SHAPE YOUR WORLD BEFORE IT SHAPES YOU

SHAPE YOUR WORLD BEFORE IT SHAPES YOU

 

But according to his promise, we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. – 2 Peter 3:13

 

My friend “Jim” was a drug addict. He lived in a rehabilitation center for a year. He went back home a new man.

But a few days after, an old friend who was a user visited him at home and offered him shabu. Jim refused. But he kept on meeting his old friends. After only three months, Jim relapsed and his addiction was more severe than before.

What caused his downfall? He shaped his inner world, but he didn’t shape his outer world. He needed a new set of friends. He needed a new itinerary. He also needed new hobbies, new music, new activities.

It’s pretty obvious. If you’re an alcoholic, stop hanging out with friends who drink. Hang out with new friends who don’t. If you’re a gambler, cut friendships with other gamblers. Hang out with people who don’t gamble.

Many people don’t use their power to choose their friends. They just accept the people who call up, visit and appear on their doorstep. Big mistake. Go out and choose the kind of people you like to become.

And then fulfill you dreams. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

 

REFLECTION:

What is it in my outer world that is influencing me in the wrong way?

 

Dear Lord, grant me the grace to detach myself from anything and anyone that obstructs me from becoming who You want me to be.

 

St. Iñigo, pray for us.

WHILE WAITING

 

Peter’s letter today reminds me of a study about school children being left by their teacher for a while, each one being given a marshmallow to eat. While they were free to eat it as they pleased, the children were told that those who could wait till the teacher got back and who could hold on to their marshmallow would be given more as reward. Those who wanted instant gratification ate their share just as soon as the teacher left. Those who somehow knew how to delay gratification and waited got more when the teacher returned.

Peter was writing to a church-inwaiting then. They were expecting the second coming of the Lord. And Peter helped them clarify what it meant to be waiting — yes, to wait actively in hope.

The children who could not wait simply gave in. They grabbed and gobbled to their immediate gustatory delight! But those who waited actively behaved differently. They tapped their fingers, traipsed, talked and tinkered. They sang. They did not wait passively but actively.

They were engaged, involved and committed to the demands of the moment. We are also a people in waiting. We live the in-between times of the Church, redeemed by that one saving act of the one mediator, Jesus Christ. We are a people on the march, like the Israelites on the desert. We long for our own Promised Land, the final and definitive one, whose fullness and fulfillment is not ours to pin down as to where, when and how. We are waiting for more than just an extra marshmallow. We are waiting for that place of utter bliss where dirty marshes are no more and where joy does not mellow — “what no eye has seen nor ear heard” — heaven, that is our only true and permanent home.

We ought to be like those children who waited actively. We ought to be engaged. We ought to be committed to helping God save a world that still  wallows in the marshes of sin. Let’s take it from Peter: “while waiting for this, make every effort to be found without stain or defilement, and at peace in his sight.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

When you are made to wait, what do you usually do? Wait passively or wait actively?

 

Lord Jesus, remind me always that nothing is ever useless — waiting time included. Helpn me to use it for Your purpose and glory.                                                                                                                                               

 

St. Iñigo, pray for us.

THE LITTLE FISH

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

 

THE LITTLE FISH

 

“From of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth.” – Proverbs 8:23

 

One story from Anthony de Mello’s The Song of the Bird goes like this:

“Excuse me,” said the little fish,

“can you tell me how to find this

thing called the ocean?”

“The ocean,” said the older fish, “is

the thing you are in now.”

“Oh, this? But this is water,” said

the disappointed fish as he swam to

search elsewhere.

Sometimes, we are just like the little fish, going around trying to find God. What we don’t immediately recognize is that God is everywhere. He is the Creator who made everything that surrounds us, from the vast universe to the tiniest grain of sand. He is the Christ who emptied Himself to become like us, made of flesh and blood, vulnerable and weak. He is the Spirit that dwells within us, constantly guiding us though we may choose not to heed Him.

Aren’t we lucky that wherever we look, be it our surroundings, our fellow men, or our own selves, we see the reflection of God?Cecilia Lim (cez_lim@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

“Stop searching, little fish. There isn’t anything to look for. All you have to do is look.” (Anthony de Mello)

 

You are my God! In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

 

FEAST AND CHALLENGE

 

We celebrate today the deepest and greatest mystery of our Christian faith: the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.

First of all, the mystery of the Trinity tells us that there is only one God. He was the God of the Old Testament and still is the God of the New Testament. He was God before anything existed, He is God today, and will still be God until the end of time.

