Fulfillment

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Spirit Moments

The sun may seem to be but one ordinary star in the entire universe but it gives out light and energy and makes life possible on earth. The passing of the seasons may be simply due to to the earth rotating around the sun but the seasons make possible the rhythm and cycle of life on earth. Rain and snow may be nothing more than the condensation of water vapors but the water they bring provides the broth of life on earth.

And so it is that a girl grows up to be a woman and becomes a mother. A boy puts on bulk to become a man and raise his own offsprings after him. People may bicker and wage wars but more often come together in community in love and service to one another. And in their solidarity, men have created civilizations, cultures and the great cities of the world. There is greed but there is greater sharing and generosity. There is hatred and anger but there is greater love and compassion. Deep inside, people know that light is stronger that darkness, life is more powerful than death and love will eventually conquer all.

I am one in a billion possibilities. But for the grace of God, in that one-billionth of a chance, I could have missed being born. Yet hare I am, not by chance but by the loving will of God. And so it came to pass that I was born. Just as the sun gives light and life, I was born to receive and give out that light and life. Just as people through the ages have built communities of love and service, I am alive to participate in communities of love and service around me. The sun shines to give life; people come together in community to love; I am alive and in love.

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

~ Psalm 147

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-19

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Parables and Stories

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Spirit Moments

People love stories. We remember things, events and ideas better when we are told stories about them rather than just being simply told about an idea, a thing or an event. Jesus couched most of what He taught us in stories He called parables, of which he left many to us. And we remember better what he wanted to teach us: the Parable of the Prodigal Son taught us about unconditional love; the Good Samaritan taught us about compassion; the Merciful King taught us about forgiveness; the Parable to the Sower taught us about the spiritual life, the mustard seed taught us about faith.

The wonderful thing about stories and parables is that we always learn something new with each re-telling. I have heard the story of the Prodigal Son a thousand times; Yet, there always something new that I learn about unconditional love every time I read or hear it. It could be a nuance I missed before, or another manifestation of what true love is, or a reminder of how difficult it is to practice unconditional love.

And when God wanted to tell us who He is, He told us a story – starting from the first moment of creation through the patriarchs, the prophets and the kings. And then, He inserted Himself into our world and became part of the story in Jesus Christ. It is the great and cosmic drama of Salvation History. The story continues to this day as He makes His role felt through the workings of the Spirit in my life today.

Remember your mercies, O Lord.
~ Psalm 25

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
Matthew 18:21-35

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Celebrate Differences

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Spirit Moments

For the longest time, mankind and human societies have been too focused on exclusions. They defined themselves by what made them different from others – religion, race, language, culture and even cuisine. Today, there is a growing consciousness and advocacy for more and greater inclusion.

Minorities, long living in the fringes, are brought into inclusion by recognizing and respecting what make them different. Economic growth is no longer measured in increasing wealth alone but by whether the growth is inclusive and equitable shared. And in foods, there is more and more fusion cuisine where the best tastes from different cuisines are fused and blended together.

We are slowly and finally learning that our differences are not meant to separate but to bring us even closer to one another. If we were all the same, what a drab and boring world it would be. But because we are all different, each day and each encounter always promises to be an exciting adventure.

Yes, let us celebrate our differences instead of letting these keep us apart! Let’s synergize!

Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?
~ Psalm 42
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
Luke 4:24-30
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Ima

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Spirit Moments

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One of the things that gladden my heart as I watch Jonathan and Jane growing up is their sense and experience of the sacred. Jonathan can be a bubbly bundle of energy at play but I love watching him take on a reverent and devout posture when serves Mass in church. Jane can look very chic and stylish when she does one of her fashion shows but I am deeply touched when I see her make a prayerful and pious bow when she leads us in our prayers before meals. Young as they are, they have a sense of the spiritual and the divine. Their different body postures when praying tells me that they experience something beyond the play and fun world of a child.

My own sense and experience of the divine and the sacred was awakened pretty early. I remember Ima teaching me how to pray at an early age. She had a lot of religious devotions and she would often include us in them. I loathed it then when she did; but this sense of the sacred and the divine has been among the pillars in my life, with Ima being a major one of them.

Yesterday, the story of the prodigal son reminded me to Tatang. Today’s story of Jesus cleaning the temple reminds me of Ima. It is also her birthday today. Additionally, it is International Women’s Day. If Tatang was the light and energy of our family, Ima was the warmth and heartbeat. Where Tatang would give guidance and direction when it was dark and I seemed lost, Ima provided the breeze and the shelter when it was uncomfortably hot and I needed a safe and comfortable home to go to.

