Through the Small and Narrow Gate

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Spirit Moments

“Money is the root of all evil.” This statement seems to be a trite and tired saying by now. And when one sees what money can buy today, the statement sounds to be that of a loser. Indeed, often in today’s materialistic world, when money talks everybody listens.

In this sea of affluence and often uncaring, there is voice of one crying in the wilderness. He has criticized the “cult of money” and the greed that he sees driving the world financial system. He has repeatedly returned to the euro crisis and the suffering it has caused in Greece and the Catholic countries of Southern Europe. Recently, he said “We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.”

Pope Francis is bringing back the Spirit and original message of the Gospel. He has shed the trappings of power and wealth and has taken on the mantle of simplicity and humility. He has chucked the language of triumphalism and infallible authority and has spoken to us about the poor and those on the edges of society. He has challenged all of us to care for the poor and look after those on the fringes of society.

Does that mean that the rich and wealthy will be excluded from the Kingdom of God and only the poor and the lowly will be allowed in? Those with exclusivistic thinking would believe so. But all are welcome here. Everyone and anyone who wants to accept the invitation and follow the call will have to pass through the small and narrow gate. But isn’t that going to be impossible? Here is the Good News, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:17-27

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The Holy Trinity in My Life

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Spirit Moments

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I wake up every morning, always grateful for yet another day in my life. I have seen so much beauty in life, have received so many blessings and have had experiences so fantastic I did not even dare dream them in my wildest imaginings. Nature and her awesome grandeur always thrill me with endless colors and sights. People have show me love and care beyond what I deserve. It wonderful to be alive and I always start my day with a prayerful ‘Thank You’. It is God the Father, speaking to me in my life at the break of each new day. He is the source of all life, beauty and goodness in my world.

Yet, life is not easy. It is full of challenges. It is filled with difficulties, pains and sorrows. There have been moments I had wanted to give and even more moments when I have asked ‘Why?’ in my despair and desolation. I have seen a lot of misery and injustice, inflicted on me and on others by other people, sometimes by those I love and respect. There is hunger and violence and I often wonder what it is in men that would have them do these things to one another. There is Someone who had gone through these same things and even worse. He has transformed these sorrows and pain into grace and growth. It is Christ, the Son, speaking to me in the events in my life. He has taken on the weaknesses and ills that I experience as a human being and have shown me how these can lead me to share in his divinity.

I experience moments in my life when I can feel a certain Presence – divine and loving. I know I am weak, I am often wrong and I have done many things I should not have done. I know my life should have been a mess. And yet, there is always a hand that lovingly guides me to where I should go and to what I should do. When I stray, the hand gently leads me back to the right paths. The sorrows and shadows of the valleys and the depths in my life make sense and even look necessary when I get to the glory of the mountain top and peak moments in my life. This is the Spirit speaking to me in the ups and downs of my life. He is the abiding Presence in my life, assuring me of meaning and grace and blessings coming from him, the Father and the Son.

Since the times of the early Christians, this have been our prayer and greeting to one another: ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all I make it my special prayer today as the Church celebrates the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Jesus said, ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’
John 16:12-15

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Bless Our Children

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Spirit Moments

I have always loved children and I have always loved it that children seem to take to me so naturally. I love the freshness and hope that they bring. Nothing is sweeter than a baby’s breath and nothing can be softer than a baby’s touch. I love children’s pristine innocence and their endless sense of wonder. I love to hear children’s laughter for I am affirmed that things do work out well in the end. And when they cry, it is not out of bitterness or regret or anger or disappointment. Their cries are often calls for attention or even an invitation to a relationship and intimacy or a cry for help and comfort. I am the link to may people in my life now to the past. The children in my life are my link to the future. Through me, they get a glimpse at the past. And through them, I get to see and be part of the future.

It often takes so little to make children happy. Adults, often driven by guilt for not doing enough for their children, would often spoil them with material things when all they want is time and presence. And as adults, we often realize it is not material things that make us truly happy but the presence of our children in our lives and the time we spend with them.

People were bringing little children to Jesus in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16

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We Are Family

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Families have always been the bedrock of societies. Strong and happy families make for a strong and happy nation. It is always inspiring to see a man leaving his father and mother and taking for himself a wife. I am a pushover for mushy sayings like “A son is a son until he marries his wife. A daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life.” My fondest memories are of and with my family. Many still swear, specially in their older years, that their families are more important than their jobs or careers.

And yet families are today buffeted from all sides. Families have become more fragile with divorces among married couples often outnumbering those that choose to stay together. The number of single person households is increasing. Then, there is the issue of same sex marriage. Slowly yet surely, same sex marriages are becoming acceptable and legal in more and more countries.

