misa de gallo

every year i attend the misa de gallo and usually i go to nine different churches for each day. this year, however, i limited my church goings to two: my school's chapel (about 15mins drive away) and the church near my house.
i guess this was a better option because the sermons were "connected" more rather than when i go to different churches. each year, the gospels are the same but the realizations are different/added upon.

so what have i learned?

interconnection

we are all connected in God. people may not know that, people may not like that but we are one family. we are God's family and may we never cut that off.
Do not let go of God even when others have. Hold God with one hand, grip the other person with your other hand.

letting God work himself in and through us.

Why is it so hard to listen to God? To know what he wants for us? Easy. It's because people are spoiled. When someone is spoiled, it makes it harder for the person to listen to someone else. A spoiled person enjoys immediate gratification. S/he does not know how to wait for something (even someone) s/he wants. A spoiled heart can no longer listen to God. That's why it is important for everyone to practice discipline. Delay the gratification a little bit. For when you wait for something (or someone), that something (or someone) becomes more meaningful. It's easy to take something (someone) for granted when you got it just as easy.

change.

change is good. change for the better, that is. let us not be content with just being "okay". we can always work on being better, being the best. everything for God's glory.

patience

people these days do not have this virtue anymore. in a world of fast food, fast wifi, fast everything, people tend to want everything, right now. that's even true with prayers. people want results fast. God's delays are not GOd's denials. Sometimes we just have to wait. God will never give us what's less for us.

taking a deeper look at things/persons

image is a big thing nowadays. we are caught by appearances that we forget to look deeper. we tend to shun what's "ugly", what's "not in" and fall for the "beautiful/cool" ones. we forget that image is just the tip of the iceberg. a person is more than just his/her face. we should dig deeper coz when we do that, me just might find a more beautiful person underneath.

hope

we Pinoys have plenty of this. we always seem to find the positive in whatever negative that comes our way. With hope, we can face the darkness. Miracles do happen.

being a light for others

Jesus is the light of the world. we should also be lights in our own ways. in order to be a light for others, we must be light persons - have a light heart, a light disposition.

love

the best way to celebrate Christmas is not through the giving of material gifts but of our presence, our love - making our loved ones feel and know that we are there for them.

that's my aguinaldo post for this year.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!