Saturated With Grace

Like a sponge, we too, absorb. It can't be helped that in a day we are immersed in situations that seep in the negative: random people cursing and badmouthing; heavy winding traffic; sudden work pressures; family misunderstandings; and other unexpected concerns that weigh on us. Yet, we too can absorb the positive: God's Grace! At the start of the day, we have to soak in the Holy Spirit -- saturated in Grace through prayer and especially the Sacraments (daily Mass is highly recommended). Once saturated with Grace that sanctifies, all the absorbed negatives will be purified and met with faith, hope, and love. Burdens become challenges; the mundane turns exciting; hopeless cases find faith; anger trimmed to calmness; and work transforms into mission. Be a "gracious sponge" today!

A Marriage Lived in the Holy Spirit

The agape love of a husband and wife saturates the home -- it blesses the children and those who enter it. A Marriage lived in the Holy Spirit emits an aroma of Christ; reveals a vision of hope; reaches out to heal; and satisfies body and soul. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord...". (Psalm 84:2)

God Is In Our Favor

My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together. Gen. 22:8

Abraham, knowing that Isaac is the actual sacrifice, hoped in the Lord to provide a substitute for Isaac.  Having hope amidst desperate situations is what The Lord requires. As well as having faith that The Lord has a purpose for our obedience.

Having encountered The Truth--who is God, Abraham obeyed without question even if it was excruciating for him. I would have thought, "How can God ask this of me?" Yet an encounter with The Truth makes us realize that all we see are His--even our children, that He is good all the time, and that He always acts in our favor.

What a Glorious Mystery!

http://salesiansistersaes24.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/risen-christ.jpg

"He is risen!" How good must have this sounded in the ears of Christ's disciples.  Suddenly all Christ said made sense.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,* and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. (John 2:19-22)


All hope is restored, fear is replaced by love.

What are the things that Christ wants us to do today that doesn't seem to make any sense? 

When I was 22, being a fresh engineering graduate, it did not make sense to "give it all up" to be a fulltime missionary.  Then when I got married, it did not seem to make sense to continue fulltime mission work.  Yet here I am, despite all the things that should have made sense in other people's minds, I continue to trust the peace that Christ gives me.  Yes, I still am a missionary, and mysteriously He continues to provide.  I believe one day with His grace, when in Heaven, it will all make perfect sense.  For what are our thoughts compared to His thoughts? 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9)

We are all called to serve a greater purpose.  It might not make sense now why you should use your profession or circumstance to spread and build God's kingdom. You might be laughed at, even persecuted. Buy hey, that's always been the story of Christians through history.  What has been consistent all through out the life of the Church are the persecutions. It did not make sense to the world why Christians were willing to be eaten by lions or be stoned to death for the sake of Christ. But through this, Christianity even spread more.  These are God's ways, wierd and mysterious as it may seem to us, but to the All Knowing and All Powerful it does not only make sense but it is The Way.  As we faithfully endure in carrying our daily cross (often struggling and rationalizing why this cross), there is always the promise of resurrection, of heaven, of eternal life in the Lord.  As shown by Jesus, the Resurrection will always be a Glorious Mystery!

Let the grace of peace in our hearts to do God's work satisfy our senses and bring us to the hope in partaking in the Glorious Mystery of His Resurrection. Happy Easter!

Viral Faith

Faith is strengthened when it is given to others. -Redemptoris Missio

Today, I acquired this flu virus that's been spreading in the office these past few weeks. I thought I'd be strong enough to resist, but no, I still caught it.

It made me reflect on "Faith going viral". Are we spreading the faith? Are we contagious witnesses of the Good News?

Evangelization, though challenging, has a very simple faith formula: "Love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34)." If we can love others like Christ does, then faith shall spread. Consistent witnessing is tantamount to growth in evangelization.

Bishop Ambo, in his homily said "Bad news is contagious but Good news is even more contagious." The question we can ask ourselves is "Do we bring good news?" How often do we catch ourselves complaining, blaming, and frustrated? As if hope is gone.

