Saturday, January 31, 2015
A litlle prayer....
Make me remember and make me celebrate always what You have done for us — through daily Eucharist.
The Creator seen in our Planet
Fr. Shay Cullen
PREDA Foundation
PREDA Foundation
It struck at 3.35 AM last week, in the darkness of the night, a loud rattling grew in intensity as the roof tiles went off like castanets clacking and clicking rising to a crescendo as the building shook violently.
It was another earthquake, a strong one, 5.9 on the Richter scale and I leapt from sleep and called on all in the house to evacuate. Then the violent shaking stopped as suddenly as it had begun. It was over but taking no chances the volunteers hurried out side. A second quake could strike but mercifully it did not.
Standing a safe distance from the sturdy building the earthquake reminded us all of the powerful destructive forces of nature on this planet on which we came and live and depend for our every existence. An earth that we need to respect and care for.
The heaving and trembling of the earth, the rattling roof, the shaking buildings was a vivid reminder of that shocking and terrible day that Mount Pinatubo began its eruption in 1991. It began with a violent earth tremor that grew in strength. I was trying to stay standing upright as the ground shook and then whopping bang Mount Pinatubo, thirty kilometers away, blew it’s top with mighty boom. Within seconds it was belching and blasting what seemed like a billion cubic meters of ash and smoke and a thousand tons of rock half a kilometer into the sky.
I was stunned, awe-struck, amazed and stood transfixed in wonder while gazing at this spectacular display of celestial fireworks. Huge burning volcanic debris continued to shoot upwards like a New year’s fireworks display. Great booms were heard as if an arsenal exploded.
The black thick clouds of ash and smoke that billowed upwards crept across the face of the blazing tropical sun and quickly covered it turning day onto night. The lightening was continuous, the bolts shot through the darkness burning a flaming path through the sulphur laden clouds. It was a sight to behold and never to forget.
This planet, a place of wonders and incredible beauty is but a tiny speck of dust in the vast expanse of the galaxy, one of billions of galaxies, it makes us ask, why? Why are we humans the only conscious self-aware life form here that contemplates the universe asking where it came from and wondering how something so grand came from nothing but a big bang. Since we are of the universe, have come form it and are part of it, it is like the universe contemplating itself through us. The creator is in the universe and we can be one when we love and protect creation.
Here on earth the planet was showing its power and majesty against which the human species, the one with the big brains, stupidly and arrogance has set out to challenge. The voracious appetite and overwhelming greed of the human species is changing the atmosphere to such an extent that the planet’s fragile climate and ecosystem is changing too.
Burn burn burn is the cry of the capitalist and the communists and all the money making moguls who, drill, dig, bore, pump and excavate the fossil fuels that create a human volcano. We are burning of coal, oil wood and belching clouds of fire and smoke into the environment. This is heating the planet to the point of no return. The tipping point is too close, there can be no going back if we don’t act now.
There will be no safe future for the next generations. We see droughts and floods, climate extremes that cause massive forest and bush fires raging across the earth, pumping clouds of polluting acrid fog of co2 that chokes and poisons every one who breaths.
The oceans absorb some of the CO2 that turns the waters into a acidic bath. Plankton is the food whales and many fish and it is diminishing. Fish species are threatened with extinction never to swim and swarm in the oceans of the planet. What are left are scooped up in huge nets for the tables of the moguls while a billion people go without.
What is happening? The planet is covered in a shroud of CO2 and methane gas, the sun is beating down and heats the earth, the hot air cannot escape trapped beneath the shroud of gases. The ice sheets are melting fast, the sun’s rays cannot be now reflected back into space and instead they heat the oceans and waters rise up to flood millions of homes.
The waters of rivers and seas warm up, the fish cannot adapt and they die. The coral reefs, the feeding grounds of fish are dying too. Its a real scenario of doom and gloom. But its is not fiction as some tycoons and their paid scientists would have us believe. We can stop it.
With a warmer world the more ocean water will evaporate to fill the skies, the cold and hot air streams collide and gigantic rain and wind storms – typhoons come raging in destroying everything and everybody in their deadly paths.
This is what the global conferences on climate change is all about ,now to stop the burning and heating and use renewable source of energy like wind and solar power. Later this year the next conference in Paris is crucial, there has to be a binding agreement between nations to limit the burning of fossil fuels and hold down the planets temperature.
