Dhikr for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (B)

Readings: Is. 61: 1-2. 10-11; 1Thes. 5: 16-24; Jn. 1: 6-8. 19-28
Text: He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' * as Isaiah the prophet said." (John 1: 23)

Meditation: The call is to ‘make straight the way of the Lord’. Often, we miss the coming of the Lord into our lives, because of the ‘hardness’ of our hearts…

Dhikr Prayer Method…

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…
2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips.
3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

Advent Reflection on John the Baptist

The Church is like John the Baptizer; it’s like the body of Jesus. The body of Jesus had to die for the coming of the Kingdom; John the Baptizer had to point beyond himself to the Kingdom. The Church is not an end in itself; the Church is a means. The Kingdom is the end. And whenever we make the means into the end, we have created an idol. It is the major sin in the Bible—maybe the only one. (Richard Rohr, OFM)

Cultural & Religious Dialogue

Papal Message on Cultural and Religious Dialogue
"Address the Great Challenges That Mark the Post-Modern Age"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the message Benedict XVI sent to the presidents of the pontifical councils for interreligious dialogue and culture on the occasion of the Dec. 4 study day on "Cultures and Religions in Dialogue." The Holy See published the message today.

* * *
To Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran
President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
And
Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi
President of the Pontifical Council for Culture

I desire first of all to express my heartfelt satisfaction for the joint initiative of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Pontifical Council for Culture, which organized a Day of Study dedicated to the theme: "Cultures and Religions in Dialogue," as the Holy See's participation in the European Union's initiative, approved in December 2006, to declare 2008 "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue." Together with the presidents of the aforementioned pontifical councils, I cordially greet the cardinals, my venerated brothers in the episcopate, the most excellent members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, as well as the representatives of the various religions participants in this significant meeting.

For many years now Europe has been conscious of its essential cultural unity, despite the constellation of national cultures that have shaped it. It is good to underline: Contemporary Europe, peering into the third millennium, is the fruit of two millennia of civilization. The latter sinks its roots both in the enormous and ancient patrimony of Athens and Rome, as well as above all in the fruitful terrain of Christianity, which has revealed itself capable of creating new cultural patrimonies receiving the original contribution of each civilization.

The new humanism, which arose from the spread of the evangelical message, exalts all the elements worthy of the human person and his transcendent vocation, purifying them from the dross that obfuscates the genuine face of mankind created in the image and likeness of God. Thus, Europe appears to us today as a precious fabric, whose weave is made up of the principles and values of the Gospel, while the national cultures have been able to address an immense variety of perspectives which manifest the religious, intellectual, technical, scientific and artistic capacities of "Homo Europeus." In this connection, we can state that Europe has had and still has a cultural influence on the totality of the human species, and cannot fail to feel particularly responsible not only for its own future, but also that of the whole of humanity.

In the present context, in which ever more frequently our contemporaries ask themselves essential questions on the meaning of life and its value, it seems more important than ever to reflect on the ancient roots from which has flowed an abundant sap for centuries. Intercultural and interreligious dialogue emerges as a priority for the European Union and is of interest transversally to the sectors of culture and communication, of education and science, of migrations and minorities, youth and labor.

Once diversity is received as a positive fact, it is necessary to make persons accept not only the existence of the other's culture, but also the desire to be enriched with it. Addressing Catholics, my predecessor, the Servant of God Paul VI, enunciated his profound conviction in these terms: "The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which she lives. The Church becomes world, the Church becomes message, the Church becomes conversation" ("Ecclesiam Suam," No. 67).

We live in what is usually called a "plural world," characterized by the speed of communications, the mobility of peoples and their economic, political and cultural interdependence. Precisely in this, perhaps dramatic hour, though unfortunately many Europeans seem to forget Europe's Christian roots, the latter are alive and should trace the path and nourish the hope of millions of citizens who share the same values.

Believers should always be willing to promote initiatives of intercultural and interreligious dialogue, to stimulate collaboration on topics of mutual interest, such as the dignity of the human person, the quest for the common good, the building of peace and development. With this intention, the Holy See wished to give particular relevance to its own participation in high-level dialogue on understanding between religions and cultures and on cooperation for peace, in the framework of the 62nd U.N. General Assembly (Oct. 4-5, 2007). To be authentic, dialogue must avoid yielding to relativism and syncretism and be animated by sincere respect for others and by a generous spirit of reconciliation and fraternity.

I encourage all those dedicated to the building of a friendly and sympathetic Europe ever more faithful to its roots and, in particular, I exhort believers to contribute not only to zealously protecting the cultural and spiritual heritage that distinguishes them and forms an integral part of their history, but also to commit themselves increasingly to seek new ways to adequately address the great challenges that mark the post-modern age. Among these, I limit myself to mention the defense of man's life in all its phases, the safeguarding of all the rights of the person and the family, the construction of a just and sympathetic world, respect of creation, and intercultural and interreligious dialogue. In this perspective, I wish for the success of the study day planned and invoke on all the participants the abundant blessings of God.

In the Vatican, Dec. 3, 2008
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

The Language of Power vs. the Language of Dialogue...

The world speaks a language that often characterized by power relations and domination. This language divides, separates, discriminates and oppresses peoples. There is, yet another language that people now long to speak. This is the language of dialogue. Here we are speaking of specific dialogue, an inter-religious dialogue where we come and meet as persons of faith and identified with a religious community. Inter-religious dialogue is relatively new in our contemporary world. There are no ready-made rules on how to conduct this kind of dialogue yet there are experiences that may guide and help us as we continue to journey on this unfamiliar and still largely un-charted road.

The first lesson in inter-religious dialogue is the honest and sincere openness to understand and grow in our perception of realities and the “other” and then the willingness to act accordingly. Often time, we were schooled to define realties and the “other” on our terms and language. We engage in an inter-religious dialogue so that we can learn, grow and understand what my dialogue partner believes and cherishes - their fears and aspirations.

The second lesson is the recognition and respect that each partner in dialogue shows in the articulation and self-definition as well as the meaning of belonging to a faith-community.

The communication and self-revelation take place in an environment of TRUST and genuine search for common grounds of fellowship while respecting our diversities and integrity of our faith traditions.

These common grounds are discovered in our faith commitments resulting from our critique of the earth and the relationships between and among peoples, communities and nations. Partners in dialogue become aware of being “stakeholders” as well as participants in the drama and tragedies of communities that we are. In other circle, this level of dialogue is called “dialogue of action”.

(Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, OMI – Badaliyya Philippines)

Dhikr for the 2nd Sunday of Advent (B)

(The readings - Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8)

Text: A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'" John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1: 3-4)

Like John the Baptizer we prepare for the coming of the Lord. He comes in events and moments we least expect… And how do we prepare for his coming into our lives…?

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...
Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:
Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ.
Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips.
Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

Herald of the Messiah

Always pointing beyond himself, ready to get out of the way, finally beheaded by the powers that be, John the Baptizer represents the kind of liberation and the kind of prophecy that we need in our affluent culture.

He is not just free from the system, he is amazingly free from himself. These are the only prophets God can use, the only prophets we can trust.

John the Baptizer seems to tell us that the desert is the only place bare enough, empty enough to mirror our own motives and disguises.

The desert is the prophet to the prophet.

