Aug 12, 2007 Sunday: 19th Sunday Ordinary (C)
Psalm:Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-22
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12
Gospel:Luke 12:32-48 or 12:35-40
Have you ever seen maternal instincts in action? On the Animal Planet channel, there is a cute program called “Meerkat Manor” which chronicles lives of meerkats on a prairie. They look kind of like a combination of a prairie dog and a cat. They are vigilant animals; before they venture out from their den they are standing on their two hind legs like humans to look out for any predators and intruders. They put at least one or two on the guard watch even when the group is resting or playing. The whole group is particularly on the alert when there are newborns in the den. When a group member sees something suspicious, it barks a warning, and the mother meerkat is the first one to go down into the den to the newborns and protect them with her life. Life on the prairie is harsh, and the mother meerkat knows that the survival of her children depends on how vigilant they are against the threats to their survival.
Human mothers are equally protective of her children at all times, always on the lookout for possible signs of dangers. My own mother had her maternal instincts on high alert for several years starting with my high school years. She began to see that I was wearing black clothes and wearing my hair longer. Then on weekends, I was going out and coming in late. I began to arrive home at midnight, then at 1am, then at 2am, and then at 4am. She would smell incense in my room and see that the décor of the room was odd. She was heartbroken to see such a change in her son and decided to take some actions. She grabbed her rosary daily and began to implore the heavenly Mother to protect her son from any harm. She knew from her faith that the Blessed Mother's intercession was powerful before Our Lord. No, I wasn't doing drugs or alcohol or other risky behaviors. But I was doing something even more dangerous. I was putting my soul in danger by dabbling with New Age and Wicca.
My mother did not know that I was hanging around with kids who were very knowledgeable in these things. One of my friend's mom was a practicing Wicca witch. Another friend was trying to become a certified wizard by learning from a warlock. I didn't go beyond reading a few borrowed books and associating with these friends, but within one short year of associating with these so called “friends,” I lost my faith, for I no longer believed in God the Father revealed by His Son Jesus Christ. Rather, I believed in some forces of nature and spirits which I believed I could harness and manipulate. But my earthly mother and heavenly Mother's vigilance paid off. After one year, I returned all my borrowed books and disassociated with those “friends.” A few more years would pass before I regained my faith, but at least my dangerous curiosity in Satan's playground was over through earthly and heavenly intervention.
In the Gospel today, Jesus asks all of us to be prepared, ready and vigilant like servants who are waiting for the arrival of their master. He wants us to be always on guard, ready to recognize his voice and reject the voice of the thief. He says, “If the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.” The “house” that we need to guard against the enemy is God's gift of hope. This hope is the virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the Holy Spirit. (CCC# 1817) This hope enables us to experience joy even when we are under trial. And that is why this hope is a weapon that protects us in our struggle for salvation.
Through faith, we know two fundamental truths of human existence. First, we are made for heaven and therefore all else should be ordered and subordinated to this supreme end. Second, Our Lord wants to help us reach this end with an abundance of supernatural means. When I was dabbling in the New Age and Wicca, I was letting my house of hope be plundered by Satan. No longer did I believe that I was made for heaven, and no longer did I believe that there was a loving God the Father who sent His only Son. My house of hope was emptied of its heavenly treasures. But it was my earthly and heavenly Mother's intervention that restored the hope.
So how can we stand-on-guard, on the vigilant lookout to let into our heart only our True Master, Jesus Christ? It is through daily prayer as my own mother has demonstrated. The Church teaches that prayer nurtures hope. It recognizes prayer as humble vigilance and filial trust despite setback and struggle. Blessed Mother since her appearances in Fatima, Lourdes, La Salette, and Medjugorje have implored all her children to pray, pray, pray. She said prayer, especially the rosary, defeats Satan's temptations and plans. Today Satan's temptations come in a variety of ways to harm our young people—especially through books, music, videos, and Internet. Like my mother did, pray to Blessed Mother that she would ask her Son to protect and guide our children.
