God Sent us “Two by Two”!

Our paths had to meet for reasons we may not understand; and then  “Two by Two” — AS PARTNERS, God sent us TO FULFIL A MISSION and @ that, we need some alignments & compromise!

Gone should be the days when we “do things on our own, for our own”!

Gone should be the days when all that we consider is our own feelings and disregard what & how others would feel because we assert the “SELF” that we are. Normal as it usually is, along the journey, we’re bringing with us our BACK PACKS: fully loaded with reasons why we think, act & talk the way we do — some are our strengths; and some are our weaknesses which both make us Beautiful, endowed with the image and likeness of God.

Relationships matter! It could never be true that “lone nomads” never yearned to have somebody by their side! We may not be aware, but let’s be more ALERT of such “pretences” — for more often than not, we may just be too proud to make amends but the truth of the matter is that: we’re actually in unspeakable need of acceptance and concern and approval and praises and commendations and the likes — all of which would actually give us that sense of belongingness and worth as a person. Well, this is normal & there’s nothing to be ashamed of — BUT, we may tend to become egocentric if we would yearn to receive these favours “at the expense of”, or “in disregard of” the other’s equal needs like ours.

Family is the most important relationship we should STRIVE TO WORK FOR!

Sometimes, a Husband may not understand why his wife would get mad at him when out of his anger, he already forgot to be considerate in his actuations toward their kids. In the same way, Kids may not be able to fully grasp or may resist the many things their parents want them to understand.  Sometimes too, parents may not perceive the intended meaning of where their kids are coming from with the reactions that they give.  MANY TIMES AMIDST ALL THE MISUNDERSTANDINGS, “a Wife and a Mother at the same time” could only absorb and tolerate and manage that much.  Without everybody being sensible enough, some hearts could STRIVE TO MEND  — but yearning for an answer: how would we ever BREAKTHROUGH?

“Two by two” HE MADE US “PARTNERS”! — but why You and why Me? — Only God knows!

It could never be anybody’s fault why it had to be us!

So TWO-GETHER, we should never be each other’s opponent!

Then He made us PARENTS!

It will never be easy! — it actually never is!

Individually, we both have our own PASTS. our own USED-TO-BEs. our own good and bad EXPERIENCES which explain “THE WHO THAT WE ARE TODAY!”

We may justify that HABITS & ATTITUDES throughout those years have already been something we can never do without. — But the thing is, while Jesus is sending us off at PRESENT TIME, He doesn’t want us to bring anything — not anything from our past — except A PIECE OF STICK: OUR FAITH — GOD’S ASSURANCE that He would be with us every step of the way.

God wants our YOKE to be easy as we deal “hearts-on” to the Mission that He wants us to accomplish in OUR PRESENT LIFETIME — for it’s not only us whom He declared “partners” — but the “two of us” as His partners!

HOPEFULLY, may we see eye to eye &  feel heart to heart with Him  in all HUMILITY for us to willingly GROW IN-LOVE: THE KEY that would make EACH HOME one of the DOORS OF GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE!

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.

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