Lipad

   

  Ikadalawpu't Dalawang Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon

Ika-28 ng Agosto 2022 

 

Unang Pagbasa: Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29

Salmong Tugunan: Slm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11

Ikalawang Pagbasa: Heb 11:18-19, 22-24a

Ebanghelyo: Luc 14:1, 7-14

Repleksyon

Ni: Grace Madrinan

 

"Walang mararating 'yan! Isang araw pa lang siguro 'yan sa Maynila baka masagasaan pa dahil sa katangahan."

Iyan ang madalas na pangungutya na naririnig ng Mama ko mula sa mga kapatid nya tuwing nagkukwento sya ng mga panaginip nya nung mga bata pa sila. Madalas kasi noon nakakapanaginip sya ng mga matataas na gusali na kadalasan nakikita sa syudad. Noon panahon na iyon, 'di pa nakatuntong si Mama sa Maynila.

Ganun na lang ang pagmamalaki ng mga kapatid nya na nakatuntong sila at nakapagtrabaho sa Maynila kahit kasambahay lang. Madalas sa halip na makatulong sa pamilya (na iyon naman talaga ang dahilan nila sa pagluwas), nagiging alalahanin pa kasi lagi silang tinutubos sa mga amo nila. Lagi silang naloloko ng mga nagre-recruit sa kanila, ilang buwan na puro trabaho pero walang sahod kasi nakuha na nung nag-recruit. Mga ilang beses din nangyari iyon pero walang kadala-dala.

Sa bihirang pagkukuwento ni Mama ganyan pa ang inabot nya. Napakataas ng lipad nila. Ganun-ganun na lamang sila makapanlait gayong wala pa namang narating. Minsan nakapagsalita na si Mama nang ganito, "Wag masyadong mataas ang lipad, kasi kapag bumagsak kayo mas malakas ang lagapak!"

Lalo lang siyang pagtatawanan kasi nagsasalita daw si Mama mag-isa. "Baliw! Sira na talaga ang ulo. Malala na. Wala na talagang lunas." Hindi pa man naimbento ang salitang "bully", matagal na pala itong namamayagpag sa mga kapatid nya.

Titingala na lang ang Mama ko, sasabihin nya "Hindi natutulog ang Diyos. Ayan Siya nakatingin mula sa langit." Ngunit lalong lalakas pa ang hagalpakan nila.

Tuwing ikinukuwento ito ni Mama (na makailang ulit na rin hehe), nalulungkot ako para sa kanya at gayundin naman ay humahanga. Paano nya nakayanan ang ganoong pangungutya?

Sa kabila ng paghihirap nya sa piling ng mga kapatid nya, biniyayaan sya ng mahabang pasensya at pagtitiis. Kahit ganon ang pakikitungo sa kanya ng mga kapatid nya, patuloy pa rin syang nagsilbi sa kanila, nirespeto ang nakatatanda. Hinayaan nya na ang Diyos ang gumawa ng paraan para sa kanya.

Napakasarap ng hustisya ng Panginoon sa Mama ko. Pagkatapos ng maraming panahon, 'di lang sya nakarating ng Maynila, nakapagbyahe din sya sa ibang sulok ng Pilipinas at maging sa ibang bansa. 'Yung mga panaginip nya nung bata pa sya, nagkatotoo lahat at higit pa. Ang taong nilalait na hindi makakatuntong ng ibang lugar, 'di hamak na mas marami pang narating kaysa sa nangungutya. Tunay na kahanga-hanga ang hustisya ng Panginoon.

"Sapagkat ang nagmamataas ay ibababa, at ang nagpapakumbaba ay itataas." - Luc 14:11

Panalangin

Panginoon, turuan Mo akong maging mapagkumbaba. Piliin nawang maging mapagmahal sa halip na mapahiganti. Sapat nawa na malamang ito ay mas ikalulugod Mo. Lahat ng ito ay dalangin sa Ngalan ni Hesus. Amen 

Fight for your Dreams

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 27 October 2019
First reading Ecclesiasticus 35:15-22

The Lord is the judge,
and with him there is no partiality.
He will not show partiality to the poor;
but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.
He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan,
or the widow when she pours out her complaint.
Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek
as she cries out against the one who causes them to fall?
The one whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted,
and his prayer will reach to the clouds.
The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds,
and it will not rest until it reaches its goal;
it will not desist until the Most High responds
and does justice for the righteous and executes judgment.
Indeed, the Lord will not delay,

Second reading                                                          2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

I am already being poured out as a libation and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel                                                                          Luke 18:9-14

Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Reflection

By Fely C. Santiago

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”

In Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you HOPE and a future”

Do you still have a dream? Or you get so discouraged with the current state of your life that you don’t like to dream anymore? God has planted BIG dreams in your heart. Search the deepest desires of your heart and fight for it!

