Kerygma Conference 2015 had to be cut short to two days from the original four because of the unexpected road closures during the APEC State Leaders’ Gathering held in Manila. As part of the working committee, the sudden changes hit me hard. I had to inform our sponsors about the two-day cut on the night before the event was supposed to start. I was prepared for angry remarks. Yes, there were a few who expressed disappointment. But what surprised me was the overflow of understanding from other partners who assured me of their continuous support and prayers.

       Come conference day, I didn’t feel like worshiping but I did anyway. That decision brought me to a moment of total surrender to God. I knew I still had so many things to do, but my heart was at peace.

       When you find yourself in a situation that’s beyond your control, the battle is no longer yours. It is the Lord’s. When you know you’ve done everything, let go and allow God to steer your plans into His. Continue to worship in the midst of your worries, and God will come to your rescue. Ruby Albino (r_jean07@yahoo.com)

Reflection: When we worship God in song or in deep prayer, we acknowledge that He is greater than any situation we find ourselves in. When we choose to worship, we choose to trust.

Lord, many things in my life will worry me, but I surrender my plans to You for I know I will only be at peace with Your grace.

Jonah goes to Nineveh and proclaims judgment on the city, telling them that destruction is near. The king and the inhabitants heed the word of Jonah and repent. The Lord then relents from destroying the city. The power of repentance is illustrated in this story. God will always listen to the cry of the repentant sinner. He has a predilection to hear words of repentance as they are signs of someone’s return to the fold, to His gift of eternal life.

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” 3 So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” 5 when the people of Nineveh believed God they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. 7 Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. 8 Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. 9 Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish.” 10 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.

R: If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! 2 Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. (R) 3 If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? 4 But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. (R) 7 Let Israel wait for the Lord, for with the Lord is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; 8 and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities. (R)

We need to find the right balance between our prayer and work. The Benedictine spirituality divides the day into three portions of eight hours each and assigns one to sleep, one to prayer, and the last to work. It is hard to argue against the wisdom of such a distribution for the life of a monk. However, perhaps a family man or woman may have to divide their day a bit differently. Nonetheless, all of us must make sure that we have the right balance between the things that preoccupy us.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

38 Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 40 Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” 41 The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 42 There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

think: Examine your daily life. What occupies most of your time? Strive for a balanced life.

Read the Bible in one year Wisdom 9-12

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

OPT FOR THE BETTER

Honest question: What is the first thing that you consult the moment you wake up in the morning?

       I’m sure many of us would say, our cell phones or the social media. I have a friend who admitted to me, not without embarrassment, that he consults his Facebook account straight out from bed even before he has washed his face. To remedy this, he chose a better option. He took out his personal computer from his room and in its stead, placed a Bible near his bed. He said, this is a response to an admonition he read from Christian writer Rick Warren: Get rid of your obsession with Facebook. Instead, put your face in front of The Book (Scripture).

      Over and above the good, there will always be something or someone better.

       Today, Jesus speaks of Mary choosing the “better portion.” Martha was concerned with hospitality, which is good. Mary chose intimacy and she is commended for it. This Gospel passage is not about sibling rivalry. Jesus is not pitting Mary against Martha. Jesus is simply stating that, over and above the good, there will always be something or someone better.

       The world is literally littered with goods from a generous God. It is our part to discern, to sift through these goods, and learn to put them into a well-ordered hierarchy. The gifts that God has given us are not for their own sake. They are given to us to be the way to God, not in the way of God.

       I know of a friend who made use of an application in his computer that shows the Mass readings the first time he goes online for the day.

       There was a dying man who told his wife, “When I die, I want you to put in my coffin all of my money. I want to bring all of them with me.” The wife took all of the man’s money, deposited it on her bank account, then issued the man a check, and put the check in the man’s coffin.

       What would you want with you in your dying moment? What is the hierarchy of your values? Fr. Joel Jason

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

In your hierarchy of values and priorities, who or what occupies first place?

Lord, teach me to be Your humble servant and let me offer the gifts that I received from You by sharing them with other people. Amen.