from the heart...

The question that needs to be asked is, "Was not the act of the widow in Mt 12:42 an irresponsible gesture?

The widows was not planning, nor did she have any foresight. The Lord would have understood is she kept the two copper coins in her pocket, and said to Him: "Lord, I am just practical. I have to prepare for tomorrow. I may have nothing to eat."

From our point of view, the widow's gesture was impractical, foolish, and not one from the mind of a smart planner.

But you see my dear friends, brothers and sisters, all our questions are questions of the mind. The reason we do not understand the widow is because her behavior was not one from the mind.

It was one from the heart.

When we do things from the heart, we are not afraid to be crazy and impractical.

When we do things from the heart, we are willing to act extravagantly and without self-consciousness.

When I call the widow's gesture one from the heart, I do not only mean it was a gesture of emotion or feeling. Actions from the heart, are actions from the soul, right within, with or without emotion. That is why the widow was praised.

For the rest of our lives, we will be asked to make decisions.

If we could put more heart, more soul, into our decision-making, and less of analysis, planning and foresight, then we will hear the same blessing , addressed to the widow, addressed to us.

When was the last time we acted , not from the mind, but from a loving heart and soul?

Bless us all...

Why do we as Catholics baptize infants?

In Acts 16:15, 33 and 18:8 as well as in 1 Corinthians 1:16, we find that a person and his whole household were baptized. In all likelihood, this would also invlove children, even small ones.

St Paul in Colossians 2:11-13 makes a connection between Baptism and circumcision. Circumcision, given to eight-day-old boys, was the seal of teh covenant God made with Abraham, which applies to us also ( Gal 3:14, 29). It was a sign of repentance and future faith. (Rom 4:11). Infants were just as much a part of the covenant as adults (Gn 17:7; Dt 29:9-12, Mt 19:14).

In much the same fashion, Baptism is the seal of the New Covenant in Christ. It signifies and effects cleansing from sin, just as circumcision did.

Infants are saved from by God's grace just as adults are, only apart from theri rational and willful consent, with their parents acting on their bahalf.

Catholics believe that Baptism regenerates sinners, and takes away the punishment of original sin (1 Cor 15:22).

Titus 3:5 is one of the clearest of many verses indicating this:..."Because of His mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirthand renewal of the Holy Spirit."

leave the past...

Last year, the father of a friend of mine died and so my friend requested a vacation leave from his work for a week following his father's burial. But his work manager ordered him to go back and return for work the day after the burial.
Though his boss appeared unfair and inconsiderate, there was much wisdom in his instructions.

The longer we grieve over the death of a loved one, the longer we suffer.

The boss was telling my friend he would find his father alive and with him in his work.

Peter did the same thing when he chose to fish immediately after the Lord died rather than have a nine-day novena. He began to do what he normally did, and in it, discovered God again in the ordinariness of his life.

Perhaps, our trouble is that we linger too much in the past. A happy event takes place, we linger on it. Something sad happens, we linger on it. We live in our yesterdays.

But the Lord is not in yesterdays or tomorrows, but in the present.

If we continue to live in illusions of the past and the fantasies of tomorrow, we will miss the presence of the risen Christ now at the present moment.

Let us start all over again. From the mistakes we have committed, God has forgiven us. Let us leave behind our past pains, hurts and wounds.

There is certainly a gateway to going back to life and be whole again from the brokenness and death of our lives caused by our past hurts, pains from wounds and traumas inflicted to us by our family members or loved ones.

From past sins we have committed, God has forgiven us. So, we must go on and forget the past. Let us trust in the mercy of God and go on with the ordinary things we normally do and we will discover God is there with us and for us.

Blessings to us all...

confrontations...

David committed adultery. David was also responsible for the death of the husband of Bathsheba. The Lord wanted to confront david about the adultery and the murder. The Lord chose Nathan to confront David about his crimes.

It was a difficult task and mission.

Using the story in the first Reading, 2 Sam 12:1-13, Nathan baited David into his trap. David said: "That man should be killed." And as in drama, nathan said: "You are the man!" Immediately, David asked the Lord for repentance. He asked the Lord for forgiveness and pardon.

