“And now you suffer ruin because you are a murderer.” – 2 Samuel 16:8

       It was tiring just to watch Joe breathe. He has severe emphysema —an incurable lung condition, often caused by prolonged smoking. By the way he breathed, you’d think he was having an asthma attack 24 hours a day. Joe hasn’t gone out of his room for five years now. He just lies in bed the whole day, staring at the ceiling, mumbling to himself.

       “I brought this on myself,” he said. “I’m suffering now because I didn’t have the commitment to stop smoking even if everyone was telling me to stop. So I smoked for 40 years... Oh, if only I can turn back the hands of time!”

       I’ve realized one thing about life. You can never escape pain.

    But you can choose between two types of pain: the pain of  commitment or the pain of regret.

       The first pain weighs a kilo, but the second pain weighs a ton.

     Joe did not choose the pain of commitment. There were probably many times when he tried to stop. But he wanted to be cool. He chose the pain of regret.

 Friend, choose your pain wisely. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

Pope Francis Says: “Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else — God is in this person’s life.”

Dear Jesus, grant me the grace to choose the better path so that I will not regret later.

It is not easy to be a leader. Not all people will be satisfied with the way you lead. As the old saying goes, “You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.” Let us pray for our leaders to have a listening ear and patience as they guide us in the ways of God.

2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13

13 An informant came to David with the report, “The children of Israel have transferred their loyalty to Absalom.” 14 At this, David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem: “Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Leave quickly, lest he hurry and overtake us, then visit disaster upon us and put the city to the sword.” 30 As David went up the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went. 16:5 As David was approaching Bahurim, a man named Shimei, the son of Gera of the same clan as Saul’s family, was coming out of the place, cursing as he came. 6 He threw stones at David and at all the king’s officers, even though all the soldiers, including the royal guard, were on David’s right and on his left. 7 Shimei was saying as he cursed: “Away, away, you murderous and wicked man! 8 The Lord has requited you for all the bloodshed in the family of Saul, in whose stead you became king, and the Lord has given over the kingdom to your son Absalom. And now you suffer ruin because you are a murderer.” 9 Abishai, son of Zeruiah, said to the king: “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, please, and lop off his head.” 10 But the king replied: “What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the Lord has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ” 11 Then the king said to Abishai and to all his servants: “If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so? Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. 12 Perhaps the Lord will look upon my affliction and make it up to me with benefits for the curses he is uttering this day.” 13 David and his men continued on the road, while Shimei kept abreast of them on the hillside, all the while cursing and throwing stones and dirt as he went.

Psalm 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R: Lord, rise up and save me.

1 [2] O Lord, how many are my adversaries! Many rise up against me! 2 [3] Many are saying of me, “There is no salvation for him in God.” (R) 3 [4] But you, O Lord, are my shield; my glory, you lift up my head! 4 [5] When I call out to the Lord, he answers me from his holy mountain. (R) 5 [6] When I lie down in sleep, I wake again, for the Lord sustains me. 6 [7] I fear not the myriads of people arrayed against me on every side. (R)

GOSPEL1

Demonic possession is not that common, though cases have begun to rise with the entry of the New Age movement. We need to look at the spiritual side of the programs we get involved in to make sure that they have a Christian basis and are anointed by the Holy Spirit. Everything we do does not have to be explicitly Christian, but we also need to protect ourselves from spirits that are unchristian.

A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.

1 Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. 2 When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. 3 The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. 4 In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. 6 Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, 7 crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” 8 (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) 9 He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” 10 And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory. 11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. 12 And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” 13 And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned. 14 The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened. 15 As they approached 9Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. 16 Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. 17 Then they began to beg him to leave their district. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. 19 But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” 20 Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

think: We need to look at the spiritual side of programs we get involved in to make sure that they have a Christian basis and are anointed by the Holy Spirit.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Romans 1-4 

FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN LOVE

I was 16 years old when I first heard of the greatness of the man. I remember being awestruck at reading about how he literally offered his life in place of someone who was much younger, who had a family, and who still had a responsibility ahead of him.

       Three prisoners had escaped from the concentration camp. Ten men were chosen at random to pay for the crime they did not commit. One of them was a youngish man who cried in anguish for his wife and children.

       Like Simeon, the prophet, the occasion proved to be the older man’s shining moment. And like in the case of the venerable prophet, Maximilian Kolbe’s generous act of taking the place of the younger man seemed to drive home a similar message: “You may let me go!”

       St. Maximilian was a martyr of charity. He did not have to die. He did not have to go just yet but he chose to stand in for someone who, in his mind, had more compelling reasons to live.

     Last year, at about this time, we were jarred at the news of 44 policemen mercilessly killed as they served our country and people. Whatever may have been the cause, and whoever may have been responsible, there is no denying the fact that they died not because they wanted to, but because they were sent for a mission that proved to be not only dangerous but disastrous.

       They died so that others might live. They were heroes no less and the nation, although grieving, was also grateful for the valor they showed.

        St. Maximilian was no soldier, but he was just as heroic. He laid down his life for a stranger he had not even met before. His was a selfless love and his self-offering was solely motivated by charity.

       The 44 gallant policemen died heroes’ deaths. Fidelity to duty cost them their lives. Simeon and Maximilian chose to recede from the scene, by choice. Simeon did so for his goal in life was done. But Maximilian chose to do so unbidden, for no other reason but charity. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: What are you willing to die for?

Today, I pray, Lord, for all who died selflessly so that others may live. Amen.