When we were just starting a family, we prayed hard for the approval of a project proposal my husband submitted.  The earnings for this project would have boosted the family funds. We offered prayer pauses during those days for this intention. The client approved the project, but after a few days, they overturned their approval. Our initial elation turned into disappointment.

Questions popped in my mind. Didn’t we pray enough for the approval of the proposal? I wonder why the Lord did not allow my husband to win the project.

When your prayer remains unanswered, do you sometimes think that God does not look upon you with favor? 

Months later, we realized that the Lord did look upon us with favor. Because if the project had pushed through, there would have been a lot of problems connected with it.

Aha moments like that make me ask for forgiveness from the Lord, especially for questioning if He really looks after me. 

Rissa Espinosa (rissa_d_espinosa@yahoo.com)

reflect

Do you trust the Lord that He will always work for your good?

Lord, may I always remember that You always have my good in mind and that You will never put me in harm’s way.

Saints Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop, martyrs, pray for us.+

Leaders are given an enormous responsibility and should be living examples of holiness to others. I think people who desire to become leaders do not know what they are getting into. If we truly understand the responsibility of leadership, we would probably be scared to take up the call. However, by God’s grace and the aid of the Holy Spirit, there have been many great leaders in the Church. Let us pray for many more.

¹ Beloved, this saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. ² Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity; ⁵ for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the Church of God? ⁶ He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil’s punishment. ⁷ He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil’s trap. ⁸ Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, ⁹ holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. ¹¹ Women, similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything. ¹² Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well. ¹³ Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 101:1-2, 2-3, 5, 6

R: I will walk with a blameless heart.

¹ Of mercy and judgment I will sing; to you, O Lord, I will sing praise. ² I will persevere in the way of integrity; when will you come to me? (R) I will walk with a blameless heart, within my house; ³ I will not set before my eyes any base thing. (R) ⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I destroy. The man of haughty eyes and puffed-up heart I will not endure. (R) ⁶ My eyes are upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in the way of integrity shall be in my service. (R) 

Gospel | Luke 7:11-17

Jesus builds His reputation through His miracles. He does not want this, but it is the crowd that does it. All leaders should realize that this possibility is always present in their ministries. They should be aware of this and ensure that it does not go to their heads. What we do or how wonderful it may be does not matter. The glory should always be given to God. The trouble begins when you claim glory for yourself, giving the devil a foothold in your life.

Gospel Acclamation

A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.

¹¹ Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” ¹⁷ This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

Reflect:

How do you handle acclaim and praise from others? 

What do you do to remain humble in the midst of these?

Read the Bible in one year! Read BARUCH 1 - 3 today.

To be affirmed of our human existence is a basic human need. Being the recipient of a feigned unawareness (“dinedma” in Tagalog or “gibungulan” in Cebuano) can be painful. Accept it or not, being ignored affects us. It marginalizes us. When our existence is unnoticed, we either resent it and summon fire to assert our existence, or surrender and yield to that seeming nothingness. 

The latter seems to be the case of the woman in today’s Gospel. She is not just unnamed; she is also a widow. And she is not just a widow—she is also a grieving mother to her dead only son. In the New Testament Jewish culture, women are second-class citizens. Their identity are always attached to either their fathers (if unmarried) or their husbands. Widows, on the other hand, rely on their sons. Thus, when the only son of a widow dies, she is reduced to being marginalized, ignored, unnoticed—a nobody.

Let us focus not so much on the words and consequent action of Jesus but on His initial action: Jesus saw her. He saw not just a widow grieving for her son, but a woman who was going to be marginalized, ignored, unnoticed—a nobody. He noticed her and was moved with pity for her. Suddenly, she was no longer a nobody. She was somebody! This is the mercy of God. Jesus is the face of God’s mercy, as Pope Francis points out.

So, when we feel like we are nobody because others ignore us, or even worse, when we feel God ignores us because He seems deaf to our prayers and blind to our predicament, stop. God can never be like that. Jesus cannot ignore us. His treatment of the unnamed widow who lost her son in the Gospel today cannot be refuted. 

Fr. Bros Flores, SJ

reflection question

How do you deal with the sense of being ignored, of being a nobody?

My Lord Jesus, allow me to find comfort in Your mercy and assurance of being somebody in Your eyes every time I feel ignored, marginalized, and unnoticed. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _______________________________________