There is no God besides Me CHRIST IS ALIVE!

Volume 20 Issue 42
Bulletin Edition
October 17, 2014
NEWS
COUNSELS
CHRIST IS ALIVE!
HALLELUJAH TO THE LAMB!
There is no God
besides Me
THEME: True disciples of Jesus respond with
fruitfulness when they live godly lives in
accordance with His truth.
WORD:
There were 19 candidates who answered the call to
attend the Aspirants Retreat on October 10-12, 2014 at
CYO in Kearny, NJ with Fr. Paul Lehman as the Retreat
Master. Our sharers P. Calingo, E. Lucero, A. de Castro,
M. Camacho, and C. Claricia, truly inspired the
aspirants, with the collaborative support of the Praise
Ministry, Technical Ministry and Witness and Coach
Development Ministry.
The highlight of the retreat surfaced when Fr. Paul
emphasized that true discipleship requires building of
the basic foundation of our inmost being through Lectio
Divina, allowing the grace of Centering Prayer
(contemplative prayer). This affords all our spiritual
faculties the opportunity to be involved in prayer as the
Holy Spirit leads. He also said that the application of
Christian discernment should not be fragmented; rather
there is a need to offer our thoughts and actions to God
in every aspect of our lives: at work, with the family,
and in the community.
Aware of the many challenges of the discipleship to
which they are called, the aspirants offered to Jesus their
fears and anxieties while clinging to His promise: “I
have said, you are my servant; I chose you, I have not
rejected you. Do not fear: I am with you; do not be
anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will
help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right
hand.” ( Is 41:9b-10)
Continue on page 4
Is 45: 1, 4-6; Ps 96: 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10;
1Thes 1: 1-5b; Mt 22: 15-21
ORDER: Give to the Lord the glory due His name.
REFLECTION:
“I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no
God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you
know me not, so that toward the rising and the
setting of the sun people may know that there is none
besides me.” (Is 45:5-6)
The readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary time
proclaim God, the creator of all things, as the
sovereign ruler of the universe. This is our Christian
belief. Our titles, authority and responsibility rest in
Him. He is the source of all authority, in our homes,
churches, workplace and our governments (Godordained structures and authority). “There is no
authority except from God, and those authorities that
exist have been instituted by God.” (Rom 13:1)
“Every human community needs an authority in
order to endure and develop.” (CCC 1919) Those in
charge are responsible for the activities and
productivity of the group. In the BLD formation
program, we learn key words such as obedience and
humility in order that we may grow in leadership,
cooperation, and in the understanding of working as a
body to further the mission of Christ.
Continue on page 3
Promise of the Week
“He has made the world firm, not to be
moved, He governs the people with
equity.” (Ps 96:10b)
My Father’s Plan
Sometimes I wonder,
When I was younger,
What if I had realized
What God’s plan was for me?
But it seemed that
I was just way too busy
I was young and healthy
On my own, I thought
I was on my way to becoming happy
And although I heard about it
I never really understood it
… He had a plan for me
Inevitably, there arose some difficulty
Problems suddenly confronted me
And I cried “Unfair! Why am I no longer happy?”
But it seemed He was just preparing me
For all the things I actually missed
When I was young and thought I was already there
You know... “happy”
See, I thought doing things for myself was the key
That I could do things on my own, relying on only me
But eventually came a time, when me failed me…
Then He rescued me, made me realize and understand
Who it was He meant for me to be
Who I was even before He knit me
I was to be His child…
Rescued… redeemed by His Son
Relying… depending on Him
Therefore, a child He had already set free!
While I wish I had known this when I was younger
Today, what’s most important of all
Is knowing that all along He has had this plan for me
That through Christ I am a child of His
Who, for the rest of my tomorrows has been set free
Rendering the rest of my life infinitely richer
Making me humbly grateful… indeed making me
truly happy.
Alleluia!
THE LORD KNOWS THE
DESIRES OF OUR HEARTS
“‘The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the
dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You
fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the
inside?” (Lk 11:39-40)
Our Lord Jesus was addressing the Pharisees of
His time as hypocrites, because they led apparently
clean lives outside but were greedy and self-indulgent
on the inside. As leaders and teachers of the Jewish
community, the Pharisees were labeled by the Lord as
hypocrites because they acted contrary to what they
said or what they taught others. The Pharisees
gratified themselves by succumbing to the desire for
luxury and comfort for the specific purpose of selfpleasing and satisfaction.