(Richard Rohr, OFM)

The Heart of the Soul

by Dorothy C. Buck

In 858 A.D. the Sufi mystic al-Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj was born in Persia. In 922 A.D. he was accused of violating Islamic law and, after imprisonment and torture, he was executed for blasphemy. The legend of this mystic/martyr of Islam has been kept alive throughout the Muslim world in ritual and prayer. Persian and Turkish mystical poets have told and re-told his story in diverse literary forms and the poet Rumi used the Hallajian themes. Members of Sufi orders today refer to al-Hallaj as a true disciple of divine love.

In his travels as a mendicant preacher and spiritual master, al-Hallaj tried to lead his followers ever more deeply into the reality of the human soul toward ultimate unity with the divine. His writings passionately described divine love as he sought to lose himself in God (Massignon 1983, 2:198): You infuse my heart with consciousness as You infuse bodies with souls.

One of the most compelling themes from al-Hallaj's devotional doctrine is that of the Virgin Heart, which refers to the secret place in the center of the human soul where God alone has access. Al-Hallaj stated (Massignon 1989, 133): Our hearts are one single Virgin, which the dream of no dreamer can penetrate ... which only the presence of the Lord penetrates in order to be conceived therein.

In 1907 Louis Massignon, a young Frenchman, became interested in the life of al-Hallaj, traveling to Iraq as an archeologist, in pursuit of the Hallajian legend. Al-Hallaj soon became the subject of Massignon's doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Massignon's passionate search for sources on al-Hallaj's life, doctrine, and legend led him on a fifty-year journey of research and writing. Most profound, however, was his own experience of al-Hallaj, which Massignon felt contributed to his own spiritual conversion to Catholicism. Massignon (1883-1962) was a renowned Orientalist of his time. Not only was he a distinguished professor at the prestigious College de France, but he also served as the French cultural ambassador to the Near East. An advocate of Islamic-Christian dialogue, he ultimately became a Catholic priest of the Melkite Rite, even as his life work was focused on the life and teachings of al-Hallaj, the mystic martyr of Islam.

Massignon's conversion experience, from modern secular intellectual to devout seeker of the divine, took place in Baghdad in 1908. The unique nature of his experience was that his call to Christianity took place in the Muslim world and that he was convinced that it happened through the intercession of the tenth century mystic of Islam, al-Hallaj.

Massignon's reflections on al-Hallaj's Virgin Heart, or le point Vierge, were incorporated in his major writings, lectures, and extensive correspondence, and became an integral part of his ongoing spiritual conversion. He conceived of this theme as a connecting link between his growing conviction of the need for interreligious dialogue and understanding and his belief in the need for hospitality, humility, and compassion for all of humanity. Massignon wrote (Massignon 1989, 133):Introspection must guide us to tear through the concentric "veils" which ensheathe the heart, and hide from us the virginal point, the secret (sirr) wherein God manifests himself.

Massignon leads me to reflect deeply on the layers of meaning evoked by this image of the Virgin Heart at the center of the human soul. Here he is suggesting that my heart is "ensheathed," covered over by "veils" of illusions, assumptions, judgments, and attachments that prevent me from even imagining a place for the divine within me. This blindness prevents me from recognizing the same virginal point in the souls of others.

In 1959 the Trappist monk Thomas Merton began a correspondence with Massignon. Both men were seekers of the mystical aspects of diverse religious traditions. Merton was drawn to Massignon's increasing activism as a witness against war, specifically the Algerian-French crisis, and was intrigued by the theme of the Virgin Heart. In a letter to Massignon on July 20, 1960, he wrote (Merton 1994, 278):

Louis, one thing strikes me and moves me most of all. It is the idea of the "point vierge, ou le désespoir accule le coeur de l'excommunié" ["the virginal point, the center of the soul, where despair corners the heart of the outsider"] ... We in our turn have to reach that same "point vierge" in a kind of despair at the hypocrisy of our own world.

One day Thomas Merton was standing at the corner of an intersection in the heart of a busy shopping district. He wrote (Merton 1965, 156-57):

I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness ... This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud ... I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

Merton's epiphanous moment reminds me of al-Hallaj, who, in his passion for God, came to see the Divine everywhere and in everyone. In this vision there is a recognition of the Virgin Heart, a momentary joy at knowing what is hidden from most of us by our own despair and inability to open our hearts to others in true hospitality, especially those who are strangers, who practice other religions, or whospeak other languages.

I am afraid to experience the sacred in others. It would require me to risk being touched by the Spirit, as Massignon was, and to experience my own conversion. My heart would be transformed by the presence of the divine seeking hospitality in the depth of my soul. Yet, despite my fear of changing my habitual way of seeing the world, of making artificial distinctions between people of different nationalities, races, or beliefs, the unexpected visitor awakens me and arouses my desire for communion, for connection, and love itself transforms my vision. Then I must see people "walking around shining like the sun". Then I can no longer pass by the homeless people as if they did not exist, nor can I make any distinction between those who have wealth, education, or position, and those who do not. I can no longer deny that I too am homeless, a refugee, a victim of social and political injustice. I must speak out with al-Hallaj, Massignon, and Merton, who wrote (Merton 1965, 158):

At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God ... this little point ... is the pure glory of God in us ... It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody.

I understand this "point of pure truth" to mean that I must be capable of recognizing the sacred in everyone, as al-Hallaj did. To believe in the mystery of the Virgin Heart is to believe in a secret place in every human soul where the sacred is given to us despite our unworthiness, failures, and human limitations. That place cannot be touched by anything I do, and yet it calls me to transcend myself, to see all others as they are -- sacred. Only then can I say with Hallaj (Massignon 1983, 426):

My soul is mixed and joined together with your soul and every accident that injures you injures me.

References
Massignon, Louis. 1983. The Passion of al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr. Vol. 2. Translated by H. Mason. Princeton, N.J.: princeton University Press.
Massignon, Louis. 1989. Testimonies and Reflections: Essays of Louis Massignon. Selected and introduced by H. Mason. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.
Merton, Thomas. 1965. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander. New York: Image Books, Doubleday.
Merton, Thomas. 1994. Witness to Freedom: The Letters of Thomas Merton in Times of Crsis. Selected and edited by W. H. Shannon. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux.

The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus – A common Muslim-Christian Heritage
Sts. Constantin, Maximilien, Martinien, Denis, Jean, Sarapion, and Malch

1. The Importance of the Site in Ephesus

The name Ephesus evokes the ancient Greek city in Asia Minor where the cult of Artemis (Diane), which preceded Christianity, manifested itself by a temple classed among the seven marvels of the world. But it is also inseparable from Saint Paul who preached at the agora in the year 57 of the Christian era, or from Saint John, who lived there (where the Basilica containing his tomb has been found ), and of the third Ecumenical Council when the Mother of Christ was proclaimed Theotokos (Mother of God) in 431 of the Christian era.

Placed under the protection of Saint John, the Virgin would have accompanied him to Ephesus during his apostolate. It is likely that he settled her outside the ancient city on a neighboring hill where it is believed that her house was discovered. It is known today by the name Panaya Kapulu (that is to say, the "Port of All Saints").

In fact it is not on the edge of the shore, but well into the mountain that it is necessary to search for traces of the past. (The sea has receded from what was one of the biggest ports in antiquity). Not far from the building called Panaya Kapulu on the side of another hill, beside the tomb presumed to have been that of Mary Magdalene, one finds a sepulcher known by the name of the Cave of the Seven Sleepers.

