DO YOUR HEARTS NOT BURN?
Fr. Bobby Titco
When I was younger, I did not know how to handle problems well. I often ran away from them. But I was wrong. After 12 years in the ministry, I learned that the first step to solve any problem is to face it, not to flee from it. Running away from problems makes the same problems run after you.
The two disciples in the Gospel today turned their backs from Jerusalem and faced Emmaus, an unknown place, not even marked in the ancient maps of Israel. Jerusalem signified their crisis; Emmaus, their hopelessness. It was in Jerusalem where they saw Jesus arrested, tortured, murdered, just when they thought He was the promised Messiah. They left everything to follow Jesus, including their loved ones, even perhaps against the advice of their loved ones. But everything seemed to have ended in a bloody death and humiliating defeat. What would their loved ones and town mates tell them? What future beckoned them? Is there a tomorrow?
These two disciples seemed to have no choice but to face Emmaus instead of Jerusalem. It was where the two disciples unwittingly wanted to confine themselves. It was a situation of hopelessness and misery, of endless regrets, where today’s desolation blurs the reality of tomorrow’s consolation. The two disciples failed to recognize even Jesus. They were focused on their misery but not sensitive to the ways of the Lord. They were sensitive to their regrets but not focused on Jesus.
We know the journey that these two disciples made. We have made it several times. Their journey is ours, too. As in their case, Jesus walks with us and waits for us to recognize Him. If only we would stop and listen to Him, if only we would invite Him in and break bread with Him, we, too, would turn our backs from Emmaus and face our Jerusalem. Then we would also feel our hearts are burning even if the world seems to be so cold towards us.
Remember: just as it was in Jerusalem where Jesus died, it was also in Jerusalem that Jesus rose to life again. He picks us up from Emmaus. Do your hearts not burn?
3 Things To Be Happy
Bo Sanchez
Just a short note on how to be happy.
A psychiatrist who’s been listening to thousands of unhappy patients for 40 years realized that there are three things to be happy. If you have these three things, it’ll be very difficult to be miserable!
Do you have these three things?
1. Something to do
2. Someone to love
3. Something to look forward to
Why did I mention these three things to you?
Here’s my message: I believe that if you make God first, all things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Including these three things!
1. Something To Do
My mother is 85-years old and she’s happy. Why? Because when she wakes up each morning, she has something to do. Everyday, she goes to the prayer room and prays for me. If she has extra time, she prays for her other children.
Just kidding. She prays for everyone—every son-in-law, every grandchild, every cousin, every friend who needs prayer. That’s her call. And she’s happy.
One of the most precious things that God gives you is a call.
You were born with a sacred purpose in life.
Do you know why the entertainment industry is huge? Do you know why a single video game can earn $30 Million? Because people are bored. They don’t have anything to do. And that’s why people are miserable. And because people can’t take the misery, they thirst for distraction. And so they buy entertainment.
Why are people bored? Because they don’t have a cause to die for, a mission to dedicate their lives.
Here’s the good news: If you seek God first, He’ll give you something to do. You’ll wake up every morning with a cause you’ll be willing to die for.
I pity the person without a God-ordained dream, with a powerful Divine Call summoning his heart.
Listen to God’s voice in the depths of your being.
I created you for a beautiful purpose.
Live for this purpose. Die for this purpose.
2. Someone To Love
If you seek God first, you’ll have a lot of Someones to love!
Christianity isn’t a religion as much as it is a relationship. It’s primarily a personal relationship with God. He’s the first “Someone” to love.
And it’s also a relationship with a spiritual family.
If you follow God, you’ll never be alone again.
A woman came up to me yesterday. She said, “Bo, ever since I’ve attended the Feast (our weekly gathering), my life has totally changed. And my relationships have changed. My marriage is so much better. My relationship with my kids has grown so much because of the Feast.”
Give yourself to God and He’ll give you His family. Both come in a package!
And finally…
3. Something To Look Forward To
When a person doesn’t have hope, he dies (he goes to Emmaus).
If you seek God first, He’ll give you a vision for your future.
Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it in abundance.” I look forward to a life of abundance—in this world and in the world to come.
Last week, we were relaxing at home when my little Francis said, “I want to watch Shreck again.”
If you’ve got little kids at home, I’m sure you know this movie. Shreck is about an Ogre and his sidekick Donkey. Both of them rescues Princess Fiona locked up in a tower, guarded by a fiery red Dragon.
The movie has done so well, they’ve come out with a Shrek 2, Shrek 3, and Shrek 4. And we’ve watched all of them.
But yesterday, we put Shrek 1 in the DVD player and had fun fun watching the entire movie again.
But because I knew how the movie ends, I watched it in a different way. When the fiery red Dragon was about to eat the Donkey, I had a smile of my face. Because I knew that at the end of the movie, Donkey will marry the Dragon. (As crazy as that may sound!) In fact, in Shrek 2, they’ll have 4 kids.
It’s very different if you know how the story ends.
Thanks to Easter, we know how your story ends.
You may be going through rough times now. You may be going through severe trials. Sometimes, you wonder if you can overcome your problems.
Don’t give up!
Because you know that at the end of the day, you’re going to win. Because God is with you. The Bible says, If God is for you, who can be against you?
In fact, even death can’t win over you.
Like Jesus, you too will rise.
Death will be conquered.
And you will live forever.
Yes, we have something to look forward to!
Happy Easter, my dear friend!
"Always put God first and you will be successful."~Proverns 16:3
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