“So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.” – Luke 11:48

       Pharisees are still alive today — people who kill the Jesus-planted dream in your heart. But you don’t have to stop at every dog that barks.

       But barking dogs may have already affected you. Insecurities, disappointments, and low self-esteem talk you out of God’s dream. Dogs might be barking so loud that you can’t hear the Spirit within that says: “Everyone has seeds of greatness. You have a gift to share with the world. There is a buried treasure in you. You have true potential that has not yet been released. You may have victories in the past, but that’s nothing compared to what God has in store for your future.”

       You can overcome all obstacles. You can recover from a fall. When you go out of your comfort zone and step out in faith, God releases more of His favor. When you think bigger, God will act bigger. God shows up — and in unusual ways. If you take care of the natural, He will do the supernatural. If you take care of the ordinary, He will do the extraordinary.

       Friend, do you hear that? Jon Escoto (faithatworkjon@gmail.com)

Reflection: Hush the dogs. What is the Spirit saying to your heart now? Friend, listen to Him.

Lord, speak to me now. Help me to know the “true” me and live it out.

Blessed Marguerite d’Youville, religious, pray for us.

Paul speaks of the day when we join Christ in the glory of heaven. It is good for us to have a vision, as it can inspire us to choose the Kingdom of God before our own pleasures in this life. The promise of the glory of union with God is an attractive inspiration if we reflect upon it properly.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the holy ones who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father  of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, 4 as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love 5 he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, 6 for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. 7 In Christ, we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him 10 as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

R: The Lord has made known his salvation.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The Lord has made his salvation known; in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. (R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R) 5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the Lord. (R)

Jesus reminds us that we are meant to be good examples of a disciple of Jesus to others. It is one thing to choose another path for ourselves in this regard — we have been given freedom to choose our destiny. However, the judgment will be much harsher if we prevent others from becoming a disciple of Jesus by placing obstacles in their path, including the witness of an immoral life.

I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.

47 The Lord said: “Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. 48 Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building. 49 Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ 50 in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood! 52 Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” 53 When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, 54 for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

think:  We are all meant to be good examples of a disciple of Jesus to others.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Sirach 16-20

CATCH THE GOOD

It almost seemed like the Lord was picking on the scribes, the Pharisees and the scholars of the Law. Yet one more time, our Gospel passage puts them at center stage, with the Lord giving them a mouthful. He was preaching, in and out of season, and He told them like it is. But the same passage tells us how His interlocutors plotted to catch Him in everything He says.

       Today, I am aghast at what I see every day in the world of social networking and liberal mainstream media. I see how so many sensationalists, passing off as legitimate journalists, seem to wait for the Holy Father’s latest faux pas, the latest misstep, and the most juicy statement, which they invariably take out of context in order to push their liberal agenda or sow intrigue and confusion in the minds of readers.

         When Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI announced last year that he was stepping down from office, such a tendency to put color into every event in the Catholic Church became very obvious. The major news networks were abuzz, calling in one “Vatican observer” or “Vatican expert” after another, trying to squeeze from everyone their take on “what is really going on” in the “secretive” Vatican enclaves. All this in order to impress upon the masses a less than holy and sacrosanct Church, now painted and alluded to as breeding ground of all forms of corruption and deceit, or at the very least a Church “no longer in touch with postmodernity.”

       How times have changed and how they have remained the same! The modern-day “scholars of the law” have been very busy looking at the Church’s flaws and failings, while closing their eyes on the good She does in all times and cultures. A group of them has even sued the Vatican in the international courts, for violations against human rights!

         What about plotting to catch the good in what everybody says or does? Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you have a tendency to criticize a lot and catch other people’s mistakes?

Forgive me, Lord, for the times I was too uncharitable to others and saw only their weaknesses and failures.