Living Ordinary Lives

17 January 2011

Over the years, I have heard about ‘The Documents of Vatican II.’ However, I never ever in my life thought that I would bother to read it. Aside from the fact that I felt that I would immediately fall asleep, I believed (without really looking at it) that it would be very intimidating or too difficult to comprehend. I felt it was only to be read by the erudite – not for me.

However, my curiosity got the better of me, so I checked it out. You can find the complete documents at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/. If you go to the link, you will see all different kinds of Latin Titles such as Dei Verbum, Lumen Gentium, or Gaudium et Spes. Yes, I agree, it may in fact be daunting. And yes, some of the documents are very long. But there really is a wealth of knowledge that can be learned about our Catholic faith. And, it is not that bad a read.

In Lumen Gentium for instance, it says: ‘For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’

How awesome it is to realise that God is pleased with us in our daily sacrifices from our ordinary lives! God is happy with all of our efforts, all of our hardships, and EVERYTHING and ANYTHING we do, for as long as we offer it to Him.

Even the most mundane chores that we do on a daily basis, can be offered as a sacrifice to God. He is delighted with us when we engage in sports, when we work, when we take care of our children, when we read, or even play video games! Just as long as everything is done ‘carried out in the Spirit.’

If reading Lumen Gentium is not your cup of tea, try reading Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace: My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei by Scott Hahn. It is an easy read and the author is engaging, sincere, and loves God intensely.

If Today You Hear His Voice, Harden not your Hearts

15 January 2011

Last Wednesday (12 January), I was blessed to be able to attend Opus Dei’s first recollection of the year at the Redfield College in Dural, New South Wales. Father Jerry opened up the meditation by saying something like:

‘I am happy and contented with where I am. Why do I need to change?’

This is the question that so many people (including myself), ask every so often. Admittedly, this attitude paralysed me for so many years.

Am I doing anything wrong? I don’t think so. I am a good person. I go to church every Sunday. I believe in God. I do not oppress other people. I enjoy life. Is this a sin? I enjoy sports – surely, there is nothing wrong with that. I am a part of a community – I spend more than enough time with God, going beyond just Sunday mass. I am a responsible provider for my family - isn’t this making good use of my talents? I love my family, and I would die for them – isn’t this the kind of love that God commanded us? God is a merciful God. He would forgive me for any of my other shortcomings, because I am a good person. Isn’t this the gospel truth?

I cannot pretend that I know the answers to these questions. A priest or theologian would definitely be in a better position to give a satisfactory answer. But then again, upon reflection (for me at least), it seems that the root of the problem, this attitude, is in the excessive focus on ‘I’. So where is God in the equation? Is He, in all His majesty and splendour, Creator of the entire universe, not entitled to be a part of our lives?

This leads me to ask more questions. From a business perspective: Is there an ‘I’ in TEAM? From a romantic perspective: To the person who I love more than anything else in the world, the person who makes my heart beat - Is there only an ‘I’ in our relationship? In both cases I would say that the answer is NO.

For any business venture, it is a given that we would do our best to work with our partners in order to ensure success. We would be proactive and implement kaizen (continuous change) in order to establish a profitable business. When we find that one person in the world who takes our breath away, we immerse ourselves in them – we change, for the better, in order to win their heart. From this perspective, perhaps the reason to change becomes a bit clearer.

Father Jerry went on to talk about ‘our interior life’ – pertaining to the mind and soul, our spiritual life if you may. I tie this in to the reading for 13 January 2011 from Hebrews 3:15 – ‘Oh, that today you would hear his voice; Harden not your hearts….’

Jesus delights when we pray to Him, for this is how we are able to experience His love. He wants us to feel His love for us. He wants to be a part of our lives. Jesus is calling us to have an ‘interior life’ with Him through prayer. Let us not be intimidated by what He might have to say. He wants us to know and experience a greater kind of happiness.

Yes, we may not be doing anything wrong in our lives. We may actually be living noble lives. But just like in business and in love, there is always room for improvement. There is always something more that can be done. Jesus is calling us – TODAY. Let us not harden our hearts.

