I Even Forgot to Pray For Eight Points

“ Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”

- Voltaire

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17

So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him; and he said, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant." But he said, "As the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will receive none." And he urged him to take it, but he refused. Then Na'aman said, "If not, I pray you, let there be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth; for henceforth your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD.

Psalm: Psalm 98:1-4

Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful -- for he cannot deny himself.

Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Sama'ria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

Reflection

This happened in October, three years ago when I was still attending my graduate school classes in Angeles City.

I did not attend the first day of our six-Saturday class in Marketing due to lack of sleep the prior night after finishing piles of paper work.

On the second meeting, I showed up just to assess the class and decide whether to drop the subject or not. This was because aside from already being one (of six) week behind in lectures, there were also so much requirements to pass the subject. These were two case studies, one article presentation, two interrogations (panelists for other reporters), a term paper, and 22 chapters to read for the mid-terms and finals. But so as not to let down the group who already selected me to be part of their team, I decided to hang on and not drop the subject.

On the fourth meeting, we had our midterms covering 14 chapters, 5 articles and 3 cases. After the two-hour test in the morning, our group presented a critique of an article. In the afternoon, our group is the assigned interrogators of another group presenting a case. And also on the same day, we had to submit the preliminary drafts of our term papers.  The week prior this fateful day was dedicated for all the preparations. But due to all other activities aside from schooling, I had to prioritize things. And guess what at the bottom of my list was.

It’s the midterm exams.

Since I completely understood all of my professor's lectures, and in fact was actively participating in class, I was confident that at the very least I would pass the exam even if I wouldn't read all the 14 chapters and the other reading materials. On top of that, the test would be an open-notes objective type, so probably, I would not just pass but get 75% or even higher.

But then after the test, I counted all those answers which I was sure of and guess how many I got.

Just twelve.

Yes, those were the only ones I was confident of having answered correctly. And I was vocal about it. I told my classmates that I needed to pray for eight more correct answers just to pass.

The next week, we got the test results.

I was sure of twelve and was hoping to get eight more, right?  But guess how many of the twelve I answered correctly.

Only eleven.

But the good news is, of the eight I said I should be praying for, I got 27! So I got a total of 38 out of 40.

I was so surprised and thankful I could not believe my eyes. Actually, I totally forgot to pray about them as I said. Maybe because there were a lot more important things to pray about. But maybe God already heard me bragging that He would give me eight more :)

If I did not have any meetings to attend to with the Light Of Jesus Family (my community in Angeles) after my Saturday classes, I usually attend the Anticipated Mass at the nearby Holy Rosary Parish Church right after school. But on that Saturday, I was totally not planning to attend Mass because it was not an Anticipated Mass for Sunday. It was the ninth day Novena Mass in preparation for the Feast of Our Lady of La Naval (which we are also celebrating today).

But after seeing my totally unexpected test score, the first thing I thought of was to attend Mass, anticipated or not. This may be a small matter as compared to many other things in life, but it is definitely something to be thankful for.

Today in the Gospel, ten lepers received God’s blessings and were healed by Jesus. Only one went back to give thanks.

Well, first, I hope that I was not the only one who was so happy to receive a surprise blessing on that day whether it was about our exams or about other more important things.

Second, I hope I was not the only one who went back to thank Him.

Prayer

Father, thank You for the answered exams… err… prayers! Thank You that You always answer our prayers not in our ways, but in Yours. Amen!

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of La Naval, pray for us!