Love Trumps Evil

 “Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar with eagles’ wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31

I love these verses. If we put them together with another of my favorite verses, Isaiah 40:8, we can be unstoppable. “Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the Word of our God stands forever.” Forever. How many times have I heard, “Walang forever” (There is no such thing as forever)??? No wonder our world is in such a mess! If we don’t believe in forever, we think everything will pass away, we will live day to day with no thought of tomorrow. Without an eternal perspective, the world is doomed to selfishness, entitlement, consumerism, running after fleeting joys, one-upmanship, despair, hopelessness and aimlessness. What is the antidote? God and God alone. 

When we believe in God, His Word and His promises, we are well able to handle what life throws at us. We will be able to accomplish the impossible just as a humble man like Enrico Dipazzio was able to be an overcomer. He was an evangelist who believed in God and His Word and that’s why he was able to love even those who stole from him and those who persecuted him. Once, he saw thieves stealing his lumber and he helped the thieves load the lumber into their truck. Then he asked them if they would share a bottle of wine with him. They laughed and said he was such a good thief! He said no, no, no, that was his lumber and his wine! He told them not to be afraid, that he loved them, and invited them to a meeting that he and his wife led every week. They came again and again and became followers of Christ. 

During World War II, when France was occupied by the Nazis, a small family of terrified Jews knocked on Enrico’s door. Without hesitation, he took them in and helped them for two years. But one of his neighbors told the Nazis and Enrico was arrested and sent to a concentration camp in Germany. During the remainder of the war, Enrico’s wife would send packages and food to him. The camp commander never gave Enrico the food but would eat it himself. One night as he was preparing to eat the meal Enrico’s wife prepared, the commander told the guard, “Go get Dipazzio!” 

When the guard brought a weak, emaciated Enrico into the commander’s presence, the commander said, “Herr Dipazzio, your wife is an excellent cook.” Enrico asked, “That’s true, how do you know?” 

“The whole time you have been here, she has been sending food and I have been enjoying it! This is your Christmas Eve dinner!” The heartless man proceeded to eat the meal in front of Enrico with no intention of sharing. “Herr Dipazzio, aren’t you going to get angry?” 

“No.”

“Why?”

Full of the love of God, Enrico joyfully answered, “Because I love you.”

“Why should you love me?”

“Because Jesus first loved me, and gave Himself for me, and so I love everybody.”

“Take him away! He’s a religious fanatic!” the commander shouted to the guard.

Finally the war ended, Enrico was nursed back to health by his wife, and he and his wife went back to Germany to thank God for his deliverance from the ordeal. When they found out the commandant lived in that beautiful village, they decided to buy food and prepare a meal in a kitchen they borrowed. They brought two baskets of food and knocked on the commandant’s door. 

When Enrico reminded the commandant of who he was, the man got startled and afraid. But Enrico said he was there to share a meal his wife had prepared. “Peace. Be at peace. Didn’t I tell you that night that I loved you and that Jesus Christ loved you?”

“Come to think of it, you did,” said the Commander.

“Look, I still love you,” said Enrico, “and I want you to know that I hold no bitterness in my heart toward you. I forgive you for anything you did to me, because Christ first forgave me.”

Before eating, Enrico bowed his head, thanked God for His goodness, and blessed the meal. They began to eat, but it wasn't long before the commander set down his knife and fork with a clatter. He buried his face in his hands and he wept. “Why are you doing this to me?” 

The late evangelist Harry Conn didn’t finish this story in the audio recording of his sharing, but it’s easy to see where it will end. Love trumps evil all the time. 

Trust in Him

Today is the feast day of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. This is his story and the story of how people who are enslaved can find freedom in God’s plan for their lives.

In the 1400s, Mexico was under Aztec oppression. In every town, there was a temple pyramid, where Aztec priests would offer human sacrifices to their god Huitzilopochtli. This god was the "Lover of Hearts and Drinker of Blood," and the priests would cut out the beating hearts of victims, usually adult men but very often children. Over 50,000 human beings were sacrificed each year. Then in 1523, Franciscan missionaries came and evangelized the Indian people. 

