They have brought about the very things, which you planned long ago. ? Acts 4:28

All throughout high school, I knew what I wanted to be ? a doctor specializing probably in psychology. And so, I studied hard to get accepted into the state university and I was on my way to realizing my dream!
      While I was a freshman in the pre-med course, my older sister was a freshman in the med proper course. I?d go to sleep late at night and she?d still be up studying. I?d wake up in the morning and she?d still be there studying!
      During her first exam week, I saw her break down and cry to my mom about how difficult it was. I got cold feet. Suddenly, medicine didn?t seem so appealing anymore to me. So my sister suggested that I take up dentistry instead. Sometimes I wondered if I really made the right decision to shift.
     Twelve years later, a friend wanted to give dental benefits to her employees and so she asked me if I could give her a proposal. She asked her older son to study the proposal I submitted to their company. My proposal was accepted.
     Six months later, I received another proposal. We were married a year after ? all because of a dental plan proposal! Rowena L.

REFLECTION
Many are the plans in a man?s heart, but it is the decision of the Lord that prevails.

Lord, allow me not to get my way. Let me always be at the center of your perfect will.

Acts 4:23-31

Boldness is a gift of the Holy Spirit that some within the Church need to rediscover. There can be a tendency to draw back from proclaiming the Gospel in situations of inter-religious dialogue for fear of offending others. Yes, we need to be respectful of others beliefs but this never means denying any aspect of our own beliefs. In fact, to be unfaithful to what we believe is actually to perform a disservice to others as we are hiding the truth from them! Let us pray for the grace to live the  Catholic faith to the full.

23 After their release they went back to their own people and reported what the chief priests and elders had told them. 24 And when they heard it, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, ?Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them,? 25 you said by the holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant: ?Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples entertain folly?? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. 27 Indeed they gathered in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do what your hand and [your] will had long ago planned to take place. 29 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with all boldness, 30 as you stretch forth [your] hand to heal, and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.? 31 As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

P S A L M

Psalm 2:1-3, 4-7, 7-9

R: Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord.

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples utter folly? 2 The kings of the earth rise up, and the princes conspire together against the LORD and against his anointed. 3 ?Let us break their fetters and cast their bonds from us!? 4 He who is throned in heaven laughs; the LORD derides them. 5 Then in anger he speaks to them; he terrifies them in his wrath. 6 ?I myself have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.? 7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD. The LORD said to me, ?You are my son; this day  I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. 9 You shall rule them with an iron rod; you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.? 10 And now, O kings, give heed; take warning, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him; with trembling 12 pay homage to him, lest he be   angry and you perish from the way, when his anger blazes suddenly. Happy are all who take refuge in him!

G O S P E L

John 3:1-8

Nicodemus does not understand what Jesus is saying as he takes it too literally. The analogy of  rebirth is not misplaced as to come to faith in Christ is like taking on a new life but it does not mean having to be physically reborn. Let us reflect upon his process in our own lives and ask ourselves whether or not the process of rebirth still has a way to go or not. Have you and I been fully reborn in the  Spirit? Have we died to sin in our lives? Have we taken up the call of the Gospel in every way possible?

1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, ?Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.? 3 Jesus answered and said to him, ?Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.? 4 Nicodemus said to him, ?How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother?s womb and be born again, can he?? 5 Jesus answered, ?Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you, ?You must be born from above.? 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.?

my reflections
think: Have you and I been fully reborn in the Spirit?
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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 34-36

When I became a priest, people started calling me ?Father.? Funny the first time I heard my dad and mom called me ?Father.? With my mom and dad, whose ages are twice mine, calling me ?father? I suddenly felt like a grandfather instead!
      But why do we call a priest ?Father??
      A father begets a child. A father helps a mother to give birth. The same may be said about priests, but be careful not to get me wrong.
      Priests are called ?Fathers? because they are ?married? to the Church, our Mother in faith. Priests are Fathers because they beget us in baptism. In baptism we are born from the womb of the Church. Priests baptize us. They are our fathers, too.
      When we were born into this world, we were children only of our parents. But when we were reborn through baptism, we became children of God. Without baptism, we are human beings only. Through baptism, we are destined to divine immortality.
      It is a great honor to be a priest. But it is the greatest gift to become a child of God. It is very humbling to be addressed to as ?Father.? But it is totally overwhelming to know that God is my Father. It can be moving to hear my parents call me ?Father? and kiss my anointed hands. But it is always heaven to hear God call me ?son? and allow me to kiss His loving heart.
      Once a friend asked me, ?Which is the most important date for you: your ordination day or your day of baptism?? ?The day I was baptized,? I replied. In fact, I remember the date so well. It was April 30, 1967 ? 28 years and 42 days before I became Father Bobby. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
Do you know the date you were baptized?

You have made me Your child, Father God, through Jesus, Your Son and our Brother. Through the Holy Spirit help me live and die as Your child. No matter what I become, I will always be Your child. Amen.

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, martyr, pray for us.