November 5, 2013 Tuesday Mass Readings and Reflection - Jesus' Invitation To The Eucharist

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” 

-Luke 14:15

1^ST READING 

Paul tells the Roman community that we should never allow love to become a pretense. We must ensure that all that we do is done with true love. There is little worse than being on the wrong end of a hypocritical action. It does not feel good and it is easy to recognize. Jesus had no time at all for hypocrisy during His ministry. 

 Romans 12:5-16

5 Brothers and sisters: We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; 7 if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; 8 if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. 11 Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

REFLECTION    

NO BIG OR SMALL ROLES

        I once had a wound in my right big toe. It wasn’t a big wound but the cut was deep. It bled for some minutes before I was able to stop it. But my worries didn’t end there because the pain stayed on. The discomfort was too much that I had to make a few adjustments. I stopped wearing closed shoes for a couple of days. I avoided activities that required long walks and I was more cautious about the things around me so that I wouldn’t accidentally bump my wounded toe. The wound bothered me for a number of days. It was amazing how a small wound located in a trivial part of my body could create a big impact on my daily routine.

       This is similar to our individual roles in the church or community. We may think that our role is insignificant. We may think that we don’t create any impact. If we don’t hold any leadership position or aren’t part of any ministry, we assume that our absence won’t matter.

       But each one of us has a role to fulfill in the church. There are no big or small roles. Like the wound on my toe, the whole body is affected if one “small” part is not working properly. Be involved in your church so that the Body of Christ may function like a well-oiled machine. Alvin Fabella

 P S A L M

Psalm 131:1, 2, 3

R: In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

1 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. (R) 2 Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me. (R) 3 O Israel, hope in the Lord, both now and forever. (R)

GOSPEL

 Jesus is telling us that we have to put the Kingdom of God first in our lives. If the president, king or prime minister of your country invited you to a party, I think you would move heaven and earth to go to it. When the King of the Universe invites us to dinner, there is nothing more important for us to do at that time. We have to learn how to prioritize the various things we need to do each day.

Luke 14:15-24

15 One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” 16 He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. 17 When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ 18 But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ 23 The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. 24 For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

REFLECTION

INVITATIONS AND R.S.V.P.’s

        In continuation of yesterday’s Gospel passage, here now is Jesus’ Parable of the Banquet. Consistent with what He recommended previously, Jesus now narrates this story. It contains a stunning reversal in the invitees to the dinner: those who were privileged to be invited excused themselves, and so other poor and marginalized people were called in instead.

       Let’s look at it from our common experience. We don’t get invitations to a hospitalization, a funeral, or the like — we are notified of such unfortunate events. Instead we are invited to a wedding, a birthday celebration, a dinner, and the like. These are friendly and pleasurable events in life, the refusal of which might well be considered a breach of etiquette or a neglect of friendship.

       Our Gospel parable gives a sad and sorry picture. Even the alibis and excuses of those who refused the invitation sounded lame.

       Let us now look at ourselves and ask a few hard questions. What is our response to the Lord’s invitation to the Eucharistic Banquet? Or to the Ultimate Banquet of the Heavenly Kingdom? We don’t quite look at these in the same way, do we? But they are no less as real. We need not dream of being invited to a royal wedding, or a state dinner, or a meet-and-greet opportunity with a visiting concert performer. We have the precious privilege of joining the Lord’s feast every day — just go to your nearest parish church.

       A lot of party planners and event organizers lament that we Filipinos hardly pay attention and heed the R.S.V.P. etiquette. But whether we actually notify our hosts and their organizers or not, we must reply when it comes to the Eucharistic celebration. We reply with our feet — we actually go and attend and participate — and benefit from it.

       May we never shy away from the greatest form of worship and adoration we can offer God, the sacrifice of the Holy Mass. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

"Lord, may I treasure every second I am at Mass, as it is a foretaste of the ultimate feast in heaven."

Source:  http://kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2013-11-05

November 4, 2013 Monday - Mass Readings and Reflection - The Banquet of Jesus

Hapag ng Pag-asa  (Joey Velasco)

“When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be.” – Luke 14:13-14

1^ST READING

God is the source of all goodness. Whatever goodness we may experience from someone here on earth will be nothing compared to what we will experience in our relationship with God. It does not matter how deep we have plumbed the depths of God’s goodness; we can go deeper still. At the same time, all glory belongs to Him as well, meaning that any good we do is part of His grace at work in our lives.

