DAYLIGHT - DAILY MEN OF LIGHT REFLECTION July 18, 2014 / Friday Gospel: Matthew 12: 1 to 8 Sharer: Atty. Bong Roque ------------------------------------------ Gospel: 1 At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, 4 how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? 5Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? 6 I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” ================================ Sharing: One time, I was driving along the highway, and saw a tarpaulin in front of a Church. The message that unsettled me read something like this: “We shop in Malls. We hear Mass in Churches.” Apparently, the message was a swipe at those who attend the Eucharistic Celebration inside the malls. It hit home because I said to myself: “If the one who put up that signage only knew where I pray, he would probably stone me to death.” You see, I have a very queer “prayer room.” If you go up to my home’s second floor bathroom, you will find a small bookshelf in front of the toilet bowl. Stacked inside the bookshelf is a bible, a number of devotionals and bible diaries, and a few inspirational materials. As I sit on the “throne” every morning, I reach for the scriptures, and then read, reflect on the Word of God, and say my prayers. Isn’t what I do a plain disrespect for God? Isn’t it sacrilegious to read the bible inside the bathroom? Would I not offend God if I pray while seated on the toilet bowl? Perhaps some would think that way. That was also what I used to think. Until I read the story of St. Therese of Avila. The story goes that one day, St. Therese of Avila was in the toilet. While she was on the commode, she prayed to God. Suddenly, the devil appeared and mocked her, saying, “How dare you pray to your God while doing that dirty thing?” Without batting an eyelash, St. Therese replied: “What goes out of my lips is for God; what goes out of my behind is for you.” After reading this story, I was convinced that, for as long as my desire to commune with the Lord is pure, there is never an inappropriate time or place to pray. Sundays, of course, are reserved for my Eucharistic celebration in our Parish Church, where I personally find it most effective to worship God with my Parish Community. But, in my personal prayer life, I have learned to be less rigid and pharisaic. Prayer, after all, is never a “mall or church” thing. For one yearning to be connected to God, every place becomes a sanctified altar, every minute an appropriate prayer time. ============================== Prayer: Lord, talk to me anywhere and anytime – whether I am inside the jeep on my way to my destination, in the kitchen while I am preparing food, or in the office doing my work. As You make Yourself mightily present everywhere I am, teach me to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 06:04:57 +0000
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