The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
"I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession."
"O Lord GOD," he asked,
"how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
He answered him,
"Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: "To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates."
"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
"I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession."
"O Lord GOD," he asked,
"how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
He answered him,
"Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: "To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates."
Second reading Philippians 3:17-4:1
Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their "shame."
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord.
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their "shame."
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord.
Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
"Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
"Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.
Reflection
By Bernard M. Borja
One Monday morning, Marie woke up early with a smile on her face. Not knowing why but she's feeling very positive for that day. She was singing all through out as she prepares for work. Her smile did not fade even in the midst of the chaotic commute from her house to her office. As she arrived at the office, she greeted everyone she passes by with her contagious smile. She was about to sit at her place when her supervisor approached her and said, "Blooming ka. Anong meron?" (You look blooming. What's up?) while leaving a pile of paperwork complete with a long checklist of additional requests from their boss that she needs to work on for the day. She then whispered to herself, "Monday nga pala ngayon" (Oh, it's Monday.).
Oftentimes, we are like Marie. In fact, everyday we receive graces to be grateful for especially the grace of waking up and being given the opportunity to bless as we are blessed. If we can immediately recognize such grace from God, and let it sustain our smile through the day, it can be a significant change in how we look at everyday. Especially how it can help transform other's perspective through our positive outlook. Reminding ourselves that God transforms us into something good everyday is also reminding others that they too have received the same grace to console them in whatever it is they are going through, or just simply be reminded how good life is. In our story above, what do you think happened after Marie reminded herself that it is the start of the week? Imagine you are Marie. How would the rest of the day turn out if you keep telling yourself the same thing? Maybe it depends on what else will happen next. But what if you remind yourself how you felt positive at the moment you woke up? How would you react to someone telling you how good (or beautiful) you look today, in spite of having loads of work to do?
Another story:
Mon: "Paano ba magpakilig ng babae?" (How would you impress girls and win their hearts?)
Gon: (bragging) "Alam mo, gamitan mo lang ng mga pick up lines, sure yan!" (Use pick up lines, that would do the trick!)
Suddenly, Gon's crush approached them and greeted them. Gon was stunned and got lost as his confidence crumbled in front of the girl he really likes.
Mon: (whispering to Gon) "Ayan sakto. Pakiligin mo nga sya." (Now's your chance. Impress her.)
Gon, struggling to speak while staring at his crush for a minute, uttered just two words "Knock knock…?"
I got that story from an advertisement. It made me think that there are times when we are not sure of what to say and sometimes during moments of amazement, we do not really know what we’re saying because we were captured by the stunning beautiful image in front of us. Suddenly in a brief moment, it makes us feel all the good things we want in life, but cannot find the right words to explain it.
The disciples experienced something like this during the Transfiguration of Jesus. Even before that moment, they were able to experience a lot of signs that made their faith grow deeper. The Transfiguration of Jesus is another reminder to them that they are in good hands. This was also affirmed when the voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Just as Jesus’ image was transformed, God also continues to transform us and reflects His image as a reminder to others that everything that comes from the Lord is good. We can be assured that God will also transform our broken selves and mould with Christ’s body to start everyday full of hope, with a reminder to look at everything through heaven’s eyes, and reflect to others a beautiful image to help them go through the day.
Dearest Lord, we thank You for reminding us that everyday is a new opportunity to receive Your blessings and to be a blessing to others as well. We ask for the grace of a grateful heart to look at things through heaven’s eyes, and let ourselves find You in all these. We seek Your face in the midst of all our struggles to remind us of the beautiful future You planned for us, as You transform us everyday to reflect Your goodness. With our dear mother Mary, we pray that we recognize You more in each other as we share the joy of receiving Your graces even in our difficulties. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
One Monday morning, Marie woke up early with a smile on her face. Not knowing why but she's feeling very positive for that day. She was singing all through out as she prepares for work. Her smile did not fade even in the midst of the chaotic commute from her house to her office. As she arrived at the office, she greeted everyone she passes by with her contagious smile. She was about to sit at her place when her supervisor approached her and said, "Blooming ka. Anong meron?" (You look blooming. What's up?) while leaving a pile of paperwork complete with a long checklist of additional requests from their boss that she needs to work on for the day. She then whispered to herself, "Monday nga pala ngayon" (Oh, it's Monday.).
Oftentimes, we are like Marie. In fact, everyday we receive graces to be grateful for especially the grace of waking up and being given the opportunity to bless as we are blessed. If we can immediately recognize such grace from God, and let it sustain our smile through the day, it can be a significant change in how we look at everyday. Especially how it can help transform other's perspective through our positive outlook. Reminding ourselves that God transforms us into something good everyday is also reminding others that they too have received the same grace to console them in whatever it is they are going through, or just simply be reminded how good life is. In our story above, what do you think happened after Marie reminded herself that it is the start of the week? Imagine you are Marie. How would the rest of the day turn out if you keep telling yourself the same thing? Maybe it depends on what else will happen next. But what if you remind yourself how you felt positive at the moment you woke up? How would you react to someone telling you how good (or beautiful) you look today, in spite of having loads of work to do?
Another story:
Mon: "Paano ba magpakilig ng babae?" (How would you impress girls and win their hearts?)
Gon: (bragging) "Alam mo, gamitan mo lang ng mga pick up lines, sure yan!" (Use pick up lines, that would do the trick!)
Suddenly, Gon's crush approached them and greeted them. Gon was stunned and got lost as his confidence crumbled in front of the girl he really likes.
Mon: (whispering to Gon) "Ayan sakto. Pakiligin mo nga sya." (Now's your chance. Impress her.)
Gon, struggling to speak while staring at his crush for a minute, uttered just two words "Knock knock…?"
I got that story from an advertisement. It made me think that there are times when we are not sure of what to say and sometimes during moments of amazement, we do not really know what we’re saying because we were captured by the stunning beautiful image in front of us. Suddenly in a brief moment, it makes us feel all the good things we want in life, but cannot find the right words to explain it.
The disciples experienced something like this during the Transfiguration of Jesus. Even before that moment, they were able to experience a lot of signs that made their faith grow deeper. The Transfiguration of Jesus is another reminder to them that they are in good hands. This was also affirmed when the voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Just as Jesus’ image was transformed, God also continues to transform us and reflects His image as a reminder to others that everything that comes from the Lord is good. We can be assured that God will also transform our broken selves and mould with Christ’s body to start everyday full of hope, with a reminder to look at everything through heaven’s eyes, and reflect to others a beautiful image to help them go through the day.
Prayer
Dearest Lord, we thank You for reminding us that everyday is a new opportunity to receive Your blessings and to be a blessing to others as well. We ask for the grace of a grateful heart to look at things through heaven’s eyes, and let ourselves find You in all these. We seek Your face in the midst of all our struggles to remind us of the beautiful future You planned for us, as You transform us everyday to reflect Your goodness. With our dear mother Mary, we pray that we recognize You more in each other as we share the joy of receiving Your graces even in our difficulties. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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