Many times,
the Lord reminds us of who we are in the greater scheme of things. Such takes place in varied ways, even sometimes through odd means or
persons. I have a share of such experience.
When I was a
spiritual director ‘kuno’ of a junior presidium of the Legion of Mary, I
attended their regular prayer meeting and give a reflection about a given
topic. One Sunday, we meditated on the importance of giving and loving. I based
my reflection on the premise ‘Kailangan
nating magbigay ‘pagkat tayo ay binigyan. Magmahal, ‘pagkat tayo ay minahal.(We
must give for we have received and love, for we are loved).’ After my sharing,
I asked the members of the praesidium to give their reflections on the said
topic. A girl, about 9 years old, said ‘Di
naman natin kailangan makatanggap o mahalin upang tayo ay magbigay at magmahal sa isang tao.
Maaring magsimula sa atin ang pagbibigay at pagmamahal. (We do not need to
receive in order to give, and be loved in order to love. Giving and loving may
start from us.).’ That struck and humbled me. It is not only because of the
message but more so because of the person from it came from: a nine year old
girl. I did not know if she was fully aware of what she had said. As I
understood it, it was a call to be like Jesus, who showed to the world how to
love selflessly, expecting nothing from the beginning to the end of loving the
other. In our world today, we give and love the other by the same measure he had loved us. But this girl reminded of God's selfless love for us and the call to be like Him.
I came in that Sunday prayer meeting thinking that I would be teaching
these children about giving and loving. It turned out that it was them who
taught me the real sense of giving and loving. More so, it was the Lord (Dominus est) who taught and reminded me. Tapik ng Panginoon. Tapik ng paalaala.
Reflecting
on this experience, I thought of the Holy Spirit, whom we often invoked at the
beginning of our meetings, asking for guidance and enlightenment. It was only
after this experience that I understood, in a certain degree, how the good Lord
manifests Himself. It was through a mysterious and often surprising way. And sometimes, when we become arrogant and self-righteous,
He reminds us that it is still His work and not ours. We are merely PAs (Personal
Assistants) in the vineyard of the Lord.
