Have Mercy on Me!

 “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:38

This was the shout of the blind man as Jesus was passing by on the road to Jericho. There was a crowd shushing him, telling him to stop shouting and calling out to Jesus. 

Is there anything or anyone stopping us from calling out to Jesus? From praying? From reading His Word? Perhaps we wake up too late. We have too much to do or think about. We only want to do what is “important” and “useful”. Everything is all right with our world and we don’t have anything to ask God for. Nothing is right with our world and we think God can’t or won’t help anyway. What a crowd of shushers!!! 

But the blind man kept shouting and asking for God to hear him anyway, like the persistent widow in Luke 18, or Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. The Bible is one long long story of God answering His people’s prayers and He continues to do so today.  

When my son Josh graduated from Computer Science, he told me that all the good start ups were in BGC. That was a long way away, and would require 2-3 hours to just get there. I knew that nothing is impossible with God, and prayed. My niece Elyse accused me of praying too hard because Josh got a job with a really good company and he worked from home! Thank You Lord for listening to our prayers and answering them! Thank You for having mercy on us! 

Build On A Strong Foundation

 “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down." Luke 21:6

Jesus was speaking of the second temple on Mount Zion. This temple, rebuilt from the devastation of the first temple of Solomon, was Herod's masterpiece. It was magnificent, and as described in Luke 21:5 "adorned with costly stones". King Herod even had several architects from Rome, Greece and Egypt to plan and supervise the construction. The blocks used were so massive they had to use multiple cranes, pulleys and levers to put them in place. But in spite of its seeming permanence, it was destroyed by the Romans in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, just as Jesus prophesied. Today, the Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock, stands defiantly in its place.

Our life, no matter how much we think of its importance, is as fragile as that temple. We build a nice life, comfortable, sanitized from the injustice and inequality around us, little realizing that all that we build, will one day come to nothing. Rust, earthquakes, storms, fire, termites, disease, sin and the ravages of sin, can easily destroy our families, our businesses, our homes, our cities, our countries, our world. But not if we purposely build on the foundation of God's Word and teaching.

As we come to the end of the liturgical year, I like to take a look at what I am building. Is there anything I am building that I can take with me to my real home?

Do Not Give Up

 “Always pray and not give up, do not turn coward, do not faint, do not lose heart." Luke 18:1

Prayer to me is putting on the armor God gives us and going out into the battlefield. We don’t see the enemy but they are legion and they are out to destroy us in any way they can. They look for chinks in our armor, in our mind, in situations. They strike with deception and a lot of fake news to discourage us and make us lose hope. They are still the crafty and subtle “serpents” that Eve encountered in the garden of Eden. “Did God really say...” they whisper in the battlefield of our minds. “Is God really listening to your prayers? How can you change anything with your prayers!”

We need to focus like the widow in today’s parable. She kept bothering the dishonest judge to render a just decision for her, even if the judge was ignoring her for a long time. Eventually, because of her persistence, the judge ruled in favor of her. Jesus said that God will do likewise for those who call out to Him day and night. 

I like the story of Father Robert Barron about FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. He said that these young people are always so enthusiastic and energetic. Once when he found a group of these missionaries in the University of Arizona, he asked them what their current project was. They answered, “We want to convert the most popular person in campus this year.” “And who’s that?” “The quarterback of the football team. We meet every morning and pray for his conversion.” “How is it going so far?” 

“We haven’t converted him yet, but we’ve converted his girlfriend and his roommate.” Father Barron smiled at them, “You’ve got him surrounded. It’s only a matter of time.” Yes, it’s only a matter of time. If we put on our armor, focus, and pray, God will surprise us. We should not lose hope, but be animated by our faith, excited to be in the thick of the battle. There are so many things to pray for. It’s obvious that in our country, we should not be complacent. Our enemy is working overtime to destroy truth, to destroy even our basic freedoms. Tyranny is rearing it’s ugly head and we see so many people just going with the flow. 

St. Maximilian Kolbe said, “Indifference is the greatest sin of the 20th century”. It’s still the greatest sin today.  We have a powerful, magnificent weapon in our hands. Let us not be weary about using it! Inside each of us is a warrior! Let us go unafraid into battle! Our prayer room is our war room! 

