Answer - either you own 8 boxing division title named Manny Pacquiao or win the NBA crown.
And what does it take to be invited to the upcoming fairy-tale royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middletown?
Answer - not one in a million chance, unless you are among the pre-selected ones to be invited. Not even a hunger strike in front of the British embassy will do as one Mexican teenager found out (or did she get her wish by now?)
What does it take for someone to come inside the hall of our Supreme Court and sit down to exchange ideas with the Chief Justice?
Answer – you must be one of the 15-member Supreme Court.
Undoubtedly, the worldly norm is that the higher the person and the office or symbol he/she represents, the more they are beyond the reach of a normal person. Gone are the days when ordinary folks can walk inside Malacanang to air their grievances and be actually listened to by the president himself (Pres. Magsaysay is mentioned in the history books to have done this Maybe very few.
And the saddest truth for some, is that even family members that are supposed to be closest to each another are seemingly the most difficult people to be even near to. Just ask the children and spouses of successful men and women but hardly spend a time with them and you will understand what I mean.
Let us rejoice. Because what the worldly norm dictates is the exact opposite when it comes to God’s kingdom, where everybody, especially the least ones, are very much welcome to come in and enjoy the incomparable bliss of love and peace. The invitation comes in many forms and ways, His unending gifts and blessings without any expiration during our lifetime. We are not required to accomplish or achieve anything by worldly standards because our qualifications are based on His heavenly standards – we are His children. Nothing else takes precedence over that fact. We only have to believe it, trust in it and live it. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta has offered as a tip for living - the purpose of life is not to be successful but to be faithful, so we all must live a life of faith in God.
On March 9, we Catholics, are going to celebrate Ash Wednesday to usher in the Lenten season. Let us all prepare ourselves for God’s invitation to remember and share His most empirical proof of His intense love for us – the incarnation of His only beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior. Through Him, God’s invitation for us to come to His kingdom is finally established and any wall of sinfulness that previously separated us was brought down by His sacrifices and ultimate death on the cross.
He lovingly waits.
(RSVP comes from French RSVP - répondez s'il vous plaît, meaning “reply please” or "please respond")
