I Take Off the Mask

It’s the first day of the year, and it is also the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. How wonderful it is that at the very start of the year, we could spend it with Mary, our loving mother! With Mary, we begin with humility and trust as we venture into the unknown. With Mary, we can be led to Jesus, and with Jesus, no matter how dim the future may appear to us, we can have peace and hope. Watching the online mass this morning, I was able to reflect upon the Holy Eucharist, and how Jesus has allowed Himself to be as a small bread for us all. To appear so simple and lowly as a piece of biscuit. Quiet and small and yet giving sustenance to His children. I may never be able to fully comprehend this mystery. How Jesus can become this little bread that we can all share. In the same way, I’ve had this reflection in the form of a question: Which is harder? For a person to become bread? Or for a God to come down from heaven and become a person? Both things have happened, and both myste...

As a single person who is already in my forties, I have often encountered various kinds of advice from people who seem to be concerned about my happiness.  The advice range from urging me to go out on dates to lowering my standard on the type of man I’d like to marry. While I cannot take away the goodwill of most people, I must admit that there are times when I felt affected by their words.  It’s as though the state I’m currently living in as a single person is a deplorable one and that I should do everything in my power to escape it. Is there no happiness at all in being single?  It seems that the world has already judged my own happiness by thinking that I could only be happy if I marry or if I enter religious life. After listening to Fr. Mike’s “Bible in a Year” podcast, however, my attention was turned into a Bible passage that made me realize something about being single. “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom sh...

Most of us Christians were taught that if we ask God for something in prayer, we shall receive.  But why is it that many of our prayers seem to be unanswered? Why do we ask and not receive? I think that it is a dangerous thought to spread the idea that God will give us everything we ask.  Why? Because it is not true. For even if God is good and God is powerful, He cannot and will not give us everything we ask. Must a good father always give in to the wishes of his children?  No. And it is the same with God. God, in His wisdom, knows what is best for His children. And because He loves them, He wouldn’t give them things that are not good for them. Even if they ask. Let us remember some of the Bible verses that remind us about asking God: “…delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4, WEBBE “Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask...

There is a question that often comes to mind whenever we try to seek the presence of God.  How does God really see me?  Does He love me? Or does He hate me because of my many sins? While I’d like to keep the idea that He loves me as a Father loves His child, I can’t help but to think also that He may not be pleased with me.  Weren’t there times in the Bible when Jesus was displeased at people? He was disappointed at their lack of faith. He was often amazed at some people’s stubbornness. And He honestly criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them hypocrites in front of many. Didn’t He also say at one point that their father was the devil? If I were to stand before Him today, what would He say? How would He look at me? I would admit that this is no easy matter to discuss and that a short article about this won’t be enough. And before anything else, I’d like to point to the great wisdom of God. There is so much that we can’t understand and there is so much mystery that requires o...

A lot of people have been so disappointed with the sufferings of this life that they could no longer believe in a God who loves them.  They have seen so much unfairness and injustice in this world. They have witnessed tremendous hurts that they find it so hard to continue believing in a good God. How could there be a good God if He allows so much evil in this world?  Could He not see the plight of the poor and the weak? Why is He silent when so many are asking for His help? Frustrated and defeated, they cast away all hope and urge people to do the same. It seems simpler not to believe in God anymore. There is no God. And there is no heaven or hell after this life. Only people like us can help other people. It is not mine to cast judgment upon those who believe so.  I have not lived their pain. I have not experienced their tragedies. But if I may ask something, I ask that I not be deprived of my hope.  And my hope is in a God who loves us despite all the darkness that we currently see. ...

