June 5, 2021 – Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060521.cfm)

A certain village trickster would constantly make fun of his church devotee neighbor. At times he would say: “What’s the point of praying, where and when God is not even helping you.” In response, the poor lady devotee would just smile in silence. Once the trickster overheard his neighbor praying: “Lord, I thank you for this daily bread. I pray that I may have enough provisions for this week, as my son’s family is also needy at this time. But it is not my will, but your will be done. I trust in you. Amen.”

Trickster as he is, he bought a bagful of grocery, put it outside his neighbor’s door, and waited for lady’s reaction. As his neighbor joyfully found the bag of grocery, he butted in & said: “It’s from me & not from your God. See, how right am I that your God does not care for you?” Nevertheless, the devotee neighbor joyfully praised God saying: “Thank you Lord for all these blessings before me…. & for letting my good neighbor pay for it.”

The cursed life & misfortunes of Tobit & Sarah in our first reading were now getting better. With their full faith & fidelity to God amidst life-challenges & difficulties, grace upon grace was abound anew in their lives. And all along without knowing it, they got angel Raphael to help & guide them. All along, the one who journeyed with them was their answered prayers – an angel in disguised Raphael, as God’s messages & interventions to their life’s burden & misfortunes. As they cooperated with God’s plan & will, life for them is getting better than before & what it was back then.

Jesus in our gospel today reminds us that God hears & knows our heart’s desires, and He responds from all that we got and not from our surplus. Even without knowing it, we are worthy of His graces & blessing in our lives, whenever we are whole-heartedly & not half-heartedly believing & trusting in His ways, like that of Tobit, Sarah & the poor widow. Whether pure or superficial, God knows our heart’s intentions & readily respond to our prayers, as long as we cooperate with His ways.

Remember God listens to our prayers & blesses our present needs. God’s blessings however usually come in disguise. We only have to believe & trust wholeheartedly and purely that things in life will turn out better than what we want & expected to be. Who knows? Perhaps the shrewdness, hypocrisy & stupidity of others might be God’s blessing in disguise for you and others. Perhaps what we are going through nowadays are blessings in disguise for our betterment.

Here we are before you Lord. You know where, what, how we are now, and need to be. We believe & trust that You love us always & want what is better for us. Make us aware and benefit from your constant Blessings that usually comes to us hidden in disguise. May Your will, not mine & ours, be done.

So Be it. Amen.