GOD CAN BE HELPLESS

 

The Marriage Encounter Weekend (MEW) is definitely one renewal program that we have to be thankful for. Since its conception in Spain by a certain Fr. Calvo, and since it was brought to the Philippines via U.S.A. by Jesuit Fr. Ruben Tanseco, the program has benefited countless Catholic and Christian couples in their search for quality married life. The undeniable testimony to this is the number of M.E. communities that have been put up and sustained by couples who, after being touched by the program, decided to make the promotion of MEW as their lifetime apostolate.

Each weekend class has interesting stories to tell. While majority of the couples who come to the weekend seminar are “infected” positively by the presentation talks and dynamics, some are not even able to complete the weekend. Some couples end up quarrelling and breaking up. And there are those who thought that their marriage was fantastic, yet afterwards experience shake-ups in their relationships. The words and wisdom shared by the presenting teams, consisting of two couples and a priest, and the disclosures that either husband or wife do after each reflection, failed to yield good fruits because one of the parties doesn’t open up to listen or to give. Pride, unforgiveness, rationalizations, emotionalism block goodwill and goodness.

Nothing is impossible with God, yes. But the parable of Jesus today awakens us to the reality that although God is powerful, there are instances when His power is rendered helpless because the human heart is unprepared or too preoccupied with temporalities. The economy of God’s grace can be likened to the cellphone. Through the years, this gadget has opened up various horizons of exchange. Through the powerful beam of unseen digital energies, voice calls, text messages, video calls, email exchanges and Internet connectivities are now possible. But all these become useless when the user enters a place where he or she “cannot be reached.” Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

What unpleasant circumstances in life make you often shut yourself off from others’ reach and from God’s joys? What can you do to open yourself more to God’s grace and goodness?

 

Lord, make me more receptive to Your grace and goodness. Amen.

 

St. Etto, pray for us.

BRAVE HEARTS

 

From Abraham in the Old Testament to Paul in the New Testament, God chose men who had checkered backgrounds. He often picked those whose qualities and character seemed to be inappropriate for the job. For the person that He will use to found the 12 tribes into a chosen nation, God selected Abraham, a childless old man. For someone who will be charged with spreading the Gospel even to the non-Jews, God elected the fiery Saul of Tarsus who was zealous about the observance of the Mosaic tradition.

All the persons that God chose, however, had one sterling mark: they were all fearless. Abraham followed God’s instructions to the letter, even as far as bringing his son Isaac to Moriah to be sacrificed. Paul would later move from place to place, amidst threats to life, imprisonment, shipwreck and daily anxieties, if only to preach about Jesus and to build up a community of believers in His name.

Even now, success comes to people not only because they are educated, well-bred and talented. Success smiles on those who try, dare and are unafraid. It is this kind of persons — men and women with brave hearts — who are able tograb opportunities that come even in trying and critical moments and make the best of them. Yes, be not afraid. This world is not for the fainthearted. In a letter to his young assistant Timothy, Paul wrote, “I remind you to keep alive the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid, instead His Spirit fills us with power, love and selfcontrol” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

Reminisce one experience where your deep faith and guts earned you victory in Jesus’ name. Spend some time asking Jesus to renew and rekindle in you the flame of His Holy Spirit.

 

Grant me a brave heart, Lord, that I may dare to pass through unknown paths in order to follow Your will for my life. Amen.

 

St. Adrian Van Hilvarenbeek, pray for us.

GOD’S GRACE WORKS WITH OUR SMART WAYS

 

Several years ago I preached a retreat for our sister community, the Daughters of St. Paul in Lahore, Pakistan. The nuns were thankful and excited because they had been gifted with three young novices preparing for their first profession of vows after almost 10 years of no additions.

In the course of my stay, I met a good number of Filipinos in the city. Some of them worked as professors in the university; others were lay missionary workers under the supervision of the Columban priests. I particularly remember my encounter with a Filipino religious brother who served as the novice master for his community’s 15 Pakistani novices. His religious community was originally founded in France and he narrated how they managed to put up a Pakistani mission house.

