In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland... ? Genesis1:1-2

The thought the Lord must have put into creation!
      Let there be light! Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters... the sky!
      Let the water under the sky be gathered and dry land appear...
      Let the earth bring forth vegetation.
      Let there be lights in the dome of the sky... ... And God saw how good it was.
      My husband and I went to Boracay last summer, and it was unforgettable. It is futile to even describe it. It was his first time and though it was my second, having visited 12 years ago, it still took our breath away.
      The crystalline blue beach. The spectacular sunsets. The powdery, soft, pure sand. On one of our nights, we watched the sun set for a long time. What an experience.
      I could not help but feel God?s greatness and majesty during those days. How wonderful to behold all this beauty and know that all of it was for mankind to enjoy.
      Today, let us look around us and whisper our heartfelt thanks to God for the wonder that is His creation. Lallaine G.

REFLECTION:
How have I been part of preserving the beauty that is our earth?

For day and night, thank You, Lord.
For breeze and sights, praise You, Lord.
For every cloud and rainbow, every morning dew, all this made with love for me from You!

Genesis 1:1-19

This first half of the first account of creation very clearly emphasizes for us the power of God?s Word and the fact that creation is ex-nihilo that is, ?from nothing.? There can be no more powerful statement of the fact of creation than this. God starts with nothing and the result is something good is created! The order of this account of creation only serves to emphasize the deliberative power at work and we are left with a feeling of awe and wonder at the might of a God who can do this.

1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. ? 3 Then God said, ?Let there be light,? and there was light. ? 4 God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. ? 5 God called the light ?day,? and the darkness he called ?night.? Thus evening came, and morning followed ? the first day. 6 Then God said, ?Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.? And so it happened: 7 God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. 8 God called the dome ?the sky.? Evening came, and morning followed ? the second day. 9 Then God said, ?Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.? And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. 10 God called the dry land ?the earth,? and the basin of the water he called ?the sea.? God saw how good it was. 11 Then God said, ?Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.? And so it happened: 12 the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. 13 Evening came, and morning followed ? the third day. 14 Then God said: ?Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, 15 and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.? And so it happened: 16 God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. 19 Evening came, and morning followed ? the fourth day.

P S A L M

Psalm 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 24 and 35c

R: May the Lord be glad in his works.

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, 2 robed in light as with a cloak. (R) 5 You fixed the earth upon its foundation, not to be moved forever; 6 with the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it; above the mountains the waters stood. (R) 10 You sent forth springs into the watercourses that wind among the mountains. 12 Beside them the birds of heaven dwell; from among the branches they send forth their song. (R) 24 How manifold are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all ? the earth is full of your creatures; 35 bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia. (R)

G O S P E L

Mark 6:53-56

What motivates us to seek God in our life? Pope Benedict XVI has always called for a mature faith, even from before he was made pope. I think that to have a mature faith does not mean that we have to be able to understand everything down to the minutest detail about the faith. What it does mean is that we are always seeking to better our understanding of our faith and the knowledge of God so that we can participate more fully in the life of the Church. It is obvious to me that the more I understand something, whether it be a game, a piece of technology or my faith, the better able I am to put it to use in my life.
  
53 After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. 54 As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. 55 They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.

my reflections

think: What motivates us to seek God in our  life?

________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

_______________________________________________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Numbers 13-15

GETTING TO KNOW THE SAINTS

Saint Blas Blase
Bishop Blase lived in the fourth century. According to stories, he belonged to a wealthy family and received a Christian education. At an early age, he realized that only spiritual joy could make a person truly happy. Thus, he entered the priesthood and later became bishop of Sebaste in Armenia (currently, modern Turkey).
      When the governor, Licinius, persecuted the Christians, Bishop Blase was one of those captured. On his way to imprisonment, the Bishop continued to bless the people, pagans included. Then a poor mother rushed up to him, begged him to save her child who was at that time choking to death from a fishbone.
      The Bishop whispered a prayer and blessed the child. And in that moment, the child s life was saved.
      Today, St. Blase is prayed upon by people who have throat diseases. On his feast day, February 3, people continue to pray that their throats be blessed and be protected from any form of sickness.

http://www.tntt.org/vni/tlieu/saints/St0203.htm

In our day and age of the secular and utilitarian mindset, I think we tend to lose touch with the power of the Word of God as understood according to the Scriptures. This is a terrible disadvantage to us if we are trying to live as disciples of Jesus. It means that we lose one of the foundational powers of the Christian life when we live without the active power of God?s Word in our daily lives.
      Look at today?s First Reading ? God speaks and whatever He says comes to be! This is the power that accompanies His Word ? the power that should be evident in our lives. When we are confronted with temptation and sin we should not allow the lies of the devil to deceive us with the suggestion that we do not have the power to overcome them. We do! By the power of the Word of God and through the grace of His death and resurrection we have been given the power to overcome all sin. There is nothing that can stand against us if we avail ourselves of the power God is offering us through His Word, the Sacramental life of the Church and the various others means of His grace. There is no way that we should ever be fooled into believing that we have to suffer under the power of sin anymore.
      God?s Word creates new situations out of old ones ? He brings order out of chaos and brings all things under His rule of grace. We can choose to step outside this to a certain degree if we want to, however to do that is to sin ? to choose chaos over the order of His grace. We live in a world where placing one?s life under the authority of another is looked on with suspicion and disdain. People strive for autonomy and self reliance. This can never be the case for a Christian. We gladly and willingly place our lives under the grace and will of God as we know and believe that this is the best place for us and indeed the only way to true fulfillment. Fr. Steve T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:How is the Spirit of God challenging me to bring greater order into my life? What am I doing to respond to this call?

Father, help me to hear Your Word for my life and respond generously to it. I want to do Your will and thus I pray for the grace of a deeper submission of mind, heart and will to your love.

St. Agatha, virgin and martyr, pray for us.