Thinking of you!

"Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction,

Faithful in Prayer." 

Romans 12:12

Just letting you KNOW that 

someone's REMEMBERING YOU in PRAYER

and trusting God to TOUCH your LIFE

with WARMTH and LOVING CARE!
GOD LOVES YOU!

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RITUAL OF REMEMBER-ING

"REMEMBERING is the heart's own way of holding our loved ones close and keeping us in constant touch with those who mean the most."

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love becomes a part of us.

-Hellen Keller-

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! Friends, thank you all for expressing how you have  been a friend to me!

I am sorry that it took me a long time show up in FB and to have the courage to articulate that I am still alive and that my life has been "different" because my life choices have changed.

I was anticipating that it would not make sense to you that I seemed to have thrashed everything that I have worked for, particularly from what had "symbolized" my total life commitment to God, to all others and to the world. That is to say, my embracing  and leaving my Life Commitment to Religious Life.

In fact, my WHOLE idea of vocation and vocation priorities have changed and I did not know whether you would understand or that you would accept me for this drastic life decision. 

  I now just believed that my Vocation is Our Shared Vocation.

Whether religious or secular life, there is always something greater that happens when we embrace a particular life. I have learned to understand better that OUR VOCATION is more of what of Frederick Buechner's articulation, THAT IS, to be at "the meeting place where we address the greatest world needs and where we most satisfy our greatest need."

I am sorry that, maybe, I did not trust you enough or I just presumed that you would understand that I just have to move on in my life. That means, that I had to temporarily cut off from all my present and past connections . But am sorry that my absence and silence has taken me a long time.

However, going back to Facebook last week made me realize that I may have been totally in isolation.  In your communications and messages, you showed me that you can understand my long silence and my seeming uncaring absence. It's either simply because you might have known me as a genuine friend, who just happened to be different and who have process his life events differently or you just believe that somehow anything is possible on line and that we would connect one way or the other.  

I have chosen to believe that you must have known me well and my pattern of relationships and that you are my true friend.  I usually detach and be out of circulation to see things from a better perspective but I always come back.. however and whenever...  as more more enlightened and profoundly individual. And that I never change, I always carry you in my mind and heart.  

 I know that this trust should have been a two way street.  I have to trust you as well as a friend, just as you have trusted me that I always consider you as a friend, no matter what.

 I want to start right now, by saying sorry for not having enough faith in you. I also want to thank you for trusting me and for showing me that you are a genuine friend! 

Secondly, I should let you know what you need to hear. In leaving religious life, I did not turn my back from what God had granted me, I am turning toward the direction that God has been daring me to venture on my life's journey.

 I just have known that in my absence, I have missed a lot and this is something that I have to bear and to be sorry for.   I know that I  could not make up for those moments that I missed - like being with my cousin Joel who passed away early this year, being with you on special occasions like our class reunions, and other landmarks in life that I could have shared with you.  I really do apologize for not having to have done better.

The Christmas and the New Year Season is appropriate to invite you to start all over again. Just like how I have been pre-occupied with appreciating the beauty of landscapes and looking at them with fresh lens, I invite you to reframe how we see ourselves, other people, God and the world around us. 

I cannot promise that I would be around always since I have always been a recluse all my life. I am also starting a new phase in my life this year and would move on to relocate somewhere where God leads me.  I just want to touch base and to tell you how grateful I have been for you and for your friendship. I will try be more obvious and would visit FB once in while and would join you in spirits in celebrating our friendships!

Happy New Year to you all! 

FYI, for a long time I cannot read my messages from the Brothers' Intranet Access and had to re-configure my lost internet connections and aquaint myself with the nuances of Facebook and Myspace. Would post every once in a while on my webiste as I would be connecting with my other links soon as time permits. But promise to be around and to check on you as well. Love you all!

GOD AS THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES

COILED SHOOT OF A GIANT ANCIENT FERN

"What you get by achieving your goal is not as important

as what you become by achieving your goals" 
-Goethe-

ALL EMBRACING GOD, 
THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER
THAT WHATEVER I HOLD AT THE CENTER OF MY LIFE

CAN HAVE THE POWER TO INFLUENCE 
AS TO WHOM I MAY BECOME.

LORD, I IMPLORE YOU TO DIRECT NOT MY FOCUS
ON MY FALTERING SENSE OF SOLITARY SELF, 
ON MY RELIANCE ON FALSE POWER AND SECURITY
AND ON MY ATTENTION TO FLEETING HAPPINESS.

RATHER, SET MY HEART ON FIRE WITH LOVE FOR YOU
AND FOR YOUR MYSTICAL PRESENCE 
 DEEPLY PLANTED IN MY HEART
AND IN ALL OF LIFE.

