Word Alive
By FR. BEL R. SAN LUIS, SVD
MANILA, Philippines — When the ancient Roman city of Pompei was
destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, there were many
people buried in the ruins who were afterwards found in various
positions. Some were found in deep vaults, as if they had gone there for
protection.
Others were found in lofty chambers. But they found the Roman
sentinel standing at the city gate where he had been assigned by his
captain, with his hand still grasping his spear.
* * *
Today is the first Sunday of ADVENT, the beginning of the church’s
liturgical calendar. And the call is “be watchful;” “be alert.” You do
not know when the lord of the house will come. He may find you sleeping
(Mark 13:35).
The message does not mean that we are literally in state of
dormition – although some people are perennially in that state! It means
rather that we are awake and watchful for the coming of the Lord doing
our duties and responsibilities faithfully, like that Roman sentinel
did.
* * *
As we enter the church’s New Year, we would do well to pause and
ponder where our life is heading to. Am I making any spiritual progress
or am I retrogressing? Or making a change for the better or for the
worse?
MORAL CONVERSION. A story is told about an escaped convict from
Devil’s Island, the penal colony off the French Guiana coast. The man
was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with a murder in
Marseilles. While in prison, he suffered remorse of conscience for his
crime and in reparation, since he was a doctor, he devoted the remaining
years of his life to curing the sick on the island.
When he died at 72, several hundred people gathered to pay their last
respects to the man who had done so much to heal their physical
illnesses.
From a murderer, he became a healer and a hero. This true story
illustrates how we, too, can rise from our sinful past and live a
worthwhile life. And it happened because the man woke up to the call of
renewal from within.
There is no real transformation in society unless there is an inner
personal transformation. For whatever is wrong with society is the
accumulated result of whatever is wrong with the people who compose it.
Who fight senseless wars, who kill and steal, who pollute our
environment and denude our forests? Society doesn’t do it, people do.
Hence, if more and more individuals change for the better, then society will likewise change for the better.
* * *
The word Advent comes from the Latin word ADVENTUM which means
literally “coming.” May Advent not only refer to the coming of Sta.
Claus, Christmas bonuses, sumptuous parties, and gift-giving but more
especially OUR coming to the Lord through moral transformation.
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