To Live is Christ

 In Cairo, Egypt, we visited the the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.  They are sights to behold. They were built around 2550 B.C. The pyramids were tombs of King Khufu (grandfather), Khafre (son), and Menkaure (grandson). The Greeks called them Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinos respectively. The three smaller pyramids were tombs for the queens. What's interesting to note is that not until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, the Great Pyramid of Khufu was the tallest monument on earth. So for 4300 years, the largest building on earth was a tomb.

This month alone I visited 3 wakes of the relatives of good friends.  Truly, they were greatly loved by the people around them. They are were not buried in Pyramids like the Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt, but the people that loved them honored their memory and considered them great in their hearts.  They prayed for them to rest peace for eternity with our Lord Jesus.

In a span of 6 years, there have also been many deaths in my family. My father passed away two years ago. My mother-in-law just last year, and my father-in-law in 2006.  We continue to pray for their souls.

We all know that death is a certainty.  It all comes to our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.  It makes us reflect on how we are living our lives.  How are we spending this day that God has given us?  What are our plans in the next 10 years, considering that life is short?  These are my reflections:

1. Live a life of purpose.  God our Creator has designed each of us to fulfill His purpose.  This purpose will bring us meaningful living.  We look upon ourselves and ask, "What has God gifted me to help build His Kingdom on earth?"

2. Invest in Love. Love as much as you can. Love is the only thing that lasts and it is far reaching.  In eulogies, we do not hear of people reporting the net worth of assets a person has, instead people express the amount of love the person has impacted in their lives. Love can be felt from generation to generation. Build a legacy of love for your family, friends, and society. Invest in love.

3. Find Happiness in God. In our journey for purpose and love, we are motivated by happiness. Some misinterpret happiness by indulging in the temporary (vices, money, material wealth, physical beauty etc.).  The prodigal son learned this the hard way. In the end, he realized that happiness could be found again by being back with his father.  Although many of us know that real happiness is to be with God, we tend to become lost in the world. Let us find our way back to our Father for He has prepared a feast for us.

4. Expect Great Things to Happen.  We can be paralyzed by fear and worries.  The Lord wants us to live in the abundance of His blessings. Yet, our mind-set or "heart-set" is that of scarcity and negativity. When we are willing to carry His Cross, we are opening a world of abundance. The Lord does not want us to run away from our crosses.  It will be these crosses that will lead us to successful living. When we become stronger, wiser, and more faithful through our crosses, then will abundance flow in our lives.

Let us be inspired by St. Paul's exhortation. His conviction was this, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)." A life of purpose, love, happiness, and greatness can only be lived with Christ. And in the end, we hope for the grace to gain a life of eternity in heaven.  It doesn't matter if we are buried in a simple coffin or in a great pyramid, what matters is if that we have lived with Christ at the center of our lives.

Dare To Trust

To trust is not as simple as it sounds. Trusting is an act of faith.  It involves risk.  But in exchange of the risk we take in trusting others, there is a heightened sense of empowerment for the entrusted.  Jesus exemplified this when he said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12)."


The same is said in one of General Patton's quotations:

 Once in Sicily, I told a general who was somewhat reluctant to attack that i had perfect confidence in him. To show it, I went home.
Never tell people what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. (General George S. Patton)


Imagine. God entrusts us fully to continue the work He started. He even went home to His Father.  Whether at home or at work, how do we build trust with the people God gave us under our leadership?


T - Train with them
To give someone such a big responsibility without preparation or adequate training is like letting your friend pilot an airplane without going to flying school. It's bound to crash. With the training comes the discipline and expectation. With this you are positioning them to be trustworthy.


R - Respect their gifts
Each of us are endowed with talents.  By acknowledging a person's strength and matching it to the right task will help build up confidence.  By respecting their God-given gifts, they will do better than expected.

U - Understand their situation
Genuine empathy will help them realize that you care.  As John Maxwell says, "They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."  To doubt the validity of their reasons for being absent or failing to deliver is an indicator of a weak foundation of mutual trust.

S - Space to grow
Give them room to initiate and innovate. If you are there to meddle at every step of the way, they won't feel that they have achieved something.  Without creative space, there is no true empowerment.  A smaller tree cannot grow under the shade of a bigger tree.  Trees are planted at a distance from each other so they can have sufficient sunlight and water.


T - Time for bonding
The more time you spend with the people you trust or hope to trust, the deeper will be the foundations of trust.  Time is also about attention.  It makes the other person feel important and listened to. Trust is built over time. Recall a person you trust.  Your cherished memory of this person will most likely be your times of bonding.


More than 2,000 years after Christ's death, through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Christianity continues to grow because the He entrusted to us His mission to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... (Matthew 28:19)."  He also said, "As the Father sent me so I send you (John 20:21)."


Jesus trusted His apostles like no other.  Although some of them betrayed Him, His love for them remained unchanged. Let us dare to trust like Jesus trusts.

Are We Idiots Or Are We Wise?

I just saw an Indian movie called "3 idiots."  They were called as such because they always challenged the norm, specially that of the teaching and learning methods in their engineering school.  Due to the protagonist's "against the tide" influence, they would always get into all sorts of trouble specially with their school director. And so, most often they would be called idiots because of their mischiefs and radical views.  At the end, they all followed their hearts and became fulfilled in the road they took in following their passion. They were the wise ones after all.

Technically, an idiot is a term used for someone who does not have the mental capicity over the age of a 3 year old. It pertains to a foolish person. I am reminded of what the Bible says about man's wisdom compared to God's foolishness.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength (1 Cor. 1:25).

