Saturday, November 07, 2009

AHHH!! POLAR BEAR!!! :DDDDDDDDD

@5.15pm


Learning about the essence of being Christian - Being loved
The nine faces of God

Significant people play a creative role in us by accepting the weakness and waywardness, seeing beyond these to all the good in us.

The good they affirm by appreciating all that we are and encouraging all that we may become. They ask us to believe in their love for us and to believe in ourselves as loved and lovable.

So significant people reflect back to us who we are and all that we mean to them. They put us in touch with a very positive image of ourselves and in this way make and sustain us in life.

This conviction is central to the Bible and expressed by Jesus in a variety of ways. For example, he says what makes us fully alive is our belief in the Good News that we are loved by God and are the constant objects of His care (John 5:24).

As well as making us fully alive, love is, in the view of the Bible, what makes us happy. After Jesus has told us that He loves us in exactly the same way as the Father has loved Him, He goes on to say:

I have told you these things that my joy may be in you and that your happiness may be complete (John 15:11).

It is our capacity to blind ourselves to this Good News, and to the fullness of life and happiness it can generate in us, that caused Jesus to weep when He saw how this basic human tragedy affected people:

As He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, "If only you knew the things that are for your peace. But now they are hid from your eyes" (Luke 19:41-42).

@2.00am
Friday, November 06, 2009

B.

@12.14pm
Thursday, November 05, 2009

Heaven on earth.. I've been thinking a little bit more of the significance of this recently, especially because of what we're learning in the study of the Book of Revelation.

"heaven and earth are full of Your glory"

"now today You reign in heaven and earth exalted"

"on earth as it is in heaven"

At mass, we're literally seeing what's going on in heaven, at the exact same time. So to answer Margaret's question "what's heaven like?" from some time ago, it is what we experience in the liturgy, except 12000x better.. Mass is a sneak preview, the closest we get to heaven.

It's rather reassuring to remember that that we're living heaven right now in our everyday lives. It's quite a difficult thing to recognise at times, but when I think about the things I struggle with, I realise: who am I to complain about such trivialities..? When John wrote about the apocalypse he was bringing comfort to people who were going through far tougher times. I feel silly! And yet, such is the subjective reality which I construct. Wow. Thank goodness for the promise of heaven.

@4.59pm


Just had another nice breakfast.. enjoying the good weather as well. I'm not feeling as lethargic as I was yesterday cos I had a reallyy early night last night.. went to bed at 10.45pm. Before that I had gone for a run in the perfect evening, watched some TV with my family, and played some piano. Looking forward to a similar evening.

@8.30am
Tuesday, November 03, 2009

It's mid-week12 already.. Tutorials finish this week, and lectures the following. It only really hit me today after my final SW2105 tutorial ended.

Speaking of SW2105.. I've found myself feeling a little disappointed at the realisation that the two lecturers whom I thought were Catholic aren't Catholic after all. I also noted a bit of defensiveness on my part when a guest lecturer suggested that the difference between Indian Catholics and Indian Protestants is that the former practice Catholicism on top of their Hindi rites, whereas an Indian Protestant converts totally and immerses the self into the faith. I wonder whether these feelings stem from some insecurity on my part. I've been learning so much from Tuesday bible studies and yet I'm not really that confident of going out and talking to other people about all that I've learnt at the moment. And so this terrible tension emerges from within, as I'm unable to share my acquired knowledge of the faith which I believe so strongly in.

Yesterday's MM session was good for me, though. I've been struggling so much with myself with regards to the extent I'm allowing grades and intellectual ability in general to affect my sense of self-worth. But the session reminded me that it's not the absolute ability which counts, but how much we give for love of others.. It's difficult to accept, but comforting to know. I went to school this morning with the thought in mind, and rejoiced at how wonderful it felt to have the faith permeate every aspect of my life. Yet I can't shake the feeling that I'm not doing enough off.

@12.36am