2. The Origins of the Devotion to the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

In 1926, research by the Austrian Archeological Institute uncovered the ruins of the basilica of the Seven Sleepers (built above the cave) which permitted them to specify the date. It dates back to the middle of the 5th century. Archeology was able to confirm implicitly the epoch evoked by an ancient writing that we can thus summarize. Seven young people from Ephesus were buried alive in a cave for having refused to deny their faith in God during the persecutions ordered by the Emperor Décius; they woke up after a long sleep of several hundred years and died several hours later after having testified to their experience.

They were seen collectively by the inhabitants who decided afterwards to build a sanctuary dedicated to them. The historian, Honigmann, established that this tradition was common to Melkite, Nestorian, and Jacobite Christians, and therefore precedes their division (5th and 6th centuries). As for the liturgical names of the seven saints, they were already reported in 530 by a Latin pilgrim from North Africa, Theodosis, in a Jacobite list in Nubia. In its liturgical calendar the Eastern Church celebrates the Seven Sleepers twice: October 22nd (Common of prayers to the Martyrs), and August 4th (the traditional feast day), while the Latin Occident celebrates them on July 27th.

But, what is more remarkable, the example of these martyrs for the faith is venerated beyond the limits of Christianity. In fact, Sura XVIII of the Qur'an read every Friday in the Mosques (and thus preceding the death of Muhammed in 632) is entitled al-Kahf, that is to say, the Cave. This Sura exalts the abandonment to God of these seven young Ephesians buried alive, describing their witness to fidelity in the face of an impious demand, then their ‘dormition' which it states was 309 years. Sura XVIII could be considered as the Apocalypse of Islam; not only does it magnify the attitude of the seven martyrs for their faith by their anticipated resurrection, but it also presents the announcement of the Last Judgement.

Muslims make exception for the Seven Sleepers and tolerate the building of sanctuaries to these martyrs because their temporary resurrection made them precursory witnesses of the Last Judgement, saints of the End Time. Shustari, one of the most interesting commentators on the Qur'an, said that, "All Saints lose their normal sleep and enter into the sleep of the Seven Sleepers". (Geneviève Massignon Ph. D)

Badaliyya Philippines Advent Session

Dear Friends,

Peace!

The present ambiguities in Southern Philippines and in the world, have become a source of an extra push to begin anew the Badaliyya Prayer Session on each last Friday of the month.

We began the Advent Session with a lesson on the Dhikr Prayer. This was followed with updates on the many peace initiatives following the resurgence of war in Central Mindanao. Then we went to the OMI Chapel to sit in silence and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We concluded the session with a light snack and to continue our traditional "kumustahan".

In this first session, we reflected on the call to “substitutionary prayer” following Louis Massignon’s own suggestion to turn to Charles de Foucauld and Saint Francis for inspiration and enlightenment.

At Tamanrasset in the southern Algerian desert Foucauld realized that he needed to know and understand theTouareg people in order to truly live with them. In fact he wanted to assimilate himself into their way of life, in a sense to “become Touareg”. Not only did he allow himself to eat what those to whom he dedicated his life ate but he learned their language as intimately as they knew it, as well as their history, traditions, folklore, poetry and beliefs. “To make oneself understand is the beginning of everything, in order to do something good”, he wrote. “It isn’t enough to pray for the salvation of others, nor even to lovingingly give oneself to them, but to offer oneself body and soul for their souls”.

Peace to you.
Eliseo “Jun” Mercado, OMI

Reflection for the 1st Sunday of Advent (B)

Dhikr for the 1st Sunday of Advent (B)

Text: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” (Mk. 13: 33)

Meditation: Take heed… Jesus comes in moments and in the events we least expect…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…
2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips.
3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

Reflection on the Feast of Christ the King

Dhikr for the 34th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

The Feast of Christ the King

Gospel: The Last Judgment Day (Matthew 25: 31-46)

Passage: “And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'” (Matthew 25: 40)

Meditation: In the end, the real test of discipleship is believing and doing – that is – ministering to people in need, especially the least…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Sunday Gospel: The Parable of the Talents

Dhikr for the 33rd Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Gospel: The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30)

Passage: “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25: 29)

Meditation: Every gift we receive from God has corresponding responsibility. It must bear fruit in plenty so that others may also share in the blessing…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dedication of Lateran Church

Dhikr for the Feast of the Dedication of Lateran Church

Note: This year, in the place of the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate the feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica in Rome, the cathedral of Rome, originally dedicated to the Savior, but then to St. John the Baptist.

Text: He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." (John 2: 15-16)

Meditation: Have we, too, transformed God’s Church into a marketplace? Beware…else we become peddlers and merchants in the house of God!!!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Awliyâ'î

Awliyâ'î (singular walî): i.e., those who are "close to" God, probably alluding to the famous Qur'ânic verses 10:62-64:"...the friends of God, they have no fear and they do not grieve...theirs is the Good News in this lower life and in the next (life)...that is the Tremendous Attainment"..

The same Arabic term--which also carries significant connotations of "protector", "guardian" and even "governor"--also appears as one of the more frequent Names of God (at 2:257; 3:68; 45:19; etc.).

In most branches of Shiite thought it is one of the many Qur'anic terms taken as references to the spiritual function of the Imams, while in later Sufism--most elaborately in the thought of Ibn cArabî and his successors--the term is usually understood to refer to the particular spiritual state of proximity to God (walâya) shared by the divine Messengers, prophets (anbiyâ') and saints, besides the different spiritual functions that distinguish each of those members of the spiritual hierarchy. (See the more complete discussion in M. Chodkiewicz, Le Sceau des saints: Prophétie et sainteté dans la doctrine d'Ibn Arabî, especially chapt. 1.)

In the influential poetic classics of the later Islamic humanities, this complex of Arabic terms is conveyed above all by the recurrent, intentionally ambiguous references to the "Beloved" or "Friend" (Persian Yâr or Dûst, and their equivalents in Turkish, Urdu, Malay, etc.).

There this relationship of walâya/wilâya becomes the central metaphor for the divine-human relationship and the theophanic nature of all nature and experience.
The intimately related theme of the spiritual virtues of poverty and humility stressed in this same divine saying is likewise reflected in many other hadîth, which together help explain the frequency of terms like faqîr and darvîsh (Arabic and Persian for "poor person", "beggar", etc.) to refer to the saints and their followers in later Islamic mysticism.

Dhikr for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

“They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. (Matthew 23: 4)

Meditation: Three things to remember: Never put a heavy burden on people; Never ask people to do something that we never bother lift a finger to do it; and Never judge others that we shall not be judged!


DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40)

Meditation: The Love of God and Love of Neighbor remain the basic ethical measure of our words, thoughts and actions. We should not behave and think like the Pharisees and Scribes who multiply laws yet are lacking in the real measure that counts…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

The Uncovering of the First Veil...

--From the Persian Kashf al-mahjub--
by Data Ganj Bakhsh, al-Hujwiri, from Ghazna in Afghanistan (d. in Lahore between 465 and 469 AH/ 1072 and 1077 CE)

CONCERNING THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD (ma'rifat Allah).
The Apostle said: "If ye knew God as He ought to be known, ye would walk on the seas, and the mountains would move at your call."

The MA'RIFAT of God is of two kinds: cognitional ('ilmi) and emotional (há1i). Cognitional knowledge is the foundation of all blessings in this world and in the next, for the most important thing for a man at all times and in all circumstances is knowledge of God, as God hath said: '' I only created the jinn and mankind that they might serve Me (Quran, 51:56), i.e. that they might know Me. But the greater part of men neglect this duty, except those whom God hath chosen and whose hearts He hath vivified with Himself.

