October 22, 2015
Thursday
29th Week
in Ordinary Time
1st reading:
Romans 6.19-23
Gospel: Luke 12:49-53
Jesus said to his disciples, “I have come to bring fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled; but I have a baptism to undergo and what anguish I feel until it is over!
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided; three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Over the phone an anonymous caller told me between sobs: “Father, I cannot understand why I am having all these fears after returning to the Lord from a carefree lifestyle; I had more peace before”. He sounded like he was remorseful of his past, disappointed of his present and fearful of the future. When he felt silent I knew it was my turn to talk.
As empty vessels make the most noise, a life full of fun does not guarantee inner peace. Some people give up their carefree lifestyle and return to the Lord. But by expecting that life will treat them better this time, they are not really giving up anything. They are just switching from one source of fun to another.
A person who returns to the Lord is presumed to abide by God’s plan. When a returnee leads God to believe that there is remorse in his heart, and God acts accordingly by sending him sufficient grace to complete his process of repentance, he is presumed to have submitted himself to God’s plan. God’s ways can be scary. After He shows the repentant person the root of his problem, He leads him to discover the solution that can be as frightening. The discovery can be disturbing and the person can lose even the external peace he used to experience. But the loss is momentary – as momentary as the pangs of birth, which God allows if only to lead the repentant person to resurrection.
Those who have returned to the Lord expecting lots of fun won’t persevere because they chicken out as soon as they see the tip of their problem. Scared to dig deep they shy away and lose forever any opportunity to soar high. One has a choice. He can continue the external fun and hold on to skin-deep peace, or he can return to the Lord and allow God to disturb his peace. Eventually he will attain peace.
“Father, I want this kind of peace”, my telephone counselee declared.” He stopped sobbing and put down the phone. I had my peace!—Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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