YOU HAVE CONSTANTLY STIRRED LIFE IN ME;

NEVER STOP TO SEIZE ME WITH YOUR CARESSES.
CONSTANTLY SURPRISE ME 
AND KEEP ME IN AWE AND WONDER
AS YOU DRAW ME CLOSER TO YOU.

EVER LOVING GOD,

KEEP MY HEART EVER VIGILANT AND GRATEFUL

AND SO THAT I CAN ALWAYS 
RECOGNIZE & CELEBRATE 
IN EACH MOMENT OF MY AWARENESS
YOUR EVER UNFOLDING SELF-REVELATION
DAWNING INSIDE OF ME AND IN ALL OF CREATION.

O, GOD-WHO-IS-WITH-US,
BLESS ME IN MY UNDYING DESIRE 

TO MAKE YOU THE CENTER OF MY LIFE!

TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF PRAYER

"To pray is to enter into a relationship with God

and to have that relationship make a difference in my life"

-  KENNETH LEECH -

THE CORE OF CHRISTIAN PRAYER

"Establishing and developing a relationship 

is the nucleus of all Christian Prayer. 

This bond is created with Someone, 

and that Someone is God.  

Our Source of Life continually bids each of us into a loving union. 

The process of prayer unfolds in a way similar to Jesus' inviting his disciples to follow him into a deeper friendship, 

a closeness that did not develop instantly. 

 Prayer is a kind of companionship 

that develops step by step,

 as we are drawn into an ever expanding oneness of love.

"Prayer" is not only about entering into a relationship with God; 

it is also about being changed. 

Healthy prayer strengthens our bond with the Creator 

and it also transforms us. 

Every encounter with God provides the opportunity for us to grow spiritually. 

Prayer makes a difference in our life 

because it nudges and persuades us to develop Christ like qualities 

in our attitudes and actions. 

Through prayer we become more loving, gracious,

 compassionate, and justice-oriented beings. 

When this happen, 

we are altered in a positive way 

and the world we touch is also changed for the better." 

- Joyce Rupp, Prayer -

MAY WE ALWAYS BE DOCILE AND WILLING 

TO BE SEIZED BY OUR LOVING GOD 

WHO CONTINUALLY DRAW US CLOSER 

TO GOD'S EVER EXPANDING ONENESSS OF LOVE!

GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND STRENGTH, A LOVING PRESENCE IN TIMES OF TROUBLE

The Beloved is our refuge and strength,

a Loving Presence in times of trouble.

Therefore we shall not fear though

the earth should change,

though the mountains shake 

in the heart of the sea;

Though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

Psalm 46 (Psalm for the Praying, Invitation to Wholeness)

Nan Merril

May Faith, Hope and Courage
be our Guiding Light
today and always!
May God be praised!

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

THE  PROFOUNDEST LOVE

"LOVE is not a feeling;

it is AN ACT OF THE WILL, A COMMITMENT  
THAT SUSTAINS THE RELATIONSHIP

even when the Beloved 

is no longer even likable."

Instances abound like

"the LOVE OF THE MOTHER of the death-row convict,

the LOVE OF PARENTS when their children say,

"I've found someone I love more than I love you -

at least in a different way,"

the LOVE OF THE ALCOHOLIC FAMILY,

the PRODIGAL LOVE OF THE FATHER

for his runaway son,

GOD'S LOVE FOR US

when we say,"I don't need you,"

and

OUR LOVE OF GOD

when God chooses to be silent."

-William O'Malley, "Redemptive Suffering"-



May our lives continue to be enriched and to be transformed
by the profound love that others have lived and shared
and may their examples ever propel us 
in our efforts to "know God more deeply,
love God more dearly, 
and follow God more closely"
in our lives!

MORNING PRAYER

As new light streams out of the darkness.

we open wide our hearts 

to the healing light of your Encircling Presence.

Open our eyes 

to the opportunities this day has to offer.

Surprise us with small joys and pieces of beauty

scattered though the hours ahead.

O Beautiful Presence,

help us this day to taste the joy of  being awake.

May this simple prayer come true

in our lives today!

-Macrina Weiderkher- 

A SPRING TIME PRAYER

Ever-renewing and energizing Creator,

come, stir my dormant spiritual limbs.

Wake up my tired prayer,

Revive my weary efforts of care.

Sing hope into my discouragement.

Wash my dusty, drab attitude

with the cleansing of your vision.

Go deep to my roots and penetrate my faith

with the vibrancy of your grace.

Shake loose the old leftover oak leaves 

of my tenacious ego-centeredness.

Coax joy to sprout from my difficulties.

Warm the buds of my relationships

so they bloom with healthy love.

Clear out my wintered debris

with the wild breeze of your liberating presence.

Nudge me, woo me, entice me, draw me near you.

I give you my trust and my gratitude

as you grace my thawing spirit.

Light-filled being, my Joy and my Hope,

let the greening begin!

