The Dentist says I need to rest today!

Today is Sunday. I am supposed to be out already this time of the hour, going from one church to another to celebrate the Holy Eucharist or to preach, as my schedule reminds me. But this Sunday is an exemption. Obviously, I am at home trying to rest. Yes, I am down with swollen gums which according to the dentist I paid visit to two days ago was caused by too much and hard biting (Since my right lower second molar was extracted few years ago, it was left vacant that the upper molar irritates the gums whenever I chew).  I thought the swelling was caused by imminent colds so I didn’t care and that anti-inflammatory drugs and colds medication were the best remedy. As it turned out, it got worst. Lessons learned: don’t underestimate any swelling in our body and don’t be stubborn to seek medical intervention.

To add to the lessons learned, maybe God wants me to slow down. I have been continuously up beat since I became a priest four and a half months ago. I go to places all over the island, celebrating masses and giving talks in between. Moreover, I go to school almost every day to do my duty as the school’s chaplain, aside from my personal and communal activities. I get tired no doubt on that, even going home physically exhausted but I always have strength for the things I believe I am commissioned to do. Some people in the same league would tell me that such drive will eventually subsides or that I am this ecstatic since I am still enjoying the ‘honeymoon stage’. Their words make sense since a lot of them have been in the league several years or decades ahead of me. The truth and wisdom in their words are based on their experiences and a neophyte like me has to lend ears.

Slowing down is not equal to losing the drive to do what we have to do. It means we take time to recharge and reinvigorate so that we may be more useful and available for God and His works. Unfortunately, sickness sometimes is a way to realize that we need to slow down and take things easy, that although the spirit is willing the body needs recharging, needs to be healthy. And so, I am learning my lessons well. I hope to get better soon and I am determined to keep and stay healthy. Please kindly say a little prayer for me.

Only Genuine Prayer Counts

October 24, 2010 (30^th in Ordinary Time)

Luke 18: 9-14 (Praying Humbly[1])

1.      1. The Pharisee

He did not really go to pray to God. Rather he gives himself a testimonial before God. People would normally give account of what good he/she had done or doing, how better he/she to other people or achieving great with his/her own effort and strength.  The Pharisee did not really go to pray; he went to inform God how good he was.

2. The Tax-Collector

He stood at the back, a distance far from the Temple, and would not even lift his eyes to God. He prayed with his heart and with all humility, acknowledging himself unworthy, a sinner, and in dire need of mercy and forgiveness. It is his nothingness, his brokenness and self-despising prayer which won him acceptance before God.

      3. There are certain things about prayer which this parable is teaching us:

   (1)   No man/woman who is proud can pray. As Blessed Teresa of Kolkata said: “love to pray for prayer gives a clean heart. And a clean heart can see God.” But how can we see God if our heart is full of trash, overflowing with ego, hating and condemning?  Our prayer must be an act of offering, not forgetting that what good we have is always the initiative of God and what we lack it is always God who provides.

(2)   No man/woman who despises his fellow men can pray. In prayer we do not lift ourselves above our fellowmen. We must never forget that like everybody else we are in constant need of God. We may be different from others by our educational achievements, financial status, important and high position, cultural background and race, but it is a fact that we are on equal footing, kneeling before the throne of the mercy of God. Jesus said, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

(3)   True prayer comes from setting our lives beside the life of God. And as we mirror our life in the holiness and greatness of God we can only voice out to Him, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” Having this in mind and accepting the fact that without God we can do nothing good, we can now truly pray with our heart, and pray with a grateful heart.

2010年10月24日 (常年第卅主日)

路加 18: 9-14 (純真的心靈祈禱[2])

1. 法利賽人

他並沒有真的去祈求天主。相反的，他在上主面前給自己一個證明。這種人通常需要給予自己一個肯定，他/她這樣做或做什麼，他自己的努力和力量如何比別人更好, 更偉大,。法利賽人沒有真正進到內室祈禱. 他去通知天主他有多好。

2. 稅務員

他站在聖殿後面，遠遠的距離，甚至抬頭看天主也不敢。他在祈禱中，心很難過, 很謙虛地承認自己的不值得，是一個罪人, 需要天主的憐憫和寬恕。其實, 他的虛無，他的破碎和謙卑的祈禱贏得了天主的憐憫。

3. 這比喻教導我們一些有關祈禱的事：

        （1）       一個自豪的人是很難真正的進入祈禱的境地。真福德肋撒姆姆說：“要樂於祈禱，因為祈禱給人一顆純真的心靈。而一個純真的心靈能直觀天主.” 但我們怎樣才能看到天主呢，如果我們的心充滿了垃圾，充滿著自我，憎恨和譴責呢？我們的禱告必須是配合行為，而不要忘記我們所有的一切美善是來自天主, 天主的恩寵總是白白的給予. 同樣, 我們的缺乏, 天主永遠會供應, 會滿足我們的需求的。一個充滿驕傲和自誇的心, 他如何能在天主面前祈禱呢?

