The story is told about a man who was going to America for the first time. He could not read or write and he was convinced that it would be a big problem for him, especially how to find the men’s toilet. His relatives advised him to go where the sign has fewer letters—i.e., “Men” compared to “Women.” But when he arrived in America, he kept ending up in the women’s toilet because the toilet signs read “Ladies” and “Gentlemen.”
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In today’s Gospel (Mk 13, 24-32), Jesus tells His disciples to be vigilant and to watch for signs of the coming of the Son of Man. There will be disturbing signs: The sun and the moon will be darkened, stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken. But more than the signs that will herald the “end of times,” Jesus is telling His disciples to focus on faith, and hope that He is coming soon.
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Let us not spend our lives fearful of what will or may happen. What will happen will happen whether we know it or not. There are many things beyond our knowledge and control, so we should learn to trust a power that is greater than ourselves. If we learn to let go and to let God, we will have a more peaceful life.
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It can happen that our practice of our religion is based on fear. And so it is that some people obey and comply just to be safe, and to make sure they are saved. We must grow from compliance and obligations, and focus on our relationship with God more and more. We must learn to go beyond the signs of His coming, and focus on He who is coming. Let us check ourselves today whether we really have a relationship with our loving God or we are just trying to manipulate God with our acts of piety and devotion.
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A lot of preparations have been made and changes imposed by our government for the Apec summit this week, most of which are palliatives and for mere face-lifting purposes. Our preparations for the coming of the Son of Man cannot be done in the Apec way, for God knows everything and God sees the heart more than anything else. There is nothing we can hide from Him. But how consoling to know that our God is full of mercy and compassion. A humble and contrite heart He will not spurn. Humility is the key to God’s heart.
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It is autumn in Korea. There are beautiful colors everywhere as the leaves of the trees change from green to red, orange, yellow and brown until they are all gone. But there are trees that remain green the whole year round. These are the evergreens, which change neither with the times nor the seasons and are constant and steady, and always ready. May we become more like the evergreens in our relationship with other people. The evergreens do not call attention to themselves. Unlike the other trees that attract our eyes in spring or in autumn, the evergreens remain in the background—hidden but powerful, and inspiring witnesses that it is possible to remain green even in the coldest winter.
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There is a story about a motorist who passed a man on the road carrying a sign that read “The end is near” and was frantically shouting so. The motorist dismissed the man as a fanatic and drove on. Then there was this big crashing sound. The bridge had collapsed during the night and he went straight toward the end of his life! Let us learn to stop, look and listen to the road signs in our journey through life. Again, humility is the key, and prayer is the way to really listen to God’s heart. Life has an end, and we know not where or when. What matters is that we live a meaningful life, and we continue to pray for the grace of a happy death.
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Think about this: “Do all the good you can, by all the ways and means you can, in all the places you can, at all times you can, to all people you can, as long as you can.”
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Sharing with you my daily prayer: “Lord, may my life be Thine, may my exit be kind, and may eternity be mine through Your mercy divine. Amen.”
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Fr. Jess del Rosario, SVD, made a kind exit last Nov. 7 at the age of 79. The unassuming and hardworking Father Jess (from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro), worked as a missionary in Taiwan, and his last assignment was in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, where he taught at the Divine Word Formation Center and the Divine Word College. He celebrated his golden year in the priesthood this year. What a “golden” way to pass on to eternity!
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The 28th Eucharistic Congress, with the theme “The Holy Eucharist, The Feast of the Divine,” will be held on Nov. 28, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Convent of Perpetual Adoration (Pink Sisters Convent) on Hemady Avenue corner 11th Street, New Manila. Conference topics and speakers: “The Holy Eucharist Welcomes the Unwanted” (Fr. Raymun Festin, SVD, rector, Christ the King Mission Seminary), “The Holy Eucharist Remembers the Forgotten” (Fr. Lino Nicasio, SVD, parish priest, St. Jude Shrine), “The Holy Eucharist Seeks the Lost” (Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, DD, Diocese of San Fernando, Pampanga). For inquiries, please call 7228828.
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A moment with the Lord:
Lord, help us not only to be attentive to the signs that lead us to You, but most of all, to be attentive to You, in humility and in prayer. Amen.