Test and Reward

The parish church of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage is one of the biggest Catholic churches in Gen. Santos City. There was a time when I was requested to celebrate their 12:00 noon weekday masses for a week because the Passionist Fathers who administer the parish were on retreat.

In one of the masses, I mentioned in my homily that we should follow God’s commandment to love one another. And one way of showing our love for others is by showing concern for the poor and by helping the needy. After the mass, some people requested me to bless some religious articles. After that, a man approached me and asked me if he can ask for a little help from me. He told me that he just lost his job and he does not have any more money to buy food. He asked me if he can ask for a little amount of money even just to buy rice. I told him to go to the parish office and ask for help there but he immediately replied that he has already been there but did not get any assistance. And so I told him to wait for me while I remove the vestments I was wearing.

When I went inside the sacristy, I thought to myself, how fast is God’s practical test for me. Just a while ago I was preaching about showing concern for others and helping the poor. And now he sends me this poor man, probably to check if I practice what I preach. And so I tried to look inside my wallet to see how much money I have. Inside my wallet were a few twenty peso bills, a hundred peso bill, and a fifty peso bill. I had no idea how much does rice cost. And so I got the hundred peso bill and the fifty peso bill and gave it to the man asking for help. I realized that sometimes the poor people do not only need our help, they also need our attention, because they are often rejected when they ask for help. And so I asked him what his job was. He told me that he is a construction worker and that he just lost his job, but he is trying his best to look for another job. I told him that I will pray for him that he may find a job soon. He thanked me and then we parted ways.

As I continued to walk, I met some people who asked for my blessing. They just came out of the church. One of them was a lady who, after asking for my blessing, slipped into my hands a couple of paper bills and whispered to me that it’s just a small amount for my snacks, to which I said thank you. After a while, when I looked at what the lady gave me, I saw two one hundred peso paper bills. With delight, I thought to myself how fast God’s reward to me is, I even gained fifty pesos! Truly God is a God of surprises!