How do you read the Signs of the Times?

"Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect."  (Romans 12:  2).

What are the signs of the times?
What are the characteristics of our age?

1. Lack of faith
2. Lack of reverence for God
3. Extreme materialism
4. Love of leisure and the soft life
5. Gluttony
6. Contentious spirit
7. Shallowness in communication
8. Unwillingness to make lasting commitment
9. Individualism
10. Love of money

The Bible warns us not to conform ourselves to this lifestyle but to oppose it by the daily renewal of our minds through prayer and the word of God.

"God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,
you may nurture in us what is good
and, by your watchful care,
keep safe what you have nurtured.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever."  (Collect 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time).

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God has poured His love into our hearts.

"Brothers and sisters:
On the subject of fraternal charity
you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.  (1 Thessalonians  4:9).

Paul teaches that the overwhelming love of Jesus compels us to imitate Him and do the right thing. (2 Corinthians 5: 15). In Romans 5: 5, Paul gives a great revelation: The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  Years ago, when I accused myself of an utterly selfish nature, my priest confessor said that was nonsense and reminded me of Romans 5: 5.  This is our hope and hope never fails.

Where there is love, there is God.
The Holy Spirit fills our heart with the love of God.  This needs repeating.

We Christians do not love as the world loves. The world loves in a quid pro quo manner, that is, if you love me, I love you. But Christians love as Jesus loves us and teaches us to love.  Jesus loves us when we have nothing, when we are nothing. Imagine loving a homeless, dirty and sick guy who is a jail bird? If you rely on human nature, the answer is NO! But what if God pours His love into your heart and teaches how to love and trains you until you learn how to love like Him, then you can do it.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."  (John 13: 34)

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Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this First Friday in September.

September 1st , 2017 First Friday in September.

The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:  Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month.  In the 9th month of the year, we look at Promise #9.

#9. "I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be exposed and adore."

When I learned about this promise 21 years ago, I dashed to a Catholic Bookstore in downtown Houston and bought a beautiful picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I prayed for an inspiration for the best place in my apartment to place this image after it was blessed by a priest.  This sacred image has blessed me for 21 years and will bless me till the end of the age.

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, September 1st.

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On the day St Paul teaches about sexual purity, Jesus gives the parable of the Ten Virgins.

"This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality,...... not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God; not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger in all these things,.......For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.  Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you."  (1 Thessalonians 4: 3 - 8).

The Holy Spirit lays down the rules for sexual conduct in the community of the saints. What is the goal? Holiness of life. If you want the goal, you must adopt the means to get there. In the Gospel of today, Jesus our Teacher lays down the means to grow in sexual purity and chastity.

"Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps."  (Matthew 25:  1 - 4).

What is Jesus saying?
Always be prepared.
If you have a date, be prepared. Set your boundaries.
If you are visiting somebody of the opposite sex, be prepared.
If you have a ride in a car with a person of the opposite sex, be prepared.  Don't think: Nothing will happen in a car. Be ready for surprises because:
"Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  (1 Peter 5: 8).

One way to prepare is prayer. Say a simple short prayer like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, I am going into this situation, protect me by your power and grace. Jesus I trust in You."  Fight the Enemy of your soul and life by invoking the holy and powerful Name of Jesus.

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Are you ready?

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.  (Psalm 90: 12).

He who prays daily and feeds on the word of God every day will surely know that life is short. What wisdom we gain from this truth.

The corporate world is obsessed by long-term plans:  20 year-plan, 15, 10,etc.

The word of God teaches the grace of the present moment. We are guaranteed only today.  Actually only this moment. Unforeseen events like Hurricane Harvey cause disruptions of plans.

"Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into." (Matthew 24: 42 - 51).

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We are stewards of God’s beautiful creation.

"The earth is replete with the fruits of your work, O Lord;
you bring forth bread from the earth
and wine to cheer the heart."  (Psalm 104: 13 - 15).

We are all stewards of God’s beautiful creation. As stewards, we do not own these assets. We manage it for God.  We share the bread from the earth and distribute the wine to cheer the hearts of men and women everywhere.

"O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose,
grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world,
our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son."  (Collect Wednesday 21st Week).

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You know me thoroughly and you love me so much.

"You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

"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.

"Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain. 
(PSALM 139:1-3, 4-6)

Are you terrified by the thought that God knows you deeply? Knows your every move?  Knows even your secret thoughts?

It is good to feel and believe that God knows you thoroughly. This engenders humility and helps you to forgive yourself when you mess up. Remember God is not a human being that anything can surprise.
Everything you are, everything you do, everything you have are all gifts from Him, the ever knowing and ever loving God.

