To be little, not belittle yourself

 

It has been quite a week, busy catching up with family and friends. We managed to sneak in a novena session which turned out to be good spiritual input for the soul, as always.

 

Father spoke about humility, that we are all called to follow Christ's act of humility. "Thse who humbles themselves will be exalted and those who exalts themselves will be humbled." This phrase, if I remembered correctly, is from one of the letters of St Paul. I once had the perception that to be humble, one has to think lowly of one's self in relation to others. This is attuned to false modesty, which is the wrong way to look at humility. Rather, we have to bring ourselves to the level of others, so that we can be equal and understanding. 

 

Father said that we should be little and not belittle ourselves. This I thought helped to clarify the term humility. Christ became man, so that He was equal to us human beings. His very act was to be little, but at the same time, He was still God Almighty. Therefore, we should strive to be like Chirst, no matter how successful we become, to always remember to be little, rather than to belittle ourselves.

 

As I reflect upon the happenings in my life, I find that at times I have been displaying false modesty, such that negativity has become who I am. As I look ahead, I pray that God will help me be little, rather than to belittle myself. May He be the Light that continues to enlighten us in understanding His ways.

 

God bless and thank you all for being such a blessing in our lives.   

Be Generous in giving

Two weeks back in his homily, Father told us to be generous in our giving. We are to be like Christ who is never lacking in generosity, to the extent of giving His life for us.


I have been asking myself how I can be generous since. Only until recently after a dramatic encounter at home that I realised that I can be generous with not only the material things but also the intangible things. We had a slight problem at home the other day and our friends whom we turned to for help did not hesitate to come over to help us deal with it. We are really thankful and grateful for that.


At the end of that long day, Angie asked me a question I did not expect. She said: “If the tables were turned, would I have no qualms about going over to help a friend in need?”. My obvious reply was ‘Of course!’. Now that I had time to ponder about that question, I’m not sure what my response would be in that particular situation. Delving deeper into that question, I realise that it calls for me to be generous with my time. Although I would gladly help a friend in need but if my time was occupied, that would change the whole scenario completely. I can only wish that God grants me the grace to prioritise the urgent from the rest and a heart of generosity.


The other story of generosity is my Dad, who came for a holiday but offered a huge hand in clearing our backyard and planting of new plants. I can't imagine doing all that by myself... And I am truely grateful for Daddy.


I hope that you may experience the joy of giving, be it your wealth, your time or your talents wherever you may be... God’s love and blessings be upon you always.

Suffering an ingredient in life

Last week truly brought to life the word suffering to me. I might have experienced one of a billionth of Christ's suffering and humiliation on the cross, or maybe even less. Though to me, it was kind of devastating.

I had an encounter with this particular person who was really nasty and horrible, because of mood swings. I did not know how to respond and somehow the encounter which felt like eternity, was over. It was after a few days, did Father's words during homily that particular weekend that passed, came to mind. Suffering is a part of our lives. Our Father allowed Christ to suffer so that we can be saved. In the same way, we need to experience suffering to be saved. We will grow stronger from it though every episode brings new perspective and meaning to the word suffering.
Indeed, suffering is an ingredient in life and without it, life would not be the same. I'm not trying to sound sadistic here but it gives us that inner strength to live life to the full. I thought I was crushed and defeated after that encounter but I'm back up on my feet and trying my best, even struggling to live life.
"The Lord is my strength, there is nothing I shall want." What a beautiful prayer by the palsmist. May my life be strengthen by you dear Lord. May all of us be strengthen by Him.

Be humble

Another week has gone by in a flash. How true it is that time passes very quickly when you are busy. This week has been packed with trying to meet a deadline at work and hoping to get some decent results for the research.I have been thinking and reflecting on what Father brought up over the weekend mass. We are to be humble as God has. Jesus showed His humility by taking the form of a human person and dying on the cross for us. I know this for a fact but his words really reminded me of this profound truth. Father shared about one of our previous Pope, who constantly reminded himself to be humble as Jesus is. In his position, I reckon it can be so easy to fall into that proud stupor.
I was edified by that story and as I look at my life, though I am not in such a position, I know that one day I may be in one and I pray that I can follow the example of Christ. I know that it is so easy to fall into the pride category, I see it everyday in the actions of people. Some of them strangers, others I know. All I can do is to say a little prayer for them that they may come to realise that we are all equal in the eyes of God.
Grant me wisdom Lord, that I may always be humble in all my dealings with anyone.

