Roots and Sources

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Branches cannot grow and bear fruits unless attached to the trunk of a tree.
Rivers cannot flow to the sea unless they have their source in some mountain springs.
Light cannot illuminate the dark unless an energy source emits it forth.
Rains do not fall upon the earth unless there be clouds to pour them down

Branches are dead without the trunk
And rivers are dry without their springs
And light cannot shine with its energy source
And rains do not come without the clouds

How can man be, unless rooted in the Trunk of Life?
How can man have life’s energy, unless rooted in Eternal life?
How can light come into the lives of men, unless given from above?
How can graces fall upon men, unless these come from an Everlasting Source?

The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.”
John 5:17-30

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My Heart Beats With the Cosmic Pulse

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Spirit Moments

As I gaze at and am amazed by immensity  and the mystery of outer space, I realize I only need to look at my equally mysterious inner space to know and understand the rhyme and the reason of things. My heart’s rhythmic beating is but an echo of the pulse that beats throughout the universe. The stars and the planets are made of the same particles of energy that make up my body. I carry within me a trace of everything that has happened in the universe from the beginning of time. If I can and do look deep enough within me, I will see the primordial big bang and watch the universe in its unfolding. And if I look deeper still, I will see the signature of the author who made all of these events happen.

I came into this world through the love and care of many people. Through my own loving and caring, I have been responsible and instrumental in giving life to many others. If I look deep into these myriad relationships, I get to encounter the origin of all these wonderful relationships. He lives in everyone and everything that came from the Eternal Mind and He has called us to encounter Him in a loving relationship with Him.

The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
“Do you want to be well?”
The sick man answered him,
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.
John 5:1-3,5-9

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Jesuit Influences in My Life

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Over the weekend, it was serendipity that we attended a wedding on Saturday and heard Sunday mass at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Sacramento. It is a Jesuit Parish. Jesuits have played a major role and exerted a tremendous influence in my life and on my family. I had dreams of studying in Jesuit seminary but that was not meant to be and it remains as one of the disappointments in my life. Anabelle and I have spent the majority of our lives working as Jesuit lay collaborators at the Ateneo, where all our sons were all educated and spent their formative years in. Fr. Blanco awakened in me the spirit of a radical, nationalist commitment. Fr. Abe taught me how to flesh out that commitment into effective actions for the poor and the oppressed. Fr. Green started me on a serious quest for a deeper spiritual life. Fr. Ruben provided me and Anabelle with an apostolate that allowed us to help others and at the same time strengthen our own relationship. Then, there are the many Jesuit friends we have and I remember Bro. Tremblay particularly with great fondness and love.

There are three spiritual themes that I have learned from the Jesuits that have stayed with me all these years, giving depth and meaning to my life: the Creation, the Incarnation and the Resurrection.

Creation. God created everything and everything He made was good. It took eons before God saw that the rest of creation was ready for the coming of man. He prepared the stars and the planets for man to gaze upon. He prepared planet earth to be a hospitable dwelling for man. He populated it with all sorts of living things to be with man. And when, in the fulness of time, everything was ready; He made man and put him in charge of all that He had created. God loved us and gave us life and we did nothing to merit this gift of life He gave us.

Incarnation. God looked at what He had made and He saw that it was all good. So good that He decided to enter the world and join His creature – man. One of the major meditations in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is the Meditation of the Incarnation: how God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God, through the Son, took on human flesh and became like one of us. Before that, men caught a glimpse of God through the awesome beauty of creation: in the grandeur of the mountains, in the great expanse of the sea, in the awesome sight of the stars, the sun, the moon and the skies, in the beauty of the fields and the flowers. Now, God reveals Himself in Jesus Christ His Son. Through the Incarnation, we are able to encounter God in the flesh. And Jesus taught us He meets and encounters us through our fellowmen, through the ordinary and routine events in our lives, in the silence and solitude of our hearts. For He is Emmanuel – God with us in our here and now.

