No one expected a beautiful day at the beach to turn into a tragedy that would change so many lives. Therese, Jizo, and their friends were just sitting at the breakwater by the sea when a giant wave pushed them all into the water. Most were able to get back on the barrier, but Therese and Jizo were brought farther away into deep waters. Ogie, Therese’s dad, dove into water to rescue them. Tragically, all three of them drowned.

Cha, Jizo’s mom, was shattered when she heard the news. But she suddenly heard a voice in her head saying “Ma, don’t worry, I’m in a happy place.”

Later, a friend of Chol (Ogie’s wife and Therese’s mom) told her that she saw Ogie in her dream and asked him why God had to take him away. Ogie replied with a big smile on his face, “I’m too happy to ask.”

Broken hearts of the grieving are comforted knowing that their loved ones are happy in the loving embrace of our Lord in heaven. After all, earth is not our permanent home. 

Cheri Roberto-Daco (cheriroberto@gmail.com)

reflect

“We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin) 

Lord, hold me close till my eternal Sunday comes.

Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr, pray for us.

First Reading | Wisdom 18:6-9

It takes courage to persevere in doing what is right in the midst of people who refuse to follow our example. There is an ever-increasing desensitization of moral conscience in today’s world, in so far as those who live according to the truth are seen as the “odd ones out.” It is a tragedy, but we cannot allow it to lessen our resolve to live according to the Gospel and in righteousness.

⁶ The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage. ⁷ Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. ⁸ For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned. ⁹ For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20, 22 

R: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

¹ Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. ¹² Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. (R) ¹⁸ See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, ¹⁹ to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. (R) ²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. ²² May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you. (R) 

Second Reading | Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 (or Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12)

Faith should be our foundation so we can avoid being led astray by false doctrines present in the world. The Gospel enjoins us to be faithful to God’s call for us. This is a great challenge for us, as the world continues to be overcome by doctrines of materialism and consumerism to the point of self-destruction. The truth, and not pleasure, must be our guiding light; otherwise, we will find that we have embraced a road to destruction, rather than one to enlightenment and fulfillment.

¹ Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. ² Because of it the ancients were well attested. ⁸ By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. ⁹ By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. ¹¹ By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age—and Sarah herself was sterile—for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. ¹² So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. ¹³ All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, ¹⁴ for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” ¹⁹ He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Gospel | Luke 12:32-48 (or Luke 12:35-40) 

We must prepare for the life of discipleship. Part of our response to God’s grace is our willingness to live a disciplined and sacrificial life. The world tells us that personal pleasure is the true measure of a happy life. We need to have a strong faith to see through this lie and return to the truths of the Gospel in order to pursue true human fulfillment.

Gospel Acclamation

Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day the Son of Man will come.

³² Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. ³⁵ “Gird your loins and light your lamps ³⁶ and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. ³⁷ Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. ³⁸ And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. ³⁹ Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” ⁴¹ Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” ⁴² And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; ⁴⁸ and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read 2 MACCABEES 5 - 6 today.

Balancing the Book of Life

I am not an accountant, so I know I am treading on foreign territory: accounting work is a delicate (albeit complicated) balancing act. The outs must not ordinarily and consistently outweigh the ins. Credit and debit columns ought to match, and assets cannot consistently fare lower than the liabilities, or else there is no movement in the positive direction. If that is the case, then one is in the red.

In keeping the books balanced, an accountant has to compare apples to apples, and not apples to oranges. Comparing receipts to disbursements has to do with cash outlay or cash receipts—a case of apples to apples, money in versus money out.

I would like to think that today’s Gospel is somewhat inviting us to do some kind of a balance sheet. On one ledger, we hear of the Kingdom. On another ledger, we hear of belongings, money bags, and material riches. It sounds like comparing apples to apples, but no!

The Lord is not out there to give us a raw deal, but the deal that has no parallel in our earthly and material transactions. We are worried sick at times on account of trivial stuff: food, drink, possessions. How else does one explain the rise of popularity of bitcoins and other get-rich-quick schemes?

The call of the Lord is for us to focus on what cannot be compared to anything else that we know of—the Kingdom of God, salvation, life with God, and the unfathomable and untold riches that go along with them. Here’s how the Lord counsels us to do the balance book of life. The left ledger says: Kingdom of God. The right ledger says: Everything Else. Christ’s counsel and our choice ought to be clear: Seek first the Kingdom!       

Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

Reflection question

Which ledger is heavier in your life—the Kingdom of God or Everything Else?

May I always remember to follow Your counsel, Lord. May I not be blinded by the lures of the world. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________