GOD BLESS

GOD BLESS

 

“… and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment and send you the Messiah already appointed for you, Jesus….” – Acts 3:20

 

For several years now, “God bless!” has become my usual parting words to people I communicate with. In e-mails, verbal greetings, either face-to-face or phone conversations, text messages or even in some talks I have given, I end with “God bless.”

A priest friend of mine joked that my wish for blessing upon him is already“baduy!” (corny). But just the same, I chose not to omit it from my habit.

For me, part of following the command to love one another is to wish others well. “May a season of refreshment be granted you by the Lord when He sends you Jesus” are encouraging words especially for people who were just rebuked for bad behavior. We owe each other kind words to help build up the church.Cristy Galang (cristy_cc@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Do I offer kind words to people I relate with?

 

Thank You, Lord, for reminding me to offer a blessing or good wishes to all I meet. Please guide me to be a life-giving person to others. Amen.

 

THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION

 

Peter and John are quite clear about the fact that the power to heal comes from God and not them. This is true but God also needs willing people through which to course His love, mercy, forgiveness and healing. It is important to remain humble and not appropriate to ourselves the glory that belongs solely to the Lord, but it is also important to realize that we all have our part to play in bringing the Good News to the ends of the earth.

Peter goes on to explain how it is that the Gospel he preaches as a believer in Christ is still rooted in the Jewish faith. There is no discontinuity between his faith in Jesus and the revelation given first by God to Abraham. St. Paul will give a far more extensive reflection upon the role of Abraham in the history of God’s revelation of Himself to His people (see Romans 4), but for the time being Peter tells the people that his faith and that of all followers of Christ builds upon that of the Jews.

It is important for us today to realize this as we can learn much from the Jewish faith that is applicable to our own. The love that the Jews have for the Law or Torah is something that we need to learn from and emulate in Christianity. The Jewish respect for their elders in the faith is carried over into the cult of the saints in the Catholic Church. And there are many other things we could mention here.

Let us all seek to be faithful to the call God places on our lives by doing our bit in the work of the Church, the work of bringing the Good News of salvation to all people. It does not matter who we are or what we do, God has a role for us to play — it is just a matter of finding it. Let us seek to know the power of the resurrection in our own lives so that we can live it and apply it to the lives of others. This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

Reflection Question:

Do I know the power of the resurrection in my life? Am I aware of the grace that is available to me for conversion?

 

Jesus, help me to know and experience both the power of the cross and the power of the resurrection — the former to overcome sin and the latter to grow in holiness.

 

St. Walter of Pontoise, pray for us.