Abounding in Kindness

 

1. prayer

Help me to live your goodness and kindness each day. Remind me that my actions express who I am even more than my words. May I love as you love. Let me be good to those who wish me harm, forgive those who need forgiveness, and reach out in kindness to all I meet so they can experience the unconditional love of God.

2. meditation 

https://youtu.be/pitV-DlcrcE?si=Iykjub1Dm4Vfrvsx

3  song

https://youtu.be/BbXjgwDHNpQ?si=bQDYaUTDs3ifJaBg

4. Narrative

Abounding in Kindness

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Theologian Elizabeth Johnson summarizes the prophetic path as following a merciful God who abounds in kindness:

Abounding in kindness, the holy mystery of God is love beyond imagining. Not enough people seem to know this, even those who practice the Christian religion. But the drumbeat of this good news resounds throughout the history of ancient Israel where, from the start of their liberation from slavery, people encountered “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). The drumbeat becomes unmistakably intense in Jesus Christ who preached and enacted divine compassion in startling ways, all the way to the cross and beyond. Its volume ramps up in the church wherever this word is heard and practiced amid the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of people of this age.

This is not a word that returns to its Maker empty. Working creatively for peace amid horrific violence; struggling for justice in the face of massive poverty and military oppression; advocating ecological wholeness for the earth’s life-giving systems and stressed-out species; educating the young and the old; healing the sick and comforting those in despair; creating beauty; taking joy in nourishing children; promoting freedom for captives: the list could go on because the needs are enormous. Even a simple cup of cold water given in Christ’s name symbolizes how the abounding kindness of God becomes effective in this world. [1]

For Johnson, God’s compassion and solidarity for those who are suffering requires us to show the same:

If the heart of divine mystery is turned in compassion toward the world, then devotion to this God draws persons into the shape of divine communion with all others: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). To deny one’s connection with the suffering needs of others is to detach oneself from divine communion.

The praxis of mercy is propelled by this dynamic. So too is committed work on behalf of peace, human rights, economic justice, and the transformation of social structures. For those who engage in this work out of deep contemplative experience, it is far from mere activism or simple good deeds. Rather, solidarity with those who suffer, being there with commitment to their flourishing, is the locus of encounter with the living God. Through what is basically a prophetic stance, one shares in the passion of God for the world.…

The preferential option for the poor must now include the vulnerable, voiceless, nonhuman species and the ravaged natural world itself, all of which are kin to humankind. Loving these neighbors as their very selves, committed religious persons develop moral principles, political structures, and lifestyles that promote other creatures’ thriving and halt their exploitation. For the prophetic passion flowing from contemplative insight, action on behalf of justice for the earth participates in the compassionate care of the Creator God who wills the glorious well-being of the whole interdependent community of life. [2]

References:

[1] Elizabeth A. Johnson, introduction to Abounding in Kindness: Writings for the People of God (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2015), viii.

[2] Johnson, Abounding in Kindness, 47–48.

5  meditation 

https://youtu.be/c8n3LtQygEc?si=WVfdc2Q-HfYhv_Fy

6  sharing

7  prayers and intentions 

Dear God, I come before you today with a humble heart and a desire to be more like you. Fill me with your Spirit of kindness and compassion so that I may be a light to those around me. Help me to remember Philippians 2:3 as I go about my day. Remind me to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but to value others above myself.

Lord, I know that kindness is not always easy, especially when I encounter difficult people or situations. I pray that you would give me the strength and wisdom to respond with grace and love. May I be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

I also ask that you would help me to see the needs of those around me. Sometimes people are hurting, and they don’t know how to ask for help. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear so that I can be a source of comfort and support to those in need.

As I go about my day, I pray that you would help me to be intentional about showing kindness to others. Whether it’s a smile, a kind word, or a simple act of service, may I be a reflection of your love and grace.

Finally, Lord, I ask that you would bless me with a heart of gratitude. Help me to recognize the blessings in my life and to be thankful for them. May my gratitude overflow into acts of kindness and generosity toward others.

Thank you, God, for your love and grace. I pray that you would help me to be more like you each day. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

8  song  

https://youtu.be/T5Y8s-Sz_ac?si=0rkHP5-G_tVwd5LB

paula's prayer meeting 10/9/2024

 https://youtu.be/mEDcKZB7r2A?si=k-DEDJLBKb-upw8g

Below is the book from which the prayer above was taken.  It is available in Amazon.

Legacy

 

Lesson in life passed 

on. To fish to live and find

joy. Togetherness. 