Romans 11:29-36

29 Brothers and sisters: The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? 35 Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To God be glory forever. Amen.

P S A L M 

Psalm 69:30-31, 33-34, 36-37

R: Lord, in your great love, answer me.

29 [30] But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me. 30 [31] I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. (R) 32 [33] “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revived! 33 [34] For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” (R) 35 [36] For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. They shall dwell in the land and own it, 36 [37] and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall inhabit it. (R)

GOSPEL

Good works are not done by seeking pleasure for ourselves. Good works are directed towards the benefit of others. Our motivations indicate the level of selfishness of our action. Sin causes us to naturally incline our actions towards self-seeking pleasure. As people trying to grow in imitation of the selflessness of God, we have to work against that inclination.

Luke 14:12-14

12 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. 13 Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 14 blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

REFLECTION 
 

DO SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

        In today’s Gospel reading, Christ insists that we do something for those who have no means of repaying us. It’s actually more than just doing the so-called “random acts of kindness.” It’s doing something for nothing, with no publicity or hidden agenda or strings attached, and taking a stand against exploiting the lowly.

       However, if all this sounds difficult (or naïve, or idealistic), it goes to show how far this world of ours has gone in putting a price tag on everything — to the point of manipulating the poor for selfish ends. This exactly is what Jesus came to disturb or upset. And so beginning with ourselves, He shakes us up and turns us topsy-turvy. 

     The life of today’s saint can perhaps be a good illustration. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) seemed to be an antithesis of those poor beggars and persons with disabilities mentioned in the Gospel parable. As a young man of 20, he had it all going for him: particularly, a bright career, with a doctorate in both civil and canon law. And then just a year after that, he was made a cardinal and appointed Archbishop of Milan by his uncle, Pope Pius IV. (By today’s standards, we would probably protest: “Nepotism!”)

       And yet, with God’s yardstick, any circumstance will always still fall in place in the greater scheme of things. Even the most negative or incorrect of situations can still be used by God for His plans. Charles Borromeo went on to become one of the chief agents in the success of the Council of Trent and the drafting of the Catechism. In Milan, he zealously applied the spirit of the Council, establishing schools, orphanages and seminaries.

       And what about us? We might not have brilliant careers, influential backers or friends in high places. We just might as well count ourselves among those beggars, the crippled, the lame and the blind, whom Jesus would invite first to His own banquet. But then, even that is more than good enough. Having been chosen by the Lord, we in turn choose to serve the lowliest and the least. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 "Father, thank You for all the blessings that we receive from You. Teach us to be generous like You."

Source:   http://kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2013-11-04

November 3, 2013 Sunday Mass Readings and Reflection - Zaccheus' Conversion

Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy.” – Luke 19:5-6

1^ST READING 

If we look with eyes of love at creation, we will always see the hand of God at work within it. Everything that is good comes from God and, in that sense, carries His spark within it. This is true for all people no matter what they have done. No one ever loses the reality that he has been created in the image and likeness of God. This is our fundamental human dignity, something that we must be prepared to preserve at all times.

Wisdom 11:22-12:2

22 Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. 23 But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent. 24 For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. 25 And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? 26 But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls, 12: 1 for your imperishable spirit is in all things! 2 Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord!

P S A L M 

Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

R: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

1 I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. (R) 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. 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) 13 The Lord is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. 14 The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. (R)

2^ND READING 

There were people deliberating going against what Paul was doing in evangelizing the people of Thessalonica. The same is true today — there are powers at work in the world, mostly human but at times otherwise, trying to counteract all that the Church is doing to proclaim the Gospel. Being aware of this is the first step towards effectively countering what they are doing. Let us commit ourselves to doing the work of the Gospel at every opportunity.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2

11 Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. 2: 1 We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, 2 not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

 GOSPEL

Zacchaeus desires to make restitution for the wrong he has done in the past. His decision is admirable and, to prove his sincerity, he decided to pay back far greater than what he stole from others. Even so, this will be little comfort to those whose livelihoods have been destroyed by his past greed. This is why it is important for us to avoid sin in the future — not allowing its evil consequences to exist in the first place, rather than simply being satisfied with repentance and restitution after the fact.

