NTU CSA Charismatic Prayer Group

It was yesterday when someone asked me,“Did God create evil?”
Hmm.. That’s an interesting question to ponder.

Well, I can’t really say for sure because I don’t know which one is right or wrong. In fact, the view that I have is that nobody can be 100% right. After all, we as human alone can only approximate what this “TRUTH” is all about, right?

Figuring out something from a book titled “When Skeptics Ask”, whose author has done a lot of research trying to answer every question using logic, I found this topic about evil as well.

When God created us, He gave us free will, and from this free will human can choose either to do right or wrong. When human choose to do wrong, evil conquers him.
Wait a second… So what will happen if human always do the right thing, does evil still exist? Perhaps no!

Let’s take a look..
God is a Creator, He reigns Heaven, together with angels, whom He created.
Angel was created without free will, hence they must worship God and can’t commit any sins.
We were created with free will, and from this free will comes good and evil. Hey, does that means God indirectly created evil? Well, though it’s hard to believe but it may seems so.

We might be wondering.. God must be crazy! Why does He need to create evil?
Well now consider, can God create human without evil? without sin? Of course He can! But He’ll need to take this free will from human so that human will always do the right thing.. But what is then the difference between human and angel?

Now we know.. that God created evil to create us, human with free will. It seems strange but it may be inevitable.
So why does He want to give us free will?
Let’s stop for a while. Recall His words that He made us as a perfect creation.
Yes.. “perfect” but why? I can’t see anything “perfect”.

To answer this, let’s compare ourself with other creation of God, angel.
Angel always do the right thing, but he does not have a free will.
Human has a free will, and “may choose” to do either right and wrong.

Did I get the word correct? “may choose”
not “we can’t be perfect”
Can we be perfect? Why not? Are we “forced” to do sins? I don’t think so.. But sometimes we CHOOSE to commit sin by ourself.

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat 5:48)

God desires us to be perfect. But He can’t force us, because by forcing us it will take our free will. Without free will, we are no longer perfect. But of course, sin can make us imperfect.
Yet.. Because He loves us so much that He does not take our free will.. Can we still not recognize how loving is our God..? =’)

So.. What can we do..
Stop sinning.. it will destroy His dream to make us a perfect creation.
The most beautiful thing for Him is that when He creates us.. gives us free will.. and with all the temptation that we feel, we still manage to love Him back.
That.. is the perfect creation that God desires..
That.. is what God always long from us..
To love Him back.. no.. to CHOOSE to love Him back with our free will.

Praise You Lord for giving us free will =)
Help us to always realize this.. and so that we’re able to choose.. to love You back =)

Dear bro n sis.. Let’s do our best to love Him! =)

NTU CSA-Charismatic Prayer Group is organizing a Life in The Spirit Camp.

Date & Venue : 9,18,23 February 2010, 7pm-10pm (Nanyang House Seminar Room 1)
Followed by weekend session on 26-28 February 2010 (IHM Retreat House)

Registration Fee : $35

For registration, please send your name, hall address, date of birth, phone number, food restriction, and T-shirt size to stefani.irwan@gmail.com.

For more information please contact :
Monica (97109051), Andry Steven (93923878), or Stefi (98902506)

Do come join us and experience God personally!

They all ate and were satisfied. (Matthew 15:37)

_{from wau.org}

Here’s a question to ponder. If this is a genuine miracle, and Jesus really is the Son of God, why didn’t he give the apostles exactly the right amount of food for this crowd? Why did they end up with extra bread? Did he think that the disciples might get hungry again? Did he anticipate more people showing up later? Probably not. More likely, Jesus wanted to teach them something about leftovers.

The number of baskets remaining—seven—can give us a clue. In Jewish thought, the number seven was an expression of perfection, the kind of perfection found only in God. It took Yahweh six days to create the world, and then he rested on the seventh. It was a day of satisfaction and plenty. It was a time to enjoy his creation, a creation so good and complete that it couldn’t be improved upon. In the same way, the bread that Jesus provided satisfied the crowd in a way that no earthly food could (Matthew 15:37).

The number seven also shows us God’s limitless generosity. Jesus told Peter to forgive seventy-seven times, that is, always (Matthew 18:22). Jesus knew that Peter could be so forgiving because God’s mercy is boundless.