Discern the Artisan

 "All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who ...from studying the works did not discern the artisan..."Wisdom 13:1

I do not know why God allows devastation like Typhoon Tino and Typhoon Uwan to happen. Why did one typhoon trigger massive flooding and flash floods across areas in the Visayas resulting in over 210 fatalities with over 100 still missing? Then if that was not enough the second super typhoon ravaged 1,800 kilometers affecting 13 out of 18 regions in the country! So many of my countrymen are desperately fighting for survival, homes and crops and infrastructure destroyed, wiped away. I ask why, Lord? 

But I go back to the source of all wisdom. The Bible. In the reading today, in the book of Wisdom, I read these words: “All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who ...from studying the works did not discern the artisan..." Wisdom 13:1

My sister Peggy once saw a painting on Instagram, and she thought, "Oh that looks like Patsy's painting!" And it was! I had sent it to a friend and she posted a picture of my gift on her IG account. My sister recognized my work.

When we examine the universe, when we look even at the miracle of our own body, do we recognize the Creator? Do we see the fingerprints of God? We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) of 75 trillion cells, and that every 3 seconds, 50,000 cells die and are replaced by brand new cells! Myriads of things like that happen in our body, and in nature that we do not even realize. 

We can know that in spite of what is going on around us, in spite of the storms that destroy homes, livelihoods, families, whole towns and cities, there is a God who holds us in the palm of His hands. We just have to recognize the artisan and trust Him. 

I am the Vine, You are the Branches

 "I am the vine, you are the branches." John 15:5

We are branches grafted on to Jesus, the true vine. The Father is the vine grower. In the late 19th century, the European variety of grapes was nearly wiped out because of the plant louse phylloxera. It was saved when someone thought of grafting this European Vitis vinifera grape variety on to Native American varieties which were resistant to the bug. Up to now, any vine not planted with grafted rootstock is in danger of being destroyed by these microscopic sap-sucking insects. 

We too are in danger of being destroyed. The enemy does not want us to know that there is "phylloxera" damaging the way we think, the way our children think, the way our leaders think. This louse is everywhere in our society and there is nothing the devil wants than we are all unaware and oblivious. In the same way that phylloxera attacks the roots and prevents the flow of water and nutrients to the vine, the enemy wants to attack the very foundation of what we believe in. 

We only need to look to the Bible for the solution. Lord, may we be grafted to the true vine, and may we be taken care of by our Father, the vine grower. May we not be deceived by the enemy who wishes to destroy us by any means possible.  

Praise God!

 “Praise God I am healed!” Luke 17:15

When Jesus entered a village on His way to Jerusalem, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out to Him. "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!!!"  Jesus did not even go near them, but said, "Go show yourselves to the priests!" They went off and as they walked, they were healed.  Only one of them came back to Jesus, fell down at His feet, to praise and thank Him. "Where are the other nine?" Jesus asked, and turning to the healed man He said, "Stand up and go. Your faith has saved you.”

Every day, God rains down good gifts on every body. It is a good practice to "search" and "recognize" those gifts. To not feel we are entitled to everything we have. That we have this and that because we worked hard for it, because we deserve it, or we received it by chance. When I wake up in the morning, and I do not have a back ache, I should be grateful. I should say thank you to God that I have clothes on my back, shoes to put on, food on my table, electricity, water, wifi, that my glasses didn’t break when it fell, and I do not need to fear that a bomb might destroy my house.  God shows us undeserved kindness ALL THE TIME! And if we live with an attitude of gratitude instead of murmuring and complaining about things that don't go our way, we can have a fuller, more victorious life!

Imperishable

 “God formed man to be imperishable; the image of His own nature He made them.” Wisdom 2:23

Many people do not believe in hell these days. I would prefer to think that even the most evil of men who murder, steal millions from the poor like some of our politicians today, commit sodomy and prey on children, would just disappear, and not be placed in an eternal lake of fire. But that option is not possible because Jesus spoke of hell more than any other person in the Bible. He knew there was a place reserved for those who rejected Him.

Jesus warned against the absolute, terrible realness of hell. He described it as a place of eternal torment, outer darkness, unquenchable fire, where there is no return and where people would gnash their teeth weeping in regret and anguish (Mark 9:43, Matthew 13:42, Luke 16:19-31, Matthew 25:30). So what then of God’s goodness and mercy? 

Jesus is the personification of God’s goodness, faithfulness, mercy and love. God sent Him so we could know Him, and so by His offering Himself as the one, true sacrifice, we could be justified and saved. In Romans 10:9-10, Saint Paul teaches, “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.”

We may deserve hell, but we should always remember what happened on Calvary. One of the criminals hanging beside Him pleaded, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come into Your Kingdom.” 

