"Whose Goodness was Never Made Known" - Reflection of Thanksgiving

Let me tell you of my great-aunt.

Everyone in our family had always thought of her as a very greedy person. She was considered as a money-lover. One of the reasons for such a thought was that whenever we asked her if we could give her any gift, she would respond, “Just give me some money.” Not just that, sometimes she didn’t even wait for us to ask, she would go to several houses of her relatives and friends, and ask herself, “Do you have any money for this old lady?”

Her children were embarrassed of her, and we, her relatives, were hesitant whenever she came around, because we know she would ask for money.

What was this 98 year-old lady doing with all the money that she got?

No one ever knew until after her death.

At the funeral, the parish priest began to tell the family how our great aunt used to walk to the rectory, old as she was with her little cane, and give him a bundle of money wrapped in several layers of paper. As it turned out, she went about asking us for money so that she could help out the parish to fix up the church building which was running down. Whatever she got from us, she gave it all to the parish while she herself lived in complete poverty.

Everyone in our family was stunned to hear the story. We had told her straight in the face several times that she was so greedy. She endured it all without a word of complain or explanation. The only person who knew the whole story was the parish priest.

Why telling this story on Thanksgiving Day?

 Truly it is the day when we all are called to give thanks. We are called to acknowledge the blessings and gifts we have received.

Let us not forget, however, the many blessings that we have not yet become aware of, because those who perform such goodness are too generous to make themselves known:

-          Mothers who sit through the night next to her sick children.

-          Fathers, who work long hours, even several different jobs, to make sure there is food on the table for the family.

-          Teachers who spend great energy trying to prepare to a good lesson.

-          The garbage men who pick up the trash for us two times a week to make sure we won’t be drowned in our own garbage.

-          The mailmen who always come despite the weather to make sure we get our mail in time.

-          Most importantly, let us be mindful of the thousands men and women in the arm forces whose faces and names we do not know. These are the people whose sacrifices make it possible for us to live in peace and security. Let us also not forget their families, their spouses, their children, their parents.

There are many, many more!

Today the Vietnamese Church celebrates her 118 Holy Martyrs among thousands and thousands of people who had given up their lives for their faith. I am myself reminded of the gift of faith that these witnesses have given to our people. As Tertullian once said, “the blood of the Martyrs is the seed of Christians.”

 
Faith itself is a gift – a gift from God who works in silence.

We should be grateful to him!

As we gather today at the Table of the Eucharist which itself means Thanksgiving, let’s offer God our gratitude to the people whose sacrifices have become our blessings. Let’s offer God, from whom all good things come, our gratitude as well – the gratitude for our life, our family, our friends, our jobs, our faith, our everything.

As it is said, “A grateful heart is a joyful heart, and a joyful heart is a saintly heart.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Why?" Reflection on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

Alright, it is time for a little confession.

 I hate studying.

 People often thought my “geeky” Asian look meant that I am a book-worm. The truth is, however, I have never been very fond of academic pursuit. My reason often is that I have a practical mind. I would much prefer being out there doing something useful, rather than sitting in a classroom studying abstract ideas.

It stroke as a big blow after I entered the seminary where my fundamental responsibility, of course, is to study. Not only to study, I was asked to study Philosophy. In other words, I was to study thoughts and abstract ideas. Ironic enough, isn’t it?

Needless to say how much I struggled trying to find meaning and the will to sit through classes of Metaphysics, Epistemology, Anthropology, the Philosophical sequence, in which we learned about the thoughts of Ancient Greeks to Contemporary thinkers, such as Nietzsche, Heidegger, Hegel, etc.

I remember telling Fr. Ferdinand Santos, one of my professors, how much I hated almost all of my philosophy classes. I didn’t know why I had to do it. And, above all, I found them utterly useless.

The wise priest looked at me and began to tell me that he too hated Philosophy with all his passion as a young seminarian. Then, his bishop decided to send to Belgium to attain a degree in Philosophy. He, too, struggled to find meaning for what he was asked to do. His spiritual director, at that time, challenged him with these words, which he, in turn, challenged me,

“For one to whom much has been given, much will be expected. God has given you a good brain; he is going to expect much from you.”

Well, you can’t really argue with that, can you?

Today’s Gospel recounted the parable of the Master and his servants to whom he entrusted a certain amount of talents. Two of them invested the talents and brought about interests, while the third buried it. The Master, after he returned, commented the two faithful and wise servants, and sent the other one away “into the darkness outside.”

The Gospel challenges us to ask ourselves, “What talents have I received from God? What have I done with them? Have I make use of them wisely?”

To students like me, have we made us of our privilege to have a good education? Have we “invested” our intelligence and our capacity to learn and to gain knowledge?

To workers, have we given our utmost abilities and skills to our work fields?

To husbands and wives, have we given ourselves completely to our spouses, and ultimately to our children who are both gifts and talents entrusted to us?

Most importantly, we also ought to ask ourselves, “Have we done everything out of love, or merely out of no-other-choice grudging duties?”

As Mother Teresa wisely put it, “The important thing isn’t how many actions one carries out, but the amount of love one carries in each action.”

After all, it is not what we do, but why we do what we do is what matters.

Hopefully, for all of us, Christians, the reason would be for the love of God and of our neighbors. So that, one day, when our Master truly return, we humbly hear him say,

'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'