Facebook And the Afterlife

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Spirit Moments

My thoughts are still with the victims of the Boston bombing. I am touched by the outpouring of care and sympathy I see on Facebook. I am once more reminded too of how fragile and fleeting life can be.

I often think about eternal life these days. Maybe because I am fast advancing in years. Maybe because the God I pray to talks a lot about eternal life and the resurrection. Sometimes my thoughts stray to the possibility that there is no life after death. I can live with that thought. I was blissfully happy in my unknowing and non-existence before I was born; I will be equally happy in my unknowing and non-existence after I die.

But I have placed my bet on life going on even after death. I am intrigued and spend time thinking what life after death might be. Is it anything like the presences I experience with my Facebook friends. I love Facebook because it puts me in touch with many people I care about and love, people whose presence in my live I value. I get to know what they are about these days. I have the opportunity to greet them on special occasions, complete with reminders and suggestions. There are even friends who have passed away but who are still somehow present to me through their Facebook pages. People still comment or like their postings from the past. There are those whose pages have been taken over by their immediate loved ones and still have current postings.

Is heaven or the afterlife anything like a Facebook experience? I am present to others and they are present to me in some sort of disembodied way? That after my physical body is gone, friends and family can still encounter me through my presence in virtual space. In the afterlife, will there be something similar to Facebook so that I can still experience the presence of those I left in this mortal life? Or will I start meeting and making new friends in the afterlife? Will I finally meet all the famous people who have inspired me in life but never had the chance to meet? How will my consciousness remain when the body that hosts is gone?

In deep prayer, after I have closed my eyes and shut out all the noise, what ever remains in a foretaste of what the afterlife is. If I see nothing but the darkness and the silence, that is probably what is in store for me in the afterlife. If, in the silence and the darkness, my mind and my heart starts flooding with all the wonderful memories and lovely people who have come into my life, I shall have has a foretaste of eternal life.

Lord, please be there at the end of my earthly journey.

‘This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’
John 6:35-40

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Praying For Boston

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Spirit Moments
My heart and my prayers go out to the victims of the Boston bombings and to their families and loved ones. Another unspeakable horror. Another instance where I can only cry out in anguished bewilderment “Why?”
Why is there so much anger in this world people would intentionally do harm to their fellow men? What hurt or even belief can possibly justify the killing of other people, innocent ones at that? What perversion of the human mind can bring satisfaction to one who would maim others or even snuff out their lives? What drives people to keep on escalating this cycle of senseless violence?
I still believe in goodness and that it will eventually triumph over evil. But events like the Boston bombings and many others like it leave me numbed and unbelieving that there are people capable of doing this. There seems to be no answer to my anguished ‘Why’. I feel so outraged but at the same time so helpless as there is nothing I can do. I can only nurse my pain in silence, speechless. I resolve that I shall not be part of the cycle of hatred and violence. I shall never do anything to hurt or harm others.
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
John 6:30-35
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“What oft was thought but ne’er so well expressed.”

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Spirit Moments

I have always loved quotations and sayings that inspire, that strike a chord of something deep within me. Alexander Pope once wrote: “What oft was thought but ne’er so well expressed.” In my younger years, such quotations were often hard to come by I could memorize all my favorite quotes, most of them from the Bible. Later on, I had a collection of such quotations saved in some printed form and which I would liberally use and refer to in my writings, in the papers I wrote, for the memos I issued, in the various article I made, as slogans or mottoes for projects or campaigns I managed. Today, there is such an avalanche of such quotations everyday – specially on Facebook – I am inundated and I get a quotations overload. Many are truly inspiring. Others are very inane and banal. Still others are self-serving or reeking with cynicism and sarcasm.

I guess this phenomenon is a universal human experience. It is an attempt to give voice and expression to something deep within us. I for one would want to see what and why and  how there is something more to life than what my senses can perceive. I realize when I go over my life how I have missed important cues in my past, how these cues could have led to some life-changing decisions. And I could only say: “Oh well, I wish I had been wiser or more sensitive then.” The right quotation at the right moment might have made me see what I missed the first time. Oh well. I have no regrets though for there is nothing major in my life today that I would change even if I had the possibility to do so.

