A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 6:7-13).
Jesus called together his twelve apostles and sent them out two by two with power over evil spirits.
He told them, “You may take along a walking stick. But don’t carry food or a traveling bag or any money.
It’s all right to wear sandals, but don’t take along a change of clothes.
This was just a part of yesterday’s gospel. And Father Lito stressed that we need not worry about tomorrow because God will provide. He shared with us his personal account about God’s generosity.
After his ordination as a priest, he was tasked to head a poor parish in Aurora, Quezon. The place was indeed poor that in a month, the church’s total collection would only be around P5,000.00. The money from the offertory basket would be used for Father Lito’s personal needs (food, clothing, rental payment), his parish’s needs (ostiya, etc) , and allowance for the eight boys living with him. Certainly, the P5,000.00 a month wasn’t enough to meet their needs, and yet they would always survive the day. During the offertory, farmers and fishermen would offer their harvests and freshly caught fish. Generous individuals would visit them and donate slippers, shirts, and pants. Again, it was God working in mysterious ways to provide for them.
Father Lito enjoyed his homily so much that his usual one hour and 15 minutes mass became one hour and 45 minutes. We were home at around 10 pm and I haven’t cooked rice yet. Our neighbor knocked and handed to us a plateful of pancit, spaghetti, and a generous slice of chocolate cake. It was our neighbor’s birthday.
The kids need not wait for the rice. We had pasta and cake on our dining table.
Thank you, God, for the food on our table. Indeed, we need not worry for You will provide.
Ang tagal ng homily ha! Hehehe. Buti di naiinip ang mga kids.
And parang ang sarap naman nyang spaghetti na yan!
oo. ang tagal! si first-born nga, natulog na at nagtanggal pa ng sapatos. nananaginip na siguro na sa kama sya natutulog.
syempre si second son very attentive. parang nagbabadyang maging pari rin.
at si bunso, playful ever pa rin. at ako ang kalaro sa loob ng simbahan. ehehe.
di ko natikman ang spaghetti. naubos ng mga boys.
Oh wow! This is beautiful! I really felt that God was watching over you all. Thank you for sharing this simple but very inspiring post. I haven’t written about God lately, but I should start again. Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for finding this post inspiring. Yes, it is somehow “refreshing” and “enlightening” to write about God once in a while.
I think to stay within the context, yes, God provides, but He does so in different ways, and what He gives us may not be what we think we need. But the blessings abound and so it is up to us to see and accept them as they come.
Of course, there are the pilosopo who would take it out of context, perhaps argue that they do not have to move their fat behind and food will be on the plate for them three times a day.
Jehovah Jireh. The Lord Provides. That is my mantra whenever I start to feel financial difficulties creeping in. I always remind myself of the many times He has provided for us. Being a single mom to three kids and the breadwinner of my family, financial difficulties is not a strange to us. Faith always plays a special role in difficult situations. Not only in finances but in everything.
His homily is quite long, but I think that learning a lot from the experiences of Father Lito is enough to keep me awake. Kids, well, we all know how short their attention spans are. It’s normal for them to sleep or be fuzzy.
I admire your courage and positive perspective on things. Indeed life can be difficult; we also struggle having three boys attending school and a baby to look after. But God indeed provides. Love that mantra of yours. Helpful indeed. I wish our 2017 will be friendlier and easier to us.