Life in Tune - God's Love is My Melody: 11/05/12

Monday, November 5, 2012

Gospel Reflection

November 05, 2012

Monday – Weekday – Year of Faith

by Rev. Fr. Prudencio 'Jun' T. Solomon (Rector and Parish Priest)

(Archdiocesan Shrine of the Our Lady of Loreto Parish, Sampaloc Manila)Guest Priest, Lunch Mass at Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace (Our Lady of EDSA)

Reading 1 Phil 2:1-4

Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3

R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

Gospel Lk 14:12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

HOMILY

"When you hold a lunch or dinner, do not invite your friends, or your brothers or sisters, or your relatives, or your wealthy neighbors."

Mga kapatid, sa narinig nating salita ng Ebanghelyo, nangangahulugan bang si Hesus ay laban sa mga pagtitipon at pagsasalu-salo? Si Hesus ba'y hindi sumasang-ayon sa mga pagdiriwang? Is Jesus anti-social? Hindi po. Sapagkat kung titignan natin ang buhay ng ating Panginoon, madalas nga Siyang nakikikain, lalong-lalo na sa mga makasalan. Madalas nga Siyang dumadalaw sa mga hapag ng mga bahay na kanyang pinupuntahan. Si Hesus ay nakikitungo, nakikisalamuha, nakikisama sa iba.

Kung ganoon, ano ang punto ng ating Ebanghelyo?

Mga kapatid, kung tayo ay magbibigay, ang isang bagay na dapat nating isa-alang alang, ay kung papaano tayo magbigay. At ano po 'yon? Dapat, tayo ay maging bukas-palad. Ano ang ibig sabihin ng pagiging bukas-palad? Mga kapatid, ang mga katangian ng pagiging bukas-palad ay tatlo. Una, kusa. Ikalawa, lubos. Ikatlo, wagas. At ang ibig sabihin nito'y kung tayo'y magbibigay, mula sa ating pagiging bukas-palad, dapat wala tayong hinahangad. Walang hinihintay na kapalit. Walang inaasahan. Dapat kusa, mula sa atin. Hindi pilit. Dapat lubos - kung magbibigay ka, you give 100% of your heart. Dapat wagas - walang intensiyon, walang hidden desires, walang pasubali.

Mga kapatid, sa pagbabahagi at pagbibigay sa iba, dapat naroon ang katangiang iyon - ang pagiging bukas-palad. Kusa, lubos at wagas. Tayo, kapag tayo ay nagbahagi sa iba, naroroon ba ang mga katangiang iyon? Kusa ba, lubos ba, at higit sa lahat, wagas ba, ang ating pagbabahagi, ang ating pagbibigay, ang ating pagiging bukas-palad sa ibang tao?

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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!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Gospel Reflection

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