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  • It's okay if you're not perfect, you're still worthy to God.

    Reflecting on how humans define worth versus how God defines it in the Bible

    Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

    Worth is a concept that I’ve struggled with for a long time because it is so tempting to measure our worth based on visible numbers. Age, height, weight, zip code, job grade, tax bracket, net worth, and the pieces of medals and degrees on our walls are just a few of the typical metrics that our society uses to gauge our natural attributes and hard-won achievements.

    Numbers describe us, but cannot define us.

    What they fail to reveal is the true nature of our worth. It is too simplistic and reductive to measure our value based on our present-day merit or on our inherited genetic make-up and family standing. The truth is that we don’t have much control on either, no matter how much we can influence it. The past cannot be undone, in the same way that the present cannot be immediately remedied.

    In a free, democratic culture, there may be a cap on our potential based on our personal circumstances that limit what we can accomplish, but there is still room for accomplishing great things beyond one’s stature. With access to the right connections, impeccable timing, and a stroke of good luck, we may just be on the verge of a next big discovery. On the other hand, there is always the possibility of a fortuitous event that can run us to the ground: the prevalent health crises, natural calamities, as well as the ever-looming economic catastrophes and political threats that our media likes to parade as possibly the inevitable end of the world. All of which again, we have little control over, let alone any idea of what’s for sure to come.

    Catholics define human worth relative to its Maker.

    In the Catholic faith, we believe that each of us has been assigned an inherent value because we walk on this earth as created beings made on the likeness of the Divine. We are worthy just because we exist. We were fearfully designed by God; and we are worthy because we have a little bit of God’s image in us, just like how a child resembles the parent.

    For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
    I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

    Psalm 139:13-14

    On top of this, the faithful believe that we are worth the Love who is everlasting and in constant pursuit of our hearts. John 3:16 states that:

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.

    We are worth so much that even God Himself was willing to sacrifice His Most Beloved – His Only Son – to show us clearly our value and give us access to eternal life. Our souls are worth more than what we think. The soul is made for the eternal, and will outlast our human bodies in the spiritual plane. We only need to look at Jesus Crucified to see how far God Himself was willing to go to redeem His creation, allowing us to have a semblance of our own worth.

    Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

    Matthew 10:29-31

    Yes, there is some brokenness in us, but we do not need to be perfect to be deemed worthy in the eyes of God. We are enough as we are, and God calls us to live a changed life. Our worth hinges on God Himself who justifies whom He calls. This is why Catholics have hope to strive for better, and it’s linked to knowing the character of God. We know that He loves us and treats us – together with our faults and shortcomings – with mercy and grace. The more we work to grow in this fundamental relationship with The One who made us, the more we gain understanding of who God designed us to become.

  • How I Met My Husband on Catholic Match

    Online dating works if you include God in the process

    When I turned 25, I asked God to grant me a husband.

    I was single for a long time, and I’ve never had a boyfriend in high school and in college. It’s not for the lack of opportunity, but it was my own readiness. I was young, and I knew I was not ready. I didn’t know who I was yet, and I was not about to look for someone who was also not sure who they wanted to be, or more so, who they already were.

    When I started working, I tried online dating. I thought that this would be my way of “putting myself out there”. For two years, I was meeting guys online who were obviously not ready for a meaningful relationship. They were not dating with the intent of marriage. They were merely floating through space, spending free time, approaching dating as a game they can win.

    So I stopped. I focused on my family, my friends, my work, and my goals. I leaned into my spiritual growth, I felt called by God into something more. Something better. Something He alone could provide.

    But it meant that I had to wait.

    Three years later, my Opus Dei friend recommended Catholic Match to me, saying that they had a success in one of their members who met her husband there and had two kids already. I was hesitant to try it. I figured online dating was not very fruitful when I tried it before.

    So I prayed about it. And waited. And prayed.

    By my 25th birthday, I asked God to grant me a husband. I told Him that I do not want to date anymore, and I do not want to play games. I surrendered my love life to Jesus. I said to Him,

    “Lord, this is Yours. I will let you do Your work. I leave it up to You. If you grant it, I will be happy. If You don’t, then You are enough for me.”

    I asked for a holy marriage. I prayed for my vocation as a wife and mother. I asked for St. Joseph to intercede for me to Jesus.

