Is there anything in your life that you find hard to accept? If you cannot understand God’s reason for allowing it to happen, just trust His heart - Daily Reflections April 30,2015

THE AMAZING MYSTERY OF GOD’S LOVING KINDNESS   The crucifixion of the Lord may be considered a temporary hour of Pilate’s victory, and all those he represented. It was an hour of darkness, of seeming defeat and utter loss. It was Satan’s hour, but not meant to be forever.          Our opening prayer asks God that we may “look upon the amazing mystery of His loving kindness.” Let us unpack this mystery a bit. One meaning, among many, of mystery is that which is unknown until it is revealed by God Himself. Another meaning is that which is difficult or almost impossible to understand.          Both are easily applicable to our reflection for today. It is difficult to understand why good men suffer. It is hard to fathom why evil temporarily triumphs and the forces of good seem to always take the back seat.        But what is hard to understand does not mean it is absurd and ridiculous. As a priest, I have seen many women and men who, subjected as they were to so much pain, proved that there is some force stronger than pain. I have met up with many who, despite being bowed by seemingly insurmountable odds, show that there is Someone bigger than their problem, bigger than their suffering.        Ours is not the task to understand, but to accept. The Cross was a mystery. Jesus’ death was a mystery, as was His suffering. Why He did it is a mystery — something that is not meant to be explained but to be lived. Our prayer talks about “looking upon,” not understanding.        But I can assure you of one important thing. Tens of thousands of saints, over more than two thousand years, have shown to the world that “no servant is greater than his master.” They found meaning in the cross. And they show us the amazing mystery of God’s loving kindness. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTION: Is there anything in your life that you find hard to accept? If you cannot understand God’s reason for allowing it to happen, just trust His heart.   Lord God, help me to trust in Your heart whenever I cannot understand and accept what’s happening in my life.

Di

Who are your mentors? Do they give you brightness that stays with you even when you’re not with them? - Daily Reflections April 29,2015

COMING TO THE WORLD AS LIGHT

 

Many years ago, we were introduced to the confusing concepts of the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith.” In my simplistic mind then, I could not tell the difference between the two.

       There is, of course, no distinction. Christ Jesus is one and the same person — the Lord of history, the object of our collective and personal faith, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. This is the truth as far as He is concerned. But as far as we humans are concerned, there may indeed be an important distinction. We could know all there is to know factually, theologically and academically about Jesus the Christ, but we all know that knowing about someone is not exactly the same as knowing someone.

       There was one author and teacher whom I idolized many years ago. I read most of his books before I became his student. I knew all about him and what he wrote, and what I read from his books edified me to the hilt. But things changed when he became my teacher. The warmth that I felt in his writings was nowhere near the reality that I experienced of the dismissive and impatient man that he really was from up close and personal.

       In retrospect, there are good teachers and there are good mentors and guides. Good teachers are meant to be heard and adulated. But mentors and guides are meant to be listened to and emulated. Teachers give enlightenment. Mentors come into your life as light. They offer you brilliance that stays with you forever.

       Writer E. Stanley Jones says, “The early disciples had little ritual but a mighty realization. They went out, not remembering Christ but experiencing Him.”

       We Christians don’t just remember Christ. No, for Christ cannot be done full justice to solely in the remembering, but in the experiencing. He came not just as brightness to be seen, but as light to be experienced! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Who are your mentors? Do they give you brightness that stays with you even when you’re not with them?

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for sending me my mentors in life. Bless them with wisdom that they may be able to guide and lead more people to live as You want them to.

The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. – Acts 11:21 - Daily Reflections April 28,2015