Taking a Moment

12 January 2011

‘Thank you for the cross Lord,
Thank you for the price you paid.
Bearing all my sin and shame, in love you came,
And gave amazing grace.
Thank you for this love Lord,
Thank you for the nail-pierced hands.
Washed me in your cleansing flow, now all I know,
Your forgiveness and embrace.
Worthy is the Lamb, seated on the throne.
I crown you now with many crowns, you reign victorious!
High and lifted up, Jesus son of God.
The darling of heaven crucified, Worthy is the Lamb.’ - Hillsong


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR4CCLnmf1Q

The first time I heard this song, I wept. I was overwhelmed, and my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I felt so many emotions rushing through me – love, guilt, peace, sorrow, gratitude, despair, courage, pain. Amidst all of this, I felt the Holy Spirit embracing me, telling me that everything was going to be okay.

We all know what Jesus did for us. He died for us on the cross, in order to liberate us from our sins. But it wasn’t just a simple case of giving up His life, HE SUFFERED FOR OUR SINS in the most agonising way. I would think that a lot of us have watched the movie ‘Passion of the Christ.’ And needless to say, Jesus’ suffering is/was beyond perhaps anything that anyone of us would be capable of or willing to endure.

But wait! Didn’t Jesus’ story happen 2000 years ago? Aren’t times different now? We have so many pressing concerns, so many problems and sources of anxiety. There isn’t enough time in the day! We need to eat, to earn a living, to attend to our daily needs. I have to do well at my job! Surely, Jesus would understand that we have responsibilities, wouldn’t He? Time is of the essence, and we have very little of it.

All of us have our own personal circumstances. We might be a politician, businessman, CEO, housewife, student, celebrity, artist, investment banker, engineer, doctor, electrician, plumber, teacher, employee, etc. Or we might even be unemployed or underemployed. Some have it easier than others. But regardless of what we do, where we are, and the level of belief we have – we cannot deny what Jesus did for us. He died for each and every one of us – bar none. In one way or another at different levels, the story of Jesus has impacted on our lives. In our hearts, we have felt his love.

For many years I knew this truth. Sad to say, I always set it aside - for future reference. I spent the last 20 years building my career, expanding my business. At one point, I had almost 400 employees on my payroll. Nothing was more important than the business! And as the business expanded, more and more responsibility poured in. Add to this my passion for sports, and I really ended up having very little time for anything else.

But God had a plan for me. I was/have been a member of a community for the past 29 years. As I said in one of my former blogs, one of the biggest reasons why I never left my community (even when I had a choice) was because I KNEW deep in my heart that I would EVENTUALLY have to turn my life over to Him. I knew that Jesus suffered for our sins, for a reason. And I knew that one day, I would have to heed His call. This is also why throughout the past 29 years, I always found a way to do something for God albeit in very small amounts/doses. Many were fleeting gestures done on a day-to-day basis, and when I reflect on these, I realise how inadequate these actions were. But I also realise NOW how nothing we can do would ever go to waste! It may come sooner or later (better sooner!), but eventually, those small actions/deeds will come around with a vengeance. In my case, by God’s grace, after so many years, I have now totally and unequivocally dedicated my life to Him.

Take a moment. It could be just a few seconds or minutes each day. Take a PAUSE. We know what Jesus did for us. Our day would not be crippled if we took a few moments each day to do something for God. Think about Him, thank Him, or do whatever your heart leads you to do. Make sure to go to mass every Sunday. Go to confession. Make a small sacrifice in honor of what He did for us – each day. Do whatever you feel like doing – for Him, everyday.

And Jesus will smile upon you. It may happen today or tomorrow, or it may have already happened. And when you feel the radiance and warmth of God’s smile, you will end up wanting more and more and more. Jesus died on the cross for a reason – in order for each and every one of us to be with Him in paradise. Remember, that Jesus wants all of us with Him in Heaven. Take a moment each day, everyday. With God, nothing goes to waste.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

9 January 2011

5:30 p.m.

Today was my first day for the year that I was able to once again sing with my choir group at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday mass at our parish, Blessed John XXIII in Stanhope Gardens. As I went on a week-long vacation to the Gold Coast, I missed out on the New Year services as well as the first Sunday in Ordinary Time. I have to say, it felt good singing to God, while celebrating in the Eucharist.

