?...Consult Him for me, for the people and for the whole of Judah.? ? 2 Kings 22:13

Mid 2005, I was an intern in a multimedia company in Makati which was one of the requirements for school. Because of the 460- hour requirement, my internship lasted until the start of the school year. This was a problem because I also had responsibilities caring for people in my youth group.
      Juggling my responsibilities was fine for me, but it was emotionally taxing when one of my members would send me a message telling me about some kind of problem they have. It frustrated me that I couldn?t be where they are whenever they were down. All I could do was to comfort the m through text messages. It came to a point that I didn?t want to listen anymore because I know I wouldn?t be able to do anything about it because I wasn?t there physically.
      But I was wrong. My members would constantly text me back how much my prayers  helped!
      This I realized: I am not the Savior. He is. No matter what. Tina M.

REFLECTION
God uses tangible and visible people to be there for others. Are you a willing volunteers?

May my presence ? even just through text messages ? be a source of hope.

2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3

During the first exile in Assyria the Jews would largely have been reliant upon the oral tradition of their faith. It was only after they returned, and at around the time of the second exile in Babylon, that they began to collect in systematic form what we know today as the books of the Law, the first five books of the Christian and Jewish Scriptures. Yes, there were written copies, but very few. Thus the finding of sections of the Books of the Law in the rebuilding of Jerusalem would have been a very encouraging experience for the Israelites who returned from exile.

8 The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, ?I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD.? Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, ?Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple and have consigned them to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD.? 10 The scribe Shaphan also informed the king that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book, and then read it aloud to the king. 11 When the king had heard the contents of the book of the law, he tore his garments 12 and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and the king?s servant Asaiah 13 ?Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulations of this book that has been found, for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations.? 23: 1 The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned together before him. 2 The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great. He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them. 3 Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book. And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.

P S A L M

Psalm 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

R: Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.

33 Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. (R) 34 Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. (R) 35 Lead me in the path of your commands, for in it I delight. (R) 36 Incline my heart to your decrees and not to gain. (R) 37 Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain; by your way give me life. (R) 40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your justice give me life. (R)

G O S P E L
  
Matthew 7:15-20

One of the first methods of judging someone who claims to be a prophet or seer is to look at the fruit of their lives. This is what the Church does in trying to determine if someone deserves to become a saint or not. If the fruit is not there then we can be fairly sure that they are not the genuine article. If there is fruit then we will have to examine their doctrine and preaching more carefully to see if it is in accord with the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church.

15 ?Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep?s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So by their fruits you will know them?

my reflections
think: What fruit in your life bears witness to your beliefs?
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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 Wisdom 11-13

The Apostle Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit produces fruit in those who welcome him: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). The ?good tree that bears good fruit? refers then to the person who has allowed the Holy Spirit to control his life. It refers to the truly spiritual person.
      The spiritual person, according to Jesus, is not quite the same as the religious person. The religious person may be faithful to ritual obligation and to piety but his interior life ? that is, his will ? is not yet surrendered to the will of God. He lives his life according to his own plans and preferences, and he may even see his prayer as an act of ?manipulating? God?s favor!
      The religious leaders of Israel during the time of Jesus were pious but not spiritual. As such they suffered from the following deficiencies of faith:
       They were known to ?say and do not? (Matthew 23:1-4). They were good at studying and teaching the truth, but they did not often practice what they preached.
      They were known to do things to be seen by men (Matthew 23:5-7). They delighted in the fact that their religiosity earns them the praise and recognition of others.
      They were known to neglect parts of the Law of God (Matthew 23:23-24). They emphasize the lighter matters of the law, and they neglect the weightier ? that is, the essential ? demands of a living faith.
      They were known to be materialistic in their motivations (Matthew 23:6-8). They valued titles, places of honor, privileges. Fr. Domie G.

REFLECTION QUESTION:

Are you pious but not spiritual?

Make this invocation a part of your ardent prayer today ? ?Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your holy gifts. Let my weakness and inconsistencies be penetrated with Your strength that I may fulfill the duties of my state in life. Pour Your light into my heart, my soul and my mind. Assist me to grow in goodness and grace, so that I may be holy as I should.  Amen.?

St. Irenaeus, bishop martyr, pray for us.