Sowhen someone hurts you ...

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. (Luke 6:35)

"Forget it, I don't want to talk to you anymore!" The text came through abruptly, and Susan blinked as she reread it in disbelief. Had she really been this misunderstood by her friend? Her heart began to beat faster at her ability to conjure up these feelings in another human. On the other hand, Susan was relieved. Was she really finally free of such a difficult relationship?

Today's verse reminds us that in many cases, even though we want to cut ourselves off from a world that doesn't understand us, Jesus tells us that we should love, even - especially - those who are ungrateful and evil. We are made in God's image after all, and He is the very definition of kindness. So regardless of anyone else's belief system or personality or stereotyping, you, as an image

Danny Hernaez

bearer of God, are meant to love.

So when someone hurts you, instead of withdrawing, take a step back momentarily, allowing everyone some time to breathe.

You can show love even if you don't see eye to eye. Don't offer something that will harm you or the other person by spoiling or indulging sin, but instead, show love. In doing so, you will remind the other person that you not only value who they are, you also recognize your own worth and dignity.

Then, ask God for help in showing this person that He has something better for both of you: a reward, as it says in Luke, that will be great!

Dear Lord, thank You for in step with advancements in technology," he said.

As I mentioned last Sunday Jesus taught during his lifetime using parables about life and experience in life. Today he continues to teach using three parables. They may be different but Jesus presented them together in order to form a common theme. Here, Jesus reveals another mystery of God which Psalm 86 fittingly describes: “You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abound in kindness to all who call upon you. In spite of our own imperfection and frailty, God deals with us with so much goodness and mercy. He teaches us “by deeds” to be kind to others, and gives us hope to repent of our sins – which our First Reading explains (Wisdom 12). The three parable that Jesus mentioned begins with the first parable of the “wheat and the weeds”. In this first parable, Jesus speaks to us of an unpleasant reality of life: goodness and wickedness exist side by side. We may often wonder why it takes so long to get rid of evil. This question can bother us continually, and we can find ourselves thinking like the servants in the parable who wish to clean up the field of weeds at once. But we are cautioned against this kind of impulsive reaction as the danger of uprooting wrongly the weeds and the wheat, for it is difficult to distinguish them from each other in their phases of growth. To avoid this, we need to wait until harvest time, when they can easily be distinguished and, thus, separated.

Jesus makes us think: How many of us have started out in life more similar to weeds than to wheat? Repentance and conversion have made all the difference. Likewise, how many started out looking like good seed but never actually bore good fruit? Time is needed in order for us to realize who we were meant to be. And God gave us this precious gift of time to enable the wheat in us to grow and to bear fruit. We are assured of a future that is fair and just. In the meantime, we should not be disheartened by the presence of evil in ourselves and in the world. Our task is to pray and to work daily for repentance and conversion.

In the second parable, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, the “smallest” of all the seeds, which grows into the “largest” of plants. Here, he describes a mystery in the Church. Seeing its simple beginnings in Jerusalem, it seemed impossible that it could ever grow into anything. Yet, despite the persecutions that it went through, its growth in the course of time was amazing, with its branches extending far throughout the world. The mention of the “birds of the sky” in the parable is very prophetic; referring to all the nations of the world, who will “come and dwell in its branches.” The hidden power of God is behind this great mystery in the Church.

Finally, in the third parable Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to the yeast. As a leavening agent, a tiny amount of yeast causes the dough to rise. This is a description of how God works in us and in the Church. We cannot rise by ourselves; and neither can the Church. St. Paul teaches us in the Second Reading (Rom. 8,) that it is the Holy Spirit who “comes to the aid of our weakness, for we do not know to pray as we ought.” The Spirit is the hidden power that helps us to pray and live “according to God’s will,” bringing to our lives the rich harvest of the seed He has sown. Let us pray that we may continually learn from the lessons that Jesus wants us to learn from the parables that he used in teaching about the nature of the kingdom to which He invites us to enter and be in communion with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Loving A Neighbor

In terms of proximity, next to our immediate family, our neighbors are nearest to us, yet it can happen that they are completely strangers to us. Because of this proximity, our relationship with our neighbor can be put to a severe test.

