There is Hope after Hopelessness

A reflection by Br. Stephen Mari La Ja, OP

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I felt a pain in my heart as I saw how Typhoon Yolanda ravaged the Visayas. I tried to resist the pain but I could not. Suddenly, I felt a responsibility to help the victims. What I could not do financially, I did prayerfully. I prayed for them. I tried my best to help them in my simple way.
I read about a politician who said after visiting Tacloban “God must be somewhere else.” The typhoon victims probably had the same question. I thought, should these people ask this question to me, what would my answer be? There is a world after this. Ours is only a transitory world. I think, those people who asked about God’s presence in that catastrophic event were those who had less faith in God and forgot that there is a life after death.
In situations like this, we have the opportunity to help others, instead of blaming God, the churches and the government. We can pull our resources together and make a change, a way to overcome the difficulties.
Everything happens for a reason. Every situation, good or bad, has lessons that have to be learned. Typhoon Yolanda taught us that there are things in this world that are beyond our human control. But typhoon Yolanda taught us also that faith can give us hope in a hopeless situation.

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Photo credit: Reuters / Romeo Ranoco
DISCLAIMER: All images, musical scores or any third party content that appear in this blog belong to its respective owners.  NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED IN THE USE OF THE SAID MATERIALS. This blog is for non-commercial use and is for religious, catechetical and educational purpose only.

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FACE OF HOPE

 After Jesus and his disciples went out of the boat, the people immediately recognize him and they came to him as if he was a super hero who once save them. Going back to the previous events that had transpired in the past, Jesus was able to   heal the sick, exorcise the possessed and raised the deed.  These previous events caused an exponential growth in the believers and followers of Christ. Why? Because his face brings hope to those people that he once saved from their infirmities. A successful alumni would be given a hero’s welcome upon his return to his alma mater because he made them proud or a valiant warrior would be awarded medals of honors after emerging victorious in war. In the gospel, what the crowd made to Jesus is more than a hero’s welcome. His (Jesus) achievement is more than that of an alumni getting a high degree or a military man valiantly fighting at the expense of his life.  I believe that recognizing one’s worth is not measured  on how many decorated medals can you give or how  illustrious  welcome can you throw but on the simplest form of recognizing one’s previous act of smallest form of kindness.

 
When we are at the sunset of our lives definitely, people will not judge us how rich, famous or how influential we had become. Instead, they are going to treat us base on the things we have done to them. It is a part and parcel of reality that there could be only two things that retained in the minds of people that we encounter, it’s either our face has brought them hope or it brought them misery.   One of the unique characteristic of Jesus is he addresses first the physical needs of the people before he address the spiritual ones. Sometimes it’s a natural tendency for us to help other but do we really address what they are most in need of? The people in the gospel, recognize   Jesus immediately because they know that He alone can address their needs. No higher form of tribute we can give to those people who once serves as “a face of hope” in our life aside from recognizing their true worth. A worth that is not based on power, richness and influence. Every time we go out on the “boat of our lives”, let us always try be a “face of hope” on the least, last , and lost . “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -  Etienne de Grellet     

New Hope

Sa ebanghelyo sa araw na ito ay inaalala natin ang pagpapakasakit ni Hesuskristo.  Ito ang pinakamalungkot ng yugto sa buhay dito sa lupa ng ating Panginoon. Sa pagkakataong ito, siya ay naiwang mag-isa upang harapin ang pinakamahirap na pagsubok- ang pagharap sa kanyang kamatayan.  Ngunit bago pa ito ay hinarap niya muna ang mga pasakit sa kanya.  Hinarap niya ang mga taong sa kanya ay may galit, mga taong may pagkainggit, mga taong gusto siyang mapahamak.  Siya ay kanilang minura, nilapastangan, inalipusta at pinaratangan ng walang kalaban-laban.  At sa bandang huli ay ang parusahan ng kamatayan ng walang hustisya, ang kamatayan sa Krus. Ito ay buong tapang niyang hinarap at bukas sa loob nyang tinanggap dahil sa ano?  Ito ay dahil sa pagmamahal nya sa mga tao, ang pagmamahal niya para sa bawat isa sa atin.

Tayo man sa buhay natin ay minsan dumadaan sa mga pagsubok. Minsan nakaranas na ng pagkabigo, o kaya ay naloko ng  kaibigan, di kaya’y siniraan sa ibang tao.  Nawalay ka na ba sa iyong mga mahal sa buhay o ika’y iniwan ng mga taong iyong pinagkakatiwalaan at marami pang pagsubok na maaring maranasan? Atin lamang isipin na hindi tayo nag-iisa sa ating dinaranas.  Ang mga ito’y napagdaanan na ng Panginoon.  Naintindihan niya tayo sapagkat ito rin ay kanyang dinanas. Hindi niya tayo iiwan bagkus tayo ay kanyang sasamahan.  Kaya dapat tayo ay hindi mawawalan ng pag-asa. Kung paanong buong puso nyang tinanggap ang kamatayang para sa atin- buong ligaya naman niyang napagtagumpayan ang lahat ng mga ito noong siya ay nabuhay na mag-uli.  Sa pagsubok hindi tayo titigil lamang sa Krus bagamat itutuon natin ang ating pansin na lagpas pa sa krus. Dito masisilayan natin ang tagumpay ng muling pagkabuhay ng ating Panginoon!

Panginoon, bigyan mo kami ng grasya upang mapagtagumpayan namin ang aming dinaranas at laging magkaroon ng pag-asang dulot ng iyong pagkabuhay na muli. 

 DISCLAIMER

All images, musical scores or any third party content that appear in this blog belong to its respective owners.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED IN THE USE OF THE SAID MATERIALS.

This blog is for non-commercial use and is for religious, catechetical and educational purpose only.