NOT SEEING

NOT SEEING

 

Although you have not seen him you love him. – 1 Peter 1: 8

 

“Two red stripes.”

When Gina tested positive with our first child, we were very excited as most first time would-be parents. There were no telltale signs yet. No bulging tummy, no morning sickness, not even a change of feeling. Yet we knew that we were going to have a baby. Even if we had not seen.

There are those who say that Jesus was just a figment of imagination, a fairy tale conjured by long-ago deceivers to gain wealth or spread the Roman empire.  

Despite the historical evidence that Jesus lived, many still deny Him. Nobody in our lifetime or even several lifetimes ago have seen Jesus, yet we believe in Him. I asked myself why.

In His words in the Bible, I hear Him speak to me. In the Catholic Church, keeper of the Faith, I abide in His authority. In our community, Ligaya ng Panginoon, His nourishment for me and for brothers and sisters sustain us. In my family and those around me, I feel His love. In my heart, He lives. Jun Asis (mabuting.balita@gmail.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Have you seen Jesus lately? And moreover, have others seen Jesus in you?

 

Dear Jesus, give me eyes and a heart that see Your love in all things. Make others see You in me in the way I live my life for You.

 

SOLO DIOS BASTA

 

Christian poverty is the virtue of personal and complete freedom from all inordinate attachments, in view of dedicating the self to God and His kingdom in a radical and perfect way. Like any virtue, poverty is grace from God and is more than a mere result of human efforts. Jesus does not praise destitution; He promotes correct detachment from people and things.

Jesus does not want us to have miserable lives. He wants us to live simple lives. He is not pleased with sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice alone. Jesus is pleased with detachment from everything — a requirement He demands from whoever wishes tofollow Him.

Not everything we want, we need. Some of the things we think we own, in truth, own us instead. Many of the things we think we cannot live without actually hinder us from living life to the fullest. Poverty, as a Christian virtue, should help us become holy. Poverty, as a personal and complete freedom, must free us from being tied to the world so that we may be intimately united to God. Poverty, as grace, should lead us to greater love, not greater misery.

Because a person is poor does not mean that he has the virtue of poverty. After all, many who lack material things lack spiritual necessities as well. Because a person is destitute does not mean that he is free from inordinate attachments. For, indeed, many are slaves not only in body but in spirit as well. Poverty in itself does not make us holy — many who have no money have no heart, too.

When our poverty is truly a virtue, a personal and complete  freedom from worldly attachments, and a grace from God, we become richer than when we first decided to surrender everything to God for Him and His kingdom. While we hold on to nothing, we cling tenaciously to God. As St. Teresa of Avila said, “Solo Dios basta.” God alone is enough. Fr. Bobby Titco

 

Reflection Question:

How rich am I? How poor am I? How am I?

 

You are my wealth, O God. May I lose everything but You. In You I have everything. Amen.

 

St. Joanna, pray for us.