Some years ago, while vacationing in Europe, our house was burglarized. They were able to haul away cash and jewelries but what we missed most of all was the lap tap computer of Sally which contains invaluable documents. What stunned us however was that a son of our neighbor was a prime suspect.

What happened the next few days was sad as it was terrifying it landed in the papers. It appeared that our neighbor’s son had an accomplice.

who was with his girlfriend, decided to shoot it out with the Officers. In that fateful encounter, a policeman was shot and killed. Our neighbor’s accomplice likewise was shot and killed. Our neighbor’s son was eventually captured and imprisoned.

Our Lord commands, “Love thy neighbor”. It is direct and explicit. It is unconditional. There are times in our life when we find it difficult to love. But Love we must despite the circumstance if we are to remain faithful disciples of Christ.

trains clean, as well as following the rules so that our transport systems can run in an efficient, effective, and orderly manner.”

Enhance passenger travel

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the new LRVs’ advanced features would enhance passenger travel experience in the country’s first elevated rail system.

“These new LRVs, purchased at more than PHP12.8 billion, are equipped with an advanced passenger information system, a new signaling system and ice-cold air-conditioning – leading to a vastly enhanced passenger experience,” Bautista said at the inaugural first train ride with Marcos.

The upgraded train's brakes and signaling system will improve operational efficiency by reducing passengers’ waiting time between trains at stations to less than three minutes, a boost to the soon LRT-1 Cavite Extension, Bautista added.

"The evolution of LRT-1 is not finished. It will continue to upscale

With one Gen-4 train set serving commuters starting July 20 and additional one train set per week until December, the complete deployment of all the train sets on the main line is expected by fourth quarter of 2024 when the LRT-1 Cavite Extension begins operations.

Funded by a JICA Official Development Assistance loan, the LRT-1 South (Cavite) Extension Project (L1CE Project) is composed of the procurement of 120 fourth generation LRVs, expansion of the existing Baclaran depot in Pasay City, and construction of the new Zapote satellite depot.

Manufactured by Mitsubishi Corporation, the new Rolling Stock of 30 trainsets at four LRVs per set features a Human-Machine Interface that will allow the train operator to easily trouble-shoot and identify possible cause of any operational glitch.

Under a Public-Private Partnership between the government and LRMC, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension also involves the extension of the existing line by making me in Your image. I know You have equipped me to love others, even when I am so tempted to strike back at them. Show me when to set boundaries, and when to receive people with open arms. I want to bless others with Your Light. I trust You with all my relationships, even the hard ones. Help me to be bear Your image in all that I do. Amen.

The disciples thought they suffered their greatest defeat when Jesus died on the cross. However, this defeat became the greatest victory on earth. Christ's death gave liberty. Forgiveness came to all men. New life came forth - new strength for the disciples. Resurrection and new life came as a result of a "defeat." <(((>< another 11.7 kilometers, adding eight new stations with a provision for two more future station plus facilities' works.

Aimed to spur commercial growth in the various rail stations, the extended railway will traverse the cities of Parañaque and Las Piñas in Metro Manila, and Bacoor City in Cavite at a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour, reducing travel time to just 25 minutes from the current 1 hour and 10 minutes.

(MNS)

When they were identified, the Authorities pursued them. In that fateful encounter, our neighbor’s son was not around but his accomplice

Sally and I reacted to this terrible happening with remarkable calm demeanor. Instead of being consumed with anger and bitterness, we responded with compassion and empathy for our neighbor. We lost some material things while our neighbor lost a son. We found it in our hearts to forgive the son. It was the start of the healing process. We never talked with our neighbors about the incident. We just continued to deal with them with civility and respect. The couple responded in like manner. Eventually, the couple became our best friends in the neighborhood.