    Two weeks later, I signed up for Catholic Match. I purchased a six-month subscription. Two days later, I matched with my husband. He also purchased a six-month subscription. He was in the app for exactly four days. We matched with each other in the “New Members For You” section.

    Suffice it to say, we got our money’s worth.

    God granted our prayers in His time. And it was perfect.

  • Focus on God's grace

    Reflecting on the blessing of Jacob and Jesus’ teaching on divorce and children

    Part 1. Grace

    Gio and I were listening to Bible In A Year and we get to around Day 14 on the story of how Jacob deceives his father Jacob for his blessing that was originally meant for Esau. This episode sparks a lot of conflicting emotions in my pregnant self. I got so riled up from this story. Let me explain why.

    Before this particular episode, it boggled my mind how God seems to have a wildly optimistic, too naive, too forgiving view of his broken, chosen ones: Abram keeps passing off his wife Sarai as his sister, bringing in plague with him when the Egytian king receives her as his wife. Sarai, who makes her servant Hagar sleep with her husband, then proceeds to treat Hagar harshly and gets Hagar and her son Ishmael exiled. Lot and his daughters, freshly saved by angels from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, hides in a cave and gets raped by his own daughters who get him drunk in wine.

    Alongside these stories of human folly, we were also learning about Job, the righteous man who is actually faithful to God, who then becomes tormented, tortured by the devil. His family destroyed. His wealth evaporated. His health made non-existent.

    The story of Abram, Jacob, and Job makes me question why a God who seems to favor the broken is also allowing evil to the upright. It doesn’t make any sense: Where is justice here? We live in a world where if we do things right, God allows suffering. And if we do things wrong, God grants blessing.

    So what do I take from this? First, I expressed my initial dismay to my husband. This is unfair, I told him. Gio explained to me that his take on it is that we are seeing people from the Old Testament who have not received the Ten Commandments yet. Their idea of justice would not adhere to our modern moral code. He said that the story of how trust in God is essential to progress in the faith is being carefully laid out by the Bible brick-by-brick through the stories of these people. They are not supposed to be perfect nor does the Bible present them to be holier-than-thou. The stories do show that when a character like Abram trusts in God, God is faithful and delivers to His promises. Abram’s righteousness is not hinged on his own moral code, but trusting in what God tells him to do, even if it looks like sacrificing his only son Isaac. In return, God blesses and rewards his faith. He becomes the father of the faith.

    Going back to Bible In A Year Day 14, Fr. Mike talked about how the story of Jacob being mistakenly blessed by his father Isaac represents the sacraments as irreversible graces, that once received, the blessing cannot be returned or rejected or taken back to God. It didn’t matter that it was secured through unjust means, it just matters that it was freely given.

    To this point, I’m thinking: Okay, the point is that it’s not what we are doing or what we are worthy of as human beings. As we are, we are all broken and capable of doing wrong. All have fallen short in the eyes of God, regardless of how big or how small.

    God wants the focus to be on His character. His faithfulness. His unconditional positive regard. He sees more of us and defines us more than our worst sins. This may be the greatest delight of Christians. It’s not because of anything we currently are or anything we did. It is because of the Giver Himself, and His character. He is constant, unwavering, and gracious.

    Yes, He allowed Job’s suffering but it was not in vain. Job was in absolute pain, but he was faithful until the end. He cursed the day of his birth, but he refused to speak ill of God: God gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. When I was born, I was naked. And when I die, I take nothing with me.

    What a demonstration of humility and surrender! Because of this, God remembered Job. And as my husband says: Job’s got his own book in the Bible! Talk about victory of a saint!

    Part 2. Divorce and Children

    In the Sunday Mass, we listened to Jesus’ teaching on divorce and how it was through hardness of heart that it exists, and how that was not God’s plan: What God has put together, let no man put asunder. I am reminded of the Catholic Marriage Prep class where Gio and I were told that in marriage, we become one flesh. In my vivid imagination, tearing one human flesh apart results to decapitation, suffering, more so, death of the torn pieces that cannot live / stand on its own.

    After emphasizing that marriage and oneness of flesh is God’s will, Jesus then redirects His attention to his little ones, the children, whom He welcomes in His arms. The disciples are told not to keep them from Him, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. More so, we are told to accept the kingdom like a child.

    I don’t think that this is an accident on the part of Christ. Children are precious in His eyes, and their protection must be at the forefront of His mind. It makes me realize that divorce enacts such enormous pain and suffering that its decapitating effects do not just affect the married couple but extend to their children as well.

