What Have You Gotten Used To?

 There are many things in our lives that we tend to take for granted.  We have gotten so used to these things that we don’t realize just how fortunate we are to have them or have access to them.  Before the Pandemic (BP?), there were many things, I’m sure, which we discovered we had taken for granted when they were no longer as easily accessible.

Think how easy it was Before Pandemic to get your weekly groceries.  Think how automatic it was.  Now, there are many extra considerations involved with just going to the store.  Can we afford a certain item this week?  Do we really need it now after all, or is it something that can wait?  Think how automatic it might have been to send the kids to school each day.  Now, it could be a mess of deciding who needs the family computer the most at any given time for home-based learning, or it could be an added item to the checklist to make sure that everyone has the required mask among their other materials for school.

Life has changed.  Things we took for granted are no longer certainties.  Things we thought would always be there just aren’t anymore.  Even seemingly mundane tasks are no longer quite so simple.  How are we reacting?  And who, in our immediate circles, is watching how we react?  We can be certain that the ever-present and all-knowing God is watching us.  And yes, He knows why we are reacting the way we are.  He knows what our choices will be before we make them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t our choices to make still. He knows our thoughts and motivations.  It can become easy to take even God for granted. 

How can you strive to keep God a welcome presence in your life?  How can you make your relationship with Him stronger and more intentional?

Constant Vigilance is Unrealistic for Us but NOT for God

You know why everyone pretty much ignored Mad-Eye Moody (or really Barty Crouch Jr., who was pretending to be Mad-Eye Moody) in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?  Probably because he was always harping on about constant vigilance, and people were tired.  People were tired of having to keep their guard up all the time.  They had lived through eleven years of Voldemort, followed by thirteen years of relative calm and they thought the worst was over.  Not Moody!  He knew what would happen when and if he relaxed, and it did.

Constantly being on alert is tiring.  We are tempted to give up when things get difficult or drag on for weeks or months on end.  We are merely human after all.  But that is not how God works.  God can maintain constant vigilance because He is a divine being.  He does not suffer the same “weaknesses” of humanity.  That is why we can and should always place our trust in Him.

Fr. Erik mentioned in his homily this past weekend that if God ever stopped caring for us, we would simply cease to exist.  This same theme comes up in our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday.  Peter goes to Jesus across the water of the Sea of Galilee and when he starts to doubt, he begins to sink.  But Jesus is there to lift him up again and help him back on the path of following him.

When our vigilance wavers, God is always there waiting for us to return to Him.  In what ways have you lost your path, and how can you ask for help to return to God?

Parabolic Language

Is “parabolic” a word?

Yes, it is, but not in the sense I would like it to be for the purposes of this blog!  We’re in the summer months of Ordinary Time, and especially in Year A (this year’s cycle), we’re hearing a lot of parables about the Kingdom of God.  Jesus told parables to make things easier for merely human minds to comprehend.  After all, the true nature of God, and of Jesus Christ possessing both a fully human and fully divine nature, is hard for us to wrap our heads around.  Some older Catholics might recall being told, “It’s a mystery!  We’re not meant to understand it.”  But, Jesus tries to make it easier for us to try to understand by putting heavenly realities into earthly context.

This past Sunday, we heard about the weeds and the wheat, the mustard seed, and yeast leavening dough.  The week before, we heard about different kinds of soil.  But it goes beyond the physical elements of each simile.  As Father Erik mentioned in his homily on Sunday, It’s not about the seed itself.  It’s not about the soil.  It’s about our souls and the being open to God’s Word at work in our lives.

This is what I would like to call parabolic language!  It isn’t hyperbolic – making something grander than it actually is.  it’s making things more relatable!

Kindred Spirits in a Time of Pandemic

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m a millennial.  I grew up in the time of almost nobody having a computer at home, and now, almost everyone has one.  I still marvel at the fact that schools now are working toward a one-to-one student-to-device ratio, because that’s just how education works right now (especially with online learning and home-based instruction).  When I was in elementary school, first at Cosgriff and then at the Madeleine Choir School shortly after it opened, “computer class” was Oregon Trail, and typing games, and that was pretty much it.  When I got to high school at Judge, the library had two rows of big chunky iMac computers.  I didn’t have e-mail until college, and I didn’t have social media until my second year of undergrad.  Now, technology has taken over almost everyone’s lives, right down to toddlers who can navigate an iPhone.  Life moves pretty fast sometimes.

