Happy Easter 2008

Happy Easter to all! Hope that the risen Christ finds His way into your hearts and that the reflection on the past Holy Week gives birth to a new you.

That is actually the basic message in the Easter celebration - rebirth. Which is why we have Easter eggs because eggs symbolize the nature of being reborn. It is the season of renewal. We reflect on our past past values, shed those that were not proper and instill in our hearts those that Christ wants us to accomplish.

The season of Lent re-echoes God’s call for us all to reorient and redirect our hearts toward God. What we love reveals what we value. The secret of having a meaningful and grace-filled season lies in what is hidden in us. May God find a contrite heart in each of us. May we be renewed!

In Him alone

I want to share this very meaningful song from Bukas Palad Music Ministry.

REFRAIN:
In Him alone is our hope
In Him alone is our strength
In Him alone are we justified
In Him alone are we saved

What have we to offer
That does not fade or wither
Can the world ever satisfy
The emptiness in our hearts
In vain we deny (REFRAIN)

When will you cease running
In search of hollow meaning
Let His love feed the hunger
In your soul till it overflows
With joy you yearn to know (REFRAIN)

DESCANT:
In Him alone is our hope
Unto Him I pour out my heart
He alone will save me
With His love and mercy.

Bo Speaks

I have always admired Bo Sanchez's talks. When he talks everyone is at all ears. Here's one reason why...

"Let me tell you a crazy story I heard recently. There's this husband who out of sheer love for his wife decided to prove it to her. So he swam the widest oceans, crossed the deepest rivers, and climbed the highest mountains to show his deep devotion to her. But in the end, she divorced him.

Why? Because he was never home.(Get it?)" - Bo Sanchez

A short anecdote on humility

I love Fr. Jerry Orbos' short but witty anecdote.

A child once asked his father: "Why do I need to be humble?"

His father replied: "My child, when you choose the lowly path, there is no place to fall and the only way is up."

and then there's this...

A thought to ponder, from a blood donor:

I gave blood, He gave His life;
I gave a pint, He gave it all;
the needle was short and sharp, the nails were large and dull;
the cot was soft and restful, the cross was rough and hard;
the med tech was kind and gentle, the soldiers were mean and cruel;
the crowd applauded my sacrifice, He was derided and reviled;
mine was given to prolong life, His was given for eternal life.

Hope each of us will learn humility while we are still "human".

Give Thanks

In view of the Lenten Season, let's pause and remember why we are here, how we were saved, and what we keep on forgetting...

Give thanks
with a grateful heart
Give thanks
to the Holy One
Give thanks
for He's given
Jesus Christ, His son

And now let the weak say
I am strong
Let the poor say
I am rich
Because of what
the Lord has done
for us

Give thanks...

Dismal service no more

I finally deicided to pay a visit to the restaurant I was ranting about a few posts ago, and it wasn't a great surprise for me that their service has significantly improve. Their crews are much more attentive to the customer's needs and they are much more courteous this time. I don't consider owning the cause of their significant change after the text message that I've sent them, but I think overtime the management found it out themselves that something is wrong. Oh well, it's good that they're back on their feet and that I can regularly go visit them again.

God's Days

by Robert J. Burdette

There are two days in the week upon which and about which I never worry -- two carefree days kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday. Yesterday, with its cares and fret and pains and aches, all its faults, its mistakes and blunders, has passed forever beyond my recall. It was mine; it is God's.

The other day that I do not worry about is Tomorrow. Tomorrow, with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its perils, its large promise and performance, its failures and mistakes, is as far beyond my mastery as its dead sister, Yesterday. Tomorrow is God's day; it will be mine.

There is left, then, for myself but one day in the week - Today. Any man can fight the battles of today. Any woman can carry the burdens of just one day; any man can resist the temptation of today. It is only when we willfully add the burden of these two awful eternities - Yesterday and Tomorrow - such burdens as only the Mighty God can sustain - that we break down.

It isn't the experience of Today that drives men mad. It is the remorse of what happened Yesterday and fear of what Tomorrow might bring. These are God's Days ... Leave them to Him.