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ON AGING The “hill” metaphor reminds me of my trip to Medjugorye in 1999. The climb up the rocky Apparition Hill was not easy but then I was not alone; I was in the company of solicitous and helpful fellow pilgrims. Once up the hill a sense of fulfillment and the panoramic view of the countryside were overwhelming. Peace and a solemn quiet prevailed. I had my personal time with God. Thanksgiving was my dominant prayer. I feel a similar sense of fulfillment, quietude, and gratitude as I reach the “hill” of being a septuagenarian and being retired. It had not been an easy climb but there are many fellow life journeyers to thank for. Most significant is my wife whose company was not only a loving assistance but also a complement to my personal deficiencies. The blessing of growing old together is not to be taken for granted; enjoying the hilltop with one’s spouse makes the bonus years golden indeed. At this stage in my life, I fully realize the value and wisdom of the matrimonial covenant. There is security in each other’s relationship. Loss of hair, hair pigmentation, visual acuity, agility, reflexes, all incident to normal aging, do not matter in a secure relationship. There is no longer a need to impress. The metaphor to the hilltop panoramic view is my family of three married children and their children. They followed the formula that their mother set: have a college education, marry within the faith, keep your marriage a trinity with Jesus at the center, have children. They gave us 9 beautiful grandchildren ranging in age from pre-school to freshman college, all undergoing the same Catholic education that their parents had. The joy of grandparenthood rests on seeing one’s children occupy their respective niches in the workplace (including household CEO-COO-CFO among the wives) and giving their children the security of marriage and a happy home. Advice on parenthood goes seamlessly from mother to daughter and is mostly following by example with the freedom to reject immigrant practices and attitudes that have become irrelevant. My own father-to-son advice is brief: week-end is for family, Sunday is for church with the entire family, give your wife personal space (meaning times away from the kids). Although my own Dad lived to be 91, a septuagenarian has to face the fact that he is closer to the end than to the beginning. Mortality, like birth, is a part of life. I do not concern myself on such matters as heaven and hell, but I do concern myself about my daily relationship with God. I am more concerned on the practical effects of my death to my wife and family. When the event comes my desire is to lessen as much as possible their burden. My funeral and expenses have been pre-arranged and my burial site has been ready and marked with my name. I have not however told the kids as they might freak out seeing a grave marked with my name. My expanding Resume used to be my pride. At my retirement party given to gather friends, associates, and employees, my credentials and awards and honorifics suddenly became irrelevant. At the hilltop, family is my pride and gratitude is my prayer.
EASTER REFLECTION: Maybe some of us are wondering why in spite of the fact that we have good speakers and leaders, the community is still not growing as it should be. We try to justify that community growth is not based on quantity but on quality. We sometimes forget that quantity is the product of quality. The big question or challenge is, "Are we really building a Christian Community or just a group?" If we go back to the time of early Christians which we can read on Acts 2: 42-47, we will note how deep and strong the love of every member for one another was. They did not consider what they have as their own but for everyone in the community. A Christian Community should be a place of love, hope, peace, joy and healing. Everyone should be an instrument of love, more so, a blessing and inspiration to one another. Everybody should speak, act, and work for the salvation of every member. It should not be a place of intrigue, gossip, judgment and condemnation. We need to TRUST one another as God trusted us so much. We need to understand that we have different levels of spirituality. Our weakness can be the strength of others and their weakness can be our strength. Although our goal is to be perfect, we cannot be, for only God is perfect. Let us accept the truth that we need one another. Let us support the strength of others and help them on their weaknesses. Let us be humble also to accept the truth that we need the help of others to overcome our weaknesses. False spirituality is when we