NO ONE CAN TAKE THEM OUT OF THE FATHER’S HAND   I am a perpetual student of human behavior. I love observing people in their unguarded moments — at churches, at malls, during a concert, at the supermarkets, in my travels, etc. I could tell a caring and careful parent when I see one. Young fathers or mothers would allow their toddler child to run freely, but under their watchful eye.        The best is when they cross the busy streets. Mom or Dad would hold their child’s hands tightly, securely and gingerly cross the street. I would generously stop and wait until they get safely across. In public areas, where crowds abound, the parents would always clutch their child’s little hands. No one can take them out of the father’s (or mother’s) hand!        Solicitude is a big word. But for a love as big as God’s, maybe we do need such a word. This is the love that gave energy to the likes of Stephen and company to go “as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch.” This is the same love that gives young parents the energy to extend that hand of safety to their child, without let-up, without getting tired, without counting what returns they could get.        It is most interesting to note that the last official act of the Son on the cross, was to hand over to the Father’s hand His all, His life, His work, His everything. “Father, into Your hands, I commend My spirit.” This is the same Lord, risen from the dead, who speaks from personal experience. He knows deeply and truly about His Father’s divine solicitude: “No one can take them out of the Father’s hand.”        I didn’t know why certain images of childhood remained stuck in my memory. One of these is the memory of my father taking me by the hand and teaching me how to navigate the streets of Poblacion, Makati. Now I know. They spoke to me of solicitude, of a love like that of God for us! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

Do you often hold back in doing things right by the need to follow prescribed rules? - Daily Reflections April 27,2015

REJOICING IN THE FULL MEASURE

OF GOD’S GRACE

 

Our opening prayer asks God to “bring us to rejoice in the full measure of [His] grace.” We humans love to give in half measures. When we play, we wouldn’t even give an inch to our opponent. We weigh. We calculate what we give and count the potential returns of our largesse. But we expect God, and ask God, to bring us to rejoicing to the full.

        I heard about the story of a Protestant couple who risked their lives to help Catholic victims during the Second World War in Poland. When the couple also died, the people asked their pastor if they could be buried in the Catholic cemetery. The pastor refused. So, out of obedience, they buried the couple closest to the boundaries of the Catholic cemetery, near the fence. During the night, the people went back to the cemetery and did something unthinkable. They moved the fence to include the lovely and lovable couple within the confines of the Catholic cemetery.

       Peter was facing a brewing controversy. Believers who were not originally Jewish were getting cozy with observant Jews. They complained to Peter. Peter patiently taught them and convinced them to allow the non- Jewish converts to also rejoice in the full measure of God’s grace, without bias, without borders, without resentment.

        We humans can be too focused on doing the right things but miss out on the need to do them rightly. Last year, Pope Francis surprised us with a fresh wisp of pastoral charity. He alluded, in Evangelii Gaudium, to what he calls “diagnostic overload,” which to my mind means remaining in the state of paralysis (or inaction) due to endless analysis.

         Come on, fellow believer. “Athirst is my soul for the living God.” And so is everyone else. All men and women are called to the glorious liberty of God’s children. Who are we to deny that “God has granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too?” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you often hold back in doing things right by the need to follow prescribed rules?

 

Grant me wisdom, Lord, to know how to do things rightly in every situation I find myself in.

Among the three signs of humility mentioned above, what do you find difficult to do? - Daily Reflections April 25,2015

A GARMENT TO WEAR CONSTANTLY   I was a provinciano (from the province) at heart in my preschool days. Before our family moved to the Manila, clothes that people wore lookedall the same to me. It did not matter whether your “trubinized” shirt was bought from Berg’s or from backwater Baclaran. After all, they were made in Bulacan.        Things are different now. The phenomenon of signature items has taken the world by storm, and people, like books, are now judged by their cover, i.e., by what they wear. Bench, Boss and Benetton betray one’s social status, even as Guess, Gap and Gucci categorize you in the eyes of fashionistas.  Let us be fashionistas for once today and follow Peter’s counsel.        The clothes that do not make the man do tend to make heads turn. I remember being dressed in my worn-out gray shirt many years ago as a young student priest in Rome. I went to the Spanish embassy asking for a visado (visa). I was ignored. People were a little gruff and, after being given the runaround, I went back home and put on my best suit. I went back to face the same grumpy ladies. I got my visa in about 10 minutes.          But that was one of the few times I cared about what I wore. Being short of stature and being shy by nature, people rarely turn their heads to take a better look at me. I savor the relative freedom that comes with not standing out in the crowd. But that freedom does not translate necessarily to genuine humility. “Wearing the garment of humility constantly” had very definite signs: a) being subject to elders; b) bowing down before God in prayer (“unloading one’s burdens to Him”); c) being one with the suffering of others by standing up to the wiles of the evil one.          Humility could be a put-on, but one cannot fake obedience and love for God, who “opposes the proud but accords his favor to the humble.” And humility is something one wears constantly from the inside out, not the other way around. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTION: Among the three signs of humility mentioned above, what do you find difficult to do?   Grant me the grace, Lord, to be humble and obedient to You.

