Evangelium Dei

14/05/2023

Strategic thinking, aggressiveness, boldness etc. could all be considered "masculine "qualities." But no one can argue against the need for the feminine…

28/08/2020

What if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

09/07/2020

Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits,

When I was a child (many years ago), I laughed at the cartoon character who tried to plug leaks in the dam as they popped up one by one until he ran out of hands and feet to cover the holes. Sometimes I feel exactly like that cartoon character - shorthanded, needing an extra hour, scrimping to reach month's end. Needs always seem to outstrip resources so by the end of the day, I was hardly in the mood to be thankful.

But the psalmist calls us to "bless the lord"! Not only that! He admonishes us "...do not forget all his benefits"! Did you miss that? He said, "all his benefits"! He gave us many benefits? At the end of a long workday, sometimes it's hard to see what those benefits are. So the psalmist listed them down for us. Read verse 3: ...Forgives all your iniquity.....Heals all your diseases... He goes on in Verse 4: ...Redeems your life....crowns you with steadfast love. Wait! there's more in Verse 5: Satisfies you with good......Renews your youth.

Maybe we are drained, discouraged and distraught about our situation because we aren't taking the psalmist's advice. We can answer our lack and troubles with his words: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget his blessings. Say that a few times tonight to your own soul and discover how God will fill your life with His eternal benefits!

Under the shadow of His wings!

Beda

Mga Awit 103:2
Si Yahweh ay papurihan, O aking kaluluwa,
at huwag mong kaliligtaan, mabubuti niyang gawa.

02/08/2018

BAKIT MAINIT ang dugo ni Duterte kay Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang?

Sinubukang isuspende pero tinutulan ng dating Ombudsman chief Morales; ngayong wala na si Morales at may bagong talagang Ombudsman ay pinasisibak na sa serbisyo mismo si Deputy Ombusdman Carandang.

01/07/2018

Many of us believe there are two driving forces behind the person known as “you”: nature and nurture. But, according to personality and motivational psychologist Brian R. Little, there’s a third: p…

01/11/2016

Gospel LK 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.



(Don’t look left or right. Keep looking straight ahead. It’s such a narrow path. I could easily fall away. It’s so hard to stay focused, to stay committed. I hear music, merry making and bright lights calling me to stray. I see other paths that look easier, less costly and painful to travel. So many others are leaving the narrow path. Maybe they are right?)

"Lord, the narrow path makes me tired and lonely. Everyone else seems to have an easier time and more profit in other paths. Very few remain faithful and they too look weary and deprived. Give me the faith to keep my eyes on the end of the path where You are my prize. "

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you in reply,
‘I do not know where you are from.’
And you will say,
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”



(Perfect attendance. Asked the right questions. Listened to every word. I should be at the front of the line. But I didn’t walk his talk. I didn’t really believe or obey. I didn’t follow the path. I am not at the head of the line anymore.)



"Lord, I don’t want to be left behind. Forgive me for just listening but not living your word. Forgive me when my head knowledge just ends in pride and not humble service. Others who know less but love you more are beloved in your sight. Give me the grace to love and obey you above all else. Amen."

22/06/2016

Gospel MT 7:1-5



Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.



Awful. The way they dress. The words they use. The ideas they have. They should know better. I don’t like the way they do things. I feel justified rejecting them. But you don’t.



Lord, you have shown me how I should love but you have set no limits on who I should love. You judge how much I don’t judge. You measure how much I don’t measure. Because you don’t judge, you save. You don’t measure, you fill.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”



I fear those who can hurt me. I see too much of my own weaknesses in them. I see my ability to hurt in others. I would rather push away rather than risk trusting. Coldness creeps into my heart. I will judge others to justify my lonely place.



Lord, I see my own weakness, guilt and sinfulness in others and I am so afraid of what I see. Forgive me for not embracing the weakness in them because you have embraced the weakness in me. Forgive me for not offering to fill up what is lacking in them because you have filled up what is lacking in me. Give me the grace to love no matter how I am treated knowing that I too have not responded sufficiently to the immensity of your grace poured out on me. Amen.

26/04/2016

05/04/2016

2009