A Little Love Goes a Long, Long Way

Ave Maria:-)

Good morning , peace be with you all..the peace as only Christ Jesus can give!

May all be well with you  as you read this... well, in the sense that our minds and our hearts are anchored on Christ..because it really is the only thing that matters. You'll probably say..well you feel that way Tita , bcoz hapit kana mag senior citizen -- well ..yes age is a factor -- if only because thru time..you experience so much---have your share of ups and downs, shining triumphs and ghastly unbelievable mistakes made, really if we could delete it -- but it's there na eh and it's best to learn from it and grow wiser, humbler  -- ...Yes, growing older helps---  in Tagalog we say : " Diyos ko naman pag di ka pa natuto... :-) " .. but and this is a sad but...some can be well over ninety yrs and still don't get it... as in: Sinusundo kana ni San Pedro ..and still a jerk at 90 plus??

c'mon!!! hahaha...

Meanwhile,  some souls are so blessed, they recieve that grace of recognition of our Lord at an early age -- they believe, they accept Him as Lord and Saviour early on in their lives and this marks the path they take, the goals they set, the ways and means to attain it.

Today at morning mass ... it was as tho' a cloud of thanksgiving covered me -- I was just joining in the  singing of the songs of the mass, quite happy because the children's choir was there, these young girls/boys have the most pristine, sweetest voices -- you don't need mega areglo , mega accompaniment, their sincerity and innocence and sheer gusto for their simple service makes their music beautiful and touching -- a balm for the spirit. Then I noticed as I was singing..aha..I can hold  the note a little bit more, a bit longer, perhaps sing in soprano even if I am an alto -- and all because of one short summer session with with a grand dame of opera music Madame Mercedes Mattias Santiago --- my mother Lydia had excitedly encouraged me to take these lessons. I didn't persevere -- didn't think opera music would be the genre I'd pursue -- but nonetheless , those lessons were valuable  -- taught the basics in diaphragm  breathing...placements of voice : head, throat, chest, diaphagm .. Poor Mama, she must have dreamt I'd go all the way, perhaps enroll in classical music or the college of music -- dear me... I was too scatter-brained.. too many possibilities in front of me -- I stubbornly insisted on oido, and banda life ( ayoko sa conservatory of music kumanta, gusto ko sa nightclub, hahaha, santissima ) .... still ..she gave her fullest support -- 

I cried because  holding  a note for a few more seconds and embracing music was but one of many things I had the joy of discovering and learning and later using -- I didn't necessarily grow materially richer for it -- but rich in spirit , in joy, in fulfillment, in consolation , in strength, in confidence -- oh yes music provided this -- and I owed it to my beloved mother.

I cried because she did not experience a third of the joys I felt -- her life had taken a different route, full of sacrifice and simplicity and total obedience to parent ( my late lolo) -- but when she gave birth to me after suffering 2 miscarriages and then a stillbirth -- she must have in her heart vowed : My daughter will , by God's grace enjoy God's blessings and learn to be a good steward of them. I know and I saw how hard she prayed for this --- and how God heard her prayers.

We are who we are mainly because of the nurturing we recieve -- and then realistically there will also be the hard knocks in life --- perhaps instead of nurturing, we had to experience a lack of love but all of these, the good and the bad --when we learn to offer them to Jesus at the foot of His Cross ---He simply turns everything into good --- meaning -- He teaches us, heals us , delivers us from our wickedness and heavy baggages in life and helps us draw good out of it all --- AND IT ALL  BECOMES USEFUL FOR OUR MINISTRY..for our little way of sharing Jesus to the world.

During the mass I sent Mama Lydia all my love and thanksgiving thru the Blessed Mother --- if Mama cried tears of sorrow on earth , she must be crying tears of joy in heaven hahaha syempre barkada na sila ni Mama Mary sa langit ... I try not to get into this mood because when I do .. it is such a powerful wave of longing for that one person who changed your life.. but every once in God allows this just so I remember how He blest me.  

There will be others to whom I will owe a degree of my faith in the Lord, from my father to a beloved uncle bishop, to grandparents -- but there is always that one character whom God will use to bring you to Him, to safety and salvation ...and for me twas my Mama Lydia.

A beloved aunt her name is Litang is very ill at present , her children made a homecoming to be with her -- she is of the same hubog , same cut -- a woman of faith, indomitable faith and hope in God.

We think it is simply because they are our biological mothers that's why we cling to them ..but the truth is , we cling to them because they brought us to Jesus. 

Situations then have their purposes , it was a mini reunion for my cousins and relatives in Cebu -- as it was a bombardment of loving messages from abroad and locally thru Facebook .. then a dear aunt Tia Rosie  sent a voice recording ... oh no... that did it .. so much love in that voice, cried buckets again , hahaha my aunts affect me that way, I love them all --- these people are not perfect but they are vessels of God's love. When their youngest sister Tia Dinday was sick and was off Facebook for awhile -- she was seriously ill then -- I was worried and missed her postings and simple messages -- that's when I realized , little acts of love go a long, long way...  boy was I relieved when Tia Dinday was back on Facebook lol.  

to my beloved cousins .. it would seem as though we won't quite be able to fill up the shoes of our elders -- we look at ourselves and  see our vanities, our worldliness, our selfishness, our bitter unforgiveness , plain wickedness  -- our egos sticking out like a gaping wound for the whole world to see --- but you know, what they have and what they gave to us --- they simply recieved with open hearts from the Lord... and that is all we need to do... allow Jesus , the Holy Spirit to give us his spiritual make-over..allow Him to heal and transform us... just be immersed in Christ's saving love and we will come out Brand-New ... and we will and can continue the splendid work they have done.. do it with love and grace, never on our own strength.

I close with this reflection from our Stewardship series at the parish catechism -- that as stewards of the gifts God has given us we are called to : proclaim, teach , serve, sanctify -- those keywords our guiding light as we fulfill our chosen vocations... whatever then our life's situation, our age etc... we can with God's grace proclaim /teach the gospel of Christ to the world -- not just thru formal classroom or pulpit style preaching but more so thru our actions, our deeds, our lifestyle ---- we gratefully accept the gifts God has given us and develop them wisely so that we can use them to serve others.... and in serving others well ...we sanctify , we grow holier and we help others grow holier.. to become like Jesus.

Those are our marching orders beloved and we'd do well to pay attention and ask for the grace to fulfill our divine task. Kahit sa simpleng paraan basta't may pag-ibig ng Diyos ay kalugud-lugod sa Panginoon. God bless all..... love and prayers... te mye