Wrestle your way

Last Sunday's Gospel from Luke 13:22-30 spoke about those who will be saved. Jesus said this: "Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed."


This message seemed pretty common to me, having heard it like a zillion times. I tend to focus on the first part of the message, which I interpret as doing what is right. This is often the hardest thing to do, since we all want the easy path. Father shared the Greek interpretation which was kind of enlightening. He said that to try your best in Greek meant to wrestle your way. We really have to wrestle and put in our every effort in get into that narrow door in order to be saved. Choosing the easy way is really not an option.


Throughout the week, I asked my self what it would be like to wrestle in the daily stuff that filled my day. Every time I felt lazy and in my comfort zone, I remind myself that I needed to keep going, to wrestle with my state of mind, to do the right thing. The right thing being to glorify God in my work in the laboratory, my research work at the Uni, and my work in upkeeping the home. It has been quite a struggle but at the end of it, though I cannot explain how I managed to complete the stuff that I did, I know for certain that God strengthens us in all that we do. He is our strength.


Something else that reinforced this was an article I read by Bo Sanchez. He wrote about giving our 10,000 hours in what we do and God will reward us many fold. Every time we find ourselves slacking, let us look ahead at the reward that will welcome us in God's time.


Keep me in your sight Lord and let my every waking moment do great works for you.

Mary is our hope in this world

Last Sunday was the Assumption of our Blessed Mother Mary. As Mass began, Father shared that Mary is our hope in this world. She was brought up into Heaven body and soul, and to undertake her role as our intercessor.
Wow, what an immense realisation that indeed Mary is always interceding at the right hand of our Lord Jesus. She is interceding not for anyone but for you and me, us as individuals. That certainly gives me a whole deal of hope. In this world we live in, hope is something we fail to see everyday, though it is around us all the time. The smile from a child's face, a driver slowing down for an elderly lady to cross the street, someone holding the door for you... There are so many instances if we only open our eyes to see.
There have been days these past few weeks when I couldn't see beyond my present situation and the thought of it was very depressing. Now, I remind myself that Mother Mary is interceding for me and Angie, and we are always in her prayers. Mary is really amazing and the reason that allowed the salvation plan of God to be carried out. Her fiat with God made it possible for God to come amongst us and ultimately redempt us all.
Finally, a story that Father shared which sums up our salvation story; There was a king who wanted to see God but all the priests and bishops could not show him God. A shepherd boldly told the king that his eyes were not good enough to see God but he could see what God does. The king immediately asked the shepherd to show him what God does. To this the shepherd asked the king to exchange his royal robes for his shepherd clothes, which the king reluctantly did. The shepherd then said: "This is what God does..."
To a God who comes down to our level, to the extent of being like us, Thank you for being our saviour and friend.

Learn to distinguish between your needs and wants

We went to Mater Christi Church again last Sunday. It was a chilly morning and though the sun was up and shining magnificantly on us, we felt the chill in our bones...


It was another beautiful day and we were just taking in all that was happening around us when this family came by and sat at the pew in front of us. The grandparents brought their two little granddaughters and it was a joy watching them just being themselves. I was distracted by them for awhile until Father's sermon. What he said struck a raw nerve within me. He mentioned a story about this sick person who was told to stay indoors but he felt he really needed to go out and experience life. He finally went and he actually got better. He knew he needed it rather then justing wanting it.


It is really an art and skill to know what we really need and what we merely want. We need to learn to distinguish between our needs and wants. Catering for our needs make us better people while our wants make us unfulfilled and ironically, wanting more. Looking at my life, I find that more often than not, I seem to be catering to my wants rather than my needs. Many of my decisions are based mainly on money. It's like a vicisous cycle, on one hand wanting to earn more money so that I can purchase more stuff for myself and Angie, and in the future for our kids, and on the other hand wanting to save as much as I can for the future. It's like life being one big wheel revolving around earning, spending and saving dough. Not a very pleasant picture. It's like I'm missing out on life's real purpose, relationships and people above material things. This is especially so for those dear to me. I'm sure Angie can identify with this, me being insensitive to her feelings on most occassions.


It's going to be a long journey but I want to make it better. Where better to start than with my family. Help me Lord to know what my needs are rather than my wants and guide me through this learning process.