“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” – Mark 1:11

       He belonged to Iglesia ni Cristo. She was a Born Again Christian. After getting married, they stopped going to either of their churches. But it was her mother’s dying wish for them to attend any church, as long as they go together. They decided to “shop around” for a church.

         First stop: The Feast, our weekly prayer meeting. There they felt joy at being welcomed and not judged that they had been unchurched for a long time. The next Sunday, they tried another church. But unknown to each other, they were both longing for what they had found the week before. On the third Sunday, he suggested they go back to The Feast instead. From attendees, they became dedicated servants of the Couples Ministry.

       He was chosen to bring the cross around during the veneration at Feast Alabang’s Holy Week Recollection. When Arun Gogna, our district builder, shared that this brother had been newly baptized into the Catholic faith just three weeks before, I understood the joy he exuded as he carried the cross with quiet pride. I could imagine God looking down at him with great pleasure. A son of God had found his way home. Lella M. Santiago (lellams88@gmail.com)

Lord, You are my joy and my salvation. You are my one true pleasure.

Blessed André Bessette, religious, pray for us.

Christ alone saves. Jesus must always be the focal point when we proclaim the Gospel. We must keep our focus on Jesus and not take Him from the heart when we proclaim the Gospel.

5 Beloved: Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and Blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. 7 So there are three that testify, 8 the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord. 9 If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

R: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

12 Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. 13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. (R) 14 He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. 15 He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! (R) 19 He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. 20 He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia. (R)

The Holy Spirit empowers us to live a full Christian life. The many challenges of living in a secular and unbelieving world will overwhelm us if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide us in the ways of discipleship. Jesus experienced the Holy Spirit at His baptism. Let this be our inspiration as we follow Him.

The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.

7 This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. 11 And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

think: What can you do to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord?

Read the Bible in one year  John 16-18

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

EMBRACE THE HIDDEN

Today’s Gospel is Luke’s version of the genealogy of Jesus. Genealogy is a fancy term that simply means the line of ancestry. Luke’s version begins with this: “Now Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry” (v. 3).

       In June 2016, a movie titled The Young Messiah was released. It was a cinematic attempt to quench biblical curiosity on the hidden years of Jesus and expose them in public. Biblical historians have always been curious about the so-called “hidden years.” What was Jesus doing in the first 30 years of His life? Where did He stay? What was He like as a young boy? Did He already know that He was the Messiah even as a young boy? Did He use His powers to turn stone into bread when He was hungry? Did He impress His playmates or the girls in His town with His magic? This gave rise to a body of so-called “apocryphal” Gospels: unofficial accounts on the hidden life of Jesus not considered to be divinely inspired and official by the Church Magisterium.

       We are usually not comfortable with being hidden. In the movie, A Man for All Seasons, British Chancellor Thomas More was approached by a young man hoping to land a slot in the British government. Unable to help him, More suggested a teaching post in a nearby obscure province. “You’re a brilliant teacher. You could be a great teacher over there,” Thomas suggested. The young man replied. “Yes, I might be great. But who would see it?”

       That’s the key. We usually do not have problems doing great things. Our problem lies in wanting to be seen doing great things. When no one is there to applaud or to marvel at our good works, we usually lose our appetite to persevere.

       Jesus did not have any problems being hidden in obscure Nazareth for 30 years. Neither should we. Substance is formed in hiddenness. Character is molded in obscurity. Fr. Joel Jason

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

Are you comfortable being unnoticed? Do you persevere in goodness in obscurity?

Draw me in the silence of Your Nazareth experience, O Lord. Amen.