Visible Invisible SIGNS.

Gospel Reading, 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 1: 40-45

This may make us “leprous” …

Ang totoong paghingi daw ng tawad ay ang pagpapatawad muna natin sa ating sarili sa pagkakamaling nagawa natin. This happens by reflecting on what we did and “putting ourself in place of the person na nagawan natin ng kasalanan” para maramdaman natin kung gaano tayo nakasakit– hindi lang ng damdamin kundi pati ng pagkatao ng nagmamahal sa atin. If we will be humble enough to do this in our solitude, we will realize that our actions are already blemishing “God’s image & likeness” IN US. If on the other hand we will be protective of our pride because we did not reflect on our actuations & attitude, no wonder … we would never understand why the person we’ve offended opted to give us that “silent response” which made us hate that person all the more — instead of striving to prove the “sincerity of our sorry”. God has His ways of penalizing – not really US – but OUR DISOBEDIENCE. That “leprosy” which He allowed to struck Miriam in the Old Testament [Numbers 12:12-15] may still have a lot of manifestations in our modern times.

Whatever is “unclean in the inside” soon becomes “visible at the outside”

Sometimes, we’re just too proud to point our finger to others when we are “in isolation” – yet, we do not realize that while we do, our prevalent actions would indicate our “self-inflicted pains” because we didn’t open our heart to deeply understand God’s signals. But then again, laging kagaya ng dati, kahit na gaano natin “itulak si God palayo and no matter how hard we throw Him all the insults and blames”, STILL, with all of His RELENTLESS LOVE, He would sacrifice being pained even when we strongly resist that persistent HUG which He hopes to pacify us.

40 “If you will, you can make me clean.” 
–Naamam, a lepper

SHOULD we also learn this humility, “we will no longer be leprous” — when we surely know that God will always be moved with pity and touch us. As much as God replies with His ⁴¹ “I will; be clean.”, Dear Friend, Brothers & Sisters, Dear Child, may we also affirm our commitment: “I will Love, forgive myself & allow myself to BE LOVED!” Let us be a symbolic rock so that UPON US, God’s church shall be VISIBLE! #sunset

Published in The Feast Bulletin in Central Mall Binan, Cor Dei 06. 15 February 2015, Inspired by Light of Jesus Family's New Series: COOL CHURCH! Talk 1: Signs.

Fever!

Please LISTEN to God’s Silence in this Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Now Peter’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

Jesus has been healing people back then. When He heals, he does “beyond the physical illness”.

Healing the blind is giving one the opportunity to see from perspectives the real beauty of life around him.  Healing the lame is making him walk through life without being dependent on others.  Healing those with leprosies is cleansing them from the different unclean spirits which keep one’s life in sorrow … and a lot more stories of healing!

Jesus wants to heal us forevermore — and today, using His 1st Woman Disciple’s story in the person of Peter’s mother-in-law, He healed her “fever”! — that situation which kept her stagnant, not having the urge to get up from where she was because of loss of appetite, dehydration, general weakness and the likes.

Along life’s hurries and flurries, we may at times experience this “fever” when we loss appetite in doing good, when we feel too tired to overcome the negative emotions that maybe pulling us down; we may feel generally weak to fight over some materialistic tendencies; we may routinely feel “cold” in our relationships specially against those who’ve been striving to care for us yet we neglect; we may have increased heart rate due to our tendencies to be “reactive” most of the times … and all the other symptoms …

Today, Jesus wants our fever to leave us … Just as the mother-in-law responded and begun serving, we are also expected to have that same “willingness” to be “lifted up by Jesus” if only we change our perspectives in life.

Let’s Please, grab this healing today … If we feel too sick, then be BOLD! Dare To Ask God for The Impossible! ©sunset

Published in "The Feast Binan Bulletin" Issue #5, 8 February 2015
Light of Jesus Series:"BOLD! Dare To Ask God for The Impossible" BigDay:Perspective.
Cor Dei 05/Gospel Reflection. Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Waterproof Faith.

Yes #DearPopeFrancis, I am Personally ONE WITH YOU!

Please read: Mark 1: 14-2

IaMPOSSIBLE!

¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

¹⁸ Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.

… sana ganito din ang response ng mga tinatawag para sumama at makinig!

Sa totoong buhay kasi, HINDI MADALIng magyaya ng mga taong pwedeng maki-isa sayo –

not evenwithin the family – to be with you in the same net!

Despite some changing of minds & discouragements against my desire TO BE THERE in Luneta Park-Quirino Grandstand last Sunday, the ONLY CHOICE I HAD was to tell myself: “I AM POSSIBLE!” … until all by myself @ past 3am, I had to walk-through the re-routes along Roxas Boulevard back to Maria Orosa then to Taft Avenue for main entrance and stand-still among the approximately 6M people who desired to have a PERSONAL ENCOUNTER with our Dear Pope Francis for the concluding part of His Pastoral Journey. I was supposed to meet-up my younger sister & bro in law amidst that emerging sea of believers but network signal was cut-off just before we succeeded being together in one quadrant.

