Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Tag: A Dose of God Today

  • God intervenes to bring us comfort and confidence

    God intervenes to bring us comfort and confidence

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    May 22, 2020 – Friday of the 6th Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052220.cfm)

    One day I received a sick call from a hospital asking for an anointing of the sick for a dying man in his 90s. Honestly, I personally do not like going to sick calls to the dying because of the emotional baggage that I may carry when I leave the room. Aside from the scary machines and tubes applied to the patient, it is surely heart-breaking to see a dying person holding on to his/her last remaining breathes. The sorrow and the grief of the family members who gather around the suffering patient would also creep into my heart and mind. However, I have to appear “okay” in order to do the rites properly and accompany the dying and the family in prayer.

    Yet, with this particular old man who was holding on to his last breathes, there was something different in him that caught my attention. Behind his transparent respirator, he was smiling as soon as I introduced myself to him. He was actually smiling during the whole rite while looking at me. He was fully conscious but cannot move. He was definitely in pain at that moment. He too must have been so loved by his family gathered around him. They were keeping to themselves, as much as possible their cries, as I did the rite and told him to go in peace.

    After the rite, he removed gently his respirator to tell me something (this happened before Covid-19 brought disaster in our community). He told me with a smile (saying in the local language), “Father, thank you. I will go now.” The family members could not hide anymore their tears as they too heard those words. It was truly heart-breaking that I have to keep myself from breaking down in tears to assure him of my presence. But, I also felt the confidence behind those words. This old man was confident that he was not alone. His loved ones were with him and the Lord was with him too. He was not afraid anymore despite the deep sorrow and pain at that very moment. He knew that after this, everything will turn into joy.

    True enough, as I left the room and bid my goodbye, fifteen minutes after, the parish office received a call to inform me that the old man has rested in peace.

    This is a testimony that completely trusts in God’s presence and promise of joy. It is a particular situation and a concrete human experience of struggle and confusion, of fear and anxiety, of pain and sorrow. Moreover, such human experience paved the way for the Lord to intervene and bring comfort and confidence.

    The readings today convey this message to us. In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul was mistreated by those who refused to believe in Jesus. He was harassed and was accused wrongly to put him in prison and to death. With this kind of situation, Paul must have been so confused and afraid for his life. He must have started to question the Lord for sending him into this kind of trouble in his ministry.

    Consequently, such difficult situation of Paul became the entry point of Jesus to assure him and to give him comfort and confidence. Jesus appeared in a vision to Paul. The Lord told Paul, “Do not be afraid, continue speaking and do not be silent. I am with you. No one will harm you.”

    In the same way, Jesus also gave this assurance to his disciples. This conversation with Jesus happened just before the Lord was betrayed and arrested in Chapter 18 in this Gospel of John. Jesus prepared his disciples for the horrible and unimaginable events to happen in the coming days.  Thus, the words of Jesus, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy,” are the Lord’s assurance to us. 

    We might be struggling at this very moment. There might be some of us who experienced being humiliated, harassed, oppressed or abused. Or perhaps who are ill at the moment, or in trouble at work, perhaps lost a job or failed in business because of the economic crisis brought by Covid-19. There might be some of us too who are now having problems in their relationship or who are in great sorrow for losing a loved one during this pandemic.

    With all of these difficult and painful human experiences, God also comes to us through this sacrament, through the scriptures, through the love and support of our family and friends and through the gift of the Holy Spirit abiding in us, that God intervenes to bring comfort and confidence in us. 

    As Paul and the disciples were comforted by Jesus, the Lord also is telling us now, “Do not be afraid, go on and continue because I am with you. Believe that this sorrow you have now will pass away and will turn into joy.”

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    Moreover, this calls us today to truly believe that God is the God of our life. Then, in that faith, we shall see the many good things we enjoy in this life despite the many difficulties and hardships we encounter. When we also truly believe that God is the resurrection and the life that we also begin to become true Christians who see light in the midst of darkness, who find joy in the midst of sorrow, who capture a smile in the midst of pain, who embrace hope in the midst of impossibility, who find healing in the midst of so much sickness and who find life in death.

