The story is told about a little boy who approached the priest after the Mass and told him that he was donating his allowance money which he had saved. When the priest asked him why, almost in tears, the boy said: “That’s because my father said to me during the Mass that you are a poor preacher, the poorest one we ever had.”
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Today is the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not poor and wanting because they are so full of love overflowing! We all are blessed and privileged beneficiaries of their unconditional and unlimited grace and blessings. May we become more grateful and obedient to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves and obeys the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the love that is dwelling in and between them.
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In today’s Gospel (John 16: 12-15), Jesus gives us an insight into the dynamics between Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. It is all about respect, unity, and constant giving. This is the model we all should follow in all our loving. May our families, our communities, and friendships be imbued with the Trinitarian love.
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Pope Francis gives us his beautiful insights about the Trinitarian model of love in our families. He reminds us that families survive and grow if there is constant giving and forgiving, in spite of differences and imperfections, hurts, and disappointments in each other.
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There is no such thing as a perfect family. We all have complaints and shortcomings with each other, but Pope Francis encourages us to continue giving and forgiving. Forgiveness is the “medicine” without which “the family becomes sick and unhealthy.” To paraphrase an often used quotation: “The family that forgives together stays together.”
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Pope Francis emphasizes that a family is a place of support and not of gossip and slander of one another … a place of welcome, not a place of rejection. He ends by saying: “When anyone is going through a challenge, all they need is support.” This is a beautiful reminder not only for families but also for communities, friends, and associations. Individually, as a family, as a nation, as one global community, we all must learn to live out the Trinitarian example of respect, unity, giving, and constant forgiving.
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Life is short. May we not spend the rest of our lives carrying loads of hurts and unforgiveness. Let us ask the help of the Holy Spirit and just decide to forgive, once and for all. May we have no regrets in the end that we loved too little, too late.
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I remember this reminder of Papa and Mama when we were growing up: “We are happy if you are all united, and sad if you are divided; let us all make it to heaven, complete as a family, reunited together again.”
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Today is Independence Day. We pray and continue to work for real independence and freedom in our country and in our people. Let us not lose hope. Let us not give in to hopelessness. We are family. Let us not give up on each other.
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For those who have so much in life, think about this: “The most valuable and real property is … the space you occupy in other people’s hearts.”
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A moment with the Lord:Lord, help us to live the Trinitarian spirit of respect, unity, giving, and constant forgiving. Amen.
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