When I was younger, I have watched a lot of films that had happy endings.  It was as though there was a formula where the hero or heroine of the movie would first encounter many difficulties and then after a certain turn of events, they would finally reach their reward. Things would be resolved, the audience would be satisfied, and the main characters would have their happy ending.  In many local romantic films, this would all culminate in a wedding where everyone would joyfully celebrate with the main couple. These days, however, I’ve noticed that more movies refuse to have such endings.  More and more films choose to show either a tragedy or an ending that doesn’t resolve every problem presented in the movie. For an award winning film, it seems almost impossible to expect any happy ending at all. Why the change in our preference for a movie ending?  Perhaps people thought that those happy endings fail to tell the truth about the real lives of people. It could also be that the world h...

As Christians, we believe that God is the Creator of all things.  He has made the entire world and the universe itself and is the source of all riches, power and glory. He is indeed the King of Kings and is the Provider of all our needs. There are times, however, when we wonder why God hasn’t given us more wealth, riches we think we could have used for the greater good.  Why is it that the ones who possess much of the world’s wealth are those who don’t seem to use it in helping the weak and the needy? We see people who merely use their riches to buy luxurious estates for themselves. We see people who throw away their money gambling or buying alcohol and other unnecessary things. And then we see pastors and church people asking for donation, walking the streets just so they could ask for a little amount to sustain their heavenly work. Why couldn’t God give them more? Couldn’t God make us richer? I think such questions aren’t those that could easily be answered.  For how could we ever fa...

There are times when we’re facing so many problems that we tend to forget the happiness that’s waiting for us in heaven.  Little by little, we lose sight of our our hope. We lose that kind of joy that should always be within our hearts. It isn’t that we should altogether disregard our earthly affairs, for we all need to live our lives here for a while. It is also in our earthly existence where we gather eternal treasures we could never lose. But no matter how busy we are and no matter how dark our days may be, we should always set aside time to take care of our heavenly hope.  We must remember the great promises of our Lord and the mansions He has prepared for us.   We should nourish our souls with thoughts that would lift us up and give us the strength again to accomplish our many chores. Look towards that day when you shall see your departed loved ones again. Try to imagine that place where you shall finally see God face to face! Remembering heaven would expand our perspective.  It h...

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay There was a time when religion seemed to play a larger part in regulating people’s emotions.  It may even be claimed by some that it came to a point when this resulted in suppressing one’s emotions in order to avoid occasions of sin. As a result, many people view religion as something that goes against our human nature.  It was seen as something that hinders not only one’s freedom but also one’s happiness.  Do we not have negative  stereotypes  about the saints? Many people see the saints as those who hardly smile, those who repress their feelings and who could hardly relate to our humanity. These days, however, many people are attracted to religion or spirituality because of the  good feeling  that is evoked in them. People cry out of gratitude for miracles that happen to them. We hear stories hear and there of those who have believed in God because they were touched by a certain sermon, a line from a book or a scene from a religious film. Instead of a...

There was a profound lesson I’ve learned while watching the Korean Series “Hellbound” on Netflix.  In the said series, people who have committed serious sins were given notice by an angel of the exact time that they will be taken into hell. When that time comes, dark beings come to kill the person in a horrifying way for all to see. Since people don’t know where those beings come from, they assume they’re from God and they form a sort of religion out of it saying it is God’s justice to bring righteousness on earth. While we may think that such events could transform people and make them turn away from evil, just the opposite happens.  Each person assumes he or she has the right to judge other people and even take upon their own hands such judgment. More people become evil instead of being good. The series made me think of the reason why God has not shown the torments of hell to those who are still living.  Maybe now we think that showing it to the world would change people, and even St...

Image by Luisella Planeta Leoni from Pixabay I was reading Mother Angelica’s book “What is Heaven?” when I came across a Bible passage that touched my heart like it never did before. Here is the Bible verse: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.” — Revelation21:4, WEBBE Out of the said passage, the sentence that stood out for me the most was,  “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” I can’t remember how many times I have read that passage before, but this time, I was struck how it speaks so much about the  tenderness and love  of God. Is there any other god who would do such a thing? How many mighty kings would wipe away the tears from the eyes of their people? It is not only that God is  All Powerful  and H...