We are never alone. When you do something, Christ is always at your side. I think that he can help you with any challenge that comes your way, you just have to acknowledge and turn to him. If you do turn to Him, you receive strength to continue on. The Holy Spirit helps a lot. :)
Talking about the Holy Spirit, how do you remind yourself of your faith, especially in the secular world? Do you wear jewelry that is close to your heart? I was thinking that wearing a crucifix at work is a little too religious, and turned to a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the dove. The dove is a very beautiful symbol of purity, peace, gentleness and faith.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Eyes on God
My thoughts, eyes and heart should always be looking towards God. So often we forget and it's so easy to get distracted. If we spend every minute for him, being good stewards of our time, treasure, talents and gifts (really everything), we're much better off.
Nothing is mine. Everything is His.
Another quote from Mother Teresa:
"Every day we have to say yes. To be where he wants you to be. Total surrender: If he puts you in the street—if everything is taken from you and suddenly you find yourself in the street—to accept to be put in the street at that moment. . . . To accept whatever he gives and to give whatever he takes with a big smile. This is the surrender to God. To accept to be cut to pieces, and yet every piece to belong only to him. This is the surrender. To accept the people that come, the work that you happen to do. Today maybe you have a good meal and tomorrow maybe you have nothing. There is no water in the pump? All right. To accept, and to give whatever he takes. He takes your good name, he takes your health, yes. That’s the surrender. And you are free then.”
Nothing is mine. Everything is His.
Another quote from Mother Teresa:
"Every day we have to say yes. To be where he wants you to be. Total surrender: If he puts you in the street—if everything is taken from you and suddenly you find yourself in the street—to accept to be put in the street at that moment. . . . To accept whatever he gives and to give whatever he takes with a big smile. This is the surrender to God. To accept to be cut to pieces, and yet every piece to belong only to him. This is the surrender. To accept the people that come, the work that you happen to do. Today maybe you have a good meal and tomorrow maybe you have nothing. There is no water in the pump? All right. To accept, and to give whatever he takes. He takes your good name, he takes your health, yes. That’s the surrender. And you are free then.”
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Humility -> Openness
During today's short homily, one idea stuck in my mind: pride and arrogance result in a type of closed-ness (if there is such a word :P) on our part. We are closed to God's grace, greatness...really anything. Humility --> openness. A couple days ago, I had a big realization of a prideful moment and was immediately humbled, which is why this idea was particularly interesting. When we are humble to the Lord, we acknowledge and understand that we do not know everything. We don't try to prove our smarts by questioning.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Random Thoughts + Quotes from Mother Teresa
Things to do over time:
-Advance my Italian and learn Latin to understand Pope Benedict XVI's speeches and Church documents (all the rich history of over 2000 years, and I can't even read the original source?)
-Plan my dad's 60th in the next few years :P
-Stop being lazy and wasting time
-Love more
I see Mother Teresa as one of our modern models to live a virtuous and fully Catholic life. Some of her photos floating around the Internet beautifully capture her charity and love. Here are some of her quotes and my reflections:
-Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family. Be holy - let us pray.
(We are all called to be saints, to be holy, so let us fervently move towards this, every day.)
-Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
-If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
(the way I think of it, you judge people based on their appearance, past history (promiscuous? criminal? if they amended their ways, who cares?), smell, gossip or whatnot, but we shouldn't be doing that! We must leave our preconceived notions of people at the door to really love them)
-Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
(if you do well with the little that is given to you, you will do well with much)
-Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person.
-Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
(Pope Benedict also mentions how isolation is the greatest form of poverty in today's world in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate; what can we do to care for them? little things...smile at them, pray for them and those you don't know, even just seeing them sleeping on the street or carry around some granola bars with you and leave it by their head :). There was an incident a few years ago when I first moved to SF, where this seemingly crazy bag-type lady came up to me in the mall eyeing my haggen dazs ice cream cone. I just gave her the cone I was eating, but looking back, I really wish that I had bought her a new cone with her favorite flavors instead. Imagine the increased joy that might have given her. I hope it's not vain to get a total kick out of making people smile, laugh and feel good about themselves by patting myself on the back every time I succeed)
-Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.
-Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.
-Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
(I try to do this every day and with every human interaction)
-The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.
-We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.
(I adore my quiet time, especially when in nature wandering about or hiking)
-Intense love does not measure, it just gives.
(Sometimes, we give, and it may hurt because we don't get anything back (ie affection, love, praise, care, etc.), but that's because we have expectations for something more, and therefore take account/measure of what we give...however that is a love centered on ourselves, not on others and God)
-Advance my Italian and learn Latin to understand Pope Benedict XVI's speeches and Church documents (all the rich history of over 2000 years, and I can't even read the original source?)
-Plan my dad's 60th in the next few years :P
-Stop being lazy and wasting time
-Love more
I see Mother Teresa as one of our modern models to live a virtuous and fully Catholic life. Some of her photos floating around the Internet beautifully capture her charity and love. Here are some of her quotes and my reflections:
-Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family. Be holy - let us pray.
(We are all called to be saints, to be holy, so let us fervently move towards this, every day.)
-Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
-If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
(the way I think of it, you judge people based on their appearance, past history (promiscuous? criminal? if they amended their ways, who cares?), smell, gossip or whatnot, but we shouldn't be doing that! We must leave our preconceived notions of people at the door to really love them)
-Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
(if you do well with the little that is given to you, you will do well with much)
-Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person.
-Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
(Pope Benedict also mentions how isolation is the greatest form of poverty in today's world in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate; what can we do to care for them? little things...smile at them, pray for them and those you don't know, even just seeing them sleeping on the street or carry around some granola bars with you and leave it by their head :). There was an incident a few years ago when I first moved to SF, where this seemingly crazy bag-type lady came up to me in the mall eyeing my haggen dazs ice cream cone. I just gave her the cone I was eating, but looking back, I really wish that I had bought her a new cone with her favorite flavors instead. Imagine the increased joy that might have given her. I hope it's not vain to get a total kick out of making people smile, laugh and feel good about themselves by patting myself on the back every time I succeed)
-Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.
-Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.
-Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
(I try to do this every day and with every human interaction)
-The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.
-We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.
(I adore my quiet time, especially when in nature wandering about or hiking)
-Intense love does not measure, it just gives.
(Sometimes, we give, and it may hurt because we don't get anything back (ie affection, love, praise, care, etc.), but that's because we have expectations for something more, and therefore take account/measure of what we give...however that is a love centered on ourselves, not on others and God)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Jerry Orbach's Love Letters to his Wife
While reading some articles this morning, I stumbled across this little gem:
Jerry Orbach's Love Letters to his Wife
People express their love in so many different ways, from the things they do and say, to the things they write. Love shouldn't just be a torturous thing, it should bring people immense joy. What is true love?
Jerry Orbach's Love Letters to his Wife
People express their love in so many different ways, from the things they do and say, to the things they write. Love shouldn't just be a torturous thing, it should bring people immense joy. What is true love?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
New Job, More Thoughts
This coming Monday, I start my new job! Very nervous and excited, but I really feel like the Lord answered my prayers through the intercession of Mary. That means I gotta be good to them. :) I'm so thankful!
It's been a very spiritually formative year as I attempted to change roles. I am constantly humbled by and reminded of my sins, weaknesses. I have so many faults. And every time I do something wrong, I think, 'Doh! Why did I do that? Stupid me.', like Homer Simpson. It's hard to be vigilant of ourselves and the world all the time, but we need to be!
Lastly, I had a dream today, a serious one about a regime enslaving people, committing atrocities, but I wasn't scared or hopeless because someone in the dream kept those feelings at bay for me. The reason I mention this dream is because in general, I've had nightmares in the past that filled me with anxiety, hopelessness and fear. But this time, I had none of those feelings and was able to assess the situation more clearly! It's been a while since I've had a good dream, and this was by no means, 'good'. However, I wonder if this positive turn of events is because I've been going to daily mass.
It's been a very spiritually formative year as I attempted to change roles. I am constantly humbled by and reminded of my sins, weaknesses. I have so many faults. And every time I do something wrong, I think, 'Doh! Why did I do that? Stupid me.', like Homer Simpson. It's hard to be vigilant of ourselves and the world all the time, but we need to be!