    In a culture of divorce, children are harmed and they are kept from God. In what way? We know for a fact that adult children of divorce suffer from a wide range of issues, especially when it comes to building trust and forming secure relationships. Who can blame them if the prime example of love and bonding they have witnessed is a broken, conditional, and temporary one?

    The Catholic Church teaches that the vocation of marriage is an irreversible, lifelong commitment. Marriage is designed by God for the good of the spouses and the procreation of life, which means the rearing and protection of children. More than that, it’s designed to reflect the core of God’s identity which is love and relationship. A marriage without God at its center is a dead one, and its children are its first victims.

    Again, we circle back to the unchanging character of God and how we are called to reflect Him in our marriages and our families. He is faithful. He is patient. He is loving. He is generous. He is merciful. For human beings, what He asks of us is impossible. Yet with Him, nothing is impossible. We only need to lean on His grace and wisdom, like Abram did.

  • What is love if it's not merciful?

    Reflecting on a message from Our Lady of Atonement

    Forgiveness is divine. When we pray to God, we ask Him to forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Jesus assures us that God desires mercy and He is open to those who ask for it. Mercy is God’s weapon in conquering evil.

    But how does it work exactly?

    Mercy propels us forward. It is as essential to us as breathing. Mercy brings us face-to-face with the humanity in others as well as our own. It reveals to us that we make mistakes too, no one is infallible. We have all have fallen short in the eyes of God.

    And yet, even in our lowest of lows, God meets us with His Divine Mercy. Jesus entered the world to save God’s people. He came to call the sinners back to Him. He is the Good Shepherd who goes out into the fields, seeking His lost sheep. He knows that sin is destructive, and how it is a lack of love at its core. He came to repair the severed bonds. Through His cross, God assures us that he is able. He transforms, conquers, endures, pursues, persists, and prevails. He restores our dignity, previously broken by sin. He calls us as His own. Our anger towards sin and its effects, no matter how righteous it is, has been bought and covered by the blood of the Lamb.

    The cross is a reminder that sin exists, and the empty tomb is a reminder that God overcomes. His Holy Sacrifice fully satisfies divine justice. Through Him, we regain access to God. We become children of our Father, who runs to embrace us as we come home. He forgives us first because His very nature is love. His face is mercy.

    And what is love if it’s not merciful?

    We forgive so that we can keep on loving. Human beings, as we are, we are limited by our own brokenness. Forgiveness doesn’t come naturally to us, it is often difficult and is riddled with pain. God understands this. He calls us to forgive anyway.

    He tells us to not be afraid to imitate His own heart. He points us to His Son on the cross. He wants us to have the heart of His Son: pierced, broken, and given for others.

    Even though we love imperfectly and we forgive imperfectly, it’s okay. There is much rejoicing in heaven with one sinner who repents. Imagine the celebration during your change of heart. All that matters to God is that we surrender and we follow, confident that our God is the God of the Resurrection. What is impossible to Him?

    It is the Lord who will accomplish whatever is lacking in us. He completes our love. His love is patient and kind, it holds no record of wrongs, it bears all things, endures all things. And this kind of love – this mercy – never fails.

    Reflection inspired by Our Lady of Atonement of Baguio Cathedral

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  • God is able to do the unimaginable.

    I’m writing this here at the airport, after having said goodbye to my fiancé who is about to board his flight back home. He spent Christmas with me and my family here in Manila, which to me, is a great gift.

    On the way here, I’ve been half-praying (and half-worrying) about the year ahead. For the two of us, there are still many unanswered questions: Will my visa get approved? If so, when will I be able to go see him? Where will we live? Will I be able to get along with his family and friends? Will they like me? Will it be an enjoyable trip?

    Swimming in these thoughts, my mind suddenly drifted to this word: immeasurably. There is only one place where I’ve heard this word used before. I looked it up, and the full verse in the Bible states –

    “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.”

    Ephesians 3:20

    With this verse, the Holy Spirit took me out of my worry and reminded me of the character of God. He is able. He can do more – immeasurably more – than what I can ask or imagine. He is in control. He knows the plan and the time.

    This is why I can praise God in the waiting.

    It is tempting to think that it is our own efforts that move us closer to what we hope for, but it is encouraging to know that we are in the palm of a loving God. We are not left on our own. The good desires we have and the amazing promises we receive are from Him. We are able to wait because we know that God is faithful.