Our parish priest, Father David Hume gave an inspiring homily, starting off with talking about the gospel from Matthew 3:13-17 (The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist). He talked about his experience baptising an infant who was born 30-days premature and thus, the size of his palm. In order to baptise the child, he had to use an eyedropper to put holy water over the head of the baby. For a while, I was afraid that the story might have an unhappy ending, but luckily he said that the baby had grown up already and is healthy (I am not sure if he mentioned the present age though).

Father Dave then went on to tie together the meanings of some of the different sacraments, ending with reconciliation. Father Dave admitted that there was a time (I think he meant in the year 2010) where he went 6 months without going to his confessor. He then made a commitment in front of everybody to go to confession at least once a month, and encouraged everybody to do the same.

I have a confession to make. Over the last 29 years, I have been to confession not even an average of once a year. And if I were to be very frank, I would go out of my way to go to confession usually right before taking a trip on a plane.  As I would travel on the average every 2-3 years, then you can surmise how often I went to confession. I remember one of my best friends (Felipe) asking me one advent season (I forget what year) whether I was able to go to confession already. I merely shrugged and said ‘not yet.’ But at the back of my mind, I really didn’t intend to go anyway, but my friend didn’t need to know that.

Why would I not go to confession? It is NOT because I did not believe in the sacrament – I really DID BELIEVE that for my sins to be forgiven, that I would have to verbalise them to a priest. But the thing is, I grew tired of confessing the same sins over and over again until I just stopped.  In a way, I created my own practice by asking for forgiveness directly from God, thinking and hoping that in his infinite mercy, He would forgive me. I am not here to debate on whether God does or does not forgive sins absent the sacrament of reconciliation.  But I am here to witness and to testify, that the sacrament of reconciliation combined with perfect contrition, and a firm resolve to do better, by the grace of God can indeed be liberating.

I was asked many years ago in a ‘Days with the Lord’ retreat back in Manila – ‘Why do I need to confess if I know that I will commit the sin again?’ In textbook style, I answered that it is to give you the grace to overcome whatever sin (whether venial or mortal) was committed. In my mind I knew that was true, but I never really practiced it.

On December 9, 2010, I was attending an Opus Dei recollection. For many weeks previous to this day, I was preparing to go to confession (trying to) by making an examination of conscience. There were already a few opportunities to go to confession previous to this day, but I always chickened out. Now, here I was a few more weeks before Christmas, and I really felt God prodding me, telling me to ‘GO.’ Still, I was afraid and as a result, I was not really able to listen to the teachings of the priest. I kept on looking at the line of confession and in a way was hoping that it would stay long, once again giving me some form of excuse. I WAS NOT READY – MAYBE SOME OTHER TIME. But then at the back of my head a voice was saying ‘GO.’

In the end I did go. I was really afraid of being scolded as it had been 2 years since my last confession. Not even having uttered a word, I started to cry inside the confessional. I immediately told the priest that it had been so long since my last confession. With those words uttered, I cringed, expecting an outburst. But what the priest said filled me with hope, peace, and tranquility. He said, ‘Welcome back my son.’

I had the opportunity to go again to confession on the 23^rd of December, 2010. I had read in THE FAITH EXPLAINED (by Fr. Leo Trese) that frequently going to confession (even as often as once a week) gives us the grace to be able to not only be one with God, but gives us the power and strength to battle whatever weaknesses we may have. For the first time that I can ever remember in my 40 years of life, I was prepared for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus our God.

Father Dave ended his homily by saying that it is his duty to ensure that we are able to receive the sacrament of confession. He said that anyone who would want to go to confession, to simply approach him after every mass, anytime of the week, by appointment, or during the regular schedule every Saturdays. Thank you Father Dave!

To all my friends and family, I urge you to go to confession – frequently. It only takes less than 5 minutes, but once done can form into a habit. Forming a good habit will help you break bad habits. If you don’t have any bad habits, it will still fill you with God’s grace. What have you got to lose?