Being called...

"Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 40:31)

There is no doubt

that you are called.
God calls you
according to the unique person
you are made to be.

In fact, God calls you
to the very best place
and way of life for you.

It may not be the easiest place
in the world to be
or the simplest thing to do.

But it is where you will be
most at home,
most at rest within yourself,
and best able to serve Jesus Christ.

(a poem taken from Vocation Quest)

It is not good for man to be alone.

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it... Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him..." Then the LORD God had formed all the wild animals and all the birds out of the ground...But the man found no helper who was right for him. Then the LORD God formed a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man. He brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be named woman because she was taken from man.The man and the woman were both naked, but they weren't ashamed of it. (Genesis 2:15,18,19,20,22,25)

What is man? According to an online article in Wikipedia.org, man refers to an adult human male but some people may also be classified or self - identified as man. Manhood is the term used to refer to the various qualities attributed to men such as strength and male sexuality.

But what about woman? What is a woman? The bible says in the book of Genesis that woman was taken out of man. God created the woman from one of the man's bones. What does that mean? Should a woman really be subordinate to man? What happens to the concept of equality? Where is the justice in this truth? If God is truly a god of justice, then he should have made woman out of clay just as he created man. Why did God form the woman out of man?

The man God created to cultivate the garden of Eden needed someone he can relate with, someone of his own kind. He was a human being, a creature endowed by God with the capacity to think and act according to reason. In order to fulfill the task given him by God, he would need another human being to help him. The man was like a prototype for this new creation called woman. An engineer would refer to his original creation if he wants to create something that would enhance the functionality of his invention. It must be the same way with man and woman. Perhaps God wanted to make sure that both are compatible with each other so that they can function according to the purpose God designed for them to be.

God never forgets his people.

So there were 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations from the exile until the Messiah. (Matthew 1:17 - God's Word Translation)

Can you imagine how long ago that would have been? There was a total of 42 generations from the creation of man to the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. Many things happened in between those years. From the time of the promise made by God to Noah after the flood up to the time when the people of Israel had been exiled in Babylon, I bet not everyone could recall who their ancestors were. But here in this first chapter of the Gospel is written a list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Then he made man in his image and likeness so that they may have fellowship with him. But man destroyed that fellowship when they listened to the voice of the devil and disobeyed God's command. 

Several generations have come and gone since man turned away from God. Several kings have succeeded one after the other. There  have been wars here and there. People have died of famine. With these terrible disasters, I don't think people could still believe in the promise of God that was made several eons ago. 

But God remembered everything. He never forgot his promise to send the Messiah even though 42 generations had to pass before he had to fulfill his promise. He is faithful indeed!

God is our Creator.

And God saw everything that he had made and that it was very good. There was evening, then morning—the sixth day.Gen 1:31 (GW)

It is difficult to comprehend the real nature of the manner of creation but there is only one thing I  noticed in the bible narrative. It is the amazing order of how things had come into existence. It was as if God had a checklist in his hand when he created the entire universe. He seem to know exactly which one should come before what among his creatures. All things have been placed in their proper order. It was like there is a blueprint for the entire universe that God was looking into when he began creating it. If God were a business man, it is as if God had a Gantt chart of the activities he  should be doing to accomplish his task of creating the entire universe.

So God created everything in the universe with great precision and order. Nothing came out just randomly. Everything came into existence at the time God had commanded it. God, indeed, is the sovereign and almighty creator of the entire universe!

Ode to Siddhartha... in praise of Jesus Christ

Oh, Siddhartha, Siddhartha! 
Why are you so famous?
Even more famous 
than my Lord Jesus Christ!

Indeed, your teachings are noble and true
And your wisdom, quite amusing
But what have you done for me? Nothing.
You have done nothing for me.

Buddhism seem to have gained great popularity in the world these days. This awareness brought a spark of curiosity within me. A friend of mine seem persistently interested in the subject. So I did a little research to see why but my findings only strengthened my convictions in the Christian faith. I was  then inspired to create this satirical piece... but no offense meant... Namaste!

But my Lord Jesus Christ? 
He died for me.
While you sat down 
by a tree, not moving a muscle;
He ached all his muscles
And carried a heavy cross for me.

When you had left home, 
abandoning your beloved wife and kid,
My Lord Jesus Christ had been abandoned
Even betrayed by a friend
To the point of anguish

You ran away in search for truth;
My Lord Jesus Christ 
suffered to show me the truth!

Oh, Good Prince  Siddhartha!
You saw the suffering of the world
But what did you do? 