In Tacloban, Pope Francis will hopefully, refer to this terrible dangerous situation of climate change and global warming which created the greatest storm ever to hit landfall last November 2013 in Tacloban. He comes to heal the wounded, comfort the bereaved, call for justice for the most vulnerable of all – the poor and the jobless, the hovel dwellers and the downtrodden. We all need to put our faith into action and be fully alert,aware and alive, to save the planet, the poor and ourselves.
(shaycullen@preda.org)
Friday, January 30, 2015
Learn to pray like a saint!
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Thursday, January 29, 2015
8 leadership lessons from the extraordinary Pope Francis
BULL MARKET, BULL SHEET
By Wilson Lee Flores
The Philippine Star
By Wilson Lee Flores
The Philippine Star
One need not be religious or a Catholic to discern and admire the remarkable leadership qualities of Pope Francis. Although the historic and successful visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines has ended, I recently came across a unique 2014 book published by the American Management Association entitled Lead With Humility: 12 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis.
By the way, it’s authored not by a Roman Catholic, but by a Jewish admirer who has previously authored books on the management prowess of legendary former General Electric CEO Jack Welch.
A son of Holocaust survivors, Jeffrey A. Krames wrote at the beginning of his book that he views Pope Francis as “the 21st century’s answer to the 20th century’s most malevolent mass murderer” Hitler, and as a leader who personifies real hope for a better world.
Here are eight practices that Krames believes have made Pope Francis so outstanding as a leader. I believe businesspeople, professionals and even more so our political leaders can learn much from these. I’ve added my own comments to each practice.
1. Reach out to non-customers. This is one weakness of many leaders in business or politics, with executives often overly focused only on their existing clientele and ignoring the rest, while some politicos in power tend to pander only to their core constituencies but tend to alienate non-believers.
Pope Francis is a statesman and visionary leader in effectively reaching out beyond the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and others. He can win over more people.
Pope Francis surprisingly declared that God has redeemed all of us, not just Catholics. Management guru Peter Drucker said, “Every organization has more non-customers than customers, and that you can learn more from the people who aren’t buying your product than from those who are.”
2. Embrace risk. The book shares an interesting anecdote about the young Francis when he was once very ill in Argentina. The nun caring for him had disobeyed his doctor’s prescriptions by adding three times his dose of antibiotics, because she knew from firsthand experience that Francis would die without that higher dosage. Pope Francis cites this “as an example of living on the frontier.” Is that one of the reasons he often broke security protocol during his visit to the Philippines, in order to physically reach out to his numerous well-wishers on the streets and in crowds? He is a risk-taker in many ways, a trait true leaders need to cultivate.
3. Reinvent your organization. Krames said we should all emulate Pope Francis: “Don’t change — reinvent!” The world’s first Jesuit pontiff is a gutsy reformer who has shockingly taken on different groups within the Vatican hierarchy and bureaucracy, publicly lashing out at their shortcomings with oratorical fire and brimstone. He has even fired a top European prelate for the latter’s extravagant lifestyle.
How many of our politicians are harsh on people outside their own clique, but slow or paralyzed with inertia in firing, castigating and reforming erring officials within their own organization, party, government or corporation? Reinvent or suffer atrophy!
4. Be patient. Krames wrote that although a fearless reformer, Pope Francis is also wise enough to understand that reforms take time and also require the right timing. An example of this was Pope Francis letting one year pass first as pontiff before he famously commented that divorced and remarried people could receive Holy Communion.
5. Get in the field. This is interesting, especially in our local TV stations’ often stereotypical depictions of businesspeople in telenovelas or teleseryes, showing executives in fancy suits comfortably ensconced inside plush boardrooms or luxurious offices. Some executives do believe in this kind of wrong or weak thinking.
In stark contrast, Pope Francis is more similar to the world’s best businesspeople, professionals and leaders, especially the rugged self-made entrepreneurs who roll up their sleeves and are often out in the field talking to customers or employees.
In ancient China, the greatest emperors would disguise themselves as commoners in order to visit ordinary citizens to feel the real pulse of the masses and the true state of the nation, not rely on their own “praise releases.”
Krames wrote: “Francis hates any members of the clergy who sit in offices and push paper. When he was a bishop in Buenos Aires City, then Jorge Mario Bergoglio would dress as an ordinary priest and go out at night to talk with people.”
