Gospel and Readings for July 5, 2015 (Sunday)

First Reading
Ex 2:2-5

As he spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking say to me:  Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.  Their children are bold of face and stubborn of heart- to them I am sending you.  You shall say to them:  Thus says the Lord God.  And whether they hear or resist- they are a rebellious house- they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Second Reading
2 Cor 12:7-10

Because of the abundance of the revelations. Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.  Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness."  I will rather boast gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Gospel
Mk 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.  When the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogues, and many who heard him were astonished.  They said, "Where did this man get all this?  What kind of wisdom has been given him?  What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!  Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joset and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?"  And they took offense at him.  Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house."  So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.  He was amazed at their lack  of faith.  He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching.

The Word in other words

I find it hard to understand the Gospel today, probably today because of cultural differences between the thinking if the Jews and the Filipino mind.  Among us for example, when someone successful or famous comes back and visits his/her hometown, the whole town will prepare and give that person a joyous welcome.  The people feel proud to be part of that person's success and fame.

With Jesus, it was the opposite.  He was met with murmuring and great prejudice.  Instead of pride Jesus encountered suspicions and disbelief.  "Where did his wisdom come from?  Is he not the carpenter?"

Like jealous and hatred, prejudice could lead to murder.  So strong could prejudice be that a prejudiced person can choose to remain blind in front of glaring facts.  Somebody calls it "self-inflicting blindness."  Being blinded, he or she strikes like a serpent to an unknowing suspect.

Jesus could not let his healing touch flow into unbelieving hearts.  He waits with enduring patience for a change of heart.  Meanwhile he moves on and seeks more fertile grounds to scatter the seeds of his kingdom.

                   - Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD (DWST, Tagaytay City)

To have a Beautiful Skin is to have a Beautiful Life

Just as gifts are sometimes judged by its wrappings and trimmings, so as a person is judged by their outer package.  The skin as considered the largest organ in the body covering almost every inch and cranny.  In fact, we Filipinos always look up to people having beautiful and fair skin. Yet, for me, I do not care whether you have fair or not-so-fair skin as long as it is smooth and clear for the skin can tell you many things.  The WebMd tells us even of the different types of skin and how to take care of it. True enough, I get to see a lot of write-ups and posts on how to get smooth and clear skin.

I am just quite blessed to have smooth and clear skin. Spare you the fact that I have childhood signs of having a rough and carefree life with all the scars.  But do you really want to know the secret? Well, it will no longer be a secret because I will be telling you now...

Flashback 32 years ago, born as the eldest of four, my mother had the privilege to breast-feed me and she was so blessed with lots and lots of milk that she would end up bathing me with her sprouting milk.  This practice is now being confirmed when I get to read a lot of articles on breast-milk-for-beautiful-skin soap  .  My mother's initiative and undying effort instead of just wiping the extra milk from her breast, finally paid off. I am just very thankful that I never experienced having pimple eruptions during adolescence or having pimples when period is coming. Moreover, should I ever have wounds I would immediately apply sebo de macho or mantica di cacao.  These are over the counter topical creams that we grew up with and proved to be very effective. You just need to apply them as the wound or scratch are on its healing phase when you feel they become itchy or turn pinkish. Also since I have oily skin, I don't usually wash my face too often because it gets to be oily all the more. I just comfort myself by washing my face once a day with good ol' Butuan's famous Carrot Soap.

My skin has already brought me far.  I am just being blessed that every time I get exposed by the heat of the sun, I will just turn beet-red and not get burned. However, one thing is for sure, when you are at the beach, you will need to apply sunblock often because the beach is treacherous.  Because you are always wet from swimming, you will never feel the heat nor the burning sensation.  Never apply regular lotion when you get off from the water or else you will get burned skin.

To have a beautiful skin is to have a beautiful life, they say. No wonder dermatologists and whitening products proliferate on and off the internet and the showbiz people can attest and even acknowledge all their beauty care sponsors. This said, fans of these showbiz personalities tend to follow their idols and even emulate their beautiful skin senses. It seems to be injected in the minds of people that if you have fair and smooth skin, you will also have a great life. What do they exactly mean by beautiful life? It is when you get the best of both worlds, having the attention and all from significant and not so significant people in your life, and getting what you desire and want. But for me, beautiful life is when you have the love and respect of people whom you also love and being able to accept whatever limes or lemons in your life and make lemonades and most of all keeping the sunny side of life.

So whatever your skin color or type is, what is important is that you keep your self healthy and happy and it will eventually show in your skin and tell the world that after all you have a beautiful life.