The Rock [MATTHEW 7:21-27] March 16, 2011

The gospel talked of wise men who built their houses on rock. Those houses held on during a storm. It also talked of foolish men who built their houses on sand and those houses were destroyed when a storm passed them. Matthew is trying to tell us to build our lives on something that will last long. Build our lives on something that is definite and will not just crumble when put to the test.  Money has changes forms and values. People, no matter how much we treasure them, have come and gone. God has showed us time and again through the people around us that He is always there. God has always helped us in our times of need. And despite the never ending changes that happen in life, God is one who never changes. He still remains and He is still our same omniscient and loving Creator.

The gospel teaches us to truly follow the Lord and His ways. We must know what to do and do what we must do. Knowing what to do and saying it is not enough. It is not enough to say that we believe and love the Lord when we are nonchalant about the people around us. We must show our love for the Lord through our actions. We must have faith and believe in Him and His ways.

This gospel reminded me of what I think is the most important lesson that I have learned this school year. I learned that faith is believing in something that is indefinite. With faith there will always be doubt. We have faith in God sometimes and doubt Him on other times. This cycle is something that will continue to happen and will have no end. Before, I thought that to truly have faith in God one must be almost a hundred percent sure of himself and his faith. This year I have learned to accept the moments of doubt in my life because they are vital. They are what keep my faith alive. Doubt is good because after every moment of it and whenever we overcome doubt, we learn to love God more and hopefully become better followers in the process.

We must be like the wise builders who built their homes on rock. We must build our lives and put our faith in something or someone that will be strong when times are difficult. We need to build our lives on God, the rock who will last forever. We must truly believe in Him and follow His ways. When we believe in God, it is expected that we doubt because it is what keeps our faith alive. Believe. Show God’s everlasting love through our actions and not just words.

[Shasta Grace D. Tiro]

 

MATTHEW 7:21-27 March 7, 2011

There’s a saying that states: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” This is the same with, “The proof of our faith is in the things that we do.” It’s not on the things that we say. Because James 2:17 says: “Faith without actions is dead.” Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Do we put meaning into our faith by accompanying it with good works?

Our action speaks volumes than our words. No matter how many times we go to our churches to worship God for as long as it is superficial it has no meaning it’s all without use.

A working faith therefore is something that bears witness with Jesus long after we are through with our church worship this can only be possible if we have a deep and personal relationship with Jesus.

>CJA<

WISE AND FOOLISH BUILDERS

Matthew 7:21-27

          In the Day of Judgment many will say to me. In this gospel, this was said. This sentence is pointing out to the charismatic prophets who disturb his communities by not obeying precepts which are addressed to everyone. Whether we teach or work miracles, these abilities and ministries given us for the good of the community do not assure us that we are in the grace of God. True faith works through love and moves us to fulfill all the Law. When Jesus said that He who hears my words, he meant that to those listening to his words and are converted, they believe themselves already saved. But if they do not use their initial enthusiasm to build their lives on solid foundations, such as scriptural meditation, generosity, resistance to evil inclinations, sharing in the Christian community, then everything will tumble later on. On the day of the judgment, Jesus already told them that He won’t be as forgiving as He is now. He will become an inquisitor and He won’t accept excuses and He won’t forgive people on that time. That is why He told us people to be ready because we don’t know when that time is. We must already build a strong foundation and don’t wait for the Day of the Judgment to come. We must do good deeds before it is too late. Jesus will not accept our excuses and begs when the Day of the Judgment begin. He will become very strict and he wants everybody to be prepared that is why he told the people to start making their strong foundation NOW!

(Steffany Ann G. Caiban)

the three little pigs. . . March 6, 2011

I’m sure you have heard of this children’s story before. The gospel discussed today had a somewhat similar symbolism. There were three little pigs that left their home to seek their own fortune. To start things off, each of them made their own house. One pig’s house was made out of straw, the other made out of sticks and the last one made out of bricks. The houses symbolize the kinds of faith that we Christians have –the straw being not a faithful Christian at all, the sticks being a not so full pledged Christian, and lastly the bricks being the most devoted of Christians. At the end of the story, we found out that the sturdiest house of them all was the house made of bricks. And no matter how the wolf huffed and puffed, he just couldn’t blow the house down because it had a well grounded and sturdy foundation.

