A Dark Moment

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Spirit Moments

How I miss my younger days when life was easy and uncomplicated.
I had but a handful of options then but I felt I could build a happy life.
And build a happy and meaningful life, I did.
Even when some options did not work,
I always knew there would be others that would open up for me.
Now, I have seen the full flowering of many of those options.
And I have had a full and happy life.
Along the way, things have gotten complicated.
I have tamed a lot of roses and now am responsible for so many things.
I have laid out and done so many things
and now there are so many loose ends to tie up.
And it is the same old story.
One comes to the end and there comes the unraveling of the complications,
the letting go of responsibilities,
the tying up of all the loose ends.
Sadness and fear mark these times.
I would hate major surprises or changes now that I am not as sprightly anymore.
I would not want to fall short in any of my responsibilities now that I am about to go.
I would not want any loose end to remain untied and leave regrets behind.
I know I have to put my trust in God but I feel so alone just now.
Is it possible that I lose in one moment of darkness
what I have spent a lifetime to bring into the light?
Can it happen that all the joys and meaningful moments I made and stored
be dashed in but a singular moment of doubt and depression?

The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

But one of them, Caiaphas,who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
John 11:49-54

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Recurring Themes in My Life

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Spirit Moments

I never really see the fullness of reality. I enjoy a beautiful scene and am overcome by emotions. At the same time, something inside me tells me that this is not all there is to reality. I am catching but a glimpse of the fullness of nature. Life is not easy. It is difficult. At the same time, I am overwhelmed by the constant joys and blessings in my life. Knowing my roots and beginnings, I am at a loss to explain how or why I got to where I am now. If what has happened in my life so far is any indication, I am truly excited about what lies ahead in the future. I believe that the best is yet to come. The beauty and the goodness around me and in my life will not just fade away when I come to the end of my life. I will level up to a higher existence.

This has been the recurring realization in my life: everything is a gift. I have done nothing to deserve what I am enjoying now; and often all of these good things are happening in spite of my weakness, mistakes, inconsistencies and failings. Even in my most difficult moments, all I had to do was to call out for help and help always came, often from the most unexpected places and in the most unexpected manner.

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

Jesus answered them,
“If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.
John 10: 31-42

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Photography and Spirituality

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Spirit Moments

I love dabbling in photography. I love taking photos of nature scenes and of important occasions. I love putting my photos together and weaving a story out of them, or doing a reflective video or photo essay from them. I am thrilled when I come up with a serendipitous shot and I am able to capture more details than I intended to – like a beautiful cloud formation in a panoramic landscape shot or a bird in flight streaking across a scenic sunset.

With developments in technology, man is able to see more than what the naked human eyes can see. With telephoto and zoom lenses, things that are too big or too far to see become visible in magnificent pictures. With macro lenses and electron microscopes, things and creatures that are too tiny to see are made visible in amazing ways to human eyes. With time-lapse photography, the unfolding of life in nature and in the universe is dramatically captured, like the blossoming of leaves and flowers. With high-speed photography, what is too fast for the human eyes to catch can become an wondrous experience to behold, like the flapping of the wings of a bird in flight or a shooting star streaking across the night skies.

There is more to life than can be perceived by our senses. There are sights wonderful to behold that our eyes cannot catch. There are sounds that sing hymns to the universe that our ears cannot even strain to hear. The human tongue can distinguish millions of different tastes and yet we have names for probably less than a hundred of these. There are sensations we feel which we cannot even begin to describe with words. There are many things and persons that touch our lives that we are not even aware of.

And so it is with our experience of the Divine. We fly to the heights of the biggest things and we find Him there. We go deep into the smallest of things and He is there. We find joy in the company of loved ones, only to realize that He made that possible. Often, His presence is so overwhelming I find myself wondering whether this all too good to be true. In faith and in prayer, I affirm it is indeed good and true and oh so beautiful. He promised to be with us and He is.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

So the Jews said to him, “Who do you make yourself out to be?”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;
but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
You do not know him, but I know him.
And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”
So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
John 8:51-59

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The Loving Presence in My Life

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Life is full of wonder and mystery. There is magic in every moment. There is a thrill always waiting just around the bend. I do not recall being asked if I wanted to be born and yet here I am. I had no say in the cast of characters who would come into my life and yet I have been blessed with people who have brought me joys as well as pain; who have brought me to the heights of ecstasy and achievements as well as to the depths of sadness and depression; who have been with me in good times and in bad. For the most part, I did not choose the scenes and the roles I have been a part of and have played. And yet there has always been a certain Loving Presence that assured me it is good for me to be here; there was always an invisible Guiding Hand that always led me to the right place and to the right people at the right moments. I might not have always said the right thing at the right moments to the right persons. But even in my mistakes and miscalls, something good or beautiful or true eventually comes out.