People compromise their faith because of the loss of hope. The hope that one day, corruption will be a thing of the past or spouses will be more faithful to their vows or teens will save sex for marriage, will keep us striving for the ideal and not settle for less. When society becomes less hopeful, compromises happen. That's when laws that are anti-life start to get proposed. When society loses its faith in God, its concept of hope diminishes. But love can bring it back. If we love with the strength that comes from God, then anything is possible.

Faith, hope, and love are indeed connected to each other. St. Paul pointed out, "And the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13)."

Let us spread faith and hope by being infected with the contagious love of Christ.
 

Radical Kindness

image from  http://thefilmstage.com/reviews/review-les-miserables/

The movie Les Miserables depicts how radical kindness can impact the lives of many. The Bishop's gesture to Jean Valjean made ripples of hope for others.

By God's grace, an act of unexpected generosity and selfless giving can change a person.

Who would have expected that Christ would suffer and die a shameful death? He gave of Himself, radically and unexpectedly, as a ransom for our sins. And so we are saved, as well as those to whom we evangelize.

Upon experiencing Christ fully, through people and through prayer, one cannot help but to also be Christ to others and see Christ in others. As Les Miserables' most famous line goes, "To love another person is to see the face of God."

Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. (John 13:34)

When was the last time that we gave unexpectedly?  Are we ready to do an act of radical kindness?

Gratitude for 2012, Hope for 2013

There is just so much to thank God for.  I think that we should be able set aside signficant amount of time just to express our gratitude to our Lord. An attitude of gratitude, is something we can develop.

What we can do for the end of the year is to just randomly list down things that God granted upon us for 2012.  His providence may suprise and astound us.

I'd like to share three things as my reflection on His blessings and our posture of thanksgiving.

1. God's blessings will always surpass our failings.

       When we fail, we tend to highlight that particular experience and wallow in regret. But truly, failures are opportunities for us to become better or even become the best in our field. When we look back at our year, let us take time to squeeze out major lessons, specially from our failings.  With humility and in God's wisdom, these so called failures will later transform into deeply rooted values that will contribute to our success.
        If we look around and notice the details of our lives, even for just this year, there is enormous blessings.  Let not our regrets overwhelm us, instead let hope prevail and let His Spirit urge us to press on. Let us thank God for showing us the lessons of our failures.

2. God is faithful and He wants us to be fruitful.

      Often our unfaithfulness hinder God from fully blessing us. Yet, like the prodigal Son, who went back to his father, a feast still awaits.  God is ready to bless us, we just have to embrace His love and accept the kind of life He offers. Let us thank the Father for loving us despite our unfaithfulness.

3. A humble heart will always have room for God's providence. 

     When our hearts are full of pride, is there room for God to bless?  Let us empty our hearts from pride, unforgiveness, doubts, and other negativities. Let us make room for Him and surely  true joy will reside in us. Let us thank God for continuously knocking at the door of our hearts and patiently waiting for us to invite Him in.

4. We ask for the grace to praise and thank Him amidst gloom

For many of us, 2012 was a tough year.  Thousands lost family and friends due to a calamity, a people divided because of social and moral issues, heart wrenching news of kids murdered in Connecticut, personal undertakings that didn't go our way, and many more. Yet, amidst all these things, God is love.  In His mystery, He has a plan for us and for mankind.  This was Job's reaction when everything was taken from him

Job’s Reaction.
Then Job arose and tore his cloak and cut off his hair. He fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back there.* The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with wrong. (Job 1:20-22).

Let us thank God even if it is difficult to do so.

We look forward to the New Year with hope! Let us commit to do better for 2013, with much gratitude in our hearts and with full trust in the hope of God's plan.

