Look for the silver lining

I've started this blog a year ago. So much has happened ... I've realized that hope gets us through a lot, even the darkest days.
Here's wishing that we would always hold on to that Hope that will never delude us: Jesus.

Thank you, Lord

Today is a special call to thank God for everything. 2009 has been a very difficult year for me, and I cannot wait for it to be over. But somehow it was also the year when I have realized that without God I am nothing.
The message that continues to ring in my mind is: let go and cut the strings so that I can fly freely to God. It's not easy, so I take it one step at a time. Each day, each moment is a call to which God asks me to respond. When I realize that I have refused to say yes to God's invitation, I forgive myself. I am not perfect. I am basically a good and decent person, but there is always room for improvement and for forgiveness, especially from myself.

May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You

No lasting city

One of the lessons I've learned about life is that, it moves on. We try to live the best way we can TODAY, loving the people we are with and giving the best of ourselves, but always with the knowledge that here, we have no lasting city.

UN proclaims International Year of Youth in 2010

UN proclaims International Year of Youth in 2010

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Roots

As the years pass by, all the more I realize that it is only God who can completely respond to our deepest needs. Sometimes God seems silent or even absent. But then these moments of darkness are when we really grow deeper roots so that we can satiate our thirst from the Source of Living water.

Advent

For faith does not mean that all our doubts disappear. It does not imply that we are free from struggle or darkness. Like John, we will know the night and the haunting questions that arise from our exile. Advent is the church's way of giving us time to question, to wait, to cry out in the night, and to weep for the coming of the Lord. It is the season of exiles and sentinels; a time for prophets who struggle to understand and accept the implications of their lives.

(Fr. James Donelan SJ)

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)

Mother Mary in me

I just recently read the book "The Secret Life of Bees" and I love the way the author wrote about Mother Mary. Since today is Mother Mary's feast, here are some excerpts:

Our Lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like a fairy godmother. She's not the statue in the parlor. She's something inside of you...

You don't have to put your hand on Mary's heart to get strength and consolation and rescue, and all the other things we need to get through life... You can place it right here on your own heart. Your own heart...

All those times your father treated you mean, Our Lady was the voice in you that said, 'No, I will not bow down to this. I am Lily Melissa Owens, I will not bow down.' Whether you could hear this voice or not, she was in there saying it...

When you're unsure of yourself, when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, 'Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are.' She's the power inside you...

And whatever it is that keeps widening your heart, that's Mary, too, not only the power inside you but the love. And when you get down to it, Lily, that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love - but to persist in love...

(From 'The Secret Life of Bees', by Sue Monk Kidd)

Yes, not just to love but to persist in love, like Mary at the foot of the cross.

Moving on

When we look with faith at our experiences, we know (at least in our heads) that everything falls into place in God's plan, even the unpleasant ones that make us suffer. But it is different for one who suffers, because there is a big distance between what we know in our mind and what we feel in our hearts. We just want to end the pain because we feel we do not have anymore energy. We are sapped of even our good resolutions when we really find ourselves in the depths.
It is then that we need to be kind to ourself. Be aware of what we feel, admit it, without laying any blame or guilt in ourself. Sometimes what happens to us could be a consequence of a bad choice of ours, but there is no use blaming ourselves. Just admit the pain, cry as much as you want to. When it subsides, make a choice just to continue to live just for this moment. Most importantly, consciously ask God's help, without being in a hurry. Ask God to bless you because even if you are not aware of it, you are moving on.

Fly

When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you’ll find something solid to stand on
Or you’ll be taught how to fly!
(Richard Bach)

God-with-me

"If you seek me with your heart you will find me by your side. I will restore your fortune and treasure and gather you from places lost."

In his time

Prayer for today

Lord, you allow things to happen for a greater good.
When the horizon is so dark, and I cannot see any way out, and I do not feel the comfort of any sensible experience, I trust in you.

