The parish priests of St Helena Parish in Tangerang, Indonesia keep a few pet dogs. One of the dog approached a seated security guard looking exhausted with his tail drooping down. He rested his head on the security guard’s lap, and the security guard petted the dog’s head, rubbed his cheek and body for a minute or so with such great tenderness and love. Afterwards, the dog ran away leaping joyfully, looking refreshed, and wagging his tail to play with the other pet dogs.
There are 3 acts in this drama: the coming with burden, the being loved, and the going out joyfully. These 3 acts are similar to the 3 liturgical seasons that we had gone through and that we are going through now. We come and surrender our burdens to the Lord during Lent, being loved by Him throughout Holy Week, and being sent out to spread the joy of Easter in the Easter season and the ordinary time that follows.
Let us follow the drama from the point of view of the dog and reflect on the 3 acts.
In the first act, what burdens are we carrying now and what are we doing about it? Do our burdens include stresses at work or in school? Exhaustion from serving the Lord as a legionary? Dissatisfaction with out fruitless good works? Being angry at God for not freeing us from our bad habits despite our great efforts? Unforgiveness in the family or with friends?
In the second act, do we try to rely on our own power to carry these burdens/crosses in life? Do we give up hope in trying to be better? The Handbook says “No one is too bad to be uplifted”. Do we go to the Lord, as the security guard of our souls, and ask for help? Do we ask the Lord to renew us at every Mass to become better every time we participate in Mass? Do we savour the touching love from the Lord in our worship, prayer, and adoration?
In the third act, do we still dwell in past mistakes which has been totally forgiven by God? Do we joyfully share with others the love that we experienced as Easter people?
After encountering the petting on the head and loving rub from the Lord, we shall also reflect on the drama from the point of view of the security guard.