“… perfect through suffering…” – Hebrews 2:10

       Fire is the best way to purify gold. When all the impurities have melted, what is left is 24-karat pure gold, the highest valuable grade.

     Thirteen years ago, soon after we got married, Matthew was misdiagnosed by the doctor. We were in and out of the hospital. We spent hundreds of thousands of pesos (provided mostly through help of family and friends). Aside from that, there was also the psychological and emotional stress that it brought us.

         This suffering crushed us. It burst the bubble of the many dreams we had before we got married. But now in hindsight, I see that the Lord allowed this misfortune for a greater purpose. He wanted to purify us, humble us, and mold us more into His likeness.

          This furnace of suffering is part of life’s journey. Because of what we went through, God has changed us into better persons. I pray that when my time comes to face my God, He will see not me but the face of Jesus who has granted me the grace and strength to endure till the end. Marisa Aguas (jojangaguas@yahoo.com)

Reflection:Are you going through trials right now? Believe in the goodness of the Lord and ask Him for the grace to endure. Thank Him for this opportunity to become more like Him.

Heavenly Father, I may not understand the purpose of what I am going through in my life right now. Help me find my strength in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

St. Gregory of Nyssa, pray for us.

The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus, the Son of God through whom the Father created the universe, has become one of us in the incarnation. This seems to be inappropriate and a virtual heresy or impossibility. God is so committed to love us that He became man to redeem us. Let us be open to His love.

5 It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 Instead, someone has testified somewhere: What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, 8 subjecting all things under his feet. In “subjecting” all things to him, he left nothing not “subject to him.” Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,” 9 but we do see Jesus “crowned  with glory and honor” because he suffered death, he who “for a little while” was made “lower than the angels,” that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,” 12 saying: I will proclaim your name to my brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.

R: You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.

1 [2] O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth! 4 [5] What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? (R) 5 [6] You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 [7] You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. (R) 7 [8] All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field, 8 [9] the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas. (R)

Jesus has authority over all things in heaven and earth. As our Lord and Savior, He shares that authority with us to help us overcome sin and live as His disciples. The grace to live as a disciple of Jesus is always available to us — we only need to humbly ask for it. Let us come before our God and ask Him to help us overcome sin and temptation. 

Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God.

21 Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

think: Jesus shares with us His authority over all things in heaven and on earth. Do we take this responsibility seriously?

Read the Bible in one year  Matthew 7-9

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME

Early in my priesthood, I was a guidance counselor of a parochial school. In my encounters with the students, I realized that many of them were having problems with their studies, not because they were dumb or bad, but because they didn’t feel affirmed, loved and accepted by their parents. In the confessional, married men and women would confess to me that they were tempted to have an affair not because they no longer loved their spouses but simply because their spouses had, for some reason, become cold and unexpressive of their love.

       God understands our need. Today’s First Reading contains the perplexed question of man to God: “What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?” (Hebrews 2:6). Today, we are reminded of God’s love for us, a love that reached its climax with Jesus dying on the cross. But you know what is so surprising with Jesus dying on the cross?

       Let me illustrate this with a personal experience. When I was still a seminarian, I was assigned to do some apostolate in a home for unwed mothers. In that place, I met women, some as young as 16, who were already pregnant, rejected and disowned. Most of them came into the home feeling like they were garbage. But after delivering their baby, they leave the place totally renewed, feeling good about themselves. Why? Because during their stay in the home, some people dared to love them even at their most “unlovable” state.

       God did not wait for us to become good, holy and lovable before He loved us. In fact, it is because God loves us that we started to be lovable and feel good about ourselves. This is what the Letter to the Hebrews is wondering about, something today’s Responsorial Psalm also echoes: “What is man that You care for him, mortal man that You keep him in mind?”

       When we look at the cross, let us be reminded of this love. Let us not wait for the people around us to become lovable before we love them. Let us love them now, and that will make them more lovable. Or at least that will help us dislike the other less. Fr. Joel Jason

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

Are there unlovable persons around you? Why not decide to love them now, one person at a time?

Lord Jesus, grant me a loving and accepting heart. May I learn to love like You. Amen.