Bless Life! Bless The Children!

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Spirit Moments

“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who is least among all of you
is the one who is the greatest.”
~ Luke 9:48

I have always loved little children. I love their trusting nature and their openness, not given to hatred or being judgmental; and yet they instinctively seem to know who or what is harmful to them. I love their integrity in calling out things exactly how they see them and in speaking out the truth without fear or favor. I love the sweetness and freshness about them from their breath to their complexion. I love how I can carry them with one hand and yet they can fill my heart full to bursting.

In recent days, I have come to re-learn all these lessons again through several babies i have met. There is nothing like cuddling a baby to melt away the grime and callousness from a heart gone cold and hardened by the problems of life.

“Lord, take you for new life that you sent us through the innocence and beauty of a child.”

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Today Is Not Just An Ordinary Day

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Version 3

He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”
~ Luke 16:30-31

Yes, we often wish for something dramatic to happen in our lives before we start living. We wish we would have a Damascus experience before we  begin our life project. We wish for a cannonball to hit our leg before we set out for our mission. We wish to see the transfiguration before we follow Jesus. We wish for someone to come back from the dead to tell us that there is life everlasting. Yes, we often wait for something awesome to happen before we do something awesome in our lives.

And awesome happens everyday. We are just too blind or too callous to see it. Isn’t it awesome that the sun rose up again this morning? Just to be alive and here is a miracle. It is so awesome, I dare not ask anything more of life. Isn’t is awesome that two young persons would scale the mountain just to declare their love for each other? In a world gone mad with hatred and anger, it is awesome that people still fall in love and give themselves so totally to others.

And what awesome things can we do? Go out and change the world? Invent and discover the next big thing? Mobilize people and government to fight pollution and reverse climate change? There are awesome things to do in our everyday ordinary lives. Feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty. Anything and anyone who preserves life is awesome. Clothe the naked and welcome the stranger. Anyone and anything that makes this world even just a little bit better is awesome. Visit the sick, those in prison, or those who are lonely. Nothing is more awesome than keeping company with those who have no one.

The grandeur of the universe began with the first big bang of a primeval atom. The awesomeness of the mountains can be broken down into small pebbles. The might of the storm comes from the fluttering of butterfly wings. And the gentle breeze, it is that augurs every morning. So, why can’t we see the awesomeness of it all in the ordinary events and the mundane things of our lives?

“Lord, you gave me another wonderful day of life. Let me see all the blessings that you have sent me with this day.”

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Amazing God

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Spirit Moments

While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
~ Luke 9:44-45

The Psalmist sings, “How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!”

Today, we are continually being awed and amazed by the next big thing which continually get churned out by science and technology on a daily basis. I am particularly impressed by the computer, how it is made up up two essential components. There is the hardware which is all the tangible part of the computer: the screen, the CPU, the keyboard, the mouse, and so on. Then there is the software which is all the intangible components, like the programs and apps, that make the computer actually do what we want it to do. Amazing. Impressive.

I am pretty sure where we got that idea. Man has to components too. There is the physical and tangible part, the body. And there is the intangible and spiritual part, the soul. Just as the computer cannot function without the software, so a person cannot be human without his soul.

And just when we think we have everything figured out, God turns everything upside down. Through the ages, men have lusted for power, to be able to have dominance and ascendancy over their fellow men. Christ had himself handed over to men. Since time immemorial, men have been consumed with desire for wealth and fame. Christ taught his followers to be the last and servant of all. He declared, “Blessed are the poor.”

I don’t understand a lot of things. But this does not bother me for as long as I know that the God who made me possible is in control. He will not allow the good that he has created go to waste.

“Lord, I believe you are the God of Creation and all creation is good. You do not make trash and you will bring everything to perfection – in your time.”

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“Who Do You Say That I Am?”

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
~ Luke 9:20

Christ has been an abiding presence and a constant companion in my life journey.

It was in Sixth Grade that I started having an inkling that he is active in my life. Fr. Lagerway MSC one time came to talk to our class and talked about their new seminary in Angeles. He asked who was interested to study there. I was one of those who raised their hands. And before I knew it I was in the seminary, but in Mother of Good Counsel Seminary in Apalit.

Before I knew it I was in college in San Carlos Seminary in Makati, where I matured into my adolescence. I would often wander how I ended up there. But there was someone leading me, guiding me. I have always believed it was Jesus.

Then , I was a teacher in Xavier. Totally not in my plans. But it seemed like someone had it planned out for me. Then, I found myself with a quixotic project of a radical start-up seminary.  What were we thinking? A friend said, “If this be from God, it will prosper. If not, it will die out.” Martial law killed the project. Three of our comrades would be killed as rebels. But the lessons and memories from those years have forever shaped by life. I ended up a married man.

