From Sr. Clement
Last night, I got to see my cousin, who's been away at the Philippines to join the sisterhood. Sister Clement, or (as I know her) Sharilin Rose Valencia, started to share about her life in the Philippines and why she wore the things she was because my niece was staring at her like "Why are you wearing that?" so my mom started asking her questions. She asked about those who were part of other religions: the Jewish, Muslim, and Protestant faiths and about what happens when we leave the Catholic faith for those other faiths - knowing that we still worship the same God.
Sr. Clement told us that when we leave the faith, yeah we may be worshiping the same God in the end, but when we face God it's like we've chosen to have less knowledge, less truth. The reason why the Catholic Church has the Truth is because Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the 12 apostles, and made St. Peter the rock of our church. Everything that was passed down to him, he passes down to the pope after him, and so on. The Magisterium makes sure that we teach the Truth as well. Yes, even though man is writing down all the doctrines, they are simply instruments that God uses to share the Truth. They are nothing, as we are nothing, but as Catholics we must believe that the Church will give us the Truth, and show us the Way, and lead us to Christ because Christ gave them that authority. So after we leave the Church and when we see Him, it's like we're giving him our heart partially, ourselves partially when he wants all of it because we've known the Truth, but chose to leave it.
The will desires goodness, and the intellect desires truth. And the spirit always wants to go back to where it came from, that's why the spirit will lead us to God. No matter how much you try to deny what you already know in your heart, it doesn't work because you already know God and the spirit desires to be with God. That's why we have desires in this world that we can't satisfy. You want to keep getting more and more until you get what you want, but when you finally have you, you end up wanting more than that. But when you put God as the center, you now become content, because he is all that you need.
And honestly, I looked up to my cousin for the longest time, but what I love most about her is how ever since she joined the sisterhood, shes become more of herself than she was before. I can't really explain it, but this is the Sharilin that is, and the old Sharilin was simply created to bring birth to this new one. She wears a wedding ring on her finger and she told us that it was put on her the day she put on her habit because she is married to the Lord. If only I could be like her, and give my heart solely to the Lord, and put Him number one. If only I wasn't distracted by so many worldly things, material things and just be the person God wants me to be. She's so happy and shes chosen the path of poverty. What path must I choose to be truly happy?
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Saturday, June 11, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I hate making my own decisions
Maybe if God made all my decisions for me, I wouldn't get hurt as much.
"Well you still have to keep praying for discernment. There will still be those times when you'll still have to make your own decisions. That's just part of becoming an adult. If there is no guidance then just weigh it, decide, and lift it up." - Broskee
"Well you still have to keep praying for discernment. There will still be those times when you'll still have to make your own decisions. That's just part of becoming an adult. If there is no guidance then just weigh it, decide, and lift it up." - Broskee
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The conversion of sinners
Today at Lifeteen bible study, we talked about judgement day and what some people know as the "rapture," because there have been many billboards, advertisements, etc. proclaiming the end of the world on May 21, 2011.One of the things that Scarlet said was how we need to pray for those people and be compassionate towards those people who truly believe that the world will end this Saturday. Why? Because many of those people have given away everything, spent all they had for this particular day. Some are committing suicide because of the idea that "if the world is ending this Saturday, I should save myself the trouble and kill myself today." And all of them are supposed to believe that the world ends this Saturday because they were told that if they doubt, then they won't be taken up to heaven... Now that's a scary place to be in, because now they've "thrown all their eggs in one basket." And yeah, many people (including myself... and I apologize for laughing or mocking any of you) scoff at these people, poke fun at them saying stuff like "So, if the world ends on May 21st, what happens on May 22nd when nothing happens?" The sad part is I never realized how much that could affect them. If someone spent all their savings, sells their house, and gives away everything... do they have a place to live? What about the attacks from all the haters? Will that drive them to committing suicide? Maybe this is no laughing matter...
