Dedication of the Churches of

Sts.Peter and Paul, Apostles

“I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.” – Luke 18:8

       My IT company has been servicing a big US grocery chain since 2004. We deploy IT consultants and programmers to support the client’s applications and infrastructure network. Because of their merger with another grocery chain, management had to expand their own HR team to build capacity.

        I felt that the new person assigned to us had a preference for another vendor and that most of our endorsements had been declined and marked “invalid.” Although we didn’t have new contracts and knowing that some injustice was happening, I kept my faith in their management and most especially in God. My prayers for justice were answered when we learned that the new HR person was caught on CCTV stealing credit cards from wallets of her colleagues. She was terminated and replaced with a very professional staff.

       No matter what your circumstances are, turn your troubles to God and allow Him to guard your heart with peace. Faith will not eliminate your problems but will keep you trusting in the midst of those troubles. With faith, justice is served in God’s time. Dean Pax Lapid (happyretiree40@gmail.com)

Reflection: Seeking justice from someone? God’s got your back.

Father, thank You for supplying every resource that is available to us who believe. Strengthen our minds and hearts as we continue to put our trust in You.

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, pray for us.

God is the Master of all that He has created. This is evident in the miracles He works, both in the New and Old Testaments. God is not bound by the laws of nature, but we are. God is free to do what He wants as He is the Creator of all, but we are not. Sin is rebellion against God. When we sin, we seek to appropriate His authority and powers to ourselves. The only way to overcome this is through humility — by readily accepting that God is God and we are not.

14 When peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, 15 Your all-powerful word, from heaven’s royal throne bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land, 16 bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree. And as he alighted, he filled every place with death; he still reached to heaven, while he stood upon the earth. 19:6 For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew, serving its natural laws, that your children might be preserved unharmed. 7 The cloud overshadowed their camp; and out of what had before been water, dry land was seen emerging: Out of the Red Sea an unimpeded road, and a grassy plain out of the mighty flood. 8 Over this crossed the whole nation sheltered by your hand, after they beheld stupendous wonders. 9 For they ranged about like horses, and bounded about like lambs, praising you, O Lord! Their deliverer.

R: Remember the marvels the Lord has done!

2 Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. 3 Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord! (R) 36 Then he struck every first-born throughout their land, the first fruits of all their manhood. 37 And he led them forth laden with silver and gold, with not a weakling among their tribes. (R) 42 For he remembered his holy word to his servant Abraham. 43 And he led forth his people with joy; with shouts of joy, his chosen ones. (R)

Sometimes, God allows us to wait a long time before answering our prayers. He knows the best timing for the answer to our prayers. He knows what we need the most. We simply have to learn to trust in His judgment and persevere in our prayers. Good things come to those who wait upon the Lord.

God has called us through the Gospel, to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, 2 “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. 3 And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ 4 For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, 5 because this widow keeps bothering me, I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’” 6 The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. 7 Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? 8 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

think: Do you have unanswered prayers? What do you think the Lord is telling you through His silence?

Read the Bible in one year Jeremiah 35-38

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

FAILING FORWARD

J.K. Rowling was a waitress on public assistance who experienced rejection by a dozen publishers before the Harry Potter phenomenon. Michael Jordan was rejected by his high school basketball team. Walt Disney was told he did not have imagination. Thomas Edison was told by his teachers he was “too stupid to learn anything,” that he had to be homeschooled by his mother. Ludwig van Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed four of his greatest works. The manic depressive Vincent Van Gogh said, “Only when I fall do I get up again.”

       We all experience failures in various magnitudes at different stages of our lives. The greater challenge is how we deal with it. The Gospel today provides us a key: Perseverance.

       Interesting to notice are the two characters involved and what they imply: a poor and powerless person before a corrupt official. A desperate status in an almost hopeless chance. And if a favorable outcome can come out of this impossible situation, especially at the hands of “a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought,” how much more before a merciful and compassionate God?

       Jesus says, “Always pray and not give up.” This should be our refrain every time life deals us with a difficult deck. We cannot and should not give up. We pray. Then we connect with God who is the only One who can bring justice in our corrupt world.

       The primordial mission of the Christian leader is not just about producing the result, but more so in surfacing the sacred hope at all times. Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (www.slb.ph), which aims for a faith that does justice, journeyed with the Sumilao Farmers who fought for their land for more than 10 years. The struggle included a historic 1,700-plus-kilometer active non-violent walk, earning not only their agricultural wealth but the iconic status of giving hope to countless other farmers who dream to have their own land to till. Fr. Xavier Alpasa, SJ

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

How do you want to give hope to someone today?

You are a merciful and compassionate God. May I never forget this, Lord, when I start to feel hopeless. Amen.