Notice also that the apostles started with seven baskets, and they finished with seven baskets. It was Jesus’ way of saying that whenever we give to someone, relying on God’s resources, we will never run out. So these fragments weren’t really leftovers. They were part of his endless supply of blessings!

All of these points apply in a special way to the Eucharist, the Bread of Life that Jesus gives us every day at Mass. This bread, which is his body, is unlike any other food we could ever eat. It is perfect, lacking in nothing. It is full of God’s eternal, unlimited blessings. When we eat in faith, surrendering our hearts to Jesus, he fills us with everything we need. He satisfies our hearts’ desires. And he gives us plenty of “leftover” grace to share with everyone we will encounter. What a generous, loving God he is!

“Lord, I put all my trust in you. I know that you have the answers I am looking for. I believe that your body and blood can give me everything I am lacking. You are my strength and my song!

From this daily reading, I am reminded again whenever you rely in God’s resources, you won’t run out of solutions to solve the problems :), so for those who is still in exam period, don’t forget to rely on His strength :) GBU

Have you ever heard Basilica of Saint John Lateran? Probably you never heard about it. Then let me change the question to: Do you know where is the seat of Pope?

As you know every bishop (including Pope) has their own seat/see to mark their authority in one archdiocese. Like Archbishop Nicholas Chia, the archbishop of Singapore, his seat/see is in Cathedral of Good Shepperd. There, inside the Cathedral, there is one seat in the middle of the altar where only archbishop can seat on. Even the priest who celebrates the mass there can’t seat on it. He will seat beside the altar. That’s what we call the seat of Bishop.

Now back to the topic.
Do you know where is the ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope? If your answer is Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican, the your answer is not correct. The correct answer is Basilica of Saint John Lateran or Basilica of Saint Savior/ holy Savior. Yes, Basilica of Saint Peter is not the Holy See of the Pope. It’s just the place where the Pope does His activity.

Basilica of Saint John Lateran is the first rank of all Basilica. In Catholic church there are two different types of Basilica which are Major/Papal Basilica and Minor/Pontifical Basilica. Including Major Basilica are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter, Saint Paul Outside the Wall, and Saint Marry Major. The highest rank is Saint John Lateran.

The universal church celebrates The Feast of St. John Lateran Basilica every 9 November. It holds title of ecumenical mother church ((mother church of the whole inhabited world) among Catholics.

Hallo all, I just want to share my thoughts.

I am always amazed by the fact that our daily reflection, most of the time, is able to explain about thing that happens in our life or teach us about something that we’re going to face for the day.

Today’s Gospel is taken from Luke 16:9-15. It’s the continuation of the reading from the day before about “The Parable of the Dishonest Steward”. Basically, today’s gospel teaches us about how to use our wealth wisely. Quoted from the reflection: “Those who have money, should use it to make friends, like the steward did in the parable, so that when it is all used up, they will be welcomed into heaven. Those who are in positions of authority must be faithful in their use of wealth. If one cannot use riches to make friends in this world, how can God trust that person with the wealth of the kingdom of heaven? People are stewards of whatever God gives them.”

The gospel reading gave me an awareness to use my money wisely today. Few months ago, someone told me, “While you are spending your money on something , pray that the thing you purchase will benefit you and the money you spend can benefit others who receive it.” So today, I tried to pray for whatever money that I spent. Before I went shopping I made a “to-buy” list, but in the end I didn’t buy most of the things on my “to-buy” list for many personal thoughts and reasons. I was disappointed for a while. Then, when I sat down and looked at the things I bought (and what I have at home) I realized that I unconsciously bought only the things that I need. My decision about not buying some items on my list was right, because actually i don’t really need them. Holy Spirit has guided my unconscious thought, to buy only the things that I need :D

I tried to relate this little lesson that I got with my life:
Sometimes I plan to do/achieve so many things (like having so many items on my “to-buy” list), but as I surrender them to God, somehow God will direct me to do only the things that I really need to experience. On my part, of course I will try my best to achieve the things that I want (try hard to look for things I want to buy). However, I can’t do everything I want and achieve everything in life, because I’m only human. When things are not according to my plan, I often feel bad. But in the end when I “sit and look back“I can see how wonderful is His work:D

“God doesn’t give us what we want, but He gives us what we need. He knows what is best for us”

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world.
Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”

- One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

- Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.

- Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

- Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.

- And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.

Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

Quoted from a daily reflection by Agape Love Divine Ministries

Our Lady Mother Mary granted 15 promises to everyone who recites the rosary. These promises were imparted to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan as mentioned below:

• Whosoever shall faithfully serve Me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

• I promise My special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

• The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.

• It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

• The soul which recommends itself to Me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

• Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.

• Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

• Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.

• I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

• The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.

• You shall obtain all you ask of Me by recitation of the Rosary.

• All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by Me in their necessities.

• I have obtained from My Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire
• Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

• All who recite the Rosary are My Sons, and brothers of My Only Son Jesus Christ.

• Devotion to My Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Time

PETER KREEFT

Recently I was late getting a manuscript to an editor. My excuse? By far the most popular one in America: I had “no time.” Let’s examine that excuse. Why do we all seem to have no time for anything, much less for prayer?

I am constantly feeling guilty about this, and I suspect most of you are too. I think the single biggest obstacle to our relationship with God (after sin, of course) is “no time.” If I gave my children as much time as I give God, I could be prosecuted for child neglect and abuse. If I spent as little time with my wife as I spend with God, she’d have grounds for divorce for desertion.

Yet we all know from experience that when we give God time, we are happy. When we cheat God, we cheat ourselves. We know this from thousands of repeated experiments. And yet we keep running away from God, from communion with God, from prayer, as if it were bitter medicine. We are so afraid of silence and solitude, which are necessary for private prayer, that we give it to our most desperate criminals as the most horrible torture our mind can conceive—“solitary confinement!”

Why don’t we seem to have as much time as our ancestors? In fact, we all have exactly the same amount: twenty-four hours each day. Technology should have given us scads of extra time. Our lives should be oozing with leisure. All those time-saving devices! Yet they’ve done exactly the opposite. The more time-saving devices we have, the less time we have. (The only way to get time is to turn the clock back, not forward!) What went wrong?

Today, machines have replaced slaves; yet we have less leisure, not more. Why?

Our great-grandmothers took many hours to scrub their clothes on a hand-held washboard; we just push a button on a washing machine. Our forefathers had to grow, hunt, and slaughter their own food; we buy it at the supermarket, open the microwave door, and push a button. Yet we are far more harried and hassled by time than they were. Why?

In most ancient societies, the rich had slaves to do their manual work so that they could enjoy leisure. Today, machines have replaced slaves; yet we have less leisure, not more. Why?

This is not the place for a general diagnosis of our society’s sickness (though for a quick, profound hint, read Pascal’s Pensées, especially on “diversion”). But it is the place for a diagnosis of our excuse for not praying, and I think this diagnosis has many other applications too.

“All that we are begins with our thoughts; it moves as our thoughts move, and it ends where our thoughts end.” So says Buddha, wisely. We must begin here with our thoughts about time. We don’t have time for prayer because we think wrongly about time and prayer.

We have time and prayer backwards. We think time determines prayer, but prayer determines time. We think our lack of time is the cause of our lack of prayer, but our lack of prayer is the cause of our lack of time.

Lack of prayer is the cause of lack of time.

When a little boy offered Christ five loaves and two fishes, he multiplied them miraculously. He does the same with our time, but only if we offer it to him in prayer. This is literally miraculous, yet I know it happens from repeated experience. Every day that I say I am too busy to pray, I seem to have no time, accomplish little, and feel frazzled and enslaved by time. Every day that I say I’m too busy not to pray, every time I offer some time-loaves and life-fishes to Christ, he miraculously multiplies them and I share his conquest of time. I have no idea how he does it, I know that he does it, time after time.

And yet I resist sacrificing my loaves and fishes to him. I am an idiot. That’s one of the things original sin means: spiritual insanity, preferring misery to joy, little bits of hell to little bits of heaven.

We must restore our spiritual sanity. One giant step in that direction is to think truly about time.

Time is like the setting of a play. The setting is really part of the play, contained by the play, determined by the play. But we often think the opposite: we think the play is contained by the setting. We think that the theme, the meaning, the spirit of the play is in its material setting instead of the other way around.

