THE acolyte summoned the priests to say a prayer before Mass. He implored, “Oh, Lord, our God, thank you for the beauty of this brand new day. Thank you for bringing us together this morning to celebrate the blessings of life. Let this Eucharist renew us to be your faithful and courageous disciples, through Christ, our Lord in the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
There was so much positivity and faith in his prayer. He thanked the Lord for the “beauty of the brand new day.” He appreciated the blessings of life and the grace of the Eucharist to renew us. He saw the power of the Risen Christ to make us faithful and courageous disciples.
There are times when we’re not as optimistic and faith-filled as this acolyte, especially when we wake up in the morning. We can be lazy to get out of bed or unenthusiastic to go to work. We can tend to look at life as a daily grind, working for a dollar every day, and not finding excitements and hopes in our personal endeavors and in this world.
We can also be wrapped up in fears and anxieties, blind to the presence and providence of God through the gifts of this world and the support of our loved ones. We’re imprisoned by insecurities, jealousies, and unhealthy attachments to wealth, status and the pleasures of this world. We’re not able to relate freely with others because we’re always concerned about their opinions and biases about us. We can’t relax; we’re restless and troubled.
It is during these unenergetic, pessimistic, fearful, anxious, and restless times that we need to feel the assurance of God that he is with us to grant us peace and courage in order to face the challenging vicissitudes of life. It is during these moments that we need to trust the Lord and to entrust our whole beings to him.
The Gospel this Sunday challenges us to do these exercises. While the disciples were fearful and troubled at the crucifixion and death of Jesus, the Risen Lord appeared to them saying, “Peace be with you.” Then he assured them not to fear because it was him that they were seeing, not a ghost, but his risen body. He asked them to look at his hands and his feet, to touch him and see him. Finally, he ate a meal with them while opening their minds to understand the Scriptures. He made the disciples believe in all that he taught them, that he “would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all nations.”
Like the Disciples, we need to feel the power of God infusing the Holy Spirit in our lives, making us peaceful and courageous. We can only do this through an interior prayer life by which we can contemplate on the image of Jesus Christ, the Advocate, reaching out to us, holding us with his arms, and telling us not to fear but to trust in the divine plan and will of his Father. Our own wounds, whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual, are not going to destroy our peace and faith in God. We let go of all our worries and allow God to lead us to our personal destiny.
Of course, we continue to implore the Lord for help, to ask him to listen to our pleas. Who knows, he is only testing our faith in all our challenges? Again, we’ve got to trust him with our whole lives. This is the only way that we have peace of mind and heart.
Have a blessed and peaceful week!
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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.
