Gravity

I saw the movie Gravity with some members of my community a few days ago. Fascinating to see: "zero gravity" equals supreme lightness, silence, beauty; “distracting beauty” of the universe and space. One can simply stay there, live there, die there, especially if one has “zero motivation” to stay in mother earth – like Ryan (Sandra Bullock), the medical engineer who had to hurdle one obstacle after another. In the process, we also come to understand her emotional core – the depression that has eaten her being after the death of her daughter… and since then, she simply drove… kept on driving… with nowhere to go.

Providence (she learned to pray in space) sent her Matt (George Clooney). Matt was the head of the space team who sacrificed his life so Ryan could go back to earth and tell the story. Matt  woke her up from “slumber” and taught her  the first lesson:  let go. Then the second:  use interconnectivity - get into the Russian satellite (which has a St. Christopher icon in its inner capsule!), then use that to move to the Chinese satellite (which has Buddha statue inside!).  Lastly, he reminded her that the "landing process” is the same as the “launching process”. That is, if she wants to go back to earth, recover “gravity,” and enjoy a new found "freedom".

Click here for a more extensive review.

The Other Face of Love

I just finished reading a great book – The Other Face of Love – by Miriam Pollard, a Cistercian nun. This is actually a sort of spiritual commentary on the “confessions” of Albert Speer (1905-1981), official architect of Adolf Hitler, hence the subtitle of Pollard’s book, Dialogues with the Prison Experience of Albert Speer. Speer was for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. He accepted moral responsibility at the Nuremberg trials and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the Nazi regime, principally for the use of forced labor. He served his full sentence, most of it at Spandau Prison in West Berlin.

In Pollard’s spiritual hermeneutics the prison experience of Speer which started in 1945 was not simply a period of accepting punishment for the crime committed.  Spiritually, it was sheer serendipity: a time of redemption, re-creation, re-generation. Speer wrote on January 28, 1962, three years before his liberation: “I am writing this as a profession of faith: I believe in a divine providence; I also believe in God’s wisdom and goodness; I trust in his ways, even though they may seem matters of chance. It is not the mighty of the earth who determine the course of history. They think they are the movers, and they are moved.”

I think Pollard’s insight in reading and revealing God’s mysterious workings in the life of Speer is synthesized in these lines: “The best way of knowing our own beauty is by knowing God, whose image we are, and knowing him as mercy. This is the only way there: through knowledge of our own fragility and guilt to the acknowledgement of our own true majesty. If we try to short-circuit the awful part, the banality of our unresponsiveness, if we try to shove it and go directly to the pure center of our identity in Christ, we don’t make it. We’ve got this shadow in back of us, or moving in from the side and threatening to smother the glory at any minute. We can’t go to the beauty of ourselves without heading directly into that cloud (p. 63).

This is a perfect meditation book also during the Easter season. Find out for yourselves why.

Easter Gift - Shift of perspective

I think one of the greatest gifts of the Easter event is the shift of perspective. Consider Mary Magdalene. In her lifetime, before meeting Jesus, who was she looking for?  Herself? Her-SELF? HER-self?  

Same thing for most of us. When we look at a picture - group picture, family picture, whatever – chances are we will immediately scan the group and look for our face! If we are out of the country and we read the newspaper, or navigate the internet, or watch tv news, chances are we will search for something about our country, our town, our barrio, etc, etc, etc. 

For most of us, this is hard core reality: we are always looking FOR ourselves, if not looking AFTER ourselves.

Change of perspective came on the first Easter morn. The angels on the empty tomb asked Mary:  “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” (cf Jn 20:11-18)

Now, it is her Lord who is the center of her attention: Jesus – her life, her love. Now, she is ready to be sent – to be the Apostle to the apostles!  Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her.

It’s Easter 2013! Are we ready to accept this Easter gift - this shift of perspective?

Providentially, the honored place of Mary Magdalene in the Christian tradition is upheld till now. By the empty tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, you will see at the right side, the Altar of St. Mary Magdalene (the photo above). This shortvideo clip will indicate to you the exact point where the Risen Jesus and Mary had their dialogue on that first Easter morn (note the pavement area where the monks offered incense).

Happy Easter!

By way of greeting you a blessed and happy Easter, let me share with you some excerpts of Pope Francis' homily last night during the Easter Vigil celebration at St. Peter's Basilica. He said:
"Novelties bring us fear… we prefer to stay with our choices… we choose to stay in the tomb. We are afraid of the surprises of God. But He is always full of surprises! Let us not close ourselves to the novelties God wants to bring to our lives. (...)

