BCBP BAUAN Breakfast

17/04/2020

Hope during this Period of Uncertainty

During this period that all of us experience inadequacy in almost eveything from food to money to medicine, to safe place to live to almost every necessity in life, when everything seems to point towards nothingness and uncertainty, where and to whom do we pin and anchor our last straw of hope?

Apostle Paul in this letter to the Romans says,

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Romans 8:22-25

Let us all be persistent in holding on to our last straw of hope, none other than the God of our fathers through His Son Jesus who has sent us the Spirit of God to be our helper.

02/03/2020

How do I build and pursue Righteousness?

By Topher Lee Haddox
Topher Lee Haddox is a caffeine-addicted husband, daddy, and drummer. Born and raised in Louisiana, Topher enjoys the great outdoors and his fascination with hiking. He can usually be found swinging in his hammock, coffee in hand, or pecking away at his next article. He has a deeply ingrained passion for worship and feeding others the Word of God. His work appears regularly on Crosswalk. Visit his blog at https://topherhaddox.com

Righteousness is the perfect holiness of Christ. It is an essential attribute to the character of God; quite literally meaning “One who is right”. Think of it as the polar opposite of sin. To commit sin is to go against God’s design for our lives, therefore righteousness is the only living standard that is acceptable for us to stand before the Father. The wages of sin is death, but in the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death. (Proverbs 12:28)
I used to think righteous living had more to do with behavioral modification than heart transformation. Outward appearance of holiness was what mattered to me, rather than Spirit-filled change. I thought that if I tried to stop cussing as much and stop watching rated R movies, then that meant I was living righteously.
While those are good and righteous works, the more I read the Bible, the more I learned that I had it backwards. Righteousness actually produces those works, not the other way around.

What does the Bible say about us and righteousness?

All of us are born into complete bo***ge to sin, unable to produce any sort of righteousness on our own (Romans 3:9-12). As a matter of fact, Isaiah says that our attempts to produce righteousness on our own are disgusting in the eyes of God. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

Even when our good deeds seems to be performed from the purest of motives, unless that motivation is to glorify the name of Jesus, those deeds are completely self-righteous and sinful. For instance, modifying my behavior to stop using certain language was actually a self-righteous act because the real motivation wasn’t out of conviction from the Holy Spirit, but to simply appear more holy to others.
Over time, I realized that I needed to repent and lay all of this at the feet of Jesus. I am completely incapable of changing my own heart. Only He can do that. When we stop trying to produce righteousness and begin to simply trust in the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, He will make us righteous.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Where does my righteousness come from?

The Bible clearly defines righteousness as something His people should pursue (2 Tim 2:22), yet we are unable to produce it. So where do we get it? Our righteousness is imputed from Jesus through the atoning work that He accomplished on the cross (Philippians 1:11) We couldn’t produce it, Christ produced it for us.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Only the perfection of Christ could have accomplished this work. Only Jesus could have lived a perfect, obedient, and sinless life. Only Jesus could have atoned for the sins of His people. Only the righteousness of Christ will enter His Kingdom (Matthew 5:20)

The purpose of the Old Testament Law

In the church today, the Old Testament law often gets a bad rap. Early in my Christian walk, I just sort of wrote the Law off as something a much angrier God handed out—as opposed to the grace given by the much happier and merciful God of today. Let’s pardon the terrible theology of my younger self, and unpack the law and what it has to do with being righteous.
When God delivered His people out of Egypt, Through Moses, He gave them a set of laws called the Torah; also known as the first 5 books of the Old Testament. The purpose of this was to teach the Israelites how live righteously through obedience. It was to teach them how to live like Him. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’ (Deuteronomy 6:25)
The Torah is the story of God delivering, restoring, and establishing a covenant with His people. However, because of their hardened hearts of stone, they constantly rebelled against God’s law. The prophet Ezekiel says that one day God would give them a new heart in order to obey His law. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. (Ezekiel 11:19)

So we’ve covered what righteousness is, and how we get it. Let’s finish with how we pursue it. In 2 Timothy 2:22, when Paul talks about turning from our lustful desires and pursuing righteousness, he doesn’t mean trying to earn or achieve it. He means pursuing God’s character, because it is the desire of our new nature become more Christlike.
To pursue righteousness means to turn away from your natural, sinful desires, and turn to Christ and His perfect and righteous ways. Through obedience to this command, God is preparing us for eternal life with Him—aligning us with our righteousness through Christ.
We can rest in the fact that God sovereignly works everything for the good of His people, including restoring us through the righteousness of His Son. Our righteousness began in Christ and is completed in Christ. Follow Him and pursue it daily.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalm 23:3)

Only through and in Him who saves

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
John 6:35-40

29/02/2020

What a fool am I - the absence of God-seeking Mind

What commonly is the scenario for man in the real context of life.
Because of the noise around us, the noise of technology, greed for money and power, the super passion to see ourself as the center of the universe, and all the focus on our self,

vanity oh vanities,

which has become so loud that it has began to mask the signal message from God which can only come in our silence but which never , or at its best, very seldom we seek.

