SOCIALLY DISTANT. SPIRITUALLY CONNECTED
by Fr. Randy Figuracion
Maayong Buntag
kaninyong tanan! First of all, I would like to welcome you to this On-line Talk/Sharing organized for the Members of the Philippine Nurses
Association Cebu-Chapter and the COVID19 Cebu Nurses Support Group in Cebu or
where-ever you are in the world.
I am Fr. Randy
Figuracion, a Salesian of Don Bosco and currently the Parish Priest of the
Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Punta Princesa, Cebu City. Since July 9, I have offered masses,
prayers and sacrifices for all of you and your families – especially for the
fruitfulness of this talk. Like Jesus, I pray that the seeds sown here will
bear fruit and multiply in your hearts and in your lives.
As I start, I would
like to thank the Organizers of this
activity – especially Ms. Mariles Rallos Mushet, a New Jersey-based Nurse who
invited me. And I would like to thank all of you nurses who took time; to stop
for a while; to listen and hopefully pick up some insights to help you in your
different lives. I have a close affinity
for nurses – because my Mama is a nurse; I owe my life to her. She was one of
the first nurses who got employed in Austria, in Europe in the 1970s, working
there for 40 years; my elder sister is a nurse and works in a Nursing Home in
Vienna; my youngest brother is also a nurse and now works as a Staff Nurse at
the Vienna International Center which hosts the United Nations Office in
Vienna.
The TOPIC proposed for this sharing is
this: Socially Distant, Spiritually Connected. It is a fitting topic for our
times. Because of Covid – we are to practice physical distance; no hand shake,
no hugging, even the very Pinoy tradition of Mano (kissing the hand of the
elderly or priest for blessing) is a Big No. In fact, this very activity is a
proactive response to our situation because we are socially distant. Yet despite
this limitation, we can still be spiritually connected. There is a wonderful principle at work here: Despite
Covid, grace does not stop; grace is not limited even by distance or illness;
grace does not cease! In other words, grace continues to flow in our lives.
God’s grace is at work even at this moment! Isn’t that amazing? We are always in God’s loving care and He
reaches out to us in unlimited ways.
Let me begin with God’s Word. I believe our
connection with God, the Higher Being that controls the world and our lives, is
the source of our power and strength.
Jesus Calms the
Storm (Mt 8: 23-27)
23 Then he got
into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly
a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But
Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke
him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He
replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he
got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were
amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey
him!”
You might be
familiar with the Movie: Schindler’s
List. It’s about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved more than
a thousand Polish-Jews from being sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp during
the Nazi occupation of Poland.
One impressive scene in the Movie was: When the German Commandant Goeth
wanted to execute a worker arbitrarily – the gun he was holding won’t fire! He
tries to reload and shoot him. It just won’t fire. He took another gun from a
soldier. Still it won’t fire. In his anger, he just slapped him on the face!
The man
survived the execution. In fact, he also survived the concentration camp and
the war. It turned out, this man was a Rabbi (a Jewish Man of God). He must
have prayed so hard that he survived. Miracles
still happen! That was, definitely, a work of grace.
During this
Covid Pandemic here in Cebu, I have witnessed many miracles. One happened to the
wife of one of my parishioners. She
tested positive in the 1st week of June. The husband brought her to
Chong Hua Hospital. She had fever, cough and difficulty of breathing. All
symptoms of Covid. At that time, everybody told him the hospitals were full. It
was also at this time when news were claiming that Litang Abarquez, the Pardo
Barangay Captain, was declined by several hospitals and eventually died.
Yet
miraculously, she got a room while many were turned down. Her room was even
close to the Nurses’ Station. After almost two weeks in the hospital room, they
had a negative swab test result for her and her husband who watched over her
all the time. Today they are back home in the embrace of their three kids.
Experiencing
Covid infection was a great storm in their family. But they kept a strict
hygienic discipline, trusted in God, prayed always and kept a positive attitude.
In the end, they were able to handle that formidable storm.
In the Gospel
we just read (Mt 8), this is one of the extraordinary
miracle of Jesus. He calmed a fierce
storm. For the disciples, nothing like this ever happened before! It
happened in the Sea of Galilee. The Jews call it “Sea” – but its actually a
fresh-water lake. They also call it Lake Tiberias or Lake Kineseret (Kinor in
Hebrew = Harp); the lake has a heart shape. It is 53km in circumference; 21km
long and 13km wide. Its maximum depth is 141 feet. It has still a lot of fish.
If you go for a boat ride, you’ll end up in a sea-side restaurant for lunch and
they’ll offer you St. Peter’s fish (actually tilapia).
The hills
around the lake are steep; they rise sharply to 2,000 up to 4,000 feet. Because
of this unique topography and unique geographical location, it is prone to sudden and violent storms.
This incident is also reported in other Gospels (Mk 4:35-44; Lk 8:22-25).
In this Lake,
storms arrive without warning; they can be violent and full of fury. The
disciples were filled with fear seeing the waves seizing the boat; water was
coming in; the waves were unforgiving. They were shaking; the sight was
overwhelming. Then they cried out:
Lord, save us! We are lost.. Please deliver us.
Amazingly,
Jesus stood up from his sleep. He rebuked the wind and the waves. Then there
was calm. All was still again. He was in control!
What is the meaning of this Gospel story for us? This
reminds us that we too, have storms in our life; some frail, others terribly
dangerous and threatening. This Covid is a dangerous crisis we are facing. Some
have survived; while others are just a memory in past. The bad news is: we are still in this fierce pandemic; the battle
is still raging with no assurance or timeline when this would end.
Storms have a
purpose in our lives. They will strike suddenly, violently; uninvited; without
warning. But if we are with Jesus, the
storm can get calm; the most terrible tempest turns to peace. Storms reveal
our fragility; our need for outside help. We realize we are not as powerful,
secure and self-sufficient as we think we are. Only in Jesus will we have
peace, safety and security.
Hence, we are
invited to turn from fear to faith.
When you experience fear, fright, worry, doubt or even panic.. Remember this
gospel story. Jesus can change your panic to peace. Like the disciples, shout
out to Christ: Lord, save us.. Deliver us! Turn your fear to faith.
I have this acronym of F.A.I.T.H. that might help
us; to have a heart full of faith..
F: Focus on the Lord – not on the winds & waves but look
to Jesus; fix your gaze on Christ
A: Accept His Power – Surrender to His might; He can
calm our storms; put our life in order
I: Invite Him in your life – Make Him your Lord and
Savior; make Him your anchor & strength
T: Trust Him – He can save you; He is your security; the
rock of your salvation
H: Hope in Him – He will never let you down; not
disappoint you. You can count on Him!
Let me end by
giving you a Performance Task: This
is a memory challenge. I would like you to Memorize
Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd (within One Week).
This Psalm is
one of the most familiar; also one of the most powerful and engaging. It is
made up of Four Stanzas. You can memorize it easily. What is the benefit of
keeping it in your memory? You can easily return to it. You can use it for
prayer because its inspired by the Holy Spirit. It gives you good vibes.
Remember: your positive mindset will define your day and your
work. This Psalm will put you in a mood of faith which can give you a better
mental attitude; it can relieve your stress, increase your immunity and improve
your general well-being.
Now don’t get stressed by the memory work. I think, even if you just memorize the first two lines of this Psalm: The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.. and believe in your heart that as a Shepherd He is taking care of you and will keep you safe.. that is more than enough.
I hope that this talk has been helpful to all of you. Though we may be Socially Distant, but we can still be spiritually connected by our prayers, our faith and love for one another. Laban lang! Keep the good fight because the Lord is our Shepherd. Amen.
