Pope Francis prays for victims of 'Agaton'

by Analou de Vera, Manila Bulletin

Pope Francis has conveyed his solidarity with the victims of tropical cyclone Agaton (international name: Megi) which has affected several areas in Visayas and Mindanao.

The Pope has been “informed of the recent loss of life and destruction” as a result of the onslaught of the said cyclone, said Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in a telegram on April 14.

“His Holiness Pope Francis wishes to express his solidarity with all those suffering in the wake of the storm,” said Parolin in the telegram addressed to Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles Brown.

Pope Francis also offered prayers for the victims of Agaton.

“He (Pope) also offers the assurance of prayers for the dead, injured, and displaced as well as those engaged in recovery efforts,” said Parolin.

“As a sign of his spiritual closeness, His Holiness willingly invokes upon all the Filipino people God’s blessings of strength and peace,” he added.

Praying without ceasing

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

“Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” (Mt 7,7-8)

The words of Christ are very clear. We are asked to persevere in prayer since no matter how things look bad and hopeless, God always will love us and will take care of us. “If you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Mt 7,11)

We should never doubt the effectiveness of our sincere prayer even if initially it may appear as if we have been ignored if not rebuffed. God would never fail to take care of us—but of course in his own way, which is actually what is best for us. His way may not be what we want, but definitely it would be what is best for us!

How important therefore it is to be persistent and persevering in our prayer, for which a strong faith is needed. We have to remind ourselves of these reassuring words of St. Paul that tell us that no matter how things develop, we can be sure of God’s will to put things to their proper end. “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Phil 1,6)

The Pauline words somehow tell us that the secret of perseverance is our strong faith in God, in his omnipotent and merciful providence that can always make do with whatever situation we may find ourselves in at any given moment.

We have to see to it that we keep that faith alive and burning. And to make that faith vibrant, we need to keep ourselves always in love. It’s love that keeps our faith going. It should be a love that goes beyond good intentions, sweet words and nice feelings. It has to be expressed in deeds.

One clear manifestation of an operative love that nourishes our faith that in turn enables us to persevere and to be faithful to the end is the practice of a daily examination of conscience.

The examination of conscience is a very helpful tool in our effort to be faithful and persevering in our earthly pilgrimage toward our eternal goal. There we make a proper closure to our day as we enter our daily rest at night.

The examination of conscience is a wonderful moment of ending everything with God everyday. After all, God is everything to us, and we should realize that we need to be with him at the end of the day, no matter how we were during the day.

It’s a practice that we have to deliberately cultivate, since it is often not felt and perceived by the senses, or by the body in general, but rather by the spirit, by our mind and heart enlightened by faith. It’s a practice that is often ignored and even rejected by many worldly concerns, trends, fashions, ideologies and political systems.

  If we keep this practice of examining our conscience regularly and properly, we can manage to keep our faith and love for God going irrespective of how things go in our life.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

A MOST DOWN-TO-EARTH BOOK

When tragedy strikes, it's easy to harden our hearts and cry out, "God, why did you let this happen?" Maybe then, we started praying. Before, when everything goes smooth, we would not even think a minute about praying... .

In times like now, while dealing with the corona virus and all the related circumstances, many of us might starting praying again. Each of us has concerns to fight with. Financial and  natural health problems - worries about our future - our businesses, education etc. etc. pp.

"To be a Christian without prayer, "said protestant Martin Luther, "is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." Prayer is the only way of becoming what God wants us to be. This is the reason, why Jesus spent many hours in praying.

Unquestionable, our daily needs bring us to a place of prayer. Confronted with danger, natural disasters or other  tragedies, as I mentioned earlier, we look for God's help. Difficult times always cause the hearts of men to turn to God into prayer.

Let me ask you: How long has it been since your're brought your burdens to God? Since when  did you ask His forgiveness for your shortcomings?

During my home office time, I spent a lot for hours in my library. I found a very interesting book:  "People in Prayer". The author Dr. John White reminds us that prayer is a divine-human interaction and it is always God who takes the initiative. White write: "God speaks and we respond. God is always speaking. To hear his voice is not usually a mystical experience. It consists merely of a willingness to pay heed to God who lays a claim to our lives."

