and defiant hope is born…

There was one christmas card that I received that stood out, one that came from the Redemptorist fathers.
It was not laden with flashy graphics and text, just a picture of a simple “belen” with the message “and defiant hope is born…”

I guess that really is the message of Christmas that strikes a chord -
With the shepherds whose long, lonely nights were suddenly punctuated with the overwhelming visions of angels
With the wise men whose arduous journey was finally rewarded at the end where the star shines the brightest
With hearts so wearied from the pains of love lost gradually consoled by the season of cheer
With lives so broken by misfortune and decisions slowly brought together by the warm air of love…

Yes, the shepherds may find themselves going back again to those cold winter nights doing what they have been wont to do,
And yet, their routine have been changed somehow, having touched the warm flesh of hope…
Yes, the wise men may again find themselves traversing another tortuous route back home,
And yet, their journeys will never be the same again, having realized the true goal of their wandering…
Yes, our hearts will once again realize that the only consistency of our incomprehensible human nature is its capacity to wound,
And yet, the beating of our hearts will never be the same again, for somebody else’s heart beats with us, for us…
Yes, our lives no matter our desperate attempts at mending will only be disintegrated again into a million hurting pieces,
And yet, our lives have been transformed somehow, having felt deep in our hearts that a life was born to embrace our pains…

This is our Christmas,
that love born, will be killed, but will rise again.
This is our hope -
Breaking free from the meaningless violence and death of our souls and bodies,
Bestowing upon it new life that will never end…
Breaking forth from the hopelessness of a future for our children’s children,
Bestowing upon it a meaning that we all can hold fast to…
This is our defiant hope…


lingering hope…

There are many ways to celebrate Christmas…
And more often than not, the songs we sing convey the way our hearts feel -

Like sharing the grief of a family who lost a love and a life
We cannot force hearts to go on beating
And we can never choose the time nor the season
we can only choose to accept and to go on loving…
Believing in a hope that lingers…

“Hindi kita malilimutan
Hindi kita pababayaan
Nakaukit magpakailanmant
Sa aking palad and ‘yong pangalan… “


Like being with enthusiastic and passionate young people
Who carry our burdens, hopes and fears to a future yet unknown,
For whom we are answerable
and in whose questioning faces, our doubts are more pronounced
Though we grapple with them our uncertainties
We can never stop our restless seeking
For the one who has been searching for us all along…

“Into your hands
I commit again
With all I am
for you Lord

You hold my world
in the palm of your hand
And I’m yours forever”


Like experiencing the solitude at the end of the day
After everyone have gone back to the comfort of their own homes
And the warm embrace of their families
And the only company is the music, the solemn strains of the guitar and the flute
Playing the vespers, serving as haunting reminders of the 30 days of witnessing
The birth, the call and the death, and life thereafter
And though the words of the song escape the tired mind and body
The sigh of the heart remains…
I have found what I have been looking for…
Or rather, more succinctly, I was lost… and have been found….


Hope floats…

I have a very young nephew who is hopelessly talkative
Probably enjoying the words he has learned
Taking every opportunity he can to use them
Relishing the jumble of words that escapes his lips…

And yet there was one time when mama shared with me
That when we were about to leave that he was reduced to silence
Maybe not quite understanding why the fun and games have to end
And though not able to fully articulate the pain of saying goodbye
The tears freely, though silently flowing
Gently reminded me that Christmas is also about saying goodbye
To the joyful and warm season of love and giving
To give way to the harsh realities of letting go, loving, living, suffering…
And yet, amidst the tears, he slowly walked up to me, embraced me, and in my ear whispered…
But Tito Didoy, you are coming back, aren’t you?
And that was a very strong reminder that Christmas is also about stubbornly holding on
To persons, to loves that matter to us…
Truly, the gift of Christmas is a defiant hope born in each of us…

pila

Ok, tawagin mo akong crammer, buzzer beater at ano pa mang mga katangiang pinoy na may kinalaman sa last minute na pagrehistro sa comelec upang maging botante sa darating na halalan 2010.

Kasalukuyan akong nakapila ngayon (5.30am, hikab) sa comelec office. Medyo mahaba na ang pila. Pang 19 ako. (Oo, binilang ko talaga kung pang ilan ako).