We are all being called to be like Nathan. When we confront sinners with their sins, it is not enough that we condemn. Look at what Nathan did to David. He condemned the sin of david and yet David never lost in the mercy of God.

The two should always go together. Confrontation against sin with the offer of mercy.

The problem with us is that some of us are so good at confronting sins and when we do so, we tend to be so self righteous that we fail to offer any mercy.

On the other hand, we come across people who are so merciful that they actually tolerate evil and they actually nod at evil. That is not mercy. That is weakness.

Today, let us learn from Nathan. Let us call sin as sin and evil as evil. But when we confront sin and sinners, let us not be wanting in mercy. When we are merciful, let us not be wanting in courage.

Today, we ask the lord for the grace to take courage in confronting sin as sin but also the Lord's mercy so that we may offer the same pardon to those who have sinned.

Why do we as Catholics distinguish between mortal and venial sin?

The distinction between mortal and venial sin is a clear biblical teaching:

...If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and He will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as a deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly....stated in 1 Jn 5:16-17.

The Bible distinguishes between the degrees of seriousness of sin. Bot all sins lead to spiritual death or damnation, and not all sins are equally evil in God's eyes, though, of course, no sin is ever a good thing; otherwise, we would have an absurd scenario whereby a white lie or a momentary pang of jealousy or lust would be the moral equivalent in God's eyes of torture, rape, or murder.

There are also numerous examples of different rewards and merits in Scripture, which suggest diferent levels of sin, as opposed to a stark "sinner versus saint" perspective.

(Mt 16:27, Rom 2:5-13, Cor 3:8-9, 1 Pt 1:17, Rv 22:12)

Jealousy…

Saul and David could have been the best of friends. Both of them were Israelites chosen by God. Both were good and handsome. But Saul and David did not become good friends because Saul was jealous.

So many relationships, friendships, marriages and families, communities (Religious or non-Religious) are destroyed and cannot prosper because of that one vice called jealousy.

Jealousy does not mean suspicion. It means being unhappy when someone is praised or admired and is given recognition. Jealousy means being discontented when other people are contented. Jealousy means being unhappy and sad when other people are more blessed. The reason why the friendship between Saul and David did not prosper was because of jealousy.

Jealousy is actually a sign of selfishness. But more than anything else, jealousy leaves the jealous person miserable. The one who is jealous is insecure, always afraid and will not be able to discover true happiness. David discovered it. Saul failed because of that one vice called jealousy.

When somebody receives attention or a privilege we do not receive, what should our reaction be? Should we say: “Why not me?” But shouldn’t we say: “Thank God for the privilege given to this him or her.” If your first reaction is: “Why not me?” then be warned and be careful. Because you are on the road to unhappiness , you will be miserable because you are a jealous person.

Let us ask God to bless us, and be thankful, and be contented of the blessings we received from Him rather than look at other’s blessings and ask ourselves: “Why not me?”…

Blessings to us all…

Do we as Catholics believe that Jesus is sacrificed again at Every Mass?

Catholics believe that the Mass is a re-presentation and re-enactment of Jesus’ historical, one-time sacrificial death on the Cross. Jesus’ death in past history is present to God, because God himself is made real and present to us, transcending space and time.

We, Catholics, believe this because there are several biblical indications of it. The notion of priestly sacrifice, which is so familiar in the Old Testament religion, is also seen in the Book of Revelation, where we find an ‘altar’ mentioned.

Revelation 5:1-10 presents a climactic scene in this glorious experience of heaven. We find in there the “Lamb that seemed to have been slain” (5:6). This Lamb (Jesus) is “in the midst of the Throne” (5:6), which is in front of the altar with a “golden censer” (8:3): images which strongly suggest Jewish temple sacrifice.

The presentation of Jesus as “Lamb” to the Father appears to be an ongoing occurrence (from God’s perspective, timeless), long after the death of Jesus. Hebrews 7:24 states that Jesus “has a priesthood that does not pass away.”

Every Mass re-enacts Jesus’ priestly actions at the Last Supper. On the other hand, the sacrifice made “once”, referred to in Hebrews 7:27, is the human, historical death of Jesus in the Cross.

Blessings to us all….