JACOB'S WORM- FR. TERESINO
NOVEMBER 29, 2008
Dearest Fr. Teresino,
One evening, I sat down and read some passages in the breviary for the whole advent. I came across this line and it strongly hit me. I sat with these verse and meditated, so that, I have this crazy thoughts in my prayers. I just want this to be shared with you, so that you will become crazy too in understanding my thoughts. Hope you find it meaningful.
JACOB’S POOR WORM (Is 41:13-20)
“I the Lord your God (Raul), I am holding you by the right hand. I tell you (Raul), do not be afraid for I will help you. Do not be afraid, poor worm of Jacob, (you Raul) puny mite, do not be afraid. The Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.”
I felt strongly the impact of these lines, the assurance of God’s help. Oh Raul, the poor worm! This is the image I always see in myself, when I joined the postulancy, the novitiate, the scholasticate and my first months in the mission. A poor worm! - A description of a struggling worm looking for a security in a cocoon. There was a part in my life when everything was new and strange, that I felt myself completely like a worm, trying to crawl on a branch for security, so that I could hide myself in the cocoon.
What is a worm? It is a useless creature in the sight of man. Often, when we see one, we crush it with a stone or a stick. It is horrible, it looks so disgusting, and it is feared, dirty in our eyes. Yet the Lord is calling my soul a poor worm, nothing but unworthy puny mite, a useless tick. A worm is nothing but unworthy. I have seen my soul in that way, to be hidden little by little until it is forgotten.
One day, the poor unworthy worm, after its hiding has come to its right moment. After its long sleep, rest, crying, trials and difficulties, was actually gaining its strength and momentum. The time has come; he has been refined, fully furnished after staying in darkness and solitude. It tore down the opening of the cocoon, peeping outside, inhaling its first scent of freedom. One leg after the other, the head, the body, struggling to come out, and suddenly, it flapped its wings. He is now a beautiful caterpillar with colorful wings that delighted his mind and heart, and delighted other caterpillars too. The soul of this caterpillar found its new sense of fulfillment. It wasted no time, it went straight to the leaves and flowers, seeking for moist and nectar, for it was thirsty and hungry. Then it hopped from flower to flower. He has realized his meaning and mission.
Jacob’s poor worm has turned into a new creation. Transformation took place while he was in darkness. The soul of the poor worm went into the ‘rite of passage’, like the Lord who entered into darkness for three days, the baptism in the water, submerged into the deep; He submerged Himself into His own blood. There was a real transformation of Jacob’s worm, like Jesus, he became a dazzling caterpillar flapping fine wings like beautifully weaved and painted creature, ‘winged for holiness’. As Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses, the caterpillar moved with his God and spoke with Him in silence.
I thought that this is the best reflection and comparison I could give to my poor soul, the poor worm of Jacob, the colorful caterpillar of the Lord.
One day, the caterpillar will face its end, we don’t know when and how, probably in the warm heart of Africa, or in the hidden place or in the coldness of Europe or in the hotness of Asia. One thing is sure, he started as a worm, sleeping in the cocoon, tomorrow, and he will be in deep slumber in the heart of the Lord.
Dearest Fr. Teresino,
One evening, I sat down and read some passages in the breviary for the whole advent. I came across this line and it strongly hit me. I sat with these verse and meditated, so that, I have this crazy thoughts in my prayers. I just want this to be shared with you, so that you will become crazy too in understanding my thoughts. Hope you find it meaningful.
JACOB’S POOR WORM (Is 41:13-20)
“I the Lord your God (Raul), I am holding you by the right hand. I tell you (Raul), do not be afraid for I will help you. Do not be afraid, poor worm of Jacob, (you Raul) puny mite, do not be afraid. The Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.”
I felt strongly the impact of these lines, the assurance of God’s help. Oh Raul, the poor worm! This is the image I always see in myself, when I joined the postulancy, the novitiate, the scholasticate and my first months in the mission. A poor worm! - A description of a struggling worm looking for a security in a cocoon. There was a part in my life when everything was new and strange, that I felt myself completely like a worm, trying to crawl on a branch for security, so that I could hide myself in the cocoon.
What is a worm? It is a useless creature in the sight of man. Often, when we see one, we crush it with a stone or a stick. It is horrible, it looks so disgusting, and it is feared, dirty in our eyes. Yet the Lord is calling my soul a poor worm, nothing but unworthy puny mite, a useless tick. A worm is nothing but unworthy. I have seen my soul in that way, to be hidden little by little until it is forgotten.
One day, the poor unworthy worm, after its hiding has come to its right moment. After its long sleep, rest, crying, trials and difficulties, was actually gaining its strength and momentum. The time has come; he has been refined, fully furnished after staying in darkness and solitude. It tore down the opening of the cocoon, peeping outside, inhaling its first scent of freedom. One leg after the other, the head, the body, struggling to come out, and suddenly, it flapped its wings. He is now a beautiful caterpillar with colorful wings that delighted his mind and heart, and delighted other caterpillars too. The soul of this caterpillar found its new sense of fulfillment. It wasted no time, it went straight to the leaves and flowers, seeking for moist and nectar, for it was thirsty and hungry. Then it hopped from flower to flower. He has realized his meaning and mission.
Jacob’s poor worm has turned into a new creation. Transformation took place while he was in darkness. The soul of the poor worm went into the ‘rite of passage’, like the Lord who entered into darkness for three days, the baptism in the water, submerged into the deep; He submerged Himself into His own blood. There was a real transformation of Jacob’s worm, like Jesus, he became a dazzling caterpillar flapping fine wings like beautifully weaved and painted creature, ‘winged for holiness’. As Jesus spoke with Elijah and Moses, the caterpillar moved with his God and spoke with Him in silence.
I thought that this is the best reflection and comparison I could give to my poor soul, the poor worm of Jacob, the colorful caterpillar of the Lord.
One day, the caterpillar will face its end, we don’t know when and how, probably in the warm heart of Africa, or in the hidden place or in the coldness of Europe or in the hotness of Asia. One thing is sure, he started as a worm, sleeping in the cocoon, tomorrow, and he will be in deep slumber in the heart of the Lord.
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