Kahapon pumunta ako, bandang alas diyes ng umaga, sapagkat matibay ang aking paniniwala na nagbago na ang ating mga kababayan at halos lahat ay nakapagrehistro na at kunti na lang ang mga tulad ko. Nagkamali ako. Mahaba na ang pila sa alas diyes pa lang at mukhang di na bibilis pa sa alas kuwatro ang pagproseso. Di ko na sinubukang bilangin kung ilan na ang nakapila. Height na ng kabaliwan yun. Kinuha ko na, face value, kung ano ang sinabi ng ale na nakaduster at nagtitinda ng bbq, na ang pila ay hanggang pangalawang kanto.

Habang papunta ako sa dulo ng linya at nagdadasal na sana ang mga kanto dito sa may munisipyo ay di kasinghaba ng isang kilometro, nakasalubong ko ang isang taong simbahan, padre, pipila ka, tanong niya. Hindi, manonood ng sine, pabiro kong sagot, minsan lang itong palabas at anim na taong din akong nagtiis. Isa din ako sa mga parang temang na nagbitbit ng plakard noon sa edsa at nangangarap para sa mabuting kinabukasan (di ko maidagdag - ng ating mga anak, pari kasi ako). Ngayon gusto ko namang magkaroon ng say kung sino ang magiging leading lady o leading man (o gay o lesbian, para inclusive) ng ating engrandeng political show. At sana tulad ng nasa pelikula, tunay na ipagtatanggol ng mga bida ang mga karaniwang mamayan handang magtiis ng mahabang pila para bumoto.

Pag ready ka pumila maghapon, pinapakita mo na ganun katindi ang paniniwala mo na walang dayaan mangyayari sa eleksyon at ang boto mo ay maisasama sa bilangan. Pag ready ka pumila ng kusa magdamag, ganun katindi ang paniniwala mo na di mo maipagbibili ang iyong boto. Kung kayang pumila ng walang bayad, kayang bumoto ng walang bayad.

Malayo layo na ang narating ko ng marinig ko ang sinabi ng isa, kanina pa akong alas 7 dito at mukhang di umuusad ang pila. Naykupo. Eh kasi naman, singit ng isa, may mga nagpapalakasan at nauuna pa. Naku, nanggigil na sabi ng isang malusog na ale, subukan lang nila gawin sa harapan ko yan, makakatikim sila! Agree naman tumango ang isang batalyon dala ng 2 jeep na sana, sana, kusang loob, walang bayad at nag uumapaw sa kabutihan na inorganisa ng isang konsehal para magrehistro. Hulog ng langit, nakasalubong ko ang isang aktibo sa simbahan at sa pamahalaan. Padre, kahit hanggang alas 9 ng gabi yan, mukhang bukas ka na matatapos. Teka, gawan natin ng paraan. Tiningnan ako ng masama ng malusog na ale. Mukhang seryoso siya sa sinabing magpapatikim, at kung anuman iyon, wala akong balak manguna sa pila. Kaya pumunta ako sa dulo at doon sumunod ang kakilala, sige, gawan natin ng paraan, akina id mo at hintayin mo ko diyan padz. Pagbalik meron ng form, tinta, sopdrink at sandwich. Grabe, napatingin sa akin ang mga nakapila. Ganito rin kaya pinagdaanan ni Kris Aquino ng magrehistro daw siya sa Makati?

Pagkatapos kong pirmahan ang lahat ng dapat pirmahan at thumbmarkan ang lahat ng dapat thumbmarkan, kinuha ang papeles ko at dinala na sa security officer, nabigyan ako ng number at sa igsang iglap, nilagpasan ko ang mahigit dalawang kanto na pila. Yan ang milagro ng automated registration, este, koneksyon. Habang papalapit ako sa pinto ng comelec, pinigilan ko ang ngumiti na parang nanalo sa lotto at baka dumugin pa ako. Buti na lang. Short lived lang pala ang tuwa ko. Marami pala ang katulad ko. Pang 634 ako. Pang 227 pa lang. Madami pala ang may koneksyon. Mukhang aabutin ng siyam siyam ang binatilyo sa dulo ng pila na wala pang numero. Makakarating pa rin siya sa desk ng comelec officer, sa darating na Oct 30. Baka taong 2010 nga lang.