Jesus said to him, “I assure you, today you will be in Paradise with me.” (Luke 23:39-43) Just being his friend will assure us of a place beside Him in heaven. Let us make sure He is our friend, that we have a relationship with Him. 

You Know Me

“O Lord, you have probed me, and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I stand;

you understand my thoughts from afar.

My journeys and my rest; you scrutinize,

with all my ways you are familiar." Psalm 139:1b-3

Yes, God knows us better than we know ourselves! He knows our idiosyncracies, our faults and failures, our weaknesses, but He also knows our gifts, our strengths, our potential. He knows our capabilities and like a mother eagle who teaches her young how to fly when it is time, so does our God allow us to endure challenges for a good purpose, it boils down to TRUST. Do we trust our Heavenly Father with our lives? 

Like our Father, the mother eagle doesn’t teach by “telling” her eaglet it has to leave. Instead the mother makes the nest increasingly uncomfortable by removing the soft materials and leaving the sharp thorns. The mother may also stop bringing the little birds food, encouraging them to fly somewhere else to find it. 

The mother isn’t cruel at all. She knows her baby is ready to fly and experience what being a real eagle is like! So it is with us, God allows us to undergo painful, confusing experiences sometimes, so we become the person He meant us to be! 

We are God’s Garden

 "We are God's Garden..." 1 Corinthians 3:9

We are God's field, His husbandry, where God cultivates His flowers and fruit. This is one of my favorite bible verses! I don't know how many times I've painted this and I never get tired of it. Perhaps because it reminds me of the one and only vision God gave me. I experienced this during a singles' retreat in our community. I was before the Blessed Sacrament, and Jesus and I were in a beautiful garden. Everything was lush and blooming and vibrant. Jesus said to me, "I am the gardener here. I take care of all these plants. I prune them all. I will show you one that I do not prune." And he brought me to a dead, decaying tree. All brown and withered leaves.

Then Jesus continued. “I am sure you do not like to be like this tree."  In a way He was preparing me for pruning. You see up to that point, ever since I was young, I would pray, "Lord, treat me gently." And God answered my prayers. I had a very comfortable, enjoyable life. No problems. But God was saying if He continued to treat me gently I would not bloom, I would not bear fruit!!!

In the Song of Solomon, we read, “Awake North wind, and come, O South wind! Blow upon my garden, let its fragrance flow. Let my beloved come to my garden and eat its choicest fruit." (SS 4:16)

Why does he want the bitter cold North wind to come? Trials and challenges, this is what God uses to prune us. He knows what we need to become better people. Just like coal needs to be exposed to temperatures of more than 2000 degrees and pressure 50 times greater than what we find on the surface of the earth to become a DIAMOND! And then after that, it needs some sort of volcanic  eruption to bring it up to the surface of the earth!

 Pressure makes us who we are. It can build our character. I guess we are all coal starting out. When the pressure builds, and adversity comes, we have to stay in faith, and work with God to become a diamond. Or we can give up, and crumble to dust!  

So come North wind! Help me to become a diamond!!!

Lay Up Treasure for Eternity

 “Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Luke 16:10

We see a lot of people amassing wealth dishonestly. There are politicians who think nothing of commandeering the coffers of the nation to build mansions, buy luxury cars and jewelry, travel extravagantly, or construct monuments to themselves on our streets. Then there are the petty thieves on motorcycles who prey on unsuspecting women and children.

But what about us? Are we aware that each of us are exiles in this place called earth  and we are only passing through? Imagine if you will that we are in a foreign land, a poor little village in Africa. And amidst the squalor, we start to build a palace, and act as if we are going to stay there forever. But in a few days we are supposed to leave for home. Is it not a folly, a stupid thing to do? A waste? When what we should have been doing was building good relationships, loving compassionately and amassing wealth we can bring home?

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Life is Fragile

 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them.” Romans 12:6

God is so gracious, He allows us to help Him in His work here on earth. In Genesis, we read that God took pleasure in the work of His hands. “And God saw it was good.” We read that several times in Genesis. 

When we use our gifts in line with God’s purposes and designs, we too will find fulfilment and say, “It is good!” It says in Romans 12 that we need to EXERCISE our gifts. What happens when we exercise our bodies? Our muscles become strong and firm. The same is true with our gifts, we need to use them, practice, hone, and learn more about them. If we do that, it will be exciting to see where God will bring us! 

