We homeschooled our children using the US curriculum. Because of this, they were required to take exams to qualify them to enter Philippine schools.

       The exam results were released in August. My son was OK since he could start the next semester. My daughter, however, had to start immediately in a Philippine-based homeschool.

       She started her last year in high school in September and she wanted to finish by February to catch up with university enrolment.

       She studied from 8 a.m. until about 8 p.m. There was no let-up for her. She focused and gave all her energy to finish it in time for college enrolment. We gave our all-out support for her.

       The principal couldn’t believe she finished it in a very short period. She questioned us, suspecting that there was dishonesty in the completion of exercises and tests.

       But all she did was to persevere. Despite the limited time, we continued to trust in the Lord.

       By God’s grace, she finished it successfully. Romans 8:37 says, “In all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through Him who loved us.” Danny Tariman (dtariman.loj@gmail.com)

Reflection: Are you in a very difficult situation? Persevere in action and in prayers. The Lord promised that He will always be with us.

Lord, let me see Your Hand moving in my situation. Amen.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

We are all ministers of the Gospel. We are called to live the Gospel to the full and bring it to the world. Our life is a significant means of proclaiming the Gospel. People have told me that it was my actions, more than my words, that led them to faith in Christ. We never know who sees what we are doing. Let us be mindful that what they see is faithful to the Gospel.

21 Brothers and sisters: You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds; 22 God has now reconciled in his fleshly Body of Christ through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, 23 provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.

R: God himself is my help.

1 [3] O God, by your name save me, and by your might defend my cause. 2 [4] O God, hear my prayer; hearken to the words of my mouth. (R) 4 [6] Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life. 6 [8] Freely will I offer you sacrifice; I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness. (R)

Laws exist to serve the people and not the other way around. The literal interpretation of the law is not always the best interpretation. We should ask ourselves what the intention of the law is and interpret it from that point. The Sabbath laws remind us to set aside time for God. However, feeding the hungry, healing the sick and many other “works” honor the Sabbath more than anything else.

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

1 While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. 2 Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” 3 Jesus said to them in reply, “Have younot read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? 4 How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions.” 5 Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

think: Our life is a significant means of proclaiming the Gospel.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Pslam 56-60

THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE

I know someone who made a commitment to be awake at an early hour yet chooses to watch movies late in the evening until early morning and, thus, wakes up late. I know someone who has to be out of the house before a certain hour in the morning to beat the traffic on his way to work, but takes an extra five minutes in the shower and, thus, comes in late for work. And then there’s someone who knows she is a candidate for diabetes, yet she constantly chooses soft drinks over water and sweets over less sugary food.

       Life is all about the choices we make and sometimes about the decisions others make that affect our lives as well as their own.

       Who is to blame for not waking up, being late, and ultimately having a diabetic condition? We have to stand up and take responsibility for our choices. We cannot spend our lives blaming others for the things that are, in fact, under our own control.

       In telling the disciples that the “Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus reminds us that the Law is there to serve us and help us in discerning the choices we need to make in a given situation. We cannot simply pass the buck to others or even the law itself in deciding what we do. In a roundabout way, this demonstrates that we are the lord of our lives as far as decision-making is concerned. Jesus is Lord of our lives, but we, guided by grace, have to make the choices that determine our character and who we are in the world.

       One of the fundamental issues of discipleship is taking responsibility for our actions. David knew it was OK to use the bread reserved for the priests to feed his men — human need being a higher good than a religious rule about who may eat certain food. Let us pray for the strength and courage to form our own convictions under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then to act upon them. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTION: Is your life built upon the rock of faith or the shifting sands of popular opinion?

Jesus, grant me the grace to open my heart and mind to the truth Your Spirit will teach me and then grant me the strength and courage to act upon it.