Balik na lang po kayo mamyang alas sais, sigurado kunti na lang ang nakapila, sabi ng isang tao dun. O, ganun kabilis?!? Di po, pag ganung oras, marami na ang naubusan ng pasensya at padabog na umaalis na lang. Mukhang may pag asa pa ang binatilyo. Kung mahaba pisi niya. Bumalik na lang ako ng 6. Kahit madami na ang nagsialisan, mas madami pa rin talaga pala ang matiyaga. Hinintay kong tawagin ang numero ko. Sa takbo ng buhay, di ko aabutin ang misa at praise and worship sa parokya. Sabi nga ng isang telenovela, may bukas pa. Kaya umalis na lang ako, baon baon ang pangako na pupunta ako kinabukasan ng mas maaga.

Kaya andito na naman ako ngayon. Oo, humaba na ang pila. Unang kanto na at at mag alas 7 pa lang. Di ko na subukang umalis para tingnan at bilangin at baka masingitan pa ako. Binilang ko na lang ulit ang mga nauna sa akin, at eto ang vital statistics- 7 ang binatilyo, 1 nanay, 10 ang dalagita. Tumingin ako sa likod. Mas marami ang kabataan, outnumbered ang mga nanay at tatay. Marami rami ang mukhang magkakaklase at nagkwekwentuhan at nagkakamustahan tungkol sa sembreak nila. Magagaling ang mga kabataan, may nagdala ng upuan, nagbabasa ng diyaryo, nakikinig sa ipod. Productive. May pag-asa pa ang bansa natin, marami pa rin pala ang mga bagong sibol na gustong marinig ang kanilang tinig.

May isang oras pa akong maghihintay. Pero handa akong maghintay at pumila sapagkat maikling panahon lamang eto kumpara sa 6 (o 9) na taong pagtitiis kung di maging maayos ang pagpili at pagboto ng mga taong nanumpa na magiging punong tagapaglingkod. At kung may nais man bumili ng aking boto, kalimutan na nila, baka ako pa mismo magbayad sa kanila para makita lamang silang pumipila kasama ang taumbayan. Makakita lang ako ng isang presidentiable nakalinya maghapon sa init ng araw at nagmemeryenda ng adobong mani para pampalipas gutom, makakita lang ako ng ganung pangitain, baka pag isipan ko na kung iboboto ko siya, makakita lang ako ng ganung kababalaghan sa mundong ibabaw, maituturing ko na ang aking sarili na mas mapalad pa kay Elias na tumanaw sa dakong silangan habang binabawian ng buhay nang di man lang nakita ang pagbubukang-liwayway ng bayang kanyang minamahal.

Tanggap ko na ang katotohanan madami pang aayusin sa ating lipunan. May mga bagay na tinititiis na lang natin at pinagtiyatiyagaan. Pero ito lang ang masasabi ko, sa pagkahaba haba ng pila, kabaliwan na kung gagawing bara bara ang pagsulat sa balota. Sa pagkadami dami ng pinagdaanan, kabaliwan na kung ipagbibili pa ang boto. Hindi mapapantayan ng anumang matatamis na salita at tumataginting na salapi ang oras na ginugol para lamang maging mahalagang bahagi ng pag-usad tungo sa pagbabago. Kung sakaling meron man na magiging tanging kapalit, ito ay walang iba kundi ang paglalagay ng tiwala sa isang taong isinasabuhay ang pangakong serbisyo publiko.

kontra tiyempo

Haggai 1: 1-8

Naranasan mo na ba ito?

Kahit anong laki na ng sweldo, mas lalong lumalaki ang mga gastusin.
Kahit anong pagsusumikap mag ipon, mas lalong lumalaki ang butas ang bulsa.
Kaya kahit anong kain, di mabusog busog kasi nag iisip na naman kung saan bubunot ng susunod na pambili.
Kaya kahit anong baluktot, malamig pa din kasi nararamdaman mo mas lalong umiiksi ang kumot.
Ang resulta? Mas pagod at bugnutin at lalong sumasama ang loob kasi ang pakiramdam, ng magbigayan ng malas sa mundo, ikaw ang sinwerte makatanggap ng sandamukal.

Ano ang dapat gawin pag kinakapos?
Pag pakiramdam eh kulang lagi ang lahat?
Pag pakiramdam eh kapos lagi ang biyaya?

