Recognizing the Cause through the Effects

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Sub-atomic particles, like the Higgs boson, are so infinitesimally small they cannot be seen even by the most powerful electron microscope. Yet, scientists know they exist by their effects. Some phenomenon happens or exists that can only be explained by the existence of these particles. Dark matter and dark energy are so ginormous, scientists have no instruments with which to “see” them. Yet, there is a certain gravitational pull in the universe that can be explained and understood only if dark matter and dark energy existed. There is yet another force and energy in the universe that pervades even the smallest particle and enables the birth of new galaxies and the unfolding of the entire universe. Obviously, that force and energy will be impossible to “see” with our human senses or human tools. But we know He exists by through His handiwork. And this almighty force and energy, who oversees the unfolding of the universe is not an inanimate or unthinking being. He has revealed Himself to us as a person who truly cares and loves us. That is why there is the whole of creation.

Men see what they want to see. If we seek the Lord, we will find Him. If we refuse to see the Lord, even if He were to stand right before us, we will still not see Him. He spoke in parables. Some got it; many did not. He spoke in plain language. Some were inspired and followed Him. Many were shocked and scandalized and sought to kill him. He healed and helped people. Some came to believe in Him. Many said it was all the work of the evil one.

By His fruits we will know Him. Through His works we will recognize Him. To those who are open and honestly seeking Him, He says (as he did to the disciples of John), “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.“

All you nations, praise the Lord.

So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
John 10:22-30

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Constant Love and Care

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Spirit Moments

There is a Good Shepherd who looks after me. He calls out and I hear His voice and I follow. In the hustle and bustle of daily living, His voice is sometimes drowned out by all the noise and the hurry. That is why I need to stop and listen, sometimes even straining to hear the voice. I need to pause to clarify and learn who I am, where I am going and what I need to do. In silent and reflective prayer, I can hear my Shepherd’s voice more clearly. In my prayer, he brings me to green pastures and restful waters.

There are times I hear His voice but go the opposite direction instead. These are the times I stray. He seeks me out to bring me back to the fold. In extreme dangers, He is ready to lay down His life to save me. It may seem a simplistic and even naive way to think of God. But it speaks of a love and caring that is very reassuring. It is love and caring that is constant and reliable.

As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God.

I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
John 10:11-16

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The Good Shepherd in My Life

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Spirit Moments

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Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.
I think of and thank the Lord for all the times He has led me to verdant pastures and restful waters:

I could have stayed and spent my life in Angeles City and that would have been fine.
He came in the person of Fr. Lagerway and suggested I might enter the seminary.
I came to the seminary and that set me out on my life journey.
It’s been a long way from Angeles to San Jose California.
Fancy singing “Do you know the way to San Jose?” in my younger years.
But He did lead me and showed me the way.

I was devastated when martial law was declared in 1972.
I saw my world crumbling down around me.
I was lost. I was terrified. I felt all alone.
He consoled me in the person of Fr. Abe.
He led me to clarify certain things and commitments in my life.
It made clear to me the paths He was leading me to.
He led me out of that dark period and lighted my way.

I was in love and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love.
I was naive and did not even think if I had the wherewithal to have my own family.
All I knew is I wanted to marry the woman whom I wanted to cherish a lifetime.
Nay, to cherish her for eternity.
He gave me courage and daring to go ahead and listen to my heart.
He gave me an angel to marry in Anabelle.
He led me by the hand and set me out on a true adventure of love and lifetime commitment.

I would have been happy being a simple teacher,
with a place of our own,
enjoying three meals a day,
access to good books and fun and fine music.
All these He gave and more,
reaching the pinnacle of a corporate career,
with a substantial and rewarding academic engagement,
and meaningful social involvements to boot.
He led me to places and to people at the right time to reach heights I never dreamed of.

Most people jump from one job to another and then settle for one for many years till retirement.
I was with one job for the longest time and then jumped from one job to another in my latter years.
I just kind of coasted along into retirement.
It was not even a well defined moment.
I just found myself one day retired.
and helping look after Jonathan and Jane.
He led me by the hand and I just followed Him to restful waters.

I have indeed been led to verdant pastures and restful waters.
I missed my cues sometimes and missed His signs often.
But still in all, with all the blessings He has showered on me,
I have been aware of and thankful for His guiding presence in my life.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.

Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
John 10:1-6

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Counting My Blessings

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Flesh to eat? Blood to drink? So that I can have eternal life? To even believe that there is life after this one? then to love and serve others before myself? To be the last? To be humble? Indeed, these sayings are hard to accept. Why do I even entertain them? In fact during the time of Jesus, because of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him. But even as I pause and pray over these impossibilities and improbabilities, it is the Lord at work. This is not my own doing. This is God’s doing.

When I look at my life, I have a lot to be thankful for. Even if there were no afterlife, I would still need an eternity to be truly grateful for all that good things that have happened in my life. I say together with Peter: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

I thank the Lord for my life. I did not ask for it nor did anything to deserve it yet here I am alive! It is great to be than not to be.