You know what is best for me, you know my fragility, the limits of my strength.

I trust in you.

In all things, may Your holy will be done.

I trust in you.

Lord, save us

As Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. (Mt 8:23-24)
The sea is the image of life that each of us is called to embark upon in our fragile boat. There are lulls of good weather and there are recurring tempests. This voyage is inevitable and can instill fear and anxiety, especially in today's society where anonymity dominates and it is easy to feel alone. We may feel as though we are drowning in the hostile waves on a moonless night. Shore seems like a distant and foggy mirage. The limitations of others create a heavy burden, ballast that renders rowing more difficult.
From the moment of the Incarnation, God has placed His boat alongside ours on these terrible waves. What's more, He asked Peter and now asks us to let Him come into our boat. From that moment, there no longer exists nights that are not illuminated by the light of faith, weak as it may be. It is true that there are days in which Jesus seems to be deeply asleep and the waves threaten to overwhelm us. Our prayer seems to be drowned out by the winds. We may even say, I no longer know how to pray. There is only one prayer full of an anguished cry that rises to our lips: Lord, save us!
This is the sincerest prayer because it rises from the depths of our being where we find ourselves face to face with our existential poverty. It is there that He is present, though asleep. He sleeps in order to re-awaken our drowsy faith. He sleeps but His heart keeps vigil. Let us listen to Him and treasure His words full of tender reproach, 'Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?'

(From Friends and Servants of the Word, June 30, 2009)

Trust

I was with a friend yesterday and we talked about what she calls the "spirituality of trust". I think it is what I need especially when the difficult times become more frequent and much longer. Sometimes the scenario is just so overwhelming, options either too limited or totally absent, and change isn't so near the horizon, so hope becomes a little more difficult, or even impossible.

It is then that I am called to trust, that at this particular moment, with this particular experience of incapacity and of void, God is present.

Crossroads

so there's no need for turning back coz all roads lead to where we stand.

Part of growing up spiritually is learning to be grateful for all things, even our difficulties, disappointments, failures, humiliations. (from Minute meditations)

Life goes on

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on. (Robert Frost)

I am in a very reflective mood nowadays. I listen to old music and Barbra Streisand's voice echoes what is inside me "no matter how we try some good things never last". Yeah, why can't they last?

Two friends of mine end their emails with this quote: One of the reasons why people hold on to memories so tight is because memories are the only things that don’t change when everything else does …

In the Transfiguration narrative, the three apostles witnessed something extraordinary and they wanted it to stay forever. "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah", said Peter, James and John. If these three people had expressed it so, I guess it's normal to feel this way.

But change is the most constant thing in life. We are never the same person. Isn't there a saying that goes: you don't cross the same river twice. You change, the river changes.

Each day, each person, each experience is a gift. They are not to be hoarded. They are to be enjoyed, to be received as a gift, then to be let go. Yet, something of it remains with us: in our thoughts, our hearts, in the way we speak, in our gaze, in the way we see, in the gesture of our hands, in our gait. We are never the same person. Life goes on.

An imperfect life

Our world on earth, of course, is not perfect though we strive to do the right things. We make human mistakes which cannot be undone; they can only hope to be rectified at best. We must trust that the Lord understands our sincere intentions for good and forgives us when our feet stray from the path. When we have lived a meaningful, though not perfect life, we may go to our maker in joy.

(Beverly Elaine Eanes)

Joy

Today is my birthday. As is our usual practice, a prayer was offered for my intentions. The sisters thanked God for the gift of my life and for my simple and joyful presence. I was keeping myself from crying as the prayer was said. What an irony. Joy.

I am in a rough time right now that I find myself uttering this prayer several times a day: Lord, just let me get through this moment.

I do not ask God to take away the suffering, but just to give me a little respite or I will break.

Joy. What is joy, after all?