I sometimes wonder if marriage and family are one and the same. I have seen people living together as a loving family without being married. Religious communities are families without marriages. I have been part of extended families without being married in any of them. We have a community of committed couples, seriously committed to and working hard to make their marriages work, and I consider these friends my families as well.

The times, they are a-changing. And with them, the mores and even the morals. We still need a man and a woman to bring forth new life. At the same time, I believe that same sex partnerships can also be nurturing of the warm and loving relationship that is the family. What men should not lose sight of is that God calls us together into communion and unity as in a family and not to lives separate lives. We call him Our Father for we are indeed his family.

I join the millions praying for love, joy and peace to reign among our families. I pray for strength and courage for parents, mothers and fathers, that they may overcome the challenges of married life and parenting and choose to always stay instead of walking away. I pray for grace and wisdom for children that they may see the love ans often the sacrifices of their parents in raising them up. I pray to communities to come to the help of families that are in need of love and support to keep them going through hard and difficult times.

‘From the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’
Mark 10:1-12

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In My Small Way

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Spirit Moments

There is great force and tremendous power behind small and ordinary things. A cup of water can mean life or death to a thirsty person. A grain of salt can make the great difference between an insipid dish and a tasty one. A mustard seed carries within it the potential of a luxuriant and fruitful shady tree. And when Christ proclaimed the Kingdom of God, he called not the rich and powerful. They probably would not have listened, believing they knew better that this lowly son of a carpenter. Instead, he called small and ordinary fishermen, the poor and lowly. And they left everything they had, which was not much to begin with, and followed him.

It would seem that those who heeded the call and followed Jesus did not have much to lose in the first place by doing so. The rich and the powerful would have been risking a lot if they did. Specially when Jesus challenged them to sell everything that they had and give it to the poor. We can be encumbered by what we possess and fail to hear the call. We may even be blinded by who we are refuse to heed the invitation.

With the small and the ordinary, I am down to the bare essentials. In this bareness, can I still see beauty, truth and goodness? Or do I need bells and whistles, tinsels and laces before I acknowledge that which is beautiful, good and true? Deep inside me, I know the truth. I only need to look at myself to see goodness. And there is great beauty in my everyday life.

I loved and learned a lot from this song of Michael Jackson:
           Maybe you and I can’t do great things
          We may not change the world in one day
          But we still can change some things today
          In our small way
I recently came across a news item that reported the US deficit has surprisingly gone down – no thanks to any great policy or intervention by big government nor any spectacular economic performance from big business. It was mainly due to small and ordinary folks working harder and longer, spending less and living simpler lifestyles, coping with cutbacks and sequesters that have diminished the small and ordinary benefits and services they have been used to.
I don’t do great things these day. I do small and ordinary things everyday. I drive Jane and Jonathan to school every day. Will this change the world? I do not know; but it does make a difference in the lives of Jane and Jonathan. I spend the first moments of every new day in silence and prayer? Will this change the world? Or, would it even change me? I do not know; but I join many who acknowledge and affirm that there is a Presence greater than all of us, looking after and caring for everything that is.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘

‘Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
Mark 9:41-50

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The Spirit is Alive in the Valley

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Spirit Moments

It is sad how religion is often perverted to become a force for division and subtraction rather than an influence for addition and multiplication. It is sadder still that so many wars are waged and acts of violence are committed in the name of religion. And even sadder that men of religion can be the most intolerant, most unforgiving and the most bigoted people on earth.

The Christian message has always been all-inclusive. Jesus welcomed all with his call: “Come!” All are welcome here, specially the poor, the marginalized and those who are often excluded from most meaningful human endeavors. Even secular thinkers realize that economic growth that is not inclusive is bound to fail. This realization is deeply rooted in the Christian message of love.

After two thousand years, one would have expected that by now we should have already learned how to live in love, in peace and in harmony. But our wars and conflicts are only becoming more lethal and more destructive. Just wars are acceptable and collateral damages among the innocents are justified. Has Christ and Christianity failed? GK Chesterton once said: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”

I live in the Silicon Valley where I see people of different cultures, from different origins and backgrounds, sharing each others language, cuisine and celebrations. People so different from one another come together to work in harmony, peace and with great productivity and creativity. The Spirit is alive in the Valley.

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Mark 9:38-40

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To be a Child

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Spirit Moments

To be a child is to wake up in the morning, unencumbered by the past and with a future full of limitless possibilities.

To be a child is to see the world with eyes of wonder, wishing for explanations or reasons yet open to mystery and to the unseen and the irrational.

To be a child is to see kindness in every human encounter and not to look for a catch or hidden agenda behind such kindness.

To be a child is to sing in great abandon about every joy and not to dwell on tears and disappointments.