 （2）       沒有任何男人/女人偏重他的兄妹可以祈禱。在祈禱我們不提升自我，超出了我們的鄰居。我們決不能忘記，我們和其他人一樣在不斷的需要天主。雖然我們比別人有不同的教育成果，財務狀況，重要的高地位，文化背景和種族，但一個事實，我們是在平等的基礎上，跪在天主憐憫的寶座前。耶穌說，“凡高舉自己的, 必被貶抑, 凡貶抑自己的，必被高舉。

（3）       真正的祈禱來自我們的生命如何活在天主的生命。當我們鏡子我們的生命在於天主的聖潔和偉大，我們只能向祂大聲說，“主啊，可憐我這個罪人把!” 有這種想法，並承認若沒有天主在我們生命中，一件事我們都做不到. 換句而言, 現在我們可以用一顆純真和感恩的心在天主面前真正地祈禱。

(photos c/o google search.com)

---

[1] The Gospel of Luke (The Daily Study Bible), William Barclay, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh.

[2] The Gospel of Luke (The Daily Study Bible), William Barclay, The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh.

37 + 1 years of existence...

                                                                                                           (caricature photo c/o Ms Rita Huang)

Change in Eternally Beautiful (Humming in my UNIVERSE By Jim Paredes The Philippine STAR 11/05/2006)

Exactly 29 years ago on Oct. 29, Lydia and I walked down the aisle. She was 20 and I was 25, both of us wide-eyed but so sure of ourselves and our decision to stay together forever as we plunged into matrimony. We were sure, the way young people tend to be certain, that it was going to be an adventure. But little did we know that it was going to be a big one, probably the biggest one we'd ever know. Getting married is like signing a blank check. You have no idea how much it will cost you. You are committing an unquantifiable amount of material and emotional capital, time, money, patience, sacrifice, and an infinite number of things you have not even begun to imagine that you must deal with eventually.

Many of them are real minefields as Lydia and I, like all couples, soon discovered. There are the in-laws, kids, expenses, the balance between career and family life, personal habits, sex, jealousy, etc. There is also the process of arriving at a "negotiated settlement" on how to deal with things like getting along with each other's friends, child rearing, spending habits, religion, hobbies, and how much "independence" the partners should be allowed. The institution of marriage, as we inherited it, was very complicated.

One of the things I found out much later in our married life is that there is a difference between a love affair and a marriage. A love affair has a dynamic that is different from a marital bond. Generally, love affairs are not meant to last. They are meant to have a beginning and an end. Why? Because they are about two separate people bonded by romantic, oceanic feelings of what seems like love. They live for the intense feeling, riding it as far as it will go and split up when the thrill is gone. Marriage, on the other hand, is the experience of life by two people as a couple. Many times, new couples discover that they are not an easy fit, as Lydia and I discovered early on. That's why in a marital relationship one must necessarily give up big parts of himself/herself to the union to get a payback. While one may still want some privacy and independence, one cannot have them without a large dose of a shared life. From the start until the end, marriage is about two people experiencing one and the same lifetime.

It starts with romance and the sexual thrill of being with each other, but you can only count on those for so long. Anyone married for more than 10 years can attest that there are times when the attraction which seemed so strong when you first laid eyes on each other as single people can be non-existent for long periods. Viewed from the perspective of a love affair, that is certainly not a good thing. One may feel like the journey has reached a stretch of uninteresting flatlands. The joyride is over.

But from the perspective of a long marriage, this is simply a hiatus of sorts, or may even be the first signs of a qualitative the way one loves. It can be disconcerting at first but if you stick around long enough, the picture starts to get clearer. While gone may be (from time to time) the breathtaking highs and exhilarating moments, something else may be happening. Author M. Scott Peck put it so well when he wrote that "the death of romantic love can be the start of true love."