From death to life

Pain, joy, life are the recurring notes in this Easter tide. They unlock a scenario that, while not ignoring the harshness of certain moments, urges us to read into them by seeing them in the light of the Paschal Mystery. The final solution for the perennial battle between life and death is found on the cross. Here is the blossoming of a newness that touches every experience and transfigures it.
Sadness arises as we face the inevitability of death, but it is only so that life may explode. It is the necessary pains of childbirth that announce the coming of new life. It is the Easter event that returns in our today, in our suffering. Trying to stop the seed from rotting in the ground, trying to omit this phase in order to reap the mature grain without it, is foolish and detrimental. There is no birth that is not preceded by a lengthy time of waiting and by the pangs of childbirth. And there is no sunset that does not announce the triumph of a new sunrise.
Christian joy is rooted in this certainty. What’s more, it is precisely the joy that arises from hope which renders the announcement of the Resurrection credible and reaches a humanity resigned to a destiny of death. It is life. It is this triumph that Christ asks us to sing and to spread around us in joy, full joy, lasting joy.

(From Friends and Servants of the Word)

Still on Friendship

A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

The love of friendship is the highest form of love. It is arrived only through a deep and serious process of de-centralization and giving all without expecting anything in return. It is more than maternal and paternal love, because those are from a sense of duty and of responsibility for a small and fragile life. The love of friendship instead is an adult love where the gift is free from possessiveness, jealousy, pretensions, and vindications. It is when self-oblation and humble and silent freedom are expressed in a thousand daily gestures.The love of friendship introduces us in the mystical experience of the other! It becomes empathy, intuition, silent and discreet presence and a gratuitous gift. This is God’s life in us! (From Friends and Servants of the Word)

I call you friends

In today's Gospel text from St. John (15:15), we hear the powerful words: "No longer do I call you servants ... but I ahve called you friends." We are not useless servants but friends! The Lord calls us friends; he makes us his friends; he gives us his friendship.

Jesus defines friendship in two ways. There are no secrets between friends: Christ tells us everything he hears from the Father; he gives us his full confidence and, with confidence, also knowledge. He reveals his face to us, his heart. He shows his tenderness for us, his passionate love that goes to the folly of the cross.

I remember how moved I was as I listened to the Holy Father's homily at the beginning of the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome on April 24, 2005. Three times during that memorable homily, Benedict XVI spoke of the importance of "friendship" with Jesus: "The Church as a whole and all her pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the palce of life, toward friendship with the Son of God, toward the One who gives us life, and life in abundance...

"There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him."

"Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potention of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation."

Eight months later, in his Angelus address of Jan. 15, 2006, Benedict XVI said: "Friendship with the Teacher guarantees profound peace and serenity to the soul, even in the dark moments and in the msot arduous trials. When faith meets with dark nights, in which the presence of God is no longer 'felt' or 'seen', friendship with Jesus guarantees that in reality nothing can ever separate us from his love" (cf. Rm 8:39).

Again on Aug. 26, 2007, the theme of friendship was front and center: "True friendship with Jesus is expressed in the way of life: It is expressed with goodness of heart, with humility, meekness and mercy, love for justice and truth, and a sincere and honest commitment to peace and reconciliation."

(By Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB)

Longing for home

When we were younger we couldn't wait to go out to see the world and to spread our wings. But at a certain point in our life, we just experience that yearning to be cuddled, to be tucked in bed, to be offered a cup of hot chocolate and to be told that no matter what mess we have made of our life, we are still special to somebody. We long for home.

Nanay's testament

I have nanay's testament, after all. She and my father gave me a bible for my birthday in 1995. Here is her message:

Our prayer for your birthday is Heb. 13:16. And may our Lord Jesus Christ always be the center of our life and may our Mother Mary be always our model.

With prayerful love,

Tatay and Nanay

Nanay wrote the message, but she put my dad's signature ahead of hers. She was always like that, letting others take the centerstage.

And what does Hebrews 13:16 say?

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.

A very good program of life, indeed!

