American Legacies to the Philippines

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Spirit Moments

I have now been living in the US for five years now. I am continually amazed at the great diversity in the society. It is amazing how people of so many diverse cultures, languages, religion and race can live together harmoniously and productively. Surely there are still instances of discrimination, but the openness and tolerance I generally see is unparalleled anywhere in the world.

American society is a secular one, driven by business, science, technology, leisure and the military. However, the greatest legacies of the US during its colonization of the Philippines were its educational and health systems. We have also patterned our political system after the American model; but I fear that has been a bane to us. The fifty years of American rule of the Philippines were a lot more benign and enlightened than the 300 years of Spanish occupation, whose main legacy was our Christian faith.

Teaching and healing, these too were the main activities Christ did during his life on earth. The Americans probably taught us more about being authentic Christians than the Spaniards did by shaping our health and educations systems. And beyond the blandishments of Hollywood and its world of glamor, America has always had a special place in the hearts of Filipinos. Education and health are the essential roads to development. They are also powerful instruments in dispelling superstitions. I have spent most of my productive years in these two areas of human endeavor.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

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The Epiphany: When, Where, How Do I See God?

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, traditionally known as the Feast of the Three Kings. They certainly were not kings and it is not certain if there were indeed three. But like the wise men that they were, they were seekers of the truth and wisdom. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” As seekers of the truth and wisdom, they did not take away anything to that which they were searching for. Instead they gave of what they had. “Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Often, in my own search for truth and wisdom, I still ask the question: what is in it for me? What do I get in return? The magi teach me that it is in giving that I receive the truth and wisdom I seek.

The Epiphany celebrates the manifestation of God to the Gentiles. It was not the rich and the powerful nor the cream of the Israelite society who were in attendance at the birth of Christ. It was the poor shepherds, the lowly animals and the strangers. He was not born in Jerusalem but in the hicktown of Bethlehem. He was not born of famous parents but of a simple carpenter and an innocent maiden. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, finds its fulfillment in the Christmas event and the subsequent Epiphanies: “He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.”

God’s ways are not our ways. Where we would rather work with power and might, he creates wondrous things out of the least and poorest among us. Where we would exclude those we do not like or agree with, God welcomes everyone and includes everybody and everything. Where we would draw limits and conditions, God goes all the way – way beyond our expectations.

These are such simple truths but such simple truths are often the most difficult to see and learn.

ImageThey were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:1-12

 

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Living The Moment

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Life is all about relationships. All relationships begin with an encounter. Every encounter happens only in the present. Living the moment means being totally present in the here and now. Often, impatience gets the better of me and I would rather be off to another place or doing another thing rather than being in the moment. How many possible encounters have I missed because of my impatience? How many possible relationships failed to bloom because I was not in the moment but elsewhere in my thoughts or busyness?

I can sometimes spend time reminiscing my past joys and accomplishment and start pining for the good old days and miss out on the present moment. I can sometimes be so embittered by past regrets and disappointments that I pass on present joys. I can sometimes spend my time in the future, waiting for something that I like to happen and miss the present opportunity to make that which I like to happen. The present is my only reality. Yesterday with all its joys and sorrows and wonderful memories is gone. Tomorrow with all its dreams and potentials is not yet. Only the present is here for me to work on, to enjoy my past and to make my future a reality.

It is also only in the here and now that I encounter God. God is beyond time and space. He is in the continuum and the at-once-ness of eternity. But it is in the reality of my here and now that he comes to meet me. Just as he met his apostles on their first encounter – their then present moment with him.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:43-51

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What Am I Looking For?

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Spirit Moments

We are each born into specific circumstances. The place and the family we are born into is a given over which we had no choice. The talents and abilities we are born with are also a given which we can only receive in gratitude. The times and the milieu we come upon are likewise a given, like cards we are dealt. Beyond these givens (from the same root word as ‘gifts’), everything else is pretty much up to me.

Given the gifts I have received, what have I been looking for? What am I still looking for? I have always been trying to seek and look for that Presence or Power who has made all of the wonderful happenings in my life possible. I know life can be difficult and it is very fragile. I have had my moments of difficulties, fragility and vulnerability. But I have not been broken irreparably. In fact, my life has been so blessed it is easier than most, more fruitful than most. But beyond the comparisons, there is no other way I would have had my life lived out that the way I had.

