Good fruits

"Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits." (Matthew 7: 15 – 16)

Lord, help me to produce fruits of peace, love, faith and hope wherever I go.

God remembers

"The Lord remembers his covenant forever." (Psalm 105: 8)

One of the attributes of God that I love most is His faithfulness. God is faithful forever. I like to reflect from time to time on all the promises from the Bible that I have claimed for myself. If do not think of them for some time, I forget them. How wonderful to know that even if I forget them, the Lord remembers every one of them.

"The Lord remembers his covenant forever." (Psalm 105: 8)

Trusting the word of God

"Do not be afraid, Abram! I am your shield and shall give you a great reward." (Genesis 15: 1)

"Abram put his faith on Yahweh and this was reckoned to him as uprightness." (Genesis 15: 6)

Yes, I trust in God's word. I am not afraid. God is my shield. He will take care of me in every circumstance.

"Blessed is she who believed that God's promise to her will be fulfilled." Mary believed the word of God and she is blessed.

Throwing pearls in front of dogs

"Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7: 6)

We must be enthusiastic for evangelization. The enthusiasm however must be moderated by wisdom. Let the Holy Spirit lead and we follow.

St. Ignatius Loyola counseled three essentials in any worker in God's vineyard:

• Knowledge of God
  
• Knowledge of man (Self-knowledge)
  
• Knowledge of the world
  

With these three essentials under our belt, it will be difficult to throw pearls in front of dogs.

The Promise to Abraham

"Look all round from where you are, to north and south, to east and west, for all the land within sight I shall give to you and your descendants forever." (Genesis 13: 14-15)

• I shall bless you Abraham and people shall be blessed by you.
  
• Ask and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. (Psalm 2)
  

The promise to Abraham was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. He is the King of the universe. Where the kingdom is, there is the king. Where the king is, there is the kingdom.

Do not judge

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get, and the standard used for you." (Matthew 7: 2)

Do not judge.

Do not criticize.

Do not condemn.

Journey of faith

"Leave your country, your kindred and your father's house for a country which I shall show you." (Genesis 12: 1)

The Enterprise is a journey to a country which God has indicated.

Abraham is the father of faith. He heard God's word, believed it and obeyed it.

The Enterprise is a journey with Christ. Christ Jesus is our mighty champion.

Father, may we never doubt your word.

A Sacrifice of Praise

"Lord receive our offering, and may this sacrifice of praise purify us in mind and heart and make us always eager to serve you….." (Prayer over the Gifts)

The Eucharist is a sacrifice of praise par excellence. It purifies our hearts and minds from sin. The Eucharist renews the life of grace within us.

Do not be afraid

"Therefore do not be afraid of them…So do not be afraid" (Matthew 10: 26, 31)

Do not fear your persecutor.

Those not to fear:

• Devil
  
• Enemy
  
• Boss
  
• Friend
  
• Priest
  
• Thief
  
• Judge
  

Circumstances not to fear:

• Poverty
  
• No job
  
• Ill health
  
• No money
  

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27: 1-2)

Fear cripples the mind. The fruit of the First Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary is freedom from fear of suffering. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ prayed and overcame the fear of suffering. We can do the same in intimidating circumstances and overcome the fear of suffering.

Bearing witness2

"The Spirit of truth will testify to me, and you also will testify." (John 15: 26, 27)

Yes Lord, I will testify to you. Lead me, guide me and use me.

When we bear witness to the truth, we expose ourselves to persecution. The spirit of the world hates the truth and resists it at all cost. Deliberate and transparent falsehood should not be permitted in the Household of God. The end never justifies the means. Falsehood and lies are the tools of the devil which we must reject vigorously.

Redemption surpasses the transgression

"But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many." (Romans 5: 2 – 15)

Adam sinned. Christ redeemed.

The gift of redemption surpasses the transgression. O felix culpa!

The restoration of man to God's favor accomplished through Christ's redemptive work went beyond the attributes of the old man. The new man is now an adopted child of God.

Cry of a desperate man

"Lord, in your great love, answer me….. I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness answer me with your constant help. Answer me, O Lord, for bounteous is your kindness; in your great mercy turn toward me." (Psalm 69 …)

This is the cry of a desperate man. This is the cry of a man who knows the God whose favor he is seeking. Look at how he appeals to God: great love, great kindness, bounteous kindness, great mercy. Our problem is that we are like children who do not know their father. If we know God as our Father who has great love, great kindness, bounteous kindness and great mercy for us, what a difference that would make in our prayer. We approach Him with greater confidence.

The Mighty Champion is with us

"For the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph." (Jeremiah 20: 10 – 13)

How will you feel if you know for certain that the Lord is with you in that special project? First, you will not be afraid of the outcome. Then you will be certain that you will succeed. Rejoice for God is indeed with you.

Abba Father

"God of the universe, we worship you as Lord. God, ever close to us, we rejoice to call you Father. From this world's uncertainty we look to your covenant. Keep us one in your peace, secure in your love….."

God our Father is ever close to us. We rejoice to call Him Father. He is indeed our Father. We are His kids. Abba Father!

Nothing is certain in this world. But the word of God stands firm forever. The certainty of God's word is a covenant.

God is our guide and protector

"Father, guide and protector of your people, grant us an unfailing respect for your name and keep us always in your love……" (Opening Prayer – 12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

God is our guide and protector. Love and respect for God's name is grace.

A hundred fold reward

"I solemnly tell you: those who have left everything and followed me will be repaid a hundred fold and will gain eternal life." (Matthew 19: 28 – 29)

What we can leave behind completely for Christ's sake?

• Family
  
• Property
  
• Status
  

Lord Jesus, help me to truly leave everything and follow you so that I may deserve your promise in Matthew 19: 27 – 29.

Be absent to your concerns

"So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6: 34)

Live one day at a time and gratefully accept all that God provides today:

• Food
  
• Shelter
  
• Health/medicine
  
• Eucharist
  
• Word of God
  
• Clothing
  
• Tools
  
• Work
  

Have absolutely no concern about anything beyond the present moment.

If you are absent to these concerns and present to the Lord everyday in prayer, praise and His word, all these things shall be yours at the appointed time.

The Lord is good!

"Learn to savor how good the Lord is; happy are those who take refuge in him." (Psalm 34: 9)

Other translations read: "Taste and see that the Lord is good.."

How do I know that the Lord is good to me? I take time and become aware of what is going on in my life. I realize the source of so many blessings in my life. God is the source. I give thanks. Connecting the dots of our experiences is a learning process. We can learn to savor how good the Lord is to us.

Boasting of weaknesses

"It is, then, about my weaknesses that I am happiest of to boast, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me; and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ's sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)

Because I suffer temptations, because I have no health insurance, because I am poor, because I am a stranger, because I am unrefined, I depend completely on Christ for all these things. Because I trust Jesus to help me, He never fails to come through to me.

When I depend on Christ for everything, I rise to the top.

Surrendering weakness to gain power

"My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12: 9)

Power is the key attribute of the Holy Spirit.

• Power to witness to Jesus Christ
  
• Power to overcome evil in our lives
  
• Power of faith
  
• Power of knowledge
  
• Power of patience
  
• Power to endure persecutions
  

All types of power have their source and inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

Now to gain this power, we must surrender our weaknesses to the Holy Spirit. Our weaknesses are all our vulnerabilities. It is amazing how much we want to cling to these.

Lord help me to surrender my weaknesses to you so that I can gain your power.