Reject The Antichrist

Hello! and happy good last day of the Calendar Year 2015; and, it's just hours to go for the New Year 2016, GUYS.  For our first-thing-first this eve of the new year:

THE GOOD NEWS (31 December 2015)

"My dear children, it is the last hour.  You were told that an antichrist would come; but several antichrists have already come, by which we know that it is now the last hour.

They went out from us though they did not really belong to us.  Had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us.  So it became clear that not all of us were really ours.

But you have the anointing from the Holy One, so that all of you have true wisdom.

I write to you, not because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you already know it, and lies have nothing in common with the truth." - 1 John 2:18-21

Symbol Of The Antichrist

(Fourth criterion:  to be sure we are walking in the Light, we must reject the antichrist and remain steadfast in the faith and in what faith teaches.  The believers of John's days knew that before the glorious return of CHRIST, an antichrist would appear.  John says:  the person who denies that JESUS is the CHRIST already is an antichrist.  Today there are still many people who make a distinction:  on one hand the man JESUS, lost in the midst of legend and on the other hand an idealized CHRIST adored by believers.  John says:  "The one who has come in history, HE HIMSELF is eternal GOD."

 

You received from HIM an anointing, and it remains in you.  John not only speaks of the anointing of oil in baptism and confirmation.  "CHRIST" signifies precisely, "HE who is anointed," and this anointing was the presence in HIM of the Spirit of GOD, HIS FATHER.  John adds:  "You cannot receive passively just any instruction in the Church, but you must discern whether the word of GOD is being faithfully transmitted."

HIS anointing [Spirit] teaches you all things.  In writing that, John had in mind the prophets who were the animators of the churches:  through their inspired words the Spirit taught the community.  Today the Spirit also maintains us in the truth through the leaders of the community and those who teach but we are not dispensed from seeking by ourselves the meaning of the Word and discerning what others tell us.) 

Not To Love The World!

Hi! and happy good Wednesday to all of us; and, it's just 2 days to go for the New Year 2016, GUYS.  Our today's "daily bread":

THE GOOD NEWS (30 December 2015)

"My dear children, I write this to you:  you have already received the forgiveness of your sins through the Name of JESUS.  Fathers, I write this to you:  you know HIM who is from the beginning.  Young men, I write this to you:  you have overcome the Evil One.  My dear children, I write to you because you already know the FATHER.

Fathers, I write to you because you know HIM who is from the beginning.  Young men, I write to you because you are strong and the Word of GOD lives in you who have indeed overcome the Evil One.

Do not love the world or what is in it.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the FATHER is not in him.

For everything in the world -  

the craving of the flesh,

the greed of eyes

and people boasting of their superiority -

all this belongs to the world, not to the FATHER.

The world passes away with all its craving but those who do the will of GOD remain for ever." - 1 John:12-17 

(Third criterion:  not to love the world.  Note how John begins by rejoicing with his readers because they know the FATHER.  It is not a matter of hating the world that CHRIST came to save.  Yet the life and history of people manifest a deep alienation:  this is the power of the evil spirit, John calls "the world" all the evil current prevailing in it.  According to John the world is the deceitful life which people live when they cease to seek the FATHER's will, and when they oppose CHRIST.  Two contrary forces coexist in this world of ours and also in people:  what comes from the FATHER and is forever; and what is planned and desired by humans when they forget their condition and dignity as children of GOD:  greed and pride that lead them to death.

There is something more to say about this not loving the world.  even though all that comes from GOD is good:  the sunlight, love, what emerges from human intelligence and hands, yet the whole creation is worth nothing if we compare it with GOD.

As long as we look upon the world as the great gift that GOD gave us and we feel accountable to HIM for its progress and development, the world is good for us.  As soon as we consider the world as our thing, use it or neglect it according to our fancy, or if we think we can change it alone and by force, it becomes our worst enemy, an idol that enslaves us and is the source of rivalries.  Christians commit themselves to the world [first case] but not with the world [second case].  They keep their freedom as children of GOD or they are no longer sons and daughters because of their love for the world.) 

Fulfill The Commandment Of Love

Hi! and happy good Tuesday to all of us; and, it's just 3 days to go for the New Year 2016, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" today:

THE GOOD NEWS (29 December 2015)

"How can we know that we know HIM?  If we fulfill HIS commands.