    He is capable of the unimaginable.

  • Blessed is she who believed that what God spoke to her will be fulfilled.

    The upcoming World Youth Day this July is focused on Mary during the Visitation. Admittedly in the past I have only ever focused on the Annunciation. I glaze over the next mystery, not understanding what it meant. Now when I approach the scene of the Visitation with eyes searching for meaning, I realize why this scene is indeed a mystery of joy.

    The story starts with Mary in haste to visit Elizabeth.

    After giving a complete Yes (her Fiat) to angel Gabriel, she rushes to see this miracle of God for herself. The angel has given her great news: her cousin Elizabeth, who was called barren, is now pregnant with child.

    For nothing will be impossible to God. -Luke 1:37

    Age doesn’t matter to God. He is bigger than human limitation. He doesn’t look at us in the critical way that we do with our own faults. He is bigger than human circumstances. His will and His ways prevail.

    This part especially hits me hard because I feel as if I am transported to all those times that I have failed to appreciate the goodness and glory of God around me. I think of all those moments of weakness when I feel afraid of what’s coming for me, fearful of the uncertainty of the future, anxious about when the shoe will drop. How forgetful is the human heart! How blind are we to the works of God!

    Yet we come back to the proclamation of the angel, nothing is impossible to God. If we can believe this, if we can have faith, God will follow through on His promises in His perfect time. Just like he did with Elizabeth. Just like he did with Mary.

    He’s got us in the palm of His hand.

    Going back to the scene, we see a happy reunion and a special blessing.

    With Mary rushing to her cousin and Elizabeth blessing Mary as the baby St. John The Baptist leapt in her womb, we see a joyous reunion of two pregnant women. Realistically speaking, there is probably a lot of shrieking, hugging, and tears involved. One is younger and the other is wise with years, but the miracle stands. God has lifted up the lowly. Both with child as a result of God’s blessing and despite all odds, they celebrate the favor of God.

    This leads us to the truth of the Visitation. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed to Mary in a loud voice:

    “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

    And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

    Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”

    – Luke 1:41-45

    Mary is blessed because she believed that God will fulfill His word.

    She trusted God with her whole being, her whole life, and her whole future. It was a gift of everything. She held nothing back.

    This is why she is our model in faith. Mary always does the will of God. Her faith is complete, and her love for Him is perfect. Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord.

    The story of the Visitation is a mystery of joy.

    With the examples of Mama Mary and St. Elizabeth, we are invited to be attentive and open to the goodness of God. Most of all, we are invited to celebration. Our joy is not just because we get what we pray for, but that we receive the Lord Himself. Our faith is not only based on the fulfillment of a promise, but the faithfulness and generosity of our God.

    To end this reflection, I ask for your prayers and I offer mine for you as well.

    • That God may grant us the gift of faith that believes in His goodness against all odds.
    • That we may be ready to receive the fulfillment of the promises of God.
    • That we may be joyful as we wait for His hand, certain that when the time is right, God Himself will make His will come true.

  • Blessed is she who believed that what God spoke to her will be fulfilled.

    Reflecting on Elizabeth’s blessing to Mary during the Visitation

    The upcoming World Youth Day this July is focused on Mary during the Visitation. Admittedly in the past I have only ever focused on the Annunciation. I glaze over the next mystery, not understanding what it meant. Now when I approach the scene of the Visitation with eyes searching for meaning, I realize why this scene is indeed a mystery of joy.

    woman in white floral dress

    The story starts with Mary in haste to visit Elizabeth.

    After giving a complete Yes (her Fiat) to angel Gabriel, she rushes to see this miracle of God for herself. The angel has given her great news: her cousin Elizabeth, who was called barren, is now pregnant with child.

    For nothing will be impossible to God. -Luke 1:37

    Age doesn’t matter to God. He is bigger than human limitation. He doesn’t look at us in the critical way that we do with our own faults. He is bigger than human circumstances. His will and His ways prevail.

    This part especially hits me hard because I feel as if I am transported to all those times that I have failed to appreciate the goodness and glory of God around me. I think of all those moments of weakness when I feel afraid of what’s coming for me, fearful of the uncertainty of the future, anxious about when the shoe will drop. How forgetful is the human heart! How blind are we to the works of God!

