DREAM COME TRUE

The Lord opened her heart to pay attention... – Acts 16:14

       Woohoo! I was approved for an insurance shoot as an on-cam talent! But wait, I’ve already agreed to serve for free at a certain event on the same date.

       I chose the shoot. After making that decision, I got a call from a different agent saying I was approved for a fast-food shoot with a bigger budget, also on the same date. It broke my heart to turn it down.

         To make everything even more confusing, I received a message that the budget for the insurance shoot was slashed and the shoot date was rescheduled.

        I paused. I prayed to God to open my heart so I could pay attention to what He was telling me.

        I was greedy. God told me to serve at the event. I did. I surrendered the two projects. I was at peace.

        Finally, my heart was in the right place. God orchestrated everything. God wanted my character to be fit to receive those blessings. After realigning my priorities to put Him first, I received more projects that enabled me to shoot three TV commercials and three online advertisements without any conflicts in my schedules. Carlo Lorenzo (carloflorenzo@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Are there opportunities coming to you but challenges seem to block the way? Pause. Pray. What is God telling you?

Lord God, open our hearts to help us pay attention to what You are telling us.

St. Rita of Cascia, pray for us.

Many people traveled with Paul and assisted him in his journey and preaching. Barnabas, Timothy, Mark and Titus were just a few of those who joined Paul’s ministry. There are always intercessors and companions who help in the work of evangelization. It does not matter what our role is. What matters is that we do our share in building the Kingdom of God.

11 We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city. 13 On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. 14 One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us.

R: The Lord takes delight in his people.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. 2 Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. (R) 3 Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. 4 For the Lord loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory. (R) 5 Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats. 9 This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia. (R)

Jesus warned that Christians will be persecuted for following the Gospel. After a Jewish uprising, Christians were thrown out of the worship temple after the destruction of the temple. The Roman emperors persecuted the Christians for 300 years before Constantine’s conversion. Today, Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world.

The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord, and you also will testify.

26 Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. 27 And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16:1 “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. 2 They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. 3 They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. 4 I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”

think: How do you handle someone who is hostile towards you because you are a Christian?

Read the Bible in one year Judges 17-21

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

READY AND WILLING

The economist W. Brian Arthur said that “every profound innovation is based on an inward-bound journey, ongoing to a deeper place where knowing comes to the surface.”

       Lydia, the woman from Thyatira in today’s First Reading, must have been a well-to-do businesswoman who offered her place to the itinerant group of Paul. Apparently, it was big enough to have room for everyone in the group. But I am not interested today at how big her house was; rather, at how big her heart proved to be.

       We all know that the heart referred to in biblical tradition was the center of the person — the deepest and innermost part, if ever there was one, of the person where the will resides. The heart, as understood biblically, has the following three components: the mental process, the emotional process, and the decisive act of the will. All three were covered by that single concept called the “heart.”

       I have been preaching for many years now. There are groups who want intellectual discourses, while there are those who would never consider the talk as good unless their hearts are touched or their funny bones tickled. But whether the group was more emotive or more intellective in their approach, there was one other element that spelled the difference between an effective retreat and a forgettable one — the element of the will, or the impulse to do good and make their spiritual investment bear fruit in their lives.

       And that crucial element does not depend on the preacher.

       Lydia, who dealt purple clothes for rich people and royalty was a woman of means who most likely was very comfortable. But she had an open mind, an open heart, and an open will to look for the more, the greater and the nobler.

       The Lord saw that she was ready and willing. She proved that for grace to work, one needs to give willing cooperation. “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention.” And she and her household got baptized. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

------------ REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

How open is your will to follow God’s rule?

Dearest Father, grant me the grace to willingly cooperate with Your leadings and directions for my life. Amen.