You ran away and sat still.
My Lord Jesus Christ 
endured the suffering 
and showed the way.

While you were born in a palace,
My Lord Jesus Christ was laid 
in a feeding box for swine.
His father was a simple carpenter
And his mother rode a donkey to his birthplace.

He had friends and they were fishermen.
He lived in a small town,
A place that was almost despised by many.
Nothing good could have come from that town.

He didn't have much gold coins
But he helped people
When he saw them in need
For a wedding feast 
he gave the best wine
He fed the hungry multitude
And he filled the nets 
of his fishermen friends




My Lord Jesus Christ 
He did so many wonderful things!
healed the sick, 
cured the lepers 
and made the lame walk.

Gave sight to the blind 
and hearing to the deaf
Silenced the storm 
and even brought 
a dead man back to life

But most of all, 
he offered his life 
on the cross!

Siddhartha, you speak of the way 
to liberation from suffering;
My Lord Jesus Christ 
liberated his people 
from that suffering.

You give people 
hope of inner peace 
and eternal bliss;
My Lord Jesus Christ 
promised eternal life
in heaven.

Ah, heaven! 
Now, we speak of it at last!
Did you just say Nirvana? 
That eternal bliss?

Oh, heaven is more 
than just eternal bliss!
It is a glorious place, 
full of much joy and gladness, 
always feasting.

If I were to choose 
between heaven and nirvana,
Then there is no need 
to stop and think. 
I choose heaven.

Why heaven? 
Because heaven is 
where my Lord Jesus Christ is.

I long for that day
when I can see him 
face to face.

For all the things 
he has done for me 
is a lot of things 
to be thankful for.

Words would not be enough
to pay him 
this gratitude I owe him.

Siddhartha, you are not even a god,
So why should I even bother 
to know all about you?
My Lord is Jesus Christ,
Let his name be praised forever!

Praised be the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven and on earth forever and ever!

Jesus is a Friend of Sinners.

July 8, 2012 (Sunday) at ACM Office. This day marks the beginning of a spiritual journey with the Carmelite Missionaries. This religious congregation of consecrated women holds an annual Life Direction Program every second Sunday of each month of the year. There would be a particular theme to reflect upon each month. This month's theme is friendship with Jesus.

 

"Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked his disciples one day. And Peter declared, "You are the Messiah!" Jesus explicitly instructed his disciples not to tell anyone about him. The sisters had impressed this question into our hearts: Who is Jesus in your life? And like what Jesus told his disciples, we don't have to tell anyone. It will be our "little secret" with our beloved Savior.

The entire activity had been animated with beautiful reflective music. We started by singing some songs specially selected by the sisters for the theme. Then, we went into a guided meditation on the image of Jesus as a loving, caring friend. This short meditation was guided by one of the Carmelite sisters.

After a short discussion of the theme and sharing of our thoughts and life experiences, the sisters showed us an inspiring video reflecting how Jesus had related to the people in his time. Special attention was given to Mary, the Magdalene.

And Jesus said, " I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more." (John 8:11 - AMP)

According to Saint Luke in the bible, Mary the Magdalene was a woman who had seven demons driven out of her. She is portrayed as a prostitute in the movie. The video reminded me of the bible passage where Jesus defended the woman caught in adultery.  He said to the people, "If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!" (John 8:7 - CEV) The people dropped the stones to the ground and left the woman alone with Jesus.

Although the movie was just a fictitious narrative and not the real historical account of the life of Jesus, it has inspired me so much. In the movie, Mary Magdalene became a very loyal disciple of Jesus. Well, who would not be moved by such lavish display of affection? This holy man, Jesus Christ, stood and defended her from her oppressors. While the entire town was ready to condemn her and put her to death, Jesus showed her love and compassion. He gave her hope and brought back her dignity.This was the goal for the month's theme for search - in : to move us into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ so that we may also be able to find hope in him.

Should there be a sign?

I was doing my laundry when it rained. I couldn't find anything to cover my head. So I put on a towel over my head. It hang lose over my shoulder. Then a certain feeling came to me. I was amused imagining myself with the towel over my head. I felt like a nun.

This is Sister Josefa Menendez. She was born on February 4, 1890 in Madrid, Spain. I stumbled upon her profile on the Internet because of the feeling I had one time when I was doing my laundry. It was drizzling. So I put a towel over my head and it looked like a nun's veil. I was very amused at how it looked like. It made me feel like a nun.

