Recognizing the Presence in My Life

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Spirit Moments

I am often amazed how I can choose not to be tied down to where I am or to the situation I am in. In the moments just before sleep, I love to go over the day and remember the beautiful moments I had in the last 24 hours. If there is something to be grateful for; I give thanks, rejoicing in God’s love and blessings. If there is something to be sorry for; I ask for forgiveness seeking healing and courage to change for the better. I am in my bed but I am also in all the places I was during the day.

At other times, I dream and imagine things getting better and people happier and places prettier. And I wonder if I am just really imagining things. Or was I really meant to remember and to dream and to imagine? Am I just engaging in some futile exercise or was I really meant to discover that my being here was not random but part of a great adventure? I am in a certain place but I am also in all the other possible places I am imagining.

I am told and I find it logical that everything in the universe started with one single particle exploding in one cataclysmic bang in primordial times. And after some billion years, I and all the other human beings are here. In that vast expanse of time and space, everything that happened just seemed to be random and purely by chance. But something or Someone tells me that even that primeval particle already had the seeds of life in it. But for the life to eventually unfold and emerge, the vastness of space and almost infinite time was needed. Imagine making a cart, a man would probably need just a shop and a few days to make one. Imagine making a car, several people working in a gigantic factory over several weeks would be necessary.

In the silence and in my aloneness, where I can make time and space fade away, I have known that I am not alone. There is a constant Presence that gently goads me to that which is good. He inspires me to seek that which is true. And He brightens my days with all things bright and beautiful. But often, I turn a deaf ear. I look with blind eyes. And I refuse to feel that Presence. How can I miss it when He is practically shouting out to me in the silence?

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
John 16:29-33

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Clouds

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Spirit Moments

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I love clouds: pure and white, constant and changing. Often I wonder how it is like to “wander lonely as a cloud that floats on high o’er vales and hills” and watch the earth below with flowers (like daffodils) blooming, children playing and people going about their busy-ness. I love the song “Both Sides Now”, how it starts with such ordinary yet beautiful clouds seeming to me like bows and flows of angels hair, and then teaching me the give and take there is in loving and the win and lose there in living.

Clouds figure prominently in many episodes in the Bible. God accompanied the people of Israel in a cloud during their wandering in the desert. A cloud overshadowed Mary at the time of the Incarnation. A voice from a cloud declared, “This is my beloved son” as John baptized Christ in the Jordan. There were also clouds when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain. And when days of the Risen Lord with His disciples were up, He was taken up from them in a cloud.

Life and our experiences are often too ineffable for words. What we go through is so much richer than words can express. When words are beggared by our experiences, we turn to ordinary things and use them as symbols of the ineffable, of the mysterious, of the ultimate realities we cannot fully grasp. Clouds are ephemeral yet are real as the life-giving rains they eventually bring. They are fleeting and yet as permanent as the reality of the eternal life God has promised us.

Clouds are reminders to me that I am in this world but not of this world. They remind me of God’s abiding presence in my life. I was born for greater and better things.

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20

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Visits

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Spirit Moments

One of the things I truly loved and appreciated in Ima is her practice of always going out of her way to visit friends and family. I remember during Christmas day, we would always make the rounds of families and relatives. I thoroughly enjoyed this because it meant delicious foods, lots of presents and the chance to meet and play with cousins and friends. She would also go and drop in on friends, often unannounced, and just spend time with them. I loved to tag along and just listen to them talking. She also loved to receive friends and family at home and entertain them. She would always quickly cook a meal or whip up a quick merienda over which stories are shared and updates on the latest in each of their lives exchanged.

Visits are blessings and they strengthen the bonds of family and friendships. I love it that I have inherited Ima‘s love and practice of visiting friends and family. I always look forward to seeing people who are dear to me who live in their own houses. Those who are dearest to me live with me in our home, be it in San Jose, Santa Clara or Filinvest. But there are a host of other people I deeply care for who stay in their own houses and live their own lives. To show them my care and love, I visit them. The oftener, the better. Through visits, I am physically present to them. We make and store memories to tide us over till the next time we would meet again.

One of the things that make me uncomfortable these days is the feeling I get that visits can sometimes be seen as an imposition or a bother to others. There is the preparations and the cleaning up afterwards that make such visits inconvenient. Not to mention that one has to make house to properly receive visitors. So, there are times I feel that people would rather not make nor receive visits. Or, to just meet up with friends and family outside in some restaurant or resort. Half the fun and all the intimacy of a home visit are gone.

Visits to a home are more meaningful. We literally bring blessings to the people we visit, like Elizabeth felt blessed by Mary’s visit to her. Mary was herself pregnant and had to travel a long way to visit her cousin. But she made the effort to go. And the joy of Elizabeth and the child in her womb were immeasurable. And it was at that visit, that Mary broke out in song, singing her Magnificat.

