Whisperings Under The Maple Tree

  HOLY WEEK REFLECTION (March 27, 2024)   Reflection Question: Why did Jesus ask the Father to “forgive them”? Why did He not say “Father, I forgive them for what they did to me?” My Reflection: Could it be because at the time of the Crucifixion, the people who did harm to Jesus have not realized that they made a mistake, and it was such a grave mistake before God? It was the human Jesus who was severely suffering the pain and indignity of being crucified that was speaking from the depths of His wounded heart, a wounded soul, His deeply wounded feelings. Such reality emphasizes the importance of acknowledging one’s guilt for doing wrong to others as a mandatory step towards forgiveness. Forgiveness is given to those who acknowledge the wrong they did, recognize the effect of their malicious actions to others, express sorrow and have a contrite heart for the wrongful deeds, seek and ask to be forgiven. Only then shall forgiveness be received. The human side of Jesus

  THE CROSS: A Personal Reflection on the Holy Week (March 25, 2024)   The Holy Days of recall on the Paschal Mystery (Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ) has begun. Indeed, what an opportunity for us to take time for vacation not for fun and frolic but from the concerns of the world to the concerns of our spiritual being, which is actually the foundation of our existence, the basis and meaning of our life. It is very timely, or so it seems, that a very challenging situation is set before me involving my personal life. The knowledge of it even came after I formally turned over the Holy Relic of the Cross as a donation to the Parish of the Holy Cross received by the Parish Priest. Now I am beginning to see and, hopefully, understand the significance of such a move. Am I giving up the “crosses” of my life? Am I surrendering the “crosses” in my life to God? Is God telling me that it’s about time to allow Him to appropriately take charge of my life? My Reflection:

  Coffee Musings Under the Maple Tree (Part 23) Reflections of Dharmazeus   If only I could stop the waves from rushing to the shore just so that yesterday becomes today and that tomorrow as we dreamed becomes now, then my memories shall only be the ones with smiles and not with tears…and my heart will only beat about love at the thought of you, my Dear.   While it looks good and fascinating to watch the waves rush to and from the shore, love and affection shouldn’t work that way. True love is like a stream of water – murky and muddy sometimes but it flows continuously upstream or downstream until it clears like a sparkling crystal and joins into the vastness of the seas.   We had the chance. We did not nourish it well enough to last. If only you did not walk away and phased with me a bit more. But the past is all gone. Even memories erased, lessons learned, tears shed have dried up. Another chance? Maybe. Afterall, true love never dies but only fades away when lovers r

  Fourth Sunday of Lent: RUN TO ME … (March 10, 2024)   “Run to me whenever you’re lonely. Run to me if you need a shoulder.”   Do you remember that line from the song “Run To Me” by the Bee Gees made popular during the 70s? I really do not know why, but after reading the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, I found myself humming the song in my head. The Gospel narrates the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus where Jesus emphasized “everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” Further into the Gospel, Jesus said: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”   (As a disclaimer, this is a personal reflection and not an exegesis because I am no Bible expert nor scholar. This is a product of a simple prayer and meditation on how the words of the Bible struck my thoughts and feelings.)   After reading the Gospel, I felt a deep sense of peace inside me. With all the things that are going o