Spirit Moments | From minutes to moments . . . .

Yes, Love Transforms

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
~ John 15:9-13

Today’s Gospel reading must be among the most touching and most moving among the Gospel passages people love to quote. Love indeed transforms. It fills our humdrum and and sometimes miserable existence with joy. Loves makes us realize that life is meant for sharing and that the essence of living is in the giving.

Even in the cosmic scheme of things, the universe is evolving and unfolding because of love. Different forces are at work in the universe. But love, according to Teilhard de Chardin, is “the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mystical of cosmic forces.” He explains, “Love is the primal and universal psychic energy. Love is a sacred reserve of energy; it is like the blood of spiritual evolution.” I’d say, it was love that compelled God to speak out the words, “Let there be light!” and started the whole of creation.

Four years ago, I put together these words trying to capture how love drives and transforms my life:

St. Augustine once wrote: “Love and then, what you will, do.” Seconding that emotion, Fr. Arrupe wrote: “What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.” Who and what I love make me want to get out of bed in the morning. They make me end my day with a smile when I go to bed. They bring color and endless abiding joy into my life. I think of all the people who have shown me love and changed my life for the better. I also think of all the people I have loved and pray that I have helped change their lives for the better.

Posted in Encounter, Faith, Nature, Science, Spirituality | Tagged Change | Comments Off

Love Transforms

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Spirit Moments

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
~ John 21:15

It is really total chaos out there: new galaxies erupting into existence, stars shooting through space at breakneck speed drawing along with them their planets and asteroids, black holes sucking everything that comes close to them into obliteration. Even on earth, our planet’s core is a cauldron of boiling lava, the crusts on the earth’s surface are constantly shifting, and without us really understanding it, the climate is surely changing – for the worse.

And yet in our daily experience, there is order and balance in the world around us. There are as many days as there are nights. And we can be sure that another day will dawn tomorrow. For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. Even at the particle level, there is an equilibrium of positive and negative forces at work. We live; we work; we have fun; we are happy. In a world that is totally chaotic on another level.

In my experience, it gets better when I see things through my intelligence and imagination. There is actually more beauty in the world than ugliness or imperfection. It is a truly wonderful world we live in. I see it when we do our regular hikes. There are more people wanting and actually doing good than there are who are bent towards evil and destruction. For otherwise, our world would have been a wasteland as in the places where these hate-full people proliferate. There are more people telling and living by the truth than those who live by the lie. For otherwise, the delightful communities we live in and creative intercourse we are engaged in would not at all be possible.

To top it all, it gets even better when I use my will to decide to love in spite of the chaos and the disorder, in spite of the ugliness and the lies, in spite of the failures and the imperfections. When I decide to love, I can transform what is ugly into a thing of beauty. With love, what is good proves to be stronger and more powerful that what is evil. And with love, there is no room for lies or deception but only truth that sets us free.

It is pretty simple, isn’t it?

Posted in Change, Faith, Life | Tagged Beauty, Doing good, Truth | Comments Off

My Awareness Is Unto Eternity

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
~ John 17:24

Men are unique in all of known creation because we have awareness and consciousness. I am aware who and what I am. I am aware that I am aware of my awareness. This is what prompted Descartes to say, “I think, therefore I am.”

Beyond my awareness and consciousness, I can also understand and explain what is unfolding and happening around me. I have the intelligence to know what, how and why things are happening around me and in me. And beyond my consciousness and intelligence, I also have the capacity to choose and change what is happening around me. I have the freedom and the will to choose.

My surroundings change constantly. My body changes every day. In fact, science tells me that my body changes completely every five years or so. Within that period, every cell in my body shall have been changed into a totally new one; and my entire body shall have become completely different from the one I had five years ago. And yet, I remain the same person – the same awareness and consciousness that carries the memory to all the years of my life, the same intelligence through which I have acquired over the years increasing knowledge but retaining everything that I have learned before, the same freedom and will to choose that have made me the person that I am through the choices I have made.

My body will change and will pass away. But the person that I am, the consciousness and intelligence that I am, the will and freedom that I am shall remain and persist. And here is the deeper mystery: I will live forever. And something else, or perhaps Someone else, tells me that I am and have been and will be loved forever.

Posted in Faith, Life, Mystery | Tagged Change, Eternity, Serendipity | Comments Off

Hearing God’s Voice Today

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Spirit Moments

But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
~ John 17:13-15

God is doing something for the Philippines right now.

