Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Day: February 4, 2021

  • CONTENTMENT OF WHAT WE HAVE

    CONTENTMENT OF WHAT WE HAVE

    February 5, 2021 – Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020521.cfm)

    A Relational Psychologist, Neil Clark Warren wrote in his book Finding Contentment, “that many people are desperately in search for immediate and rapid-fire happiness surges that has become an obsession.” Because of what he called as the happiness highs, a person may continually seek what only brings a momentary happiness. And because it is momentary that it may drain and prevent a person to seek what is lasting and enduring. Such attitude of the heart may also lead the soul to restlessness and emptiness.

    What Dr. Warren proposes is to find contentment in life, a lasting and enduring contentment that will free us from the burden and slavery of pretensions, of anxiety and fear. He further suggests that one will be able to overcome and transcend oneself by walking in the path of authenticity, that we become authentic persons. This means that we will not be dictated of what others wants us to be, or of merely driven by our selfish desires, or to become who we are not but to be who we truly are. To put this in our Christian belief, what Dr. Warren also says is basically, that we become the person God wants us to be. God desires the full realization of ourselves where we can find freedom and fullness of life.

    Dr. Warren’s Finding Contentment is what the Letter to the Hebrews also invites us today, “be content with what you have.” This letter was addressed to the Christian Hebrews to always have the attitude and spirit of hospitality. One becomes hospitable by being attentive to the needs of others, sensitive to their situations, by being faithful and committed in one’s relationship and by being content with life. All these bring us into the invitation to fully trust the providence and generosity of God who will never make us destitute and who will never abandon us.

    However, when the heart becomes unfriendly and unwelcoming of others, then, it makes the heart insensitive, ungrateful and uncontented with life. The person lives in fear and insecurity because he/she does not trust what God will give him or her. And worst, because of such attitude of the heart, the person will tend to blame God for giving him or her so little and for being unfair.

    This kind of attitude is what we have heard in the today’s Gospel of Mark. Mark tells us about King Herod and his mistress, Herodias. Both of them grew uncontented with life. They were more after of momentary happiness to the point of losing their direction from recognizing what is wrong and what is right, what is just and unjust. Consequently, they became obsessed that made them destructive and corrupt.

    King Herod, however, seemed to have some hope because of the disturbance he felt in his heart when he listened to John the Baptist. Yet, he did not have the courage to confront himself. Thus, the King was eaten by his obsession to have more and to express his violent authority. As a result his actions became destructive and oppressive to others. It was not hospitality. It was not kindness. This was how the life of a prophet was ended coldly.

    This tells us how it becomes destructive to ourselves and to others when we remain seeking what only gives us momentary happiness. Hence, God calls us today to become contented of what we have. God has certainly blessed us with many things. We do not have to have everything too. Having everything will only give us headache and constant worries. What we need rather is the right attitude to be contented of God’s blessings and graces. In this way, we become more confident and assured of what we possess and also of who we are. Hinaut pa.

  • TO OUR SACRED PLACE WITH GOD

    TO OUR SACRED PLACE WITH GOD

    FEBRUARY 7, 2021 – 5TH  SUNDAY  IN  THE  ORDINARY  TIME 

    Fr. Manoling Thomas, CSsR

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020721.cfm)

    “In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place and there he prayed.” [Mk. 1:35].

    Today’s Gospel continues on from where we ended last Sunday [Mk. 1:21-28], wherein, St. Mark told us that the people who heard and saw what Jesus did, were amazed at the way he taught and the way the evil spirit obeyed him!

    Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus leaving the synagogue and heading towards Simon’s house, accompanied by his first four recruits: Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus was informed that Simon’s mother-in-law was with a fever. Immediately Jesus attended to her. After the fever left her, she began serving them. When the sun had gone down and the Sabbath observance had ended, outside the house were gathered people who were sick of various diseases, and those possessed by evil spirits. Out of compassion, Jesus attended to all of them! Indeed Jesus had a very busy day!

    But Jesus also needed to take time out for himself and to be by himself; otherwise he could end up consumed by exhaustion! Jesus did get out. He went to a deserted place very early in the morning to pray!

    A story goes about a man who had the custom of going off by himself to a secluded place. One day, his close friend got curious as to where he goes and what he does there. So secretly this friend followed him. When he finally caught up with the man, the friend saw him sit down quietly on a fallen tree.

    Then when the man finished, his friend approached the man, and asked: “What are you doing here?” asked this friend. “I’m praying”, was the reply. “But why do you have to come here to pray?” “I feel closer to God here.” “But isn’t God everywhere and the same God is found everywhere?” “Yes, that is true! God is the same everywhere but I am not!” the man replied.

    Yes, we can find and pray to God anywhere and everywhere, be that in the kitchen, on the street, inside a vehicle, in the farm, or in the place where we work. But it is also a good idea to look for a special place where we can withdraw to, from time to time. In such a place, God somehow seems nearer and friendlier. In such a place, we may feel that somehow we are different, calmer, more relaxed, quieter and seemingly more open and disposed to listen to what God will tell us or reveal to us! Such a place can be our sacred space, our little tabernacle, or our secret garden! In that place and space we can meet and talk with God undisturbed! In that sacred space we find not only God but also our true and deeper self! Was this Jesus’ experience?

    Why do we need our sacred space and our secret garden? It is because that in the middle of our busy day and our daily routine, we can lose touch with our deeper selves. One cannot clearly see one’s own face in a murky and troubled pond. We need a calm and serene pond to be able to see clearly our real face!

    To get in touch with our inner life, and our deeper self, we need quality time for ourselves and a space to withdraw from our usual environment! We need to go into our sacred space and our secret garden as Jesus did. Jesus went into his sacred space and secret garden to regularly communicate with God, his Father. There Jesus got his energy, his guidance, and the sense of direction in his mission in the world.

    Meeting with God regularly in our sacred space and in our secret garden, we too get our energy, our guidance and direction as we go about the work God assigned to us in this world. By regularly withdrawing from our busy schedule, and our daily routine to meet with God, as Jesus did, we can be sure that what we are doing is in accordance with God’s will, and not simply our own ego trip!

    Have you found your own sacred space and secret garden? How often do you go there? When you meet with God in your sacred space and secret garden what usually is your experience like?