A potential client messaged me on social media, asking about my freelance services. He instantly sent a screenshot of his payment via PayPal, but I didn’t receive anything on my account. I then got an e-mail saying the deposit was put on hold and I have to pay a certain service fee for the payment to come through. Things started to become crazy and suspicious. Long story short, I was scammed big time.

When I realized this, I cried the whole night. My head was spinning and a heavy weight was on my chest. I contacted the bank but it was already a dead end for me. I lost what was worth an emergency fund. 

Sunday came, I went to Mass, and God spoke to me. The Gospel said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Tears rolled down my cheeks—not because of what I lost, but because I know God is with me through my struggles. God sees me. 

That day, I surrendered all my pain and worries to God and put my case to rest in Him. 

Elle Silvestre (marialouise.s@shepherdsvoice.com.ph)

reflect

It is difficult to remain in faith when things go wrong, but here’s the beauty of it: God will give you the grace you need to get through. 

Heavenly God, fill my hurting soul with Your love and peace. I want to rest in Your loving embrace.

St. Alfred the Great, pray for us.

First Reading | Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 

Human courts may fail to give us justice, but we will surely get it on Judgment Day when God, the just Judge, presides over the judgment of our lives. Unfortunately, some people will not receive justice in this life due to the corruption and sin of others. Their consolation is that God sees all that is done and knows their hearts. Sometimes, we have to wait until death before we receive true justice.

¹² The Lord is a God of justice, who knows no favorites. _¹³ Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed. 14 The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint. 16 The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. ¹⁷ The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, ¹⁸ nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right and the Lord will not delay.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

R: The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

² I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. ³ Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R) ¹⁷ The Lord confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. ¹⁸ When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. (R) ¹⁹ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. ²³ The Lord redeems the lives of his servants; no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him. (R)

Second Reading | 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Paul knew that his death was near. He was not worried about this because he had done his best to serve the Gospel. There were times when he realized he could have done things differently, but that is true for us all. None of us is perfect. Let us pray that when we approach death, we will be assured and satisfied that we have accomplished all that God has asked us to do.

⁶ Beloved: I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. ⁸ From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. ¹⁶ At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! ¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel | Luke 18:9-14

The only thing we can be proud of is our obedience to God’s will, even though this is a gift from Him as a result of His grace. We should be proud of ourselves when we stand for the truth and cooperate with God’s grace. Let us resist thinking that we did it with our own strength because this is a lie. True prayer and true humility come only from a life of obedience to God’s will. Let us seek to be an example of this to others.

Gospel Acclamation 

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

⁹ Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. ¹⁰ “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ ¹³ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whomever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Reflect:

How obedient are you to God’s will?

In what aspect of your life do you need to obey Him more?

Read the Bible in one year! Read JOB 6 - 9 today.

Ibahin N’yo Ako!

Everything false is in vogue in our times. There are false narratives and its cognate—historical revisionism—are done mostly by dynastic politicians and dictators. Fake news are basically lies that, when told often enough, are made to pass off as the truth.

Today’s Gospel passage takes it to a level higher—the false sense of exceptionalism, the exaggerated sense of self of people who, in the Lord’s own words, “trust in themselves as just, and despised others.”

We see them every day everywhere in this country that we love—people with several cars but who only have a one-car garage. They feel entitled to park their second or third cars out in the narrow streets. To hijack the road, they use four pots of plants to stake out their claim. They feel that the laws are great but do not apply to them—only to others. They have a false sense of self-entitlement that goes along with a false sense of exceptionalism. “Ibahin n’yo ako” (I am not like the rest) would be an apt sentence to attribute to them.

Two men entered the temple to pray: a Pharisee and a tax collector. Everyone looked at the latter as sinful and the former as an honorable man. The Pharisee’s prayer was some kind of a “praise release,” something very common in the Philippine social and political scene. He comes across as a self-promoter. He took exception to being greedy, dishonest, and adulterous. Surely, he was grateful to God for being not like the rest of humanity, but most especially for not being as despicable as the other man who entertained no false claims to self and who only had words of truth: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

God calls us not to be different, but to make a difference.

Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

reflection questions

How different are you from the rest of the people around you? Are you using this to make a difference in the world? 

Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________