A work in progress

Date: May 3, 2017

Sharer: Sarah Lim

 

Gospel: (John 14:6-14) NIV

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

 

Reflection:

 

Last January 2017 when I was in my hometown, God has revealed 3 messages for me after hearing the Sunday mass: 1. Pick up and carry your cross; 2. Embrace your calling; 3. Stand firm in your faith.

I was then bargaining if I should go back or stay. Obviously I cannot stay because God knew I had to go and fulfill the mission he entrusted me. With a heavy and confused heart, I pondered and I asked for God’s grace to be poured out in me so I can fully accomplish what he is asking me to do. I returned to Dubai full of hope and a direction to pursue what he has called me to. Life in the Philippines is different from UAE. I somehow miss my old self when I am home unlike here where I have to be strong always and keep going.

Again this March 2017, God revealed his message through an influential person, “God is expecting you to do more things for Him.” I felt worried and doubtful if I can really do all those things that he is asking of me. When he said more, it just doesn’t mean all the good stuff, but it includes the bad to the worst things too.

God believes in me so much but before I can do all those things, I have to pause, fix my broken self and heal my heart first. I have been struggling with an emotional baggage for so long. I had several attempts to overcome it but it just doesn’t go. It is difficult to confront as most of it had long been kept hidden and suppressed in my heart and I am afraid to face it. Truly God never forces us to change but he will allow situations to happen for us to realize that we are wrong and we have to follow and trust him. Many times I have run away but God, in his greatness and goodness, keeps calling me back and giving me chances to change. This time, he is giving me a final chance and with God’s grace, I will overcome this completely.

I know God loves me so, and that is why he never stops reminding me to let go and let him take over. As he is trying to mold and prepare me, I keep on resisting, refuse to listen and act as a stubborn child. There is no other way but through Jesus as he said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I have tried my best but now it is time for God to work his way in me.

Lord Jesus, be my guide, my inspiration and my strength. Allow my heart to be opened in accepting your healing and grace. Bless me abundantly and empower me with your Holy Spirit. Please help me to overcome this struggle so that it cannot hinder me from doing the mission you have entrusted in me. Remind me to stay focused in you as I continue this journey. And may the will and plans of God unfold in me as I face the trials along the way and look ahead for a better and brighter tomorrow. Amen.

 

Driven by faith

Sept. 22, 2016

Title: Driven by faith

Gospel: Luke 9:7-9
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, "John has been raised from the dead";  others were saying, "Elijah has appeared"; still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen."
But Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him.

 Reflection:

“Herod was greatly perplexed and he kept trying to see him.”

The meaning of greatly perplexed is unable to understand something deeply. When I read the gospel for today it sparkled some interest in me to research more about what happened in the past so I can further understand what it is trying to tell me. I then found out that Herod the tetrarch in our story was the son of Herod the great, the one who initiated Massacre of the Innocents when Jesus was born. So who is this Herod the tetrarch and why is it that he felt greatly perplexed as described?

I googled and read more about him and the history of this big “Herod” family. Well do we remember the time during Herod’s birthday when Salome danced and entertained his guests? In return, he offered her any request to be fulfilled as long as she asks of it. Salome followed her mother’s (Herodias) request and Herod fulfilled it which resulted in beheading John the Baptist and placing the head on the platter. I believe during that time, Herod felt powerless since he cannot take back what he has said but after hearing the current news of John being raised from the dead, he wondered even more and decided to see him if it was true.

In our life there are situations that make us feel greatly perplexed in which we have no control and sometimes we question God why it is happening to us. There are everyday circumstances wherein it is difficult for us to understand or accept some happenings because it exceeds our capacity unlike God who created everything. When we feel that we are in a perplexed situation, let us remember that we cannot change it but we can change our perception towards it. We can change how we think and act according to the will of God. We should always have faith and constant prayer in believing that God always know what is best for us, he will provide what we need even if we don’t ask it and everything is possible for Him.

John the Baptist lived his life fulfilling the mission that God created him to do while King Herod was powerless and doubtful of his beliefs. As members of this community and as Roman Catholics, it is never easy to choose the better part in everything but we walk by faith and not by sight. We may not understand but God willingly allows it to happen because of a greater purpose behind it. By his grace, he will reveal that purpose to us through the Holy Spirit as we continue journeying with him. We are anointed and called by God through our names and each of us has a mission to fulfill while we are here. We are not an accident and God has planned all of this before we are born. Let’s be reminded that everything here on earth is temporary but our God and His love is permanent. Let’s walk and be driven by our faith for God will lead to us to where he has destined us to be. Take courage and find that purpose you we can live a life pleasing to God and in turn bring back the glory that He alone deserves.

And for all of this, may God be praised.

Take courage & Trust God

"We don't know what the Lord is trying to teach us but if I trust the Heavenly Father,

then it doesn't matter what I don't understand."

 

Dear Lord, give me the courage to face my fears, bless me the wisdom and a deeper faith to continue trusting in you even if it's hard for me to understand.

May your will always be done.

 

How great is our God

How great is our God

Sing with me

How great is our God

And all will see

How great... How great is our God!

Name above all names

You are worth of all praise

My heart will sing

How great is our God

Share and Give thanks to God!