Magbigay.
Kahit ibig sabihin kunti na lang ang natitira.
Kahit ibig sabihin wala ng matitira.

Karamihan kasi nagsasabi, magbibigay ako pag may pera na ako.
Pag nanalo ako sa lotto.
Pag sinwerte na ako.
Pumuti na ang uwak, di pa rin makapagbigay.
Kasi ang pagbabahagi ay di nakadepende sa swerte.
Di nakadepende sa pangako.
Nakadepende sa kung anong meron ka.
Kung ano ang kaya mong ibigay.
Ngayon.

Sa ating pananampalataya, common sense ito.
Pero sabi nga, kung ano pa ang pinaka common, siya pa ang bibihirang gamitin…

Kung gusto mo makatanggap ng ngiti, magbigay ka ng ngiti.
Kung gusto mo makatanggap ng sampal, magbigay ka ng sampal.

Ang pangangaral na ito ay di para palaguin ang bulsa ng iba.
Ang pangangaral na ito ay para palawakin ang puso natin.
Kaya tayo nagbibigay para maipakita natin na ang pinakamahalagang bahagi sa atin ay ang puso, di ang bulsa.
Kaya tayo nagbabahagi para gayahin ang halimbawa ng ating panginoon sa krus.
Nagbigay di lamang kung anong meron siya, kundi higit sa lahat, ng buong buhay niya.

newspaper boy

“Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Luke 9: 1-6

The gospel is obvious, Jesus instructs his disciples, if a town does not welcome you, do not spend your energy trying to convince them otherwise.

If you are a missionary and you are not welcome, leave.
If you are a salesman and no one buys, leave.

Unless of course you want to be a martyr, that is a different story altogether.
Unless of course you want to go broke, that is a different matter.

There will be other towns, homes, communities who will be more than willing to accept you.
As one preacher said, do not waste your time with goats but with sheep, not with resistant people but with receptive people.

As a story goes, a young man of 16 got a summer job selling newspaper subscriptions.
The company gave him a list of names to call up for sales.
He learned from his random calls that people most likely to buy subscriptions were those who were undergoing key transitions in life - newly married or new in town.
So what he did was get a public-records list from the state of Texas and proceeded to make $18,000 in one summer by targeting the right market.
The young man did not waste his time convincing hesitant and resistant people to buy subscriptions.
Instead he called up people who are more than willing to listen to his sales pitch.
That boy grew up to be Michael Dell, founder and owner of Dell Computers, worth billions of dollars.

For some people, selling newspapers seem more like a pastime than a serious business.
For most of us, “selling” God seem more like a hobby than making a living.

write positive

May isang suki ako.

Di siya parokyano pero ang sipag niya pumunta sa akin para kumonsulta.
Halos linggo-linggo.
Counseling. Advice-giving.
Palagi daw kasi siyang nagkakasakit.
Negative thinker daw kasi siya.

Noong una, nagkamali ako nang tanungin ko kung ano ang mga negative thoughts na iyon.
Aysusme.
Ubod ng dami.
Talo pa litanya ng mga santo.
Aminin ko na, I lost count when she reached negative thought # 50.
Di ko alam kung umabot kami ng isang daan, pero malapit na magshort circuit at mag hang ang utak ko.

Noon una nakikinig lang ako.
Natutuwa kasi ako.
Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng isang tao na kayang sabihin sa iyo ang lahat ng negative thoughts ng walang puknat.
Kayang irecite ng walang tigil, kung meron man, para habulin lang ang hininga. Tapos, ratsada na naman.

Noong kalaunan, syempre, di na nakakatuwa.
Pati ako nabibigatan na.
Kaya change strategy.
Pinabili ko siya ng notebook at ballpen.
Pagkita namin, pinalista ko lahat ng negative thoughts niya.
Mabilis siyang nagsulat.
Halos mangalahati ang notebook.
Mukhang bibili agad ulit.
Mukhang yayaman ang National Bookstore dahil sa kanya.
Part naman yun ng strategy.
Di yung payamanin ang National Bookstore.
Kundi ang palistahin siya.

Next step.
Listahin lahat ng positive thoughts, mga blessings.
Nag-isip siya.
Tumingin sa akin.
Tumingin sa malayo.
Nag-isip ulit.
Tumingin sa notebook.
Nag-isip ulit.
Nagsulat.
Matagal tagal din ang binuno para mapuno ang kalahating page.
Pinagpawisan pa nga.

