Matching Words With Deeds

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”
~ John 13:37-38

I love proclaiming, speaking of and writing about the love, beauty and goodness there is in my life. I often get overwhelmed by my feelings, I tend to sound cheesy, exaggerating and even hyperbolic. People would sometimes doubt whether I really mean what I say or they’d think I was saying things tongue in cheek.

I will persist however. There is so much pain and anger in the world, I want people to see the love that there is. There is so much that is wrong and ugly in the world, I want to share the beauty I see all around me. There is so much suffering and evil in the world, I want to show that there is as much goodness that brings light and meaning into people’s lives. For the essence and the true meaning of love, beauty and goodness can only be understood and seen as the truth only in their infinitude.

And so that people may believe my words and see them as true, I must make my actions match my words. What they hear me say should be what they see me do.

Posted in Character, Discipleship, Faith | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Matching Words With Deeds

What I Learned From Martin

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus.
There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served.
Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.
Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,
anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.
~ John 12:1-3

Today is the propitious confluence of several happy events: its the first day of spring, the Gospel readings is about coming home to the home of dear friends, it is the birthday of Martin, my first born.

Thinking of spring, home and Martin, I mull over in my mind with a smile on my face and deep gratitude in my heart the lessons I have learned from my first born.

Even as a young boy, Martin was capable of erudite insights. Not yet of school-age, he said to me once, “You are only as old as a father as I am your son.” I tried getting him interested in the superheroes on my youth. I bought him Superman comics. His reaction, “Where is the fun when you cannot lose?”

I looked at my being a father from the point of view of such platitudes as “A spring can never rise higher than its source.” or “A fruit never falls far from the tree.” I was wrong of course. And Martin burst my bubble early on. Since graduating from Grade 7, he loved to rib me about my single medal by holding up the handful he garnered.

One of the tenets of reincarnation is the persons, prior to being born again, get to choose their own parents based on one particular life-lesson they would want to learn or an important life-goal to achieve. This thought, whether fact or fancy, has immensely humbled me and impressed on me my responsibility in helping Martin in the unfolding of his life. He has chosen me. I am an instrument in his life, not the cause of it.

Martin is an old soul. He is profound and erudite. There is a beautiful melody playing in his heart that is straining to be heard and shared. He is choosy and has chosen well the people with and for whom he wants to play that music. He is a very sensitive soul. He loves deeply and dearly. His joys and pleasures are never mundane but they can be very simple. But he can be very complex. He knows the pain is there even before the first tear drops.

This is a great morning. Thank you for the first day of spring. Thank you for the blessings of home and friends. Thank you for a wonderful gift of a first-born named Martin.

Posted in Character, Family, Home, Relationships | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on What I Learned From Martin

Reflections

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Spirit Moments

IMG_0791

 

The moon but reflects
The sunshine, just as gratitude
Reflects graces giv’n.

I am blessed twice whenever I count my blessings: first, when I actually receive the blessing and second when I recall and remember it in gratitude. Often, I forget the blessings and graces I have in my life. And even more often, I forget the source of all the blessings. In prayer, I acknowledge all the graces and blessings I have received in humble gratitude, like emptying my cup to make it ready to receive yet more blessings, fully aware of the Source and the Cause.

~ March 20, 2012

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reflections

Another Day, Another Present

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Spirit Moments

P1420907

 

 

I woke up this morning
Another day has dawned for me
Thanks for the gift of life

 
SPIRIT MOMENT: Nothing speaks better of the freshness and newness of life, of hope and renewal than the streaks of first light at the break of dawn. Nothing seems sadder or more melancholic than the fading light of a sunset at the end of the day. Light is the energy that suffuses our entire world and keeps everything alive. I imagine grace to be the divine light that sustains us and enable us to be, to achieve and to become.

~ March 18, 2012

Posted in Life, Mystery, Nature, Photography, Relationships, Spirituality | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Another Day, Another Present

A Spiritual Warrior

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus answered them,
“If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
~ John 10:37-38

I love watching the Golden State Warriors play their brand of basketball. There is as much grace and beauty in their plays as there is rough stuff and competitiveness. And watching this team, I realize the importance of discipline and perseverance in their success. Their star players came pretty much unheralded into the the league. Many of them had earlier injuries, some of which were potentially career-ending. Yet, with discipline and perseverance, they overcame these and became a team of championship calibre, poised to be the next power dynasty in the NBA.

