Love your families. Teach them the dignity of all life; teach them the ways of harmony and peace; teach them the value of faith and prayer and goodness! Help transform the world around you by giving the best of yourselves in the service of others and your country.

-Pope John Paul II. Jordan, 2000.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with goodness.

-Romans 12:21

Love is one thing that makes a billion dollar flushed like rubbish. Money cannot purchase what love can do. In fact when Jesus died for our sins, he did not spend a single penny in exchange for our salvation. He let himself be mocked, flogged, and killed… Jesus allowed all these things to happen so that we may know that the love he has for us is so great that we are worth more than his life! That we are worth dying for! Do you know any theology in the world that has the love of a God who can bear to see His son mutilated by man so that we can be justified through faith? Surely, our God is God of all.

Kindness is the language that the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

Life has its greatness and gore. We all have our own share of ups and downs in life. We suffer different trials and receive different blessings. Still, we are human beings just like any other. When we put them all together, are we not a family? Brothers and sisters in the eyes of God?

Seeing the world in the eyes of God is not easy. Perhaps in our sight we may see the world as an ocean of God's wrath. But on the other hand, if you try to look it in a way that man can't see, you will realize that behind every trial, there is a living God who is reaching out so that you can find Him.

True enough, 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance. God looks at what is beyond that appearance. It is for this matter that if we truly wanted to see the world in the eyes of God, we should take a step further and try to see beyond. To see not with the eyes but with the heart. For it is only by our heart can we see things that eyes cannot see.

Many of our brothers thirst for love. Being poor do not only constitute monetary poverty, but beyond that may be a poverty in love…. Some may be repressive about it. Yet when you try to look closely, when you try to observe them beyond what eyes can see, you will realize the burden they had in their lives. It is definitely true that eyes can be deceiving. For not all laughter and smiles are products of joy.

Do you have friends whom you think needed you the most? Or do you think you have friends that you think will find peace in you if only you come to them? We can take a step further and go beyond friends. Even strangers may find peace in us. Truly, if you see the world in the eyes of God, you will realize that every person you meet in the streets, every person whom you know and you do not know are not strangers, but our brothers and sisters. In fact, we need each other. You are God's gift to me so that I can do a lot of good things to you. Similarly, I am God's gift to you, so that you can do a lot of good things for me. It is only up to us whether or not we will make good use of that gift.

You don't need a reason to help someone other than genuine love. When you start reasoning, you repress your acts for a reason on a case to case basis such that if it doesn't exist, you will become selfish. How then can you say that you love Jesus, if you do not love one another... as he has commanded?

Do not wait for those who need you to call your name. Go to them. Show your presence. Make them feel that someone loves them. That everything will be alright as long as you are together. As long as God is with you. Remind them that this world is not a world of death and destruction but a world where a repressed love can surface... where love can beat all odds and stand out... in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last

-John 15:16

God chose us to be born in this world for a purpose... and that purpose is to bear fruit. A lasting fruit that will remind the world of God's love... that in a human being, a love can manifest beyond what man is capable of showing. Because it is God's love that shines upon those who loved others as Jesus has loved us.

Out of all nations you will be my treasured possession

-Exodus 19:5

Let us tell the world of God's love. Let it be known to our family, friends, relatives, brothers and sisters, and to the ends of the world. We are in fact, His own image because he treasured us. It is our duty to preserve that image... to live up to it. God is love. Therefore, we are love!

Grace and Peace be with you.

AMEN!

God bless,

july