Every Christian’s goal is to enter the kingdom of Heaven and be with the Lord for the rest of their days after their death. So in order to enter the kingdom of God, we pray the rosary; go to mass every Sunday; join the novenas and do more Christian doings. After repeating this over and over again, some of us automatically assume that we already have a one way ticket to heaven. Sad to say, it’s not that easy. Praying the rosary twenty times a day but just memorizing it rather than understanding it by heart is just as the same as not praying the rosary at all. Going to mass every Sunday won’t do you any good if you’re a wanted robber during the weekdays.

We must take our Christian faith into action, listening to the gospel is not enough; we must understand the lessons taught and put them into practice. In the gospel, it said that “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” In short, if you listen to the words and teaching that the Lord has taught us and apply them to our daily lives, then our foundation as an individual is stable like a house built on top of a rock (God Words being the rock that will make us firm).

Denise Jan F. Valerio

Strong Foundation

The gospel today talks about people whose faith is built upon solid rock and those people whose faith is set upon grainy sand.

 

Although we pray every day, we go to mass every Sunday and we call ourselves Christians, we still continue to sin against God. We continue to do bad things, think bad things and say bad things. Our excuse is that we are human, but still, we still have to live by God’s commandments and by love. We should do our best to not falter in doing God’s work, for He will be mightily upset with us.

 

In the gospel, the wise man who built his house on a rock is the Christian who is truly devoted to God. His foundation is firm and solid, and when the rain, the flood, and the winds come and pass by, the house of the man will be left unscathed. The house represents the faith, and the rain, flood and wind signifies the temptations brought about by the devil.

 

The other man built his house on sand. And when the rain, the flood, and the winds come and pass by, the house of the man will collapse and will be completely ruined. The man who built his house on sand is the man who listens to God’s word, but does not act on it, meaning he does not practice what he preaches. And the rain, the flood, and winds that pass by are the temptations brought about by the devil. And since the foundation of the house is not stable, the house- or the faith, rather- was destroyed.

 

 

-Armin D. Narciso Jr.

 

Mt.7:21-27 [STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and…]

The message in today’s gospel is very clear. The Lord is telling us that just because we go to church or read the bible it does not mean that we can automatically enter his kingdom. We have to act on what we have heard and learned as well. We usually hear people telling us that we should always STOP, LOOK and LISTEN but don’t you think there’s a fourth word missing in that phrase? Well, I think there is one more word missing and that word would be ACT. Why act? We can always listen to what our parents, guardians and teachers keep telling us to do but if all we do is listen nothing will really happen which is why we should listen and then act and do something about what we have just heard. We can’t just go to school and listen to our teacher’s discussions, we have to use what we have learned in order to improve and become better students. We can’t just go to church and listen to what the priest is saying, we have to bring what has been told to us in action.

In the gospel, God is also telling us to be wise and build our house on the rock. This means that we should be hearing and responding disciples, not phony, superficial ones. In short, actions are stronger than words, which is why we should be obedient and do as God tells us to do. Practicing obedience creates the solid foundation to the storms and calamities we encounter in life.

-Francesca May T. Guico 🙂

Mt 7:21-27

The gospel today says that God doesn’t just let anybody in His kingdom.  Not everybody who claims to believe and have faith in the Lord would be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.  It’s not enough to just hear what God is saying to you.  You have to act like you actually heard.  With God as our solid foundation, we’re like building our house on a rock.  There, it could withstand flood or strong with or any other type of natural calamity.  However, if we did not act as He wishes us to we are like building houses on the sand.  Our house will collapse and everything would be horrible and destroyed.

At first I didn’t entirely understand what you have to do to be considered as acting according to His will.  I guess that we just have to believe in Him fully and trust in Him completely.  We have to try to start off each thing we do with love and devotion and try and not be evil.  This is important because we have to build a solid foundation and purpose in our own lives and in whatever we are doing.  Otherwise, all of that would just tumble down later.

I guess that saying that we believe in God isn’t enough.  We need to have actual enthusiasm to do His divine will.  We have to believe that He will save us and that we are already saved.  And we should all try to pay attention to what exactly it is that He is trying to teach us.

-Kathrine Lorenzena N. Saniel