“I KNOW how to live in humble circumstance; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.” (Philippians 4:12-14)
Such were the words of St. Paul in his affectionate letter to the Philippians in this Sunday’s Mass. They are words that many of us can identify with, many of us immigrants who came from a Third World country and are now living comfortably in the US.
But it’s sad to say that, sometimes, we don’t appreciate what we have, or worst, we don’t remember to share the riches that we have now. It’s unfortunate that we have reasons to complain even in times of abundance. We get accustomed to a middle class life that we take our blessings for granted.
At times, I know that I’m guilty of this attitude.
I live in nice place with a private room, a dining room that provides me three meals a day, a nice office that is completely furnished, and a beautiful surrounding that is suited for prayer, rest, and study. But there are moments when I would still manifest some dissatisfaction with my present state for one reason or another. And so, in my quiet prayers, I tell myself to be happy and content where God has planted me and to be patient with some inconveniences.
I’m sure other people go through this similar experience.
Perhaps, we need to ask God to open our eyes to see the beauty of his love for us and to have a heart that deeply appreciate his blessings whether they are big or small, ordinary or extraordinary. The Gospel this Sunday on the Parable of the Wedding Feast gives us this message that, oftentimes, we become blind to God’s gifts to us.
There was a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, “Tell those invited: ‘Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready, come to the feast.’” But, again, they ignored the invitation. They did not appreciate the great honor and privilege that the King was giving them in wanting them to be part of his son’s wedding banquet.
If there is one ongoing conversion that should happen in all of us, it is the ability to see, to name, and to appreciate the graces of God in our lives even in the midst of pain, loneliness, and suffering. It is to realize that God has loved us and has beautifully created each one of us despite any experience of rejection, criticism, and failure. Then we can really live a genuine and a happy life!
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.