2011

As the years have gone by, I’ve grown so much in my relationship with God. So much so that it has come to this point where I’ve just recently broken out of the phase of “emotional faith” and I’m just learning, growing, and experiencing the lessons of faith where I simply examine what I’m DOING, what I’m FEELING, and I simply just CHOOSE to follow Him. 

So far, life has been like when I first met Him, except I feel like I understand so much more about my faith. Not so much the facts or the feelings of it, but the divinity of it. 

The area of faith where it isn’t because of human reason or emotion, but the simple complexity of faith based on Him. Faith as a gift from Him. Like how the Church is not held up because of the effort of humans, but by God’s grace. 

Not because I love Him.. but simply because He loves me. 

To be honest, I’m not too sure if I love God as much as I think or hope I do. Heck, I’m not even too sure where my faith is going. 

But I’ve simply chosen to stay despite all the tests He’s brought me through and I persevered through all the hurtful truths, and I have to say 2011 has been a crazy roller coaster ride. 

I’m looking forward not just to a new year, but to an ever changing and growing life that is renewed in Christ every day. 

I choose to love. I choose God. Simple as that. 

Decide that in your heart and God will take you to heights (and battlefields) you’ve never imagined. 

True story. :)

Men

"St. Joseph is the prime example of a man. All because he has the fear of the Lord. He loved his family so much, that he was willing to die for them. He was quiet, and the Bible didn't have much to say about him. But that's because a real man doesn't need to be bragged about." -via Annie Au

Simplicity

"Pray, Hope and Don't Worry." -Padre Pio

Why Complicate Life?

Missing somebody? ... Call
Wanna meet up? ... Invite
Wanna be understood? ... Explain
Have questions? ... Ask
Don't like something? ... Say it
Like something? ... State it
Want something? ... Ask for it
Love someone? ... Tell them

Women

"Satan fell because of his beauty. Now his heart for revenge is to assault beauty. He destroys it in the natural world wherever he can. He wreaks destruction on the glory of God in the earth like a psychopath committed to destroying great works of art. But most especially, he hates Eve. Because she is captivating, uniquely glorious, and he cannot be. She is the incarnation of the Beauty of God. More than anything else in all creation, she allures the world to God. Satan hates it with a jealousy we can only imagine. And there is more. The evil one also hates Eve because she gives life. Put those two together—that Eve incarnates the Beauty of God and she gives life to the world. Satan’s bitter heart cannot bear it." -John and Stasi Eldredge, Captivating

Success

"Success is peace of mind that comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. No one can do more." -John Wooden

"When success is defined as being one's best rather than competing with others, people can focus on and enjoy their own improvement and accomplishments...they are more likely to experience intrinsic motivation and enjoyment of the activity. They also persist in the face of difficulties, select challenging goals, and exert maximum effort." -Dweck, 1999; McArdle & Duda, 2002

"If you make winning basketball games a life-or-death situation, you're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot." -Dean Smith

"For an ego-approach person, experiencing personal improvement or knowing that one did his or her 'best' would not in itself occasion feelings of success or competence. Indeed, knowing that one tried hard and failed to outperform others would cause an ego-oriented person to feel especially incompetent. If ego-oriented people begin to question their ability to compete successfully with others, they are more likely to reduce persistence and avoid the challenge at hand." -Nicholls, 1989

Religion

Jesus did not die to give us religion, He died to give us love.

Dependence

"We don't get our lives together and then give them to God, but rather, we give our lives to God and then things start coming together." -via Erin Tangco

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Sometimes the people we care most about, our family and friends, hurt us in ways they don't know. Usually they're oblivious, or they can't understand that certain things they do actually hurt when it comes to other people or yourself.

Either way, it can be frustrating and a good place for the seeds of hate, anger and discord to grow when it seems that all they do is go on their merry way doing whatever it is that hurts you, from jokes that hit the weak spot, to abandonment, to neglect, to betraying their values, to losing their faith, and so on. And in the end, they're either happy doing what they're doing, or oblivious of what they're doing, and you're there, observing everything, being hurt, and seemingly alone.

When you're hurt and seemingly alone, it's easy to get that pride up. It's that pride that causes you to disconnect from them and to leave them. It's that pride that says, "THEY should apologize for what they've done. THEY should be the first to make a move because THEY were the ones that hurt me, neglected me, betrayed me, and abandoned me." Now with our head walled-up with that pride we cut off that love towards them and before you know it, with that absence of love, all there is left is hate.

And hate sucks. It sucks the life out of us. We take beautiful days for granted. We forget how much we're loved by God, our family and especially those friends who are still there for us. We could be living life so much more fully without the heavy burdens of grudges. And so what do we do? It all comes back to that verse up there: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

As being who we are, children of God, we're called to love each other just as God has loved us. Likewise, we are called to forgive, just as He has forgiven us. Sometimes people do things that hurt us, but they don't know it. Other times, they know they've hurt us, but they just don't know how deeply they've hurt us. But in the end, just as we never truly know all the times we've hurt God or how deeply we've hurt Him, He forgave us and loved us and so we too must forgive them and love them.

And through all the hurt, maybe you'll grow closer to understanding what exactly God meant when He said He loves you unconditionally. And maybe you'll gain more wisdom in truly knowing what true love is and what true forgiveness really looks like.

True Love is Faithful to the End

Acts 3:1-10/ Gal 1:11-20/ Jn 21:15-19

Love, they say, makes the world go round. But what is it? Those warm, mushy feelings that well up inside us? Those tears that flow when we watch our first communicants walk up the aisle in the little white suits and dresses? No, those moments are charming, but they’re not love. They’re sentimentality, which comes and goes faster than we’d care to admit.

Love has a different shape. It’s a determined desiring of the best for the other, and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to make the best happen. In sum, true love, by definition, is faithful and has no limits.

In today’s gospel, Jesus — in the time after His resurrection — asks Peter three times whether he loves Him. The repeated question was an echo of the three times that Peter had denied even knowing Jesus. How those questions must have seared his heart!

But those three questions are for us too! They’re probing the seriousness of our commitment to the Lord. It’s highly unlikely that any of us will be called to witness to our faith by martyrdom. But every one of us is called to witness our love for Jesus daily by being true to the mission He’s given us.

-Errol Tangco

Perfection

"I’m perfect? Imperfect rather. The only way to be perfect is to take away the “im”, or “I’m.” Human beings are imperfect, and it is only once we take away ourselves, and realize it is only by Him, that we can begin to seek perfection. That perfection is not found in “I” but in Him. By taking away the “I am” or “I’m” or rather, by completely giving ourselves, and realizing our frailty as human beings, are we able to truly seek perfection. Let us remember it is not us who are perfect, it is only He. And perfection is found when we empty ourselves of our own wants, our own desires, our ” ‘I’ this, and ‘I’ that.” It is only once we humble ourselves, and accept that we alone cannot attain perfection are we able to discover the perfect image He created us to be. It is through Him that we are to the find perfect happiness, fulfillment and content in our lives. I am a perfect image in His love, we are a perfect image in His love, do not taint this image with our pride by believing perfection is found in ourselves. Our Lord does want us to seek perfection, however the only perfection that is to be shown, is Himself within us. Let us rejoice and be glad, for although we are weak, by simply giving ourselves, He may illustrate us to this world, as the perfection that we are meant to be." -Isaac Guevera