BEDTIME REFLECTION

Be Patient, Tomorrow Never Dies!

Sir Isaac Newton once remarked, "If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent."  Life is like a journey. No one who starts a journey, with a car for instance, can make it if he is preoccupied with his destination rather with tackling the ups and downs of the road. Two things are involved in a journey: either one reaches in peace or in pieces. What makes the difference is the patient attention given to the road. Life is a race; the first to reach the border line doesn’t matter. What counts is that one keep running. Patience helps us to appreciate our efforts. “Better be late than late”, goes the saying. Many see life as a gold rush where you either make it or die trying. However, those who rush life are always hushed down by their own mistakes. Slow and steady is the rule of the game. Tomorrow never dies. The ant works all summer, patiently building its house and storing up food for the winter.  “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”, said Aristotle.

 

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FRIDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

The Corner Stone

Readings Gen 27:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; Ps 104; Mtt 21:33-43, 45-46

Many New Testament stories have parallel in the Old Testament. Most of the OT figures point to the person of Christ in the NT. The story of Joseph we heard today is similar to the parable of the vineyard Christ told in the gospel. Joseph is a prefiguration of Christ. Jacob loved his son Joseph, sent him to meet his brothers at Shechem. This has parallel in the gospel of John, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son…” (Jn 3:16). Joseph, who was hated, ill-treated and sold by his brothers for Silver Shekels, foreshadows Christ who was hated, ill-treated and sold for silver Shekels by his kinsmen. As Joseph later became a Messiah to his brothers during the great famine, so did Christ delivered his people from the stranglehold of sin. Christ concluded his parable saying “it was the stone rejected by the builders that became the key stone…”

The lessons of today are summarized in the responsorial psalm, “Remember the marvels the Lord has done”. Lent is period of sober reflection on God’s love for us sinners. Obviously, God has done more than enough for us by sending Christ his son to deliver us from eternal damnation. We humans are always quick to forget. Nonetheless, let us not forget so fast what we have gained from the salvation wrought for us through the passion and death of Christ.

It is not enough to remember. Remembering should spur us into action. First, we should constantly make effort not to crucify Christ the second time by our sins. Secondly, we should hear Christ through the voice of our neighbors, beggars, the hungry, who are constantly crying for help (like the biblical Joseph pleading for mercy from his brothers). Remember, those we neglect today can save us tomorrow, those we starve today can feed us tomorrow. The stone, which the builders reject today, shall become corner stone tomorrow.

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THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

Indifference is worse than Hate!

Readings Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1; Lk 16:19-31

A glance through the story of the rich man and Lazarus (in the gospel of today) raises the question of what actually was the sin of the rich man. The man did not commit any thing, according to the gospel, but he omitted something. We are condemned either by sins of commission or sins of omission. The bible did not tell us that the rich man had any case to answer for the former; rather he was condemned by the later—his responsibility towards the poor Lazarus.

The rich man was condemned for his indifference. “The opposite of love is not hate but indifference”.  Dives, the rich man neither loved Lazarus, nor hated him. Rather he was so insensitive to notice that this poor man, who goes in rags, is starved. A French writer, Andre Maurois, once wrote that “old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game is finished, that the stage belongs to the rising generations. The truest evil is not the weakening of the body, but the indifference of the soul”.

 Today, God is calling us out of our comfort zones to feel the pains of the poor in the society and do something to better their situations. If the situation of the poor does not disturb us, no matter where we think we are in spirituality, we are missing the mark. So, care for the poor in our midst will be the criteria for our judgment on the last day. (Matt 25:31ff)

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TUESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

Readings Is1:10.16-20; Ps 49; Matt 23:1-12

Avoid Pharisaic Life

Today, God wants us to understand that conversion, repentance, and other things associated with our Lenten journey have to go beyond verbal utterances and externalism. That implies that our inner state of mind should be seen in action; and our actions and external life should give a picture of our innermost being. To buttress this, the first reading tells us, “Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good…redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.”

                                          

Jesus in the gospel continues to warn against religious externalism portraying the Pharisees and the scribes as religious bad examples that should not be emulated. Today, do we give alms for others to see us? Do we go to church and take strategic positions to be noticed? Do we attend morning masses, crusades, night vigils, and other devotions just to be seen by men? Do we contribute for the growth of the church or the society just for a mere applause or handshakes from people? We really have to cross-examine our consciences to know where we are.

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BEDTIME REFLECTION--Discover Your Star—

Gifts and talents are like a seed planted in the soil that needs to be nurtured to a full stature of a tree. No one is created by God without gifts and talents that can make him shine like a star among the rest. Some are born to be leaders, good advisers and pace-setters. Others are born musicians (singers, composers), writers, aesthetics, artists, innovators, orators, designers, etc. Some, theirs is to keep others smiling and happy in their jocular way. Some others render service perfectly well.

The hitch is that some, out of selfishness and greed, lose sight of their innate gifts and talents to pursue what other people’s unique endowments; they often end up frustrated. Some discovered their own gifts but are not happy to see others with likely gifts; they end up becoming sadists. Those who think they are less talented or gifted are those who have not worked on their raw materials. Gifts and talents are developed when they are channeled towards common good. Any gift or talent used for narcissistic purposes does not grow. Today, discover your gift, nurture your gift, appreciate what others have, learn from others with same interest and talents, and you will shine out like the star in the gloomy sky. Goodnight………..

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MONDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

 Do Not Judge!

Readings Dan 9:4-10; Ps 78; Lk 6:36-38

In the first reading of today, we hear a cry of a people who have come to the awareness of their sins against God. Acknowledgment of our sins is the first step towards conversion. We have to accept the fact that we are sinners, and like the psalmist says, if God should mark our sins no one will survive (Ps 51). God is so merciful that he does not treat us according to our sins. That is the reason why Jesus Christ in the gospel asks us to extend this act of mercy which we receive from God to our neighbors. He asks us “be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge and you will not be judged, grant pardon, and you will be pardoned”.

Put differently, Christ is asking us in this Lenten season to be compassionate, not to judge or condemn the unfortunate fellows in our communities like the prisoners, people with HIV/AIDS, teenage mothers, the beggars in the streets, and the stereotyped sinners in the society because we are not better than them as we may think. We humans are birds of same feather that flock together under the tree of sin. We are always good at pointing who was wrong and who is with sin while losing sight of our own iniquities. May God open our eyes that we may see the gravity of our sins and give us the grace to be compassionate to others.

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Don’t Live without Music--BEDTIME REFLECTION

Don’t Live without Music—

Hello, have you played or sang your favorite song today? I often wonder what life could be without music. In fact, music makes life a virtual heaven. Music has a profound effect in our lives. Good music makes a healthy mind in a healthy body. It makes the body relaxed and brings a positive state of mind.  A lot of inspirations come from listening to good music. It can motivate you into positive action. It music can make you comfortable and relaxed. Listening to good music brings forth the power of creativity in you and arouses a high level of optimism. Many great achievements in the world were inspired by good music. When we are lost in anxiety and fear, it is music that can relax our nerves and bring us back to normalcy again.  Many got their conversion from listening to a piece of good music. Play your favorite song; sing along, aloud and aloud if you can. Compare your feeling before and after. When you feel your self-image is threatened, tune in to your favorite motivational songs and you will feel well again. If you can play any instrument, pick your instrument, sing as you play. For those who love music, age is just a number; they will be young even when they grow old. In time of distress and trouble praise God with good worship and soul-lifting tunes; he who created music will lead you out of your trouble. “Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.” Can I hear you sing your favorite inspirational song before you sleep?  Goodnight all………………………………….

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