I Take off the MASK!

Grief and Healing - Download the eBook

Prayer joined to sacrifice constitutes the most powerful force in the history of man.” – Pope John Paul II

We often encounter frustration not because there is lack of support from God, but because we have relied upon inappropriate instruments.

There are things we cannot accomplish by force. There are arguments we cannot win by mere eloquence. There are souls that cannot be won over by words.

But what force cannot achieve, gentleness often can. What arguments fail to prove, friendship often can express. And what words cannot win, the witness of our lives often can.

Yes, it is true, there is much evil in the world today. Evil holds dominion over worldly affairs, over earthly riches and positions of power. It holds sway over channels of communication and influence.

But there is a far greater power that often remains untapped. It is the power of the spirit. And that power can only be access by much prayer and the unselfish sacrifice of our lives.

“Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they weren’t able.”

“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” Having cried out, and convulsed greatly, it came out of him. The boy became like one dead; so much that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose. When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.” – Mark 9, WEB

“First we form habits; then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you.” -Robert Gilbert

Any bad habit associated with intoxicating pleasure is difficult to overcome due to the intense sensation felt by the person every time he engages in such a habit. During such a time, everything else seems to fade away, even right thinking, even far reaching consequences in the future, even loved ones.

Afterwards, when the pleasure or sensation has left, one can begin to see the damage it has done to himself and to others. In a way, one repents, and desires to leave behind such a harmful vice. But one’s resolve quickly breaks as soon as the sensation starts to creep in again and lays hold upon him, becoming its slave. The cycle never seems to stop until there is full destruction of a life bereft of every good.

But is there hope? Can one be free?

The answer may seem too simple, but the answer is Him who sets prisoners free and heals those who are wounded, both in body and in soul. It is grace that can empower us, grace that can assist us when even our very best is never enough.

This does not mean however that we do nothing. Grace is strength, but we must use that strength that is given us. God opens the prison doors, but we must choose to walk outside so we can truly be free.

The struggle for many may not be instant. It can be a daily battle where one rises and where one falls again. But the important thing is to always get up, never letting go of God’s Hand, God’s strong yet gentle Hand that will always be there for us, guiding us, until all that is lost has found its way again.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people. – Luke 4, GNT

How sweet is the way of Love! True, one may fall, one may not be always faithful, but Love, knowing how to draw profit from all, very quickly consumes whatsoever may displease Jesus, leaving naught but humble and profound peace in the innermost soul. – St. Therese of Lisieux

Quite often, I wonder why God doesn’t transform us immediately into perfection the moment that we believe in Him and truly desire from within our hearts to be His forever. Why couldn’t we be good once and for all so that we may finally avoid hurting other people and making so many mistakes? Why couldn’t we overcome our bad habits at once? Why couldn’t we be relieved from our suffering of being sinful, of being the cause of darkness instead of being a channel of His light?

I’ve realized that though God can well do so, He sometimes allows many of us to be perfected through many seasons of trial and healing. In this way, our humility is established, and we know more who we are by ourselves without His grace. In this way also, we get to know more about the patience of God, how He bears with us, forgiving our many trespasses and blunders, and waiting patiently for that day when we shall finally be like Him, holy, loving faithfully, and pure.

But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and didn’t forsake them. Yes, when they had made themselves a moulded calf, and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed awful blasphemies; yet you in your manifold mercies didn’t forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud didn’t depart from over them by day, to lead them in the way; neither did the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go. – Nehemiah 9, WEBBE

The LORD will fight for you, and you shall be still. – Exodus 14, WEBBE

Sometimes, we don’t need great explanations, profound truths or deep insights. What we need are just simple things to hold on to and to help us make it through another day.

Sometimes the aroma of a freshly brewed coffee will do. Sometimes a song that soothes the soul. At other times, it’s a book that calls to be read again, the innocent smile of a child, or a cozy blanket to snuggle into.

There will be a time for big things and big thoughts. But for now, I guess that it’s enough to breathe.

“May your love for me be
like
the scent of the evening sea

drifting in
through a quiet window

so i do not have to run
or chase or fall
… to feel you

all i have to do
is
breathe.”
-Sanober Khan

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization. – Harriet Beecher Stowe

Some days are neither happy nor sad. In those days, our eyes are not filled with tears nor our hearts filled with too much happiness. We are not fighting a battle. We are not facing a storm.

In those days, it seems all we could do is wait and let time pass us by. We do our chores, we show up, we carry on even though we feel whatever it is that we do won’t make a big difference at all.

But even in a song, we must remember that beyond the low and the high notes, there are spaces of silence in between. Spaces to take a deep breath until we can raise our voice again, until it is time to sing.

Many times, what truly makes a difference in our lives are the many spaces in between, spaces of waiting and of being faithful to the work at hand. Days such as these when we silently go about our lives, holding on to memories of joy, to hopes of dreams yet to come, and to the love that gives us strength to carry on.

…a time to tear,
and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence,
and a time to speak;
a time to love,
and a time to hate;
a time for war,
and a time for peace.
-Ecclesiastes 3, WEBBE

This Is The Great Pause In Between

This is the great pause in between work and play
the great silence between a song, and another song

This is Selah, this is s p a c e
This is the point at which the earth neither slumbers nor wakes up

This is the great pause in between crying and laughing
between getting sick and getting well again

This is the time of waiting
without expecting for something soon to come

This is the space between heartbeats
between a heartbreak and a new-found love

This moment is silence
but this is not worth nothing

Everything is stored in this very moment
where everything else proceeds,
and where every great dream is born.