Some Easter Experiences

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Things and events in my life have a subtle way of coming full circle in my life. And when they do, it is always with fuller and richer meaning than the first time around.

I have always loved children and somehow they have also always shown a special closeness to me. I loved every moment of the times Anabelle and I were raising up our three sons. I have pictures and letters to prove it. Now that we are helping in taking care of Jonathan and Jane, I know I have been there before but it all feels like the first time all over again. I keep being amazed at their precociousness, their crispy laughter, how spontaneously affectionate they can be, how insatiable their hunger for fun and games is. I know I have been here before but I can never have enough of either of them.

I have always loved playing with words and writing down my thoughts and about my emotions. I kept diaries and wrote essays several times in the past. But today, i am able to write daily as I do my morning meditations. I never expect that I would be this disciplined in doing so and be able to share my writings with many others.

I feel this is what Easter is all about: life coming full circle and being made fuller and more complete. Jesus first called Peter and the other disciples as they were mending their nets. Now the Risen Christ calls out to them as they are coming in from a night of frustrated fishing. Full circle. Fuller encounter. Like deja vu, only this time it is for real.

T.S. Eliot must have had Easter in mind when he wrote these words:

We shall not cease from exploration 
And the end of all our exploring 
Will be to arrive where we started 
And know the place for the first time. 

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
~ Psalm 118

When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
John 21:1-14

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Believing in Easter

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Spirit Moments

I grew up in Angeles City, near the biggest US military facility outside of the continental US, Clark Air Base. So, I was exposed to American things and culture early in my life. All the good things we liked and enjoyed came from Clark – foods, clothes, appliances, and yes, comic books! I would often find myself then daydreaming what it would be like to live in the US, the source of all the good things I was enjoying as a kid. I would spend hours in such daydreams but never did I really believed they would become a reality. Now, I live in the US enjoying many of the things I used to daydream about.

One the the most memorable dreams I had as a child was meeting and falling in love with a beautiful girl – ling hair, winsome smile, cute pixie nose, subtly pronounced cheekbones, and a Tagala. I would replay the image in my mind, which ultimately defined my ideal and definition of beauty. I did not immediately realize it but I am now certain that that girl I dreamt of is none other than Anabelle.

I daydreamed a lot as a child, often being one of the characters from the comic books I got from Clark. But in real life, my dreams were simple. I saw myself being a life-time teacher like my father. All I wanted was a beautiful and loving wife, two children, good books to read with good music playing in the background, and occasionally a wonderful feast to celebrate important dates in our lives. I never saw myself leaving Angeles City. And I would have been a very happy man. All these I have today but at several levels higher than what I bargained for. I’ve got me the most beautiful and loving wife and not two but three devoted and affectionate sons. And I am not even yet talking of the grandchildren. I have access to all the good books I can think of. I can have the music I love on demand. And least night, we just had an excellent roasted lamb for dinner to celebrate Anabelle’s birthday.

I imagine the apostles during that first Easter. All their worst fears, and some they had not even thought of, have come true. Now they were despondent and cowering in fear. Then, all of a sudden, against all that is logical and to be expected, the Lord has risen, as He had promised.  He turned their mourning into rejoicing, their sorrow into joy and their fears into hearts burning with love and courage.

Easter is the season of the unexpected. It is the season of surprises. It is the time when our wildest daydreams become a reality. I believe in Easter.

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
~ Psalm 8

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
Luke 24:35-48

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Not Just an Ordinary Day

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Spirit Moments

This day could have been just another ordinary day. I could have just gone on doing what I would routinely do everyday. But it is special and stands out from all the other days in my life because it is the birthday of Anabelle. I thank God that on this day, three scores and six years ago, He fashioned a beautiful bundle of goodness and love and named her Anabelle. He told her, “If things unfold as I have planned (and they always do); you will, on the twenty first year of your life, meet a young man your age who I want you to spend the rest of your life with.” And so indeed, it came to pass.

The passage of time is unrelenting, waiting for no one and never pausing. It is just like a river that simply keeps on flowing. But time is made precious by the different relationships in our lives – relationships with nature, people, God and even with myself. We punctuate the river of time with signposts and landmarks to celebrate the important events in these relationships. Like births and deaths, comings and goings, beginnings and endings, first times and memories.

Even spring could have just been another passage in the unending march of the seasons. But it has been made significant and meaningful because of Easter, the new life springing forth singing Hallelujah to the new life of the Risen Lord. I thank God for Easter and I rejoice at His presence in my life. I thank God for Anabelle and I rejoice at her presence in my life.

Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
~ Psalm 105

While he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the Eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Luke 24:13-35

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The Lord Is In Control

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Very often, I am disappointed that things I have hoped and prayed for do not come to fruition. Similarly, quite often too, I am elated that things I have hoped and prayed for do not come about after seeing how disastrous things would have been if they had. The season of Easter is a season of joy and it is a season of gladsome surprises. It is also a season that teaches me God is in control.

Early Sunday morning, first  day of the week, the disciples were distraught at the turn of events over the weekend. It was totally devastating for them to watch what they had hoped and prayed would be God’s saving actions would end up so disastrously. The apostles were particularly afraid for they could very well be the next one that the Romans will be going after.