This love for and resonating with inspiring quotations is part of my quest for meaning. It is a spiritual longing that seeks for an answer. It is a thirst and a hunger for food that does not perish. It is like a seed yearning to grow, live and endure for eternal life. It is the Word wanting to be incarnated in my life.

Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’
John 6:22-29

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It Ain’t Over Until the Fat Lady Sings

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Spirit Moments

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“It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” This colloquialism cautions against assuming that the current state of an event is irreversible or that it is clear how or when the event will end. I have been five years into retirement and well nigh into my twilight years. Yet, I still wake up each morning filled with hope and excitement about the prospects of the new day. I always feel that the best day of my life is yet to happen. I have no inkling how all of this is going to end. I sometimes wonder where this sense of excited expectation comes from. It helps that I spend a few moments of silence and prayer at the start of each day.

For example, I read that the world started with one big bang in the beginning – one cataclysmic explosion that kept burning intensely. Out of the cinders and ashes of that explosion came the awesome galaxies that light up our skies and eventually the beautiful world in which we live in. It all started with one infinite point of light and that light exploded into reality as we see it today. And the explosions have not stopped. There is always something new happening in the universe.

Here one earth, the early times were also moments of tremendous explosions and chaos. From out of the chaos, came the debris and dust from which eventually were formed the mountains, the seas, the land and air. And when things got settled down, life emerged in its prodigal profusion: plants, trees, insects, birds, beasts and, at the perfect time, man himself. The bounty of the earth renews itself for from out of the detritus of anything that dies or is destroyed comes new life and even new lifeforms. Seeds die and new plants grow. Winter comes and eventually nature rises anew in spring. It is an endless cycle of life and living.

Closer to home, I do not know of any compelling reason why I should have come to be but I am here. For that alone, I am grateful. It has been a happy and beautiful life. There have also been many moments of pain and sorrow, of disappointment and anxiety. A life that is every moment happy would probably become very boring eventually. How many times have I come to realize that life is sweeter because of the bitter moments I had to go through? How many times have I discovered new kinds of happy because I had to go through new kinds of sad? And how many times have I learned that the hard bricks of disappointments and anxiety are the building blocks for the towers of joy that I have built? Every day brings me something new. Even the familiar has an unfamiliar tinge to it when seen in this light.

Peter was devastated when he realized how Jesus knew he would betray him when he needed him most. He could have gone and hanged himself like Judas. And so could have all the rest of the apostles. The crucifixion was the bitter end to their quixotic adventure. But the best was yet to come. Jesus came back and, out of their fear and hopelessness, he gave them a new life. With their new found faith and courage, the apostles and the disciples set out to change the world.

So, I encounter this presence in my life every morning. In silence and prayer, I learn that the Spirit leads me on and bids me: “Follow me.” I follow in faith and with courage, with trust and confidence. It is going to be a great day.

He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
John 21:15-19

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“It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid.”

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Spirit Moments

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This prayer is attributed to the famous English admiral Sir Francis Drake. Early in his career, he started out as a pirate and was involved in the illicit slave trade. He was famous for having circumnavigated the globe in 1577-1578, helped defeat the Spanish Armada and was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan era. It is amazing how in recent times, this prayer has been popularized by Bishop Desmond Tutu, himself famous fo his fight against modern-day ‘slavery’.

There is no putting limits to what the human spirit can do and accomplish. Sure, life is not easy. It is difficult and fraught with dangers and disappointments. There is a lot of uncertainty and, with it, panic and fear. We long for a safe harbor but we will never find out what lies out there if we are forever anchored in some safe haven. Risk is inherent in human nature, with some being more daring than others. One gets bolder and is willing to risk more when one is aware of a presence that assures him: “It is I; do not be afraid.”

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
John 6:16-21

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Abundance!