become self-righteous as if we are the only ones who are good. True spirituality is when love, patience, understanding, and forgiveness go wider. When we learn to accept the strength and weakness of others and accept our own weaknesses, too. We need to move forward from the emotional level of love to the spiritual level of love. Emotional level of love focuses so much on feelings, emotions and expectations. If this is not satisfied, it leads to frustration and condemnation. Spiritual level of love is to love like Christ, to understand that we need one another. We need to trust the goodness of the person. Let us not forget that whatever and no matter how big the sin of a person is, God is still doing everything for his salvation, as what He is doing for us, up to the point that He even gave His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save us. Do not act the other way around, for we have no right to destroy what God is trying to save. Let us always remember that we are all so precious to God and the value of each one of us is Jesus Himself on the Cross. Christian Community should be Christ–Love driven! (Bro. Don Quilao is Eastern Canada Regional Coordinator of AFCCPC and is a member of the Editorial Staff of The Trumpet. He is the Head Servant of the Filipino Canadian Charismatic Prayer Communities, the umbrella organization of Filipino Catholic charismatic prayer communities in Eastern Canada, endorsed by the Archdiocese of Toronto, and affiliated with the AFCCPC. He has recently been honored to be chosen to chair the Canadian National Catholic Charismatic Conference to be held during the same weekend that the Baltimore National Convention will be held.) Lenten Reflection:
GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE Adjusting to ‘transitions’ in our personal lives, as well as in the life of our nation, is a normal part of the challenges we all face on a regular basis. Our faith and trust in the love, mercy and sovereignty of our God allows us to pass through these transitions, even the most difficult ones, with peace, love and even joy in our hearts. A new and very significant national transition is upon us. Congratulations are in order for President-elect Barack Obama who will take office on January 20, 2009. For the first time in U.S. history, an African-American has won our nation’s highest elective office—a significant breakthrough in our country’s racial history. Americans of all nationalities can be proud that the dark shadow of slavery in U.S. history has, largely, been put to rest. In the midst of the election-related hype surrounding us for the last two years, we must be careful not to put our hope, a gift from God, in our politicians—they are only human. One day, those politicians will turn to dust just as all of history’s greatest and worst leaders did. The banner we wave says this: My hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ, is singularly risen from the dead and lives and reigns forever—even over the White House. As Christians in America, we all have an important task to play in this transition to new leadership in our country. The Bible commands us to pray for those who are in leadership over us. Let us pray for Obama fervently and faithfully, and cooperate with him whenever our conscience and the teaching of our Church do not bind us otherwise. The focus of our prayer must always be: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” More specifically, though, what should we pray for? Here are a few things to consider:
In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable of the unjust judge. The wronged widow finally gets her way with the judge by persevering in her quest for justice—by not giving up. For all Christians in America, this is a parable of encouragement for us today. We must not lose heart regarding the advancement of those things closest to the heart of God. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be given you.” We must continue to persevere in prayer and in prayerful action. Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened.” The theological virtue of hope assures our hearts that God is still on the throne. No matter who sits in the Oval Office, God, in Christ, is still our ultimate leader. The living hope within us tells us that we are still ‘one nation, under God,’ not a nation under the whims of popularity or presidents. God is not an elected official, but an eternal Father who faithfully loves His children deeply and passionately, and is with us always, even to the end of the age. As Christians, we are a privileged people in that we already know how the story ends. Ultimately, and for all eternity, we are victorious.
