Monday, June 6, 2011

"Paantuson kamo sang mga tawo sang kalibutan; pero indi kamo magkahadlok, tungod kay gindaog ko na sila"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Juan 16:29-33)
Nagsiling dayon ang iya mga sumulunod, "Karon maathag na ang imo ginahambal kay wala ka na nagagamit sang mga paanggid.

Karon sigurado na kami nga nahibaluan mo ang tanan nga mga butang, kay bisan gani nga wala kami nagapamangkot sa imo nahibaluan mo na nga daan ang amon mga ginahunahuna. Gani nagapati kami nga ikaw halin gid man sa Dios."

Nagsabat si Jesus sa ila, "Ti, nagatuo na kamo karon sa akon?

Pero magaabot ang tion kag nag-abot na gani karon nga kamo magabululag kag magapalauli, kag bayaan ninyo ako nga nagaisahanon lang. Pero bisan bayaan ninyo ako may kaupod gihapon ako tungod kay kaupod ko ang Amay.

Ginasugid ko ini nga mga butang sa inyo agod may kalinong kamo tungod sa inyo pagtuo sa akon. Paantuson kamo sang mga tawo sang kalibutan, pero indi kamo magkahadlok tungod kay gindaog ko na sila."

Prayers:
"Lord Jesus, help me to trust in your saving power, especially when I meet adversities and trials. Give me your peace when I am troubled and let me know the joy of your victory over sin and death."
***
Reflection of the Daily Gospel:
How did Jesus convince his disciples that he was the eternal Son of God? Jesus could read their hearts like an open book. He answered their questions before they could even speak them out. And he showed them the glory of God. For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent into the world, his "beloved Son", in whom the Father is "well pleased" (Matthew 17:5). We can believe in Jesus and in the words he speaks because he is himself God, the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Since he "has seen the Father," and is "one with the Father," Jesus is the only one who knows the Father as he truly is and can reveal him to us. Our faith is "certain" because it is founded on the very Word of God who cannot lie. Faith is already the beginning of eternal life. Basil the Great says: "When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall enjoy one day." Do you nourish and strengthen your faith with the word of God?

In spite of their belief, Jesus warned his disciples that their faith would be put to the test and that they would fail. Jesus spoke plainly about the tragedy of betrayal and the triumph of the cross. Jesus knew the hearts of his disciples better than they knew. He knew they would desert him in his hour of trial. Such knowledge could have easily led to bitterness and rejection. Jesus met the injury of betrayal and disloyalty with supreme love and trust in his disciples. He loved his disciples to the very end even when they left him alone to die on the cross. He knew that the cross would not bring defeat but victory over sin and death. Jesus speaks the same word to us today. "My love for you is unconditional and I will never abandon you." While we cannot avoid all pain and suffering in this life, Jesus, nonetheless assures us that he will guide us safely through any difficulty or trial we may have to undergo for his sake. Jesus calls each of us to take courage, because he has overcome the world. The Holy Spirit gives us a living hope in the power of the resurrection and a confident trust in God's abiding presence. Nothing can overcome this faith and hope in Christ's victory – no trial, suffering, temptation, or testing. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength and courage we need to overcome adversity and to persevere in faith. Do you believe that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:38-39)?

Sunday, June 5, 2011

"Ang bisan sin-o nga nagatuo sa Anak sang Dios may kabuhi nga wala sing katapusan"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Juan 3:31-36)
Si Cristo halin sa langit, gani labaw siya sa tanan. Taga-diri kita sa kalibutan kag ang mga butang nga aton ginahambal amo ang diri lang gid sa kalibutan. Pero siya nga halin sa langit labaw sa tanan.

Nagasugid siya parte sa mga butang nga iya nakita kag nabatian sa langit, pero diutay gid lang ang nagapati sa iya ginasugid.

Pero ang mga nagapati sa iya nga ginasugid nagapamatuod nga ang ginasugid sang Dios matuod.

