A Relatively Eventful Day

MATTHEW 11:25-30

At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones.
Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight.

All things are delivered to me by my Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him.

Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.

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I can quite conclude that today was a very eventful day.

After attending the Mass (we were late!) at my youngest brother's minor seminary for their monthly family day, we spent the day laughing at the antics of the seminarians as they opened their seminary sports fest with what they called cheering: the groups dancing to drums or someone mimicking a drum roll and dance music on the microphone.

My brother told us that the performances they have prepared were quite not the cheering performances we were expecting of these supposedly competitive seminarians. As we discovered, they really had fun and made fun of themselves in a very nice way.

The sports fest then started with a basketball game. Sadly, my brother's team lost. We then bade farewell, as the seminarians prepared for afternoon benediction.

All things went well, as we said the daily rosary plying the route towards the boarding house, when we felt something breaking within the van: it was something like a garter cutting off in its stretched state. We then felt our vehicle decelerating and out of our control. Thank God my dad was able to pull over at the right place.

My dad then looked for people to help. My mother and two sisters went ahead for home, while I and my other brother remained to keep watch. I was praying hard and tried saying my rosary and invoking the intercession of my patron saints.

After almost half an hour, my father arrived with mechanics and a jeepney driver who seemed to be drunk. Apparently my father saw them as they were drinking on the sidewalk (a common practice here in the Philippines).

Although I was quite uncomfortable seeing people under the influence of alcohol trying to fix the van, the peace that the rosaries gave me somehow helped me have peace of mind. Thankfully they were sober enough to see what really happened with the van: the belts in the engine were torn. My dad then decided to have the van towed to the parking lot of his office.

I am really thankful to God how things worked out. In relation to today's Gospel, the experience of having one's vehicle break down on a person is quite a stressful experience. But as God's grace led us to solving the problem, I realized how God can be so good to the people who rely on Him. No matter how people attribute the occurrence of blessings and miracles to mere chance, I still believe in God. And I believe He loves me and He really gives weary and heavy laden people rest.

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Welcoming patients and guests to the Johns Hopkins Hospital is this statue of Christ, with the words of today's Gospel inscribed on it. How do we manage to leave all our cares and worries to Him? And more importantly, how do we offer our lives to Him?

Saint Maria Goretti, today's saint, tells us how, in her unique and heroic way: by dying instead of being stained with sin.

In an attempt of one of her companions at home to molest her, she resisted and preferred being killed rather than commit sin. She died on this day in 1902 and was canonized 48 years later, with her mother present in the ceremony.

One of the greatest miracles produced by her sanctity was the conversion of the person who killed her--Alessandro Serenelli--who eventually entered the Capuchin order.

Saint Maria Goretti, help us to live lives of chastity. Amen.

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Saint Maria Goretti and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, patrons of today's youth, pray for us.

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photo credits: http://tracking-the-rogue-yam.blogspot.com/2007/07/dome-and-rotunda-reveal-jesus.html, http://www.passiochristi.org/Documents/Santi%20Passionisti/Goretti2.jpg