Love

 

Fifth Sunday of Easter

17 April 2016  

First reading
Acts 14:21-27

Paul and Barnabas went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

  They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.

  On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.

 

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 144:8-13

Second reading
Apocalypse 21:1-5

I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

  Then the One sitting on the throne spoke: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new.’

 

Gospel	John 13:31-33,34-35

When Judas had gone Jesus said:

‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified,

and in him God has been glorified.

If God has been glorified in him,

God will in turn glorify him in himself,

and will glorify him very soon.

‘My little children,

I shall not be with you much longer.

I give you a new commandment:

love one another;

just as I have loved you,

you also must love one another.

By this love you have for one another,

everyone will know that you are my disciples.’

  Reflection
By Fely C. Santiago

“I give you a new commandment: love one another”

 

It is always easy to say “I love you” but doing what Jesus did when He died on the cross for His great love for all of us, will never be easy. That is why we live in a troubled world because true love is really not there. Most people including myself find it hard to “die to myself” because of love. But everyday we can always try. For Jesus said, “for man it is difficult, but with God nothing is impossible.”

 

The world needs love. Our country needs love. I just pray that with the coming election getting nearer we may learn to really love one another and not keep pulling each other down. I pray that all the candidates running for election are there because of their love to serve our country and the people and not to be served, or because of selfish interests. And as people, may we learn to vote with prayers that God will lead us to the right persons who can lead this country and bring us even closer to God. And after the election, may we learn to accept those elected to serve and move on with love in our hearts.

 

The next challenge with love is also to stay in love - the decision to love, the commitment to love.

 

“But the most significant part of love is found not in the initial attraction but in the commitment afterwards: the commitment of spouses to one another; the commitment to a community despite the imperfection and humanity of its members; or the commitment to friendships when there are rocky parts on the path, and the initial attraction has somewhat waned. If love is the “effective willing of the good of another,” though, as Thomas Aquinas argued, then love has much more to do with the staying power of love than its first glimmer.”- See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/23515/stay-in-love#sthash.eYc0HzSQ.dpuf

 

Since we are all human, we have all our imperfections and weaknesses the challenge to stay in love is there. That is where the decision to love comes in especially for married couples who are the foundation of the families. That is where acceptance, humility, understanding comes in. That is where the grace of God is greatly needed so married couples and families can stay in love despite of…

 

Love. Give. Live. Let the purpose of anything we do be LOVE….

  Prayer  

God of Easter Joy, in these weeks after Your resurrection, I long to be in Your protective care. Give me the courage to allow You into my life to let you love me - so I can remain in You. As I pray with the image of the vine and the branch, I know I want to hold tightly to You and grow in love with You. With the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, give me the consolation of being fruitful so I can spread the joy of Your gospel to all those around me. May the Lord bless us, 
protect us from all evil 
and bring us to everlasting life. 
Amen.

Not Alone

First Reading: GN 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man’ this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.

Responsorial Psalm PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Second Reading: HEB 2:9-11

Brothers and sisters:

He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, " that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”

Gospel: MK 10:2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"  They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"  They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment.

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another,

she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it."  Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Reflection:


Sometimes I tell my writing class students that marriage is like writing a story. Since writing is always a choice, one can choose to write marriage between best-marriage-ever and a topsy-turvy-lunatic relationship. One has the freedom to write the ideal marriage or the worst marriage. However, my constant reminder whenever they write a story is to never look far or wander around to start writing their craft. My instruction to them is simply look at oneself, recollect one’s personal experiences to trigger the process of writing because there’s a well of ideas/stories into self. So let me tell you some top secret stories in our 17-year blessed marriage life for this reflection.

Lately, my wife and I (she’s a pharmacist, I supposed she’s always using the left side of her brain in many circumstances, while I think as a creative writer which constantly using my right side, if I have one), realized that we argue on petty things to decide on something but neither of our decision would happen.  For example, she thought it is best to take a cab on one side of the street, but looking at the passing taxis, I thought the probability is higher on the other side. While we were on the opposite side of the street, waiting who can get a cab first, her brother driving a beautiful car suddenly appears offering a lift to us.  On another occasion, we argue either to ride a tricycle or walk to save money, so we can come home early to prepare our dinner (since it is just a few blocks away). But before a tricycle arrives and still not making a single step yet, heavy rains fall on us, and so we end up dating in a nearby carinderia while waiting for the flood to subside. We laugh together whenever these things happen because we always think that it is God’s Will. The comfort that we thought we could get for both of us as we decide may not be the same comfort that God wants us to give. We can never argue on what God wants us to give because it’s always the best for our family.

We may have a very good inspiration to write our marriage story but it is God who will supply all the best elements of the story to make it realistic and successful.

Prayer for couples:

Father in heaven, please grant that all couples in the world may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant that both husband and wife be filled with faith and trust. Give us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another's strengths. Help us to forgive one another's failings and grant us patience, kindness, cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well being of one another ahead of self. May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both closer to you through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection. Amen.