Lastly, I had a dream today, a serious one about a regime enslaving people, committing atrocities, but I wasn't scared or hopeless because someone in the dream kept those feelings at bay for me. The reason I mention this dream is because in general, I've had nightmares in the past that filled me with anxiety, hopelessness and fear. But this time, I had none of those feelings and was able to assess the situation more clearly! It's been a while since I've had a good dream, and this was by no means, 'good'. However, I wonder if this positive turn of events is because I've been going to daily mass.
Week of Free!
This has been a wonderful week on scoring free stuff! I count my blessings and there are many.
-Free flu shot - yay to company for making sure its employees remain healthy and able to work
-Free lip balm
-Free Godiva hot chocolate
-Free tshirts
-Free stickers
Finished off the week with a small dinner party for some good friends. Free pies, fruit tart, chocolate, salad and ice cream poured into my fridge. Thanks!
-Free flu shot - yay to company for making sure its employees remain healthy and able to work
-Free lip balm
-Free Godiva hot chocolate
-Free tshirts
-Free stickers
Finished off the week with a small dinner party for some good friends. Free pies, fruit tart, chocolate, salad and ice cream poured into my fridge. Thanks!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Some Special Days To Date
Some special days to date, and hopefully more to come:
9/4 1st Adoration of Eucharist
9/8 Feast of Infanta Maria
9/11 See grandma for last time
9/15 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows/Funeral
10/2 2nd Adoration of Eucharist
Always give thanks and rejoice. If things happen, they happen by the Will of God.
9/4 1st Adoration of Eucharist
9/8 Feast of Infanta Maria
9/11 See grandma for last time
9/15 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows/Funeral
10/2 2nd Adoration of Eucharist
Always give thanks and rejoice. If things happen, they happen by the Will of God.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Light to Banish Darkness
Darkness and evil are such intangible, invisible things in this world. However, lately, I've become more aware of it. Sadly, sometimes, a little too late. Darkness shouldn't scare me. We have God on our side.
One cannot deny the atrocities of this world. Some issues that I consistently am moved by are the women in Africa caught in strife and war, abused and assaulted internally and externally (ask if you want more disgustingly graphic details), trafficking of children and women in Asia and all over the world, and those that are alone, orphans, without families, living in the streets, without a roof over their heads and not receiving love. All these bad things roil my blood.
What can we do to make the world a better place and dispel the darkness? Do what you can. Volunteer, donate, and pray fervently. I may be missing some other things, but this is how I break down my life.
No need to fear darkness, only to fear in the Lord.
One cannot deny the atrocities of this world. Some issues that I consistently am moved by are the women in Africa caught in strife and war, abused and assaulted internally and externally (ask if you want more disgustingly graphic details), trafficking of children and women in Asia and all over the world, and those that are alone, orphans, without families, living in the streets, without a roof over their heads and not receiving love. All these bad things roil my blood.
What can we do to make the world a better place and dispel the darkness? Do what you can. Volunteer, donate, and pray fervently. I may be missing some other things, but this is how I break down my life.
No need to fear darkness, only to fear in the Lord.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Forgiveness
The power of forgiveness is the power to take away all those negative feelings of anger, hate or other grudging emotions. Forgiveness makes you whole and helps you let go of a negative past, allowing you to move forward.
Grandma, My Hero
The title's cheesy, isn't it? But she is inspiring me right now to do harder work and be better at things. More than anything, I'm happy that she's finally not suffering anymore. That must also be why I'm not breaking down either.
Thought I'd share some thoughts that I wrote for her at the memorial/wake/visitation (whatever it's called before the requiem mass):
To be honest, I wanted to make this longer than it is...but only simple thoughts came to our minds. Our grandma lived a full life - God gave her time to see her sons, daughters, and grandchildren grow up. She was truly a lady - a beautiful, king, gentle woman who valued family and instilled strong morals in us that penetrate our core being.
I think she wants us to know that she is truly at peace tonight. She has finally let go of this world, but we will continue to live on, products of her love. She has been a blessing in our lives and we are filled with gratitude.
Grandma, we love you with all our hearts. Until later, when we meet in Heaven.
