"The Lord is my inheritance and my cup; he alone will give me my reward. The measuring line has marked a lovely place for me; my inheritance is my great delight." (Psalm 16: 5-6)
"My grace is sufficient for you." God alone is my reward. I trust in Him. My destiny is secure. It is in His hand. He is my light and my salvation. What can mortal man do to me?
"Do not store treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them." (Matthew 6: 19)
How illusory are material treasures! They are there one minute. They are gone in a second. Does this truth of blessed experience prevent us from coveting material goods and storing them in every space of lives? Our Father in heaven gave us a pearl of wisdom when He taught us to ask Him each day for our daily bread.
"I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34: 5)
What are you afraid of?
Psalm 34: 5 promises that if we seek the Lord, He will deliver us from all these fears.
Jesus promises that if we "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things will be given you besides."
(Matthew 6:33)
"I have worked with unsparing energy, for many nights without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty, and often altogether without food and drink; I have been cold and lacked clothing." (2 Corinthians 11:27)
St. Paul's zeal for the Gospel is inimitable. When I consider the trifles that I call problems, I become ashamed of myself. True, I have not resisted to the point of blood. The only way to follow Christ and imitate the zeal of St. Paul is to be attentive to one day at a time. To use my strengths as I try to minimize my weaknesses in exploiting the opportunities I see to bear witness to Christ.
"Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either." (Matthew 6: 14 – 15)
Forgive others and when you ask for forgiveness, be confident that God will hear you.
How to forgive: forgive as soon as the offence occurs. Forgive and if it is possible, inform the offending person that you have forgiven him and so you will not be tempted to go back on your word. Forgive and pray that God will bless the offender. Ask God also the grace to make your forgiveness true and genuine.
Forgiveness and reconciliation are two related important concepts in the kingdom.
"But I am afraid that, just as the snake with his cunning deduced Eve, your minds may be led astray from single-minded devotion to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11: 3)
St. Paul warns here that it is possible for one to change his mind about who Christ is and what he did. It is also possible for one to change his mind as to key content of the doctrine of our faith. How can one protect himself from these dangers? By prayer and assiduous devotion to the Sacraments particularly the Eucharist and the Penance, one develops a sense of the faith, "sensus fidei." This is an interior light that alerts us to false doctrine. The collective 'sensus fidei" of the faithful is a sure bulwark against heresy.
Moreover the third promise of Mary to those who say the Rosary is: "The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresy."
"Your almsgiving must be secret and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6: 4)
Do all things for the sake of God.
God sees everything.
God knows everything.
God rewards everything that is done for Him.
"Happy the man who fears the Lord….
Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory." (Psalm 112: 1, 9)
God is amazingly generous to the poor. I was a witness to this at Casa Juan. The Church manifests the presence of Jesus in the world. The Church continues to minister to the needs of the poor everywhere.
"But remember: anyone who sows sparsely will reap sparsely as well – and anyone who sows generously will reap generously as well." (2 Corinthians 9: 6)
What we sow:
We can never outdo God in generosity.
"You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
Do not be complacent. God wants us to strive for perfection. His will for everyone is holiness.
"You have heard how it was said: eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked." (Matthew 5: 38 – 39)
The Lord defends my life. He is the guardian of my rights. He knows how to defend me from the wicked. I offered no resistance when I was deprived of my rights in ncau.
"In an acceptable time I heard you; on the day of salvation I helped you." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
There is a time for everything. A time to pray and a time to answer prayers.
"Working together, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain." (2 Corinthians 6: 1)
Do not receive the word of God in vain.
Do not receive the Eucharist in vain.
Do not receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in vain.
How can we be sure that we do not receive these graces in vain? We can only be sure if we are open to the Holy Spirit residing in us.
"Yes, I know what plans I have in mind for you, Yahweh declares, plans for peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
God knows the best and has seen the whole pattern of the weaving. He makes a strategic match between my:
Trust in Him to arrange the best.
"One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life." (Psalm 27:4)
From earliest memory, casa is always proximate to the house of the Lord. Is this a coincidence? Not at all. Thank you Lord.
"Lord God, in this bread and wine, you give us food for body and spirit. May the Eucharist renew our strength and bring us health of mind and body….." (Prayer after Holy Communion)
The Eucharist is a great mystery. We bring to the altar bread and wine made by human hands. It is transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Now it becomes not just the food for the body but food for the soul, mind and body. This divine food renews our strength as we march to eternal life. It also brings us health of mind and body. As we receive this food with good and generous spirit, we become little by little like him whom we receive. We become little by little like Jesus Christ.
Come Lord Jesus!
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." (Matthew 9: 37 – 38)
The work in the kingdom is more than the available human resources to do it. Can this possibly be the way that God has configured development in the kingdom? I think of Jesus' word: "My grace is sufficient for you. For power is at full stretch in weakness." The weakness here is the few resources to accomplish the work of the kingdom. St. Paul says, "I rejoice in my weaknesses. For when I am weak and I am strong." The Church can say the same with regard to resources for the kingdom. The Church affirms through liturgical prayers that God provides His flock whatever they need. God is our Shepherd, we have everything we need. We also ask God everyday to "Give us this day our daily bread."
"But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath." (Romans 5: 8 – 9)
Christ's death reconciled us to God. To see the fruits of this reconciliation, we must accept Christ into our hearts through Baptism. This makes us the children of God and the brothers of Jesus Christ. If we remain God's children, our salvation is guaranteed.
"You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle's wings and brought you here to myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all the people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." (Exodus 19: 4-6)
God bore me on eagle's wings to the Enterprise. I experienced a mighty deliverance. God set up the Enterprise so that I can serve Him and Him alone. All that I need is to continue with the 7-Way Plan and I will succeed.
"Almighty God, our hope and our strength, without you we falter. Help us to follow Christ and live according to your will….." (11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Prayer)
How wonderful to realize that when we don't even think of it, God sustains our every action. How much I feel inspired by this promise of Jesus Christ:
"I promise to be your strength in proportion to the trust you place on me." Lord, I want you to be my hope and my strength 100% at all times, in every situation and in all places.
