God gives us two gifts every day; the gift of CHOICE and the gift of CHANCE. The choice to live a good life and the chance to live it best. The choice to let go of yesterday’s hurts and regrets and the chance to have peace with others and oneself. The choice to recognize your workers’ performance and the chance to inspire them to do more and better. The choice to spend quality time with your family and the chance to establish closer ties. The choice to spend within your affordable limit and the chance to save for the future.
In choosing not to abort, a single mother gave her child the chance to live, took care of him with much love and molded him into a fine person. He is now a successful Engineer. Her mother has much to do in building up his good character and he built her a house. She would not ask for more, they are now living in a wholesome home atmosphere.
Few years ago, I chose to go to Mission City, Vancouver, Canada for my annual retreat. It was a spiritually enriching experience to attend Mass, pray and meditate inside the Benedictine Abbey and enjoy listening to the singing of the friars in Gregorian chant. After the retreat, I had the chance to give talk about the Divine Mercy in the Parish of the Holy Spirit, in Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver. For me it was a spiritual package of being blessed and sharing the blessing.
Some individuals chose to join the Cursillo weekend and they got the chance to have daily meditation and Mass which are not their usual routine. They learn more about their faith, the sacraments, the bible, church teachings and Christian lay leadership among others.
During our Gala fundraising event on June 21, 2019 at Sheraton Hotel ballroom sponsored by the Divine Mercy Apostolate of Guam for the benefit of KOLG 90.9 FM, our Catholic Radio station in the Archdiocese, many chose to buy door-prize tickets and they got the chance to win nice prizes, in fact one won a round-trip plane ticket to the U.S. and another to the Philippines. Good choice begets good chance.
In the Gospel of St. Luke 10: 38-42, Mary chose to sit beside the Lord at his feet and got the chance to listen to him. The Lord acknowledged that she has chosen the better part. She was not negligent of her hospitality duty for she feels that listening to the Lord is more important than doing house-keeping chores. Her love of the Lord moved her to spend time listening to him. And so must we, in our desire to love and serve the Lord, we must first “sit at his feet” and listen to his words in the bible, in the homily at Mass and in the church’s teachings.
It is not so much what we want to do for the Lord that matters, but what he wants us to do for him, and the secret of truly serving him is to love him first and foremost. Service to our neighbor done out of love for God is sweeter, joyful and meaningful.
On the flip side, someone said that what we think as coincidence is really the whisper of angels talking to us. If you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine. God has brought you through before, He will bring you through again. Make decision to choose faith over fear. Don’t let your emotions be your decision maker. Stop and pray, let God lead you. He can change your everything. You may have chosen a wrong path, but you can start fresh today. You can spend your life judging people, or you can spend it making friends, it’s your choice. Be selective with your battles. Sometimes, peace is better than being right. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that people don’t listen, they just wait for their turn to talk. You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequences of your choice. Amen on that folks!!
St. Faustina wrote Jesus’ words; “Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which lends value to our actions.” (Diary no. 303). Pray the Divine Mercy every 3 p.m. Daily pray the Chaplet of Mercy and the Holy Rosary for peace in our families and in the world.