I did not come nor arrive here on my own. I have been sent. I have been brought here. I have never seen the Loving Presence who sent or brought me here. I just see and feel signs of that Presence everywhere and everyday. I have never seen the Guiding Hand that leads me. I just see and feel myself being nudged towards what is good, being inspired by what is beautiful and being guided by what is the truth. Even now I sometimes catch a glimpse of what is in store for me. If the past and the present are any indications, the future is the best that is yet to come.

Glory and praise to God for ever!

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,
‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and now I am here.
I did not come on my own, but he sent me.’
John 8:31-32, 42

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Living With An Angel

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Today is the birthday of Anabelle and I cannot thank the Lord enough for having sent me an angel to love.

I have always treasured relationships and I have always known that man was never meant to be alone. Man is defined as much as by what and who he is deep inside as by the person he becomes because of the people around him. I am not alone. Thanks to Anabelle.

My heart skipped a bit the first time I met her as I realized she was the girl in my recurring dreams when I was young, literally a kid. My heart has not stopped skipping a bit every now and then since that first encounter. We have seen so much of life together. And balancing everything, the good times have far outweighed the bad. Blessings too numerous to count. Graces galore given in full measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing. A family that knows and live what true love is. Friends who inspire and share our ideas, commitments and even material resources.

Oh, it has not all been a bed of roses. Or if it was, there were also thorns aplenty. For life without challenges soon ends up in sofalarity. Life is at times difficult and its lessons too hard for the learning. Often, it seems to be made of sand – try to catch it, it slips through the fingers. If life tries to teach me a lesson through others, I have a tendency to just walk away and say “WTH, I don’t need this.” And I learn nothing. But if life teaches me the same lesson through Anabelle, I cannot and do not walk away; so I eventually learn the lesson – being the good teacher that she is. Even if my angel sometimes play the devil in my life, I end up the richer and the better for the lessons and wisdom I learn.

O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. And my prayer for you today is for graces and blessings upon the angel you have sent to be my lifetime partner.

So Jesus said to them,
‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I am he,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I speak these things as the Father instructed me.
And the one who sent me is with me;
he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’
As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
John 8:28-30

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Living by the Breath of the Spirit

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Evolution is a fact. We only have to look at ourselves to realize we have indeed evolved from animals. Animals prey upon the weak. There are many people who do exactly the same thing, oppressing the weak, the poor and those who have nothing. Animals battle those who are different from them. There are many people who wage wars against those who are different from them, discriminating and persecuting those with a different color, from a different race, or speaking a different language. The strongest and the biggest usually lord it over animals. There are people who keep on lusting for wealth, power and fame to be ahead of the pack and on top of everyone else.

Somewhere along the way, though, a different kind of Spirit was instilled and breathed into men and they transcended their brute animal instincts. Men, to show their strength, learned to care for the weak, the sick and the disadvantaged. Men learned how to wage peace instead of war. Men learned how to use wealth, power and fame to make the world a better place to live in.

Then it became even better. There came a man, filled with the Spirit, who taught that it is in being weak that man becomes strong. It is in being last that someone become first. That it is giving that man receives; it is forgiving that man is forgiven and it is in dying that man is born into eternal life. Over and above justice, he preached mercy and compassion. Over and above getting what is due to one’s self, He proclaimed a commandment of love and generosity. Over and above living just for one’s self, He showed how to live our lives in the service of others.

He condemns no one who acknowledges Him and He welcomes everyone who would proclaim His name.

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.

So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
John 8:1-11

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Life Is What Life Is All About

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Spirit Moments

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Deep within the human heart is the undying belief is that life is stronger than death. Death is very frightening. It speaks of a finality that life has come to an end. Life, for all its troubles and tribulations, is a gift to be truly cherished and even clung to even when this would take heroic efforts. At the same time, there is a strong intimation in every human being that life is the greatest value and event in the whole universe; that, in spite of the evanescence of everything, man’s life transcends all this transitoriness.

Even nature proclaims this permanence of life. Winter has come to an end and the bare branches of trees are beginning to put out their green leaves again. Flowers that have been asleep during the cold winter months are putting out their beautiful colors. Birds and beasts that have been quiet and hidden during the dark winter days are coming back to be alive again.

It took billions of years. But from a single simple particle of dense energy, the whole cosmos has been moving and growing and changing all this time to finally enable life to finally come forth. Remove the time. Remove the space. And there is only the Creator speaking the Word to let things be and things come into being. I do not believe He meant to create just inanimate rocks or even just blazing stars. Life was what he set out to create – the life that is in me and in every living creature.