In our early years, Lydia and I felt that being married meant we had to do something dramatic all the time to keep it going. But as we got older, the doing often gave way to just being. Where before, love had to be "proven" by the sparkling diamond on her finger, or the great trip abroad, or the special dinner with wine in some plush place, love in our 29-year marriage feels no compulsion to prove itself as dramatically. Having long walks, conversations after dinner, holding hands during long drives, snuggling in bed or just simply being together ? sometimes without even talking ? have often taken the place of all that. While sex can still be as great as ever, the truth is, as an older couple, we have discovered other ways to remain interested in each other. There is not only comfort but magic in the "ordinary," as one realizes that love can be expressed in simply caring or supporting each other's steps towards personal and spiritual growth.

One of the big recent highlights of our journey as life partners was Lydia's big cancer scare three years ago. We felt so helpless as we tried to deal with the fear of losing each other. But we took it on as a couple. As far as we were concerned, we both had cancer. Those were days of great emotional upheaval. Ironically, they were also moments of calm and assurance. Even as we cried about it, we also learned that we loved each other enough to willingly suffer together because, paradoxically, by doing so, we eased each other's pain. This may sound flippant, if not cruel, but looking back, I can say that if I could only guarantee survival, I would recommend cancer to everyone because of what it has done for Lydia and me. It has been such a rare opportunity to meet and accept unconditionally the hard-to-take faces of love that we often run away from. Yet when we bit the bullet, we opened ourselves to greater depth and began to see the face of the Divine in the other human being we had chosen to love. Only then did we realize that all the suffering made sense.

In the end, the very suffering we undergo turns into something eternally beautiful.

(Jim Paredes is a member of the Filipino band Apo Hiking Society)

source:

http://haringliwana g.pansitan. net/2006/ 11/eternally- beautiful_ 01.html

Truth or Dare?

(c/o fabbricantidiuniversi.it)

I just watched the fourth part of the movie Harry Potter and like the previous chapters Harry confronted again lord Voldemort, who is also tagged as “he who must not be named, the dark lord, and you-know-who”. It interests me that they used these tags whenever they are mentioning him in the movie. Of course in this most recent chapter, the name lord Voldemort is almost always audible. Does that mean that they are now ready to confront him?

Calling someone by his (her) name is the proper way of addressing a person. Not only it is a basic respect but it is a way by which you will be able to state and achieve your purpose since you are sure you are addressing the right person and not somebody else.

If we want to see truth and be freed by it we have to confront it and never compromise. We name truth what it is because using a tag name is hiding the truth. I believe this is the greatest sin of the modern society. We cover up truth and coated it to make it something else. We agree knowing that “it is not what it really is” but we are too darn wicked to name it; we agreed by common understanding and yet we do nothing. 


The first step to confronting something is to settling what is that something. That something must have a name and that name should be spoken. I think the success of harry’s confronting “he who must not be named” in the movie, even of harry’s friends, is they never deny who he was and never afraid to speak about him. Truth when spoken and proclaimed is like “putting the lamp on a lamp stand where everybody can see and that its light extending through.

Whether it’s politics or a personal struggle, truth must be proclaimed.  

我母親的六種眼神

當時我在表哥家附近的速食店打工٫ 所以住在表哥家◦ 我媽媽離開以前對我說了這句話:“你跟你的表哥一家人要好好兒的互相合作吧!”◦ 看到她說話的眼神讓我聯想到一位充滿希望的及全神貫注祈禱的修女 ◦ 這是我母親第一種的眼神 ◦ 我小時٫ 我們一家庭每周末拜訪祖父母或親友◦  我媽除了買一些東西給他們以外٫ 我們到他們家時٫ 我媽也幫忙做飯٫ 洗碗等 ◦ 假如親友來訪我們٫ 我媽好好地招待他們 ◦

我在小學四年級時參加學校的朗讀比賽 ◦ 當我得到了第二名٫ 我媽媽高興地擁抱我 ◦ 雖然她一句話也沒說٫ 但從她充滿讚許及發出如黑珍珠光亮的眼神中٫  我能感覺到我是她最大的驕傲 ◦

那年雨季時 ٫ 因為外婆已經住院住了好幾天了٫ 所以我媽媽跟幾個阿姨進進出出醫院輪流地照顧她 ◦ 但那一天我媽媽回來時٫ 獨子默默地哭著掉眼淚好像是燃燒著的蠟油一滴滴掉落 ◦ 大家都明白外婆已經走了◦

