Today's little reminder... From Pope Francis

Here's little something posted by Ignatian Press on Facebook. (=

What pierces your heart?

I just saw this drawing about vocation and went "wow, God you are amazing! Another blessing to us this week??".

He is so generous, isn't He? =)

Some of you may know I am looking for a job now, and searching in my heart the kind of job I want to do next that allows me to make a difference in the world. And this drawing speaks volumes to me.

Even if you are still studying in school, this one is for you. Whatever course you choose, and whatever subject you study, look towards those that speak to your heart. Because that is probably what God intends for you. Because He would have put that in your DNA when He made you.

I never did very well in my studies but I really started taking greater interest in studying when I went to the university and took courses I liked in the Arts & Social Sciences faculty. I also enjoyed my junior college years, when I did Art and Literature. That was when I knew I had a flair in arts related subjects and that was where my heart sings.

It has been like this in the past 15 years at work: doing work that I enjoy, using my gifts (I hope) for His glory. And God has blessed me with wonderful work experiences.

I am near to getting a new job - something that speaks to me - and I ask you to pray for me, for discernment and for a sign that this is the correct direction to head in my next adventure.

If you have any prayer request, feel free to leave it in the comments section.

Let's pray for each other!

P/S: image courtesy of musician Jackie Francois' Facebook. Drawn by Bill Donaghy

More on picking yourself up

Wow. It keeps coming, doesn't it?

My last entry was about being under-appreciated and today a friend of mine came to me with the same problem that I had on Tuesday.

God doesn't give you a problem for nothing. I truly believe in "God-incidence" - coincidences that happen to you, which is actually part of God's plan to bless someone else.

And so I shared with her about focusing on what is important in her life, instead of which areas in her life that she feels under-appreciated.

And then I saw today's first reading from 1st letter of St. Peter. It's quite apt really, and a timely reminder that we must first submit to God in humility, so He can raise us up at the appropriate time.

So here is part of the reading.
I hope this blesses you.

"Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for

God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.

To him be dominion forever. Amen."

Choices

Hi all, it's Tuesday and soon the "mid-week valley" - as I like to call Wednesday - would be here.

I was feeling kinda down just now because of a short argument, and it made me feel under-appreciated.

Then I recalled last Sunday's session with Sr Kim and Sr Wendy from the Daughters of St Paul Society about gratitude with what God has given you, and using them to the greatest purpose. And I remembered what Angele had put on her FB wall after the session:

"If you have to choose: to be angry at what you don't have or grateful for what you have, what would be your choice?"

Indeed, when I look at my list, I know I am blessed with far more than what I deserve.

So, a tip to share with you: in your prayer time tonight make a list of what you are grateful for in your life today (or if you already have that list from Sunday's session, whip it out and look again). Put it in your wallet. When you hit a situation like what I had today, take it or and remind yourself that you can focus on what God had blessed you with and use them for His glory.

Have a blessed rest of the day!

Happy Vocation Sunday!

I am sitting in front of our Lady's statue at the grotto and noticed this little creature nibbling at the leaves of a shrub. And it reminded me of this verse in the psalm:

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. " - Psalm 150:6

Yes, even this caterpillar is praising God, trying to grow outta itself so it becomes a beautiful butterfly!

As long as we are living the vocation God is pointing us to, we are praising God.

Abraham's trust

I mentioned in my last post that we shared about Abraham, Mary and Thomas and their faith in God during Sunday's session.  

I would like to invite you to take a closer look at Abraham's faith.

Christians all over acknowledge Abraham as the Father of Faith. To find out why this is so, read Genesis 12 and 22 for the stories about God calling Abraham to go to the Promised Land, and sacrifice of Isaac. Here's something I wanna share from Genesis 12:

"Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house and go to a land which I am going to show you..."

The bold emphasis is mine. 

Did you notice how this was phrased? God doesn't tell Abraham where that piece of land is. He just said to go to a land... It's a land... somewhere.... And yet, Abraham up and walks. And he was 75! Think about the courage and the faith Abraham had to do this at such an old age!

