Treasure those around us

Time flies so quickly. We are now into Holy week, and soon we will be celebrating the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we enter in Holy week, I learnt the devastating news that a friend of mine had just passed away. It was so sudden. We were all praying that he will recover but God had other plans for him. Life is really fragile. We can be here one minute and gone the very next. I treasure the many fond memories of the great friendship we shared in our younger days and pray that God will take good care of him in Heaven. More importantly, may He send His Angels to take care of the family he left behind. May they be strong and continue to live life to the fullest.

Lord, may I treasure all those around me very single day, and be thankful for the people you send my way.

Thankful for the blessings in my life

Recently, I watched a movie titled "The second most exotic Marigold Hotel". This is a sequel to the original movie. I must say it is a very heartwarming story about a group of people who are staying in the Hotel, living out their twilight years.

One thing that I learned was to reflect back on my experiences in life, and be thankful for the blessings in my life. I realised that I tend to focus on what I do not have, and forget that God is blessing me every single day, if only I lived in the present, and be thankful for all He has given me. 

The movie was a gentle reminder for me to live life to the fullest and be thankful for the blessings in my life. I pray the same for you all. 

You belong to me

Father mentioned in his homily last weekend about us belonging to God, to His Church. This statement resonated within me.

I looked back on the days when I was travelling, traversing on foreign land, not knowing what to expect, hanging on the every words of travel guides and travelers' reviews on forums. The only familiar place I find is when I enter into a church. Attending mass brings to me everything that is familiar, and gives me a sense of belonging. Every part of the liturgy is the same throughout the whole. That is why I feel so at home when participating in the celebration of the Holy Mass.

The church is also a place of refuge for me, to find peace and safety. I know that I belong to God and He has His eye on me, and watching my back.

Thank you Lord for looking out for me, and giving me this sense of belonging. I know that I am safe in your presence, in your Holy temple, the church.

Dwell in Me

Father gave a very intriguing homily over the weekend. He shared that our brain stems are constantly pointing out to us the negative signs around us. It is really our innate survival instinct. That is why when negative things happen to us, it can cause us much anxiety and stress.

It is during these times that we tend to retreat to a quiet spot and contemplate our course of action. Father suggests that coming to the Eucharist would be the most appropriate. We need to allow God to dwell in us, such that He moves from being in our head to being in our heart. We will be strengthen by the positive power of God to help us tackle life's problems. We all have our individual problems and we need God to help us deal with them.

When we have experienced this encounter with God, we can then recreate this encounter in our minds whenever we are in a situation of anxiety and stress. This will help remind us that God is with us in our hearts. Father extended this to our relationship with people. When we receive negative statements from others, we need only recreate the positive encounters with that person and we can avoid giving a negative response to that person. I find that this helps me control my emotions better and I pray that God will help me to respond appropriately in such situations.