|
Our
lifetime is the passing of a shadow |
||
|
|
During a whole week last month, the Executive Secretary and I attended several meetings at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York. We stayed in a serviced condominium located at 47th Street, between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue. It was a short walk to the United Nations Building and not too far from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Since our meetings did not start until 9 or 10 in the morning, we had the chance to, separately, do brisk walking everyday along the wide sidewalks of Manhattan, and then meet at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to attend the 7 a.m. Mass, which lasted only 30 minutes. This was followed by breakfast at a nearby café, which served the famous Virginia ham together with a large cup of hot coffee. St.
Patrick’s Cathedral in New York occupies one whole city block of
Manhattan, from Fifth Avenue in front to Madison Avenue at the back, and
from 50th Street at the right side to 51st Street at
the left. This great Gothic cathedral, which stands alongside the classy
Saks department store to its right, has a seating capacity of about 2,400
people, has 19 bells, and has a Great Organ with 7,855 pipes. Its
construction started in 1858 and it was formally opened in 1879. The
cathedral is named after Patricius Magonus Sucatus. Patricius was born
around 389 of Romano-British parents and grew up on the west coast of the
British Isle. At age 14, he was carried off by a raiding party and
enslaved in pagan Ireland. After six years, he escaped his master and
managed to return to his family in Britain. Not long thereafter, he went
to Gaul and studied under scholarly Egyptian monks. Later, he was ordained
a priest. After several more years, he became a bishop and was sent to
Ireland as a missionary. Being
a man of extraordinary energy, he soon had many disciples, including some
members of the royalty who gave protection to his thousands of converts.
His evangelization of the aristocracy was part of his strategy to protect
the ordinary converts from retribution, particularly from the Druid
priests who challenged his work very strongly. St. Patrick lived to a
great old age, spending the final years of his life in deep prayer and
reflection. In
his Confession, he wrote: “And many gifts were proffered me, with
weeping and with tears. And I displeased…against my wish, not a few of
my elders; but, God being my guide, in no way did I consent or yield to
them. It was not any grace to me, but God who conquered in me, and He
resisted them all, so that I came to the heathens of Ireland to preach the
Gospel and to bear insults from unbelievers, so as to hear the reproach of
my going abroad and to endure many persecutions even unto bonds, the while
that I was surrendering my liberty as a man of free condition for the
profit of others. And if I should be found worthy, I am ready to give even
my life to His name’s sake unfalteringly and very gladly, and there I
desire to spend it until I die, if only Our Lord should grant it to me.” The
conversion of Ireland to Christianity is attributed primarily to the great
missionary work of St. Patrick. For the same thing to happen here in
Thailand, another “St. Patrick” will be needed – one who will
proclaim the Good News to all its cities and hinterlands until it is
accepted and embraced. But this “St. Patrick” for Thailand need not be
just one person. In fact it could be an entire community. It could be
Couples for Christ. This
coming 14-15 September 2002, we will have our third strategic CLP at Baan
Phu Waan for two very important groups: the Buddhist Thais married to
Catholic spouses, as in the second strategic CLP, and the Korean
expatriates living in Bangkok. The interaction between these two groups
could be very useful, since Korea, like Thailand, used to be a
predominantly Buddhist country, but now it has a large proportion of
Christian population. My
brothers and sisters, I appeal to you and I encourage you to give your all
to this planned third strategic CLP. Let us dare to invite everyone
– and I mean everyone – that we know who belongs to the two
categories. Starting today, let us begin to share our life with
them so that they would be more inclined to accept our invitation. Let us
show that we care for them, by remembering their birthdays and
anniversaries, and by offering to drive them to Baan Pu Waan. But most
important, let us pray constantly, offering not only prayers but
also sacrifices and fasting, so that God may look kindly at us and make
fruitful the work of our hands. To
achieve the conversion of Ireland, St. Patrick adopted a strategy. He gave
particular emphasis to the evangelization of the aristocracy, knowing that
once they convert, the others would follow. In addition, the aristocracy
provided protection for the converts from the masses. We
ought to follow the example of St. Patrick. We ought to invite strategic
people into the Christian Life Program. God has already prepared the way
for us. He has sent thousands of Thai students to the Philippines, many
coming from influential families, where they met their future spouses.
This is no accident of history. This is part of God’s plan for the
conversion of Thailand. And God has placed Couples for Christ right into
the midst of His grand plan. Once the Lord touches the hearts of our Thai
brothers and sisters, once they too develop a personal relationship with
Jesus, the Holy Spirit will inspire them to bring the many people within
their sphere of influence into the same personal relationship with Christ.
My
brothers and sisters, I have been searching for the Biblical verse that
could inspire you to respond to this challenge with a sense of urgency.
The Holy Spirit led me to these words from the Book of Wisdom: So our
life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like
a mist pursued by the sun’s rays and overpowered by its heat. For our
lifetime is the passing of a shadow; and our dying cannot be deferred
because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns (Wis 2:4-5). Often
we become too preoccupied with temporal things – our work, our house
mortgage, the schooling of our children, and a host of other concerns.
Many of these concerns are not wrong or sinful. In fact, many of these are
obligations that we need to face up to. However, sometimes we get carried
away and overlook that which is really important, that which is really
essential. After all, our life on earth is passing. Our lifetime is the
passing of a shadow. For a moment it is there; in another moment it
vanishes. And once it vanishes, it never returns. When
we reach the Gates of Heaven, we will be judged based on how much we have
loved. Did we love others enough to dare to share with them
the Good News that Christ died for us that we may have eternal life? Did
we love enough so as to care to bring them into a personal
relationship with the one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Did we love
enough so as to pray and to intercede for others, so that they too
would receive the gift of faith that God had so generously given to us? My brothers and sisters, there are still so many who do not know Christ! Millions who have not heard of the Son of Man who walked on earth two thousand years ago; of the Lamb of God who offered His own life for the salvation of mankind; of the Son of God who offers eternal joy with His Father in heaven. Let us not allow our lives to pass, our pilgrimage to end, without telling this story, without bringing this news – this Good News – to at least one person who still does not know Jesus Christ, who is the life and the resurrection, who is the way, the truth, and the life. Amen. |
|
