Do everything without grumbling or questioning. ? Philippians 2:14

When our family decided to migrate, we knew that finding jobs that equalled in status our chosen professions here in the Philippines would not come right away. Yet we trusted that God had pointed us in this direction and that He would give us the grace to follow through.
      And so my husband found himself to be a packer, one of the lowest-ranking personnel in a print shop. This was vastly different from being the manager of his own business back home. I myself sold donuts in a coffee shop, a far cry from running a caf? and indulging in baking back in the day.
      Our jobs were not only physically exhausting but also emotionally humbling. We were taking orders from people who were less educated than we were. However, we didn?t complain or grumble. We knew that the Lord was teaching us to be better people though our circumstances.
      In a short time, the Lord saw fit to upgrade our jobs, ones better suited for our abilities. But we do treasure the lessons and continue to learn. We?ve learned that when the Lord takes care of you, He takes care of the whole you. Ready for some excitement in your lives? Tisha L.

REFLECTION:
Do we hold on to God?s promises in times of hardship?

Lord, help us to be more trusting in your Love.

G O S P E L

Luke 14:25-33

The sensible person always looks far enough ahead to see where his or her commitments will lead them in the future and thus guide themselves in the decision at hand. This is called being prudent. It is not failing to trust in the providence of God. God has given us minds with which to make sensible decisions and He is unlikely to bail us out of a poor decision if we have failed to use the brain  that He gave us in the first place. Let us be faithful to putting to good use all of the gifts and talents that God has given us and use them for the benefit of others as well as ourselves.

  25 Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, 26 ?If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ?This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.? 31 Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

my reflections
think: There comes a time when we all have to take responsibility for our faith and stop relying upon others to keep us true to our 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 Luke 21-22

Today?s Gospel begins with, ?Great crowds accompanied Jesus on is way?? Sounds great! The problem is, these people followed Jesus without knowing where he was going. Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, on the way to his passion and death on the cross. But they followed him out of curiosity, or to see more miracles. No wonder Jesus had to wake them up and say that to follow him means taking up one?s cross. Many have joined our church, but have not made a choice to walk with Jesus towards the cross. We want to avoid the cross, we lament when crosses come our way. We complain and ask God why  he allows this or that suffering or problem.
      Jesus dares to speak openly about the sacrifices we have to make to follow him. Maybe our faith is weakening, and our Church is going through a crisis and process of decline because we try to eliminate the word ?sacrifice? from our vocabulary. When a priest speaks about the cross, people don?t like him. They want to hear jokes and gimmicks. No doubt, Jesus wants happy followers and He surely is not pleased when we are in church and have the faces of gravediggers. We are redeemed and head for eternal life and happiness. But life is not a joke. And as Jesus had to pass Golgotha first before reaping the fruit of Easter glory. And ?the disciple is not above his Master.?
      One word of Jesus in today?s Gospel surely shocks most readers ? He demands us to ?hate? our loved ones. How can He say such things? Did He not always preach that we must love each other? We have to understand that Jesus speaks as usual with the colorful language of a Jew who does not compare things but places them in opposition to each other. In the Old Testament, for instance, we read that Jacob hated Lea for substituting during the wedding night for his beloved Rachel whom he thought he had married that day. But he had his first four children with Lea. Obviously, it was not a relationship of hatred. It just says that he loved Rachel more than Lea. And what Jesus means is not that God is in competition with our close relatives. He only states clearly that God has to come first in our life. Does he? Fr. Rudy H.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
How do I accept crosses in my life? Do I rebel and complain? Do I try to see them as means to mature and be one day with the Lord forever?

Lord, you demand much from me who wants to follow you. But you went ahead and showed me that it is worthwhile to take up my little crosses. I am ready to pay a lot for something nice in this life. How can I be so stingy and not be ready to pay also the price for the most beautiful thing I can imagine: living with you forever?

St. Godfrey, bishop confessor, pray for us.