Prayer and reflection # 15

First Reading: Acts 5: 34-42
Psalm: Psalm 27: 1, 4, 3-14
Gospel: John 6: 1-15

How can we rekindle the world's desire for the Christian Gospel? Make it more attractive? Repackage it without changing in any way its essence? Or simply say it as it is, or share it as it is?

Lord, please help me to study and understand the Bible. As I read it daily, please allow the Holy Spirit to guide me and to enter my mind and heart so that I may truly understand the Bible.

Lord, in the Gospel reading for today, You asked us, Where can we buy enough food to eat? From nowhere else, Lord, or from no one else, but from You. You are the Bread of Life. Nothing in this world is ever enough, nothing satisfies. Oh, this world abounds with beauty and goodness, but they are all conditioned. They are merely the reflections of the eternal Good and Beauty that are Your qualities, Lord. "One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze at the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate His temple."

Prayer and reflection #14

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:21-28
Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10-13
Gospel: John 11:45-56

Lord, I am again wallowing in sin. There is lust in my heart once again, and I deliberately willed myself to sin. Lord, why do I believe this lie over and over again, that when I yield to temptation and commit sins, I shall be happy.

Lord, sin leads to destruction, to death, to spiritual suffering, to emptiness. My deepest longing, Lord, is to live, to truly live, to be happy and joyful, to expand, to grow, to bless others, to share myself to others, to bring them joy and laughter and love. Yet why do I choose sin, choose death?

Lord, please help me to choose life, to choose You, every second, every hour, every day of my life.

Prayer and reflection #13

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13
Psalm: Psalm 18:2-7
Gospel: John 10:31-42


Lord, all Your servants in the Old and New Testaments suffered. All the saints suffered. Mother Theresa suffered, physically and spiritually. It seems that if I serve You Lord, I will also suffer. Maybe suffering, Lord, is just a part of life. Maybe life is even more unbearable and painful without You and if we don't serve You. Perhaps there is such a thing as "Holy suffering" and maybe it is a mark of a servant of God.

Prayer and reflection #12

First Reading: Genesis 17:3-9
Psalm: Psalm 105:4-9
Gospel: John 8:51-59

Lord, it is sometimes difficult to have faith. Some people may say: "Oh, faith is just a feeling." Others may say, "It's all in your head," or, "Faith is blind." How do I know if my faith is justified? How do I know, Lord, that my faith is not just an illusion? Oh Lord, please help me. Please grant me Your grace of faith. Please help me to be steadfast like father Abraham.

Holy Spirit, please burn inside me, because I want to have a faith that's on fire with love. I want to be "in touch" with You, so that I may go deeper into the mind and heart of God. Amen.

Prayer and reflection #11

First Reading: Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
Psalm: Daniel 3:52-56
Gospel: John 8:31-42

Lord, what did you mean when You said, "If you remain in my word..."? In the NRSV-CE version, the verse was translated as, "If you continue in my word..." Does it mean "if we remain faithful to Your word"? What is Your word, Lord? The things You said? The things You taught us?

One thing I do know, Lord, is that nothing in this world truly frees. No amount of pleasure, comfort, and security can make me free. In fact, it is only when I walk the narrow path of self-denial, self-sacrifice and discipline do I find myself free. It is only when I carry my cross each day that I find myself unburdened by the yoke of slavery.

Prayer and reflection #10

First Reading: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or Daniel 13:41-62
Psalm: Psalm 23:1-6
Gospel: John 8:1-11

Lord, it is amazing to think what evil lust can bring to many people. First, it subverts the conscience. Then, it causes a lot of pain, injustice, trouble and hypocrisy. Even old men, Lord, elders, who are supposed to be wise and well-respected and righteous, are susceptible of being polluted and subverted by lust. Lord, please help me to overcome lust; to embrace purity, and never allow my heart to have so much as a hint of lust. Amen.

Prayer and reflection #9

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-15
Second Reading: Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel: John 12:20-33

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Law itself. You are the Logos, the Mind, the great I AM. You are the Living God who is Justice Himself. You promised us, during Jeremiah's time, that You will put Your law within us and write it upon our hearts. And now, You have fulfilled Your promise. You have come down from Heaven and became flesh. You have instituted the Holy Eucharist and through this sacrament, we are able to receive You, in the flesh, the Word itself, the Law itself.

Lord, please help me to see Your face, Your living presence, in the circumstances of my daily life, and inside my heart. Amen.

Prayer and reflection #8

First Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20
Psalm: Psalm 7:2-3, 9-12
Gospel: John 7:40-53

Lord, please help me to become a true Christian. Please help me to become truly Your follower, Your disciple, in every way.

Lord, I want to see Your face. I feel confused right now. I feel like I'm lost. I feel like I don't know what to think and do. Lord, I pray that no matter how confusing and blurry my life may become; no matter how painful, difficult, challenging, discouraging, lonely and scary it may get, I want to see Your face in my life. No matter how cloudy my mind, and dark my heart, becomes, I want to see Your face, Your living presence there.

Amen.

Prayer and reflection #7

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Psalm: Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Oh Lord, my God, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We must take care to keep them clean and holy always, so that we may be worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit always. Or is Your Holy Spirit, Lord, present in us always, but because of our sins and vices, we suppress the Holy Spirit, neglect Him, douse Him with cold water? Isn't He ever with us, and mustn't we constantly stir Him into flame, so that we may burn freely for You, my God? My soul magnifies Your name and Your Holy Spirit rejoices with my spirit because of the truth that my Father is God, and that I should do all His commandments because they are all for my own good and He desires nothing but the best for me.

