Giving

We had a recollection in Tabor Hills yesterday, and it was so wonderful. The speaker was wonderful. His name is Alejandro Espina. A super funny guy. And because he is super funny, he was able to effectively impart to us the message of our recollection.

We had a lecture in the morning, which started late. In the afternoon, we sang, we danced, we laughed, we offered our bodies to the Lord. We had a confession and then heard Mass afterwards. I wish I could go to a similar recollection in the near future - or better yet, a three-day or week-long retreat.

To love - that simply was the message. Love, he reminded us, is a verb. What action does it involve? Giving. Not just of things, but of one's time. If you love someone, you give him or her your time. When you love the Lord, you offer Him your time, in prayer or in serving other people. I was once a member of Singles For Christ, and we understood that loving and serving God involves three things. In addition to giving one's time, one also has to give one's talent and treasure. We call it the three T's: Time, Talent and Treasure. Thus, the weekly prayer meetings, the monthly chapter meetings, fellowships, conferences, seminars, and many other wonderful activities that we did regularly. Thus, we offer what talents we have for the community - singing, dancing, playing the instrument, offering to give talks in seminars. Thus, the tithing.

I really miss SFC...

I've learned this, too, lately: I've realized that all the wonderful experiences in my life -- the things that brought me joy, happiness, gladness, and peace -- are all "gifts" to me by other people. I have absolutely nothing to do with it. I say this because I often have the tendency to think highly of myself whenever people treat me kindly or commend me, but actually I don't deserve their goodness. They just give them to me willingly, because the goodness is actually in themselves and they want to share it. So now whenever someone treats me well, offers me a kind comment, etc., I acknowledge that it is not due to any quality or characteristic that I might possess, but it is due to the kindness and the goodness in the other person. So from now on I will take a more proactive stance, I want to give more than receive. :-)