Kay si Cristo nga ginpadala sang Dios diri sa kalibutan nagasugid sa aton kon ano ang ginasugid sang Dios sa iya, tungod kay wala sing limitasyon ang paghatag sang Dios sa iya sang Espiritu Santo.

Ginahigugma sang Amay ang iya Anak kag gintugyan niya sa iya ang tanan.

Ang bisan sin-o nga nagatuo sa Anak sang Dios may kabuhi nga wala sing katapusan. Pero ang bisan sin-o nga indi magtuman sa Anak sang Dios indi gid paghatagan sang kabuhi nga wala sing katapusan, kundi ang kaakig sang Dios magapabilin sa iya.

Prayers:
"Lord Jesus Christ, let your Holy Spirit fill me and transform my heart and mind that I may choose life – abundant life in you and with you. And give me the courage and strength to always discern good from evil and to reject everything that is false and contrary to your holy will."
***
Reflection of the Daily Gospel:
Do you hunger for the true life which God offers through the gift of his Holy Spirit? The Jews understood that God gave a certain portion of his Spirit to his prophets. When Elijah was about to depart for heaven, his servant Elisha asked for a double portion of the Spirit (2 Kings 2:9). Jesus tells his disciples that they can believe the words he speaks because God the Father has poured his Spirit on him in full measure, without keeping anything back. The function of the Holy Spirit is to reveal God's truth to us. When we receive the Holy Spirit he enables us to recognize and understand God's truth. Jesus is the Word of God and he gives us his Holy Spirit so that we can recognize his truth and live according to it.

God's truth has consequences and he gives us the freedom to choose how we will respond. The choice he gives us has eternal consequences – everlasting life or everlasting death. God challenged his people in the Old Covenant: "See I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. ...I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him" (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). And he issues the same challenge to the people of the New Covenant today. Do you weigh the consequences of your choices? Do they lead you towards life or towards death? If you choose to obey God's voice and to do his will, then you will know and experience that life which comes from God himself. If you choose to follow your own way apart from God and his will, then you choose for death – a spiritual death which poisons and then kills the soul until there is nothing left but an empty person devoid of love, truth, goodness, purity, peace, and joy. Do your choices lead you towards God or away from God?

Thursday, June 2, 2011

"Samtang nagabendisyon si Jesus sa ila, amat-amat siya nga nagbulag sa ila, kag gindala pa-langit"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Lucas 24:46-53)
Siling niya sa ila, "Nagasiling ang Kasulatan nga ang Cristo kinahanglan gid nga mag-antos kag mapatay, pero mabanhaw siya sa ikatlo nga adlaw.

Kag kinahanglan nga isugid sa bug-os nga kalibutan halin sa Jerusalem nga tungod sa iya patawaron sang Dios ang mga tawo nga nagahinulsol sang ila mga sala.

Kamo ang mga saksi sa sini nga mga butang.

Ipadala ko sa inyo ang Espiritu Santo nga ginpromisa sang akon Amay. Pero indi kamo anay maghalin diri sa Jerusalem samtang wala pa ninyo mabaton ang gahom nga halin sa langit."

Dayon gindala sila ni Jesus sa Betania. Pag-abot nila didto ginbayaw niya ang iya mga kamot kag ginbendisyunan sila.

Samtang nagabendisyon siya sa ila amat-amat siya nga nagbulag sa ila kag gindala pa-langit.

Ginsimba nila siya kag nagbalik sila sa Jerusalem nga may dako nga kalipay.

Kag permi sila didto sa templo nga nagadayaw sa Dios.

Prayers:
“Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the gospel and the reality of your resurrection.”
***
Reflection of the Daily Gospel:
Why did Jesus leave his disciples forty days after his resurrection? Forty is a significant number in the scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the promised land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. For forty days after his resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to assure them that he had risen indeed and to prepare them for the task of carrying on the work which he began during his earthy ministry.