Resurrection. And all of this is not random, not transitory, nor is it all but a dream. Christ died like all men do. But He also rose from the dead like he has empowered all men to do. All the joys, all the happiness and all the thrill we have in life will go on forever. Through the Resurrection, Christ allows us to level up in our existence and join Him in His eternity in heaven just as he had join us in our temporality here on earth.

God created time and space to make it possible for us to come into existence. Then, He joined us in that time and space to reveal Himself to us and to show us His plan for us. Finally, He levels us up out of time and space into His eternal moment to be Him forever where there is no more time nor space.

I will praise you, Lord, for you have done marvelous thing for me.

At that time Jesus left Samaria for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.
John 4:43-54

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On My Blindness

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Image

There are many times I am blind and fail to see.
I often get so accustomed to things I fail to see all the beauty around me.
I get so busy with life I fail to stop and smell the wonderful scents in the air.
I am so anxious to get on with my life I fail to hear the lovely melodies that nature sings.
There is beauty in the smallest of the flowers and the tiniest of creatures.
There is beauty in the grandest of the mountains and the biggest of the stars.
There is beauty in the fresh scent of a new morning just born.
There is beauty in the night flowers that perfume the air when day is done.
There is beauty in the ruggedness of nature that lives in the peaks and the ranges.
And I am overwhelmed by beauty in the awesome vastness of outer space as I look at the night skies.

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva
and spread the mud on the man’s eyes,
saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’.
Then he went and washed and came back able to see.
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask,
‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’
Some were saying, ‘It is he.’
Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’
He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’
John 9:1,6-9,

There are times I get so caught up in my insensitivity and self-righteousness,
I am blinded to the goodness all around me.
Somebody does me a good turn out of nowhere
and I try to look for a catch in the kindness.
Or, I fail to say “Thank you” to someone who does me good
because the person has hurt me sometime in the past.
I am given a chance to do good;
instead I refuse to do so, saying the other person does not deserve it.
I see others doing good but I refuse to acknowledge them
because they did not invite me to participate.
And how often I have failed to see the goodness in others
just because they spoke differently or behaved differently of looked different.

Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight.
He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’
Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.”
John 9:13-17

I have been so used to certain things from my childhood that
I can sometimes be blind to the truth that looks new and unfamiliar to me.
I believe in love but can there be truth in the love between a man and another man?
Or between a woman and another woman?
I believe in the abundance there is in nature but how can I miss the fact
that nature is now groaning from man’s excesses.
How can I fail to see that I should take out from nature only that which I need?
I am advanced in years and learning new things now takes more effort than before.
I am so set in my ways yet I am constantly challenged to learn new things
and adopt new perspectives.

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.

Yet, old age does bring me a measure of wisdom.
There are things I see better now and am more appreciative of.
There are things I used to dream of or pray for that did not come about.
And looking back, I am glad and happy they did not happen.
There were things I cried over in bitterness and disappointment.
Now, I realize I am a better and stronger person because of those events.
There are mistakes and blunders that I have regretted for many years.
Now, they turn out to be blessings in disguise.
And the other things I am still hoping for?
I have eternity to look forward to to make them happen with my God.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out,
and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’
Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’
He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him.
John 9:34-38

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Users Manual for Life

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Spirit Moments

It is so easy for men to justify what is evil and vice and pervert these into what is good and virtuous. People know pride is bad but somehow it is made acceptable and even desirable when it is called a healthy self-image or assertiveness. Greed is bad and easily leads into selfishness. But people act greedy and selfish anyway and glorify it as ambition or, mildly, as saving for a rainy day. War is definitely bad but there are people who would wage it in the name of a just war, which in itself is a contradiction in terms. The principle of the preemptive strike has corrupted the Golden Rule and reformulated it thus: “Do unto others before they do unto you.”