Gochujang Tofu

 

Easy recipe to make and highly satisfying. 

Gochujang Tofu

14- 16 oz extra firm tofu drained and cut into cubes

Sauce

1 tbsp Cornstarch 

2 tbsp gochujang 

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon syrup

Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl 

Place tofu cubes in a skillet. Pour sauce over tofu and heat the mixture at medium heat. 

 Serve over cooked rice. 

Unagi-Style Eggplant

 

Unagi Style Eggplant 

1 medium eggplant

2 tbsp soy sauce 

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp rice wine or sake

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

Rice

Green onions, sliced

Sesame seeds

Line a plate with wet paper towel. Cut off stem of the eggplant. Cut the eggplant into 4 slices. Place on a plate lined with wet paper towel.  Sprinkle water on top of eggplant.  Cover with a paper towel.  Microwave for five minutes.

Add the sauce ingredients in a bowl.  Mix till sugar is dissolved.  

Place the eggplants in a skillet.  Pour sauce to the eggplant snd baste them with sauce under medium heat until sauce is absorbed.

Serve over rice, sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.  

Coconut Rice Chex Bites

 

Coconut Rice Chex Bites

1 banana smashed

6 dates chopped finely

1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes 

2 cups Rice Chex crushed coarsely 

Mix all the ingredients. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes Shape into balls. 

Charming Baras

 

The most charming place I visited during my last trip in the Philippines is Baras Rizal.  The sightseeing tour of this small town was part of the activities in the multi site APAMS meeting. It was organized by the Rizal System University in Morong Rizal which hosted the first place of this extensive meeting. The other places where the meeting was held were UPLB, Los Banos Rizal, Batangas State University and Eastern Visayas University in Tacloban, Leyte  

UPLB

Batangas State University 

At the end of the meeting at RSU,  we were driven to the municipal building of Baras where we were met by two wonderful guides.  We transferred to a bus furnished by the municipality of Baras.   Our first stop was a magnificent church in the neighboring town of Morong Rizal.  The church is St. Jerome Parish Church which is also known as Morong Church.  Built in 1620, it is one of the oldest churches around Laguna Lake.  Note the beautiful facade and bell tower and its overwhelming number of steps. 

.

I carefully went up the steps of the church holding to my husband Bob's hand for support.  Inside, we were greeted with many religious figures that one finds in most churches in the Philippines.  Among them is the statue of Jesus lying in a display case after his death.  An elegantly clad Blessed Mother was in another part of the church.  Beside the altar is the statue of St. Jerome himself.  He is shown with a lion since it was claimed that he has tamed a lion by curing its paw. 

We were then treated to a merienda (food break) consisting of Barbecued Plaintain doused with syrup and Banana egg rolls or turon.  I have been hankering for these delicious sweets since I have arrived in the Philippines but those available in the streets where I stayed at my brother's place were considered not too sanitary.    Too bad I did not take pictures of these awesome desserts but I obtained photos online, as shown below. 

What made the break even more enjoyable was it was at the serene Kasarinlan park of this town.  I love seeing children fishing with their parent in the fish pond.  In the back of the fish pond you can see people fishing leisurely without any cares in the world.  I actually picture these scenes on days I want to be relaxed.

The next stop was another church, St. Joseph Parish.  The Franciscans started to build the church in 1595.  It is one of the oldest churches in Rizal, and was completed in 1686.  The Jesuits administered the parish from 1616 to 1679. The altar and lectern were constructed with stones that were unearthed from beneath the site of the church. These stones were left as they are and not plastered or painted.

Most of us went up the steps at the side of the altar that leads to the statue of St Joseph. I was too tired to climb the steps but my husband did. 

When we were outside the church we saw a group of children who were eating their lunch. When I found out they were members of the children’s choir, I requested them to sing. They obliged by singing the the Our Father guided by their choir leader. I took the video of them singing and can be viewed in the link below. 

https://youtu.be/72vRVPIbU6o

We visited other places in Baras but these ones stood out the most for their serene charm. I would like to thank the two wonderful guides, RSU and the municipality of Batas Rizal. 

Embracing the present moment

 1.  Prayer

A Prayer to Savor the Moment

O Holy God, Loving Jesus, Blessing Spirit

You have made everything for its own time.

Help me open the gift of this moment,

A present from your heart to mine.

Draw my soul to your presence,

Grace me with acceptance for what is,

Bend my will to be present in the present,

Release my urge to control,

Unclutter my mind, quiet my spirit.

You are all I need in this moment.

As I see your beauty in this time,

I feel your eternity in my heart.

