I Take Off the Mask

Have you ever felt as though you were in a long distance relationship with God? I did. For quite some time, I never thought I was. But just recently, while I was reading “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence, I’ve realized the kind of relationship I’ve had all along. What’s a long distance relationship? It’s the kind when you and your loved one are separated by distance such that you have very less time together. If you could spend time together somewhat, it’s on very rare occasions. Most of the time, you communicate through letters, emails or phone calls. You may also use social media a lot. With my relationship with God, I couldn’t say that I never talk to Him, because I did. But those times were not as often as I should have. For instance, I do pray in the morning and at night. I also pray the rosary in the afternoon. Once in a while, I read the Bible or some religious books. I also remember Him whenever I listen to inspirational or religious songs, not to mentio...

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practise and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive. It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us.” – Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God Have you ever had a phone conversation with someone you hardly realized you were speaking for hours? Have you ever spent a day with a dear friend feeling at the end of it that the time you spent together was too short? If we can have such thoughts and feelings with other people, could it be that we could also feel something similar when we are in God’s presence? And if we could practice sensing the presence of God each day, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to talk with Him during the day? We can talk with Him in the morning as we prepare ourselves for the day’s tasks. We...

One of the thoughts I need to set aside is that thought that God could be angry all the time. Angry for my failures. Angry for my stubbornness. Angry for my many sins. If I feel that God is always angry, how could I desire to sense His presence? God is love. There may be a lot of times when He feels sad and disappointed for my faults, but I must set aside my image of Him that’s angry all the time. After all, did He not want us to refrain from hate? Hate is a poison that kills the heart and soul. Hate is that which prompts a person to kill his brother. To hate is to already suffer the pains of hell even while on earth. Is that the kind of feeling then I must attribute to God? It is certain that He will never approve of my sins, but it is also certain that He is the God of Infinite Mercy and Compassion. He knows my weakness. He knows I’m but like dust. And He loves me. That’s what I must always keep in mind. Here’s one of the most beautiful quotes I’ve ever read from Julian of Norwich: “...

There’s a certain attraction one could feel about the concept of reincarnation. It’s that feeling of being able to start again, that thought that you can just leave everything and become another person. This is more tempting when one is undergoing a difficult time in life. When you feel so tired and hopeless, and when there’s nothing in your life that seems to be working well, it’s so tempting to dream of another life, a fuller life, the kind of life that reincarnation may offer you. But if we go back to the Christian faith, we could clearly see how the concept of reincarnation could never fully satisfy our hunger for a happy life. It is not one that could give us true freedom and satisfaction of heart. If we compare this concept to the kind of life God has made for us, both here and the one after, it would fall short of God’s goodness and generosity. In the end, the concept of reincarnation falls short of the Mercy of God. And here are just some of the reasons why: 1. The concept o...

I spent a day recently doing my research about mindfulness and meditation. I’ve long felt something uncomfortable within me about the said practices that seem to abound these days, though I just couldn’t pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with them. Wikipedia defines mindfulness as follows: “Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one’s attention in the present moment without judgment, a skill one develops through meditation or other training.” The American Psychological Association (APA.org, 2012) defines mindfulness as follows: “…a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. In this sense, mindfulness is a state and not a trait. While it might be promoted by certain practices or activities, such as meditation, it is not equivalent to or synonymous with them.” I started by re-reading some posts by Connie Rossini who writes about Contemplative Prayer (and discusses more about it in her Facebook Group Authentic Contemplative Prayer ). She e...

Image by Himsan from Pixabay “The difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way we look at them – through faith or unbelief – that makes them seem so. We must be convinced that our Father is full of love for us and that He only permits trials to come our way for our own good.” – Brother Lawrence I have been reacquainted with the classic book The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence , a 17 century Carmelite friar. He was able to find connection with God even in everyday tasks like working in the kitchen. I wanted to read this book because I wanted to acquire the same sense of God’s presence in my life. I wanted to be near Him not only when I pray or when I read the Bible, but even as I go about my ordinary tasks. While I could start on my own and try to call to mind God’s presence, I wanted to have assistance in this journey. On my own, I know that due to my weaknesses, it will not be an easy task. Because while it is ideal, the thou...

