BY FR. BEL R. SAN LUIS, SVD
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A DISTRAUGHT man approaches a priest-friend and asks: “Please bless me, Father, because my son is a drug addict, my daughter an unwed mother, and my wife a gambler.
The priest already tired of listening, says: Brother, isn’t there anything positive in your life? The man replies: Me, Father…HIV positive!
Of course, HIV positive is still negative. (It could be COVID-19 positive, too).
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That funny story illustrates that in this “valley of tears” called Earth, we encounter a lot of trials, problems, and sufferings.
In this time, we are scared and distressed by the deadly attack of COVID-19 virus. And due to the lockdown, people cannot go out and work. It’s the poor like construction workers, jeepney drivers, restaurant personnel, the laid-off, and many others, are hardest hit.
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This health and economic crisis is compounded by personal and family financial problems that have caused domestic violence.
There is the extreme kind of weariness bordering on severe depression. Not too long ago a lady executive jumped to her death from a high-rise building in Makati.
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She left a note behind which said, “I cannot bear my life anymore, God forgive me.” She had been taking care of her mother for many years who had a lingering illness.
We sympathize with the lady but her act was not the right Christian solution.
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The words of Jesus in today’s gospel are, therefore, very timely and consoling: “Come to me all who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11,28).
Jesus teaches us to cultivate relinquishment, the ability to let go of our anxieties and put ourselves in God’s hands.
In the words of a spiritual writer: “Don’t tell God you have a great problem. Rather tell your problem you have a great God.”
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We go to the doctor when we have an ailment or sickness and that’s fine. But do we also go to God, for instance, in the church or at the Adoration Chapel and bring our problem to him?
One time I was conversing with a doctor. I said, “Doc, do you believe in the saying – ‘God heals; the doctor collects the fee?’” He laughed. “There’s some truth there, Father,” he replied, “because if God doesn’t will the cure, we doctors cannot do anything.”
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Finally, as much as we pray to the Lord for our needs and problems we must also work hard and be resourceful. As one successful business lady put it: “I work hard. I do my best; God will do the rest.” That should be our attitude.
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WHY’S THERE COVID-19? WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
Let me share with you a timely message from an unknown author on the cause of COVID-19 pandemic and what is the remedy.
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“In over three short months, just like God did with the plagues of Egypt, He has taken away everything we worship. God said, “You want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don’t want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can’t go to church.
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“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land.
“Maybe we don’t need a vaccine.
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“Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival, a renewal where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters – Jesus.
“Start the renewal in your home…Spread the Love of Jesus. “
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MAGNETIC ROSARY BRACELETS. Please buy our magnetic rosary bracelets. The proceeds will go to our seminarians schooling and COVID-19 indigents’ funds. A magnetic rosary bracelet is not only a religious article but also therapeutic. It helps improve the circulation of the blood and boosts our immune-system.
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For inquiry how to order, e-mail me at: [email protected].
