Author: Miguel J. Javier

On Track

Whenever I feel like I’m deviating from the person God wants me to be, I reflect on the beatitudes and virtues to help guide me to be on the right track again.

The beatitudes beautifully describe the character of Jesus. Striving to embody the beatitudes is a practical way of becoming more like Jesus Christ. You can find the list of beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12.

Meditating on the virtues is important for me as well. They are the benchmarks of living a holy life. It’s good to reflect on the theological (faith, hope, charity) and cardinal (temperance, prudence, justice, fortitude) virtues. I always ask myself “where am I in terms of the virtues? Have I made progress? Where do I lack? How is God helping me to grow in them?” I have found that thinking about the virtues often helps me to advance in them daily.

My hope at the end of ever year is to able to think back at the start of the year and be able to say I’m not the same person. Not because of where I live, or the new responsibilities I have, but because I have grown in the beatitudes and virtues. I have grown to be more like Christ.

I must add, that reflecting on the beatitudes and virtues is a good way to get back on track. However, the best and surest way, and the first place to start is always Confession. For me, availing of this Sacrament is essential because I am a sinner, and I sin every day. Confession reconciles us back to God. We must always start with our relationship with Him and rely fully on His graces. Without His grace we can do nothing. It’s His grace that helps us grow in the virtues and forms us in the beatitudes—and essentially—into the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, in Mary our Mother.

Grace! Mercy! Love! Mercy keeps the door open to the fullness of God’s love and graces to be superabundantly poured into our hearts. Let us be merciful so that God will show the same mercy.

Start with God. Make sure there is nothing in the way of your relationship with Him. Let His merciful Love embrace and make everything new. Love Him first and the rest will follow 🙂 We don’t need to wait for the new year or even for an extravagant event to happen in our lives. He is waiting for us in Confession to forgive us of those sins that have been hindering our relationship with Him. He is thirsting for us in the Eucharist to give us Himself,  and to sanctify our lives!

To be on track is not about “doing me” but about “being me,” and I can only be myself if I look to the One who knew me even before I was born and Who knit me in my mother’s womb. Who knows when I sit and when I stand and Who has prepared a place for me in Heaven.

Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.

P.S. A good indicator that we are growing in the beatitudes and virtues is if our lives are bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Remember

“Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” —Luke 23:42

I truly saw myself as the thief beside the crucified Jesus. Praise God for His merciful love shown in this moment. The Lord assured the sinner that he would be with Him in paradise. It almost brings me to tears thinking of how much our Lord is willing to forgive us if we truly are sorrowful and repent in our hearts. God is truly merciful!

Jesus, as you remember me, help me to remember You. In my daily life, let not sin or distractions take me away from being mindful of Your presence and merciful love. When I do sin, please give me the grace seek your forgiveness and repent without delay. May my heart be always open to the outpouring of Your love and grace. Amen.

Keep Me In Your Most Pure Heart

In the past 2 years I have witnessed the community grow like never before. I think this is because we are more and more imitating the posture of Mary—her, humility, faithfulness, obedience—her fiat. When we Proclaimed the Greatness of the Lord, we focused on Mary saying ‘yes’. When we obeyed and witnessed, we listened to Mary and said yes to Jesus as she did. Now we will behold and ponder. Next year will be about entering ever deeply and profoundly in the ‘yes’ of Mary and we will experience nearness to her Son and on the cross like we’ve never experienced before. It’s going to be amazing and I’m looking forward to being part of the plentiful harvest the Lord has in store for all of us.

If you just joined the community, praise God. We’re looking forward to journeying with you! If you just accepted a service role for the first time, praise God! I can’t wait for you to experience the outpour of blessings with everything you give. If you are transitioning to a different service, praise God! It might be scary but the Lord still has so much to teach and show you. Never cease in expecting great things from our God. If you’re transitioning to SFC, praise God! You are going to be ever blessed in your new state of life. May you carry your anointing humbly and joyfully as the Lord shows you amazing new things. In everything, may we all look to His love. Let us empty ourselves, open our hearts, and allow our God to love us always.

Like the beloved disciple, let us also heed Jesus’ entrustment, and take Mary into our home as she also takes us and keeps us in her most pure and immaculate heart. Amen.

