A Message from Above

I know how easy it could be to go through life without hearing God talk to us not even once, but then again it could be that we are not aware of it or even listening.

I have been crying out to God, to step in, to show up, to provide me with what I so desperately need right now, I don’t have it, he does and unless he pour it into me it will never be there.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, I dressed in red without even thinking about it and went to church. I carry with me a little book that helps me pray and meditate whenever the Spirit moves me, so I sat on the pew, knelt for a few minutes and then pulled out my little book. As I read I gasped for air; it was him, he was talking to me through the message I was reading. I felt his presence, his embrace, his pain for my pain and my eyes welled with tears, I could hardly see the words that were consoling me. My heart started pounding harder as I said, “oh God, oh God” and continued to try to hold back my tears. He is always there when I need him, no matter how long ago was the last time he revealed himself to me through whatever means he could use to touch me and let me know he was there, I am never alone. I ran to the restroom to get napkins since today for the first time I did not have my handkerchief, tears bathe my face. I don’t like to be dramatic, I wish I could just bury everything inside but all burst out like a volcano when I least expect it. I can’t hide my emotions. After that sweet embrace with God I felt calm come over me and then he provided me with even more with Bible scriptures and finally with the priest’s words. After the encounter my body felt weak and at times I was dizzy but nonetheless I was fed and strengthen to know he was there with me and that he no longer remained silent while I was looking for him so desperately.

I wish everyone has the chance to have the same experience, perhaps you have but if you haven’t be open and alert. Don’t expect to hear his voice but listen to the voices, music, sounds, words, anything that surrounds you. He uses so many things and people to let us know he is there and yet many don’t even know it. I wish I could explain this better for you but when you hear him you will know what I am talking about. Yield, be silent, pray, stop trying to have control and you will see what happens.

Today I can breathe a little bit more and it is because of him, because he is lifting some of the weight off my heart for a little bit. I hope that while I have this time that he also give me the wisdom to know what I should do next and gives me the courage to face what will be befall me. That is all I ask.

HAPPY PENTECOST DAY!!

River of Life

That is where I need to be today, at the river of life. I will go to Jesus himself at Mass and when I receive Him he will be one with me, giving the strength to go on and guiding me to walk unto the path He has chosen for me.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all my Christians friends. Last night I went to Easter Vigil Mass and it was an experience. For one it was a trilingual Mass (English, Spanish, Creole) and we received seven more members into the fullness of our faith. The rituals brings all of this to life (Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion), it is a reminder of our own commitments. It is a joy to emerge from Lent into the Joy of Jesus Resurrection.

Today I will be cooking a special meal which was blessed at the church yesterday and with it enjoy the richness of gifts the Lord has bestowed upon us. It is hard for me to not have Josh with us but it is the way things are and will continue to be for a while. My son Erek served last night and it might be his last service during an Easter celebration since he also will be beginning on a new path in his life. I can not help but to feel a little sad as I see my work done but at the same time I feel proud that I have survived this stage of my life. There will be many more stages I need to experience and with it new joys and new challenges. Sometimes I feel I want to hang on to each moment like it is the last, and it is. But just like Jesus died, was buried and now is risen from the dead so are we to die to so many things that don’t let us be transformed into a new life in him.

May you have a blessed Easter with your family and friends. May we one day be united to him.
Alleluia!!!

On a Mission

USS Boxer, Picture by the Associated Press

Yesterday was the remembrance of the Lord’s Passion and Death, as I sat on the pew and listened to the account I couldn’t help it but to be moved to tears. As I went forward to venerate the cross I remembered that it was thanks to a cross that we were set free. Too many it seems madness but to God it is a blessing. Jesus accomplished his mission through suffering and sacrifice and that is how many times we also accomplish our own mission on earth.

Last night, as I scanned online for news on the hostage situation off Somalia I found out that the USS Boxer is on its way to help in the situation, that is the ship my son is in. I received his last message earlier yesterday. So we came together as a family to pray the Rosary for his safety and the safety of all involved so that it is resolved in a peaceful manner. The anguish makes me restless but at the same time there is a peace and consolation in my heart. I remembered the medals I gave to him before he left to California, blessed by our parish priest to protect him, which he has on the chain that holds his dog tags. I also remember how every Sunday our brothers and sisters at church assure us of his prayers for him. We are all together in this mission, whatever that might be for any of us in our different walks in life. This is our earthly mission as members of the militant church.

