Daily Reflection

Reflect, today, upon your call to give testimony to the Father in Heaven. You are called to share the love of the Father with everyone you meet.

We celebrate today one of the most glorious feast days of the year. Today is nine months before Christmas and is the day we celebrate the fact that God the Son took on our human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin.

If you have not done so already this Lent, go to Confession and discover Jesus’ healing in that Sacrament. Confession is the answer to the freedom that awaits you, especially when it is entered into honestly and thoroughly.

Reflect, today, upon your own level of faith and trust. And work to discern the actions of God in your life so that those actions produce greater faith.

Reflect, today, upon this act of Jesus and allow our Lord to smear His spit and dirt on your eyes. Allow Him to give you the gift of spiritual sight. And as you begin to see His presence in your life, you will be amazed at the beauty you behold.

Reflect, today, especially upon the first aspect of loving God. Reflect upon how diligently you seek to know and understand Him and all that He has revealed.

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, Philippines, shares a portion of his forthcoming book, “Yeshua, Son of Man.” The presumed narrator is Jesus himself, recalling the scene we popularly refer to as “Finding in the Temple.”

It’s easy to think that we know best and if we only pray harder, then we will push God’s hand and He will finally act, doing what we pray for. But this is not the way God works.

Sincerely asking for forgiveness requires that you honestly acknowledge your sin, which is hard to do. It’s hard to take responsibility for what we have done wrong.

We are called to imitate this love and to share in His ability to not only forgive, but to also offer the holy love of mercy. When we do, we also will become a cornerstone of love and grace for those who need it the most.

If you had to choose, what would you prefer? To be rich and dine sumptuously every day, clothed in purple garments, having everything you could ever want in this world? Or to be a poor beggar, covered with sores, living in a doorway, feeling the pains of hunger?

They were invited by Jesus to follow in His footsteps and to courageously give their lives in a sacrificial way for the love of others. They were to abandon all fear and were to be ready and willing to say “Yes” to their own crosses as they sought to serve Christ and His mission.

“If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14–15

The 40 days of Lent are to be an imitation of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. In fact, we are called not only to “imitate” Jesus’ time in the desert, we are called to live this time with Him, in Him and through Him.

A seminarian joins a campaign for responsible relationship during a Valentine's Day drive in Manila. (Photo by Angie de Silva)

‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28)’, is the title of the Holy Father’s Message for the 28th World Day of the Sick, held today, February 11, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Rejection, especially by our own relatives can be a very painful experience