When I was growing up, “screen time” wasn’t a thing.  If someone referred to screen time it meant how long a certain actor was actually on-screen during a movie or television show.  Now, that phrase is used to refer to the amount of time people spend on the computer or looking at their mobile device.  I’ll admit, I spend way too much of my time engaged in “screen time.”  I can justify some of it as necessary to do my job, but a lot of it, I could probably do without.

But even with its definite downsides, technology can serve to connect us during times of social isolation, like the last several months have been.  It can serve to create a virtual community.  It can connect us to our “brick and mortar” communities when we aren’t able to visit them in the physical world.  One can also find groups of like-minded people to connect with.  An example of this is Fr. Gray’s morning coffees with his St. Mary’s parishioners in Park City over Facebook Live.  Using technology to build community rather than to escape from it is a wonderful thing.

At St. Ambrose, we on staff have been working hard since the pandemic restrictions really began to impact our city and state to keep people connected to the parish through social media and YouTube Masses.  We are learning and evolving together.  Let us hope and pray that technology will help us to remain kindred spirits in community even during isolation.

Imposing Self-Discipline, Even When It’s Hard

A lot of us are working from home now, or we are finding ourselves with an abundance of time on our hands while we are furloughed or looking for work.  It can be difficult to find the motivation to keep at it when we don’t have a supervisor or the need to go further than our home office to do our work.  I will say, I have enjoyed being at home for two reasons.  First, I don’t have to pack my lunch every day, and second, there is no commute, no matter how long or short.  When I’m ready to start work, I just do. 

But it can also be difficult to focus on work when there are so many distractions typical of being at home.  Yes, I don’t have to pack a lunch to take to work with me, but I have to be cognizant of how long I am taking for a lunch “break”.  The TV is right there, ever so inviting.  Yes, there is no commute, but do I spend more time being distracted by my phone while I’m getting “ready to start” in the morning?  (The answer, unfortunately, is yes.)

The same can be said for our current worship situation.  Do we take advantage of the fact that we don’t have to worry about getting to church and we can just watch it on EWTN or online?  Do we not make it into a time of prayer?  Are we extra distracted during Mass because all those things that need doing at home are literally right there in front of us?  Be aware of your distractions.  Have some self-awareness of what your main “triggers” are when it comes to losing focus, and try to reduce those triggers.  I know it’s hard.  I’m not saying I’m perfect when it comes to ignoring my own triggers, but I keep trying.

Set goals.  Make lists.  Change up your environment, if you can.  Make a holy space at home.  Make a point of dressing for church, even if you are “going to Mass” in your living room or on your mobile device.  Act like someone is watching you, because someone is.  And if you stumble, it’s okay.  Try, try again.  Nobody is perfect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t strive to be the best we can be each day.

Do I Have to Believe That?

Do I have to believe that?

It’s a question we may have to contend with in our own lives and also one that comes up in RCIA sessions for those discerning whether they are ready to become Catholic.  During the first half of our sessions here at Saint Ambrose, we tackle the basic beliefs of the Catholic Church throughout a unit which the Symbolon program calls “Knowing the Faith.”  What’s nice about Symbolon is that it takes a catechism-based approach, and the first unit is centered on the Creed.

I heard a story once of a Catholic boy participating in Boy Scouts with his neighborhood troop, which was predominantly LDS.  During one scout meeting, he was asked to “bear his testimony.”  The boy thought about it, and then stood up and recited the Nicene Creed.  The Creed (Nicene or Apostle’s) is a condensed but nonetheless complete statement of our basic beliefs as Catholics.  If there are parts of the Creed one does not agree with or one has issues with, perhaps the Catholic faith is not for you.

This isn’t to say that religion itself is not for you.  Plenty of religious denominations share core beliefs with Catholicism but differ on some key points.  For instance, in 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic Church over one word (in Latin) or phrase (in English) in the Creed regarding the Holy Spirit:  qui ex patre filioque procedit – who proceeds from the father and the son.  It may seem trivial to have such a big disagreement over one Latin word (or English phrase), but if it affects belief significantly enough, it may be justified.

