LOGARTA
For a third time I have attended the Redemptorist Lenten Recollection; and I have always found many fresh and moving points for the rest of the week on the way to Easter. This year Rev. Fr. Victorino Cueto CsSr. titled his sessions with: “Into thy hands…” He opened the first day with the declaration that Christ’s declaration was a “Proclamation.” It was neither a whisper nor an inaudible sigh but a “Proclamation.” It was therefore, not just between the Father and the Son; we were included.
Befitting a recollection he raised points to ponder upon. Taking the word, Father, he raised the issue of intimacy, relationships. What is happening to our relationships? Are we actually giving these thought? Do we have time, in the midst of our “busyness” for our person to person interactions? Have we become trapped by what the technological advancements have offered? What about our interconnection with our God? He reminded us of how Jesus always took time to connect to the Father.
“Into thy hands” was a phrase to denote trust. We find comfort in having a trustworthy circle around us. Do we have such a source of comfort? Do we provide this kind of comfort? What is making it difficult for us to trust?
Maybe, several people are depending on our efforts. Perhaps everyone is depending on us to make everything right. Or we find it irritating that when they are left on their own, things do not come out as perfect as we would want them to be. So we have the habit of always wanting to be in control. We pray and pray, but we are not at peace because we want to control even God, we dictate to Him.
We have to take steps these days to leave our self-obsession. But Fr. Ito stressed that it was not easy even for Jesus to reach this point of complete surrender. He struggled and reached a point of such weariness and anguish he almost wanted to give up. So did our Blessed Mother struggle with her challenges.
The second day was about how Jesus completely surrendered to all the violence inflicted on him. All that violence was completely undeserved. His innocence did not provoke him to fight back. So Fr. Ito declared: “His language was death; his message was life.” Since He made that ultimate sacrifice, He has the right to call us to end the violence.
Calling attention to the temple curtain being torn into two, upon Jesus’ death, the facilitator pointed out that this called for an end to separation, division of all forms. So, at the end of the evening’s session we all held together.
So these are times for self-emptying, a pause for letting go and letting God be in complete control.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
