Prayer Time..

Through It All


You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness
And I look to You
And I wait on You

I will sing to You, Lord
A hymn of love
For Your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go
Through it all

Hallelujah, hallelujah

I Can Only Imagine

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

Often times, I see myself wanting to have things that are good. I found myself wanting to have a cam, laptop, macbook, video cam, ipod, mp3 and stuff. I want to have does things but my parents can't buy me any of those. Tendency is, I get mad at them. I tend to shout at them and put an ill manner at them.

Today's gospel has strucked me. It tells me of riches that I want to have when I am still here on earth. But the gospel tells me that it's not important.

Often times, we want to have greater and much more than the things that we have. That's why people tend to steal, envy, or worst, murder people just to have those things that they think are necessities but in reality they are those things that we don't need the most.

When I was in grade school, I am fond of imitating my classmates. If they look rich, I pretend to be rich also. I don't pretend, I was rich before. When they have this new stuff, a day or two, I will also have one. That satisfies me but I am not contented. I grew up wanting much, geting much. I grew up in a wrong idealism.

But when I came to know Christ, everything changed. I became less concerned about what was new to my classmates. Trends and fashion became an irrelevant thing to me. The only things that I cared about was my service. I thought I was doing the right thing but I wasn't. I've realized that I was serving God in the wrong way. I will go to YFC events because I just want to show of. To show my leaders that I am good. That I am a potential leader also. Not the things and stuff but I aimed on position, on leadership. I aimed to be the best. Not for God but for myself.

And then I grew tired of proving my worth to them. I became unhappy with what I am doing. I got burned out of pretending that I am the best. And this is where I really get to meet God. I don't know how, but I do things in a way that none is pleased but I just know that God is very happy about my performance. God has gave me a new passion to serve out of the love that He has for me.

And then I grew to love Him more. Everyday, I am thankful that I have blessings that are hard to believe and hard to explain.

I don't really know what really will happen to me but by doing this, may God grant me the blessing and riches that I will need when I am in heaven. As of now, may God also give me what I need and what I deserve to have.

Lord, I have learned the importance of being faithful to You. I know It's been a long time since I denounce my dual life. May You continue on giding me towards the right path. May You allow me to stop the things that are unpleasant to Your eyes. May You strengthen everything in me, especially my heart and my mind. continue to prosper us with Your love. Bind us always. and may we always be reminded that we are one with You.

Amen.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Gospel for the Day..

June 20
Friday

11th Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading: 2 K 11:1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king's sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the House of Yahweh for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the House of Yahweh. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king's son.
The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day. Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of King David which were in the House of Yahweh. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the House of Yahweh.
Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king's son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, "Long live the king!"
When Athaliah heard the noise of? the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the House of Yahweh. The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, "Treason, treason!"
Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, "Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her." He gave this order, because he thought, "She should not die in the House of Yahweh."
They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king by the horses' entrance, there they killed her.
Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people so they would be the people of Yahweh. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar.
Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the House of Yahweh. All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king's palace.


Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.


Gospel Reading: Mt 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not store up treasure for yourself here on earth where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasure for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy nor thief come and steal it.
"For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.
"The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be in the light. If your eyes are diseased your whole body will be in darkness. Then, if your light has become darkness, how dark will be the darkest part of you!"

Commentary
Earthly riches and material possessions have quite a lure upon our hearts. We can easily become seduced by the desire for more and more things, thinking that our security will rest upon how many goods we are able to accumulate.
Jesus tells us that this is folly. Material possessions and money are relatively unim-portant. They can be used to do any number of good things, including putting bread on the family table, but in the end we will not be able to take any of the things of this world with us to the next.
Heavenly, not earthly treasures must be our goal.

Gospel for the Day..

June 19
Thursday

11th Week in Ordinary Time
Romuald

First Reading: Sir 48:1-14

Then came the prophet Elijah like a fire, his words a burning torch.
He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number.
Speaking in the name of the Lord he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.
How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? By the word of the Most High you brought a dead man back to life; you brought kings to destruction and thrust famous men from their beds.
You heard a rebuke at Sinai and sentences of punishment at Horeb; you anointed kings to be avengers and prophets to succeed you.
You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses.
It was written that you should be the one to calm God's anger in the future before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live.
Such was Elijah, taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit.
During his life no leader could shake him, no one dominated him. Nothing was too difficult for him and even in death his body prophesied. In life he worked wonders, in death his deeds were amazing.

Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
Rejoice in the Lord, you just!


Gospel Reading: Mt 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples, "When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.
"This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven,
holy be your name,
your kingdom come
and your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today the kind of bread we need.
Forgive us our debts
just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
Do not bring us to the test
but deliver us from the evil one.
"If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either."

Commentary
This simple prayer sums up all of the prayers contained in the scriptures, and gives us a keen insight into the mind of Jesus. The Lord desires so much for us to be in a close relationship with His heavenly Father, and opens His arms on the cross to reconcile us with Him. Teaching us to call God "Father" is Jesus' innovation. Never before would a human being dare to approach God using that name, yet ever since Jesus taught us this simple prayer have we found such solace in doing so.
Daily may we pray this prayer until we are united forever in the house of Our Father.