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Spirit Moments

The world is so bountiful there is enough food in all the world to forever banish hunger. Yet, there is still a lot of hunger in the world today.  The world has more than enough resources to banish poverty forever. Yet, there are still a lot of poor people in the world today. If everyone in the world were to aspire for the level of need and consumption of the US, there will indeed be not enough food to feed everyone nor enough resources to draw people out of their neediness. There are many who aspire for the American dream. And there are also many who see America as the reason for many of the world’s ills.

It is not physical hunger that drives people to keep more food than they need and deny this to others. It is the selfish, unquenchable hunger in the human heart. It is not material poverty that drive people to hoard more resources than they need. It is the poverty of spirit that afflicts those who would keep for themselves more than what they need. Why would some people need to own billions of dollars when billions barely get by on two dollars a day? Why would some people splurge in one night of fun and revelry what would be enough to feed a family elsewhere for one year? Why would some people bedeck themselves in such luxury and opulence while there are people who could barely keep body and soul together?

In some remote mountain, thousands went to hear Jesus teach for days on end. In the end, they must have been hungry. Miraculously, he fed them with a few loaves of bread. The greater miracle was that the people shared willingly whatever they had. True to their nomadic roots, the people who followed Jesus must have brought provisions for their journey. After hearing him speak of the bread that would fill their insatiable hunger and the drink that would slake their unquenchable thirst, they were more than willing to share whatever they had with others, having experienced a change of heart through their encounter with Jesus.

One of the things that I have truly learned during our hikes is the great abundance and prodigiousness there is in nature. There is enough for everybody and more. We just have to learn how to share.

Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!”
John 6:1-15

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Evolution Is For Real

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Evolution is for real. Even now human beings are still evolving. In a recent news item, researchers found a genetic push toward younger age at first reproduction and larger families. In yet another study, there were indications that the human skull has been shrinking over the last 5,000 years. From the vantage point of some million years, it is amazing to see how inanimate organic matter, churned by tidal waves in the some primordial seas, clumped together to become the first living cells. These first single-cell organisms eventually evolved into more complex ones giving rise to all the living things we see around us. Tress, plants, animals, fish, birds, men.

Even more amazing is how these living things replicate and reproduce themselves. All of this is done through cell reproduction. A cell simply makes a copy of itself. Does this cycle of life give us a glimpse of our source? A cell, gathers materials from around its environment, and gives life to another cell just like itself. A man gives his seeds to a woman to start a new life. And the mother carries another life in her womb for nine months and brings forth a child, whom she will nurse from her own body until the child is able to eat on his own. All these seem to be the natural workings of the principles of Biology. But I am always amaze at how a cell knows what materials to gather and which one to reject in the process of mitosis. Blind and unknowing, the cell knows what is good for itself and is able to bring forth new life.

Even more amazing and full of wonder and emotions are the processes of meiosis and human reproduction. Conscious and aware, a man and a woman do not just get together to bring forth a new life. They first establish a bond of affection, which solidifies into a committed relationship, and literally give flesh to that relationship by uniting their bodies and spirits in the act of love. Giving one to each other, they bring forth a new life, which is the source of great joy and happiness for them.

Did man look at this marvelous phenomenon and wondered if this is the same phenomenon is the primordial source of his being? Like creating a god in his own image? Or did the Source of man leave His imprint in all that he has created that man realizes he was made in the image and likeness of his Source and Creator and called him God? God, being the pure energy of love, generates he Son. Father and Son, in the most perfect love relationship, generating the Spirit.

Evolution is for real. It is like a string that leads us back directly to my Source and Creator.

He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.
John 3:31-36

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Faith is a Gift and a Choice

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Spirit Moments

To see is to believe. There are times when I hear about things so outrageous or so out of the range of my experience, I would often say, like Thomas, that unless I see it with my own eyes, I will not believe it. With the cynicism and jadedness I have developed over the years, I would often find myself looking for a catch in unexpected kindness or look for a hidden agenda in what other people do. When it is too good to be true, it is probably not true. This is the conventional wisdom of the world. “Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.” is always a good advice.