And then, totally unexpected, He is alive. He shows himself to Mary. He shows Himself to the eleven. They are in total disbelief at what is happening. He comforts the weeping Mary. He asks Thomas to put his finger into His side. He even cooks a breakfast for them. They had heard Him say He would rise up but they must have taken that with a healthy helping of salt grains. He teaches them God, ultimately, is in control – over death and over life, over sin and over grace, over darkness and over light.

When things do not happen as I have hoped and prayed for, God is cooking up something different and always something better for me; or He is saving me from some catastrophe; or what I have asked for is taking Him a little bit more time and resources to make happen.

I reflect on these verses I am re-blogging from a blog I follow (Morning Story and Dilbert). They speak to me of how God is in control of my life.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey . . .

I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things …

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise …

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God .. .

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things …

I got nothing I asked for–but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I, among all men, am most richly blessed!

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
~ Psalm 33

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.
John 20:11-18

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Letting the Joy of Easter Shine Through

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Easter is a season of joy, peace and promise. Christians who truly believe in the Resurrection must be people filled with joy, living in peace-full hope. Easter is the realization that the Savior who said He will rise again finally did exactly that – He rose from the dead. There is no containing the joy and the fulfillment that comes from this realization for He promised that if He was able to do it, He will also make it happen to us.

True Christians always have a smile on their faces, or at the very least, in their hearts. There is a perpetual song that plays in their lives that the Lord is risen and He said for us “to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” There may be those who are stuck in the passion and death of Christ and live with long and gloomy faces. They have to move on to the glory of the Resurrection. There may be those who are stuck with Christmas and have reduced their faith into a pollyanna mixtures of shallow, pious devotions. They have to grow, take up the cross and pass over to the Resurrection.

The early Christians were persecuted and literally fed to the lions. But they went to their deaths singing joyous songs in praise of God. They would today be probably be considered a lunatic fringe. There was another man who was considered a fool, left everything and proclaimed the joys and the hope promised by the Risen Lord. St. Francis prayed that God make him an instrument of His peace to bring Gods’ joy where there is sadness, light where there is darkness, faith where there is doubt, hope where there is despair, and love where there is hatred. Today, another Francis proclaims “The Joy of the Gospel”. Pope Francis says, “A Christian is never bored or sad. Rather the one who loves Christ is full of joy and radiates joy.” Another time, he said: “Joy! Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad.” Indeed a sad Christian has not yet truly encountered the Risen Christ.

Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
~ Psalm 16

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.” 
Matthew 28:8-10

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The Lord Is Risen

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Before the four Gospels were written, there was was the Gospel of nature.
Nature, with her beauty and constant transformation,
Show us the magnificence and reality of the Resurrection.
Today, I simply let the grandeur of nature speak to me
About the reality and truth of the Risen Lord
Allowing the scenes, the melody and the words
To permeate and possess my whole being
Through this video I put together.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
~ Psalm 118

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
John 20:1-9

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The Lord in the Tomb

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Spirit Moments

They say it is darkest just before the dawn.
I imagine lying there in the dark,
recalling the brutal and humiliating events of Friday,
with the no glimmer of what comes next.

How fast the events had unfolded
from the triumphal entry into the city to shouts of ‘Hosannah’
to the arrest in the garden and the mockery of a trial
then to the ignominious death on a hill, hanging on the cross.

Hopes were high this man lying in the tomb would save Israel.
He did wonders like healing the infirm and feeding the thousands.
He spoke with such authority clothed in love and tenderness
Even his enemies were enthralled by what he said and did.

Why and how did it come to this?
Why did so much promise come to such an awful ending?
Why and how could his followers have missed the signs?
“Could we start again please?”

Why must it end in death when He kept on promising us eternal Life?
Why must he suffer and die like an ordinary criminal?
If He was God, as He had claimed, why didn’t He just
Make things right with the wave of His hand?

I stare at the dead man laid out in the tomb
And I struggle with my own ‘whys’.
In the silence and emptiness of the tomb,
I try to come to terms the events in my life I do not understand.

After all my prayers, why am I still beset by doubts and discouragement?
After all the giving and sharing, why am I still often bedeviled by selfishness?
After all the self-denials and sacrifices, why am I still driven by lustful passions?
After all the serving and reaching out, why am I still stuck with my ego?

And after all the thousand years people have been following this Man
Why are we still divided and furiously at each others’ throats?
Why do millions die of hunger in a sea of plenty?
Why do some people have more than they need even for a hundred lifetimes?

In the darkness of the tomb, I take in all my doubts and despair.
I watch the dead Man lying there and wondering
Will I ever truly understand everything you have taught me?
Will I ever truly live out everything you have asked of me?