If you say, 'I know HIM,' but do not fulfill HIS commands, you are a liar and the truth is not in you.  But if you keep HIS word, GOD's love is made complete in you.  This is how we know that we are in HIM:  he who claims to live in HIM must live as HE lived.

My dear friends, I am not writing you a new commandment, but reminding you of an old one, one you had from the beginning.  This old commandment is the word you have heard.

But, in a way, I give it as a new commandment that is true in HIM and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines.

If you claim to be in the light but hate your brother, you are still in darkness.

If you love your brothers and sisters, you remain in the light and nothing in you will make you fail.  But if you hate your brother you are in the dark and walk in darkness without knowing where you go, for the darkness has blinded you." - 1 John 2:3-11 

(Second criterion for love of GOD:  to obey the commandments that are summarized in love.  do we perhaps pretend to know GOD and to believe?  If so, it must be measured by the love we have for others.

An old commandment, because it is the first one we learned in the Church; a new commandment, because the world must constantly, and in new ways, discover the power of love.)

Escape To Egypt

Hello! and today we are celebrating in the Philippines the Holy Innocents' Day, also called Childermas; and it's 4 days to go for the New Year 2016, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" this "Ninos Inocentes" day:

THE GOOD NEWS (28 December 2015) 

"After the wise men had left, an angel of the LORD appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, 'Get up, take the child and HIS mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you for Herod will soon be looking for the child in order to kill HIM.'

Joseph got up, took the child and HIS mother, and left that night for Egypt, where HE stayed until the death of Herod.  In this way, what the LORD had said through the prophet was fulfilled:  I called my son out of Egypt.

When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious.  He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old or under.  This was done in line with what he had learned from the wise men about the time when the star appeared.

In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said was fulfilled:  A cry is heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation:  Rachel weeps for her children.  She refuses to be comforted, for they are no more." - Matthew 2:13-18  

(In relating the story about the slaughter of innocent children and the flight into Egypt, Matthew quotes two verses from the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah about the trials and sufferings of GOD's people in past times.  JESUS must live in exile and anguish, as did HIS ancestors.  Persecution begins with HIS birth and will follow HIM till HIS death.  Mary [and Joseph to a lesser degree] was associated with JESUS' sufferings and saving mission.

Christian tradition has always held that the "Innocents" associated with the Passion of CHRIST without having wished it also shared in HIS glory without having merited it.  This invites us to be mindful of the fact that the mysterious love of GOD envelops millions of massacred children and other hundreds of millions killed before seeing the light of day.  What should we think of so many stifled possibilities?  Individuals and society responsible for this disaster suffer the consequences; but GOD has all destinies in hand, HE knows them in advance, and no one by destroying life is able to limit GOD's generosity.  No matter how much innocent blood the enemies of the Gospel spill, they will not be able to extinguish the Church or to block GOD's plans.)  

First Sunday Of Christmas (Christmas Sunday)

Hello! and happy good Christmas Sunday; and, it's just 5 days to go for the New Year 2016, GUYS.  Our first-thing-first this Sunday:

THE GOOD NEWS (27 December 2015)

"Blessed are you who fear the LORD

and walk in HIS ways.

You will eat the fruit of your toil;

you will be blessed and favored.

Your wife, like a vine,

will bear fruits in your home;

your children, like olive shoots

will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed

upon the man who fears the LORD.

May the LORD bless you from Zion.

May you see Jerusalem prosperous

all the days of your life.

- Psalm 128:1-5

(In contrast to those who are anxious and impatient, the believer tries to see the good side of life.  He recognizes the blessings GOD has given his home.  A large family is GOD's blessing for those who have chosen it and have accepted its responsibilities.

"Seek first the kingdom of GOD and HIS justice and the rest will also be given to you" [Matthew 6:33].")

The Story Of Stephen

Hi! and happy post-Christmas Day; and, it's just 6 days to go for the New Year 2016, GUYS.  For our "daily bread" this Saturday:

THE GOOD NEWS (26 December 2015)

"Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.  Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia.  They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

When they heard this reproach, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against Stephen.But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of GOD and JESUS at GOD's right hand, so he declared:  'I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of GOD.'

But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him.They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.  As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying:  'LORD JESUS, receive my spirit'." - Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 

(Being a Hellenist, Stephen did not share the blind faith of the Jewish people in their Temple and its rituals.  He understood that the Church had to become free from the patterns of the past and move away from the Jews, if they refused to believe.

