Category: journal

A certain quote from St. Francis de Sales caught my attention one day. It isn’t because I have encountered the thought for the first time. But there are times when you just realize something in a whole new way, in a deeper way.

Here is the quote:

“To live contentedly in our exile, we must keep before our eyes the hope of our arrival in the country where we shall live for ever.” – St. Francis de Sales

The above quote reminded me that it’s okay to inspire ourselves every day, to remind ourselves of the wonderful hope that we have as Christians. Being a Christian isn’t all about suffering. It is above all, being joyful for the love of God.

Without reminding ourselves of the hope that we have, we can easily grow weary. We may even lose our way in our spiritual journey.

It isn’t wrong to fill our hearts and minds with beautiful things, good things that remind us of heaven. To hope is to strengthen our faith. To have faith is to keep on believing in God’s wonderful love for al of us.

Have you ever wondered whether it would have been better if we had seen the face of Jesus? What I mean is His earthly face, the one that people recognized while He was living among the apostles. Could we have loved Him more if we had seen Him that way?

I don’t really know. But right now, I feel that it’s better for me that I have not seen Him like that. Had I seen His face, I would have been distracted in seeing Him as He really is. Not that I don’t want to see Him. But what I’m saying is that I’d like to know Him even more before I see His facial features.

Have you ever felt like that? That though you have not seen Him, you know Him? And that’s just fine because God is not limited to the things that our physical eyes can see. Isn’t it better to see with spiritual eyes?

“Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy…” – 1 Peter 1:8, NABRE

Sometimes, when I watch a movie, and I see a character who has fallen very low in life (someone who became a drunkard, a thief, a prostitute, or even someone who despaired and thought of taking her own life), I get reminded of the infinite mercy of God. If I myself, who am a sinner and so much lacking in charity can still find it in my heart to have mercy and sympathy upon such characters, how much more can God?

I recently purchased an item online and the item arrived broken and unusable. It’s a good things it’s not a very expensive item. But the hassle of filling out the return form as well as returning the package is not commensurate to the refund that I can get. It would have been a waste of time and effort.

It was then that I had this reflection about how many things today seem to have been designed to be disposable. Few are the items that are still designed to last. It’s as though we are not really buying ownership of things, it’s more like we’re merely renting them for a time, a very limited time.

I guess that’s our lesson in investing in things that do not last. Things rot and pass away. We can use them for a time, but we must not expect them to fulfill us forever. Only God can bless us with things that last. Only in heaven can we find happiness that can never be taken away.

“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6, WEBBE