I thank the Lord for Anabelle in my life. I have often written, I cannot really count my blessings unless I begin with her. Together, we have done things and gone places unimaginable.

I thank the Lord for Ima for being His instrument to bring me into this world. From her, I learned the value and joys of relationships.

I thank the Lord for Tatang for being the strong abiding presence of courage and daring in facing life, never daunted by the challenges. From him, I got my zest for living.

I thank the Lord for my brothers and sister. With them and through them, I learned what is means to look out for one another.

I thank the Lord for the gifts that are Martin, Mickey and Macky. I believe the Lord was being more generous giving them to me as sons than He was in giving me to them as their father.

I thank the Lord for all the people who have enriched my life: many in major ways, many more in ways I will probably never realize nor understand.

I thank the Lord for the nature that have inspired and invigorated me, seeing God’s handiwork unspoiled by human tinkering.

I thank the Lord for the events He has allowed to happen in my life, subtly showing me His presence and His hand every step of my life journey.

I thank God for this world full of colors, showing me that the God who made these colors is the God of limitless possibilities.

I thank God for unexpected kindnesses from unexpected people and places, showing me there in gainsaying God’s love and generosity.

I thank God for every new day that dawns for it is yet another 24 hours to enjoy and appreciate the blessings He pours unceasingly into my life. Each moment of the 34 million minutes I have been alive is a blessing. And many times, the Lord is able to pack several blessings in just a minute.

Yes, the list is endless and can go on forever.

How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.”
John 6:60-65

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Venturing Into the Mystical

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Spirit Moments

In the quantum world of subatomic particles, time and space become irrelevant. As photons travel at the speed of light, space and time become a blur, almost non-existent, a non-issue. In the vast universe, almost infinite in its immensity, time and space are also irrelevant. As the universe unfolds to become what it has been designed to become, time and space may be a necessary condition but in the general scheme of things, they do not really matter.

Between the minuteness in the quantum world and the immensity of the whole universe, time and space are irrelevant. But in the in-between world or worlds, it is in time and space that everything unfolds and becomes. My theology professors used to talk about the in-between times and spaces. This is the time and space between the first coming of Christ and His second coming. We know that we will live with Him forever, to eat the bread that will forever satisfy our hunger and to take the drink that will forever quench our thirst. But it is not yet now. While we are caught in these in-between times, we have to struggle through time and space as we become what we have been destined to become.

It is only in the context of eternal life and eternity that we can fully understand the message that is Christ.

Praise the LORD, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples!

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.”
John 6:52-59

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Good Morning!

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Spirit Moments

I wake up every morning full of love and gratitude. I could have died in the night, for a million things could have gone wrong. My heart could have failed me. A fire could have broken out. A burglar could have broken in. A meteorite could have struck me dead. Of course, the odds of any of those happening are very slim. Just as are the odds of nothing coming out of nothing. But the fact is, if there is no special reason why I should be here, then I should not be here. Yet, I am here.

This realization fills me with a warm feeling of being loved. I am here because of love. The proximate cause is the love that my parents had for each other. Few people will dispute that. The ultimate cause is the love of a Creator who has called me by name and formed me in my mother’s womb. There will be a few people who will dispute that. I do not. Instead, I bow my head in deep gratitude.

Life is full of random events: chance meetings, chance events, chance opportunities. Yet, in all that randomness, there is serendipity. There is pattern of love and of someone looking after me that emerges. Even when things go wrong, somehow there is goodness that eventually comes forth. Oh happy fault!

Yes, every morning is a good morning for me.

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”
John 6:47-51

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Spirit Synergy

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Synergy is an astonishing concept: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It has its applications in many aspects of life. There is drug synergy where two drugs combined are able to combat more pathogens than just either drug given alone. There is chemical synergy where two toxic elements (like sodium and chlorine) combine to make up an important nutrient, salt. Two wooded boards combined can carry a heavier load than either board alone. Therein lies the strength and utility of plywood boards. People working in a team are able to accomplish more and better results than each of the team members working individually. That is human synergy.

There is also spiritual synergy and I saw it at work last night during our RCIA session. There were nine of talking about our RCIA journey so far and how this shared experienced has molded us into a community. As we were gathered, there was yet another presence among us, a tenth person. He was the one who called us together. We came from different backgrounds, for different reasons and with different needs. Yet, we experienced one and the same call from him that made us come. In our sessions together, we have seen the signs he has left along the way for us and the wonders he has wrought in each and every one of our lives.

I feel this same synergy in my person. I am more than just the sum of the atoms and molecules that make me up physically. My body experiences hunger and thirst that can be slaked by food and water. But beyond that, there is hunger and thirst within me that cannot be satisfied by anything physical. I long for things that cannot be defined nor described physically. It is this part or thing in me that refuses to die even as my body is fading away. It is this spirit synergy in me that will bring me to eternity, still searching, still seeking – until I finally meet Him who promised to raise me up into eternal life.