My life long learning of my faith comes to life one more time, now I pull out the “weapons” provided to us in order to help and intercede in this situation and I trust that joining forces with many others our actions and prayers will bear fruit. If you believe this I would humbly ask you to join me as well.

Tomorrow we will celebrating Jesus triumph over death on a cross and with it the certainty that we took can raise with him. We took can triumph over our present situations, our hardships, challenges, and trials. We are on a mission for ourselves and one another.

Wishing you and your families a blessed and happy Easter.

The Greatest Love of All

Nobody love us more than Jesus. Please take some time today to remember Him. May you a blessed Good Friday.

Our Life and Nature

Nature has always been one of my points of inspiration, for some reason I parallel many of the scenes I see to life. This time I was looking a my rose bush, the same one that gave me 13 roses at once just a month ago. You can see it on this picture and the stems and leaves are turning reddish. It is a sign that more roses are going to spring from them. I thought right away how we also must give some kind of exterior signal that something is changing inside of us. It is the Lent season and we are called to get closer to God by doing sacrifices, penance and fasting. All of these helps us to turn our attention from the outside to the inside and from there changes begin to occur and become evident in the outside. The goal is that it will ultimately manifest itself in our actions and since we have been communing with God we can now do the things he inspires us to do.

As the bush turns red it is the first sign that something is happening deep within it and will become evident when the first buds begin to show up. Then a few days later the bud will continue to grow until it a beautiful rose opens up. It is a delight. So far I have six rose buds, there is no telling how many more will show up in the next few days, in the meantime I water it daily and continue to wonder. Nature is so amazing.

What do you enjoy most about nature? How does it impact your life?

When Faith, Politics and Opinions bring Divisions

I hardly ever speak about politics or religion but there are times when we need to. Whenever I do I know why most people stay away from the topics and prefer to keep their opinions to themselves, it brings controversy and divisions. You can get good and bad comments and many times you receive many insults if they don’t understand or agree with your point of view.

I really don’t know where some people’s manners go when they try to express their point of view, even family members become aggressive. I am not by far a perfect person but I try my best not to hurt others people’s feelings or damage a relationship just because we happen to think differently. There is a civil way to talk and discuss different points of views without being hateful about it.

Blogging serves as an excellent platform to share and discuss with people around the world and I expect the people that come visit mine to be respectful, I try to do the same. For the most part, if I feel I can’t, I don’t leave my print behind for posterity.

What is your experience when you discuss these topics? Do you comfort or detour from them? How would you handle someone who might have a lot of education but very little tact or good manners?

Limitless Mentality

“Never put a lid on God. You can’t give God a thimble and ask for a quart. It won’t work. Your plans, your projects, your dreams have to always be bigger than you, so that God has room to operate.” – Mother Angelica from the book Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality.

Playing it safe, it is the most common mentality in order to navigate life without much discomfort. I really don’t know how or why some of us are so afraid to step out in faith. In the past people didn’t have much and in reality they had way more than we do now. They lived simply and work the land with their own hands, it was hard work and many times they gathered their food on a daily basis. There was no way to store food for a long period of time so they learned to get things as they needed, nothing more. Everyone in the family was expected to lend a helping hand and -unlike now- they did it without expecting to get paid for it, it was something they did because they were part of the family. They had to rely on faith and hard work trusting that they would have what they needed.

(Entrance to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament – built on Faith)

When it comes to God there are no limits on what He can do through us. I’ve seen it with my own eyes on the things He accomplished through Mother Angelica, and yet I’m afraid to step out in faith. “Pagan” she called a loan officer once for not lending her money based on faith. She had no assets and didn’t know what her income was going to be until the end of the month. We have been conditioned to work on “sure” ground, on security, on things we can see and touch.

The other day we had a customer worried about submitting a claim to her insurance company in order to do a repair in her house. Her fear was on the increase of her policy if she submitted the claim, now I just wondered, why in the world do we need to have insurance for everything if when the time to make a claim comes we are afraid to claim what we are entitled to? We spend millions of dollars over our lifetime to insure everything we possess and yet we are afraid to claim a portion of it back. What does insurance provides us? In this case absolutely nothing other than to make us part from our hard earn money in exchange for some “security.”

