278: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

There will come a moment in our life that we would wake up as a different person.

For the past few days I had been having a hard time thinking of what to write here. The reason why I found it hard is because I am afraid that this blog all turn out to be spiritual because apparently, at this moment of my life, the most important matter to me right now is my faith.

Obviously, Lord Jesus humored me when I prayed for Him to 'strengthen my faith', because when He granted my prayer, the only subject I could think of for the past few months is my relationship with Him. I cannot even imagine getting on the day without praying (the rosary, daytime prayer/vespers). I do not pray for the sake of praying, or getting my prayers/intentions granted but because I wanted to be closer to Him, I want to put Him in the center of my life, to be in relationship with Him. So right now, I find it a bit hard not to talk about Jesus.

This is where the problem comes in.

I know it shouldn't be a problem because considering that I own this blog, I can pretty much write about anything here, but I always wanted to have a niche. I wanted to connect to people -- not just to Catholics/Christians -- but to everyone. I wanted to tell my journey as a human being traveling in this world, but it's not the case now.

I guess moving forward you'll most likely read entries about my journey with Jesus. I know it might not appeal to everyone, but it's okay, I understand. But I hope for those who can relate will stick with me. This is, besides, for Jesus.

“The darker the night, the brighter the stars, The deeper the grief, the closer is God!” - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The burnt sunset of Sienna.

Fly little bird. Fly!

This book taught me a lot about praying, contemplating, and living ala Jesuits style. 😊

If you are the kind of reader that allows their book to influence them, this one is tough. How Jorge Bergoglio (Pope Francis) defined Humility was way beyond my imagination. One of the toughest was (totally) surrendering your pride thru self-accusation. He also draws inspiration through the words of st. Doroteus of Gaza. It was good, but really challenging. #popefrancis #book

277: On my birthday and on Ignatian Spirituality

My good friend Monique is the first person to give me a cake. YAY.

I've turned 26 today! It's amazing to be 26, although at one second I realized I am 4 years away from reaching my 30th. There was some sort of an alarm when that thought crossed my mind. I hope by that time I have a wider experience in terms of life, career, and spirituality. There are many things that I am grateful for, but what I am ultimately grateful for is how my faith turned my life around. The drastic change with my relationship with God had made me feel at peace. There are still uncertainties with the future (of course) but I actually don't feel threatened, nor afraid for what the future awaits for me. What had helped me build my relationship is this book written by Fr. James Martin - The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything:

I accidentally saw this book in the religious section in a bookstore. What caught my attention is its title. I thought why not try to be inspired living life according to the teachings of St. Ignatius, besides he is the founder of Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and it's the religious order of Pope Francis?

There were so many revelations when I finished the book. The things that I learned in the book resonates so much with me that I want to carry the messages all through out my life, that's why in the picture you can see that I had written a lot of references.

What I love about the book is that it was written simply, and the examples that Fr. James Martin made it easy for me to relate to. The book taught me about the different approach of praying, how to see God in everything I do, handling relationship with others, being detach from things that does not lead me to God, and basically almost everything. This book helped me improve my relationship with God that led me to be at peace.

If you are wondering what's Ignatian spirituality, it's hard to lay out because it's huge, but here's how Fr. James Martin said about (Ignatian spirituality):

So if anyone asks you to define Ignatian spirituality in a few words, you could say that it is: Finding God in all things Becoming a contemplative in action Looking at the world in an incarnational way Seeking freedom and detachment.

 I definitely would recommend this if you want to be in relationship with God ala Jesuits style.  I am actually excited reading further. I really want to be closer to God as much as I can. :)

"Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God." - Pope Francis

The beautiful Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. First time to visit this yesterday after the concert.
I was lucky enough to witness a wedding, and I was able to pray to Mother Mary before they closed the door of the church.
I hope to see Her closer soon, and I look forward in attending the mass too.

Watercolor students for the day. I am glad that I gave this one a shot. I enjoyed and learned so much.
Thanks to Liz of Project Vanity for teaching us, and Tin Tin for inviting me to join.

My simple pleasures: random toys and figures. Hoarding more curiosities and tinkeries in the future.

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276: Abstaining from Facebook

From https://arleneplacido.files.wordpress.com

This lent one of the things that I vowed to abstain from is accessing Facebook. To say, I'm one of those people who's consumed of knowing what's happening from the people I know, to knowing the current events. Facebook made things easy for me to know the latest news.

When I decided to abstain from Facebook I actually feared that I may end up breaking it, because Facebook became a habit. However, I was glad that during Ash Wednesday the priest who was conducting the homily said "God had given everything for you, because He loves you. Can you give up something little for Him?". It was right then and there that I told myself that I will be staying away from Facebook.

12 days after, there are few things that I realized:

1. Being unable to know the current updates from the people I know helps me from comparing my life to their life.
2. I am no longer the source of a gossip. With my lack of knowledge of what's happening to people's lives, I usually find myself ending up listening to people tell story of other people. 
3. I can focus on improving myself.
4. I actually have more time than I imagine.
5. Being away from Facebook and being constantly updated of news updates, people's rants, and reading of people's lives helps me achieve peace of mind.

When the lenten season ends, I know I will be back from Facebook. But what I am sure of is that I will end up lessening my activity there because the good things that I have learned from staying away from FB made me realized how much I won my life back.

This also reminds me that when we sacrifice something for Jesus, we get something much better. On my part, God gave me time.