We Should be Imperfectly Mutual!

5^th Sunday of Easter

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: Jn 15:1-8

“The vinedresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear good fruit.”

As parents, masarap sigurong marinig sa mga anak natin na sabihin nilang: 

“Dad, Mom, you did a good job in me!”

Minsan kasi, isa sa mga worries nating mga parents ‘yong “feeling natin, parang hindi pa natin nagagawa yong gusto pa sana nating gawin; … yong habang binibigay mo yong best mo, you’re still worried if you have already done what God told you to do.”

But then, sometimes too, we’re asking ourselves, “what should it take for parents to do a job well?” – is it just fair to also expect our children to do their piece of the job as well?

Minsan din kasi, as parents, we’re quite being harsh on ourselves na “akuin ang lahat ng pagkukulang” when brokenness in the family perseveres; while on the other hand, as children, we’re also unfair to point our fingers to our parents when things don’t work well.

Today’s gospel is reminding us a SIMPLE TRUTH:

The Lord promises that we will bear much fruit

if we abide in Him and allow Him to purify us.

This means that, as much as parents are striving to abide by God in performing their duties to their family, the children should also listen and cooperate with their parents in making their family imperfectly beautiful.

Just as what God wants, parents would also want each child to learn what’s more important in life. Sometimes there’s no easy way to understand that we have to sacrifice certain things for our family – but it is always grand when we learn to be humble in LISTENING with our HEART.

For, in the end, our humility to strive to understand and be in unity with our family will bring us the abundance that we hope to enjoy in life — over any material things that we cannot really keep for long.   #sunset

 

*this article is published as Gospel Reflection in The Feast San Lorenzo Bulletin

  Issue #20. 29 April 2018

“True Character is who you are and what you do — even when no one is watching you!”

Why Jesus had to “write on the sand”

photo credits to https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/

We can do our personal reflection on this God’s Silent Message: John 8:1-11

When was the last time you listened to your loved ones’ stories?

— the last time you deeply appreciated that person for listening to yours & for commending “your being great”?

When was that last time you sat down in full attention to that person who longs to hear “even that simplest boost & affirmation” from you?

OR, WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME you did not condemn — that first time you did not believe your own assumptions against that person?

Because of forgetfulness, we commit sin! –Velden Lim #Didache3.2.16

When we don’t remember anything good, we care “less”, we hate more!  When we don’t overcome that “hate”, it clutters both our mind and our heart!  It makes us DISTANT and gives us all the reason “not to make someone feel their WORTH”.  We forget occasions, we forget to fill-in our love tanks and we no longer see the opportunities where we can reciprocate those simple reaching outs.

When we capitalize on our “I”, our self becomes numb: Self Is Numb because we no longer feel for others – only for our “self”.

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her!”

Two times in today’s gospel, JESUS BENT DOWN to write on the ground with His finger while He waited for people to respond “in realization”.

For the many times you’ve written down what you hope people to realize, yet they still don’t, your safest choice is to “just be the one to bend and break and forgive because you love them so much”.

But sometimes, we are caught between tough love and resilience – for even if we love so much, we should not forget that it’s also our responsibility to save our loved ones from dying softly to forgetfulness. At some point, we’ve got to grant them the “benefit of the doubt” which should lead them to be a reflective person – until they realize that “it’s not too late to say I’m sorry”!

Today, may we realize why Jesus had to “write on the sand”!

When we commit sin, yet, like that woman we “strive to have that chance to be ALONE WITH JESUS”, our humility will make us REMEMBER DEEP WITHIN how much Jesus entrusted us to sin no more!” Only if we don’t forget such GRATITUDE, shall our heart remember what the mind usually forgets! #sunset

“When someone hurts us, we should write it down in the sand,                                                                where the winds of forgiveness can erase it!”

/@ProfGail67[twitter]/@gailmontero.47

 

Push for that Sprout

Cor Dei 30. 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Big Day: TRUST

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: John 6:44-51

I’ve long waited for that SPROUT to finally come out!

Water, fresh air, sunlight … Just what it needed!

— but not to disregard some occasions when I also cultivate its soil and allowed it to enjoy THE RAIN!