    Yet we come back to the proclamation of the angel, nothing is impossible to God. If we can believe this, if we can have faith, God will follow through on His promises in His perfect time. Just like he did with Elizabeth. Just like he did with Mary.

    He’s got us in the palm of His hand.

    Going back to the scene, we see a happy reunion and a special blessing.

    With Mary rushing to her cousin and Elizabeth blessing Mary as the baby St. John The Baptist leapt in her womb, we see a joyous reunion of two pregnant women. Realistically speaking, there is probably a lot of shrieking, hugging, and tears involved. One is younger and the other is wise with years, but the miracle stands. God has lifted up the lowly. Both with child as a result of God’s blessing and despite all odds, they celebrate the favor of God.

    This leads us to the truth of the Visitation. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed to Mary in a loud voice:

    “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

    And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

    Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”

    – Luke 1:41-45

    Mary is blessed because she believed that God will fulfill His word.

    She trusted God with her whole being, her whole life, and her whole future. It was a gift of everything. She held nothing back.

    This is why she is our model in faith. Mary always does the will of God. Her faith is complete, and her love for Him is perfect. Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord.

    The story of the Visitation is a mystery of joy.

    With the examples of Mama Mary and St. Elizabeth, we are invited to be attentive and open to the goodness of God. Most of all, we are invited to celebration. Our joy is not just because we get what we pray for, but that we receive the Lord Himself. Our faith is not only based on the fulfillment of a promise, but the faithfulness and generosity of our God.

    To end this reflection, I ask for your prayers and I offer mine for you as well.

    • That God may grant us the gift of faith that believes in His goodness against all odds.

    • That we may be ready to receive the fulfillment of the promises of God.

    • That we may be joyful as we wait for His hand, certain that when the time is right, God Himself will make His will come true.

  • God is able to do the unimaginable.

    A short reflection on Ephesians 3:20

    I’m writing this here at the airport, after having said goodbye to my fiancé who is about to board his flight back home. He spent Christmas with me and my family here in Manila, which to me, is a great gift.

    On the way here, I’ve been half-praying (and half-worrying) about the year ahead. For the two of us, there are still many unanswered questions: Will my visa get approved? If so, when will I be able to go see him? Where will we live? Will I be able to get along with his family and friends? Will they like me? Will it be an enjoyable trip?

    silhouette of people standing inside airport during golden hour
    Photo by Keith Chan on Unsplash

    Swimming in these thoughts, my mind suddenly drifted to this word: immeasurably. There is only one place where I’ve heard this word used before. I looked it up, and the full verse in the Bible states –

    “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.”

    Ephesians 3:20

    With this verse, the Holy Spirit took me out of my worry and reminded me of the character of God. He is able. He can do more – immeasurably more – than what I can ask or imagine. He is in control. He knows the plan and the time.

    This is why I can praise God in the waiting.

    It is tempting to think that it is our own efforts that move us closer to what we hope for, but it is encouraging to know that we are in the palm of a loving God. We are not left on our own. The good desires we have and the amazing promises we receive are from Him. We are able to wait because we know that God is faithful.

    He is capable of the unimaginable.

  • Delight In The Lord

    Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

    – Psalm 37:4

    We don’t know how to be happy. This is a painful truth.

    Just in the past twenty years alone, it is undeniable how much significant progress has been made in business, technology, and communication. We live in a time of amazing scientific feats and innovations occurring in breathtaking speed. But even as we see an increasing trend in terms of overall quality of life over time, dissatisfaction is still a prominent feature of the human condition. Evident in rising levels of anxiety and depression across cultures, our mental health seems to suffer from accumulating more and more. We are running the rat’s race, chasing one goal after another, never reaching contentment. Hurrying through life, unable to enjoy it.

    Are you happy now that you’ve received the blessing?

    When our prayers get answered, our lives get elevated to a whole new different level. This new order results to a new set of potential problems. Now that you received everything that you’ve been praying for, the ball is in your court: How will you use the blessings that you’ve been given? What kind of person are you becoming?

    These are questions that I often ask myself. For a 25-year-old, my life seems to be in order from the outside. I work for a good company in a role that is a great fit for me. I have an opportunity to study and teach in my university. I have fulfilling relationships with my family and friends. I have a special someone who shares my faith and my unique sense of humor. Overall, life is good.