"You have searched me and you know me, Lord."

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The Lord filled St Augustine with the spirit of wisdom and understanding.

"In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth,
and the Lord filled him
with the spirit of wisdom and understanding
and clothed him in a robe of glory."  (Sirach 15: 5).

Today is the feast of St Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Augustine without doubt would probably be one of the two or three that had the most impact on the Church.  You can see this impact in Church Councils throughout the centuries. He has great influence in the Liturgy as seen by his footprints all over the Roman Missal.

Augustine was not always a saint.  A lover of leisure and sinful pleasures, his mother St Monica shed many sorrowful tears over her wayward son.

Today the universal Church crows over her favorite son:

"In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth,
and the Lord filled him
with the spirit of wisdom and understanding
and clothed him in a robe of glory."

St Augustine pray for us.

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You are Jesus the Christ. You are Peter the Pontiff.

 “But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?”  (Matthew 16: 15).

"Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  (Matthew 16: 16).

Abba Father revealed to Peter the identity of His Son Jesus the Christ.
What is a revelation? A revelation is the spontaneous flash of truth in the mind.  Some examples:

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."  (Ephesians 1: 17).

"When I saw that man/woman, I knew immediately that was he/she."
We all enjoy revelation from time to time.

And Jesus said to Peter: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."  (Matthew 16: 18).

God gives us knowledge of Himself and His works that we may come to know Him, love Him and serve Him so that we can enjoy eternity with Him forever.

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I live among you as a servant.

"The greatest among you must be your servant."  (Matthew 23: 11).

The tale of two Lords.
Jesus is Lord. Caesar is Lord.
One Lord rides into cities on chariots driven by soldiers with whips used to control the crowd. The other Lord rides into the city on a humble donkey.  One Lord waits to be served by numerous servants.  The other Lord says:  "But I am among you as one who serves." (Luke 22: 27).

One Lord dies, is buried and eaten by worms in his grave. The other Lord dies on the cross and after three days rose from the dead as predicted.
After death, one Lord is forgotten by history while the other Lord is Lord of history and continues to live and reign forever.

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."  (Matthew 23: 12).

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Where you go, I will go.

"But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried." (Ruth 1: 16 - 17).

These are the immortal words of Ruth to her mother-in-law Naomi.  I say immortal because these words have been read over the years with great emotion and consolation. Who would not like to have the like of Ruth as a daughter-in-law?

Be that as it may, St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits had similar ideals in his relationship with Jesus. He stated his objectives as follows:
#1.  To know the Heart of Jesus intimately.
#2. To love Him passionately.
#3.  To follow Him everywhere.

Ruth lived out her ideals and became the great grandmother of King David, and in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.  St Ignatius lived out his ideals and became the founder of the Society of Jesus, an Order that continues to have impact in the Church and in the world.

Here are other idealists:
St Francis Xavier opened India, Japan and China for Christ.
Billy Graham (still alive) preached to some 215 million people in 185 countries.
Mother St Teresa of Kolkata impacted the world with her service of the poor and the rejected.
Martin Luther King gave his life for the cause of racial harmony.

Someone said that great desire or great ideal make great people.

What are your desires? What are your ideals?

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Can anything good come from Nazareth?

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  (John 1:  46).

When Nathaniel heard from Philip that he believed that Jesus is the Messiah, Nathaniel quipped: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” 

We all suffer from prejudice. We profile human beings all the time. We discriminate based on the outcome of our profiling. Scripture says that Jesus Christ experienced all the vicissitudes of the human condition except sin.  (Hebrews 4: 15).

We wonder at times:
Can anything good come from suffering?
Can anything good come from delays, disappointments, obstacles?
Can anything good come from profiling and discrimination?

God says Yes to all the above. You may call this:  the Mystery of Divine Providence. 

Jean Pierre de Caussade, an 18th century French spiritual writer teaches:
#1. Accept all that has happened.
#2.  Accept everything that is happening.
#3.  Cooperate with everything except what is sinful.

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The Lord is a generous Employer

"Why have you been standing here idle all day? You go into my vineyard too.”  (Matthew 20: 6 – 7).

In the vineyard, there is much work to be done. The owner of the vineyard pays fair wages to all the workers. The Lord Jesus is a generous employer.

"The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.”  The Church is the vineyard of the Lord. (Isaiah 5: 7).

There is always and everywhere abundant work in the Lord’s Company.

"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him."  (Matthew 9:9 NLT).

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Many who are first will be last.

"Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” 

After the rich young who was possessed by his wealth walked away in utter sadness from Jesus, Jesus seized the opportunity to warn His disciples of the dangers of excessive love of money, pleasure and leisure.

