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[av_heading heading=’RURAL UPDATE | The visits ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JOHNNY NOVERA
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Tuesday, April 18, 2017
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TINAY was in her 40s but unmarried. She lives in an old house just across the plaza from the church, with a maid. It is good that she has this house and a farm inherited from her parents because she had a good place to live and the farm provided for her needs.
A Catholic faithful, you will find her in church to hear mass at early morning everyday and then she will be back again in the afternoon to pray.
She has led a quiet and uneventful life. But one afternoon while kneeling before the Christ Jesus at the cross to pray, she heard a voice calling her name.
“Yes Lord, is it You?” Tinay responded with a hint of fear but with reverence in her voice.
“Yes, my child, it is Me.”
It was clear that the voice came from the cross above.
“You have been very faithful and I would like to visit your home the day after tomorrow,” the voice said.
“Yes thank you, Lord, you are always welcome in my home!”
Tinay was so excited of the visit but she did not tell anyone about it. She could not almost believe that the Lord spoke to her and chose to visit her home.
When she reached home, she lost no time to prepare for it. She ordered a general cleaning of the house with her maid. As if a fiesta is coming, she asked her to scrub and wax the floor, clean the stairs, dust and wipe the furniture, and put up a new set of curtains for the doors and windows.
When morning of the visit came, she prepared very good and special dishes and set up the food at the dining table ready to eat.
“We have a very important visitor coming,” she told the maid.
Tinay dressed at her best that day. She was out early in the sala and sat at the sofa to wait. She told the maid that she did not want to be disturbed because she was expecting a very important visitor. She started to pray.
But in a little while her overseer in the farm arrived. He wanted to borrow money for his daughter’s tuition who was enrolling in a summer course.
“I am so sorry, Arsing, but I have a very important visitor coming. Just be back tomorrow so we can talk about that.”
She dismissed Arsing to leave at once.
It was already past 11 a.m. but no Jesus came. Then the maid said there was a man accompanied by two young ladies from a charity group to solicit funds for victims of a landslide that happened in a neighboring province last week. She also refused to see them because she was waiting for her important visitor.
Finally, it was almost noon but her important visitor had not arrived. At this point the maid came up again to tell her that an old beggar was downstairs and asking for alms or food to eat.
This time Tinay felt it was too much. She got mad and scolded the maid for disturbing her again.
“I tell you,” she was almost shouting, “Please tell that beggar not today! I do not want to be disturbed because I am waiting for a very important visitor.”
But her most important visitor did not come.
Next morning, Tinay was early in church. She went to Jesus straight at the cross and told Him how she prepared for his visit, but why did He not come?
The Lord answered with a clear voice: “I came three times to visit at your home yesterday but you drove me away. I was in your overseer who needed your help to pay for his daughter’s tuition. I was in that team soliciting for aid to landslide victims in a neighboring province. I was also in that beggar who was hungry and asked you for alms or food. But you have rejected me.”
As if the world has fallen on Tinay! “Forgive me, forgive me please…I did not know it was You, my Lord!”
She unashamedly cried and cried at the foot of the cross. (For comments or reactions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com/PN)
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