Spirit Moments | From minutes to moments . . . .

My Childish Faith

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Spirit Moments

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Christ often held up children as examples of true and trusting faith.
Today, he bemoans the people of his times as having a childish faith.They are like children: “To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace . . . . ,
given to whining, complaining, and tantrums,
very self-centered and totally engrossed in the feelings of the moment,
behaving according to their impulses and believing whatever they wanted to believe:

John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

My faith is also very often childish and infantile.
I want God to adjust to my will and whims,
rather than I seeking and doing His will.
I would recreate God into my image and likeness
and the universe to unfold according to my wishes and desires.

Instead, I should be fill with humility and gratitude
for the gift of life I have freely received,
seeking and following God’s will and plan for me
in the unfolding of the universe, of my life.

Posted in Children, Faith | Tagged Trust | Comments Off

From Nature, Into My Heart

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Spirit Moments

I am always amazed whenever I looked up at the skies.
I am at a loss for words when I stare out at the heavens on a clear night
and see all those billions of stars and the occasional meteor streaking across the sky.
I am simply awed when I stand before a grand and majestic scene of nature,
be it the wide expanse of the open seas,
the grand vista of the mountains,
the soothing calm of a colorful sunset,
or the wild explosion of colors in a spring meadow.
Sure, I don’t need to be a believer to see and appreciate all that beauty and grandeur.
But my faith does give me a deeper appreciation of it all.
Knowing who created all that beauty and grandeur
and knowing why he did it fills my heart
with deep feelings of gratitude, wonder, humility, hope, joy and love
for myself, for the world and for all the others I share this world with.

There is a lot of beauty and order in my life and in the world
for me to be happy and thankful for:
in nature, in my relationships with friends and family,
in the efforts of people and nations to become better.
But this beauty and order is often blemished by imperfections, failures and disasters such as brought about by human frailty, selfishness, greed, fear, anger and hate.
During such times, I wonder if there is any future for us men.
We seem to be doomed to fail.
I remembered always being challenged to think out of the box
when faced with challenged and difficulties
I can see now that the Christian message is about thinking
(as well as believing and doing) outside of the box.
Christ did not do away pain and suffering.
He showed us that the failures and imperfections in our lives are necessary ingredients to out journey towards salvation and perfection.

Posted in Encounter, Faith, Nature, Spirituality | Comments Off

Reminiscing

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Spirit Moments

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Tatang was of peasant stock and he worked in the fields in his youth.
It was a long journey for him from the fields of Dau to the bungalow in Marisol.
And it has also been a long and rather circuitous journey for me from Angeles to Quezon. Looking back at both my life and Tatang,
I am filled with gratitude and humility for the wonderful adventure our lives have been, full of many unexpected turns, some of them very difficult.
But still in all, I am full of joy and happiness at the unbelievable events in our lives
and the wonderful people we have shared these with.
I love my family and friends with whom I have lived through these moments.
If the past is any indication, the future will be even brighter and more awesome.
The best is yet to come, usually reserved for last.
But this has not come about easy.
Being good is a constant struggle.
It is not easy being good.
It takes some doing. Doing what is good.
The struggle, effort and difficulty is the fare we pay for a happy and fruitful journey
and service to others is the rent we pay for our stay on earth.

Posted in Aging, Family | Tagged Home, Prayer | Comments Off

Feeling Like the Dutiful Son, Behaving Like the Prodigal One

Posted on September 15, 2019 by Spirit Moments

I have lost count of the many time I have heard or read the story of the prodigal son. And I must admit there are quite a number of times, I end up feeling like the dutiful son. I would fault the father for fawning over the prodigal son. Like the dutiful son, I feel offended that the prodigal son is treated so royally by the father. At the very least, there should have been some punishment or “making up” on the part of the scoundrel son.

In my own life, I have behaved both like the dutiful son and the prodigal son. As the dutiful son, I do feel the feelings of unfairness from the father. As a prodigal son, I want the tender mercies of the father. And to be honest, I have behaved more often like the prodigal rather than the dutiful son. And I know I deserve justice more than mercy from the father.

A good friend sent me this reminder this morning: “God has already taken into account the wrong turns, the mistakes in your life. Quit beating yourself up and accept His tender mercy.” And if I look back, it has indeed been the story of my life. I live more out of the love and mercy of God, rather than from his justice and justification. For if indeed God meted out what is truly die to us, who would survive?

Posted in Character, Discipleship, Encounter | Tagged Justice, Mercy | Comments Off

The Cross

Posted on September 14, 2019 by Spirit Moments

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There can be no salvation with the cross.
There can be no resurrection without the crucifixion.
Christianity without the cross in not Christianity.

Yet, there are many who would take the cross out of Christianity,
preaching a blatant and selfish gospel of prosperity.
Pain and suffering have always been part and parcel of the human lot.
Man teachers have taught people how to avoid or do away with these twin demons.
Christ alone taught us to embrace and accept them as the portals to a new life.
Pain and suffering are our birth pangs to a new life – our rebirth into eternity.

In the evening of my life, I become more aware of the crosses in my life.
When I was younger, I thought I had learned how to deal with the crosses in my life.
And I did my best to also help others carry their crosses.
Now, in my old age, I would not want to be a cross to others.
But there are times, I get afraid and anxious of the crosses that are to come.
I am afraid, I will falter in the last stages and give up.
I am anxious that I will burden others, specially my loved ones, with my crosses,
which may seem petty to them.

I cling to my faith and Christ’s promise and guarantee that
in the cross, is my life and salvation.

Posted in Aging, Character, Faith, Spirituality | Tagged Grace, Growing Older, Hope | Comments Off

Because I Am, I Can Choose

Posted on September 13, 2019 by Spirit Moments

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Some world-views would have me believe that I am the product of some random events. I believe that I am the fruit of God’s indiscriminate love,
a love that is unconditional, inclusive and knows no bounds,
a love that simply keeps on giving like an inexhaustible spring.