Christ knew the human heart because He created it. He saw the pride, the selfishness, the greed and even the anger and hatred in the heart of the Pharisee even as he was praying. He praised the humility and and simple prayer of the tax collector. The former praised himself; the latter praised God. The former asked for nothing for he felt totally self-sufficient; the latter asked for forgiveness and acknowledged his unworthiness.

Life is indeed full of paradoxes and, alas, it did not come with an Instructions Manual nor a User’s Guide. That is why Christ had to come: to show us the Manual of Life through the life that He lived and to give us the Instruction Guide through His words.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced
of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14

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Prayer In my Life

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Spirit Moments

After more than two years of constant effort, my morning prayers and reflections have become an essential part of my daily routine. I cannot even begin to imagine my day without starting it in prayers. And what good has it done me?

In my prayers, I have come to know my God better. Every time I gaze at nature I see the work of His hands. As I witness the passing of the seasons, I see God walking through the land. When I am touched by the love and care of others, I can feel His nurturing love. I often wonder why I am here and the inevitable answer is always that Someone made it happen so. I am not a random accident. I am the result of a loving thought and that thought took flesh in the person I am. Everything about me and around me is gift – undeserved, unmerited, given unconditionally and in total fullness.

In my prayers, I have come to know myself better. I know I am weak and I am often wrong. I have come to know what it means to have been born in sin. I know what is evil and yet I often ending up doing it. But I know I am also loved unconditionally and eternally. I have come to realize that this unconditional gift of love can transform me into a new person. I have felt these changes in me. I have become kinder and gentler. I am more ready to forgive and be compassionate. I more open to love unconditionally, without counting the cost or expecting a reward. Yes, I know I am a better person. Yet, there will still be some who will see the selfish, self-seeking person I have been many times in the past; who will still remember the proud, arrogant and insensitive person I was and sometimes still am. I am more willing to give of my time, talent and treasure but there are still times I find myself holding back on these. It is in prayer, disciplined daily prayer, that I slowly chisel out and whittle away these imperfections.

In prayer, I am made aware I am not alone. There is God who loves me unconditionally, showering me with gifts and blessings untold and often unexpected. There are the persons God has sent into my life to love me and for me to love. There are the many random people I meet everyday, who together make up the communities I am part of and who make my life possible without me even realizing it sometimes. It is a wonderful life.

Lord, let me hear your voice, saying: “If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,  with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-34

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Praying For A Change Of Heart

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Spirit Moments

During moments of grace, and they are aplenty in my life, it is easy to see what is good from what is evil. To love is good. To hate and harbor evil thoughts against others is bad. To care and to share is good. To be selfish and greedy is bad. To be forgiving is good; to be unforgiving is bad. To tell the truth is good. To tell a lie is bad. Fidelity is good. Infidelity is bad.

And yet during moments of sin and weakness, and they are aplenty in my life, I choose to do that which I know to be bad and evil. It takes effort to be good and it seems so effortless to do what is bad and evil. I have to strain and to strive and to struggle to be good. And it seems I only have to be myself to be bad.

This is what Christ came for. He came that we may have life and have it in its fullness. It is not by giving in to our natural desires that we attain the fullness of life but by straining and striving to overcome our natural desirse: not to be first but to be the last; not to rule over but to serve; not wealth, glory or fame but self-denial, service and love. He knows we are weak and are often wrong and are sinners to the core. He will make us strong, forgive us every time we fall and change our lives for the better.

Lord, let me hear your voice today, and let me not harden my heart.

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Luke 11:14-23

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The Mystery of Life

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Spirit Moments

A basic assumption of science is that the world is intelligible and that humans have the capacity to study and understand it. Because of this assumption. men over the centuries have discovered or formulated the laws of nature, like the Pythagorean Theorem or Newton’s Laws of Motion or Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. And our lives are richer and fuller because of these discoveries. But often, scientists and philosophers get stumped by things so random they make no sense or questions for which no answers seem possible. This is the edge of human understanding and men come into the presence of enigma, of mystery, of the ineffable, of the infinite.

