Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights, praise him, all you his angels; praise him, all you his hosts. – Psalm 148:1-2

       Two weeks ago, I shut down my social media connections and went offline. As someone who purposely reads the news every morning, I had become fearful of the current events that littered the Internet. Plane crash. Outbreak of disease. War and retaliation. I began to ask so many questions. Why was this happening? Is this the kind of world that God envisioned?

       Disturbed by my own lack of faith, it took a few days before I realized that you must first face the problem to find a solution. So I came back online and the bad news didn’t disappear. But in between, friends got married. Beautiful babies were born. Celebrations were shared and achievements proudly applauded. And then I saw it. The same line, although phrased in different ways, was always visible somewhere within the captions of these posts. Thank You, God, for this blessing. And it all made sense. He creates both small and great miracles every day.

       So do not doubt Him. Praise Him instead for the good that is present in this world because, together, we can make this world a better place. Eleanore Teo (elyo.lee@gmail.com)

Reflection: Do you focus on the sins of the world or the beauty by God’s hand?

Lord, I place my hands together not only in prayer but in applause and glorification of Your work.

We have been made in the image and likeness of God. However, we will never attain the glory that belongs to Him alone. But this does not mean that we should remain mediocre. We should strive to be the best disciples of Jesus that we can be. We should strive for perfection even though it is a distant and unattainable goal, at least in this life.

Ezekiel 1:2-5, 24-28

2 On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year, that is, of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3 the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar. There the hand of the Lord came upon me. 4 As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire enveloped in brightness, from the midst of which [the midst of the fire] something gleamed like electrum. 5 Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human. 24 Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty. When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army. And when they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25-26 Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man. 27 Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor. 28 Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Psalm 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14

R: Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

1 Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights; 2 Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his hosts.  (R) 11 Let the kings of the earth and all peoples, the princes and all the judges of the earth, 12 young men too, and maidens, old men and boys, 13 praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven. (R) 14 And he has lifted up the horn of his people. Be this his praise from all his faithful ones, from the children of Israel, the people close to him. Alleluia. (R)

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Dominic de Guzman. He preached against a number of the heresies in his time and embraced evangelical poverty. Dominic, along with St. Francis of Assisi, saw in evangelical poverty the chance to witness to their faith in God who would provide for their needs. It was a life that many of the heretical sects had already embraced. To counter this, there arose in the life of the Church the Franciscans and Dominicans, among others.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

God has called you through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 17:22-27

22 As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief. 24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” 25 “Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” 26 When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. 27 But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.”

think: We should strive to be the best disciples of Jesus that we can be.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Maccabees 15-16  

Why will they kill Him? They want to kill Him because He interrupts the temple services, He blasphemes, He does not keep the Law, and He upsets the existing order by being a subversive freedom fighter. Jesus died as a sinner because the religious leaders, political leaders and society made Him a sinner. He was a victim of oppression. This is clearly understood by people who were oppressed and falsely accused. They recognized Him as a fellow in His suffering and crucifixion.

       The self-righteous people will convince the oppressed people that Jesus was being crucified because of their private and personal sin. But the oppressed knew better. Jesus died because of their false accusation. The oppressed and the poor know that Jesus is with them in their struggles. He identified with the dehumanized as well as with the inhuman  dehumanizers. He identified with the dying victim but He did not forget the victimizer. He wanted to bring the oppressed into glory but He also wanted to break open the oppressor to his real human dignity.

       Jesus faced death not only for the poor but also for the rich. He said that to save the rich would be more difficult than to save the poor. All are in the heart of Jesus. He tried to be the bridge between the oppressed and the oppressor; the rich and the poor; the righteous and the sinner. His death broke the wall that divides us from each other.

       He died for you and me. But why? Do we belong to the oppressed or to the oppressor? I find it difficult and shameful to answer this question. Am I oppressed? Am I an oppressor? The reason for His death is His unconditional love for us. His public execution is the greatest gift He could offer us. From the Cross, Jesus would declare, “The violence stops here in My body. All is forgiven. Stop hurting one another.”

       Death no longer has power over Him. His resurrection on the third day is a radical statement that God is in complete control. Because of His great love, it is now time for our resurrection. Keep faith! Fr. Alex Balatbat

REFLECTION QUESTION: In every situation you may be in, ask yourself, what would Jesus do? Try to follow Jesus by reaching out with unconditional love toward everyone you meet.

Jesus, heal me that I might walk beside You on the path of love and peace. Amen.