And then, my life just bloomed into a dream turning into reality. I started dreaming incredible and sometimes implausible dreams and one by one they would come true. This all started when I married Anabelle. Even now, I am still wondering how I ended up in the US and enjoying every moment of it.

I have always been prayerful all these years, always aware and grateful that Christ is with me. There are times I intensely feel his presence. There are times he is uncomfortably silent. Sometimes, I wonder if it is really Jesus I am talking to, or is it just me talking to myself. The best moments of prayer I experience and when I just remain still and silent and feel the promptings of Christ and the Spirit to attune myself to the will of the Father.

“Lord, you once stirred my heart with your presence. May I never do anything so horrible or hateful to you that you would leave me alone.”

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Have You Heard About Him?

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Herod said, “John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”
And he kept trying to see him.
~ Luke 9:9

I first heard about him from my mother as early as I could remember. From then on, he has been a constant presence in my life. People around me often invoked his name. I heard more stories about him in school, in church, in some movies. I read about him in books and comics and in the stories of other people’s lives. But there are two people who have told and taught me more about him than any others persons: Fr. Carlos Abesamis and Fr. Thomas Green.

Fr. Abe was a biblical scholar with deep roots in the lives of ordinary people and in spirituality. He showed me the Jesus of the Gospels like he was walking among and talking with us. Because of Fr. Abe, I heard Jesus proclaiming the Kingdom of God. I loved listening to his mission statement. I loved being inspired by his parables and the beatitudes. Through his strong faith, Fr. Abe showed that Jesus is still alive and active today, still proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, still teaching and inspiring people to change become better persons, still healing and liberating the poor, the oppressed and the dispossessed, still forgiving and making whole the sinners, still making uncomfortable and afflicting the unjust, the hypocrites and oppressors.

Fr. Tom was a caring spiritual director. He taught me what prayer and spirituality truly mean. He showed me how to pray. It is Fr. Tom who opened my eyes that everything is grace and that God is in control. I cried buckets when he asked me to imagine Jesus looking at me with a  tender and loving gaze and saying, “I loved you first.”

Through these two wonderful persons, I have come to see Jesus fully alive and active in my life today, in the people he has sent my way, through the events – many serendipitous, all of them blessings – that unfold in my day to day.

“Father, thank you for sending us your Son to be our Savior. He lives among us even today through the Spirit who abides among us.”

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He Came For Me

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Spirit Moments

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”
~ Matthew 9:11-12

I sometimes imagine what if we lived in a perfect world. What if Adam and Eve had never disobeyed God? They would probably be still alive for death is but the wage of sin. They would probably still be the only persons in paradise. Or, if they had offsprings, they would probably be in a state of sofalarity, a state of a total absence of discomfort. Oh happy fault for the sin of Adam and Eve that merited a savior who came “to call not the righteous but sinners.”

Heaven is a gladsome future to look forward to, after our travails in this valley of tears that the earth is. Sin makes love so magnificently salvific. I hate it when I sin. But knowing how weak and fragile I am, I know I am often more prone to sin that to do good. But knowing that I am loved by a loving God and the wonderful people He has brought into my life, I want to be good and overcome my sinfulness. I am not blind to the shortcomings and the troubles that plague me and others. Nor am I insensitive to the imperfections and vices around me. But the loving God I encounter every morning reminds me that He is present and active in my life.

“Lord, thank you for the gift of life. I try imagining what or where I would be without this gift and it is impossible.”

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Of Family And Friends

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Spirit Moments

He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
~ Luke 8:21

Family is God’s early way of showing us His presence in our lives. It is in my family that I learned about true, unconditional love; experienced pure joy with no strings attached; cried my heart out knowing I will not be laughed at nor left alone; dreamed my dreams with alacrity and abandon believing the sky is the limit. Today, whenever and wherever I experience unconditional live, pure joy, unalloyed forgiveness and acceptance, inspiring dreams and visions; I know that God is there. I am home. I am with family.

Friends are family we choose in life. Often, life life itself, people come into our lives rather serendipitously. Friends are pure gifts. They bring presents of love, joy, forgiveness and acceptance, dreams and memories. Friends are probably God masquerading as persons we can see and touch in daily life.

I again came across this reflections from six years ago that I wrote about my friend, Ping whose birthday it is today:

Today is the birthday of a dear friend of many, many years. Our first encounter was not particularly pleasant for him. For a sensitive person, I can often be very callous and I hurt people without my realizing it with my sarcastic and acerbic remarks. I one time cut him down with a withering comment, out of nowhere and unprovoked. He kept his quiet. Instead, he took it with equanimity and let it pass. He was forgiving and left the door open for us to still become friends later on. Over the years, I have experienced his love and concern in many ways, often unexpected and ‘unprovoked’. In gratitude and humility, I pray for him today and my other friends who have shown me what real love and concern are, by sharing with me their time, talents and treasures and, most specially, their presence in my life. 