    And again, this is what I found in the life of that old man. Though I had a short encounter with him but that gave me a profound realization of God’s presence. Through the person of that old man, God also intervened in my life to bring comfort and confidence in me.

    Hopefully, each of us too will allow God to intervene in our life today. We may allow God to be present there in our struggles and sorrow, in our pain and anxiety. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • Grace and Freedom in letting go

    Grace and Freedom in letting go

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    May 21, 2020 – Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/052120-day.cfm)

    When a thing or a person becomes important, essential and vital in our life, we also find it hard to let go of it when time calls us to. Moreover, there are also cases when a thing or a person, or an experience, though not so important and vital in our daily existence, that it becomes inseparable from us. Thus, when it becomes so attached to us emotionally/psychologically, we find it then, so difficult to let go.

    When I was already about 6 years old, I would still carry my baby bottle with me and drink any liquid – milk, coffee, water or soda out of that. Once, I brought it with me at school during my Kindergarten and then my older sister found it out. The next day as I searched for my baby bottle in its usual place, I could not find it. The baby bottle was gone. My sister threw it away. So cruel! 🙂

    I was so mad and cried really hard for throwing that away. Perhaps, I thought the world was about to end at that time of losing my “dear baby bottle.” Yet, the day after that and the next day and the following days seemed to be just okay without that baby bottle.

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    Now, I realized, I must have been so attached to that baby bottle that letting go of it was surely difficult. In one way or another, others may find it challenging also those that have become so attached to them. These are not just limited with material things but also our dreams and aspirations in life, relationships and even our memories.

    Thus, when we talk about letting go, we certainly find it  difficult especially with those that we love so much or so attached to our emotions. Our basic tendency is to keep those closer to us because we do not like them to leave from us. That is why, when we are confronted with the reality of loss, then, we experience pain. It breaks our heart. We become anxious and fearful because life may not be the same.

    As a response, we may refuse to let go and in the process become controlling, suffocating and manipulating particularly towards those people we do not want to let go. Moreover, we could become paranoid and obsessed because we continue to linger and attach ourselves with a painful memory, or to a material thing or in a desire.

    What really is the concern here?

    Going into the process of letting go and the letting go itself is what makes our life wonderful. It is in letting go that we actually find more life and express life, to find love and express love. This manifests grace and freedom in us.

    This is what Jesus was asking from his disciples. The disciples who thought that they have lost Jesus when he was crucified rejoiced at his resurrection. However, when Jesus told them that soon, he will no longer be with but will go back to his father, the disciples also became anxious and fearful. They wanted to keep Jesus closer to them. The disciples believed that they were more confident if Jesus was nearby. They were not willing to let him go.

    However, this is not what God wants. Jesus had to go so that he will be able to join and be one with his Father in heaven. It will only be in this way that Jesus will be able to bring us closer to the Father. By returning to the Father, Jesus will open a way for us to the heart of the Father. By this also, Jesus will become ever closer to each one of us, closer than what we can imagine because Jesus will be in our hearts and minds.

    Hence, the words of Jesus to his disciples, “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me,” means that Jesus becomes ever present in each of us.

    In this process of letting go of the Lord, then, the disciples also allowed God to work in them. This was how the early Church found grace and freedom in letting go.

    Today, we are also asked to let go whatever is hindering us to encounter the Lord. We may ask ourselves, “What is it that I continue to linger? What is that attachment that I find difficult to let go for me to grow?”

    In identifying these, let us also ask the grace to courageously let go of those that hinder us so that we may find the grace for more life, more love and freedom. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • On Idols and Obsessions

    On Idols and Obsessions

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    May 20, 2020 : Wednesday – 6th week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052020.cfm)

    The Community Quarantine and Lockdowns caused the closing of malls, shops, small and big businesses. We are all asked to “stay at home” as a preventive and protective measure against the Corona Virus. At the beginning of this “stay at home,” more and more people also found ways to entertain themselves while staying at home. One of the most popular entertainments that one could easily observe now is how people where drawn towards their screens to watch South Korean Drama Series.

