“PURITY of heart, then, is the miracle-worker’s greatest engine of wealth creation.” – Marianne Williamson, The Law of Divine Compensation, 2012.
The New Pope Francis
As the Lenten season progresses, reflection among Catholics intensify.
With the selection of Pope Francis (who was named after Francis Xavier, one of the pioneering Jesuits), the energy of Catholics has soared.
For one, Argentines share how Pope Francis wears shoes with holes in them, while saying Mass in Argentina.
He does not care for new leather shoes and prefers to ride with his countrymen in public buses and subways.
It sends a message that a papal leader is now within access of the general public and spurs us, Catholics, to make a pilgrimage to Rome to see the Holy Father.
IHMC’s pastors
It is the same feeling I get when I visit the rectory of my parish in Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.
Here, Fr. Camilo Pacanza prepares food and washes dishes in the rectory’s kitchen before preparing for Mass.
It is the same feeling I get when I observe Fr. Rodel Balagtas cooking simple Kapampangan recipes from his mother. The simplicity of the meals he prepares contrasts with the richness of his community connections with choir members and parishioners.
It feels like an open door that ushers me to my God and yours, for God’s representatives on earth mirror the divine qualities we read about Jesus’ life on earth.
Prayer, reflection and meditation
Just like any Catholic, I pray to connect and to be plugged in to the Universe that Marianne Williamson describes as “like a house wired for electricity, but too often we’re like unplugged lamps. Prayer is the way we plug in to the divine, aligning our thinking with the love that infuses all things.”
Stricken with allergies during the week before Lent, I got to see SuperSoul Sunday with Oprah and Deepak Chopra on OWN’s Television Network.
They joined forces in starting a 21-day of meditation and their collaboration produced a movement of over 650,000 folks who have joined them, including me.
Prayers are our conversations with our God, and meditation in silence allows STILLNESS (aka God’s presence) to permeate us, to envelope us, to embrace us.
Deepak Chopra even described how he went into a weeklong vacation with his wife, which was marked by meditation, prayer and complete silence.
I wondered if I could mirror even a bit of that stillness felt during meditation.
The 21-day meditation process and ordinary gifts of life
By the 11th day into the process, I noticed a difference.
I saw more joy in the ordinariness of life — the juice that my husband diligently prepares for me, the special favors that friends extend to me, just because they are thoughtful, loving, considerate and God’s bountiful blessings.
I realize a special blessing, of living a life as a beloved child of God.
I write and cook meals for two daily. On Saturdays, I include a friend and an octogenarian neighbor.
A full plate of blueberry hotcakes, applewood smoked bacon and maple syrup comes back filled with lemons and tomatoes.
The other day, Janet Nepales invited me and my husband to join her at a special screening and a cocktail reception.
It was an evening of joy and special conversations — ones that stayed in my heart.
We got into discussions of spirituality and depths of faith’s experiences she had with her parents, her family and her daughters.
What I liked is how she was described as ‘an angel of little lights,’ which is really who we are — descendants of divinity, carved uniquely, with a special purpose of being of service to others.
I liked hearing her stories about the early days of journalism — days when there were no computers nor digital cameras, and when the tedious layout was done by a typesetter, with meticulous cutting and pasting of headlines and column inches.
It was a discussion of what we cherish, of what we say hallelujah for — our blessings in life.
One day, my friend Carmen laughed so hard with me, as we recalled our daily adventures in life. She narrated how she mentored folks all around her to be polite, to be respectful in customer service.
Before we ended our conversation, I talked to her about my wish to do the Spanish Steps, the Camino de Santiago, the Way. She said: “Don’t forget to look for Otep”, the father of Lara, an elementary school student at May Isang Pangarap , a teleserye on ABS-CBN.
We laughed so hard, as we love good teleseryes, looking for life lessons in typical human conditions.
I love this meme shared by Alma Anonas-Carpio: “Laugh so hard that even sorrow smiles at you. Fight so strong that even fate accepts defeat. Love so true that even hatred walks out of the way. And live life so well that even death loves to see you exist.”
One of the lessons I learned this Lenten Season is to live life with grace, without easing God out (EGO) of my life.
While I know now that darkness can be projected on my life, I am surrounded by spirit-conscious friends, who tell me that I should not allow such poison to permeate nor toxify my heart.
So, I pray, meditate and visit my pastors at IHMC to derive lessons from them, and my joyful friends who live not just for themselves, but in service of others. I stay in service of others. This way, God lights my path, as I am influenced to stay in the light!
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Prosy Abarquez-Delacruz, J.D. is a parishioner of the 100-year-old Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, which starts its new chapter of 101 years. She retired as regional administrator from the California Department of Public Health, a state agency, after 27 years. She served as a Commissioner of Civil Service and LA Convention Center for LA City municipal government for 3 years. 2013 is her 5th year of writing for Asian Journal, including Balikbayan Magazine. She enjoys exploring national parks in the USA and other countries, like Costa Rica.
