Balik-Tanaw | Quiet time

https://www.heqiart.com/

By JEFF R. VITO
College of the Holy Spirit, Manila

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb.7,2021

Job 7:1-4, 6-7

Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23

Mk 1:29-39

Today’s Gospel offers us captivating glimpses into Jesus’ fruitful life of service and mission. As followers, he beckons us to follow his example and be kind and open-hearted, to have a heart filled with love and compassion, to “bend down to touch and heal the wounds of others.” Like him, we listen to their cries and groans.

Being part of the SSpS ( Holy Spirit Sisters) life and mission, working with other church-based and cause-oriented organizations has broadened my perspective, deepened my compassion and ignited my passion to serve and be a positive change in the society. It offers me a different way of being in the world by conscientious commitment in the day-to-day routine of life and service.

Working in a school environment is such a tough, demanding and challenging mission, yet a gratifying one. It presents me with great joy and also with great challenges as well as frustrations and pains. My work allows me to encounter people from all walks of life, the learned and unschooled, the rich, powerful and famous, and those at the margins of society who are victims of impoverishment and social justice neglect. These diverse human encounters teach me to care, to be selfless, fair and bold enough to stand with the poor and the oppressed. I have realized that to really care I have to keep pushing towards a world in which everyone, especially the marginalized can enjoy their basic right to live freely and enjoy the fullness of life that Jesus promised.

We live in a world riddled with unwarranted violence, extra-judicial killings, stark poverty, brazen corruption, skepticism and indifference. The challenge is enormous, the mission is great. During these troubling and challenging times, waking up before dawn and finding a quiet and deserted place to connect with God is sometimes the most important thing we can do to get us going.

Let us always attune ourselves to the Spirit, who “spins out the song and dance of our lives.” Let us continue to burn with passion for God, for life, for Mother Earth and for our country. Together, let us breathe new life into our world, and create a new era of hope, engagement and solidarity. It is Jesus, the Incarnate Love, who stirs in us the desire to do something great with our lives. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

Balik-Tanaw is a group blog of Promotion of Church People’s Response. The Lectionary Gospel reflection is an invitation for meditation, contemplation, and action. As we nurture our faith by committing ourselves to journey with the people, we also wish to nourish the perspective coming from the point of view of hope and struggle of the people. It is our constant longing that even as crisis intensifies, the faithful will continue to strengthen their commitment to love God and our neighbor by being one with the people in their dreams and aspirations. The Title of the Lectionary Reflection would be Balik –Tanaw , isang PAGNINILAY . It is about looking back (balik) or revisiting the narratives and stories from the Biblical text and seeing ,reading, and reflecting on these with the current context (tanaw).

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