The prophet Hosea, eight centuries before CHRIST, already expressed the drama of the rejected love of GOD by HIS people [Hosea 11:1-4].  Stephen proclaims it again:  this drama reached its culmination when JESUS, the Son-of-GOD-made-man, was nailed to the cross.

Stephen dies as CHRIST did.  He becomes the first martyr [martyr means witness].  He is a witness to CHRIST because he proclaims HIM, but even more so because he does as CHRIST did, he forgives his murderers.

Like Peter Pentecost, Stephen still hopes for a conversion of the Jewish people:  a minority at least will be converted.  This hope will fade in time with the persecutions raised against the Church.  The murder of Stephen would be the first sign leading the converted Jews to understand that apostolic work must be undertaken beyond the frontiers of the Jewish fortress.

The only way to escape from this return to "the Synagogue" is to do what the first Christians did after Stephen's death:  leave our beloved nest for the mission of proclaiming the whole Gospel.)

The Radiance Of The Glory Of The FATHER!

Hi! and happy good CHRISTMAS DAY to all of us, Guys.  Our today's first-thing-first:

"GOD has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times HE has spoken definitively to us through HIS Son.

HE is the one GOD appointed heir of all things, since through HIM HE unfolded the stages of the world.

HE is the radiance of GOD's Glory and bears the stamp of GOD's hidden being, so that HIS powerful word upholds the universe.  And after taking away sin, HE took HIS place at the right hand of the divine Majesty in heaven. 

So HE is now far superior to angels just as the name HE received sets HIM apart from them.  To what angel did GOD say:   YOU are MY son, I have begotten YOU today?  and to what angel did HE promise:  I shall be a FATHER to HIM and HE will be a SON to ME?  On sending HIS Firstborn to the world, GOD says:  Let all the angels adore HIM." - Hebrews 1:1-6

(This chapter shows CHRIST, the SON of GOD, as superior to angels.  Before JESUS was born, the SON was in GOD, the radiance of the glory of the FATHER.  GOD from GOD, Light from light, invisible IMAGE of the invisible GOD, bearing the stamp of GOD's hidden being.)

Zechariah's Canticle

Hello! and happy good Thursday to all of us; and, it's just 1 day to go before Christmas, GUYS.  Our "food for the soul" this eve of Christmas:

THE GOOD NEWS (24 December 2015)

"Zechariah, filled with holy spirit, sang this canticle,  

'Blessed be the LORD GOD of Israel,

for HE has come and redeemed HIS people.

HE has raised up for us a victorious Savior

in the house of David HIS servant,

as HE promised through HIS prophets of old,

salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of our foes.

HE has shown mercy to our fathers

and remembered HIS holy covenant,

the oath HE swore to Abraham, our father,

to deliver us from the enemy,

that we might serve HIM fearlessly

as a holy and righteous people all the days of our lives.

And you, my child,

shall be called prophet of the Most High,

for you shall go before the LORD

to prepare the way for HIM

and enable HIS people to know of their salvation

when HE comes to forgive their sins.

This is the work of the mercy of our GOD,

who comes from on high as a rising sun

shining on those who live in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

and guiding our feet into the way of peace'."

- Luke 1:67-79

Birth Of John The Baptist

Hello! and happy good mid-week to all of us; and, it's just 2 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  Our "daily bread" this Wednesday:

THE GOOD NEWS (23 December 2015)

"When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the merciful LORD had done a wonderful thing for her and they rejoiced with her.

Elizabeth and Zechariah

When on the eight day they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father.  But his mother said, 'Not so; he shall be called John.'  They said to her, 'No one in your family has that name'; and they asked the father by means of signs for the name he wanted to give.  Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote on it, 'His name is John,' and they were very surprised.  Immediately Zechariah could speak again and his first words were in praise of GOD.

A holy fear came on all in the neighborhood, and throughout the Hills of Judea the people talked about these events.  All who heard of it pondered in their minds and wondered, 'What will this child be?'  For they understood that the hand of the LORD was with him." - Luke 1:57-66

(What was circumcision?  The cutting of the skin called "foreskin" of the male organ, was an ancient custom of Oriental people.  It was one of those "initiation rites" which, among some people, mark the passage of an adolescent into adult society.  Circumcision was a religious rite intended to ensure fertility.

Circumcision took on a new meaning for Israel:  it was considered the distinct sign of their belonging to the chosen people.  A foreigner could enter the religious community of Israel only by being circumcised.)  

