Reflection by Sem. Clark Cedric Medoza
Tuesday, August 04, 2026
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
But upon reading the Gospel text again and again,
na para bang lowkey nagbabardagulan si Jesus and yung Canaanite Woman.
Jesus literally ignoring her at first,
then when Jesus talks about the dogs line,
look at the woman’s response.
Did she cancel Jesus?
Did she walk away crying about her damaged ego?
No. She took the scrap, owned it, and hit Him back with pure humility: “Even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table.”
And Jesus, who knows the human heart better than anyone else, suddenly stops.
“O woman, great is your faith!”
May the Lord give me the desire of speaking,
and you the desire of listening.
Pagkalooban nawa ako ng Panginoon ng hangaring magsalita,
at kayo ng hangaring makinig.
As we also celebrate the memorial of St. John Mary Vianney,
the patron saint of all priests,
I can’t help but also look at my own messy story,
with all my exes, baggage, my doubts, and my weaknesses.
Maybe ang standard reaction natin dito, or to check the reality of ourselves:
“Baka wala talaga akong bokasyon?”
Let’s not romanticize seminary life anymore.
Entering this life isn’t a walk in the park,
—hindi tayo namamasyal sa Luneta.
I remember our seminary founder, Bp. Gabby Reyes, once said:
“The kind of seminarian you are, the kind of priest you will be.”
We seminarians usually pray that, “Lord, sana maging pari ako.”
And I still remember when I was in Lipa, habang inililibing si Fr. Celso,
I had this terrifyingly beautiful prayer:
“Lord, sana mamatay din akong pari.”
It is hard to become a priest,
but for sure, it is harder to become and die as a holy priest.
Pero paano kung ngayon pa lang there are days
when we are losing hope and faith in pursuing this vocation of ours?
—andaming problema
—misunderstandings within the community
—demanding professors
—idealistic formators
—laging may sakit
—puro tulog na lang, and even during prayers and Mass, tulog pa rin?
“Baka wala talaga akong bokasyon?”
Minsan, the pressure in formation makes us think
our prayers need to be super structural, formal, and very holy-holy.
Pero guys, listen: do not be ashamed in front of God if there are times na inaantok tayo sa harap Niya.
Sometimes, that sleepiness isn’t disrespect;
it’s the comforting presence of God,
lalo na during visits and nocturnal adoration
na sa napakahabang araw at dami ng nangyari,
God is in front of us, telling us: “Yohoo! Dito ang tingin!”
And we feel His resting presence.
Even when panic and guilt take over us,
we feel safe enough in His presence to let our guard down.
Prayer, after all, is a conversation with someone important to you.
We are able to pray because God reveals Himself first to us.
Jesus is our friend, tropa natin Siya.
Diba kapag comfortable na tayo sa kaibigan natin,
mas nasasabi natin yung tunay na nararamdaman natin.
—You don’t filter it.
—You can be raw.
—You can even use harsh words or cry out in frustration.
God can handle our feelings and honesty.
Spiritual fatigue, or the new term I just acquired this week—Acedia—
the ultimate heaviness and laziness of the soul in pursuing holiness.
Acedia or spiritual fatigue is terrifying, but it is not permanent.
You can change anytime; even one step matters a lot.
Murmuring prayers—even with soft, sleepy, barely coherent words—
are way better than no prayers at all.
But there is also spiritual dryness
that is actually a part of our spiritual growth.
In Fr. Thomas’ book, “When the Well Runs Dry Off,”
he outlines spiritual dryness not as a failure,
but as an essential part of the passage for saints and maturing Christians.
As St. John of the Cross experienced the dark night of the soul, and
St. Ignatius of Loyola reminds us,
we experience desolation and consolation.
The goal of our prayer isn’t to chase consolations;
but we seek the God of consolations, God Himself.
A person undergoing extreme desolation is secretly
being prepared for a greater consolation.
Remember the Israelites?
They had to wander through the desert for 40 years
before they ever stepped foot in the Promised Land.
There is a time for everything, and it unfolds in God’s perfect time.
Noticing also in the book that I am reading the word “When,” and not “If.”
So every Christian would come to experience dry periods in their spiritual life.
This reminds me that our calling is never about us.
It’s about God calling us despite our sinfulness and weaknesses.
There is no perfect vocation, only perfect intentions.
It’s upon the hands of our good God, sustaining us in our vocations.
Lahat ay tanging dahil sa awa at grasya ng Diyos.
So where does this lead and leave us, guys?
Likewise, on the story of St. John Mary Vianney,
it was his simple and great faith
that sustained his priesthood.
Through endless hours in the confessional and spiritual attacks,
he wasn’t the smartest guy in his class.
But he loved God passionately.
When you love and believe, baliwale ang lahat.
There is no absolute sureness, or kasiguraduhan,
here inside the four corners of seminary walls except for one thing:
the burning desire to serve God as a priest.
Grant that one day, we may become the kind of priest God wants us to be.
—Not the kind of priest we want to be.
—Not the kind of priest our parents want us to be.
—Not the kind that society or social media demands.
—Not even the strict kind our formators root for us.
But the exact kind of priest that God envisioned before us.
May mga bagay na hindi natin mapipigilan katulad ng ulan.
Hindi lahat ng gusto natin sa buhay ay natutupad,
sapagkat Diyos ang nagtatakda ng kinabukasan natin.
Pero hawak natin ang itlog, kung ito ba ay bubuuin natin o wawasakin.
Like the Canaanite woman
who refused to leave Jesus’ side
despite the harsh reality of her situation,
let’s hold on—kumapit lang tayo.
Even if we’re just asking for scraps of grace under the table,
those scraps are more than enough
to heal us, sustain us, and carry us to the altar.
May at this moment we hear the sweet whisper of Jesus to us.
—“O Woman, great is your faith!”
—“O Clark, great is your faith!”
—“O dear, great is your faith!”
oremus pro invicem
Amen.
By Jan Ernest Pàting
A second-year AB Philosophy student and aspirant of the Society of Saint Paul. He is currently discerning his vocation to the religious life inspired by the footsteps of the great apostle Paul.