Amen.

Prayer and reflection #6

First Reading: Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Psalm: Psalm 25:4-9
Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Lord, it is sometimes very hard for me to forgive, especially if the offense done to me is very painful. But how many times have I myself wronged other people? How many times have I offended others? How many times have I betrayed, hurt, and abandoned those close to me? How many times have I been uncaring, unloving, indifferent, offensive, distant? Oh Lord, countless times! Yet You have always forgiven me, Lord, over and over again.

Lord, please help me to have a contrite and tender heart. Help me to have a warm and loving heart, a heart whose every fiber beats for You. Help me to have a heart that loves You truly and without reservations. Remind me, Oh God, of how utterly sinful I am, and Help me always to look up towards You. Help me to forgive others unconditionally.

Amen.

Prayer and reflection #5

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-5
Psalm: Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4Luke 4:24-30
Gospel: Luke 4:24-30

Lord, I don't understand very much the meaning and significance of the readings for today. What do you want to tell me, Lord? Is it this -- that a heart that is bent on disbelieving will never find You? Naaman initially had faith that he will be healed, and he almost changed his mind when Elisha the prophet instructed him to wash himself in the river Jordan. His heart was weighed down, I guess, with prejudice and pride. He seems to be saying, "Is the river Jordan better than the rivers in Damascus?" But deep in his heart he was longing for You, Lord, for what else could have changed his mind if it was not for his longing for You? He was afflicted by his disease, and he longed for healing. And he saw that his healing can only come from a supernatural source -- from a "god". He showed humility by his actions and chose to obey Elisha anyway. And behold -- he was healed, and he exclaimed, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel," convinced that he had found the Truth.

Lord, wasn't it different for the people at the synagogue in Nazareth? Their hearts were weighed down by prejudice. They believed that no good can come out of Nazareth. They did not have humility. They closed their hearts, even if You invited them to believe the idea that You are a prophet. Unlike Naaman, they did not see themselves as in need of saving. They did not acknowledge the affliction of their sins. They did not see themselves as in need of healing, so they did not search after You. So they didn't find You. They even drove You out and tried to do harm to You.

Lord, please help me to know in my very bones that I am in need of healing. Remind me always, Lord, that I am sick because of sin. Help me to search after You always in my heart. You are my Healer. You are the Great Physician, the healer of souls.

Amen.

Prayer and reflection #4

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
Psalm: Psalm 19:8-11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
Gospel: John 2:13-25


Lord, as the Psalmist said, You have the words of everlasting life. Every word that You say, Oh Lord, is true, and they are spoken for our own good. You want what is best for us, Lord, and because You created us, You know us and You know what is best for us. You know, Oh Lord, that if we worship anything else besides You, we shall lose our lives, we shall go astray, because You created us for Yourself. All good things come from You. All life comes from You, and all is created for You. My purpose in life, Lord, is to be with You, because I came from You, and it is to You alone that I shall return.

Lord, please help me to keep holy the Sabbath day. Please help me also to keep Your temple holy, and everything that You own holy. You created me, Oh God. It is true what St. Paul said, my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore I should keep it holy, too. I should always remind myself that I possess dignity as a human being, and I should always respect myself. Lord, You do not want to see our bodies, our souls, our hearts and our minds harmed by sin, because You love us, and You do not want to see Your own children defiled and destroyed.

Prayer and reflection #3

First Reading: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Psalm: Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Lord, I think about the Gospel reading for today and beautiful and poignant images come to my mind: the tax collectors and sinners drawing near You to listen to You; the son in the parable trying to eat with swines; his father running towards him, looking at him with compassion, and hugging and kissing him, when he decided to go home; his father celebrating his return with a feast. These are all beautiful and poignant images, Lord.

The tax collectors and sinners were drawn to You because You came here for them, for us. They were drawn because they felt in their bones the effects of sin -- emptiness, sadness, depression, etc. When they saw You, it was like they have seen the light, and indeed You are the Light. They have seen and heard your words, and they were balm to their aching souls. I am a great sinner, Lord, just like the tax collectors, and I, too, am drawn to You. I am like the son in Your parable. My sins have left me spiritually bankrupt, and I feel like I am dining in the pods with swines. How beautiful, Oh Lord, is the image of the Father who was filled with compassion for his son. Your response, Lord, to sinners like myself must also be the same -- You are full of compassion, and You run towards me to embrace and kiss me when I turn away from my sins and return to You. Heaven must be celebrating with a feast every time a sinner is reconciled back to You.

Prayer and reflection #2

First Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28
Psalm: Psalm 105:16-21
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Lord, thank You for all the gifts You have given me, my wife, my family and my loved ones. Thank You for all the physical, material, financial and spiritual blessings. Thank You for all the things, resources and capabilities we have that enable us to bless and help others. Thank You for my wife, family, friends and all my loved ones.

Lord, please help me to become a good and responsible steward of Your gifts. Everything good comes from You. My own life comes from You, so help me, Lord, to share my life to others; to give of my life to others -- my talents, time and treasures; to empty myself for others, and, above all, to empty myself for You.

Amen.

Prayer and reflection #1

First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm: Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

Dear Lord, You have said it clearly through the book of Jeremiah: Trust in men or the world and you will live a barren and empty life. Your life will only be wasted. Trust in Me, and you will have strength no matter the season. You will truly be alive and fresh, and you will bear many fruits.

Lord, you know me inside and out. You created me, You created my heart, so You know the secrets of my heart and the depths of my being. You know Lord that my heart can often be dark. Please help me to fight my temptations, and help me never to allow evil and sin to take root in my heart.

Amen.