THE ABUNDANT LIFE The 14th National Convention held in July, 2007, had for its theme John 10:10, which states, “I have come to give life and give life abundantly.” But what is abundant life? Bob Canton (Alliance National Coordinator and Council Member of ICCRS representing English-speaking North and Central America and the Caribbean) in his keynote address approaches this subject like many of us laymen would. When I came to the USA, he said, I set my goals early and immediately embraced the American Dream. I will work hard and become a millionaire and retire young. He found himself a job, started a side business, married a registered nurse, played golf, made contacts. Along the way in pursuit of the American Dream, he got detoured by reluctantly attending a Life in the Spirit Seminar. Not long after that he was offered, and accepted, servant leadership of a Prayer Group, and the Lord gave him a vision and a mission. Now he finds himself preaching the Good News and doing the very things that Jesus did – healing the sick, networking the scattered, building community. He loves what he does. He wakes up every morning and excitedly greets the Lord, saying: Good morning, Lord. Thank you for this day. I can’t wait to do the things you want me to do. I feel like a million bucks! And then he declares, to the thunderous applause of the audience: Brothers and sisters, I have become a millionaire! That indeed is an example of the abundant life. Bishop “Chito” Tagle (Archdiocese of Imus, Cavite, Philippines) approaches the subject like a priest and a theologian. You cannot fully grasp John 10:10, he said, without reading the beginning of the chapter through verse 18. Otherwise John 10:10 would be nothing but an empty slogan. Bishop Tagle is of course directing us to get hold of the “I am” declarations of Jesus. In the 10th chapter of John, Jesus declares that He is the Good Shepherd and contrasts Himself with the false shepherd who steals, robs, kills, destroys, abandons, and acts like a hireling. He then links the chapter with the 23rd Psalm where the sheep, in turn, declares that the Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want. In other words, when one is in relationship with the Good Shepherd, the sheep is filled with the abundance of green pastures, still waters, guidance, safety, anointing, goodness, love, dwelling, overflowing cup. Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Jr. (Diocese of Novaliches, Quezon City, Philippines) approaches the subject with a sense of immigrant adventure. I know why you came to this country, he said. To improve your lot in life. To get a job and a livelihood. But you may not even realize that you are not only getting but also giving. You are giving the world your faith, your music, your smile. And the manifestation of the joy of having a happy family with children and with only one wife and one husband! What then is abundant life? To Bob Canton, it is a life with a mission and a purpose that is aligned to God’s will. To Bishop Tagle, it is a life based on a loving relationship – with the Good Shepherd. To Bishop Bacani, it is a life not only of getting but also of giving – sharing one’s faith, one’s music, one’s smile, and one’s joy. As an aside, I had thought that in a convention there was only one keynote address given at the opening of the conference, setting the key to the subsequent proceedings. In the 14th National Convention of the Alliance, each day opened with a keynote address. It is somewhat like a song that started in the key of C and transposed to the key of D via modulation and bridging through E-minor and A7. It made for a more beautiful and interesting song. As was the Convention. Reflections on the Joy of the Lord In the recent past I have seen a great revival of interest in the Word of God inscribed in the Bible. Translations of the Bible in various languages and dialects is a trend we all have noticed in our era. The Second Vatican Council has triggered this vast majority of love for the Word of God. More and more people today use the message of God, searching for the answers to many questions never before asked. I wonder and sometimes question myself, are people today interested in God’s word? Do people today listen to the Word of God with joy? The Book of Genesis tells us that God saw that everything He created was good. Isn’t this a joyful announcement? Should we not rejoice in the good that God made for us? In John’s gospel, John says that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. If the Word is God, then we can truly conclude that before we can hear or listen to the Word of God with joy, we need to have a personal experience of God in our lives. This is almost given because God is synonymous with the Word. Someone said that proclaiming the Word of God to people who do not know God in a personal way, or to those who do not have a personal relationship with God, is like reading poetry to those who do not have the slightest idea what poetry is all about. These people get bored very easily and are always in a hurry to leave. How can we depart from boredom to a situation of joy in hearing the Word of God? The desert Fathers and many Saints have shown us the right way to do it. The first step is to retreat into the