What we must do is to silence our mind and heart in a cloister, allowing no one except ourself with our spirit and the spirit of God alone in mutual ŕesonance confiding our weakness to Him, seeking His overflowing love and shield of protection, which we get only when we surrender our mind and heart to Him, our alpha and omega.

Then and only then, we can continually assure ourself that as we go back to this noisy world we are assured that we are recharged with the graces and gifts that we need for our journey and our battles in life.

We should never lose our chance now, go into silence with the Spirit of God alone,

and never be a fool.

Psalm 14:1-2
The fool[a] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”(B)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven(C)
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(D)
any who seek God.(E)

25/02/2020

Purifying our Body, Mind and Spirit through the Spirit of God.

Purification is one process that cleanses the stains of sinfulness that we fall into through our routine thinking process, which is borne out of all the desiring and sensing actions, that we do. We cannot shield ourself from the influence of sin and everything that the evil can bring to us, not unless we invoke the Spirit of God to place in us the armour of protection that the Spirit of God brings.

It is our decision to engage the Spirit of God by way of our own spirit that we can shield ourself from all evil influences.

How we build the consistency of invoking our own spirit to engage the Spirit of God is our own choice.

How we make our choices aligned and shielded by the Spirit of God can only happen if we surrender all our choices of desires and senses to the desires and senses that the Spirit of God has prepared for us by way of prayer, meditation and adoration every minute of our life.

We must surrender our own self, our spirit to the Spirit of God in prayer, meditation and adoration always, in whenever we begin to think, desire and sense everything in every minute of our life by desiring and sensing God first always.

That is why God asks us to put His Spirit first always in all we think, say and do.

This is what Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 7:1;

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Corinthians 7:1

Today ash wednesday, let us start to learn to purify ourself by submitting all we desire and sense of aim to decide in anything we plan to make all days of our life.

18/02/2020

The Only Shield in Times of Distress

Our present world has been besieged with incidents that has rocked our world with series of disaster after disaster, whether man made or natural. The n-cov virus disaster, Taal Volcano eruption, super typhoon, earthquake and the impending financial fall out that can result as aftermath of these calamities.

It seems we are on the verge of our fear and are on the state of not knowing what else we do'nt know.

It is at this point of our journey that we realize the limits of the capability of our intellect and wisdom, that we need divine succor to enlighten us and shield us from harm and death.

This is where and when we realize that our body - mind system capability is limited and we need the link that our spirit can provide to the source of omnipotent shield and armour from all these threats.

This is exactly what apostle Paul tells the Romans in,

Romans 8:14-16
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Let us all join together in linking our whole body and mind through our spirit with the Spirit of God, in unceasing Prayer, Worship, Adoration, Contrition & Supplication and earn His grant of mercy and protection everyday of our life. Amen.

17/02/2020

Finding Difficulty in Defining Our Bearing and Direction?

First, Be one in Christ and with Christ, all of us.
Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Secondly, seek humility in Christ
Romans 12:3
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

It takes a daily, deliberate conversation with God to put our hearts in proper perspective.

15/02/2020

The Power of the Spirit of God over the Power of Mind and Body thru the Spirit of Man
Romans 8:1-8

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 becau se through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

This prayer teaches us about the eternal, unchanging, unfathomable, life-transforming love that God has for us in Christ Jesus.

30/01/2020

Spiritual Shielding we need

Prayer – Suggested Prayers

“Heavenly Father, if there are demons prowling around looking for the souls of my family, I ask in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, that you cast them out and protect us from the evil one. Amen.”

Ask the blood of Jesus to cover the person and protect them. It was the blood that Christ shed that washed away evil.

With the cross of Jesus I come against and I pull down all demonic strongholds in PERSON’S NAME’s mind and body in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit.

With the cross of Jesus I come against and I break all demonic strongholds in PERSON’S NAME’s mind and body in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit.

With the cross of Jesus I come against and I demolish all demonic strongholds in PERSON’S NAME’s mind and body in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit.

