Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate. – Mark 10:9

       “You tore the veil. You made a way when You said that it is done…”

      Tears fell from my eyes as I sang. I messed up big time and I was frustrated with myself. I just confessed the day before but I failed again. My guilt tormented me as the cause of other people’s hurts and offenses.

       Then I remembered the story behind the song. When Jesus died, the veil in the temple — which physically separated God from the people — was torn into two. It marked the forgiveness of sins and the opening of the gates of heaven. I found solace in the truth contained in the lyrics. The voice of my confessor rang in my head, “Don’t be frustrated with yourself, dear. God will never give up on you.”

       Gratitude overwhelmed me. When Jesus spread His arms on the cross, He already welcomed me home. It is done. No sin is bigger than His love and nothing that I do can separate me from Him. As I continued singing, I asked for the grace to remain in God — without the veil, without the shame. Maymay R. Salvosa (christiane.salvosa@gmail.com)

Reflection:“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

Dearest Father, grant me the grace to live every second according to Your ways. Amen.

Blessed Luke Belludi, pray for us.

Thomas Aquinas teaches us that friendship endures for eternity. Our friendships will be sanctified and blessed infinitely when we meet in heaven. This is why it is important to test our friendships. You might regret investing a lot in someone in this life only to find that he did not make it to heaven. We should choose wisely the people we become friends with.

5 A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings. 6 Let your acquaintances be many, but one in a thousand your confidant. 7 When you gain a friend, first test him, and be not too ready to trust him. 8 For one sort of friend is a friend when it suits him, but he will not be with you in time of distress. 9 Another is a friend who becomes an enemy, and tells of the quarrel to your shame. 10 Another is a friend, a boon companion, who will not be with you when sorrow comes. 11 When things go well, he is your other self, and lords it over your servants; 12 but if you are brought low, he turns against you and avoids meeting you. 13 Keep away from your enemies; be on your guard with your friends. 14 A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. 15 A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. 16 A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; 17 for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.

R: Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.

12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes. (R) 16 In your statutes I will delight; I will not forget your words. (R) 18 Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law. (R) 27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. (R) 34 Give me discernment that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. (R) 35 Lead me in the path of your commands, for in it I delight. (R)

Marriage is a sacrament that is integral to the building of human society. If family relationships are unreliable, relationships in society will be unstable. This will make it very difficult to uphold a society. Marriage is one of the targets of the devil. Let us protect the sanctity and institution of marriage from destruction.

Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.

1 Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them. 2 The Pharisees approached and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. 3 He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They replied, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” 5 But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” 10 In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

think: In your family, who has had the best marriage? What made their married life special?

Read the Bible in one year  1 Timothy 1-3

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

GOD’S NOT-SO-GODLY WAY

Many are taken by the unassuming ways of Pope Francis who wants things simple and straight. He would easily be fired up by the presence of children and the sick. He would put aside protocol and security to go and touch these persons. At one time, he even stopped his car on the road, and went out to kiss and bless a sick person brought out on a stretcher by the roadside. Last year, many Filipinos have also been taken by the new president’s style. In many ways, he has been throwing out what is considered “traditional and conventional” in the mold of the Philippine chief executive. From his way of matching the Filipino barong with the all-American favorite blue jeans in his manner of dressing even for a formal military parade, to the way he talks, he has definitely been “un-presidential,” as he puts in his own brand of being president.

       God — as Jesus made Him known — is definitely “un-godly” if we are to measure Him by the normal human expectations of a supreme being. The supreme being is supposed to be unmoved, unfeeling, unalterable, completely the Other. Jesus, the face of the Heavenly Father, is always moved in His heart to respond to crowds as they flocked around Him with various needs and in various conditions. Jesus sets aside Himself, and ministers to each one as best as His earthly time would allow.

       The supreme being is supposed to be powerful without limits. He is entirely immanent, absolutely sovereign and powerful beyond all. Jesus reveals, however, that God in truth adapted Himself to humanity’s “hardness of heart.” Therefore, in the tradition of Moses, God tolerated divorce, which is not really His plan for the love covenant of man and woman in marriage.

    The “ungodly ways” of God are always an exercise of His excessive compassion and mercy. He allows the weaknesses of creatures, realizing that this is what differentiates Him from us. By this, God teaches us: True power is not in the capacity to abuse those lower than us, but true power brings understanding for those who are inferior. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

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

Meditate on other instances of God’s “ungodly ways” springing from His mercy for us. What other Gospel stories reveal this? What concrete and personal challenges do God’s “ungodly ways” throw upon you?

Father, thank You for Your compassion and mercy. May I choose to be “ungodly” like You, if needed. Amen.