desert (a good example would be John the Baptist). For us, a “desert” is a place to be alone with God, a place where we encounter God, a retreat, a pilgrimage, a church, a prayer meeting. We take off from our usual joys, our household chores, our business or professional concerns, to be with God. What is significant in this level is the initiative that is involved in order to reach out to God. Reaching out is opening one’s heart to God who comes and fills us up. It is like saying, we take one step, God takes two steps towards us, to fill us, to renew us, to transform us, to mold us back into the original justice, the image of God that we have been created. In this level initiation begins and is accompanied with education and discipline coming from the Lord Himself. It is also in this level why some people can spend hours in prayer, meditation and reflection because they have now begun to experience the joy of the Lord. There is nothing that can stop them now. They have fallen in love with the Lord. The ultimate part is the level of sharing this joyful practice with others, having experienced the goodness of the Lord in their own lives. People look at us and see the joy and peace and tranquility that radiates from us and they would like to be with us. They would like to become our friends. And then we can in turn help others by showing them the path to the desert, the place where they, in their turn, will encounter God personally. The experience of God is like the experience of love. You can tell people about it but they will not understand what you are talking about until they themselves begin to experience it. Mark: 6:30-34 WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A SHEPHERD? As one of the spiritual advisors for the Alliance, one of my wonderful assignments is to at times share some words of wisdom with you regarding a particular scripture passage. The following is such an attempt and through the grace of God hopefully it will bring meaning into your lives. Several months ago, I sent Al Albarracin a proposed article for The Trumpet; however it was not in God’s plans for me to share that particular article with you. What happened was that on July 17, 2006, I received a call from Al asking me to make some changes to the one I sent him earlier and as I began to read it, I began to think the following thought “Lord, is this really what you want me to share?” The answer came in a rather surprising way. That same night, sister Barbara and I were watching a little league game and during the game the following message was given to me: “You see my son, how I shepherd my people, tell them how much I love them and care for them” Before beginning to attempt to put in to words some reflections, I believe it is important to share some background information about this Sunday’s readings, especially the gospel in which Jesus saw those gathered as being like sheep without a shepherd. During the time of Jesus and as we know from reading the history of the time, a shepherd was a very important person. Also, I might add that some of the major people in Old Testament times were shepherds (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David just to name a few). It was the shepherd’s task to take care of the flock that was entrusted to him and with that as our background, I would like now to share the following thoughts about our gospel reading. In today’s message, Mark tells about a time when the apostles returned to Jesus to report all the incredible things that the Holy Spirit had been doing through them. They were so busy that they did not even get a lunch break. Jesus decides that they needed a rest, so he commandeered a boat, and took them all out into the quiet waters of Galilee, a temporary respite from the needy and demanding crowds. The key to good rest is that it is re-energizing. How this happens for different people is quite dependent upon their personality types. People who are introverted find that they experience their best rest when they are alone, quite with their thoughts, and able to reflect on what God is doing in their lives. Extroverts, on the other need to be around people in order to get their batteries recharged. They need to talk to other people about what God is doing in their lives. From what we can tell about the apostles, Jesus picked a mix of introverts and extroverts. Some of them appeared to be quite energetic and fearless (like Peter) while others were more contemplative (like Andrew and Thomas). Either way, Jesus shows his compassion for those who served him by going out of his way to see that they get the rest that they needed. Using the previous illustration of how Jesus took care of and showed compassion to His disciples, I would like to ask each of you the following question: Can you think of vocations that could demonstrate the same qualities or characteristics? To help with your discernment process, here are a few suggestions or examples: doctors, teachers, counselors, and parents, children, and little league coaches. For the most part, I believe that most of us would agree that we can understand or see how a doctor could be a shepherd to us. After all, he listens to us, gives us advice, and most of the time shows us compassion. Truly these are signs or