Tag: Faith

Gracious God

“My child, trust in My heart. I will not lead you astray.”

Most of the time I become very selfish. I start to think about my own desires and my own pleasures that I forget about the Lord. I start making my own plans and I eventually start getting carried away with all of my thoughts and imaginations. I forget about all of the wonderful plans that He has just for me. And although I do not know His plans, I can only trust and have faith that the Lord has every good intention for my well-being.

Many times we forget that in order to desire what is true, good and beautiful, we must desire for the Lord. We must always keep close to His heart.

Despite my stubborn and selfish ways, the Lord continues to assure me that He wants nothing but the absolute best for me. My God is a gracious God. And He will take my desires into consideration so long as it aligns with His will.

Lord, only you know my heart. May I always desire what you desire . And may these desires always lead me to you.

The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic 2/4 – Study

Growing up, I was never a studious person. Studying felt like a punishment. All I wanted to do was play outside, play video games with my neighbour, or just do nothing. I didn’t like to study because I despised reading. I would only read if I had to read because of book reports and lessons from a textbook. I would skip paragraphs and pages just to get to the end of the book faster. When it came to reading and studying, I always looked for the shortest, easiest way possible and do the least amount of work. It wasn’t until I started asking questions about life and my faith that I began to appreciate the value of reading.

I guess the desire to read came at the same time I was maturing as a person. I started asking questions like who am I? Why am I here? What’s the purpose of life? Why am I Catholic? What does it mean to be Catholic? Who is Mary? Does God really exist? Who is Jesus, really? Why should I care about others? Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do I suffer? What’s the point of service? And many other questions. I didn’t ask these questions all at once, but few by few. Slowly and gently, the Lord helped me and continues to help me find answers to the questions I had and still have. I realized that all these answers could be found if I truly sought them by using the intellect the Lord gave me. Thus started my love affair with amazon.com.

However, before reading books from amazon, I started with the New Testament. I thought to myself, if I was going to start somewhere, might as well start with the words of Jesus. What actually urged me to read the New Testament was a recent break up during that time. I had been in a serious relationship and when it ended I was lost and confused. My friends would give me advice but nothing seemed to stick. I finally gave up and surrendered. I told God that I would give Him a chance to speak to me so I picked up this Bible I received when I joined Kids for Christ  back in 1996. I never read it once since my Kids Camp graduation and only started reading it 10 years later. God is funny. Long story short, it took me only two weeks to read it because I couldn’t put it down! Every word felt like it was jumping off the pages and I never felt that before by just reading something. Every time it was Jesus speaking, it felt like He was speaking directly to my heart and mysteriously answering the questions I had that came from deep wounds. I experienced  indescribable consolation and when I finished reading the New Testament, I felt like a different person.

After the Bible, the Lord led me to rediscover my faith and learn about who I am and Who He is through reading and studying. Here’s a list of the books that initiated me on the path of life-long study (chronological order):

The books mentioned are just the few that really started my journey. I highly recommend reading more from those authors to learn more about the faith. I also hope that you find your favourite authors. Everyone has a different style. Matthew Kelly is great if you’re just starting off. He is very practical and his style is conversational and very easy to read but still packed with enough to chew on.

The beauty of our faith is that it is so rich, that’s why it’s described as a banquet. We are privileged to have the fullness of Truth and we have 2000 years of resources to learn from; from Jesus, to the Apostles, the Saints, Popes, great Holy Men and Women of God, and so many contemporary authors and individuals who truly have a gift of teaching the faith. Let’s take advantage of these opportunities and allow the Lord to feed us with Truth. Our souls truly long for it. Let us study and read for the sake of loving God and loving our neighbour to the fullest capacity that He has created each of us. Let’s study for the sake of a better witness to the joy of the Gospel.

“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working, and just so, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.”
–St. Francis de Sales

 

Fries

Crispy, salty, yummy, oily, fatty, carbohydrate-filled, cannot-stop-yourself-from-eating-it fries. Whether it be shared or eaten alone, we all suddenly get the craving to get these fries.