Pakistan, the first Islamic State, allows the visa-free entry of citizens from Asean member countries. The government specifically encouraged businessmen to visit the country and set up job and trade opportunities. Making use of this immigration policy, an Indonesian brother from the religious congregation travelled to and from Pakistan. In the process, he was able to procure a lot, build a community house and confirm a number of young Pakistani converts seeking entry to a religious congregation. The Indonesian brother who pioneered the difficult project was later given recognition by his confreres in the religious congregation. They elected him as one of their General Councilors. And the rest is history.

“Listen,” Jesus proclaims in today’s Gospel, “I am sending you as sheep among wolves. You should be clever as snakes and innocent as doves.” God’s blessing works best not only when we have much faith and confidence in His providence. We should complement God’s work with our own exercise of creativity, intelligence and intuition —abilities that God have already bestowed on us. Faith should not make us dumb and naive.Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

How do you plan your projects of evangelization? Do you also exercise astuteness and shrewdness? Re-read today’s Gospel and let it challenge you and your community’s attitude.

 

Lord, grant me courage to do my part in the work of evangelization. Help me to use the talents You have given me for this purpose. Amen.

 

St. Arnold, pray for us.

GOD PROVIDES FOR THOSE WHOM HE SENDS

Having a family member confined in a hospital is a derailing experience. We have to see to it that there is always someone available to look after the sick family member. It is our cultural value to personally care for sick and aging family members. We adjust our work schedules to be able to do this. There is also the anxiety over expenditures for hospital bills, medicines and  doctors’ fees.

I experienced all the above when our 68-year-old mother had to be hospitalized three times in a period of a month and a half. Two things I am personally thankful for: first, that during those trying moments my youngest sister happened to be around for a vacation; and second, that the members of the various renewal communities I minister to were sensitive to my predicament. They were quick to offer help, such as offering continuous prayers, visiting my mother and handing gifts that helped us through. All these were answered prayers. On several occasions, I candidly lifted up my heart and mind to the Lord in prayer in this manner: “Lord, You have made me a minister to serve Your Church with my everything. This untoward event with my mother overtakes me at the height of many schedules for Lent and Easter. Lord, I trust in Your infinite wisdom and goodness. I know that You will take care of my mother and that You will see to it that I serve You and Your Church with uninterrupted peace. Amen.” And the Lord showed what He was capable of!

Our Gospel passage today underlines not only Jesus’ missionary mandate for the first disciples; it also declares Jesus’ promise that He will provide sustenance for us to be faithful to our ordained mission and God-given  responsibilities.We just have to trust God’s Word, and then do what we have to do. Many times, God’s power and wisdom need the backdrop of human helplessness and hopelessness so that we can easily recognize His work. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

Look back at your own personal experience of God’s timely ways to sustain you in your own life priorities and ministry.

 

Lord, help me not to doubt that You will always provide for my needs as I try to accomplish Your purpose for my life. Amen.

 

St. Ethelburga, pray for us.

GOD’S ELECTION

Last year, we went through one crazy, expensive political process called the elections. We were all amazed at how position-hungry politicians carelessly threw away billions to promote their bloated egos, their myths about rags-to-riches origins, their competencies, their hero-laden lineage, their almost perfect solutions to national woes and ills. No one wants to be less than “Number 1.” They all came parading in their attractive thematic colors: yellow, green, red, blue, original orange, imitation orange, etc.

Today’s Scripture readings make me think: Would God be able to choose a governor who would save Egypt from famine from among our aspiring candidates for president? Would any of these presidentiables been better than the patriarch Joseph? Would Jesus dare pick His Twelve from the line-up of our aspiring congressmen and senators?

Our encounter with the Word of God invites us to dig deep and to be awed by God’s strange ways of Divine Election. God willed the humble stranger Joseph to be the governor of Egypt during the critical period of drought. He was inexperienced about management of any kind. Jesus singled out the Twelve rough guys from rural Galilee as pioneers for His worldwide mission of spreading the Kingdom of the Father. The Twelve are an interesting study of various ego trips and ego limits. Now, all these make up God’s pedagogy that every person is a potential, that everyone is a risk, and all that matters is teachability. No person is really born, made, naturally endowed and tailor-fit for anything. Every person, even those who have studied and specialized in their fields, will have to adjust and learn as they settle into specific working environments. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

What responsibilities and competencies do you currently hold? How do you feel about these? Do you, in any way, feel you are worthy and fit for these

 

Lord, You have elected me to do a specific mission for You. Help me do it well. Amen.