After Christmas in RCIA, as we approach Easter, our focus shifts to Living the Faith.  How do we put into action the beliefs that we hold?  Throughout the RCIA process, it is important for those participating to engage in discernment – deciding what their beliefs are and if they match the beliefs of the Catholic Church.  It is important for them to do so, because this is a major life decision they are making.  We on the RCIA team emphasize to the participants that the Catholic Church has held beliefs for centuries, and we as Catholic faithful, hold these same beliefs today.  We do not change beliefs because it is trendy or culturally acceptable.  We may adapt to changing times, but we apply our beliefs to changing situations.  As the Serenity Prayer states:  Lord, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

My Hungarian grandmother had an oft-used saying when she felt like someone was not doing all that they were able to do:  “Don’t be that helpless!”  She would say this in her thick Hungarian accent with an air of exasperation.  It has been almost nine years since my grandmother passed away, but I think of her saying often.  She never meant it in a bad way, but it usually made me stop and think, what else could I be doing right now to help myself?

You may have heard the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.”  What does that really mean?  Does God only help those who have done everything in their power and turn to Him as a last resort?  Does God look at someone and think, well, they could do X, Y, and Z still, and until they do, I don’t need to intervene?  That doesn’t fit with our belief in a loving God.

So, who does God help?  Whose prayers does He readily answer?  He answers all of our prayers, but it may not be the answer we want.  The answer may be “no” or “not right now.”  But, by the same token, God never gives us more than we can handle.  He helps us according to our abilities at the given moment.

So, yes, God helps those who help themselves, but if we turn to Him, He will not fail to answer our prayers.  In the Fatima Prayer, often added at the end of rosary decade, we pray “Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”  Let us strive to do our best, live our best lives in accordance with God’s will, and to reach out to God when we are in most need of Him.

Back to... Routine?

Routine can be a wonderful thing.  It establishes consistency.  It can make life predictable in a reassuring way.  But routine can also become monotonous and boring.

The first day of school is rapidly approaching.  Students at Cosgriff, as well as students attending Salt Lake City and Granite School District schools, will return in just a little less than two weeks!  Teachers come back to school next week.  Parents may be sighing in relief that their children will have a more structured day once again.  On the other hand, they may be feeling the stress of trying to prepare for a new school year in the little time that is left to them.  Kids are probably dreading the end of summer vacation.

Some measure of routine is good for everyone.  An established routine can make an otherwise chaotic environment calmer.  One does need to be careful not to get into a rut, however, relying so much on routine to structure one’s days and weeks that when something disrupts routine, it throws off the entire situation.  In order to avoid this, one could change a small part of the routine, or add something new to it.

Think about this in terms of your spiritual life as well.  Have you fallen out of routine over the summer with Mass attendance?  Now is the time to get back into the routine.  Have you gotten into a rut with your prayer life, saying the same prayers over, and over, and over again?  Try adding a new one.  The parish Facebook page posts a “Prayer of the Week” you could try incorporating each week.  Or you could try starting a new devotion.  The Catholic Church dedicateseach month of the year to a different devotion.

What routines can you establish to strengthen your prayer and add consistency to your life?

Are You a Priest?

I consider myself blessed to have witnessed 19 adult baptisms and 120 Catholics being confirmed in April of 2015. And these awe inspiring and meaningful events made me nostalgic as I remembered the kind of priesthood we all share in Jesus Christ.

There is a certain passage on priesthood that says: “One is Priest, Some are Priest, and All are Priests”. At a first glance this passage makes no sense, but if you are going to analyze it, in the light of our faith as Catholics, this grammatically incorrect statement makes sense.

One is Priest. This means that there can only be one priest, a high priest according to the Letter to the Hebrews 7:2627:

“For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all.”

Jesus is the One Priest, the only priest who offers permanently a sacrifice pleasing to the Father, and that is Jesus offering himself to the Father for the salvation of us all.