True knowledge or "ma'rifat" is the life of the heart through God, and the turning away of one's inmost thoughts from all that is not God. The worth of everyone is in proportion to true knowledge, and he who is without "ma'rifat" is worth nothing.

Theologians, lawyers, and other classes of people give the name of true knowledge (ma'rifat) to right cognition ('ilm) of God, but the Súfi Shaykhs call right feeling (hál) towards God by that name. Hence they have said that true knowledge (ma'rifat) is more excellent than cognition ('ilm), for right feeling (hál) is the result of right cognition, but right cognition is not the same thing as right feeling, i.e. one who has not cognition of God is not an 'arif (man of wisdom) but one may have cognition of God without being as 'arif. Those of either class who were ignorant of this distinction engaged in useless controversy, and the one party disbelieved in the other party.

Dhikr for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." (Matthew 22: 20-21)

Meditation: The usual distinction of what is God’s and Caesar’s usually comes to mind with the above passages. But the real challenge posed by the Gospel is to discern God’s will in our life and act truthfully according to His will…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Sacred Heart

Peace!
Today is the Feast of St. Margaret Mary. In her letter, she reminds us anew that from the Sacred Heart three streams flow endlessly. The first is the stream of MERCY for sinners. The second is the stream of CHARITY that helps all in need especially the poor and those in difficulties. The third is the stream of LOVE for friends...

There are three important things in life... Mercy, Charity and Love. She adds another value... She says that what is important above all is to have Peace of Heart...!

Dhikr for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' (Matthew 22: 8-9)

Meditation: The Parable tells us of God’s invitation to ALL! One caveat though… that is finding ourselves NOT WORTHY TO COME… BEWARE!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.” (Matthew 21: 32b-33)

Meditation: The truth of our claim lies in doing… We become God’s children by believing in Jesus and doing what he commands us...

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: “Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20: 14-15)

Meditation: Heaven is NOT the fruit of our merit… It is the fruit of God’s mercy and generousity. We do not fault God for saving all… Do we?

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross – Sept. 14th

Text: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)

Meditation: Jesus in the Cross fully revealed God’s universal salvific love… “By his Holy Cross, we have been redeemed…”

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

The Concept of Walâya

One of the most fundamental dimensions of Walâya is beautifully summarized in the following hadîth qudsî:

(God said:) "For Me, the most blessed of My friends1 is the person of faith who is unburdened (by possessions), who takes pleasure in prayer, who carries out well his devotion to his Lord and eagerly serves Him in secret. He is concealed among the people; no one points him out. His sustenance is barely sufficient, and he is content with that.... His death comes quickly, there are few mourners, and his estate is small."2

Now the living presence of the "Friend of God" or walî (pl. awliyâ'), in one manifestation or another--whether it be Muhammad and his Family or certain Companions, any of the earlier prophets, the Shiite Imams, or the many pious Muslims who have come to be recognized posthumously as "saints"--has for centuries been a central focus of popular religious and devotional life in much of the Islamic world.3 But the true walî, as this hadîth stresses, is most often publicly "invisible" in this life, outwardly indistinguishable from many other normally devout Muslim men and women. And even after death, for those awliyâ' whose mission of sanctity or "proximity" to God (walâya) has become more widely recognized, the mysterious reality of their ongoing influence likewise remains invisible to most people, revealing itself directly only at the appropriate moments in individual, highly personalized means of contact: through dreams, visions, intuitions and spiritual acts of Grace (karamât) or special blessings that only appear to "those with the eyes to see."

Thus this famous hadîth suggests two basic considerations that should be kept in mind whenever one encounters the written works usually associated with Islamic "mysticism". The first point is that with rare exceptions such texts were not originally meant to be studied by themselves. Usually they were understood, by their author and audience alike, to be only secondary or accessory means to their aim (and often their source): the awliyâ'--taken in the broadest sense, including the prophets and Imams--and the gradual realization of that spiritual condition of walâya, or "closeness to God", embodied in such individuals.4 The second, closely related point is that such "mystical" writings in their original context--and especially those works written in languages other than classical Arabic--were often quite inseparable from the whole range of "popular" religion, from the faith so diversely lived and practiced by the mass of the Muslim population (in contrast to the versions represented by the Arabic traditional religious sciences and the claims of their learned urban male interpreters). In fact in many regions of the Muslim world that faith was originally spread and inculcated almost entirely by such popular "mystical" writings and their even more widespread oral equivalents, or rather above all by the saints and other religious teachers who conveyed (and often created) both that literature and the music and other forms of spiritual practice that typically accompanied it.

If one keeps both those essential points in mind, it is easy to understand the practical and historical reasons behind the profusion of personalities and spiritual methods, symbols, practices, and beliefs that one discovers already in the lives of the classical exemplars of Islamic mysticism in Baghdad and Khorasan in the 3rd century (A.H.). But those same considerations also help us to appreciate the deep sense of disillusionment and failure, of something gone profoundly wrong, whenever the spiritual dimension of Islam has come to be identified with any particular, exclusive set of such historical forms.5 That recurrent realization was summed up in the frequently echoed response of the Khurasani mystic al-Qûshanjî (d. 348/959) to a disciple's naive
question "What is Sufism (tasawwuf)?":

"(Today it's) a name without reality; but it used to be a reality without a name."6

Whether name or reality, the unavoidable problem for students of religion is that there is still so little accessible literature that one can rely on to provide either of these essential contexts for understanding the wider religious functions and meaning of the many written--and the far more extensive unwritten--forms and expressions of Islamic mysticism.

------
1 awliyâ'î (singular walî): i.e., those who are "close to" God, probably alluding to the famous Qur'ânic verses 10:62-64:"...the friends of God, they have no fear and they do not grieve...theirs is the Good News in this lower life and in the next (life)...that is the Tremendous Attainment".. The same Arabic term--which also carries significant connotations of "protector", "guardian" and even "governor"--also appears as one of the more frequent Names of God (at 2:257; 3:68; 45:19; etc.). In most branches of Shiite thought it is one of the many Qur'anic terms taken as references to the spiritual function of the Imams, while in later Sufism--most elaborately in the thought of Ibn cArabî and his successors--the term is usually understood to refer to the particular spiritual state of proximity to God (walâya) shared by the divine Messengers, prophets (anbiyâ') and saints, besides the different spiritual functions that distinguish each of those members of the spiritual hierarchy.

2 This hadîth is included, with minor variations, in the canonical collections of Tirmidhî,
Ibn Mâja, and Ibn Hanbal.

3 Throughout this short paper it should be kept in mind that the English word "saint" (and its equivalents in other Christian contexts) is quite inadequate to convey either the centrality or the fluidity of the implicit associations and spiritual connections which are typically perceived in
Islamic devotional contexts. This is particularly true in prayers at a specific shrine, or within a given Sufi path - between the divine al-Walî and the wide spectrum of human and spiritual exemplars or “theophanies" (mazâhir) that are typically available to each individual Muslim or local community. And even within Islamic religious scholarship, the learned theological explanations of these central popular devotional practices (in terms of functions like wasîla,
shifâca, wilâya, and the like) usually depend on drawing firm distinctions and conceptual boundaries that scarcely reflect the intimate spiritual realities of actual prayer and devotional life.

4 While the different actual roles of various types of mystical writings and their interplay with oral traditions and teaching in pre-modern contexts are discussed in more detail below, we should add that many of the same points are also relevant to the transmission of many other (non-"mystical") forms of Islamic tradition and learning, including especially the oral transmission of hadîth, which continued for centuries beyond the more limited domain of their usage within the narrower sphere of Islamic law (fiqh).

