The art of preparation

Tuesday, October 22, 2019
29th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Rom 5: 12, 17-19, 20- 21
Gospel: Lk 12:35-38
Jesus said to his disciples, “Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for their master to return from the wed­ding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron and have them sit at table and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Preparation is the best weapon against uncertainty. Below are some tips for those who would like to take seriously today’s Gospel exhortation to be prepared at all times. They form the acronym ‘prepare’ for better recall.
“Pro-active” persons are better prepared. So be proactive by making things happen instead of waiting for things to occur. If one merely waits for things to transpire, he becomes a slave of the daily grind. As he rides freely on the wave of events, the ticking of time will take him to the end of his life unprepared. “React strategically” in matters of salvation. The devil is cunning and our only escape from his claw is to strategize. One workable strategy is to employ the greatest amount of prudence not to give the devil the first base.
“Empathize to win friends”. People who have experienced our charitable acts will be there for us to support us at the end of our lives. Our acts of charity leave behind a prayer army for us when we are gone. “Pray”. We need God, not just human friends. Prayer will strengthen our bond with the divine. Just as a car must stop at a gasoline station to refuel because no other vehicle can refuel on its own, so we must not totally relegate the praying to those who will be attending our funeral.
“Accept the things you cannot change”. When it is raining, for example, the real problem is not how to stop the rain but how to go out without getting wet. The fact of rain is a condition we have to accept in order to strategize how to get out without getting wet. Let us learn to accept the conditions so that we may see the real problem and find solutions for it.
“Render no evil for evil because vengeance belongs to God” (see Romans 12: 17). The Lord commands us to turn the other cheek. Anyhow, by rendering good for evil we heap burning coals over the enemies head (Proverbs 25:22). Once befriended, these enemies will be our prayer warriors at the hour of our death.
Finally, let us “Empower people to live their lives to the full”. This summarizes the commandment of love. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., JD., DM.