This means that no matter what kind of invention, discovery, or theory man has achieved over the centuries, God's foolishness is still wiser.  But where can God's wisdom be found? Little do we realize that we have been gifted such, His Word, the Bible.

You may be an intellectual or someone this world calls a genius.  You may have read tons of pages and mastered your field and have several Phd degrees. Yet, have you been wise enough to study the source of true wisdom?  Just relate this to the amount of time spent you read on other books as compared to the time you take in understanding the Bible.

To be an idiot in God's eyes would not be to take His advice through his Spirit inspired Holy Bible.  I recall many days when I failed to consult Scripture.  I thought I was wise enough and strong enough, that I did not bother with His wisdom. Oh how I miserably failed!

But following God's wisdom goes "against the tide." We'll get in trouble. We'll be called idiots.  Try being pro-life and others will tell you that you're crazy not to use a condom, and you're trying too hard to go natural. Try not to be corrupt in the workplace, and you'll be branded "hindi marunong makisama or mahirap kausap (not easy to get along with or hard to deal with)." Try staying pure before marriage and you'll be teased as if being virgin is a curse.

Let us choose to be wise in the eyes of God and be willing "idiots" in the eyes of men for the sake of Christ and His righteousness. In the end, the rewards in heaven will surpass even our own imaginations.  Then will we realize that we weren't idiots after all.

The Voice of Christ into the World

One of my son's favorite tablet applications is the "Talking Tom Cat." For the unfamiliar, it's an app wherein "Tom the cat," listens to what you have to say, then in his own chipmunk-like voice, echoes or mimics the exact words you have just said. Kids have a belly laugh from this app!
I am reminded about the voice of one calling in the desert, the one who is unfit to unstrap the sandals of Jesus, John the baptist.


"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'Make straight the way of the Lord,'
as Isaiah the prophet said." (John 1: 22-23)


John is just but an echo of Christ. Like us, we are Christ's echo into the world. We do our best to follow Christ by "mimicking" His words and actions.  But we do not claim the glory or recognition for our own. Only Christ's is the credit and attention.

How are we to become the Voice of Christ into the world?

1. Let our actions do the talking. Witnessing is the best way to be the voice of Christ. "Preach the Gospel always, if necessary use words (St. Francis of Assisi)." This quote from St. Francis interjects the value of preaching through action. We can ask oursleves, "What have I done today that Christ would have done?" or "What will I do today as if Christ Himself will do?"

2. Study and use scripture. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Many will ridicule us because of being a witness of Christ and being His voice in the workplace or school. The Word of God will strengthen us and make us firm. And when used at an opportune time, specially when someone comes to us for counsel, the Word is very powerful in convicting someone to know, love, and accept Christ. Jesus himself used scripture from the old testament to either rebuke or encourage.

3. Prepare the way for the Lord. We invite others to know Christ in a more concrete way. We encourage them to go to Mass, or for Confession, or bring them to join Community life. The "voice" is meant to lead the blind.  Our world is laid with crooked paths that lead to a life of emptiness and sin. God's voice through us will help others find the way to Jesus.

Unlike the Talking Tom Cat of which echoes our voice in a smaller voice. God's voice through us is a voice that will change our family, society, and the world.  Let the Lord's Voice echo to the ends of the earth!

The Meaning of New Year's Resolution

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind had conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Cor 2:9."


It's a brand new year, and it's once again time for our New Year's resolution.  But what does it really mean?

According to Macmillan's Dictionary, New Year's resolution means "a decision that you make on the first day of the year about the things that you intend to do or stop doing during that year."

Let me dissect this definition. 

A Decision... 

a resolution is first and foremost a decision. When we decide, say, to lose weight, this will be regardless later on whether we will feel like it or not.  Once you decide, you have to stick to it or else nothing significant is going to happen.  You can tell this decision to a friend or your spouse so you can be accountable to someone and to have a person that reminds you of your commitment.

 ...Made on the first day of the year...

This would mean that during the holiday break, you might have done some soul searching or deep thinking that lead you to that resolution. So on the first day, the resolutions would have been already processed or best, prayed for. The first day is significant because it symbolizes a new hope. There is a strong sense of renewal on the first day.  But of course, some of us may not have read this post on January 1st, so choose your first day whether it be the first day of work or school.

...About things you intend to do... What are the things that you need to continue? What are the new things that you are willing to start? You can start to list about ten things that excite you. It may be a passion you wish to pursue or a basic skill that you always put off (like swimming or driving).  Maybe you want to set your financial goals for the year. It can also be an opportunity to start to write your life dreams, and how you intend to start pursuing it starting this year. Top on the list can be to have a more faithful time of prayer, 'cause all the rest will successfully flow from this.  

...or things you intend to stop doing...  

Now this part is serious. There are things that we habitually do that hinder our growth:  a favorite sin, vices that kill our body (smoking, drinking, food with much cholesterol), impatience, laziness, and procrastination, among other things. By God's grace we can stop these. We need the Holy Spirit, a supernatural strength, to overcome our human weakness. We can start through repentance, having faith, forgiving, and the process of healing and strengthening will follow.  

...during that year. 

It's time bound! It's for the specific year. This means you have to carefully plan and decide on the things you can accomplish this year.  In fact, you should be able to schedule it, take a leave for it, and mark it on your planner.  If you are a good planner when it comes to your work or in your studies, you should also be the same when it comes to your personal and family life.

With God, we can do it! 2012 here we come!

"For nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37)."