I think that many people are obsessed about the "judgment day," but I believe that even more are obsessed with passing judgment on others. Think about it, when Osama bin Laden died, why were people rejoicing over his death? I honestly had mixed feelings when I heard about it, but I don't think it was right for us to rejoice over a man's death, no matter how horrible he was. When was I appointed to sit in the Judge's chair? I am glad that the Church gave a statement about it though. And I'll never get over some reactions I got from others when we all heard about the tsunami in Japan. Who am I to say that "the people in Japan deserved what came to them, they're not a Christian nation"? Rather than spending my time passing judgment, shouldn't I be more compassionate, sit down, and pray for them?
And now our brothers & sisters in Christ who claim the end of the world is coming. Why did I judge you? Why should I laugh at people who are about to commit suicide just for being wrong? Instead, I should have been praying that they don't become a statistic.
If you guys haven't read The Shack, you must read it. One of the chapters talk about sitting in the Judge's chair. Imagine sitting in that chair and having to pass judgment on your family. I have two parents and two brothers and if I was forced to sentence 1 to Hell, I would NEVER want to be sitting in that seat. But I do it daily, constantly passing judgment on strangers, enemies, etc.
Another thing struck me as well. Scarlet mentioned "rapture" and how she tends to shy away from it. I've personally never been a fan of the doctrine, but now I realized why I never liked the idea anyway. She explained it as believing that she will be "saved from all the suffering on earth but leaving behind those people who weren't as good as her to die and suffer". Or something like that (I butchered it and paraphrased cause that's the best I could do!). And I know that many people don't have that kind of mentality when it comes to the rapture (actually, I believe that's what give most their fire to spread the Gospel! To bring as many people to Christ as possible!), and I believe that some who preach it have pure intentions but I can't trust myself to preach anything that will tempt me to sin. I'm already doing it outside of spreading the Gospel! I'm already judging people at church, "setting by example" on how to be a good Christian. I can't be tempted to have that mentality any more than I already am, as sad as that sounds.
Instead, I have to stick with this: praying for the conversion of sinners. I'm not talking about people aside from myself, I'm talking about mostly myself. I need conversion. Every. Single. Day. I need to stop choosing myself and make that choice to choose Christ every single day. And I need to pray for everyone else too. Another thing that Scarlet mentioned (wow, she was on a roll today): It's harder to convert someone who already believes they're living in the light, when they're not.. than someone who actually knows they're in the dark and at least recognize it but aren't ready yet. I need to pray for the know-it-all's (like me), the ignorant (like me), the proud (like me), the reluctant (like me). So I urge you, to pray for yourself, and for people like me, and for everyone as well:
Dear Lord, I pray for the Conversion of Sinners
for all of us who require daily conversion
for those who are dearest to me, my family and friends
for those not following You, but themselves
for those inside and out of Your church, ignorant of Your truths
for those who are falling away from Your truths,
for all who are considering or following a false religion
for those trying to earn their way to Heaven
for the ones who do not even consider You
Please Lord, convert their minds and hearts, to truly
know You, love You and always be obedient to Your Word,
and then bring them home to live with You for all Eternity.
Amen.
I think that many people are obsessed about the "judgment day," but I believe that even more are obsessed with passing judgment on others. Think about it, when Osama bin Laden died, why were people rejoicing over his death? I honestly had mixed feelings when I heard about it, but I don't think it was right for us to rejoice over a man's death, no matter how horrible he was. When was I appointed to sit in the Judge's chair? I am glad that the Church gave a statement about it though. And I'll never get over some reactions I got from others when we all heard about the tsunami in Japan. Who am I to say that "the people in Japan deserved what came to them, they're not a Christian nation"? Rather than spending my time passing judgment, shouldn't I be more compassionate, sit down, and pray for them?
And now our brothers & sisters in Christ who claim the end of the world is coming. Why did I judge you? Why should I laugh at people who are about to commit suicide just for being wrong? Instead, I should have been praying that they don't become a statistic.