6. Listen to diverse voices. One of the weaknesses of egoistical leaders, whether in business or politics, is surrounding himself with like-minded sycophants, who tell him not only similar ideas and views, but also often only the good news.
Leaders who quarrel with contrarians or critics, who refuse to hear different opinions, can never truly rise to greatness, because nobody on earth has a monopoly on ideas, genius and access to truths. Pope Francis avoids becoming an insular leader by seeking out ideas and information from diverse people worldwide.
7. Put the organization’s goals above your own. Another weakness of some natural or strong leaders is overwhelming and suffocating his or her organization with his persona and his personal objectives. Prioritizing the needs and interests of the organization over one’s self will eventually result in a stronger organization, which will benefit any leader more.
Krames wrote in his book that during the papal election of 2005, Bergoglio encouraged his supporters to vote for Joseph Ratzinger after successive votes showed that he was the only other strong contender, because he didn’t want the delays that he believed wouldn’t be good for the Catholic Church. Ratzinger won that election to become Pope Benedict XVI, but resigned in 2013 due to poor health.
8. Lead by example. This practice of Pope Francis isn’t just ideal for business executives, political leaders or professionals, but for all of us. Before he became Pope, Bergoglio accompanied his priests to the most dangerous slum areas of Argentina’s capital city Buenos Aires, where religious people had been killed, kidnapped and even tortured.
He not only encouraged his priests to go out and mix with ordinary folk, he himself did so to set an example and to boost the morale of his people. It’s the same with many of the world’s heroic military commanders like Alexander the Great and others who are often at the frontlines of battle, setting examples of valor, chivalry and fighting prowess, also immeasurably boosting the morale of his people.
In fact, despite his being a brilliant Jesuit intellectual who is predisposed to eloquence with words in speeches and sermons, Pope Francis is even more effective in his teachings via his actions and through the sheer power of his example.
It doesn’t matter what our vocation, profession or even our religion is, let us all emulate and be inspired by the extraordinary leader that is Pope Francis!
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Thanks for your feedback! E-mail willsoonflourish@gmail.com or follow WilsonLeeFlores on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and http://willsoonflourish.blogspot.com/.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
A little prayer...
Thank You, Jesus, for calling us Your brothers and sisters. May we strive to be true members of Your family, the Catholic Church.
10 Ways We Can Fast
Jesus said: “Unless you do penance you will all perish,” (Lk. 13:3). The first preaching of His Public ministry Jesus exhorts us to conversion: “Be converted for the Kingdom of God is at hand,”(Mk. 1:15). The Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ generously offers us a season of grace which has as its purpose conversion every year. This is the forty days of Lent.
The Israelites spent forty days in the desert; Moses fasted forty days on the Mountain; Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting. The Church encourages us in the Season of Lent to dig deep into the inner recesses of our hearts and beg for conversion of heart.
This conversion can become a reality by undertaking three traditional practices: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. (Mt. 6: 1-18) In prayer we lift our minds to God; in almsgiving we go out to meet the needs of our suffering brothers and sisters; in fasting we dig deep into our hearts and beg the Lord for the grace to relinquish our attachment to sin!
This being the case, what might be some concrete ways that we can practice fasting? An important note is the following: fasting is not a mere diet, with the simple desire to lose a few extra pounds. Rather, the purpose of fasting is to please God, convert our hearts as well as to beg for the conversion of others. In other words, fasting must have a horizontal or supernatural intention!
Ten Specific Ways We Can Fast
1. Eat less and receive the most Holy Eucharist more. By this practice we give more importance to our spiritual life and the salvation of our soul. Jesus said: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”(Jn. 6:27—Discourse on the Bread of Life)
2. Control your tongue. Saint James says, “We should be slow to speak and quick to listen.” Read James chapter three—one of the best exhortations in the world to work on controlling our tongue!
3. Heroic Moments. The Founder of Opus Dei has coined the phrase, “The Heroic moment”. By this Saint Jose Maria asserts that as soon as we hear the alarm-clock we should spring from bed, pray and start our day. The devil of laziness encourages us to push the Snooze-button! I do not believe the Snooze-button exists in the vocabulary and practice of the saints. What do you think?
