The One Who Drank the Cup of Jesus

Jesus challenged James and John that if they are to sit with Him in glory, to His right or to His left, they ought to be able to “drink the cup” that He Himself will drink. This expression of Jesus refers to His saving Passion and Death in Jerusalem (cf. Mark 14:36). The Lord corrects the popular thought among many Israelites who held the belief that the coming Messiah will be a Son of David who will continue the tradition of freeing the nation by political and military might. Also, among the circle of the Twelve Apostles, Jesus would like to underline that triumphalism is never His way. Instead, grace and blessings will flow through hardships and through the mystery of the Cross.
While preparing my talks and reflections that I wanted to share to various groups seeking retreats and recollections during the Lenten Season of 2011, I came to understand that Jesus’ words about the way of perfect discipleship were realized to the letter by the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was the one who was able to really “drink the cup” of Jesus’ Passion and Death. She did this when she stood calmly and faithfully at the foot of the Cross of Jesus in Calvary. She was not just there as a true mother to her Son Jesus. She was there, united with Jesus in her suffering, for the salvation of the world. She was there to immolate herself as Jesus also immolated Himself. Hence, a well-known theologian in the Church once said that next to Jesus, Mary was and is the only creature who understood not the theology of the Cross but the reality of the Cross.
There can be no complete picture of Christianity then without Mary. The Blessed Mother is not just the necessary conduit through whom the Mystery of Jesus’ Incarnation had to happen. The Blessed Mother is one with Jesus in His entire mission of doing the Heavenly Father’s will. Therefore, in His papal coat of arms, Pope John Paul II summarized Mary’s dignity not in terms of the story of Bethlehem but with consideration of her role during the Passion. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

REFLECTION QUESTION: Is the Blessed Virgin Mary part of your own prayer and spirituality? Pray to her today for the grace to be able to “drink the cup” of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us the Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Mother, too. Grant me the grace to imitate her example of faithfulness and generosity in following Your will.

Source: Kerygma Family

Ask and You will Receive

The example of Jesus’ life tells us what these words of Jesus really mean. We cannot ask God for the winning numbers in a lottery draw. We can ask for anything within His will for our life and we will receive it. These words call us to conform our lives to the will of God, and not conform His will to ours. This is an important distinction that will help us reject the idea of a prosperity Gospel, where we are in charge of what happens, and an understanding of how God works all things for our good including our suffering.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
I came from the Father and have come into the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.

LIST
John 16:23-28
23 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 24 Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. 25 “I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Thank You to the Most Beautiful Woman in the Whole Wide World - My Mama Macring

Happy Mother's Day, Mama Macring! I love you and I miss you sooooo much! Thank You for carrying me in your womb for 9 whole months and for sharing your life with me. Thank you for your unconditional love. I wish I could see you one last time and give you a warm embrace. I hope you are happy where you are now and I hope to see you in heaven someday.

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me such a beautiful mother - inside and out. May Your light continue to shine for her even in the after life. Please bless my Mama and give here a great big hug for me. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen.

Mama Mary, Queen of all saints, pray for us. Amen.

Happy Mother's Day to you, Mama Mary!

Happy Mother's Day to my Lola Mary and Aunty Gweny and Mama Rosie! And to all the mother's in my circle of family and friends, Happy Mother's Day!

God bless you and your family even more! :)

Finding Love In All The Right Places

Love… so many have written about it. Even more have experienced its wonders. The whole world knows what it means. It’s the stuff we dream off at night and daydream about in the morning. It’s the core gift that we all have — the capacity to love like we’ve never loved before. Love keeps growing. It knows no bounds. It’s selfless, it’s kind, and it just keeps on giving. Love is everything we could ever ask for. The stuff fairy tales, legends and the best movies are made of. Love gives us a reason to live life with positivity, glorious, wondrous songs of self-empowerment, fulfillment, joy, peace. L-O-V-E.
I recently learned that loving myself makes life infinitely better because it erases all the bad memories and negativity, helps me accept myself as I am and get on with life with much gusto and chutzpah as I can muster. We’re the same, you and me – searching for love in the wrong places back in the day. This time I urge you, seek love in the right places and hold on to love as much as you can wherever you can find it. Whether you find love with your family, your friends, your workmates, your partner, your kids, it’s up to you.
Most of my friends are married now. And I am happy for them. But I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out when I look at them. This incessant thought in my head keeps telling me time is running out. Alarm bells are ringing because a friend told me to have a baby soon because I’m high risk already. But the same voice that nags me is now overpowered by an even stronger voice that’s telling me my God is the master of the impossible and I will have my own family and baby one day. There’s a reason why I’m sharing this with you.
There are times in our life when we encounter storms with so much shaking involved that we fear we might be blown away at any time. This storm is the shaking that we experience when we’re fighting that storm. There are some aspects of our life that are meant to go through this shaking; this is how we grow. This is how we become stronger and better individuals. We were meant to live a life filled with love. That is our destiny.
I discovered recently the reason for my discontent… it had no connection with my work after all. I’ve always wanted my own family and when my friends started getting married and having kids left and right, I felt like I was missing out.
When my friend, who also happens to be a strong, independent woman and a single mother, told me that I must have a baby soon because I’m at that age where I’m already high risk, that got me confused. Alarm bells went off but now that I’ve thought things through, done some soul searching and asked a few friends about it, I realize that being high risk is the least of my problems.
It’s like I had to choose between my career and having a family and career wins out each time. I’ve been using it as my excuse for not going out with men and it’s really sad, come to think of it. After all, we don’t live in an all or nothing, black and white world. God made the universe colorful for a reason. It’s to remind us that every day is a new adventure and we could either mope around inside our home or go out and play. And I really, really, really want to play!
This is my reality. I was born without a father and my mother left me with my grandparents when I was a baby. Growing up without my parents and not knowing who my father was and seeing my Mama suffer because she was a single mom instilled this instinctive defense mechanism in me. I intentionally stay away and even repel men because I don’t want to be a single mother. I want a baby but I don’t want to be a single mother. I think I’m ready to have that baby now but I don’t have it in me to open myself up to a guy, no matter how much I like or even love him. I’ve been burned so many times that my guard is always up.
I’m still trying to figure out how to solve this problem. I have a feeling this is another way for me to grow as a person – to love without question, without boundaries, without limitations… to love like I’ve never loved before.
This is my relationship barrier and I’m trying to deal with it. Perhaps you have your own relationship problems too? Feel free to share using the comment box below. If you have any advice for me I welcome that too.
I am a relationship neophyte and am not afraid to admit it. Not anymore. Fighting my instincts is so darn hard that I’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and share this with you. Thank you for your time friend and I hope you’ll visit my blog from time to time. Be blessed with much love! :)