AT ONE time or another in one’s life many of us had wanted a miracle to happen. It could be a healing of a friend from cancer, a completion of a seemingly impossible project, a spiritual vision that could take away doubt in one’s faith, or a big financial gain. We had experienced God as our last recourse. This is understandable. When no human power could save us from a crisis, we turn to God and to any of his aids.
Still, for me the greatest miracle from God that we could ever experience is not some phenomenal healing or a vision, but a profound experience of surrender and peace regarding one’s lot or a liberating realization of God’s will or purpose in one’s life.
What do I mean? There are times when one’s earnest prayer is not answered or one’s wish is not granted. When this happens, we’d continue to live a life of unhappiness, discontent, anger, anxiety and resentment. We will never be free persons. We’d be stuck in a dark cycle of depression and controlling behavior; we will never be live in peace.
Surely, there will always be a part of us that will never give up or that continues to believe in one’s ability, and this is good. But again, when all human power could not bring self-fulfillment, the only thing that matters is a complete surrender of one’s life to God. When this happens, eternal peace enters into one’s heart, mind, and soul. Would we never want this gift, this miracle?
How will we receive this gift or experience this miracle? It is only by a life of constant prayer. You see, when we enter into a life prayer, that is when we lift up our minds and hearts to God, we’re able to curve an opening of a horizon, where one’s heart and mind is filled with gratitude and enlightenment of what matters most in life. The heart becomes humble and the mind is put to rest. Life becomes a celebration!
The result of this miracle is even greater in terms of its effects on human relationships or associations. We become unaffected by competitive egos or appetites for worldly ambition. The other person becomes a brother or a sister, not an enemy; he or she becomes a colleague and not a superior. The world becomes a place of genuine service, love, and appreciation for one another.
In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus raised a dead young man to life and the mother became free from sorrow. Not for long. The mother and son would still experience their final deaths. In the end, what God wants to offer us all is freedom from attachment to this world and a heart and soul that are centered on him alone.
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].