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

“For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
John 6:35-40

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Longing for Forever

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Life is beautiful, I know and I can see.
And yet all this beauty is but transitory.
The pretty flower that blooms in my garden today
All too soon withers and dies and just fades away.

Yet the memory lingers and stays in the mind.
Can it really be true that we leave the past behind?
The only real moment we have is the here and now.
Everything else is remembrance, gone and how.

The things of beauty or the deeds that are good
Are here for now abut are soon gone for good.
Life is indeed pleasing but it is also fleeting.
And we can never hold on to anything.

Like, I eat and I am soon hungry again.
I drink and my thirst comes back every now and then.
Can I have food that will forever keep me satisfied
And a drink that will always keep me gratified?

I see beauty and goodness and want them to last forever.
I want my loved ones to stay and leave me never.
I long for an eternity to relish all that I cherish
So everything that I hold dear shall not perish.

There was man who promised these forever.
Those who come to him will not hunger ever.
I come to Him every morning when I awake.
Asking Him my Spirit into His presence take.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
John 6:35

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Warning: Not To Create God In My own Likeness

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Sometimes, nay often, I find myself creating God in my own image and likeness. Like, I pray that God would make my life in this fashion or in that manner. There is no gainsaying or second guessing God; so, instead He gives something better. I thought He called me to be a priest. Instead He led to be a father of three wonderful sons. I wanted to and prayed I’d be accepted in one school. Instead, He led me to a better one. I dreamt and prayed to retire at a particular company. Instead, He led me to other better companies where I made more contributions and achieved higher goals.

Early in life, I prayed for a very simple but happy life: like, good books, good food, good music, a beautiful wife and two beautiful children. These, He gave me and more. For my God is a God of abundance. He gives and He gives abundantly, beyond measure. Before I started searching for Him, He first found me. Before I started praying and talking to Him, He first called me by name.

Come to think of it, I need not ask of Him anything. He has got my life laid out for me. If anything, my prayers should only be prayers of thanksgiving for the untold and unending blessings that He has heaped upon me and my loved ones. And If there is one thing more thing I should ask of Him, it is to know His will and plan for me, to follow His law and to proclaim His greatness at all times.

Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
John 6:22-29

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Walking the Road to Emmaus

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Spirit Moments

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The Emmaus story has always been a source of endless inspiration for me. Three figures walking on a long and dusty road, talking about recent events in their lives, two burdened with sorrow, the other listening with a caring heart and the hearts of the other two dejected persons were soon burning within them.

The man listening has always listened to the longings in the hearts of those who listened to Him, even when these longings were unspoken. Thousands had followed to listen to Him and stayed with Him for days. In the end they were hungry. He took some loaves of bread, blessed them, broke them and had these distributed and He fed the thousands who were there with just a few loaves. That could have been the end of the story: a wonder-worker working wonders for His people.

He walks into Jerusalem and He is acclaimed as the Messiah.The throngs were singing His praises. But that same evening, he breaks bread with His disciples, blesses the bread and declares that the bread is His body which will be broken for them, The disciples of course did not believe Him. Just that morning, the crowds would crown Him king and now He is talking about dying? There has to be a good ending to the story: this Jesus we have been following will be king and we will be given prestigious positions in His kingdom.

Indeed, He is handed over to the High Priests who wanted Him broken. He is made to suffer and condemned as a rabble-rousing pretender to the throne of David. And things just went spiraling downward and Jesus was crucified like an ordinary criminal. This is definitely the end of the story. A sad ending indeed and, well, it was good while it lasted. They could just live on with the memories of their happy times with Him.

But three days after, He starts appearing to the women, then to the Twelve, then to many other disciples. All His followers were unbelieving at first. Sure, He said He will rise again but this is just too good to be true. Somebody must have stolen His body. This must be a ghost they were seeing, not a man of flesh and blood. This must be because of their extreme sadness, they had started imagining things. But slowly, they realized that it was true: He is Risen. What a wonderful and totally unexpected ending to the story.

The best part of the story for me is what happens next. He appears to the two disciples on their road to Emmaus. For this couple, they have come to the end of their dalliance with this person Jesus. And He joins them as they are walking dejected and resigned to the fact that the adventure has come to an end. And this is the part I love best. He appears to two ordinary people, no one really special. I am ordinary person but He has come into my life. And by coming into my life, He has made it extraordinary. He joined them while walking on the road. I love it knowing that He walks with me in my journey of life. He came when they were totally broken and dejected. I need Him to be around when I most feel empty and in the dark. He taught them as they were talking about the events of the recent days. I relish the times I spend in prayer talking about my pains and my longings and He makes me understand them. Indeed, I could have been one of those disciples walking the road to Emmaus.

Lord, you will show us the path of life.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:30-32

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