God’s grace and mercy shone through people who put on flesh to His compassion - Daily Reflections April 24,2015

THE ANANIAS FACTOR   Saul was “breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord.” I can identify with Saul. I used to be very impatient. I was at times too bullheaded about my plans and passionate about what I cared for — to a fault.        But God has mysterious ways of getting us back to our better senses. The Lord sent me what could be equivalent to Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” I suffered. I swallowed my pride. I licked my wounds. And ever so gradually (though not completely yet), I recovered my inner serenity and peace.        I could not have done it without the help of others. Real friends came to my side. They did not always agree with me but they listened to me. They walked side by side with me. Like Paul, I had my Damascus moment.      I don’t know who were traveling with Saul at that time. All I can surmise is that they were good and helpful people. They did not leave the blinded Saul-soon-to-be-Paul in the lurch. “They led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.”        I dedicate today’s reflection to all who do the thankless job of guiding, helping, walking with, and showing people the way towards any form of enlightenment. These are the silent heroes: teachers, mentors, counselors and spiritual guides. They lead people by the hand and bring them to some place that’s safe and secure.        I dedicate today, too, to all those who believed enough in me to trust and approve of me. Like Ananias, they may have doubted: “I’ve heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done...” But God’s grace and mercy shone through people who put on flesh to His compassion. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTION: Who is your Ananias?   Lord, thank You for sending me people who have shown me Your compassion and mercy.

Who are the persons who taught you important life lessons? - Daily Reflections April 23,2015

CONTINUING ON THEIR WAY REJOICING   My first lessons on prayer remain embedded in my memory. My mother taught me how to do the sign of the cross, recite the basic prayers, and form the habit of lifting up my mind and heart to God before leaving the house or going on a journey.        I remember, too, how my two grandmothers would never go out of the house without first reciting prayers, including a prayer to the “angel de la guardia,”which I did not fully understand then.        These have remained with me through these years. I learned the basics of my faith on account of this simple fact: someone close to me instructed me. It is also why I cannot forget the day my father walked me to school, showing me the many intersections I needed to pass through.        This is how it works when it comes to knowing and living the faith. Somebody has to walk you through it. This is what Philip did — he guided the unnamed traveler to understanding what he read.        Being an educator has taught me precious lessons. One of them is that it is not always the most brilliant who remember what you taught. Faith goes beyond merely knowing. It has a lot to do with relating. What is important is not so much the mind, as the heart. Former students who have kept in touch with me all these years were not necessarily those who were in awe about what I said, or those who religiously and painstakingly recorded what sounded memorable to them. Those who come back grateful are those I have accompanied through the ups and downs of life; those whom I have walked through difficulties to solutions that they themselves discovered; those that I have guided through the exciting, exhilarating process of relating — with me, with others and with God.        The eunuch asked to be baptized after being guided and he went away happy. Some point to ponder: Do people we meet also “continue on their way rejoicing?” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTION: Who are the persons who taught you important life lessons?   Thank You, Lord, for the many people, saints included, who taught me about my faith and showed me how to live it through the witness of their lives.

Are you doing your share in spreading the Word of God? Or are you one of those who are busy trying to silence it through secular materialism - Daily Reflections April 22,2015

GOING ABOUT PREACHING THE WORD   While Saul was busy “dragging out men and women,” and “handing them over for imprisonment,” others also “went about preaching the Word.”        In our times, many individuals and groups are as busy as can be trying to destroy the Catholic Church and disparage the faith of millions. Mainstream media is one of them. One only needs to scan the various reports from all over the world to see how many of them are biased against the Catholic Church, and how they can twist facts and put a spin to anything that Pope Francis says.        Last year, I was blessed to meet a German couple, both alumni of  our school in Benedikbeuern, Southern Germany. Kristian and Nicola Maier have been missionaries in Bontoc-Lagawe doing what they call the “apostolate of presence” with the natives of Bontoc, Mountain Province.         I was in awe. I felt blessed and grateful to God for making me realize and see first hand how so many lay people are busy “going about preaching the Word.” There are times when I feel sorry about the haters and naysayers. It is no secret that the object of their hatred is the Church and what She stands for. To make matters worse, they seem to be very busy, like Saul was, “trying to destroy the Church, entering house by house, and dragging men and women” to their culture of unbelief.          We ought to do better than the likes of Saul, version one. He was rabid and relentless. But Saul, version two, was a totally different man. He was zealous, committed, passionate and dedicated to the mission.       Some of us have not yet gotten into the groove of the new evangelization. Now that there is a veritable persecution of the Church everywhere, we could rethink our being Catholics. Have we remained in version 1 — the version we got from the day we were baptized many years ago?          We need to join “ministry version F,” and do like Pope Francis does! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you doing your share in spreading the Word of God? Or are you one of those who are busy trying to silence it through secular materialism?   Stir up my heart, Lord, that I may have the passion and the commitment to spread Your Word wherever I may be.