When I was young, I would see my grandparents travel a lot! We are from Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao and so I would see them fly to Cebu, Manila, Baguio, Hongkong and China. And later on to Germany, US and many more. This started a dream in my heart. When I grow up, I also want to travel and see the world!

This dream came true! I was so blessed to be hired by Intel and it was there I started to travel for free! I was able to travel to 13 countries in Asia, US, Europe and Central America because of business trips and on business class! And not only me, I was able to bring my family to some of these travels as well! I shall be forever grateful to my company for 25 years for making my dreams come true! And then I got retired from Intel which eventually closed in the Philippines! I said goodbye travels, I cannot afford you anymore! 

But see, God planted these dreams in my heart! I really love to travel because I get to see the beauty of the world and marvel at God’s magnificent creations. Seeing the world for me is a prayer because I get to commune with God through His creations! I just love nature, the mountains, the seas and watching people of different colors and languages. It just amazed me how marvelous God really is for His creations! Traveling widened my perspective and horizon and also stretched my vision. I get to realized how powerful and limitless our God really is.


And so today by God’s grace I resumed traveling through my company IMG. When God plants a dream in our hearts, it’s our responsibility to take action and ask, seek and find what is God’s will for us. And then you find meaning and purpose in life! Keep fighting for your dreams!

Prayer

Father God, thank You for planting dreams in our hearts.  Give us the grace to ask, seek and knock so we find the many opportunities that are out there that You have prepared for us. Remove fear and give us the courage to get out of our comfort zones as blessings await there. All these I pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Expect the Best in 2012 and Bless Others

First Reading: Num. 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:

"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them."

Res. Psalm: Psalms 67:2-3 5, 6, 8

Second Reading: Gal. 4:4-7

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Gospel: Luke 2:16-21 

So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Reflection

By Fely Santiago

“The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!“

I’d like to start this reflection with the lyrics of a song by Jose Mari Chan which is very fitting to open the year 2012.And I believe this was also inspired from the same verse from Numbers:

May the good Lord bless and keep you,

whether near or far away.

May you find that long-awaited golden day today.

May your troubles all be small ones,

and your fortune ten times ten.

May the good Lord bless and keep you 'til we meet again.

May you walk with sunlight shining

and a bluebird in ev'ry tree.

May there be a silver lining

back of ev'ry cloud you see.

Fill your dreams with sweet tomorrow.

Never mind what might have been.

May the good Lord bless and keep you..

What an inspiring words to open the New Year! Whatever happened in 2011 whether good or bad is PAST! For amidst all the uncertainties around us because of financial crisis, calamities, loss of job, loss of a loved one, we should remain hopeful. That’s what the new year brings – HOPE. The Lord will bless us. The buffet of blessing is upon us. It’s up to us to stand up and pick up what we want -- growing spiritual life, better health, financial freedom, enhanced family relationships, flourishing career,  new friends, more opportunities to serve and many more. What it requires is faith and action!

Expect only the best this new year. God has given us the power within to make 2012 the best year of our life! The choice is yours. You call the shots. And you can do it very easily, right now!
 All you have to do is set the most powerful intention you can ever set in your life, which is that you will focus only on what you want, think only about what you want, and talk only about what you want. Decide right now to focus only on the positive. And with all your might, with all your strength, with all your willpower - you will focus on your desires! Then offer it to the Lord everyday in prayers.

You will discover that life and all of God’s creation will adjust to your faith and action! Expect the BEST for the coming year and all your dreams will surely come true in God’s perfect time.

But it should not stop there. God gives us blessings so we can bless others! Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and of us all, share the blessings you receive. Go out and serve God’s people. Be a blessing to others. Be Jesus to others. You can share whatever you have. Share you time, talents and treasures and an avalanche of blessings will surely come back to you so you can share and bless others MORE!

A super blessed and truly rich 2012 everyone!

Prayer

Lord, I welcome the New Year with great hope because all these years You have been with me. Thank you for all the blessing, especially the gift of Mary as my mother. Inspired by example, I expect the BEST in 2012! Mold me to be the best that I can be. Like her, use me to serve and bless more people. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.