Mar Roxas has transformed into an inspiring person throughout this election exercise. He was not bitter but was magnanimous in his defeat. He said the whole election exercise was not about me but about the people. Now, the people get the leader they deserve. Hopefully, Duterte will not disappoint.

The campaign period before the elections was noisy, lively, sometimes vicious but always participatory as many voices wanted to be heard. Many gave of their time, talent and treasure to help their respective candidates. Some did it to be able to enjoy and share in the “spoils of war” when victory comes. But many did so because it is what they believed was needed by the country and her people.

Leni has impressed many by her simplicity and honesty.She is not of the typical mold that politicians usually come in nor of the typical oligarchic leader who have lorded it over us all these years. That Bongbong should make a strong comeback for the Marcos name is a fair warning, even a grim reminder, to us that we often bring upon ourselves the misery that eventually befall us.

We are at the threshold of God breaking once more into our history. May His Spirit guide us to the future that He has in store for us and that we deserve through our faith and hope in Him. May His love be ever our guide in our struggles for a better tomorrow for ourselves and for our people.

Posted in Encounter, Faith, Presence | Tagged Doing good, Grace | Comments Off

Ignatian Spirituality and the Philippine Elections

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Spirit Moments

“And now I am no longer in the world,
but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one, as we are one.”
~ John 17:1-11

The passionate and highly emotions-charged Philippines elections are over and things are starting to simmer down. As people are picking up the pieces and cleaning up things to get back to their normal usual lives, I reflect on how religion, prayers and yes even spirituality have played a big part in the process, even among professed non-believers and agnostics. Church and religious leaders of all stripes and persuasions were very visible and very vocal all throughout.

I cannot but help view the recent events within the context of my own spirituality. I have been greatly influenced and inspired by Ignatian spirituality. Many friends and acquaintances who are similarly disposed have been very active in the elections and the campaign that preceded it.

One of the touchstones of Ignatian spirituality is the Magis, the More, the search and the reaching out for excellence. It asks the questions, what more can I do? how can I do better? And this has inspired many followers of Ignatius to heights of excellence and achievement. But like all good things, it can be corrupted. The excellent ones can become a clique, an elite to the exclusion of all others. They are acknowledged, or even worse proclaim themselves, as leaders. Leaders who are wont to tell others what and how to do things.

The quest and search for excellence need to be tempered by another theme of Ignatian spirituality: the man for others. Excellence is never for one’s sake, nor even for its own sake. Excellence must be expressed in service and love for others. True excellence is best expressed is generous self-giving. It is servant leadership. This is the gospel roots of Ignatian spirituality.

Excellence without being a man for others is self-serving and leads to elitism and exclusivism. This is what people voted against in the recent elections.

Service with excellence is also self-serving and ineffective. It leads to frustration, feelings of hopelessness and, yes eventually, despair. This is also what people voted against in the last elections.

Posted in Character, Discipleship, Philippines/Filipino, Spirituality | Tagged Choice, Doing good | Comments Off

The Ascension and the Philippine Elections

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Spirit Moments

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Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them.
As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.
They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
~ Luke 24:50-53

Mountains and heights are always awesome to look at. They incite wonder in the beholder. Often, we are led to think of grander and better things just looking up a mountain. We think of our goals and ambitions as the heights. We are inspired to strive for things we are capable of, even in the face of formidable challenges.

Today is the Feast of the Ascension. Christ was taken up into the heavens, into the heights. It must have been an awesome and exhilarating sight for the apostles to behold. It must have filled them with great joy and inspired them to finally go out and proclaim the Lord. It was a game-changing moment that would finally be consummated a week later during Pentecost.

Tomorrow, the Filipino nation will vote for their next president. This has to be the most contentious and the most divisive election exercise in the history of the country. Just as the apostles saw Christ ascending into the heavens, may this election be the occasion for our people to rise up to greater heights of achievements where there will be more inclusions rather than exclusions; where there will be more love and sharing rather than greed and selfishness; where people will think not only of their own good but more and more also of the common good.

Posted in Philippines/Filipino, Stewardship | Tagged Beginnings, Hope | Comments Off

Seek the Lord And Ask

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
~ John 16:23-24

On this same day four years ago, I wrote:

I have often realized that there is no compelling reason why I should be here. There is no irreducible mathematical formula the answer to which is my particular existence. In the face of such simple fact, science tells me I am a totally random event, which conclusion I instinctively and intuitively refuse to accept. I love science for the answers and explanations it can give me. I turn to my faith for things I cannot answer nor explain. Just as a flower reaches out to the sun, finding life and nourishment in its warmth, I reach out for the unreachable, seek to know the unknowable and dare to dream the impossible. ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ Or in science for that matter.

