Prayer, Work and Peace

MATTHEW 10:16-23

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, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

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I always pray for the strength to leave everything when that day comes that God finally grants the grace to let me follow Him. But somehow, right now, I am given the chance to preview what such a life entails: persecution, spiritual warfare, amongst others. Every time I go to mass, I imagine how the celebrant tries to enliven the presence of God in his life, and I really pray that his life may mirror that of Christ: serving God with obedience, purity and zeal.

I just came from another session with my spiritual director just this afternoon. I was given the chance to relate my vocation story as it unfolded through the years. With the upcoming vocation seminar this Sunday, I hope and pray that that venue would be a good place for me to process my life experiences.

"Be shrewd like serpents and simple as doves." In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that following Him does not only entail espousing the virtue of humility. It is not enough for us to be humble. We must also be wise, and work for ingenious ways of serving God. How do we choose to serve God? Faithful service, as Jesus revealed to us today, is serving Him wisely and in the best manner possible.

Today is the feast day of Saint Benedict, whose spirituality is summed up by these three words: prayer, work and peace. His example must inspire us to work for the glory of God, through prayer and sacrifice. And of course, Saint Benedict is known for teaching about the value of maintaining peace and that all of us must work for peace. I firmly believe that whenever we pray the Lord's Prayer, as we pray that part that says, "Your Kingdom come", we are actually praying for strength and will to work for the establishment of God's Kingdom here on earth. Let us do just that.

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Saint Benedict and Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.

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photo credits: http://www.cts.edu/ImageLibrary/Images/story/send.jpg, http://www.whitewingsnydovereleases.com/images/Color_card_dove_pix.jpg, http://ad-orientem.blogspot.com/2007/03/st-benedict-of-nursia-father-of-western.html