We can all be heroes of faith. Have you made a commitment to God to do all that you can to spread His Kingdom on earth? - Daily Reflections April 21,2015

USQUE AD MORTEM!

 

This is a story of two men. One chose to face certain death for love of the God he came to know personally and believed in. The other chose to do what he initially set out to do with conviction and commitment — persecute the ragtag band of followers of the notorious Galilean. One was a believer; the other a rabid persecutor.

       The former was in the threshold of heroism and holiness, journeying home to his reward. The latter was busy forging a career as a Pharisee, journeying along towards earthly success as a Roman citizen and as the quintessential Jew.

         Both showed zeal, becoming what they decided they should be. Both “told it like it is,” mincing no words while accosting people who were not yet on their side.

       Both had the makings of greatness. Both were once far off from the saving truth. Stephen found that truth earlier than Saul, but both eventually offered their lives for the same truth. Stephen, the first martyr, died by stoning; Saul, who later became Paul, died by beheading.

       The two followed their Master and Lord, even “usque ad mortem” — that is, even to the point of dying cruel deaths, like the Lord.

       Our Christian faith is full of tension and paradoxes. One of these paradoxical truths is that fullness of life can only be achieved by dying. In Easter, when we celebrate the new life Christ has brought by rising from the dead, we speak of Stephen, of Paul, and of the seeming utter defeat they experienced at the hands of those who would not believe.

       The two initially set out in pursuit of success in their own respective fields. That thirst for fullness was later transformed into passion for saving truth, and commitment to the God they loved — “usque ad mortem!”

       Lord, receive my spirit! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: We can all be heroes of faith. Have you made a commitment to God to do all that you can to spread His Kingdom on earth?

 

Lord, grant me courage to follow You and to share Your love through the witness of my life.

Recall people you’ve met who demonstrated to you true humility and detachment from power. How have they inspired you today? - Daily Reflections April 20, 2015

LIKE THE FACE OF AN ANGEL

 

I haven’t seen an angel. I wouldn’t know how to describe the face of one. But I have seen angelic individuals whose faces radiated something heavenly. You know you are looking at one when you see one. You just know you are in the presence of someone whose eyes are not so much focused on the here and the now, as on the beyond and on God.

       I saw this more than two years ago in the person of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. I was in awe (and in tears!) as I watched the live TV coverage of his departure from the papal apartments as he boarded the helicopter that brought him to Castel Gandolfo before he officially ended his Petrine ministry. I was touched by his serenity, his marked air of detachment and spirit of humility. He was, to use the words of Luke in reference to Stephen, “filled with grace and power,” as he freely took leave of his august office for the good of the Church. His eloquent example and powerful lesson on detachment and humility inspired us.

       I saw a similar scene 12 years ago when my older sister was in the final stages of an aggressive cancer — a disease she swore to fight earlier on but which, in the end, she accepted with serenity, resignation and faith. While we gathered around her hospital bed, she awoke from coma, gave us a momentary glance of love and acceptance, waved her good hand towards heaven, and breathed her last peacefully. At that point, she seemed to be “filled with grace and power” from above.

       In my more than 30 years as a priest, there were many instances when God gifted me with the overwhelming presence of angelic figures. Full of life and enthusiasm while healthy and strong on earth, they, too, were “filled with grace and power” as they went home to the Father, like Stephen was. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Recall people you’ve met who demonstrated to you true humility and detachment from power. How have they inspired you today?

 

Teach me true detachment, Lord, from the things of this world, especially power and riches.

