Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles
GOD, MY SAVIOR
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. – 2 Timothy 4:18
My brother-in-law arrived home past midnight. He alighted from his vehicle and opened the gate. Two masked men approached him and declared a carnap. His wife and their teenage children heard the commotion and went out of their house. They begged the men not to get the van. When I heard their shouts and cries, I decided to go out to see what was happening. Then there was a gunshot. Then silence. Then their van and the other car sped off.
Thank God, even if the van was taken, the Lord covered us all with His protection. Some neighbors planned to help but backed out when they saw the armed men. My brother-in-law just had bruises on his arms and upper back. The carnappers pointed the gun at his wife and kids but fired up in the air. I was just about to go out of our house when the gun was fired.
It took some time before we all fully recovered from that incident. What saw us through? We continuously called upon the Lord and trusted in His saving power.
There was no trace of the van so the insurance company covered it. My in-laws are now blessed with a new car. God is good … all the time! Sol Saura (solmsaura@gmail.com)
REFLECTION:
Whom do we call when we are faced with danger?
If I should ever walk in the valley of darkness, no evil will I fear. Lord, You are always there to show the way.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY
Societal fragmentation continues to be a serious problem, among others, that plague our nation. Even the religious landscape is not spared this disturbing reality. The much vaunted trait of Filipino religiosity does not anymore appear as rosy and optimistic as it seemed not too long ago. Many of us now appear to be no more than nominal Catholics, whose positions with regard to the important moral teachings of the Church, appear to be tentative, at best, and tenuous, at worst. Diversity and pluralism appear to be important values in our times.
Today’s feast of Sts. Peter and Paul shows us that diversity is not bad in itself. Peter and Paul are two very different personalities, each with his own paradigms and ways of doing things; each with his own priorities and individual character traits. The two had their own share of passionate disagreements on certain practices to be imposed on the early Christians. Peter was the anointed head of the college of apostles; Paul was the missionary par excellence, who “became all things to all men in the hope of saving at least some of them.” Peter represented the bastion of stability; Paul represented courageous initiative and inculturated evangelization. But both constituted a firm and solid foundation for the incipient Church.
Unity in diversity — this shines out brightly in the horizon of currentday pluralism and apparent cultural and even religious confusion, brought about by the towering examples of Peter and Paul. We all could learn a lesson or two from them. Peter and Paul are the two pillars of the Church. Peter, the fisherman, ended up as shepherd who steered the boat of the Church as the first Pope. Paul, the factotum, the Jack-of-all trades, became the missionary who founded burgeoning communities all over the known world in his time. Despite the differences between them and between us all now, the Church remains one. Despite the diversity and other new forms of variety, the Church also remains Catholic or universal. May Sts. Peter and Paul continue to guide us in our search for oneness.Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
Reflection Question:
How open am I to accepting the differences in personality of the people around me?
Lord God, may I always remember that You have created all of us differently, with our own unique traits, and therefore accept people as they are.
St. Cocha, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment