Daily Journeys Part 2 of 2

5 Release of the Holy Spirit
We can experience what the disciples went through at the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled their lives and empowered them to spread the Good News. It can be intense or subtle, but surely, it strengthens our bond with God. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

6 Repentance
To reconcile with God, we must plea guilty of our sins and failures.  If we hang on to the wrongs we have done, then we block the flow of God’s love into our lives. “Return to me with all your heart.” (Joel 2:12)

7 Forgiveness
Grudges, anger and pride are chains that drag our lives away from God. Let go, let God take over and be reconciled with ourselves and others as well.  “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25)

8 Scripture Reflections
A daily dose of God’s Word keeps our souls nourished. Through the Bible, God speaks directly to us, responding to our questions, reiterating His promise of salvation and warming our weary hearts. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

9 Wait for the Lord to Speak
In most instances, the answers we seek in the rough edges of life come right out of reading the Bible. Just as Jesus retreated to the mountains to confer with the Father; we must retreat in the silence of our hearts, close our eyes and listen to the voice of the Lord. “My sheep listen to my voice.” (John 10:27)

10 Intercessions
We live in a community of people. The world is, because of what people are. There are good people as there are bad, and to all of them we pray for their enlightenment, guidance and reconciliation. So many wanting God’s Touch, so many needing the Lord’s attention.  Intercede for them for the greater good. “I urge then first of all that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanks giving be made for everyone.” (1 Timothy 2:1)

11 Petitions
God wants to show His presence through us. Ask Him for little needs, as you seek for major ones. He will fulfil in us what He means us to be.  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

12 Thanksgiving
The love of the Lord is without limit. We see this in ourselves, in our neighbours, in our community, in the world.  To Him we must always give gratitude for all that we are, for all that we will be. Be thankful for sending us our Saviour Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who protects until the end of the time. “Let us be thankful, and so worship God.” (Hebrews 12:28)

The one hour prayer can be referred to as MilagrOras for Miracle Hour. It can be our response to Jesus’ question, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” (Mark 14:37) It is not merely a challenge, but actually an obligation, if we are to honour and love God.

So as I journey each day to work; I observe MilagrOras. It takes discipline to keep this daily ritual. But as one gets accustomed to it; the cord that binds us to the Lord is strengthened and soon we find ourselves establishing a closer and meaningful relationship with our Maker.

by Mel Libre

Daily Journeys Part 1 of 2

We take journeys daily. As time moves forward, so must we.

Most of us literally make trips outside of our homes to pursue vocations and avocations. During weekdays, I go to work in the Auckland High Court, taking the bus from Glen Eden in West Auckland where I live to the Central Business District where the court is located. It usually takes me 45 minutes to an hour to reach the bus stop. From there I stroll for another 20 minutes to be in the office between 8:00am to 8:15am.

For the past three years, I have found these bus rides to be most inspiring, You see, in 2008 I brought with me a copy of Living Water, a booklet that contains the gospel reading for each day and a reflection. Most often, I ended up composing a song for most of the trips, some of which we sung in masses. In 2009 I was led to doing the Holy Rosary; and the experience of reciting and reflecting on the mysteries made me better understand the life, sacrifices and love of our Lord.

As 2010 began, I prepared myself to continue with reciting the Rosary each time I took the bus. But something happened. I misplaced my rosary and for two days, I searched for it without success. As I tried to locate the precious beads, my attention was caught by a orange booklet placed on top of the table in our bedroom. I took the pamphlet titled, “Miracle Hour” written by Linda Schubert and went through it as I went on my usual bus ride.

The book provides “a method of prayer that will change your life”. Schubert explained: “the booklet emerged at the end of a long dry time, when I was so ashamed of my prayerlessness that I cried out to the Lord for help.”  She continued: “He (God) not only gave a rich, grace-filled hour, but also showed me a simple format for a daily hour that would draw me into deeper intimacy with Him and empower me in my Christian walk.”

Schubert divided the hour into 12 five-minute segments with scriptural support for each as follows:

1 Praise.
We acknowledge the Almighty God who is worthy of all praise. “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

2 Sing to the Lord.
Music is the language of heaven as it opens our spirits to the great power of God. “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.” (Psalm 95:102)

3 Spiritual Warfare.
The devil attacks us at all times, but be not afraid: we have authority to come against the dark spirits. We must call on the Holy Spirit who will shield us and make certain that Satan fails. “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s scheme...” (Ephesians 6:12)

4 Surrender.
When we accept our weaknesses and humble ourselves before God, we allow Him to enter our lives and He fills us with His love and grace, putting His will above ours, thereby fulfilling our reason for being. “May Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42)

(To be continued)

Low-key on High Performance

Hyped as the golden boy of ice hockey, the national game of Canada, Sidney Patrick Crosby was expected to bring glory to Team Canada in its quest for the Olympic gold medal. Called “The Next One”, a reference to succeeding the Canadian hockey icon Wayne Gretzky, the 22-year old was skating at three, scored goals at four, featured in a newspaper at seven and had to transfer school at age 15 as rivals were jealous of his sporting talent.

Crosby became a prized player in the junior league and when he graduated from high school, he became the number one pick in the National Hockey League. He led his professional team, the Pittsburgh Penguins in taking the championship trophy in 2009, becoming the youngest captain to make such feat. A documentary film, Pond Hockey, released in 2008 tells of his experiences in playing hockey. Thus, in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, he carried on his shoulders the incredible task of getting Team Canada to the top.

Yet, Team Canada struggled through the preliminary games, losing a game to Team USA, the latter making itself a strong contender for gold.  Game after game, Crosby failed to deliver as expected; and soon critics sniped at him for not being up to the challenge. During the final game that concluded on the final day of the Winter Olympics 2010, Team Canada led Team USA (2-1) until the dying seconds when an American player hit a goal. The game was even; and a sudden death in the 20-minute overtime would determine the winner.

During the overtime, Sidney Crosby took a difficult shot that hit its mark, causing the people in and out of the stadium to roar in triumph. Crosby delivered when it counted the most. Subsequently, Team Canada stood in the podium to receive its gold medal.

When others would have boasted, Crosby remained humble in victory: “You dream of that moment a thousand times growing up. But it could have been anybody else, it could have been any other guy in that team.”  Asked if he was born to make the winning goal, he responded: “I don’t know. I dreamed of this moment. It’s pretty incredible.”

Each one has a dream of achieving and such can only happen if a person “run(s) with purpose in every step.” (1 Corinthians 9:26)  God sent us His Son at the perfect time. “When the right time came, God sent his Son.” (Galatians 4:4)  So He puts our victories at the right time at the right place. “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him...Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:1,5)

Crosby did not respond to criticisms on his average output in the preliminary games; he simply did the best he could under the circumstance. And when he made his mark, still he remained low-key about his performance. “As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” So humble yourselves before God...Let there be tears for what you have done...Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” (James 4:6-7; 9-10)

by Mel Libre

Nothing Left

Karl Rabeder, an Austrian businessman, wants out of his riches. In an article written by Henry Samuel in Paris dated February 10, 2010, it says that with a fortune of 3.4 million euro, the 47-year old has so far sold his six gliders valued at 400,000 euro and his interior furnishings and accessories business. A villa overlooking the Alps and a stone farmhouse with 17 hectares are up for sale.

 

He came to realize the emptiness of his life while going on a 3-week vacation with his wife in Hawaii. “It was the biggest shock of my life, when I realized how horrible, soulless and without feeling the five-star lifestyle is. In those three weeks, we spent all the money we could possibly spend. But in all that time, we had the feeling we hadn’t met a single real person – that we were all just actors. The staff played the role of being friendly and the guests played the role of being important and nobody was real.”

He will be living in small wooden hut with money just enough to survive decently, while the rest of his wealth will go to a charity he set up in Latin America.”My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing. Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness.”

 

Rabeder does not fault those who continue to amass wealth: “I do not have the right to give any other person advice. I was just listening to the voice of my heart and soul.”  Surely the message he received was: “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!”(Ecclesiastes 5:10)

 

God does not look down upon those who have wealth, but we are warned of the harm it may bring. “Trust in your money and down you go!” (Proverbs 11:28)  We are also told that if we use our money not just for ourselves, but share these with others, one can be given more so he can share to more. “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain.” (Proverbs 3:9-10) 

 

Rabeder, knowingly or unknowingly, is teaching us a Gospel truth: “Teach those who are rich in this world not be proud and not to trust their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God...Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future.” (1Timothy 1:17-1)

by Mel Libre

Elixir of Life

The young couple with their one-year old child came to office to bid goodbye. Ivy, a co-worker who hails from China, tendered her resignation as Finance Advisor of the government office where I work. Late last year, she was diagnosed of skin cancer; and was told by the doctors that it was in an advanced stage. She did not report for work after the Christmas break; and we were later informed of her decision to stop working, to seek healing and find time for her small family.

She hopped from one work station to the other, answering queries about her condition, her plans, etc. When she came near me, I noticed sorrow in her eyes, though she still carried a smile on her lips. We hugged each other, as she did with the others, and said that she was leaving. I asked her what medication she was taking and she responded, “Alternative Medicine.” After a few seconds of silence, I said, “I’ll pray always for you.” She then joined her husband who was carrying the baby, and bid everyone farewell.

“Isn’t life unfair?”, asked a colleague, and it made me reflect deeply. God knows what is best for us. If we suffer, it makes us more sensitive to God’s presence in our lives as well as that of others. “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are in trouble, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

There is always a positive outcome in suffering as God promised, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2) Most importantly we should be reminded that suffering cannot last forever. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4)

When I said to Ivy that I’d pray for her; I was depending on the Elixir of life: Our Lord, Our God.

by Mel Libre