In Christ we were chosen, destined in accord with purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to intention of his will. – Ephesians 1:11

        I auditioned for our youth music ministry as a singer. There were only a few who volunteered, and I was happy because we had higher chances of getting in. I was last to audition and my schedule got moved to the following week. I waited for my turn but it never came.  Worse, it was my very own sister who headed the auditions!

      I felt the rejection and it was hard. But my love for worship music never faded. It was during this time that I began to play the piano at home. I asked my sister to mentor me.

       I auditioned again after a year, but this time as a keyboardist. I was chosen and I never stopped playing ever since. That gift brought me to places and allowed me to meet amazing people. From hard rejection, my failed auditions became my hopeful redirection. I’m grateful that it was in God’s plan all along.

       Today, when I serve, I play music and sing at the same time. Truly, He works out everything according to the purpose of His will. Didoy Lubaton (didoymd@gmail.com)

Reflection: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Lord, thank You for choosing me. I align my will to Yours. I trust Your plans for my life.

St. Callistus I, pope and martyr, pray for us.

Let us reflect on the truth of being “sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit.” We have also been sealed “in the Blood of Christ.” This idea is based on the practice in the Roman Army where a soldier was “branded” with the seal of the emperor to show that he belonged to the emperor. To belong to Christ is both a pleasure and a privilege.

11 Brothers and sisters: In Christ we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, 12 so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. 13 In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 12-13

R: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

1 Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. 2 Give thanks to the Lord on the harp; with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises. (R) 4 For upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy. 5 He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full. (R) 12 Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down; he sees all mankind. (R)

Christians are the leaven in society. Leaven is an important ingredient in baking bread. Without it, the bread hardens like a rock. The same is true of a Christian who does not “leaven” society with his faith. We must live as disciples of Jesus and not allow the witness of our life to be rendered useless in society.

May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us; who have put our hope in you.

1 At that time: so many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven — that is, the hypocrisy — of the Pharisees. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. 4 I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. 5 I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. 7 Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

think: Christians are the leaven in the midst of society.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Micah 4-7

DESTINED AND CHOSEN

Some years ago, a national politician became the laughing stock on social media for mishandling a hammer and pretending to be working hard. He did not know how to handle the simple tool. It was an elementary rule in basic woodworking. A tool is an instrument of the worker. Any carpenter would know that a screw driver is used to drive in a screw and a hammer is used to drive in a nail. The human worker would do well to respect the purpose for which they were made.

      Years ago, someone I knew could not close the baggage compartment of his car. The hook was not aligned with the latch. While the hook was fixed, the latch was movable. So he looked for some tool and found a screw driver. What he did was a good example of not respecting the purpose for which things were made. He hammered the latch using the screw driver’s head, instead of loosening the screws with the screw driver and adjusting the latch to align with the hook.

         God knows how many times I have disrespected the purposes for which some things were made. This is what sin is basically — a kind of “missing the mark,” or misusing what God has given us as tools for something nobler.

       God gave us the human mind to pursue truth, particularly saving truth. The human will was placed by the same God so that we could propel ourselves to pursue the good, and find “accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of His will.” These two — intellect and will — ordinarily should work in tandem and not at cross purposes with each other. But you and I know from experience that, at times, we cheat. Like the Pharisees, we claim to know the good but still do the opposite. We act like the hypocrites condemned by the Lord in today’s passage.

       We are chosen. We are destined — in love. “Blessed be the people the Lord has chosen to be His own.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you using your God-given gifts and talents for the right purpose?

Dearest God, grant me the wisdom to know how to use the gifts and talents You have given me for the right purpose. Amen.