Our brother Robert passed away a year ago today. And I remember him as someone who really used up all the gifts God gave him. He was always generous with his talent, using it for spreading light and love. Whenever I asked him to give a workshop for poor children, he would say yes. He used his immense talent to promote so many causes, big and small. But he would also draw a sampaguita vendor, a poor kid sitting by the curbside, and give his drawing to him or her, hoping it would give some joy. 

Life is fragile, and most of the time, what we give away is what will last and will be remembered. Let us use our gifts and be generous with these wonderful blessings God has given us! 

Soli Deo Gloria

 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” Romans 11:33

God’s ways are truly inscrutable and unsearchable. How can we ever understand the logic behind the Cross? That it is the only way up, up to God, up to heaven, up to righteousness. Indeed it is only through this darkness we see light just as a seed has to be buried to germinate and grow, and a baby has to be formed in the mystery of the womb. 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was one of the most amazing composers of all time. He composed more than a thousand pieces in almost every musical genre, instrumental sonatas, kantatas, cello suites, masses, and concerts. 

Bach was orphaned as a child. He had a total of twenty children, but eleven of them died when very very young. Bach’s first wife passed away and he married a second wife Anna-Magdalena. At 64 years of age, he became totally blind. Even if his life was filled with so much pain and loss, he continued to write the most majestic and sublime music the world has ever known. He wrote the St. Matthew’s Passion based on the last days of Jesus on earth. He composed the B Minor Mass, a full 2 hour mass setting with the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. 

At the end of every composition, he regularly inscribed the letters S.D.G. which was short for Soli Deo Gloria, “To God alone, the glory”. He also frequently wrote J.J. on top of a new musical manuscript which was short for the Latin “Jesu Jova” which translates to “Jesus help”. His faith helped him deal with pain, and worship was the best solace. 

We can raise our souls and spirits to heaven listening to his compositions for his music was prayer. He believed that ‘the aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul’. 

Like Johann Sebastian Bach, if we live our lives for God’s glory, God will make our lives His masterpiece. 

The Lord is My Shepherd

 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd. He leads me where there is everything I need, peaceful water, and green meadows. He protects me from my enemies. 

The Lord is my gardener (1 Cor. 3:9).  He takes care that I am fruitful, that I will bloom in due season. He prunes away the dead leaves and broken branches. He makes sure I am healthy. 

The Lord is my friend (John 15:15). Everything He learned from our Father He has made known to us. He has taught us what we need to know. Even the hard things. We are not His servants He said, because if He was, He would not have confided in us! Imagine the privilege we have as His friend! 

But the Lord can only be our shepherd and gardener and friend if we continue to be intimate with Him. If we have a relationship with Him. Otherwise, He will just be a stranger knocking at the door (Rev. 3:20). "If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and will share a meal as friends." 

Lord, what a friend I have in You! There is no one like You! How humble You are that You do not barge Your way into my life! You wait until I invite You in! Lord, shine Your light into every corner of my home, especially the dark places! Be my Shepherd, be my Gardener, be my friend! Without You, I am wretched and blind and pitiable! 

We Long to See Your Face

 “Lord, this is the people that longs to see Your face.” Psalm 24:6

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Solemnity of All Saints. We celebrate those who have been canonized like Padre Pio who had the stigmata, who could read minds, and bilocate and had the gift of tongues. We also honor the unknown dirt poor man or woman in a remote African village who was tortured and beheaded because they did not denounce their faith. 

I am reading “The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta”. It is taking me some time as it is hard reading. Mother Teresa lived a lonely life even if she was surrounded by her community and the throngs that she ministered to. She herself would describe this excruciating inner pain in a letter to Archbishop Périer in February 1956. Rather reluctantly she wrote, as she needed his prayers: “Please pray for me, that it may please God to lift this darkness from my soul for only a few days. For sometimes the agony of desolation is so great and at the same time the longing for the Absent One so deep, that the only prayer which I can still say is—Sacred Heart of Jesus I trust in Thee—I will satiate Thy thirst for souls.”

In answer, the Archbishop wrote back: “In what you reveal there is nothing which is not known in the mystical life. It is a grace God grants you, the longing to be His entirely without return on self or creatures, to live by Him and in Him but that longing which comes from God can never be satisfied in this world, simply because He is infinite and we finite.” 

Indeed I believe each of us has this longing to see God’s face, but it is subverted into many other cravings and desires for earthly things. I have read this described as a “God-shaped hole" within us, a built in spiritual yearning that is misdirected towards temporary pleasures and material possessions. 

Father, satisfy this longing we have to see Your face. Do not allow us to stray and be distracted by things that are worthless and disposable.