Reflection on Readings: How to Eliminate Your Enemy

Once, when he was much smaller, my son engaged me and my dad in a conversation.  After reading the Philippines Almanac, he maintained that the Spanish soldiers who fought against the Katipuneros were all bad.  My dad and I looked at each other and tried to explain to him that being bad depended on which side you were on.  It depended on perspective.  The Spanish soldiers were fighting against insurgents, while the Katipuneros were fighting for their freedom.

A video article I saw made exactly the same point.  The former CIA agent being interviewed opened with:  "If I learned one lesson from my time with the CIA, it is this:  Everybody believes they are the good guy."  And she goes on to state a very simple solution to world conflict / war:  "The only real way to disarm your enemy is to listen to them."  Then she said, "But the truth is, when you talk to the people who are really fighting on the ground, on both sides, and ask them why they are there.  They answer with hopes for their children, specific policies that they think are cruel or unfair ..."

CIA INTERVIEW

The key is being open to understanding and "loving" the enemy because, really, when we get down to the heart of it, we are all the same - fighting for essentially the same things:  the things and people we love.

So, how do you eliminate your enemy?  By making them your friend.

From Tuesday's Gospel

Matthew 5:43-48

 "Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,  that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."

CEASEFIRE by For King & Country sums it up quite well.

How do we save a life
Pointing fingers?
How can we end the fight
This way?
When blame is the truth we're preaching?
And lies are what we're believing?
No one ever wins
When the goal is to settle the score

One by one we will call for a ceasefire
One by one we will fight for a better end
One by one we could rewrite the headlines
Standing side by side
One by one, love is building an empire
One by one, reaching out to our enemies
One by one we will make it to the finish line
Standing side by side
Ceasefire

I will be the first to say
I'm far from perfect
But grace was made for those who don't
Deserve it
So easy to cast the first stone
It's harder to search your own soul
No one ever wins
When the goal is to settle the score

Teach us how to live humbly
Love unconditionally
Transform our hurt into hope
And grant us Your peace

Bigger Bear Series: Surprises Come in 3's

Nothing better than a no-occasion gift. Not just one, but three. On a Monday.

Today felt like a long day, particularly because it started at 6:30 am, much MUCH earlier than my usual, for a full-day planning session. (And it's going to be the same story tomorrow).  Thus, at the end of the session, I was spent and couldn't wait to get home for a quick snooze --- before checking on my emails again.

1. When I got home, I found out that we had a few friend priests resting at the house before their long drive back to Bicol.  I'd been wanting to confess but the schedules didn't work for me ... so He sent the priest to me!  I had the chance to clarify a few things, received affirmation and was given a really cool penance! 
2. My parents were having dinner with the priests, but I decided not to join them since I wanted to clear off some of my emails.  Guess what I got in exchange?  An impromptu cracking physical therapy --- way better than the massage I had been dreaming of for the past couple of weeks!
3. Finally, a friend I'd been missing terribly popped in precisely to tell me that I am missed (and will visit me soon), loved ... and in dire need of exercise! 

Last week, He was telling me to RELAX through messages.  Today, He helped me do so by setting my soul at ease with a proper confession, soothing my body with a proper physical therapy and warming my heart with attention and affirmation I didn't know I was missing and craving.

I am loved ... SOOOO much!

Reflection on Readings: Darkness is Essential

Friday's Psalms
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
"He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage."

silence.

my first thought was silence

and then my breathing

slowly beginning to race

as i opened my eyes

--- that were never closed

blackness.

only purple blackness.

i reach out my hands

searching

is there a difference between

nothingness and void?

where am i?

WHO am i?

have i died ...

or have just begun living?

Oprah mentioned that there is no such thing as wrong paths.  And why should there be, when He is not only guiding us, but walking with us.  But why would God take us through dark valleys in the first place?  Because ...

Darkness is not only essential, but a special blessing in disguise.