Gloom to Glory

August 7, 2012, 8pm
And the monsoon rains keep on pouring down...It's been raining like crazy. I wonder when the rain will ever stop, it's relentless. Watching the news of flood victims breaks my heart. Water levels are at the roof tops in many areas. Some flyovers are almost caught up by flood. While all these are happening, my wife Michelle can give birth anytime. She's starting to feel the contractions. It's probably the worst time to go to the hospital since the streets are flooded and our doctor's residence area is also affected by it. It's a gloomy situation on the streets as I made my way to buy some emergency groceries. There will be days of gloom in our lives. But gloom doesn't mean doom. Times like these remind us that there are things beyond our control and that Someone bigger than us can help.Days of gloom bring us down to our knees before God. We are brought to a point of an honest and sincere conversation with Him. Yes, the trying times will bring us closer to Him. We may find it hard to understand His plan for us, specially in painful circumstances. Our 'rational' minds and the feelings in our hearts are too primitive compared to God's infinite wisdom and love. Yet, our Lord Jesus showed us the way to the Almighty by teaching us to relate to God as our Father. Like a little child, there are things that we cannot comprehend about the father's ways. We sometimes cry over things that we do not know can be good for us in the future. Days of gloom are allowed by the Father so we can bloom in the strength of our faith.There will always be times of testing, especially in days of gloom. Here we come to know our true self; where we stand, what we believe in, our level of courage, and the depth of our faith. We might breakdown or breakthrough. We can either lose hope or find faith. We were not created puppets. We were created as children in His likeness. With the gift of life, through His love we are granted the freedom to choose. Hoping that we choose what is right, what brings life, and what reflects His love. Times of testing, these days of gloom, will surface our weaknesses and how far our pride and self-idolatry has taken us. We pray to God for mercy and the grace to embrace humility.Gloom does not mean doom. There is hope in every person and in every season. The best in us also surface in these times. Our heroism, our faith, and our love go the distance in these unusual occasions...if we choose to. Christ, in His days of gloom suffered and died. His sacrifice was not that of doom, but of resurrection. From gloom to glory.Let us then choose as what Christ had chosen in His days of gloom. He chose the Father's will amidst excruciating and unimaginable physical and emotional pain. Christ's heroism cannot be surpassed for He saved us all. He chose to see the glory of God beyond the gloom.
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A Paradigm Shift on Holiness and Hopefulness

I came upon this heater resembling an electric fan. I just found it awkward to see an electric fan doing the opposite function of what I'm used to in the Philippines. To me, the heater fan impressed me as strange, but surely this appliance must be common to the people in China who experience winter.

When Jesus came to earth to save mankind, it must have been strange for the Jews that their expected Savior turned out to be a carpenter's son.  For generations, their paradigm has been a savior king with all his might and glory. Instead, someone from Nazareth claims to be the Son of God, their Savior.  Although Jesus showed all the signs and wonders as being the One, many still could not accept it. John confirms Jesus as the Messiah for what is written in the Old testament is being fulfilled.


The disciples of John told him about all these things. John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” When the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” At that time he cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind.And he said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. (Luke 7:18-22)

We now come to reflect on our own paradigms.  What paradigms do we have that need to shift? Just because we feel strange about something, it doesn't mean it is not the truth. I now propose two paradigms due for shifting.

1. The paradigm that we can never be holy.  This is different from being "holier than thou." I also do not claim that I have reached holiness. I am proposing that holiness should be something we should never dismiss. Otherwise we will be using this always as an excuse to sin.  We are to strive in growing in holiness in everyday of our lives. "but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.""(1 Peter 1: 15-16). It may be strange or even impossible for us to think of achieving holiness, but we look upon the saints who like us are humans, also vulnerable to sin, but lived out a life pleasing to the Lord.

2. The paradigm that there is no hope for change.  When we look at our society, like in the Philippines, the poverty we see in the streets and structural sins of corruption can easily lead us to resign from hoping for change.  Even when we look at many 1st world countries who have fully integrated the culture of death through legalizing contraceptives, abortion, and even prostitution, it will be convenient for us to give up hope and just go with the flow of immoral societal behavior. But Paul encourages us, "Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9)." Whether reaping the harvest will happen in our lifetime or beyond it, what is important is that we contribute to the process of change towards a Christ-centered society.  After all, what is required of us is faithfulness. Success is the Lord's.

