In the midst of the silence I am there
Amidst the deafening silence that you bear
I move over the silence, in the quiet of your soul
Quietly moving, for me to make you whole
I am in every drop of tear that you cry
I am in the pain and sorrow of your sigh
And I break as your heart slowly breaks
Hearing every little prayer that it makes
You move in my thoughts, don't you know?
I loved you since before and even so
I'd die and die again for you to feel
You're never alone and that I'm real
There's no pain too great, I cannot heal
No problem too big we cannot deal
For you live in me and I in you
And in this silence my love rings true
***
I unearthed this poem from my journal. I remember I wrote it in one of the saddest days of my life, a little consolation from the Lord after a humble prayer of surrender.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
New Software for New Hardware
It's Saturday and the brothers are free to spend their time to attend to their needs. I spend mine fixing Fr. Charles' PC. I am (and still) installing the latest version of an operating system to his five-year old computer. I checked the specifications and found that they meet the minimum requirements. I proceeded on inserting the DVD installer and after a few minutes I was already in the set-up screen... and remained there the whole morning.
Yes, it seems like the Gospel verse "new wine for new wine skins" has got its own upgrade. It's now new software for new hardware. No matter how software giants try to make their products backward compatible, there is a minimum requirement for something new - paradigm shift. We have to think new when we accept something new. Otherwise we would act like unbudging traditionalists and conservatives who are blind to the signs of the times, then everything would just be a stick dance of life.
This is where we find flexibility most useful, when while holding on to the essentials of truth and faith, we dance with signs of the times, the challenges, that come our way. We open our horizons to new sights. We move our points to new perspectives.
As for Fr. Charles computer? Well, there still is hope and a quest for more patience. I've agreed to give it some hardware makeover from the computer spare parts that I could in the stock room. But sooner or later, we would have to upgrade.
Yes, it seems like the Gospel verse "new wine for new wine skins" has got its own upgrade. It's now new software for new hardware. No matter how software giants try to make their products backward compatible, there is a minimum requirement for something new - paradigm shift. We have to think new when we accept something new. Otherwise we would act like unbudging traditionalists and conservatives who are blind to the signs of the times, then everything would just be a stick dance of life.
This is where we find flexibility most useful, when while holding on to the essentials of truth and faith, we dance with signs of the times, the challenges, that come our way. We open our horizons to new sights. We move our points to new perspectives.
As for Fr. Charles computer? Well, there still is hope and a quest for more patience. I've agreed to give it some hardware makeover from the computer spare parts that I could in the stock room. But sooner or later, we would have to upgrade.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pop Spirituality Anyone?
For some decades now the term "Pop Psychology" has been in use to describe the way Psychology has become available to the common man it has become part of popular culture. Speak of self-help books and motivational speakers, they're part of a sprawling network that strives to "help" an individual do some psychological face-lift. Yet let me extend this "pop" thing to Spirituality, where persons, after reading some spiritual books or listening to inspirational talks, become so "filled up with the Spirit" they seem to blaze with new-found level of sanctity.
It's quite common but silent phenomena among us, when we are so inspired by one talk or another, or some book, or some event that recently happened we tend to think we have actually crossed heaven's threshold way ahead of time. Sure, 180-degree conversions have taken place miraculously, but for the most of us, conversions don't happen in a single spark of inspiration. I'm not pouring water over the action of the Spirit, but if we talk of conversion, we are actually talking of a life-long struggle.
As they say, there is never a shortcut to heaven without really passing through Christ and his cross. So forgive me if I doubt some magnanimous conversions because the first thing I really search for in a true conversion are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without sensing these fruits of the Spirit one could not have received real conversion.
I admit, I quite find myself irritated with persons who act like they are saints, so pious in religious practices, but then are found wanting in the qualities that you can find in those who have really found the treasures of heaven. Maybe it's because it's my own pitfall too and maybe I find too many of them in the churches. True sanctity, I believe, is achieved through hard work and through the grace of God who gives it generously to those who ask for it.
One thing that I find most useful for anyone who wishes to become a holy, if not holy then someone who just wants to get closer to God, is fidelity to Truth. You can never work on your weaknesses and develop your strengths if you can't see the Truth within you. Being honest to one's self, perhaps is the first step. But, let me remind you, I'm no guru in sanctity. I too have my own struggles and falls, and I hope we all persevere in our own struggles that we may be found worthy of God because, despite our misdeeds and mistakes, we have always set our eyes on Him.
It's quite common but silent phenomena among us, when we are so inspired by one talk or another, or some book, or some event that recently happened we tend to think we have actually crossed heaven's threshold way ahead of time. Sure, 180-degree conversions have taken place miraculously, but for the most of us, conversions don't happen in a single spark of inspiration. I'm not pouring water over the action of the Spirit, but if we talk of conversion, we are actually talking of a life-long struggle.
As they say, there is never a shortcut to heaven without really passing through Christ and his cross. So forgive me if I doubt some magnanimous conversions because the first thing I really search for in a true conversion are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Without sensing these fruits of the Spirit one could not have received real conversion.
I admit, I quite find myself irritated with persons who act like they are saints, so pious in religious practices, but then are found wanting in the qualities that you can find in those who have really found the treasures of heaven. Maybe it's because it's my own pitfall too and maybe I find too many of them in the churches. True sanctity, I believe, is achieved through hard work and through the grace of God who gives it generously to those who ask for it.
One thing that I find most useful for anyone who wishes to become a holy, if not holy then someone who just wants to get closer to God, is fidelity to Truth. You can never work on your weaknesses and develop your strengths if you can't see the Truth within you. Being honest to one's self, perhaps is the first step. But, let me remind you, I'm no guru in sanctity. I too have my own struggles and falls, and I hope we all persevere in our own struggles that we may be found worthy of God because, despite our misdeeds and mistakes, we have always set our eyes on Him.
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