Actually, the Lord was putting out a challenge to
all to clean up, not only what is on the outside, but
more importantly, what is inside of us. To be pious or
do acts of charity is a great thing if love and kindness
is in one’s heart. However, if done as a show of selfsacrifice for self-glorification, it becomes selfish and
hypocritical. While we may receive the temporal
reward of men’s praise and recognition, to the Lord, it
is of no value.
The Lord says in Matthew 6:2: “When you give
alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to
win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they
have received their reward.”
The Pharisees were quick to criticize the Lord for
not performing the traditional cleansing before eating.
They adhered to the letter of the law but failed to see
their own shortcomings. They saw the speck in the eye
of another but failed to see the plank in their own eyes
(Lk 6:42).
Our hypocrisy does not deceive or fool God. Our
Lord knows the desires of our hearts. “And he said to
them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts; for what is of human
esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Lk
16:15)
Our lives should be transparent, revealing Christ
living in us and converting us. We should mirror the
peace and the kindness of Jesus inside and out. God’s
love for us awakens our love for Him, and that love is
translated into service to others in His name.
WHOM SHOULD
WE FEAR?
In Luke 12:4-5, Jesus makes it crystal clear
whom to fear: “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid
of those who kill the body but after that can do no
more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of
the one who after killing has the power to cast into
Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.” It is
our soul that is at stake. Satan knows that God gave us
free will. He tries to use this against us by deceiving
us and appealing to our pride.
Recall the fall of man in Genesis, when the
serpent said to Eve about the fruit of the tree in the
middle of the garden: “You certainly will not die!
God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will
be opened and you will be like gods, who know good
and evil.” (Gen 3:4-5) While it is true that Adam and
Eve didn’t die physically, they disobeyed God and
their souls were compromised.
In the same way, an unmarried pregnant woman
contemplating abortion has many excuses: “I am not
married. What will people think of me?” “I am not
ready financially to raise a kid.” “It is my body. I can
decide what I want to do with it.” But she does not
realize that she is about to kill a child, to commit
murder, to compromise her soul.
Our society wants to remove God from sight –
from our schools, from public places, from our courts,
from pretty much everywhere – yet still expects man
to “do what is right”. Knowing right from wrong is a
gift that God has placed in the heart of every man but
it relies on Him. We cannot separate the gift from the
giver without putting ourselves at the mercy of the
evil one and compromising our souls. With our free
will, we can only choose to do what is right if we are
in a relationship with God and subject our will to His.
While warning us whom to fear, Jesus reassures us
that when we choose Him, we have nothing to fear
(see Lk 12:6-8). He holds us in the palm of His hand.
We need to trust Him, and because of our love for
Him, the only thing we should fear is offending Him
in any way. Our souls are precious to Him.
He wants us in Heaven, not in Gehenna!
C O U N S E L S (from page 1)
We are blessed that we stand together under the
mantle of God’s headship, the one true God and King
Who is worthy of all our trust and who generously
provides for us. In our meagerness, He pours graces
from heaven to encourage and equip us to lead, learn,
and grow in Godly character.
In the gospel, God shifts focus and brings His
sovereignty in contrast with the civil authority of the
time. He told the Pharisees, “… repay to Caesar what
belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
(Mt 22:21)
The response of Jesus indicates that we have an
obligation to give back to every person what is due
him. This is a justified expectation and follows normal
practices of social, financial or legal transactions. And
since God has given us all that we have and all that we
are, then our very being must flow back to Him on
whom our life and existence depends. Therefore, only
God can demand our total and absolute loyalty and
service.
The readings declare the need for all mankind and
all creatures to give to the Lord glory and praise for
His Sovereignty and Kingship over the universe. One
of the directions for the community this week is to
worship Him with all our mind, heart, and strength.
We fulfill the requirements to praise God with all of
our mind and heart during our Friday night worship
and every time we lift our voices to Him in praise,
whether in our private prayer or when praying with
others.
