Children of the World

Reverence for those who suffer

Whoever suffers and is in darkness

sees further than one

who is not suffering.

The sun has to set

before we see the stars.

Suffering teaches

what cannot be learned

in any other way.

It holds the highest rank,

the teacher of wisdom.

And whoever has wisdom is blessed (cf. Prv 3:13).

"Blessed are those who suffer,

for they shall be comforted" (Mt 5:4)

- not only with their reward
in the next life

but also with the contemplation

of heavenly things here on earth.

We should approach

those who suffer

with the same

and even more reverence

than we used

to approach our elders,

sure that from them

we would receive great wisdom.

By Chiara Lubich

What the "bruised reeds" teach me

Last week I participated in a four-day intense seminar organized by the Pontifical Council for migrants and itinerant people about the pastoral care of this sector with special focus on Europe. I wasn't very keen on attending it because I knew of the intense schedule and the group work I had to participate in, but now I am very grateful to God for the opportunity. We talked about the different faces of marginalisation: trafficked persons, streetchildren, the homeless, workers on the road, etc. We had wonderful moments of sharing in groups and we've listened to so many touching experiences. I remembered my own years of being with the streetchildren.

This seminar has sort of help me gain another insight on my ongoing experience. I have always been inspired by the text "a bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not quench" (Mt 12:20). In fact, it is my blog's subtitle. This has always helped me to be patient with people, especially the young ones I've met in my journey. But at this point in my life I really feel like I am the bruised reed hanging on to that very thin link with the plant. It's like experiencing in my own flesh, and maybe testing whether I really believe in it, that God won't "break" me.

I have worked for many years for many "bruised reeds" but maybe I haven't really gotten inside their pain and their insecurities, their resilience and their capacity to take one moment at a time, how just getting through a day is already a big victory, how just being able to sleep or wake up the following day calls for gratitude to God.

I know that after the cross comes the resurrection. That is my big hope. But I also have to make sense of the cross.

I love the Philippines

By now the whole world knows of the most recent calamity that has devastated our beloved country, the Philippines, as if the Philippines doesn't have enough of its share of calamities (both natural and man-made).
Any Filipino's ordinary reaction was to inquire about the condition of our families, friends and loved ones. And I am sure (and I am included in this), each one of us must have heaved a sigh of relief when we were assured that not much damage has befallen them.
I guess now is the time that we are called to look beyond and to widen our horizons. We thank God that our loved ones are okay, and are spared, sort of. But we cannot also neglect to remember that our other co-Filipinos are in dire need of help.
Much is still left to be said about the need for the re-construction of our nation (especially its moral dimension), but in this moment of urgency, we cannot be indifferent. Our country and our people need us NOW.
Sometimes it makes me angry, esp. when happenings like this show very clearly the inability and even irresponsibility of our government leaders. Why is it that church groups and non government organizations are the ones providing the people the services that our government officials and institutions are supposed to render?
Since this is a time of emergency, we need to act NOW. People's lives are at stake. I believe that all of us are called to do our part.
As we thank God for the blessings bestowed on us, He also calls us to share these blessings. He is not asking us to do something impossible or great. In fact, in the last judgment, Jesus will tell us "in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). Let us share our blessings to our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
We Filipinos are a very resilient people, sometimes, I think, too resilient for our own good. We will be able to hurdle this experience, but I hope that it will also become for us a moment of growth - to know what are the things that matter most in life, to be able to live responsible citizenship, to extend our natural love for our families to all our countrymen.
Wherever we may be, I know that deep in our hearts, there is a special love for our motherland. We only have one motherland and she needs us at this moment.
God bless the Philippines. God bless us all.

The good shepherd

This is one of my favorite stories.
A sheep found a hole in the fence and crept through it. He wandered far and lost his way back. Then he realized he was being followed by a wolf. He ran and ran, but the wolf kept chasing him, until the shepherd came and rescued him and carried him lovingly back to the field. In spite of everyone's urgings to the contrary, the shepherd refused to nail up the hole in the fence.

[Anthony de Mello]

My sister

Last Monday was my sister's birthday. She is special because she is my only sister. Our relationship has developed throughout the years. There were a lot of moments of misunderstanding because of words said and unsaid, gestures that left one or the other hurt. Each of us has chosen her own path but since we are sisters we cannot but find ourselves together at certain crossroads. I thank her for having allowed me not only to be her sister but her friend, as well. She is to me a source of inspiration because of how she has always been sincere and true to who she is. This, for me, is her greatest quality. No half-measures for my sister. And she is such a woman of strength, and it comes from a conviction that she is truly loved by God, the only One who never fails. Thank you, Gi, more birthdays to come.

The joy of Easter has to dawn

Remember that the passion of Christ ends always in the joy of the Resurrection,

so when you feel in your own heart the suffering of Christ,

remember the Resurrection has to come, the joy of Easter has to dawn.

Never let anything so fill you with sorrow

as to make you forget the joy of the Risen Christ!

(Blessed Teresa of Calcutta)