    Somehow, the audiences “idolized” South Korean actors and actresses because of their good looks, good acting qualities and the good chemistry that a particular couple show in a movie. With these qualities of South Korean actors and actresses, they captured their audiences internationally. They are truly entertaining that netizens began to post on Facebook mimicking how South Koreans speak, dressing and wearing make-up just like famous South Korean actors and actresses do, posting memes and short clips of the series they have watched. This craze is all over Facebook.

    From https://ramenswag.com/crash-landing-on-you-quotes/5/
    From https://images.app.goo.gl/rSdD1KCATcpoV5Ca9

    This form of idolizing an actor or actress or a culture is a kind of admiration. However, there is another form of having idols that can be pretty serious. This is what St. Paul identified in our first reading today. 

    Paul was in Athens and saw the many idols the Athenians had. The Greeks were known to have many gods and goddesses. Yet, Paul also realized how deeply religious the people were because of that expression. But what touched Paul the most was the shrine dedicated to the “Unknown god.” With this, Paul being a witness and apostle of the Risen Jesus had the responsibility to introduce the Athenians to the one True God.

    Paul preached to them about Jesus, the Son of God, who became like us, and who lived among us. For it is through Jesus that we are saved by dying on the cross and by rising from the dead. However, this is the very reason as well why many of the Athenians did not believe him, only few of them.

    Many could not accept that kind of God who died for us and was being resurrected. This was something beyond their imagination and beyond any human explanation. But what hindered them also to believe was their own absorption of their many idols, of their many gods. This was something, they could not give up.

    This form of “idolizing” was not a mere admiration but rather, obsession.

    Though this happened long time ago, yet, at present this reality is still happening. Idolatry is still creeping in our culture today. We are still somehow captivated by some idols in one way or another that make God a lesser priority, making our Christian life and faith less significant. We may ask, in what way then?

    When a thing or a person is being loved, wanted, desired and even treasured and enjoyed “more” than God to the point that we have become obsessed, then this could be the “idol” that we worship. That could be your boyfriend or girlfriend or even your good looks. It could be the approval of other people, your attractiveness that tend to seek recognition from others. It could also be your successful career or business or work. Or could be your own passion in sports or any hobbies.

    Nonetheless, reflecting on these, they are actually not evil or bad in themselves. These things are good but they become bad when they do not serve the purpose – which is to be closer to God, by knowing him better, by being grateful to him and by being generous to others. 

    In one way or another, these forms of idolatry are also forms of addictions in us. It means that we may tend to be selfish, prioritizing only our own satisfaction – as a result, we will become insecure and not free at all because we are imprisoned by our own obsessions.

    This is not what God wants us to be. God wants us to be free by knowing and loving him more and more. And so, let us remember what Jesus told us in the Gospel. “The spirit of truth will lead us; the spirit will guide us to discover God and know him better.” 

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    What do those words mean to us now? Jesus wants us to pray, to converse with God truly and that is not just to tell God what we “want” but also to ask God what God “wants” for us; not my own “selfish desires”, but to ask what is “God’s desire for me.”

    Today, I would like to ask you to include in your prayers, to ask God to help us identify our actions, attitudes or things that preoccupy us. This may hopefully lead us to recognize our “idols” that hinder us to know God better, to be closer to Him and that continually prevent us to be generous to others.

    Let us ask, then, the guidance and prayers of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, who is a model for all of us. Hinaut pa. 

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • Having friends? Or being a friend?

    Having friends? Or being a friend?

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    May 15, 2020 Friday 5th Week of Easter – Memorial of St. Isidore the Farmer

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051520.cfm)

    How many friends do you have in your Facebook account? Or in your other social media accounts? Certainly, those who have fb account or accounts have hundreds of friends. Others even have a thousand or more friends. Well, a Facebook account has a limit of 5000 friends. But, do we really consider every person there, in our account, as a “friend?”

