Wednesday, February 04, 2009

when are you closest to God?

missy said yesterday "isn't it funny that we are closest to God when we are in pain?"

another friend said "but we can also be closest to God during our happiest moments".

i think it's both true ... we should be closest to God in our direst and happiest moments because He makes possible these moments that wrench our hearts as well as fill it up to the brim.


quotable quotes from my wonderful brother, atty. buds

(And let me clarify to my other brothers ... yes, you are all wonderful to me. :) I love you all equally. :) Mwah!)

"Writing is a passionate courtship with patience."

I was very inspired and motivated by what he said as he keeps egging me on to write and to have persistence and to have discipline. He says he writes every day. They're called pleadings. :) Haha.

I'm so happy that he tries to push me so hard so that I can write the book that I so much want to write. I bought my first laptop thinking I would finish my book on that. That laptop has since died and I still have yet to produce a manuscript. Yes, I will write. I will. :)

I was just reading Allende's "Ines of My Soul" and it said there "the ultimate form of vanity is an autobiography". Hehe. And my brother asked me to write our story. :) Oh well ... I'll still write it. :) Why not, coconut?

So, Buds, just wanted to say "Thank you from the bottom of my heart!" I love you!



Tuesday, February 03, 2009

feast of candles

yesterday was the feast of the presentation of the temple of Jesus. it's also known as the "Candlemas", purification of the Virgin Mary and meeting of the Lord.

it marks the end of the advent season 40 days after the birth of Jesus Christ. by Jewish tradition, each male child should be presented to the temple with a pair of turtle doves or pigeons (that was what the commoner could offer). that was what Joseph and Mary offered for Jesus.

in the temple was Simeon whom God bestowed the Spirit and the prophecy that he could only go in peace from this life after seeing the Messiah. and so he did and he declared that Jesus would be the cause of glory and downfall of many in israel and that Mary's own heart/soul would be pierced. so the prophecy came to pass.

fr. richard preferred the term "candlemas" best to remember the feast because it reminds him of Jesus' light shining in our lives and how we are called to be a light to others. that has been the message to me these past few days, that we should be a light to others. coming from our own darkness, God has put Jesus to light our path and we are called to share His light especially to those who are closest to us - our family and our friends.

as we lit our candles yesterday we remember Christ's light in our lives.

touching moment

talking to my colleague here that looks like julie andrews, i felt so touched by her story of christmas giving. she and her husband gave their garderner in africa a bright red bike so he could travel to and fro to any place he wanted to be. she said she had tears in her eyes as the man began to clap in the way that they do when they are excited and happy. i love stories that tell of self-less giving. it is so moving and it's a reminder that we are not here for ourselves but to be of service to others and to give our lives as testimonies to others so that we are walking witnesses of God's goodness and love. and this story just reminded me of how good we can all be. i had a swollen heart myself listening to my colleague because i can't only see the joy her gardener felt but the joy she felt when she gave it.

how much does it take to give? especially of one's self?

taming the tongue

they say words are like two-edged swords

... for me ...

it's like a bullet that once released by the cocking of a gun, can kill someone. if unintentional, i pray it doesn't hit any major organs lest i be accused of murder - premeditated murder. at least let there be an exit wound so that the bullet doesn't kill the person while it's lodged in some important body part.

i used to be a "fire-at-will" kind of person shooting my loaded mouth into the major organs of people, leaving a trail of bloody people behind. i hope they survived their wounds though. i'm very sorry for the way i used to be and have become very sensitive nowadays with regard to saying things because i was once hurt by words and it felt like i was stabbed in the heart and the blade was then traced up and down my body (imagine kill bill) to leave me in a state of utter brokenness if not death. only Jesus was able to help me out of that wound and the people that ceaselessly mended me with their kind and loving words. slowly but surely, my wounds grew scabs and i could walk again.

being at the end of that sword is painful, very painful and i would never ever want to inflict that kind of pain ... at least not intentionally. but it sometimes happens that we do open our mouths, forgetting the "safety" of our brains, we let out the words which can't be recuperated. after shooting a gun, one can't run after the bullet because the speed at which it was fired is too quick for our hands.

i read last night in my Bible devotional, Our Companion, that oftentimes, those that utter careless hurtful words don't remember or could care less that their deadly bullets were fired. on the receiving end, the wounded, never forget or limp with broken limbs or broken spirits and hearts.

i felt blessed that i was actually hurt that much because i felt what it was like to be at the receiving end. i would never wish that on any person, friend or foe.

remember to keep the "safety" on at all times. :)

sweat the big and the small stuff ...

yup, you read it right ... sweat the big and the small stuff ... or so my daily Bible devotional says today. i read that it's so easy to lose one's cool after a busy day and to want only to have one's way at the end of it. but Jesus' example in today's Gospel after healing the old lady which had been hemorrhaging for 12 years, raised a girl-child from the dead and made sure to remind her attendants that she have something to eat too.

it was an eye-opener for me that human as we are, can easily fall into the trap of "i, me, my", and forget about the others that need more attention than our petty concerns. it's difficult, again due to humanity's imperfection, to think of others when we ourselves are overburdened, in pain, suffering and the like. there are those that overcome the self and try to follow Jesus' example - mother teresa for one and the many saints like st. francis who embraced suffering and poverty to serve in God's name and be a man for others.

if God was the most important man of His time, yet He made other people feel that they were the most important in His life ... what prevents us from doing the same?

i remember a friend of mine who recounted a neighbourhood "aunt" who would make her feel special every time she came over as if the world stopped for her and this aunt prepared everything for her arrival and made her feel like she was the only person she was attending to. i sometimes feel like that with certain friends. i feel so blessed that there are still self-less people that make me feel so important and special. i cherish them. i try to do the same for others, although, sometimes, i am lacking.

go out and make someone feel special ... i dare you. :)