Solemnity of All Saints

01 November 2024

 

First Reading: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

Second Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-3

Gospel: Mt 5:1-12a

 

Reflection

By: Benj Santiago

 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

As we celebrate All Saints' Day, the Beatitudes' first line reminds us how to live our life in HUMILITY and DEPENDENCE on God.

Being poor in spirit is not necessarily a call to material poverty. Jesus is calling us to deeper poverty of the heart to recognize that everything good comes from God! St. Francis and St. Ignatius were from wealthy families. St. Stephen of Hungary was a King! They were poor in Spirit in spite of their wealth and power for they have shared what they possess and remained totally dependent on God.

Today, I, you, all of us are reminded to have full dependence on God. The first step is to recognize our sinfulness, weakness, and faults. We need to humble ourselves to God and ask for His mercy and forgiveness through the Sacrament of Confession.

Secondly, we need to practice humility and gratitude. Serve our family and community with humility. Lead with humility. Be thankful for all the blessings we receive.

Finally, we must acknowledge that all our posessions, position, titles, and power are not ours to own. Give to those in need. Share your blessings to family, friends, and community. Practice Tithing.

We are called to be "poor in spirit."

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for all Your blessings. We acknowledge that all we possess, and that we have is a blessing from You. We humbly pray and beg You to continually bless us so that we can bless more people like the Saints before us. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.

The Best Time to Praise God

    

Fifth Sunday of Lent

17 March 2024

 

First Reading: Jer 31:31-34

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15

Second Reading: Heb 5:7-9

Gospel: Jn 12:20-33

 

Reflection

By: Gharri Tulabut

 

When I was still actively promoting financial literacy by teaching personal finance, I usually use five or six steps to financial independence. One of the steps which I usually skip is the part of managing or eliminating debt. Often I would proudly say that I don’t know anything about debts because I never had debts in my life. But that was true until… 

…I got married. 

No, this is not one of those stereotypical jokes about husbands and wives. Let me tell you the story.

Our wedding last year was just a simple one. Still, we borrowed a little amount from friends and family and we took advantage of whatever we can loan from SSS and PAGIBIG to add to our budget. These loans are supposedly manageable thru our regular income. But two months before the wedding, my fiancé lost her job due to office politics. 

A few months after the wedding, when we started paying our debts, we really had a hard time. We tried borrowing from banks and lending institutions for debt consolidation. But since only one of us had a regular income, we are always rejected. Again, we asked friends and family, and even went to some referred individuals we do not know (a.k.a. 5-6). 

I would not say we hit rock bottom. I still have a job. We have a home. We never skipped meals. Just a bit tight than before. We just experienced abstaining from eating out; We prioritizing things to buy; There were times we gas up our car with only 200 pesos just to make it home from work. Look, we still have ride.

One sad thing about our situation was that we cannot give our regular tithing.

But throughout this downside in our finances, we never ceased to praise God, to serve in our community.

And little by little we see small provisions from Him. We see small help such as when a friend and former colleague  sending me money out of nowhere. I did not know who told her of our current predicament that time but she just reached out to us just when we do not know anymore how to pay our next due date. Or one time, when two friends who initially just “seen” my messenger message asking for a loan, at the same time just messaged me asking if I still need the loan. And this was while I was attending a worship event, of all times.

As one of my preacher friends always say, “The best time to praise God is when you don’t feel like praising God.”

I and my wife never ceased praying, asking and praising at the same time. And God took care of us even with little things.

Kumapit lang kami. And continued to give glory to Him with the best that we could do. And God did not let go of our hands.

Prayer

All Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!

Be a Light for Others

    

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

05 February 2023

 

First Reading: Is 58:7-10

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Second Reading: 1 Cor 2:1-5

Gospel: Mt 5:13-16

 

Reflection

By: Benj Santiago

 

"You are the light of the world...Your light must shine before others, that they may see Your good deed and glorify Your heavenly Father."