Nanay: the wind beneath my wings

I will always remember nanay with her kind and smiling eyes. She was a person who would make the first step to make people at home. She had many friends because of her kindness and thoughtfulness. Birthdays and important occasions were always remembered by her.

I have to confess that I haven't really shown nanay how much I appreciate her in my life. Do I regret that? Yes, I do. But somehow I have a feeling that nanay, with her very generous heart, read even my simple words and gestures as signs of appreciation.

I've never really had heart-to-heart talks with nanay. Our life was simple and day-to-day struggles were dealt with in undramatic ways.

Being the eldest, I sort of looked up to my father in terms of taking on responsibilities and preparing for my future, but nanay never felt left out. She understood.

I couldn't say that nanay was a woman of few words, because she liked to talk a lot, and that was one of her endearing qualities. But her words were simple, the stuff of everyday conversation. It was her way of reaching out to people, not of showing off. So I couldn't really remember any particular phrase or expression that I could consider her "testament".

Nanay's testament to me is her letting go, her everyday gestures of allowing others to shine. She was the wind beneath my wings.

Happy mothers' day, nanay. I really, really miss you.

Kindred spirits

"There is common ground that kindred spirits walk - shared thoughts that forever bind their souls."

No finished symphony

In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable we begin to realize that here, in this life, all symphonies remain unfinished. (Karl Rahner)

Real beauty

Susan Boyle is the latest sensation. Here is a wonderful article which might guide our soul-searching as to what really matters in life ...

The beauty that matters is always on the inside http://www.theherald.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2501746.mostviewed.the_beauty_that_matters_is_always_on_the_inside.php

Incredibly inspiring

Susan Boyle's rendition of "I dreamed a dream"

No more wine

I am no wine expert, but I know that wine is a sign of feast, of celebration. At the wedding at Cana, there was a feast, a wedding feast, but they ran out of wine. How can a celebration without wine be a feast?

We are still a few days after the most joyous celebration - Easter. Everyday during the Easter octave we repeat the verse "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad", but I feel like my life is such a burden, it is passing from one work to another, from one responsibility to another. As one character of a film I've recently watched puts it, "for me, it's all duty. There is no joy in doing them."

I guess I call it the curse of a dutiful life, of being responsible. I reason out, and I pride myself when I say so, and think that it is a sign of maturity, that in life, many times, we cannot just do what we like. A lot of times, in order to survive, we just have to renounce our will and do what is good and what is right.

But it is very tiring and very oppressing to just "do". I need something more, to find the reason why I do what is good.

Jesus is the wine of rejoicing. I do not know how long this realization will last. These days of quiet have been helpful, but I have to go back to my plain and everyday life. But I am confident in God, my "everyday compassion". I may get lost and be entrapped in my web of attachments, but He will find me and lead me back home.

Letting go

God is my Father. My little life is a part of a grand design, my Father's plan. I only see a glimpse of that grand project, and what a poor glimpse it is - solely from my own perspective. I want everything in my life to be in place, that is, to stay secure, that is, not to be worried because everything is predictable, everything follows a plan I am familiar with.

A friend of mine says that I tend to be controlling. I have always contested that observation, and I reason out, with good faith, that, in fact, I tend to be liberal and allow people to do what they like. Well, I've got good news for me. Yes, consciously, I respect people's choices and let them be, but subconsciously, I feel a certain discomfort, and there is the desire to go back to a situation where I don't suffer, that is, where I am in control.

This controlling tendency manifests itself in a lot of ways - the desire to name what I feel, the capacity to feel okay, the support and affirmation of friends, a concrete personal project completed, etc.

These days God calls me to recognize Him as Father. I am just a part of His great scheme.

Fear is useless. What is needed is trust.

As my favorite book tells it, "God's in his heavens. All's right with the world".

Go and sell everything

At this moment of my life, I feel an intense urge to ask God to restore to me the past. The burden of the various responsibilities are just so heavy and the feeling of solitude is just so frightening. I feel so stripped of joy and serenity.

