I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised... – Galatians 2:7

       Many people think that the word “calling” is just for the religious, for those who serve God and who consciously follow His will for their lives.

       For the longest time, I’ve been asking God for my true calling. Now I realize that my gifts, my talents and my passions all point me to His calling upon my life.

       There are times when we can get lost in the idea of doing big things in the eyes of others, saving the entire world or achieving lofty things for God. I have learned that the first calling we have that glorifies God is to be who we are at the moment.

       And do it with great love. Because when you do, you’ve fulfilled God’s greatest law. Dreus Cosio (andreus.cosio@gmail.com)

Reflection: One of the greatest mistakes we commit is to want other people’s calling and end up being unhappy. What is your calling at the moment?

Lord, teach and guide me to be the best of me at this moment, all for Your honor and glory. Amen.

St. John Leonardi, priest, pray for us.

Paul establishes that his credentials to be a spokesman of the Gospel comes through his introduction to the Apostles through Barnabas. He then proceeds to affirm that he has chastised the Apostles for falling back into Jewish understandings of the law and failing to recognize the fullness of the new way of life to which the Gospel calls us. This is always a danger for the Church, who must always look forward to the new demands of preaching the Gospel while remaining faithful to those traditions that are essential to its character.

1 Brothers and sisters: After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles — but privately to those of repute — so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised, 8 for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles, 9 and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do. 11 And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. 12 For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, “If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

R: Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.

1 Praise the Lord, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples! (R) 2 For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever. (R)

Prayer is an essential aspect of a disciple’s life. We cannot allow prayer to be crowded out of our lives with the busyness or business of ministry. This is a bedrock principle for a holy life. Holy men and women through the ages have always spent many hours a day in prayer to ensure that what they are doing in their ministry comes from God and not just themselves. We should follow their example, keeping in mind a very simple principle, namely: the busier we are in working for God’s Kingdom, the more time we should spend in prayer.

You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!

1 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread 4 and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

think:  The busier we are in working for God’s Kingdom, the more time we should spend in prayer.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Wisdom 1-4

WORDS TEACH, EXAMPLES MOVE

Luke was a doctor. He was not one who would gloss over details. His short account today is very telling. Presumably, the disciples were observing the Lord in everything He did. “Jesus was praying in a certain place,” we are told. Where that place was is not important. What catches our attention is the fact that, seeing the Lord in prayer, one of the disciples asked Him: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

       Back in the day when “television sets” were called as such, which showed nothing but black and white shadowy and grainy images, we used to adore Vic Morrow and Rick Jason. To us kids then, the two seemed immortal, even as they were locked in perpetual combat (read: every Friday evening) in the TV series aptly titled as such. Those were the days, too, when the dynamic duo Batman and Robin would always frustrate the evil machinations of the bad guys that tormented Gotham City.

       I was so taken up by their heroic exploits that almost every day, we were playing imaginary battles against imaginary Japanese soldiers with nothing but imaginary guns (read: bamboo sticks or driftwood). All of us looked up to either Vic or Rick, and Batman or Robin.

       What we saw became our reality. What we admired became our ideals. What we liked in them was what we also wanted to be. What they did was what we also wanted to do.

       But prior to my imaginary combat days, there was Fr. Santiago, our parish priest, when Dad was parish council president. He was a regular fixture in the household, dressed in his white soutane, brought by his ever-reliable Willy’s jeep. He, too, was a hero to me. I used to look forward to his coming, although now I am not too sure whether it was him we kids looked forward to seeing, or the caramel popcorn or the Butterball candies that he brought us. But I do remember I wanted to be like him at some point. And that was when I asked Mom to teach me the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, and the Gloria. Words teach, but examples move! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Have you been an inspiration to someone? Is your life inspiring enough to the children around you? Who do you look up to for inspiration?

Dear Lord, help me to live my life according to Your precepts, that I may lead people closer to You.