4. Control those wandering eyes. The eyes are the mirror to the soul. The holy King David plunged into sin and more sin leading to murder for the simple reason that he allowed his eyes to wander. His eyes wandered and gazed upon a married woman—Bathsheba. Adulterous thoughts led to physical adultery, to denial of his sin and eventually to killing an innocent man—the husband of Bathsheba.(II Samuel 11-12) Let us strive to live out the Beatitude:“Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.”(Mt. 5: 8)
5. Punctuality. Jesus says, “He who is faithful in the small will be faithful in the larger things.”(Mt. 25:23) Being punctual and on time is a sign of order, respect for others, and a means to accomplish tasks well and on time.
6. Listen to Others. It is all too easy to interrupt others when they speak and try to impose our own ideas even before the person has finished his idea. Charity, which means, love for God and for others, teaches us to respect others and allow them to speak without interrupting and imposing our own ideas. Listening to others is also an act of humility—putting others before ourselves! “Jesus meek and humble of heart make my heart like unto yours.” (Mt. 11:28-30—Jesus describes His Heart as meek and humble…)
7. Be Thankful Rather Than Complain. Never allow a day to pass in which you do not thank God. We should constantly be thanking God. Furthermore, we should make it a habit to frequently thank others. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever,” (Psalm 118:1).
8. Smile, even if you don’t necessarily want to. This indeed could be a great penance—to smile at somebody even when you are tired, carrying with you a headache or a cold. This is heroic virtue. A smile is something small, but it is contagious. Indeed a sincere smile can lift those who see it from desolation to a state of consolation. One of the most evident signs of being a follower of Jesus is the smile of joy radiating from the face. “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil. 4:4)
9. Pray, even when you do not feel like it. Many of us unfortunately base our spiritual life on mere feelings which are ephemeral, transitory and passing like the dew that evaporates by the morning sun. Our best example is of course Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (Lk. 22:39-46). When Jesus was experiencing a mortal agony and desolation that drew huge drops of Blood from His pores, He did not really feel like praying. Nonetheless, Jesus prayed all the more fervently. Therefore, let us practice fasting and penance in our lives and have a set time and place to pray and to pray at times even when we do not feel like it. This is penance and true love for God! This is a sign of true maturity in the faith!
10. Encouragement. “Barnabus” actually means “Son of encouragement”(Acts 4:36). Let us get out of our egotistic shell and focus more on God and seeing Jesus in others—in imitation of the Good Samaritan. (Lk. 10). Let us learn to be a Simon of Cyrene and help our brothers and sisters who are carrying the weight of a very heavy cross. Let us lighten it by encouraging words, motivational gestures and by a heart filled with love and compassion. Remember the Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would like them to do to you.”(Mt. 7:12) In the difficult storms of the earthly battle, a word of encouragement can indeed be a powerful wind in the sails!
Prayerfully read through these ten suggestions on how to fast—how to deny yourself—and choose at least one or two that you can start to practice right away. May Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, encourage us to deny ourselves and say “yes” to the love of God by serving our brothers and sisters with a generous heart! (Lk. 1: 38—Mary’s “Yes” to God).
By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Father Ed Broom is an Oblate of the Virgin Mary. He blogs regularly atFr. Broom's Blog.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
What is a good way to respond to door-to-door evangelists who ask if I’ve been “born again”?
SOURCE: http://catholicsay.com/what-is-a-good-way-to-respond-to-door-to-door-evangelists-who-ask-if-ive-been-born-again/
Full Question:
What is a good way to respond to door-to-door evangelists who ask if I’ve been “born again”?
Answer:
Most Catholics are thrown off by this question and answer hesitantly at best. This leads Fundamentalists to assume that Catholics haven’t been born again.
But they are wrong. All baptized Catholics have been born again, so you can answer “yes.” Discussion no doubt will follow.
A good way to start is to admit the importance of being born again. Jesus commands it (Jn 3:3,7). To be born again implies a radical change in a person, an event as life-altering as the “first birth” out of your mother’s womb. When you are born again, the Holy Spirit makes a change in your soul, cleanses you from sin, and gives you a new nature, planting supernatural love in your heart. Just as you were once born into an earthly family, when you are born again you become part of a spiritual family, with God as the head and all his people, on earth and in heaven, as your brothers and sisters.