我母親最喜歡下午的休閒活動除了看連續劇٫睡午覺以外٫ 還有跟我們家附近的鄰居聊聊天◦ 有時候她一個人去٫ 有時候帶我們去 ◦ 也有時候鄰居來我們家 ◦ 她們談起話來٫ 就滔滔不絕地談個不停 ◦ 聽我媽媽的聲音或看她的眼神٫  就可以想像她們對話的內容如何٫ 像談到讓她生氣的事情時٫ 她的聲音大地好像要把玻璃震碎似的; 看她的眼神強烈地好像快爆發的火山一樣 ◦ 但假如談到讓她高興的事情時٫ 她爽朗地笑著٫ 眼神亮光閃閃的 ◦

有一個下午٫ 我從學校直接回家了◦ 我進去房子前٫ 一看到就馬上知道沒有一個人在家 ◦  但到了房子裡就很驚訝地發現我母親坐在餐廳裡٫ 對著窗口出神 ◦ 她的眼神就像一個雕像看著遠方 ◦

True Colors

Angel

Who Am I?

Halleluja

Filipino Gathering

     There are two things which are very noticeable of us Filipinos whenever and wherever we gather. One, there sure are food of different varieties and two, there sure is singing.These two characteristics of Filipino gathering bring out the sense of community life among us – sharing and communion. We do not pay too much attention on the attire one wears or whether how much or little one brings, nor a competitive singing voice a requirement to be received, what matters is one’s presence and willingness to participate. It is how Filipino gathering works and becomes enjoyable. This very sense of community is also what brings us together in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. There is the visible presence of the whole family including the extended members. There is singing in the whole celebration and a good coordination between the minister and the lay. The active participation of the congregation is also evident however formal their attire may be, or how liturgical the songs and how long or short the responses are. There is no dull moment and there sure is a sense of joy and fulfillment before, during and after the celebration.

However, as modern technologies swiftly conquering our everyday lives it is also worth noticing the changes and effects they bring to our faith especially in fulfilling our Sunday obligation. The sense of community is gradually diminishing as family attendance cut out to only parents or to only children or there are times there is only one person who represents the family, attending the Mass. Moreover, the motivation in attending the Holy Mass is reduced to fulfilling an obligation alone rather than a free desire and serious participation. They are physically present but their heart is roaming somewhere else. These reasons explain the scenario of coming late or leaving without finishing the whole celebration. This is an alarming situation the Church in the Philippines is experiencing right now considering her Catholic population and members. Given that modernity makes people more efficient and productive but does it make people more altruistic? What is happening now to our sense of community life? And what are we to do in order that such good trait may stay and relive amidst the posing threat of modernity?

I believe the starting point is prayer and that it should begin in the family. If we acknowledge that family is the basic unit of society, it is prayer in common that makes a family intact. As Fr. Peyton, CSC said “the family that prays together stays together”. Recitation of graces before and after meal or prayer before leaving the house are some basic prayers when done in common builds a sense of closeness within members of the family. Moreover, the highest and most fundamental of this ‘prayer in common” is the participation in the Holy Mass, where ‘it seeks to consolidate and bring communion to perfection.’ The Eucharist builds the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist. We should therefore make every effort to see that each celebration of the Holy Eucharist is alive - allowing the faithful especially each family members to actively participate, and educational in that the liturgical significance and meaning is taught and explained, by which the faithful will appreciate and deepen their commitment in the beauty of the celebration. We should begin by telling them especially the youth that the Holy Mass is not only an obligation but more importantly a participation and communion with God. The Eucharistic celebration is the very source and summit of the Christian life founded in communal love and service.  

Education plays an important role too. It is part of our mission as members of the Church who was and remains built on “the foundation of the Apostles, the witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself.” It is not only important that Christian education be included in the school’s curriculum but we must also have competent and good Catholic teachers to teach the children. We must insist on the value of good Christian education and by doing so we must encourage the lay to study religious studies or theology and provide good training on pastoral work that will benefit the pastors in particular and the Church in general. Educational activities could also start in the parish or religious’ community activity centers where pastors, religious men and women, and lay catechists hold Bible seminars and catechism classes. Through the use of modern technologies we could make our teachings appealing without losing the integrity and importance of the Church’s teachings. It lies therefore in our acceptance, willingness and dedication to do the responsibility given us by the Church. Vatican II opened the door to many great possibilities to read the signs of the time. I believe we are commissioned to do our share.

Witnessing is also an important key not only to educate but to convince this generation on the importance of the Holy Eucharist in our faith and Christian life. It is therefore the task of each member of the faithful and more specifically, the particular responsibility of the Church’s pastors to make sure the communion celebrated and perfected in the Holy Eucharist is as well transforming and perfecting their Christian life. We heard of the saying ‘action speaks louder than words,’ in the same manner each of us should start living and practicing the faith we profess and to which we are committed; a faith that perseveres without lamenting; a faith that sustains the sense of community within us. Everything else is at the mercy of God, who never fails to give to those who seek and who is ever willing to give Himself to those who desire to commune with him.