Sa totoong buhay, scenarios like these may discourage us. Of course, who would want to be alone in the middle of such a very big crowd, and who would boldly wait for hours while you’re nowhere to hide from the non-stop rain which didn’t give you the choice to remain seated for you’ll get so wet all over? And so true, there may be some speck of wanting to just give up & just go back home to your family – BUT THEN NO! – for in His message during the Meeting with Families in MOA Arena, our Holy Father urged that since there are many threats within the family:

“We must rise from our slumber! We must get up and act!”

He wants a sheep against the wolves that are approaching, particularly our tendency to get trapped in materialism which is destructive of family life. True enough, we may unawaringly experience “isolation and divisions” within our famiy; and sometimes, human and vulnerable as we are, we may just feel too weak to just “let things be”!

BUT THEN AGAIN NO! Lolo Kiko said that “The future passes from the family” & today’s gospel could be an affirmation of our responsibility that the very first place “to fish” is within our family. However, if we find it difficult, there’s got to be somebody to take the initiative to make the family protected against ideological colonization which may eventually separate us.

Reason may not understand what the heart perceives. YES, I “persisted” to be there not to make history with the 6M crowd with “waterproof faith” but to LISTEN UPCLOSE to God’s message through His Holiness & “offer my presence from dawn to sunset as an ounce of sacrifice for my family’s intentions” – for in my heart ¹⁵ “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” #sunset

Published in Light of Jesus’ “The Feast Bulletin CM Binan”

Cor Dei 03. 25 January 2015, Mark 1: 14-20, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Series: BOLD! Dare To Ask God for The Impossible, Talk 2: Persistence

Waterproof Faith! by Gail Montero@TheFeastBulletin.

Do you really Love your SELF?

“When did you last say “i love you” to yourself?

“Kamusta ka?” … “kamusta ako?” — tengnacino

How much do you really know your “SELF”?

How aware are you that: what makes up your “Hierarchy of Needs” reflect the kind of person that you are? — OR — are you ever mindful of the things that you really need?  [ GRAB this opportunity to come-up with your PERSONAL HIERARCHY OF NEEDS] 

There are some who aren’t! — and so, UNAWARE as they are, they do not notice that their words and actions are already demeaning others’ lives. Getting used to “tittle-tattle”, they become “influential” — to the point of corrupting others’ concept towards another.  Good relationships become blemished because “such influence” won over “some innocent souls”.  Without them knowing, they are already inducing others to wear that same “BAND-AID” that they are wearing: Avoidance, Idealization & Defense which originated from CHILDHOOD.

Some of us are “wounded child”! — teng

YET, we never want to GROW OLD without being HEALED! — or, even if we justify that we are not wounded, we still need to DEFINE the PERSON THAT WE ARE so that we won’t be “that innocent soul” who could possibly be instigated by tainted tendencies & intentions of those who do not truly care about themselves — in its real sense!

So, UP for PERSONALITY TYPE DISCOVERY-CHALLENGE?http://www.enneagramnorth.com/personality_test.htm 

What’s your TYPE: #1 Reformist, #2 The Helper, #3 The Achiever, #4 The Romantic,  #5 The Investigator, #6 The Loyal, #7 The Enthusiast, #8 The Challenger or #9  The Mediator.

“Everyone is a unique blend…what do you think would help you determine what is yours?”

And that “GOLDEN RULE: BE TRUE TO YOUR  “SELF”!” — how would it BENEFIT you then?

credits to:

http://www.enneagramnorth.com/personality_test.htm 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality

http://aetherforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Enneagram-1-characteristics.jpg

 

 

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

 

 

It Doesn’t have to be a Snowman!

Feel God’s Message in Today’s Gospel:  Matthew 18:15-20

Only an Act of True Love
photo credit: http://meowchie.snydle.com/frozen-the-movie.html

 “do you wanna build a snowman?”

Have you ever thought of the last time you’ve had “bonding” with your siblings?  How long has it been when you last went out of that door – which you’ve slammed for quite long now because you believed they’ve hurt you?

Those good old days when you used to be your brothers’ or sisters’ BEST – have you had any?  You’ve made yourself GONE away – but have you ever told them why?  That “company” which they longed for – have you given a bit chance?   One of them might be calling out for you – while you keep yourself hidden “in there” — not wanting to “let in” anyone of them who reaches out for you.

Those times when supposedly you could have had each other – just you and your brother/sister against anything else, you might have failed and missed that chance — all because you harbored grudges which you never wanted to heal; — all because you’ve had “hatred” which you didn’t give chance to reconcile.

Friend, Christ once died for us, in forgiveness of our sins.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”

How much “anger” could there be in our heart that we couldn’t even forgive like Jesus did?  How much “jealousy” could we have taken cared of that we kept on comparing ourselves against our siblings which hinder us from seeing the most important things that we should appreciate?

Today, God is inviting us to do some sort of reflection:

 “What is the one thing that you need to do, to heal and strengthen your relationship with your siblings?”

We don’t have all the time in this world.  The hurt that we have taken cared of might be the same pain that we’re causing to our ENTIRE family which make things FREAKY!

Sometimes, it doesn’t have to be a snowman!

Tomorrow should not be the time which we should still wait for           — for if we still hesitate “NOW”, our “longing” brother/sister may no longer be there when we finally decide to open “that slammed door”!

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth  shall be loosed in heaven.” #sunset