Have you talked to your Guardian Angel?

Let's not forget to greet our Guardian Angels today. A short prayer to them would do.
Let us thank them for continuously guiding us, protecting us from danger and from the snares of the evil, and for giving us light, leading us to God.

PRAYER TO ONE'S GUARDIAN ANGEL

ANGELE DEI,

qui custos es mei,

Me tibi commissum pietate superna;

(Hodie, Hac nocte) illumina, custodi, rege, et guberna.

Amen.

ANGEL OF GOD,

my guardian dear,

To whom his love commits me here;

Ever this (day, night) be at my side,

To light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.

To be Willing is Enough

The image of the Little Flower that stands in
the Parish Church of St. Therese of the Child
Jesus, UP Los Banos.

                     "Our Lord has deigned to explain this mystery to me. He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its spring-tide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but He has also created lesser ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at His Feet, and whose mission it is to gladden His Divine Eyes when He deigns to look down on them. And the more gladly they do His Will the greater is their perfection."

- St. Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul

When the young Therese wanted to go on missions, she was unable and was prevented because of her poor sickly health. She understood that she cannot do anything and everything she wanted even if those are forms of service for the Lord. In her account she wrote that God was pleased to see even the mere WILLINGNESS to serve. We may not be given the chance to do all we want even if we can but it is that fire in our hearts, the zeal to serve, and the willingness to honor and glorify God that give our desires the benefit. She accepted the fact humbly and turned to prayer for the missions as her contribution. In a letter to her brother missionaries she wrote: "Our Divine Lord asks no sacrifice beyond our strength. At times, it is true, He makes us taste to the full the bitterness of the chalice He puts to our lips. And when He demands the sacrifice of all that is dearest on earth, it is impossible without a very special grace not to cry out as He did during His Agony in the Garden: 'My Father, let this chalice pass from me!' But we must hasten to add: 'Yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.' It is so consoling to think that Jesus, 'the Strong God,' has felt all our weaknesses and shuddered at the sight of the bitter chalice--that very chalice He had so ardently desired."

Live like the Little Flower

Browsing a commemorative calendar of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese which was founded by the late Archbishop of Lipa, Rufino Obviar, I stumbled upon one of his excellency's notes. It wrote:

"Live like the Little Flower, to offer the little things that came to your life,

little displeasures and everything that you could offer to the Lord."

I began meditating and deeply pondered on his words that followed:

"Look at the branches of the mango trees.

They are bent when they are filled with fruits. They are erect when they are empty."

Today starts the novena to St. Therese of the Child Jesus who teaches us the sure way to heaven - a gaze of loving humility. She taught no dogma but lived her life totally out of love. This is why she was declared a Doctor of the Church, the Doctor Amoris (Doctor of Love), and was esteemed as the Millennium Saint. She is a model for our contemporary life where we need love the most. For the next days, we pray to her intercession asking that we too may live as she deed, to follow her example and be truly conformed to the image and likeness of Christ, who gives His total self for love of God and others.

The relics of St. Therese in her 3rd Pilgrim Visit to the Philippines.
My hand, in black cassock and laced surplice, touching her.

NOVENA PRAYER

Dearest Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth. Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions…

(State your intentions)

Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me, and one day see the Face of God whom you loved so deeply.

Saint Therese, you were faithful to God up until the moment of your death. Pray for me that I may be faithful to our loving God. May my life bring peace and love to the world through faithful endurance in love for God our savior. Amen.

Following Christ

"Following Christ is not an outward imitation, since it touches man at the very depths of his being. Being a follower of Christ means becoming conformed to him who became a servant even to giving himself on the Cross (cf. Phil 2:5-8)"

-Veritatis Splendor, 21

Why does God call weak men?

"And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor."

The names of the twelve apostles can be found in the verses of Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, and Luke 6:13-16. The readings for this week revolves around discipleship. The readings are exhorting how Christians should lead a life of discipleship. Looking at the men whom Jesus called to be his most intimate followers, they were not men of great power and stature, they were not politically minded persons, or even the wealthy ones of the time. There is that recurring question and still is a mystery that is found only in the wisdom of God: Why does God call weak men?

I think this is one of the turning point and foundation of a good follower- that he acknowledges his weakness. This weakness is not the physical weakness that we easily think but a humble character. They are the ones who responded quickly to leave their nets, to lower them when the Master said so, and were strong enough to face radical choices in their lives for the salvation of souls. People who have nothing and no one else to hold on to except God are the ones whom God calls. People who have the willingness to follow, people who are receptive to the voice of the shepherd and not stubborn to insist on their own wants.

To leave our nets is to go out of our comfort zones. It means detaching ourselves from unnecessary things that can hinder us from truly seeing God. When God calls us, it is not to show off ourselves but to give more glory to the One who called. In the darkness, the light shines the brightest. In our weaknesses, there God is the strongest. Saint Paul tells us:

"My grace is sufficient for you for my power is perfect in weakness."

-2 Corinthians 12:9

The Power of Touch

Man is in touch with everything. Modern technology has availed much that almost all can be done literally at the "click" of the fingers. But with all these happening around, man is slowly loosing his identity and gradually descending in touch with the Divine. Touch brings forth a sense of closeness- a relationship that though apart can tie a bond. No one touches a stranger; nonetheless, even a sick person is rarely touched. There is fear. Unless they are relatives or close friends, to touch each on is not illicit.

The power of touch is an energy of relationships. Day by day, God touches our lives. He cares. He may seem far away but in the depths of our hearts, He comes to us giving love. The hand of God is at work and He never ceases to keep in touch. The fresco of Michelangelo (1511-1512) where the Creator is touching the tip of Adam's finger shows how the Lord wants to have a relationship with His creatures. But the question is, does man still raise his hands to reach God?

The question that arise is not a question whether man can comprehend the immensity of God's wisdom but one that scrutinizes if he still recognizes a Creator. The humanism of the modern world has exulted man's rationality but void God of His rightful throne. Man sought for answers and questions on truth. He has taken sides on different ideological perspectives yet God remained to be the answer and the truth.

This is the age where everything can be touched. Has man touched God who revealed Himself even before? Ironically, God who has shown Himself through His own will is still being searched for. The great Saint Augustine said in his Confessions,

"Late have I loved Thee, O beauty so ancient!

Late have I loved Thee!

Lo, Thee were within bit I outside, seeking there for Thee..."

Man continues to search for answers but deep within him is the One who knows everything. The power of touch is a relationship between the one who touches and the one who is touched. God touches man. Would man have the courage to touch God? When we come to recognize the power of God in our lives, then and only then shall we be able to behold the true glory of man. Wisdom is acquired from the feet of the One who is Master of all.