LISTEN

“Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear. Take care what you hear.” – Mark 4:23-24

I have this knack for listening to a voice and identifying the celebrity it belongs to. I see this useless skill as one of the quirks of my good sense of hearing.

On New Year’s day each year, I put my “hearing” skills to work in a special way. On this day, I listen for the voice of the Lord speaking to my heart. I ask Him about the year that’s before me, and I also seek a message from the Bible to confirm His leading. I’m OK with Him knowing all His plans for me, without revealing to me what those are right away. It’s my position as His child to listen for His cues as His plan unfolds. How well my year will play out will depend on how I listen to His leading and voice each step of the way.

How does one hear God? Through careful listening, as Jesus Himself points out in today’s Gospel. Hearing God’s voice means paying attention to circumstances, counsel, and that sense of peace that surpasses all understanding. When all of these mesh well, we can move forth to follow God’s command for us, with the assurance that we’ve heard Him right. Martine De Luna (the.dainty.mom@gmail.com)

Reflection: How “well-tuned” are your listening skills when it comes to hearing what the Lord has to say?

Dear Jesus, open my ears that I may hear You clearly each day.

St. John Bosco, priest, pray for us.

The only way for us to be saved is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ — He is the only Savior. This is true for all people of all time. The salvific work of Jesus is applicable to those who lived before Him as well as His contemporaries, and those who live after Him. We need to remember that God is compassionate when it comes to judgment and so let us leave it to Him to determine the salvation of others, rather than try to judge others ourselves. I am sure His compassion and love will contribute to His making the right decision.

Hebrews 10:19-25

19 Brothers and sisters: Since through the Blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary 20 by the new and living way opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, 21 and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” 22 let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. 25 We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R: Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

1 The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. 2 For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (R) 3 Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in his holy place? 4 He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. (R) 5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior. 6 Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob. (R)

John Bosco was a man with a vision. He had a desire to make a difference in the lives of the uneducated youth of his day. There is still an enormous amount of scope for his vision today, as when I walk the streets of the informal settlements in Metro Manila, it is hard not to be depressed by the number of young boys with seemingly little to do other than waste their time sitting around, and of course, be tempted to begin the practices that lead to lives of vice and waste later on. What can we do to change this situation? Can we afford to find one child and sponsor his schooling? Can we gather together some friends to do the same thing?

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path.

21 Jesus said to to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. 23 Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” 24 He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. 25 To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

think:  Let us leave it to God to determine the salvation of others, rather than try to judge others ourselves.

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ___________________________

God’s special verse/thought for me today_________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Acts 9-12  

I remember several years ago, I read the news that Alitalia, an Italian airline company, teamed up with the Vatican for special flights that would bring pilgrims directly to the holy sites of Jerusalem and other Marian and Eucharistic pilgrim sites in Europe. To remind the pilgrims of the holy nature of their trip, they planned to emblazon every seat of the planes with these words in Italian, “Cerco il tuo volto, Signore.” It means, “I seek your face, O Lord.”

I smiled and remembered telling myself, “If I am on that plane and I read those words right in front of me, I would also pray, ‘But not yet, O Lord.’”

Humor aside, why did I instinctively want to add, “But not yet, O Lord” to the beautiful prayer, “I seek your face, O Lord”? It is because we associate seeing and experiencing God only at the moment of death, and death frightens us all.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm is a fitting reminder. It says, “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” Seeing the Lord need not only be at the moment of death (just make sure it is the Lord you will meet after you die). Seeing the Lord is possible at every moment of our beating hearts. Today’s Psalm continues, “The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it.” All of the created world is a reflection and sacrament of the Creator. As one can sense in a room its architect and in a masterpiece its painter, so can we sense in the world the beauty and grandeur of the Creator.

We do not really have to travel far and visit the holy sites to get a sense of the holy. Today, stop and smell the flowers, so to speak. Pause and marvel at the serenity of nature. Most of all, reverence the persons you meet — they are made in the image and likeness of God (cf Genesis 1:26). Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: If you say you’re too busy to even smell the flowers, then you may be too busy for the Lord.

Thank You, Lord, for the beauty of created nature. Most of all, thank You for creating me in Your image and likeness. Amen.