Some are Priests. There are those among us through the grace of God who was ordained to the MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD. They were ordained not for themselves but for the sake of service and ministry for the people of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1547 beautifully said:

“The ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.”

All are Priests. By virtue of our baptism when the priest anoints the child with chrism he receives the kingly, prophetic and priestly function of Jesus, thus making us sharers of Jesus’ COMMON PRIESTHOOD. That is why in when danger of death you can baptize; you can give communion if you are delegated by the priest.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church number 1547 also states:

“The common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit”

Having reminded that all of us share the priesthood of Jesus, we therefore should fulfill our priestly role as baptized Catholics. We should preach the Gospel not only by preaching through talking, but by preaching through a life of holiness. Let us be agents of peace, unity, forgiveness, love and mercy to the entire world, so that the Kingdom of God will truly be spread far and wide.

Is Summer Vacation a Good Thing?

This will be the second summer that I have worked a job straight through the summer.  I was very lucky growing up that I did not need to have a summer job.  In fact, almost every summer after I graduated from high school, I was involved in some sort of summer course through various colleges.

It has always helped me to have some sort of continuing structure to my summers, similar to what I had during the school year, whether I was a student or a teacher.  When I didn’t have something to do, my days became tedious and almost wasted, so for me, it was better to keep busy and mentally stimulated.

Studies of human development indicate that it is necessary for children to have a “break” from academics so that they can process what they have learned and get ready to learn new things.  Different studies contend that while breaks are necessary and good, perhaps long breaks, such as the two and a half to three months of summer vacation are in fact too long.  This is the stance of advocates of a year-round school model.

For students who attend Catholic schools, summer vacation might also mean a break from church.  Mr. Timothy Carr, principal at Cosgriff from 1993 to 1997, used to tell us at the end of the last school Mass of the year, “Don’t let this be the last time you’re in church until August.”  In other words, don’t take a vacation from God.

So yes, summer vacation is a good thing, but like all good things, you can have too much of it.  Be mindful of that when making your summer plans, and remember to keep God in your summer.

Keeping the Faith as an "In-Betweener"

It is challenging being an “in-betweener” Catholic.  I don’t really fit with the “young adult” crowd anymore, and I don’t fit with the more mature crowd yet.  Luckily, Catholic Utah, co-founded last year by some of our parishioners right here at St. Ambrose, exists to help meet the needs of “in-between” Catholics like me.

It seems most of the people I went to school with at Judge Memorial have fallen away from the Catholic faith (if they were very faithful to begin with), and I feel like this is a phenomenon that affects most youth and young adults.  It can be hard to ignore the impulse to rebel against authority, in this case, one’s parents and their lifestyles.  But every once in awhile I get a boost of hope for my generation when I see a familiar name cross my desk as a parent or godparent at a baptism, or as a sponsor for Confirmation.  I grew up in the parish, and it is definitely interesting to be working here now, to see the many ways in which it has changed and evolved, and the comforting ways in which it has stayed the same.

It is definitely a challenge being Catholic in Utah, but I don’t know that it is any more or less of a challenge than it would be anywhere else in the United States.  Yes, our LDS neighbors heavily influence the predominant culture here, but secularism is becoming a huge factor in society these days on a global scale.  That affects all of us, regardless of our faith or lack thereof.

It is crucial that we continue to find ways to hold on to our faith and recognize the importance and the value of passing it on to others.

How do you keep your faith alive and strong?  How do you pass it on to your children and/or those around you who are seeking a relationship with God?

Are You Looking for a Sign?

Are you looking for signs? We are created beings that always see signs everywhere. Traffic signs, restaurant signs, shopping store signs and many other signs that we have to see and deal with every day. In relation to faith, are signs necessary to have faith?

As a teenager discerning for the priesthood, I asked God to give me a sign if He was really calling me to be a priest, but unfortunately I didn’t see or receive the sign that I was asking for. Nonetheless, I joined the vocation seminar and regular meetings for discernment and after 20 years I now find myself working in a parish in the United States as a priest!

A sign is not needed for one who has faith because he believes anyway. On the other hand, one who does not have faith, even if he already sees signs, will still say that it is not a sign. A sign is of no value to the one who believes because he will do so even without a sign. It is also of no value to one who does not believe, because he will not believe even when presented with a sign.

