Saturday of the 3rd Week of Advent
MARY'S ROCK
Everyone needs friends, and for Mary, her friend and cousin Elizabeth was her Rock. These two cousins, Elizabeth and Mary, both pregnant at the same time, would have spent part of their engaged in simple "girl talk". For both of them, the pregnancy was filled with the mysterious power of God. Indeed, Gabriel visited each of them and promised joy and gladness, along with a hard mission in life. Mary needed Elizabeth as her Rock, and Elizabeth also needed Mary.
We all need friends like this. Advent is a time for us to take stock of those around us and offer others our friendship and presence. The ones who need you may not be pregnant, but they may need a Rock nonetheless, to share their illness, or their good fortune, or simply to share a communal meal. Both Mary and Elizabeth would have been familiar with the words of Psalm 71, and these words were lived by them as they befriended each other, "Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety."
Share with others or ponder alone
Who is your rock? Who anchors and supports you?
Take action
Call someone today who you know needs to hear an encouraging word or to have an experience of friendship. Open your heart to them.
Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent
MARY'S HUSBAND
Mary's unplanned pregnancy must have been quite a shock to Joseph, as upright a man as he is described to be in the Gospel. We must never forget that Mary was a part of a "power couple" in the First Century. Joseph himself was a man of great faith. Having listened carefully in his prayer, Joseph heard God's messenger. He trusted that God was with them as a couple and he responded in faith.
Surely for Mary's Husband, the words of Psalm 72 would have been memorized and frequently on his lips. "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds." Likewise for us, Advent is a time for us to clear away everything that prevents us from hearing God's voice, often delivered to us by the people or events around us who serve as God's messengers, calling us to do good and avoid evil. We must pray with Joseph in this psalm, and invite God to be our strength. This will bring us to the Feast of Christmas ready to celebrate with great faith, with great joy, blessing God as Joseph did.
Share with others or ponder alone
At what moments in your life have you heard God's "messenger"? Through what people, actions, events, or prayers has God spoken to you?
Take action
Think today about certain people in your life whom you tune out and have stopped listening to. Consider how God may be calling you through them.
DAILY REFLECTION
17 January 2013
(Mat 11:25-27)
In our everyday life, giving meaning to what we are doing is important. Most people i encounter will say 'i am doing the same thing everyday, and i am bored, tired, meaningless!'. That is really true. I myself still facing this situation. Sometimes it is frustrating to see myself go back home with an emptiness inside.
Today's reading invites us to offer our being into God's hand. To thank and praise Him for everything he has done to our lives. No matter what situation we face now...emptiness..bored..tiredness..meaningless...we offer it to God, with thankfulness like Jesus said "I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth" (Mat 11:25)
07 January 2012
(Jn 2:1-11)
Presence
“My time has not come” This sentence reminds me of my encounter with my friend yesterday. She told me her experienced listening testimony from someone who believed seeing God through his dream. God was telling him through his first dream that His time is not yet come but he had a second dream recently telling him that Jesus Christ is now stays together with people but nobody recognize Him.
As someone who is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we believe that the presence of Jesus Christ stays with us forever. He is here with us not only today but long before we were born and will be with us until we die. He promised to His disciple that He will always with them through Holy Spirit and now this promise still here with us. But the question is can we see His presence through our everyday life? through people around us? through our society? through our environment? through our heart? Do we bother to recognize Him through all these?
Perhaps we are blinded by our own world. But no matter what world we are in let us allow ourselves to reunite with Him. He is always there waiting for us, His Beloved Children of God!
No matter how busy we are, take time to be with Him!!
06 January 2012
(Mk 1:7-11)
Baptism
What can you recall on your baptism day? Many of us are baptized while we still a baby and some after grown up. Baptism a time when we are declared as God's Children.
After all these years, have you really fulfill your call as Children of God? Becoming God's children is no easy task, in everyday lives we were confront to make action and decision. Our very own baptism remind us to always work with him, and be united in him. it is also a reminder to never forget that he already gave us helper and guidance, Holy Spirit, to guide us and help us in making decision and to act according his word.
Lets us always remember that, we got Holy Spirit in us. Not to worry of the future but to have faith and hope in Jesus. And most important is to remain in him! and we are his beloved child, there is nothing you can do to make him love you more, you are loved, we are loved.