5 A typical sign of this phenomenon recurring in different contexts throughout Islamic history is the characteristic progressive socio-linguistic devaluation of technical terms once used to refer to "mystics" as soon as the practices or institutions connected with those forms of spirituality have become popularly "corrupted" (from the perspective of different elites).

6 The dictum is repeated in two of the most famous Persian works on Sufism, Hujwîrî's (d. ca. 465/1071) Kashf al-Mahjûb (tr. R.A. Nicholson, London, 1911, p. 44, where the name is given as Fûshanjî), and Jâmî's (d. 1492) biographical dictionary, Nafahât al-'Uns (ed. M. Tawhîdîpûr, Tehran, 1336 h.s./1957, pp. 255-56), apparently based on a more direct account in the earlier Arabic Tabaqât of Sulamî (d. 412/1021).

Dhikr for the 23rd Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Text: “Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about
anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my
heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18: 19-20)

Meditation: There is the call to gather in his name – to break bread,
to pray and to act – together! The Church is, precisely, this assembly
in his name…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind -
RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text
in your life.

Dhikr for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? (Matthew 16: 26)

Meditation: The Gospel challenges us to take a second hard look at our values and integrity… words that have become so “flexible” and “ambiguous” these days where everyone seems to have a price. Tsk tsk tsk!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16: 15-16)

Meditation: Today, we, too, are being asked who we say Jesus is to us… Our answer determines our faith and values we stand by…!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. (Matthew 15:28)

Meditation: Great FAITH WORKS MIRACLES!!! BELIEVE…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 19th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Text: When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. At once (Jesus) spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." (Matthew 14: 26-27)

Meditation: When we find ourselves in turbulent waters or when we are afraid… Jesus also appears to us in various ways telling us: “take courage, it is I and do not be afraid…”

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Reflection for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: (Jesus) said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." (Matthew 14: 16)

Meditation: The challenge of the Gospel today is the fact that Jesus tells us directly to act and give food to the hungry.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Dhikr for the 17th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A): Parables of the Kingdom

Text: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13: 44)

Meditation: That treasure is hidden in each one of us… The real challenge is to find it and let it flourish and shine before all…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Parables of the Kingdom

Dhikr for the 16th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Text: “Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn’.” (Matthew 13: 30)

Meditation: Meditating on the weed and the wheat, we pray that we become the wheat and not the destructive weed that is destined for burning…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Understanding the Meaning of DESERT in our Journey....

by Bapa Eliseo "Jun" Mercado, OMI

For the three Semitic religions, the desert is a common MATRIX. It is no accident that the spiritual traditions of the three above monotheistic religions are rooted in this very harsh condition. The desert is a vast arid and inhospitable land and no amount of glamour and romanticism even from the ancient “spiritual writers” can change its cruel and harsh realities.

As a young religious, I had always wondered why our religious life had its deep roots in the desert. I tried to fathom this mystery by actually venturing into the harsh desert of Upper Egypt in 1981. With a guide I visited the caves of our ancient and venerable Desert Fathers. There I sat in one of the caves to simply get a physical and spiritual “touch” of the environment that gave birth to a spirituality tied to the beginnings of monasticism. The caves showed many crude stone carvings of crosses made by people that tried to “find” God in the desert. Being brought by a tradition of touching holy and sacred grounds, I began milling around and touching the cross carvings in the walls as I relished the memories of the holy men and women who lived in these caves.

It was there that I discovered the meaning of asceticism. There was no way to survive the desert without being ascetic. The desert’s harsh environment imposed a regimen on life that reduced needs to the barest minimum. The very environment, i.e., the desert, had become the “enemy”. In such a place, one would readily discover that the sole reliance would be on God. Discipline and ascetical practices were introduced to reduce want and needs, understood then as the “tools of the devil”. An ancient Arabic saying goes this way: “anyone who ventures into the desert and comes out becomes either a saint or a fool”.

The desert is one of the powerful symbols in Islam. The prophet Muhammad was often drawn into the cave of Hira in his search for the true God. It was in one of his journeys into this cave that the first revelation (Sura 96) was made. The experience with the “divine” was so moving that tradition celebrates the event as the “night of power” (laylat-ul qadr) during the month of Ramadhan (the 9th lunar month of the Islamic Calendar).

The first revelation is an invitation to “Read” or “Recite” (iqra) in the name of God, the Lord of creation. The strong emphasis on the invitation to “recite” shows that the initiative in the journey to God is begun by God. It is an invitation to a relationship that begins in the acknowledgement of God’s Lordship (Rabbika) thus a true worship (‘ibadat) of God necessarily must begin with being God’s “reader” or “reciter”. In time, through faithful “reading” and “recitation” of God’s word, the reader becomes “nearer” to God and this would bloom into “friendship” (Siddique). The person who is close to God becomes a friend of God.

The first revelation in the desert is an invitation to become a “reader” in the midst of that harsh and cruel environment. A reader responds to a call to life. Here we hear the echo of Psalm 95: “Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness”.

The voice of God is an invitation to read and recite (iqra) that God is a mighty one and the Lord over all the gods. It is a call to listen to God and to be taught by Him. In chapter 96 (Sura) the reader proclaims that it is “thy Lord who taught by the pen and taught man that he knew not”. It is an invitation to abandon all the idols of the world and cling to the one Lord for unto Him is the Great Returning!

The desert is also a powerful symbol of detachment from the cravings of the more mundane aspects of human beings, that is, comfort and good life. Though legitimate good life is never considered “forbidden” (haram) in Islam, yet a sort of counter movement is occurring within the community through the examples of men and women who are “passionately” taken by God. These “spirituals” under one or more shayks invite people to a much simpler life style that reduces dependency on many things. In fact early ascetics in Islam were also attracted into the desert for reading and meditation of the Qur’an while waiting for the disclosure of the hidden meaning of the word of God.

Dhikr for the 12th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Text: “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Matthew 10: 29-31)

Meditation: Have NO fear! Trust in the Lord. Believe that we are worth more than many sparrows.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 11th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Text: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9: 36)

Meditation: It is tragic to see crowds milling around with no direction and hope… and the shepherd is no where to be found…!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Benedict XVI's Address to PCID

"Church’s Activities Are to be Imbued With Love"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 9, 2008 Benedict XVI gave this address on Saturday upon receiving participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

* * *

I am pleased to have this opportunity to meet you at the conclusion of the Tenth Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. To all of you taking part in this important gathering I extend cordial greetings. I thank in particular Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran for his gracious words.

"Dialogue in 'veritate et caritate': Pastoral Orientations" -- this is the theme of your Plenary Assembly. I am happy to learn that during these days you have sought to arrive at a deeper understanding of the Catholic Church’s approach to people of other religious traditions. You have considered the broader purpose of dialogue -- to discover the truth -- and the motivation for it, which is charity, in obedience to the divine mission entrusted to the Church by our Lord Jesus Christ.

At the inauguration of my Pontificate I affirmed that "the Church wants to continue building bridges of friendship with the followers of all religions, in order to seek the true good of every person and of society as a whole" (Address to Delegates of Other Churches and Ecclesial Communities and of Other Religious Traditions, 25 April 2005). Through the ministry of the Successors of Peter, including the work of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the efforts of local Ordinaries and the People of God throughout the world, the Church continues to reach out to followers of different religions. In this way she gives expression to that desire for encounter and collaboration in truth and freedom. In the words of my venerable Predecessor, Pope Paul VI, the Church’s principal responsibility is service to the Truth -- "truth about God, truth about man and his hidden destiny, truth about the world, truth which we discover in the Word of God" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 78).