This mystical and sacred Presence may be beyond my understanding and yet I encounter it everyday. I know that two and two make four. But there are moments when I have zero and yet my life does not seem empty. I know that what goes up must come down and yet it is in moments of deepest sadness that I come to appreciate the heights of pure and unalloyed joy. I know that in my most elemental components, I am made of the same particles as the desk I am writing on and yet I have a consciousness and awareness of things going on around me and my desk hasn’t.

Yes, the world is intelligible but there are simply things that are beyond my comprehension. These things I may not fully understand. I sense and know them just by being present here and now. Like, I get a sense of the Presence of the Infinite Goodness who has made all of these things come to be.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
Matthew 5:17-19

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Be It Done Unto Me According To Thy Word

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Spirit Moments

There are many things and events in my life – most of them, amazing –  I have no control over: when, where and how I was born, when, where and how I will die, my innate talents and capabilities. There other things I have developed and improved over the years but only because the seeds had already been planted in me: my imagination, my facility with words and expressions, my intelligence, my empathy. There are events in my life that I never really expected but have simply fallen into my lap and am deeply grateful: my family, my career, most of my accomplishments, where I am right now.

Often, I fancy myself to be in control. But the truth is I am not in control. I am presented with options and possibilities which are usually not of my own making. The God of possibilities is in control. I am able to move forward or stay stagnant or even regress depending on my response to such options and possibilities. I have learned that when I rely solely on my own devices, I end up disappointed. But when I put my trust in God, He has never failed me. He has brought me to places and situations too much for me to have accomplished entirely on my own.

Mary was at loss when the angel came to her. But she placed her trust in the inner prodding of the Spirit in her and gave her Fiat in faith and confidence. She knew that she was in good hands. I believe I am also in good hands. I will also put my trust in the inner prodding of the Spirit within me.

Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

The angel said to her, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Luke 1:26-38

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Playing God

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Spirit Moments

Whenever I look at the beauty in nature, I am always filled with awe and wonder. The grandeur and the majesty of the mountains, the serenity and tranquility of the lakes, the colors and abundance of the flowers, the coming and the going of the seasons. There is nothing I can do nor anything I can think of that would improve what is already before me. God made the world and it is good.

I look at myself and often I am humbled by the gifts and talents that I have received. But often, I wish I could play God even for just a while and be able to re-create and improve on the person He has created me to be. How I wished I had a little bit more of musicality. Wished I had more talents at singing and playing musical instruments. How I wished I had been more athletic, how I’d wished i could excel in sports. How I wished I were more agile, more nimble with my hands, more eloquent with my words. God made me and I am good. Like the nature that I enjoy, I have everything I need to live a life that is full and to add to the beauty there is in creation.

Often, I wish I could indeed sometimes play God and be able to re-create and improve the people in my life. I wish for them to be kinder, gentler, more loving, more giving, more in my image and likeness. God also made them and they are good. They do not need to be improved by me. Just because someone does not measure up to my expectations does not mean that that person is without talents or gifts of his own. Just because a person does not say the things I expect to hear does not mean that that person dislikes me or is of low intelligence. And just because someone does not love me the way I expect to be loved does not mean that that person does not love me at all. Everyone has been created good by God and there is nothing I can do to improve him or her.

I see the beauty in nature and it enthralls me to become better. I can choose to see the beauty in others and in myself and we all bask in that beauty to become even more beautiful. I appreciate the goodness there is nature and I learn to use these blessings to make my life better. I can choose to see the goodness in others and in myself and we create a community of goodness that brings out the best in all of us. I feel the love with which nature was created and come into the Presence who made all of this possible and real. I can choose to feel the love with which we were all created and love will brings us all to the fullness of life.

Send forth your light and your fidelity Oh Lord; they shall lead me on and bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place.

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
Luke 4:24-30

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