The same is true in my spiritual life. While God always makes the first move, I also need to practice discipline and perseverance in building a relationship with God. It is not only about going to Mass every Sunday but being in touch and connected with God everyday. I need the discipline to make time and find space for Him in my daily life. There are days I feel lazy and wallowing in the usual and familiar. I need perseverance to spend time with Him even in the midst of the dull and the boring.

The spiritual life is as much a struggle as the physical life. Life is never easy. But to those who face it with discipline and perseverance, life endows its richness and meaning.

Posted in Discipleship, Life, Spirituality | Tagged , | Comments Off on A Spiritual Warrior

What I Often And Always Think About

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to the Jews:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
~ John 8:51,59

I come into this world, am given a number of years to live and then I move on and am gone. The world was before I came and it will be after I leave. In the span of my years, I touch and am touched by the lives of other people, by the places I visit and the events I participate in. And those are what make up my life.

In the US, where I now live, people often (always?) want to be in control. Things are planned and then made to happen according to those plans. Climate is changing and people want to mitigate that and are willing to change their lifestyles to make it happen. Oil prices soar and people develop and use alternative sources of energy.

In the Philippines, where I am now visiting, people often (always?) live within the situation they find themselves. It is a corrupt and rotten political and economic system out there, how can I survive in such a situation without getting corrupted or rotten?  There are no opportunities? People use their ingenuity to make ends meet, often (always?) to the point to breaking or bending the rules.

In either situation, I find myself often (always?) wanting to live forever. Whatever I do and Whoever I become cannot just fade away to be forgotten. Somehow, I know and feel and want to go on forever. And at the source of that want and desire for eternal life is the parallel realization that I must have somehow existed before I came to live this life I am now living.

These are thoughts that I have often and always entertained and mulled about.

Posted in Life, Mystery | Tagged | Comments Off on What I Often And Always Think About

Praying For Macky

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
~ John 8:31-32

This morning I pray for Macky in particular. He is off to take his qualifying exams for his diplomate as a pediatrician.

I do not pray that he be given the right answers as he goes to through the test questions or that he would remember all the right answers. That would make my prayers some sort of magic incantations that would automatically spew out the correct answers on Macky’s test papers.

Instead, as I pray for him, I try to feel the feelings in his heart. I feel his compassion and generosity wanting to devote his life to the care of children, the healing of their illnesses and the alleviation of their pain and discomfort. I triangulate this with the love and compassion of the Great Healer and pray that God will always be present in Macky’s work and service as a pediatrician.

As I pray for him, I imagine the thoughts and knowledge in his head. I have seen the long hours he has put into learning, poring over books and texts. I have seen the effort and long hours he has spent with patients easing their pain, finding out the cause of their discomfort, diagnosing their disease and prescribing the cure. I triangulate this with the wisdom and understanding of the Great Teacher and pray that God will always guide Macky’s hands and heart and head as he cares for and tends to his patients.

I pray for Macky with gratitude and thanksgiving in my heart that God had inspired and guided him to a life of service and compassion as a doctor. I thank God as well for the gift that Lani has been to him. They have both shared the same passion and dedication to their being doctors, I am certain that they are where they ought to be and they are doing what they ought to be doing – according to the Lord’s will.

I pray for Macky with faith and hope that as he takes the exam, he brings with him the fruits of all his efforts in his studies and training all these years that will give him the confidence and scholarship to be able to formulate credible and learned response; and that he will be found worthy to be certified as a worthy and good pediatrician.

Finally, I pray that whatever the outcome will be; Macky will be blessed with the equanimity and the abiding trust that good things are coming as this is but a moment in the gradual unfolding of the Lord’s plan in his life.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Posted in Discipleship, Faith, Presence, Stewardship | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Praying For Macky

Only From God

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Spirit Moments

“I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?”
~ John 5:43-44

There is so much to be sad and disheartened about the world today. There is so much violence and hatred when we know that we cannot keep on killing and harming one another. There is so much hunger and deprivation in the world when we have the resources and capability to feed everyone. There is so much dissension and conflict when we have learned many times over that we do thing better and we do better when we collaborate and work harmoniously together.

