Gospel Reflection

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Gospel Reflection

December 03, 2011

Saturday

St. Francis Xavier, Priest (Memorial)

Anticipated Sunday Mass (Second Sunday of Advent)

by Rev. Fr. Stephen Mifsud (MSSP – Quezon City)

MSSP House / Mass for the poor

First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Psalm: Psalm 85:9-14

Second Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight -- " 4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit the Seraphic Order (M

HOMILY

Story In1980 a disabled man with cerebral palsy was talking to a group of professional footballers.

What could this man tell these footballers? He told them.

“You may kick the best shot, earn thousands of Pesos a year, but when the day comes that they close the lid on that box, you won’t be any different than I am. That’s one time when we’ll be the same. I don’t need what you have in life, but one thing’s for sure: you need what I have, and that’s Jesus Christ”

“What I need is Christ”

Death has no age. The important thing in life is whether I arrive at Jesus or not. The question is how can I arrive at Jesus?

Today in the Gospel we have John Baptist who tells us how. Shows us the door to arrive at Jesus. John said : “Prepare a way for the Lord”

Advent is time to prepare for Christ, so he can come to me. Imagine the president wants to come here to give us 10 thousand pesos each but the road up there is a mountain of basura which prevents him from coming in. What do you do? Remove the basura.

That’s why John the baptist said today“Lower mountains” ibig sabihin remove the obstacles so that Jesus may come in your life.

what are my mountains? My obstacles?

My laziness... “I am tired to pray... next time na lang”

my pride... “I don’t need God in my life!” I can do it myself

shyness... what do my friends say if I go to church or I pray?

Selfishness... I want everything for myself and do not share with others my things, my thoughts and my time.

John Baptist said also “straighten the paths” ibig sabihin, straight your attitudes

Do I show honesty in my actions? Do I live right?

So let us ask God to help us clear those things in our life which makes us far from him. Let us make at least the decision to start clearing the way. Let us make way to Jesus to come near us... not to give us money but to give us the peace in our heart, to give us the hope that we need to continue our struggles in life, to give us the faith in Him that one day we will be enjoying the beauty and the riches of heaven.

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About This Blog

Hi, everyone.

My name is Laurence Lim. I am a Filipino Catholic, an architect, and I am currently working in a design firm in Doha, Qatar.

Back in the Manila, I took delight in visiting a Catholic Church almost every day, to hear mass, and to spend time praying at the Blessed Sacrament. Practically in any place in Manila, I can find God’s abode. However, upon arriving in Qatar, I found out that there is only one Catholic Church in Doha, and its location is far away from where I reside. Regrettably, given my schedule at work, I could not visit the church every day and hear mass, and was confined to my daily rosary and prayers at home.

But God truly finds a way to convey His message to us. One day, my Mammu Chinn started to send me SMS and e-mail messages, as she wanted to share the priest’s reflections at the daily masses that she hears in Manila. Knowing that I could not go to church every day and my longing to do such, Mammu Chinn made me a part of her daily masses, and also shared with me God’s daily blessings, through the reflections. Mammu Chinn always made me feel connected through her pure motherly love, her prayers and her strong faith in God.

The reflections are very nice and inspiring, and have been very helpful in my daily meditation and prayer. For me, the Word of God is always fresh, novel and real, and thus worth sharing. It is for this reason that I was inspired to create a blog, with the hope that others will also be blessed by the reflections, quotes and messages that I have collected through time.

I was finally able to create the Blog in August, 2012, during a long vacation at the end of Ramadan. Though not a techy like others, I tried my best to make the Blog as clear, easy to read, and user-friendly as possible. I have also browsed the Net to find suitable images* for my posts. I have also asked the help of Mammu Chinn to check the reflections that she has sent me, to make sure we did not miss anything.

Mammu Chinn and I would like to thank (though indirectly) all the priests who have shared their reflections through the masses. Their homilies are spiritually enriching, and will always serve as a guide and reminder to us. Although the reflections are not as verbatim as they could be, Mammu Chinn told me that she has tried her best to capture the priest’s words as faithfully as possible.

I am not a very religious person or one claiming to follow the footsteps to sainthood, but one thing I am sure of is this – I love God and I believe in Him. With God’s grace and guidance, I will try my best to improve myself and my life. In my own little way, I will strive to be closer to God.

I hope that this Blog will help you be closer to God, too, and enjoy His abundant blessings. Let’s keep our life in tune with God – every day!

* Note: I do not own the images in my posts, and if there is anyone whose image I have inadvertently used, just feel free to inform me. Thank you and God bless.

Lift Songs of Praise to the Lord

Ephesians 5:17

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools. (Ephesians 5:15) Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”. (Ephesians 5:18–19)

As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wisely what to do next.

8So my friend, lift up songs of praise to the Lord, whether times are good or bad. For when you fill your mouth with praises to God, He will lead you and guide you in all the affairs of your life. Even if you are stuck with a problem, He will show you the way to go or make a way out for you. Either way, you will get the wisdom and help that you need!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Gospel Reflection

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