Life in Tune - God's Love is My Melody: 06/28/13

Friday, June 28, 2013

Gospel Reflection

June 28, 2013

Friday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

by Rev. Fr. Benjamin “Benjo” Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)

7:00PM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

Reading 1 Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: “I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless.”

God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.”

God further said to Abraham: “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai; her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.” Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?” Then Abraham said to God, “Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!” God replied: “Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.

Responsorial Psalm PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. (4) See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.

Gospel Mt 8:1-4

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

HOMILY

One of my favorite characters in the entire Bible is Saint Peter. Saint Peter had a lot of mistakes. He committed a lot of blunders. I like Saint Peter not because I am superior to him. I like Saint Peter because like him, I have a lot of errors, a lot of blunders, a lot of mistakes.

Saint Peter was a man of doubt. He did not understand everything that God did in His life. He failed in His test of faith. He sank in the waters, and he even denied Jesus Christ three times. But despite all these weaknesses and mistakes of Saint Peter, God loved him. Jesus Christ even made him the rock, the foundation of the Church.

With all my blunders and mistakes, I can say that God loves me, too. And so we rejoice today with Saint Peter, the victory of his faith, the victory that he proclaims, that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God. And we celebrate, not because of Saint Peter, but because of the One who made this Feast possible - our Lord God.

My dear brothers and sisters, all of us fail in our test of faith. But like Saint Peter, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can also profess and say to Jesus Christ, 'You are the King, the Messiah, the Son of God'. Amen.

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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!