Dance with Me

Living, dying...rising ...living dying...resurrecting..oh my..this must be our life's cycle -- which we must go through till our last breath... Living-- meaning we bravely face our life each day, much as we'd want to control all the elements so that we won't need to suffer...yet we can't control everything --- Mother Nature has a mind of its own..people , everyone has a mind of his own..even animals will do their own thing- so beware of stray dogs with rabies  ... the devils have long decided to invest on their own sick minds... and as for God ALmighty, we all know He is the Mind to reckon with.  I mean that (about God) in a positive sense....

Dying... aside from our physical bodies deteriorating slowly but surely hehe... we suffer 

emotionally, mentally, spiritually.. we suffer when our temporal needs are not met. We suffer when we are not loved... and hindi ka na minahal..sinaktan ka pa lol.

Finally there's  Rising and Resurrecting ... talk about the spinning wheel, what goes up must come down... after the trials , dark cloud and all. there's a break and light filters in..oh blessed be God. Now just when we're enjoying the Resurrection phase... we're told by the unseen Guest (the Holy Spirit) that we need to start all over..... 

Living...dying ...rising.... againnnnnnn

At first... and especially in our youth or until such time that we have truly become reconciled to God through his Son Jesus Christ , we don't realize that there is such cycle.. we just live La Vida Loca..and when hard knocks come one after the other, we don't know where they come from..we wonder if we deserve it.. and we try all kinds of ways to cope with them :you may admit or say you've never tried any of the following

1)ala Gloria Gaynor "I Will SurviVe --" so don't mess with me..outta my way! Arf!!!

2)We are bewildered... overwhelmed..clueless

3)riding on the crest of no. 2 we could eventually land on DEEee-PRESSED  

to the nth degree.

4)ANGRY at life..angrier at the source of our woes... later on we wonder if could get angriest at GOD..becoz if God is love...how and why must we be subjected to our quota of sufferings.?

In Waray dialect.. agi...Ano ini???

5)To top it all ..if one is Christian..and would truly want to obey what our faith teaches...we are told not to worry... not to be angry/upset/afraid/vengeful .... but to continue to trust, love and obey the Lord. To learn from our experiences .

Also ..in case we forget.... TO FORGIVE DAW THOSE WHO HURT US. Arrrgh..this is too much we say in our most self righteous tone... sobra na ito Lord... UBER.

Depending on the way we were raised by our parents/families..trained in schools attended... affected or infected hehe by environment and experiences we've been through ...it's also possible we think in a rather narrow minded WAY ...

"WELL I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE JOYFUL, SORROWFUL, LUMINOUS AND GLORIOUS MYSTERIES OF THE Rosary...and the more I don't believe they can apply to my own personal life. Basta ang gusto ko :"LAGING HAPPY.LAGING SUCCESSFUL.AT WALANG PROBLEMANG MATINDI."

that's my motto... Hmmm, you wish

 if we insist on that we'll soon find out.. it can't be that way.and when we take our walk with Jesus seriously..we will be bound to meditate on the truths of his life as revealed in the rosary's mysteries. We will look closely into the life of our Lord and Saviour.

It just has to be complete : Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous and Glorious -- both in the life of our Lord and Saviour..and replicated a zillion times in the lives of his true believers.

  And it is not as tho' we stumbled on the most Sadistic , Inconsiderate GOD ever... one who cannot make up His mind as to whether He loves us..or want us to perish. 

It is rather that God wants us all to Truly Live. To Get a Life..a Real Life. One founded on the unconditional, sacrificial and redemptive love that Jesus gave on the cross.to rise from the ashes of our sins... to be free of our spiritual debts... to rise from death to new life... and taking it all the way... to be assured of eternal life...that would be the Best Deal ever wouldn't it be?

and our human life is like that either we're in a certain phase --- it's just so joyful... everything's turning out well... or vice-versa - as when the trials come one after the other, and you wonder if you'll get out alive and sane and whole ( by Christ's love, we can - thank You Jesus) .... or we're in between phases... orrrr... and this is something to ponder -- everything is rolled into one life..our life.

