In God’s own terms and time

The story is told about a couple in their 60s who were visited by a fairy, who told them to wish for anything and it would be granted. The wife wished for a world cruise with her husband—and poof! Two tickets were in her hands. The husband wished to have a wife 30 years younger than he—and poof! He became 92 years old.

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In today’s Gospel (Mk. 4, 26-34), Jesus teaches us in the Parable of the Seeds that God acts in His own terms, and in His own time. God’s ways are not man’s ways. God cannot be dictated to by anything or by anyone. Yes, God is in perfect control. Let God be God, and let man be man.

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Today is Father’s Day. Today is also the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. Our greatest consolation is that our all-powerful and all-knowing God is a Father as told to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only that—our God is a God who has a heart that loves and that listens to our cries. What a privilege for us to be called sons and daughters in the Son!

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The Kingdom of God has a life of its own, but that is not to say that we just leave it as such. Yes, grace is operative, whether we know it or not, but our Christian calling is to cooperate with God’s grace. We are called to become partners in the Kingdom of God.

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Obedience, trust, and patience. These are the three basic attitudes we should have if we are to become cooperators of grace. Those who disobey, those who distrust, and those who are impatient do more harm than good in this partnership with the Divine. May we not become obstacles to the growth of God’s Kingdom in our midst. As long as we listen to God in prayer and follow His instructions, we will not become proud with our progress, or be discouraged with our setbacks and failures.

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To make sure that we are in tune with God’s own terms and with God’s time, let us keep in mind that the work of salvation is principally God’s work. No one is indispensable. We are just instruments, unworthy ones at that. Let us also learn to work as a team. We don’t need superstars. Let us also learn to be patient. There are no shortcuts. Let us not sacrifice quality in the name of efficiency.

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Today’s Gospel gives us the hope that a small, insignificant seed can grow and become a tree, bearing fruits in time. Let us not be dismayed with our simple and humble beginnings, or give in to hopelessness when we encounter delays or setbacks of any kind. As the song says: “God will make a way when it seems there is no way.” And yet another song says:  “God will make all things beautiful in His time.”

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How is your heart? On this Feast of the Sacred Heart, let us all have a “heart checkup”! Do you still have a heart—that is, do matters of the heart still matter to you? Has your heart become cynical, closed and hard? Do you still believe in generosity, openness and love? Does your heart still burn with passion or at least still glow with human goodness and love? Or do you have a frozen heart that has ceased to believe, trust, hope, and love? Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, repair our hearts, embrace our hearts, everything and everyone in our hearts.

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Please remember that we reap what we sow. Scatter seeds of goodness, and you will reap its fruits in time. There may be delays or seeming loss, but be assured that the goodness you do comes back to you in ways you cannot even imagine or know. The same can be said of the seeds of sin we scatter and sow.

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Today, Father’s Day, let us remember our own earthly fathers. On a personal note, I remember with gratitude my own Papa, who taught us by his words and life example the path of meaning and righteousness. He showed us what being a public servant meant. While others were raking in money in the Bureau of Customs where he served for 23 years, we, his family, were content living in a rented house, sharing a surplus jeep for our transport, and having just enough. He was, in the eyes of the world, “not wise” for letting go of material prosperity for the sake of his principles, for the sake of his God. Today, I’d like to tell him: “Papa, you do us proud!”

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Today, I’d like to honor our sick and retired confreres at VCR (Villa Cristo Rey), our retirement house here in Christ the King Seminary. Only God knows the hard work and sacrifices they have done and continue to do for the Lord in their retirement years. One of our retired confreres in our “Hall of Fame” is Fr. Liberato Fernandez, SVD, who has been bedridden and in coma for the past 10 years or so. Another one worth mentioning is Fr. Peter Michael, SVD, from Germany, who is turning 100 years old on Oct. 1.

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We thank Fr. Fred Mislang, SVD, Praeses of our retirement house, and his staff of nurses and caregivers who help our sick and retirees “feel comfortable and at home, treat them with utmost respect, concern, and Christian love” (VCR mission statement). Yes, let us not forget to care for and take care of our fathers and elders. Happy Father’s Day!

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, remind me that everything happens in Your own terms, and in Your own time. Amen.