5/05/2006

God's answered prayer

True Story

After Mass last Sunday a family and went to the community hall in the basement of their church for a lumpia and pancit lunch. While eating, a lady(who had done the readings at Mass earlier), came to a man and asked, "is that your son?" and she points out his son walking around. He was in the process of playing some sort of hide-n-seek game or keep away with a 2-3 year old. The Dad replied in the affirmitive expecting to be told that his son was disturbing her or had bumped her or something. She then says that she will call his son Levi because he listens to God. Now the man was intrigued. She then proceeded to tell him this story.
"I have been lectoring for years. As long as I have been lectoring, I would go to my husband after Mass and ask him how well I had read (she had a slight eastern European accent). This has always been very important to me because I don't want to read if I'm not doing a good job and people aren't understanding me. But, now my husband is nearly deaf and he can't hear me so I don't have anyone to ask how I'm reading. I was sitting here thinking to myself and talking with God, that I will just have to trust God that I am doing a good enough job. If I'm not, He would just have to let me know somehow. A few minutes later the your son walked up to me and said, (the son) "aren't you the lady who did the readings today at church?"
"Yes I am" said the lady
"I thought so, you did a really good job" says the son.

Needless to say, the lady was very touched by the sons kindness. She was also very fortified in her faith because God answered her prayer in such a beautiful and personal way. The Mom and Dad were also very pleased and proud. How humbling to be reminded that their son is God's son first.

Amen

5/03/2006

my idioms

Nothing gained, nothing ventured.

People who throw stones shouldn't live in glass houses.

Where there's a way, there's a will.

Biting dogs seldom bark.

A thousand words obscures the paintings.

Two birds in the bush are worth the same as one in the hand, and requires no effort.

Suffering

Have you ever been affected by suffering? I think we all are affected at some time in our lives by either our own suffering or other peoples suffering. The meaning of suffering or how a good and loving God can allow apparently terrible suffering can be something that challenges a persons faith. Sometimes even to the degree of being angry at God or even critically reviewing our system of belief. The late great John Paul II wrote an open letter to all the faithful regarding suffering. The name of the letter is SALVIFICI DOLORIS: On The Christian Meaning Of Human Suffering. It will take a good half hour to read the whole thing, but it is very enlightening and fortifying to ones faith. One of the main scripture passages from this teaching is COLL 1: 24. Here we are given a glimpse of the value suffering can have when approched in the proper way.

[22] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, [23] provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. [24]
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, [25] of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.

My understanding is that we can offer our suffering as a sacrafice (from the Latin: sacra- meaning holy and facio- to make) to cooperate with God in making us holy. In St. Augustine's City of God he says “A true sacrifice is any work that unites us to God in holy fellowship.” (10.6). This is where the old Catholic mothers saying "offer it up" has it's theological basis. Our holy suffering offered as a sacrafice, helps to build and strengthen the Body of Christ, which is His Church.

Pyro