Let us now examine our Christian life and our Christian faith. Are we the kind of people who always look for signs? Do we pray and ask the Lord for signs? Do we pray and ask the Lord, “If this is Your will, this is the sign I ask of You.”

A sign is not important for us, what we need is faith. The Blessed Virgin Mary did not become beautiful before God because she was given a sign. She was and is still beautiful because she believed even before the sign was given to her. St Teresa of Avila received apparitions and special attentions from God, still she told Him, “Lord, please take away these signs. I want to believe in you even if there are no signs.”

 If you believe because you see, there is no real room for genuine faith; there is not so much merit in that because everybody else will believe as you do. If you believe even if there are no signs, then this is something beautiful. This is genuine faith. Let us not yield to the temptation of asking the Lord for signs. Rather, our prayers should be:

“Lord, give us faith, even if there are no signs, we will believe. Faith is your gift to us. And our faith, is also our gift to You.”

We are Sent

The beginning of summer usually brings with it graduations—from high school, from college, from middle school, and in some places, even from Kindergarten.  Sometimes, these ceremonies are referred to as commencements, which is a fitting description.  Often, speakers at graduations will note that it is not the end of something, but the beginning.

So, let’s think about the words “graduation” and “commencement.”  Graduation brings to mind some kind of a change, a stepping up, or a stepping out.  When a person graduates they move on from one part of their life or schooling, to another part.  While they leave one part, they begin something new.  Similarly, “commencement” is the noun form of the verb “to commence,” which is a synonym for “to begin.”  Participants in commencement ceremonies are beginning a new stage of their lives.

In my work with the RCIA program this year, I have tried to have the same sort of attitude.  I stressed to those in the program that the Easter Vigil was not the end (though it was the climax), it was the beginning.  We had our final get-together on Tuesday night, and this was the sign I made for our party.

As I was considering what the sign should say, I thought of the words the priest says at the dismissal at the end of Mass.  There are several options for him to choose from:  “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord,” “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” or simply, “Go in peace.”  Each of these is an exhortation to go, and to carry God with us to others as we do.  Thus, just as a graduation or a commencement is the beginning of a new stage of life, we can see the end of Mass as the beginning of the rest of our week, or if we attend daily Mass, the rest of our day.

What efforts can you make to keep the spirit of Mass with you after you leave Mass?

Comfort Zones

What do we mean by Comfort Zones? Judith Bardwick says it is a state within which a person operates in an anxiety neutral position. Brene Brown says, “It is where our uncertainty, scarcity and vulnerability are minimized, where we believe we’ll have access to enough love, food, talent, time, admiration. Where we feel we have some control.” And many other psychologists refers to it as a state within which a person feels at ease, familiar, and in control, and experiences low anxiety. A person in this state uses a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.

A Comfort Zone is an area which we are used to. It is plans, thoughts, words, actions and things that we love to do because with them we are assured of our happiness and success. We are used to them because it gives us a certain level of comfort. And so outside this zone, we become uncertain, insecure and unsure because we don’t know whether we will be happy or unhappy, successful or failures.

I believe that all of us have Comfort Zones. We do things that make us happy, we go with people that we are sure of. We go to places that are safe and secure. We do things where we can predict the outcome. We frequent restaurants that assure us of good and satisfying food and service. We make this; we plan that because we are sure of the outcome. These are our Comfort Zones.

The Apostles Simon, Andrew, James and John also had their own Comfort Zones. They were all fishermen. They were good at fishing. That was as far as they could go and fishing was their only Comfort Zone. Then here comes Jesus and invites them, “Come, follow me.” Following Jesus is way outside the boundaries of their Comfort Zones. They don’t know Jesus, they don’t what kind of word that this man Jesus is offering them, they don’t know where are they going to live, they don’t know what will happen to their families, but just the same they go beyond their Comfort Zones and do a heroic act: they follow Jesus. They just have found a new secure and reassuring Comfort Zone in Jesus.

