the Divine time

I remember in my earlier posts in this blog I was concerned with establishing a good reader base. I wanted to craft messages that were palatable to a lot of my peers. Mainly, I wanted the message I wanted to convey to reach a lot of people. That message was the Good News of Jesus Christ. Looking back, it's ironic how this blog has become stagnant with the very approach I started this blog.

The intention of this blog will not change. I cannot assure, also, that the frequency and the activity will change from the previous months. The disposition, however, is something that I want to change. I want to make this blog as something of an open journal - one I can frequently go to as part of my journey with Christ. It is my hope that I am able to write more frequently. It is my desire that many people join me in this journey. Let me begin with the short entry below. Cheers to many more adventures!

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In Genesis, when the LORD created heaven and earth (which meant everything!), he also created light and separated it from darkness. That was the creation of time. I want to surface those two truths in this part of the creation story - that God is a God of Order, and the God of Time. In the succeeding 'days' of creation, God, with a vision and purpose in mind, appointed things in the right order, in accordance with His appointed time.

This week, and in the weeks to come, I wish to immerse myself in these truths. I have been reading many materials, understanding and listening to the Lord in Scriptures. However, I would like to delve more on how the Lord guides and reveals Himself as the God of Order and Time as I follow faithfully the order of readings set by the Catholic Church lectionary.

What's new? I read the Gospel every day anyway. In recent months, I've been using other devotions in my readings. I hope to read the Gospel a day in advance - this way I can internalize more what the LORD has in store for me the following day. I also hope to look at the week and months in light of the Liturgical arrangement set by the Traditions of our Church. God be with me as I set out in this adventure to know Him more.

Feel free to reach me if you want to know more of my plans and how you can take this on as well. I'll drop by as often as I can to share with you some of my experiences. I hope my posts can encourage you to level up your relationship with our LORD and Savior.

Cheers!

grace of joy

There are those days when you just wake up like any other day. You go through the motions. Those days sometimes you haven't even set dedicated time to the LORD yet and speaking to Him, just prayers here and there recognizing His goodness. Yet at some point, you just feel uplifted, happy, and joyful. You want to listen to cheerful melodies, song after song after song. You want to sing along with these songs, smiling and shaking your head as you do. You want to share these songs to people, share the joy, and tell people how much you're happy to have them.

No words can explain these things, but a psalm comes in to mind: This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! 

Oh, how wonderful the LORD is for granting us this life to experience His goodness!

of little faith

"Come out," Jesus said. Peter requested Jesus to command him to walk on the water with him. Jesus only responded. Peter walked on the water toward Jesus. However, it was only for a brief while. The strong wind and troubling water distracted Peter and he started to sink... (Mt 14:22-30)

Peter was Jesus's deeply loyal follower, most trusting, and most vocal of his adoration for his LORD. Yet even the most trusting of followers can have weak moments. These are moments when the world around him distracts him from the miracle and joy of walking with the Lord on unsteady waters.

"LORD, save me," Peter shouted. At once, Jesus reached out to grab hold of the troubled Peter. (Mt 14:30)

When we take away our focus from our LORD Jesus Christ, we worry of many things around us. We easily forget the joy and miracle of the relationship we have of Jesus Christ. In these moments, we simply have to call on to our LORD, "Save me, LORD!" Even in our weakest, when our faith is little, the LORD saves us.

LORD, increase our faith!

joy in life

I just watched the movie The Bucket List again and it strikes a chord in my heart every time. A line in the movie resonated with me: "Did you find joy in your life?" I recount my day today as I write this post and ask myself that question and it hit me: "Have I?"

Life goes by pretty quickly. I realize that the question is one I would want to ask myself at the end of every day, every moment, every second of my borrowed time here on earth. Interesting: the phrase 'borrowed time.' Let me correct that to say - gift of time here on earth. Knowing that life is a gift puts a smile on my face and answers the question every time. Yes, I have found the joy in my life.  That joy is to know that I am loved by my Creator, my dear Heavenly Father, who sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that I may be live life to the full. I thank Him for this gift.

The next question is - have I shared this joy with others? I can do a better job. I would like to do a better job. I hope this new post can be a good start. I can't promise regular posts, but I can promise to do my best to share the joy that I have found every moment, of every day of my life.

May the good Lord bless you that you may find the joy in your life!

respect life

I've been wanting to get back to my blogging. I can't fully take it on yet, but let me start by making a stand on issues prevailing in my country today.

I am one with my parish in actively promoting the messages of truth to other people.

"For the Christian, it is an absolute imperative to respect, love, and promote the life of every brother and sister, in accordance with the requirements of God's bountiful love in Jesus Christ," 

(St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae n.77)

desire to connect

There is in the deepest and innermost being of man the need to connect.

I hear and read about it a lot - man's desire to connect, not being an island, or a lone ranger. As I walked through a row of establishments in a mall one day, I saw a man, grinning with excitement as he was taking a selfie with his meal - I quickly judged it was a selfie but then I saw and realized he was talking to someone using his device. In the next establishment I saw through the glass a young lady with long black hair, sitting at the bar facing me and the passers by. She was chatting happily with someone using her phone with her white earphones in her ears. How powerful indeed has technology evolved to bring us such a gift for us to connect with people!

Yet technology only aids our means to connect. What pushes us to connect is our deepest desire of being in touch with another. What fuels this desire is just that real longing of something that is inside us - a truth of what we lost and what we wish to recover.

The truth is - we were born united with the One who made us. We were separated from Him because of our ways which are against His intention for us and for our lives. Yet even though we willfully choose to do things our way, inside of us there is a yearning that can never be quenched. This yearning is to just be back with Him, be one with Him, and do His will.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:35-40

throw your life away

To the young, throw your youth - your prime years to the Lord. To the elders, it seems that at this point, what this means is to throw your whole life away to the Lord!

- Andy Juan, March 28, 2016

PS. I paraphrase the statement above from a senior leader in the community I am a part of (Ligaya ng Panginoon). He was addressing the brothers of the Servants of the Word during an Alumni Night, himself being alumnus of the brotherhood.