Dream Big!

What is your dream in life?

That’s awesome to ask! Dreaming big dreams counts a lot on what you value today. Just note what are your childhood dreams – and note which some of them persist today. Just how important these persistent dreams are? These guide our search for true meaning in life. The persistence of big dreams in life must not be resisted. Such big dreams persist because these tell something what our hearts desire – and it does not come out of the blue.

Dreaming big dreams starts on our awareness of being unique. All of us have been entrusted with an immense power to be the best. Now, what do we do with this power? We can be creative with it! Stop being hopeless, and start imagining and envisioning a better world. What do you see? How do you feel about it? How do you wish about it? Now, to the present – what can you do about it? What can you contribute to that better world?

Once you have a clear grasp of that big dream, pursue it. People who knew how to pursue big dreams do have a daring attitude of owning it by means of their values. They avoid living a double-standard life. Once you own your dream – it’s yours, it’s unique, and it’s nice. Keep that in mind, heart and spirit. Feel good about it; never resist it. Tell it as good news to a dear friend. Hope about it. Tweet it. Just make sure you see your dream in what you do today!

Let me give you an example. The Saints and the Sacred Authors of the Bible did dream big! Just read their stories. In their life, they kept a clear grasp and vision on what they desire. They pursued it because it preoccupied them, and it felt good for them. They felt it in their hands. They saw it as if it’s there. They too, hoped for a better world. People who recognized their inner desire even encouraged them – and it never failed them. Now, they serve as our examples.

And, don’t forget:  Jesus also dreamed a better world! (Luke 4:18-21)

Mama Mary, Mother of God

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama Mary!

Yep, this is our greeting for our dear blessed Mother. We greet her deep inside our hearts for she leads us to the love of her beloved Son – Jesus Christ our Lord! For the first day of the Year 2013, I preferred making this simple image from Photoshop – with “Believe” as a powerful teaching from Mama Mary.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord…” (Luke 1:38)  –  Mama Mary teaches us to “Believe” because God knows who we are and what we are called to. She experienced lots of uncertainties (even suffered from them), but she remained certain that the Lord is there – He is in control of everything. He will always be there for us. As Mother of God, she teaches us to have faith in the Lord.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…” (Luke 1:46)  –  Mama Mary teaches us to “Believe” because deep inside us is the image of the Emmanuel – “God-with-us”. She sang one of the greatest songs in the history of mankind – the Magnificat – from her spontaneous response of joy in the Lord. We are the image of a loving God. As Mother of God, she teaches us to give our best shot.

“Do whatever He tells you…” (John 2:5)  –  And Mama Mary teaches us to “Believe” because we can find our true fulfillment in Jesus. She knew well that Jesus brings true joy and peace to all, and so she leads us to her Son. What we need to do is perhaps to have a listening and a pondering heart like her. As Mother of God, she teaches us to say our ‘yes’ to the Lord’s call.

“Mama Mary, thank you for leading us to Jesus always!”

Children of Easter Morn: On Porta Fidei

Christ’s Resurrection is the triumph of our faith!

One significant to remember: Faith is because of the Risen Jesus. Hence, we are called “the children of the Easter morn”. Christ’s Resurrection recreated and renewed everything…and everyone! What took place on the third day brought life to all. His Resurrection was so powerful that all creation is renewed in meaning. Life no longer ends in death, as we are accustomed to, but in faith life brings forth life. The identity of creation no longer rests on mere generation and corruption, but unceasingly renewed in life through the Risen Christ! I think this is what the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei is spoken to us…Christ’s faithful.

The challenge now for us, as children of the Easter morn, is to remind the world of its original vocation to embrace and welcome the Kingdom of God, just as it was created in its original splendor and beauty. I recently talked to a Professor and mentor whom I acknowledged because of what she wrote in a journal regarding creation-centered spirituality. This was the point-of-departure I specified when I delivered a paper regarding religious education. I was actually touched by what she wrote because she reminded me in a nutshell what was essential and basic: that all creation belongs to the God and will return to God.

Oftentimes, we may have been too hostile to the world, much as we may have forgotten that the whole creation was redeemed and sanctified by the Lord too. Such hostility is marked by our neglect of the basic needs of our neighbor. We keep using our natural resources to the expense of our environment – and our neighbors, to the extent. We thought that progress is when we are able to spend and spend. We still have that mindset: to be is to have more. For this, many continue to suffer because of lukewarmness and ignorance of the plight of others. How I pray and wish that someday all of us will share in the same table-fellowship that the Lord Jesus invited us – that all will be filled and quenched!

As the Year of Faith draws near, we rejoice in individuals and communities unceasing in bringing Christ to all. We are  challenged to challenge the values we have, the mindset we have, and the ideologies we believe in. Bringing the triumphant Christ to all means true love made known and lived by all. Unless we stop grabbing and having what we can, true love cannot be known. Faith is not intended for multiplication of rubrics, but rubrics that transform us to become servants of God and neighbor. Faith is a gift to us so that God’s gifts be available to all. This is distinct for the children of Easter morn: ability to challenge ideologies in the name of the Risen Jesus.

The Year of Faith draws near… have we prepared ourselves enough?