Chapters of Joy by Paulines Publishing House

Raymond Balaod

Chapters of Joy:

Stories of Finding Gladness in the Lord

PHILIPPINES

CHAPTERS OF JOY: STORIES OF FINDING GLADNESS IN THE LORD © 2021 Raymond Balaod [Scripture quotations are] from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Published and distributed by Paulines Publishing House Daughters of St. Paul 2650 F. B. Harrison Street 1302 Pasay City, Philippines E-mail: edpph@paulines.ph Website: www.paulines.ph All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover design: Ann Marie Nemenzo, FSP 1st printing 2021 ISBN: 978-971-590-909-9

at the service of the Gospel and culture

CONTENTS Preface 5 Stephen and the Props

The Linen Cloth

The Recorder

Awarding in Heaven

Crossed Fingers

Connection 32 The Gift of Friendship

The Precious Gems

Identity 45 The Beautiful Flower

Know Thy Sheep

An Honest Man

Rector 67 The Blind Man

The Four Clocks

Medallion 81

The Beggar Kid

The Picture

Awarding in Heaven For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11-14 “

arley and Liam were both raised in an orphanage. But the way they were raised up differed. Barley was taken care of by Sr. Milva, a strict and conservative nun and the head of the Teresa Foundation. She inculcated in him the necessity and importance of being always decent and neat in appearance before others. On the other hand, Sr. Dorothy, a merciful, loving and compassionate nun took care of Liam. She imbued in him the value of growing in virtues, not only by words, but most especially by her own actions. Simply put, she taught by example. When the two boys graduated from college, they left the Foundation and began their journey to fulfill their dreams. Ten years later, both of them were able to achieve 20

what they wanted to do in life. Barley became a politician and married Lara, his ideal woman. They had two lovely children named Mat and Theo. Liam was also successful in his chosen field. He established the famous rice porridge kitchen in Malika City that feeds the homeless people. He raised funds in order to provide food to those who had nothing to eat. Fortunately, many businessmen supported the philanthropic work of Liam. He became engrossed with his charity work that he was not able to marry. But he was contented and happy because he considered all the homeless and hungry people as his own family. After years of serving the people, both of them were nominated for the famous and prestigious Novel Award in the country that gave recognition to notable achievements of individuals. Barley was already excited because he was confident that he would get the award. He was known as the most influential politician in the land and his name was written in different establishments in the country. He was so proud of his achievements. However, Liam was hesitant to go as he never liked attending such gatherings of important, successful and prominent people, much less being recognized. He was even doubting about his nomination for that prestigious award as he felt undeserving of it. “You must go,” prodded Alfred, Liam’s assistant in his rice porridge canteen. 21

“But I don’t feel like going,” Liam answered. “I’m not worthy of it aside from the fact that I don’t really like going to such events.” “You deserve to be acknowledged in the country,” Alfred insisted. “What you do is a sterling example of altruism.” “Yeah! But I do not want recognition,” He reiterated. “I just want to help and I am happy doing it without getting anything in return.” “Yeah! You’re right! But if you go, there’s a big possibility of getting more sponsors for your rice porridge kitchen.” Liam paused a moment, reflecting on what his assistant just said. Then Alfred commented, “I know you need sponsors to carry on with your project and this is your chance to insure its continuity.” He was in deep thought till five minutes later, he blurted, “Yeah! You’re right, the kitchen needs more sponsors. But I will not ask. I will just simply present the purpose of the kitchen and its needs.” Alfred smiled and said, “You made a good decision, bro.”

The time for the Novel Award came a week later. It was attended by a long list of who’s who in the business world. During the ceremonies, the nominees were asked to say something about their nomination. The first to be called was Liam who was so nervous because it was his first time to speak in front of such influential people in the country. He was so agitated and tense that he stuttered all throughout his speech. But the audience remained silent. However, for Barley, speaking before well-known personalities was nothing. Being a politician, he was used to address big crowds. So, at the end of his speech, the people applauded because they were very much entertained. After the speeches, the master of ceremonies finally made the announcement. “The recipient of our Novel Award this year,” he paused for a moment, “is Barley Manicag!” Barley was ecstatic. The audience stood and gave him a thunderous applause. Liam stood up from his seat and joined the cheers for Barley. He was happy, not only for Barley but more so for himself, for not having been chosen to receive the recognition. He then approached Barley to congratulate him. They hugged each other and afterwards Liam went home. Little did Liam know that it was going to be his last night. He never woke up the next day. Happily he went straight to heaven. At the gate of heaven, he was 23

welcomed by the saints and the angels with joyous songs and a deafening applause. Then he was presented by Jesus before God the Father, who welcomed him with a loving hug. And a sumptuous feast awaited Liam. Meanwhile on earth, Alfred and his companions were inconsolable following the sudden demise of Liam. But a month later, many came to give donation in support of Liam’s kitchen. A substantial amount was collected and funds continued to come as donors who gave regularly grew in number. So, Alfred decided to open other branches of rice porridge kitchen to respond to the needs of the poor and the hungry.

