May our Lord Jesus Christ himself... encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. – 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

       I made it my goal for the year. I worked hard to make sure that I’d be able to run whatever training programs and workshops I planned to do. I was determined to earn the prize the following year.

       But when the midyear bonus was paid out, I wasn’t among those who received it. I was disappointed and confused. I asked my immediate superior why I didn’t get the bonus. She gave me an explanation that I didn’t think was sufficient. I felt cheated.

     There is always something that can disappoint us every day of our lives. Think about this day. Are there concerns that disturb you? Is there someone who has disappointed you? How do you deal with your feelings? How do these affect your actions?

      As we remember how much God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ love us, may our hearts and souls be strengthened. May we continue to do the good that God has called us to do in the midst of our challenges as we allow His grace to renew and recharge us every day. Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag (teregmps@yahoo.com)

Reflection: To whom do you run first in times of trouble or disappointment?

May my heart be open to receive Your grace always, Lord. For by Your grace alone can I continue to walk in faith.

When we are in a rush, we miss the important sign that points us in a different direction. Today we are reminded that there is a time for all things.  It may not be now, but there is a time for all good things. Let us be patient and trust that, as we walk with Jesus, He will reveal to us what we need to know at the proper time.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

1 There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every things under the heavens. 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build. 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. 6 A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 9 What advantage has the worker from his toil? 10 I have considered the task that God has appointed for the sons of men to be busied about. 11 He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.

Psalm 144:1, 2, 3-4

R: Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, 2 my mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust. (R) 3 Lord, what is man, that you notice him; the son of man, that you take thought of him? 4 Man is like a breath; his days, like a passing shadow. (R)

Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. Then Jesus asks the disciples to keep quiet about it in the meantime. He takes the opportunity to reveal to them why He must suffer and die for their sins. The disciples found this impossible to accept. Nothing could have prepared them for such a radical ending to the ministry of Jesus. However, Jesus also tells them that He will be raised from the dead.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Luke 9:18-22

18 Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ ” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” 21 He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. 22 He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

think: Let us be patient and trust that, as we walk with Jesus, He will reveal to us what we need to know at the proper time.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR  Ezekiel 21-24

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT LEGALISM AND

I will never forget that good old lady who lamented that the people around her don’t like her. She said, “I do everything that the Lord wants me to do. I hear Mass every day, attend the Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Wednesdays, go to confession every week…” and so the litany of her religious deeds. She seemed to do everything to look good in church, but...

       When I came to know some of her neighbors, I got a totally different picture of this “holy” lady. She was a terrible gossiper, destroying the names and reputation of people around her. Not only that, she was also a terror to the kids in the neighborhood. Whenever I read today’s Gospel passage, I cannot help but remember this lady. Of course, she is an extreme case, but doesn’t the devil of legalism and hypocrisy lurk in all of us? We might not go to the extreme as the lady I mentioned, but we are not immune when it comes to hypocrisy.

       Why is hypocrisy so tempting and why do many of us fall into its trap without realizing it? We are all concerned with looking good to others but at times we miss to be or to do good. It is easier to project a good image than practice what such an image requires.

       Jesus never pretended to be what He was not. And this honesty is one of the reasons that brought Him to the Cross. It is the honesty of the prophets of old who pointed out the evils in their society. And nobody could tell them, “Look first at yourself.” For this honesty, for speaking the truth about the hypocrisy in their society, they were persecuted like Jesus.

       That’s another reason why hypocrisy is so attractive — one avoids being criticized or even persecuted — unless a Jesus or a prophet comes and points out that legalism and hypocrisy can fool people but will never fool God. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What do you do in daily life to make others think well of you? What do you do secretly to please God?

Lord, I thank You that You help me live without a mask, and to please you rather than the people around me. Amen.