Yes, God always speaks. It is up to us whether we will listen and respond to Him. Many think we are the ones who initiate prayer. But prayers begin and end with God.

There was a time, I wasn't in the mood to pray any more. It seemed that God didn't listen my prayer any more. I didn't get what I prayed for. Of course, not... ! That's not the meaning of praying to God. All my wishes will be granted? Heaven forbid!

Sometimes, after we have prayed, God's answers may puzzle us. But as time times goes by and as events unfold we see God's purpose in his answers. We might get a larger vision, what HE likes. Not what WE like... .

Think about it for a moment: How does the idea that prayer begins and ends with God affect me now? Do I have the habit of listening to god? How do I respond to Him? How do I usually pray?

I confess that long time ago I have been trying to persuade God to change other people in my surroundings or circumstances. Nothing changed. Of course not, what a fatal attraction? I got confused because God never granted my requests. Meanwhile I got God's answers to my prayers. Maybe very simple: I was willing to let God change me... .This is how each one of us should start. Happy endings. Because I prayed according to His will... .

Talking about prayer, we also have to mention the probably most down-earth book in the bible which is  Proverbs. Its education prepares you for the street and the marketplace, not the schoolroom The book offers the warm advice you get by growing up in a good family. It covers small questions as well as large: talking too much, visiting neighbors to often, being unbearable cheerful to early in the morning. Proverbs simply tells how life works most of the time.

I always love to quote proverbs, which express truth about life in an elegant, witty kernel. You should not hunt through it for proverbs you might like. You should study the whole book to get its overall point of view. This takes time, for Proverbs covers dozens of subjects in the subtle detail.

A most down-to-earth book

When tragedy strikes, it's easy to harden our hearts and cry out, "God, why did you let this happen?" Maybe then, we started praying. Before, when everything goes smooth, we would not even think a minute about praying... .

"To be a Christian without prayer, "said Martin Luther, "is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." Prayer is the only way of becoming what God wants us to be. This is the reason, why Jesus spent many hours in praying.

Unquestionable, our needs bring us to a place of prayer. Confronted with danger or tragedies, as I mentioned earlier, we look for God's help. Difficult times always cause the hearts of men to turn to God into prayer. 

Let me ask you: How long has it been since your're brought your burdens to God? Since you asked His forgiveness for your shortcomings? 

In his very interesting book "People in Prayer", Dr. John White reminds us that prayer is a divine-human interaction and it is always God who takes the initiative. White write: "God speaks and we respond. God is always speaking. To hear his voice is not usually a mystical experience. It consists merely of a willingness to pay heed to God who lays a claim to our lives."

Yes, God always speaks. It is up to us whether we will listen and respond to Him. Many think we are the ones who initiate prayer. But prayers begin and end with God. 

There was a time, I wasn't in the mood to pray any more. It seemed that God didn't listen my prayer any more. I didn't get what I prayed for. Of course, not... ! That's not the meaning of praying to God. All my wishes will be granted? Heaven forbid!

Sometimes, after we have prayed, God's answers may puzzle us. But as time times goes by and as events unfold we see God's purpose in his answers. We might get a larger vision, what HE likes. Not what WE like... .

Think about it for a moment" How does the idea that prayer begins and ends with God affect me now? Do I have the habit of listening to god? How do I respond to Him? How do I usually pray?

I confess that long time ago I have been trying to persuade God to change other people in my surroundings or circumstances. Nothing changed. Of course not, what a fatal attraction? I got confused because God never granted my requests. Meanwhile I got God's answers to my prayers. Maybe very simple: I was willing to let God change me... .This is how each one of us should start. Happy endings. Because I prayed according to His will... .

Talking about prayer, we also have to mention the probably most down-earth book in the bible which is  Proverbs. Its education prepares you for the street and the marketplace, not the schoolroom The book offers the warm advice you get by growing up in a good family. It covers small questions as well as large: talking too much, visiting neighbors to often, being unbearable cheerful to early in the morning. Proverbs simply tells how life works most of the time. 

I always love to quote proverbs, which express truth about life in an elegant, witty kernel. You should not hunt through it for proverbs you might like. You should study the whole book to get its overall point of view. This takes time, for Proverbs covers dozens of subjects in the subtle detail.