P. A. ni Lord (God's Personal Assistants)

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.