But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.”– Luke 4:43

       Whenever I give a talk to parents, I always ask them, “Why are you working so hard?” I always get the answer, “For our children.” Parents are always consistent with their answers. However, whenever I give talks to high school students, majority of them wish that their parents would devote more time to them.

       Isn’t it ironic that some parents work so hard for their children, yet they tend to neglect spending time with them?

       My dad once told me, “Never miss an important event in your child’s life for a multimillion-peso deal. Because one week later, the people in the deal will most likely forget everything about the meeting, but your child will never forget that you were not in his school play or graduation until the day he dies.”

       Jesus loved to heal the sick, but it was clear to Him that His primary purpose was to proclaim the Good News.

       How about you? Do you know your purpose in life? If the purpose is clear, decision-making would be easier. After all, the purpose of setting priorities is to fulfill your God-given purpose. Velden Lim (veldenlim@gmail.com)

Reflection: Sometimes, you have to say no to the “good” so that you can say yes to the “better” things that can lead you to fulfill your real purpose.

Lord, give me the wisdom to know clearly the purpose for which You have sent me.

Blessed John Francis Burté and Companions, pray for us.

Paul praised anyone who was worked in the missions. He also introduced to his communities those whom he knew were faithful to the Gospel. He knew that he could not evangelize the world on his own; he was preparing for the time when he will no longer be around. Paul was not afraid to encourage and train others in the ministry he did. This is an essential aspect of a good leader. Without a leader, a ministry never gets past the first generation. It falters and dies because the future has not been planned for.

1 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the holy ones and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. Of this you have already heard through the word of truth, the Gospel, 6 that has come to you. Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing, so also among you, from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth, 7 as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

R: I trust in the mercy of God forever.

8 [10] I, like a green olive tree in the house of God, trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. (R) 9 [11] I will thank you always for what you have done, and proclaim the goodness of your name before your faithful ones. (R)

For a time, Luke hid the identity of Jesus in his Gospel. Perhaps he wanted to recreate the atmosphere of Jesus’ ministry when the people were trying to work out who He was and what He stood for. We know the identity of Jesus from the beginning and it’s no longer a mystery to us. I just wonder what it would have been like to listen to Jesus, and not know Him as the Son of God.

The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to the captives.

38 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. 39 He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. 40 At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. 42 At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

think: Without a leader, a ministry never gets past the first generation. It falters and dies because the future has not been planned for.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Psalm 41-45

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

The measure of a person is found in the way he relates with others. But it is also important to look at what happens when he is alone. In the Gospels, we often hear that Jesus retires to a lonely place in order to pray.

       What do we do when we are alone? Do our minds wander and daydream, or do we reflect on the meaning of life and other more important questions? There is a time for dreaming but there is also a time for the serious questions around which the meaning of life revolves.

       The busyness of today’s world works against a reflective life. We have to make conscious decisions to pause and allow our spirits the necessary time and space to reflect. Socrates tells us that “an unreflected life is not worth living.” He tells us unequivocally that we either make the decision to reflect upon our life experiences or we waste the gift that God has given us.

       How do we treat the moments of silence in our lives? Do we run from them in fear of what we might hear or do we embrace and welcome whatever God might say to us?

       Silence gives God the opportunity to speak to us without competition. It may be a battle to remain silent with thoughts bombarding our minds or external noises attempting to penetrate them. God understands this. What matters is how we respond and how hard we fight to give Him the opportunity to speak to us.

       What it comes down to is how much we want to hear His will for our lives. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What is the deepest desire of your heart? Do you really want to know God’s will? Are you willing to follow it whatever it may be?

Holy Spirit, help me to prepare my heart and mind to receive the will of God and embrace it fully in my life. Help me to follow Jesus wherever He leads me.