Two Writers, Two Reflections and God's Single Message

Question: Can two different writers wrote two different articles at two different time and place and send one single but personal Godly message to one person?

My overwhelming answer: Yes and allow me to testify.

Last April, my family went home to Phillipines for our annual vacation. And as soon as we visited our Tita Shirley, she excitedly showed us an April 4, 2010 Didache reflection and story surrounding the incident of our daughter’s passing away. It was written by a good friend of mine, Jun Asis of Mabuting Balita. It was a poignant moment for us, even trying my best to hide my teary eyes as my mind was rewinded once again about that fateful day. I closed the booklet after I read it and thanked her for letting us know about.

Our vacation ended after 3 weeks and we went back to China and I emailed a simple thanks to Jun.

On the last week of September, my brother-in-law’s family arrived in China for a holiday. With them they brought along another copy of the 2010 Didache for my wife and I (we also receive daily the electronic copies of the KerygmaFamily’s Didache, Sabbath and Companion but unfortunately have not read it on a daily basis – our bad).

October came and the biggest surprise yet for my family has arrived – my wife is now pregnant with our third child.

But since October is also the same month when we lost Maia, I just felt like reading once again the April 4 reflection in Didache. That is when the Lord surprised me once again (yes, He never runs out of those stuffs). Our Lord simply touched my heart because the very next reflection on April 5 was a sharing by Alvin Barcelona (kerygma preacher and Power kids school co-owner) about the excitements and worries of being a Daddy again. Obviously, I myself am going to be Daddy once more!

The April 4 article is about our tragedy and test of faith.

The April 5 article is about God’s answer to our prayers and faithfulness.

The Lord has clearly spoken to my family – He is faithful and He loves us.

Thanks Jun!

Thanks Alvin!

Thank you, Lord!

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

A Different October

October is here.

Nostalgia is once again in the air for us as we usher in the month when we lost our little daughter. I agree that the incident happened nearly two years ago but for those who have lost their loved ones, I am sure they will understand it when we claim that the heartbreak and the pain will never really go away. We can only find comfort in knowing that we have our own angel in heaven who looks after us and intercedes on our behalf.

Two nights ago, I had an early trip down bitter-sweet memory lane when, until the wee hours of the night, I browsed through the photos of our beloved Maia while she was still with us. And as usual, I had a lot of tearful moments as I stared at her lovely eyes and cherubim face. I smiled at her funny pictures as well and could only sighed over the photos of her enjoying her moments with Zek. I terribly missed her.

A few days ago, our son Zek saw a black with yellow-striped butterfly which he vainly tried to play with as it instantly flies away whenever he tries to reach for it. Our Maia loved butterflies as well and she also ran incessantly at it whenever she saw one. And when it has flown away beyond her reach, she would bid it farewell,”bye-bye butterfly”.

Today our angel Maia has given us her irrefutable presence in our lives.

My wife tested positive for our new baby.

Effective today, October will not just a be the “good-bye” month for us but a renewed celebration in welcoming a new life. I am sure our Maia worked this out with the Lord eversince she came home. (Indeed, our loss was heaven’s gain)

Thank you, our dear angel.

All praises and honor we give to you Lord.

Amen and God bless.

Undeniable Mercy

Exactly nine days after the tragic hostage crisis drama in Manila ended in the loss of eight lives of innocent Hongkong tourists at the hands of a disgruntled ex-policeman, my colleague and I were flagged down by the local Chinese police at a routinary checkpoint in Zhuhai. That crisis was very much a headline and heated item for both countries. My heart palpitated like a drum roll as the officer motioned me to step out of the car I was driving. Despite knowing and understanding a little bit of the Chinese language, I opted to speak in straight english with the officer in the hopes of evading further inquiries which, at that particular moment, might lead to something a lot of Filipinos in China and Hongkong feared and felt – unwarranted backlash against Filipinos. Notwithstanding that I recognized his question about my nationality, I dodged the question by calmly yet consistently denying understanding his question and gesturing to make a phone call to our Chinese manager for assistance.

He looked closely at my driving license and stared at me.

Afterwards he swiftly whisked his hand towards the direction of our destination.

“He is letting me go”, I said to myself.

I thanked him and we left.

Only after I arrived home was I totally aghast to see that clearly marked beside my name in the driver’s license was my Filipino nationality.

The police officer knew it all along.

As a practicing Catholic, there are admittedly occasions when I have been in “denial” of my faith and beliefs. I am not even talking about faith renunciations at the thought of religious persecutions which the saints in the past surpassed or about the zealously intellectual defence of apologetics againts attacks by believers from other sects. I am particularly guilty of them in the daily humdrums of my life. When I wake up each morning, how many times have I jumped to a lot of others activities without any prayer prelude? I rush myself getting into the car and revving up the engine without a short pause to ask for driving assistance. During work, how many times have I resorted to white lies just to get the necessary result within the shortest time possible? And if office stuffs and issues becomes stresfully difficult to handle and things do not work out as I planned, then I would resort to unrestrained anger. I have my prejudices, less-than-pure glances, self-righteous rationalizations, annoyances, lazy circumstances, uninformed opinions which ran opposed to the teachings of the church and a few more sins that clouded the truth of His presence in my life. At night, I go home tired and would, now and again, half-consciously pray with my wife as we prepare to rest.

And to top it all, I, every now and then, would act as if everything is still fine with me,simply forgetting and forgoing any exerted effort to remedy or improve the situation.

Honestly speaking,” Who am I kidding?”.

The Lord knows all these details even if I forget them as soon as a new day comes and even as I conveniently dismissed them. There’s no denying all these offenses I am committing against Him. They are clearly written beside my name in His book of life and only a conscientious confession and a firm resolve to mend my ways can lead me to a forgiven and a new life.

When St. Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus encouraged him to redeem himself with an equal three-time confession and directive to “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Yes, the goods news remains up to our present time. Our denials are also opportunities for our redemption through God’s endless stream of divine mercy.

So how long have you been denying the Lord?

Isn’t it about time we go to confession and to follow His directive?

God bless.