Luab: We are lovable

WITH the Lenten season being a season of reconciliation, a season of prayer and of quieting, it is not surprising to see so many retreats, recollections or days of prayer going on. March 12 and 13 were two days of retreat for the bible groups of Sister Sonia Arao at the Cenacle House.

There were many insights that came pouring out, like recognizing the humanity of others, being sensitive to the needs of others, being mindful of the sacredness of our daily lives, etc. These were only a few of the many insights we jotted down. However, what struck me most was the homily of Fr. Lito.

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He spoke of the reconciliation cycle. There are so many ways of reconciliation. Of course, we all know the story of the prodigal son who realized the error he did and so he decided to reconcile with his family, especially his father.

We surmise that during the time he was away squandering his inheritance, his father must have constantly watched the road with the hope that “the silhouette of his son would suddenly appear in the horizon” (the very words of Fr. Lito, which so aptly describes a father’s hunger for the sight of his son). And when his son appeared, the father ran out to meet him in a burst of happiness.

This hardly parallels the feeling of God when we return to Him. However, we know how happy we, too, feel when we are taken into God’s arms. Reconciliation, however, occurs many times in our daily lives. When a husband turns to speak to his wife and listens earnestly to her opinion, which he weighs and answers in return as if she were a visiting speaker worth listening to, that is reconciliation.

When a sister looks up to her brother with love in her eyes as she playfully tweaks his ear while teasing him about his latest low score in a math test, that is reconciliation.

When a woman is able to look into herself and discovers that she is indeed a lovable person after all, that is reconciliation.

The small pocket dictionary defines reconciliation as colloquially making “friends” again. This I prefer to the bigger dictionaries, which define reconciliation as atonement or expiation.

For me, the best reconciliation I have ever received was when my fearful question of “Am I being presumptuous?” was answered with a low thoughtful serious answer: “No, you are not.”

Why was this my best interchange of reconciliation? It was an affirmation of honesty and trust between two mature individuals who had nothing but the best of friendship in mind.

Sr. Sonia Arao, our retreat master, gave us the utmost respect for individual differences, for the uniqueness of each of our character traits and for our different levels of spiritual awareness. With 28 people all blessed with God’s gift of intellect and the natural capacity to question and search for answers, Sr. Sonia’s capacity to give us enough leeway to bring out the best in us was reconciliation in its finest form.

Looking for signs of love became easy. When the couple who took care of our food came to attend to us and were even very unselfish in giving us the recipes (which could be trade secrets) of the delicious dishes, we saw the love they had for friends.

Linda Tuason, who also took the retreat, was everywhere checking on the heavyweights among us so we would have the more sturdy plastic chairs. She was opening and closing windows during the brownout before anyone could say “Jack Robinson.” She anticipated many of our needs.

The message that Fr. Lito left ringing in our minds is this: Reconciliation with self makes one feel loved. Once anyone feels loved, then one is ready to give love. And why shouldn’t we feel love? Remember that God so loved us that God gave his only son to die on the cross for us. Since we are God’s beloved, what greater proof do we need to believe we are lovable?