Traditional religion has had its share of criticism in modern times. It has been seen as stifling, domineering, misjudging and empty, a mere set of rules and traditions that never help one grow within. Not a few people have been hurt by those who claim righteousness and holiness. Not a few have felt condemned and cast away. Perhaps this is why many have been outspoken against religion and many would like to claim they are no longer religious but spiritual. Spirituality had been a new refuge for those who feel that their needs could no longer be satisfied by the traditional religions they knew before. This kind of spirituality has its advantages, and one of its first incentives is freedom. For the first time, one is freed from all the voices that seem to curtail one’s thoughts and actions. One is no longer told what to do. One can finally do as one wishes. This kind of spirituality is also convenient. You can take it along with you wherever you go. You can dig deeper into the unknown un...

“I see clearly that you are mistaking the road, and that you will never arrive at the end of your journey. You want to climb the mountain, whereas God wishes you to descend it. He is awaiting you in the fruitful valley of humility.” – St. Therese of Lisieux I’ve imagined this scenario in my spiritual walk where I walk so closely with God that He has become the most important concern of my heart and soul. In this scenario, no temptation can entice me, no tribulation can shake my faith, and no sorrow can bring me to despair. In this scenario, I’m so filled with the joy of God, a joy I’d gladly share to all the world. I’d bring hope to everyone I meet and comfort to all of those who need solace. I’d be so full of God that I’d become a channel of blessing to any whose lives touch mine. But you see, I think that scenario is not the one God wanted me to walk upon. And that kind of life is not one realistic enough I should aspire to. It’s not that we shouldn’t desire perfection or ...

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:30, WEBBE Nowhere was it said that we’d have no burden. But our Lord Himself promised that that burden is light. How can it be light? It is light because it will not be made heavy by sin. And it is sin that brings us unnecessary burdens and sufferings. His yoke is easy for it is the yoke of peace. His burden is light for it is the burden of patience. We are not being asked to carry the burden of anger, of envy or of greed. We are not being asked to carry the burden of anxiety. With His burden, we find healing. With His burden, we find Someone who will never forsake us or let us down. “I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.”? Saint Augustine

In this valley of sorrow, in this valley of tears Is there a kind of heart that can recognize our griefs? In this place of darkness, in this place of fear Is there a faithful hand who can comfort those who weep? Sometimes it feels as though there is no one who can hear, And many are the days when in silence we shed our tears, With so many people who claim they know how to love, How then is there not one who can be sent from up above? Just one heart is all we need, one heart that understands, A heart that knows our pain and lends a helping hand. Who can find the courage and who can find a way, To bring some light to many until night turns into day. Reflection: No matter how much happiness we have experienced in life, we can’t deny our share of sorrows. This life may be blessed, but our joy here will always be mingled with pain. Maybe that is why we’d always see the scars upon the hands of Jesus. Maybe that is why His sacred heart must be surrounded with thorns. It is to tell us Someone ...

What do you do when you love noodles so much but you’re a Panda that should love bamboos instead? That seems to be the predicament of Panda Joe in the story Panda Loves Noodles by Diane Blincoe . Panda Joe can’t help but think of noodles in all shapes and sizes whether he is playing or singing or dancing. He loves noodles so much he wants to let his friends know how tasty it could be! Kids who love noodles can definitely relate to this fun-filled story they can read alone or together with their parents. On the other hand, children who don’t know about noodles can be introduced to this kind of food, and this book for them can be a learning experience about the different kinds of noodles they can taste. Illustrated through colorful drawings that quickly capture the interest of children, this book is a playful and lighthearted read kids would surely love. Even as an adult, I felt like drawing with crayons or watercolors again to recreate the raw and tender strokes that made each illu...

