?I will praise you with a pure heart?Never abandon me!? ? Psalms 119:7

Life is hard, no doubt about it. Just recently, I watched the movie Magnifico and it was great. The movie shows a young boy who, despite his family?s problems (grandma with cancer, younger sister with cerebral palsy, kuya?s scholarship taken away, and parents? money problems), decides to take upon himself to lift their lives out of misery, bringing not only their family but the whole town itself to become better.
      The movie teaches that with hope of a child, something can be done, if only done goodly and godly. It didn?t matter whether or not one gets rewarded, as long as one is able to help. While many are focused on gaining money and success and trying to complain on the different problems the world has, the movie makes us realize, that there is still hope and goodness, if only to change the world, should bee seen through the eyes of a child like Magnifico.
      God is working out His plan through the circumstances we encounter. We often know only the surface facts?problems, trials, failures, challenges, but what we need to do is just step back, and see and remember the larger picture.
      And the larger picture is God. Paolo G.

REFLECTION:
Do you have child-like faith?

Let me hope in you knowing that it?s You who sees the bigger picture, O Lord.

G O S P E L

Luke 8:19-21

Jesus affirms that the strongest basis for belonging to God is not by blood but by obedience to His Word. Jesus wants the people to get things in the right perspective. No one is born holy or is made holy by the designation of a title. Holiness and closeness to God comes about as a result of the choices that people do or do not make. If we want to be considered as the family of Jesus then the simple way to do this is to be obedient to the will of His Father. Let us heed this wisdom of Jesus and live by it.

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. 20 He was told, ?Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.? 21 He said to them in reply, ?My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.?

my reflections
think: Virtue and justice ought to be two the foundation stones upon which we build our lives.

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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 Haggai 1-2

I think that it is important for us to recognize that Jesus gives us a twofold formula for discipleship. It is not enough to just know what God?s will for our lives is, we must also put it into practice on a daily basis. Jesus takes the opportunity of one of the few times we have a recorded meeting of Him with some of His family. At first it seems that Jesus is being a bit rude towards them but this sense evaporates as we see the deeper message in the encounter. Jesus is teaching us that the will of God is more important than the desires of our families for us! This can be a bit of a shock at first, but if we look deeper, we will discover that it is the logical result of surrendering our lives to the God of all Creation.
    How well do I prioritize the various needs of my relationships? If I don?t give prime attention to my relationship with God then there is a serious disorder in my life. There is nothing more important than my relationship with God! I must ensure that He has the number one priority on my time.
    Jesus tells us that hearing God?s will comes first. This is precisely why it is important that we pray daily and immerse ourselves in the Scriptures on a regular and thorough basis. It is here and in the teachings of the Church and the lives  of the saints that we will discover both inspiration and knowledge of God?s will. The inspiration is important (I think that reading the lives of the saints is the best way to be inspired to follow God), as it is only the inspired person who will have the courage and strength necessary to put the will of God into practice. Without inspiration, we may have a lot of good ideas and many dreams about becoming a saint, but will not have concrete steps in that direction.
    Thus we can see that Jesus is not being disrespectful to His mother and family in today?s Gospel. Rather, He is taking the opportunity to teach us something about the nature of discipleship. I hope and pray that we are all listening and ready to put what we are taught into practice. Fr. Steve T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
How faithful am I in putting God?s will into practice in my life? Do I lack inspiration to do this? How can I improve in this area of my faith?

Holy Spirit, help me to make Jesus the number one person in my life. Help me to prioritize my time well so that my relationship with Him will grow stronger each day so that I will better be able to know His will and serve in His Kingdom.

Sts. Cosmas and Damian, martyrs, pray for us.