It may sound like a tautology but life is what life is all about. As we come to the end of Lent into the glory of Easter, I think of the life that I have received as a gift from my Creator and how this lift of life is brought up to an even greater fullness by my Redeemer and how even today I am guided on how to live this life by His Spirit. I may be just a speck in the universe but I am the apex to the creation and its evolution from the big bang to my life today. I cannot move the stars to form galaxies but I can put stars into the live of people around me. I may not be able to coax life out of inanimate rocks and dust but I can inject life and energy in people I love and care for. I cannot create the colors of nature and the environment but I can bring color into the lives of those I come in contact with. I cannot create a living world out of a rocky planet but I can create a small paradise in the corner of the earth where live.

In gratitude and humility, I will cherish and relish the gift of life I have been given.

I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”
Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe
that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
John 11:20-27

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The Human Spirit Is a Spark of the Divine

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Man usually thinks and reasons with his mind and he feels with his heart. And with his thoughts and his emotions, he then decides what to do. But sometimes, he decides what to do and then finds the reasons for his actions and marshals his emotions to be passionate for his actions.

With reason and passion, man can set himself out to do just about anything. There are many stories of people being told something cannot be done. But with the power of ideas and emotions, men have time and again proved that the impossible is possible. And without thoughts and emotions, without reason and passion, even the easiest of tasks become impossible.

It is not everyone’s story but there are many who have been declared as basket cases but have risen up to excel; who have been given up for dead but have survived; who have started out in life dirt poor but have thrived; who have been given up for hopeless but have flourished to confound the naysayers.

There is no putting a limit to what the human spirit can do and accomplish. What man can conceive, he can achieve. What man is passionate about, he can bring about. This indomitable bundle of ideas and passion that is man is not just the simple mechanical result to nature’s processes. Somewhere along the way, there must be a God who created things out of nothing and who put a spark of His divinity in the human spirit so that men too can make out something when there seems to be nothing.

O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
“This is truly the Prophet.”
Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.
John 7:40-52

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How Do I Begin To Love?

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Spirit Moments

The beginning of all knowledge and wisdom is to know one’s self.
Who and what am I?
Why am I here and where am I going?
What am  I good at and how can I develop and use my talents?
Shall I utilize my talents just for myself or in the service of others?
Life without thought and reflection is to live purely by instincts.
Yet, thoughts without life or actions is to wallow in mediocrity.

The beginning of genuine love is to love one’s self.
Love is the gift of self to another.
To be able to give the other something worth giving,
I must ensure that the person that I am
Is indeed worth giving to others as a present.
It is easy to give away money and possessions to others.
Or even to give them my time and my talents.
But the true and only present worth giving in a love relationship
Is the gift of one’s self.

Knowledge is not easy to acquire. It requires a struggle.
“Knowledge makes a bloody entrance.” a wise man once said.
Learning is a painful passage from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.
The gift of self is not easy to do. I need to fashion myself into someone worth giving away.
I need to be broken and re-made into someone I can proudly share with others.
I need to break my self-centeredness and selfishness to see and love the others.
I need to break my pride and arrogance to be tender and gentle towards others.
My heart needs to be broken to fashion it into a shape that can mesh with other hearts.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.
John 7:25-30

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In our Uniqueness, We Catch a Glimpse of the Infinite

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Yesterday was the VIP Day an St. Clare School. Jonathan chose his Uncle Mickey to be his VIP this year and Jane chose her Lola. It was touching experience watching them in their school environment. Looking at them, you would not miss the fact that they are brother and sister for they look so alike. Yet, they are so different from each other in a very nuanced manner. As Jonathan stood in front of his class making his presentation; I could see he is a very serious and intense student, intent on making good at what he is doing. As I watched Jane interact with her classmates while doing their school work together at theirs desks; I could see her playfulness and friendliness, intent on having fun while learning.

There is a world of similarities that bind all of us together and yet we are all unique in very subtle and nuanced manner. We all need food to keep us alive. We all need clothing to keep us warm and comfortable. We all need a roof over our heads to protect us from the elements. We all share in the goodness that is the source of our common humanity. And yet we do good each in our own way. The goodness of God, from whom we came, is so vast and infinite that it will require billions of us to fully express this goodness and still be wanting. We all carry a spark of the Truth that is God, each in our own small way. The truth that comes from God is so immense it will take billions of us to fully express and there would still be more to proclaim. The beauty that gives color and joy to our lives is so endless and unending; it needs a continuous procession of humans for us to fully give it form or to declare it for all to see and appreciate.

In our uniqueness, we are but sparks or grains of the Infinite Goodness and the Eternal Truth and the Endless Beauty that bind us all together.

Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.”
John 5:31-36

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