Tag: Lent
Life After Dying in the Desert
When I think of a desert, I think of a barren place full of sand with extremely hot temperatures. It’s a dry place that is almost humanely inhabitable because of the lack of basic necessities like water and food. I think of hunger and thirst, and I see dry bones of animal carcasses. How fitting is it that Jesus and many other missionaries had to experience 40 days in a desert before commencing with their ministry. Dying in the desert is necessary so that we can quite profoundly and literally die to ourselves so that we can truly focus on the Lord and others. This is what ministry is about.
However, Jesus was perfect so He had no imperfections to die to. Just like Baptism, He had to do it for the sake of our sanctification. Now we can rest assured that when we go through our desert, it has been sanctified by Christ and there is redeeming value in it for us. Because of Jesus, the suffering we experience in the desert is now redemptive.
The beauty of lent that we just experienced was truly in our prayer, fasting, and alms-giving because each required us to sacrifice something in our lives. Prayer is a sacrifice of time, fasting, a sacrifice of carnal pleasure, and alms-giving, a sacrifice of our treasure. We truly experienced a desert during lent because we were called to sacrifice everything and be left in a barren place lacking many things we thought we needed. Praise God for this because it led us to realize that God is all we need, that He is the only one that can quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger.
Easter is experiencing resurrection with Jesus after dying. Have you ever been so famished and then finally ate or drank? When it comes to Easter, we are not happy because we no longer have to sacrifice like we did during lent, but because we now appreciate our relationship with God more, having died to ourselves in one way or another. We now appreciate even more how the Lord gives us food to eat and water to drink. We are able to see with more clarity, the lush oasis of God’s love in our lives. The Lord used the sacrifices of lent as an opportunity to mold our hearts from stone to flesh. A heart of flesh is a living heart, one that is truly alive and life-giving, like a fountain of water springing forth from dry lands. Dying to ourselves has increased our capacity to love and has helped us to be more sensitive to the everlasting life of Jesus within us.
Now that Lent is over and as we enter Eastertide, let not our prayers, fasting, and alms-giving stop because the Lord is not done with us yet. He continues to mold us to be more like Him but we must allow Him. We allow Him by continually giving ourselves to Him in the morning and the night, in the garden and in the desert. Let us continue on this journey together, denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him every day. As we journey, we can rest assured that He is with us.
After resurrecting and when Jesus first appeared to the apostles He said to them “peace be with you.” Amen and amen, Peace is with us when Jesus is with us. The apostles lived with this faith, knowing that Jesus was always with them in their ministry. They lived this faith even unto death, knowing that death would only bring them closer to Him. We may not be called to physically die for our faith, but we are called to die to ourselves. Let’s not be afraid to do this because even in the face of death, Jesus is with us and that’s where we can find rest in the peace that only He can give.
Christ has resurrected and promised that He’ll always be with us.
So peace be with you! Even in the desert, peace be with you.
Paschal Mystery
Now that it’s Holy Week I can’t help but meditate on the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ—His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. The more I think about these events of Jesus’ life, the more I’m compelled to see how it relates to mine.
How is the Lord calling me to experience the suffering of His Passion, the obedience of His Death, and the glory, victory, and hope of His Resurrection?
I will continue to ponder these things in my heart and allow His graces to work in me and to change my heart.
Mama Mary, allow me to journey with you in your heart, as the life of your Son unfolds before me. Amen.
Prayer is Boring
I once heard that prayer is boring because you didn’t make it about Jesus and you didn’t make it about others. After I heard that, I immediately realized how selfish I’ve been with my prayers and that’s one of the reasons why it was getting ‘boring’. Lent can also be understood in the same light because in essence, all that we do during lent should be a prayer, because prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are meant to lift our heart and mind to God. However, if we make lent about ourselves then it will be boring, disengaging, and will seem like a chore. In order for the season of Lent (and every season with the Lord) to be fruitful and not boring, it has to be about Jesus and it has to be about others.
Here are a few things I need to remind myself of during lent:
1. Make Jesus the centre of your prayer.
Begin with Jesus in mind and heart and not other things. Have a dialogue with Him and not a monologue with yourself. Speak to Him, listen to Him, and let Him have the first and last say. Spend time with Him as much as possible, especially literally in front of Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Encounter Him in the scriptures, family, friends, in every task, and most especially in Mass.
2. Remember the poor when fasting
Don’t make fasting about yourself. Don’t let it point your affections whether they be joy or suffering to yourself but let it be a reminder to suffer with the millions of poor people around the world. Let fasting be an opportunity to grow in your ability to be compassionate, in other words, to suffer with those who are suffering. Don’t eat that candy simply because you said you gave it up, but because you truly want to experience even the slightest mortification that is nothing compared to the suffering of those in great destitution.
3. Give alms to have a change of heart
Be generous with your time, talent, and treasure. Give concretely. Give until it hurts, then let that hurt purify and change your heart to become more like Jesus’ heart. Give because others truly need what you have to offer even if it’s as little as 25 cents. God doesn’t see what or how much you’re giving. He sees the heart. He sees if we are giving our heart. That’s why it has to hurt.
It’s really amazing how time flies in prayer when I’ve truly made it about Jesus and others. I would actually find that there’s not enough time to pray!
