A Reflection , Eucharist : the real presence of the Lord and the completeness of our faith

Caution : This will change the way you will think and act when in celebrating The Holy Eucharist

          Having been baptized in the Roman Catholic and is continuing  to serve the Lord and the Church,
It daunted in my mind how Jesus is truly present in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist or the Holy Mass.

           I thirst for worship and I hunger for his words, knowledge and wisdom.  That is the very reason that I started attending the FEAST in PICC.   So Today in the homily of Father Bob, he  explains the parts of the Holy Eucharist and how Jesus is truly present in it.

              The Procession, The  cross always leads the way.

                      We are in a continuing journey.  This world is not our permanent home but a temporary                                 shelter  Jesus is the way, the Truth and the life and in the procession we are reminded to                               follow him   everyday wherever we may be.

             The Accolides follows bringing the candles.

                   Lighted Candles symbolizes light of Jesus. As we go our way in our countinuing journey in this                      world Jesus lights our paths.

             The priest kisses the table in the altar.

                  A kiss is a symbol of affection of  the love of  God.  Also, we are not the only one present                             when we celebrate the Holy Eucharist but we are accompanied by ALL THE ANGELS AND                     SAINTS.  Imagine St Pope John Paul II, St Peter, St Paul, St Pedro Calungsod, St Lorenzo                         Ruiz, St Francis of Asisi, St Ignatius of Loyola, St Anthony, St Michael the Arc Angel, St                             Raphael, St Gabriel. Wow! all of them are present.  They are there with you.Kind to think that if                   the  Saints  are there in their Holiness   we too are becoming holy .  We will share one body of                       Christ when   we   will receive Jesus in the Holy Communion


              The Liturgy of the Word

                   A constant reminder of how we will be able to become more like Jesus Christ.

              The Liturgy of the Eucharist

                    Offering of the Gifts

                           As we are blessed with our temporal needs it is an opportunity to us to give back what we                            have. Encouraged is 10% of our earnings.

                            We also offer our prayer of petitions. Our needs to live in this world.  Our brokeness. Our                             shortcomings.  Our Failures.

                    Receiving of the Holy Communion

                              How do you receive the God of Host? Is it by hand or by using your toungue?
                           
                             There is an interesting history about this.

                              Which do you think is the traditional way of  receiving the body of Christ?

                              If your answer is by tounge ooops! sorry your wrong.  Receiving the Holy Body of                                      Christ in traditional time is by hand.  The problem during that period is that the people are                               bring  the God of  Host in their homes and community and begin using the God of  Host                                 in their  benediction of their own homes. That is why after 1000 years of doing that, the                                 church think of a way to stop it and  a smart bishop or priest  suggested that the Holy                                   Host will  be received using the toungue.  As the church matures, the Vatican Council II                                 permits the  use either of the toungue and of the hand making no both action lesser or                                     more on the  effect of receiving the body of Christ.  It said that the purity of the heart and                               the openess of oneself is the most important thing to do in receiving the Holy                                                 Communion.

                             For the real presence of  Jesus is to be present within us, as we partake in receiving the                                 holy communion,  then and only then that real presence of the Lord Jesus Christ                                             becomes  present with in us.  And since that the Holy Communion is also received by                                   other people gathered in our community we are in communion with them also.  We                                       become one with the Body of Christ.



             

Life is a CHAIN

I Corinthians 12


For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many

        

Today , it is a Blessed Sunday because God Answered my prayer. I always asked the Lord that he give my members the whole hearted commitment and a strong conviction in their service to the Lord. Many attended the practice last night and I am glad that we practice our songs very well. I praise God.


Not to exult the work i have been doing in the past week because it is truly concentrated on how to make my service to them better. In a very time short it had reached my expectation to the group. I praise and thank the Lord. I tell to myself that if would only be better then the persons I am mentoring would be better. It is like a chain that every link must be strong so that it can hold more weight and not break off easily.


I want to be strong in facing the storm that the group will encounter, so that they will also be strong and always connected to the chain. Our hardwork and sacrifices is connected to the one giving us the strength in our daily journeys in life and that is Jesus Christ. He will calm all the storm that will come in our way, all we have to do is to follow his calling and that we may sin no more.


The grace will overflow because he will bless us in our singing and he will also bless our worship to him.





Prayer


Lord I thank you for all the blessings you have given me this day. Thank you for the blessing of our singing in honoring and worshiping you. Truly present in the Eucharist continue to be with us in everything that we do where ever we may be. Make us more like you in every hour and in everyday of our activity. Make us remain humble servants of our community and of the church.

In still in our hearts the strongest conviction of our service to you and make us remain truly committed responsible christian of faith. I pray all these with a trusting heart in Jesus name,

Amen!



      

Answered Prayer

"Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God". 
Philippians 4:6

           It's a blessful Sunday of worship for me.  I thank the Lord for making me work this day  in able to glorify him.At the morning I attended the mass and prayer meeting in "The Feast" held in PICC. Truly God is Good becauseof the blessing I received throughout the entire morning.

          Then in the afternoon, we have the regular Sunday Service at 6:15 pm where we are tasked to lead the congregation in singing in the Holy Mass.  Thank God we are almost at full attendance and really God is working with us ang guiding our singing througout the whole mass.  I praise and thank GOD and again God proved to me that he will never abandon me in every activity that I am doing specially when I am in trouble.

          Just as when I feel down these past two days because most of our members were not present in the practices for no valid or no reason at all.I feel bad because preview to our practices I researched the songs that we are going to sing. I prepared for it and I really work hard for it. Just as I expected that they will come to the practice,  only three came.  Butwe still continue the practice.  I praise these three person that came because even if it is raining so hard during that time, they still came.That is commitment.