Human beings seek answers to some of the fundamental existential questions: What is the origin and destiny of human beings? What are good and evil? What awaits human beings at the end of their earthly existence? All people have a natural duty and a moral obligation to seek the truth. Once it is known, they are bound to adhere to it and to order their whole lives in accordance with its demands (cf. Nostra Aetate, 1 and Dignitatis Humanae, 2).

Dear friends, "Caritas Christi urget nos" (2 Cor 5:14). It is the love of Christ which impels the Church to reach out to every human being without distinction, beyond the borders of the visible Church. The source of the Church’s mission is Divine Love. This love is revealed in Christ and made present through the action of the Holy Spirit. All the Church’s activities are to be imbued with love (cf. Ad Gentes, 2-5; Evangelii Nuntiandi, 26, and Dialogue and Mission, 9). Thus, it is love that urges every believer to listen to the other and seek areas of collaboration. It encourages Christian partners in dialogue with the followers of other religions to propose, but not impose, faith in Christ who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:16). As I said in my recent Encyclicals, the Christian faith has shown us that "truth, justice and love are not simply ideals, but enormously weighty realities" (Spe Salvi, 39). For the Church, "charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being" (Deus Caritas Est, 25).

The great proliferation of interreligious meetings around the world today calls for discernment. In this regard, I am pleased to note that during these days you have reflected on pastoral orientations for interreligious dialogue. Since the Second Vatican Council, attention has been focused on the spiritual elements which different religious traditions have in common. In many ways, this has helped to build bridges of understanding across religious boundaries. I understand that during your discussions you have been considering some of the issues of practical concern in interreligious relations: the identity of the partners in dialogue, religious education in schools, conversion, proselytism, reciprocity, religious freedom, and the role of religious leaders in society. These are important issues to which religious leaders living and working in pluralistic societies must pay close attention.

It is important to emphasize the need for formation for those who promote interreligious dialogue. If it is to be authentic, this dialogue must be a journey of faith. How necessary it is for its promoters to be well formed in their own beliefs and well informed about those of others. It is for this reason that I encourage the efforts of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to organize formation courses and programmes in interreligious dialogue for different Christian groups, especially seminarians and young people in tertiary educational institutions.

Interreligious collaboration provides opportunities to express the highest ideals of each religious tradition. Helping the sick, bringing relief to the victims of natural disasters or violence, caring for the aged and the poor: these are some of the areas in which people of different religions collaborate. I encourage all those who are inspired by the teaching of their religions to help the suffering members of society.

Dear friends, as you come to the end of your Plenary Assembly, I thank you for the work you have done. I ask you to take the message of good will from the Successor of Peter to your Christian flock and to all our friends of other religions. Willingly I impart my Apostolic blessing to you as a pledge of grace and peace in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Pharisee's Come back with a Vengeance!

Dhikr for the 9th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A): The Pharisees’ Come back with a Vengeance!

Text: Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." (Matthew 9: 13)

Meditation: It is tragic that today, we are seeing more and more officials who are sticklers of the law and rituals… Tsk, tsk, tsk! The Pharisees have come back with a vengeance!!!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Act Justly...

To “act justly” means much more than paying our debt and not staling from others. It means, above all, working to build a society that is just - a society in which the structures are just and the relationships of peoples are just. Some concrete examples are the following:

• Minorities are not discriminated;
• Migrants are respected;
• Women are not treated as second-class citizens;
• Wealth and labor are equitably distributed; and
• God’s creation is held as trust.

At the international level, the same kind of bias operates and as a result the poor countries lag behind further and further from the wealthy nations. (Jun Mercado, OMI)

Dhikr for the 9th Sunday in OrdinaryTime (A)

True Disciple

Text: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. (Matthew 7: 26)

Meditation: The true test of discipleship is in the acting on the word of God. Words are not enough… we need to translate the words into actions!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.
1st step: Write the text in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Reflection for the Corpus Christi Sunday (A)

Text: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." (John 6: 51)

Meditation: The Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ reminds us of the price of redemption. He broke his body and shed his blood that we may have life! Thus when we eat his body and drink his blood we share his life.

Watch Out.....
Once again warning all that the junmeromi@yahho.com address was stolen!!! and the thief is sending solicitation letter under that email address. This is BOGUS!!!

Reflection on our beginning...

I begin the series on Badaliyya to renew the spirit of the Badal for our time. We aim to encourage mutual respect, understanding and dialogue between and among Fr. Massignon's three Abrahamic traditions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We hope that others will join us in spirit around the world. In the spirit of our friend and guide, Fr. Louis Massignon, we believe that any efforts at reconciliation and social action must begin in prayer.

We began by reflecting on the foundations of the Badaliyya in order to ground us in the spirit of its original intention. The Badaliyya began with a vow made by Louis Massignon and Mary Kahil in an ancient Franciscan church to dedicate themselves to the well-being of the Muslim community.

It is reassuring to realize that the Badaliyya began with only two. The initial responses to the idea of a vow led us to begin to realize the seriousness of our endeavor - Badaliyya on line. One person reminded us that all our vows are essentially a deepening of our baptismal promises. This is an invitation for us to struggle more intently with what we are called to become. We discussed the meaning of the Arabic word, badaliyya, substitution, and began some reflection on Massignon's understanding in light of his intense Christian faith. Substitution is a controversial and challenging call which we will continue to explore through the writings of Massignon and others in our prayers and contemplation.

In keeping with the original statutes of the Badaliyya we began our prayer for one another in silence. Then spent some time in silent reflection. If we have a small group of Badals we center our gathering on the theme of peace and each person is asked to bring a reading or something to share.

Our readings are taken from scripture passages, readings from the Qur'an, or an original poem written about Saint Francis. Our intercessory prayers included a plea for peaceful resolution to the crises in the Middle East and in communities of religious and ethnic conflicts and for conversion of hearts of all those whose hatred leads them to terrorist actions. We prayed for the courage to forgive them by offering ourselves in their place to be reconciled to a loving God. We close with the prayer of our Church, the Lord's Prayer.

Reflection for Trinity Sunday (A)

Text: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal
life.” (John 3: 16)

Meditation: We begin to understand the one Triune God though the
contemplation of God as LOVE. Fr. Cantalamessa in his homily for the
Feast states that in every love there are always three realities or
subjects: one who loves, one who is loved and the love that unites
them. Where God is understood as absolute power, there is no need for
there to be more than one person, for power can be exercised quite
well by one person; but if God is understood as absolute love, then it
cannot be this way. The life of the Trinity is a mystery of relation.
This means that the divine persons do not “have” relations, but rather
“are” relations.

Come Holy Spirit...

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul's most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our drtness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away;

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue's sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen
(Sequence of the Feast)

Dhikr for Pentecost Sunday

Text: (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20: 21-23)

Meditation: Jesus breathed on all of us the Holy Spirit… The marks of the Spirit in us and in our community are peace and the forgiveness of sins. Yes, each one and each community born of the Spirit are empowered to forgive sins…

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

HEART/QALB

What is at the center of Interreligious Relations? My long years living in the Muslim communities have taught me that the real key or the path to any kind of true relationship with a Muslim neighbor is through the heart.
The HEART, in fact, is not only the key or path to each other… but it is also the way we encounter God.