If you guys haven't read The Shack, you must read it. One of the chapters talk about sitting in the Judge's chair. Imagine sitting in that chair and having to pass judgment on your family. I have two parents and two brothers and if I was forced to sentence 1 to Hell, I would NEVER want to be sitting in that seat. But I do it daily, constantly passing judgment on strangers, enemies, etc.
Another thing struck me as well. Scarlet mentioned "rapture" and how she tends to shy away from it. I've personally never been a fan of the doctrine, but now I realized why I never liked the idea anyway. She explained it as believing that she will be "saved from all the suffering on earth but leaving behind those people who weren't as good as her to die and suffer". Or something like that (I butchered it and paraphrased cause that's the best I could do!). And I know that many people don't have that kind of mentality when it comes to the rapture (actually, I believe that's what give most their fire to spread the Gospel! To bring as many people to Christ as possible!), and I believe that some who preach it have pure intentions but I can't trust myself to preach anything that will tempt me to sin. I'm already doing it outside of spreading the Gospel! I'm already judging people at church, "setting by example" on how to be a good Christian. I can't be tempted to have that mentality any more than I already am, as sad as that sounds.
Instead, I have to stick with this: praying for the conversion of sinners. I'm not talking about people aside from myself, I'm talking about mostly myself. I need conversion. Every. Single. Day. I need to stop choosing myself and make that choice to choose Christ every single day. And I need to pray for everyone else too. Another thing that Scarlet mentioned (wow, she was on a roll today): It's harder to convert someone who already believes they're living in the light, when they're not.. than someone who actually knows they're in the dark and at least recognize it but aren't ready yet. I need to pray for the know-it-all's (like me), the ignorant (like me), the proud (like me), the reluctant (like me). So I urge you, to pray for yourself, and for people like me, and for everyone as well:
Dear Lord, I pray for the Conversion of Sinners
for all of us who require daily conversion
for those who are dearest to me, my family and friends
for those not following You, but themselves
for those inside and out of Your church, ignorant of Your truths
for those who are falling away from Your truths,
for all who are considering or following a false religion
for those trying to earn their way to Heaven
for the ones who do not even consider You
Please Lord, convert their minds and hearts, to truly
know You, love You and always be obedient to Your Word,
and then bring them home to live with You for all Eternity.
Amen.
God alone suffices.
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things pass away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God
Finds he lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
-St. Teresa of Avila
Friday, May 6, 2011
Hope this makes sense.
"For many months, we've been teased, even derided for talking about hope. But we always knew that hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path.
It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it... Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be." - Obama; Iowa caucus victory speech
Call me naive, call me foolish, but I have hope. Lately, people have been telling me to "face reality," that my dreams and the desires of my heart are "unrealistic ," that "life isn't some fairytale." And I honestly feel bad for those people who have become calloused because of pain. And yeah, its unfortunate that truly talented people never taste fame or that hard-working people lose their raise to someone who doesn't nearly try as hard as them or that people don't end up with the person they thought they were going to marry or that broken families and poverty and hate exist in our society. It sucks because we see and feel these things and we become cynical, and there's hardly any room for faith, hope, and love.
We lose faith in God, other people, and ourselves. Why? Because someone other than us has to be blamed. We blame God for war, poverty, death - then we lose faith in God. We blame people for hurting us - then we lose faith in those people and we hardly let anyone else in after that. But we'll hardly genuinely ever blame ourselves - and when we finally do, we lose faith in ourselves because we "let it happen in the first place" or it's too late or too big of a problem to fix on our own.
