Only Sign You'll Need

𝐎𝐂𝐓. 𝟐𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟕:𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟓

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟗:𝟔𝟔, 𝟔𝟖, 𝟕𝟕, 𝟗𝟑-𝟗𝟒 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟒-𝟓𝟗

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆?” (𝒗.56) 

          Has it ever occurred to you that we are a people guided by signs. We look for signs the moment we wake up in the morning. We search for signs when making decisions and in almost every aspect of our lives even as mundane as our love life.

         Signs have become an integral part of life, especially in terms of its relevance in our search for directions. We look for signs and symbols to avoid getting lost when we are in uncharted territory or places that we are visiting for the first time.

          People living in the rural areas, especially those who are engaged in tilling the soil have an uncanny ability to accurately tell the time of the day just by looking at the position of the sun. They can also predict what the weather would be just by observing the cloud formation or the direction of the wind. Fishermen also know if there is an oncoming storm. They have no choice but to be good at it because their livelihood depends on it.

         Today, modern gadgets have been developed to help weather forecasters observe and read not only the weather but other natural disturbances as well such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the accuracy of their forecasts have helped save lives on many instances. Gadgets like Garmin have become handy including Apps that we can download in our mobile phones like Waze and Google Maps.

         As of late, however, the flash floods that have inundated many parts of the world – Europe, the East Coast, Thailand in Asia, in Luzon and more recently the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that pulverized and destroyed many structures in Davao Oriental – showed that even modern gadgets are of no match to nature’s wrath.

        And translated into the spiritual realm, there is a need for us to update ourselves with the necessary skill to spot the numerous spiritual manholes in view of the way the world around us is progressing. One such instance is what is happening in many places where the sanctity of marriage as specified in the Scriptures is being challenged and mocked.

        Religion and even fear of God has been thrown out of the window that everything now has become relative when people do what they believe is right without regard to what is morally right.

        In this Gospel, we see Jesus expressing his irritation at the way people have prioritized their penchant for signs rather than on the Word of God. While Jesus was generally regarded as the Messiah, the people were looking for signs that would picture Jesus as the conquering Messiah, a picture that they have formed in their minds.

        Notwithstanding the sign of his coming, the world didn’t yet accept him till the day he died, rose on the third day and ascended into heaven.

        This was the ultimate sign and proof that Jesus indeed was the Son of God and those who believe in him were made co-heirs of his Kingdom.

         And one of the means by which we can make right what may be wrong in our lives that hinders our relationship with God is to be reconciled with those with whom we are differing with which means that we also need to reconcile with God himself if we find our lives to be bereft of the joy and peace that comes only from God who is the source of all good.

         In view of the perversion that punctuate our world today, there is an urgent need for us to reconcile with God, subordinate our will to his Will and, allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives that we may be completely transformed into the image and likeness to which we have been created.

         For some, transformation comes in an instant at the moment of their Baptism in the Spirit in the Life in the Spirit Seminar. For me personally, it was a long winding road on my way to conversion. I knew what I got into when I was introduced to the renewal movement, but the influence of the material world was so great that it took me some time before I figured out the plan of God for me.

         Others also take a much longer time before they realize the plan of God in their lives and in my case, the series of formation programs that I attended following my Baptism in the Spirit was what opened my conscience and my heart to the plan of God for me.

       And the pruning that followed was painful and not easy as I had to give up a lot of things – vices, love of money, arrogance and pride, indiscretion, dishonesty in my business transactions – but which I needed to give up because these things are what hinder the flow of Grace in my life.

       Even now, some of these negatives still manifest itself especially when I am confronted with people who are insolent and who try to rationalize their overbearing character as an aftermath of the modernistic and impersonal society they have settled into. What is ironic is that we even find these kinds of people not only in the marketplace but even in the confines of the church and or spiritual community itself.

         And the only plausible explanation is perhaps it was not Christ whom these people have encountered because an encounter with the risen Christ should almost always lead to conversion and this process should result in the death of the human nature and a rebirth of man with divine attributes that is centered on humility and obedience.

          The 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟕𝟕𝟔 says: “𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐲. 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭…𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝…𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡𝐬.”      

         Thus, we should rely on our consciences to point to us the signs that would lead us back to God. Jesus gave us many signs in which he revealed himself in different ways and we see and hear him through the Scriptures. We feel his physical presence in the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist and in everyone whom we meet because they too have the image of Christ in them.

         Jesus gave us a sign that should forever be etched in our conscience – his passion, death and resurrection. We need nothing more. Let me thus invite you to what 𝐒𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐚 wrote in her journal: “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬: 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬. 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬.” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘖𝘤𝘵. 24, 2025)