Every Sunday, me and hubs see to it that we go to mass with the whole family but yesterday was different. My daughter and I had to buy some stuff in the mall so we decided to wake up early and hear mass in the mall before proceeding to do our errands while the two men in my life went with the usual routine. Going to mass is mostly for thanking the Lord for the blessings of the whole week and for continued blessings!
A mass becomes more interesting if the presiding priest gives an exciting and motivating homily. Last Sunday was an interesting one, the priest talked about persistent prayer. It stresses why people give up so easily when their prayers are not answered. He talks about the advantages of holding on to your prayer as against to just letting it go. The words put a smile on my face. Why? Well, I have been praying for the same thing for more than ten years and although sometimes I want to give up, I don’t! My faith tells me that soon we will have our own house. I can never let go of that dream.
Of course, we just don’t rely on prayers but we work hard to achieve that goal of ours. As long as you work hard and do your best, God’s graciousness is far and wide and in His time, He’ll grant your prayers.
Oh, I could visualize the house I want. Nothing grand. I want a simple, efficient and a house that I can maintain even without a househelp. Of course, I’d love to have an LCD TV on a flat panel mount. Why not? I will just keep on dreaming… it’s free and nothing can take that away from me.
We often hear the old adage, “Life is not a bed of roses.” True. As much as we want to celebrate life to the fullest, a person has to face the fact that with it comes life’s misfortune.
Just last night, I was awed when I heard the news about a dentist falling off from the 6th floor of Shangri-la Plaza Mall. The dentist, Dr. Mary Anne Magtoto, landed on the second floor of the said mall face down and was rushed to the Medical City but was apparently declared dead on arrival. A lot of speculations are growing regarding the death of this lady but I could only pray for her soul. Visions of her relatives and friends are entering my mind; I can only imagine how this tragic, sudden death would affect the whole family.
Confronted with life’s adversity especially the loss of a loved one can truly be devastating. It is during these times that we really need to strengthen our faith and call on to our different support groups such as friends and family.
Every day we are confronted with different tragedies, as we scan the newspaper, listen to the radio and watch the television. This is a reality. These adversities are attached to our very existence; it’s a matter of how a person would deal with. I personally believe that in our lives, these adversities produce a more resilient person.
Of course, no one could ever wish for any misfortune to happen in his life but we need to understand that no matter what, life will continue its course. Even as we grieve, it will not pause. We may never fully understand the rationale behind our own personal hardships, even as we try to make sense out of it, we can never be prepared once it hits us.
I can only pray for strength…
Dear Lord, You are my refuge and my strength. Give me the grace to always fight all temptations and do your Holy Will. Help me to find strength in the midst of trials and comfort that that you have carried the cross for all my sins. Accept my weakness, O Lord and give me the strength to trust You and put my life in Your Hands. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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Funeral planning is a very unpleasant endeavour especially if it’s for a loved one. However, we need to brace ourselves for life’s uncertainties, even funeral cost is not going anywhere but up. It’s better to be prepared.