No wonder nagkakasakit.
Comfort zone na niya ang negativity.
Ewan ko lang kung aalis siya dun, desisyon nya yun.
Pero sana makatulong ang advice ko na magsulat
At mamulat sa kagandahan ng buhay.

less is more

Parish Hosting of the Visit of the Diocesan Youth Cross
5th Asian Youth Day Preparations

The theme of the 5th YAsia Fiesta is taken from the gospel of John, the multiplication of the 2 fishes and 5 loaves of bread.

In the story, multitudes were following Jesus. They were seeking something, they must have been looking all their lives and now they believed that it is Jesus who can satisfy their desire, their thirst, their hunger.

Today, there are still many who are seeking, especially the young people. Many try to fill one’s time with schedules and one’s space with people and things. Some try to find answers in gadgets and material belongings. Others seek answers through friends and endless parties. A few tried the painful and confusing path of just trying to ask the right questions. A few discovers that speeding up one’s life will not really deliver what one has been waiting for.

I think that these seeking is fueled by the sincere desire to discover the meaning of one’s life, of one’s place in the world. The hesitation though to embrace the sole answer that stares us in the face everyday, the presence of Christ in the cross, stems from the distrust of the truth that it is in giving up everything that we will be filled and blessed. There is the distrust in one’s capacity to be generous. Many grasp, even grab for more, ending up with the feeling that no matter how one works hard for a year’s wage, it will still not suffice for one’s needs and wants let alone for others. There is that discomforting distrust in the gospel truth that 2 fishes and 5 loaves freely offered from one’s heart and hands is more than enough, it is all that the Lord needs.

We have the mistaken notion that when God asks us to offer all that we are, we have to have more in order to offer more when in fact we already have what God desires - our heart. We often think less of ourselves, of who we are when in fact, all we have to do is to wholeheartedly offer the 2 fishes and 5 loaves of our broken lives to God, that we may be broken and shared, that with the Lord, we may feed the hungry multitudes with who we are not just with what we have.

One of the youth's closing songs captured the message perfectly...

"Nothing in this world can satisfy me
Jesus, You alone can fill me up
I could gain the world and all it's treasures
But all those things would never be enough

It is Your love, it is Your goodness
It is Your kindness and compassion
That fills me up inside
It is Your grace, Your tender mercies
It is Your presence in my life
That satisfies..."

in satan's name

“Wherever two or there are gathered in my name, there am I with them.”

We all know Jesus said this.

I also want to say that satan can also quote this.

Whenever two or three are gathered not to revel in each other’s company but to connive, to thwart the slow irruption of goodness take root in our broken and crucified lives, there is satan who enjoys such company .

Whenever two or three are gathered not to lick and heal the wounds of word wars and broken hearts but to let the hurts fester in order for vengeance to be inflicted with even greater damage, there is satan who delights in such pain.

When we gather as friends, families, communities, in whose name do we gather?

that which does not kill us

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

While reading the inspiring story of Hellen Keller, I am reminded of the quote “the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek” by Joseph Campbell. We have fears in our lives and one of our greatest fears is that of the unknown. It is said that many would choose to enter a tiger’s lair rather than enter a dark cave. But it is in the dark caves of our lives that we find our treasures.

“When Hellen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, she was like any other normal baby. Her parents, landowners in post Civil War Alabama were very proud of her. In their eyes, she was after all their intelligent child who could speak “How do you do?” at 6 months old.

However, that started to change after she contracted scarlet fever at 19 months in February 1882. When she was rescued from the brink of death, little Hellen could no longer respond to the dinner bell rings or flashes of her mother’s hand in front of her eyes. It thus became apparent that her illness has left her to be blind and deaf. And as she became further withdrawn into her own silent world, she began to lose her speech as well. Losing her ability to communicate with her parents reduced Hellen Keller to a state of frustration and anger. She became a difficult child, throwing dishes and lamps on the floor, yelling and throwing tantrums. That behaviour gradually worsened as her parents became too soft hearted and refused to discipline her.