Luke 19:1-10

1 At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 2 Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, 3 was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 7 When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

    

 REFLECTION

A MARVELOUS RESULT

The person of Zacchaeus in today’s Gospel reading is truly intriguing. Have you ever wondered what happened to him eventually? According to an unreliable tradition, he became St. Peter’s collaborator, and later a bishop, too, and finally a missionary to France. But really, these are more of legends than anything else.

       In any case, it’s OK. No less than Jesus Himself “canonized” Zacchaeus. There, inside Zacchaeus’s house (how amazing of Jesus to have entered his home!), our Lord declared, “Today salvation has come to this house, for this is what it means to be a son of Abraham.”

       Who is Zacchaeus? First, his most probable physical attribute of being “vertically challenged” made him climb a tree to encounter Jesus. In a deeper sense, he must have been “vertically challenged” in that his was a stature frowned upon by society. Yes, he may have been a well-known and well-to-do public official, but he was really hated by most people. This, for the simple reason of his notorious profession as a tax collector. At that time in Israel, the job was equated to sinfulness, dishonesty, corruption and collaboration with the foreign powers.

       Nevertheless, Zacchaeus didn’t allow any of these considerations to become obstacles in his quest to meet Jesus. More than his short height, it was really his zeal and desire which drove him to climb up a tree.

       What about on the part of Jesus? No amount of flashy appearances would matter at all for Him. In the first place, He really wanted to meet Zacchaeus and have lunch with him in his house! After all, didn’t our Lord once say that the shepherd was willing to leave the 99 in search of the one lost sheep?

       How beautiful indeed is the result of the encounter between human effort and divine initiative: genuine conversion, radical repentance, authentic change of heart, new life in God. -Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

"Dear Lord, I am forever grateful that You accepted me as Your friend. Grant me the grace to extend the same to my fellow brothers and sisters. Amen."

Source: http://kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2013-11-03

The Saints - Secrets To Holiness

In honoring The Feast of All Saints, Pope Francis revealed the secrets to holiness.  This Pope is really an inspiration, he truly inspires not only Catholics but every Christians and even Muslims around the world in his simplicity and humility, his wisdom really touches the hearts of every faithfuls and I am one of them.

Today, let's hear it from him how he cited these secrets to holiness, saying it's not some rare "privileged for the few", but an inheritance everyone receives at baptism.

Saints are not superheroes, nor were they born perfect. They are like us, each one of us, "just that when they experienced the life-changing encounter with God," they never left his side, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis essentially gave a road-map today for how to follow this path to holiness.  The path "has a name and a face," he said.  "It's the face of Jesus Christ.  He teaches us to become saints."

So You Want To Be A Saint - Secrets of Success

 

The pope said the path God shows us to holiness "is beautiful, it's a beautiful journey!"

And along this journey, the pope said, the saints are on the sidelines encouraging everyone to not be afraid.

"Don't be afraid to go againts the current or to be misunderstood and derided when we speak about Jesus and the Gospel."

The saints message to people today is "trust in the Lord because He never disappoints.  He is a good friend, always by your side."

Source:  http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/saints-arent-superheroes-the-secrets-to-holiness/

God Bless Our New Pope Francis

Catholic World Rejoices With Our Newly Elected Pope 

 

 

The world rejoices because of the newly elected Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, at Buenos Aires, an Italian, and was a chemical technician before entering seminary and was ordained in 1969.  He became Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and later became a Cardinal in 2001.

He is the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church elected by the Papal Conclave last March 13, 2013, and the first Pope to have taken the name Francis in honour of St. Francis de Assisi for his passion in serving the poor, he is also the first Jesuit Pope, the first Pope from the Americas, the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first non-European Pope in 1,200 years.

He is known for leading a simple life avoiding a mansion, chose to live in a very simple apartment, cooks his own meal and used to rode on a mass transit, and chose to take a minivan with the other cardinals after he was elected pope rather than ride in a special sedan.

In his youth, he enjoyed dancing the tango with a girlfriend before discovering a religious vocation. In his teenage years, he had his lung removed after an infection. He is the eldest of five children from an Italian parents. He speaks three languages: Spanish, Italian and German.

He has been criticized for not speaking out against Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. He slammed other Latin American priests who objected to the baptizing of  children born out of wedlock. He was critical of Argentina’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, calling it “a destructive attack on God’s plan.” He also opposes gay people’s adopting children.

He is rumored to have been the runner-up in 2005, losing that papal election to Benedict XVI.  After being elected pope, he remained standing on the same level as the cardinal-electors rather than sitting in a throne.