05 January 2012
( Jn 1:43-51)
Story of Calling
What led man to God? In every hearts and souls there is this searching and longing. And no one can fulfill this but God alone.
God sees us differently...he sees like no other man see, because he only see us as His beloved. His call is for us to come home, going home, going back to his arms and live to his vineyard. Yet He never forced us to accept Him, He freely gives us the time and space to chose Him.
In Him, every desires and dream will be purified, and finally he will fulfill this one searching and longing for us.. Because he knows us first, what lies in us he knows, what we need to do is to come to him sat at his feet and listen to him, so that he look into our stories, wanderings, searching and longing to finally fulfill it.
He is waiting, and will wait for you, you are not forced but because of his love so strong you will be dragged to him, because in him everything is possible.
What are you waiting for, if today you hear your name calling, answer him!
04 January 2012
(Jn 1:35-42)
What are you looking for?
God always make the first step towards us, His invitation will reach us through various ways. As the first two disciples today, perhaps, being not confident and lack of courage the followed Jesus slowly behind him, until one moment Jesus turn to them and ask, what do you want?
For us young people, this questions maybe has been there since younger days, what are you looking for? Security? etc... Let us take this time to ponder with this question, what is our want? what are we searching? Jesus said Come and See.. let us come to Jesus and with him searching the longing of our hearts, which he alone could offer to us.
God Bless you in your searching...
PRAY FOR OTHERS
(11 February 2011)
Ref: Gospel (Mk 7 : 31-37)
Today's Gospel remind me of my own selfishness in prayer; that it is always about myself alone. Those around me seldom in my prayer, except those in my mind and those asking me to remember them in my daily prayer.
Today Gospel tells us that, another person who is deaf and had impediment in his speech is brought up to by other person and that person was healed from his sickness.
Believe or not, our faith in Jesus can heal others. Because Jesus care for us and loved us. They may be our siblings, family and friends even enemies. Jesus will heal them.
Self reflection:
1. Am i ready and willing to pray for others need? or it will only for my own?
Short prayer;
Lord God forgive me for my selfishness. Help me to constantly remember others in my prayer, may all of them be feed by your love and mercy. Thank you Lord. Amen
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BELIEVING....
(11 February 2011)
Ref: Gospel (Mk 7:24-30)
At times, i found myself have doubt in Him, whether he will give me the best or not ...the best for myself, there is reservation. And i know i have not fully trust Him...this has to be change.
Today's reading in symbolic ways...Jesus once again revealed Himself as God to all nation and creation. In His eyes there is no differences...all are equally worthy to His love and mercy that is for all.
Today we are invited to reflect upon ourselves;
1. Did I agreed that Jesus always kept the Best for me?
2. How was my attitude toward prayer? Am I only asking and always keep asking? Or constantly mourn and weep? or i pray with total knowledge that God will give me the best, with hope and total surrender to God's will? That what ever the outcome it may be, God only give me the Best?
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I HEARD
(10 February 2011)
.... it is what comes out of someone that makes that person unclean. For it is from within, from the heart, that evil intentions emerge... (Mk 7: 14-23)
Yesterday reading tells us that the pharisee and the scribes put laws as their priority...law become everything...ones holiness is measured by ones faithfulness to the law....
Does it mean Catholic did not see the importance of law? The Catholic, also have her own sets of law and values that all Catholic must follow and abide to.Christ invitation to us today is really beautiful, he invites us to stay strong and to reject any seeds of evil in our thoughts by constantly check ourselves and practice resistant toward its. The invitation to always strive for holiness is a call that is not easy especially to young people, it takes lots of courage and self determination to fight evil within and from our own heart.
Thus, this can only be achieved by having a deep and intimate relation with Jesus. Personal relationship with Jesus is the key not to be over powered by the evil thoughts. Perhaps today Jesus invites us to reflect and ponder of these question.
1. How much am I willing to be led by God's spirit?
2. At times evil thoughts come to me, have i asked help from God and try my best to resist it? or let it overpowered me and enjoy it myself, for it giving me pleasure and satisfactions?
Short Prayer
God, whenever i am entertained by evil thoughts, come and rescued me, strengthen me that i may be freed from it. Amen
BELIEVING....
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