The Spanish Mystic ‘Ibn ‘Arabi gave us this legacy…

• God is extraordinarily closes and proximate to the human heart (e.g., at S 8:24, "He passes between the man and his heart"). What truly matters is God’s uniquely all-encompassing divine knowledge of "what is in their hearts" (S 4:66, 33:51, etc.).

• The divine awareness of what is in the heart extends in particular to people's innermost intentions (especially in contrast to their words and ostensible actions). In consequence, ‘Ibn “Arabi speaks of the heart (as more commonly of the soul, al-nafs) as the enduring "self" or ongoing seat of our moral and spiritual responsibility, as at S 2:225: "...He will call you to account for what your hearts have earned...."

• The most obvious in his work is the consistent stress on the divine "responsibility", indeed the ongoing divine Activity, expressed in all the different states of our hearts, including especially our recurrent failures to "remember" God.

• The enlightened or divinely supported heart (whether in this world or the next) is said to be the locus of true Remembrance of God (dhikr Allâh, at S13:28).

• We also see God's sealing, veiling, hardening, locking, binding, closing, or frightening hearts - to hearts that as a result (of their own misdeeds or the divine reaction) are "sick" or "blind" and "suffering."

• There are also references to hearts that "fail to understand" (lâ yafqahûn), far more frequently than those who do perceive the divine "Signs," whose hearts are 'âqilûn.

• Thus there is the need to move from these "negative" or perverse states of the human heart to full awareness of God and the corresponding divine Peace and understanding - "softening" and "humbling" or "purification" and "strengthening" of hearts, to the necessity of a "sound" or "repentant" or "mindful" heart (qalb salîm or munîb).

Dhikr for Ascension Sunday

Gospel Reading: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mark 28: 18b-20)

Meditation: Jesus’ mandate is make disciples of all nations… And have no fear, because He assured us of his presence in us until the age of time.


DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 6th Sunday of Easter (A)

Text: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.” (John 14: 16-17)


Meditation: Jesus does not leave as orphans.. He sends the Spirit, our Advocate, to be with us always...

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 5th Sunday of Easter (A)

Text: Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." (John 14: 6-7)

Meditation: Jesus is our way, truth and life… Do we truly believe it and live by this belief?

Jesus is the gate to LIFE. In, through and with Him – we find life.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 4th Sunday of Easter (A)

Text: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” (John 10: 9)

Meditation: Jesus is the gate to LIFE. In, through and with Him – we find life.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Easter (A)

Dhikr for the 3rd Sunday of Easter (A): “Break Bread with the needy…”

Text: But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them. (Luke 24: 29)

Meditation: The key to the understanding of the Eucharist is the actual breaking of one’s bread with stranger. The two disciples shared their abode and table with the stranger. This is the challenge to us all – a real lived Eucharist!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Remembrance Prayer for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (A)

Dhikr for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (A): “We have seen the Lord…”

Text: Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20: 24-25)


Meditation: In life, we behave like Thomas. We do not believe unless we, too, put our fingers into the nail marks in Jesus’ body. Yet our faith lies NOT in seeing but on the testimony of believers… We accept the testimony, because we recognize the trustworthiness and integrity of the witnesses… Today, we are the witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection! Are we trustworthy witnesses…?


DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

The Badaliyya Tradition

By Dorothy C. Buck

In 1934 a renowned French Catholic Islamic scholar and an Egyptian Christian woman also prayed together before the altar of a Franciscan Church in Damietta, Egypt. In a passionate plea to the God of Abraham, father of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, they made a vow to dedicate their lives to pray for the Muslim people, to stand before God for them.

As a young man, Louis Massignon had lost interest in his Christian heritage. After an unusual conversion experience while on an archaeological mission in Baghdad he became a devout Roman Catholic believer. Through years of research in the Arab world he came to love his Muslim friends and colleagues.

Mary Kahil was a Melkite Christian who grew up in Cairo, Egypt where she became active in the Muslim women's political and social causes.

Louis discovered the roots of his spirituality and his faith life in his belief that to be a follower of Christ we must substitute our own lives for the salvation of others as Jesus did.

Thus the vow that Louis and Mary made in Damietta on February 9th, 1934 was grounded in a deep conviction of the heart, a call to what Louis named the Badaliyya, an Arabic word meaning substitution.

In 1947 Louis Massignon and Mary Kahil received official approval from Rome for the statutes of the Badaliyya. They attracted many members in Cairo as well as those joining in solidarity with them, like Cardinal Montini, the future Pope Paul Vl, and many others in monasteries and church communities around the world.

In the statutes they agreed to pray for the Muslims, to treat them with respect, affection and kindness, and to personally live the gospel message of love in their daily lives. Like Mary they devoted themselves to the Muslim community by volunteering in organizations where they could live out the spirit intended by the Badaliyya.

They met once a week for an hour. Guided by his relationship with Charles de Foucauld, Massignon invited them to begin their gatherings with a prayer in solitude before the altar called adoration. Then they read the spiritual writings of Foucauld or others, and ended by praying together.

Louis Massignon's understanding of what he called mystical substitution traced back to earlier church traditions. The many saints who were often martyrs for their faith were said to unite their sufferings and death with the passion and death of Christ. In the medieval church some extraordinary mystics felt called to pray to take onto themselves the physical and emotional afflictions of those who came to them for healing.

These examples seem far from our contemporary experience of faith and appear exaggerated and foreign. Yet, Louis Massignon's vision of such immense love of
God, even at the expense of one's own life or health, evolved into a profound and intense spirituality of compassion for others.

In a letter written on January 16, 1955 to Mary Kahil he described the spirit of the
Badaliyya: (All Massignon references are from L'Hospitalité Sacrée, Ed. Jacques Keryell, 1987. Author's translation.)

"...They say that the Badaliyya is an illusion because we cannot put ourselves in the place of another, and that it is a lover's dream. It is necessary to respond that this is not a dream but rather a suffering that one receives without choosing it, and through which we conceive grace. It is the visitation [by the spirit of God], hidden in the depth of the anguish of compassion, which seizes us as an entrance into the reign of God. It certainly appears powerless, yet it requires everything, and the One on the cross who shares it with us transfigures it on the last day. It is suffering the pains of humanity together with those who have no other pitiful companion than us."

The Lord is, truly, RISEN! Alleluia!

Christ’s resurrection is, for the spiritual universe, what the initial “Big Bang” was for the physical universe, according to one modern theory: such a massive explosion of energy impressed on the cosmos that expansion of energy that continues even today at a distance of billions of years. Take away from the Church faith in the resurrection and everything stops and shuts down, as when the electrical current goes out in a house.

St. Paul writes: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the death, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “The faith of Christians is the resurrection of Christ,” St. Augustine said. Everyone believes that Jesus died, even the pagans, the agnostics believe it. But only Christians believe that he has also risen, and one is not a Christian unless he believes this.(Fr. Cantalamessa)

HAPPY EASTER TO ONE AND ALL!!!

A Short Meditation on the Seven last Words...

Short Meditation on the Seven Last Words
By Fr. Jun Mercado, OMI

First Meditation: “Father Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus experienced abandonment in his moments of trials and difficulties. His own friends abandoned him and fled for safety. One of his chosen ones betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. His own people disowned him. And they hailed him to foreign power to be tried and condemned to die.

In all his pains and sufferings, he lovingly looked at them and even as he heard their jeering, he said: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."

When we feel betrayed and abandoned... may we remember Jesus' words... and learn to forgive.

