December 24, 2013

Christmas Mom

Nobody does Christmas like you do, Momsie,
you must be from the North Pole, home of Santa
and his reindeer, when the calendar turns to July,
you’re off with your imaginings, of ribbons and
wreaths and glitter and small things, from your
hands fly red, yellow, green ribbons, like caterpillars
into cocoons into butterflies, things of beauty they
will be, if you even just gave them your look, and
the girls will be delighted when they come home
from everywhere, from traffic on land or on air,
they will surely come home to Christmas like no
other, from the time they could say Mommy they
knew Christmas the way you made it, and we thank
you for your spirit, family all the way, Christmas
all the way, no other way but joy and tons of food,
and happiness like no other, Christmases in the
Villanueva home, from Mommy to us, it’s alive in us,
Christmas by Christmas Mom.

Merry Christmas, Momsie!

Dad

November 21, 2013

No Margin

This is interesting. Quoting from my own article: “This is roughly the amount of time we were able to tolerate our enemies: Spain, 300 years; America, forever; Japan, no margin; China, forever; Marcos, 20 years, GMA, her entire term.” We will never be friends with Spain, but we will be BFF with America, especially with what’s happening now in Central Philippines. We may never go to war with China, well, because we’re part Chinese just as we are part American. But Japan, although we admire it, we will be “ilag” to it because it’s almost our exact opposite. It’s too disciplined for our own tastes, besides it doesn’t like us either. We’re too happy-go-lucky for its tastes. Marcos and GMA we both kicked out, one by street people power, the other by ballot people power. So, going back to PNoy. Why is it that we didn’t give a margin for PNoy’s mistakes? Why ask for his resignation (at least a small part led by Peachy, but since withdrawn) this early? Why the popularity slippage? About popularity, Mahar Mangahas explained that compared to other presidents, PNoy has the highest marks at comparable points of their terms, but no one seems to be listening. So go back, see where he fell. Ah, in terminology! He seemed to have lied about scrapping the pork, he said he did, but people didn’t believe him. That’s where he started to crumble. But Fr. Joaquin Bernas yesterday himself admitted that none of the funds in question lined PNoy’s pockets, perhaps he said that to modify his previous statement that PDAF is indeed unconstitutional per Supreme Court unanimous vote, but hey, let’s be easy on PNoy because after all he’s not a thief. There. So where did “Pork Barrel King” come from? For that matter where is “who’s in charge here?” referencing Yolanda aftermath coming from? Is it possible that the left (Bayan) and the new activists led by Peachy Rallonza Bretana were either used by Enrile and his cohorts, or did they misinterpret the million people marchers as being anti-PNoy? She’s now saying that the Luneta pasyalan of August 26 wasn’t anti-PNoy, but wait, on the ground, I felt a shepherding towards anti-yellow army (wear white) and politicians keep off (including the one who created the right environment for COA to pursue its 2004-2008 PDAF audit, yes, si PNoy po ‘yun). In fact, a Vera Files reporter who interviewed me asked what I was doing there when I told her that I was yellow army. So all I’m saying is that the no-margin, show no mercy for PNoy is artificial, uncharacteristic of the people’s history for justice and freedom. A people so pacifistic, so forgiving, so patient as to give Erap and the Marcoses (and yes, GMA in her home province) another chance is willing to give PNoy only a couple of months to shape up, this after gigantic economic and political strides, not to mention stellar political genealogy? Don’t be swayed, people. Somebody cunning, somebody who’s a somebody, somebody who has a track record of playing us, somebody who can change his side of the story depending on the political environment is behind all this. Don’t be fooled. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. We may be patient, but we’re never tanga, or naive. But please give the President some space. He’s trying his darndest. Tayo naman. Tayo naman ang magpalit ng style. Tama na, sobra na. Hwag magpagago.

November 20, 2013

PNoy

Can we stop hitting PNoy below the belt?

Uminit ang ulo nang makita ko yung isang comment, hindi daw PNoy, BNoy daw, Bading Noynoy. I mean.

