Blessed Blindness

I was reflecting on the gospel today in Matthew 9:27-31. The Lord healed 2 blind men and told them not to tell anyone about it. Before the healing happened, Jesus asked them first if they believe that He can do it for them.

The Lord is telling me that I have to acknowledge any blindness within me, it may be physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, or in whatever aspect of my life. As I acknowledge it, I go to the best person who can heal me and I should believe that Jesus will heal me. I was asking myself, why I have to tell Him what I need when He knows that he can heal me, then this would be similar to going to a doctor and without me saying anything, the doctor will just give me prescription. I think I will not like that. That’s why it makes sense lifting up our concerns and dreams to the Lord.

The presence of my blindness is a reminder that Jesus is there waiting for me so I will be healed.

 

 

“Oh Lord, the greatest doctor and healer of all. Thank you Lord for your constant healing. In my blindness may I not stop looking for you!”

 

Candy

Philippians 1:29

Timing

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

Ironically, I am 2 days late of my post. Why? Honestly, its not just being busy, but also just wanting to reflect just a bit more..

So, what did I come with this time?

The verse speaks for itself. The Lord will take time to reveal Himself to you NO MATTER WHAT YOUR SCHEDULE HAS ON IT OR HOW BUSY YOU ARE.

So, don’t be scared, frustrated or even overwhelmed when it just doesn’t go your way..

Just remind yourself,

There’s an opportunity to see God face to face in times where I do not trust.

Deo Gloria

 

 

Tears of Consolation

Engaging in Mission begins by seeing it from the foot of the Cross.

“The Lord will fight for you, you have only to be still.” – Exodus 14:14
“She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” – Luke 2:19
“May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.” – Psalm 126

Last weekend, CFC-Youth Montreal’s Area Core had their year planning. It was the first time ever that this was conducted over a weekend instead of just one day and this made a difference. With more time to not only plan but to properly recollect to in truly discerning the leading for the Area, small region big dreams were really sifted out in full detail into a very deliberate plan that left us – both incoming and outgoing leaders- not the “typical” empowered at the end of a praisefest, but in tears.

What kind of tears were these? Were they sad or happy tears? There was something about these tears that were different, so different that both Ellen and I had to process in private afterwards… They were neither. They were tears of resolve after contemplating the many difficulties (no CCs, no programs heads) up ahead. The same type I’m sure Mother Mary felt in her heart standing at the foot of the cross in seeing every detail of It (wood, size, colour) and of Jesus’ pain and suffering (crown of thorns, thirst-dried lips, wounds). There is no doubt that she felt the deepest anguish, pain, and helplessness. Yet, she never buckled down and stood by Him until the very end. 

For many different reasons, if we see service as a Cross,(e.g. lack of CCs, demotivated leaders, etc.) God never wants us to be standing in the crowd watching It. We will slowly become part of the jeerers, demanding that Jesus reveals Himself (“save yourself!”) to us in order to believe and move. He wants us standing so close to the Cross that we will immediately see and recognize that It is also ours. And with renewed resolve, we must pick it up, carry it through our personal road to cavalry to where we will be moved again in meeting Christ on His cross.

(prayer): Jesus, we are deeply moved by your loving sacrifice. Let the tears we shed in our Mission of spreading the Good News lead us to true resolve, a place where we acknowledge that laying down our lives out of love for you is our only consolation and way to everlasting joy.

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)

Praise the Lord :)

PSALM 150

Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy sanctuary;
give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.

Give praise for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his great majesty.

Give praise with blasts upon the horn,
praise him with harp and lyre.

Give praise with tambourines and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.

Give praise with crashing cymbals,
praise him with sounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath
give praise to the LORD!
Hallelujah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt5ibMqAL6k

“at the end of the day, Praise the Lord”
a beautiful sharing from a beautiful sister in Christ  🙂

Have a wonderful day my beautiful sisters and brothers 🙂
A blessed and joyful Advent 🙂
God bless us always 🙂

Peace and Love,
Apple
🙂

Joy in the Lord

  • Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22
  • Joy is of God.
  • Joy is founded on love.
  • We have to be loved and loving to experience joy. We cannot experience joy if we don’t have love.
  • We are a joyful community (we have joy not because we have no problems but because we have a great God and hopeful that God will journey with us and will fight for us!)
  • We find joy in small and big things. (because for God there is no small and big thing, everything matters to Him. Everything that matters to me matters to God)
  • Joy can be expressed in tears or in laughter.
  • Joy can be simple or extravagant
  • Joy is having everything or having nothing
  • Joy is in us because God is in us.
  • How can we be joyful? We go the source of joy – God.
  • We look into our relationship with the Lord, we look at our prayer time so we will always be joyful

 

“Lord more than desiring to be joyful, may I desire You above all else.”

 

Candy

Philippians 1:29

PENtecost

Funny how something as mundane and ordinary as a notebook can coax out so much emotion from a person.  March 1, 2012 x Aklan, PH for Pre-ILC festivities is significant to me, because that’s the very first day I wrote in my journal.  I still remember that day vividly yet here I am 20 solid months after finally  putting this baby to rest!

It’s easy to forget a lot of things when you’re as busy as we are in this community. Some prayers are deeply forged into our hearts, while some are just etched semi-permanently on skin- completely washable. I recently took the time to skim through the pages, and I’m glad I did.

There are  days where I find myself knee deep in deliverables and meetings. Days with seemingly endless challenges and personal attacks. Days where it’ll feel like everything is so mechanical. That’s what the recent few weeks have felt like for me, but let me tell you brothers & sisters, it pays to pray in writing. 

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Every page of my journal holds God’s signature.
Every page of my journal holds his promise and faithfulness.

I can literally see that he’s been preparing me all this time: building my character up and breaking down personal barriers. Yes, I have a long way to go and grow in my holiness, but I am also eons away from the person I used to be. That’s worth celebrating. Growth through tears and growth through fears.

“‘And in the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams.”- Acts 2:17

My prayer journal presents a “PENtecost” of sorts. I know that some of the messages, drawings and scriptures I’ve written down were, at that moment, led and inspired by the Spirit. Those revelations were a product of prayer and divine guidance. Not through my own strength and wisdom, but His. The words may not have made complete sense then, but they seem so relevant now. Same words, different meaning because I see them with fresh eyes and a renewed heart.

Prayer journals are part of me now. I can’t imagine not processing my everyday thoughts and movements manually. My desires and passions presented to Him in plain sight. It requires a lot of patience and humility to admit to those things and to constantly commit in  writing. But it’s worth it. Not because God needs it, but because we do. I do.

Thoughts on paper, carved on His cross, and washed clean by His most Precious blood.  It’s the simplest way I can choose to surrender myself to Him everyday.