Things used to be simple then. As I grew up, I learned how people like to make things a lot more complicated than they should be. It’s as though we can’t accept something as true or valuable if we haven’t achieved it through difficult means. Even in matters of spirituality, many people scoff at Christianity because they see it to be too simple. And being simple, it has often been tagged as too good to be true, a myth, or a child’s fairy tale that could never happen in real life. We don’t believe in happy endings anymore. We can’t believe there is a heaven where we can be eternally happy. We find it impossible to believe in a God who can love us without measure or end. And so we seek other forms of spirituality. We seek powers we can control and occult practices and beliefs that are hard to understand. People believe in such things because they seem to be mysterious, a secret meant only for the elite few. With Christianity, however, heaven is given to us free. It has already bee...

Day 13 of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Day podcast series “The Bible In a Year” again left me reflecting upon a truth I never saw before. When I first read the story of Esau and Jacob, I must admit that I somehow felt disconcerted. I also felt it was unfair for Jacob to be able to get away with stealing Esau’s birthright. Even if Esau made a mistake, didn’t Jacob do something wrong also? Later, I’ve realized that I may not have understood the story deeper. While Jacob’s move is not one I would agree with, Esau’s actions may have been graver because he has taken for granted a great blessing that was meant to be his. And that’s the point Fr. Mike Schmitz was able to discuss. While we can easily judge the foolishness of Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew, we could also be guilty of the same thing. How many times have we chosen something lesser than our eternal inheritance? How many times did we give more importance to people and things that draw us away from God? Here are the rele...

There are things you thought could make you happy. You looked up to it and focused your whole attention into it. You devoted all your waking hours and your sleepless nights. You pursued it no matter how difficult it has become. You held on to it only to find out that the end of your journey, it would never give you the fruits you have desired for so long. You have striven so much only to be disappointed in the end. On the other hand, there are things that came gently and unannounced, made its way slowly into your heart and unexpectedly brought you warmth, joy and hope. Things that changed your life. Things that touched your heart and soul until you found yourself welling up with tears, being truly happy from the bottom of your heart. In this life, we often tend to hold on too much to things that only disappoint us in the end. Learn also the art of gentleness and openness. Who knows what wonders await you if you are willing to receive such blessings within your heart?

I was listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Day 11 podcast of The Bible In a Year when I realized something I never understood before about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. First, here are some relevant quotes from Genesis 22: 11 The LORD’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide”.* As it is said to this day, “On the LORD’s mountain, it will be provided.” In a way, it involved a willingness to bring back to God everything He has given us and not withhold anything from Him. It is proving that God is the most important One f...

I’m currently listening to Day 9 of the Bible in a Year Podcast by Fr. Mike Schmitz. It’s truly a great blessing to be able to listen to these Bible verses with a brief reflection and prayer by Fr. Mike Schmitz. You can find all the episodes at the following link: All Bible in a Year Episodes You can also listen to the first episode below:

Some people talk about letting go as though it were a very easy thing to do. People talk as though letting go is only about letting the bad things go and moving happily on from there. But the truth is that when you let go, you must also accept losing all the good things you’ve been holding on to. To let go, you must separate yourself from something that has been a very important part of you.  Many times, it means a catastrophic shattering of your connection to almost everything it has touched in your life. When you let go, you suffer a kind of fall that makes you not only sad but very much afraid. It’s a feeling of being lost, of suffocating in darkness, of being so empty you feel like you don’t know yourself anymore. And that is why it’s called a broken heart. Because something has broken within you, in the very core of who you are. In a way, you let go of yourself. You risk losing who you’ve been so you can find yourself again. You risk being shattered...

I think our biggest regret in life later on, especially at the end, is that we haven’t loved enough. At the end of it all, these are just some of the questions we may have in mind: Why had I ever been so defensive? Why did I try to justify myself too much? Why didn’t I give the little that were asked of me? Why had I not been more thoughtful? Why had I not been a little more patient? Why had I not listened more? Why had I not spent more time with the ones I loved? Time passes by so quickly, and quite often, we take for granted the opportunities we have to show how much we care. Sometimes, we focus so much on how much we’ve been offended or hurt that we forget how our loved ones feel. It doesn’t take so much to let our loved ones know how much they matter to us. Many times, all it takes is just a little sacrifice on our part?—?our willingness to take the blame, our gratitude for their presence in our lives, an apology whenever we hurt their feelings. Instead of waiting at the end...