Throughout his life, both as an individual and a religious leader, he has been known for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths. Since his election to the papacy, he has displayed a simpler and less formal approach to the office, including a decision to reside in the Vatican guesthouse rather than the papal residence used by his predecessors since 1903.

My Spiritual Journey Of Becoming A Virtual Assistant

How It All Started?

Bucharest, Romania

In the middle of 2011, during my stay in Romania as an OFW, I was struggling with so much loneliness, pain and lots of hardships at work, dealing with strangers and foreign people around me, nobody to talk and turn to but my connection and personal relationship with God and through my daily rosary, that was the time when I stumbled upon Bo Sanchez’ Kerygma Family page www.kerygmafamily.com, it became my home  for my spiritual thirst and inspiration to fight back against loneliness and homesickness being far away from my home.

Bo’s words and stories inspired me in so many ways, he is my constant spiritual mentor and as I kept on following his articles, few months later, this paved me the way to reached unto Jomar Hilario’s page at the www.filipinova.com.  Being involved at Jomar Hilario’s Mastery Group gradually opened up my mind, giving me many possibilities and realizations that I too, like Jomars many virtual assistants, can possibly work from home and earn something without sacrificing myself being away from my family most especially my sickly aging mother  at 77 and my  11yr old son.

My awesome mentors Jomar Hilario and Bo Sanchez

 

At the last quarter of 2011, as I kept on following Jomar Hilario’s group, the desire in going home kept stronger every day until I’ve decided not to finish my remaining 6 months anymore in my 2yr contract, I went home not even thinking what will happen next in leaving my work abroad.

I believed, it’s God’s way of answering my prayers trusting only on His will and plans for me. My eagerness and desire to be with my family and the chances I foresee that awaits me working at the comfort of my home drives me more in going home and joining one of Jomar’s course Online Mentoring Club 2 (OMC2).

At OMC2, we got 2 downloadable VA seminar bonuses, started learning then and doing my assignments gradually.  I admit, due to a lot of family obligations I faced when I got home, needed to earn badly to sustain my family’s needs, I was focused on my once part-time direct selling businesses like Avon, kitchenware, purified water consignment,  shoes, RTW’s, herbal food supplements and other networking products, and as a sales agent of a memorial products and services.  But from time to time (fewer times to be honest) landed on doing my assignment pacing slowly with my course.

Me-working at home

In just few months of doing my assignment, I learned a lot of things especially in creating my own blog.  That’s the time I realized, that as a sales agent, I need to do my own blog as a site for the products I am selling, for I concentrated more on direct selling, going house to house, looking for customers and clients that would interest my product.

Suddenly, it gave me enough reasons to try, why not? If it won’t work then at least I’ve tried, right?  Would you believe that this simple blog I made brought me a lot of sales within the area where my memorial products and services were covered?  In just working at my computer at home, I invited all my FB friends within the area reachable of my products and services, even the friends of my friends abroad with family and homes in my area were not spared of sending them the links of the products I offered on my blog.

My so simple blog was then a big help,  not really thinking what I did was already internet marketing, I just understood it well when I heard from my mentor during one of his webinars about the success of online businesses.  And would you believe also that in a matter of two months since I created my very simple online marketing blog I closed deals of 22 accounts with an over-all quota of 30 accounts in a year? That was a fantastic 2012 for me.  And gave me almost 40 thousand pesos commission, and a 5 thousand December bonus being a 2^nd top seller.

I never thought that in just months of being at OMC2, I will earn something I never expected.  I was really so thankful to my mentor Jomar Hilario for his patience to his slow-pacing OMC2 member like myself,  at least the investment I made at 9,750 pesos for his OMC2 course has already been rewarded. Hurrahh!!

 

This is my simple online marketing blog:
http://familyhealthcareplanmemorialservices.blogspot.com/

My only experience as a virtual assistant is helping a close relative prepare her financial statements, legal documents and other documents related to her small starting-up business in Google Docs as an administrative assistant, and I am not demanding any rate at all because of my willingness to help a family, but considerately, she’s paying me a favorable monthly rate because I’m just doing the job 2hrs a day or 10 hours a week, it doesn’t really eating my time and not a problem to me.  What matters most is I’m helping her reach her goal, and if she succeed then it feels great to be a part of it.