Jesus' departure and ascension was both an end and a beginning for his disciples. While it was the end of Jesus' physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way. Jesus promised that he would be with them always to the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Now as the glorified and risen Lord and Savior, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power on the Feast of Pentecost, just as Jesus was anointed for his ministry at the River Jordan. When the Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' last words to his apostles point to his saving mission and to their mission to be witnesses of his saving death and his glorious resurrection and to proclaim the good news of salvation to all the world. Their task is to proclaim the gospel – the good news of salvation – not only to the people of Israel, but to all the nations as well. God's love and gift of salvation is not reserved for a few or for one nation alone, but it is for the whole world – for all who will accept it. The gospel is the power of God, the power to release people from their burden of guilt, sin, and oppression, and the power to heal, restore, and make us whole. Do you believe in the power of the gospel?

This is the great commission which the risen Christ gives to the whole church. All believers have been given a share in this task – to be heralds of the good news and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. We have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in and through us by the power of his Holy Spirit. Today we witness a new Pentecost as the Lord pours out his Holy Spirit upon his people to renew and strengthen the body of Christ and to equip it for effective ministry and mission world-wide. Do you witness to others the joy of the gospel and the hope of the resurrection?

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

"Pero kon mag-abot na ang Espiritu Santo nga amo ang manugtudlo sang kamatuoran, tudluan niya kamo sang tanan nga kamatuoran"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Juan 16:12-15)
"May madamo pa kuntani ako nga inugsugid sa inyo, ugaling indi pa kamo makaintiendi sini.

Pero kon mag-abot na ang Espiritu Santo nga amo ang manugtudlo sang kamatuoran, tudluan niya kamo sang tanan nga kamatuoran. Ang mga butang nga iya itudlo sa inyo indi halin sa iya, kundi kon ano ang iya nabatian amo ina ang iya isugid sa inyo. Isugid man niya sa inyo kon ano ang magakalatabo sa palaabuton.

Padunggan niya ako tungod kay ipaintiendi niya sa inyo ang akon mga ginpanudlo kag ginpanghimo.

Kay kon ano ang ginapanudlo sang Amay amo man ang sa akon. Amo ina nga nagsiling ako nga ang akon mga ginpanudlo ipaintiendi niya sa inyo."

Prayers:
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and guide me in your way of life and truth. Free me from ignorance of your ways, and from deception caused by sinful pride and rebellion. May I love you wholly with all of my strength, mind, and will and seek to please you in all things."
***
Reflection of the Daily Gospel:
What would you give to know all truth! Truth, however, is not something we create nor is it our discovery. It is the gift of God who is the possessor and the giver of all truth. Jesus tells his disciples that it is the role of the Holy Spirit to reveal what is true. How can this be? Skeptics of truth don't want to believe in an absolute Truth. If truth is objective then it must be submitted to as authoritative. Some fear the truth because they think it will inhibit their freedom to act and think as they wish. Jesus told his disciples that the truth will set you free (John 8:32). The truth liberates us from doubts, illusions, and fears. Since God is the source of all truth, then the closer we draw to him and listen to his word, the more we grow in the knowledge of him and of his great love and wisdom for us.

Jesus told his disciples that he would send them the Spirit of truth who will guide you into all the truth ..and declare to you the things that are to come (John 16:13). Through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit poured out on the new community of faith on the day of Pentecost, we too are able to profess the same creed which the apostles proclaimed – that Jesus died, and was buried, and rose again on the third day, and will come again to judge, raise the dead, and give everlasting life (the Apostles Creed). We not only have the same faith given to the apostles and early believers, but we have the same Spirit in us who raised Jesus from the dead. The Lord Jesus gives each of us his Holy Spirit as our divine Teacher and Helper that we may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God. Do you listen attentively to God's word and allow his Holy Spirit to give you understanding of God's truth and will for your life?