Once in agreement on what “born again” means, proceed to the point of disagreement: how we are born again. Probably the Fundamentalist will posit some kind of spiritual experience, a moment of commitment to Jesus, an acceptance of him as “personal Lord and Savior.” But Catholics use the biblical means of being born again: baptism.
Jesus told Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5). Paul spoke of God’s gift of “the bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Ti 3:5). Paul told the Romans that “we who were baptize into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death . . . so that . . . we too might live in the newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). Water baptism is the physical sign of and instrument for bringing about the spiritual rebirth. In baptism we are regenerated into new life in Christ.
So answer door-to-door missionaries with a proud affirmative–if you have been baptized, you already have been saved the Bible way and in the way the first Christians understood “born again.”
Full Question:
What is a good way to respond to door-to-door evangelists who ask if I’ve been “born again”?
Answer:
Most Catholics are thrown off by this question and answer hesitantly at best. This leads Fundamentalists to assume that Catholics haven’t been born again.
But they are wrong. All baptized Catholics have been born again, so you can answer “yes.” Discussion no doubt will follow.
A good way to start is to admit the importance of being born again. Jesus commands it (Jn 3:3,7). To be born again implies a radical change in a person, an event as life-altering as the “first birth” out of your mother’s womb. When you are born again, the Holy Spirit makes a change in your soul, cleanses you from sin, and gives you a new nature, planting supernatural love in your heart. Just as you were once born into an earthly family, when you are born again you become part of a spiritual family, with God as the head and all his people, on earth and in heaven, as your brothers and sisters.
Once in agreement on what “born again” means, proceed to the point of disagreement: how we are born again. Probably the Fundamentalist will posit some kind of spiritual experience, a moment of commitment to Jesus, an acceptance of him as “personal Lord and Savior.” But Catholics use the biblical means of being born again: baptism.
Jesus told Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5). Paul spoke of God’s gift of “the bath of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Ti 3:5). Paul told the Romans that “we who were baptize into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death . . . so that . . . we too might live in the newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). Water baptism is the physical sign of and instrument for bringing about the spiritual rebirth. In baptism we are regenerated into new life in Christ.
So answer door-to-door missionaries with a proud affirmative–if you have been baptized, you already have been saved the Bible way and in the way the first Christians understood “born again.”
Monday, January 26, 2015
A father...
By Bobby Quitain
To close my talk last night with the men and women of BCBP, I read in part the speech of Adam Mitchell from the movie "Courageous" which goes...
“I now believe that God desires for every father to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the lives of his children. But more than just being there or providing for them, he’s to walk with them through their lives and be a visual representation of the character of God, their father in heaven.
A father should love his children and seek to win their hearts. He should protect them, discipline them and teach them about God.
He should model how to walk with integrity and treat others with respect and should call out his children to become responsible men and women who live their lives for what matters in eternity.
Some men will hear this and mock it or ignore it.
But I tell you that as a father, you are accountable to God for the position of influence he has given you.
You can’t fall asleep at the wheel only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value but the souls of your children do.
Some men will hear this and agree with it but have no resolve to live it out.
lnstead, they will live for themselves and waste the opportunity to leave a godly legacy for the next generation.
But there are some men who, regardless of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did not do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest of our days to loving God with all that we are and to teach our children to do the same, and, whenever possible, to love and mentor others who have no father in their lives but who desperately need help and direction.
We are inviting any man whose heart is willing and courageous to join us in this resolution.
In my home, the decision has already been made.
You don’t have to ask who will guide my family, because by God’s grace, I will.
You don’t have to ask who will teach my son to follow Christ, because l will.
Who will accept the responsibility of providing and protecting my family? I will.
Who will ask God to break the chain of destructive patterns in my family’s history? I will.
Who will pray for and bless my children to boldly pursue whatever God calls them to do?
I am their father. l will.
I accept this responsibility, and it is my privilege to embrace it.
I want the favor of God and his blessing on my home.
Any good man does.
So where are you, men of courage?
Where are you, fathers who fear the Lord?
It’s time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you and to say, “I will. I will. I will.”
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Today's Mass Readings - Sunday, January 25, 2015 with Reflection
1ST READING - Jonah 3:1-5, 10
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying: 2 “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” 3 So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”5 when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. 10 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
P S A L M - Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R: Teach me your ways, O Lord.
4 Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, 5guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.(R) 6 Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old. 7 In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord. (R) 8 Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. (R)
2ND READING - 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
29 I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, 30 those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, 31 those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.