      I have been involved in Filipino communities in Taiwan since I came back in 2004. I see the greater need to boost their spiritual life since it is always easy for them to stay away from the Church and renounce their faith. I find others becoming more participative, appreciative and concerned about their faith and spiritual life, an opportunity when get hold of allow them deepen their Catholic commitment. I feel tasked to guide them since most of them became active only upon arriving here. I hope that by doing so I am also contributing something for Taiwan Church, an issue that sometimes being raised against me. As St. Dominic saw the needs of his time, and as Pope John XXIII saw the signs of time, thus the opening of Vatican II, so we too through prayerful reflection, inspired by the Holy Spirit do the task our Lord has entrusted to us who came not to be served but to serve. 

May I join you?

Participation is one of the essential emphases of Catherine Mowry Lacugna as she expound on the theology of “economic Trinity”. If that is the case how do I see myself as a participant in the economy of God? What kind or degree of participation should I exhibit? If it is from the point of view of a sinner salvation is indispensable; from the point of view of the chosen people they own and deserve salvation “alone”; from the point of view of the one and only true Church and outside the Church no salvation, salvation is too constricted and exclusive; from the point of view of universality of mission, every one has an access towards salvation however if such mission lack dimension then salvation is not free of charge and domineering; from the point of view of “right relation” salvation is mature since it is born out of mutual understanding, open since it is inviting, welcoming and dialoguing, essential since it is the only way to a perfect and fullest life; responsible since it considers the intrinsic connection of the essentials: orthodoxy and orthopraxy, deeply rooted and faithful to the Church’s Teaching(s) and Tradition(s). My choice rests on the latter.

(c/o catholica.com.au)

Catherine Mowry Lacugna is a leading figure in Feminist Catholic Theology, and the author of the book God For Us.

“Women of Praise”

(c/o hellobeautiful.com)

I was watching CNN the other day and the report was elaborating the current G-20 meeting in London. However, the bulk of the news is not about how these leaders work on global economic issues but about the first lady of the United States and how she is becoming a fashion icon. I mean, why do we talk about the first lady on how she dresses well in fact we can talk more on what Michelle can do as a woman - a woman who has a very strong personality that can encourage women empowerment and respect? I don’t think the first lady accompanied the president to display her taste in fashion. If women (and some men) buy the story of a first lady as a fashion icon more than what her heart and brain can do then how can we uplift the standard of women? My point is this group of people who focuses and thinks fashion and trivial standards make women more dignified is not contributing to the welfare of women’s dignity as a person but pave way to setting a determining factor: woman equals fashion. Then to the question of why not allow women priesthood, I would rather ask why then allow women priesthood?

 (a reflection i wrote last year, during the last stage of my STB)

“On Experiences of a Catholic Theologian"

1. Rational being as we are is an expression of life. However, it is not because we are rational that we can own life as a whole because life is more than our rationality. Our rationality either talks too much or do little that we often missed the essential things. Like we used to define what God reveals to us and yet do not allow revelation to unveil itself. As Karl Rahner would point out “we are only worthy of the title we have when we experience and witness, with terror and bliss, to the wide dimension of analogies before the abyss of God’s incomprehensibility.”  It is only when we see ourselves as part of the whole that we will really appreciate that there is more to life; because life is more important than being a great human being.

2. We do not use our capacities wisely and responsibly the way nature does because we think we rule. Unless we discover how awesome the birds make their nests out of what nature offers them, then we will think twice of how we handle what we have. Then if you ask me is it possible to see the face of Jesus Christ in Asia’s diverse religions? Unless we drop the western, bias, rigid, ‘we rule’ attitude; unless we act responsibly and just be humbled by the fact that we will always fall short of our words and rationality, then we can proceed and grow. Karl Rahner said ‘the sole center of Christianity is the self-communication of God to creation in God’s innermost reality and glory.’If God is all about mysteries, then our theology should not hold grip too much, but to let go and let God reveals. Actually our inadequacy when accepted with humility will be our ticket to the well of abundant theology.

(c/o pastoralcouncils.com)

Considered one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century, Karl Rahner is a German Jesuit priest who before the Second Vatican Council collaborated with Yves Congar, OP, Henry-Marie de Lubac, SJ, and Marie-Dominique Chenu, OP, all associated with a school of thought in Catholic Theology, known to many as "New Theology".