My blessings have been plentiful and manifold. And I just have to look at the people in my life to realize this. If I had looked for and sought pleasure and success. I would be surrounded by an entirely different set of people. If I had lusted after power or fame, it would be yet another set of persons in my life. As it is, I have been blessed, inspired and made better by people who are kind, gentle, loving, generous, giving, principled, persons of integrity, inspiring, committed, dedicated. Their goodness has somehow rubbed off on me and I pray I have shared some goodness with them as well.

What am I looking for? I am looking for my God who is the Source of all the givens and gifts in my life. His ultimate Presence is the ultimate present for me. I see him in the unfolding event is my life – no matter how simple or humble these may be. I see him in the people around me – how they make me aware of his love and care.

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). John 1:35-42

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The Spirit Within Me

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Life is difficult and also very fragile. Life is precious not because it is unchangeable but because it is so vulnerable. I am one of a million possibilities and yet I am the one who made it. I could have died in childhood but I survived. Until the advent of modern medicines, thousands and even millions died from disease. A single weather disturbance can result in hundreds of people losing their lives and in thousands more losing their livelihood. The ancients, at the early stirrings of spirituality among them, sought to find the Source in Wind or  Thunder or the Mountains or the Sun or the Stars. When he came to reveal himself to us, he came as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lain in a manger. Totally fragile. Totally vulnerable. But it is in taking up our fragility and our vulnerability and our weakness that he showed us that there is more to this life. When he was lain on the cross he showed us that life is stronger than death and that it is through sorrow that we find joy.

It is in times of sorrow and loneliness that I find the greatest joys like the presence of a loved one or the generosity of a friend or the loyalty and faithfulness of a community. It is in times of pain and suffering that I realize I am more than just my body. There is a spirit in me that is able to rise above the immediacy of my pain and suffering to see the bigger picture of a life undeserved but lived in love for and with others.

And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ John 1:29-34

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Hail Mary, Mother of God

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Spirit Moments

http://youtu.be/LvtTTr0-vmU

Yesterday, January 1st was the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This video captures the love and devotion that the Kapampangan have for Mary as Mother of God, adopting her as their own Ima and Indu. No other words are as comforting to the Kapampangan as these two words for Mother. There is a unique and traditional devotion to Mary in Pampanga as Indu ning Kapaldanan (Mother of Remedies/Virgen de los Remedios). The archdiocesan seminary is named after Indu ning Mayap a Usuk (Mother of Good Counsel). The Archdiocese is under her Patronage as Indung alang Musing (Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception).

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“The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living.”

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Spirit Moments

Socrates is famously known for having said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Man’s greatest faculties are his intellect and will. With his intellect, man is able to think. And with his will, he is able to act. Man is able to examine his life with his intellect; then he is able to live out his reflections through his will. It is my intellect and will that make up my human spirit. I need food to daily sustain my body. I need reflection to daily sustain my spirit.

Prayer is my reflection time. It is my daily exercise in examining my life. It affords me to see things I would otherwise miss in the daily hustle and bustle. Prayer makes clear to me the important things and the significant people and the momentous events in my life. Otherwise, these would just pass me by and I am totally clueless. Prayer dispels the darkness and the anxieties, instead of me trying to whistle in the dark in fear and uncertainty. Prayer is not onlt me-time with myself but it is more importantly we-time with my God.

Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Luke 2:16-21

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A New Year’s Eve Spirit Moment

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Spirit Moments

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Another year is about to end and a new one will be upon us in a few more hours. We celebrate the event with a lot of noise and fanfare, marking yet another transition for us ~ new beginnings, new hopes, fresh starts and fresh dreams. Yet in the heavens, it is just another moment for the stars and the planets and the sun as they inexorably and silently move on along their preordained paths. Life goes on in the universe.

In the midst of all the noisy celebrations, in the quiet moments early on New Year’s Eve, I spent some silent moments to recall and be grateful for all that came into my life in 2012. It has been a year punctuated by celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, made memorable by visits to and from friends and family, invigorating hikes in the most beautiful nature spots, spending moments and making memories with people we love. But what I enjoyed most is our daily routine of school and work in Kathleen’s and Martin’s family. I love watching Jane and Jonathan “advancing in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.” I have noticed too the growing regularity of people I know, admire, love and have worked or lived with passing away. To be sure there have also been wonderful arrivals of new-born babies and the announcement of several more coming. I have seen new relationships built; some challenged; others flourishing and still others ended. But through it all, I have experienced that continuing Presence in my life that has made all of the wonderful things happen and given me strength to go through the hard and difficult times.