On December 9, 1531, Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared to a 57-year old simple peasant man, an Aztec convert, who was on his way to mass. Mary asked Juan Diego to request Bishop Zumarraga that a shrine be built in her honor on the site where she appeared. When Juan presented this request to the Bishop, the Bishop naturally asked for a sign. After several encounters with Mary, Juan brought the Bishop what he asked for. When Juan opened his tilma, his peasant cloak, beautiful Castillan roses, foreign to Mexico, fell out, but more than that, the Bishop saw an extraordinary image of Our Lady on the tilma. The Bishop wept at the sight. That tilma still survives today and thousands go to see it in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

We may be skeptical about apparitions and images appearing on tilmas or anywhere else. However, because Mary spoke to Juan Diego in his native language, and because she was wearing the Aztec dress for pregnant women in the image, this provoked millions of conversions to the Catholic faith in just under seven years. 

Today, we may not have human sacrifices to gods, but globally, an estimated 27.6 million people are victims of modern slavery. This includes forced labor and forced marriage, at any given time, according to 2022 data cited in the 2024 reports. It is the fastest growing crime and generates an estimated $236 billion dollars each year. 

One woman’s story is particularly poignant. Irene gave money to some people who were going to help her get to another country where she would study nursing. Instead, she was forced to have sex with about 40 men a day. When she got pregnant and gave birth, they took her baby and sold the baby to pedophiles. Irene couldn’t take it anymore and leapt from the 4th floor of the apartment where she was held hostage. She was found, brought to A21, a foundation that fights sexual trafficking, and today, she is pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse. 

There is too much evil in the world. But the vision in the Book of Revelation chapter 12 gives us hope. Because of Mary’s yes, because she gave birth to Jesus, and because Jesus gave His life for us on the cross, “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of God and the authority of His anointed.” (Rev. 12:10) God’s magnificent plan is always the best. 

We need only to trust in Him.

How Can This Be?

 

“How can this be?" Luke 1: 34

Sometimes a passage jumps out at you. you've read it many times before, but this time, it strikes a chord. In the first chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke, I found this verse interesting, "I investigated accurately everything from the beginning..." (Luke 1:1-4)

I can imagine this writer amazed at what had occurred and desiring to come to the truth. He interviewed many of the disciples and people involved in this out-of-the-ordinary series of events. If Mary was still alive, St. Luke would have interviewed her to verify her story. What would he have found?

A woman still amazed, still in awe of God's goodness? In spite of all she had gone through? The stigma of her virgin pregnancy, the flight to Egypt, knowing hundreds of babies were being slaughtered because of the search for her Son, and ultimately the horror of seeing her Son hanging on the cross, mutilated, seemingly defeated.

"How can this be?" she asked. How can this be that God chose me? How can this be that God would want to make me part of His plan to save humanity? How can this be that I would carry the mysteries of the universe in my womb? 

If we think about and realize God’s love for us, we will ask the same. How can this be that God loves us so much to make a plan so inconceivable as to give prophets a glimpse of it thousands of years before its fulfillment? How can this be that God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross so if we believe in Him we can live forever with Him? It’s like if we gave our life for an insignificant paramecium but even more absurd because God is all powerful, and the idea is light years away from anything we could ever understand with our brains. 

Greg Boyle in his book, “Tattoos on the Heart”, wrote, “The desire of God’s heart is immeasurably larger than our imaginations can conjure.” Our response can only be thank You, Father, for Your immeasurable love! 

Repent!

 John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 3:1-2

In Matthew 4:17, we read, ‘From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”’

Then in Mark 1:15, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!"

Jesus wanted the message of repentance spread then, and He wants it proclaimed now, especially during Advent. He is saying, “Change your hearts and lives!” The word repent comes from the Greek word metanoeite, or metanoeó, which translates “to change one's mind or purpose,” or change the inner self, particularly when it comes to accepting of the will of God. (Strong’s Concordance) 

I remember when I was in High School, I had these really ratty pair of jeans. It looked like it was ready to split at the seams but I loved it. My dad did not feel the same about it. He was going to drive me to school and he said I couldn’t go to school if I insisted on wearing the offending pair. I obstinately said I wasn’t going to school then. My dad then countered if I wasn’t going to school that day then I was not going to school ever. I changed and he brought me to school. I was not usually so hard headed but it took my dad’s drastic threat to make me change my mind. It was a good thing I wanted to go to school!

