WITNESSING

WITNESSING

 

Many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized. – Acts 18: 8

 

Agnes, our housekeeper, was baptized, confirmed and had her first communion during Easter 2008. My wife and I stood as her godparents, together with a brother in Ligaya ng Panginoon, Jodean, who headed her Bible study group in our kids’ school.

She had been with us for a few years. Though we knew she was not a Catholic, we didn’t try to convert her. What she saw and heard from us and from the people around her was more convincing than any preaching we could do.

She went with us during our community gatherings and saw how we lived our lives for God. She would catch conversations on how God has been blessing a brother. She would hear how a sister went through the pain of losing a loved one and yet still clung to the Lord. She observed how we prayed. She appreciated how we treated her. Her Bible study group gave her opportunities to learn more about God’s Word. These acted as the seed. God’s grace did the rest. It is how we live that others would hear, believe and be baptized. Jun Asis (mabuting.balita@gmail.com)

 

REFLECTION:

 

Our life is our witnessing. Do others see God’s Word in us?

 

Lord, let my life be a living testament to Your Good News. Amen.

FROM SORROW TO JOY

 

There are two kinds of sorrow: the sorrow that imprisons and the sorrow that sets free.

The sorrow that imprisons leads nowhere except to a sustained or an even greater sorrow. We experience or suffer this sorrow when we surrender ourselves to sorrow itself. When we allow ourselves to be tied down by the mistakes or sins of the past, we experience this sorrow. When we let some unfortunate circumstances in our lives rob us of our belief in grace and our hope for a better tomorrow, we suffer this kind of sorrow. When we refuse to let go of our hurts and thereby deprive ourselves of growing into full maturity, we are enslaved by this kind of sorrow.

The sorrow that sets free is the kind of sorrow that is only a prelude to joy. This sorrow is like the discomfort a mother may experience in delivering a new bundle of joy into the world. This sorrow is like the anxiety of a parent that has to let go of their child at the proper time so that the child may start a life on his or her own. It is also like the struggles of a student before reaching graduation day. This sorrow is like the remorse of a penitent that leads to contrition and forgiveness. This sorrow is like dying to one’s self, like the grain of wheat that falls to the earth and dies, so that it may bear abundant fruit. This sorrow is like physical death in itself that is the birth into eternal life.

While there is no life on earth without sorrows, we can choose which of the two kinds of sorrow we wish to endure. Most importantly, we can choose for whom and to whom we want to offer our sorrows in life. The departure of Jesus from their sight caused the disciples great sorrow. Theirs was the sorrow of letting go. But it was the kind of sorrow that set them free. After the Ascension, the disciples were challenged not to be dependent on the physical presence of the Lord. They had to live by faith. And it is that faith that turned their sorrow into joy and sustained it even unto martyrdom. May we have that same faith, the kind that turns sorrow into joy. Fr. Bobby Titco

 

Reflection Question:

There is no life on earth without sorrows. But we can choose what kind of sorrow we wish to endure, and to whom and for whom we want to offer it.

 

Lord Jesus Christ, I unite my sorrows in this life with Your most sacred passion. Let Your paschal mystery shine through mine. Amen.

 

St. Abban, pray for us.