All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. – Revelation 15:4

       Our beloved Cardinal Chito Tagle usually gives a retreat for the public during the Lenten season. Last year, I saw the poster of his recollection on Facebook. I clicked on the photo to check out how much the tickets cost.

        I saw that it was free admission but the bottom of the poster said that you needed to get a ticket to gain entrance to the event. If you think about it, why do you still need to get a ticket if the event is free anyway?

in advance how many to expect so they could prepare for the crowd that would come.

       It made me think: That’s also what we need to do to receive the abundant life that Christ wants to give us all. Yes, God loved us and sent His only Son even while we were still sinners. But we need to accept Jesus into our lives and make Him our Lord and Savior in order to receive His abundant life.

       Friend, do you already have your ticket to heaven? That ticket has a name. His name is Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Rissa Singson-Kawpeng (justbreatherissa@gmail.com)

Reflection: God paid the price for our salvation but you need to accept Jesus to claim it.

Jesus, I receive You today as my personal Lord and Savior.

St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us.

Again, the focus of the reading today is worship of God. As Christians this is one of our primary responsibilities. It is both a duty and an honor to worship God. It should never be a chore. Even if it is at times more like a chore than anything else, we should still embrace it with a smile on our lips and joy in our hearts.

1 I, John, saw in heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring: seven angels with the seven last plagues, for through them God’s fury is accomplished. 2 Then I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire. On the sea of glass were standing those who had won the victory over the beast and its image and the number that signified its name. They were holding God’s harps, 3 and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty. Just and true are your ways, O king of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

R: Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!

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) 7 Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell in it; 8 let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy (R) 9 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to rule the earth; he will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity. (R)

God will provide a defense for us. Does it mean that our persecutors will always fail in their attempts to shut down our proclamation of the Gospel? No! But it does mean that God will show us the way through any and every persecution that we encounter. We need to be aware that we will find hostility to the Gospel within our own families. This is a difficult thing to accept but the truth will admit no compromise.

Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

12 Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will lead to your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

think:  It is both a duty and an honor to worship God.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ezekiel 1-4

BY YOUR PERSEVERANCE

It is quite common for counseling clients to be over-focused on a particular problem. Often, they miss the forest for a tree or, to use another analogy, see only part of the picture, not the totality of their lives. By being too focused on a single aspect of their lives, they miss seeing the greater good that is unfolding slowly.

       The Gospel passage today can be frightening. The details about scenarios of impending doom can outshadow the Lord’s reassuring promises of help from above. And it definitely sounds like a small consolation for Him to say that “not a hair on [our] head will be destroyed.” How’s that in exchange for all the aggravation coming from family members who would hand you over to the persecuting authorities? But this is precisely what I mean by missing the bigger picture, or missing the forest for a tree.

       The First Reading speaks about the final victory that would be on the side of God. The vision of John shows them singing the Song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!”

       But what we may easily miss out on is how that victory was won. The same book of Revelation reminds us how. They were “washed in the blood of the Lamb.” In other words, the victory was won through the sacrifice of the Lamb that was led to the slaughter for our sakes and for our salvation.

       Most of the details told by the Lord did happen historically during the fall of Jerusalem. But here He was speaking of something more than just Jerusalem’s defeat. That was just a partial picture. The bigger picture that He calls on us to see now is what the vision of John offers us.

       In the course of my life, I have had my share of suffering and pain. In addition, I have lost more than just a few strands of hair and, even now, some of it mysteriously turns white overnight on more stressful days. Today, I choose to heighten the promise of the Lord: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: Looking back at the most difficult times of your life, what is the “big picture” that God wants you to see?

Help me not to despair, Lord, when trials come into my life. May I always trust that You see the big picture even if I don’t.