What do you use more in decision-making — your head or your heart? - Daily Reflections April 17,2015

CLARITY AND COMPASSION

 

Yesterday, we reflected on clarity of mind and vision. One who sees rightly would also do rightly. The Apostles, given a choice between obeying men (and displeasing God), chose to obey God rather than men. They had clarity of vision. They knew well their Scripture that told them to put God before anyone and anything else.

       Gamaliel was a teacher of the law and, thus, a learned man. He could see through his mind. He, too, had clarity and perspicacity of vision. But he was more than just brilliant. He could see with the heart. He was compassionate. Years ago, I was the young principal of the basic education department of a big school. There were times I agonized about dismissing certain boys, or whether to give second chances to those who seemed not to give much promise of reform. All the conditions were clear and the teachers and supervisors were unanimous. But I still had the power to veto or affirm the decision.

       Thirty years later, I knew I goofed in certain cases, but I also realize I took the better option in many cases by following my heart rather than my mind. Clarity of mind seemed pretty much in place then. But in those cases, what was needed was the Gamaliel model of prudence and compassion. “Be careful what you are about to do to these men — you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” Gamaliel’s prudent words resonated in the hearts of his hearers, and the distraught Apostles found a most unlikely ally in him.

       In life, not everything is predictable. No matter what management gurus say, not everything can be neatly planned and not all things can be subjected to pure and sure rhyme and reason. Blaise Pascal was referring to this when he wrote: “The heart has reasons that reason itself does not know of.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: What do you use more in decision-making — your head or your heart?

 

May I always have the grace, Lord, to know Your heart as well as Your mind in every decision I need to make.

 

How easy or hard is it for you to obey man-made laws? How about God-ordained laws? - Daily Reflections April 16,2015

OBEYING GOD RATHER THAN MEN

 

Nowadays, obedience is not easy to come by. We have laws, but it seems nobody wants to follow them. Only small-time taxpayers whose taxes are already deducted from their payslips seem to pay taxes religiously.

       People cut corners, turn two-lane roads into five lanes, and create bottlenecks everywhere. Sidewalks have become stalls, stores, extension gardens and repositories of junked vehicles.

       Obedience to laws for the sake of the common good is a tough nut to crack. One needs political will, tenacity of purpose, and clarity of vision. One does not obey because something is mandated. Something is mandated because there is a value attached to it — a value that goes beyond mere personal benefit or convenience, but has to do with the common good, and more besides, like spiritual goods.

       Today, Peter and the Apostles disobeyed the orders of the authorities. The powers-that-be were rattled as the small ragtag group of preachers “filled Jerusalem with [their] teaching.” Now, that’s what you call zealous preaching! I know of some preachers who could easily preach for an hour but, of course, length does not translate to powerful and substantial, especially if all one does is to sing a few songs to force-fit to the readings.

       Because of their disobedience, the Apostles were made to stand before the Sanhedrin. They were placed under duress and threatened. But heroes and holy men are not only bold and courageous. They also have clarity of vision. They knew who, ultimately, was their Boss, to whom alone obedience is due.

       Peter and the Apostles knew whom to obey. In the face of conflicting values, they chose wisely and did rightly. They obeyed God rather than men. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How easy or hard is it for you to obey man-made laws? How about God-ordained laws?

 

I pray for the grace of obedience to You, Lord, so that I may reap the rewards of eternal life.

Is there any anger and hatred that you hold on to? What’s keeping you from handing it over to God and letting Him heal your heart? - Daily Reflections April 15,2015

LIVE IN THE TRUTH, COME TO THE LIGHT   I like the contrasting images in the readings these days of Easter: darkness and light; imprisonment and freedom; perdition and salvation. They all remind us of the healthy tension between two realities that exist side by side. They speak about the paradoxical situation in which we, by the choices we make, can go either to the pole of enslavement or deliverance; the pole of darkness or light. Let us throw in, too, the polarities of love and hatred.        John tells us that the “people preferred darkness to light,” even if “light came into this world.”          Recent scientific research says that there is a very thin line that separates love from hatred. Both love and hatred show the same patterns of brain activity, except in one interesting aspect. When one loves, the cerebral cortex shuts down completely. When one hates, the cerebral cortex goes in turbo mode. When one is filled with love, logic does not work; reason does not take center stage. But when one hates, one becomes very logical, calculating and scheming. When one loves, the measure of love is to love without measure, as St. Francis de Sales puts it. When one hates, one finds all the needed logical reasons and justifications to hate somebody.          The one who hates finds reasons to deepen his hatred. One can grow in hatred and feel justified for being so. But when one loves, one grows deeper into loving. Love looks for no explanation and justification. Love is simply gratuitous. This may be the reason why Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI talked about the “principle of gratuitousness” in his encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est.”        The same principle may be the reason people prefer darkness to light. We can find all the reasons in the world to live in the darkness of anger and hatred. It is all a matter of choice and decision. But how about choosing today to live in the truth and come to the light? Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is there any anger and hatred that you hold on to? What’s keeping you from handing it over to God and letting Him heal your heart?   Lord Jesus, I lift up to You all the anger and grudges buried deep in my heart. Melt them and fill my heart with only love.