That’s like thinking the soul is in the body. In fact, the body is in the soul. So says St. Thomas Aquinas. And since time measures the movements of material bodies, while prayer measures the movements of the soul, time is really in prayer rather than prayer in time. Prayer determines and changes and miraculously multiplies time (the loaves and fishes).

Prayer multiplies time.

But prayer multiplies time only if and when we sacrifice our time, offer it up. There’s the rub. We fear sacrifice. It’s a kind of death.

All the real religions of the world are based on sacrifice, on willing death. Only the fake religion of pop psychology (which has infiltrated even the modern church) ignores this fact. Even pagans and polytheists know it. The most popular god in India is Shiva, the Destroyer, and the most popular goddess is Kali, his female equivalent. Even Hindus know the importance of spiritual surgery, death, sacrifice. After Calvary, how can Christians know this any less? Our Lord repeatedly taught us that unless we took up our cross and followed him, we could not be his disciples.

This probably means some terrible and difficult things; but one of the simple and easy things it means is to sacrifice our time to God. For time is life—“life-time.”

The point is very simple: in order to create time to pray, we must destroy time to do something else. We must kill something, refuse something, say no to something.

To what? Let me make a simple, obvious, radical suggestion: the TV. Kill the TV. Go cold turkey for a month. I dare you. If you can’t do that, then TV is your drug and you’re an addict. “A man is a slave to whatever he cannot part with that is less than himself,” said George MacDonald.

Eternity is not in the future but in the present.

Every single person and family I know who has done this (voluntarily) has been very happy about it. TV is largely a sewer pipe anyway; why fill your brain and your soul with the waste products from the most bigotedly antireligious elite in our society? Even if there were nothing to sacrifice TV for, it would be good to sacrifice it, to save your moral sanity and intelligence. All the more reason to sacrifice it for prayer. Find out how many hours a week you watch TV and use just half of that time for prayer. You get a threefold benefit: garbage cleanup, prayer time, and extra time left over.

The alternative is the mental slavery we see around us, the juggernaut — the worrying and rushing and never getting there because “there” is not in time at all but in eternity. The modern world is unhappy because it does not touch eternity. All true happiness is a foretaste of eternity.

Eternity is not in the future but in the present. The future is unreal, not yet real. One of the devil’s most ridiculous and successful lies is the idea that we should devote our lives to pursuing and acquiring goods we do not yet have rather than enjoying the ones we do have. This makes us slaves to time, to the unreal future, forever, for “tomorrow is always a day away.”

The first rule for prayer, the most important first step, is not about how to do it, but to just do it; not to perfect and complete it but to begin it. Once the car is moving, it’s easy to steer it in the right direction, but it’s much harder to start it up when it’s stalled. And prayer is stalled in our world.

So stop reading and start praying. Right now.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Peter Kreeft. “Time”.
Reprinted by permission of Peter Kreeft

THE AUTHOR
Peter Kreeft has written extensively (over 25 books) in the areas of Christian apologetics. He teaches at Boston College in Boston Massachusetts. Peter Kreeft is on the Advisory Board of the Catholic Educator’s Resource Center.

Copyright
© 2002 Peter Kreeft

I don’t own this article.
Remember to take your vitamins every day.

Anxious? Take Vitamin A.
“All things work together for good for those who love God who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans8:28)

Blue? Take Vitamin B.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
(Psalm103:1)

Crushed? Take Vitamin C.
“Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”
(1 Peter 5:7)

Depressed? Take Vitamin D..
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
(James 4:8)

Empty? Take Vitamin E.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.”
(Psalm 100:4)

Fearful? Take Vitamin F. Fear not, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Greedy? Take Vitamin G.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put unto your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
(Luke6:38)

Hesitant? Take Vitamin H.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”
(Isaiah 52:7)

Insecure? Take Vitamin I
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
(Philippians 4:13)

Jittery? Take Vitamin J.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
(Hebrews 13:8)

Know nothing? Take Vitamin K.
“Know this that the Lord is God, it is He that made us
and not we ourselves. (Psalm 100:3)

Lonely? Take Vitamin L.
“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:20)

Mortgaged? Take Vitamin M.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect
in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Nervous? Take Vitamin N.
“Never, no never will I leave you nor forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5)

Overwhelmed? Take Vitamin O.
“Overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

Perplexed or puzzled? Take Vitamin P.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Quitting? Take Vitamin Q.
“Quit you like men and women, be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13)