Sharer: Sarah Lauren Lim, Batch 43

Gospel (John 6:1-15)
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

------------------------------- 

The story about Jesus feeding the five thousand is not new to us. In fact we heard it several times but do we apply it in our personal lives? This story teaches us that with God nothing is impossible. In the story, the boy shared what he had and after doing that, people imitated him by sharing what they also had which resulted to having plenty of leftovers. It also teaches us to give thanks to God for all the blessings he has given us like what Jesus did. Let us focus with sharing our blessings and giving thanks to God.

I asked my best friend, Ayette about the question: “Why do you share?” Her response is that “Sharing makes me happy because I feel that I am so blessed that God gave me this kind of opportunity to share the blessings he gave to others too. One reason why I share is because the feeling of knowing that I shared to someone gives an impact that can be contagious. It’s like the one whom you shared with, will also find ways to share to others because deep within his heart it is a nice feeling. Then it will create a ripple effect that will go on and on.” Several friends also agreed that it gives them a nice feeling after sharing.

We are blessed to have a generous, merciful and loving God. He is teaching us to do the same to our neighbors no matter how difficult and challenging they can be. Our Lord is an amazing God that even before we ask, He already knew what to give to us even beyond what we deserve. As he extends his hand and blesses us with much, he is also expecting us to bless others with the blessings he gave. The joys in our heart after sharing like experiencing heaven on earth. This unexplained feeling of happiness and contentment is different and can only be experienced through sharing and through the grace of God. 

Sharing your blessings doesn’t refer to money alone. Sharing can be through your time, talent or treasure. Sharing is blessing, is caring and is loving. In sharing, we also give thanks to God because He is the source of all this and by doing that, we give glory to His name. Let us continue to share what we have because God’s generosity cannot be undone and that the more we share, the more we gain and also the more people will experience the same. As followers of Jesus, may we become an instrument of God’s love to the people we encounter by sharing and being a blessing to others so that they too can experience heaven on earth and will also do the same to others.

And for this may God be praised!

Daily Manna: “Why do we forget?”

Date: March 25, 2016

Sharer: Karen Bajador

Title : “Why do we forget?”

 Today’s gospel narrates the last moments of Jesus prior to his persecution at the cross. It started from his arrest by the betrayal of Judas up to his burial wherein he would rise again in three days. The narration encompasses a lot of events and all of them give us a notion to reflect on as Catholics. However, what I do want to reflect on is when Peter disowned Jesus three times.

 In our everyday life, we tend to focus on the things that we usually do. More often than not, most of us forget to take a step back and reflect on the blessings we have received. The demand of accomplishing a day’s task usually requires a lot of our time and energy; and by the end of the day, all we want to do is to rest.

As children, we were trained to at least pray before we eat and before we sleep. It was easy to do back then as children do not have a lot of things to do in a day. But growing up is different, the older you get, the more task require your attention and energy. I personally, would attest to that. I would go as far as saying that some of the time, I feel so tired after a day’s work and would not have the energy to even pray and talk to God. I do feel guilty as I know how blessed I am for all the things I have received until now. I have gone through a lot, both the good and bad; but one thing was constant all throughout; it was that God has never abandoned me. And believe me when I say that he has, and never will, leave your side. Life is a cycle and things will never be good always; time will come wherein we will be at our lowest. But let me tell you that in our lowest point, it’s usually the best time where we can feel God’s unwavering love for us.

Going back to the Gospel, we can almost compare ourselves to Peter because in some way, we are just like him; we often tend to ignore, and sometimes, deny his presence. We are usually overwhelmed with the things that we have accomplished and received that we forget to respond whenever he calls for us. God does not require us to exalt before him for a whole day, nor does he demand to give back something equal in return; all that he asks of us is a small amount of our time. He just wants us to have a moment with him, just like what we do with our parents or partner whenever we get home from a day’s work. And this Lenten season is one of those times where we can do so. I encourage you my brothers and sisters to take a step back, reflect and have a moment with him during this season.

Sharer: Karen Bajador

Work in Progress

All of us are a work in progress.. 
Messy, broken, unorganized, out of focus, lost and imperfect..

We are a craft in the making..
A butterfly (err caterpillar) in a cocoon..
A baby starting to walk..
A chick in an egg shell..
A beauty in our unique ways for God has design us perfectly. 

God is our maker, our designer and our potter.
We have to believe that He created us amazingly as we are.
We have to accept what He has blessed us with..
We have a time to bloom in our own ways...
We can embrace change to improve ourselves..

Sometimes we just have to patiently wait for the right timing for he will reveal it to us unexpectedly. 
Remember that you are God's masterpiece and His plans are yet to unfold in your life. 
Just wait, be patient and have faith..

The work is still in progress.... and God is in control..
Keep calm.. Hold on and be patient..


Lalalala Hugoooot! Hahaha 
-my *edited* post during our exhibition (last ADIPEC, Nov 8-12)

God's delay

And all I can say is Amen and may your will be done Lord.. wink emoticon #iamBBM #deogloria #thankyouLord#happy #preparingFORrain #prayersUP #holdON#GodisSTILLgood #surrender #trust #claiming

God's delay are not denials for He is preparing something great that He has already planned. Hold on. Be still. God is God and we are not. In His perfect time..

May your will be done..

FB post last January 2014