PARADOXICAL

The faith chronicles

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

 

Messages of love in song

It's always a great thing to wake up to lyrics from even some love songs I don't care for in waking life.

"Love will save the day."

"Baby you don't know what it's like (2x) to love somebody the way I love you."

"Kahit sabihin na mali ako. Alipin mo o bihag mo ako'y iyong iyo. Kung pag-ibig lang ang pag-uusapan, di ko na ililihim pa. Ang damdamin ko sayo, sa akin ay gusto kita."

Say that you love me
And show me that you care
Say when I need you
You will always be there
But if you go and leave me
This I swear is true
My love will always be with you

Friday, May 23, 2014

 

"Disturb us, Lord"

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.
- Sir Francis Drake

Sunday, May 18, 2014

 

"Seek love"

do not look for happiness
happiness is elusive
do not flee from pain
pain is inevitable
rather seek love, for in love
happiness is assured
and pain is bearable

- eastwind

Thursday, May 15, 2014

 

Song in head

Today I woke up to this song in my head:

"You're my everything. ... You never have to worry, never fear, for I am here."

In my waking life, I have never attempted to sing this song. Maybe because I feel it's too mushy.

Monday, May 12, 2014

 

The only journey that matters


"You have a problem? Just go through it. Don't dwell on it. If you become closer to God because of it, that's the point, that's what matters. The journey that matters is not the journey to wealth, fame, prestige, etc., but the journey to God's heart."

- quote from Fr. Orbos

Friday, May 09, 2014

 

We were not made for death

My family had been expecting the inevitable. At 90+ years old and with failing body, we knew our grandmother would go anytime soon. And yet when she did, it was still traumatic, like we were caught unprepared. This tells me something: We were not made for death.

What a serendipitous moment to stumble into an unlikely confirmation of this thought today: A journal article I was reading have these words as introduction:

"The book of Genesis tells us that we were created for a perfect world. The truth is that none of us has ever recovered from the trauma of the fall and the subsequent expulsion from Eden. Evil is not our 'normal way of life nor are broken relationships, disappointments, violence, rape, loss and death. We never really adjust to any of this, and these situations leave their marks on all of us." Esly Regina Carvalho, trauma expert

 

Not giving up

I have a lot of reasons to give up my faith or leave my church or community.

The long-standing scandal of exclusive Catholic schools and hospitals catering only to the rich, being an instrument of worldly prestige, status symbol, social standing.

News of clergy figuring in sex abuse and other serious misdemeanors

A vast majority of Catholics not living out their baptismal commitments or worse (what commitment?)

Trials I can hardly bear, as though my existing problems are not enough, as though I am being punished for the past

(I don't wish to mention the other reasons.)

Despite all these, I choose to remain, because these contradictions are nothing compared to the kind of suffering Christians in Egypt, Syria, the rest of the Muslim world, North Korea, and China are going through right now.

What's more, these contradictions are nothing compared to the marvelous works of God despite the great setbacks, and they are many, both little and big. I am referring, of course, to spiritual consolations, the insights, the valuable lessons learned (though learned the hard way).

I am also referring to the little things: new flavors to try, new clients, old clients knocking again, new friends online... These are many too, coming unbidden and almost unnoticed.

Herein lies the convincing power of the Holy Spirit, which no human hand can ever replicate. Of course, only believers can understand this part. Maybe it is meant to be that way.


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