Restless? Take Vitamin R.
“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” (Psalm 37:7)

Scared? Take Vitamin S.
“Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me.”
(1 Samuel 22:23)

Tired? Take Vitamin T.
“Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run
and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
(Isaiah 40:31)

Uncertain? Take Vitamin U.
“Understand that I am (the Lord). Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.” (Isaiah 43:10)

Vain? Take Vitamin V.
“Vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
(Acts 5:16)

Wondering what to do? Take Vitamin W.
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
(Micah 6:8)

eXhausted? Take Vitamin X.
“Exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7)

Yearning for hope? Take Vitamin Y.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for you art with me; your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Zapped? Take Vitamin Z.
“Zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:14)

PRAYER
“Lord, in love you have called me to live for your praise and glory.
May I always find joy in your presence and trust in your wise and loving plan for my life.”

Luke 7:31-35

31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (ESV)

At some time in your life, you may have experienced communication problems with someone close to you—perhaps a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, or a relative. You tried to talk to them, and they wouldn’t respond. You said nice things, but they only became more withdrawn. You told them you were upset, but it didn’t make any difference. At that point, you may have felt like giving up. You wondered, “Why can’t I get through?”

You may think that Jesus felt that way about those who weren’t accepting him. For whatever reason, they had their minds made up about him. He spoke of God’s mercy, and also warned of his judgment—yet they still found excuses not to follow him. They called John the Baptist possessed and labeled Jesus a hypocrite (Luke 7:33-34). But Jesus didn’t give up on them.

In fact, he went to the cross, died, and rose again in order to convince them of his love! You may also know someone who is resisting God’s love. Any mention of the gospel seems to irritate them. Maybe something in their past has caused them to become cynical about faith. Perhaps you’ve already concluded that they will never come around. But if Jesus gave his last breath for them, then we should have hope for them too! No one is beyond the reach of his mercy.

How can we preach the gospel to those who are closed to it? If we just quote a few verses from Scripture or a line from our catechism, we probably won’t get very far. But if we risk a little and share our lives, our witness will be far more effective. By spending time with someone, listening to them, and simply being their friend, we are sharing Christ with them—because he is in us! We can be God’s word to the broken and the hard-hearted. As in everything else, love is the ultimate answer.

Lord, your love for me is beyond measure. Give me that same love for my brothers and sisters who are far from you. Show me how I can reach them with your message of salvation.

Philippians 2:6-11

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

It’s a very wonderful explanation of Jesus as human and Jesus as God. Saint Paul clearly stated how Jesus who is God, took the form of servants.He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, not just ordinary death, but death on the cross. That’s why God the Father exalted Him and gave Him name above all names.

The cross has changed into symbol of salvation. It’s no more symbol of death but sign or hope of resurrection. We proclaim Jesus as our Lord God to the glory of God the Father. His cross become the forgiveness of all our sins. If there was no cross, there would be no resurrection. No resurrection means our faith is hopeless. Our faith is empty. Because in our Catholic faith, we believe in the resurrection. As Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, has been resurrected from the death, we also who put trust and faith in Him will be resurrected on the last day.

So hold tight in this faith. Bear your cross. Keep faith in bearing your cross. At the end, when we arrive at our Golgotha, Lord Jesus in the Glory of the Father will exalt us and bring us to life everlasting.

It is not enough to know the truth of the cross — it has to be lived.

G O S P E L

Jesus knows very early on that much is going to be demanded of Him in His life. I believe He was at least partially aware that these demands could go as far as dying for us in a none too pleasant manner. Yet, we know that Jesus set His mind and heart on the task given Him by His Father, and did not diverge either to the left or to the right. Let us seek to imitate this single-mindedness in the way we follow God’s will today.

John 3:13-17

13 Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

the PoWer oF the cross

It is a paradox that the primary symbol of Christianity is the cross of Jesus — the Son of God, crucified and dead, hanging on a cross. However, the power of the cross rests not just in the cross itself and the forgiveness of sins that it brings about, but in the resurrection, the definitive and final victory of love and goodness over sin and death. If Christianity finished with the cross it would be nothing; the cross needs the resurrection for it to have the power it has. Thus, an equally important symbol for Christianity is the empty tomb. Here we have the reality of God’s offer of salvation in its fullness: His Son, Jesus, crucified for us so that our sins will be forgiven, and the empty tomb telling us that death does not have the final say but God Himself has.