As another year ends, I become aware that I am nearing the end of my own days. I often ponder on what lies ahead. I have been blessed with a rich and meaningful life for me to want it not to end. I am humbled and always grateful for all the blessings that have some our way. And I am aware all of this must come to an end one day. My faith tells me I will level up when the time comes. My rational self is hard put imagining what the leveling up would be like. Sometimes, it seems to make more sense that all of this will just end when my time is up.

The God I have believed in has assured me that life is stronger than death, that light is stronger than darkness and that His grace will win over sin.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-18

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Here is to Christmas, One More Time!

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Spirit Moments

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This year, I was transported back in time to the Christmas of my childhood, where we would go around visiting family and friends. Ima would wake us up early and with me, David, Noel, Non and Tatang in tow, would bring us to our friends’ and relative’s houses in Angeles, Dau and Mabalacat. I would be excited about all the aguinaldo that I would be getting from all the ingkong and apu, from all the ninong and ninang, from all the uncles and aunties. I would relish the Christmas delicacies we were served at every house. I would beam with pride as Ima would parade us before relatives and friends. I would look froward to playing games and just being with my cousins and younger uncles and aunts. In the beginning, it was the presents and the food that made Christmas for me. In time, it was the bonding and the coming together that I treasured the most.

This year, Kathleen and Martin together with Mickey, planned a road trip where we visited relatives and friends in Southern California for Christmas. It was a long nine days (a novena) but I relished every moment of it. I loved seeing old friends. I realized some friends come into our lives for a reason, others for a season and still others for a lesson – either theirs or our own. Some friends come into our lives and stay forever; others come and stay for a while and then are gone. We get to choose our friends and whether they stay or go is also their and our choice.

We did not choose our relatives. They are a given in our lives. Like the life we have been gifted with, relatives are God’s presents to us. At Christmastime, I remember Ima and Tatang with fondness and gratitude for the life they have made possible in me. This Christmas, I was very happy to have shared time with our relatives in SoCal, including the Barreras without whom Martin would be less of the man that he is today. Meeting and marrying Kathleen is the best that has ever happened in his life, just as Anabelle had been in my life.

Friends, we get to choose. Relatives are a given. We get to choose our spouses. But after all the years of living together, I get the sense that this was all a given after all. I know I chose Anabelle in the beginning just as she chose me. But now I realize that Anabelle is the one for me, made by God just for me and he reserved her for me till I finally met her.

Christmas time is a time for celebrating with family and friends. It is a time for presents and feastings. It is time for coming together today and for remembering yesterday and then making new memories for tomorrow. It is time for children and a time for adults to be children again. It is a time for thoughts and deep reflections, a realization that there is a Presence in our lives who has chosen to live among us. Christmas is when he says to me “I have come to be with you.” Thank you for Christmas.

When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. Luke 2, 41-52

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Hope!

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Spirit Moments

Hope is probably the most human of emotions. It uplifts us from our misery to envision and work for better times. It inspires us to create new visions and make this world a better place. It is hope for better times and a better world that have enabled men to create civilization as we know it. Hope moves men to keep going on even in the face of great difficulties and adversities. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon enjoying the Renaissance Art Exhibit at the Getty Museum. I realized that it is hope and anticipation for immortality that inspired the artists to create their masterpieces.

But on closer look, hope is something that we share with the rest of creation. We are in the depths of winter now and I can sense trees and plants already yearning and hoping for spring. Birds are on the lookout for the first sign of spring, like the lengthening of day or the warming in the air, and hoping to be able to fly back home. Pet cat and dogs have been known to wait patiently by the door or the window as they wait and hope for their masters’ coming home.

Hope is man’s yearning for fullness and completion, which he shares with the rest of creation. Hope is our innermost intimation that the best is yet to come. Life is such a wonderful blessing that in our most ecstatic moments we say that this all too beautiful to just end and come to naught; there has to be more and better things to come. Or, life can sometimes be so excruciatingly painful and difficult we pray and hope there will come a better time and that there is a better place where all the things we feel are wrong are finally righted. Or, are we just like Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot and our lives nothing more than providing temporary companionship to fellow travelers like Pozzo and Lucky?

Hope to be real has to be rooted in Faith. And for Hope to be realized, we have to live in and with Love.

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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