Author: MJ Ramos

Everything and nothing less forever
Everything and nothing less
Oh, my life is Yours
Completely Yours, Oh!

Friendliness, warm reception, kindness, generosity. Those are a few words to describe my short but very fruitful stay in Seychelles.

I have been on mission here for the past two months. Originally, I was to go to Mauritius, the area assigned to me after training, but had to wait until my work permit was granted. So somehow, the Lord brought me to Seychelles and I have been living here for a little over two months now.

In Seychelles, where tourism blooms, you can find beauty practically everywhere within the 115 islands. Hotels, resorts,  guest houses. They spend a lot of resources to maximize the quality of their hospitality. The people are (very) friendly and generous, especially towards guests and visitors.

You can imagine how it’s been for me whenever I encounter locals and most specially, CFC. I honour all of the CFC leaders in Seychelles for the incredible reception of not only me but of any family or person in need. I cannot express how grateful I am for their unconditional love, showed through the many deeds and simple presence throughout the duration of my stay.

I have been reflecting on my experience in the last two months and  the dominant word that keeps coming to mind is hospitality. To be hospitable, there is a giving up of self. A humble yet powerful disposition. Hospitality requires being sensitive to the needs of others above yourself, listening to someone’s difficulties and sharing in someone’s joy.

This is exactly what the Lord has allowed me to experience, through the warmth and love of the Seychellois. Being on mission, I have learned (and unlearned) so many things: about myself, about loving others and most importantly on how God loves me. I have learned, early on, that mission is beyond what you can offer. The Lord will always bless you with the grace you need to do his will.

Tomorrow morning, I will be leaving this beautiful country and going on another unknown yet exciting journey (Mauritius). I am both excited and nervous as I pack my bags, this time, bringing many more learnings and experiences along with me. I am always praying for the grace to be a good missionary, to be able to love and care for those God has placed for me.

My heart is so full and ready to be emptied again so it can be shared with others. Please pray for me as I embark on a new journey and a new opportunity to love.

Lord, as I continue this journey with you, may I always be reminded of my loved ones in Seychelles. May I love as generously and as selflessly as they loved me. May I radiate You, Loving Father, to the people I get to encounter. Most importantly, may I always welcome people with warmth, generosity and open arms. Amen.

It’s not a good bye, just a ‘see you later Seychelles’

Marie-Joyce

“If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first. If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own. But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you; ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If people persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too. But they will do all this to you because you are mine; for they do not know who sent me.” Jn 15:18-21

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ tells us that we do not belong to this world, but to Him. In the world that we face today, we are constantly challenged to conform to what it tells us. Whether it be at school, at work and even in our homes, as Christians we are and will always be challenged. However, Jesus invites us not to avoid persecution but to embrace it because we are His. We are very much used to this, being part of the Couples for Christ community, to swim against the current of the world and to persevere in doing so.

To stand firm in the faith means to go all out in loving God and in serving him with all that we got. To stand firm in the faith means to identify the aspects of our life that we can hold on to when we are tempted or discouraged, it means to stand on solid ground while the world we are standing in shakes. To follow Christ means to be ready and willing to carry our cross wherever we may go. For there is no crown without the cross. Because we are not meant to be comfortable, we are not meant to be like others, we are meant for Greatness.  Our destination is heaven.

Holy Father, may you grant us the grace we need to be strong and faithful. May you surround us with your unfailing love so that we may not only be able to face the world, but to spread your love to it so that they too may know the Way to heaven.

Amen

I thought I knew what busy was…until I came to Manila.

I have been in the Philippines for the past month (34 day to be exact) and am currently going through my training for full time missionary work. Let me just emphasize on FULL TIME.

Full. Time.

The days seem to pass by really quickly since the moment we entered the GMC (Global Mission Center). My batch mates and I have been immersed in the life of a full time worker, going through meetings, lectures, events, ICON preparations and much, much more. Today, as I was looking at all of the deliverables in my monthly planner, I noticed that the Lord has given me so many experiences to encounter him. I realized that every day is filled with “to-do’s” and deadlines.