qualities of being a shepherd. I believe we could also apply the same analogy to both teachers and counselors. After all, they listen to us; they give advice, and also at the proper time show or demonstrate to us some compassion. What about parents? Some of us, especially those who are reading this article who are in the teen-age bracket may disagree that parents have the same qualities of being a good shepherd, especially when we stay out too late, or tell us to pick up our room or mow the lawn. But when it really matters, I believe you will have to agree with me that your parents always have your best interest in mind. With that in mind, I would like to share a personal experience. I first met my friend Don when I was very young and because of my illness he was there all the time for me and my mother. As time continued, my mother and I had to leave our home and travel to another city; however, once a month I would take a bus ride and visit my friend Don. When I reached 16 he and I drove to the driver license examination place and after passing the tests, I drove Don home and he said, “Have fun; enjoy the car.” While traveling in the nearby hills the same day, I, like most inexperienced drivers, was driving too fast and within seconds found myself and my friend Larry in a snow bank. After being pulled from the snow bank, I drove Larry home and returned the car to Don, who at the time was having his lunch. Without saying a word, he said, “How are you? How is the car?” Needless to say I was very surprised that Don knew what had happened even before I said anything about the accident. Parents are like that, aren’t they? After several years Don was moved to a retirement home and I would visit him during school breaks. Finally my brother and I decided to move Dad to a pioneer home in Alaska. It was while there that I had the chance to repay Dad for the many things he did for me. One day, it was my turn to feed Dad. He had lost his eyesight because of diabetes. It was while feeding Dad that the revelation hit me. This was what it means to honor your father and mother. It was now my time to be a shepherd to Dad and in doing so repay him for all the good things he had done for me. My second experience is just an observation from the other night at the baseball game. As I watched the game, I began to think of the many parallels that a baseball coach/manager has in common with a good shepherd. After all they listen, give advice, and counsel, and instruct these young men and woman and in return when we watch the games we can see the benefits of their coach’s hard work So, how does one become a good shepherd? I believe it starts with our willingness to follow Jesus as best we can and as we do ask Him for the proper guidance, instructions, and time-outs with Him. Once we have done that, and let pride take a back seat, we can let Jesus work through us. When we do that Jesus is in charge and if He is in charge people will notice the difference. Lastly, just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd and watches and cares for us, so too does He have permission to watch how we care and take care of each other. The question is -- are we shepherding each other as Jesus would? I would also like to add another thought. It has nothing to do with the sharing I just did. It is instead an appeal to all of you to pray for vocations for priesthood and religious life. It is through our collective prayers that God will send to us the shepherds we need to guide and instruct us. Please also join us in Anchorage, Alaska, in September 8-10 for our gathering, the First Alliance Regional Conference in the Pacific Northwest. God Bless:
EASTER AS LAUGHTER A DESERT RETREAT FOR ALL After His baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus came out of the river and was immediately baptized in the Holy Spirit by His Father in heaven. “This is My beloved son,” the Father said, “with whom I am well pleased.” The Scripture then tells us that Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights, no small undertaking for even a very healthy individual. Why did the Father insist that Jesus spend these intense forty days and nights in the desert, alone, fasting and praying? Jesus was about to begin His three years of public ministry. He was about to bring salvation to the souls of the earth’s lost inhabitants. Jesus would not assume His role as our Redeemer, though, without opposition. He was about to invade another’s kingdom—a land that had been stolen from Him in the past. In the weather realm, when a cold front encounters a warm front, there is significant turmoil in the skies and on the
earth. The clash of warm and cold fronts often produces powerful winds, rain, thunder and lightening, forces that at
times can be very destructive to the face of the earth. In the desert, the Father was strengthening and empowering Jesus describes Satan thus: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him….He is a liar and the father of lies.” [Jn 8:44]. “The thief comes only to steal, slaughter and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” [Jn 10:10]. So Jesus had to spend a forty-day retreat in the desert in order to be fully prepared for the spiritual warfare He was about to ncounter in His public ministry. We are no different. We also need those forty focused days with Jesus in order to be strengthened and empowered for the work of ministry to which we are called. Even Pope Benedict and his staff are no exception. What follows is a communiqué from Rome reporting on the Lenten retreat of the Pope and his Roman Curia staff:
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 6, 2006 (Zenit.org) - The spiritual exercises that Benedict XVI and his aides in the
Roman Curia began on Sunday is a moment of encounter with God, says the retreat's preacher. Cardinal Marco Cé,
retired patriarch of Venice, proposed in the presence of the Pope, and to the cardinals, bishops, priests and religious According to Vatican Radio's report on this morning's meditation, the cardinal said that Christ "accompanies us through the wilderness of our poverty, supporting us on the way to the intense joy of Easter," the fruit of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, the "heart of our faith." Cardinal Cé explained that this encounter takes place because Christ first came in search of each of us. "If the grace of the Risen Crucified did not call us and did not seek us, we would never come out of our sloth and sin. Who will deliver me from this body of death?" asked the cardinal rhetorically. "The grace of God through Jesus Christ." If the spiritual exercises become an encounter with Christ, this meeting will also be "an act of love for the Church and for so many brothers who walk on remote paths" whom"Jesus wants to save," the retired patriarch said. "The Gospel calls us to be involved, to feel questioned, and not to be mere spectators enclosed in the fortress of our rationality, but to react as those who find Jesus and let themselves be enveloped by his light. This is the meaning of Jesus' heartfelt desire when he said: 'Believe in me,'" noted the preacher. To take the Gospel seriously, always means"an encounter" in which the strength is found to be converted, "to orient one's life again to God, opening the heart wide to him in faith," he added. In the second meditation this morning, Cardinal Cé left this message with the Pope and his collaborators: "We must
have only one ambition: that despite our limitations, people see in us persons who really love the Lord, who are in
love with him; where there is no gap between what they say and what they really are." Lent is "the time of grace to
WHAT DID I SEE IN THE MIRROR TODAY? Fr. Perry Kenaston The other day when I began my daily routine, and I presume that, like most of us, it is the same thing, one of which is looking in the mirror. For some reason, I took a few extra minutes to look at the person in the mirror and began to think to myself “who is this person in the mirror? Is it someone that I recognize or is it a total stranger?” After finishing my daily routine, I began to reflect upon that still-lingering question in my mind. This led me to pray—“Lord Jesus help me to discover the real me during this period of Lent. I know with Your graces we can do this together and when Lent is over we both will have a better understanding of who I am. I know You already know who I am, but through Your graces and my humility and with the verses of Psalm 51, I can truly see and become the person You have always wanted me to be.” After a period of time, I again began to reflect -- could it be that simple? Could it be that I have been trying too hard to discover the real me? Perhaps I have become too much of a Martha and not enough of a Mary. Perhaps our willingness to surrender ourselves to the perfect will of God, as Our Blessed Mother did, is the key to real spiritual growth. Surrender! For myself, I know that I am in need of a change and if by chance you also arrive at the same conclusion, I invite you to do as Our Blessed Mother did and surrender yourself to the perfect will of God the Father and in so doing reflect upon the verses in Psalm 51 as a means of meditation and a starting point. May you have a blessed Lenten surrender!
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| NEW
YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS Narciso S. Albarracin, Jr., M.D. (Reprinted from South Bay Times, January 2006 issue) |
| The words most frequently associated with the New Year are happiness, prosperity, and new beginnings. “Happy and prosperous New Year” is the message most frequently contained in Christmas cards anticipating the coming of a new year. |
| Prosperity may refer to the big profits of the businessman, high rates of return to the investor, another degree earned by the scholar, a promotion to the corporate achiever, abundant harvest of the farmer. |
| Happiness usually follows as a result of prosperity. But such happiness may be temporary and incomplete for profits may be lost, the stock market may “go south”, the academic may not find a suitable job, the corporate man may get embroiled in an Enron-phenomenon, the market for the farmer’s produce may not be favorable. |
| The word “joy” is also frequently used to describe one’s good wish for the New Year. Although joy is frequently equated with happiness, the two are not exactly the same. There is a big component of pleasure in happiness. In contrast, joy carries a certain spiritual quality. One can have joy without the material things usually associated with happiness and prosperity. When Jesus said that “my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15: 11), He had in mind both the poor and the prosperous. |
