But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased. – Galatians 1:15

       My sisters in the community and I were under formation for one and a half years. In 2014, the Year of the Laity, we were to be sent forth to start a new apostolate towards new evangelization. But I started having doubts about my eligibility as a prayer guide.

       It didn’t help that I was battered on all fronts. I was physically weak because I failed to take care of myself for the umpteenth time. I became susceptible to spiritual attacks as my nightmares recurred two years after I had accepted my sister’s untimely death.

       It turned out that my other companions were also having the same doubts and attacks. But during our sacred half-hour of prayer, God reiterated to us that we were all chosen to be sent forth as guides — in spite of our doubts and fears, in spite of being sinners striving to be saints.

       The choice was ours to make, to go forth as faithful guides because God called and anointed us. Ems Sy Chan (leeannesy7@yahoo.com)

Pope Francis Says: “If you are a lamb, God will defend you, but if you think you’re as strong as the wolf, He won’t, and the wolves will eat you whole.”

Thank You for choosing me to know, love and serve You all the days of my life. Thank You for Your great love for a sinner like me.

St. Boniface, bishop and martyr, pray for us.

We know the power of the spoken word, the Word of the Lord. The prophets, including Elijah, speak the Word of God to His people. Even today, we need to listen to the Word of God as spoken through the Church and Her preachers and missionaries. It is difficult to accept God’s Word because it challenges us beyond what we believe. This is where we have to trust in the promise and love of God.

17 Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow. The son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. 18 So she said to Elijah, “Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?” 19 Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” Taking him from her lap, he carried the son to the upper room where he was staying, and put him on his own bed. 20 Elijah called out to the Lord: “O Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the Lord: “O Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” 22 The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child’s body and he revived. 23 Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. Elijah said to her, “See! Your son is alive.” 24 The woman replied to Elijah, “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God. The word of the Lord comes truly from your mouth.”

Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R: I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

1 [2] I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. 3 [4] O Lord, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. (R) 4 [5] Sing praise to the Lord, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. 5 [6] For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. (R) 10 [11] “Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me; O Lord, be my helper.” 11 [12] You changed my mourning into dancing; 12 [13] O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks. (R)

Paul is aware of his past and how he was transformed when he  surrendered his life to Jesus. The people who knew him before his conversion probably found it difficult to accept what has happened to him. We need to trust that the transformation of Paul is also possible for us. Nothing is impossible for God.

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you heard of my former way of life  in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, 14 and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord.

The story of Jesus raising the son of the widow of Nain from the dead is patterned after the miracle that Elijah performed in the same city about 800 years earlier. The Gospel writer wants us to see Jesus within the prophetic tradition of the Jewish people. The Gospel that Jesus proclaims is rooted in the Jewish tradition of faith.

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

11 Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, 168 exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” 17 This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

think: We all know the power of the spoken word, especially the Word of the Lord.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

NOT EYEWITNESSES

BUT CHANNELS OF GOD’S BLESSINGS

The parallelism between our First Reading and our Gospel today is too clear to ignore. Not only in terms of what happened (the raising to life of the departed sons of two widowed mothers), but also in the reaction of those who witnessed the miracles.

       In the First Reading, the mother said to Elijah, “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God, and it is truly the word of the Lord that you speak.” On the other hand, in the Gospel, there is a similar astonishment on the part of the people, making them conclude about Jesus: “A great prophet has arisen in our midst... God has visited His people.”

       Indeed, who wouldn’t be amazed and awestruck at such marvels? We may not be first-hand eyewitnesses of those phenomena, but reading God’s Word cannot also help but increase and consolidate our appreciation and praise for Jesus. We see in Him the fulfillment of all our deepest aspirations as God’s children, our Savior and the mighty conqueror of sin and death whom no powers can ever defeat.

         And who knows if God might do with us the same thing He did with Paul? As the Apostle to the Gentiles testified in today’s Second Reading, “God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, so that I might proclaim Him to the Gentiles....” We are no eyewitnesses of God’s powerful deeds, and we do not even deserve His favors. Nevertheless, God deems us worthy enough to merit His graces and blessings. So we simply dispose ourselves in His hands as “conduits,” “relaying” the joy and the life which come from God, passing them on to others. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you a channel of God’s blessings to others? How do you spread His love to the rest of the world?