Daily Bible Reflections- January 1, 2012

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

HAVE A SUPER BLESSED YEAR!

The Lord bless you and keep you! – Numbers 6:24

My sons love playing with clay. It’s a great toy because you can shape it any way you want.
My boys would ask, “Dad, make a ball!” and I’d roll it on my hands and make a ball. Then they’d say, “Dad, make a hotdog!”and I’d rub it between my palms and make a hotdog. Then they’d ask, “Dad, make an Optimus Prime Transformer robot!” and I’d tell them, “Nah, that’s too simple for me. Here, why don’t you try it?”
Friend, here’s the truth that you may not know. Your life is like clay in your hand.
Because God has given you the power to shape your life.
And this new year is no different.
How do you want your 2012 to look like? It’s really up to you. It’s your choice. You call the shots. You decide your destiny.
I repeat. Your life is a clump of clay. And God has given you two powerful tools to shape your life: your faith and your action. Actually, faith and action are one.
Because the clearest expression of your faith is when you act on what you believe.
And you’ll discover that life — and all of God’s creation — will adjust to your faith and action. Have a blessed 2012!Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

REFLECTION:
Check your actions. Do they match your faith?

Lord, give me the audacity to act as my faith dictates.

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us

Daily Bible Reflections- December 31, 2011

Reason for the Season

“ And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...” – John 1:1,14

It used to be so much fun spending Christmas with relatives. I watched a lot of Christmas-themed cartoons with cousins, went to family reunions and received a lot of gifts.
Years went by. Some relatives have passed away, others migrated or have their reasons for skipping reunions. The excitement, the thrill, the joy have become a rarity.
What’s wrong with this picture? I’ve been missing the whole point. Today’s Gospel puts everything in perspective. The reason for the season. It’s Christmas, the day Jesus was born, that’s the most intense and awesome gift to us. God in all His greatness was born in a very humble manger, a wrinkly baby, needing to be fed, taken cared of, helpless. All that, just to save us from hell.
Hey, maybe next Christmas will be different. Maybe next Christmas, I might just share about Jesus in our family reunion. It’s something we already know but I think we ought to talk about over and over again, and feel the profound love God showed us. It might feel a bit awkward but, what the heck, I’ll just do it, and start making Christmases more about Jesus. Really about Jesus. Carlo Lorenzo (carloflorenzo@yahoo.com)
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REFLECTION:
What do I look forward to this Christmas season? What should I do to make Christmas more meaningful in line with the Reason for the Season?

Holy Spirit, whisper to me what I can do to make Christmas more Jesus-centered and more meaningful in my life and in the lives of my loved ones.

Daily Bible Reflections- December 30, 2011

Feast of the Holy Family
HONOR THY AGING PARENTS

“If you obey the Lord by honoring your father and making your mother happy, you will live a long life.” – Sirach 3:6

My friend works as a caregiver in a Canadian nursing home. Daily, she would attend to the needs of parents not her own. In Western countries, nurses like her have replaced children in caring for aging parents. The children have grown up and
have become too busy living their lives.
In the Philippines, some old people are being left to the streets when children find it difficult to take care of them. This is a sad reality of our times. Thankfully, Anawim takes care of the abandonded elderly.
Now that I’m getting older and my parents’ strength is failing, the Lord’s command to “respect your father and mother” has grown closer to my heart. I believe it is when they are old that we can best honor them. It is in this time when they need our understanding and love the most. Marjorie Duterte (marjorie.travels@gmail.com)

REFLECTION:
“My child, take care of your father when he grows old; give him no cause for worry as long as he lives. Be sympathetic even if his mind fails him; don’t look down on him just because you are strong and healthy.” (Sirach 3:13)

Father, our parents are Your gift to us. Grant us the grace to love them even more as they grow older. Amen.

Daily Bible Reflections- December 29, 2011

Excuses , Excuses

In accord with the dictate in the law of the Lord. –Luke 2:24
Don’t you find it strange that Jesus had to be brought to the temple and be presented to God? He is the Son of God! Surely, He’s exempt from these ceremonies.
Joseph and Mary had the perfect excuse to stay home and avoid the trouble of traveling all the way to Jerusalem for Jesus’ presentation. But they still went through the trouble and, without any intention of offering an excuse, followed the ceremony because “it is written in the law of the Lord.”
Seeing Joseph and Mary, it is shameful how we make excuses for ourselves. When we’re too lazy to hear Mass, we say that missing it will not make us evil and we’re still better than others who do hear Mass but are worse sinners than us. When we’re too proud to go to Confession, we justify that God already knows our sins and how sorry we are. When we’re too stingy to give tithes, we rationalize that we give to charity anyway.
The excuses are endless. But if we know how much God loves us, we will realize that He asks so little and offering excuses actually makes no sense.Pepper Bruce (pepper.bruce@gmail.com)
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REFLECTION:
“The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never excuses himself.” (Henry Ward Beecher)

Lord, sometimes we fail to appreciate that You love us so much that You gave us Your own Son. May we show our love in return through the sacraments and through serving You.