Unfading

Lk 21:29-33

Jesus told his disciples a parable.
“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.”

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Today's Gospel tells us about the permanence of God's words, how, despite the changing generations, times, and prevailing cultures, the Word of God does not fade away.

Just this afternoon as I was about to attend mass, I was praying for guidance for my upcoming exams in internal medicine when a question suddenly struck me: how should I love the Lord? He has been there all along, in my sinfulness, and in the times I recognized Him enough to avoid sinning. In the times I have been confused about life, and the choices I make. In the times I groaned and shouted expletives at difficult circumstances that found my way through the years.

He has been there. I believe that, in one of my prayers He told me He will always be there. And He never failed me. But I fail Him. And this is what my heart, when fully awake and cognizant of this, makes me want to shed tears for.

My friend, whom I'll call Francis here, asked me about God's faithfulness, no matter our sinfulness is. I just told him that He is a forgiving God.

A forgiving God, enough that He still allows me to live, and to work so that, in the future, I may come to serve Him in the way that He wants for me.

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Saint Ignatius, pray for us.

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picture credit: http://mchristi.wso.net/fig_tree2.jpg