God’s wisdom

The story is told about a man who questioned God’s wisdom thus: Why did God make a lofty mango tree bear such small fruits, and why did God make a crawling squash vine bear such big fruits? Just as he was feeling so happy about his imagined wisdom and insight, a mango fell on his head. Then he understood and knew that indeed, God is all-knowing and wise.

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In today’s Gospel (Lk. 10, 1-9), we hear of Jesus’ marching orders and instructions to His disciples whom He had sent ahead of Him. They were to go by pairs, carry no extra provisions, stay in the same house, and proclaim the message of peace and reconciliation. By worldly wisdom, these are not effective strategies at all, and would be rated as amateur, if not naïve. Ah, but God’s wisdom is not man’s wisdom, and God’s ways are not man’s ways!

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Ask any person involved in networking or marketing a product, and he/she will tell you the importance and necessity of planning and monitoring every step of the way to achieve maximum results. The “Kingdom of God” should be treated thus, too, but not quite, for there is the factor of grace which cannot be controlled, manipulated, or disregarded. By all means, we should work as if everything depended upon us, but also pray as though everything depended upon God.

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How one becomes a member of Jesus’ “advance party” itself is a matter of grace. Many of us were called to the priestly and religious life and continue to be called not so much because of ourselves. Indeed we are earthen vessels that carry a treasure, unworthy messengers that proclaim a tremendous message.

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Fr. Redz Domino, SVD, was a first year engineering student of Mapua Institute of Technology, and all set to become a pilot someday. How did God catch up with him? Through a foot injury which made him discontinue his studies, and eventually led him to Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City. He took the entrance exams on Sept. 8, 1986. Unknown to him then, Sept. 8 is the birthday of Mama Mary and of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). He was ordained priest on Dec. 12, 1996 (the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe). He worked for four years as a missionary in the Congo in Africa, and is now the vocation director of our SVD Philippine Central Province. A foot injury that did not make sense then led him to a walking ministry now in search of possible candidates for the priestly and religious life. For possible candidates, please call Father Redz at 7265002/04 or e-mail him at [email protected].

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Father Redz points to the family as the rich ground for vocations. He himself admits that he owes his vocation to his parents, Alfeo and Justina Domino, who taught him and his seven siblings at an early age the value of prayer and good deeds. Indeed, the family that prays together stays together, and by God’s grace, produces vocations together.

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A tale of two brothers. Fr. Loi Ebisa, SVD, and Fr. Bobby Ebisa, SVD, were ordained priests together on Dec. 8, 1993. These brothers grew up serving as sacristans of the Pink Sisters in Cebu City. Father Bobby remembers growing up in Tuyon, Carcar City, in a prayerful and loving home with their parents, Crisanto and Lorenza Ebisa. He worked for nine years in Brazil and six years as director of Radio Veritas Asia. Father Loi has worked in remote mountain parishes in Abra, Kalinga, and Ifugao. Now 53, he has advanced colon cancer, and Father Bobby, 49, takes care of him at our retirement house. It is so inspiring and edifying to see the love and care for each other of these two brothers, two priest-brothers.

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Recently, I saw a man in a restaurant who looked like our Papa, who passed away in 1987. I just sat there looking at the man, remembering Papa and praying for him, and asking him to pray for us all. For me, it was a moment of grace, a beautiful reminder from God that our loved ones are never really gone. And guess what? That evening, an old friend and coworker of Papa called me from out of the blue to tell me that he was sending some fruits for me and for our missionaries. Just like that.

Yes, there are many things we cannot explain or understand in this life, except through God’s wisdom.

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For those candidates who lost in the last elections and still cannot accept their present situation, remember, God in His wisdom and love has a plan. In everything that happens in our lives, there is a reason, there is a mission. Trust, surrender, and believe in God’s wisdom.

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Pray for the grace of faith. More than something we work for or earn, grace is something given to us. It’s all about Him, not us! May we have the humility to see that God has a master plan, and the trust that He makes all things beautiful in His time.

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Think about this: “I do not understand the mystery of grace, only that it meets us where we are, and does not leave us where it found us.”

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, teach me to rely more on Your understanding and wisdom. Amen.