When we visit friends and family, is it possible that God is also visiting with us?

Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:41-45

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Happiness and Pain

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Childbirth, I have heard and read, is one of the most painful if not the most painful experience a woman can go through. Nothing a man endures can ever approximate it. I remember stories from friend-doctors in Fabella Memorial Hospital, the largest government obstetrics hospital in the Philippines. They encounter all sorts of women whom the pain almost drive crazy, shouting out prayers or hurling invectives or just plainly crying out in pain. There are women in labor who would curse their husbands for getting them pregnant (again) or who would shout out never again. And yet, they end again showing up at the hospital in another year or so.

I have never experienced the pain of childbirth. I will never experience the intense happiness a mother feels on seeing her new-born baby. But I can understand how such intense happiness comes after such excruciating pain. Life is difficult and painful. But there is no pain that does not have its corresponding moments of happiness and joy. Pain is not the cause of appiness. Nor is it necessary to undergo pain to experience happiness. But there is supreme genius in the fact and the reality that pain and happiness often go together.

God, in His infinite wisdom and awesomeness, has created us to live in eternity with Him in joy and happiness. But between where and who we are now and what we will eventually become is a long process of transformation. A raw diamond has to undergo a lot of cutting and chiseling before it becomes a desirable precious stone. Raw ore of gold has to be melted under intense fire and then refined with intense heat before it becomes the glittering gold that people desire. So tested by pressure and forged in adversity, we become the precious persons we have been created by God.

The LORD, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.”
John 16:20-23

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Grief and Joy

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Life is hard. Life is fragile. There is constant straining and the struggle is a never ending one. I can lose everything in but a moment. A catastrophe can wipe out everything I have worked for. A severe illness can render me disabled. And I really do not know what tomorrow will bring.

I have found great consolation in an active spiritual life. I am consoled by Christ’s words: “Come to me and I will give you rest.” “Follow me for my burden is light and my yoke is sweet.” “Do not be afraid.” “Peace!” “Love one another as I have loved you.” But He is not a wide-eyed, naive romantic who is blind to the realities of life. He did not promise it to be easy. He asked anyone who would follow Him to carry their cross daily. In today’s Gospel, He admonishes the disciples, “You will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices.”

The early Christians went through a lot of sufferings and persecution for their faith. Today, more than perhaps in any recent periods in history, more Christians are subject to persecution more than ever before. But there is always the consoling Presence of Christ and His words, “You will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them,
“Are you discussing with one another what I said,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me’?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
John 16:16-20

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Social Justice

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Because we have evolved from apes, there are still brutish tendencies in us. Because we were born in sin, there are still a lot of imperfections and weaknesses in us. During the time of Jesus, slavery was an acceptable practice in most societies. Over the years, as people reflected on Christ’s teaching and moved by the Spirit He sent, people have come to realize the inherent evil in enslaving other human beings. Slavery has now been outlawed in most countries. Yet, there are still millions who are victims of human trafficking, the modern version of slavery.

There are other social issues we are struggling with since the times of Christ, like respect and protection for women and children, wars and violence, the death penalty for criminals, divorce. Progress and development have likewise spawned new social issues we must seek the answers to as a human community, like care for nature and ecology, the sharing of God’s creation, human cloning and stem cell research, same-sex marriages.

As the community of God reflects and prays over these social issues, Jesus promised us His abiding presence through the indwelling of the Spirit. The Spirit of Truth will guide us. We will stumble and fall but He will keep us in the truth. The Spirit of Truth will guide the Church in living our the Gospel of Christ as he also leads me in living that same Gospel in my personal life.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.”
John 16:12-15

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Hope Makes Us Human

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Science has proven that humans definitely evolved from apes. The human DNA is more than 96% identical to that of a chimpanzee. And yet something happened in the millions of years evolution was taking place during which the the ape became a man, the brute was chiseled out and the human emerged. The chimpanzee swinging from tree to tree came down and started walking upright. He still has his instincts but in addition he began to reason and piece things together.  He ceased living just for the day and started to hope looking forward to tomorrow. In his hoping, he envisioned a better place and better time and realized he had the power to make them happen. It may have been just a split second or it may have taken a long period of time. But there was a moment in time when the brute received his soul and became a man.

Hope and promise have powered and driven the accomplishments of men. Young men have seen visions and old men have dreamed their dream. Thus, a young man sees a vision of a people living and working together and the the great cities are born. An old man dreams of making things better and great inventions are discovered. A young woman promises her love to her beloved and the great love stories are written. An old woman promises her children she will always be there for them and the great civilizations are born.

People live in the hope of a better future and they promise to make this happen for one another. Man’s history has been replete with hopes that have been fulfilled and promises that have been kept. Therein lies the source and greatness of our humanity.