I wager we all want to go to heaven. Jesus rules there. He has the final say just as my dad did. So if we want one day to be with Jesus, we have no choice but to obey what Jesus said we must do, and that is to change our hearts and accept what Christ did for us on Calvary’s cross. 

One Bright Act of Grace at a Time!

 

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Matthew 10:8

The writer, Elizabeth Gilbert, wrote about being stuck in a bus in New York City during rush hour. Everyone was sort of in a bad mood. As the bus approached the intersection, the driver spoke on the intercom. “Folks," he said, "I know you have had a rough day and you are frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water.” 

The mood changed. Smiles and laughter were exchanged. Passengers were suddenly talking to each other in amusement and delight. At the next stop, the driver put his palm up and the exiting commuters pretended to drop their burdens into it. Some smiled, some laughed, and some teared up. At the next stop he did it again, and the next. And then he dropped all of it in the Hudson River. 

It was a simple thing the driver did, but it required some courage on his part. Courage to acknowledge how hard life can be at times, and how we all need a friend to help us with our burdens. We are usually alone, carrying the fear, uncertainty, hopelessness, or misery. Don’t we all need someone to remind us that there is light, there is hope and grace, if only we can find it? What if we can be that person? 

Elizabeth Gilbert summed up her experience, “No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river."

Do You Believe I Can Do This?

 

“Do you believe that I can do this?” Matthew 9:28

Jesus asked the two blind men in Matthew 9:27-31, “Do you believe I can do this?" or in another version, “Do you trust that I am able to do this for you?” And they say to him, “Certainly, Lord.”

“Do you believe I can make you see, restore your sight?" And the two blind men answered, “Yes, Lord!" And he touched their eyes and they could see.

Do WE believe God can do the impossible in OUR life? Even when the odds are insurmountable, even when the doctor's report is bad, even if we can’t pay our rent, even if the hospital bill is enormous, even if we lose a loved one? So much misery and pain in the world today. How about all the people whose homes or crops were destroyed during the recent floods? A friend told me how the home of a housewife from Calumpit, Bulacan has been in knee-deep flood for 6 months now because of the construction of the National Manila International Airport! 

What are we to think of all these ugly tragedies in our world? How do we make sense of it? What I know is all throughout the ages there has always been terrible suffering, and people who are “alert to do evil” as it says in Isaiah 29:20, our first reading for today. But we are not to be dismayed or distracted by all the work of tyrants and those who subvert justice. The message of Advent is one of hope. We need to look back at all the ancient promises of God for a Saviour and how He fulfilled His promise on Calvary. 

We also need to be vigilant and look for His presence among us today. There is so much to be grateful for. He shows us His face in our brothers and sisters who love and support us, in our neighborhoods and communities, our workplaces, and schools. The more we give, the more we are given. That is the economy of God. 

But most of all, we need to look forward to the day when He will come again in glory. He will wipe every tear from our eye. Let us rejoice in Him who is preparing a rich banquet for all who believe in Him, and who obey Him. Why do we believe? Because He said it in His Word: “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:3). Because He fulfilled His promises in the past, we know He will keep His promise for the future. 

Rock Solid

 “Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on rock.” Matthew 7:24

On December 11, 1993, an entire apartment building, Block One of the Highland Towers, collapsed in Selangor, Malaysia. 48 people were killed. The cause: the soil on which the building was constructed was oversaturated with water that it became mud. 100,000 square meters of mud pushed on the foundations of the building making cracks on the road, warning of an impending collapse. 

Sometimes there are cracks in our own spiritual makeup or disposition. Too much stress, anxiety, shame, unforgiveness, introspection, pride, sensitivity, or blaming others for our life.  While listening on YouTube to Christine Caine, she said we have to have the courage to let go of the past. She showed some papers on powerpoint. One was her birth certificate which had “Unnamed” on the line where her name should have been. She also showed a 25 year old letter from the Education Department which said she was not competent, she was unqualified, and if she wanted to pursue any kind of social work, she had to go back to school. 