I am sure you will agree that the world today continues to be in darkness. Many are oppressed and living in poor condition. Millions are below the poverty line, uneducated, and are hungry. Even those who are employed and have good income still struggle financially.

We are all challenged to be disciples of Christ. We are called to be the light of the world. And the task is clear: "if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday."

In the past, even with a six figure income, we struggled financially. We were buried in 7-figure credit card debts. We were faced with millions of responsibilities to our children who were in school. Then a disaster happened, we both got retired from our high paying jobs, one after another. But we continued to hang on to Your promise. Despite the daily struggles, we hang on. We continue to give tithes. Eventually, as He promised "then light shall rise for you in the darkness."

We thank the Lord for liberating us from debts and leading us to a business opportunity that earns for us even more than what we need and desire. As our way of glorifying our heavenly Father, we as a couple strive hard to teach people how to get out of the oppression of debts, to be liberated from poverty, and be able to provide income streams to those who are financially struggling.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for great blessings You have bestowed upon us to serve as a beacon of light to people who are in financial darkness. We pray that all of us will continue to share our blessings to others, help the oppressed and feed the hungry. We bring back to You Lord all the glory and honor for the opportunity to be the light for others. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Trying to outgive God? You'll never win!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 8, 2015

First reading
1 Kings 17:10-16

Elijah the Prophet went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a vessel for me to drink.’ She was setting off to bring it when he called after her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’ But Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:

“Jar of meal shall not be spent,

jug of oil shall not be emptied,

before the day when the Lord sends

rain on the face of the earth.”’

The woman went and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.

Psalm                                                                                                            Psalm 145:7-10

Second reading                                                                                        Hebrews 9:24-28  It is not as though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with salvation those who are waiting for him.

Gospel	Mark 12:38-44

In his teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’

  He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’

Reflection

By Edgardo Tulabut

Income minus tithes, minus savings, equals expenses. This is a popular and common equation I preach as a financial adviser.

But if you talked to me about this a decade ago, I’d probably ask, “Income minus tha… what? Tights?” I could  still recall when a friend was talking about how she started tithing, I was totally clueless. Maybe I had the same blank expression as my seminar attendees whenever I mention the Income-minus-tithes formula in my financial talks. When I see those clueless stares, I immediately knew that my listeners are Catholic and I’d explain to them what tithing is.

Yes, except for those with charismatic communities, most of us Catholics are not familiar with tithing. Well, it is really something not to be ashamed of because what we are taught is giving according to our hearts’ desire. The problem is sometimes we put God in the least of our desires as shown in our priorities in allocating our finances. Most of the time we do not have any problem buying an expensive piece of jewelry, a new gadget, or spend a huge amount to impress a date. The list could go on, but when it comes to giving to God, we only give our excess, something which we do not even value ourselves.

Before I became an active member of the Light of Jesus community, I usually give whatever is the smallest amount in my pocket. If I give a twenty peso bill, I already have a heavy heart and most of the time I pretend not to see the collector pass by. Fifty pesos? No way.

I will not tell you how much I give now. It may be bigger, or it may have stayed at twenty pesos. But I now follow a certain percentage. The 10% mentioned in the old testament is a good guideline. But Jesus have already revised that. It’s up for you to set your own for as long as you are giving a good representative of the blessings you receive and you are giving according to your heart’s desire “for the Lord loves a cheerful giver.” (2Cor 9:7).

Once I started giving a certain amount regularly, it really felt fulfilling. With or without anything in return, it just feels good to know that I can regularly contribute to God’s works on earth through tithing.

One attendee in a seminar I was a part of once asked the speaker where to base her tithes – net or gross income. The speaker answered “where do you want God to base your blessings – net or gross?” Of course, that’s not how God operates. But one thing’s for sure if we try to out give God, we will never win.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to give to Your kingdom on earth. May my small contribution help in bringing more people to You. Amen!