Then Joseph bought a linen cloth,
and taking down the body,
wrapped it in the linen cloth,
and laid it in a tomb
that had been hewn out of the rock.
He then rolled a stone
against the door of the tomb.
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses
saw where the body was laid.
Mark 15:46-47

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The Lord’s Death on the Cross

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Spirit Moments

In the ancient Roman world, the cross was such an ignominious way to die; the early Christians never really used it as a symbol of their faith nor as part of their rituals. They used the fish (in Greek, ἰχθύς) or the Chirho. The Greek word for fish was the acronym for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Chi and Rho are the first two Greek letters for ‘Christ’. I have learned from Fr. Barron that “For the first nine centuries of the Church’s life, Jesus’ cross wouldn’t be depicted.”

God has a rather wicked sense of humor. He loves to dumbfound human wisdom with divine folly. To set right Adam’s ‘happy fault’, He sent His only Son to redeem us. Then he used the cross, the worst possible way to die during those Roman times, to become the sign of ultimate victory.

On the cross, Jesus was stripped of everything He had. They stripped Him of his garments. he would die not only penniless but also naked. They stripped Him even of His humanity as they subjected him to all kinds of insults and humiliation. And yet, in His nakedness and emptiness, He only had forgiveness for his oppressors and torturers, mercy and compassion for those crucified with Him, care and concern for those He was leaving behind, obedience and love for the Father who sent Him. No one is so poor that he has nothing to give and no one is so rich that he has nothing to receive.

On the cross, Jesus taught us that the ultimate test of our humanity is our capacity to give even when we are totally empty and our humility to receive when we believe we have self-sufficiency. When we give, we multiply our gifts and make ourselves grow. When we receive, we enable others to grow and ourselves to glow.

When I think about it, the cross is a natural part of being human. And to be fully human, we need crosses in our lives. Most people would want to see their life paths moving along a straight and narrow road. But sooner or later, some persons or events or circumstances cross our path. And in that intersection is a cross, either forcing us to stop, take a detour or to simply take up the cross. And in hindsight, it is these crosses that have given us the most fulfillment, have led us to our greatest accomplishments and have been the prelude to our greatest joys and happiness.

Indeed, it is in taking up our cross that we find salvation, in dying on the cross that we come into new life and in giving up our life on the cross that we receive our new and better life.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
~ Psalm 31

Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself,
he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull,
in Hebrew, Golgotha.
There they crucified him, and with him two others,
one on either side, with Jesus in the middle.
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”
John 19:16-19

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The Lord’s Supper

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Today, Catholics celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, commemorating the institution of the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and of the Holy Orders. It is the beginning of the Triduum, the unfolding of events that lead up to the Lord’s glorious resurrection on Easter.

Catholics have a number of beliefs that are a scandal and a stumbling block for many. In fact, these beliefs are what led to Christ being crucified. The bread and wine we receive during Mass are not bread and wine. These are in fact the Body and Blood of Christ! That defies all logic and what my senses are telling me. There is more. Present in the the bread and wine transformed into body and blood is the God who has saved me from my sinfulness. Now, this is getting harder and harder to believe, much more to understand.

How about this? This man who gave us His body and blood to eat has promised to rise from the dead. And He promised that we will also rise from the dead like He did; that he will give us eternal live; that we will live forever with Him in a new life.

And it does not stop there. This man is actually God who took on our humanity so that we can share in His divinity. There are three persons in Him but He is one. He is not some distant deity watching us like some toys to amuse Him. He is with us every moment looking after us and He loves each one of us with an infinite love.

All of these beliefs and facts are hard to swallow and accept. But I have seen Him active in my life not to believe His presence and His love. There is no compelling reason for me to be here and yet I am here. There are so many possible things that could have happened in my life and yet blessings and graces have been coming my way in ways and measures I cannot explain unless I accept that He is guiding my life. There are too many things inexplicable unless I accept His presence in my life.

How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me?
~ Psalm 116

So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
John 13:1-15

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Betrayals and Redemption

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Betrayal by a loved one can be very painful and can destroy or break down a person. on the other hand, such betrayal can also serve to make a person better and stronger. “What does not destroy me makes me stronger.” a philosopher once said.

I have a friend who loved someone who loved him with her guts. She was a very brave and courageous woman. Her life story has been one of struggle and rising out of want and deprivation. She saw most everyone as a threat or a danger. She relied on her guts and instincts to get her through challenges and difficulties. She was nice and pleasant to be with. And she may take an instant liking of you depending on what her guts or instincts tell her. The opposite can be true. She can have an instant dislike of some one and she can be very mean. In the end, she told my friend, “You are too good for me.” and left him.

Then he met a someone who loved him with her head. She was smart and articulate. She approached life in a very rational and systematic way. She wanted everything laid out clear and planned out. She wanted an answer for all her questions, a reason for all her actions and a return for all her efforts. She was also nice and pleasant to be with. But in the end, she said, “I am too good for you.” and left him.

I am praying for my friend to find someone who will love him with her heart. She will love him spontaneously seemingly without reason but she is one who will hear the song my friend is singing in his heart and sing along with him, who will feel the boundless energy of love within him and run alongside with him, who will see the dreams they can weave together and walk through life with him. She seeks no reason to spend her life with him except that he has offered his hand for her to hold and says, “We are good and truly meant for each other.”

Lord, in your great love, answer me.
~ Psalm 69

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-25

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