Let us challenge ourselves to go beyond and move out of our Comfort Zones and discover life and discover Jesus. Some of us have so many fears, we have set our parameters so tightly around us that we cannot move anymore. Let us break loose, grow and discover new beginnings, new opportunities and more and wider Comfort Zones in life with God

Wait for the Answer!

Jesuit priests and authors named Frs. Barry and Connolly defined contemplative prayer as; “a conscious willingness and desire to look and to listen to God.” In my opinion, this definition suggests that it does not constitute so much of talking or saying prayers, but that it is an activity that requires more listening. I believe that this is another level of prayer, a higher level of prayer I should say. I’d like to compare this contemplative prayer to a man and a woman who love each other and desire to build a loving relationship. A man who always talks and never allows himself to listen to his beloved simply cannot build a relationship with the woman he loves. A loving relationship requires good communication. Good communication consists of speaking and listening. It is the same with building a relationship with God. It is good that one would pray the rosary, chaplet of the Divine Mercy or different novenas but it is also equally important that one stops saying one’s prayer, be quiet and be still and allow God to speak. I believe that God desires so much to speak to us; we may just too be busy “saying” our prayers to hear Him.

 A couple of years ago, a woman spoke to me who was deeply depressed. She mourned the loss of her daughter. It had been eleven months since her daughter was accidentally hit by a truck. She told me that she asked God consistently in prayers whether she was a good mother to her daughter. She sent her daughter to Catholic school, educated her to the faith, her daughter was in fact an altar server. She had raised her daughter alone because her husband left her for another woman. She tried to love her daughter the best way she could.

When her daughter grew older, she started to change and chose a different path for her life. She became an atheist and chose to be miserable and the mother couldn’t do anything except pray. She told me that for eleven months she had been asking God if she was a good mother because there was so much guilt in her heart. Regularly, she went to the adoration chapel. Every day, she prayed the rosary and novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but she told me, “God is not answering my prayers”. 

 I asked her to take a deep breath, and calm herself. I then asked her if ever she allowed God to talk to her. “What do you mean?” she inquired. I told her that she always “said” her prayers, but did she ever “listen” in her prayers? Did she allow silence to be part of her prayers and simply listen to God to answer her questions? She paused, looked at me with a little smile, and said: “No, Father, I never did that.” She told me she never thought of that and would gladly do it the next time she prayed. We ended our conversation on a happy note and she was smiling and very hopeful for the new found enlightenment with her prayers.

 I believe that God has answers to the questions and inquiries about our lives, experiences, struggles, and situations. But an individual must lovingly and patiently wait for the answers. Answers to life’s questions can sometimes be found in contemplation.

Pursuit of a Good Life

There is a Capuchin priest-psychologist, commonly known as Bro. Marthy.  His real name is Martin Pable.  He said:

“The ceaseless pursuit of a good life, the drive to achieve material symbols of success, and the easy availability of recreational drugs and sex all combine to steer people away from reflecting on religious-existential issues.”

These words remind me of my own struggle as a priest coming from a third world country.  I lived a very simple life in the Philippines.  In the first three years of my religious life, I lived in an old abandoned house.  Our young congregation tried to make it a little conducive and transform it into a simple Formation House.  My first four years as a priest were no different.  I served as a missionary priest in a small province in the Philippines.  I lived in a very old house and my bedroom was much smaller than my bathroom here in the United States.  I didn’t even have my own bed.  I slept on a mat during those four years.  It was not misery; it was a life of pure simplicity and happiness while doing missionary work.

Now that I’m here in the United States, I feel that it is so easy to be carried away by the comforts and benefits of being a priest.  By my personal standard, the rectory is like a Five-Star hotel and the food is always great.  I also have my own office to work in and a car assigned to me to do ministry.  I never had these privileges before and it’s all overwhelming!  I feel that I am living in a dream.  I feel that I am a very rich person every single day.  I am always tempted to say that all of these are symbols of my hard work and success.  Very tempted!  These things and opportunities are very satisfying.  I am tempted to say that God is rewarding me for my hard work in the parish.  I am lured to be self-centered and it is easy to be materialistic.