Yet, there is this nagging feeling within me that says there is more to life than what I can perceive with my eyes and with my senses, that “with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.” I see it everyday in the lives of ordinary people: in the bravery and courage of those supposedly weak, in the kindness and generosity of those who are poor, in the wisdom and counsel of those who are supposedly ignorant and unknowing. When I believe in people, I see the essential goodness in them, their willingness to give and help, their ability to turn disappointments into joys. When I believe what my senses cannot see; I see beauty where before there was only drab scenery, I see events, which are not to my expectations, as setting stages for some other happenings that would blow my mind away. Indeed, To believe is to see.

Faith is both a gift and a choice. God sends forth the seeds of believing like the light he scatters about in the universe. He makes the spirit of faith to blow across all creation. He issues forth a call, an invitation to a relationship where the visible meets the invisible, the physical meets the spiritual and the divine meets that which is human. It is a gift to me for the taking. I have to decide whether to accept this gift. Will I go through life believing only what I see with my senses and forever live in darkness? Or, will I believe and see things in the light of faith and see things that otherwise would be missed by my senses? I have responded to the call and I have chosen to believe.

And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.
John 3:16-21

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Parallel Realities

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Scientists believe that parallel universes exist and are for real. I believe that reality exists in several layers, in parallel to one another. E=MC2 is the truth because it describes reality. It describes the relationship between matter and energy, how matter packs in energy in proportion to the speed of light, how energy permeates the whole universe – very much like the light diffusing through space. The Lord is Risen and dwells among us is also the truth because to describes reality. It describes the continuing presence of the Risen Christ in our lives and how his grace suffuses and permeates all of us and everything we do.

Scientists, driven by their understanding of reality, have created so many marvels of technology that have made our lives betters, easier, safer and happier. Holy men and women, inspired by their understanding of the words and spirit of Christ, have changed lives and events that have made people better, healthier, braver and happier.

These different layers of reality are not in contradiction to each other; although there are those who would see science to be totally incompatible with faith. It is like the blind men touching only a part of the elephant and declaring the animal to be a wall or a rope or a post or fan. But reality is one and our different perceptions of its many layers eventually come together. Science talks about convergence and singularity. Faith talks about a new heaven and a new earth.

Jesus said, ‘Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’
John 3:7-15

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A Cup Running Over Kind of Birthday

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Spirit Moments

I have been favored in my life by one with whom the Lord is present and today is her birthday. A good friend once told me that I can’t really start counting my blessings unless I start with Anabelle.  She spoke the truth and when I do count my blessings and start with Anabelle, I realize that my cup runneth over – with love, with blessings, with joys. I thank the Lord for this particular day for it was on this day that she came into the world, eventually to join up with mine.

When God formed me in my mother’s womb, he must have already announced then that most of my life will be spent with Anabelle. I must have been perplexed then, wondering how this would come to be for I knew no such wonderful lady. Then I totally forgot about that promise as I suffered the trauma of birth. But in his time, things began to unfold and everything fell into place and came to be fulfilled. There were many things I did not plan for in my life. I did not plan to go to San Carlos to study but that is where I was led. I did not plan to teach at Xavier School but that is where I found myself. It was there that my new boss introduced me to Anabelle – such a fortuitous confluence of events, a perfect alignment of the stars and the planets. And ever since, things have been unfolding in such an amazing way, way beyond my expectations and fondest hopes and dreams.

I do become mushy and romantic and even superstitious when I think of all that has happened in my life. But there has been so much grace and blessings and happiness in my life that ordinary language cannot quite capture nor give voice to the reality I am living. I have learned science and management and marketing and health care. But none of this knowledge or intellectual discipline provide me with the language or symbolism of what has happened and is happening in the deepest parts of me. It is my spirituality and my continuing awareness of a great Presence in my life that have enabled me to express and get in touch with my innermost being. It is world populated by angels, grace, presence, an encounter with the invisible but palpable realities, a serendipity where everything happens for a reason, presents and blessings unexpected and unmerited – pressed down, shaken, and running over.

I thank God for this day. I thank God for Anabelle’s birthday. I thank God for her presence in my life. Through her, I am more aware that God is with me, with us.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be
Luke 1:26-38

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