The Song Of Mary

Hi! and happy good Tuesday to all of us; and, it's just 3 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our today's "daily bread":

THE GOOD NEWS (22 December 2015)

"And Mary said:

'My soul proclaims the greatness of the LORD,

my spirit exults in GOD my savior!

HE has looked upon HIS servant in her lowliness,

and people forever will call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me,

Holy is HIS name!

From age to age HIS mercy extends

to those who live in HIS presence.

HE has acted with power and done wonders,

and scattered the proud with their plans.

HE has put down the mighty from their thrones

and lifted up those who are downtrodden.

HE has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

HE held out HIS hand to Israel, HIS servant,

for HE remembered HIS mercy,

even as HE promised our fathers,

Abraham and his descendants forever.'

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned home." - Luke 1:46-56  

(The song of Mary also expresses the deepest feeling of the Christian soul.  There is a time for us to seek truth, to discover what our major duties are and to become truly and essentially human.  There is a time for asking from and serving GOD.  In the long run, we come to understand that divine love seeks out what is poorer and weaker to fill it and make it great.  Then our only prayer becomes thanksgiving to GOD for HIS understanding and merciful designs.)

A Love That Is Not Only Human!

Hello! and happy first day of the week to all of us; and, it's just 4 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" this Monday:

THE GOOD NEWS (21 December 2015)

"She

The voice of my lover!  Behold he comes,

springing across the mountains,

jumping over the hills,

like a gazelle or a young stag.

Now he stands behind our wall,

looking through the windows, 

peering through the lattice.

My lover speaks to me,

He

'Arise, my love, my beautiful one!

Come , the winter is gone,

the rains are over.

Flowers have appeared on earth;

the season of singing has come;

the cooing of doves is heard.

The fig tree forms its early fruit,

the vines in blossom are fragrant.

Arise, my beautiful one,

come with me, my love, come.

O my dove in the rocky cleft,

in the secret places of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me hear your voice,

Your face - how lovely!

Your voice - how sweet'!"

- Song Of Songs 2:8-14

(A springtime of annunciation:  love comes to seek the beloved.  Finished are the trials that seemed to have no end and no sense.  The lover is pleased to sing the beauty of his beloved.

Homo Habilis

Here faith is required of the reader:  we have just closed a paper telling us of millions of galaxies blown like a bubble of soap fifteen thousand million years ago, and then the Song speaks of HIM seeking a love among the innumerable descendants of the little "homo habilis."  Is it true?  Possible?  These hundreds of thousands of centuries and suns are perhaps but a cloud of smoke which hides at a different depth the mystery of the Supreme Person, the source of love.  A love that is not only human, for while experiencing it HIMSELF, at the same time HIS Spirit lights its flame in us.)

4th Sunday Of Advent, 2015-2016

Hi! and happy holy and family day to all of us; and, it's just 5 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our first-thing-first this Sunday:

THE GOOD NEWS (20 December 2015)

The Old Covenant Prefigures The New

"This is why on entering the world, CHRIST says:  You did not desire sacrifice and offering, you were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings.  Then I said:  'Here I am.  It was written of ME in the scroll.  I will do YOUR will, O GOD.'

First HE says:  Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings YOU did not desire nor were YOU pleased with them -

although they were required by the Law.  Then HE says:  Here I am to do YOUR will.  

This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new.  Now, by this will of GOD, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the body of CHRIST JESUS." - Hebrew 10:5-10 

(How then can we affirm that CHRIST's sacrifice has freed us?

The sacraments we receive - and the pardon we receive in the Church - are never more than the application at the present moment of that which has been done once and for all.  For a baptized person, there is no further rite, commitment, new baptism [baptism with a lot of water, baptism 'in the spirit' ...] that can give more.  All has been given in JESUS.  John does not hesitate to say that whoever is in CHRIST does not sin [John 3:6]:  he does not commit a sin that leads to death [1 John 5:17].  Only sins that cause a total rupture with CHRIST can bring us back to our former state of 'death.'  Although it is certain that confession is of great help to overcome sin, let us not think a Christian continually passes from mortal sin to grace by confessing, sinning again, and confessing again.) 