• It is only in darkness that we see and appreciate the pinpricks of light that surround us. We are able to recognize the seemingly "tiny" but constant blessings, which we take for granted.  True family and friends are given the opportunity to show us just how loved we are. 
• It is only in darkness that we are pushed to see, and find the courage to recognize and use the light INSIDE of us, so ...  "light the fire where you are" (Corinne Bailey Rae, "Stop Where You Are") 

"Stop Where You Are" by Corinne Bailey Rae 

Reflection on Readings / Bigger Bear Series: The Skies Will Break For You

1st Reading - May 28, Saturday
Jude 17, 20-25
"21 Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."

Last Saturday, as I was driving home from an errand, Corinne Bailey Rae's "The Skies Will Break" came on and it gave me a start ... because "the skies ARE breaking" for me now.

Before I go into the details of my "breaking skies" ...

***
In April, I received a note (a mere two-liner) from a friend, written on top of a long (oh, just a couple of pages) email I had sent 4 years ago. It detailed my sentiments and my woes at that time --- which was EXACTLY my sentiments and my woes currently.  Reading it felt like a virtual ASL ice bucket challenge.  I was stunned.  And then I was distressed and panicky.  It's been four years (FOUR YEARS!) and ... either I haven't moved or I've been going in circles.  Whichever conclusion I chose, it meant the same thing:  I was a failure.

I was in quite a state when I told my sister about it.  To which her only reply was something like, "But, Ate, I believe in God's timing ha". That silenced me.  I believe in God's timing and I've been telling people to do the same.  Yet here I was, panicking and running around like a headless chicken.  Shame on me!

Then my shepherd in the community posted an interview of Oprah ... and it was spot-on.  Below are the points that hit home:
The Legend of Oprah

1. "There are no mistakes ... There's no such thing as Failure.  Failure is just that thing trying to move you in another direction."
2. "You have a supreme destiny ... There is a supreme moment of destiny calling on your life ... and your job is to feel that, to hear that, to know that."
3. "You come from something greater and bigger and we all are really the same."
4. "... it's all leading to the same path.  There are no wrong paths"
5. "You get as much from your losses as you do from your victories."
6. "RELAX"
7. "When you're not at ease with yourself, that is the cue that you need to be moving in another direction."
8. "Get still"
9. "Think about the next right move and, from that space, make the next right move and the next right move."
10. "You are not defined by one moment or circumstance or what other people define as failure."

It was complemented by another post I saw from Ascension Press on "3 Things to Know About the Sign of the Cross", particularly the 3rd point.
Ascension Press - The Sign of the Cross

1. God is a Trinity
2. Your Worth 
3. You're here for a reason:  To know God, To love God, To serve God in this life so as to be with Him in the next.

I realized:

1. There are lessons that we need to consciously remind ourselves of over and over again, like God's perfect timing.  Just because, at the end of a trial, I see how everything eventually fell into place in God's perfect time, doesn't mean I will not panic whenever things don't happen the way I think they should. (Slow learner here).  
2. A lot of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are consumable and need to be replenished time and again, like Faith and Patience.  Just because I managed to go through a difficult trial in faith doesn't mean I can go through the next one in faith without any trouble.

It's a daily thing ... and the struggle is real (insert Bitmoji here).

***

Now, going back to my "breaking skies" ...

Prior to the song coming on, I was mulling over the recent events in my life.  In  just a span of two months (from the time I received the note):

1. I went on a business trip I didn't intend to go to ... and it landed me the next role I wanted.
2. After months of working on the requirements, I finally got the loan for the lot I was purchasing ... just in time for the completion of the building plans.
3. My sister  is resigning from her steady income job to get her sh@t together ... and offered to help me get my sh@t together as well.
4. I felt unhealthy and wanted to do some form of cleansing program.  My bestfriend offered me one ... and, in the process, gave me something that will help augment my expenses.
5. My friend's meeting got cancelled, so he decided to drop by for a quick catch-up over coffee.  We ended up tossing around great ideas for my DIP (dream-in-progress).

I realized, there was never any need for worry. Help will come when it is needed.

What I should have done (and should always remind myself to do) was to "keep myself in the love of God", while I "wait for His mercy". The God who has set my life in motion will make sure I roll towards and land on the right spot, the one reserved just for me.

So, yes, the "skies are breaking" for me now ... and it's right on time.

The Skies Will Break by Corinne Bailey Rae