Image by Thomas B. from Pixabay Perhaps I’m not the only person who’s had a dilemma about God’s Mercy and Justice. It’s not easy to reconcile the two, especially for people like us whose wisdom falls short of the wisdom of God. Many times, I’d rather focus on God’s Mercy. I have to admit that it’s because I need it. I often fall into sin and I’m truly grateful for His immeasurable love. I want to know that I can be forgiven, and that someone understands my shortcomings. On the other hand, whenever I hear about the sins people commit against others, I can’t help but invoke God’s Justice. I’d like the guilty to be punished. I want to give the victims of crimes the justice that they deserve. Once again, I am grateful because I know that there will be a Judge who will be really fair and who will not have any selfish agenda for His judgments. In the end, I guess God’s Mercy and Justice are inseparable. God is Merciful because He is Just, and He is Just because He is Merciful. While ...

Image by Peggy Choucair from Pixabay I have always disliked the phrase “perfect is boring”. I could somehow understand where such a sentiment is coming from, but I just couldn’t agree with it. Why should something perfect be boring? If it’s boring, it wouldn’t be perfect at all. Perfection is wholeness, beauty, truth, and wisdom. When something is perfect, we can’t help but admire it. We aspire for it! That’s what we naturally do. Perhaps people confuse our unrealistic drive towards perfection with perfection itself. While there is nothing wrong with perfection, we could be wrong in our assumptions about it. This is quite evident in our spiritual growth. While we were commanded to “be perfect” (Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. – Matthew 5), we were not expected to be perfect instantly or through our own efforts alone. Perfection in the spiritual sense often involves many stages of development that happens through time. We also can’...

Image by Yuri_B from Pixabay “The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least. The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?’” – Jonah 3:5-9, WEBBE The Kingdom of Nineveh repented and they were saved from an impending calamity. Should we not do the same? Ours is a world already beset with various kinds of disasters, in...

Image by Icons8_team from Pixabay Bitcoin had a drastic increase in value in the last quarter of 2020. Because of this, many people have become interested again in investing in the said cryptocurrency. Many people also regretted the fact that they have not invested in it when its value was much lower. The problem, however, is that many people who had regrets about Bitcoin were unable to benefit from it because they only viewed it as a short term investment. They wanted to make profits right away. They couldn’t wait for its value to increase through the years. Also, whenever Bitcoin’s value decreases, they become worried right away and decide to withdraw their money even though they have not made enough earnings yet. They just don’t have the faith to hold on to it for the years to come. Isn’t it the same with heaven? Many people don’t want to even look at the idea of heaven because they just can’t wait for it. They want to have fun here and now. Even some who have tried to join some for...

When people speak about love, they often speak about romantic love. They speak as though it’s the only love there is. People write poems about this type of love. People watch movies showing how powerful this love can be. But what we often fail to see is that romantic love is not everything. It could be the beginning, but it is certainly not the end. When we stay in this type of love, we remain trapped in a kind of love that depends solely upon our emotions. Are we surprised then if this is that love that often breaks our hearts in two? Here’s a list of things that differentiate romantic love from true love: Romantic love may fade, true love stays. Romantic love may become selfish, true love is selfless. Romantic love falls often into illusion, true love is brave enough to stand with the truth. Romantic love can deceive you, true love bears a sincere and open heart. Romantic love can imprison you, true love sets you free. Romantic love can make you blind, true love allows you to se...

The world may not recognize it, but it’s in a desperate attempt to be happy. We’re quite desperate, we just don’t realize it yet. We try to act cool. We try to talk as though we’re confident and successful and in control. But deep inside, we’re worried, and tired and a little bit mad. We’ve been disappointed too many times. We have expected much and we have been failed by those we esteemed the most. Now we’re losing not only hope but faith. Faith that things can still get better. Faith that despite all the chaos we see around us, we can still find our way to peace. There is no longer order in anything. Beauty fades the instant we try to touch it. We try to live for the moment, but even the moment eludes our grasp. And so we act as if we don’t care. We try to take pride in our failures, we live wildly and recklessly because we could no longer see where we’re going. There is no more mystery, there is no longer anything that can surprise us along the way. Could there be any other purpose ...