In spite of all the things that are wrong in this world, there is an abiding faith and hope deep inside me that God in the end will bring everything to perfection. On the one hand, science and technology, through which men have accomplished much of the things we enjoy today, in based on the intelligibility of nature and the universe. There is reason and logic behind everything there is. On the other hand, philosophy and theology show us the perfectibility of world. Things on the whole eventually become better and there is salvation for all of us where we are brought to the fullness of life.

In the end, as well as in the beginning, but also in the deepest recesses of men’s being, we know that in the midst of all the ugliness we see there is Ultimate Beauty that is at the core of our lives; that in the face of all the evil we experience there is Infinite Goodness that brought us into life and eventually bring us its fullness; that in spite of all the lies we hear there is the Irrefutable Truth that guides us and finally bring us to its eternal light.

Posted in Faith, Mystery, Spirituality | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Only From God

Full Circle or Fullness of Life?

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.” 
~ John 5:19

Ima and Tatang are long gone now. But it seems I am getting to know them better and love them even more deeply as the years go by. Is this just a feeling or is this for real? My faith tells me it is for real. It is part of who I am today.

And I am now thinking of my own sons. There is so much in them that I know comes from me. But in reality, they are their own persons. Anabelle and I ‘had’ them for a while. But I am amazed at the gentlemen they have become. And they almost seem like strangers to me. I am getting to know them with the passing of time. They definitely love Anabelle and me better and more demonstratively than I have loved Ima and Tatang. They certainly know and can do a lot more at their age than I could during my time. They have seen more of life than I could even imagine when I was their age.

Now that we have our grandchildren, I realize even more profoundly how I still have to learn and understand. During our Marriage Encounter years ago, Anabelle and I wrote love letters to each other. And we were asked to read each letter twice: first, for the meaning; and then second, for the feeling.

Raising Martin, Mickey, and Macky was mainly for the meaning: what it meant to be a father, what are the things a father does, how does one live out fatherhood. Now that we are helping raise Jonathan and Jane, it seems to be mainly for the feeling: to catch that nuance of a smile or laughter that we missed the first time around, to relish that hug or embrace just one moment longer, to stay in the zone like there were no tomorrow to worry about, to engage in rote and repetition for this might not happen again, to live eternity in the quickness of a gleeful second.

Is this coming full circle or simply coming into the fullness of life?

Posted in Faith, Family, Identity, Life | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Full Circle or Fullness of Life?

Remembering Ima Once Again

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.
John 5:8-9

Today is the birthday of Ima. I remember her healing hands and her seemingly endless store of home remedies. She always had agua oxigenada, merthiolate, cotton balls, gauze pads and plaster strips to clean and treat the endless bruises and wounds we three brothers always seemed to have. If we had stomach-ache, she always had that awful tasting paregoric elixir, made easier to swallow with a bottle of Seven-Up. For indigestion and even low-grade fever, there are always Philips Milk Of Magnesia in the house. When we were nursing a lingering fever, she would nurse us back to health with sponge baths with lukewarm water and alcohol. For coughs and stuffy nose, there was Vicks Vaporub. With her tender loving care, we were back to feeling well and good again in no time at all.

Ima had a special way of making people feel good. She was one of the first and few mangulut (beautician? hairdresser?) in the the 1940’s till the 1960’s in Angeles City. Her shop was the 33rd Beauty Shoppe. In a recent to my hometown, I met some old friends and they related stories of how pretty they felt after a visit to Ima’s parlor with their mothers. They would get one of Ima’s hair treatment on their birthdays, or on special occasions like the fiesta, on even on ordinary days just to feel good.

Ima went out of her way to make people feel good. She loved having people at home and the meals she prepared, while of ordinary fare, were always a scrumptious feast to remember and come back for. I guess I got from her my own propensity for inviting people over for a shared meal. She also loved going and visiting friends and relatives during holidays and special occasions. I remember our Christmasses spent in doing the rounds of our families and friends. It was such a joyous practice that I always looked forward to, mainly because of all the aguinaldo and pamasko given to me.

Ima had a soft spot in her heart for the oppressed and the underdog. She would always take the side among her friends and relatives who seemed to get the short end of the stick in life. Nephews and nieces who felt they were misunderstood or who had no one to take their side naturally gravitated to her for solace and comfort. I think she was a favorite aunt among my cousins.

Strange, how I seem to get to know my mother better with the passing of the years. I look at my life and I understand many things better just by thinking about how Ima had handled similar situations.

Posted in Family, Home, Relationships | Tagged , | Comments Off on Remembering Ima Once Again