 And we just move into a peaceful surrender to the music of our life.... we no longer dread the Sorrowful Part... because when we enter it with Jesus by our side... we know that He will see us through..and that He can make good come out of those sufferings we endured.

For the longest time we will only want the part of Christ's life that makes sense to us --- that He could heal, that He could preach with a wisdom that totally made evil men cower in envy and fear.... that could perform the coolest miracles... what was it Fr. Faller said during his homily : that Jesus could have been a Baker (multiplication of loaves miracle)  that He could have been a Acrobat/ Magician - wherein while being tempted by the devil in the mountain as He fasted and prayed before beginning his ministry -- He could very well have succumbed to satan's bait ... jump from the mountain and show the whole world He could fly and do some fancy, surreal stunts. But He refused to be a Baker or Magician.

He preferred to be our Redeemer.  

Today, Jesus granted me and I suspect many brothers and sisters who were able to attend Fr. Faller's healing mass at ch.4 a gate pass from sorrowful to glorious --- or maybe there are no actual gates... instead it is a movement of our heart and spirit that Jesus grants us.
 The problems could still be there... the the trials  and sorrows : failing health..broken relationships...  crisis of all sorts..calamities, persecution, cruelties.... yet by God's grace, our heart moves from sorrow and hopelessness to a joyful knowledge and deeper faith in God ..

a  realization that we can fail so fantastically  yet our God will be victorious No Matter What ... a deeper understanding that It Is a Done Deal - Jesus has defeated satan, sin , death and disease -- and that we must just keep believing and claiming this victory as we wait for it to unfold in our life.  

It's always a shining , glorious moment when the Lord helps us understand that the crosses we must bear out of love for Him can be our foolproof bridge to heaven.

We don't totally understand the meaning of being nailed to our crosses but the scene of Mama Mary standing with John at the foot of the Cross , and Jesus giving love and strength to them inspite of his terrible suffering --- Mary enduring the sight of Jesus crucified yet standing her ground because she believed, believed with all her heart in God's Plan - this makes our heart and mind expand... we too will and can endure because it is for a purpose... Christ's purpose.

Hence I must remind all with love ... Jesus is not the dictator to end all dictators...He is not a mere miracle/wonder -worker .... Can you imagine if Jesus spent his whole ministry just doing all of these but Excusing himself for the Passion and Crucifixion? 
With the admonition :"Are you kidding (ano kayo hilo?) , you find a way to get out of the mess you yourselves created...such brats you are. " 

No... our Lord loved us too much. 

Thank You Lord for choosing to redeem us. Unworthy as we are.

so then...... ...  what hope , what life, what freedom, what love could be in store for us if Jesus did not go all the way.? Only through His death , death on a cross could all our sins be forgiven.

Come.. we must , you and I continue with the cycles of our life... we must dance to its music wholeheartedly..and dance with our Lord who firmly holds us by the hand. When in doubt of this ...spend time in prayer... let it be a stubborn prayer in the sense that we believe God hears us and knows how best to help us. 

Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Grant us a good week oh Lord, increase our faith and knowledge of Your love ..........................................God bless you... te mye

Up the Mountain

Ave Maria:-)

Last nite was funny in an irreverent way ...arrived at prayer mtg. as tho' would faint any moment ( you how it is to just feel awful, sick inside -out huhuhu ) - blessed relief to see dear Te Juaning , Te Teray calmly praying the rosary... wuz like " Oh thank God, they're here...!

Did not waste time asking them to please..please Ate...super please pray over me Te...mamamatay na ata ko... Well you know when you do the OA routine, they do pay attention faster... how wonderful to feel Te Teray's, old, strong hands on my shoulders..she was echoing Juaning's deliverance and healing prayers with conviction, her amen's and Yes Lord ..pure bliss to the weary soul... Te Juaning was in her usual fighting form... I love them..

