“DON’T BARGAIN WITH GOD”. This was a piece of advise that came to me
as I was reconsidering the commitment I made to spend at least one hour
everyday with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament at the Adoration
Chapel of our Parish at Tuguegarao city.
The Adoration Chapel is at the first floor of our Parish
Pastoral Center to provide the parishioners an opportunity to spend some time
to have one-on-one encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ Who is deemed present
in the Consecrated Host. Since the intention
is to have a PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT during the day, our Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Gerard Ariston P.
Perez, gave a standing invitation to all parishioners to avail themselves of
this great opportunity to have a Quiet Time with GOD in the Blessed Sacrament.
In response to the invitation, some parishioners through
their Cluster and Barangay Coordinators made a TIME SCHEDULE for their
ADORATION. The said schedule is posted
at the bulletin board placed at the entrance of the Adoration Chapel. The period covered by this Perpetual
Adoration is from 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. everyday.
The four Clusters of our parish have posted the names of
persons who have made a commitment to
spend at least one hour a week before the Blessed Sacrament. At the start commitments were met, but I have
observed that for one reason or another as time passed by more and more have
not been faithful to their commitment.
I, for one, have often been tempted to shorten the time
of my adoration. For some time I have
been considering a kind of substitute by having my own ‘Quiet Time’ at home,
since God is also present in me – being
His Temple. However, this piece
of advise has been lingering in my mind: “DON’T BARGAIN
WITH GOD”.
Further reflection impressed upon me that a COMMITMENT
WITH GOD is SACRED and should be honored at all costs. Visiting the Lord God in the Blessed
Sacrament is like HAVING A DATE WITH GOD.
Since God is the Supreme Being in this world, a DATE WITH HIM should be of paramount
importance and should be complied with at all costs. Hence, I should not even entertain anything
that would change or lessen whatever I have committed to God. In other words, I should NEVER BARGAIN WITH
GOD, simply because HE IS GOD.
by: Buddy Cagurangan
August 18, 2013
