Constant Journey

They say that our life is a constant journey. Surely there is a moment when we are to start and a moment wherein we have to finally stop....

They say that our life is a constant journey. Surely there is a moment when we are to start and a moment wherein we have to finally stop. Many things happens in between these two important moments in our lives. This is the same in our religious life. We have that first time religious experience with the Lord wherein we were amazed, we were astonished, we were caught in awe of the unfathomable grace that he might have bestowed on us. We were drawn into the beautiful words and deeds of the Lord. We were amazed and we wanted to imitate them all. But sometimes when the demands of religious life does not feet to our expectations and our own demands in life, if it goes the other way around, we feel sad, we enter into crisis, we seclude ourselves, we leave, we journey away from the community. Surely along the way, during times of crisis, we find persons who makes us happy, who would make us feel our worth and people who would remind us of who we are, what we are, and why we are sad. Sometimes we become foolish of not understanding the pain and sacrifices that has to be experienced as we grow in religious life, in community life. And when we finally realize that, ah! I believe that I just forgot that it was all part of the plan of God and so we go back to where we have all made our start.

The story of the road to Emmaus is my story as a youth, as a seminarian, as someone who was called by God. It was because of this story that I was enlightened, encouraged to enter priestly life. This had been part of the program of the youth where I had my start. The road to Emmaus is what the PREX would use for their start, to remind the parishioners of their call, their status in life, of Jesus’ role, of their mission in life. They road to Emmaus is our story as a religious. In the community we are welcomed, we experience joy and pain, we are taught by the Words of God, we recognize the Lord in our deeds and we are always commissioned to go back and go forth to serve our communities and the people in our mission area.

I am just curious that the story of Emmaus speaks about of two persons going down from Jerusalem, walking, moving away, Jesus drew near at them, walked with them, stopped and the two immediately went back, community gathered, one, and celebration. The first reading speaks about of two persons, Peter and John, going up, drew near to the beggar and said “look at us.” And then he was able to walk, people amazed, went back to life, a life celebration. Two stories of contrast direction but same end. The risen Lord is everywhere, the Risen Lord can be found in different instances, whether we draw near him to pray and even when we ourselves go astray. Wala tayong kawala.

And so we ask the Lord the grace for us to keep and live up to who we are and what we are called for in this life. We pray that when others sees us, they will not be frightened… hoy hala anjan na si madre sige ka. We pray that Jesus presence can be seen in us. That life and love would emanate from us.