And again, in Genesis 22, God tested Abraham by telling him to take Isaac - the son whom God gave to him in his old age - and sacrifice him in the land of Moriah. And when Isaac asked where the lamb for the sacrifice is, Abraham's response was: "God will himself will provide one."

I don't think Abraham's words were just bravado. He truly believed that God will provide the lamb. He trusted God. The fact that he even took the first step towards Moriah showed how much faith and trust he had in God. 

Certainly, he must have done this with a heavy heart - probably not understanding why God would command him to sacrifice the son whom God himself gave. 

Does that sound familiar? Are there times when things happen to you, and you wonder: why, God? Why me? Why did this horrible thing have to happen to me? I don't understand.

It's times like these that it's useful for us to refer back to Genesis 12 and 22, and take Abraham as an example: to take that first step towards the unknown and trust in God anyway. To trust and believe that He will himself will provide for us. When we are troubled. When we are weak. When we are hurt. When we feel we can't carry on.

And, to pray for grace to trust God, when we feel doubt in our hearts. Because, sometimes, trusting God can be a very daunting and scary thing, especially in things that mean a lot to us. But I wanna leave you with this thought:

I love nature, and when I travel I like to photograph wild flowers that I see along the way. Here's one.

Why do I love looking at wild flowers? 

It's because, through them, I learn a little about the nature of God: how precise and careful he is in his creation. The blend of colors in every petal - from white, blending into pale pink, then light purple, then a brilliant and brighter shade of purple. And it always looks beautiful.

If God can be so precise and careful with even a wild flower, what about me and my life? Would he be sloppy about it? I highly doubt it.

So, trust that the God of precision and perfection will provide you with nothing less than the best. 

Just look at Abraham.

Faith is...

Good morning, everyone!

Here's something I hope will bless your day: in our session on Sunday, Angele shared with us from Hebrews 11:1 about faith -

"To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see."

We also looked at the actions of three people - Abraham, Mary and Thomas (yes, even The Doubting Thomas!) to learn more about what faith is (more about that in the next few posts).

Meanwhile, I found this from Crosscards.com, which gives a very practical lesson about putting faith into action.

I hope it blesses your day.

love, bernie

Beautiful!

Saw this on The Divine Mercy Facebook page and had to share it with you guys.

Isn't it beautiful?!

This photo was taken on the Sunday that just passed (7 April) in Mindanao, Philippines. It was the Feast of Divine Mercy, and this was a celebration of the feast. 

Seeing this picture, it really feels like God was speaking to the people present there, as well as  you and I who have the privilege to see this photo. 

In case you wanna know more about the Divine Mercy and how to pray the chaplet, click to read more. These are the three messages of the Divine Mercy:


A— Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and
asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world.

B— Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to
extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us.

C— Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

Another thing I learnt about the Divine Mercy is that Jesus feels very sad about people who are lukewarm in faith. So let's pray for our friends and family who are lukewarm in their faith, or perhaps even for own healing if we are lukewarm in our faith.

Remember: we just have to ask for Jesus' mercy. Nothing is impossible with God.

Hi there!

I'm trying my hand at this, blogging and sharing our faith with you, dear YM. =) so please welcome me! (I hear distant applause, haha)

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, which is traditionally celebrated on March 25. But because that fell on Holy Week this year, the church shifted it to today - April 8.

Why is this such an important solemnity that our Church has to create a special day to commemorate it?
Well, let's just say... if Annunciation didn't happen, and Mary didn't say 'yes' to God's invitation to be Jesus' mother... we won't even be having this YM blog, would we? =)

Makes me wonder how often God invites you and I to partner him in his plans, don't you think?

Found a cute little image on happysaints.com, one of my favourite sites these days. Feel free to visit the site - this artist does really cute images of saints and major feasts of the Catholic Church daily.

Enjoy!
+ love,
bernie