Bread of Life

Prayer...

Prayer is, in the strictest sense, a humble religious petition of man to God to seek divine benevolence and benefits he needs for life, both temporal and eternal. It is a conversation with God, either by accepted prayer forms, or from the heart. Consider these words as if God were speaking them to His children...

"It is not necessary my child, to know much in order to please me much; it is enough that you love me fervently. Speak here to me then, as you would speak to your most intimate friend, to your mother, to your brother."

~God your Father~

He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

Quotes to Live By

There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.

The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.

In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.

The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.

I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?

I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

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His Deep Longing

by Stella Armstrong

I miss the nuances of my first language, which is Tagalog. For a lot of our words, the non-verbal aspects like tone and body movement and even the expression in our face and eyes carry the weight of their meaning. For a society and culture that has been relentlessly subjected to all manner of unfortunate events and natural disasters for almost about five hundred years some words and the ideas they represent strike right deep into the heart. Words like "kapayapaan," (Peace), "tahanan" (Home) and "Awa" (Mercy) resound with our long history of struggles and reflect a deep longing for respite, a rest for weary hearts and bodies. We find many parallels in nature and commiserate with them: a mahagony tree being battered with unrelenting storm winds; a rock and its layers slowly being stripped bare by pounding torrents of water, a weather-beaten face of a grandfather and grandmother, a fragile house made of straw bravely facing the monsoon rains. For most of us Filipinos life is hard from beginning to end � so hard that as we near the end of our journey here on earth all we could say with sincere gratefulness is, "salamat po sa Diyos," or "Thanks be to God." Early on in our lives, it would be difficult to miss understanding the meaning of "peace" and not to long for it; it would be difficult not to understand what "home" means and not to long for it. And early on the value of God's mercy becomes paramount for it is the only source of hope, sustenance and a peaceful sleep, not knowing what would happen the next morning.

..."Awa" Mercy.

Poverty in its ugliest forms could readily tempt us to surrender and lose hope. But then again, I still remember a familiar voice who once said that being poor made it easier for him to long deeper for his real home in heaven. Ka Sidro was born poor and died poor but throughout his entire life he had been the teacher for those who dared to learn humility, obedience and gratitude. All these three virtues reflected his deep longing and faith for the eternal life. He was reverent and deeply aware of God's awesome and loving power. Before he would say anything else, his preface would be "Sa awa ng Diyos," ("Because of God's mercy"). He would end by saying, "Salamat sa Diyos." ("Thanks be to God.") Each day nearer to old age was for him each day nearer to going home to God. He had nothing of his own and lived by the mercy of others but he gave whatever he had to those poorer than him. He had enough reasons to grumble but he did not. In his humility and generosity he became God's measure and yardstick for others who had more but gave less, for those who had more but grumbled more as well. By this world's standards he was uncouth, unsuccessful and a contradiction. But in my eyes he is a prince � a character deeply rooted in goodness, kindness and tenacity of faith.

Salamat sa Diyos...

...Thanks be to God.

When his beloved wife passed away he simply said, "umuwi na siya." (She went home). A few years later when it was his turn to say goodbye he simply said "uuwi na ako." (I am going home). He could not read nor write and did not know all our prayers but the prayers of his heart reflect that one Truth: that our home is in heaven with our loving Father. He endured all because by God's grace he understood what eternity meant and by consequence nurtured a deep longing for that home � that in the time span of eternity our years are but a speck and if we keep faithful we too shall have a place prepared for us in Our Father's house.

URLVD

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