To be a child is to see universe in a grain of sand and to feel all of humanity in a mother’s tight and warm embrace.

To be a child is to fully relish the present moment and, at the end of the day, not to wish for tomorrow to come sooner.

To be a child is not to care and yet live every moment enveloped in love.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
Mk 9:30-37

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Prayer’s Power to Heal

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Spirit Moments

I am thinking now of a dear friend who is a doctor. He is a successful practitioner, steeped in the science of medicine. But he also acknowledges that in his practice there is often a lot of healing that occurs that his science cannot account for. Several times he has told me that he is stumped by his poor patients, who because they cannot afford would buy and take only half of the medicine he prescribes them and yet they would get healed. This has deepened his faith and he believes God is helping him take care of his patients. Often, before a consultation session with his patients, he would pray with them first.

One day, he was himself diagnosed with cancer. Being a doctor, he knew the prognosis of his disease and he knew the survival rates for his condition. He went into deep prayer and his cancer went into remission. I have lost track of him over the years. How I would want to get together with him once more. But he has taught me something about prayer and its power to heal. Today, I say a special prayer for my friend Manny Canlas, MD.

Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering,rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you:come out of him and never enter him again!”
Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!”But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
Mk 9:14-29

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Pentecost at the San Jose Color Run

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Spirit Moments

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Yesterday, Anabelle and I together with Mickey and his friends joined the 5K Color Run here in San Jose. It was a fun event. We had a great time and we got a healthy dose of exercise to boot. The whole time that we were enjoying the event, I was thinking that this was pretty close to a Pentecost experience. People came from all walks of life. The crowd was a wonderful mélange of different cultures, languages, races, religions and even cuisine. They came in all ages, shapes and sizes. The youngest I saw was a little boy of about two years running with the rest of his family. There was a liberal sprinkling of seniors like us. And then there were the hordes of people from kids to teens to young adults to adults. There the slim and the obese, the healthy and the wheel chair bound. All these differences, however, disappeared after we all got the color bombed and everyone was covered with the same colorful shower of pink, yellow, green, orange, blue and purple powders. And there was just this one big motley multicolored crowd having a good time.

Many came just for the fun. I am sure that not too many were aware they were helping raise funds for the American Diabetes Association. But something wonderful always happen when people get together. When a man and a woman get together and the Spirit of Love descends upon them, another beautiful love story is begun. When a father and a mother and their children come together for a meal or to do some activities together, the Spirit of Love dwells with them and another set of lifetime memories are created for and in a family. When neighbors come together to accomplish some projects or to solve a common problem and the Spirit of Love abides in them, they become a nurturing community. The world, beyond its troubles and turmoil, can become a heaven-like place when we allow the Spirit to kindle in our hearts the fire of his love.

Man was never meant to be alone. We have been made to be with others in the world. We deny and destroy our true humanity when we refuse to see this truth. For anger and hatred are nothing more than refusing to affirm the life and the goodness in others. And selfishness and greed and envy are nothing more than taking away the life and goodness in others or denying them these. Pentecost opens our eyes to this truth and, seeing this truth, we can become as one in the Spirit of Love.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Acts 2:1-11

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Love Comes from Our Uniqueness and Differences

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Spirit Moments

One of the strengths and important technology of modern corporations is their capacity for mass production. Imagine Apple churning out millions of i Phones from factories all over the world or Toyota rolling out millions of cars out of its assembly lines. Each phone and each car is exactly the same as the others, except perhaps for the color and sometimes the shape and the size. Any phone or car that is different from the rest is usually rejected as defective or not up to standards.

It is not so with people. We may look the same, have the same color, shape and size. But no two human beings are ever alike. Each one of us has his own unique, one-of-a-kind story. And no story is ever so simple. Each one takes a life time to tell and each one is worth listening to. It is this uniqueness that enables me to love. If who I am is unique, therefore it is precious and valuable. It is worth sharing and giving to another person. If we were all the same, then there is nothing of worth that I can give another that he does not already have. It is our differences that makes the giving worthwhile and love possible.

And yet deep within all of us, there is the common thread of humanity that binds us all. It is this humanity that God shared with us when he became a man in Jesus. Each man is unique and each one of us has his own story to tell. Yet, there are experiences and patterns we all share together. There is pain and suffering; and Jesus has shown us the way how to handle these. They are for our growth and perfection. There is joy and happiness; and Jesus has shown us the truth that the best is yet to come and he can make our joy and happiness complete. These are but a foretaste of what he has in store for us. We all eventually die; and Jesus has said that those who believe in him will never die but will enjoy life everlasting.

Life is beautiful. There are wonderful stories to be told. I will share this beauty and my stories with others.

This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
John 21:20-25

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