Create in us the spirit of humility and simplicity before You, O Lord, and before others because what matters most is the heart that knows how to love and to forgive. Grant, we pray, that we may always be open to Your grace, to be Your helping hand to the poor and needy. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Know Thy Sheep “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” – Isaiah 40:11

“W

here is San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish?” Fr. Nilo asked an old lady.

But, the old lady just glared at him and said nothing. He continued walking until he met a middle-aged man and queried again, “Excuse me, Sir, can you please tell me where San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish Church is?” “Why do you ask me? I have nothing to do with that church,” growled the man. Fr. Nilo was puzzled by the reaction of the people when he asked where the San Lorenzo Parish Church was. He surmised that something unpleasant might have happened that made them react negatively even at just the mention of the church. It was around 9:00 a.m. when he finally found the church, a simple yet beautiful edifice. Fr. Nilo will be its new pastor and he was excited because this is his first 57

assignment as a parish priest. He was a pious man and had a deep spirituality. More importantly, he lived what he preached. The next day, in his first Mass, few people came. This made him sad and a bit perplexed. Again, he thought to himself, “There must be something here that I don’t know and I want to find out what it is.” Even in the parish office, the staff was aloof towards him. He was not even given a warm welcome by any of them. But he liked it that way because he never liked to be given special attention. He wanted to be treated just like any ordinary pastor. While praying in the oratory of the convent, he fell asleep and dreamt. In his dream he saw a tarpaulin hanging in front of the church, with nothing written on it. Suddenly, his breviary fell on the floor which roused him from his slumber. A few minutes later, Linda, his secretary called out, “Fr. Nilo, you have baptism now and they’re already waiting for you in the church.” “I’ll be there in five minutes,” answered Fr. Nilo. “Thank you for reminding me, Linda.” While baptizing the child, the idea of visiting the families in his parish came to mind. He thought that this is 58

possible as the place was not so big. This would enable him to get to know his parishioners on a personal level and at the same time, probably get the answers to his questions. The very next day, he began his visit to the families. Unfortunately, he encountered grumpy parishioners and even heard harsh words from them. It seemed that they did not respect their former parish priest. Although, some of them were still believers, they were hesitant to associate with him. After dinner, he decided to spend time in prayer, asking for strength for his mission and for the parishioners. Again, he fell asleep after an hour and had the same dream of a tarpaulin with nothing written on it. Suddenly, his wristwatch alarm sounded and awakened him. Once more he wondered what his dream meant. The following day, Fr. Nilo resumed his visit to the parishioners right after breakfast. As he expected, the people were still hard on him. However, he didn’t lose heart and continued to draw close to the people. After a month, the parishioners began to warm up to him and started to strike a conversation with him. The following Sunday, he was surprised to see more parishioners coming to church for the Mass. He was happy and acknowledged that this is really a big grace from God.

The next day he went on with his normal routine of visiting his parishioners. Through spontaneous conversations with the parishioners he slowly discovered the answer to the question that has been bugging him — why many were aloof and were no longer going to church. He learned that the former parish priest would always reprimand the parishioners and point out their faults even during his homily. It even came to a point when one of them attempted to grab the microphone from him to speak for the people who were being shamed before the assembly. Having heard this from the people, Fr. Nilo was relieved but felt challenged to become a true pastor to his sheep. He went home tired but happy. That night, he went to bed early without eating his dinner. Again, he had the same dream, and this time, he saw the tarpaulin, no longer blank but with these words written on it: “Know thy sheep.” When Fr. Nilo woke up and recalled his dream, he surmised that this must be God’s message to him: to know his parishioners, to be with them like a shepherd with his sheep, to love them despite their weaknesses and shortcomings and to be a father to them.

God our Father, You sent Christ to be our Pastor who would look after us and never abandon us. We ask you to increase our faith and to grow in love for our brethren through our simple gesture of giving especially to the most needy. This we ask through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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