Amen

2.  Meditation

https://youtu.be/xr_H18UcQCo?si=GBUa2S-5NNb-QRnv

3.  Song

https://youtu.be/jYrx5nYjLhc?si=kqZegsWcCliylbLW

4.  Narrative

Monday, November 20, 2017

Most religious people I’ve met—from sincere laypeople to priests and nuns—still imagine God to be elsewhere. Before you can take the “now” seriously, you must shift from thinking of God as “out there” to also knowing God “in here.” In fact, that is the best access point! Only inner experience can bring about a healing of the human-divine split.

Transformation comes by realizing your union with God right here, right now—regardless of any performance or achievement on your part. That is the core meaning of grace. But you have to knowthis for yourself. No one can do this knowing for you. I could tell you that God is not elsewhere and heaven is not later, but until you come to personally and regularly experience that, you will not believe it.

Authentic Christianity overcame the “God-is-elsewhere” idea in at least two major and foundational ways. Through the Incarnation, God in Jesus became flesh; God visibly moved in with the material world to help us overcome the illusion of separation (John 1:14). Secondly, God as Holy Spirit, is precisely known as an indwelling and vitalizing presence. By itself, intellectual assent to these two truths does little. The Incarnation and Indwelling Spirit are known only through participation and practice, when you actively draw upon such Infinite Sources. “Use it or lose it!”

Good theology helps us know that we can fully trust the “now” because of the Incarnation and the Spirit within us. It’s like making love. We can’t be fully intimate with someone who is physically absent or through vague, amorphous energy; we need close, concrete, particular connections. That’s how our human brains are wired.

Jesus teaches and is himself a message of now-ness, here-ness, concreteness, and this-ness. The only time Jesus talks about future time is when he tells us not to worry about it (see Matthew 6:25-34). Don’t worry about times and seasons, don’t worry about when God will return, don’t worry about tomorrow. Thinking about the future keeps us in our heads, far from presence. Jesus talks about the past in terms of forgiving it. Some say forgiveness is central to his whole message. Jesus tells us to hand the past over to the mercy and action of God. We do not need to keep replaying the past, atoning for it, or agonizing about it.

Yet, as practitioners of meditation have discovered, the mind can only do two things: replay the past and plan or worry about the future. The mind is always bored in the present. So it must be trained to stop running backward and forward. This is the role of contemplation.

Gateway to Silence:
God is right here right now.

Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Living the Eternal Now (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2005), CD, MP3 download.

In the realm of time, so swiftly passing,
Life’s brevity, it leaves us gasping,
An internal clock, ticking away,
A countdown to seize each moment, each day.

There’s dreams to chase, places to explore,
People to love, yet unknown, for sure,
Memories waiting to be etched in our hearts,
Photos to capture, future joys to impart.

Sometimes it feels like a burden, a weight,
Anxiety creeping, our minds in a state,
But let’s remember, dear reader, today is here,
This moment, right now, let it be clear.

The future may beckon, with dreams yet to come,
But let’s not forget, where we stand, where we’re from,
For today is where our power lies,
In the memories we make, the love we’ll devise.

So let’s slow down, embrace the now,
Not stuck in the future, we’ll allow,
Our feet to be grounded, our heads held high,
In this present moment, let our spirits fly.

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is yet to be,
But today, dear reader, is where we’re free,
To make the most of each precious day,
Spreading love, kindness, along the way.

So keep your head where your feet are planted,
In the now, let life be enchanted,
For life is too short, a fleeting chance,
Embrace the present, in this joyful dance.

Hope you liked the poem.

Dancing Elephant author Kennedie post beautifully expresses the journey of rediscovering the joy of life, building relationships, and embracing new experiences. Read on to understand the blessing of having a sisterhood.

5.  Meditation

https://youtu.be/p3CzxrSQGcQ?si=IIdKIlD9S6M0siv8

6.  Sharing

7.  Prayer and Intentions

Vessel of grace-
throughout your brief journey
you entered every moment of life
and embraced it completely-
knowing it was there
that you would encounter the face of God.

You trusted in
Divine protection,
Holy guidance,
and graced nourishment

-just for today-
recognizing that the present
is the only place

where God can be revealed.

How much of my own time is wasted
outside of God’s shade,
worrying about yesterday
and planning for tomorrow.

Release me from these anxieties
and my own need to control…
Free my soul to fly with the Spirit
in each breath that I take,
reminding me that all I have is NOW!

8.  Song

https://youtu.be/9MoLLtZIxdE?si=uoWRsyTCDrV-UiOC