LISTEN TO BELIEVE

?Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first went in. He saw and believed.? ? John 20:8

Isn?t the faith of John amazing? When He saw the linen on the tomb, he believed immediately that Jesus had risen. How did he know? What made him so sure?
      When Jesus was still alive, John listened attentively to Him.
      I had struggles with my faith before. But it changed when God proved to me, through
his Word that His Word is true. Here are the instances in my life:
      First, during my 4th year in college, I was thinking if I should stick to my course because I had problems with my grades. I bargained with God to give me a sign. His message came right away through the current day?s Gospel, which read ?the stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone?? Result, I graduated last March 2003
      Second, in preparing for the board exam. I again asked for a message from God. Result, I passed the November 2003 board exams. I am now an official civil engineer.
      My lesson: I don?t have to doubt Him anymore. He has proven to me that He keeps His promise. Like John, all I need is to have faith. Carlo N.

REFLECTION:
Is my faith like John the beloved?s?

Increase my faith, Lord. To believe even without seeing.

G O S P E L

John 20:1-8

John sees the empty tomb and understands its significance. I wonder what went through his mind and heart at that time? I am sure there must have been some sort of tremendous exhilaration to realize that Jesus had risen from the dead. His mind would have started reflecting upon all the things that it had heard Jesus say over the last three years and to piece them together into a coherent whole. What a relief it must have been that it did not end with the death of Jesus but that the adventure of discipleship was going to continue. I wonder if he realized what this meant for the rest of his life? What does it mean for you and me?

1 On the first day of the week. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ?They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don?t know where they put him.? 3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

my reflections
think: What does the empty tomb mean for you and me?

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God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Revelation 1-4

Today?s First Reading is one of my favorite scriptural passages. ?That we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes, that we have watched and touched with our hands? we are writing to you to make our own joy complete.?
      Now we know why John wrote the Fourth Gospel and his epistles.John heard, saw, watched and touched the Word Made Flesh. He could have been happy with that. And indeed he was! But his joy was never complete until he passed on to us what he heard, saw, watched and touched. His joy was to make us know, meet, and love the Jesus whom he knew, met, and loved. That is the mark of a true apostle! That is what makes a disciple an apostle.
      How many of us can say the same thing that John said today? Some of us stop at knowing, meeting and loving the Lord. They do not care to share Jesus with others. Too bad, they are missing a lot. They may be happy, but theirs is a joy that is not complete. It is in sharing the Lord with others that gives a disciple of the Lord real fulfillment. Unless we pass Him on to others, we have not yet become an apostle.
      Let us share Jesus with others. Let us grow from being a disciple to being an apostle. Let our joy be complete. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
Have I passed on the Lord to others?

You are our joy, O Lord, and to share You with others completes our joy. We have known You, we have met You, and we love You, Jesus. Now teach and help us to make others know, meet and love You too. Amen.

St. John, apostle and evangelist, pray for us.