We worship Him with all our heart, mind, and
strength when we live godly and fruitful lives. A
godly life is a life that is surrendered to the will of
God. It is when we allow the Holy Spirit to live
through us and our lives manifest love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control (Gal 5:22–23). We are created to
fulfill the design of God, to bear His image to one
another, and to be a witness of His virtues of faith,
hope, and charity.
True fruitfulness cannot be hidden. It affects our
outward actions; it is when our words and our
activities glorify God. He wants us to do good works
with humility and to be quick to love and forgive
every step we take. He wants us to desire to be the
“good soil” Jesus spoke of in the Parable of the Sower
in Matthew 13:3–9. In Jesus Christ, God will
accomplish His Will through us and in us.
The lifestyle we choose as members of this
community and as followers of Christ will require us
to work in faith, labor in love and endure in hope.
(1 Thes 1:3).
Continue on page 4
COUNSELS
(from page 3)
We pray for grace to sustain us through the months
and years ahead even when there are emotional,
relational, and spiritual obstacles and challenges. Our
formation will never be completed in this lifetime; and
therefore, we trust in God to stretch out His hand
unfailingly to help us over the hurdles we will face.
For God, all things are possible.
DIRECTIONS:
 Worship Him with all your heart, mind, and
strength.
 Work in faith, endure in hope and serve with love.
NEWS
(from page 1)
L ORD ’S P ROVISION
P REVIOUS W EEK ’ S
Actual
YTD
Collections
$2,419
$118,333
Tithe/Love Offering
$55
$7,357
Mission Collections
$100
$34,549
Walk Fundraising
$1,392
$7,129
Fr. Paul’s SOH
Financial details are available to all members through
[email protected]
Thank you for your continued support!
Stewardship – It’s a way of life!
T EACHING C ALENDAR
Oct 18*- CMP 1 Part 1 – LSS 1-40
It was truly a fruitful harvest, another glorious Oct 24 – Intercessory Immersion – ME 41, SPE 15
victory for the Lord! Here are the Candidates:
Service Immersion – ME 42
ME 39: Allan & Jen Almazar, Denny & Marichelle
Dizon, Angel & Benilda Doria, Romeo &
Ella Meluza, Darwin & Ellen Sorio, Eduardo
& Maria Ugaddan
ME 38: Noel & Gail de Leon
ME 34: Louie& Kles Hernandez
Trenton: Tony& Connie Mendoza
SE: Veejay Gorospe
O THER A NNOUNCEMENTS
PROJECT I DO/MASS WEDDING
November 9, 2014 ~ St. Mary’s Church, Rahway NJ
What: For couples who are civilly married but not
sacramentally married in church / those who
want to be married in church.
Requirements & details: Contact Ray/Susie Atienza:
908-463-0449/ [email protected]
MEDICAL MISSION 2015
February 16-19, 2015, Koronadal City, So. Cotabato, Philippines
Volunteers needed.
If interested, please sign-up on or before December 15th
For details contact: Mel/Remy Hernandez [email protected]
CCR Leaders Day entitled
“Coming Together to Serve Each Other/
Encourage, Educate and Empower.”
Saturday, November 15, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm,
Holy Family Parish in Nutley
To all Charismatic Prayer Group and Ministry Leaders
Please mark your calendars, register between now and Nov. 1,
and pray for this special event. Together let us seek the Holy
Spirit for a fresh anointing upon our CCR in the Archdiocese of
Newark. Registration fee: $10
Venue: Divine Mercy Parish School Classrooms, Rahway, NJ
Time: Friday after worship, *Saturday 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
C OMMUNITY C ALENDAR
SINGLES ENCOUNTER # 33
Date: November 7-9, 2014
Location: Graymoor Spiritual Life Center
Garrison, NY
Contacts: Jojo/Adelle Orosa ~ [email protected]
Jutt Bustos ~ [email protected]
MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER # 44
Date: November 14-16, 2014
Location: Hotel Executive Suites
30 Minue St. Carteret NJ
Contacts: Nong/Tricia Bustos ~ [email protected]
Every last Friday of the month
from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm at
St. Mary’s Church (DMP).
Date
Oct 24
Oct 31
Nov 7
Nov 14
Apostolate
Evangelization
Formation
Management
Mission
Please notify the Word Ministry if you have not
been receiving your soft copies by emailing:
[email protected]