Look if there’s one thing I am thankful for PNoy, it’s that he saved us from Erap II. Stop and think, how would Erap handle the Yolanda aftermath, with lots of photo ops, I’m sure, lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing, because he will drink Johnny Walker Blue in a tent in Tacloban. And appear nonchalant with his several wives. A military officer told me that the first time Erap as President set foot in Corregidor, he didn’t set foot on it to honor the valiant defenders of the USAFFE, he stayed in the presidential yacht, playing mah-jong all night long.

And there’s a new thing we should be thankful for, and proud of our President, it’s the Supreme Court’s 14-0 vote against PDAF. Think this would have been possible in a GMA presidency? Fourteen to zero is as close as we can get to heavenly governance, exactly what PNoy had in mind when he batted for Corona’s impeachment.

I also have a personal issue with the President. Straight to the point: I have no respect for people who smoke in the face of a preponderance of medical research on the harmful effects of smoking, which emit carbon monoxide, found in car exhaust fumes, in addition:

Acetone – found in nail polish remover
Acetic Acid – an ingredient in hair dye
Ammonia – a common household cleaner
Arsenic – used in rat poison
Benzene – found in rubber cement
Butane – used in lighter fluid
Cadmium – active component in battery acid
Formaldehyde – embalming fluid
Hexamine – found in barbecue lighter fluid
Lead – used in batteries
Napthalene – an ingredient in moth balls
Methanol – a main component in rocket fuel
Nicotine – used as insecticide
Tar – material for paving roads
Toluene – used to manufacture paint

Source: http://www.lung.org/associations/states/colorado/tobacco/

Being a former smoker, and now a health and fitness advocate, I cannot imagine a person who cannot control his addiction to the loathsome habit presiding over a country of 100 million ungovernable souls.

If only for that, I would not have given PNoy a second look.

But in 2010, we had to put up someone for candidacy who could be elected. It was only PNoy, and we were right. First he trounced front runner and tv commercial savvy Manny Villar, and in the vote, he overwhelmed Erap convincingly. I couldn’t imagine why people would vote for a convict, pardoned, yes, but convicted of a crime nevertheless, but welcome to the Philippines.

Well, that’s how it is in our blessed country. We don’t vote with our minds. We vote with our hearts, being a forgiving and forgetful people we recycle politicians who have done us harm in the past but look remorseful and kawawa naman, mabait naman, sige na nga.

This is roughly the amount of time we were able to tolerate our enemies: Spain, 300 years; America, forever; Japan, no margin; China, forever; Marcos, 20 years, GMA, her entire term. If PNoy bashers are right, he went wrong with DAP, kulang-kulang two months. PNoy was the first president to move our country to investment-grade, the first president to register successive GDP in the 7% region, the first president to have kicked out an arrogant chief justice left as a booby trap by the previous occupant, the first president to have a Supreme Court who is unafraid to say no to him. And Peachy Rallonza Bretana thought he should resign already?

Look, comment or criticize him for all I care, but could you please be respectful? What this country needs is respect for each other. I was as anti-Marcos as the next guy but I don’t recall calling him names aside from Marcos-Hitler-Diktador-Tuta. We are pulling out all stops in being harsh to our President nowadays, at least in social media. PNoy is working out of his box, are you? You can at least try to be kind in your disagreement.

November 9, 2013

The Fall

There’s something about Daps,
must be the way he’s sort of in
the background but not entirely,
because every word he says has
substance, maybe it’s his childhood,
carried off the feet of the Lady
unconscious, perhaps she did appear
to him, “Be good,” the Lady must
have said, don’t go climbing steep
walls like a centipede, be more like
sheep once lost will always follow
the Master for the Master broke its legs
for too much wandering, and it healed
with the Master carrying it on his
shoulder, so that’s why maybe he
seldom speaks, and when he does,
pure wisdom flows out, like milk and
honey, and so the Daps before the
fall is not the same as the Daps after
the fall, aren’t we all, when sometimes
we climb too fast with nary a thought,
and when we fall from grace, we are
broken too, not the same anymore,
and so the Lady tells boys who fall:
“Be good,” and that’s the way it will
always be.

Happy birthday, Daps!

November 3, 2013

Gospel and My Prayer November 3, 2013

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 3, 2013
Lectionary: 153

Reading 1 WIS 11:22-12:2
Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people’s sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

Responsorial Psalm PS 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name forever, my king and my God. I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.