Lord, take them away from me. I have always done my part. I have been an active member of my community, despite my limited capacities. Lord, just bring back those days of old, when life was simpler.

Then the Gospel story about the rich young man comes to my mind (surely, inspired by God)

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

You know the commandments ...

All of these I have observed from my youth

Wow, these words echo what is in my heart. I have always done my part - my work, my apostolate, my contribution to the community. Just let me go back to my former situation.

There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor. Then come, follow me.

What is there still to sell, Lord? I have left everything 21 years ago - my family, my career, my friends... or maybe in the twentyone years I've been in religious life, I've started to gather around me other treasures- friends, my projects, sympathizers, my own ideals.

It's very frightening, Lord, what you are asking of me. I do not know if I can do it. My heart is already shedding a lot of tears. I am begging for this state to come to an end.

What is impossible for human beings is possible for God.

What answer are you asking of me? Like Mary? That I say, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word". I want to say these words, dear Lord, but I am afraid of the consequence. What if you take them seriously?

I want to say them, and say them with sincerity. Now I just say them mechanically. You know my rhythm, Lord. You know me better than I know myself. Help me, at the right time, to say them with sincerity, and to mean them.

Carrying the cross

I have given you an example

So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist... So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do".
John 13:3-5,12-15

God is love

God is love. And love’s response is only love. Love is freely given and freely received. That is why God gave us freedom.
With this freedom God is also risking that we wouldn’t love Him back in return; that we would also hurt ourselves and each other with our wrong decisions. I know that He wouldn’t want us to be hurt. He is hurt whenever He sees us hurting. But He has to respect the freedom which He has gifted us with. I believe, though, that He is carrying us in His own arms in that moment of deep pain. He continues to stay and keep vigil, to cheer us on and hope that we see the light. He is waiting for us to come home to Him, or rather, to recognize that He has always been with us all along.
That is the God I believe in. If I was able to do it with my students, I with my limitations, how much more this great and awesome God!

The world

Do not believe that because you are in the world, you can swim like a fish in water. Do not believe that because the world enters your home through radio and television, you are authorized to listen to every program or view every telecast. Do not believe that because you walk the streets of the world, you can look with impunity at all the advertisements and indiscriminately purchase whatever publication at the newsstand or in the bookstore. Do not believe that because you are in the world, any lifestyle of the world can be yours: casual sex, immorality, divorce, hate, violence, theft.
No, no. You are in the world. Who does not see this? But you are not of the world. This comports a great difference. This classifies you among those who are not nourished by the things of the world but by those that are expressed by God’s voice within you. It is in the heart of every person and allows you to enter – if you listen – into a kingdom that is not of this world, where true love, justice, purity, gentleness, poverty are lived and where self-control reigns.

The comfortable and tranquil life is not for a Christian. Christ has not asked and will not ask less if you want to follow Him. The world overtakes you like a swollen river and you must go against the current. For the Christian, the world is a dense forest in which we must watch where we step. And where should we walk? In Christ’s footprints, the ones He left as He walked this earth, His Word. (Chiara Lubich)

A prayer

May he support us all the day long,
till the shades lengthen,
and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in his mercy may he give us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest,
and peace at the last.

(Card. John Henry Newman)