How good are you at listening? - Daily Reflections April 14, 2015

DELIGHTING IN THE PASCHAL MYSTERIES

 

The prayer over the offerings today asks God for the grace to “always find delight in the paschal mysteries.” As a sincere seeker and assiduous listener, Nicodemus was all ears that night he came to Jesus with his questions. No doubt, he was a secret admirer of the Lord, the doer of signs that could not have been done if He were not from God.

     But Nicodemus hesitated. He came at night. Like many of us who worry a lot about what people might say or think, he avoided the curious crowds. He did his search discreetly. He was a quiet but an active searcher, also an avid listener.

       I am active in social media, especially Facebook, where I do my own brand of evangelization. Often, I see people who give comments to posts and links that they have not even read. Apparently, the rule now is “shoot first; ask questions later.” Some people even get pretty worked up after reading the title of articles carried by satirical sites that provide subtle commentary to current events. Many react without first reading; they talk without first hearing; and they give a piece of their minds without first listening.

       I admire Nicodemus. A man of means, he made use of his resources to help. Together with Joseph of Arimathea, he made it possible for the crucified Lord to get a decent burial. A learned man in search of the truth,  he came forward, he asked, and he listened. Today’s Gospel passage shows that he most likely found delight in the mysteries he listened to.

       Today, one keeps silent not to listen but to think about what to say next to convince the other. Monologues like these are boring. Dialogues, in contrast, are engaging. In a dialogue, one listens twice as much as one speaks. One listens with the heart, like Nicodemus did. He listened intently and found delight in the words of the Lord. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How good are you at listening?

 

Grant me a listening heart, Lord, that I may hear You well in my life.

 

What role does the Word of God have in your life? - Daily Reflections April 9,2015

IT IS WRITTEN

 

There are times when life is not a bowl of cherries, as Americans would say. In Pinoy context, peanuts could take the place of cherries. Life is not as easy as eating peanuts. Let me give you my time-tested formula. When the going gets tough, I go back to my favorite poems and read my best-loved lines from favorite writers.

     The written word has a way of soothing rattled nerves and straightening crumpled faces.

       I am a sentimental person. I keep old letters. I seldom delete years-old email messages from people dear to me, both living and dead. In the age of digital filing cabinets, I have taken to saving some of them as pdf files. In my low moments, I read some of them all over again. The written word does not fail to energize me to stay the course and do what I ought to do. Well-crafted poetry and prose always lift my spirits up and give me a fresh dose of courage for the challenges up ahead.

       If human words can do so much to uplift me, then all the more can we say the same about the Word of God. The two disciples “recounted all that had happened,” and that became a prelude to their “recognizing the Lord in the breaking of bread.” They were in the middle of “speaking” to each other when the Lord “stood in their midst.” The Lord Himself reminded them “of the words that [He] spoke while still with them.”

       “Thus it is written…” These are important words that usher in the great news of Christ’s suffering, death and rising from the dead on the third day. These are words that we need to hear again and again.

       My favorite authors’ words may give courage, but the Word of the Lord gives life. Thus it is written! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: What role does the Word of God have in your life?

 

Make me ever hungry for Your Word, O Lord, that I may seek consolation from it when I am down.

