Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon, martyr

“Whoever serves Me must follow Me…” – John 12:26

       As a petite and lean lady who can do a walkathon for up to four hours, it took me 14 years of unsteady faith walk — with a lot of stumbling and trying to rise up again and walk — to realize that Christian life is not a bed of roses but a crown of thorns.

       Now I can understand why a lot of people choose secularism, materialism and relativism, among others, over the Christian life. Because Christianity is no joy-ride. It’s a long and winding road, a 42-kilometer marathon to the finish line, where one becomes a champion and permanent resident in heaven.

       I came to a point when I was hesitant to embrace my everyday crosses of thorns because it was painful and tiring to lead a simple and upright life, especially when I just rely on my own strength and stamina.

          But at the end of the day, I ask myself this question: “To whom shall I go, Lord? You alone have the words of eternal life. I will search for You until my weary heart and soul rest in You.” Ems Sy Chan (leeannesy7@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Have you found your God and followed Him? Know Him, love Him, and serve Him first.

Lead the way, my Lord, and I will follow You to the ends of the earth and heavenward.

St. Lawrence, the deacon, whose martyrdom we celebrate today, is an inspiring figure. Even when facing a horrible form of martyrdom, Lawrence keeps his good humor. Why is it that Christians are so often a dour and sorrowful looking bunch? We should be the happiest people on the planet because we know what God has done for us.

6 Brothers and sisters: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. 9 As it is written: He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. 10 The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

R: Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.

1 Blessed the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands. 2 His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed. (R) 5 Well for the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice; 6 He shall never be moved; the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance. (R) 7 An evil report he shall not fear; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear till he looks down upon his foes. (R) 9 Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory. (R)

This is such a true image: It is in dying to ourselves and choosing to live for others that we bear the most fruit. For a seed to sprout and grow, it loses all semblance of its former shape and form. Then drawing on water, sun and the nutrients of the earth, the seed grows into a plant that produces a multitude of seeds from where it has come. The same is true of our faith. When we allow the Spirit of God to transform our lives from sin to righteousness, we become a source of hope and life for others.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life, says the Lord.

24 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

think: Are you still a seed that needs to be buried to the ground? Or are you now a plant that produces much seeds?

Read the Bible in one year 2 Maccabees 5-6

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

LOVING AND LOSING;

HATING AND KEEPING

Tagalog wisdom has an equivalent to what today’s Gospel reminds us of: “Sa paghahanap ng kagitna, isang salop ang nawala.” I find no ready English equivalent to this gem of a homespun wisdom, but I do know one thing — giving importance to what really matters. It is not about throwing away one and keeping the other, but in knowing how to value one while treasuring the other. Put in another way, it has to do with seeing the bigger picture and not missing the forest for a tree.

       A grain of wheat, per se, is good. But we all know that you need a lot of those individual grains to make a greater good — bread, for example. We know, too, that for it to bear more and produce more, there is no other way but to give itself up by being buried and dying on the ground, to produce more grains.

        Today is the feast of St. Lawrence. He was a deacon — a rough equivalent of a grain of wheat, that is, an “insignificant” member of the clergy then, serving Pope Sixtus. He loved life and his work of service. He loved God, more than anyone of them taken singly and put together.

       Twelve years ago, Pope St. John Paul II died. The whole world stood witness to a person who lived life to the hilt and who served with all his might up to the painful end. He was a swimmer, a mountain climber, a skier, a man so full of energy and love for everything that stood for fullness of life, including suffering as his wasted body slowly gave way to painful physical dying.

       Both valued life so much that they treated their earthly, physical life that they also loved, as secondary to what really mattered, more than anything else.  They were valuable seeds but who knew that for a higher and greater purpose, they could offer the very treasures they had and loved, for them to attain more.

       Both knew when to lose, for both knew how to love. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

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

What or who matters most of you?

Father, grant me the grace to remember that nothing and no one can ever matter to me than You and Your promise of eternal life. Amen.