Today Christine, along with her husband, is the founder of A21, an anti-human trafficking, anti-slavery organization operating in 14 countries around the world. She did not let her black and white documents define her. Instead, she looked to another black and white love letter, the Bible, which said that everything was possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). It also showed her that even if she was unnamed at birth, when she was in her mother’s womb, God knew her, and set her apart. (Jeremiah 1:5). 

If there is something in our past holding us back from pursuing what God wants us to do, we can rebuild a better future based on the rock solid plans found in the Bible. “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). 

My Heart is Moved with Pity

 “My heart is moved with pity..." Mt. 15:32

We are all made in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27), and I do believe that we have some of His character. After all, we are "created to be like God, truly righteous and holy." (Ephesians 4:24). We can see this compassion in a child who cries when her playmate is hurt, or who takes pity on a wounded kitten. But as we grow older, we try to protect ourselves from pain and distress and get immune to the faces of need we see around us. 

In Matthew 15, Jesus is confronted with a great crowd who had been following him for three days. He said, "They have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." A practical concern. How about me? Do I naturally feel compassion for the woman and child sleeping on rags and filthy cardboard on the sidewalk? Do I want to do something for the man languishing in jail for a crime he did not commit? How about a street child in danger of being preyed upon by unscrupulous men?

Even if I do not feel "moved to pity" like Jesus, if I want to be like Him, I can start with a small action of mercy. Just like being happy starts with smiling, Charles Darwin said , "The free expression by outward signs of an emotion intensifies it." And William James notes that if someone does not express an emotion, then he has not felt that emotion at all.

God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4), and if we want to be the same as our Father, we don't have to wait till we feel compassion, we can just DO IT! Mercy is as mercy does!

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

 "...and a little child shall lead them." Isaiah 11:6

A little child shall guide them... that is what it says in the prophetic word of Isaiah. We can connect this to what Jesus says in the Gospel for today, Luke 10, "what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children." 

Sometimes we over complicate believing in God. Paul Washer, the fiery preacher tells of when he was a young kid. His mom gave him clear instructions not to get himself dirty on his first day in school as he had a new set of clothes. Well, he got himself into a fight and went down to play in the river! All his cracks and crevices got filled up with dirt. So he asked John and Rance to come home as they were as dirty as he was. His mom saw him from the window with fire coming out of her eyes. "Now mom, don't get mad," he started, "look at John and Rance..."  Before he could finish, his mom gave him his best theology lesson: "John and Rance are not my children. You are my child. I have nothing to do with them, but I have everything to do with you. Now go upstairs, say your prayers and prepare to die." Now Paul goes around the world preaching with the biggest conviction in the world that God is calling us to be His children and we should say yes to Him every day. 

Lord, may I have the faith of a little child, trusting that I am Yours and You will teach me how to get to heaven and be with you! 

Lord, I Believe!

 “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” Matthew 8:10

What was it about the Centurion’s faith that surprised Jesus? Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, and just as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. True, it was very unusual for a Centurion, an officer in charge of 100 or more soldiers, to care so much for his servant. The historian Polybius noted that a Centurion must be “ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts." They must be courageous, and not very sentimental, I think. 

But this man took the time to find Jesus, approach him and petition, “Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and badly tormented.” In those times a servant was no better than an animal, but this Centurion loved his servant and had compassion for him. He also had faith in Jesus, that even if Jesus did not go to his home, He could heal his servant. 

The Centurion said the very words we say at every Mass, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.” Jesus saw his heart, his faith, and answered his prayer. Do we have the same kind of faith as the Centurion?

Advent is a special time with special graces. Let us approach Jesus with the expectant faith of the Centurion. And if we feel our faith is lacking, let us pray like the father in Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” 

Put On Jesus Christ

 “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Rom. 13:14)

Saint Augustine's conversion from being a sinner to saint, started when he heard a childlike voice telling him to read the Bible. The first thing he read was "Let us behave properly, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Rom. 13:13-14)

Our encounter with God's Word will always have an effect. Isaiah 55:11 says, "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Jesus' mission continues. God's Word touches people's lives today just as it did when Jesus walked the earth.