    Today, the word “friend” is differently understood. Our friends in our social media accounts are actually our contacts. However, having those “friends” does not mean that we have a personal relationship with them. Perhaps, to some people, but mostly, we don’t, because among the thousands of friends we have, many can be are acquaintances at school, at work, business or during our summer vacations and trips.

    It has become so common to have such tendency to accumulate friends, to make and have friends, to be socially connected with others through the internet, and to be identified by the people to whom we make contacts.

    Aside from this, there is also another form making friends which can be toxic. It means that such form of relationship is only based on advancing one’s self-interest. Such form of friendship is commonly called as “alliance.” Such alliance protect and promote one another’s interest no matter how selfish and oppressive it could be. It does not look on how one will be able to give life to other in a self-sacrificing manner. It is inclined on what and how I could benefit, gain favor and advance my interests and agenda.

    Thus, we might have become more conscious of having friends, affiliate or make an ally ourselves with others rather than “being a friend.”

    To have friends and to be a friend have different natures. To have friends has the tendency to be self-absorbed, self-conscious and selfish because this attitude looks inward. However, to be a friend is an action that comes with commitment. It is self-giving and self-sacrificing. Hence, this attitude is other-oriented and life-giving.

    This is the kind of friendship that Jesus is talking about in the Gospel. Jesus calls each of us to be his friends. The friendship that Jesus offers is self-giving and self-sacrificing. Jesus commits himself to us as our friend. His commitment is summed up in his love for you and for me by offering himself to the cross on our behalf. 

    Thus, the friendship of Jesus is not about using us or so that he may get something from us. His friendship with us is about giving oneself. Through this friendship, he calls us as his friends, not slaves, not mere acquaintances or contacts, or allies.

    This is how we remember today St. Isidore, a Spanish Farmer who was a friend to many, to humans and to animals. His simplicity and hard labor became a way where he grew in his friendship with the Lord. It was said that he would always spend much time in the Church to commune with Jesus. And as the story about him circulated, an angel would instead plow the field while Isidore was in the Church. Other miracle stories became popular also as Isidore would give his bread to the hungry without running out of supply of bread.

    These stories tell us that such friendship with Jesus makes us more aware of the needs of others. Moreover, to become a friend of Jesus makes us a friend to everybody. With Isidore, he was a great friend who gave life to people and to the nature.

    St. Isidore, the Farmer (image from Aleteia.com)

    This is Jesus’ invitation to each of us now, that you and me will grow in that friendship with Him. Thus, we are called to develop our personal and intimate friendship with Jesus through our constant “chats” expressed through our prayers and this Eucharist. Friendship grows when we come to know each other both our pain and joys, failures and dreams. 

    And because this friendship gives life, our friendship with Jesus should also inspire us “to become real friends with others.” Yes, you and me who are friends of Jesus are called to be a friend of everyone and to express the same love that we have felt from Jesus by giving ourselves too, to “shout out” the goodness that the Lord has revealed to us and “to post what’s on our mind and heart” so that others may know and grow also in their friendship with Jesus.

    In times such as this pandemic, our friendship could be one of the best comforts we could offer to those who are distressed, anxious and in need. Thus, maximize also this Community Quarantine by making sure that you parents will become best friends of your children, and children to their parents, siblings to siblings, and to the rest of the people around you.

    So, friends of Jesus – go and be a friend to others!

    Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • When Love liberates and empowers us

    When Love liberates and empowers us

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    May 14, 2020 – Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle 

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051420.cfm)

    A friend of mine once shared to me why she became confused and distressed. She was restless and depressed because of a deep-seated emptiness within her. She felt unloved, rejected and worthless. Her parents separated when she was young, her father was so strict that she could not even express what she needed, her siblings treated her as if she’s not existing, at school she was bullied. She’s aware that she has a house to live, but she has no home where she feels being loved, supported and affirmed. This emptiness in her heart haunted her when she’s asleep even when she’s awake. Her life became so dry and meaningless. She does not know where to go.

