“He who has little and wants less is richer than he who has much and wants more. Happy are those who count their blessings with a grateful heart”. This is one of the great text messages that my ever-kind Earth-father, Rev. Rod San Jose, OFM, sent me.
As I celebrate my birthday on one August day I was astounded when my former students greeted me with a song and nice messages written in colorful cards. They stayed for a while and we pleasantly shared moments of laughter. We didn’t have anything that day but love for each other.
Most, if not all, of the students in the seminary nowadays (maybe even for quite a long time already) belong to very humble families who experience financial crises in these difficult and trying times. Yet both the parents and the seminarians try very hard to make ends meet in pursuit of their dream to help other people through their vocation. This is the ideal dream of the young seminarians.
Idealism is a natural occurrence for any young mind. But the problem always lies in the sustenance of the dream. As they grow older they also grow very differently with one another. As it has always been: united we stand divided we fall. The fortunate ones who prefer to grow wiser are very few considering so many factors that affect greatly the formation of their young and innocent minds.
My best friend once told me about the homily of one good priest he was able to attend to in one of this priest Eucharistic celebration. The very reminder that got stuck in the head of my best friend, according to him, was about giving them something to eat, about feeding them, instead of giving them material things that might just entice them.
Friends, the lure of the world today is so great and many there is no particular age limit anymore for negative and deadly effects. And because discontent is part of man’s nature he is growing insatiable every second that he wants it all and he wants it now!
The world in general is in dire need of great people, especially through priestly vocations, to offer sincere and truthful service to wounded populace. Our brokenness caused us to be wounded.. We need great spirits to travel with us in our journey in order for us to mend and be whole again. It is through this alone where we can make effective contributions to the greater benefit of the world.
It is very sad, however, but the reality is: where before there were numerous goodhearted people who supported the young seminarians, nowadays they come in trickle. And they are banishing in the passage of time. Many vocations had been lost all because they did not have the necessary financial requirement to follow their dream – of service!
People would rather buy things that are not really necessary for their survival, things that they actually don’t need. They buy because they just want them and usually for show-offs. This is generated by the thought that “I must be over and above anybody”, from insecurity deep within. Competition is practically present everywhere. So we put our money on unimportant things. Never mind the others.
I wrote this at my typical best – my being a “scatterbrain” (observe the line/pattern of my thoughts). The loss of vocations for this highly important quest frustrates me so much I am losing my thoughts. I do not exactly know where this is headed…that it is probably best to end this with a quote also sent to me by my ever-dearest Earth-father:
A Christian is:
a mind through which Christ thinks;
a voice through which Christ speaks;
a heart through which Christ loves; and
a hand through which Christ helps.
Now tell me, are we really Christians?
God bless everyone!
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