In Reverence

Renewing Christian Faith for everyone

recent posts

  • Grateful Heart

    Grateful Heart

    “Count your blessings.” I’m sure at some point we have heard this saying from a friend or a family member or even saw it on a greeting card or a banner somewhere during your travels. My own experience recently was coming out of a church at St Maximilian Kolbe as I went back to my car to continue going about my day. I never thought about it after in a deeper way but as I caught a moment or finished my day it gave me an opportunity to think about it more. Am I grateful for that chance opportunity to be with God for almost an hour to do adoration since my job allows me to have that break in between? Am I grateful for the peace that I felt as soon as I stepped in and stepped out of the church? Reflections in random moments always gives us a chance to relinquish the small blessings we encounter. Sometimes -well, most times we forget the little things in the busyness of our lives but that is to our own doing because we can always be intentional and start our day with a prayer. Everything follows. It always does.

    I remember back in the day during my years in grade school when I used to live in the Philippines, my parents always reminded me and my siblings to say our prayers and thank God for what we have. As I grew up to become a teenager, I started to become too occupied with silly teenage girl things and praying was not in the forefront of my mind but only during Sunday masses and weekly rosaries at home and Santo Nino pilgrimages in my neighborhood going door to door from one house to another. Now, fast forward in my 40’s I have come to realize that only three things do matter. First, God followed by family and lastly, country. My husband, Ioan gave me this perfect reminder during the time that this conversation has occurred.

    All these blessings namely, that God created me in his image and likeness and that should be something that needs to be celebrated, second of all God gave me a beautiful family- a loving, kind and God-fearing husband who would go through hell and back for me and lastly a country that is sadly, currently divided but that we should uphold and be proud of.

    People always say that life is so hard and difficult and it is fairly easy to forget to be thankful every day. From the moment we wake up to the time we lay our head on our pillow we have another chance to redeem ourselves and to try again to be a better person to ourselves and to our community. We just have to get out of that rut in our head -that nagging voice that hinders us to be grateful in every chance we can. Count your blessings every day. Trust me, your day will be as warm and bright as the glistening sun that warms your face when you step out the door. May God bless you and your family.

  • Returning Back to the Faith

    Returning Back to the Faith

    As I ponder about my life experiences, I have come to understand over time where my priorities lie. A few years ago, I experienced trauma over a divorce that was looming. It felt surreal to me that I was in that position. I was born and raised a Catholic, went to Catholic school all my life and blessed by my parents by sharing the faith and receiving the Sacraments in the Catholic Church. Now, experiencing that divorce made me think what happened along the way? Did I wander off in the desert and succumbed to the temptations of the devil due to my lack of spiritual enrichment? In one way or another, we all have our temptations whether it be big or small especially nowadays surrounded by a secular society that is providing us with a lot of false narrative and sways our judgement and opinions and if we are not that strong, our faith unfortunately can waver.  

    Fast forward, I met my husband who provided me with a stronghold and foundation of the start of seeking a deeper relationship with our Lord. The first time that I went to the chapel for adoration I had an encounter that was very special to me. I just had a spark of love almost like that yearning that I was missing or a heart that was aching and found it’s way back home in adoration with the Blessed Sacrament provided by the grace of God. It was quite the experience and I never looked back.

    In the mornings, I read my short prayers daily as well as reading scriptures of the day and trying to reflect before my work starts.

    Some weekends, I meet with a spiritual director Sr Patricia, who is guiding and encouraging me to take small steps and affirms the importance of prayer and sharing the faith with others in the community. I am grateful and thankful for these opportunities and sense a change in myself. Every day I look forward to being in the presence of God and understanding his Word as best as I can. Quoting from Mark 4:4-5 “Some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.” I pray that this growing seed that I am trying to nurture will be fruitful and not fall on rocky ground. I get discouraged and that is human nature but as what one of our parish priests Fr. Drennen once said in his homily, “we know that we are weak in nature and that we should not try to be  discouraged but share in the hope that God is more powerful than us and he can redeem us when we turn to him.”

    During adoration Fridays sometimes I arrive to my parish chapel and I feel that I don’t have the right words to say which I then ask the Holy Spirit to come breathe in me to provide some clarity in my thoughts. I have learned along the way that there is no wrong or right way to pray, you just need to sit in silence with the Lord and talk to him about your day and to never forget to offer it up. It is in these moments that God speaks in volumes if you just listen quietly and patiently.

    May our Lord Jesus Christ and Savior always provide you and me with the grace of strength, wisdom and truth to ever praise and adore him at all times. I pray that whoever is reading this can find in their heart to seek the Lord and that we may all find that peace we are all looking for ultimately.

  • Seek

    Seek

    We sometimes find ourselves in the midst of an encounter that shakes us and brings about a change of heart. It leads us to the most uncomfortable of times but it also prunes us to understand and grow in the right direction towards the light of Christ. I was just reminded today as I went about my daily musings and reflection in the morning with scripture. It was from the Book of Haggai. Haggai was among the minor prophets in the Old Testament who helped rebuild the second church in Jerusalem. He told the people instead of focusing among your own selves and worldly ways, focus in building up your relationship with the Lord and the Kingdom of God. In this reading the Lord said, “Consider your ways! You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed; And whoever earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it.”

