GOSPEL IN ACTION

You may have seen the video "Ondoy's Trail of Fury" which I just posted in my site (WWW.DAILYGOSPELREFLECTION.COM). As you may know, On Sept.26, 2009, Manila had been flooded, and the neighboring provinces suffered greatly caused by one of nature's worst typhoon, ONDOY, with international name "KELSANA." According to the news reports, ONDOY poured more than a month worth of rain in six hours, submerging most parts of the bustling metropolis, especially Marikina, San Mateo Rizal, and neighboring areas, drowning at least a hundred people and more. Just watch the video from Youtube which I just posted here. I could never describe the scene on the video in words. The video speaks for itself.

I don't know what comes to your mind as you are watching this video now? For me, I could hardly watch it without my heart writhing in pain. My heart goes out for those people who lost loved ones, those who lost homes and properties and who have no where to go from here. I feel sorry for those children who lost their parents, who may have been buried in the mud or swept away by the raging waters. Now they are left alone to live and mend their own pains. I feel sorry for those parents who lost their children. Now they will forever grieve for their lost. I feel sorry for those people who have no food to eat tonight, no warm clothes to wear, and no shelter to lay their heads. Could somebody extend them some help?

Yes, I could watch the video over and over again, feel sorry about it, and then go on with my life. But is that who I am? Does the video affect me or you in any way? Are you affected by the suffering of your fellow human beings? Yes, we are. We are part of humanity. We are part of Christ's body. If one of the members suffers, the whole body suffers. As Christ's disciples, we need to pray for all the victims of the tragedy and for everyone who were affected by the typhoon. On the other hand, while prayer and good faith are good, they are not enough. Our faith and prayers should flow into action. "Faith without good works is nothing," says St. Paul.

It is in such moments like these that we are asked and challenged to manifest our faith through our good works and actions. One concrete way to show your love and compassion for those affected by the typhoon is to extend financial help, as you are able to. There are many civic or church's organizations which you can direct your donation or "love offering" for this sole purpose. But it is time to act now and show compassion to our fellow human beings. We cannot just sit on the sidelines, be content with our personal prayer and meditation, and we consider ourselves Christians. What we need to do is to meditate on the Word of God daily, and live it through our actions and good deeds. This is what I call Gospel in action.

God calls each one of us to be people of faith and action.