I praise God for all  brothers and sisters in all parts of the world who share the love of Jesus --and thousands would probably not even be Christian but carry Jesus in their hearts just the same.

I don't think God allows Himself to be "boxed in" by the limitations of our understanding and expositions on how He loves us and how He reveals himself..He loves us..He just does...every moment...in a million magnificent ways...through the beauty of  Mother Nature , in His provisions..in the veins etched under our skin... Who could design a human body like that except GOD?

 On tv last nite..a show's host was exclaiming about seeing live Knife Fish...knife whaaat? and then they showed a fish head that looked more like a giant snakehead....wow... if we tackle Mother Nature and her mysteries...case is closed.THERE IS A GOD. 

Was waiting for two elders to arrive...male elders who I knew were very ill.... what I was suffering would be a mosquito -bite compared to what they went thru. ..Hallelujah they made it too...God is good. I know they went there to give strength and encouragement to others...isn't that strange? But truly..in our weakness..St. Paul says Christ's grace grows stronger in us.

To those who donot yet understand ..perhaps when elders share their insights on a gospel or give an exhortation..we will find it probably uhhh... old-hat? or something they would be bound to do anyway...give them their chance to speak up... but no... listen beyond the words... it is the very act of being There..the presence... the connection they have with the Lord and which they want to share with others.It is priceless ..it is not forever there... It is love, Christ's love.

Prayer meetings have all kind of shapes and sizes-- all hues....imaginable...

From prayer meetings where songs and music soar and lift us up... a good attendance ... or at times barely 20... when prayer leaders come prepared... likewise when those who attend are prepared to encounter the Lord..as when both prayer leader and the assembly are more into their personal woes and attachments to the world... and the worship takes hours to take off, if it ever does... but not to worry..inspite of ourselves... God is always prepared to meet us.. to embrace us... to grant us His tender mercies.

So whether at prayer meeting or at holy mass... we fail to recieve full  benefit of the Lord's graces because ..we were not prepared to worship and recieve Him in the first place. Our bodies could be there.. but our mind and heart anchored somewhere else. This makes God sad... but it is we who suffer..we who lose. 

Back to last night ... even the process of setting up can be challenging... last nite..Amy who was assigned prayer leader was beginning to feel frustrated... the lcd was missing..and when it was found.. the laptop would not cooperate, wires not in synch... hahaha...blessed relief..finally..we were able to start.thank You Jesus.

Amy led us praise and worship..and then it was time for the reflection.

the night's theme :GET ON THE MOUNTAIN.

In a nutshell it's about God commanding Moses " Come up to me on the mountain and stay there."Exodus 24:12

For Moses  to not give the excuse of being so busy doing things (for the Lord) that he can't anymore go up the mountain to have precious facetime with God.  Not all our services ..our ministry ... or whatever it is we do that we think is SO IMPORTANT.... none of it means a thing..none of it amounts to anything ..if we Miss out on the Crucial Item No. 1... Please spend time..quality time first with GOD. Not rushed..., not superficial... but really making Him No. 1, if possible first thing in the morning... And when this personal prayer becomes a reality... when it becomes a part of us..we will see how our ministry and service for the Lord will flow.

To not be with Him  literally means not having enough of Him to give to others.Ano ang maibibigay natin if we are empty or so full of the world and negativities?

We'd end up faking it..or end up giving ourself..and how much can our human resources hold up to the needs and pains  of the world?

Oh no..we need to give Jesus.

Amen to that

It's a given that we will suffer in this world... may it be then that should we suffer..it is for the sake of the gospel ... for sake of Christ and His kingdom.. Take good care of your health ..do include the care of your soul... a healthy soul casts an inner glow in the whole of our being.God bless you and have a peaceful, joyful Sunday. ...............love and prayers...te mye