Listen

To listen is the first step to wisdom. In listening, we engage our whole being: our senses, our memory, our mind. Without the discipline of listening, life passes by without us realizing it. We go from one experience to another in a very superficial way. We commit the same mistakes, not because of human weakness but because we haven't identified the lessons our experiences teach us. We become like ship tossed to and fro by the wind because we don't have something solid that holds us.
Lord, give me the gift of listening in openness, humility and truth.

Much more than obeying the law

My goal in life is not to follow the ten commandments. It is too little. It doesn't inspire the heart.
My goal in life is to follow a person - Jesus.
Yes, to follow a person; to let my life be united with His; to let His passion be my passion.
To let Jesus penetrate every fiber of my being sounds like a great adventure!

The price of growing up

Our personal journey is mysterious and we cannot compare ours with another's, nor have easy recipes or prescriptions. There are common elements, but each one of us must grope in the dark. We make our journey and pay for it with our own blood, sweat and tears. This is the price of growth, and growth is a sign of life.

A woman on my mind

As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, I think about my mother. It’s been almost fourteen years since she passed away. What will I always remember about her?

She loved to reach out to people. Their indifference or cruelty made her suffer but she always managed to just heave a deep sigh, or cry in secret or in the company of a trusted person. But she would not let an uncharitable retort or cruel words come out of her mouth. Was this a sign of weakness? Some may say so, but I don’t. For me this was a sign of great self-control and a magnanimous heart that knows that she is not the center of the world.

She loved life. She laughed a lot. She gave gifts on birthdays, Christmas days, or for no occasion at all, not big ones for she couldn’t afford that, but gifts that made the other person feel special. I didn’t even know about this, but during our frequent family get-togethers now someone would always remember some experience.  

She loved God. She always saw everything in the light of faith. She would always say “Bahala na ang Diyos” (God will take care of it) or “Ipinagpapasa-Diyos ko na lang” (I leave it in God’s hands). And the decisions she took were always based on this certainty. She wasn’t lazy, though, or passive. She did her part, but it was okay if things didn’t turn out the way she wanted. She knew how to move on.

Did she love herself? We know that a healthy personality would entail a healthy love of oneself. So to the question whether she loved herself, I’d say yes. But my mother was a wise woman. She knew that “herself” was a part of a greater whole. “Herself” was always in relation with something, or someone, or Someone.

If my mother would take a personality test, perhaps she wouldn’t make a perfect score. I don’t care about that. I don’t even want to make a perfect score myself. It would be enough for me if I learn from my mother that life is NOT a property to be consumed, but a gift received that becomes more meaningful when shared. We don’t need to wait to have a perfect life for us to be happy because happiness is something we choose for ourselves with whatever ingredients life offers to us.

Dreams

Dreams are expressions of what we hold dearest in our heart.

The rich man and Lazarus

Whenever I read this text I am always perplexed at how this rich man could ignore the miserable poor man right there at his doorstep. It is impossible for the rich man not to see Lazarus. The dogs wanted to lick the poor man's wounds, so how can the rich man not know of the poor man's existence!
The rich man mirrors us: when we reason out that poor people are poor because they are lazy, incompetent, uncreative ... when we reason out that it is not wrong to be so rich because we have worked hard for it ... when we waste while others literally die of indigence ... when we wash our hands of the responsibility towards others because we reason out that it is the responsibility of the government, of the Church, in short, it's somebody else's business.

Among you this is not to happen

In these words Jesus clearly shows that His disciples are to follow another criteria, not that of the world: to serve, to be the last, to give one's life for others. May all Christians take this seriously. It will surely change the world.
This reminds me that the spiritual journey is never accomplished once and for all. When I think that I am already in place, that should make me worry. But it isn't also an egoistic search for self-perfection.
To follow Jesus is to focus my eyes on Jesus, not on myself.