The challenge for us now is to live in this new reality where sin has been stripped of its power and we have the new opportunity for life through the resurrection of Jesus. The completion of the work of the resurrection is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. What remains to be seen is whether or not we are willing to humble ourselves before the throne of God and admit our need for help in living a holy life. Then and only then will the Holy Spirit have the freedom He needs to transform our lives into the image and likeness of Jesus’ life. This is what we call conversion — the surrender of our life to the power of the cross and new life in the Spirit. Doing this on a daily basis is what constitutes discipleship. It is the only path to holiness — the only path to eternal life and true human fulfillment.

It is not enough to know the truth of the cross — it has to be lived. To live the truth of the cross is to be on the path to becoming a saint. I hope that is the deepest desire of our hearts — to become a saint — as this is the truest and most faithful response we can make to God’s love for us.
Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

Reflection Question:
What is the deepest desire of my heart? What motivates me to act? Who are the people I hold before my mind as models of the person I want to become?

Jesus, open my heart to be inspired by the lives of the saints and increase in me the desire to become a saint.

St. Maternus, Bishop, pray for us.

I got this from email.
Hopefully can be useful.
All credits is not belong to me.

1) What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness is our decision to accept God’s grace to let go of the hurt due to sins committed against us and to express this by acts of mercy and love toward the offender (see Luke 15:20-24).

Forgiveness is the restoration of freedom to oneself. It is the key held in our own hand to our prison cell. (Pope John Paul II)

2) How often must I forgive?

70 × 7, that is, indefinitely, always. (see Matthew 18:22)

3) Are there any sins committed against me which I don’t have to forgive?

No. The Lord calls us to forgive all sins — even rape, murder, abuse, adultery, etc. We never have the occasion to forgive others for their character, attitude, or motives. We are not to judge these things.

4) When I forgive, am I condoning sin?

No, the Lord forgives all our sins and condones none of them (see John 8:11).

5) Must I forgive if the person offending me isn’t sorry?

Yes, for-forgiveness is before-giveness — to give pardon before asked forgiveness or even if never asked forgiveness.

6) Must I forgive if a person continues to hurt me?

Yes. While hanging on the cross, Jesus forgave His enemies even as they continued to spit at Him and blaspheme Him (see Luke 23:34).

7) If I forgive a person, do I stay in an abusive situation?

No. You free yourself to obey God and remove yourself from an abusive situation until it is changed. If you do not forgive, you will often enable others’ irresponsible behavior by becoming co-dependent.

8) How do I forgive?

None of us can forgive by our own power.

To err is human, to forgive divine.

and we are not divine. However, the Lord promised us His divine power to forgive. Therefore, forgiveness is our decision to accept God’s grace to forgive.

9) What if I don’t want to forgive?

We should pray and ask the Lord to change our hearts.

10) How quickly must I forgive?

Immediately (Matthew 5:25). We’re in a self-made jail and at a stand-still in our relationship with God until we forgive.

11) What if I forgive and not forget?

Forgetting offenses against us does not mean we have amnesia but that there is no special sting in us when we remember offenses. If it hurts us to remember offenses against us, either we need healing or have not truly forgiven.

12) How do I forgive myself?

The Bible does not speak of our forgiving ourselves. Not forgiving ourselves is a symptom which will take care of itself if we truly forgive others and receive prayers for healing.

13) What if I don’t forgive?

1. We “give the devil a chance to work on” us (see Eph 4:27).

2. We are handed over to the torturers (Mt 18:34). These torturers are such things as fear, loneliness, depression, frustration, anxiety, and self-hatred.

3. We cut ourselves off from receiving forgiveness (Mt 6:12, 15), healing (Sir 28:3), prayer (Mk 11:25), worship (Mt 5:23-24), and Christian community.

4. We lose our appetite for prayer, the Scriptures, the Mass, and Christian fellowship. We become spiritually anorexic.

5. If we persist in unforgiveness, we cut ourselves off from God forever and thereby damn ourselves.

14) How do I know if I have forgiven?