I remember Ima as always having been prayerful. She sought and found refuge in God’s presence. She was beside herself with joy when I told them I wanted to enter the seminary and she was heart-broken when I left. Now, as I create time and space where I can encounter God in prayer, Ima is never far away. She is here with me whenever I enter my Sacred Space. She helps the Lord in cleaning up the temple that is my body of the dirt and grime I bring into my life. Like Tatang, Ima is still here with me.

Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
~ Psalm 19
Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
John 2:13-25
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Tatang

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Spirit Moments

“Son, you are always with me.” Tatang never said these words to me but they could very well be his own. Everyday, I pray to and for him and Ima. They are always with me.

Tatang came from a family of farmers. Among his siblings, he was the only one who went to school. Somehow, he realized that in education, there was liberation, freedom. He inspired several of his nephews and nieces to follow in his footsteps, with some of them becoming teachers just like he was. As a teacher, he taught and trained many students in building construction that would make Pampanga famous for skillful carpenters.

Tatang had a naughty sense of humor. He loved playing pranks on other people. His laughter was crisp and his smile, naughtily impish. He loved to cook and his dishes were often reserved for special occasions. Or rather, an ordinary dish becomes a special one when he is the one who prepares it and the meal is a special occasion.

Tatang was a very positive person. He had beautiful dreams for all of us his children. In his quiet and simple ways, he worked and inspired us to work and achieve our dreams. He would rather keep quiet than speak a discouraging word. In fact, he would rather keep the negatives to himself. There were days he would mope and brood and we knew there was something bad bothering him. Then, he would just explode and it would take a few more days before he is back to his normal jolly self.

Tatang was a success probably beyond his fondest hopes. It was a long way from the farm hut he grew up in to the bungalow he eventually built for us, his family. He became one of the administrators of the government school he was teaching in and I could always feel that certain quiet glow of pride in his achievements. He was never one to boast with bluster about his success though.

No, I do not miss my Tatang. As I look back at my growing up years with his encouraging presence, as I looks back at my own years of raising up my three sons, as I now enjoy helping nurture and take care of my grandchildren, I realize Tatang has never left me. I realize the things I like most about myself, I got from him. The things I wish to correct in myself must be the same things he wanted to correct in himself. My dreams, my humor, my accomplishments are all rooted in the nurturing and caring and love I got from him. He is still very much with me to this day.

The Lord is kind and merciful.
~ Psalm 103
Then the father said to him,
“Son, you are always with me,
and all that is mine is yours.
But we had to celebrate and rejoice,
because this brother of yours was dead
and has come to life;
he was lost and has been found.”
Luke 15:31-32
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Lessons From a Tree

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Spring has come early this year. The cherry plum trees by the side of the house have been in full bloom the past three weeks now, all pretty in pink with their blossoms. The flowers have been falling off the trees by the hundreds everyday. Not all the flowers will eventually become fruits but by summer the trees will still be heavy with crimson plums. One less blossom would not really matter. Nature has always been prodigal in her ways and superabundance is her game. Thus is the life of a cherry plum tree: in spring, it puts out a beautiful display of pink flowers; in summer, it gives forth juicy crimson fruits; in autumn, it sheds leaves to put back into the soil the nutrients it has used; and in winter, it rests and restores itself of the next spring.

I am a bundle of talents, gifts and skills. I may be one of billion human beings here on earth; but there no other one quite like me. There are things that only I can do. There are people who are because of me; just as I am because of certain people. Just as the cherry plum tree is there by our house to give shade, beauty and fruits; I am here to give and receive love to people who are part of my life. I may not change the world as I had one time dreamt of doing in the past. But there is no denying, the world would not be a happy place for some people without me in their lives. In fact, for a few of them, they might not even be in the world if not for me.

Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
~ Psalm 105
Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
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To Be Alive is to Be a Person of Hope

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Spirit Moments

To be alive, to be here, now, is the greatest gift of all. Life is so full of joyful and thrilling moments that we would never want it to end. And when the inevitable sad and difficult moments come, people still intuitively know, feel, yearn and hope that there will always be comfort after the affliction, laughter after the tears, joys after the sorrow, and yes life will go on forever.

Yet, for all the beauty and the blessings of life, it can also be tenuous and fleeting. Life is all too soon gone. It could be snuffed out so easily by an illness, by an accident, by another, and, in the end, by age. And people wonder if there is anything at all after death.

