Ask and we shall be given

By: Alfred Ballesteros

We complain about everything that happens to us and we believe that destiny cheats us and, our lives are predestined and we would never be able to change.

The Best Decision

Life’s journey is very similar for each one of us. We are born, grow up, and die. But today we will pause in a stage of our lives, in the moment where we decided the journey for the rest of our lives.

This decision making moment, could be when we decided to get married, chose the university to attend, and the field we would study. Or also maybe the moment when one decides to have a child and why not the day in which you decided to be part of the school soccer team.

BEING A PARENT

At this time of Lenten reflection we are taught how great God’s love is for us that he gave us his only son, so we could understand salvation and be forgiven for our blindness. 

Don’t let the sun set on your anger

How can bad communication affect us? Many times we find ourselves in the midst of situations where we opt to be quiet or to keep aside. That is usually good. But it is not so if this type of situations affects us directly, such as a family argument, a school problem in which we were involved or a simple mistake at work.

Today we live in a very stressful society and a slight disagreement might lead to grave consequences or anger that might last years.

Do not brag

 
No one is greater simply because he or she is first in the class or won the school’s science fair. And no one is any less just because they came in last place. You are who you are before God, regardless of your achievements.

Many times we appear to be something we are not, perhaps to create a positive image in society or before our relatives or friends. Yet only God and you can truly know who you really are.

Our encounter with God

Our lives are focused around so many myths that we might have reached the conclusion that we will never have a true encounter with God. We see it so far away because our culture or education makes us feel different from others and imagine that we will not be able to reach God. We might even consider that reaching God is only for people who are very close to the church: priests, nuns, or the Pope.

A time to change

At the beginning of each year our mind is filled with goals, new ideas, hopes, commitments, dreams to achieve or simply self renewal.

A new year has begun and we have told ourselves that now we will probably spend more time studying. We tell ourselves such things as, “this year I will join the football team, quit smoking or enroll in the University.”

The promises that we make year after year, believing that now we will achieve them, just because another year ended, are simply dreams that are unlikely to become reality.

My fault or God’s?

To what extent are we responsible for our actions and where does God protection over us start? It seems like a riddle.

Even if it might sound absurd, many times we blame God for what happens to us and we even reproach him for whatever we endure.

Is God to blame when we fail an exam or lose a game, or is it that we are not really up to par in our responsibilities?

The birth of the Child Jesus

The Christmas season is coming and we are all excited and joyful at the birth of the Child Jesus. Full of grace by the coming of the Redeemer, it is also a season of hope, peace, and love!

But let us not allow the world of commercialism to confuse the true meaning of Christmas. Everything tells us to give gifts, to buy, and to be happy by wearing fashionable clothes and buying the latest gadget. The true meaning of Christmas, however, is not here.