-Joyce Rupp-

BLESSED ADVENT

A GIFT OF HOPE
An Advent Prayer by Joyce Rupp

God of all those who yearn for a glimmer 
of assurance on the long journey to you, come!
Come with the vast storehouse of renewed dreams, 
hopes and peacefulness!

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into my memory and remind me often 
of the yearning of the people of history. 
Stir up stories of how the ancestors 
hung on your promises, 
how they stole hope from tiny glimmers
about you, passed on from age to age. 
Help me to hear the loud, crying voices of the prophets who proclaimed that a new age would dawn.

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into this heart of mine 
which often loses itself in self, 
missing the message of your encouragement 
because I am so entangled in the web of my own whirl of life.
 Enable me to not lose sight of the power of your presence or the truth of your consolation.

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into the lives of all those I hold dear, 
the ones whose lives are marked with pain,
 struggle, and deep anxiety, 
those whose lives bear ongoing heartaches, 
those whose difficulties threaten to overwhelm 
them with helplessness and despair. 
Come and gift them with a deep belief about you 
and your never-ending faithfulness and companionship.

GOD OF HOPE,
Come into every human heart 
that cries out for a glimpse of your love, 
for a sign of your welcoming presence, 
for a taste of happiness. 
Be the one who calms the restless 
and gentles the ache of the human journey.

GOD OF HOPE,
Enter into this Advent Season 
with the grace of joy and laughter. 
Fill faces with smiles of delight and voices 
with sounds of pleasure.  
Let this gift come from deep within. 
Replenish all with the joyful blessings that only your peace can bring.

GOD OF HOPE,
Be the Morning Star in our Midst, 
the Light that can never go out, 
the Beacon of Hope guiding our way to you. 
Come into our midst and make of our lives a home,
 where your everlasting goodness resonates with assuring love and vigorous hope.

May the Light of Christ 

that has come into our world

fill all of our hearts with Joy and Peace!

Join me in fathoming the depths of this liturgical season of the year by immersing ourselves in a profound spiritual prayer that I have found so powerful to enter into 

during this Advent Season. 

A BLESSED ADVENT TO EVERYONE!

BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO TRUSTS IN THE LORD...

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water 

that brings forth its fruit in due season;

his leaf shall not wither;

and whatever he does shall prosper!

PSALM 1: 1-5

 WHO IS OUR GENUINE FRIEND?

Have been reflecting about friends and friendship lately.  I guess, I have come to the point of my developmental years that I am so concerned about what Erick Erickson called "Intimacy Stage," which may be a stage close to late adulthood?  Wow, may be not that far yet, although getting close.  But surely, I have been around and have been to many places and have met some many people that have befriended me and that i have befriended. 

Whether the friendship has been mutually recognized and lived out, I could not tell for sure.  What I know well, is that there is always something pure and powerful about friendship that I have desired to appropriate or write about, much more, that I have longed to embrace, even though I have found, been awed, humbled and transformed by these number of personal friendships. 

I thought, I would like to mention and share the special quotations that have deeply resonated with me and that have come very close to my ideal notion of friendship.  Hopefully, in writing them down, I would have the imagination and the inspiration to express this reality closer to what some theologians have already articulated about and what the mystics have deeply experienced in their lives. That is, God has continually been inviting us to be closer and has always been drawing us to that ultimate level of Intimacy and Oneness with God and with the whole of creation.  

PROFOUND QUOTATIONS ON FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... 

It has no survival value; 
rather it is one of those things 
that give value to survival. 

~ C.S. Lewis

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have,

and one of the best things you can be. 
Douglas Pagels

I went out to find a friend,
But could not find one there,
Then I went out to be a friend,
And there were friends everywhere!

Anonymous

DEEPER PERSONAL FRIENDSHIP PERSPECTIVES  

'Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. 

Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. 

Walk beside me and be my friend.' 

Albert Camus

  'A real friend is one who walks in 

when the rest of the world walks out.' 

Charles Colton 

 "A friend 

is someone who can take both the chaff and the wheat; 

and 

with the breath of kindness remove the chaff."

G. Campbell Morgan 

" If one falls down, his friend can help him up. 

But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

 Many people today know the painful loneliness of having no truly best friends". 

Eccl. 4:10

"Greater love has no one than this, 

that he lay down his life for his friends" 

John 15:13

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. 

Instead, I have called you friends, 

for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" 

John 15:15.

             "The friend who can be silent with us 

in a moment of despair or confusion,

who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement,

who can tolerate not knowing...not healing...not curing

...that is the friend who cares."

 - Henri Nouwen -

A Friend is a Present you give Yourself!

 - Anonymous -

It is my prayer that we may all deeply experience this Loving Mystery that always draw us closer to God in our daily lives.  May God, who continually mold us in his image and likeness, always leave us in awe and wonder as we show more transparency in our relationships with God and with one another!