no time? well, i have.. =)

i attended a recollection this evening and i was enlightened, comforted, and liberated.. the speaker was father mario, one of my favorite priests..

when i saw him stepped in, i wasn't able to contain my excitement that i had to text peter about it.. and his reply was 'ok. happy for you.'

oh yes, i AM happy, although i was alone there [walang pumunta sa mga niyaya ko, therefore wala akong ibang kausap dun.. mga tanders pa karamihan ng attendees.. oh well, i've done my part already.. it's not my loss, anyway..]

and because i've been SO BLESSED, i can't help but share it with you guys.. hindi kaya sa txt lang eh.. kaya i decided to post it here.. please bear with me, medyo mahaba na naman ito.. as usual.. pero sana kahit pa'no may mapulot naman kayo..

i'll try to give justice to father mario's talk.. i hope that at the end of this post, may makuha naman kayo, kahit konti.. may you be blessed in the same way that i've been blessed..

of course iba pa rin yung first-hand experience, but i'll try my best na maiparamdam sa inyo yung naramdaman ko. ^^

ok, enough of the long intro.. let's get started..

let me begin with this poem.. [as father mario did]

***NO TIME***

I knelt to pray but not too long
I had too much to do
Must hurry off and get to work
For the bills would soon be due

And so I said a hurried prayer
Jumped up from off my knees
My Christian duty now is done
My soul could be at ease

And through the day
I had no time to speak a word of cheer
No time to speak of Chist to friends
They'd laugh at me I feared

No time, no time - too much to do
That was my constant cry
No time to give to those in need
Till at last it was time to die

And when before the Lord I came
I stood with downcast eyes
Within His hand he held a book
It was the Book of Life
He looked into the Book of Life and said,
"Your name, I cannot find
I once was going to wtite it down
But never found the time."

***END***

i believe there's no need for me to explain what the poem was all about. it's simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. just a quick note from father mario: we, people, often consider prayer as a spare tire which we use in replace of a flat tire or in other words, "in case of emergency." what we do not realize is that prayer should be the steering wheel that will guide and direct us in our journey.

Christianity is a relationship.. and therefore, it must be nourished.. how? through a regular prayer time and service.. let's think of God as our partner.. how do we show Him our love? one way is to spend time with Him.. and that is through prayer and meditation/reflection.. prayer is our time to speak to God, meditation/reflection is God's time to speak to us..

two-way dapat ang communication, just like in any other relationship.. you have the right to speak, but you also have the responsibility to listen.. yan ang karaniwang nagiging problema sa isang relasyon.. gusto ng isa siya lang ang magsasalita.. unfair naman yun.. dapat matuto ka ring makinig.. hindi lang ikaw ang may bibig.. at isa pa, di ba nga we have one mouth and two ears? do the logic. =)

after we realize that Christianity is a relationship, the next thing to prepare for is death.. the life eternal.. parang ang bilis ba? hindi naman.. read on para maintindihan nyo.. ^_^

think of this: "unless you have accepted the fact that one day you will die, you will not truly live"

i'm sure most of you are familiar with this: "our citizenship is in heaven" - its written in the Bible and in Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life..

so what about it? ano naman kung mamamatay tayo? umm.. wala naman.. it's this simple.. "the essence of living is in dying.."

all throughout our lives, we are continuously blessed.. the very fact that we exist is already a blessing.. and this is reality: "after you have been blessed, God expects you to be a blessing to others." i remembered a text message i once received.. it was about a man complaining to God of the miseries of the world.. and he even questioned God's power ("if you are indeed God, how come you are not doing anything?").. this was God's reply: "I did something. I sent you. Be a blessing."

as what father mario has said: "what others have become because of you is more important than what you have become."

God knows when to send people where the need is urgent.. kaya when you find yourself in a situation you don't expect or you're not ready to face, be steadfast.. God placed you there for a reason.. you must therefore use that as an opportunity to be a blessing.. Act. Do something.

hindi mahalaga kung gaano katagal ka nabuhay sa mundo, ang mas mahalaga, kung paano ka nabuhay..

tanong ni father: "nasaan ang kaligayahan mo?"

sabi ni Richard Wagner, "Joy is not in things, it is in us."

and yes, i agree to that.. happiness comes from within.. and for me, it comes from loving..

hay.. love na naman.. don't worry people, i'm not talking about romantic love here.. what i mean is Christian love.. ^_^

another thought: "you can be a giver without being a lover, but you cannot be a lover without being a giver." and based on that, i can proudly say that i am a lover, not just a giver.. [may kokontra ba? sapak gusto niyo? hehe.. nanakot talaga ako di ba? hindi naman.. nagbabanta lang.. LOL..]

the following statements are self-explanatory.. hindi na rin pinaliwanag sa amin ni father mario.. pero i swear, may malalim na wisdom yung bawat statement.. kayo na bahala magdiscover.. =)

here they go..

*we can get so involved with WHAT we are doing that we forget WHY we are doing it.
we can get so involved with plain existing that we forget the purpose of living.
we can get so involved with the things that money can buy that we forget the things that money cannot buy.. [and what are the things that money cannot buy? house but not a home, books but not knowledge, medicine but not health, pleasure but not happiness..think about that..]

*one of the greatest tragedies that can befall a man is to feel so at home in this world that he forgets that his real and permanent home is in the next.

*strange how we can be preoccupied with a life we can't hold on to and neglect an eternity we can't run away from.

*contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want but the realization of what you already have. count your blessings..count them slow.

*if there is anything better than sharing with others the best of what you have, it is sharing with them the best of who you are.
>>just be yourself. you don't have to be a superhero to make a difference. just do something.

*when you share your life with others, life begins to find its meaning. the time you share your life with others is the moment you truly live.

[this following truth is almost always taken for granted. but this is important.. something to really think about..]
*GOD WILL CONDEMN US NOT ONLY FOR THE EVIL WE HAVE DONE, BUT MORE SO FOR THE GOOD WE DID NOT DO.*

Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: "we ourselves sometimes feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. but if we do not do what we are doing, the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." [simple but sensible]

as a conclusion, eto lang yung major point ng buong recollection.. live life to the fullest.. live for God's glory.. bless and touch the lives of others.. be a living testimony of God's love and goodness.. leave a legacy.. live life in such a way that when you die, people will be able to say this: "God permitted us to meet. I don't know why. But this I will tell you, you are one of the reasons why i continue to believe God is a good God."

my sharing ends here folks.. i hope you all gained something from this post.. just as i did..

i was blessed.. and i'm sharing that blessing to you.. if you too were blessed, go and bless others as well.. ^_^