For 9 months that it has been with us, it never showed any sign of growth … until the other day, I saw such HOPE.

Just as it is in life …

During some DIRE times, the more we should learn to look around to find some fragments of God’s “yearning to be understood messages”:

— that speck which would tell us that what we’ve been exerting effort to, will soon shoot up!

— that speck which would assure us that as long as we don’t complain, neither give up over some expectations that we don’t see as of yet, sunrise will always be inevitable!

Without US realizing, we may be that plant who also need TIME to LOOK UP TO GOD, to receive GOD’S long overdue LOVE NOTE: that we need to STRIVE for our OWN GROWTH too – for if we won’t decide for our self, that SPROUT will never come out no matter how much nurturing we receive from those who deeply care for us!

God wants us to be teachable and to believe that there’s so much in heaven

that will give us life so that we may live forever!

We may be that plant: “here today, gone tomorrow!” – but as long as we strive to do the RIGHT THING by allowing those DROPS OF RAIN to wash away our pride and by looking up to heaven & trusting completely God’s loving plans, – we could be rest assured that we’ve taken that “chance to shape the future” – all because we’ve decided to “PUSH for that NEW BEING IN US” – this then, would make us live forever! #sunset

/@ProfGail67[twitter]/@gailmontero.47/blogs@trendingprof47.wordpress.com

EGO TRIP

Journey Within

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: John 6: 1-15

QUICK SELF-TEST:

[1] Have you ever gotten THAT CHANCE “to look in the eyes of your child” when he/she tells you what he/she feels? – or

[2] have you even TRIED TO LISTEN – not to those spoken words but to such yearning HEART?

[3] What about giving those words of approval when your partner has been striving for something he/she loves doing? OR [4] have you ever had the initiative to say sorry when you’ve been weak to be slow in anger?

If your answer is a TRUTHFUL YES, God could surely be SMILING AT YOU right now because you’re SEEING YOURSELF IN OTHERS!

If on the otherhand, you give some “philosophical” EXCUSES which ACTUALLY give a “NO” answer, you might then be needing some BRAVE SOULS “to HELP YOU REALIZE some perpectives – and I am praying po that today’s gospel could be one FEARLESS avenue which I hope you’ll GRAB REFLECTING ON.

God sometimes throw questions to us to see what’s in our heart just as He did to Philip to TEST his generosity and to Andrew for his faith when he doubted how the 5 loaves & 2 fishes from that little boy could feed many?

True as it is, we do not feel other’s yearnings when they are MOST IN NEED because of such an excuse: “we cannot give that much”. Even more, we’re entertaining that fact that they deserve what they’ve got and we’re making it a justification for us not to show affection no matter how difficult things are becoming for them.  Far BITTER, we don’t even spare them any of our glance so that we totally do not see how much CONCERN or even the LEAST CARE they’d even deserve to get from us since they’ve been serving us all the way.  Without us knowing, we’re already being so UNFAIR since despite our unaware INCONSIDERATIONS, GOD STILL ALWAYS PROVIDES even if we’re to that point of believing that we’re not directly asking after all  – which gives us the concept that everything that we have is because of our own effort.

Such concept is creating A LOUDER VOICE within us. Study reveals that if our voice is louder than the normal tone, that is an indication that we do not hear our self well. Not so big deal to worry about though; but being aware at that, yet we do not do anything to overcome, such state could eventually hinder us from hearing some voice of wisdom because we’ve allowed too much noise deep within us.

If we cannot see our “self” in others, we need to spend some TIME to JOURNEY INTO OUR OWN SELF; strive to discover some hidden issues to be settled, “let go” of our own hurts & guilt, pray & realize that the forgiveness that we should give to those persons na sabi natin ay “di natin mapapalagpas ang ginawa sa atin” should be that same forgiveness that we should give to your OWN SELF because several times in our life, we’ve also wanted to receive that forgiveness from those we’ve hurt.

Take time for this!

Dear Friends, “that chance that we never grabbed looking into a child’s eyes”, let’s GRAB IT FOR OUR SELF –for we should always be God’s CHILD each time we ACCEPT some “lessons to be learned”.