What if all our hopes for eternal life and everlasting happiness were but vain and baseless desires and aspirations? What if there is nothing at all after we finally close our eyes? What if we are but a fleeting presence in an otherwise magnificent universe? But then again, how can such a magnificent universe be in existence if only for a fleeting moment of life? How can such strong hopes and inspirations be planted in our hearts without them being realized? How can all the goodness and love that people are capable of be entirely gone when they die? How can the stirrings in the human heart be but the beating of muscles had they not been placed there by the Creator Himself?

I place my hopes in the promises and revelations of the Lord.

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
~ Psalm 1
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Luke 16:19-31
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Feeling the Presence

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Spirit Moments

There have been moments in my life when I had a sense of foreboding and of impending doom. There were moments when I felt sad, gloomy, and disappointed for things not going the way I would have wanted them to. But looking back, everything has worked out for the better and in a manner that I could not have managed myself had I been totally in control.

I had a sleepless night when I learned I did not make it to the seminary of my choice and instead had to go to San Carlos. My years in San Carlos have been life changing and I have met there many of my life-long friends today.

I woke crying from my sleep one night during the early days of martial law as I realized that my whole world was crumbling around me. But that traumatic national event has had a profound effect on the rest of my life as it helped me clarify my options and take the decisive steps for my future.

I often felt silly and so out of place attending board meetings and executive sessions during my corporate career. I kept wondering why I was there at all. I have realized that it was not for the bigwigs that I was there but for the many ordinary employees that I have been able to help inspire and develop.

I was dumbfounded when I was fired from a job by a boss I did not have much respect for. Yet, there was no sense of panic but a deep realization that I was again being guided to move forward in my life. Indeed, that experience afforded me the opportunity to better prepare for our later move to the US.

Through it all, I always felt my life was being looked after. There was Someone guiding me along the way. Even when things were not clear or were even difficult, I knew I was where i was supposed to be because of God’s presence in my life. He walks with me. Even now that my daily life is so ordinary, I still thrill at the thought that just around the bend, God has more surprises waiting for me.

R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
~ Psalm 31
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over
to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”
Matthew 20:17-19
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Tuesday Thoughts

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Spirit Moments

There were times in my life when I could make people move and make things happen. Those were heady days when I was given a place of honor at banquets, a seat of honor at conferences, greeted in public as ‘Mr. President Sir.’ People heeded my words and followed my instructions. Today, I drive around running errands; I take out the garbage; I keep house for my loved ones.

I do not miss the ‘good old day’. Neither am I disheartened at where I am now nor dissatisfied with what I am doing. I had my time and days of being first. Now, I am relishing and learning what it means to be last, even as i relish to the full what could be my last remaining days.

I certainly encountered God when I enjoyed the thrilling days of my youth. Now, I have more time to encounter Him more leisurely and in the simplicity and sometimes emptiness of my daily ordinary schedule. I do not hurry to get things done. I simply watch things unfolding and try to learn something new and extraordinary from the ordinary events of my daily life. I loved my life then: hectic, bustling, moving fast, almost everything a blur. I love my life now: gently flowing like a river, wondering how far away still the ocean is, watching the sceneries and people I pass by as I meander through the valley.

Life has been good. Life is good. I have tried and still trying to live an upright life and I trust that God will show me His saving power in the fullness of time.

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
~ Psalm 50
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:1-12
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Some Lessons on the Levels of Reality

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Spirit Moments

Life on earth is ruled by natural laws: gravity, motion, forces and energy. Life among men is likewise governed by laws and principles: judge not and you will not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and you will receive. Violation of these laws and principles carry their own natural consequences, the severity of which depends on the severity of the offense. And people have always known these truths rather intuitively.

On a higher level, there is a certain counter-intuitiveness to life. For all the predictability and rationality of these principles and their effects, there is an amount of randomness and serendipity to life. It is on such a higher levels that we come to fully realize our humanity. Like, love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; the last shall be first and the first shall be the last.

Then on the highest level, we realize that there is always a third party in all we do: myself, the other and the Supreme Other who made all these things and truths possible. God validates and provides the ultimate reason for our intuition of what life is all about and even took on our form to reveal to us the counter-intuitive reality around us. Life is fleeting and comes to an end. That is according to the laws of nature. But God says, “I will let you share in my everlasting life and in the fullness of life.” That is counter-intuitive. And we need to hear it from the source to know it is our reality and our truth.

Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
~Psalm 79
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
Luke 6:36-38

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