Yesterday evening was the start of the Church season of Advent. Readings the past days have been all about the Second Coming of the Lord, about how we have to be ready at any time, because He will come unannounced, like a thief in the night. “The heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.” Back up a minute. Everything? All the petty things I do? All those horrible thoughts about this person I don’t particularly like? A lot of times we see bigwigs flashing by us in their convoys in the opposite lane. I think, “Does God care about these seemingly insignificant infractions? Will it count in the eternal scheme of things?” I consider the congressmen who are pushing for divorce in our country just because they want to escape from their own legal unions. Or how about our Senators who are so greedy they want a cut out of every ineffective flood control project? If we are to believe Saint Peter, we will be accountable for EVERYTHING we do. Who in the world is safe then? As Ric Warren says, “I am married to a sinner, and she is married to a bigger sinner!” We can’t point fingers at one another. 

But we can take comfort in this: “Be eager to be found without spot or blemish before Him, at peace.” At first reading this seems highly, exceedingly, immensely impossible. But wait, I know there’s something somewhere in God’s Word which says put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14). How do we do that? Galatians 3:27 says, “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have clothed yourselves with Christ.” It’s not impossible after all! 

Be on the Watch

 “Be on the watch. Pray constantly....” Luke 21:36

In my other Bible, this verse reads: “Be vigilant at all times, be on guard, be awake, be alert, and pray...” This is how to prepare for Jesus’ coming, for “the day will close on you unexpectedly, by surprise, suddenly, catching you unawares like a trap.” 

Today is the last day in the Catholic Liturgical Year. Tomorrow we start anew with the season of Advent. In the Philippines, most of us do not celebrate Advent, which is a time of waiting and preparation akin to the season of Lent. We hear the sounds and sights of Christmas as soon as the “ber” months come around. This is partly our fault. Our stores in the mall get decked out in red and green, with festive garlands all lighted up, in the hopes that people passing are reminded to buy gifts. 

Instead of being caught up in the frenzy of the season, the Church reminds us that Advent is a time to prepare us for heaven. The focus is on the end of all things. Jesus said in verse 34, that we should beware that our hearts do not become drowsy from carousing or drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life. Many of us get overburdened and depressed, weighed down, during this season, because of all the things we have to attend to. Gift-giving, new clothes, parties, overeating, the strain not only on the budget but also relationships, and our minds and bodies, if we are not careful. 

We should take heed. ALL THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT to the birthday celebrant. He wants us to sit down and talk with Him. He wants us to prepare our hearts to receive Him. Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Him who is the giver of all gifts. Let us take time this Advent season to spend time with the Gift-Giver, the King of Kings. Let us get to know Him who loved us first, and who loves us best!

Where’s Your Bible?

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, His Kingship shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:14

It may seem like kingdoms here on earth are all powerful and will last forever. The way kings and dictators rule, it is as if they will never be judged for their actions. But at the end of time, Jesus will be Judge and it will be the comparatively insignificant people who are building God’s Kingdom here on earth whom Jesus will point out and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” 

I am sure that one of those people will be Andrew van der Bijl, or Brother Andrew as he is called. He was born in 1928 and he passed away on September 27, 2022, at the age of 94. As a young boy he dreamed of derring-do, and when he was old enough, he started smuggling Bibles into the Iron Curtain. It was usually difficult to find the Christians and their underground churches because the State did all it could to snuff out religion and religious activities. 

During one trip to Sofia, Bulgaria, Andrew had memorized the address of Petroff, a Christian. He was warned that he should not go around asking for Petroff as he was a foreigner and Petroff would surely get into trouble. Andrew then looked for a map of the city but the bookstore and hotel did not have any. 

In the hotel, there was a small decorative, hand painted street plan under glass. At first Andrew dismissed it because only the names of the biggest boulevards were shown. But as he bent over it, he saw the most amazing thing. The cartographer had penned in the names of the major avenues, but there was one tiny street a few blocks from the hotel that had a name. It was the street where Petroff lived. 

When Andrew visited Petroff in his one room apartment, Petroff showed him that he had 2 Bibles, one complete one, and one with missing pages. He was using a typewriter to fill in the missing parts so he could give it away to a little church in Plotiv where there was not a single Bible. Andrew was able to bring in cartons of Bibles for Petroff to distribute throughout Bulgaria for many years. 

And now, do not most people take for granted our Bibles on the shelf?