Life is short! Our days need not be numbered before we would realize NA DAPAT IWAS EMOTIONAL STRESS kasi even when we sleep, our heart gets tired kasi ayaw tanggapin ng pride natin ‘yong dapat nating matutunan. This doesn’t exempt me po, I’ve been talking to myself when I’m in silence, I’ve asked for forgiveness & been turned down several times because of misinterpretations; but lifting things up to God in humility makes me hope that the people God asked me to mission-out are A WORK IN PROGRESS. At dahil dyan, SMILE NA! Let’s keep life SIMPLE para MORE JOY! #sunset /@ProfGail67[twitter]/@gailmontero.47/blogs@trendingprof47.wordpress.com

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posted in The Feast SM Sta. Rosa Bulletin, “Ego Trip”. Issue#28. 26 July 2015.

Use those Rocks!

Pls Read God’s Silent Message: John 20:19-31

We were once Lost…

Have you been @ your rock bottom lately?

Have you committed some mistakes despite the many warnings na binigay sayo to save you from further pain? And has that been the reason why you keep on finding some other ways para sa iba ka maghanap ng comfort; — or has that been your reason for you to be aloof of the one who kept on giving you some guidance & reminders, yet you doubted?

Hmmm…wag ka na ma-conscious! Kasi, you might just have forgotten na ‘yong iniiwasan mo para mag-comfort sayo — that “someone” conquered death just to be alive for you; and would always be there to give you that hug even if you don’t say: “just what i need”!

Wag ka na mag-alala … kahit na at first you don’t completely listen, and kahit na ilang paulit-ulit na inakala mong hindi ka naiintindihan kaya you’ve been withdrawing yourself from fellowship and even from the truth, — that “someone” have already forgiven you and has been wanting to comfort you and help you up from your rock bottom!

On occasion, we tend to be Didymus: a twin character / a Thomas

– we love, yet we seclude ourselves from the freedom of the truth;

we believe, yet we doubt!

But you know what, from time to time, we have to humbly accept that what brings us to the rock bottom of our life – is that fact na “madalas kesa minsan, we keep on challenging God’s presence in our life!”

Thomas: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Minsan, ang dami nang marks/signs na ipinakita sa atin ni God, pero tayo, we opt to stay in our mats kasi naging “comfort zone” na natin ‘yong nasasaktan tayo; at iniisip nating mag-persevere kahit na sa maling paraan – kesa paniwalaan natin si God sa mga plans nya for us! Minsan pa nga, we already inflict more pain to God kasi we are allowing some insults to His image IN US — each time we tolerate the opponent to rule over our decisions and actuations.

Dear friend, we have our freewill to lift our own-self from our rock-bottom! We can discern God’s voice “kung saan at ano” ang dapat nating i-persevere in our everyday life! We should also decide WHAT TO QUIT kasi if we won’t, we are surely dragging our life to a much deeper “bottom”!

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”–Jesus

If at first, it’s difficult to believe what’s in-stored for us, let us strive to work on our miracle for “complete trust” in GOD so that later on, as Bro Bo Sanchez challenged us during our successful KLR, we can eventually be A MIRACLE TO OTHERS – kaya sige na, ‘wag na magdalawang isip: QUIT that pain and BOUNCE! Inspired by our recollection, we don’t deserve to stay at our “low life” – use those rocks instead and GET PROMOTED in life! #sunset @InspiringInfluence.com

Let’s Embrace our “NOW”

Cor Dei 47. 14December2014, 3^rd Sunday of Advent

Please “fill-in” these Blanks.

Please take time reading today’s Gospel: JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28, 

In my response to Bro. Bo Sanchez’s ’s challenge, I must admit – I am enjoying another year in my lifetime … ‘just turned 44, days back.

Ang bilis ng panahon! … It has been five years when I last affirmed a promise to God that “I would maximize time” – if He would only “will” to grant me added opportunities.

Year after year, at the onset of my birthday month, I would really “self-check” if I am still fulfilling my promise. Sometimes, I would have that guilty-feeling that I should have done something better rather than what I just did. At times, I would regret not having met some expectations here & there — while there were even times when I felt that I’ve given almost “all of me” – but still my efforts looked insignificant ‘coz it seemed not enough to suffice some highly-set standards for material things & pleasures.