Having a limitless mentality is not stopping to think of what we can do, but on what God can do instead. We are a vessel and only when we allow to be used by Him are we able to do the great things He had in mind for us. They key to limitless is to tap to the source and open ourselves to the possibilities.

I really don’t know why am I writing on this topic today, all I know is that somehow those lines I quoted at the beginning jumped at me while reading the book this morning. I keep waiting to move forward in my life but at the moment I feel frozen in time, afraid of what might come next. I know I should have faith, the one I used to have years ago but that in many ways I’ve lost. I need to get it back; faith that things will get better, that nothing will last forever, that I can do anything through Him if only I tune in to His will in my life at this moment and that my dreams are His way of saying to go on, that there is so much more to be achieved and accomplished in my life.

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

Oprah’s Church? What Do You Believe?

Oprah has been for me a person who demonstrated that we can accomplish a lot in life, even against the odds. I watch her show every week and I’m a subscriber of her monthly magazine, but one thing I’ve learned in life is to KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE. I won’t judge her because she is acting according to what she knows about her faith at this point, only God has the right to judge on this matter. There is a lot of different teachings, faiths, beliefs out there and we can’t blame this or the other for the loss of our faith. When life doesn’t go exactly as we thought it should we can’t blame the media, books, people, music etc. Yes, the media have a tremendous influence in our way of thinking but it is ultimately US who by our ignorance are driven into situations of this magnitude.

When I heard the announcement for this class something told me it wasn’t right. I tried to listen to the first class but technical difficulties didn’t let me finish it. I thought about listening to it later after it was posted on her site. Then I went to the store and saw the book displayed and stop to look through it, I could tell right away it didn’t go with my Christian belief. By reading a blog review of the book I found out it had Budhist ideas integrated into it, called it Budhism 101 written into a more easy to understand terms.

I’m not trying to condone the bad influence some communication mediums are doing to believers in general but what I would like to do is put responsability back on the shoulders of those who know about Jesus and what he is about. He came personally to teach us how to live and how to gain eternal life, if we choose to believe something else or listen to others than the witnesses of his teachings we are entitled to do so, but we are also entitled to the consequences.

As Christians what we are called to do is to continue to grow in the knowledge of our faith and share it with others. Each individual in turn will respond to the message or not. It is our responsability to share it to the best of our ability and move on, but we are also called to defend it. We can’t force anyone to believe on what we believe but we have the right to hold fast to our faith.

I believe that many people are driving to all of this kind of thinking because their spirit is hungry. We have starved our spiritual life to such a degree that we don’t even know what it is anymore. My belief is that we were created by God and that is who our soul yearns for. If we only take care of our body and not the soul sooner or later we feel that something is missing and it is.

Faith is a personal choice and we are ultimately responsible for our own life and what we do with it. All we can do is live it to best of our knowledge and ability, expose our belief along the way and guide those who are willing to listen.

We need to pick our battles and this one is one we need to trust God to conquer with the life of Christians as testimony. What’s your opinion?

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Clary Lopez, author of Simplicity, Richness of Life

I Kissed the Crown of Thorns

And then came the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, they brought over the big crucifix with Christ on it and the altar servers held it for the faithful to come forward. As I walked up I was thinking which part I would kiss and I remembered many years before in Puerto Rico looking for a statue of Christ wearing his crown of thorns. I wanted a really nice one but didn’t have much money so after walking all over Old San Juan from store to store I found one I could afford; one skilfully carved on wood.

I walked up and put my lips on the crown of thorns, so fitting to the way I’ve been feeling. Those thorns not only cut his forehead but went through his skull and touched his brain, how painful that must have been. And here I am and the whole congregation and I’m sure that a lot of us sitll contribute to that pain today. Many of us are going through some kind of physical, emotional or spiritual pain. I walked back to my pew and when kneeled I felt my heavy heart just to remember that He loves me no matter what and will continue to do so.

Tomorrow will be a happy day, we will remember the Resurrection and be reminded that right after a very painful moment there is always hope. In order to appreciate joy we must first experience sorrow.

Happy Easter my dear friends, may you feel JOY in your heart.