There were times in the past when I committed to exercising regularly.  When I was younger, I went to the gym.  At some point I stopped.  In the past, I walked 30 minutes a day.  Eventually, when my mornings got busier, exercising became harder. There were times when I’d do bodyweight exercises at home.  I thought I’d have less excuses not to do it again the next day! But I’d still make excuses sometimes.  

There’s a rule when it comes to forming habits: “Never miss two days in a row.” This rule presupposes that there are days when you’ll fail—either by your own doing or otherwise.  It’s OK to miss one day, but make sure you get right back at it the next day. Don’t let your one failure fool you into thinking that, “I failed once anyway; I might as well stop trying!”

This is true for exercise, as well as for repentance. It’s easy to make that commitment to change when we’re fresh out of the confession booth. But what about the day after we fall again? Let’s not tire of going back to the Lord. 

Mon Reyes (rizmonreyes@gmail.com)

reflect

What is one thing in your life now that you need to entrust to God?

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Thank You for not giving up on me.  Teach me not to give up on myself too.  Help me become the kind of person You designed me to be. Amen.

St. Theodore Guérin, pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi is probably the most popular saint after Mary, the Mother of God. He inspires people in many different ways with a simplicity and conviction that are both attractive and infectious. Let us allow the grace of God to do what He wants to do in our lives. Saint Francis is a great example of trusting God in whatever situation. 

¹⁵ During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed: “Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem, ¹⁶ that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors, ¹⁷ have sinned in the Lord’s sight ¹⁸ and disobeyed him. We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God, nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us. ¹⁹ From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice. ²⁰ And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant, at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today. ²¹ For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, ²² but each one of us went off after the devices of our own wicked hearts, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.” 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 79:1-2, 3-5, 8, 9

R: For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

¹ O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. ² They have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of heaven, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. (R) ³ They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. ⁴ We have become the reproach of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. ⁵ O Lord, how long? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? (R) ⁸ Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (R) ⁹ Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. (R)   

Gospel | Luke 10:13-16

We are given numerous opportunities to respond to God’s call for us. These come to us every day. However, I believe that the majority of humanity, including myself, is not properly disposed to hearing what God wants to say to us. We are too busy to pray. You may be busy, but you’re the one who sets priorities in your life. If you are not praying, it is because you are choosing not to pray for one reason or another.

Gospel Acclamation 

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

13 Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ 16 Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

Reflect:

What distractions hinder your prayer time with God?

Read the Bible in one year! Read DANIEL 10 - 12 today.

Both of our readings today talk about the stubbornness of the people of God. In the First Reading, the Israelites regretted disobeying God, but it was too late for them to realize their sinfulness for they had already been subjected to captivity by the Babylonians. In the Gospel, Jesus gave a warning to the people of the cities surrounding Capernaum, as they kept on rejecting His preachings despite the numerous healing and miracles He had performed.

But why are the people dismissive of the message of God? Practically speaking, why do people keep on bending the rules or offending the law?

In a seminar for a smoking cessation program, one speaker’s recommendation stood out. She said that apart from a stricter imposition of the law, or fear, or sanction, or punishment, the best way for people to cut off their vices is to show them the damage they may cause on their loved ones. Indeed, one needs to have a motivation to change a bad habit, and if that motivation means getting a loved one hurt or making him sick, then maybe the offender would seriously consider the reformation.

The same goes with our faith. Maybe we have not yet realized the damage that our sinfulness is causing to our beautiful relationship with God. Maybe we have not yet seen enough of how our life is in shambles because of the stubbornness of our heart, and thus we continue to live in sinfulness.

Every day, God calls on us to listen to Him and follow Him. Let us not wait for our relationship with Him to be destroyed before we attend to Him and heed His call. 

Fr. Jason Laguerta

reflection questions

Looking at your current life situation, what things are you thankful to God for? If you are experiencing failures and tribulations, what do you think is God telling you?

Lord, please grant me a change of heart to avoid the destruction of relationships in my life, especially my relationship with You. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _________________________________________