So then we lose hope, and cynicism directs our every emotion and action. We become pessimists and so now pessimism is labeled reality. So you're telling me only one in a million will have a "happy ending" with their (fill in dream here). That makes 999,999 unhappy people. But I bet the only reason things never work out with those 999,999 people is because they needed hope that they didn't have. They give up halfway, assume the worst (you negative nancy's and lay-down larry's!), and they go down that road that was pretty much avoidable just by being optimistic. Don't be that person that believes that we are predestined to fail. Believe that you can do what you want to do, and hope in the Lord who will give you the grace to do it. "Take what you can, give nothing back!" (Sorry, I've been watching pirates of the caribbean)
It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it... Hope is the bedrock of this nation. The belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be." - Obama; Iowa caucus victory speech
Call me naive, call me foolish, but I have hope. Lately, people have been telling me to "face reality," that my dreams and the desires of my heart are "unrealistic ," that "life isn't some fairytale." And I honestly feel bad for those people who have become calloused because of pain. And yeah, its unfortunate that truly talented people never taste fame or that hard-working people lose their raise to someone who doesn't nearly try as hard as them or that people don't end up with the person they thought they were going to marry or that broken families and poverty and hate exist in our society. It sucks because we see and feel these things and we become cynical, and there's hardly any room for faith, hope, and love.
We lose faith in God, other people, and ourselves. Why? Because someone other than us has to be blamed. We blame God for war, poverty, death - then we lose faith in God. We blame people for hurting us - then we lose faith in those people and we hardly let anyone else in after that. But we'll hardly genuinely ever blame ourselves - and when we finally do, we lose faith in ourselves because we "let it happen in the first place" or it's too late or too big of a problem to fix on our own.
So then we lose hope, and cynicism directs our every emotion and action. We become pessimists and so now pessimism is labeled reality. So you're telling me only one in a million will have a "happy ending" with their (fill in dream here). That makes 999,999 unhappy people. But I bet the only reason things never work out with those 999,999 people is because they needed hope that they didn't have. They give up halfway, assume the worst (you negative nancy's and lay-down larry's!), and they go down that road that was pretty much avoidable just by being optimistic. Don't be that person that believes that we are predestined to fail. Believe that you can do what you want to do, and hope in the Lord who will give you the grace to do it. "Take what you can, give nothing back!" (Sorry, I've been watching pirates of the caribbean)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Confession
When he gave me absolution, I felt the burden lift from my shoulders "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light" All this pain and suffering from sin that I can endure or try to endure constantly brings me to my knees at the foot of the cross. Just as Christ will take up His cross in obedience to the Father, I must take up my cross, or be " like Simon, the Cyrenian, or the repentant thief crucified."
He told me something along the lines of "I have given you absolution. All of your sins are destroyed into oblivion. God has given you the grace to help you overcome all your sins.." and I forgot the rest. Darn you, dementia!
I'm sitting in my pew doing my penance (reflecting silently on everything he's said) and I say a Hail Mary. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee... and I stop. And I realized something-- the reason why Mama Mary was able to overcome all of her ordeals - the fear of being stoned when she was with-child, remaining pure and holy throughout her life, watching her own Son die on the cross - it was all because she was full of grace. She was covered by the grace of God.
And why shouldn't she be? After all, she was the Mother of God! Why would a sinful person give birth and raise the Christ? Why wouldn't God want to protect her innocence? She would have to play the role of Mama in each and every person's life! The reason why Satan is so angry with Christians is because they try to follow Christ.. and Mary perfectly did it. Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)
I'm starting to get it. I'm starting to have some sort of understanding as to why Jesus gives us His Mother to be our Mother. Why Jesus gives His Mother, His Bride. (John 19:26) Mysteries are pret-ty groovy.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Rules in Religion
"The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion, but, on the contrary, of its liberality and humanity. It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted: precisely because most things are permitted, and only a few things are forbidden." - G.K. Chesterton
Rules, laws, and certain traditions.. Religion in general happens to be such a turn-off for a lot of people. It seems to bind or chain. But I've learned to embrace the rules and religion because in it and through it, I've found freedom. Because of rules, I am safe to explore the boundaries of right and wrong. I know what I CAN do, because I know what I can't do. Because of rules, I am being freed from the bondage of irreverence. I know when I must kneel, bow, genuflect, and constantly practice humility BECAUSE I am before the presence of God. I know when I can talk, joke, or be loud because Jesus knows how to have a good time too! Obeying laws is an expression of faith, simply because we're trusting that God has given us the guidelines that will bring us closer to Him.
