JUN MARFORI
2 Timothy 2:1: If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
In today’s unsettling, often chaotic surroundings, disturbing societal conditions, pervasive adverse influences, and disruptive emerging life patterns, it is often difficult to find a tranquil place and time where the old places of comfort can co-exist with the new. The song “Quiet Place” that my dear cousin, Monina, composed can often be elusive.
In this age of disruption where the latest movie, “Transformers: The Last Knight” says, “Past is history, the present is past,” one often seeks the solace of how it used to be, where one’s first discoveries opened portals of beautiful experiences, refreshing peace, constancy and faith, and deep communion with God.
But God never ceases to surprise me. Forever He remains faithful, for even if I do not seek Him, or seek Him and not find Him, he still seeks me, constantly, purposefully, with incredible ease and grace. And often among things that do not change.
Thankfully among them, as I discovered some years back while attending a brief retreat, is the Jesuits’ Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, built-in 1932. Strolling the familiar grounds, I realized that while the outside and environs had truly changed into a “big city,” inside its walls is the same as I last saw it more than 40 years ago.
While there, then as a 17-year-old in 1976 for an annual school requirement, I encountered God and heard his voice. 40 years later, the novitiate has remained true. Its serene, tranquil, and picturesque interior imposes a stillness that is no less than the Lord’s voice. He disturbs a calloused and proud heart. But he quiets a disturbed and broken one. Here in this place, the Lord is truly everywhere. Here, man meets God and communes with his Maker and Father. It is a privilege – an overwhelming blessing. Some things – in a wonderfully blessed way – don’t change.
Thank you, Lord. You refresh, you are constant, you are faithful, you are good – all the time.
Thank you, JunJun, for taking me back to Sacred Heart Novitiate with your beautiful photos and reflection on God’s comforting constancy.
I look forward to more of your ” appearances” on whitebutterfly!
Thank you , Junjun, for neninding us that God’s constancy is the only thing we can hold on to in this ever-changing wirld we live in… but, hey, He is really the only thing we need!
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