“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:13
BOUNDARIES
When
I was a kid, I’d run through a bending trail in the field on my way
home. I wondered why I would always follow that trail when I could just
run straight home. I tried several times to run straight through but it
was automatic: I’d always follow how the trail would bend.
One day, I tried something challenging (more like foolish and stupid). I
closed my eyes and ran straight home. Boom! I hit a hard wall. I went
home with my first-ever black eye. Worse, I got scolded and spanked by
my father. Waaah!
Friends, our instincts know limits. These are called boundaries. They
are also known by our internal instinct called the conscience. But some
people never learn. They keep on running with eyes closed for the thrill
of the sinful experience — where they’re sure to crash into a wall at
the end. Sin is enticing, yet in the end, it’ll hurt you and others.
Let’s learn to respect this gift from God. Give yourself the gift of
limits. Your internal instincts (good conscience) will always lead you
to Him.
Run the good race with Him! Obet Cabrillas
1ST READING
Jesus
is the Word sent by the Father to accomplish the work of salvation. Let
us remember what Isaiah tells us about the effectiveness of God’s Word,
namely, that through Christ’s obedience everything necessary for our
salvation has been put in place. All that is lacking is our acceptance
of and obedience to that gift. Obedience is a crucial aspect of
acceptance in faith. How can we have faith if it does not make an impact
on our lives?
Isaiah 55:10-11
10 Thus
says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and
do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile
and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who
eats, 11 so
shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to
me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
P S A L M
Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R: From all their distress God rescues the just.
3 [4] Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name. 4 [5] I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (R) 5 [6] Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. 6 [7] When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. (R) 15 [16] The Lord has eyes for the just, and ears for their cry. 16 [17] The Lord confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. (R) 17 [18] When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. 18 [19] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus
teaches that we must forgive those who sin against us. This is integral
to our acceptance of the gift of salvation. If we are not willing to
forgive those who have sinned against us, then we cannot expect God to
forgive our sins — this would be blatant hypocrisy. Everyone today seems
to be looking for “something for nothing.” The Gospel is not like this.
It makes demands in the way we live with and treat one another.
Matthew 6:7-15
7 Jesus
said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who
think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 13 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
REFLECTION
THE SINS OF OUR FATHERS
I
was in Pennsylvania attending a weeklong seminar. One evening, a
penitential service was held. I heard the confession of a burly white
American. His size intimidated me. My intimidation grew stronger when he
started speaking of his deep hatred and anger towards his father and how, after
15 years, he was still bound by such rage and hatred. I just listened
and allowed him to unload. I didn’t know what to tell him. By stroke of
inspiration, I found myself proposing to him, “Why don’t we just be
silent right now and offer everything to our Father in Heaven? Let us
allow God to father us at this moment.” With a cracking voice, he said,
“Father, that rang a bell within me. To allow God to be Father to me.”
He suddenly wept. After some time, he said, “Don’t be fooled by my
strong exterior, Father. I hate my father. But deep inside, I’m still a
child longing for his father.”
Today in the Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. Jesus said,
“When you pray say, ‘Our Father, hallowed be thy name….’” Many find
this prayer difficult to say. Betrayed and wounded by their earthly
fathers, I’m sure they would tell Jesus if they could, “Are You serious?
I couldn’t even call my dad ‘father.’ How do You expect me to call God
‘Father’?”
In the ‘80s there was a song that goes, “It’s the lover, not the love,
who broke your heart last night. It’s the lover, not the dream, that
didn’t work out right....”
I am pained and feel sorry for the many ways the priesthood has failed
to mirror the Fatherhood of God. But in the midst of the discouragement and disappointment, and the collective efforts to amend the wrongs committed,
I propose that we remember this prayerfully: It is a priest that has
gone wrong, not the priesthood. It is a churchman that has gone wrong, not the Church of Christ. Christ remains the measure of the Church and the priesthood. Let us keep our gaze fixed on Him. The Church has done so for over 2,000 years. It will do us well to keep doing the same. Fr. Joel Jason
"God our Father, help me to cling to You as my true Father."
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