Second, though He is the one and only God, He is not alone. There are Three Persons in One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Divinity, however, is not divided into three. The fullness of divinity resides in each of the Three. Each has His own role in the economy of salvation and in sustaining the whole of creation: the Father creates, the Son redeems and the Holy Spirit sanctifies. However, when each fulfils the role proper to Him, all Three Persons are actively present.

Third, the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity commands us to mirror God in His being a community. We are different from one another but we are one body with Jesus as Head. We should celebrate our differences and contribute our unique gifts to our Christian community.

God is a community where mutual love respect and collaboration of Three Persons reign. They do not contrive against one another. They congregate as one God. And we, together with all of creation, benefit from the love, respect and collaboration They have for and with one another. God, a community in Himself, is not a community for Himself only but for others, for us.

The same should be for our community, whether we are referring to our parish or even the universal Church herself. We must live for others, i.e., all of humanity. The graces of our unity, respect, collaboration and love should continually flow in and out of our community. We are Church not only in the world but also for the world.

Today is thefiesta of God Himself and so it is our fiesta as well. Let us face and take the challenge of this feast: Mirror the community of the One God in and for our one, but fragmented, world. Fr. Bobby Titco

Reflection Question:

 

The Church is the icon of the Trinity.

 

Father, Son and Spirit, one God, I adore You. I love You. I praise You. With the Church, may I help reflect Your image in the world, contributing whatever I can in advancing Your reign on earth. Amen.

 

St. Hubert, pray for us.

THERE IS LIFE - EVEN WITH CANCER

THERE IS LIFE — EVEN WITH CANCER

 

But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ… – 1 Peter 4:13

 

With tears in her eyes, my cousin said, “Si Lord na ang bahala sa akin (I am in God’s hands).” The dreaded big C had spread to her ovaries, intestines and pancreas. Her words keep coming back to me.

These past years, I have seen so much suffering at close range. Many friends in our neighborhood have cancer. A few have passed away; some are still battling with it.

And yet, too, I have seen people who, though suffering with cancer, continue to live joyfully and meaningfully, finding purpose in their illness. Their suffering has blessed the people around them —just as Jesus’ suffering and death blessed us all.

Maybe it’s time to act soon on the inspiration that’s been nagging at me for three years — to form a cancer survivors support group that will not only be a haven for those afflicted with the illness but will also provide support for caregivers.

An inspiration, a prayer, a willing spirit.

As I write this, I know that God is moving things for His will to happen. Tess V. Atienza (svp_tvatienza@yahoo.com)        

 

REFLECTION:

How donyou look at your suffering or those of the people around you? Do you find meaning in them?

 

Lord, there is so much suffering around us and in us. Grant us the grace to see Your purpose in allowing them to happen.

BLESSING OR CURSE

 

We love to bless and be blessed. We believe in blessings.

Some curse and are cursed. Some believe in curses.

Do you believe in curses? If you do not, then why do you believe in blessings? Is it our belief that makes either blessings or curses work?

Curses are as real as blessings. If we have faith when we curse, that which we curse is accursed indeed. If we have faith when we bless, that which we bless is truly blessed. Be generous so as to bless. Be careful so as not to curse. Be loving so as to be a blessing. Why curse anyway? But Jesus cursed the barren fig tree. He did! It was because, being barren, the fig tree already ceased to be a blessing long before it was cursed. By cursing the fig tree, Jesus brought to consciousness what the fig tree really had already become: a curse.

Be fruitful and be a blessing. Do not be a curse. But we are not fig trees. When we are barren, there is still hope for us to heal and bear fruit in due time. And this is Good News!

Be healed and bear fruit. Bear fruit and bless. To be healed, we need to be cleansed as Jesus cleansed the temple with its maladies for it to be truly what it should be — a house of blessing, never a den of thieves. Be cleansed and be what you should really be. Be what you are truly meant to be and bless others.

To be cleansed, we must pray. Prayer purifies us with the presence of God. This is grace. Pray and be purified. Be in the presence of God and bless others.

To bless, we must love. Love makes us the presence of God in the world. This is virtue. Love and be a blessing. Be the presence of God and bless others.

Are you a blessing or a curse? Fr. Bobby Titco

 

Reflection Question:

Am I a blessing or a curse? Am I fruitful or barren?

 

Beginning today, Lord Jesus, I will pray not only for You to bless me but for You to transform and use me to be Your blessing to others. Be it far from me that I become a curse to anyone. Amen.

 

St. Wiliam of Gellone, pray for us.