This.

Why? Not because of the potatoes for sure, though it helps. We get potatoes in different varieties, but there is something with McDonald’s Fries. Well to cut the story short, it’s  the  right amount of SALT.

You are like salt for the whole human race. – Matthew 5:13

We should be like SALT.

Savoury

Have you ever tried any kind of food without or lacking in salt? You wanna spit it out as soon as you can right? Too much of it and you’ll stop eating.

Our faith, if lived out, makes others crave for more. It is not bland nor does it shoo people away.

Are we boring that no one dares to try it? Or too strong that people are put off by it?

You know you want more

Amor

My best memories of hanging out at Mickey Dee’s were always with friends surrounding a pile of french fries and devouring them. It was not only a cheap way of feeding everybody but it was an experience rich in love. And that is what Amor is, love in Italian.

What is God’s love if not shared?

Sharing is caring.

Life Giving

Salt gives life to your boring potatoes. Our lives should give hope to everyone we meet. We are beacons of hope in a world full of pain, suffering and at times monotony.

Are we a source of hope or despair? Is our testimony uplifting or scaring the heck out of everyone?

Because life is full of twists and turns.

Thirst

Salt makes us thirsty, that’s why your large cup of pop doesn’t really cut it after consuming a bag of fries. If we live our lives filled with faith, hope, and love, it causes people to seek the One who gives us true life – Jesus. Our saltiness doesn’t highlight us, but the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Do our lives point to Jesus or to us?

Not enough.

Faith, Hope, and Love makes our lives truly salty and it makes others thirst for Christ.

Stay salty my friends.

May we be the salt of the earth. Amen.

PS. I am not endorsing the Golden Arches, but if they want to sponsor me – that’s okay too.

PPS. This reflection was inspired by the homily of my parish priest at Merciful Redeemer, Fr. Robert, last Sunday on Matthew 5:13-16.

This blog is also hosted on my personal blog http://www.kevinmuico.com/2014/02/10/fries/

Flappybird

Yeah, that pixelated bird that can’t even flap properly.

This.

Initially I thought it would be about getting the bird into the pipes, you know like Mario. Well because the pipes look exactly like Mario. Only to find out that the point of the game was to get the bird across without hitting the pipes.  Lo and behold, you’ve got one of the most addicting games ever.

While playing the game (or gamessssszzzzsssss based on the unfortunate reality that you’ll have to play it several times before you top your previous score) I had this epiphany of sorts.

Flappybird is like our relationship with God!

Yep it is.

Here are my reasons:

1. Only through God’s grace are we able to fly. If not, we drop.

Nosedive

2. His timing is perfect.  Perfectly timed taps of grace that allows us to go through the obstacles of life called pipes. Which explains why at times we need to fall in order for us to rise.

Even when it seems impossible

3.  During the times we cease to open our wings to God’s much needed grace and we crash into a pipe, the Lord still chooses to play the game again not out of an addiction – but out of pure love that He wants to see us through.

You know He’s gonna hit the play button again.

While the analogy is lacking, the Lord loves in a crazier, bigger, unconditional way. He keeps on loving, even when it doesn’t make sense anymore. I thank God that He is God and not me,  because I would’ve quit a long time ago.

Lord, I know I don’t see the bigger picture but I trust that You are always there to raise me or allow me to fall when needed. Give me faith to trust when I can’t see past the obstacles before me. Give me hope that everything will be alright. Amen.

PS. My latest top score is 35. I don’t know how you guys get a 100.

PPS. This blog is also posted on my personal blog at  http://www.kevinmuico.com/2014/02/07/flappybird/

Screenshot_2014-02-07-12-21-07

Trinity Run

Winter is fast approaching, and I can already feel my body starting to switch over to hibernation mode. Soon enough it’ll be too hard to get up out of bed, nearly impossible to escape out of those double duvets. Tis the season for excusing our way out of health habits.

