Jan5: How do You know me?

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Let me share with you a song I cry with in my darkest moments:

“I love you, ‘coz that’s just what I am. I could never turn away from you and leave you all alone.

Yes I love you, though you have gone your way. I could never leave you all alone and leave you way behind.

*Though you weigh no more than dust, placed on the scales— you rise.

Though your worth is just as much as sand, I love you just the same.

I am love. I am love.

Though your sins be dark as scarlet, I will turn them white as snow.

Though your sins be red as crimson, they mean nothing more for me.

For I made you and you’re meant for me, for all eternity.

I have loved you. Yes, I love you. I always will love you.

Yes I love you. Coz that’s just what I am.

I could never show you greater love than lay My life for you.

Yes I love you, what more proof do you ask?

Show me any love that’s greater than the love I’ve shown to you.

(*)

God is indeed, full of nothing but love for all of us.

--- reposting from mrssocialfirefly.tumblr.com

Jan4: Recognizing Jesus

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed).

I am one of those people who do not trust beggars. Children or adults, they make me think they are a part of a syndicate that extorts money from passersby and call it a “living.” I lived in the city my whole life so seeing them is not any different from an everyday routine. I heard stories where the beggars would show their disgust over people’s donations because they wanted more than loose change. I’ve seen some street children exchange these coins for some solvent and not be afraid to show everyone they are having a session with their colleagues. I am scared of them because I know they can be violent, only because this is the way they know how to survive the streets.

But my heart cries whenever I see and hear children as little as 4 or 5 years old cursing very loudly along the streets. One particular girl I witnessed crying as I was walking along the overpass was a beggar and she has a little sibling lying on a carton a few steps from her station where her tiny can was. She was attending to her baby brother (I suppose) when another streetkid emptied her tiny can while she was turning her back against the view. She was able to catch a glimpse of the crime and all she can do is say “P_ _ _ _ _ INA MO!” loudly but very slowly as if ripping her enemy into tiny pieces. She then cried out loud because she can’t leave her little brother behind to try to get her money back.

What did I do? I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t do anything. I was afraid. I still am.

This may be one of the many times Jesus showed Himself to me but I was afraid to help Him and stand up for what is right. There are so many times I know I could have done something to make a difference but I just remained apathetic, indifferent, and numb.

I pray for courage, Lord, so that whenever you manifest yourself in the faces of the people around me, I could get up and fight for you. I hope to show more acts of charity to those who need it most, especially if they need my time or my emotional support. I pray for those people who are in the position to help these children that you love so much, especially their parents. Enter into their hearts, O Lord, so that they may see that they are your chosen instruments to bring them up as good citizens and Christians of this world. Amen.

Jan3: Are you worthy?

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Every Sunday during mass, I always feel a pinch inside my conscience whenever I hear the priest say: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Happy are we who are invited to receive Him.” People in the mass sometimes just mumble and not really understand the response: “I am not worthy to receive You. But only say the word, and I shall be healed.”

I once attended what they call a closed retreat. This was before I even turned 20. We were just in a secluded home in a village in QC and I stayed there for three days. Those three days were of complete silence. You can’t talk even during lunch or dinner. I only spoke to my roommates when I asked if I could go to the bathroom to clean up before bed. I was bored. I wanted to talk to my friends. I resisted what the retreat had to offer.

During lunch of Day 2, one of the leaders read the Footprints in the Snow. It wasn’t until then that I really understood what the message of the tale is. I kept my tears from falling while eating. The afternoon meditation was very powerful that I was able to imagine that Jesus was literally beside me at that time and I cried as much as I could. There He was, offering with His whole heart a chance for me to heal. And yet, I had other things to think about. Things that need not have importance in my life.

I cried so much that I felt He hugged me tight just to make me hear Him say: “You are loved. This is the start of your new life.” I was able to make the best confession I’ve ever made in my entire life. I felt the grace flowing with me throughout the day, the week, and even that entire month.

We are really unworthy to even ask for forgiveness of our sins. Every time we hurt Him because of our own selfishness, we are buried deep into our own pride. We forget that we have already been saved when He died on the cross for us. All we really need to do is to place our focus back on that scene in Calvary and really make a change. For that was the day when Jesus said “It is finished.”

reposting from: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/mrssocialfirefly

Jan 1-2: Understanding Missions

They asked him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?"
John answered them, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." 

After celebrating the motherhood of Mary, it was followed by the good news where John the Baptist was sent out to be in a mission to be the last prophet. These two days celebrated two different people, just like you and me, because they carried out their mission as God wanted them to.

Was Mary really ready to follow God? When I was 14, I was busy trying to grow up and fitting in. When Mary was at my age, Jesus was probably already a carpenter, all strong and full of dreams. She was around 47 when she witnessed her only son die on the cross and she couldn't do anything to save him. If I have a child right now, I probably wouldn't let my son go. 


Was John the Baptist really understanding his mission? He was the same baby who jumped with joy in his mother, Elizabeth's womb upon seeing the pregnant Mary visit her. He was already able to recognize the presence of God as early as that time. He started baptizing people with water and spreading God's word amidst contentions. He was later on beheaded and placed on a silver plate. He was just around my age when he died.

These two people might have been famous because they were in the bible but more so, they made God the center of their lives and are courageous to follow His holy will. It wasn't a calling for them to lie on a bed of roses. In fact, they are called to be persecuted and live a sorrowful life as they proclaim the Gospel. 


I hope I get to hear God reveal His plan for me. No matter how difficult it may seem to be, I hope to get the courage to face it and say, "Thy will be done." I hope to deserve His love for me as I carry my own cross daily.

2012 mission

I'd like to believe that every person was meant to live a mission s/he was given when s/he was born into this world. If one has not found  his or her mission, then life in this world will be harder than hell has to offer because it will be a meaningless and direction-less. There won't probably be a reason to live in the first place.

Before 2012 started, I wanted so much to have a Bible Diary with all the readings of the mass for the day, especially the gospels. My prayer life seems to be non-existent during weekends then fires up when I go to mass service on Sundays. Apparently, I feel the need to do more. I need to commit more.

Then I remembered I have this blog where I can get myself to writing once again. But this time, with a much better purpose. I do get daily feeds of the gospel through email but I just erase them without reading. It wasn't serving it's purpose. So by reading the online feed of the daily gospel and utilizing this website, I hit two other stones: I get to realize my resolution with my prayer life and I get to evangelize through you.

I know I tried this before with my Multiply site but I didn't follow up on it much. I hope to stick to this one and really complete the 365 days of commitment I am securing myself into as I hit on "Publish Post" button...