I arrived in the United States on May 22, 2014.  On the day of my arrival, I vowed to myself that I would strive to live a simple life in a first world country.  I made a firm decision to never let go of my prayer life no matter what happens.  I promised to be vigilant and practice virtues.  After over 4 years in the US, I have been faithful to those promises.  I am equally humbled and at the same time grateful, because I know it is only by God’s grace that I was able to keep my promises.  I am also completely aware that if I let my guard down I can fall into the trap, into the “mundane ceaseless pursuit of a good life” that Pable is referring to.

There is nothing wrong with our pursuit for a good and comfortable life, but we have to remind ourselves every moment that this pursuit should not lead us away from what is the most essential in our life.  Let us remember that the most genuine pursuit to a good, meaningful and happy life; is a life filled with God and a life filled with healthy relationship with others.

Do You See Jesus?

I’m so inspired to see that many of our parishioners, both the young and adults, are really concerned to find ways and means to improve their spirituality.  Some of them even ask priests, nuns and lay leaders to be their Spiritual Director.  Parishioners ask these people for Spiritual Direction.  What is Spiritual Direction?  This is a spiritual exercise that explores a deeper relationship with the spiritual aspect of being human.  I liked the analogy used from the biblical text; The story of Road to Emmaus, to describe certain aspects of Spiritual Direction.  There are two reasons why I am inspired by it.

First, I like it because it is a journey of two friends conversing about Jesus.  They tried to discern and to understand the words and actions of Jesus.  It depicts the aspect of nurturing relationships.  The two disciples shared companionship as they walked and talked together.  The disciples found support in one another during their moments of grief, depression, anger, fear and even stress on their way to Emmaus.  They trusted one another enough to share their feelings and found in each other a trusted listener, to help them each express their emotions in a constructive and healing manner.  It is also beautiful to take note, that as they try to nurture, console, and help each other, Jesus all of sudden came into the picture and accompanied them in their journey.  I believe that Spiritual Direction is like that.  When people try to love and help each other through listening and a genuine desire to guide, the presence of God will surely be in their midst.  The scripture says:  “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Mt 18:20).

Second, the disciples failed to recognize Jesus because of their state of desolation.  Desolation kept them from seeing and from recognizing Jesus.  Sadness, loneliness and desolation are all valid human emotions.  In Spiritual Direction and in psycho-spiritual therapy, a person should not deny nor resist these emotions.  On the contrary, a person should acknowledge these emotions as part of human life.  And after the acknowledgement,  learn to discern and discover that the God we worship in the heavens is the same God who journeys with us here on earth.

Jesus is present when you call him.  Jesus is present in your pain.  Jesus is our companion, not only in the most joyful and glorious moments of our lives, but also accompanies us even in the most turbulent and disastrous experiences of our lives.  The only question is; do we have the eyes of faith to see Jesus?

Plan B

Today is my grandmother's birthday.  She passed away in 2010, but it is still a day of celebration of her life for my family.  It also puts me in mind of other members of our family we have lost.  

Next month, it will be four years since my uncle passed away suddenly.  It left his immediate family, as well as our extended family, reeling with the loss.  Why did God take him so soon?  How were we supposed to go on if he wasn’t here anymore?  People who experience a sudden loss often feel like they are adrift for some time after the event.  My aunt is still trying to come to terms with what she and my cousins refer to as “Plan B.”  

There have been many changes in our lives since then.  One of my cousins got married.  My aunt moved halfway across the country to be closer to her sister.  We made the decision as a family to sell my grandmother’s house, which we had kept and rented after her death.

The Utah contingent of our family lost our link to Southern California.  My brother commented at the time that it was like a line out of Tolkien:  “The time of the elves [or in this case, the immigrant members of our family in California] is over.”  For us as well, there have been implications:  new health tests, lifestyle changes, and different vacation plans (if any at all) than we were used to.

Life throws curve balls at us.  It can be a test of the strength of our will and our faith how we respond to these challenges.  This week, a parishioner shared with me some wisdom that had been shared with her at the time of her own loss:  “God didn’t take him.  He welcomed him home.”

Going through dramatic and traumatic changes can alter us as individuals.  Do we turn away from God at times like these, or do we embrace Him and turn to Him to console us?  It is a choice all of us will have to make at one time or other in our lives.