Thought I'd share some thoughts that I wrote for her at the memorial/wake/visitation (whatever it's called before the requiem mass):
To be honest, I wanted to make this longer than it is...but only simple thoughts came to our minds. Our grandma lived a full life - God gave her time to see her sons, daughters, and grandchildren grow up. She was truly a lady - a beautiful, king, gentle woman who valued family and instilled strong morals in us that penetrate our core being.
I think she wants us to know that she is truly at peace tonight. She has finally let go of this world, but we will continue to live on, products of her love. She has been a blessing in our lives and we are filled with gratitude.
Grandma, we love you with all our hearts. Until later, when we meet in Heaven.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Nearing Death and God
Friedrich Nietzsche, the father of nihilism (I think) and famous for the quote, 'God is dead', was a brilliant philosopher. He also turned to and sought God toward the end of his life. Lenin, known as the Father of Russia, actively worked to destroy Christianity in his homeland. Known to love books, he died in his study, reading. What was he reading? 'What is the Meaning of Christianity'. No one can doubt that these men were smart. Eventually, for them, things pointed to God and Christ. Why? Who knows, but as we understand our mortality, we again think, who am I? Why am I here? Being a Christian provides you with that answer. Do you know?
9/27 update:
Maybe it wasn't Nietzsche, but Sartre after all...my poor memory.
9/27 update:
Maybe it wasn't Nietzsche, but Sartre after all...my poor memory.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Faith
Just writing a stream of thought, especially for R, that I'm not sure makes total sense, but here goes...
I'm by no means a theologian or scholar. In fact, I'm quite ignorant and unversed in religious thought (shameful to my private education, I know). I've read about so many religions and different schools of thought. Indeed, you have to know these things to understand themes in art from Hindu sculpture and Buddha heads to Roman sarcophagi and Dutch triptychs. One thing that I'm learning though is the beauty of what religion holds for us.
Organized religion gets a bad rep these days, but if we didn't have faith in something and a structure, I'd personally be anchor-less. At times, I'm on the verge of losing hope, but a strong faith replenishes that spring of hope. Growing in faith is like muscle development for the big leagues. The more you exercise it, the stronger it will be. If I only used a muscle once, it'd probably atrophy.
Some people are born into a nice structure, ie a religious family. Others find their way because of a very deep need intrinsic to Man. I might say that this deep need is a need for God. Others may say something else. Once that need is recognized, how do we fill it? We fill it by placing faith in something or someone, that they will fill us. Faith is a grace. Not everyone has it. Many need to pray for it. It is intangible, elusive, and hard to come by in this skeptical world.
But once you have faith in someone and know they will never let you down, imagine the possibilities! They are endless! When I think about this, I want to jump for joy, dance around, and cry. Faith is a new pair of wings, a jet-pack, a quidditch broom...that can take you places you never fathomed. Of course, those places may not be what you considered 'cool', but this place, here and now, is where you should be at the moment. Make the most of it.
I'm by no means a theologian or scholar. In fact, I'm quite ignorant and unversed in religious thought (shameful to my private education, I know). I've read about so many religions and different schools of thought. Indeed, you have to know these things to understand themes in art from Hindu sculpture and Buddha heads to Roman sarcophagi and Dutch triptychs. One thing that I'm learning though is the beauty of what religion holds for us.
Organized religion gets a bad rep these days, but if we didn't have faith in something and a structure, I'd personally be anchor-less. At times, I'm on the verge of losing hope, but a strong faith replenishes that spring of hope. Growing in faith is like muscle development for the big leagues. The more you exercise it, the stronger it will be. If I only used a muscle once, it'd probably atrophy.
Some people are born into a nice structure, ie a religious family. Others find their way because of a very deep need intrinsic to Man. I might say that this deep need is a need for God. Others may say something else. Once that need is recognized, how do we fill it? We fill it by placing faith in something or someone, that they will fill us. Faith is a grace. Not everyone has it. Many need to pray for it. It is intangible, elusive, and hard to come by in this skeptical world.