Relatives thought she should be sent to a mental institution. Despite her relatives’ claims, Hellen Keller displayed abilities that seemed to suggest that she was sound. By the time she was 5, she could use more than 60 customized hand gestures to communicate meanings of “Mother”, “Father” etc. Believing that her child could be educated, her mother brought Hellen to Alexander Graham Bell on the advice from a specialist doctor. Alexander was working with the deaf at that time. It was through his contacts that a private tutor was eventually engaged to coach Helen.

She was none other than Anne Sullivan. At that time, Anne Sullivan had just graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston and the offer to be Hellen’s private tutor was like rain in the drought as she had been trying to find work for a long time. Suffering from poor eyesight herself, Anne saw in Hellen what others couldn’t. To her, she was like just any other girl. Anne tried to control Hellen’s bad behaviour and correct her table manners. Instead of allowing her to grab food with her bare hands off other people’s plates, she would train her to eat with a fork sitting down. She would also make her brush her own hair. Those attempts often led to more protests and tantrums from the young girl, causing Anne to lose her 2 front teeth in the first week. At the same time, Anne was teaching Helen finger spelling by writing individual letters onto the girl’s hand. Although Helen could repeat these hand movements, she didn’t really understood what those meant.

One fine day in April 5, 1887, all that changed. Anne led Hellen down the path to the well house, held her hand under a running water pump and wrote the words w-a-t-e-r on her palms. As the cool stream gushed against her hands, Hellen felt a sudden awareness as the mystery of language unveiled in her new founded consciousness. Anne was immediately asked to spell the name of the pump and many other objects Hellen touched in the path, including her own name. By the end of the day, Helen had already learned 30 new words. 3 months later, she picked up 300. As Anne and Hellen’s bond grew, friends, family and even neighbours were greatly astonished at the change in that young lady, calling it a “miracle”. It was not long before news of her accomplishments spread across the country that she got to visit many famous personalities such as Alexander Graham Bell (again) and president Grover Cleveland. By the time she was 12, Hellen was world famous, with renowned people such as England’s Queen Victoria, Mark Twain, Queen Olga of Greece etc openly declaring their admiration for the young lady’s spirit. By 1890, she was living at Perkins Institute, being taught by Anne and spending several winters. During her stay there, she learned ferociously and picked up knowledge not only pertaining to her own language but also in Greek, French and Latin. She also aspired to attend college and intentionally did her high school education in Cambridge so that she could be physically near her dream school, Radcliffe, the sister college to Harvard. Despite her disabilities, Hellen dared herself to take up a lot of adventures such as horse riding, cycling, swimming and even camping that any other able bodied person would take up. She expressed controversial political thoughts in her essays, went up to the vaudeville stage to demonstrate her first understanding of the word ‘water’ and answer questions fielded by the audience on her struggles, with Anne acting as her interpreter.

In 1918, after she moved to Forest Hills in New York, Helen started on her extensive fund raising campaigns for the American Foundation for the Blind using her new home as a base. In the process she traveled around the world, visiting many famous personalities such as the Emperor of Japan, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill etc, effectively helping to raise public awareness on the issues faced by the disabled. Anne died in 1936. To commemorate the death of her friend, Hellen started to work on Anne’s biography, only to lose it to a fire in 1946 when it was almost completed. She rewrote it again and in 1955, published “Teacher : Anne Sullivan Macy”. On June 1, 1968, after Hellen died peacefully in her sleep, she was buried next to Anne at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.”

Hellen Keller had a most frightful dark cave in life, one she would not have entered if given the choice, but since it was the lot given her in life, she chose to play with the hand dealt her and because of that she won, even with odds stacked against her, giving her the treasure that many of us also seek and desire: self-actualization.

I recall the quote “If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars” by Rabindranath Tagore. Instead of running away from dark caves and heavy crosses, why not try to enter and embrace them? Yes, we may be filled with fear and trembling, but may we also hold on to the grace of awe and fascination for therein lies the promise of the greatest treasure - the Light to guide us, the One who will save us. Instead of sulking and crying because we may feel that life is so unfair, let us not let our tears get in the way of beholding Him who holds us in the palm of His crucified hands.

It is true what the world, through Friedrich Nietzsche, tells us that, “that which does not kill us makes us stronger.” It is even more true what we affirm with our faith that, that which kills us will make us the strongest. It is in embracing the cross, in dying to ourselves, that we find the greatest treasure, He who gives life.