A Dose of MGM

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 10:38-42 “Mary sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.”
July 18, 2010

A friend came to me and said, “I attend Mass and pray the rosary every day. In spite of being busy with my work, I am actively involved in prison ministry. Yet I feel empty. I don’t feel God the way I used to do.” I simply said to her, “Visit the adoration chapel. Just stay there in silence and listen.” After a day, she came back, consoled and enlightened. She recognized the source of her emptiness. She unconsciously resented her husband for reprimanding her in public two years ago. She has forgiven him. The silence disposed her to listen to the voice of God.

Our gospel is not about who is better in the eyes of Jesus, Mary or Martha? Both are good. In fact, it is good to cultivate both the Mary and Martha in us. But we should know what hat to wear in a given situation. Our first reading showed that Abraham’s hospitality to the three strangers was rewarded with a promised son (Gen 18:10). I’m sure Jesus was pleased with Martha’s sincerity to prepare a good meal for him; but her hard work merited a correction from Jesus for complaining and for being anxious in many things. She forgot that listening and conversing with her guest was also important. Mary did sit and listen to Jesus. And Jesus delightfully replied, “Mary has chosen the better part.” (Luke 10:42).

There is great value in hard work. No doubt about it. But today, Jesus is emphasizing the necessity of listening to God.

Like Martha, we are always anxious with our daily concerns. We are pressured to earn a living for our family. Mothers must cook, clean the house, and take care of their children. Our office and school activities are up by this time. God expects us to be busy in all these things; but He also wants us to involve Him in our daily concerns.



Like Martha, we are task oriented and busy beings. This is our reality and God understands. Unfortunately, in our desire to please people and bring good results, we bury ourselves with our works and concerns and easily forget God. When we are busy and pressured in our work, our prayer life is the first thing that flies out of the window.

I admire people who are actively engaged in many things; but they are able to stop and pray in silence. They are highly motivated, spontaneous and happy people. They begin and end their day with God. They can drop everything in the middle of a busy day for a quick dose of “MGM” (Me and God moments). They know that prayer and hard work are both necessary. A good guiding principle to a busy but anxiety-less life: The more we are busy with many things, the more we should stop and pray.

Here is my personal guide how to STOP in prayer.

S – Silence: Seek God in silence and listen to His will.
T – Trust: Have faith in God. He knows many things and can see things beyond us.
O – Obey: With firm faith, follow what God wants you to do, even if it hurts.
P – Persevere: Don’t give up when things seems not working well. Just do your part and allow God to do the rest. It is only then that our anxiety will disappear.

“Every Christian needs half an hour of prayer each day except when busy. Then we need an hour of prayer” - St.Francis de Sales

Fr.Willy M. Samson,SJ / Sacred Heart Chapel, Ateneo de Zamboanga University

“Breathe the Holy Spirit”

Pentecost Sunday (C)
May 23, 2010
John 20:19-23 “As the Father sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Today is Pentecost Sunday – also known as the birthday of the Church. This was the day when the disciples received the Holy Spirit and transformed themselves from simple timid fishermen to energetic charismatic disciples of Jesus. That was the work of the Spirit.

As we celebrate this feast, it is good to stop and reflect for a while the state of the Catholic Church today. The Church is under serious attack from many parts of the world. We are scandalized and discouraged from the news of scandals done by the clergies; even Pope Benedict VI is not spared from the attacks. Although we know that scandals are widespread in many religious and social institutions, we cannot not help but ask ourselves, “What’s happening in the Church? Who are our enemies? What do we do now?”

Since the beginning, the Church enemies – kings, emperors, anti-catholic groups and individuals, atheists, schisms, new ideologies – have tried in vain to destroy the Church. They failed and the Church flourished. In the midst of persecutions and crisis, God intervened and raised Spirit-filled men and women to save the Church. That was the work of the Spirit.

Today is a different story. Our real enemy is more dangerous, cunning and knows us well. The battle fields are no longer the plains and seas, emperors’ courts, lions’ den or coliseums. Our enemy deeply hates us – the devil; and the battle ground is inside us - our hearts. With an increasing incidence of sexual scandals, broken families, hopelessness, hatred, violence, loneliness and other forms of moral, social and spiritual degradation, it’s clear that the devil and its cohorts are gaining grounds. They cunningly sneak themselves in our fears, selfishness and sins; and they control us in the process. They are desperate to take away the Holy Spirit from us; for without the Spirit - the giver of life, light, and hope - we are good as dead.

In our gospel today, Jesus gave his peace to the disciples, commanded them to preach the good news and breathed on them the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gave them new strength, hope and renewal – a rekindling of fire within themselves! When the Spirit of God rules our hearts, peace, transformation, and a sense of mission follows. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Through baptism, we received the Holy Spirit and its seven gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Do you use them in your daily discernment and dealings with others? Do you feel love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23)? They are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Live and cooperate with the Spirit and you will be renewed and empowered every day. The Spirit’s power is with us; but sad to say, we barely use it.

The Holy Spirit is with us. Now is the time to purify our hearts from all traces of evil. What areas of your life need conversion, rejuvenation or renewal? Pray to the Holy Spirit for courage, guidance, and enlightenment. Then breathe-out all your sins, fears, and doubts and slowly breathe-in God’s peace and forgiveness. Evil may come strong for us, but the power of the Holy Spirit is much greater. Listen to the Spirit and obey his promptings - and you will see wonders in your life.
For those who daily seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, every day – is Pentecost day.

“Come Holy Spirit, rekindle the fire within us, and we shall renew the face of the earth.”

- Fr. Willy M. Samson,SJ / Blessed Sacrament Parish, Hollywood / May 23, 2010