THE WORD
Ac 17,15-22-18,1 / Jn 16,12-15
Jesus said to his disciples, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. “Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
IN OTHER WORDS
Life is full of questions, of conundrums to which we do not usually have any answer. A promising marriage ending up in separation; a son into drugs; a daughter prematurely pregnant; a young mother afflicted with cancer; a father of five losing a job; innocent people killed in a suicide plane crash; people waging war in the name of religion, etc. One author captured this conundrum of life when he wrote a book, When Bad Things Happen To Good People. To all these questions and conundrums, life has no answer, at least immediately, but faith has. Faith consoles and gives hope to a distraught and dying person. Faith is the manifestation of the Spirit of the Triune God abiding in us. Faith is the Spirit of truth leading us to the truth of life—dialogue, forbearance and commitment being the hope in a marriage rocked by trials and challenges; hard work and sacrifice as the road to genuine happiness in the face of fleeting feature and drugs; triumph of the human spirit is the way out of the doom and gloom of senseless suffering; death as a passageway to real and eternal life. Life begs questions; faith offers answers. To all of life’s doubts and queries, the crucified and the risen Jesus is the answer.
One of the most moving moments in the papal visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines in January 2015 was his encounter with the youth at the University of Sto. Tomas. When the 12-year old Glyzelle Palomar from Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation asked him why God allowed children to suffer pain, Lolo Kiko, as he was fondly called by many Filipinos, had no rational answer to offer but the power of tears before an indescribable pain and suffering. He said, “When the heart is able to ask itself and cry, then it can understand something.” He added, “Let us learn how to weep as she has showed us today.” This is the answer from faith informed by the Spirit of truth.
- Fr. Raul Caga, SVD | DWST, Tagaytay
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
