“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?” – Luke 24:38

       We were rafting in the vast Mongolian outback when all of a sudden the darkest clouds descended on our parade. Soon, we were twisting, turning, hitting rocks of all sizes left and right, freezing in our totally-penetrable-by-wind-and-water attire, with no cell phone in our possession, and no public transport or even people (only horses!) in sight. Instead of powering through torrential rain and rough waters for over 10 kilometers, we decided to cut our rafting adventure short and abandon our raft, hoping to God that somehow, some Good Samaritan would help us find our way back to our in-the-middleof-nowhere camp.

       It took a while, but in spite of physical and mental exhaustion and the huge language barrier, help did eventually come. We just had to stay strong against the doubts that were  rising in our minds.

       The same is true with every challenge that comes our way. No matter how bleak our situation may be, we can trust that our perseverance and faith will always be rewarded in the long run. We may have to abandon ship, but we should never abandon hope! Ria Macasaet (ria.macasaet@gmail.com)

Reflection: Is God the anchor of your life?

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr, pray for us.

Peter is just as surprised as everyone else at the healing of the cripple. This story ought to bring great confidence to us when we ask God to work miracles in our lives. He has done it before and He will do it again. The biggest lesson here is one of trust. Peter trusted that God would hear his prayer and act upon it. Do we trust that God will hear our prayers and act upon them?

11 As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John, all the people hurried in amazement toward them in the portico called “Solomon’s Portico.” 12 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people, “You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this, and why do you look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus whom you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence, when he had decided to release him. 14 You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. 16 And by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong, and the faith that comes through it has given him this perfect health, in the presence of all of you. 17 Now I know, brothers and sisters, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did; 18 but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, 20 and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment and send you the Christ already appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old. 22 For Moses said: ‘A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you. 23 Everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be cut off from the people.’ 24 Moreover, all the prophets who spoke, from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days. 25 You are the children of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”

R: O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

1 [2] O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth! 4 [5] What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? (R) 5 [6] You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 [7] You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. (R) 7 [8] All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, 8 [9] the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas. (R)

Jesus is always in our midst. He promised that we will never be orphaned. It is important that we believe this in order to open up our faith to a new degree. If we believe that Jesus is beside us in all that we do, we will be empowered to a degree that we will find difficult to comprehend. The power of God is beyond what we can imagine. Let us allow ourselves to be instruments of God’s grace in the world.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.

35 The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. 36 While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish; 43 he took it and ate it in front of them. 44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.”

think: The power of God is beyond what we can imagine.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Numbers 13-15

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER

The Paschal Mystery is primarily a celebration of the most important and central Jesus events. These events center around the mystery of the cross, and they particularly include the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Of these events, the resurrection opened the grave for Jesus to come out in glory; it also opened something more important — the gates of heaven. By rising victoriously from death, Jesus defeats the power of evil and makes it possible for us to enter into a new level of intimacy with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even in the way we celebrate the Church’s liturgy, Easter leads us to Pentecost — the Feast of the Holy Spirit — and to the solemn feast of the Blessed Trinity.

       The mystery of the incarnation, when Jesus the Word became enfleshed in the womb of the Blessed Mother through the Holy Spirit, unites heaven to earth. Now, the paschal mystery opens heaven for the earth.

       Our belief in the resurrection of Jesus is not just a message of hope and salvation. The event of the resurrection is not just the great proof of the true faith that we profess. The resurrection of Jesus stirs us to see beyond — to have transcendence — far above the mundane and material concerns that we need to face.

       We are made for heaven and we are but pilgrims on earth. We are destined to be with God and not just to live as mortals in pitiable state. Our citizenship is in heaven — and whatever life we live on earth, we are all “resident aliens” in this part of life. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How serious are you in making heaven your goal? What are you doing in this regard?

Dear Jesus, help me to live each day with heaven as my goal.