Why search among the dead the one who is living? Everything changes with Jesus' resurrection.  Jesus does not belong anymore to the past, he is the “present” of God. Jesus is risen! He lives! (...)

He teaches us to re-member. Remember always, with love, what the Master told you, what he has done for you! Let us learn to remember what God has done for us, what he has accomplished in our lives. Let us learn not to search among the dead He who is alive!"

As we greet each other a blessed Easter, let us wish each other too the the "gift of Jesus' memory": welcome the God of surprises at all times, remember all the good things he has done for us!"

This is indeed the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!

Good Friday 2013

Why is this Friday GOOD? This is the day God pours out his love in abundance!

Let us listen to these words of Pope Francis pronounced at the end of the Via Crucis last night at the Colosseum in Rome.

Dear Brother and Sisters,
Thank you for having taken part in these moments of deep prayer. I also thank those who have accompanied us through the media, especially the sick and elderly.
I do not wish to add too many words. One word should suffice this evening, that is the Cross itself. The Cross is the word through which God has responded to evil in the world. Sometimes it may seem as though God does not react to evil, as if he is silent. And yet, God has spoken, he has replied, and his answer is the Cross of Christ: a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It also reveals a judgment, namely that God, in judging us, loves us. Remember this: God, in judging us, loves us. If I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves.
Dear brothers and sisters, the word of the Cross is also the answer which Christians offer in the face of evil, the evil that continues to work in us and around us. Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the Cross upon themselves as Jesus did. This evening we have heard the witness given by our Lebanese brothers and sisters: they composed these beautiful prayers and meditations. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to them for this work and for the witness they offer. We were able to see this when Pope Benedict visited Lebanon: we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others. That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to the whole world: a sign of hope.
We now continue this Via Crucis in our daily lives. Let us walk together along the Way of the Cross and let us do so carrying in our hearts this word of love and forgiveness. Let us go forward waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus, who loves us so much. He is all love.

Refreshing Gift from the Holy Spirit

A most refreshing “gift” of the Holy Spirit has come to us in the election of Pope Francis to the Papacy last March 14, 2013 – 14 days after the resignation of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The first thing that struck me of the words uttered by Pope Francis as he made his first public appearance was his reference to himself – “My Brother Cardinals looked for a Bishop of Rome, and it seems they have found one now, but after going to the “ends of the earth!”  This seems to me the first of the many “reforms” that he will be doing – go to the origins of the Office of the Papacy!

But what does he think about his office as Pontiff?  Maybe we can find some answers in these excerpts from his words to the diplomatic corps yesterday, March 22, at the Sala Regia at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

He said: "One of the titles of the Bishop of Rome is Pontiff, that is, a builder of bridges with God and between people.  My wish is that the dialogue between us should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced!  

My own origins impel me to work for the building of bridges. As you know, my family is of Italian origin; and so this dialogue between places and cultures a great distance apart matters greatly to me, this dialogue between one end of the world and the other, which today are growing ever closer, more interdependent, more in need of opportunities to meet and to create real spaces of authentic fraternity.

In this work, the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God. But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people." (…)

If you want to read the complete text, you may visit this site.

Additionally there are other "details" he is slowly reforming. See this one for instance.

To end, one of the main concerns of our new Pope is care for creation. May I remind you then that Earth Hour is today March 23. Let us "Dare to World to Save the Planet. Switch off all lights tonite at 8.30 pm. Join the global community at www.earthhour.org

Questions...and possible answers

Last February 22, on my way to Taiwan to visit our sisters, I was asked twice by the airport personnel, young people at that, how I feel about Benedict XVI’s resignation as Pope. I remember giving a spontaneous, sentimental answer: “very sad, but I also feel that we need to respect his decision.”

I know that here in my country the Philippines with approximately 80% Catholic population people grappled with the question: how come the late Pope John Paul stayed on until death despite all his suffering and the sometimes “embarrassing” appearances during the last period of his Pontificate? That time, the answer given seemed to be “Christ crucified, though tested and tempted, did not come down from his cross.” I remember hearing these lines myself when I attended the celebration of the 25^th Anniversary of his Pontificate at St. Peter’s Square in October 2003, two years before his demise.