| There is another very practical wish that we give each other at the beginning of the year – the wish for good health. Indeed, good health is the infrastructure and the underpinning of a happy life. We are all familiar with the irony of the combination of unlimited wealth and limited health. |
| Without exception, everyone longs for a life of happiness, joy, prosperity, and good health. |
| But what happens when at the end of the year we find ourselves missing the mark. Our business ventures fail. Our personal relationships sour. Our family structure collapses. Our health deteriorates. Our dreams recede farther and further. |
| Fortunately our lives are not straightly linear but circular with forward motion, like writing the letter “O” in cursive repeatedly and connectedly until the end of the page is reached. |
| The New Year brings with it the hope of new beginnings! We are given new opportunities to rise up from the wreckage of the previous year and begin again. Much more than the vague longings for happiness and prosperity, the challenge of new beginnings directs us to look at our lives in serious review, gets us back to the drawing board, calls us once more to a commitment or recommitment. So another word frequently associated with New Year is “resolutions.” |
| The real New Year’s achievement is the inward change of a person – from bad to good, from good to better, and from better to best. Among Christians, such change can only be accomplished with and through Jesus Christ and the ultimate resolution is surrender to him as Lord, Savior, and Shepherd. Overuse has made these words trite. But looking at these words as “relationship roles” will refresh our understanding. We submit to and follow a leader or Lord. Our state of “lostness” requires a Savior. Because like sheep we have built-in weaknesses and we are unable to see the big picture, we need a Shepherd. Such surrender re-focuses a person’s life to a life of giftedness, service, mission, and dependence. |
| Some of us may think that because we are not the likes of Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey we are failures. Our new beginnings in the New Year should direct us to reviewing and reconsidering our life paradigm – what is life all about? Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, is recommended reading for each New Year. Each of us is uniquely gifted and equipped to carry out a unique purpose. Discovering and realizing that purpose will go a long way in giving us the happiness and prosperity and the joy that we all seek. |
| In this regard, I personally salute motherhood – good old-fashioned motherhood. I salute young mothers out there who persevere day and night to give their children new beginnings year after year. They have found their purpose and their mission: to bring forth the next generation and to nurture it. Many Filipino immigrants can look back at their lives and see mothers driven by the single-minded purpose of giving them – their children -- an education and the necessary tools for life’s new beginnings. |
| The secret of a mother’s strength is hope, the virtue that also strengthens all of us to face the New Year. Hope opens our minds to possibilities. Mothers look at their children and see in them future engineers, doctors, presidents, popes, generals, CEOs, star athletes, accomplished musicians. Armed with the same virtue of hope, we are strengthened to climb over the disasters of our past and begin anew. |
| There is another quality in this virtue of hope – hope is something that can be given. Although we may not be aware of it, we can actually be a source of hope to others. |
The
last New Year’s Eve I spent in the Philippines was in 1998.
My father passed away on Christmas Eve of that year and was buried
the day before NY Eve. My mother had passed on four years earlier.
Needless to say, our home environment was far from “normal” during
Christmas of 1998. I was lucky to be included in the NY Eve festivities
of my brother’s in-laws. It was an evening of abundance in
terms of food, drinks, and entertainment. I even got to explode
a few firecrackers contributing to the fog-like mist that enveloped
the neighborhood the next morning. In the midst of plenty that
would have given me the pleasures of food, drink, and socializing,
ironically I felt terribly unhappy and empty. For the first time
I realized I was now an orphan. Mom passed on several years back.
Now Dad was gone. Which introduces yet another thought that relates
to New Year. Life as we know it sooner or later ends. For Christians
however this kind of ending leads to another new beginning. It
is a beginning that bids goodbye to the younger generation – the
generation that we nurtured -- and brings a reunion with the generation
that has passed on – the generation that nurtured us. For
those of us who are retirees, we are closer to the end than to
the beginning even if we keep consoling ourselves that age is only
a state of mind. But fear not. A new beginning comes. Date Posted: Sunday, January 8, 2006 |
