HUMBLE PIE

I kept quiet when they insulted me. ? Isaiah 50:6

?Oh, it?s Squad! What are you doing here?? one of my colleagues at the correctional institute asked, surprised.
      That was in the afternoon, I was carrying a basket and was with our kitchen assistant Squad Tess, lining up for food in the kitchen. I met the ?old timers? who are my co-inmates, in line for food, too. One said, in an insulting tone, ?This is the first time I?ve seen you here.? It?s true. In my long stay here at correctional, this was the first time I would do this ? to fall in line for my loved ones.
     Many among my dorm mates don?t get their ration of food. So, the budget allotted for them is handed instead to me for my children. It doesn?t matter if they insult me.
      I cry because this would not have happened if my husband had not died. But God is so good because He didn?t only teach me to be humble. He also said that everything that?s happening is according to His will and I should follow Him. Beth C.

REFLECTION:
So what if they insult me? What matters most is God loves you very much.

Lord,  fill me up with everlasting food. Quench my thirst that I may be nourished.

 

Isaiah 50:4-9

Again, we should see a description of ourselves in these words of the Prophet Isaiah. We should never allow the enemy of humanity to rob us of our true identity as children of the Father. It is so important for us to stand in the truth of His love for us. Without this it is only a short path to the way of sin and darkness. If we do not live as sons and daughters of God, how are we living our lives, and for whom are we living them? Is this the way that we truly want to live?

4 The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; 5 and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. 6 I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. 7 The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. 9 See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong? Lo, they will all wear out like cloth, the moth will eat them up.

P S A L M

Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34

R: Lord, in your great love, answer me.

7 [8] For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. 8 [9] I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother?s sons, 9 [10] because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. (R) 20 [21] Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for consolers, not one could I find. 21 [22] Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (R) 30 [31] I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. 32 [33] ?See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! 33 [34] For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.? (R)

G O S P E L

Matthew 26:14-25

Every time we sin we betray the love that God has for us. It is easy to point the finger at Judas and cast blame upon his actions. However, in truth, whenever we blame others, we are also apportioning blame to ourselves as all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Let us seek not to cast blame upon others but to work against the sin and temptations in our own lives and thus provide an example of holiness for all to see and emulate.

14 Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, ?What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?? They paid him thirty pieces of silver, 16 and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. 17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, ?Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?? 18 He said, ?Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ?The teacher says, ?My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.? 19 The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. 20 When it was evening, He reclined at table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, He said, ?Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.? 22 Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, ?Surely it is not I, Lord?? 23 He said in reply, ?He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.? 25 Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, ?Surely it is not I, Rabbi?? He answered, ?You have said so.?

my reflections
think: If we do not live as sons and daughters of God, how are we living our lives, and for whom are we living them? Is this the way that we truly want to live?

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God?s special verse/thought for me today______________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ______________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1Chronicles 11-13

When a priest preaches, he often talks about lessons derived from actual lives of actual people. In a homily, the priest not only talks about people?s lives but talks to all the people as well?yes, including himself. The truth is the priest preaches to himself even as he preaches to his congregation. In the same vein, the priest refers to himself even as he refers to others. An honest homily convicts both the preacher and the preached to. The word of God, Scriptures say, is a two-edged sword, does it not?
      Sometimes when I preach, some people immediately react negatively to what I say. Most of those who react negatively are polite while some, experience taught me after ten years of preaching, can be violent. But whether I please or displease people, I continue to preach. Preaching is my life, my ministry, and my accountability to God. I am a priest. I preach to others and preach to myself, too.
      Quite often even as those I preach to feel alluded to by me in my homilies, I ask my self at the end of the day, ?Was I not referring to my self today when I spoke about that hypocrite, about that liar, about that glutton, about that sloth, about that proud and unforgiving man?? ?Not I, Lord, surely?? I say. But the Lord answers me when I pray, ?They are your own words.? Then my preaching turns to praying, my praying turns to begging: ?Forgive me, Lord, I am a sinful man.?
      The most difficult homily to preach is the one that convicts the preacher himself. The most difficult question to ask is the one that confronts the self. The most difficult answer to give is the one that pleads guilty. And we are all guilty. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
How do I plead before God? 

Lord, having preached to Your people, I also have preached to myself, and I find my self guilty like the rest. Yes, Lord, surely it is I. Have mercy on me, O God, I am a sinful man. Amen.

St. Gemma Galgani, virgin, pray for us.