Mark 1:14-20
14 After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 15 “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” 16 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. 19 He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. 20 Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
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TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD
There are some hard lessons to learn in life. Some mistakes and missteps don’t lead to happy endings but to grief. Certain acts done impulsively don’t produce desirable results. But, as they say, the tragedy is not in falling but in not getting up after the fall.
Jonah is a regular guy, like you and me. A bit stubborn, he refused to obey the command of the Lord to prophesy against Nineveh. He knew what was coming. He predicted rightly that Assyria would be used by God to punish Israel. He trusted his feelings.
As a counselor, one of the things I learned is to be in touch with my feelings — to define them, label them, and accept them. I sympathize with Jonah for feeling what he felt and I don’t judge him for that. But although feelings have a role in discerning what is best thing to do, and that no decision can be made without factoring in feelings, in the end, the will, aided by the mind and heart, needs to come up with a decision. And this is where Jonah was sorely lacking — deciding to do as God would have him do, feelings or no feelings.
God knows how many times I was told to do things I didn’t want to do. My first assignment as a 21-year-old religious, fresh from philosophical and college studies, was in a place everyone was wary of. My feelings told me to rebel, to dislike, to refuse, to reject — exactly like Jonah did.
Thankfully, there was no whale anywhere near to swallow me whole. But I was swallowed whole by sadness and self-pity, and I didn’t know which among the two possibilities was worse. But I did learn one lesson the hard way. And that lesson is “God knows best!”
Teach me Your ways, O Lord! Doing a Jonah, refusing and rebelling, would lead to grief, not greatness. Instead, listening, obeying and doing as told leads to wisdom. Is there anything wiser than learn sooner, not later, that “the world in its present form is passing away”? Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: When asked to do something that you don’t want, how do you respond?
Give me a humble and obedient heart, Lord, that I may follow Your leading, even if it’s hard for me to do.
St. Peter Thomas, pray for us.
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Friday, January 23, 2015
think:
Jesus prays before the major events in His life unfold because He wants to be sure that He is working according to the Father’s will. Let us follow His example and bring to God in prayer all of the life decisions, big and small, we make each day.
Are you ignoring the Holy Spirit?
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Thursday, January 22, 2015
Jesus was a Jew, why are we Catholic?
Question:
If Jesus was a Jew, why are we Catholic?
Answer:
Jesus was a Jew both ethnically and religiously, he completed the religion by serving as the Christ whom the Scriptures long foretold even though majority of the Jews did not believe in him.
Christianity is the completed form of the Ancient Jewish religion, it is a pity that many of those who were ethnically Jewish did not recognize his role as Messiah, for this many did not accept Christianity, the completed form of Judaism. Instead they remained incomplete with the religion.
It wasn’t long before it was understood through the direction of the Holy Spirit that one did not need to be ethnically Jewish to be a follower of Christ, thus the Apostles began to preach to, and baptize many Gentile converts to the Christian faith. So Paul speaks about ethnical and religious Judaism :For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal.” Romans 2:28-29
As time went on, unfortunately some Christians broke away from the Church founded by Christ, so that a name became necessary to distinguish one Church from another. It was later decided that, the Church Jesus founded be called “Universal” from Greek Kataholos which means “according to the whole”, this is how the term “Catholic” was applied to this Church.
So Jesus was a Jew to complete the Jewish religion by creating a Church that would fulfill it and be open to people everywhere irrespective of their tribe and culture.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2015
10 Ways We Can Fast
Jesus said: “Unless you do penance you will all perish,” (Lk. 13:3). The first preaching of His Public ministry Jesus exhorts us to conversion: “Be converted for the Kingdom of God is at hand,”(Mk. 1:15). The Church which is the Mystical Body of Christ generously offers us a season of grace which has as its purpose conversion every year. This is the forty days of Lent.
The Israelites spent forty days in the desert; Moses fasted forty days on the Mountain; Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting. The Church encourages us in the Season of Lent to dig deep into the inner recesses of our hearts and beg for conversion of heart.
This conversion can become a reality by undertaking three traditional practices: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. (Mt. 6: 1-18) In prayer we lift our minds to God; in almsgiving we go out to meet the needs of our suffering brothers and sisters; in fasting we dig deep into our hearts and beg the Lord for the grace to relinquish our attachment to sin!