    We have been graced by God according by his own measure and we are set upon receiving that grace with an open heart and to use it for good and to share it with others. The priority lays in understanding God’s calling for us in our life. No matter what state you are in your life we have been called to do a mission here on Earth. Have you noticed that when you have a bountiful harvest in your life you seem to forget somehow in the daily grind that you place God last. You have a lot of excuses to put off that rosary, or to forget your morning prayers. I know I have been guilty of it but I strive to change my habits to build that relationship with our God. It is through persistence, grace and prayer that I have come to understand how deeply important it is to have God as our friend, mentor, and guide. He is happy for that moment that you acknowledge and thank him, for that first glance at your rugged wall, your successful early work meeting with your difficult boss that never fails to bug you in the morning, the lunch that your husband packed for you and the safety of you and your daughter as you arrived home from school as you picked her up.

    As I am slowly learning and reading through Scripture, digesting and trying to understand every word while making notes, it is imperative that I continue to do this and also share what I have come to understand in my own interpretation of the Gospel. Haggai reminds us to overcome ourselves and the comfort that comes with this world. It is by going through difficult and challenging times that we come to see the face of God; that we unite ourselves with his cross and gain eternal life abandoning ourselves and leaving it all up to him by being faithful and asking forgiveness of things left unsaid. Jesus is waiting upon us to return to him, from there, you will have that peace that you are looking for – that you were always yearning and that peace which you cannot find in this world but only with Christ.

  • Christmas Joy

    Christmas Joy

    Once the ‘Ber months roll around I can’t help but feel a little nostalgia with a hint of wishful thinking. “Oh, how I wish I could go to the Philippines for Christmas this year.”

    I can just remember the honking sounds of jeepneys and pedicabs with people crossing through the streets carrying heavy bags of toys and gifts filled with much cheer. My childhood days back home was filled with excitement and anticipation especially when my siblings especially my brother and I knew it was that time that Santa was filling up our socks with our dreams and wishes for the year. We would gather boxes upon boxes of organized trim and decorations and help set up our tree filled with lights while playing background music from the famous Jose Mari Chan with his song” A Perfect Christmas” or Amy Grant’s version of “A Grown-up Christmas List”.

    The rise of early dawn comes with the start of Simbang Gabi or what we call Misa de Gallo which means the nine-day dawn masses in preparation for Jesus’ birth or Christmas. I did not fully understand the meaning of waking up so early in the morning and barely having my eyes open and attending mass with hordes of people. I do remember after mass there would be street vendors selling traditional Filipino rice cakes like “bibingka (baked rice cake), “puto bumbong” (steamed purple rice), “kutsinta” or “suman” (another type of rice cake wrapped in banana leaves), “latik” (sweet coconut dessert) or “yema” (custard candies) with all of these often served with hot chocolate, “salabat” (ginger tea) or taho (silken tofu drink with pearls). Amidst all the smells and sounds as well as the chatter among neighbors and the community, you know that warm and fuzzy feeling inside that’s comforting. It just feels like home. Those were the Christmas traditions growing up and the wonderful memories etched in my mind and not to mention we were also caroling in the neighborhood which was a a lot of fun trudging along from one house to another singing Filipino and English Christmas songs. Pure joy indeed.

    As an adult looking back, I have three takeaways from it all. The first one being I never knew the importance of tradition until I moved to the United States. Traditions embody you as a person which herein lies cultures and beliefs that make up your intrinsic values. The second is, no matter where you are in the world, the joy of Christmas will always take you home where the memories where embedded back in time. Lastly, we should remain in reverence with Jesus’ birth because that is where eternal salvation lies and we are saved.

  • Christmas Wish

    Christmas Wish

    Initially, I was going to write about my childhood Christmas days back home in the Philippines since I felt nostalgic especially with the ‘Ber months among us but I changed suit after a couple of sentences and listening to a “Grown up Christmas List” by David Foster and Natalie Cole. It moved me .. to tears in line with what is happening to our country right now. It has such a beautiful melancholic melody but I felt a pang in my heart and sadness as I internalized the lines to the song. “No more lives torn apart. That wars would never start and time would heal all hearts. Every man would have a friend and right would always win and love would never end.”

    Is it too naive to have such wishful thinking that this could actually happen? In my mind, yes, and that is where God comes in the picture. He was there before everything happened and as hard as it is to believe he is here now with us. He always has and always will. Sometimes, we forget and filled with much pride and arrogance we cannot humble ourselves and let God do the work. Have we lost our sense of self that our way of thinking has ruled over our common sense? It seems that way and I am afraid but, I still have that glimmer of hope in the recesses of my mind. Maybe it is just too much glossing over the news every day being entertained by colorful social media and being attached with our so-called social life on the Internet. Lately, I have been more introspective and looking for an answer and the perfect Bible Verse from scripture but I guess it is not about the most apt verse at the moment because we already know.. it is about how we act upon it. How we apply it to our day to day life.

    You know our ancestors had it right and they will always be right. They loved God first, followed by family and country. They started their day with a prayer and everything followed. They were exhausted at night from all the physical work throughout the day but they had a sense of fulfillment and purpose. It was a way of life that was filled with truth and hard work.

    As I have grown older and hopefully much wiser, my priorities have changed and I know what is important. I think you know too what is important in your life. I sure hope so. The love of family and community. The kind word that you exchange with your neighbor, the simple gestures throughout the day that warms up your hear, the smile that you share to the man on the street. It is within our grasp which is right in front of us to be the and do what is right. To stand up for what is good and just and to share to others Jesus’ words of wisdom. After all, he is the Son of God and is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  To God be the glory.