Now Benedict XVI opted to leave his office as Pope lastFebruary 28, 2013, stating that the reason for his decision was his declining health due to old age. The media here in the Philippines was quick to pose the enigmatic question: how could he say something which, in all appearances, seems to contradict what his predecessor said. And since then there have been all kinds of speculations, searching for the million-dollar motive behind Pope BXVI’s resignation.

As I allow myself to be guided by his book Jesus of Nazareth Part II in this Lenten journey, I couldn’t help but truly admire our Pope Emeritus. I honestly feel that someone who has believed and known our Lord, written about Him and served Him as His Vicar, could not help but take such a drastic decision, in coherence to everything that he believed in and lived for. I think Pope BXVI has always wanted to give the Lord the “best” of himself out of his love for Jesus and his Church. As he said in the beginning of his Pontificate, he wanted to listen to “what is God’s will.” He did and acted accordingly all these 8 years. In this last period of his Pontificate, perhaps the question could be translated thus: “how could he be faithful to Jesus and His Church, given the limited resources he now has as a person?”

Could his resignation be the answer to that? I see it as his way of following Christ crucified; he, the Pope, follows Jesus his Teacher and Lord by renouncing the Chair of Peter, relinquishing his power and authority, offering himself, in a way, anticipating his own death – since tradition has it that only upon the Supreme Pontiff’s death should a new one be elected. In so doing, he paves the way to the reform of Christ’s body - his Church - and hopefully, its resurrection. His resignation, his “laying down of himself” following Jesus his Lord and Teacher, is the greatest reform of his Pontificate.

In the end, I believe both John Paul II and Benedict XVI walked their talk: they both followed their Master and Lord to the best of their abilities. Let us thank the Lord for them and let us pray for whoever the Lord will call next as His Vicar on earth. If you want to follow the conclave through the Vatican Radio website, click here or you can also follow through FB by clicking here

Nature's Way

In my meditation this morning, I have been “struggling” to understand the Lord’s decision to take Megan with him yesterday. Megan is a beautiful 12 year old girl – grandniece of one of our benefactors - who contacted an unknown virus sometime ago. Her “passion” on this earth ended yesterday as her bereaved father “surrendered” to the loving will of God and allowed her to go where she could be free from all pain and suffering.
Some consoling words came to me as I contemplate this seemingly sad reality: “Consider the change of nature in autumn: all this should not generate sadness because nature does not end. Nature only knows transformation and regeneration in a perennial cycle of sweet and harmonious renewal.”
For all those who grieve for the loss of their loved ones, may you find consolation in our resurrection faith and in these words too.

Learning continues

Unbelievable how time flies! I opened my year's blog looking forward to new learnings. And I wasn't disappointed at all. Some "first time experiences" of year 2012 are: First Chinese New Year in Hongkong last January; First experience of foot accident in Davao which left me travelling in wheelchair last May; First experience of monsoon floods in Araneta Avenue, Quezon City last August.

I guess this is how the good Lord keeps us young too!

By the way, I am also learning how to be present again in the "marketplace" of the net, promoting our liturgical and religious items. I have created this site lately: http://pdlitmininc.multiply.com/
Do take a tour and let me know how we could serve you through our ministries.

Latest learnings

Year 2011 closes and Year 2012 opens. Here are some of the latest learnings gathered in this transition time:
1. Assessing the events of last year, including the many disasters and catastrophes that happened here in the Philippines and abroad, I can only say: Life hurts, life heals. It sometimes strains my eyes to see how God writes straight with crooked lines but he does really. I guess it’s because while there happened to be original sin, there was even earlier than that and after that, original grace.
This is taking place very concretely in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City where the disaster of typhoon Sendong left a thousand people dead and several thousands homeless. Amidst this experience of death, there is also the solidarity of the people which can be likened to a foretaste of the resurrection.
2. The latest movie I saw is entitled Ice Princess. It’s a movie about best science and best art. What makes them both best is the acknowledgement of the gift-seed planted in the person as well as the passion with which a person nurtures the growth of the gift-seed.
There’s a side theme to the movie: adults are usually jaded because of their unrecognized frustrated dreams; young people, instead, are more honest in their search and acceptance of what they can and cannot do and be.
3. A long standing tradition of my Congregation is to open the year with a “Saint Protector”. Interestingly, in the morning of January 1, I had a pose with St. Scholastica in the garden of the St. Scholastica Retreat House in Tagaytay (see picture). In the evening, when we had the distribution of the Saint Protectors, guess who I got: St. Scholastica! Serendipity anyone?
Scholastica means “disciple” or learner. So I think the year 2012 for me will be another intensive year of being a disciple, a year of intense learning, thankfully, with a great disciple St. Scholastica.

