Tuesday, October 28, 2014
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 used to own a dog trained not to eat till after the prayer before meals is over. The dog’s name was Carmo. Unlike other dogs Carmo would sit down and prayerfully wait until the prayer leader (a human being, of course) has concluded the ritual with the word “amen”.
If by appropriate training a dog’s instinct can be restrained until prayer is over there is no reason why people could not be formed into prioritizing prayer. After all humans, unlike dogs, have the intelligence to understand that prayer is important. It is enough to revisit Jesus’ attitude towards prayer to appreciate its value. Jesus did not choose his Apostles till after he had spent a whole night of prayer.
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 to the wisdom of the most intelligent person alive. 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 are not happy with his ways. God’s ways appear foolish to some because man can only go that deep in trying to fathom the wisdom of God. Humanly speaking, Jesus’ choice of Apostles was far from wise. Until now we still can’t see the point why he handpicked a public sinner (tax collector), and a traitor (Judas Iscariot). Yes, that is how dull we are. That is why it is so dangerous for us to be left alone in making important decisions in life. In every step we make in our lives 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).
But we shouldn’t pray as Carmo did. He was actually trained to recognize the word “Amen” as his signal to start eating. In all those years his heart was not in the prayer recited for him. How demeaning if we do not do any better! – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website:www.frdan.org.
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