COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS NOT YOUR PROBLEMS

April 19, 2022 Tuesday within the octave of Easter John 20:11-18 Death is never easy to deal with. Right? Mary Magdala was not able to recognize Jesus because she tend to dwell on her sorrow. Her mourning makes her mistakenly identified Jesus as a gardener. My dear friends, the message of today’s gospel is very clear. When we focus more on our pains it will blind us to recognize the presence of God in our lives. We can’t see the light if we love to hide in darkness. We cannot taste what victory is if we love to talk about defeats. We will not suceed if we nailed our thoughts on our failures. Healing is impossible if we keep touching our wounds. Forgiveness is unattainable if we keep remembering our painful memories. We cannot feel the joy of Easter if we are stuck to the sorrows of lent. Blessings can be elusive if we always complain and not grateful to what we have. Enjoy your blessings and stop looking to what is missing. Count your blessings not your problems. Count your blessings not your troubles. Our sorrows and pains can paralyze us if we allow them to dominate in us. Remeber this: A negative mind will never give us a postive life. Friends, train your life to see the good in everything. Why? Because the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Our happiness and success depends on the quality of our thoughts. If we always dwell on our sorrows the identity of the risen Lord will remain a garderner. Today if you have pains talk to Jesus not to a gardener. Finally, “I have seen the Lord” was Mary’s proclamation and revelation. Folks, if we aspire to see the Lord, move away from the tomb because Jesus is no longer a slave of the tomb. Search the Lord, find Him but don’t look Him in the tomb. Today, many of us seek the resurrected Christ but we failed to find Him because we look for Him in the tomb of temporal pleasures. We look for Him in a wrong stations. When you are disappointed seek the Lord not other else. We cannot find Him in the tomb of wealth and fame. We cannot find Him in the tomb of prestige and power. Today refuse to entertain any stories of pain. Train your mind to see the beauty of the world everyday. Don’t ruin a good today by thinking about the bad yesterday. Brethren, try to be positive in a negative situation. We are reminded by our gospel today that when we seek the risen Lord our sorrows will be turned into hope. Our disappointments will be replaced by delights and joy. Friends, remember this, “one day all will be well.” Let me end my reflection by qouting again our Responsorial Psalm of today. “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” Blessings Fr. Jhack