 

How well do you recognize the love of the Lord for you? - Daily Reflections April 8,2015

FROM SEEING TO RECOGNIZING My friend swears his mother’s style of cooking remains to be an endearing element that binds him to her. He knows her cooking and can tell the difference from that of others. I also could tell the difference between my grandmother’s puto (rice cake) and that bought from vendors.        Food — the way it is prepared, how it is offered and shared, and who prepares it — has a lot to do with one’s feelings of well-being, relatedness, and at-homeness. There is more to food than just seeing it with your eyes. Food always has to do with warm feelings — of being loved, being cared for, and being the object and recipient of someone’s act of sacrificing love.        My mother’s nilaga or adobo were never culinary masterpieces. I didn’t see anything special in them. But I miss them every time I went back to the seminary from home visit. For I recognized in them a mother’s care and love. I saw more than the bland, ordinary fare that wouldn’t merit a second look from any gourmet.          The Eucharist, understood as the Lord giving of Himself as food to His beloved disciples, is partly what today’s Gospel passage is all about. He offered the two disciples bread and wine. But He did so in a manner that only people whose hearts were burning with love could recognize. The two disciples saw nothing more than what ordinary diners would have seen. But there was more than just food being offered. There was more than just a fleeting encounter involved between the three.          There was love — the fruit of a supreme sacrifice. And it spelled the difference between merely seeing and recognizing. “It is the Lord!”Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB REFLECTION QUESTION: How well do you recognize the love of the Lord for you? Thank You, Lord, for the gift of the Eucharist. Help me to hunger for It all the days of my life.

Amidst your suffering, have there been times when you worry and ask where it all leads to? - Daily Reflections April 5,2015

THE MORNING AFTER

 

Mary Magdalene had an errand to do that morning after. She rose early but she wasn’t the first to go there. Someone else arrived before she got there as predicted, as promised, as claimed — way before that glorious morning.

       The women were a little worried. The big stone that covered the entrance to the tomb was no match for their feeble strength. “Who will roll back the stone for us?” they asked. Who can blame them for feeling helpless after seeing the tragic events involving their Master and Teacher, who died a cruel death just before the Sabbath?

       I, too, felt helpless at the sight of so many tragedies befalling our country, like the super typhoon more than a year and a half ago, followed by a wildfire in Samar that destroyed what little the typhoon left standing.

       It was nightfall when the disciples and the women beheld from a distance the ignominious suffering and death of the Lord. It is nightfall, too, for people who see the “fell of dark, not day.” Many of us are steeped in different kinds of suffering — the sick, the dying, the poor and the powerless.

        These are times when we are tempted to ask ourselves: “Who will roll away the stone for us?” Who can we turn to for help? An old song says: “There’s got to be a morning after.”

        In faith we now declare with these women: Indeed, there is a morning after! From the long night of waiting and uncertainty, here comes a bright morning of hope and unequalled glory. Christ is risen! Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Amidst your suffering, have there been times when you worry and ask where it all leads to?

 

Grant me the grace, Lord, to see beyond the pain and the suffering. Help me to hope in the victory that awaits me — for as long as I hold on to You in faith.

 

What does Good Friday mean to you personally? - Daily Reflections April 3,2015

LIGHT IN FULLNESS OF DAYS   This passage reminds us of the contrasting story — that of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. One was a princess; the other was a nun. The former, in her dying moments, said, “Go away!” to paparazzi who wanted to get a scoop; the other expired with nothing but the name of Jesus on her lips.        The first smacks of some form of darkness; the latter points to what Isaiah referred to as “light in fullness of days.” Death, to whomever and whenever it happens, is dreadfully dark, whether you are a prince, princess or a monk, especially if one has chosen to follow those who “prefer the darkness to the light.”        Today, three men die on a hillside. Two thieves hung beside Jesus whose death, though surrounded by darkness, brought “light in fullness of days.” One of the thieves “stole” heaven, too, with a well-timed and repentant prayer. But the Lord died sinless, so that sinful humanity might also profit from the forgiveness and salvation that He brought.        Our faith says Good Friday is indeed good despite the darkness. Notwithstanding the long readings, Good Friday remains what it is meant to be — part of a seamless garment of a memorial that brought us from the joy of the Lord’s Supper, to a memorial of His physical self-giving, towards the exaltant rejoicing of His resurrection from the dead.        Good Friday is solemn, not sullen. It is about darkness that soon is revealed as light. It is about God’s quiet victory, after allowing His Son to suffer the shame of and seeming defeat on the cross.        Again, I say that I am proud to What does Good Friday mean to you personally?   For dying on the cross for us, dear Jesus, we are forever grateful. Your suffering became the instrument for our salvation.