Amidst the busy days and the HEAT, I have been able to reflect on my daily experiences and I realized that the mission of the Lord never stops. When we say full-time work, it really means to be a missionary 24/7. It doesn’t end once we leave the Mission Center, we don’t have a day off, we don’t just “leave work at work”. Being a full time missionary means that we are on mission when we are commuting home, when we are at work or at school, when we are listening to a friend share about their victories or their struggles, when we are with our family, 24/7when we are walking down the street to 711, when we are smiling at someone, when we are asked to place chairs at an assembly and even when we are saying hello to the guard. In all instances we are missionaries. As Christians, we have every  opportunity to be witnesses of Christ’s love. Let’s not waste it!

Thank you Lord for the gift of mission, to love and serve You more in all that we do and all that we are. May you bless our hands and our plans, may they always be according to your will. May you send us the graces that we need in order to Glorify you in all that we do. Amen

I don’t like waiting. I never did actually! When you ask me to meet with you, I usually like to be on time because I dislike when people have to wait on me. When I have appointments, I make sure to allow enough time for any unpredictable circumstances. Inevitably, there would be times when I would be late but I try my best to avoid that.

So you can tell that I don’t really enjoy waiting. However, this year has been a year filled with lots of waiting. The mission volunteer program, as much as it’s very active and busy, is an opportunity (whether I like it or not) to practice waiting. It challenged me to stretch my heart while I wait for others, for the results of the aptitude test (oh that test!), for the discernment of my leaders, for the deliberations, etc. It has allowed me to cling onto Him and to pray earnestly.

My attitude towards waiting has changed over the last few months. It definitely didn’t happen overnight but gradually, only through the grace of God. Now I find peace in waiting, not because things have been clear or that I no longer have to wait, but because I know that Christ is with me while I prepare my heart for Him. I experience joy in waiting because I know that I am waiting for Him and that it will all be worth it.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). Lord God, help me to obey and remain faithful, no matter how long I am in this place of waiting. 

Amen

My prayer for this Advent season is to deepen my prayer time so that I can prepare my heart for the coming of the Lord. This time of preparation has helped me discover what it is I truly desire: it is to be with God.

There are just so many things I want, so many things I’d like to have, but no material possession will ever fill the God-sized void in my heart. Nothing else can possibly satisfy me, nothing would ever make me as happy.  It is through seeking to be with Him that my longing intensifies. It is through desiring to serve Him and to do his will, that my thirst is quenched. However, it is also when my mind cannot keep up with my heart. My mind is pulling me back and worrying. It keeps asking questions and wanting to study the facts, to keep guard, to be safe. It is in knowing my heart’s deep desire that my mind holds on to fear and anxiety. What happens if I completely surrender myself to the Lord? What happens to my family? To my work? To my life?

Advent is a time of preparation. Like this season, my heart (and my mind) shall prepare for the coming of the Lord. Wherever (and whenever) He might call, that is where I am meant to be. In my every day life, he is calling me to trust in Him and to constantly cling to His love and promises. I don’t think I’ll ever convince my mind to stop worrying, but I know that I’ll never be able to convince my heart to stop following Him.

Heighten my hearts desires to serve You Lord
To use me as a vessel of Your selfless love
Awaken Your spirit in me; fill me with Your grace
To bear a love like Yours
To bring people back to Your embrace

Amen.

Adoration Chapel – St John Fisher 
Monday, December 5th 2016.

Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5: 7

With confidence, I come to You, Jesus,
offering all I am and all I have
along with all the Love
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
to make up for what is lacking 
in my love for you.

Jesus, You called Peter and the apostles
and said: “My heart is moved
with pity for the crowd.”
Now you look at me
from the Blessed Sacrament,
and once again Your Divine Heart
is moved with infinite compassion
for all my miseries, 
too many evils in my soul, to remember,
too many anxieties in my mind to count.

Like the tender compassion of a mother
toward a child in great need,
Your Heart is powerfully attracted
to my very helplessness and wretchedness,
for You love me with a merciful love.

Forgetting self, I look only to You,
casting into the Divine furnace
of Your Eucharistic Heart
all my cares and anxieties,
like so much straw
into a burning fire.
Consume all my cares, Jesus,
in Your Eucharistic love.
Repair what is wrong
by the infinite merits
of Your precious Blood.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,
I place all my trust in You
for Scripture says:
“Cast all your cares on Him
because He cares for you.”

Amen