We have nothing to worry about for ourselves if we are putting Jesus and His kingdom first. His kingdom belongs to the poor and the meek, so the more we associate ourselves with them and prefer them, the closer we will be to the kingdom of Heaven.
Lent-look
It’s not yet even two weeks since the holy week passed. It went by so fast that right now you cannot feel that we just celebrated the greatest victory in the world – the victory over sin so we can be reconciled with the Lord.
The holy week is the peak of all Catholic Celebration. Everything we celebrated before that is geared towards Holy Week. Christmas is also for the fulfillment of the Holy Week.
However, since Ash Wednesday, the start of lent there was not much symbols or decorations that will remind us of the Season of Lent.
Why is it on Christmas, everyone puts up Christmas decorations and radio stations even play Christmas songs all throughout the day? Why is it during Christmas, everyone seems very happy and excited? Why do people give gifts to each other? Why is everyone just extra nice to everyone else? Why is there an “obligatory” Christmas dinner? We give so much importance to Advent Season (which is also good). These things are there as a reminder of the reason of the season.
On the contrary, the Season of Lent has only a few if not none at all. We do not put on nor even have a specific – decoration for Lent; radio stations don’t play Lent songs or even; no one except the Christians are excited to celebrate lent; we do not give gifts to each other; Everyone treats lent as just one of those regular weeks; and there is no such thing as Lent Dinner.
Yet the bigger question (aside from all the tangible material things) is that the Season of Lent should start within us – our heart, mind, and soul should be transformed so that we will be the living reminder of Lent.
“Oh Dear God the Father, thank you for showing your unfathomable love to us. Thank you for sending your only Son. Thank you for allowing us to celebrate the greatest victory won by Jesus Christ. We pray that we will have a conscious effort to always bring your Son where the people are. May we never get tired of living out a truly-like life. May we always reflect you to other people.”
In Her Heart
This Lent was the best so far. Well, I don’t mean that other Lents were any less in quality (that would be silly to think), I mean, it was the best for me personally because I have never opened my heart so much before. However, yes, it was my most fruitful experience so far, but I did still fall. I did still break my fast from time to time and of course, I did allow my fallen nature to get the best of me and sinned, more than I hoped not to.
Overall, my lenten journey was a lot more personal. I didn’t really discuss it with others because I tried keeping it intimate with my Lord. I experienced many beautiful things, grown in many ways, and saw God clearer (especially in my struggles). Like Mary, I really made a conscious effort to treasure all these things in my heart.
During Easter Sunday Mass, I was filled with so much joy, so much that I almost came to tears during the readings and especially when we sang “Alleluia!”. It was such a beautiful and intimate experience with my Jesus. I probably would’ve lept all over the place if God did not give me the grace to keep my composure. I expressed my joy by simply saying to others “happy Easter” with a genuine smile.
How beautiful and wonderful it is to treasure joy and every experience with God in our hearts. It is like a wellspring of life overflowing, flourishing with the endless living waters of His graces. His Holy Spirit so alive in us, purifying from the inside out, revitalizing the mind, body, and soul. His treasure in us is His real presence, making our hearts a garden, deepening our roots in Him.
Thank You Lord for all that You are. I praise and magnify You oh God. I pray that all the treasure in my heart may remain, grow, and be added unto, so much that it continues to expand my heart. I cannot truly describe the abundance, but Lord I find comfort in giving You my heart always, for that is where my treasure is also. You are my treasure. Amen.
Ubi Caritas Et Amor, Deus Ibi Est
Where charity and love are, God is there.
I only experience this hymn once or twice a year and every time I do, it feels as if angels are singing a very personal message to me. Out of the many hymns my parish choir sings, this is definitely one that strikes a chord in my heart, then again, the message of the Lord always does.
“Whenever you care for someone, there is the presence of Jesus.” – Father Tobin
I constantly ask the Lord to be humbled, especially during this Lenten season, and as His Passion and Resurrection approaches, He has not failed to put me in my place. Usually, I expect the extraordinary when I look for God’s whisper in my life. However, He has revealed to me that the smallest, often overlooked, gestures are what He has called me to work on. I always want to serve Him in my fullest capacity, usually by crossing oceans or moving mountains, and often I fail to realize that Christ took many small steps when He walked on water. God always presents me with opportunities to spread His love within very tiny, unnoticeable acts, however in my pride I deemed them as being unnecessary.
“It’s okay, that person won’t even notice anyway.”
“Would it even make a difference?”
It takes a very humble person to act instinctively to the goodness within them. The Lord calls us to move when the Holy Spirit initiates us to act out of love. I am learning to place more of my faith in Christ and trust that He is always working, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand,” especially in the small things. It is not in the grand gestures, but it is when we do small things with great love, as Mother Teresa taught, that we are able to move mountains.
Thank you Lord for today. Thank you for giving me a reason and a means to love. I humbly ask for Your mercy in the moments I fail to act out of love. Lord, humble me. Grant me the grace that I may choose to love knowing that I may be wronged, the same way You knew Your hour was coming. May I be as compassionate and forgiving as You have always been to me. May I constantly be reminded that every person is made in Your image. Soften my heart and grant me the grace to be in communion with You, now and forever. Amen.