“Can Tatay (Dad) and I adopt a child?” Our friend asked their two adult children.

Their children agreed! They even committed to help their parents care for their future adopted sibling. When the hospital presented them with the newborn girl, it was not her beauty or charm that made them choose her; it was God’s abounding love in their family that they wanted to share with the little girl.

You are “greater than John the Baptist.” Not because of your good deeds, your sacrificial service, or your transformed life.

You are “greater than John” even in your mess, in your failures, in your bitterness. Because when our Father asked Jesus, “Can We adopt them . . . even if it will cost Your life?” He saw you—and lovingly said, “Yes.”

Marc V. Lopez (marcvlopez88@gmail.com)

reflect

Jesus didn’t have to take on the robe of flesh. But He did so that we can be adopted into God’s family. Think about this awesome truth as we approach His birthday.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me—as I am—and making me Your beloved in Jesus. Amen.

Saint Damasus I, pope, pray for us.

The Lord answers the cry of the poor. He also answers the cry of a humble heart. Let us come to the Lord with an attitude of humility and trust. Let us humble ourselves before Him and do all that we can to address our needs. Then let us leave everything in the hands of the Lord and wait to see His provision for us.

¹³ I am the Lord, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” ¹⁴ Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the Lord; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, to thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. ¹⁶ When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁷ The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸ I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. ¹⁹ I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, ²⁰ That all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 145:1, 9, 10-11, 12-13

R: The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

1 I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. ⁹ The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (R) ¹⁰ Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you. ¹¹ Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might. (R) ¹² Let them make known to men your might and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. ¹³ Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 11:11-15

We have to be ready to use violence against sin and temptation in order to overcome them. Sometimes, we have to fight the evil of sin with the weapons of our faith to remain safely in the hands of the Lord. Let us be ready to fight for what we believe, because that is what the disciples of Jesus will do. Are you ready for the battles that lie ahead of you?

Gospel Acclamation

Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.

¹¹ Jesus said to the crowds: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³ All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read PROVERBS 24 - 27 today.

I visited an old parishioner of mine who had been battling with cancer for some years and was now on palliative care in his home. After I gave the last anointing, we chatted for a few moments. I noticed that their children were no longer living with them in their home. When I asked, he said, “They are all grownups now with their own families, Father.” He continued, “All of them are very successful. But my regret in life is that they are far from the Lord.”

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Today in the Gospel, Jesus spoke of John the Baptist and gave what is probably the greatest tribute given to a human person in all of human history. Imagine the Son of God Himself saying, “Among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”

In worldly standards, John the Baptist was a nobody. His area code was the desert. His wardrobe was camel’s hair and a leather belt. His diet was insects and honey from the wild. He had neither degree nor net worth. But why was John the Baptist great in the eyes of Jesus? Because John the Baptist understood that life is not about self-preservation. Life is about self-donation.

By Kingdom of God standards, what makes life truly meaningful is not measured by how much you have accumulated. It is measured by how much you have given away. A person’s worth is not measured by his cash, car, and credit. It is measured by his character. And character is the only thing that you can bring with you in the Kingdom of heaven.

Don’t fret that you are not a preferred member in the bank. Make sure that you will become a preferred member in God’s Kingdom. 

Fr. Joel Jason

Reflection question

Membership in God’s Kingdom is not a matter of altitude. It is a matter of attitude. 

Lord, may my life be great based on the standards of Your Kingdom. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________