Shift to Recognize Emmanuel

December 18, 2016 Gospel Reflection

4th Sunday of Advent. Emmanuel: God With Us

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: Mt1:18-24

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

I thought I won’t make it!

I thought I would be weak and would feel weaker as I had to go through those six cycles!

But here I am … STRONGER! Continually claiming for such BREAKTHROUGH that those six which recently ended would be the last; … no more 7^th, no more 8^th!" 

When TOUGH TIMES supersede, you would surely doubt if you’d ever get through it!

It has never been easy waking up at the middle of the night with unexplained pains.

It has never been easy battling the work of the mind which triggers all the anxieties there are, during each and every cycle; even during downtimes few days after the treatment.

But what makes me survive each time? … that assurance that “God is with me!”

Each time I cry out to God for His mercy & love, there in my dreams, He makes me see that I have succeeded over the valley of death and that I am there, right on top of such valley, enjoying His Oasis of healing, tapping over the refreshing water of life.

Friends, would you hold on to the promises of God, especially when you are faced with uncertainty in your journey? … PLEASE DO!

photo credits: http://www.carolecgood.com/GodWithUs

Just like Joseph & Mary in today’s gospel, we are called “in hope to believe against hope” that God will fullfill all His promises and that He will give us great guarantee through our intuition and our dreams – exactly as what He did with Joseph – whom after such dream, when Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. Mary on the other hand, nonetheless believed and trusted with all her heart even if she was asked to assume a burden of tremendous responsibility – BOTH A LANGUAGE OF LOVE just to bring us our “Emmanuel”!

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May this Advent Season make our lives an inspiration of faith & hope to those we fall short of recognition that amidst life’s enormous challenge, “God is with us” for always!  #sunset

 Article published in SMSantaRosa Bulletin, December 18, 2016 Issue, BIG DAY Session 

@ Alonte Arena, Municipality of Binan Laguna. Advent Recollection. 

"True Character is who you are and what you do -- even when no one is watching you!"

Let us not be Caught "Off Guard"

photo credits: http-//markryman.com/BLOG/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/matthew24-44

Let’s grab the chance reflecting for the First Sunday of Advent

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: MT 24:37-44

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

Ready ka na ba?

Ready ka na ba to receive more of God’s blessings?

How prepared are you to answer na “ready ka na nga?”

What if tomorrow never comes? What if today is your last chance to answer this question?

While struggling to survive, I’ve been asking this to myself. Everyday, I would reflect: “Am I really ready should this day be my last?

Anong blessing pa kaya ang pwede kong tanggapin na dapat kong ika-ready?

Today is the First Sunday of Advent which means “Coming” – a time when we have to be reminded of the reality that we are living in the end times. The coming of Jesus which we celebrate at Christmas should be a constant reminder that we have to personally prepare ourself for His final return on the Day of Judgment – which no one really ever knows when!

Thing is … how PRODUCTIVE have we been as we prepare for such day?

That feeling of rush and persistence when you anticipate that you’re at the brim of such end, ang hirap din pala. It’s as if, you want to exert every extra effort just for you to make up for the lost chances. Haisst…ganito pala, when you feel that you don’t have plenty of time, you would as much strive to be watchful of your own thoughts and decisions in embracing God’s way instead of giving-in to your weaknesses and lame excuses. It has been useless pala allowing yourself to be pressured by financial problems while you sacrifice your health – for when your health already suffers, that’s the only time you’d realize that you have actually sinned against God because your “productivity mindset” has not been for “longtime perspective”!

Way to make ourselves ready? Here’s what I’ve realized: “the currency in heaven is never any amount of money” — BUT LOVE —which we need to share while preparing for His “coming”. It’s our ACT OF GRATITUDE to such love when we have accepted to play part in God’s great plan which is to make everyone of us “walk in the light of the Lord”.

Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed. — Proverbs 16:3

This is it I guess – the blessing that we need to be ready about! God wants us to flourish as a tree – so that we can continually give even when we’re no longer personally around to still give. #sunset

Published in FeastSMSantaRosa Bulletin. 27 November 2016 Issue.  Series: MONEY PAKYAW. Knocking Down Your Biggest Financial Problems.  Talk 3: Productivity.  The Blessings of the Lord Bring Wealth

you can also read this in:

https://profgail67.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/let-us-not-be-caught-off-guard/
https://trendingprof47.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/let-us-not-be-caught-off-guard/

"True Character is who you are and what you do -- even when no one is watching you!"