Totus tuus

Love Him

If my goal is to love Jesus perfectly then I need to look to Mother Mary who loved Him more than anyone that has walked this earth. No wonder why I need her help? She loved Jesus the most perfectly and she helps us all love Him the same. It’s also amazing to know that she loves me just as much as she loves her Son. Such tender mercy she has for all of us.

Thank You, God, for giving me a Mother who, with the Holy Spirit, nurtures my growth in Christ. Amen.

Blessed_Virgin_Mary

Engulfed by Love

I believe there is such thing as an objective Truth that is so ubiquitous like air, and we are engulfed by it. This Truth that exists, that is here and now, is the Kingdom of God. When we are able to be present in the here and now, and allow ourselves to be caught up in the moment, we will experience something very beautiful. We will experience the presence of Truth—the presence of God. We will experience being engulfed by Love.

All the angels and saints in Heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Your Spirit is Strong

NALS was a clear affirmation to me that the Holy Spirit is truly strong and moving in our community. I have never been so assured that we are headed in the right direction. We are truly blessed to be here! It’s a GOOD time to be CFC-Youth because the Lord has a superabundance of blessings coming our way.

Together as one we’ll go!

I hope to see everyone again even more on fire for the Lord and His mission in 5 years.

DEO GLORIA!

The Hole

When I was a child I watched a lot of baseball with my brother, uncle, and grandfather. I used to imitate the swings of my favourite players (Ken Griffey Jr. had the best swing). One day I was in front of a large mirror in my living room practicing my swing with a hallow white plastic pole. The thing was, my parents made it clear to me to not practice swinging inside the house because I could break something. Well, they were out that day and I was confident I had a good grip and doubted that it could leave my hands because, you know, I was a professional baseball player. I started with light swings while checking out my form in the mirror. Feeling more impressed and confident with myself I decided to swing harder and harder so that it looked more realistic. I swung so hard that the pole flew from my hands and into the wall! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The pole thrusted right into the wall and remained sticking out. I froze for a good 2 minutes in disbelief. I eventually removed the pole and when I did, I could see that it left a extremely obvious black whole in the wall. I had no idea what to do so I left it there hoping my parents wouldn’t notice when they got home.

When I could hear my parents pulling in, fear surged and coursed through my whole body. I immediately went upstairs to my room on my bed which was on the top bunk, sunk my face in the pillow and curled up as close to the wall as possible. I could hear a faint cry in the distance “oh my, what happened?! Why is there a hole in the wall?!” Then I could hear steps going up the stairs. My parents came inside my room and realized that I did it because I was already crying. I couldn’t even look at them because I felt so shameful that I broke their trust and disobeyed them. I thought they wouldn’t love me anymore. I slowly turned around to face them with tears in my eyes and I said “it’s my fault, i did it. I’m sorry.” They first looked disappointed then I think my mom said, “don’t worry, your daddy can fix it.” They reminded me that they said it would happen that I would break something and to not do that again. They hugged and kissed me and I felt a great feeling—that I had never lost their love.

My point is, we fear to hurt those we love. The more we know someone loves us, the more we should be afraid to lose that relationship of abiding love. God loves me, and when I gravely sin against Him, I cut myself off from Him. I defiantly say to Him “I don’t want you in my life, I want what I want and You can’t stop me.” It’s like when I said to my parents in my heart “you can’t stop me from being disobedient and swinging this pole.” My disobedience to my parents left a hole in the wall, but my disobedience to the Lord leads to a hole in my heart. A void that grows larger each time I disobey.

Even as a young child, the Lord gave me grace to have perfect contrition. At first I felt bad because of the consequence I would receive from damaging the wall. However, when my parents were actually in my room, I felt bad because I sensed how much they loved me, and how much I hurt them. It was the reason why I cried so much.

Heavenly Father, may I be filled with fear at the thought of sinning not because of my fear of eternal hell, but because of simply hurting You, You who loves me eternally and unconditionally. Help me to have perfect contrition for my sins and to completely turn my life around in repentance. When I cannot stand, Lord, I will fall on You so that you can help me move forward on this journey in Your grace, always remembering Your great love for me. Amen.