Forgiveness is not a feeling but a decision. Moreover, forgiveness is not only praying for those who have hurt us or treating them politely. We know if we have made the decision to forgive when we show it in acts of love and mercy to those who have offended us. For example, the father of the prodigal son threw his arms around his son, kissed him, gave him gifts, honored him, and celebrated his return (Lk 15:20-24). By God’s grace, we must go and do likewise. Even if the persons we need to forgive have died, we should give love and mercy to their family members.

Right now, decide to accept God’s grace to forgive all who have sinned against you in any way. Say:

By God’s grace, I decide to forgive ___ for ___.

Fill in the blanks and repeat this statement until you have forgiven everyone who has ever offended you. Then thank Jesus forever for the miracle of forgiveness.

Nihil obstat: Rev. Edward J. Gratsch, July 29, 1996.

Having been in this community for more than one year, I come to know what prayer meeting is all about. It’s more than just clapping, jumping, raising hand, songs, teaching, and praying. Yes, it’s correct if you say all that elements are in the prayer meeting, but the whole prayer meeting is more than just that. For me personally, prayer meeting is a situation and condition when I can encounter God’s presence and listen to His word. That’s the meaning about meeting. Meeting means to see, look, face someone. Then prayer is communication with God. So whom will we meet then? Whom will we communicate with? He is our God, Jesus Christ.

All the other stuffs are meant to help us to encounter His presence and listen to him. Take example Praise and Worship (PW) session. This session is called the core of the prayer meeting. Yes it’s correct. PW session is meant to be the first encounter with God. Hopefully through songs, lyrics, and music we can feel Him in the midst of us. Good worship leader must help all the congregation to focus their mind to God. I know as human we have a lot of problems. As university student we face lecture, tutorial, assessment, assignment, and relationship with fellow students. In this time we tell Lord all of our burden, problem, and trouble. This is the time when we give complains, praises, thanks, and anything to Lord. Hopefully after PW session we can prepare our self to hear the answer from our Lord. In silent moment, when there is prophecy, Lord answers our prayer. He replies our complains, worries, praises, thanks, burdens, etc.

After PW session we continue with teaching session. This is also important part in prayer meeting. Teaching or sharing good news is the way God communicating to us. Through the speaker God wants to answer our question, problem, or burden. That’s why speaker is very important task. He/she must really asked God to bless him/her so that whatever words come out is God’s word. Have you wondered sometimes the teaching was really about you? That is God’s work. He knows everything.

We proceed to sharing session. This is actually our respond to Lord answer. Sometimes the question asking: “How do you feel about ….?” or “How do you respond to the teaching?”. This is the time you answer back to Lord’s answer. That’s why you should use this time to really share about the problem you’re facing. Lord can use anyone in your group to be His messenger. Do not be afraid to open your heart. Lord respects our mind. He also wants to hear your opinion.

After all sessions we close prayer meeting with closing prayer and intercessory prayer. This session in to conclude all our activities that we have done before. Closing prayer is actually concluding prayer. It contains what we feel, what we get, what are still not clear, what have happened, and etc. We summarize the whole prayer meeting into closing prayer. We ask Lord to bless us so that whatever we got will still remain even after we leave. And as human who has weaknesses we ask Lord to strengthen us. We ask Lord to grant our needs and petitions.

Prayer meeting is God’s oriented. We can say prayer meeting is also fellowship session, but it’s not meant to be for that. Fellowship is just one part of prayer meeting. The main thing is encountering God. Fellowship is meant to encounter God from our brothers and sisters. We can see Him from their eyes, bodies, hands, words, and attitudes. As image of God we must be God for one another.So when you come to prayer meeting, it’s not time for gossip, work discussion, study discussion, or chit chat. Yes we still can have that but we already had time for all of that. We already have 22 hours for our personal time. Why can’t we give this 2 hours for God?

So next time we come to prayer meeting how about we train to change our mind to God’s oriented. So prayer meeting is like meeting old friend. We come to tell Him our stories whatever they may be. No matter it’s a happy or sad story. Long or short one. It’s like date with our special one. If we prepare well for dating with our friend, we can do the same for our God. We should communicate more with Him during prayer meeting. By doing this, hopefully when leaving we got something remain in our heart, the feeling of peace, happy, relax, free, and joy. When we step out from the room after prayer meeting, we will bring back the smile. The smile for you, me, and other people.