Beautiful Sr. M. Josephine pddm

Sr. M. Josephine Sumobay, faithful disciple of Jesus Divine Master, left this earth for the heavenly abode last November 12, 2011. Here is the eulogy I delivered during her funeral rites last November 14.
Dear Sr. M Josephine
Since I learned of your progressive decline through the text message sent by Sr. Gabriella last Nov. 6 while I was waiting for my return flight from Taiwan to Manila, you have never been far from my thoughts and prayers. My main question then was “when” – when exactly will the Lord come to take you with him? I wondered if he would still give us our last Christmas celebration together? I got the answer 6 days after.
So we reach this threshold and now, the next question is “what” – what lessons does the Master want us to learn from your life and person?
Firstly, we thank you for your evangelical faith lived in the spirit of the Secret of Success, Blessed Alberione’s favorite prayer. As you once wrote in your letter to Madre Lucia, you were very much aware of your incapacity and weaknesses and yet you courageously accepted every responsibility assigned to you, trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in the prayers of our sisters. Hence in accepting life’s challenges, you were able to discover your gifts and bring them to fruition for the glory of God and for the good of souls, especially of our brothers in the Society of St. Paul whom you served with much love and dedication.
Secondly, in these last three months of our on and off meeting, you have truly helped me and I believe all of us, your sisters, to contemplate the value of patient acceptance of the cross – your particular cross, the cross of your rare sickness. I read St. Paul’s words written in your whole body: “I have been co-crucified with Christ”. And this “crucifixion” so to say, you have accepted without complaint, without fuzz. You bore everything in perfect silence. As I shared with some sisters during our formative meetings last October, there were times when I saw you and your condition as a personification of our Lord’s Eucharistic presence. Whenever I saw you being fed by your faithful Dayang, I would be touched to the core of my being. It was as if, I was witnessing some kind of “Eucharistic scene” of bodies being associated to the paschal sacrifice of our Lord. I almost wanted to fall down on my knees and bow down in adoration.
Lastly, Sr. Josephine, receive our gratitude, our thanksgiving from all your sisters and brothers for your fearless confrontation with death. When I asked you two months ago if you were afraid to die, your answer was a resounding NO. And you witnessed to this up to the last moment of your peaceful “passing over” to the next life. Thank you, Sr. M. Josephine, because this last lesson is the most important of all. Even our young ones in formation told me that it was such a beautiful experience. They were so happy to be beside you as you were being transported to the next life. Death is not a frightening thing but a celebration of entry to the real life, eternal life. Hence, while it is painful to be separated from each other because we have truly shared, loved, lived, sung, laughed and cried together in this earthly life, yet we need to let you go.
“Where”: this is the last question I had in mind as I contemplate your life. Where are you now? I have no doubt that you are in Jesus Master’s embrace. He has confirmed your life offering in this Jubilee Year of your religious life. And hence received a great plenary indulgence! Brava, Sr M Josephine! And Bravissimo, Jesus Master! Dear Sr. M. Josephine, there is no doubt you are in the best place you could ever be – the loving embrace of our Master, Friend and Spouse – the perfect place!
We your sisters, brothers, family and friends, ask you to please remember us, intercede for us, and whisper to our Master each of our names to grant us the grace to follow him faithfully, fearlessly, lovingly, as you have done!

While preparing for the funeral rites, I looked into some of her journals and found this beautiful piece among her treasured notes. May this be a precious inheritance from her.
A love letter from Jesus
I love you! I shed my own blood for you to make you clean. You are new! Believe me, it is true!
You are lovely in my eyes and I created you to be just as you are. Do not criticize yourself or be discouraged for not being perfect in your own eyes. This leads only to frustration. I want you to trust ME. One step, one day at a time.
Dwell in my power and love. Be free. Be yourself. Don’t allow other people to ruin you. I will guide you if you let me. Be aware of my presence in everything. I give you love, joy, peace. Look to me. I am your Shepherd and will lead you. Follow me only. Listen and I will tell you my will.
I love you, I love you! Let it flow from you – spill over to all you touch. Be not concerned with yourself. You are my responsibility. I will change you. You are to love yourself and love others simply because I love you. Take your eyes off yourself. Look only at Me! I lead, I change, I make, but not when you are trying. I won’t fight your efforts.
You are mine. Let me have the joy of making you like me. Let me love you! Let me give you joy, peace and kindness. No one else can. Do you see? You are not your own. You have been bought with blood and now you belong to me. It is not your concern how I deal with you. Your only command is to look to me alone. Never to yourself and never to others.
I love you. Do not struggle. Relax in my love. I know what is best and will do it with you, in you and through you. My will is perfect. My love is sufficient. I will supply all your needs. Look to Me.
I love you,
Jesus