Samson's Birth Foretold

Hello! and happy Saturday to all of us; and, it's just 6 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  Our today's "daily bread":

THE GOOD NEWS (19 December 2015)

"There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of  Dan, called Manoah.  His wife could not bear children.  The Angel of YAHWEH appeared to this woman and said to her, 'You have not borne children and have not given birth, but see, you are to conceive and give birth to a son.  Because of this, take care not to take wine or any alcoholic drink, nor to eat unclean foods from now on, for you shall bear a son who shall be a Nazirite of YAHWEH from the womb of his mother.  Never shall his hair be cut for he is consecrated to YAHWEH.  He shall begin the liberation of the Israelites from the Philistine oppression.'

The woman went to her husband and told him, 'A messenger of GOD who bore the majesty of an angel spoke to me.  I did not ask him where he came from nor did he tell me his name.

But he said to me:  'You are to conceive and give birth to a son.  Henceforth, you shall not drink wine or fermented drinks, nor eat anything unclean, for your son shall be a Nazirite of GOD from the womb of his mother until the day of his death'.

The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.  The boy grew and YAHWEH blessed him.  Then the Spirit of YAHWEH began to move him when he was in Mahane Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol." - Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 

(Samson seems to have been a man from the countryside who had extraordinary strength and fought on his own account against the Philistines.  Legend attributes to him numerous feats.

Samson is said to have been miraculously born of a barren couple.  This was in accordance with GOD's ways, as seen in the case of Abraham's son [Genesis 18], and in the case of Samuel [1  Samuel 1], and still later John the Baptist [Luke 1:5].

The child must be a Nazirite, i.e., consecrated to GOD, according to a  very ancient rite in the Bible [Numbers 6:1].  This consecration to GOD is the source of his strength.)

The Good Shepherd

Hello! and happy TGIF to all of us; and, it's just 7 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our weekend's "food for the soul":

THE GOOD NEWS (18 December 2015)

"YAHWEH further says, 'The day is coming when I will raise up a king who is David's righteous successor.  HE will rule wisely and govern with justice and righteousness.  That will be a grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in safety.  HE will be called YAHWEH-OUR-JUSTICE!'

'The days are coming,' says YAHWEH, 'when people shall no longer swear by YAHWEH as the living GOD who freed the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.  Rather, they will swear by YAHWEH as the living GOD who restored the descendants of Israel from the northern empire and from all the lands where HE had driven them, to live again in their own land'!" - Jeremiah 23:5-8

(GOD promises lasting peace.  The new people of GOD will be more than a mere continuation of the old kingdom of Israel, and the new king will be more than the earthly kings [see how JESUS develops this point in John 10].

Humankind hopes for unity in peace, and the Church now must offer the witness of different peoples gathered in CHRIST.  The reality, however, will be achieved only in the heavenly Jerusalem [Revelation 21:22].

Jeremiah expresses the same hope elsewhere, especially in 33:15-18.  In Ezekiel 34 we find the same image of the Good Shepherd preparing for what JESUS will say in John 10, Luke 15:4 and Matthew 9:36.)

The Blessing Of Jacob

Hi! and happy Thursday to all of us; and, it's just 8 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our today's "daily bread":

THE GOOD NEWS (17 December 2015)

Jacob Blessing His 12 Sons

"Gather round, sons of Jacob.  And listen to your father Israel!

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the firstfruits of my manhood! excelling in honor and excelling in power.

Restless as water, you will excel no more for you went to your father's wife, on to my bed and defiled it.

Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.  Let me not share their counsel!  Let my heart keep far from their company, for in anger they killed men, and hamstrung oxen at their pleasure.  A curse on their anger for it is fierce; a curse on their fury, so cruel!  I will divide them among Jacob, and scatter them among Israel.

         Judah, your brothers will praise you! 

         You shall seize your enemies by the neck! 

         Your father's sons shall bow before you.

         Judah, a young lion!

         You return from the prey, my son!

         Like a lion he stoops and crouches,

         and like a lioness, who dares to rouse him 

The scepter shall not be taken from Judah,

         nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

         until he comes to whom it belongs,

         and who has the obedience of the nations." - Genesis 49:2-10

(Jacob's blessings do not go to his sons but to the twelve tribes bearing their names.  The future destiny of these tribes will vary greatly.  Jacob's blessing is a way of saying that these destinies were known to GOD beforehand and that they were part of HIS plan of salvation which benefits everyone, but does not give the same gift to everyone.

The two tribes of Judah and Joseph dominate.  This ancient prophecy seems to say that Judah would live apart from others until the coming of "the one the people would obey."  This text, however, has been corrupted and is doubtful.