But once you have faith in someone and know they will never let you down, imagine the possibilities! They are endless! When I think about this, I want to jump for joy, dance around, and cry. Faith is a new pair of wings, a jet-pack, a quidditch broom...that can take you places you never fathomed. Of course, those places may not be what you considered 'cool', but this place, here and now, is where you should be at the moment. Make the most of it.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Flowers Reduce The Blahs
Nancy Etcoff, a researcher at Harvard has studied the effects of flowers on our happiness. Here is a PR release: article
Looks like we don't have to feel guilty about having flowers around us all the time. In fact, they're therapeutic!
This explains my love of flowers and their therapeutic effects of just being around them. As a child, I kept my own garden of daffodils and bearded iris. I helped maintain the tulips, garlic, roses and crocosmia in our yard. When anything smelled (including the bathroom), I would get my mother's 'Tea Rose' from the Perfumer's Workshop and spray it everywhere so that our house smelled like flowers. :)
Even now, I look at my favorite bi-color yellow/red roses or freesia in photo form to give myself a mood lift. Wouldn't it be lovely if you had a house or room filled with these?
Looks like we don't have to feel guilty about having flowers around us all the time. In fact, they're therapeutic!
This explains my love of flowers and their therapeutic effects of just being around them. As a child, I kept my own garden of daffodils and bearded iris. I helped maintain the tulips, garlic, roses and crocosmia in our yard. When anything smelled (including the bathroom), I would get my mother's 'Tea Rose' from the Perfumer's Workshop and spray it everywhere so that our house smelled like flowers. :)
Even now, I look at my favorite bi-color yellow/red roses or freesia in photo form to give myself a mood lift. Wouldn't it be lovely if you had a house or room filled with these?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
More Pics of Puppy Lab
Isn't he so adorable? My dad's started to call him Johnnie, like Johnnie Walker. -__-
How To Get More Positive Stories In the Media
I went a a talk today about Faith and the Media, part of the speaker series held by the Young Adult Circle in Silicon Valley: http://www.youngadultcircle.org/
It was a really interesting talk given by a mature Catholic reporter about how to influence the media, especially mediums such as newspapers, radio stations and tv stations. The easiest thing that we can do to demand more positive stories are the following:
1) Write or email the tv reporters, newspaper reporters, and radio hosts, thanking them for positive stories that ran in the media.
2) Feed them news stories if you know of any happy things happening in your local area or just know some really fantastic people
These 2 small things any of us can do to help direct media on stories that inspire and gladden the heart.
It was a really interesting talk given by a mature Catholic reporter about how to influence the media, especially mediums such as newspapers, radio stations and tv stations. The easiest thing that we can do to demand more positive stories are the following:
1) Write or email the tv reporters, newspaper reporters, and radio hosts, thanking them for positive stories that ran in the media.
2) Feed them news stories if you know of any happy things happening in your local area or just know some really fantastic people
These 2 small things any of us can do to help direct media on stories that inspire and gladden the heart.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
New Family Puppy!
My parents just got a puppy lab yesterday. I am determined to fly to Seattle to see this cute little fuzzball in the next few weeks. Also, we haven't named him yet, so if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Susan Boyle's Rendition of Memory!
So last weekend, Susan Boyle sang 'Memory' on the show 'Britain's Got Talent'. I'm absolutely obsessed her. You probably already know that she's a worldwide phenomenon/inspiration, giving hope to those that see how she's risen to the top, with the powerful aid of YouTube and other online media. We live in a digital age that spreads horrible news quick as lightening, but good happy things in a snap as well for everyone to enjoy!
Here is her latest performance:
And 'Cry Me a River' from about a decade ago:
Last, but not least, the performance that started it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5TBgD9kHI
Here is her latest performance:
And 'Cry Me a River' from about a decade ago:
Last, but not least, the performance that started it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5TBgD9kHI
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy Music Clips
There are just some songs out there that make you want to stand up and dance around. I like to listen to them when I want to feel happy or have challenges ahead that I'm not sure if I can conquer, mainly because fear holds me back. But why should we fear?
I fear failure because I'm afraid of hurting my pride, of worrying that people will judge. A year ago, I may have also said I was afraid of hurting from the fall, but I've grown since then, and don't fear being hurt and whipped into shape. I've definitely failed on many an occasion, but cling to the hope that one day, I will succeed.
So with that thought, some happy video clips from 'Sister Act II' to listen and dance to!
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