Second Meditation: “Today, you will be with me in paradise…”

One of the thieves nailed to the cross with Jesus, exclaimed: "Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom." And Jesus replied: "Amen I say to you, today, you will be with me in paradise."

We are all sinners... Paradise is NOT a reward of our hard work or strivings. No, we do NOT merit the kingdom of God!

Paradise is NOT earned...! It is a GIFT! We pray for that gift... and like the thief on his side, we cry to God: "Lord, remember me..."

Yes, God remembers us always... and God remembers us with loving compassion.

Likewise, we are invited to remember God always... May God's name and compassion be always in our lips and hearts.

Third Meditation: To his mother, Jesus said: “woman, here is your son”. And to his disciple: “here is your mother.”

In his agony, Jesus saw the pain of his mother… he looked at her with love and entrusted her to his disciple: “woman, here is your son”. And to his disciple standing by the cross, Jesus said: “here is your mother.”

Tradition has it that Jesus, on his way to Golgotha where he would be crucified, met his mother. There are three important scenes depicted in the traditional Stations of the Cross. The first was the meeting of mother and son on the way to Calvary. Second was the scene where Mary, the women and his beloved disciple were standing at the foot of the cross. And third was the scene when Jesus was taken from the cross and laid on his mother’s lap. This last scene had inspired great artists and the most prominent was the great Michelangelo that gave us the famous Pieta.

Yes, Mary was always there in the life and work of her son… In this meditation Jesus is speaking to us and gives us his mother… to be our mother, too! He speaks to her mother and tells her… that we, now, are her sons and daughters! And today, Mary – our mother is always there, too, in our life…

Fourth Meditation: “I am thirsty.”

Nailed on the cross, Jesus felt thirst… and he cried out: “I am thirsty.” This cry of anguish echoes the cry of the poor. In many places in the world – in urban and rural settings, we find the poor who cry out, as well, in their loud voice: “I am thirsty.” Often this is a cry of the real physical thirst – no drinking water, no washing water, no toilet facilities. At times, this is a cry of anguish, because they find “no exit” from the “hole” of poverty that is akin to a quicksand that drowns them. At other times, this is a cry that seeks solidarity from people – looking for a helping hand… an extra shirt or a walk of an extra mile!

Jesus in his thirst expresses his solidarity with us… it is the thirst that invites us, also, to be in solidarity with our neighbor… But who is our neighbor? Is this not the very question that the doctor of the law asked Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan?

Fifth Meditation: “Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabbactani” My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me.”

Towards the end, Jesus experienced a near despair! He was abandoned; He was in extreme pain; and He could not understand the tragedy that was unfolding… He cried out to his father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me…”

This cry reminds of the song, Foot Prints in the Sand. It was the same experience of being abandoned in times of great pain and difficulty… Speaking to Lord, the person asked: “Lord, why have you abandoned me… for I see only a set of foot prints?” The Lord answered, “no my child, when you see only a set of foot prints… those where the times that I carried you in my arm…”

God is there… God carries us in his arms… when we, too, see only a set of foot prints… they are God’s and not ours…!

Sixth Meditation: “Father, into your hand, I commend my spirit…”

The end has come and Jesus, totally trusting his Father, cried out: “Father, into your hand, I commend my spirit.”

There are things we do not understand… The tragedy and grandeur of life, often, escape us. In fact, to understand life… we need to bend our knees… and like Jesus in the cross, we, too, need to completely put our trust in God.

When everything is said and done… it is only God’s mercy and love that endure… Yes, we need to make that leap of faith… “Father, into thy hand, I commend my whole life!”

Seventh Meditation: “It is finished.”

Before breathing his last, Jesus said: “it is finished.” Yes, he completed his mission to the last…! He paid the full price for our freedom to become God’s sons and daughters. He was the “ransom” for our freedom!

Romans 8: 31- 39, beautifully, expresses that new dignity purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ:

“What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written, “for thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Dhikr for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Text: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

Meditation: The Beatitudes, strangely enough, remind us of the real keys to happiness… Yes, BLESSED are the poor; those who mourn; the meek; they who thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the clean of heart; the peacemakers; and they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness… they have the kingdom of God!

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Dhikr for the 2nd Sunday in Ordianry Time (A)

Text: “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." (John 1: 34)

Meditation: A recently martyred Oblate priest, Fr. Rey Roda of the Philippines, like John testified with his blood that Jesus is the Son of God… His life and work and now his brutal murder in that God forsaken island of Tabawan in Tawi Tawi (Philippines) point to Jesus who taught us… greater love than this no one has than to lay down one’s life for friends… Jesus is our FRIEND… and we are invited to be a friend to one another.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.
2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...
3rd step: Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda, OMI - Martyr

Peace!
I am writing this short note while participating in the UN High Level Session on the Alliance of Civilizations in Madrid, Spain..

One of us, again, fell victim to that senseless cycle of violence... Rey is the 3rd fallen.... in the vicariate joining the group of the slains - Ben de Jesus and Benjie Innocencio.

I am writing this note with a heavy heart... with tears in my eyes... and a hard question in my mind about the rationale of our presence in those places. Yet, I know that there are no answers to that question... no understanding would come either by way of theology or any other way...

Few days before leaving for Madrid... at the dining table, with Frs. Mon, Phil, Franz, Jun J, Bishop Lito and others present, I jokingly posed the question of the rationale of our presence in those places... since in the economy of God's salvation, I believe that all are saved by God's mercy and compassion.. .! Yet what the mind cannot fathom... the heart can understand.. . Only in faith, hope and great love, can we begin to understand such a presence, such heroism and such senseless deaths.... Rey, Ben, Benjie and the rest of our colleagues in the same mission have that faith, hope and great love...!

In the meeting of the late mid-lifers last July 2007, I cornered Rey, Raul and Pol... not to ask that hard question of our seeming senseless presence in those God forsaken islands... but to express my deep admiration and appreciation for their heroic presence in those places... Rey with more than ten years in Tabawan, Raul - more than ten years in Sibutu, and Pol - almost his entire priestly life, except for few years in Dulawan, was spent in the Vicariate - Sibutu,
Tabawan, Siasi and now Cagayan de Tawi Tawi.

Such presence and the ministry elude understanding. ... when approached through the mind... In fact they are senseless!

That kind of life and ministry can only be approached through the heart. Akin to a mystery, it can only be understood in faith hope and love!

Rey was a friend...and a comrade in the struggle during the Marcos years. Yet, deep beneath... was the real Rey formed by the faith of his mother and father - a simple and trusting faith that gave meaning not only to his priesthood and religious life... but also to his presence and work in Tabawan.

Though painful and sorrowful... we take pride in belonging to the OMI Philippine Province because in our midst emerged Ben de Jesus, Benjie Innocencio and now Rey Roda who paid the ultimate price for the values and beliefs close to their hearts...

There rises from deep beneath my heart a shout of anger for this madness... yet it is an anger that is easily consumed by the fire of love... that urges each OMI to hold his head high... BELIEVE and continue that kind of presence and ministry even without understanding yet hoping in our hearts that they have NOT died in vain... and that their lives do MAKE sense!!!

Rey, I bid you farewell... with tears in my eyes, yet full of hope in my heart that one day we shall see be re-united with the whole community of Tabawan... nay the whole Vicariate of Jolo in God's kingdom... where we shall see the sense of all this tragedy in the midst of God's great love as paralleled by the great generousity of spirit of the slain.

Paz y Bien!
Bapa Jun