Answering Peter's question, Jesus said:  "And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life."  (Matthew 19: 29).

I have seen this promise fulfilled in the lives of so many people. Do you believe in this promise?

"Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”  (Luke 1:  45).

I believe Lord Jesus.  Strengthen our faith.

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The rich young man went away sad.

Jesus answered a young man who kept all the commandments and wanted to know what more he could do to become an intimate friend of God:

"Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions."  (Matthew 19: 21 - 22).

Are your possessions about to possess you? I looked into the open garage of my neighbor and was surprised by how it was packed with stuff. I wondered what would be in the storage at the back of the home.  Is this the American dream I wondered.

"But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her."  (Luke 10: 42), Jesus said to Martha.

Strive to choose the more perfect part of all the gifts of God.

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The gifts and call of God are irrevocable.

"For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."  (Romans 11: 29).

Which gifts?

"The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide."  (Isaiah 11: 2 - 3).

Which call?

"I have chosen you from the world to go and bear fruit that will last."  (John 15: 16, 19).

"To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith,
 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ."  (2 Thessalonians 1: 11 - 12).

"I will bear a witness to you in the world,O Lord.  I will spread the knowledge of your name among my brothers and sisters, Alleluia!"  (Psalm 17: 50; 21: 23).

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Do you want to be like the little one? Ask Jesus.

"Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom."  (Matthew 11: 25).

How do you see yourself before God?  Wise and learned or childlike and little one? 

Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.  (1 Corinthians 8: 1).  God prefers to reveal the secrets of the Kingdom to the childlike.   You may call this: Preferential option for the little ones.

What are these secrets?  They are mysteries which the mind of man cannot fully understand.  Yet once they are revealed are found to be reasonable.  The Lord gave the little ones the gifts of Understanding, Knowledge and Wisdom.  With these core gifts they are able to understand the mysteries of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus the Christ, the Church, Sacraments, etc.

St. James writes of two types of wisdom:  Wisdom that comes from above and the earthly wisdom.  The wisdom that comes from above bears the marks of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.  While earthly wisdom bears all the signs of Satan, Father of lies. (James 3: 13 - 18).

Do you want to know some of these little ones, check them out by googling "Doctors of the Church" and "Church Fathers".

Dear Jesus Christ, I want to be a little one. If You want me to be a little one, You have to make me one Yourself.  Remember Lord that all things are possible for You and nothing is too marvelous for You to do for me. Amen.

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Give an honest try to Praise and Thanksgiving.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever."

His mercy endures forever.  Absolutely true!

"Who led his people through the wilderness, for his mercy endures forever." (Psalm 136: 1 - 4).

What do you know about the power of praise and thanksgiving? Praise and Thanksgiving is probably religion's best kept secret of all times. Just a few of the things that Praise and Thanksgiving can do for you:
#1.  Banish depression.
#2.  Wipe out the threat of opioid.
#3.  Heal marriages.
#4.  Fill your soul with contentment.
#5.  Put joy and smile on your face.
#6.  Renews your youth like the eagle's.

The word of God Never underperforms. Why do people refuse to check it out completely and then share their honest testimony?

"Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts."  (Psalm 103: 1 - 2).

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I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.

"Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’  Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan."  (Matthew 18: 26 - 27).

This servant certainly knew how to beg for relief. He knelt down and asked his Lord.  He knew something else for which we commend him.  He knew his master was compassionate and kindly.  How much do we know the Heart of Jesus?  The Sacred Heart waiting for us to come and to shower us with His forgiveness and love.

"Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan." (Matthew 18: 27).

Forgive the wasteful servant probably something like a million dollars?  If the master had forgiven 50% of the debt, he would be hailed as a most generous man.

"You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ (Matthew 18: 32 - 33).

Do not miss this very important phrase: "I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to." Asking for forgiveness is very important.

Look! This unforgiving servant is me and you. Consider how much God has forgiven us throughout our lives. Yet we bear all types of grudges. Lord have mercy!

Remember the ABC of Mercy?
A.  Ask for Mercy.
B.  Be Merciful.
C.  Completely trust Jesus for Mercy.

Do this and you will never have to fear this:
"So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”  (Matthew 18: 35).

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Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.

"Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!"

If God fills your soul with fire, what would you do?

If God fills my soul with fire, I will
Shout joyfully to God; sing praise to the glory of his name; I will proclaim his glorious praise.
and say to God: “How tremendous are your deeds!”

I will say to you my brothers and sisters: Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
I will urge you: Bless our God, you peoples; loudly sound his praise.

I will always remember: Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!

I will shout like a crazy man: Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.

Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire.
(Adapted from Psalm 66)

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