At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” – Mark 8:33

       Despite the fact that the doctors told us that we can never conceive a child the natural way, I was staring at the ultrasound monitor, amazed at the heartbeat of our child. But after eight blissful weeks, the heartbeat stopped.

       Have you ever lost the very gift that was given to you?

       Just when we thought that everything was finally falling into place, all was suddenly lost.

       No warning. No explanation. No consolation.

       But believe me when I tell you that God has always something better in store for you.

       But He is there, working without tire, to make things better.

      We lost that pregnancy but today we have a three-year-old son who is the apple of our lives. Orange Garcia (orange.garcia@outlook.com)

Lord, may I never give in to doubt but always remain faithful and hopeful in You. Amen.

St. Gilbert of Sempringham, pray for us.

God enters into a new covenant with mankind when He commanded Noah to be fruitful and multiply. God committed to never destroy creation and used a rainbow to seal His promise. Our life is governed by the covenants that God has made with us through the ages. These covenants free us to discover our true humanity and allow us to receive God’s blessings.

1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: “Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. 2 Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. 3 Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. 4 Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. 5 For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life. 6 If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has man been made. 7 Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.” 8 God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. 11 I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.” 12 God added: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: 13 I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”

R: From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

15 [16] The nations shall revere your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory, 16 [17] when the Lord has rebuilt Zion and appeared in his glory; 17 [18] when he has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and not despised their prayer. (R) 18 [19] Let this be written for the generation to come, and let his future creatures praise the Lord: 19 [20] “The Lord looked down from his holy height, from heaven he beheld the earth, 20 [21] To hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die.” (R) 28 [29] The children of your servants shall abide, and their posterity shall continue in your presence. 21 [22] That the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion; and his praise, in Jerusalem, 22 [23] when the peoples gather together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord. (R)

Suffering is part of true discipleship. If our Savior suffers, we share in His suffering, just like His disciples. But it is not God’s will for us to live in affliction. Sin is the cause of our suffering. We can give meaning to our pain if we see it through Jesus’ eyes and if we unite it to His suffering on the cross. Then our suffering becomes redemptive as we become co-redeemers through Christ.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.

27 Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” 30 Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

think: How do you react when you hear people say something you do not want to hear?

Read the Bible in one year  Galatians 1-3

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

We confess that Jesus is 100 percent God as the Father is. Every Sunday, we therefore proclaim Jesus as “God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not made, of One Substance with the Father.” But the uniqueness of Jesus as the Second Person of the Trinity is that He is at the same time 100 percent human, except that He did not sin. As such, He went through the way of all humanity: growing in wisdom and strength, in his self-awareness as a human being.

      Jesus indicates to us that identity and the search for it involves several things. We begin journeying into who we are through others. We listen to what others say about us with openness, but also with a critical attitude. As many as there are whom we consult and talk with, so much varied will be the feedback that we get. We need to sort out people’s impressions, praises and criticisms. We must not be drowned in any of these.

       We consider what our “significant others” have to tell us about us. These are the persons close to us, who are concerned with us, and who know us more than anyone. Among these are family members and well-meaning friends who really know us. They have known us in our unguarded moments through various events and situations.

       We consider our spiritual value: the values and virtues that we have developed in us by way of our faith and belief, and our inherent value before God. Our humanity has a transcendence.

       Our identity and value also comes from our ability for self-giving, our willingness to suffer for others, our capacity for self-sacrifice. This is the heroic and saintly part of us. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

---------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS ----------

Match a summary of others’ impressions of you and your own self-evaluation. What common points come out? What is your reaction on these? What spiritual values and advocacies do you feel strongly for? Why?

May I know and see myself through Your eyes, O Lord. Amen.