Today, I still seek the Lord while He can still be found and where He can be found.
I ask for His love and His blessings in my daily life, in good times and in bad.
I wait for him to knock at my door, praying I will be ready to open up and receive Him.

Posted in Discipleship, Presence | Tagged Blessings, Prayer | Comments Off

Mama. Ima. Nanay. Mother.

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.”
~ John 16:21

It is Mothers’ Day on Sunday.

I cannot but help think and be grateful for the mother of my three sons and my own mother. Anabelle is a dream that became a reality in my life as my wife. She is not perfect but she has been the perfect forever partner for me and she has been the perfect mother to Martin, Mikey and Macky.

Growing up, the three kids always wanted to snuggle up to their Mama to soothe and calm them down to sleep. And they all snuggled up to her in different ways. Martin loved to feel the softness of his Mama’s lingerie. Mickey would always reach out to hold Mama’s hand. Macky would always stretch out his hand to caress Mama’s long hair.

Martin loved the softness and the satiny feel of the sheer clothing that Mama wore for sleeping. In the face of life’s challenges, adversities and difficulties, he was sure that there would always be softness, gentleness, tenderness, comfort and solace waiting for him in Mama’s bosom. Home is safety and home is in Mother’s embrace.

Mickey loved to hold his Mama’s hands. It was an assurance. More than that, it meant guidance and direction where to go. When lost and confused, there is nothing more reassuring that a Mama’s hand to hold on to and to guide him. Home is where you go to when one is lost and confused. There is no surer way to find one’s way back than to reach out for Mother’s hands.

Macky loves to stroke his Mama’s hair to put himself to sleep. One time, she had her hair cut short and Macky was startled when he reached out for it and the hair was not there. It is Mama’s certain presence that saves Macky from the startling surprises in life. And for the important and life-changing moments in his life, nothing is more reassuring than the loving presence of Mother.

Tenderness. Guidance. Loving Presence. These are what I feel have defined Mama for my children. They are the same quality that I now realize I am most thankful for in Ima.

Posted in Family, Generosity, Presence, Relationships | Tagged Serendipity | Comments Off

God Is In Control

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”
~ John 16:20

We are not in control. God is in control.

Even in moments of intense and exquisite joy, our joyfulness is almost always tinged with traces of sadness, sorrow and pain. It could be a loved one we are missing during such moments or some wrong we might have done someone or some hurt we might have suffered in the past.

In the same manner, our sadness, sorrow and pain always hold the promise of making our lives fuller as we trust that we are all help in God’s loving hands. He has promised to turn our tears into laughter and our sadness into joy. And He has proven Himself faithful to His promises.

God gives. God takes away. But He never leaves us empty. In fact, He fills our cups – a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Posted in Discipleship, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Tagged Blessings, Grace | Comments Off

May the Fourth Be With You

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.”
~ John 16:12-13

May the Fourth be with you.

Today is a Star Wars holiday. It shows how this popular franchise has captured people’s imagination, even their lives. It is how much science and technology has driven and influenced our lives today, often for the better.

Science is based on the premise that the universe, the world we live in, is intelligible. It is comprehensible and it can be understood. It is not at all random, nor unsystematic, nor irrational, nor indeed incomprehensible. When Einstein formulated his famous formula, E=mc², he did not make that up but discovered or rather used it to describe what was already existing in nature. The fact that the universe is intelligible like that is proof that there is a God who wrote all these laws and principles in nature – for men to discover.

And yet for all the fruits of science, no everything can be reduced to scientific formula. Man has emotions and the power to choose which often are irreducible to scientific formulation. I pretty much prefer looking at events and even people in terms of algorithms: what happens if, or when or where.

IF:

If the shoe fits, then wear it.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24

WHEN:

When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars.

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” Matthew 24:32-33

WHERE:

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

Posted in Discipleship, Science, The Good News | Tagged Serendipity | Comments Off

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ~ John 21:15

Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ~ John 17:24

“And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” ~ John 17:1-11

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ~ Luke 24:50-53

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” ~ John 16:23-24

Jesus said to his disciples: “When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.” ~ John 16:21

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.” ~ John 16:20

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” ~ John 16:12-13