Click here for photos of the funeral - Nov. 14, 2011

The power of the Word

Today is the liturgical feast of St. Matthew, the tax collector turned apostle of our Lord Jesus.It is inspiring to behold how the Incarnate Word of God – Jesus our Master – is able to effect change and transformation in the lives of people. Putting together the Gospel readings of last Saturday, September 16 (cf Lk 8:4-15) and last Sunday, September 17 (cf Mt 20: 1-16a), I came up with this reflection, remembering also the creative reading of the Pauline priest who guided our Hong Kong community in the monthly recollection last July. The seed sown on different types of soil could also be re-read in the time dimension of our daily life. Usually, we listen to the Word of God early in the morning during meditation, when we are still incapacitated or “out of condition” to listen; hence we sleep while listening or we listen, sleeping. Hopefully, as the sun of God’s grace continues to shine in our day, we progressively warm up to the Word and we accept it with joy even if we still don’t dwell in it deeply. At midday, we enter into the forest of the day’s occupations and distractions. Lucky if the Word survives such treacherous terrain! Fortunately, we have 24 hours in a day and God’s grace is present all throughout. So, hopefully, before the day ends, the Word perseveres in letting its presence be felt.  Hopefully it succeeds in penetrating our hearts, in mysterious ways: sometimes even through seemingly insignificant items like a passing comment, a brief conversation with a fellow sister or other persons, a glance on the beauty of nature and the like. God’s Word is alive, active, powerful. It perseveres despite all oppositions. It is not we who persevere. It is not we who are patient. It is God’s Word, because His Word is a Person. The Word became flesh in Jesus our Master. With Jesus in us, and we in Jesus, there will surely be fruits – of faith, love, hope, joy, kindness (cf Gal 5:22-23).

endings...beginnings...

“In my beginning is my end,” so goes the first line of T.S. Eliot’s East Coker, the second part of his Four Quartets.
“In my end is my beginning.” You’re right: this is the last line of the same piece.
It’s the poem that comes to mind as I listen to and contemplate Jesus’ words in this concluding phase of the Easter season while we await the celebration of Pentecost.
Jesus says to his disciples: “I come from the Father and now I go back to him…” – my beginning is my end.
But it is not actually the “end”. Jesus assures his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled... And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always…I will not leave you orphans." (see John 14).
The circle of life, human and eternal, continues. There is nothing to fear. Jesus has preceded us in all experiences, up to the limit experience of death.
When I arrived here in Manila, Philippines almost three weeks ago, the main news circulating was the end of the world prophesied to take place last May 21. Thank God, we are all still here. In fact, the “miscalculation of the world’s end” is out of circulation now.
What is in? The beginning of school year. It is expected that 12 million students in primary, secondary and tertiary levels will be out in the streets today, June 6. See this news page presenting the readiness of the public authorities to face the challenge.
In line with this, there is also the additional urgency of the implementation of the mandatory kindergarten education in public schools this time, hence the pressure faced by the Department of Education to employ thousands of kindergarten teachers.

So life is indeed buzzling, at least in this part of the world. And it’s good news enough to know that despite the poverty that continues to plague the country, there is always the attempt to hope and work for a better future by a long-term strategy called education. It consoles me to know that so many scholarships both at the public and private sphere are being offered to poor but deserving youth.
Endings and beginnings both in the Church’s liturgical season and the Philippine society’s civil calendar harmoniously blend. I would like to believe that this too is a sign of the Spirit’s creativity at work in our lives and our society.

