Spirit Moments | From minutes to moments . . . .

Biases Bring Out the Worst In Me

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Prejudices and biases die hard and often hardly die. Many of the problems and conflicts we see around us are due to many preconceived notions people have of one another. The Holocaust was brought about by intense and deep seated antisemitism. Even today, conflicts in the Middle East are due biases among sects of the same religion; internecine wars in Africa are due to long-held tribal prejudices. Immigrants are not welcome in many places because of biases and prejudices; and yet man’s history has been one of constant movement of people. Gays have always been prejudiced against because of a narrow or even lack of understanding.

I have often had to catch myself from blurting out hurting comments or insensitive remarks born out of my own biases and prejudices, of which I have many. Often, I miss out on what is really happening or who people truly are because of my preconceived notions of people and events. I miss out on appreciating and enjoying what is good and true and beautiful because I immediately dismiss them with a haughty: “What good or truth or beautiful can come out from such place or such a person?” Such pride and hubris can only be healed by the humble admission that I do not have a monopoly of the good and the true; by an abiding faith that everything that God has created carry their own share of the good, the truth and the beautiful and that everything is gift; and by a deep sense of gratitude for everything and everyone who comes into my life.

They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Mark 6:1-6

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Faith That Moves

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Faith is building a relationship with a Presence who has had a profound effect in my life, directing everything that happens to me. Many times I have wished that my faith would be able to move mountains or could calm the storm or could heal the sick. It does not happen. At the same time, my life has been so richly blessed that I cannot claim I have been solely responsible for all the good things that have come upon me. It can only be because there Someone looking out for me and making all these good things happen in my life. Life itself is a gift, undeserved and unmerited.

There are times that I wish my faith would totally transform me, that people would see how my faith has changed me, how I have become and am a good person. I feel that I am still the same imperfect and weak and selfish person I have been struggling with all these years. But then again, this yearning for public affirmation might just be because of pride and vainglory, wishing for myself public acclaim. Let me instead, in silence and humility, thank God for the opportunities to have been and to still be in love for and at the service of the people I can, in my immediate here and now. Like, I did something yesterday for the people I love that have really made me feel good, very good in fact, even into the night and in my sleep.

She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Mark 5:21-43

Posted in Faith, Presence, Spirituality | Tagged Blessings, Change, Fidelity, Grace, Humility, Service | Comments Off

Prayer

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Spirit Moments

I make an effort each day to always spend the first moments of the new day in prayer. I offer the Lord the new day and my whole future with all my dreams and aspirations and then set these aside. I thank God for the day just done and all of my past with all the joys, disappointments and memories both the happy and sad and then set these aside. I lift up my mind, my heart and and my soul. I try to still the hungry grumbling in my stomach, to calm the restless beating of my heart, to tame the wild ramblings in my imagination. In the stillness and the quiet that remains, I stay silent. And in the space that I have created, I encounter a faint light, a quiet murmur, a certain warmth that is very reassuring. I see no face. I hear no voice. But I am certain someone is here with me. I open my heart. I open my mind. And my spirit is at peace. I am not sure if I am becoming a better person because of this daily exercise but it is something I feel I must do. And I entrust everything else unto the Presence I encounter daily in my prayers. Speak Lord. I am listening.

“Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Mark 5:1-20

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We are still in the midst of winter: cold weather, sometimes rain, snow in the mountains, leafless and seemingly lifeless trees. It is a cold drab landscape compared to the flowers of spring and the warmth of summer or even the colors of fall. And yet, there can be no lively spring without the quiet entombment of winter.

Life is not meant to be lived in monochrome but in technicolor. I like pastel shades but one shade is not enough to describe life as it is meant to be lived. Life is a kaleidoscope, a tapestry, a potpourri and a melange of many different things – sometimes conflicting, other times complementing. Often, I would like to cherry-pick my life experiences, preferring only the good and happy times and glossing over the the sad and dark times. Now in my wintry years, I can find warmth even in the midst of the cold. I can find peace and joy in the quiet. I can see glimpses of new lights even in the dimness.

People were amazed by and followed Jesus when he healed many of them, fed them by the thousand and spoke to them inspiring words. But they wanted him dead when he held up a mirror to them and showed them their weaknesses, their failings and the emptiness in their lives. Others do that as well: they break people down and leave them broken. But Christ breaks us up to make us anew: better, stronger and move lovable.

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
Luke 4:21-30

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Spirit Moments | Comments Off

Believing in an Age of Agnosticism

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Spirit Moments

For many people today, the world came about through a series of fortuitous random events. For a man of faith, everything is part of the divine unfolding of the universe and everyone has a role to play in this great cosmic drama so that the world will not be able to move on until the last leaf has fallen off a tree. Even science today considers it possible that the movement of one tiny quark in my vicinity can have a cataclysmic effect in some distant galaxy across the universe. Like, the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings can trigger a storm.

Man has come a long way from the caves he first lived in to the condos where he now resides. From standing in awe at wind and thunder, man now understands and can replicate and even manage many of the things around him. In some moments of hubris, there are people who think the human mind supreme and God is but one superfluous idea mankind must outgrow. True, the achievements of the human mind have been most truly impressive. Man has been able to invent and make a lot of impressive and magnificent things and events. Yet, there is this deep yearning in my heart that needs to be filled and science has not been able to give me a satisfactory answer. There is this restlessness and gap within me that longs for completion and fullness. There is this unquenchable hope within me that tells me the best is yet to come. And everywhere I turn, there are signs that tell me that which I am searching for is just right around the corner. Like Simeon of old, I am seeking and praying for “a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many.”