Rules, laws, and certain traditions.. Religion in general happens to be such a turn-off for a lot of people. It seems to bind or chain. But I've learned to embrace the rules and religion because in it and through it, I've found freedom. Because of rules, I am safe to explore the boundaries of right and wrong. I know what I CAN do, because I know what I can't do. Because of rules, I am being freed from the bondage of irreverence. I know when I must kneel, bow, genuflect, and constantly practice humility BECAUSE I am before the presence of God. I know when I can talk, joke, or be loud because Jesus knows how to have a good time too! Obeying laws is an expression of faith, simply because we're trusting that God has given us the guidelines that will bring us closer to Him.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Day 2: Blessing vs Curse
Or perhaps it comes down to something much more serious. Choose death, or choose LIFE. I realize that it's more serious than God just punishing us or rewarding us for doing anything, but God is actually giving us (in every situation) an opportunity to choose life or death. If I sin against God, I choose death. If I resist temptation and choose Christ, I choose life. And I'm not talking about physical life. Choosing the life that Jesus offers means carrying the cross.
Dt 30:15-20
It's funny. I listened to the same message at least four times today. The first time, on Word Among Us, then 5:30 Mass, then Mass with Core, then Tiny's teaching at Bible Study. Of course, the first three may not have been a coincidence because they were the readings for today. But all four readings of Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and/or Luke 9:22-25 were directed to me!
Father Juan encouraged us at Mass and said: "Do not be afraid of the crosses in our life. If we accept them, they are just growing pains toward His resurrection."
And that really spoke to my heart. As we experience the mystery of Christ's death AND rising every Mass or before the Blessed Sacrament, we learn to share Christ's glory in both His Crucifixion and Resurrection when we try and become "little Christs" outside of the Sacraments.
When we had Mass with Core Team, I learned that we usually give up "big" things for Lent, when we should really focus on the small things we need to correct. I won't be able to explain how Fr. did, but he told us that it is usually the smallest things that irritate us. Like sand in our eye, a pebble in our shoe, or a papercut. So for Lent, it is the little things that we should be giving up that are irritations to many people. For me, it would be my attitude towards my family...or being self-centered.
Tonight, I also found out that an 8.4 earthquake hit Japan. Please pray for all the people in Japan, especially my older brother who's stationed there right now.
Pray for our teens and our team also! As we go on retreat this weekend!
Dt 30:15-20
It's funny. I listened to the same message at least four times today. The first time, on Word Among Us, then 5:30 Mass, then Mass with Core, then Tiny's teaching at Bible Study. Of course, the first three may not have been a coincidence because they were the readings for today. But all four readings of Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and/or Luke 9:22-25 were directed to me!
Father Juan encouraged us at Mass and said: "Do not be afraid of the crosses in our life. If we accept them, they are just growing pains toward His resurrection."
And that really spoke to my heart. As we experience the mystery of Christ's death AND rising every Mass or before the Blessed Sacrament, we learn to share Christ's glory in both His Crucifixion and Resurrection when we try and become "little Christs" outside of the Sacraments.
When we had Mass with Core Team, I learned that we usually give up "big" things for Lent, when we should really focus on the small things we need to correct. I won't be able to explain how Fr. did, but he told us that it is usually the smallest things that irritate us. Like sand in our eye, a pebble in our shoe, or a papercut. So for Lent, it is the little things that we should be giving up that are irritations to many people. For me, it would be my attitude towards my family...or being self-centered.
Tonight, I also found out that an 8.4 earthquake hit Japan. Please pray for all the people in Japan, especially my older brother who's stationed there right now.
Pray for our teens and our team also! As we go on retreat this weekend!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Lent
It's just around the corner, and I figured I might as well start blogging again. Rather than thinking thoughts, and burying them in the back of my mind, I think I should put them on "paper" so I can delve deeper into God's mysteries.
Might be exciting (:
God bless, and I'm praying for YOU. Yes, you.
Might be exciting (:
God bless, and I'm praying for YOU. Yes, you.
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