Reading 2 2 THES 1:11-2:2
Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Gospel LK 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

My Prayer:
Lord, you are the saving God. You will never tire of forgiving us, always spreading your arms wide to receive us as we fall away and return to you, fall away and return to you, even if it be a million times. What a kind God you are, that in the same page in the Book of Genesis, when you banished Adam and Eve from Eden, you quickly and without hesitation promised a redeemer who will crush the snake head underfoot. Thank you so much for loving us. We can only thank you and thank you many, many times over and over again. Peace can only come from you, and this peace is not something we have to mine laboriously from the depths of the earth, like gold or diamonds, but easily available to us at the VERY MOMENT of our Zacchaen epiphany, revelation or realization. Thank you that you are there, giving peace to anyone, if only he or she desires it strongly enough. Amen.

October 27, 2013

Gospel and Prayer October 27, 2013

Sunday, October 27, 2013

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading:
Sir 35:12-14, 16-18
Second Reading: 2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18

Gospel Reading: Lk 18:9-14
Jesus told another parable to some persons fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others, “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and said: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give the tenth of all my income to the Temple.’

“In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’

“I tell you, when this man went down to his house, he had been set right with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

Reflection:
Two sinners prayed inside the Temple: one was justified – the one who was aware of his sinfulness, while the other was condemned – the one who thought he had the right to condemn others. It was the tax collector who was justified. Of him Jesus declared: “I tell you, when this man went down to his house, he had been set right with God, but not the other.”

Why didn’t the Pharisee find favor with God with his track record of fasting twice a week and giving the tenth of all his income to the Temple? Why was the tax collector, with his track record of corruption and disloyalty to his own people, justified? Blame this on motive. The Pharisee used prayer as venue to trumpet his righteousness while the tax collector went to the Temple to express sorrow for sins.

The tax collector was not lying; he was indeed a sinner. The Pharisee may have been telling the truth also. But telling the truth is not the only barometer to measure the genuineness of one’s spirituality. Jesus said: “Whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.” The Pharisee failed in the test of humility.

The absence of humility rendered questionable the genuineness of the Pharisee’s prayer. By nature prayer is an act of the humble. Humility at prayer involves two dimensions: the first is bowing low before God, and the second is looking up to others. The Pharisee did the first dimension perfectly but utterly failed in the second. This made his prayer detestable before God. No wonder the Pharisee who was vertically humble yet horizontally proud went home a condemned person while the tax collector went home forgiven.— Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.

My Prayer:
In the end, Lord, all that matters is your mercy, for the most pious among us will fail your test of faith, hope, love and good works. No one is deserving of the sheer glory that awaits us in heaven, yet Jesus Christ died on the Cross so that we may be admitted into the heavenly kingdom, but only in, of, for and by God’s mercy. Thank you, Lord for this parable, for it opens our eyes to the smallness of our efforts and the gargantuan love you have for us—sinners, adulterers, liars, tax collectors, cheats, an anomaly on two legs since Genesis, in the 40-year trek in the desert, residence in and exile from the Promised Land, throughout the four Gospels, and now in the modern world, a world that has gone bonkers with too much selfie, too much I, me, mine, too much self-glorification, Pharisaical men and women walking their way to self-created doom, but all is not lost, for all we have to do is be aware of our smallness, our unworthiness, God’s creative fail, but God’s crowning glory, the saving of mankind so evil and self-serving, but destined for heaven in spite of ourselves, if only we accepted our nothingness, but in everything in heaven, God’s unimaginable love for us. Amen.

October 21, 2013

Go Bag

Tips on how to create a Go Bag, see link below:

http://www.bernco.gov/upload/images/fire_rescue/CreateAGoBag.pdf

Here’s what my Go Bag contains:

Maintenance medication
LED flashlight
Thumb drive
Small first aid kit
Swiss knife
IDs, Prayer Novenas
Cellphones and chargers
Rosary
Needle and thread
Whistle
Money and loose change
Small plastic flask or bottle with water
Ziplock plastic bags (to keep electronic gadgets from rain)
Light rope (think clothesline or tourniquet)
Handwritten numbers of cellphones of family members,
relatives and support groups (my cellphones may be down)

I’ll place them in a small bag or backpack beside me in bed, carry it in the car, when I commute, bring it to office, anywhere.

