There are times when the fear and the sadness just trap the soul to be depressed and downright downtrodden with no hope. The very essence at times I feel that when we are dealt with craziness from family, friends, co-workers and our usual pondering of what we should do.

I for one have the same paralysis on how we can move forward. The irony of it is that the priest’s homily about the struggles to attend church. I am more of the opposite of most people as I embrace church as my saving grace the salvation coming from the lamb of God. Church attendance is not an easy matter to explain other people, but to renew the soul and to reassess the key attributes of renewing the soul.

I feel that sense of renewing the soul by participating the music and embracing the liturgy. We are searching for the desire to find what’s our goal in life as one’s soul is restless. However, at least for that hour I find my peace in God and the graces of Mary comforting my anxiety and my fears of the world.

Maybe I have a paralysis of living my life in reality, but at least I have the home of comfort of spiritual renewal that one can express as freedom rather than feeling chained down by the world. People asks where I find comfort, it will be the pews of the church the community of the church the Holy Spirit watching me when I myself ask for forgiveness and hope. So maybe I’m the anti-thesis of what the priest is saying about the paralysis of coming to church.

The peace and the comfort for that hour have helped me renew my soul. A soul that is damaged by the  sins of others and the sins of thyself through fear and hopelessness. A soul that is not only yearning for renewal and re-nourishment, but the journey for safety and the enhancing the soul.

 

Amen Lord Almighty please give us encouragement as I’m humble and meek with fear either from internal and external factors beyond my control. Please bless us the tranquil calm we all seek in a world that seems darker and challenged.

Through all the pain and mistrials in life, one ask where is God when you need him. Where is he when time feels more of a destiny of resignation and lack of hope? One can’t answer that question out directly when one’s relationship with the Lord almighty is at times tenuous at best. Whatever we can learn from Job and Mary are what we should focus upon. Job and Mary are the epitome of what our relationship with God should be about. It’s not about what physical attributes and what physical materials we own, but rather how we deal with the experiences of pain and sorrow during times that we don’t have much hope.

Job lost it all, but he still had his trust and faith in God when times seem stagnant and perilous for one’s soul. Mary lost her son through persecution, crucifixion, and the trials of her time. However, she kept her faith in God and the experiences her son taught her about having that love connected to the Lord almighty. It’s that love at times we don’t see, but experiencing it through the subtle relationships we have with friends, family, or strangers who become your close companions in life.

Thanks to Abstract’s website for this picture.

I myself didn’t expect to say that God left me, he was there and will be there for me when I myself have no clue or feel hopeless. God is WITH ME through it all the trials and sense of craziness. Accept the invitation of hope instead of hate and apathy as I did. I accepted that invitation that led to one of the greatest experiences of my life. Connecting with my friend the librarian and develop that faith along the way. The librarian friend is no perfect person, but his imperfections allow one another to connect one another to be better people. It’s funny how that type of experience allowed me to minister and listen to people who are less than faithful to God.

One can say is that the grace and the comfort of that invitation is one I hold sacred to the day of my death for connecting with people.  It’s weird that that invitation allow that progress of healing and RECONCILIATION with the past and present. It’s also a trial of what we believe in our human ways and turn one self more divine and more connected with God to understand one another better. We will continue to ponder and wonder…but always hold true to stand with him because he’s omnipresent through our time of uncertainty….

Our Blessed Virgin Mary of Grace and Hope..

Today I gave perpetual memberships to the Paulist priests who had been there for me during times of distress and desperation. My recent trip to a few churches to obtain these perpetual memberships is to provide a sense of gratitude for the profession of the priests who felt that they are alone on professing the faith of God. When I opened up and showed the Blessed mother to one of the Paulist priest, the tears of joy and happiness shown only unlock the true compassion and essence of the faith Catholicism brings to the world. (Yes.. I know I put a capital C…to express the essence of the love of the faith)

Seeing that emotion only shows how our dear Lady of God had provided that sense of gratitude that can’t be expressed in words.  It’s an emotion that I want to say THANK YOU for all the hard work and the journey these priests offered to me. Part of my motives is to demonstrate that there is grace in this world that we can express our appreciation amid the glamour of falsehoods in the world. Grace is not an easy attribute that can be obtain and it is through the hardships and the trials of life that makes us understand our fair Lady with a sense of protection and love of what she did for us.