    While I am thankful to have all these blessings, I often feel a twinge of fear in my heart. I want things to be perfect. I want to be the best that I can possibly be. I want things to be done now because I don’t have time to slack off. I want to maximize my opportunities. To do otherwise makes me feel guilty, as if I didn’t deserve the privileges that I have. I feel pressured to perform and afraid to fail.

    I used to pray for the things that I now have in my life. If you asked me three years ago, I would say that there was no immediate nor definite answer to my prayers. I only had my faith and my belief that God will give me what I want if it is aligned to His will for my life. I waited and I persevered. I wanted to be ready for the blessings that I was asking God to give me.

    What does it mean to take delight in the Lord?

    Now that God has answered my prayer by giving me what I wanted and the hope for better things to come, fear has entered my heart all the same. Humanity’s first response to God is almost always fear – a fear of a higher being whose might is beyond our limited understanding, a fear of His gaze and His watchful eyes, and a fear to admit who we truly are in the face of Him who is just.

    Jesus tells us repeatedly, “Don’t be afraid. It is I.” When good things happen to us, Jesus makes His presence known. Like sheep recognizing the voice of the Shepherd, we are called to run into God’s loving embrace in the present moment. He tells us, “Don’t be afraid of joy. Don’t be afraid of hope. Don’t be afraid of love. Don’t be afraid to enjoy My blessings because I am the Giver of all good things.”

    In the face of a blessing, we are invited by the psalm to delight, to welcome joy, and to allow happiness into our lives. We are called to see that we are blessed. We are favored and loved by a generous God. An answered prayer, by itself, is already a blessing. It is amazing to know that God is listening and that He provides for and answers our prayers according to His will.

    But the blessing doesn’t stop at the gift – the object of our desire already granted – rather it ends on God who is the Giver. To fully benefit from the graces received, we are called to focus on Him so we can see His gift as part of a bigger plan for our salvation. When we elevate our focus to the will of God, we open our door to His providence, support, and His presence. We say, “Lord, thank you for your goodness and generosity. You are welcome here. Use this for your glory.”

    This is how we welcome joy as Christians: when we slow down to the present moment, immersed in God’s peace in prayer. It is only through constant communion with Christ in the silent reflection of prayer – with gratitude for blessings received and in hope of more to come – that we can proceed with living life happily. Here we can take delight in the reliable care and generous providence of a happy Giver, the Source of all good things. Therefore, we do not worry about whether we are good enough, worthy, or deserving of His grace. We know that the outcomes in our lives do not depend solely on us. Our hopes and desires are secure in God.

    I will sing forever of your love, oh Lord. I will celebrate the wonders of your name.

    – “I Will Sing Forever” by Bukas Palad Ministry

  • You Are Needed Here

    We are expecting to have another lockdown in Manila this September, so it is perfectly valid and reasonable to feel lost, confused, weary, and caged. It often seems like the effort to stay at home and stay away from loved ones is all in vain. People are still getting sick. New cases pile up everyday. The vaccine roll-out is not as fast as we had hoped. The economy is still on a decline. We ask: What’s the point?

    I’ve been turning this question over in my mind and after getting my second dose of the corona vaccine earlier last month, I was asking God the same question. What is the purpose of all this suffering? Why are we here?

    The answer that I received in prayer gave me a lot of comfort today, so I hope to share this with you.

    You are here because YOU ARE NEEDED. Your life is not just your own. Your life means something because you are needed here.

    You Are…

    • a blessing to your parents.
    • a guiding light for your siblings.
    • a safe space and the support of your friends.
    • a source of inspiration for your colleagues and peers.
    • a bringer of hope for your community.
    • a force of nature precisely because you were designed that way.

    During Sunday Mass, we are told in the final blessing to go and bring Christ into our lives. It means that in this imperfect world, we are the eyes, ears, and hands of God. He dwells in us. He works in us, and through us. A friend once told me that the strength we have is not our own. God grants us the grace to do what He requires. And if we do all things for God and for others, everything we do in this life takes on a deeper meaning. Our tasks, challenges, and opportunities are transformed by the knowledge that we are not only living for ourselves.

    You are here because the world needs your head, your heart, and your hands. It needs your contribution. It needs your presence. It needs you to play your part. It needs you to lead on the ground. It needs your charity, the love that understands that sometimes we need to put the needs of others before our own.

    So to anyone who needs this message today, let me say it again: You are needed here.