Palitan kaya natin ang name ng Go Bag, something like H.O.P.E. Bag (Help Other People in Emergency) para hindi masyadong calamity-oriented. We should be able to help others, that’s our direction, that’s the point of survival.

In addition:

We have directed our children to turn off their cellphones in extreme situations. Anyway, cellphone lines will be clogged. We have an appointed time, 3-4 a.m. and 3-4 p.m. They are to turn on their cellphones at these times so we can contact each other.

When able, they are to proceed to the nearest aid station (hospital, church or city hall) where they can help out and be safe. They are not to walk home, alone or with friends.

They should lead in 3 o’clock prayers for Divine Mercy, lead Rosaries, attend Masses.

October 15, 2013

Nothing for Her

There’s something ultimately succeeding,
not so much in a job, in making money,
good works for the poor and the oppressed,
but motherhood ultimately succeeds like
success, it’s in the face of the giver, the
mother herself, as she watches her child
grow up to be like her, but not like her entirely,
for she wants her child to be better than her
actually, that’s how unselfish she is, she did
give it a try, and look where she is now, but
in all, she wants her child to be happier, to
be fuller, to be loved more, and yes, to be
richer, for who is the mother who does not
want the best for her child, and as she
washes the dishes, and collects the dirty
clothes for the lavandera or the laundromat,
do you think she minds the dirt and grime,
do you think she minds the bad smell, being
left behind when everyone is bathed and
wearing business clothes and strolling in
the mall looking for places to eat good food,
do you think she minds being a mother, oh no,
none of that, no such thing for a mother,
for her life is her child, for as long as he or she
is all right and ready and presentable to the world
she’ll be all right, that’s being a mother, nothing for
her, the whole world for her child.

Happy birthday, Jojie!

October 13, 2013

Gospel and Prayer October 13, 2013

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 144

Reading 1 2 KGS 5:14-17
Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy.

Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.”

Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;” and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused.
Naaman said: “If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
R. (cf. 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands: break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Reading 2 2 TM 2:8-13
Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
together with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy:
If we have died with him we shall also live with him;
if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Gospel LK 17:11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

Prayer:
Lord, oftentimes, we forget to say thank you. We are like the maya perched on top of the carabao’s head, saying how great and tall it is. For the times we forgot to express our profound gratitude for the small and big things you have done for us, we are sorry. The universe is yours, there is perfect order because you have made your creation safe and beneficial for man as your steward. Always remind us of your resilient love and your desire to have us beside you in your kingdom when the time comes. And, Lord, thank you so much for your kindness, for hearing our prayers, for being ahead of, behind, beside, above and below us all the time even if sometimes we forget you. Amen.

October 6, 2013

Gospel and Prayer – October 6, 2013

6th October 2013. 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Hab 1:2-3, 2:2-4. To the human complaint against injustice, God promises a day of justice.

2 Tim 1:6-8,13-14. Like his teacher Paul, Timothy must make sacrifices for the Gospel.

Lk 17:5-10. “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…” we could do great things.

First Reading: Habbakuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith.”

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6ff
For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Gospel: Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ”

Lord, increase our Faith
“Lord increase our faith,” the apostles asked Jesus. Elsewhere they requested, “Lord teach us how to pray” (Lk 11:1). In essence the two requests were the same. For to pray is to focus the heart on God, to love and trust God, to have faith in God’s concern for us. Every prayer is an act of faith in God, and conversely every time we turn to God in faith, we are praying. It is no more possible to have faith without prayer than to swim without water. But we must try to pray to God in the right spirit. For often we are trying to bring God around to our way of thinking rather than putting our thoughts under God’s guidance.

Sometimes perhaps, we regard prayer as a kind of magical last resort, worth a try when all else fails. There is a story about a lawyer walking along a street with a friend who was something of a scholar. When they came to a ladder leaning over the sidewalk and against a house which was being painted, the friend refused to pass under it. “Surely you don’t believe in that superstition,” said the lawyer. “No, I don’t exactly believe in it,” was the reply, “but I never waste a chance of avoiding an accident.” Well, maybe that’s how some of us approach prayer. We don’t strongly believe in it, but we admit the possibility that it might work, as a last resort. So we could join in that request, “Lord, increase our faith; Lord, teach us how to pray.”