I used to run regularly to maintain some sort of physical activity but that died down since who knows when. Spring is always difficult to face after long winters because of the three month break. I personally loathe treadmills and will refuse to get on one. I’d rather wait. I much rather prefer the great outdoors, but Toronto winter weather does very little to help with that. Daylight savings mean shorter days and longer nights. It takes approximately two weeks to adjust. My body is definitely losing on this front.

Our spiritual health suffers from the same changes. We have cycles where we’re going  strong- we’ve found some sort of groove with our prayer time and involvement with the sacraments. At these moments, our relationship with Christ is toned and trimmed. Excess weight cut off. The closer we get to Christ the less baggage we carry- our material and worldly desires no longer necessary. We are tied down to less.

But then, at some point, we face an itch of sorts. An itch that just needs to be scratched. A craving that just needs to be satisfied. A thirst that needs to be quenched. But instead of reaching for the healthy & obvious choice of water we go for the Coke. Pepsi. Ginger Ale. Root Beer.  And just like that, our impenetrable fortress comes crashing down. Why? Because we foolishly ignored that cracked wooden frame that started to break- little by little. It was easier to feign ignorance to something that needed fixing. It’s easier to give in and let our human needs win.

“I’m only doing it once.” I still exercise anyway. Cheating won’t hurt.” 

That’s what I realize happened to me. And for some reason or another, I kept making excuses and reasoned my way out of a very fruitful, beautiful prayer habit. It only took one small “set back”. I cut down my prayer time, my weekday church dates, and adoration drop ins so that I could bulk up on old habits which I knew were only going to get me in worse (spiritual) shape.

Negative thoughts filled my head. I became impatient, moody, and lethargic. Two weeks passed since my last confession, and although I knew I needed it PRONTO …my body would magically (temporarily) shake off the anxiety. It made me think I could keep going. Nyeh, it can wait.

Nope.

Confession is our detox. Our body needs to get rid of built up toxins the same way our soul needs to get rid of impurities. Getting through it is tough, but we always come out healthier afterwards. Praise God, for God because I finally went for that detox round. He knew I needed it. And I knew I needed it. The hardest step is always the first, the hardest run is always the most dreadful.

Our prayer life can be a long outstretched summer. However if we trip and fall into the darkness of winter, we shouldn’t despair. We don’t have to endure three months of waiting. We can choose to fast forward to spring.  My winter lasted 8 days too long, but today’s TRINITY RUN (adoration, confession and Holy Eucharist) allowed me to see the Son rise gloriously. Thankfully, our salvation and redemption is not bound by time, because we are loved by a God whose love is endless and timeless. 

 “A clean heart is a free heart. A free heart can love Christ with an undivided love in chastity, convinced that nothing and nobody will separate it from His love.”
-Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

True Intelligence

True intelligence is seeking and knowing God’s will, and following it. It is humbly loving as Jesus loves, in our heart, thoughts, words, and actions. Everything else and all other gainz and pursuits are worth nothing. We gain nothing if not for the sake of God’s eternal love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

–1 Corinthians 13

Always Finding Treasure

When I first experienced deep personal conversion in my faith, it was a time of great excitement. It really felt like I found treasure and I just wanted everyone to know about it. I read so many books and wrote so many poems and blogs because it was too beautiful not to share. I also slowly stopped listening to secular music and listened to more Christian songs. I realized that all things were made by God and for God including music. I wanted to listen to music that would lift my heart and mind to God and found that only Christian songs did that. I started to appreciate Mass songs more as well. Mass songs are actually the most beautiful. During this conversion, I lost many friends but gained brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord has truly pruned me and continues to do so (despite my stubbornness).

I need to explore more. I need to empty myself more and pray to God that I may always keep what is true, good, and beautiful in my heart. I want to always be like a child that found the greatest treasure in the world and spend the rest of my life finding and sharing that treasure.

Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, may I never lose enthusiasm and zeal for the faith …for You. Humble me, Lord, and teach me how to pray. Teach me how to love. May everything I learn and experience bring me closer to You. Help me to love you above all things and to follow Your example of love. Forgive me for all my sins, that I may always have Your peace and presence in my heart. May You be glorified always. Amen.