Be In a Tribe

I heard from one of the trainings I attended, "Birds flock, fish school, cows herd... people tribe." It is amazing what tribes can achieve. Needless to say, one of the greatest achievements of the Ifugao tribe in the Philippines is the creation of the Banawe Rice Terraces.
In primitive times, the rate of survival of a human being is increased if one belonged to a tribe. Going solo would mean easy target for the forest predators.
As a Christian, you cannot go solo. You need a tribe of believers, a community. "Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)." Our chances of getting to heaven increases with a community to encourage us, care for us, and teach us in our Christian living.
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A Life in God's Order

Prayer puts our life in order.  Often we are too busy to pray, thinking that the urgent things that rush us in the morning are more important than taking time to quiet down with the Lord. Many times we are too tired to pray, thinking that our bodies need to hit the bed because of the strain of the day's activities rather than be filled by the Lord.
When we are lured to this mentality, we will even become more busy and even more tired.  We forget that prayer, through our Lord, puts it in the right perspective.  So the lesser we pray, the more our priorities get out of order. This makes us busy with the wrong priorities, thus having more work.

When neglecting to pray and meditate, we only use our physical strength and neglect to tap the immense power of our spiritual strength. Our physical and mental abilities can only bring us to certain limit. But the spiritual strength that God gifts us through the Holy Spirit, can make us achieve what is impossible.  Jesus, being both human and divine, knew the value of prayer. In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12)


The connection of ourselves to Christ, exposes the deceptions of the devil that leads us to sinfulness and pride.  The lower we bow down in prayer, the higher the Lord lifts us up in our lives. He redirects us away from the evil's schemes and brings us forth to His path. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).  If we are living according to the order that God wants for our lives, we shall truly experience the fullness of what God has in store for those who love Him.

Pearl Reflection

The CFC Pearl Anniversary week just concluded and we had 650 International delegates from 41 countries.  There were about 100,000 attendees during the anniversary day.  It was very inspiring to see brothers and sisters of different nationalities embracing one culture, the culture of Christ.  Couples for Christ is now 30 years old and in 114 countries worldwide.  We look forward to the next 30 years of community life and mission.  Here are some of my reflections:

1. In Reaching the Pearl year, the community also went through the same process of how a pearl is made. For a gem to come out, it had to go through many challenges, or in the pearls case an irritation process.  The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritate­s the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The man­tle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl. from http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/question630.htm

Getting to 30 years is not an easy process. Yet, by God's grace he uses our challenges into the pearl of a community we see today.

2. We are brothers and sisters, regardless of race, nationality, and economic status.  As we immerse in the community, the love of Christ will be the language we speak.  We all share in the experience of His transforming love. 

3. The family is God's stronghold and the evil one will do everything to destroy it.  The work of strengthening family relationships to serve God and the poor is of great importance. In the words of Christopher West, "If one wants to take out the Church at large, one will first take out the Church in miniature."  The family is the domestic Church, the Church in miniature.  If we are to defend the Church, we must defend the family.  If we are to build a society of genuine justice, peace, harmony, and dignity we have to uphold to values and beliefs of the Church, starting with the family.  A Christ-centered society starts with a Christ-centered family.  Further Christopher West says, "the nucleus of the family is the love of man and woman."  This affirms the work of Couples for Christ in its 30 years of upholding the vocation of marriage and family life.

We now journey from Pearl to Gold.  A new generation arises, born from the love of the community's pioneers in mission.  Onward CFC!

    

The Real Deal

I was ordering a burrito at a mexican themed fast food. In the display picture, the burrito looked big. But when I got it, it looked like a turon (banana in crunchy wrap)! I was more amused than disappointed.
The world lures us to believing that riches, possessions, comfort, power, and fame are the biggest things that we can attain. Just look at the commercials and see how they influence the human behavior. But in truth, much of the worldly things we pursue and value are temporary. In the end, the biggest things that matter is the love we shared, the people we helped grow, and our faith in God. Just listen to eulogies.
Let us not spend our lifetime getting a raw deal. Let us receive the real deal, Jesus Christ.
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Cutting Off the Unnecessary

My 3 year old son Sev and I were getting a haircut. We were waiting for our turn and we observed the scene in the barber shop.
Why do we get our hair trimmed? For the obvious reason that our long hair is already obstructing our sense of order. Hair is less manageable when long (at least for most of us men) and affects our appearance. Hair is part of our growth, but we willingly cut it.
What are the things in our lives that have started to grow and is already obstructing God's sense of order? I can think of three:
a) Achievement that has grown into pride.
When we achieve, we have to start moving on to the next phase as soon as possible. Let us not get stuck in our previous glory. When we achieve, we give the glory back to God and do more. In this way, pride won't set in and is cut at its root.
b) Love that has grown into obsession.
When we love, there is freedom. Obsession imprisons us. It makes us addicted. Let us then evaluate if the things or people we love obsesses us or makes us free. We need to cut our obsessions and focus on the intent of genuine love.
c) Power that has grown into greed.
Power is the capacity to get things done. But the lure of power can also grow into compromising integrity because of greed and fame. We need to cut these temptations as our responsibility grows.

Like going to the barber, we cut out our pride, obsessions, and greed regularly. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available for us. Through regular confession, we are humbled and brought back to God's sense of order in our lives. Let us cut off the unnecessary and continue living in God's ways.
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