But God has been ever-faithful to His response to “our mutual agreement”!

Every time I would ask myself “what on earth am I STILL here for?”, isang “look-up” ko lang, He would right away send me His consoles.

Through all those years, I know that He has been increasing & leveling up on His added assignments to me. It has never been easy though — battling through those difficult tasks coupled with some difficult people too which made me experience different SEASONS of LIFE — but I have discovered ONE SECRET:

All that it should take amidst any season

is to be a “John the Baptist” — who is deeply aware

“WHO he IS NOT” – but BY HEART knows “WHO HE IS”!

At dahil dyan, brothers & sisters, today, we are challenged to CONCRETIZE an answer to fill-in these lines/blanks:

“I am not _________________________ !”

“I AM ….. _________________________ !”

Promise, “sobrang saya po and ang sarap sa pakiramdam” na habang tinutupad ko ang promise ko kay God, as sure as I strive to LOOK UP to HIM, He is giving me such assurance that He will also help me fulfill my promise “to still be there until our bunso grows up”!

#LOOK UP.How To Find God In Every Situation. Talk 2: #PagMayTime Finding God in Your Present

We Can “Heal Our Own Pain!”

…if only we would realize…it’s all up to us!

We Can Heal our Own Pain! by: Gail S. Montero

Feel God’s Message in Today’s Gospel:  John 3:13-17

What about some “self-talk” at this point?

Galit ka kasi nagtatampo ka? … since when?                                                  At bakit ka naman po nagtampo? – “tampo lang” ba or “galit na” kasi nagtagal na?

 

How many times did you have such kind of feeling?                              UNTIL WHEN do you plan to hold on to that “grudge” within you?

‘yong totoo … how many times na ‘yong sama ng loob mo,  inalagaan mo …Pero what about ‘yong sakit ng damdamin na na-create mo sa iba dahil di mo sila napakinggan dyan sa puso mo?

Sabi mo “GUSTO MO NA MAGING MASAYA!”???                                         Eh what did you do? What part did you take?  — MAKE-UP? or BREAK-UP?

“Lord, sana they will understand me!” – OR –                                                   “Lord, sana I will understand them!” – alin dito ang prayer mo?

Ang maintindihan tayo,  at ang tayo ang umintindi;                               ‘yong magpatawad tayo, at tayo ‘yong humingi ng tawad kasi nagpakumbaba tayo – this, supposedly will HEAL WHATEVER PAIN! – pero ‘still difficult if one or the other does not want to go down to the level of reconciliation dahil mas binigyan ng focus ang sariling paniniwala: “self-inflicted pains”!

What hinders the PAIN from healing is because “WE KEEP ON KEEPING THE TRUTH”. We don’t tell stories to each other;  we don’t listen to each other’s hurts; we find it korny lifting one another’s spirit & we are not there for another’s triumphs – because we’d rather be with somebody else. We make ourselves “strangers” from one another INSIDE OUR FAMILY – and the remnants, as well as unsettled issues in the past have its way of “haunting us”!

Happiness is A DECISION!                                                                                    One can never be … if we keep on demanding things to be perfectly at our favor.

If we want to be happy, we’ve also got to give our amount of understanding to the imperfect person from whom we expect that much!

With the “lifting of the Cross” to put Jesus to death in our commemoration of today’s Gospel,  God hopes to make us realize na minsan, hindi na ang mga pagkukulang ng kung sino man sa pamilya ang dapat nating titigan.

If we can only open our heart to the pureness of intention,  we would realize that those agony & “sacrifices” na pinagdaanan ng mga taong nagmamahal sa atin should be “more than enough” to give us “HEALING RELATIONSHIPS”.

Parents’ sacrifices could have been enough!

‘yong sabi nating “GUSTO NATING MAGING MASAYA”… sana hindi natin iasa sa iba kung paano — kasi TAYO ANG DAPAT MAG-WORK OUT NITO SA SARILI NATIN!

What we prefer doing shows how much we love. God gave His only begotten Son just to prove to us that LOVE is beyond the material things which we mostly prefer to get – a miracle that we can perform to HEAL OUR PAIN! #sunset