Our Lady of Grace, please provide comfort and joy to those who seek healing and help. For the priests who at times feel alone and lack the comfort and grace due to the craziness of the world, please provide them the strength to continue with the good news. Mary, mother of God, please provide those who were given the perpetual memberships your grace and healing of those who at times feel challenged by others including family and friends. For you My Fair Lady I’m reminded of the rosary prayers leading my restless soul of comfort and hope…. I’m reminded by your spirit that we are forever linked to you due to what you gave  us your son so we can understand the true nature of love and humility. Please keep on reminding us of your graceful love….

Economic priorities seem to be the topic for every American battling the recent recession and I for one felt the scars of the past few years with two unemployment stints in a span of two years. However, in all instances where times of rough and tumble, there seems to be no justice. No justice for people who instigate the economic damage and the trauma that effects everyone who didn’t take part in the collapse.

Regardless, it is time for a reset where consumerism be replaced with meaningful productivity that actually contribute to a sense of care for the earth that God gave us and the meaning of what priorities are. For the ones who doesn’t understand priorities, it is crucially to remind oneself on how to retain your own spiritual, physical, mental, and psychological health and sustain it.

A job laid off is tough and very emotional, but that nudge from the high above sure made me realize that there is an opportunity to take advantage of such as whether the career path is the right one or a need for change. Change is not an easy option for everyone and it takes planning and prayer. During my time of unemployment, daily church attendance help soothe the pain and the anxiety. Also, it’s a sense of reinforcing my path toward something different. I’m still figuring things out amid all the despairs at that time.

Through all the mental imbalance and fears,  you obtain a sense of calm that can’t be explained through words and emotions. The priorities from the economic darkness help reinforce the disclosure of the reality of fake world and bring in the hard realities of all paths I connected myself with people.

True graceful comfort is when you find the support from people who actually took their time and shown care. One can’t dispute that there is anger, but a sense of resolution that unmask the current realities of the world. Faith provides that closure for me when I need that. Any lingering feelings I still have is a gradual help to move forward….

 

Solemnity of Mary is more than just a celebration of  Mother of God but more of how we are more interconnected with Mary daily through our relationship with Jesus. Mary’s acceptance of what the Holy Spirit given to her is a prime example of motherly encouragement she gives to all faith believers.

There’s no doubt that she had her fears at that time, but her steadfast willingness is a prime demonstration of what we call grace. Grace and comfort are the two attributes that can’t be answered unless one experiences it. When darkness seems to cover the world with ignorance and apathy, one would have doubts on whether there’s any positives in the world.

In a situation where Mary accepts that invitation of the Holy Spirit to set the stage of the new born King to be born, we ourselves must take into account of the experiences good and bad to reflect the direction of our spiritual life. There is no doubt that everyone has their fears of what will happen in the future, but that fear is a good pivot point to focus on the present. Examples of such fears that I personally had would the past two years of upheaval in my life.

Dealing with the situations which I don’t want to explain in detail, I had my own doubts of friends, family, and people in general. However, charting a course where I had no control of a situation only made me feel angry and mad. Through it all, there were people who were filling in the void at times when there’s no hope. The surprise I had was that the people I met through my classes become the ones I can console with along with a special friend whom I met at the young professionals Catholic group.
Let’s just say it was a surprise I couldn’t explain. I had my doubts, but my prayers to the Mother of God only rest assure my restless soul that there are people who will watch for me when at times I feel alone. One can’t explain that feeling I had during those rough and uncertain times.  Maybe it was my Mary’s version of accepting that invitation of peace and protection that Mary experiences.