          I remember that last Friday when I attend the mass and make a devotion to the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, I pray that the Black nazarene of Quiapo  touch their heart that they  may have a strong commitment and conviction in serving him.  Also  the way God change my heart and is still working in changing my heart for good, and  in being active again in this apostolate that it may  be the same with them.  

           And God answered my prayer and I really  thank him. Truly God is faithful to his children speciallyto those who are lost and in need. That is why the power and beauty of prayer is the most important part of my daily activity.  It is very rewarding to see the  change in their heart for the better because I pray for them. it is  the grace and compassion of the LORD that did this.

           And since God answered my prayer quickly, I will continue to pray for each and everyone of our

member that they will not turn back to the commitment they offer this Sunday in serving the Lord through proper singing.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for blessing this remarkable day. Thank 

you for making me do the work you have given me this day 

for I believethat you Lord Jesus is my reward. Continue to make me thirst and hunger for your love for it is the only way to sustain andremain in you.  Lord grant me the willing heart to serve my community even though it is not perfect or even worth it serving at times. Let not this negative actions cause me to stumble in serving you with all my heart.  I pray that you give me a compassionate heart in dealing with other people. I pray all these with a trusting heart, in Jesus name, Amen.  

Bible verses about Conviction and Commitment to God

Our Conviction And Commitment To GodBy Ron Boatwright

     As Christians we must be both convicted and committed to the Lord if we are to be pleasing to Him. Paul says, "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (2 Timothy 1:12). We must be convicted by God’s word and never compromise our conviction. We are to be "fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform" (Romans 4:21).

     Conviction is a strong belief of being fully persuaded by evidence, which causes one to have faith and confidence in the Lord. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Conviction and commitment go together. You can’t have commitment without conviction. In our conviction, we are to set our "mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:2) and "sanctify the Lord God in your hearts" (1 Peter 3:15). If we are truly convicted we will be completely committed. In our commitment we must "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). If we are convicted and committed, God and Christ will be first in our lives. Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). How do we show our love to God and Christ? Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). One who says he loves God but does not keep His commandments is not telling the truth.

     In our commitment to God we should do as the Macedonians did who "first gave themselves to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:5). In doing this we should present our "bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed" (Romans 12:1-2). In living our lives for God, we must be different from the world. In our sacrifice of ourselves to God we should do as Paul told Timothy to "meditate upon these things, give yourself entirely to them" (1 Timothy 4:15). In our commitment to the Lord, we should never look back to our old life. Jesus says, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). We cannot put anyone or anything ahead of Christ. Jesus says, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37).

     Our living sacrifice to the Lord does require us to make sacrifices. It is not a free ride. "And anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and inherit eternal life" (Matthew 9:29). There can be no reservations in our commitment to the Lord. Jesus tells us that in becoming a living sacrifice, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Notice our sacrifice is to be a daily sacrifice, not just when it is convenient. But Governor Felix told Paul to, "Go away for now, when I have a convenient time I will call for you" (Acts 24:25). We cannot wait on a convenient season to obey or work for the Lord for, "the night is coming when no man can work" (John 9:4). It will be too late then.

     In our commitment to the Lord we have the world trying to pull us away. "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). But we should "lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal" (Matthew 6:20).

     In our commitment to the Lord we will face opposition. We are told that, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). But as persecution comes our way, "Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:19).

     If we are convicted and committed to God and Christ, "we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age" (Titus 2:13) and "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the 

2 Fish and Five loafs of bread

Jesus Feeds five thousand men....

       I attended the mass of the Feast held in the Plenary Hall of the PICC, and the sermon talks about the miracles of Jesus in feeding five thousand men.  Fr Titus, the presider of the mass shared his thoughts of the miracle.

        He said that during that time, Men usually travel places at a very long period of time. Sometimes they travel from one month upto three months or so.. So what they did before they travel is prepare food or "baon". put it in their bags or packs and off they went.... So the idea was some of these men happened to pass by the gathering of people where Jesus would preach, teach or heal sick people....Yes its true that 2 fish and 5 loafs of bread is multiplied and miracles did happen...and one of this miracle is the men with baons, share their food to those who have none and are hungry...In Short the miracle here is the ACT OF GIVING..Giving in a way that they were not thinking of what's left for me or Giving in the real heart...or bukas palad na pagbibigay sa kapwa...Today's reading talks about how abundant God's Blessing and Love that if we only have the heart to do it nobody will go hungry or even die because of hunger...

       Abundance of Gods Love is also to be shared. Huwag maging madamot sa pagbibigay ng pagmamahal sa kapwa mo. Ang bawat isa sa atin ay pinagkalooban ng Pag ibig ng Diyos kaya tayo ay may responsibilidad na ibahagi din ito sa kapwa natin lalo na sa mga nangangailangan.

Prayer

Lord, Today I thank you for all the blessings and grace you have poured in me abundantly everyday.
Today, I asked you to help me become more like you when it comes to giving to people specially who are need. May you always give me the courage, conviction, commitment in spreading your word in my family and community.  Grant me the determination to help my community specially the Emmaus Music Ministry.  May you always give them the heart of change and commited servants of your people and the church.I pray all these with a trusting heart,in Jesus name, Amen!

Feast Declaration of Abundance

Today, I receive all God's love for me.
Today, I  open myself to the unbounded, limitless, overflowing abundance of God's universe.
Today I open myself to God's blessings, healing and miracles.
Today I open myself to God's Word so that I become more like Jesus everyday.
Today, I proclaim that I'm God's beloved, I'm God's servant, I'm God's powerful champion, And because I am blessed, I am blessing the World, In Jesus name,
Amen.