Jesus did not just teach his friends how to pray, he showed them how, by his own example. Never did any human being pray as he did. Even in the middle of a sermon he would turn to God and address him as Father. Early in the morning he would steal away to the hillside, his favourite place for quiet prayer. It was his custom, whenever he visited Jerusalem, to pray at night in the Garden of Gethsemane, so his being there on the night of his arrest was not unusual. On that occasion we know that “being in anguish he prayed the longer.” What he prayed that night is clearly reported. “Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will, not mine be done” (Lk 22:42f). Well, the Father did not take away the cup of suffering from Jesus. But by embracing the will of God, something greater was to follow for Jesus – his resurrection from the dead. “Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain” (Jn 12:24).

The letter to the Hebrews sums it up: “During his life on earth, he offered prayer and petition, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to raise him from the dead, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.” May God grant that our prayer may be heard also, and that being guided through life by the spirit of Jesus we may be in his company for ever in heaven.

If they could see me now
If they could see me now – I’ve often found myself wondering what my parents or friends would think of me if they were present at this or that encounter, whether generous or mean. Many feel this need to be seen by others – especially for appreciation or praise. It can reach the stage when no worthy action is done for its own sake; unless there’s an audience of some kind to give us credit, we hardly think it worthwhile. How easy it is to dress up things with a superficial cosmetic of virtue, “in order to be seen by men?” Yet only God sees the heart and knows the motive.

Certainly the opinions of others matter. But what counts in the long run is how our God sees us – not mere opinion, but God’s unerring vision, compassionate yet total. Nothing compares with that judgment. The basic question is this: have you been faithful in serving? Because of fidelity, the righteous will live. Life in God’s friendship, the state of grace, does not depend on social stature or reputation, but on a secret, inner quality. As St. Paul says, one cannot even fully judge oneself. Upon this profound question of righteousness, we can only trust in God’s mercy, while making an honest effort to serve Him. Then the principle will apply: for the one who loves God, all things work together unto good.

Unprofitable servants? A better word might be ordinary. The servants had done their duty, which was what could be expected of them. Too often we Christians take a casual attitude towards the service of God. We treat prayer as a casual option, the commandments as a burden and restriction to be periodically neglected, and works of charity as a rare event for which should expect congratulations. But if we take the words of Christ to heart, we would regard all these things as normal service. The standards he sets are much higher than those we habitually live by. What a new complexion things would have if we all became willing servants towards God, doing each ordinary thing according to His will.

But who will get us started? If I decided to do things simply for God’s approval, would I not be exploited and despised by others? So, while I’m taken by the ideal, I won’t commit until others adopt the same spirit of social responsibility. The rat-race is nobody’s fault, and yet it’s everybody’s. The change to a new spirit of mutual service can only begin when individuals embrace this ideal for its own sake. “Ask not what your country can do for you…”

Ultimately, this is the way to salvation. The just person shall live by fidelity. When all of life’s days have been lived, and the Master comes to judge our individual performance, only those who have given generous service will feel at home in his company. And then we will realize that this was the right way to live in God’s sight “Well done good and faithful servant,” God will say; and we will answer simply, “It was no more than our duty.”

Source: http://www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie/2013/10/6th-october-2013-27th-sunday-of-ordinary-time/

Prayer:

Lord, we are yours by nature and by birthright. We were born for a special purpose under heaven. It is not for us to seek praise or to feel good when we do good, just like the mango tree will not be any greater in the eyes of the other mango trees in the orchard when it has bore sweet fruit. It bears sweet fruit because it exists to bear sweet fruit, no more, no less. Thank you, Lord, for this important lesson. Most of the time, anger, unforgiveness, selfishness, greed, pride, gluttony and self-righteousness happens when we append so much value to ourselves. Forgive us, Lord, for this fatal attraction to ourselves. Send us the Holy Spirit when we work, play, drive, live with family and associate with friends so that we will be easy to live with, with no baggage, or chips on our shoulders, so that we will bear sweet fruit because we were made to do so, and not by our own conscious effort. Help us to live our lives in quiet surrender to your most Holy Will, praying with faith and faithfully praying because we were born to do so. Amen.