The Love of God - Valentines ´09

Our community have spent the weekend in Calahonda, a town near Motril in the Province of Granada. It was meant for the students to be relaxe...

Our community have spent the weekend in Calahonda, a town near Motril in the Province of Granada. It was meant for the students to be relaxed after a month-long exams and also for the two of us, Victor and I as we end our Spanish language class. We arrived at the rest house on Friday night.
 The following day, the community decided to take a beach walk. While walking, my attention was called by a scene that you can see in the foto to the left. A father and son. I was amazed at the sight and began recalling my memories about my own biological father, asking myself if we ever had the chance to do same things like this father. I felt sad because I never had this kind of experience but on the other hand I felt happy for the child because he had his loving father with him, in the sea shore, lying under the sun, together, and ON VALENTINES DAY! The psychological stuffs surfaced when I saw this "father and son." But aside from that psychological stuff that surfaced, I felt touched and felt the presence of God. I believe that I saw an image of the loving God. I was reminded of the WYD 95 theme "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son." Right after that I started to smile and I said to myself, this is a picture of how God loves us and began theologizing thinking imagining that this is an icon of the Trinity. It was perhaps the spirit that touched my heart and caught my attention of this beautiful scene. (O baka naman i just would like to have a son too. Hehehehehe)
 God was present in the waves, in the waters of the sea, in the multinumbers of the sand, in the sand, in the air, in the rocks, in the birds that were flying beneath us, in every person that I have met there, and i thank God for manifesting himself through his creation, through human nature.

The following day we attended mass at the nearby parish. I was asked to read the second reading. It was my first time to do that in public so far (in spanish of course). What surprised me afterwards, while i was standing outside the church after the mass, is that a mother unexpectedly approached me. She had 2 children, I supose, a boy and a girl. She handed me a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and I did know what to do or how to react. The first question that came into my mind "is she asking me to pray over the statue" coz she was just staring at me and did not speak immediately. So I placed over my hands and began praying. Then she said, "No." (in spanish) This is for you to keep. But please pray for me and for my family. Please pray for my brother who is so poor. I want you to pray to our Blessed Mother." In other words she was asking me to intercede for her. She is asking me to ask the Blessed intercede for her. Who am I to do this? I am not worthy to intercede for other people. But anyway, I promised to pray for her and I would like to ask you, you who is reading my blog right now to also pray for her, for her family, and her brothers/sisters who are suffering poverty, hunger, etc. Unfortunately i was not able to get her name. And I guess I would not be able to know who she was or who they were.
For me, that experience was profound and I believe that I was not just asked to pray for her in particular but to pray for those who are in need. I believe that this experience is telling me to pray to the Blessed Mother always and help in the salvation of souls. I believe that this woman had sanctified me and had made me holy. I believe that she had reminded me of that which i have during Valentines day, the day before this Sunday is true. God is not just in nature, in others but God is deep within me too. God´s presence in ourselves enables us to help others, to nourish others, to love others, to pray for others, to constantly recognize God in everybody.
This past two days, i have seen a "father and a child" a "mother with children." I have seen God right in front of me. I have seen love. And I am being asked to LOVE in a way that I can. I impart to you this heartfelt journey that I had this weekend. May God Bless you. Be reminded that God is in you. So continue doing good even if others do bad to you. Start doing good if you had not been good these days. God´s love is forever as you are.