 

St. Merryn, pray for us.

WRESTLING WITH GOD

 

The main sanctuary of the San Fernando de Dilao Parish Church in Paco is one of the simplest I have ever seen. It is typical of the many other churches built by the CICM missionaries. The Baguio Cathedral is also one of these.

The simplicity of the sanctuary helps us focus on the essential: the altar itself, the ambo, the presider’s chair, the crucifix. Latin words inscribed above the arched wall of the sanctuary invite us to consider the need for solemnity and proper decorum in our worship. The words are “Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Sabbaoth,” which mean “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Host.” God is Almighty, Awesome, Majestic. He must always be revered, honored and adored with the highest praise.

But the Bible lessons today share with us the other side of approaching God, that is, by just being who we are. The first reading narrates Jacob’s nocturnal wrestling with an angel which Bible scholars claim to be merely a literary figure representing God Himself. The patriarch was set to meet Esau, his twin brother, whom he deprived of a firstborn’s blessing. Perhaps in his solitude with God, Jacob expressed his fears and anxieties, and God subdued him and made him submit to His divine will and purpose by morning.

Our Gospel likewise describes Jesus as one who looked at situations with much compassion. As He pitied the crowd, Jesus would surely have lifted up a sigh in prayer to the Father. There was much work to be done, lots of persons to minister to, and a limited time for Jesus to do His earthly mission.

Feeling with and feeling for the people could not but make us wrestle with God. And we are free to be honest with God about how we feel. Just as St. Teresa de Avila, Doctor of the Church, was. Aged and exhausted by her efforts to reform the Carmelite Order, she wrote, “God, if this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder there are a few of them!” Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

Recall a time when you wrestled with God in your prayer, thoughts and emotions. What experience brought this about? How did God make His presence felt? What message did God give you as you wrestled with Him?

 

Almighty Father, Your ways are too mysterious for me. Grant me wisdom to understand them.

 

St. Triphina, pray for us.

THE HEALING POWER OF TOUCH

My father, two younger sisters and I went through trying times for three months in 2010. My 68-year-old mother who was frail and sickly from over 20 years of complications with diabetes, fell 15 steps down the wooden staircase of our apartment in Paco. It was God’s grace that she survived the fall without any crack in her cranium or any serious bone injury. She, however, sustained a deep cut which needed to be sutured by a neurosurgeon. Her recovery from the cut also necessitated bed rest of around a week-and-a-half in the hospital where she caught pneumonia. This second illness proved to be more problematic for us. We had to take her in and out of the hospital twice, since she had difficulty breathing and eating. Later, she was allowed to go home with her NGT (nasogastric intubation) and my youngest sister had to patiently attend to her. My mother needed 24- hour nursing care and my sister would feed her through her nose tube every four hours.

There were times when all we could do was hope and pray. Seeing my mother suffer was hard. The anxiety of figuring out where to get money to settle hospital bills, doctors’ fees and buy medical supplies made things even harder. I would try to visit my mother more often, as much as my schedule would allow. I would pray and anoint her.

There was one thing I discovered in the course of my stay with her, first in the hospital, then at home. Mama loved to touch me and my sisters. Her face would light up every time I entered her room. She seemed to draw strength and inspiration for her healing and recovery by touching us, her family. I would touch and kiss her, too.

Today’s Good News features the healing power of touch. The woman who had been sick for 12 years had just one prayer: “If only I touch His cloak, I will get well.” She touched — and she was indeed healed. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

Are you generous with your loving touch and with your healing presence to family members who are sick or old? Pray for healing as you touch the sick and the elderly. Ask Jesus to use your hands as channels of His blessings.

 

Lord Jesus, make me a channel of Your healing touch for the sick people around me. Amen.

 

Blessed William Andleby, pray for us.