It is easy to love those who love us or whom we like.
It is a challenge for me to love those I dislike,
who have hurt me or have been unkind.
It is easy to love during good times.
It is a challenge to love during times of difficulties, trials and hardships.
It is east to love a person who is good to me or who do me some favors.
But it is the test of true love to be good to those who cannot or will not return the favor, to love without expecting anything in return.

I have always been a sucker for mushy romantic stories, imagining these to be real love. But true love is much tougher.
That is why it does not break so easily.
I still have a lot to learn.

One big reason I believe I am not a random event is my gift of freedom.
While I was born without my being asked,
everything else in my life, I can decide on.
This freedom to choose is what defines man and sets him apart from the rest of creation. Man can choose what he wants and can do.
The rest of creation has simply to go by instincts and the laws of nature.
Man’s greatest achievements as well as his worst follies
come from his attempts to defy the laws of nature.

Life is difficult but even in the face of all disappointments and anxieties,
I can choose to be happy.
Life is full of pain and suffering;
but even in the face of all the bitterness and anger, I can choose to love and care.
Life may sometime seem meaningless;
but even in the seeming worthlessness of life and the inevitability of death,
I can choose to be an agent of life and blessings to others.
And in a world so full of fear, anger and hate,
I can choose to do good.

Yes, I chose life, love, goodness and happiness for myself and for all the people in my life.

Posted in Faith, Identity, Life, The Good News | Tagged Choice | Comments Off

Thank You For Life!

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Spirit Moments

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September 11, 2001 was a day of death and destruction, filled with hatred and anger.
The day after turned out to be a celebration of life.
Yes, it was a day of grief and sorrow but also an unadulterated awareness
of how precious and precarious life is,
of how life is given freely and, because of that, so many things become possible,
Of how we all share a common responsibility to preserve and protect life.

I remember the generous outpouring of love for all those who perished.
I remember the heroism of all those who responded,
some even to the point of losing their own lives.
I remember the touching and moving stories of people
responding to the tragedy.
I remember how the world stood as one in mourning what was lost that day.

The deepest longing of man is for life, light and love.
The works of the devil are darkness, death and doom.
This may be a stark simplification of life given that
life is very complex and often comes in shades of grey.
But living a life while sharing blessings transforms
the greys into a motley of vibrant colors.
I bless people when I wish them good in their lives,
work to bring them good things,
and share whatever good and goods I have.
I curse people when I treat them with hatred, anger and exclude them.
I pray that I be a force for goodness and blessings
and not an agent of darkness, death and doom.

Posted in Faith, Life, Mystery | Tagged Goodness, Grace, Gratitude | 2 Comments

Sometimes, Bad Things Make Us More Human

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Spirit Moments

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Evil is real and is alive in the world. The malice, hatred and anger behind 9/11 is so choking and overwhelming, one begins to wonder if there is a God who cares and who is supposed to have cloaked his creation with goodness. But where the evil of the perpetrators of 9/11 is so numbing, the response of many was so awesomely inspiring. Stories of courage and heroism abounded. And in the aftermath, there was a tremendous outpouring of goodness and caring for the victims and their families. Indeed, 9/11 is a watershed event that has changed the world forever as we knew it.

I hope and fervently pray that it has been for the better; that people now realize that love is better and stronger that hatred; that generosity and sharing is more liberating than greed and selfishness; that it is better to live in community rather than lead individual lives; that partnership make more sense than partisanship.

Posted in Discipleship, Evil, Life, Mystery, The USA | Tagged Relationships | Comments Off

Silence And Prayer

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Spirit Moments

Praying puts us in touch with that which cannot be perceived by the senses.
Whether done with others or alone, praying expresses our desire to embrace the ineffable.

Whether in prayer or just to be with myself, I often spend moments in silence.
That is a choice. I find peace, meaning, and yes, connection just being silent.
I sometimes imagine the world of silence of the deaf and mute.
It might actually be a blessing.

On the other hand, without silence, we may never truly appreciate what sound is.
Sound is as natural to men as breathing.
Life is richer because of music, laughter and conversations.
Sounds add a deep nuance of beauty into life:
the chirping of the birds,
the murmuring of the brook,
the lapping of the waves,
and the whistling of the wind.
If we quieted all human sounds, nature would still be singing.
Teilhard called it the hymn of the universe:
from the explosions of galaxies to the constant and rhythmic beating of quarks.

And men always make a sound to express what they deeply feel inside.
For out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks:
a sigh when we feel bad,
a cry when we are sad,
a song when we are happy,
a scream when we are afraid,
three words when we are in love.

Even in the silence of my prayers,
I would sometimes find myself uttering a word,
breathing out a sigh,
or even letting out a quite laugh.
The sounds of silence.

Posted in Encounter, Presence, Spirituality | Tagged Prayer | Comments Off

On Health, Healing And Being Holy

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Spirit Moments

Access to affordable and quality healthcare is now generally acknowledged as a right. And governments are working to make that a reality. In the Philippines, the Universal Healthcare Act guarantees the provision to every Filipino of the highest possible quality of health care that is accessible, efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed.

To my mind, health is being hale, whole, holy. It might not be evident to many but wholeness is holiness and hale-ness is being hearty. Sickness comes from imperfections and lack of balance. Health means restoring wholeness and balance to the body and driving out the ‘evil spirits’ that cause the imbalance in me.

To keep healthy, therefore, I need both physical and spiritual exercises to maintain my balance. When I get sick, I need both physical and spiritual healing.

Posted in Health | Tagged Healing | Comments Off