By faith... he went out, not knowing where he was to go. ? Hebrews 11:8

A friend challenged me, ?Do you really know where your passion lies??
      I could not give a direct answer. I have many interests. I have many dreams. Modesty aside, I think I have many God-given talents. And I have not stopped developing myself, even now that I?m almost a golden girl.
      I now ask myself, too, ?Where really is your passion, Tess??
      That question got me thinking. Am I an aimless woman, not knowing where her true passion is? Ten years ago, when I started taking my spiritual journey seriously, I didn?t know where I was going. I simply trusted and followed the paths that God opened for me. I became a writer, a counselor, a hesitant teacher. Wait, I think that?s where my passion lies ? it is in going wherever He takes me, and trusting that He is unfolding His plan for my life, as gently as the unfolding of a rose. TessVA.

REFLECTION:
Where is your passion? Is it leading you to God, or away from Him?

My Lord and Creator, help me to discern Your true desire for my life, and may my own desire meet Yours.

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

This wonderful chapter rejoicing in the faith of the men and women who have been instrumental in forming the Jewish faith is one that we can draw much from insofar as we are willing to study the lives of the people it mentions and open our hearts to the example that they give to us. This is the reason why the Church canonizes saints for us ? to provide us with examples of the way we should live our lives as disciples of Jesus. Pope John Paul II canonized hundreds of men and women in order to place before us more contemporary examples of lives that are worthy of imitation.

1 Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. 2 Because of it the ancients were well attested. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. 11 By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age ? and Sarah herself was sterile ? for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. ?12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as  countless as the sands on the seashore. 13 All these died in faith. They did  not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, 14 for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, 18 of whom it was said, ?Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.? 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

P S A L M 

Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75

R: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

69 He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant. (R) 70 Through his holy prophets he promised of old. 71 that he would save us from the hand of all who hate us, 72 He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. (R) 73 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to set us free from the bonds of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, 75 holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. (R)

G O S P E L

Mark 4:35-41

As the winds and waves of the problems of life batter us from every side, how do we respond to them? Are we like the disciples, slow to put their trust in the presence of God in their lives even though Jesus is physically with them in the boat? Or do we simply and firmly entrust everything to God, doing what we know is our duty in the situation and allowing His Spirit to do His part as well. This is the choice we will face over and over again. Let us pray that we choose wisely.

35 On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, ?Let us cross to the other side.? 36 Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, ?Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?? 39 He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ?Quiet! Be still!? The wind ceased and there was great calm. 40 Then he asked them, ?Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?? 41 They were filled with great awe and said to one another, ?Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey??

my reflections
think: Are we like the disciples, slow to put their trust in the presence of God in their lives even though Jesus is physically with them in the boat?
  
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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 Leviticus 10-13

We cannot have the best of both worlds. But we can have a better world if we have Him who turns the worst of situations into the best. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who makes of our moments of crisis moments of grace. In Him is found the best of both worlds.
      What seems to be the end of the road for us is just a bend for Jesus. What appears for us as death is just the start of real life for Him. What we consider a moment of despair is, for Jesus, an opportune time of faith. That time is kairos. It is a moment of grace.
      Thus, when we are sick, problematic, betrayed, abandoned or dying, let us keep our focus on Jesus. He is not asleep. The waves that make our sailing rough keep Him awake. He knows. He understands. He feels. He listens. He moves. He cares. All that He asks from us is to give all our cares to Him because He cares for us. And unless we keep our faith in Him in the midst of the threatening waves and the strong winds in our life, there is no way by which we realize that indeed He can give us the best of both worlds. We must trust Him.
      We search for two things in the one whom we trust. Trust presupposes that the one who is trusted can and cares. If my five-year old adopted son tells me to jump from the top of a tree because he will catch me as I fall, I will not jump of course. I am certain that he cares but I doubt if he can catch me without the two of us breaking our necks. He cares but he cannot. He has love but not enough power to do what he says. If a gym-fit guy, who has some ill feelings against me, tells me the same thing, still I will not jump. From his appearance, I know he can but I doubt if he cares.
      We should place our complete trust only in Jesus who both can and cares, who has both power and love. In Him is our best world. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION: Whom do I trust?

Jesus, heal me. Jesus, save me. I love You, Jesus. Increase my love for You. Amen.

St. Angela Merici, virgin, pray for us.