This being the case, what might be some concrete ways that we can practice fasting? An important note is the following: fasting is not a mere diet, with the simple desire to lose a few extra pounds. Rather, the purpose of fasting is to please God, convert our hearts as well as to beg for the conversion of others. In other words, fasting must have a horizontal or supernatural intention!
Ten Specific Ways We Can Fast
1. Eat less and receive the most Holy Eucharist more. By this practice we give more importance to our spiritual life and the salvation of our soul. Jesus said: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”(Jn. 6:27—Discourse on the Bread of Life)
2. Control your tongue. Saint James says, “We should be slow to speak and quick to listen.” Read James chapter three—one of the best exhortations in the world to work on controlling our tongue!
3. Heroic Moments. The Founder of Opus Dei has coined the phrase, “The Heroic moment”. By this Saint Jose Maria asserts that as soon as we hear the alarm-clock we should spring from bed, pray and start our day. The devil of laziness encourages us to push the Snooze-button! I do not believe the Snooze-button exists in the vocabulary and practice of the saints. What do you think?
4. Control those wandering eyes. The eyes are the mirror to the soul. The holy King David plunged into sin and more sin leading to murder for the simple reason that he allowed his eyes to wander. His eyes wandered and gazed upon a married woman—Bathsheba. Adulterous thoughts led to physical adultery, to denial of his sin and eventually to killing an innocent man—the husband of Bathsheba.(II Samuel 11-12) Let us strive to live out the Beatitude:“Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.”(Mt. 5: 8)
5. Punctuality. Jesus says, “He who is faithful in the small will be faithful in the larger things.”(Mt. 25:23) Being punctual and on time is a sign of order, respect for others, and a means to accomplish tasks well and on time.
6. Listen to Others. It is all too easy to interrupt others when they speak and try to impose our own ideas even before the person has finished his idea. Charity, which means, love for God and for others, teaches us to respect others and allow them to speak without interrupting and imposing our own ideas. Listening to others is also an act of humility—putting others before ourselves! “Jesus meek and humble of heart make my heart like unto yours.” (Mt. 11:28-30—Jesus describes His Heart as meek and humble…)
7. Be Thankful Rather Than Complain. Never allow a day to pass in which you do not thank God. We should constantly be thanking God. Furthermore, we should make it a habit to frequently thank others. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever,” (Psalm 118:1).
8. Smile, even if you don’t necessarily want to. This indeed could be a great penance—to smile at somebody even when you are tired, carrying with you a headache or a cold. This is heroic virtue. A smile is something small, but it is contagious. Indeed a sincere smile can lift those who see it from desolation to a state of consolation. One of the most evident signs of being a follower of Jesus is the smile of joy radiating from the face. “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil. 4:4)
9. Pray, even when you do not feel like it. Many of us unfortunately base our spiritual life on mere feelings which are ephemeral, transitory and passing like the dew that evaporates by the morning sun. Our best example is of course Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (Lk. 22:39-46). When Jesus was experiencing a mortal agony and desolation that drew huge drops of Blood from His pores, He did not really feel like praying. Nonetheless, Jesus prayed all the more fervently. Therefore, let us practice fasting and penance in our lives and have a set time and place to pray and to pray at times even when we do not feel like it. This is penance and true love for God! This is a sign of true maturity in the faith!
10. Encouragement. “Barnabus” actually means “Son of encouragement”(Acts 4:36). Let us get out of our egotistic shell and focus more on God and seeing Jesus in others—in imitation of the Good Samaritan. (Lk. 10). Let us learn to be a Simon of Cyrene and help our brothers and sisters who are carrying the weight of a very heavy cross. Let us lighten it by encouraging words, motivational gestures and by a heart filled with love and compassion. Remember the Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would like them to do to you.”(Mt. 7:12) In the difficult storms of the earthly battle, a word of encouragement can indeed be a powerful wind in the sails!
Prayerfully read through these ten suggestions on how to fast—how to deny yourself—and choose at least one or two that you can start to practice right away. May Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, encourage us to deny ourselves and say “yes” to the love of God by serving our brothers and sisters with a generous heart! (Lk. 1: 38—Mary’s “Yes” to God).
By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Father Ed Broom is an Oblate of the Virgin Mary. He blogs regularly atFr. Broom's Blog.
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