Easter 2011

This stunning photo was taken by my friend, Fr. Tony Milner during his Holy Week Retreat at Castel Gandolfo. In his FB album he entitled it "Jacob's Ladder..."
Indeed there are times when it is difficult for us to see the "connection" between our life here and the one after this, especially when there is no one who could at least indicate some "signs" linking the two...
Could this be one of the reasons why we, disciples of Jesus today, need to solemnly celebrate annually the Resurrection event -- to make present the reality of the new life that we are now "caught up into" through Jesus' rising from the dead? We know it by the intuition of our faith, by the doctrine passed on to use through catechism and theology, but it takes time to really capture it in our lives, or rather, be captured by it, by the resurrection faith.
In the beautiful homily I had the grace to listen to today at the English College here in Rome, the priest celebrant rightly said -- we need TIME to understand, to catch the significance of the event. Mary Magdalene needed "two takes": the first one, she mistook Jesus for the gardener (the "old Adam"?). But she caught up soon: upon hearing her name out of Jesus' lips, she recognized him as her "rabbouni" (the "new Adam"?)

On second reflection, we could be forgiven for "failing to understand" what Resurrection means. It is not easy, of course, since the Resurrection is an "out-of-this-world" reality. It is unique. Pope Benedict XVI develops this foundational Christian theme in his latest work, Jesus of Nazareth: "The Resurrection accounts certainly speak of something outside our world of experience. They speak of something new, something unprecedented -- a new dimension of reality that is revealed. What already exists is not called into question. Rather, we are told that there is a further dimension, beyond what was previously known. Does that contradict science? Can there really only ever be what there has always been? Can there not be something unexpected, something unimaginable, something new? If there really is a God, is he not able to create a new dimension of human existence, a new dimension of reality altogether? Is not creation actually waiting for this last and highest 'evolutionary leap', for the union of the finite with the infinite, for the union of man and God, for the conquest of death? Throughout the history of the living, the origins of aything new have always been small, practically invisible and easily overlooked. (...) In terms of world history, Jesus' Resurrection is improbable; it is the smallest mustard seed of history. This reversal of proportions is one of God's mysteries. The great -- the mighty-- is ultimately the small. The tiny mustard seed is something truly great. So it is that the Resurrection has entered the world only through certain mysterious appearances to the chosen few. And yet it was truly the new beginning for which the world was silently waiting."
I personally think that "resurrection experiences" are creatively woven in the texture of our life, if we only TAKE and MAKE TIME to examine deeply our daily lives. I did have experiences lately when such deep desires I hold in my heart and I could only express to our Lord found fulfillment in real life, unfolding in mysterious and unexpected ways.
For this period of the Easter Season (50 days -- a lot of time indeed!) why don't we try a daily "easter exercise": look at signs of connections -- stunning play of clouds and light as in the picture above (like God "showing off" or simply smiling), tiny green sprouts of plants springing from crevices or stones, an encouraging tap on the shoulder, a listening ear offered, a helping hand, etc...
Happy Easter to all!

Via Crucis

Nature continues to undergo transformation as spring decisively enters in.
The city of Rome is in full "movimento" as well not only because of the pilgrims and tourists flocking the city during Holy Week but also due to the full blast preparation for the big event of the beatification of Pope John Paul II come 1st of May. Shall we have a repeat of his funeral event in April 2005 attended by around a million people?
For those who flock towards the direction of St. Peter's Basilica passing through Via della Conciliazione, there is a curious "art exhibit" by the left side of the road: 49 pieces of life-size statues in bronze featuring the 14 stations of the cross or the traditional Via Crucis. It was done by our company Domusdei pddm, srl for a Chilean foundation - Cross of the Third Millenium in Coquimbo Chile. Several press releases have been done about the "art display" but I want to invite my readers to consider the "contemplative work" of Gabriele Bellan who photographed all the stations and shared the photos and his reflections on them in his blog. It could be a good way of doing your "Way of the Cross" now even as you sit before your computer.
I'd like to feature here one of his photos -- to contemplate Jesus' "handing of himself" to his torturers, on one level, and to his Father, on a deeper level. Following Jesus our Lord, we usually find ourselves, on the same "spot" -- accepting and therefore, handing ourselves over to life situations, both voluntarily and involuntarily, but trusting always that there is a Greater Other who is in-charge so no matter how tough times could be, we try to stay the course and be faithful. The story of Jesus did not end with the cross.

PYSB and the Santolan Music Bureau - Community TV Network - Young Musica...

Please watch this video clip and see if you could help out these budding musicians from the Philippines. Thanks a lot!