Same thing with my CCH virtual group composed of Cadiznon all over the world, sharing something and helping our lowly and underprivileged kababayans changed their lives. I am presently a physical volunteer helping in taking care of every projects and programs created,  and was in-charged of our groups’ financial reports which was also done online, and as a part of my advocacy, volunteering my service wholeheartedly without expecting anything in return.  And I am happy doing this in the name of love and service to others.

Believing with my skills, I am very optimistic that one day I could find one good client with reasonable rates that will trust me with their businesses.  Being a virtual assistant is a very good start in earning online, but I’d still prefer to hire someday virtual assistants for myself that could help me with my business as an online marketer.  Nothing to lose in aiming and dreaming something bigger, right?

Anyway, I still need to learn more from Jomar Hilario’s courses, still need to pursue some skills that could best enhance my capability as a virtual assistant or an online marketer.

Me, my son and my mom

As my spiritual journey continues, I never regretted at all any single moment with my decision in going home for good.  The joy it brings being with my family around taking care of my sickly aging mother and son until the end cannot be bought by any material possessions here on earth.

The prime purpose of staying here is my desire in serving God and the joy of serving others will go on until my last breath, may our good Lord will just continue using and blessing me to be a blessing also to others, especially to the lowly and weakest ones.  May we continue our struggle to lead a righteous path  and keep on praying and asking for His wisdom and guidance in everything that we do because God only sends miracles to those who ask and believe.

“To God Be All The Glory!!”

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
- Philippians 4:13

Live A Life That Matters!!

Stay blessed,
   Nonie f.

Prayer To Take Authority

I just want to share with you this powerful prayer, the Prayer to Take Authority which was the opening prayer of every Catholic Charismatic Renewal Community, especially here in our little community in Sto.Niño Parish Church, Cadiz City.  We made this as our opening prayer before we started our prayer meetings, fellowship gatherings and Bible Enthronements, entrusting all to God to pour out His Holy Spirit on us and on our midst overflowing us the gifts of His Spirit, filling our hearts with love, joy and peace.

This is part of my active spiritual life every Mondays as our prayer meeting day, and every Sunday our Bible Enthronement where we spread the Good News in every homes and families mostly those who haven't accepted Jesus in their lives yet.  We inspired and encouraged them to attend the Holy Mass every Sunday, hear and listen to His Words through the Gospel, participate in worshiping God through the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist as the highest form of prayer and worship, and received His Body and Blood though the Sacrament of the Holy Communion.  Our goal is to bring more people closer to God by sharing them His wonderful Words through Bible sharing, true to life testimonies of God's wonderful gifts of healing, blessings and miracles.

God really works mysteriously in my life, He brought me closer to this community and the people here welcomed and embraced me wholeheartedly as I started my life anew, as they witnessed how God transformed me in so many ways, how I am submitting myself fully to His Will and Purpose.  If only I could share to you a novel of my life-story, you too will be amazed how God does many miracles in my life.
Perhaps, in due time I can gradually reveal to you from the very start how my life started as a sinner.  But God do really loves us so much that He won't allow us to be thrown into the pit of darkness.  He will always be there ready to save us if we just submit ourselves fully to Him and let His will be done for us and trust in His loving kindness.

Life with God is full of love, joy, peace and compassion.  He knows all our needs and He provides it abundantly, more than we ask for and expect.  He listen and fulfill  every desires of our hearts. Walking with Him leads us in the righteous path through His Kingdom.  So, let us be prayerful enough as we struggle in getting closer to Him all the days of our lives and let us ask His gift of grace that we may be able to walk with Him in faith, love and compassion with others and may He bless and use us to be a blessing also to other people most in need not only financially but above all, spiritually.  And may God bless all the works in our hands as we prepare our souls in His final coming.

By the way, this is also a powerful prayer especially in most critical and needed times of our lives.  I can still remember of the intensity 5.9 quake which hit the Island of Negros last Feb. 2012 that caused many deaths, damage and homeless families, and it lasted for longer minutes, but rather than panic, I gathered my family members and prayed this Prayer to Take Authority, so that God and His angels will take care of everything and God will be in control.  And it does worked, it will ease and relax your mind and spirit in His care.  You can try this too and feel God's presence.  May we will always gather in prayers and proclaim His goodness no matter the time or the place and may we be always prepared on His coming and calling to us for the last and final days of our lives.  "To God Be All The Glory!"

Always remember, "God is working in ways we cannot see."

Be blessed,
  Nonie f.