The journey towards holiness is the path to hope. For how can we change the world, if we ourselves do not?  The day to day struggle to be holy and overcoming our personal sins, in effect is our way to bring about change in society.

Let us not shrug the possibility of being a holy person. For if we do, we also have given up on change.  The paradigm shift, the strange feeling, of accepting God's will for us to grow in holiness is the mindset we now have to embrace.

At the Lowest Point

We were able to visit Jericho (yes, the one Joshua conquered). As seen in the picture, it is claimed to be the lowest place on earth at 1300 feet below sea level. It's also the oldest city.  North west of the west side bank of Jericho is also where the Mount of Temptation is located.  It is where Jesus was tempted by the devil during His 40 days and 40 nights fast.

In life we go through low places or low points.  Some points in the past we consider our lowest or maybe at present we feel our lowest.

What can we learn from going through our low points?

1. Our life's low-points are tests of our faithfulness.  I can imagine how vulnerable Jesus was while fasting for so many days. He may have been at his lowest physical and mental state. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry (Mt.4:2)  And so the devil comes into the picture to test Him.  Just like us, at our lowest, the enemy comes and tries to deceive us. The devil offers us the deception that life apart from God is way better because of the convenience it offers.  We must remember that it is when we get to our lowest point that we must be most faithful. 

Behind us is the Mount of Temptation

2. When at our lowest, there's no other way but to go up.  When we've hit rock bottom, then we can only bounce back. We can never underestimate the Lord's mercy. If we accept His offer of love through our repentance, then our relationship with Him is restored.  I believe that there is no true success apart from Christ.  On our way up, Christ carries us along with His angels.

3. Christ restores us higher than our previous high-point.  Because of our "low-point" experience, we learn valuable lessons of faith and life. We come back with more wisdom, confidence, and strength.  It is like a line graph that dipped, but bounced back to even a higher point than the previous performance.  What is different now is that we rely on God's strength more than our own.  This is supernatural strength by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Life is a series of high and lows. Our faithfulness is constantly tested and even at times we wander away from God.  Let not our pride blind us from the love and mercy of God.  He alone restores us back to a life of fullness. Let prayer, humility, and hope be our way back to God and our way up towards our life's high points.


 

They That Hope in the Lord will Renew their Strength

There are times of dryness, days of seeking, moments of emptiness, as if there’s a void inside of us.  What is our posture or attitude in these times?  Here are some things that can help and guide us.

a.       Seek for the Lord
We are brought to a point of emptiness so we can look for what can truly fill us. “I sought the Lord, He heard me and delivered me from my fears (Psalm 34:4).”


b.       Endure in Faithfulness
It is easy to be tempted to draw away from God in these times.  More than ever, we have to be faithful. Sin separates us from God. Do not be tempted to be lazy and put off your responsibilities. It is best to go to mass and confession to receive His graces so we can endure.


c.        Await for His message
The Lord speaks powerfully when you are in your “desert.” When we are fully surrendered to God, it is when He fills us with His wisdom and power.


d.       Ask for an In-filling of the Holy Spirit
By the power of the Holy Spirit, our spirit is renewed. Ask your spouse or a friend to pray-over you so your strength is renewed.


“They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint (Isaiah 40:31).”


We are to hope in Him by seeking, enduring, awaiting, and asking for His power.  The Lord shall renew our strength and become even stronger than before.

Transformation Story of Brian "Head" Welch

I chanced upon this video in facebook. It's about the band Korn and it's former lead singer Brian "Head" Welch. Amazing transformation story. It gave me goosebumps. Watch it.



I am deeply touched of his affection for his daughter and how he surrendered to God amidst the bondage of drugs. Truly God transforms. And he calls out to us, no matter how the world tries to lure us to sin and death.