The Quest of the Heart

What are you longing for at this stage in your life?  What is the desire of your heart?  What can make your heart happy?

In the story of King Solomon, we find a very unusual desire, an extraordinary kind of longing, the desire of his heart is to gain wisdom and prudence.  Many worldly comments would say, “Oh Solomon how unwise you are, how foolish you are, you are stupid.  You could have ask for riches, treasures, fame, power, strength and greater sovereignty and not simply wisdom."  But the heart of King Solomon desires nothing else but wisdom.  What makes his heart happy is to be able to serve his people better by his wise judgments as a King.

In the story of the rich young man in the Gospel of St. Mark 10:17-30, we have a story of a rich young man who went to Jesus because he was longing for something.  He approached Jesus and asked:

“What should I do to inherit everlasting life?”

Seemingly, this rich young man’s heart desires a noble aspiration and that is eternal life.  It seems that the rich young man was like Solomon, he seeks not something material but EVERLASTING LIFE … and so Jesus said, obey the commandments.  The rich young man answered:

“I have done all these things since my Youth.”

We see here again that the man seems to be aware of the word of God, aware of the commandments, perhaps he allowed the word of God to take root in his life.  It seems that he allowed the word of God to form him.  But Jesus wanted to truly purify his heart and said:

“There is one thing more, go and sell what you have, give it to the poor and follow me.”

And with those words, the rich young man’s heart was exposed,.  He was not ready to consider EVERLASTING LIFE as more precious than all his material possessions and wealth.  His face fell and with a heavy heart, he turned his back to the true joy of the heart which is EVERLASTING LIFE.  Jesus here issues a warning to all of us, If our hearts are not pure and determined like Solomon, if our hearts are not fully purified and tested by the Word of God , a great test might come to us and we might choose to turn away from God as well.

If our hearts are not pure and determined, a test over the grief of the death of a loved one might make us abandon God.  If our hearts are not pure and determined, a test of losing a job might make us abandon God.  If our hearts are not pure and determined, a test of sickness might make us abandon God.

St. Augustine once said:  “My heart is restless until it rests in God”  Let us find our happiness in God, let us desire nothing else but everlasting life with God.  In every decision we make concerning our desires, let us be enlightened by the grace of God.  In every longing that we face each day, let us beg the Lord to direct our hearts to the right way.  May we find our hearts one day resting in the heart of God.

Eyes of Faith

Do you see God’s divine presence in the ordinary things and events in your daily life?

In the Book of Exodus, after the people of Israel were liberated from the slavery in Egypt, they dramatically changed their perspective when they are confronted with hunger and difficulties in the dessert.  They suddenly want to go back to Egypt, they have forgotten that they were slaves in Egypt.  Egypt suddenly became a place of plenty; they have forgotten that they are freemen in the desert.  Desert now became for them a place of danger and even a place of death.  But God’s saving action came.  God sends sweet bread in the morning called manna and large flocks of quails in the evening so that they can have enough food to eat in the desert. …and manna for food and the people questioned.  “What is it?”  They even fail to see God’s gift of food for them through this ordinary quails and manna.

Will they see it?  How can they see it?  They cannot see it without putting on the eyes of faith.

Jesus fed five thousand men (excluding women and children) and at the end of the story the people would like to make Jesus their King, but Jesus doesn’t want to be a political king, and so he left them.  People saw the miracle as something political.  Seemingly, the people are saying:

Let us make him King because HE can feed us, He can make our food multiply by thousands, we don’t have to work anymore, all we need to do is sit and listen.

Jesus saw their way of thinking and said NO … “you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves”.

Meaning the people failed to see the deeper reality, the deeper meaning in the multiplication of the bread.  And so as a way of leading them to the meaning he said,

“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life which the son of man will give you”

And so the people asked, “What should we do?”  And Jesus answered to the meaning of the multiplication of the loaves when he said,

“BELIEVE IN THE ONE SENT BY THE FATHER”  “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”

Eat my flesh and hunger no more, drink my blood and thirds no more!  Now brothers and sisters, who can understand that?  Who can understand the words and actions of Jesus?  No one except those who have put on the EYES OF FAITH, without the eyes of faith you cannot and will never understand Jesus.