Be Inspired and Enriched!

On a Friday late afternoon, I prepared all the necessary documentation and updates for the following Monday. I went home very pleased with myself that everything will be ready and smooth when the School (which I'm managing) starts again on Monday. On a Sunday evening, I had a terrible headache that I was not able to check up on my son all the things and homework that had to be submitted on the Monday. So, the next day, although I got up early, I needed some time to do the things that may have not been done the day before. And yes, nothing has been done after I went to bed. So, everyone was quite frantic that morning and, needless to say, I was late for my morning train. On my way to the office, I still had that feeling that everything will be smooth and quiet as I have prepared everything on Friday. Lo and behold! The School was flooded! All the students were waiting for me at the Church foyer. All of our classrooms located at the basement had their carpets stripped. You only have ...

Preparation for Christmas: We are again in this wonderful time of being reminded about God’s love for us. We thank God for family, old and new friends, new adventures, new learning, new realizations and discoveries within and outside ourselves. Most of all, we thank God for giving us His Son, Jesus. God’s love for us brought Jesus to our lives as our personal Saviour and Lord. This year has not been easy for many people, mainly due to the global financial crisis all over the world. However, finance (money) is only one part of our lives. We have other areas of our lives which we can still continue to develop. Are we continuing to develop our social, spiritual, intellectual, physical and creative lives? I believe that at every stage of our lives, we need to continue to learn, to grow and to share. This way, our minds will be open to new ideas and our hearts willing to catch and enjoy every opportunity to be joyful! How do we then live joyful lives? Here is the GOOD NEWS: Philippians...

Today is my birthday. A few decades ago, but not half a century ago yet, I first experienced light and life on this earth. My life and faith journey has been meaningful and fully human. Today, I am grateful to Christ Jesus, my Lord, my God, my Saviour and my friend, for this opportunity to enjoy His creation and to experience God's divinity in me and in others. God has abundantly blessed me with faith, hope and love through the people he has placed around me and those I share a bit of time with as friends, colleagues, fellow parishioners, classmates, neighbours, or simply as journey mates. I am a Pilgrim. Like all Christians, I travel in this pilgrimage here on earth trusting in the loving generosity of God. And with Mary, help of all Christians, I hope that we will reach our final destination to experience God's eternal glory. On this day, I invite you to journey with me in this beautiful world. Even if it's only through these words meeting your eyes and thoughts.

Early today, I had a chat with a lady about her father who is in his eighties. He seems to start behaving like a little child. As the conversation progressed, I can also see her Dad's reactions in my little boy's reactions and behaviour. I also saw some parallel with my Dad who is now a bit over seventy years old. We then spoke about other elderly relatives and friends and how they see life. A number of them are bitter and always angry about their own lives. When we look at their lives at the outset, we reckon they have a lot more blessings to be thankful for yet they behave as if they are worse off than anyone else in the world. At a seniors' school, we also see the same patterns: some are still happy and cheery even in their 80's and 90's and some are never satisfied with what they have or who they are or who they have become. Based on our observations with people surrounding us, we somehow came to the same conclusion that most of those who were behaving bad...

Hi! Today is onlyTuesday but I feel pretty tired, physically and mentally. It seems I am still having a hang-over from a busy weekend. But when I read the lyrics of this song by Billy Joel, I imagine God is singing it to me. I feel like I am enveloped by God's love. Go, try it! Just the Way You Are Billy Joel Don't go changing, to try and please me You never let me down before Don't imagine you're too familiar And I don't see you anymore I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble We never could have come this far I took the good times, I'll take the bad times, I'll take you just the way you are. Don't go trying some new fashion Don't change the color of your hair You always have my unspoken passion Although I might not seem to care I don't want clever conversation I never want to work that hard I just want someone that I can talk to I want you just the way you are. I need to know that you will always be The same o...

My patience had been tested by the boys. I have to reflect on the virtue of patience today. Patience = The capacity of enduring hardship or inconvenience without complaint: forbearance , long-suffering , resignation , tolerance . FAMOUS QUOTES ON PATIENCE: "Patience is passion tamed." - Lyman Abbott "Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures." - Joseph Addison "Slow and steady wins the race." - Aesop "Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return." - W. H. Auden "Who ever is out of patience is out of possession of their soul." - Francis Bacon "Little by little, through patience and repeated effort, the mind will become stilled in the Self." - Bhagavad Gita "Patience. A minor form of despair disguised as...

One of my friends, Fr. Jesus Richie Santos, sdb, shared this article on how to have a meaningful marriage. 1. Conflict is your friend. There are differences in every relationship - what makes or breaks a marriage is how partners choose to resolve those conflicts. Ignoring them is not the solution. That would be like ignoring cancer in the hope that it will go away by itself. Actually when conflicts are resolved successfully, the relationship can move to an even higher level of stability and intimacy. Use the following tips to resolve conflicts in your marriage. 2. Listen with empathy . Empathy is your ability to see things from your partner's perspective. Listen to your partner and tune in to his/her feelings. Whatever your partner is feeling "makes sense" from his or her perspective. When you start to "get it", you will know not only what your partner is feeling - you will also understand why. You are ready for the next step. 3. Respond with empathy . Tell you...