March 29, 2024

Prophet Hosea narrates, “Thus says the Lord: When Israel was a child, I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. (Hosea 11: 1) He adds, “My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger; for I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.” (Hosea 11:8e-9)
Despite the efforts to contain the virus that causes the Covid-19, we feel things are going in vain. But we must not worry because God is in charge. No one can ever surpass His power and might. The right attitude is to strengthen our faith in Him and to trust in His mercy and compassion.
The bad attitude and poor discipline of people aggravate our current predicament. The bashing of self-righteous people sometimes exhausts energies and drags good plans to realization. It is unjust to be bashed for our good deeds but we do not have to be afraid of people who criticize us for our good deeds because God will protect us and reward our good deeds.
Matthew 10:16, 22 states, Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
The Mountain Province Provincial Health Office under Dr. Nenita Lizardo has invited me to facilitate a retreat and recollection for their group on June 25.
The retreat was a time to reflect and recharge after being burned out from work due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The retreat revolved around four topics: biblical identity, biblical dignity, responsibility, and accountability.
When confusion strikes, it is always helpful to go back to our biblical identity – Genesis 1:27, that is, the image and likeness of God. When we realize this truth, we boost our confidence. We will know ourselves again and we begin to see things from a higher vantage point. Knowing our identity as God’s image and likeness, we will know our worth and our dignity as humans. Our dignity will lead us to respect our fellowmen despite our differences. Only then will we realize our moral responsibility to ourself, others, and God.
The Kilong Catholic Mission is offering lessons on how to play the guitar, ukulele, beat box, bass guitar, other percussion instruments, and basic voice harmonization. The lessons proved that music is truly attractive and powerful. No wonder, we often read in the scriptures how God made use of music to convey his message and how angels sang joyfully.
The music lessons became the place of God to touch two gentlemen to become his children through baptism. On June 25 and July 5, Ricky Yakak and James Balag-ey were baptized.
“We respect the decision of our children since they are at the age of reason. We saw changes in their life since they joined the guitar lessons. They persistently sought for our permission and we respected their plans and decisions,” the parents, who belong to another sect, said.
On the day of baptism, their parents came to witness this milestone. Afterwards, they joined us for a simple meal at the rectory. Ricky and James were overjoyed. They are now attending masses in the barangay. They share their testimony to the congregation and have become inspiration to others. I hope it will be a start of their vocation story to priesthood.
Thank you, Marjorie Pandagos, for your patience in teaching guitar lessons. Thank you also to Dandan Ngagan for assisting in the lessons.
Reach me at [email protected] or at 0905-165-3669.