Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Reflection for Thursday November 24, Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs; Luke 21:20-28

Luke 21:20-28
Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.
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Reflection:
What makes you afraid? Are you afraid of problems and trials that may come your way?

Jesus talks about a very frightening scenario in the gospel. But at the same time at the end He also tells us that there shall be redemption. We also have our own share of frightening scenarios in our lives. Problems, trials, persecution and so forth and these will test also our faithfulness to God.

Let us continue to steadfastly hold-on, let us not let go of God no matter how hard our trials may be. For at the end there shall be redemption for us also. If we have God nobody could bring us down not even the severest problem and persecution.

However, there are times that we give-up but what many of us don’t know is problems and trials are part and parcel of our daily life. All of us have problems and trials that we go through and we don’t encounter these difficulties to defeat us. We encounter these trials/problems so that it could strengthen us and if we handle it properly we will come-out of it a much better and stronger person.

Let us not allow our trials and problems to weaken us. For the simple reason that there is always hope for as long as we continue to have faith in Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas 

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