Did they wish only to celebrate the coming of King David, or was it the announcement of a great destiny for the kingdom of Judah, or was it the expectation of a savior-king?  Actually the kings of the people of GOD and JESUS after them were to come from this tribe.  Judah here is considered as the heir of the promises made to Abraham and Jacob.)

Justice And Peace Have Embraced

Hello! and happy mid-week to all of us; and, it's just 9 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" this Wednesday:

THE GOOD NEWS (16 December 2015)

"Would that I hear GOD's proclamation, that HE promise peace to HIS people, HIS saints - lest they come back to their folly.  Yet HIS salvation is near to those who fear HIM, and HIS Glory will dwell in our land.

Love and faithfulness have met; righteousness and peace have embraced.  Faithfulness will reach up from the earth while justice bends down from heaven.  The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its fruit.  Justice will go before HIM, and peace will follow along HIS path." - Psalm 85:9-14

Israelites Returning From Captivity In Babylon 

 (The salvation that GOD brings us is a marriage between heaven and earth, a shared project between GOD and humans.  CHRIST is simultaneously the plenitude of GOD and the fruit of the earth.

This psalm, written when the Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon adopts the most universal terms of the human vocabulary:  liberty, life, joy, salvation, love, justice, peace, happiness.

This return of the exiled Jews, however, was only one step towards authentic liberation.  Nothing is definitive and each phase in the realization of GOD's plan leads us to another stage.  GOD's people are forever being called to go further ahead.  Even the actual reign of the risen CHRIST and the work of salvation accomplished by the Church are only an image of the eternal kingdom.

GOD loves our earth. When we feel troubled and discouraged by so much that is ugly around us, let us come back to the declaration of this psalm.  You have favored your land, O LORD; justice bends down from heaven; glory will dwell in our land.

Salvation comes from GOD, but it is brought by a man, CHRIST, freely welcomed by a woman in the name of humanity.  With the incarnation, it is not possible to believe in GOD without believing in humankind.)

The Parable Of The Two Sons

Hi! and happy good Tuesday to all of us; and, it's just 10 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  For our "daily bread" today:

THE GOOD NEWS (15 December 2015)

"JESUS went on to say, 'What do you think of this?  A man had two sons.  He went to the first and said to him: 'Son, today go and work in my vineyard.  And the son answered:  'I don't want to.'  But later he thought better of it and went.  Then the father went to the second and gave him the same command.  This son replied: 'I will go, sir,' but he did not go.

Which of the two did what the father wanted?  They answered, 'The first.'  And JESUS said to them, "Truly, I say to you:  the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven.  For John came to show you the way of goodness but you did not believe him, yet the publicans and the prostitutes did.  You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him." - Matthew 21:28-32

The Chief Priests

(This parable refers to the refusal of the chief priests to recognize John the Baptist as a messenger of GOD.

A good number of sinners were converted by John's preaching and confessed their sins.  Such people were well disposed to receive the message of JESUS that opened for them the kingdom of GOD and showed them the true face of GOD the FATHER.  Because of that, they were ahead of the priests, who were indifferent to John's call, for they felt neither the desire nor the need to change.

Every parish that carries out a mission experiences the same thing:  many uncommitted Christians will neither work as missionaries, nor receive them, believing they do not need conversion.)

John The Baptist

Calling On GOD In Trials!

Hello! and happy good first day of the week to all of us; and, it's just 11 days to go before Christmas, GUYS.  Our first-thing-first this Monday:

THE GOOD NEWS (14 December 2015)

"Teach me YOUR ways, O LORD; make known to me YOUR paths.

Guide me in YOUR truth and instruct me, for YOU are my GOD, my savior; I hope in YOU all day long.

Remember YOUR compassion, O LORD, YOUR unfailing love from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth, but in YOUR love remember me.

Good and upright, the LORD teaches sinners HIS way.

HE teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right."

(Psalm 25:4-9)

(The Bible does not know despair. We can be broken by sorrow, anxiety, the weight of sin, but there is always an escape.  All our paths, even the worst, can finally lead to a love stronger than all the powers of this world.

Remember YOUR compassion, O LORD, YOUR unfailing love from of old.  Remember not the sins of my youth.  The love of GOD for us has been eternally expressed by the blood of JESUS.  GOD will never forsake HIS people.  Every mass celebrates this covenant between GOD and us in the blood of JESUS.)