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:22-35

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On Being and Becoming

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Spirit Moments

People today hate to wait. They want everything instantly. Pronto! There are so many instant products that cater to this desire: instant coffee, instant meals, instant service, etc. Leisure and pleasure seeking are such strong and popular activities; people want them immediately. Even those who would do good would want to see disease, hunger and suffering to vanish instantly. But we are not just human beings but human becomings as well. We are works in progress, always in process. It takes a seed years to grow and become a tree and bear fruit. It takes the earth one year to go around the sun and complete the beautiful passing of the seasons. It takes nine months for a baby to be ready to be born.

Patience is not the stoical acceptance of the waiting but a real appreciation of the process we are in and being actively involved in it. It is caring for the seed that we planted over the time it takes to grow and bear fruit and not being tired of waiting and giving up by uprooting it. It is enjoying the passing of the season, not wanting the day to be over just because it has been difficult or sad for me but seeing it as a step towards the dawning of a new day. It is the joyful anticipation that behind the difficulties of a pregnancy is the beginning of a new life, a new person. I pray for the grace of patience to live fully in the moment.

“The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-34

Posted in Life, Nature, Presence | Tagged joy, Patience | Comments Off

Bukas Palad ~ Generosity

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Bukas palad is such a felicitous Filipino expression of what generosity is all about. To be generous is to have open hands, willing and ready to give everything in one’s palms. To be truly generous is to give without limits nor conditions. And the wonderful thing is that open hands are ready to receive newer and more blessings. Sometimes, in my selfishness or insecurity I worry and close my hands afraid that I might lose even the little that I may have. This is a scarcity mentality. And close hands become a fist. I get angry, envious of others who have more than I do. And a closed fist cannot receive and accept the graces coming my way.

“Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.”
Prayer for Generosity (St. Ignatius of Loyola)

And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” Mark 4:21-25

Posted in Life | Tagged Generosity, Grace, Gratitude | Comments Off

The Parable of the Sower and the Computer

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Ordinary things and events often can teach us very valuable lessons and give us deep insights. In today’s Gospel, Christ used the story about a sower to explain how people would respond to his words and teachings. I have always wanted and prayed and struggled to be the good soil into which the seeds of God’s words would fall, bearing fruits thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. But often, I am the thorny ground, where the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word.

Today society is very much different from the times of Jesus. Still, we can learn lessons and gain insights from ordinary and commonplace objects and events. For example, in this highly technology-driven culture we have today, the computer is the most common and ubiquitous appliance or gadget in any home and for most persons. Just as we were made in the image and likeness of our Creator, the computer was made in the image and likeness of its creator, man. A computer in nothing more than a jumble of metal, plastic and wires. That is the body. To function, a computer needs software to run. That is the soul. It needs a variety of applications to do interesting and useful things. That is the spirit. With my computer, I can do wonderful and useful things. But it I feed my computer with garbage and I get garbage out. I can store good things, like memories and knowledge and even wisdom, in my computer. That is the spiritual life. If I fill up the memory of my computer with the inane and mundane, it would have no more space for that which is good and true and beautiful. That is doing spiritual exercises.

Even as I listen to God’s words from thousands of years ago, may I find them resounding in my world today.

And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” Mark 4:1-20

Posted in Life, Science, Spirituality | Tagged Choice, Fidelity, Prayer, Wisdom | Comments Off

I’m Coming Home to My Mother, My Brothers and My Sisters.

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Spirit Moments

“Receive what you are and become what you have received.” I picked up these words from the homily of Fr. George last Sunday. What and who I am is a gift I constantly wonder at. I did nothing to deserve this gift and the constant question I ask is why was I given this gift. Like a seed, I am complete and I have received everything I need to grow and become the potential within me. If the gift of life is a mystery to me, its unfolding and becoming is as even deeper mystery: I have been blessed with a loving family, I have been constantly with caring friends. I have met and worked with interesting people and done inspiring work. This mystery in my life oftentimes baffles me, yet it is the source of unending gratitude and reason for endless gratitude. I came from this mysterious source and I am coming back home to him.

And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’ Mark 3:31-35

Posted in Faith, Presence, Spirituality | Tagged Blessings, Fidelity, Grace, Gratitude, Uniqueness | Comments Off

I Believe

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Spirit Moments

In a murder case, motive is essential to establish a crime has been committed. Without the motive, there is no crime. Leaders of all type employ incentives, rewards or cause to die for in order to move people and motivate them to act. In everyday life, we seek the reason or the explanation behind events and people’s actions. I look at nature and I see the beauty and splendor that can only come from a God of beauty and splendor. I experience and see people everywhere who act out of goodness and caring that can only come from a God who is love himself. There are time I get blinded and take the beauty and splendor around me for granted. There are times I get jaded and cynical and try to look for a catch in people’s goodness and kindness. Just are the rains always come to wash away the grime of the earth, grace is there to heal me of my uncaring and jadedness.

“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” – for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”Mark 3:22-30

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