 

“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27

When my son Josh was about 10 months old, he was so brave, he wanted to start walking. I was too scared to let him walk on his own, but my sister Peggy would allow him to teeter on his own two little feet while holding one arm out to catch him, and one hand in front of him with a bauble he wanted to get a hold of. I watched in anticipation and trepidation as Josh put out one tiny foot after another, wobbling, but with a big big smile on his face at this new adventure of walking. After that, he would eagerly run-walk across a room while his babysitter would be ready to catch him should he fall.

The disciples had many exciting adventures with Jesus. In the 14th chapter of Matthew, we read about when they were on a storm tossed boat at night, the wind and the waves lashing at them. The disciples saw a man walking on the strong waves and became terrified because they thought it was a ghost. Imagine how Jesus would have appeared to them, with the storm wreaking a havoc of his garments flying in the wind. His voice rose above the howling of the wind, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water,” and Jesus answered, “Come.”

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus, but when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Many times, we are caught in a situation like this. We feel we are sinking, drowning even. We call out to the Lord, “Save us!” Save us from this illness, or debt, or work or family problem. 

Although these can be times that try our souls, these are also times when we can grow our faith. Like my son, we need to trust in those “saving arms” that watch out for us while we teeter and wobble. There is a God who is watching, He will catch us, He will save us. He will not allow us to drown. On the contrary, He wants us to look forward to new adventures with Him, as we trust in Him and learn of Him and His ways. 

Multiply What We Have in Our Hands

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. (Matthew 14:17)

What did the disciples think when faced with a huge crowd and Jesus suggested they give them food? “We only have five loaves and two fish. Will we go and buy food for all these people? Where will we find the money?” This is how we think as well when faced with a problem where we do not have enough resources. 

When the disciples gave the 5 loaves and 2 fishes to Jesus, Jesus looked up to heaven and said a blessing over it. The huge crowd ate and were satisfied. There were even twelve baskets of leftovers! 

This is a beautiful story because there is a promise we can claim. Whatever we have in our hand, if we offer it to Jesus first, He blesses it. He can do the impossible with it. We all have time and it is seldom enough. When I give time to God first thing in the morning, I find I am able to do much more in a day, accomplish more than if I didn't. The same is true with money and other resources. The same is true with our gifts and talents. I get surprised with how God makes it all multiply, bloom and grow! 

Thank You, Lord, for blessing whatever we have in our hands that we bring to You!

Plan Ahead

All the readings of today’s liturgy points to how foolish we are if we continue to put more value on being prosperous. In Ecclesiastes 1:2, the wise man Qoheleth, a King of Jerusalem proclaims, “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” All things are futile, worthless, pointless. In the second reading, St. Paul exhorts us to “seek what is above, not of what is on earth”. 

In the Gospel reading (Luke 12:13-21), Jesus warns, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” He tells the crowd a parable of a rich man who was planning to build larger barns, but this man did not realize that he was about to die. 

Indeed, there is nothing more certain in this world than death. Instead of avoiding thinking about death, should we not prepare for it? When I travelled abroad, I tried to learn as much about the country so I could pack well for my days there. I looked up the weather and places to go so I could plan what to wear. I needed to know what kind of electrical outlets they used, currency, what I needed to do to use my phone without problems. I brought a scale to weigh my luggage so it’s not overweight. 

Should we not study about what happens after we die, and how we can get there? Our time here on earth is just a wink of an eye compared to the unlimited time we have afterwards. It is really the utmost stupidity to spend most of our time here on earth acquiring things that rust, build things that termites destroy, and put our money where it can devalue. We need to be good stewards of the gifts God gives us, and realize that He wants us to use it also for laying up treasures in heaven. How? That is what we need to study and plan for, the same way we research and plan when we go on trips abroad, or out of town. 

Birthdays

“At a birthday celebration of Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for." Matthew 14:6-7

Birthdays are a time of celebration and rejoicing. Perhaps we look back at our life, and thank God for the many blessings He bestowed on us, family, friends, our talents and gifts. We may also use the time to evaluate, recalibrate, examine our life. A wise man or woman would take the time to pray and offer his or her life to God. Some take pilgrimages or retreats to start anew. 

What did Herod do? Here is a man whose thinking is distorted by power, lust, pride and the influence of a woman with no conscience. One can imagine what went on during his birthday if the daughter of his mistress danced to his immense delight that he promised to grant her ANYTHING her heart desired, even to half his kingdom! Instead of a celebration of his life, he manages to turn his birthday into an infamous assassination when the daughter upon the advice of her mother, asked for the head of John the Baptist! John's head was brought in on a platter and presented to Salome.

I don’t know if this is true but Jews believe the writings of Josephus to be accurate. This historian wrote that Salome, the name he gives to Herodias’ daughter, died when her head was sliced off by sharp ice! She was crossing the Sikirus river on foot during winter and fell into the frozen water up to her neck and could not get out. What a painful way to die. One can but hope she was able to make peace with God for her actions. 

We do not have to wait for birthdays to examine our life, and the road we are taking. Every new day is a gift from God to correct mistakes, to forgive, to heal broken relationships, to be more loving, grateful and kind. We need to surround ourselves with good people who desire to do God's will and who will accompany us on our pilgrimage to heaven. 

Lord, thank You for being our compass, our North Star. Thank You for showing us the path to life not death. May we always listen to You and should we stray, Lord, bring us back to You. 

Small Hearts

Yesterday, I did some sketching on a papemelroti kraft paper notebook with acrylic markers. It was fun because I did not set out to make anything worth framing or even keeping. I did not even think about what I was doing and just made lines and marks on the page. 

It’s true. “You don’t need motivation to create, just the courage to begin!” 

“He did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.” Matthew 13:58

Can you imagine how much Jesus’ neighbours in Nazareth missed out on? Jesus did not heal many people, He did not multiply bread, did not change water into wine, all because they lacked faith! How much do we miss out on because we do not step out in faith? 

All of us are given a little bit of faith, even smaller than a mustard seed. We have to plant it in fertile soil, water it, nurture it, grow it. How? God gives us many ways to grow our faith. Prayer, reading and understanding His Word, listening to people of faith, and using it. Most of all, going out on a limb and using it. 

In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, a Master gives his servants money and he tells them to invest it for him while he was gone. Two of his servants were able to double the money, but one just hid it in a hole in the ground. The Master commended the two servants and gave them more. What did he do with the servant who hid the money? The Master took it away. 

God our Father gave us many wonderful and amazing gifts. One of them is faith. We should be driven and motivated to find out how to grow and use this marvelous and awesome gift! Saint John Vianney in one of his cathechisms he would share with the pilgrims who visited his parish said, “My little children, your hearts are small.” Yes, our hearts are small but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God.