Inspirations at your Fingertips!

God's love rules our lives Mark 12:28-34 It is undeniable that God's love for us is extreme, unconditional.  He waits for our coming back despite our sinfulness.  That is how God loves us.. In the gospel, Jesus affirms the the highest command: love God with all our hearts, minds, being, etc. Then love our neighbor as ourselves. God's love rules above all things.  Consequently, our love cannot be lesser than God's love for us.  Otherwise, love would be imperfect and selfish.

At the very heart of priesthood March 27, 2014 In my 21 years as a priest, experiencing both lights and shadows surely gives my priestly life that 3D image which I find very alive, colorful, and meaningful. Each year, I've been asked to share on what it means to be a priest.  My answer would probably be the same, "I haven't started yet and I'm not done yet!" There are 2 guideposts that mark my priesthood and until now, I am in the that constant process of trying to attain them.  The first mark is being configured according to Christ as head and shepherd of his flock.  Pastores Dabo Vobis is just that - "shepherds after my own heart." (Jer. 3, 15) A bishop remarks, "A priest is like a walking billboard. He never fails to advertise Christ."  At this point in time, I might not yet  be configured 'in persona Christi'; yet this image aptly describes me; the billboard big enough to remind me and others that Jesus is alive and wants us to

On prayer and life Matthew 7:7-12 Esther's prayer is a prayer of oblation or total offering of self to God. Her life is a prayer. I would like to focus on prayer as an act of love of God for us. Prayer is God's gift - we pray because it is grace planted into our hearts prayer is a covenant - God's promise that he will stay always with us. Prayer is communion - a picture of heaven in our love for God and one another.

Where our love for God will take us Matthew 6:7-15 We would like to explore the love of God which goes deeper and deeper until we can see its destination - the perfection of love in God. God says, all of what he says will be fulfilled.  Let the words be proofs that indeed, they can be reach their completion. The prayer of the Our Father is a prayer of completion. It gives the entire essence of a follower and a disciple of the Lord. It speaks of one acknowledging the awesome presence and power of the Lord and his existence. It speaks of ones dependence on the Lord, even for the food. It speaks of the contents of the heart - love. It implores mercy at the last moment of life to lead us to heaven in God. May Lent be a fulfillment of all these - our destination in God.

What motivates us? Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 We formally enter the Lenten Season in a spirit of repentance, "Turn away from sin and believe in the Good News." However, we are filled with remorse because of offending Him who loves us.  Imagine how God has loved us and we have given so little back to him. Our lives are led by various motivations.  Eventually, three actions of Lent translate into three motivations of lives.  How we opt to search for God marks the very core of our motivation. First, our motivation is to survive; but we are asked to fast on the things we crave the most.  On fasting, we open our hearts to the Divine Master; He becomes our real food. Second, our motivation is to love.  But Jesus pushes the way we do almsgiving; He wants us to see him in the the poor and the abandoned.  He himself is the poor man. Third, our motivation is to transcend.  But in the world of prayer, it is not for show; God becomes the true reward for prayer.

Preparing for Lent Mark 10:28-31 As we approach Ash Wednesday, let us remember that this is not a story of our sins; this is not even our asking for forgiveness.  A real preparation for Lent would be this: First, that we overwhelm ourselves with the love of Jesus.  Lent and Holy Week are simply about the never-ending love of Jesus, reflecting the Father's love to us and saving us in the process. Second, it is the story of the life that Jesus offers.  Those who leave home for him will receive a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land... oblation is a story of life and fruitfulness. Third, it is a story of Jesus' reflection of the Father - holiness, obedience - qualities that the old Adam destroyed.  And now, they are offered to us. Pray to embrace these things tomorrow and the entire Lenten season.