Travel light

Here’s a funny text message I received.

Bahasa Malaysia is the national language of Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of Indonesia. And Bahasa Manila?  No, that’s not the national language of the Philippines! Every time it rains, it is baha  sa  (flooded in) Manila.

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In today’s Gospel (Lk. 9, 18-24), Jesus gives us the way to guard against being flooded and drowning in the sea of life’s problems. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Following Jesus means denying one’s self, and taking one’s cross, one day at a time. In other words, the cross is a part of our lives, but we are not to carry the cross of yesterday, or the cross of tomorrow, with the grace provided just for today. Otherwise, we will drown in the flood of regrets for the past, and worries for the future.

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“Live one day at a time.” This is the secret of a peaceful life. Come to think of it, we only have today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to, or may never, come. With this attitude, we are filled with gratitude for every day we are still alive, and we are filled with resolve to make every single day the best day of our life.

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Another secret for a peaceful life is to magnify the Lord instead of our crosses in life. Instead of focusing on our problems, let us focus on our blessings, but more so on the source of our blessings. In other words, let us concentrate, not on the cross we carry, but on Him whom we are following on the way.

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The other day while I was passing the entrance of our retirement house, Fr. Val Darunday, SVD called me over, shouting “Positive!” As I approached him, he said with a big smile: “I am positive for prostate cancer!” He said it so naturally and so matter-of-factly. Wow! For me, Father Val personifies a disciple who has taken up his cross daily and followed his Master joyfully and trustingly all these years!

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The NBA finals that culminated in the Miami Heat winning over the San Antonio Spurs remind us that every single day, a single point matters in this game called life. We cannot and should not keep on rewinding, or keep on fast-forwarding, as we go on. Let it play, just let it play.

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Take note of how today’s Gospel starts with a contrast—i.e., Jesus praying in solitude, and the crowds talking about Him. A lot of things fall into place when we talk things over with God. One good rule when we hear of rumors and talk is to talk to God about it and not to talk among ourselves about it. Words can heal, but words can also hurt. If you rearrange the letters, “WORDS” can also be “SWORD.”

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“Let go, and let God.” As we take up our cross daily and follow the Lord on the way, we realize that we do not need much in this life, and here we realize the importance of quality quantity. The other thing we realize is the importance of payback mentality over hoarding mentality. It is time to switch from quantity mode to quality mode, and from hoarding mode to payback mode. Otherwise, the journey will be burdensome. Or worse, we may not make it to our final destination.

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Inviting you to a psycho-gestalt retreat on June 29-30 at St. John the Baptist Retreat House, Tagaytay City. For inquiries, please contact Angie/Hary Crisanto at 0917-8092849 or 0917-8360305.

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Also inviting you to a “Forum on the May 2013 Elections from a Catholic Perspective” to be held on June 29 at the Estioko Hall, Christ the King Seminary, E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City, starting at 8:30 a.m. Admission is free. The forum is sponsored by the Lay Society of St. Arnold Janssen, the Philippine Affiliation of X-seminarians, and the XVD Association. The speakers who will discuss the issue of the “Catholic vote” are Bishop Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, religious political analyst Ed de la Torre, former gubernatorial candidate Ed Panlilio, former senatorial candidate Bal Falcone, and former Cocofed party-list candidate Charles Avila. For inquiries, please call 9758824/ 09178228238/09399171538.

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Bantay Matanda invites you to a lay forum on June 29, 9 a.m.-12 noon, at Janssen Hall of Christ the King Seminary. The topic is “All About Alzheimer’s Disease,” with Dr. Deana Santos-Ringor as speaker. For inquiries, please call 373-2262/998-2548/0917-4167849.

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Food for thought as we journey on: “We are often let down by the most trusted persons and loved by the most unexpected ones. Some make us cry for things we have not done, while some ignore our faults just to see our smile. Some leave us when we need them the most, and some stick with us even when we ask them to leave. The world is a mixture of such people. We just need to know which hand to shake and which hand to hold.”

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, help me to travel light in my journey, and help me to travel life one day at a time. Amen.