Saturday, October 28, 2017
Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
1st Reading: Eph 2:19-22 Gospel: Luke 6:12-16
Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom he called apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartho lo mew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Our major seminary in Cebu used to own a dog that wouldn’t eat until someone had finished reciting the grace before meals. He was named Carmo because the Carmelite nuns gave him as gift to the late Fr. Raffy Sucaldito. I was amazed at how Fr. Raffy had successfully trained Carmo to control appetite and wait for the prayer leader to finish.
If by appropriate training a dog’s instinct can be restrained there is no reason why people could not be formed to prioritize prayer. After all humans, unlike dogs, have the intellect to understand the importance of prayer. Moreover, Jesus, our Master had shown to us in many Gospel narratives how important prayer is. Today’s Gospel reading is one of these narratives.
Consider the advantages one gets from praying before making important decisions. God, being up there, sees the broader picture and sees what we cannot see, especially the things that the future conceal from us. Moreover, his wisdom is far superior. Of this wisdom St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” (1 Cor. 3:19).
Some people refuse to pray because they find God’s ways strange. They have a point! Consider, for example, how Jesus chose Apostles. Together with other sinners he also handpicked a corrupt tax collector and a traitor. God’s ways look unwise from the human perspective because humans can only go that far in trying to fathom the wisdom of God. Deeper intellectual diggings which humans are not capable of in this lifetime will reveal the wisdom of God’s ways. So let us not abandon God’s ways even when these appear unwise. In every step we make it is best that we pray for God’s guidance “so that our faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor 2:5).
The best prayer for guidance is one conducted with depth. I was amused to find out the secret of Carmo. He was actually trained to recognize the word “Amen” as his signal to start eating. If our prayer is as mechanical as Carmo’s it won’t work. God is not a vendo machine! (Atty.) – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
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