WORD ALIVE

One morning, a husband who had a quarrel with his wife went to church to attend Mass. When he came home, he looked for his wife and, finding her in the kitchen, embraced and lifted her up.

Startled, the wife yelled, “Why did you do that? Did the priest tell you to be romantic?” The husband replied: “No! He told me: ‘Carry your cross!’” 
When we talk about carrying our cross, we usually shirk and avoid the thought of this. We prefer a life that’s easy, comfortable, and hassle-free.

That is why when Jesus’ suffering and death was approaching, his close followers could not understand why he, who healed the sick and raised the dead to life, would himself experience sufferings and death.

In order to help them understand, Jesus related a simple, little parable, saying: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 20,24, 5th Sunday of Lent).

He was telling them that God works through a process of suffering-dying-rising-from-death. Jesus compares himself to a seed. He had to die and be buried in the earth for three days, then on Easter Sunday, rise to a glorious Resurrection. He suffered and died in order to save us.
 

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This law of sacrifice is exemplified by the fruitful deaths of national martyrs and heroes.  Think, for instance, of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero. His blood spilled in Bagumbayan planted the seeds of the revolution which won the Philippine independence from Spanish colonial rule.
 

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In our life, we have also to go through a non-violent or spiritual dying from our pride, selfishness, laziness, and other negative traits in order to attain the will of God.   For instance, unless a leader dies to his selfishness and greed, he cannot produce the fruits of economic progress to his constituents. 
 

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There’s a young married man who was given to drinking. His buddies took more of his time than his family. 

As he sank deeper, his wife couldn’t bear the burden of supporting the family and still cared for a problematic husband. She decided to go home to her parents in the province, taking the kids with her.

The loss of the wife and children proved to be a traumatic experience for the husband. At a loss for what to do, he joined reluctantly some well-meaning friends to join in a Parish Pastoral Renewal Seminar. It proved to be an eye opener. 
 

Realizing his wrongdoings, he took the long, arduous road of rehabilitation and eventually, got reunited with his wife and children. They have now become a happy and exemplary Christian family.
 

It was the husband’s dying to his pride and vices that made him rise to a new and God-centered life.
 

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Ask yourself: What are the vices and weaknesses I must die of? Is it excessive sensuality, uncontrolled anger, pride, selfishness, unforgiveness, dishonesty?
Like that repentant husband, if we die to ourselves, we will experience a new and joyful resurrection.
 

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Lessons to learn. In the USA, a book titled: “How to Change Your Wife in 30 Days,” sold a million copies in one week. But the author discovered that the title had a spelling error!
 

The correct title should have been: “How to Change Your Life in 30 Days.” After the correction, for a whole month, only five copies were bought.
Lesson: People are more interested in changing their wives rather than their own selves. It also shows that changing one’s life or self-conversion is not that easy.
 

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A man who always had himself crucified on Holy Week was told by a doctor that the spikes could cause tetanus infection. So, he advised him to get anti-tetanus injection.
 

The man replied: “Doc, I don’t want to. I can’t stand the pain of injections.” But he can stand being nailed to the cross!
 

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‘7 Last Words’. The SVD Mission Communications Foundation, Inc. will telecast online the “7 Last Words” on Good Friday, March 29 at 12-3 p.m. over Skycable, Destiny (former ABS-CBN) Channel 8, Cygnal Cable 22, Teleradyo Channel 6, A2Z Channel 11. Also on Facebook and YouTube.
 

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By the way…we sent out solicitation letters for ad placements, sponsorship, and donations for the TV program. May we hear from you? ([email protected])