Laura

The name Laura Vicuña rings a bell to people who are familiar to my world. Today is her feast day. She is presented as an adolescent who rose to courageous heights up to the supreme gift of her life for her mother’s sake.
Undoubtedly she had it in her blood, I mean, heroism. I believe it was an idealism that was nurtured and honed to become heroism. Isn’t it that youth is a stage of life characterized by idealism? How then can an adolescent arrive at heroism. I mean, to give up your own, your young life for an ideal!
Laura’s story shows that a big role was played by her teachers.
What kind of school did Laura go to? What was the recipe for her “success”? I guess that more than the bright and wonderful ideals received, it was the life lived with these teachers that transformed Laura’s idealism into heroism.
Were these educators highly exceptional human beings? I don’t know. And I guess we educators aren’t called to be highly exceptional. We are called to be cordial, kind, loving, attentive, merciful, humble, to show the way and to launch our students to infinite horizons, ready to be in the shadows, the wind beneath their wings.
We Christian educators are called to try to make Jesus be seen and touched in our lives. Yes, we try. When our students see us fail, they get in touch with our humanity. When they see us try to rise up, they get in touch with the God that makes it possible. Only God transforms people from idealists to heroes.

To all the young people who have been part of my journey, you are remembered today in a very special way.

Why ask in prayer?

When people ask me to pray for their intentions or when I promise people that I will pray for their intentions, there are times that I catch myself asking whether this prayer of petition is effective at all. Let me put it this way, if some people pray for rain while others pray for a sunny weather, what will God do? Grant the request of some, and in the process, risk the ire of the rejected party?
And besides, if God is The all-powerful, The all-knowing, etc. does he really need an enumeration of things He has to do to put the world aright?
In one of my lucid moments (or moments of revelation, as I call them), I was struck by the realization that when I pray for something, it's not God's heart that is converted, what is changed is my heart.
The more I pray about something, the more that thing or intention becomes present to me. I would say that in a way, prayer enlarges my heart.
When, for example, I pray for peace in the world, peace becomes the subject of my thoughts, and the more I pray, the more peace becomes a conviction or a criterion for my ideas, my attitudes and lifestyle.
When I pray for a person, the more that person becomes an object not only of my prayer, but of my thoughts and my actions as well.
God doesn't need my prayer of petition. I need it.

Praying for someone means being present both to God and to the person, attaining a perfect balance between these two loves. (G. Thibon)

Words

This morning I was browsing through an invitation to a convention, trying to figure out whether it is worth attending. I shared the possibility to a colleague of mine and she jumped at the invitation, saying how these congresses, seminars and conventions are good moments of ongoing formation. To tell the truth I wasn’t very optimistic. The invitation showed a tight schedule of one talk after another. Oh my, I just cannot endure a barrage of speakers, trying to outdo each other and more often than not, exceeding the time given to them.
Words are tools for self-expression. They are important to everyday living. I’ve heard once that unless a person is capable of putting feelings and ideas into words, they remain fragments, bits and pieces without any synthesis. But the use of too many words can also indicate an incapacity to make a synthesis and make a stand.

Baby Jesus

God – from the time of Adam – saw that his grandeur provoked resistance in man, that we felt limited in our own being and threatened in our freedom. Therefore God chose a new way. He became a child. He made himself dependent and weak, in need of our love. Now, this God who has become a child says to us: you can no longer fear me, you can only love me.

(William of Saint Thierry)

Time

Yesterday was a busy day for me, not for work-related matters. A sister from Madrid, who is a good friend of mine, arrived the other evening. I haven’t seen her for a long time, so we just talked and exchanged stories for almost two hours.
In the afternoon, I just passed by the laundry to get my rag and to ask the sister in charge if she happened to see my scarf. There were other two sisters there and so I greeted and exchanged a few words with them, too. One after another they just started recalling their days as novices. We were almost hysterically laughing. Actually I didn't say a word. I just listened since I saw that they were enjoying this recollection of their younger years. Wow, time passed so swiftly and it was almost 3:30 pm when we finished. We were there, standing and laughing for almost an hour.
Well, of course I didn't manage to finish what I have written in my to-do-list-for-today, but I am glad that I spent those two moments with my sisters.
We talk about the "quality of time as more important than the quantity" but still, we need to invest something which not many people are willing to give up, our TIME.

A blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you!
May the Lord let his face shine upon you,

and be gracious to you!

May the Lord look upon you kindly

and give you peace!

(Numbers 6:24-26)