Between St. Scholastica and Mother Scholastica

Today is the liturgical feast of St. Scholastica, traditionally known as the twin sister of St. Benedict of Norcia (Umbria, Italy). There is a beautiful anecdote recounted by no less than Pope Gregory the Great narrating how St. Scholastica overpowered her brother St. Benedict by virtue of her loving prayerful intercession. Read full story here.
St. Scholastica is also the patron Saint of my Congregation, the Disciples of the Divine Master. In fact, we celebrate the 87th anniversary of foundation today. And we have our own Mother M. Scholastica to present to the world. She was the first Disciple chosen by the Founder, Blessed James Alberione, to collaborate with him in bringing to life the third-born institute in the Pauline Family. Mother M. Scholastica had to suffer much for this calling and mission but she retained a bright, beautiful disposition in everything.

Her secret, I guess, is this very conscious choice of never considering herself a victim. Without denying the difficulties, she courageously crossed the desert of transformation in order that our religious family could have its rightful identity in the Church. In the face of misunderstanding, to the point of being removed from office and exiled from her community, she chose not to complain but to “offer” everything. She has learned to place herself in God’s hands in everything for she knew well that no matter how far she falls, she won’t fall out of those gentle, loving hands.
If you want to know more about her, you can browse the pages of this book

The Divine Milieu

Remembering a Jesuit friend who’ll soon be celebrating his 90th birthday (in heaven, I hope – he transferred “residence” in 2007), I was reminded of one of his favorite readings while still on earth: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s Divine Milieu. Perhaps it was he who inspired me to take up this book and read it attentively.
Let me share with you some of the lines which serve as food for my soul at the beginning of this New Year. On the value of human activity: The Divine Milieu explains that all human experience has divine undertones. Work, play, family, commerce – everything we do and everything that happens to us is all part of the whole of building God’s kingdom. In Chardin’s own words: “We serve to complete creation by the humblest work of our hands. (…) By virtue of the Creation and, still more, of the Incarnation, nothing here below is profane for those who know how to see. (…) Our faith imposes on us the right and the duty to throw ourselves into the things of earth.”
Then, there is the chapter on the “things that are done to us” or what he calls “our passivities.” Chardin distinguishes between the passivities of growth and the passivities of diminishment. On the one hand, there are the “passivities of growth” referring to the things that are beyond our control but serve as friendly and favorable forces which shape who we become. Perhaps one example of this would be my present calling to serve my Congregation at the General level and have a wider view of the church and of religious life lived out in different cultures. “My self is given to me far more than it is formed by me.”
On the other, there are the “passivities of diminishment” which signify the hostile powers that hamper our progress. There are several examples of this in daily life, when I meet “aggressive, destructive and pain-inflicting forces and persons” who bring out the worst in me. But even here, Chardin is confident that everything works for good. “By virtue of Christ’s rising again, nothing any longer kills inevitably, but everything is capable of becoming the blessed influence of God upon our lives. (…) God transfigures deaths by integrating them into a better plan – provided we lovingly trust in him.”
Synthesizing, I think the challenge that Chardin poses is this – the spiritualization of matter and the materialisation of spirit, or more simply put, how to divinize our world: “The task of each one of us is to divinize the whole world in an infinitesimal degree. The total divine milieu is formed by the confluence of our individual divine milieux. (…) Under the commonplace envelope of things and of all our purified and salvaged efforts, a new earth is being slowly engendered.”
Incidentally, or serendipitously, yesterday, I was given a chance to meet a living mystic, as if to confirm Chardin’s thesis that God is continuously at work in our world. I heeded a surprise last-minute invitation from the Ambassador of the Philippines to the Holy See, H.E. Madame Tuason, to listen to a testimonial of Mrs. Vassula Rydén, a lay woman, mother of 2 adult sons. She is Greek by blood, Egyptian by birth, raised in Switzerland, of Greek Orthodox religion, married to a Lutheran. Vassula enthusiastically shared the spiritual workings of God upon her, a woman of the world, who did not expect to be given such a calling and a mission. The center of her thesis is “True Life in God” received through locutions, visions and writings that went through a period of purification, gradually leading to a process of crystallization of the particular mission: to help in the “re-construction of Christ’s Church” meaning the unity of Christians. One of the visions she shared and which I bring with me in prayer today is the image of three rigid towers – the three Christian religions: Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant – who all need to be “converted” and to learn humility so that they can “bend” and meet and bow to each other.
A fitting spiritual experience at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity indeed and a confirmation that we should never lose hope that the Lord continues to work in our world, as Chardin attests!