 

“Lord, thank you for family. Thank you for friends and friendships.”

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Life Makes All Things Possible

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Spirit Moments

“To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away.”
~ Luke 8:18

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.” A very profound lesson from the Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. Often, we focus on what we do not have and miss out on all the blessings that come just from being alive. And when we do not use or appreciate the things that we have, we lose them. The opposite is true, when we use and appreciate the things we have, what we have tends to increase and to prosper. Indeed, to anyone who has, more is given and from who who has not even what he seems to have is taken away.

Here is something I wrote four years ago:

There is always the danger and temptation of creating God in my own image and likeness, of wanting to lead a life according to my own script. And just when I think I really know God or my life is going on as I believe it should; something happens to shake me out of my delusion that I am in control. During such times, my faith gets shaken and I have my doubts. God is in control. One thing I am realizing is that a faith that is untested is a weak faith. Just as muscles atrophy when not used, so does my faith fades when untested. If I do not ‘use’ or exercise my soul or spirit, I lose it. I do not pray for God to take away pain and suffering in my life. I should welcome the heartaches I go through – most of them minor, some major; some are self-inflicted, others are burdens I have to carry for others; some are physical, others are emotional and still others are spiritual. I pray instead for the courage to face them, strength to bear them and the perseverance in my faith that God is creating me in His image and likeness by forging me into someone better just as a blacksmith forges iron through fire and hammer to transform it into steel.

“Lord, thank you for the gift of life. It is so rich and so abundant, I dare not ask for anything more.”

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Trust And Trustworthiness

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Spirit Moments

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The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
~ Luke 16:10-12

Trust is the oil that keeps the flame of a relationship burning. No matter what kind of a relationship (between husband and wife, among friends, with clients and customers, between a teacher and the students), trust is the glue that binds two or more people together. The loss of trust usually signals the end of a relationship.

The remarkable thing is that this holds true even for relationships that are not socially acceptable or even criminally liable. There is a lot of truth in saying that “There is honor among thieves.” The big difference is that loss of trust among thieves will not only mean the end of a relationship. It could very well mean the end of one’s life. Trifling with the trust of the wrong people may be hazardous to your health and well-being.

To be successful then in my relationships, I must be trustworthy. But sometimes, there are occasions that I lose or betray the trust of people I have relationships with. For important relationships, it is essential to have a cure for broken relationships. To keep my relationships strong, I know I have to love truly and strongly enough to take care not to lose the trust of my loved one. And when I do betray that trust, as I am prone to do, forgiveness is the salve that will restore the trust.

“Lord Jesus,  help me listen and learn your words about trust and trustworthiness. May I live them out in my life.”

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To Love Is To Give

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Spirit Moments

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
“A sower went out to sow his seed. . . .”
~ Luke 8:4

I once saw on YouTube a video of a seahorse giving birth. It is the male seahorse that gets pregnant and gives birth to thousands of baby seahorses. It is an awesome sight watching the father seahorse squirting out those baby seahorses, hundreds aster hundreds of them. Eventually, he stops and rests as he last baby gets out of his belly. He gives and gives until there is no more to give.

I imagine it is the same with God creating the universe. By just saying the word or just thinking about it, God creates the universe. Not only in the beginning of time but until today. Even as our sun is 4.5 billion years old, new stars continue being created everyday. Once, scientists believed we lived in a stable universe – already made and completely done. Today, they say we live in an expansionary universe. And it may just go on expanding infinitely, as Giordano Bruno once intuited. The male seahorse has a finite number of babies to give. But God is an infinite source and He can go on giving forever.

This is God’s nature. He gives and keeps on giving. He gives freely and without any conditions. He gives because He is love. And whatever He gives, reflects and echoes His goodness, His beauty, and His truth.

Jesus, the Son of God, also showed His nature is to give and to give unconditionally and without limits. He gave joy and healing to the sick and afflicted. He gave hope and inspiration to the poor and the oppressed. He gave enlightenment and wisdom to those seeking meaning and purpose in their lives. To those, who followed Him, He promised to give eternal life and rest. His stories were all about giving: the Father of the Prodigal son giving his love and forgiveness; the Good Samaritan giving aid and comfort to the man who well among robbers; the Sower casting and giving to sow his seeds; the Good Shepherd willing to give up His life for flock. And indeed, in the end, Jesus gave up his life in obedience to the father and to save us from our sins and wretchedness.

“Lord Father of all Creation, you gifted us with life and continue to do so with your infinite love. Teach us through your Son Jesus to give generously and unconditionally as you, who are our Source, have shown us through your creation.”

 

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