A few years ago, I had a severe attack of psoriatic arthritis. The pain was intense that I had to use a cane to assist me when walking. 

Despite the struggle to move, I made sure that I would still go to The Feast and attend our weekly Couples Light Group meeting. A light group is a small group of five to eight persons who share about their life and their learnings from The Feast. 

Once, our meeting was held in a place with no ramp. I had to go up using the stairs, which had less than 10 steps. But due to my condition, it was difficult. My Light Group mates went down and assisted me. One held my left arm as my right held on to the railings. Another one lifted my foot one after the other to the next steps, while another stood behind me to hoist me up from the hips. 

That day, I felt like the paralyzed man. But thanks to good friends, I was able to go to Jesus. Oying Isidoro (oying.isidoro@gmail.com)

Reflect:

Do you surround yourself with friends who will bring you to Jesus?

Lord, surrounded us with people who will bring us closer to You.

St. Elizabeth of Portugal, pray for us.

Amaziah is jealous so he stirs up bad feelings toward Amos. Amos tells him that his jealousy and lack of faithfulness to the Lord have contributed to family misfortunes: his wife will become a prostitute, his children will die, and he will die in exile. Beware and be faithful to all that God asks of us. He will not bring evil upon us even if we sin; however, the consequences of sin are out of our control.

¹⁰ Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words. ¹¹ For this is what Amos says: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.” ¹² To Amos, Amaziah said: “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, ¹³ but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” ¹⁴ Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. ¹⁵ The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' ¹⁶ Now hear the word of the Lord! You say: prophesy not against Israel, preach not against the house of Isaac. ¹⁷ Now thus says the Lord: Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by measuring line, and you yourself shall die in an unclean land; Israel shall be exiled far from its land."

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R: The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

 ⁸The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. (R) ⁹ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye. (R) ¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just. (R) ¹¹ They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 9:1-8

In today’s Gospel, we see how Jesus’ conflict with the scribes and Pharisees begins. He is the Son of God and is not afraid to exercise His authority to forgive sins. The scribes and Pharisees do not believe that Jesus is God and they think it is blasphemous for Him to claim that He can forgive sins. Let us avoid conflict with those who do not believe what we believe. Instead, let us strive to convince them of our belief by living the truth of our faith to the full.

Gospel Acclamation

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

¹ After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. ² And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” ³ At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? ⁵ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” ⁷ He rose and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

Read the Bible in one year! Read JOB 30 - 33 today.

There is no way of stopping Jesus. There is no way of stopping His Gospel. He slept while He rode a boat in the middle of the storm. He woke up to calm the storm. He arrived at Gadarene and confronted the devils torturing two men. He entered the boat, crossed to the other side, and got back to Capernaum. But there, a paralytic was brought to Him for healing. He had to rise to the need of the moment. Much needed to be done in so short a time—all in three years of ministry.

Burnout? Rest and relaxation? Sabbatical leave? These did not seem to be part of Jesus’ vocabulary. He was the true “pure energy.” He just went on and on. Of course, He had time to pray, to play with children who came to Him, and to eat with those considered as “leftovers.” But He did not seem to have suffered from the temptation of taking long “leaves-of-absence,” from the temptation of counting how long a time He had spent in an assignment.

Jesus’ secret? The last line of today’s Gospel goes: “When the crowds saw this, they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.” Jesus did not succumb to a “cave-in outlook,” a “too self-centered way.” He was forever drawn out by His passion for God and His passion for human beings.

This is the great illness of our generation: we are so spent looking at ourselves. Self-realization. Self-actualization. A myopic view of self. Hence, we are eaten up by our own preoccupation with our pains, our deficiencies, our needs. Jesus Himself said it well: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who loses his life will save it.” 

Meaning, vision, and mission do not come from within. They come from seeing, feeling, thinking, and doing with an outward view. They energize. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

Reflection Questions:

What gives you a sense of meaning and living? What gives you the greatest energy every day?

I want to be like You, Lord, who has seemingly endless energy. Keep me focused on the mission You have implanted in my heart. Amen.

Today, I pray for: __________________________________