I was coaching a girl who told me about her becoming addicted to K-pop idols. There were times she wouldn’t sleep at all and just watch them the entire night. Good thing, she realized this wasn’t healthy so she prayed to God to remove the obsession from her heart and keep her admiration to a healthy level.

The very next day, she was surprised to find that she was no longer addicted. What a miracle!

Isn’t it amazing that we can ask for things like this from the Lord? I have a hunch God must have smiled so wide when she prayed for that. He must have rejoiced, saying, “My daughter clings to My love!”

A friend shared with me this beautiful prayer: “Father, if what I’m asking for is good for me and good for others, please grant it.” I believe God doesn’t delay blessings He deems we already need. That’s why He always wants first place in our lives. Otherwise, we can easily fall into worldly traps that will only harm us in the end. God needs to be first so our life is in order. Marianne V. Mencias (marianne.mencias@gmail.com)

reflect

Surrender your idols. Put God first in your life.

Father, reveal to me any idols I may have, and give me the grace to always put You first in my heart.

St. Peter Martinez, pray for us.

Idolatry comes in many shapes and forms. Aside from the worship of some fake gods, we can make an idol of food, television, sport, recreation, and many other things. Anything that has replaced God as our major focus is an idol. Idolatry is a sin. Let us repent of this and be vigilant not to commit this sin again.

¹⁴ My beloved ones: Avoid idolatry. ¹⁵ I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. ¹⁶ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf. ¹⁸ Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? ¹⁹ So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, I mean that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. ²² Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger? Are we stronger than he?

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 116:12-13, 17-18

R: To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

¹² How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? ¹³ The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. (R) ¹⁷ To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. ¹⁸ My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. (R)

Gospel | Luke 6:43-49

While we should not judge a person by their actions, we can make a certain judgment according to the fruits of their lives. If there is good fruit in a person’s life, then we can be sure they make good decisions that help them grow in holiness. The reverse is also true.

Gospel Acclamation

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.

⁴³ Jesus said to his disciples: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. ⁴⁵ A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. ⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? ⁴⁷ I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. ⁴⁸ That one is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read JEREMIAH 11 - 14 today.

It’s the law of nature that a mango tree bears only a mango fruit. A guava tree bears only guava fruit. It’s automatic. It happens naturally. Today, Jesus talks about the good tree bearing good fruit. He is talking about something that goes beyond the automatic laws of nature. Good and well-formed children do not just fall from the sky. Every parent reading this knows that raising good children for the Kingdom of God can be one of the most, if not the most, challenging aspect of parenting.

I recently read a book titled iGen by Jean M. Twenge. In it, she calls attention to how gadgets, the Internet, and social media have taken over the formation of the younger generation. In this day and age of technological advancement, the situation has become all the more daunting. I read of a boy in Switzerland who watched television for seventy-two straight hours. He made it to the Guinness World Records. Children in the Philippines are said to be spending their time with their gadgets for an average of eight to ten hours a day. That’s more than one-third of one day. If they are not in front of the TV, they are in front of the computer screen, cell phone, or iPad. These gadgets have become virtual babysitters.

There are also some who have surrendered the rearing of their children to gadgets so they can focus on their work, career, and hobbies. I have been in the family ministry for decades, and this I can say: children are not a hindrance to work. Rearing children is our most important work. You can be the most successful in your career, but if your children and your family are a mess, all amounts to nothing. We always speak of leaving a better world for our children. We have the equation wrong. We need to leave better children for the world. A better world cannot fix broken children. Better children can fix a broken world.

It is said that the hand that rocks the cradle is the most powerful hand in the world. But now, it is no longer a hand but a screen. It is no longer a person but pixel. Fr. Joel O. Jason

reflection questions

Who is rocking the cradle of your children right now? To whom are you more at home with—a person or a screen?

Lord, thank You for the wonders of technology. Help us to use them well. May we realize that technology was made for the service of man and not vice versa.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________________________