In conclusion, Mary Mother of God please forgive our sinners in times of doubt and fear. Regardless my experience is a reflection of what you had done for me at times of loneliness and hopelessness. If it weren’t for you my fair lady, I probably wouldn’t be able to write what I had experienced so far. May other people experience the grace and comfort you provided me to others.

As I started writing this blog yesterday, I am reminded of that 13 year old boy who was taking care of his disabled mom at Christmas eve mass. People tend to look at things objective and had their own opinions. It seems that only a few care about the boy especially when I literally broke into tears when my mom talk about it. Yes, life is unfair but somehow you see the child feel the sense of God’s grace. Maybe that’s one of the many arguments that there is a greater being out there watching out that boy.

I am one of those recipients of those graces and comfort from Christ as I made new friends along the way when I thought about the craziness I had been through with the accident, deaths of close co-workers, and some betrayals along the way. I truly wonder how I find that comfort during the time of unemployment when everyone is feeling quite despaired with the outlook in life. In many ways, attending church daily was one of those goals I had in mind when I was unemployed.

I was not really a church go-er until I found the Paulists preaching liturgy and challenging me to think out of the box. Overall, it is how we approach a situation especially the 2010 is what I learn from it. One thing I don’t shy away is to tell people how I feel and how angry I was at that period of time. Betrayals are part of reinforcing the good and authentic relationship one has with God and God’s people. Darkness reinforce that there is good and justice that is needed in a world of increased apathy and hatred.

In many ways, seeing the economic downfall of the past few years has provided a step to reset expectations in an increased commercialized world. So ask yourself this, do you find grace and comfort with the world based on values you build upon or is it that amazon.com deal you have to buy that will give you total satisfaction spiritually, mentally, psychologically?

 

 

 

This past Saturday 12/24/2011 was an eventful day for me as it’s been a while returning to the church where I was baptized. Christmas is about connecting with other people and truthfully you feel and sense the true meaning when attending a  Christmas mass. Regardless, I had to go back to the church where I was part of a community for the past two years who had been there for me during my moments of uncertainty.

Christmas Mass 2011

Overall, the liturgical experiences about the celebration of Christ’s birth is more than that, it is about what Christ taught us that in this holiday season you see the true meaning of grace from God in every corner of the world regardless of how dark the world seem to be. Comparing this year to last year, I have that perspective due to the following reasons:

1. Most of 2011 was about the reasons why 2010 bad, but in all honesty…I never expect 2011 to be a rewarding year where at times I had my own doubts of what I should do.
2. I become good friends with classmates I met this past year and I listen to them and learn from them. Maybe it’s God’s way of telling me to be there for people when I thought I need help myself.
3. People surprises you and amazes you. As much as I had my differences with people of the past, it is the future I’m looking forward to.

Maybe that’s one of many reasons why I’m writing this blog is that I want to relay the good news as Christ said. Faith, religion, and spirituality are all interconnected and to learn from the random events that occurred in life as one of the moral choices we choose and decide.

Examples such as the embracing of community members I have not seen for a while, the overjoy of one RCIA leader rushing to see me, the deep discussion of saying Merry Christmas.
My mom was in tears when she saw a little 13 year old boy caring for his disabled mom. As parishioners left, no one said Merry Christmas to the boy. My mom did and you can’t help to be in tears, but amazed by the calm the kid had. Grace be with the boy and in many ways comfort and hope from the Lord almighty…

Hello World!

I’m a blogger who plans to write about more about life’s many struggles and put it in a spiritual and religious perspective at times. How one struggles with many challenges in life will be somehow be connected to Catholic liturgy and my hope is to provide some sense of hope and solace at a time that seems troubling. Overall, I hope this blog will materialize to something that might provide some balance and some input from various people.

Be connected as much as I could, but most likely it will be a weekly posting.

 

Thanks,

-Matt

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