The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.”
John 16:5-7

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We Are An Easter People

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Several years ago, Europe as a whole celebrated its millennium jubilee, tracing its history and acknowledging its roots and origins. It noted its rootedness in the Graeco-Roman culture and civilization. Pope Benedict, then still Cardinal Ratzinger, lobbied that Europe also acknowledged its rootedness in Christianity – to no avail. The Christian roots of Europe were not recognized. Today most of Europe has become a secular society where God has become marginalized. Technology and science are the new gods that people worship and money their new sacrament. The Cartesian doubt has become critical thinking. All too often critical thinking degenerates into cynicism. Cynicism becomes apathy. Apathy breeds boredom, anxiety, despair, depression and untimely meaninglessness. Philosophers in Europe have been writing about this modern malaise that is characterized by angst and ennui. The philosophy and the theater of the absurd has been their statement.

It is uncanny how today Pope Francis has challenged us to seek God in the peripheries. There are many whom like God have been marginalized by science and technology because they have no access to the modern day sacrament of money. Globalization is a modern secular initiative that is supposed to provide access to economic prosperity for everyone. When the globe becomes one big market, the prosperity will eventually trickle down to everyone, even the poorest of the poor. Technocrats even designed safety nets to catch those who would be falling by the way side. But trickle-down economics has not worked. The rich have only become richer and the poor have become poorer, the gap between them even greater than ever. Pope Francis has started calling for a legitimate re-distribution of the world’s wealth.

In contrast, those who believe in Christ, those whom He has called to His own, are an Easter people living in hope. Plenitude and wealth are good but we must also realize that it is in our emptiness and inadequacies that we discover the true fullness of life. It is not in the possession and amassing of things that we find our security but in giving to one another that we are all saved together. It is not right for one man to die for the sake of the whole nation but every nation should be willing to save even just one member who is need or in danger.

This is the deep message of Easter. It is the root of my enduring hope. We are an Easter people.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.”
John 15:26-27

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Living and Loving in the Light

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Spirit Moments

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In Pope Francis, I see a man truly being moved by the Spirit, the Advocate that Jesus promised to send to His disciples. In his present trip to the Holy Land, I see him again being inspired by the Spirit of Peace and Compassion. He stopped to pray before the massive concrete separation barrier that divides the Palestinian city from Israel. Here is a man full of love, compassion and bearing a message of peace praying before a wall of anger, hatred and intolerance.

A few weeks ago, moved by the Spirit of Love and Justice, he called on governments to redistribute wealth to the poor in a new spirit of generosity to help curb the “economy of exclusion” that is taking hold today. He has always taken up the cudgels for the poor, the oppressed and those in the fringes and peripheries of society.

Early in his papacy, he has challenged all of us to live the true spirit of the Gospels – love and compassion. He has called on all of us to get out of our comfort zones, to go out to the peripheries, to get our feet and hands dirtied in seeking out and serving the least, the lost and the last among our brothers and sisters.

He has been a true harbinger of hope, joy and peace. He has shown love and has expressed it in the most ordinary manner; like calling up people who have reached out to him in their distress, or embracing a totally deformed man in paternal love, or taking selfies with people he was called to prayer.

I thank God again and again for the gift of Pope Francis in our lives today. He is a man who truly lives and loves with, under and through the light of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate Christ has promised his disciples.

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:15-18

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Quests

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Spirit Moments

People often fear what they do not know nor understand.
And what they fear,
because they cannot handle it,
they usually end up hating.
Ignorance and uncertainty breed fear and insecurity.
Fear and insecurity give rise to hatred.

I used to fear the darkness when I was a child.
I hated dark places.
I even experienced a certain discomfort with dark people.
I eventually learned how to handle the darkness.
There is usually nothing out there.
And whatever may be out there,
I was sure I could handle or deal with.
Eventually, I even came to appreciate and love the darkness.
It was in the dark that I came to truly appreciate the light.
The darkness, when it envelopes me, fills me with emptiness:
nothing to see, nothing to hold except what was deep inside me.
It was in that dark emptiness that I came to learn about
and experience what fullness.

I also slowly learned that the external color of people
cannot tell nor teach me what is deep inside them.
As I went through life, I learned that it is not what is on the outside
that makes or defines a person.
There have been many people in my life
whom I have loved for the beauty and love and goodness
that come and radiate outward from deep within them.
Dark complexions glow when there is love within a person.
A physical imperfection becomes an expression of beauty
when there is strength and courage within a person.
The Little Prince taught me
that one sees rightly only with the heart
that what is essential is invisible to the eyes.

And so it is in my spiritual questing.
It is in the darkness that I discover the light of my Creator.
It is in the emptiness that I discover the fullness of life He promised me.
It is in being poor that I discover the richness of His Word.
It is in being hated that I discover my total dependence on Him.

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.”
John 15:18-21

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