“So that your joy may be complete.” – John 16:24

       Can I shock you with some solid biblical truth today? Here it is: God wants you to be happy. In fact, He wants your joy to be complete! He even wants you to “ask and you will receive so that your joy may be complete.”

       If that didn’t come as a shock to you, congratulations! Many Catholics continue to think and believe that God wants them to suffer and be sad. Yes, millions of people worship a masochist god, a god who takes pleasure in people’s pain.

       Of course, there’s sacrifice. After all, Jesus said, “Carry your cross and follow Me.” But sacrifice isn’t an end in itself. It leads to victory and salvation — to real happiness!

       As a father, I want my children to learn and practice sacrifice — in their studies, health, spiritual life and relationships. But I want them to sacrifice because of the deeper rewards they get from it. They become wiser, healthier, holier, and more loving.

       Here’s a tip: If you want parents to be truly happy, make their children completely joyful.

       So you want to make God, your Heavenly Father, truly happy? Then be completely joyful as His most beloved child — and make His other children happy, too! Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Rethink your image of God. Can you see a happy God who wants you to be happy?

Dear God, grant me the grace to experience the true joy and happiness You want for me, so that I may share this with others, too.

St. Rose Venerini, pray for us.

Apollos is a humble man. He admits that he lacks knowledge about the Gospel and is willing to learn. This is a challenge to all preachers and leaders — none of us know nor can do everything well. We need the help of others in accomplishing the work that God has given us. Let us pray for the grace of a teachable heart and the humility to go with it.

23 After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples. 24 A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. 28 He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

Psalm 47:2-3, 8-9, 10

R: God is king of all the earth.

1 [2] All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness. 2 [3] For the Lord, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth. (R) 7 [8] For the king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise. 8 [9] God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne. (R) 9 [10] The princes of the peoples are gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham. For God’s are the guardians of the earth; He is supreme. (R)

Jesus prepares the Apostles for His inevitable return to the Father. This means that they will have to continue His mission in His absence. We are more blessed because of this. Jesus affirms this to Thomas after His resurrection. Let us always trust in His promises and goodness to us even when following Him is difficult.

I came from the Father and have come into the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.

23 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 24 Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. 25 I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”  

think: We need the help of others in accomplishing the work that God has given us.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

GOD IS FAITHFUL

Paul’s missionary journey took him to the churches in Asia Minor which he himself built and is now revisiting after 10 years. We read that Paul spent time in Antioch, then set out again through the Galatian country and Phyrgia.

       I’m not sure if the words “missionary journey” really evokes in us modern readers what it really demanded then from Paul and his companions. Let us not forget that they mostly travelled on foot in long hours, exposed to the harsh elements and even robbers. At night, there were no inns where Paul could pay for a warm bed and bath. He did not have the advantage of modern technology for accurate navigation and even entertainment during the boring stretches of his journey. A journey then was in no sense a vacation or an adventure trip. It was literally life-threatening.

       And this is already Paul’s third missionary trip. Each journey did not become easier; rather it only became more demanding. Later on, he would narrate, “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (2 Corinthians 11:25-27).

       I wondered if Paul ever complained to God. Was there ever a time when he shouted to the heavens and said, “This is not what I signed in for”? No. Through it all, he would express his confidence in the “God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever” (v. 31).

       Truly, in the missionary journeys of Paul, we see that God doesn’t give us always what we can handle. But God surely helps us handle what we have been given. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: Like in bodybuilding, muscles do not grow when it is only given a weight it can handle, lest they weaken and atrophy.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)