DON'T MISS THE BLESSING!

DON’T MISS THE BLESSING!

 

Live soberly and set your hope completely on the grace… – 1 Peter 1:13

 

“Praise God! Prices of gasoline went down,” I once remarked to a friend. “Naah! Wait ‘til it goes up again next week. That’s just their gimmick before they double the increase in prices,” he quickly retorted.

Many have become cynical these days. They think that every good thing that happens is just a façade or an intro to something worse that’s sure to come.

As a result people anticipate the curse instead of the blessing.

“It’s raining! Darn! I’m sure to catch a cold again.”

“Haaay, it’s so hot! I’ll get a heat stroke with this!”

“Oh no! It’s Christmas time again. Where do I get the money to spend?”

With this attitude, you even see your  birthday as yearly burdens.

Why not try, “Wow, it’s raining, it’s gonna be a cool day!” Or, “The sun is up. What a great time for the beach!”

Peter tells us to keep alert on setting our hopes completely on the blessings. Otherwise, the blessings might be staring us in the face and we completely miss it. God bless you!Alvin Barcelona (alvinbarcelona@gmail.com)

 

REFLECTION:

What are you setting your hopes on today — blessings or curses?

 

Dear Lord, make me believe that You pour out blessings on me every day. Give me the eyes of faith, hope and love to see and receive them. Amen.

 

NOT YET HOLY

 

I want to be holy. But my desire to be holy is often easier said than done. The road to holiness is not only narrow; it is long and rough as well.

It is God Himself who put in us the desire to be holy. He created us in His image and likeness, and He is utterly holy. We are destined to be holy. Until we are holy, we remain restless. Our peace rests on our being holy as God Himself is holy.

To sin is not to be holy. It means to go against God who created us in His image and likeness. To sin is to destroy the self. Have you noticed that the word “live,” when spelled inversely, becomes “evil”? To live is to be holy. To do evil is to die.

The Apostle Peter said that we should be holy because God is holy (cf. 1 Peter 1:10-16). The persecutions mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel today, together with the blessings for those who leave everything behind for the sake of the Gospel, are meant to polish the divine image in us. What we have to bear on account of the Gospel helps us become holy. I fear persecution. Sometimes, instinct makes me shy away, even run away, from persecution. Who wants persecutions anyway? Perhaps this why I am not yet holy. I often see myself escape from the demands of the cross that I need to bear for the sake of the Gospel of Christ.

The virtue of Christian poverty is a great aid towards holiness. It is the virtue of personal and total freedom from all inordinate attachments for the purpose of being always completely available for God. Just like any virtue, poverty is a grace planted by God in our hearts that we need to take care of.

Christian poverty is not destitution. Jesus blesses detachment, but He does not want us to be miserable. Jesus wants us to live simply. It is not sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice that Jesus desires; rather, it is sacrifice that sets us truly free so that we may free others from unnecessary sufferings. Such sacrifice is life-giving. The sacrifice of poverty should always be such. Are you holy already? Fr. Bobby Titco

 

Reflection Question:

Why am I not yet holy as I should be?

 

Lord, grant that I may be holy as I should. Free me from all inordinate attachments and help me cling to You, only You, always You. Amen.

 

St. Zenobius, pray for us.