Psalm 116:5

 

 

God works in mysterious ways.  This I have been proven while reading the posts of other groups.  I am amazed at how God touches the lives of each one.  In spite of the many instances that we offended Him because of the wrong choices we made.  He is always there to give us many chances, to rise up and learn from our mistakes.  From this, we will realize that those are blessings in disguise.

I also discovered three values from the posts of each one.  First; Obedience to the will of God because this is what is best for us.  Second; surrendering to Him everything so that everything will be in the proper place.  We are just doing a little while it is God doing the rest.  Third: Steadfastness in the midst of persecutions because these are all necessary for us to grow in our faith, hope, and love in Him.  These are also means for us to be one with God in His suffering.
  

Second, I understand that the reason why we feel happy and grateful is the graces of transformation in our life, work or mission. We recognize that God enforces our faith, strengthens our hope and enriches our charity so that we perceive our burning pastoral heart. This improvement inspires us to dedicate more to the vocation and mission that we are engaging and carrying now. This “more” is seen in our dream that we shared.

Finally, as a consequence, I hope that if our dreams come true, we can serve more effectively as envisioning and God’s graces that we are receiving now will not be wasted. Moreover, I believe that once put in our heart those dreams, God also prepared and bestowed on us necessary assistance. For my part, I see we are trying to do what St. Peter taught that: As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. (1 Pet 4:10). Yes, with God’s graces, we can serve more and more effectively and can perform all God wants us to do.

I am amazed with their story of vocation, on how God touch their hearts to be his instrument in leading the Christian community especially the poor. Despite of different challenges and rejections they encounter along their journey as Pastoral minister/evangelizer they still chose the right way, to serve and to remain in love with God. 

To serve God is to surrender everything, deny ourselves and take up his cross. Perhaps we don’t even know what life/path ahead, but because of the love that we received from our loving Father it fueled our engine to continue the life of service, painful ways and bridge the word to those who needed the most. 

May we continue to follow our hearts and find our deepest joy in service and love for God.

 

Faith. All of us encountered challenges and these challenges tested our faith in God. We were able to experience fears, doubts and even hopelessness but we hold on to God who is the source of our strength. And this faith keeps us going and making us the Pastoral Minister God wants us to be.

 

Love. This wonderful value makes things beautiful. Even we are in the midst of uncertainty, doubts, and anxiety, God showered his love to us through the people around us. We were able to feel that we are loved through situations and people we never expected at the moment. God’s love and providence through his wonderful instruments make us stay in His love through our chosen vocation.

 

Perseverance. As we go along our journey, there were times that we would feel tired because of the many demands of the world from us. There were also times that we wanted to give up because we felt discouraged through the rejections and criticisms we encountered. But we all know that we are created and called for something bigger and that is to continue the work of Jesus in our own little ways. This maybe tiring but we continue to move on and make the best in our chosen vocation. Just like St. John Paul II said, "I plead with you-never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never be discouraged. Be not afraid."