|
I
know well the plans I have in mind for you |
||
|
|
It
was St. Ignatius of Loyola who said that only one thing is essential for
salvation. It is to do the will of God. If you are married, God’s will
for you is to be a husband and father or a wife and mother. You are not
supposed to live like a priest or a religious. As a husband and father,
God’s will for you is to provide for your family, to raise and educate
your children, and to love and care for your wife. As a wife and mother,
God’s will for you is to care for the family, to raise and educate your
children, and to love and support your husband. Our
salvation depends not so much on the length and frequency of our prayers,
the number of Masses we attend, or the number of rosaries we recite. It
depends not so much on the work we do for the poor or the amount of alms
we give. Rather, as St. Ignatius says, it depends on whether we listen to
the voice of God and do the Father’s will. Blessed
Josemaria Escriva says the same thing. He is known to have said that a
wife who spends her time in church but spoils her stew is not just half an
angel and half a devil, but a full-pledged devil. The wife’s primary
responsibility is to care for her husband and children. This is God’s
will for her. The same thing is true with the husband. His primary duty is
to provide for the needs of his wife and children. This is God’s will
for him. As
a family, God’s will for us is to be a domestic church, where Christ is
at the center, and from where the good news of salvation radiates to other
families. And as members of Couples for Christ, we are to be families in
the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth. This is God’s plan for
our families. We are to be light of the world and salt of the earth. The
divine plan for us is to give glory to God by witnessing to and serving
others. As
a family, God’s will for us is to serve one another and to serve other
families. When we serve, what is important is not what we do or the
magnitude and level of our service but the attitude of our hearts. In the
Gospel story, Martha was doing well serving Jesus – until she revealed
the attitude of her heart. She was jealous and resentful, “Lord,
do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the
serving?”(Lk 10: 40). When we serve, we must serve without
reservation, without resentment, without being jealous of what others are
doing. We must serve with only the needs of the master in mind. The
attitude of the heart of a true servant is always to find out what his
master wants. He always asks himself these questions: What does my master
want? What will make my master happy? And in finding the answers, he does
the task simply because it pleases his master. A true servant seeks his
master’s will and, upon finding out, obeys without resentment or
reservation. Having
a heart of a true servant is not easy. In fact, it is impossible without
God’s grace. It is a gift that God gives freely and generously but one
has to ask for it. For nine years now since we joined Couples for Christ,
Jean and I have been asking God for this special grace. We have been
struggling to find God’s will for us and serve him without reservation.
We know that it is going to be a lifelong struggle. We know that it is not
going to be easy. But we are certain that it is going to be worth it. Jean
and I have now stopped planning our future. When we went to Jakarta in
1993, we were certain that it was God’s will for us. And we were right.
So we planned to stay there until I retire. But it did not happen. God had
a new plan for us. In 1999, I was asked to join the Cabinet of President
Estrada. With great reluctance, I gave up a high-paying job, we left the
Jakarta CFC community that we loved so much, and went back to Manila. We
were certain that it was God’s will. We then planned to serve the
government for the full six-year term of the President, and then retire
and serve full-time in Couples for Christ. But it did not happen. God had
a new plan for us. President Estrada was removed from office by People
Power II mid-way in his term. While writing my first book, Letters of Aquila and Priscilla, we decided that I would go back to a quiet life in the academe while continuing to serve in Couples for Christ in Manila. But it did not happen. Instead, events that we could never have anticipated started happening. I was offered a two-month consultancy at the United Nations in Bangkok, I met the leaders of CFC Thailand, we conducted a strategic Christian Life Program in Bangkok, and I was offered a post at the United Nations by one of the CLP participants. We
again had to ask God: What is it that you really want? I had just accepted
a high position at the Ateneo de Manila University. I had just been
appointed a director of a large savings bank. Shall I leave all this and
move to Bangkok? Once again, Jean and I prayed for discernment of God’s
will. We could bring Jonjon with us to study in Bangkok. Joubert and Cyril
could move to our house. But, what about Joel, our special child? Should
we leave him again in the care of his elder brother? No! Jean and I
decided. We could not leave him again. We should spend the rest of our
life giving him the special care that he needed. But God had other plans!
While we were in Indonesia and Brunei on pastoral mission for Couples for
Christ, God took Joel away from us. It was as if God was saying to us: I
would take care of Joel here in my heavenly kingdom, but go and help take
care of my people in Thailand. This
is why we have stopped planning our future. Three times we tried and three
times we failed. Now, we leave everything to God. Now we just pray: Lord,
give us the grace to know your will and to obey. And then we reflect on
his words in Jeremiah: For I know
well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your
welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you
call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look
for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you
will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot. (Jer
29:11-14). But
even while we are already in Bangkok, doubts still cross our minds: Is
this really God’s will for us? We continue to ask God for confirmation.
A few Sundays ago, God did – during the homily of the Mass at Holy
Redeemer Church. The priest started his homily by saying that there is a
failure of evangelization in Thailand. Christianity came to Thailand four
hundred years ago. But today, there are only about 300,000 Catholics in
Thailand with a population of over 65 million. In comparison, Christianity
came to Korea only two or three hundred years ago, but there are now at
least four to five million Catholics in Korea. Evangelization in Thailand
has failed, the priest continued, because evangelization was left to the
priests and the religious alone. To evangelize Thailand, the active
participation of the laity is essential! As lay people, the priest
exhorted, you are better and more effective evangelizers because you meet
more people, you work with more people, and you can witness to more
people. When
we heard these words, we knew God was talking to us. We remembered his
words in Isaiah: For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as
the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and
my thoughts above your thoughts (Is 55:8-9). We
are certain that Bangkok is God’s will for us. We know that God will
fully reveal his plan soon. For God is always in control. God indeed has a
plan. And that plan is good. |
|