Sister Josefa is of Spanish descent. She initially sought to enter the religious life in Spain, but God’s Providence lead her elsewhere and eventually, after many trials, she entered a French Convent and became a Coadjutrix Sister of the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1920 at age 29. As far as external appearances go, nothing signalized that Josefa was in any way fitted for so high a mission as to bring forth a Message of Jesus to the world. She was a religious Sister for only 4 years before her death and prior to this she repeatedly delayed entering into the religious life. Then if we take in consideration her humble rank in the Community, her status as a mere novice, her reserved natures and great love of retirement, and the very real obstacle of her ignorance of the language of the country (French), -all these hindrances combined would at first sight appear insurmountable to the proclamation of a Message to the world.

Her daily life within the Convent was very ordinary as she carried out her humble tasks and chores with grace and humility. Her fellow Sisters did not know of the extraordinary graces and lights that God was bestowing upon His humble servant, nor did they know of the inner struggle Josefa was undergoing as the devil tempted her to doubt God's voice and her Religious calling, but through it all Josefa maintained a strong prayer life, which aided her in resisting the deceitful voice of the evil one.

It was because of her simplicity, humility and ordinary life that our Lord said to Sister Josefa:

"You yourself shall be My sign."

And elsewhere our Lord said to her:

I will reveal to you the burning secrets of My Heart and many souls will profit by them. I want you to write down and keep all I tell you. It will be read when you are in Heaven. Do not think that I make use of you because of your merits, but I want souls to realize how My Power makes use of poor and miserable instruments."

Sister Josefa Menéndez, died a holy death at age 33 on December 29, 1923, at the Convent of Les Feuillants, Poitiers, France. She lived as a sister in the Society of the Sacred Heart only four years, and in so hidden a way that the world ought never to have heard of her, and even in her own community she should have soon been forgotten. It was not until after her death that her fellow religious Sisters heard of all the extraordinary graces that God had bestowed upon her.

The Word of God is like Christmas present.

The effectivity of the word of God in a person's life does not depend on the eloquent words of the preacher. Every man is endowed by God with intellect and will to choose the things he or she believes in. The fulfillment of the Lord's promises in the bible relies on the person's willingness to accept these promises.

Imagine a mailman approaching your front door carrying a huge package. You receive the package and ask the man where it came from. You are surprised to be receiving such a big package. You begin to wonder what's inside it. For as long as the mail man is concerned, he can only tell you the name and location of the origin of that package. What's inside that package? Who is that person giving you that package? And why is that person giving you that package? The mail man could not give you the exact answers to all those questions. But you would already get an idea why the person had sent you that package once you discover his name and identity. Most likely, you have a certain relationship with the person sending you the package, i.e. parents, intimate friends, lovers. So you will no longer question the intention of the person sending the package and move on to enjoying the gift that you have received.

The word of God is like a Christmas present. The priests, missionaries, pastors, evangelists and even your Christian friends are simply acting as the mail man. They are only carrying the word of God as a package to be delivered to you. You can ask all the logical questions about the word of God from other people but you will never find it's true significance in your life based on their answers. You will need to look into your relationship with God to understand the true meaning of His gifts.

Statement of Life for 2012

MATTHEW 5:8 -- "Those who are pure in their thinking are happy because they will be with God." In another translation, it says blessed are the single - hearted for they shall see God. This is my declaration of life for the year 2012. Yes, I am single. Note how the statement has been made. It's a definite statement. I didn't say I am STILL single because that would imply a certain desperation from the speaker. No, I am not desperate. I am happy and content with what I am now. Being single is the best life for me to live. It gives me the freedom to become the compassionate person that I am. NO ATTACHMENTS, ONLY JESUS! That is my life statement. Alleluia!

Childhood dreams are beginning to turn to reality. I claim all the blessings that God has in store for me this 2012. I am holding on to the promise of a prosperous life that God has always declared in the bible through Jeremiah. I am standing strong to finish the race that God has set for me. I know it will not be easy and there shall be trials and persecutions. But with Jesus, I will be able to overcome. Praised be the name of Jesus forever!

Saint Joan of Arc, virgin and martyr.

I am a soldier for Christ. Like Saint Joan of Arc, I am carrying the message of God to deliver to the people of my generation. This message is the promise of God's love and salvation. I am a follower of Jesus and I am going into the world to make more disciples for my Lord. I shall not be afraid because I know that Jesus will be with me always. That is his promise in Matthew 28:19-20 -- "So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you AND I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN UNTIL THE END OF THIS AGE." Whether I wear a habit or not, this will be my life mission. So help me God. Amen.