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 ...

  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 Refl...

  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...

  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...

  Coffee Musings Under the Maple Tree (Part 22) Reflections of Dharmazeus   That time you walked away after a long silence that I never understood why, I started to fly on my own with no particular destination in sight. Wondering where you’d been, thinking if I’d see you again. Tired and lonesome, I paused on my flight then I realized the pointlessness of the chase. If you did not want to be found nor be reached out to, no matter how I tried, I will never catch up to you nor find you. In my heart I heard a loud whisper: GOODBYE!   It is very painful to realize that I was not really as important to you as I thought I was because you used to say so more than once. Was I lied to? Or were you just being kind during those times? When honesty is blanketed by a lie, then a game is certainly played. And you played the game so well.   In sleep and in my waking hours, you alone keep my heartbeat with so much love and compassion. Sleep well and know that I love ...

  Coffee Musings Under the Maple Tree (Part 21) Reflections of Dharmazeus   A beautiful dawn is here. An awesome morning has come. Arise, my beloved, let us jointly thank God for the gift of a new day, to renew our love to him and to one another. Forever I will love you.   Today I will value every little thing that comes to my life. Some things might be insignificant yet later I might discover that is the one that matters most. Share a smile and a short “hello” to anyone and everyone you meet. It might be the answer to a life question that they had been feeling burdened with.   Mahal, I value you so much that I will never want to lose you. We may not be together all the time and see each other only occasionally. But we make sure that those times were spent with so much fondness and love. Stories about anything under the sun are enjoyed as we dine with our favorite pizza and a cucumber cold drink. Simple joys filled with love.   One thing I lo...

  The Transfiguration: A Call to Listen to Jesus (February 21, 2024)   The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor (Mark 9:2-10) is one of the two narratives in the life of Jesus that I personally refer to as “mystical.” The other being the Baptism of the Lord. They are both mystical for me because the two scenarios present a dynamic revelation of the Holy Trinity being spiritually inspiring and awesome. If presented on stage as a play, I picture a very moving, even jaw-dropping, experience. I imagine it to be a New Testament version of what we refer to now as a “Light and Sound” show. With both narratives, I see a bright light emanating from the heavens (the Transfiguration) and the clouds opening to make way for the descent of a dove (the Baptism of Jesus). Then the voice echoing through the auditorium: “this is my beloved Son …” and maybe some rumbling sounds after plus more dazzling lights and glowing white robe (the Transfiguration) of Jesus. It’s very ...