    To feel being loved and affirmed is everyone’s need. Love gives brightness and meaning to our life even in the midst of suffering and much difficulty. That is why, when love seems absent, life becomes a horror. 

    This reality reveals the imperfection of our human relationships. Though our relationships are the source of our fulfillment and joy, yet, it is through our human relationships also that we find the deepest pain and frustrations because of rejection and at times betrayal. But, that is not the end of everything because even out of a messy relationship, something can grow.

    This is where we can find the presence of God. As God joined us in flesh in our history, God also dwells in our human relationships. Jesus was born into a family and gathered people and made them his friends. Within this context, Jesus experienced rejection as well as betrayal from people closest to him. Yet, despite this painful experiences, we also find redemption, we find forgiveness and find life.

    TODAY ON THIS FEAST OF ST. MATTHIAS, AN APOSTLE, OUR READINGS GIVE US THE COMFORT THAT WE ALL NEED WHEN ALL OUR HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS FAIL. WITH IT, WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR REDEMPTION AND FORGIVENESS.

    In the Gospel, Jesus says to you and to me, “I love you!” John, who is believed to be the author of this Gospel and traditionally, as the beloved disciple,  truly felt the weight of this love. It was because of this love that made him to stand strong even in the midst of confusion at the arrest of Jesus. He followed Jesus on his way to be crucified. John was also present at the foot of the cross of Jesus with Mary and witnessed the death of his Lord. John was also the first to believe in Jesus’ resurrection upon seeing the empty tomb despite his confusion and fears. 

    However, aside from him, the rest of the disciples of Jesus were nowhere to be found. Judas betrayed his Lord and Master and killed himself. Peter denied Jesus three times. And the rest? They all fled and him themselves because of fear. However, the Lord never abandoned them. The Lord never gave up on them. The Lord will never give up on us.

    This is how we find the Gospel truly life-giving. Jesus says, “There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are my friends.” Jesus calls us his friends and nobody can take that away from Jesus. Hence, even with rejection, denial and betrayal, these will not make Jesus to withdraw from us. “You are my friends,” says the Lord.

    This is the same love shown by Jesus in the most concrete way, that the disciples were converted. They began to see their imperfection that though they were all unworthy, but Jesus remained faithful till the end. This is the love that made the disciples to become confident and daring. The love that they truly believed is life in itself for them. Thus, as a community, we believed that God first loved us and because God is faithful, God will always love us even if everyone and everything goes wrong.

    This love then, empowers the disciples. This is how we find the story of Matthias being chosen to be part of the 12 Apostles who were sent to continue what Jesus has started. Matthias became part of this apostolic ministry that proclaims the life of Jesus and the power of his resurrection.

    It is the same love that God tells us today. When rejections, betrayals and fears haunt us, when our relationships fail, and begin to feel unloved, then, Jesus tells each of us, “I LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE MY FRIEND.” God is totally in love with you and with me. Be assured and be confident in that love because His love is constant and faithful.

    It should be this same love that would hopefully lead us to see the light and joy even in the midst of suffering and pain in life, even in the midst of rejection and betrayal of people who are close to us, and even in the midst of worries and anxieties in times of pandemic. 

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    This love should also inspire us to respond in love, to express our love to God, to ourselves, and to others even to those who have hurt us and people we do not like. This is the commandment of Jesus, “love one another as I have loved you.” St. Matthias is a witness to this. This is the reason that he also committed himself to Christ that he may be able to give life to the Church even in the midst of persecution.

    Indeed, God’s love is liberating and empowering. This is how Easter becomes glorious because God’s love empowers and liberates. As we are being loved, we are also moved to love. 

    Loving and being loved certainly make our life worth living. Love gives us purpose and meaning in life and this becomes concrete as we continually reach out to others to express our love and show our kindness. Thus, hopefully, we may not become reasons for others in making their lives miserable and horrible because of our indifferent, childish and selfish desires and intentions.

    May I invite you then today, show your kindness to people around you in the most concrete way. Make that person feel being loved as God lets you feel being loved today. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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