I seal PERSON’S NAME’s mind and body with the blood of Jesus and reclaim all of its territories for Christ in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit

I asked The blessed Virgin Mary to bind and cast out all demonic influences from PERSON’S NAME bringing them to the foot of the cross of her son Jesus where they are defeated forever never to return. AMEN

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45

02/01/2020

My God shall forgo and forget my old self from now on

I was imagining myself four or five years ago and that had passed, the struggles, torments and cleansing that I went through as I am reflecting now vis-a-viz what's being laid on my table is befitting of what the book of Isaiah said in chapter 65, verse 17.

“See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
Isaiah 65:17

It is true indeed, that God knows every bit of me from the number of hairs on my head to the preferences and biases in my mind.

But the most amazing of all is his promise that's coming to reality now. It is really very incredible and unimaginable how these turn of events begin to unfold.

I praise and give thanks to you my Lord, for your words are true.

Praise be unto you Yahweh my lord and saviour. Amen

01/01/2020

I Resolve for a New Beginning for the New Creation in me

Today I start my day with my mind resigned from every noise and clutter the this physical existence has been known to be and in its stead I concentrated in what the new earth shall be as described in the book of revelation, Revelation 21:5-8

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
John 21:5-7

How do I get to prepare for this promise is still an arduous job to do but I have firmed up my plan based on what my Lord has told me to do and have decided to follow it.

The battle now is in me, my mind with all the influences that come from this world and passes through my faculties exerts excruciating pressure to convince me to follow what this world offers, power, fame, carnal pleasure, narcissistic and egoistic tendencies.

But I shall arm myself with the armour of God, first with the consistent and regular daily prayer, meditation and reflection in the presence of God's Spirit.

Second, I shall be nourished by the Holy Eucharist with Jesus' model of servanthood so I shall aim for humility in love and service, by agape shall I live.

Third and last but not the least, I shall aim to bring as many to God's flock not merely by word but by through my actions in all facets of my life.

So I pray for all of us offering this humble self of mine to be a real and worthy channel of God's graces in every possible way.

So help me my God. Amen

27/11/2019

14th day Meditation of 31 days with St. Ignatius

What Do You Really Want?

By

Fiona Basile

This post is based on Week Five of An Ignatian Prayer Adventure.

This week provides an opportunity to delve into a very deep question: What do you want? What do you really want? What is your heart’s deepest desire?

This can be quite a confronting question. In today’s culture, we are bombarded with so many messages about whom we should be and what we should do in order to be happy: own this car, live in this city, join this group, wear this makeup, or perform this task, in order to live the life of dreams.
But whose dream?

St. Ignatius invites me to take time this week to quietly reflect on what is the deepest desire of my heart, no one else’s. If I were to confront or overcome all of my fears and wounds, or to dare to dream about my heart’s deepest desires, what would they be?

God is inviting us to reconnect with our deepest selves, to identify that which brings each one of us life, hope, joy, strength, and inspiration. Moreso, God is inviting us into a deeper relationship of love within ourselves, with God, and with all we encounter.

Hold your hand to your heart. Close your eyes. And ask yourself again, What do I really want?

By way of encouragement, here is how my heart responded to the question.

I desire to be loved and to love, to be seen and appreciated.

I desire to belong.

I desire to have a family of my own, where love is at its center.

I desire to grow in my love for and friendship with Jesus and those I encounter, in small, concrete ways.

I desire to create beautiful and inspiring things—with words, photos, and any other creative projects that come to my mind and heart.

I desire to live simply and in a place that I can tend to and appreciate the natural world around me.

But at the heart of it is love.

The more I asked this question, the more I came back to this:

My heart desires to love and to be loved. To grow in trust and courage to live a life where I can be myself and can contribute to the world in my own unique way.

And so my prayer is:

God, help me to love, in small, concrete ways. Help me to be more myself, for this is who you call me to be and no one else. Help me to take time to listen to your voice in my heart and to grow closer to you in trust and hope.

I pray for courage to act upon my deepest desires, trusting that you are calling me to a life full of love, joy, connection, mission, and purpose.

How does your heart respond when asking the question: What do I want?

Take the time to ask the question over and over, and to listen to your response.

Pray for the courage to respond, perhaps using the words here by Blessed John Henry Newman.

For we can only find love from the One True Source of Love, our Lord God so seek Jesus as Psalm 1:1-3 tells us,

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3

Let us pray, meditate and reflect on this Psalm verses and so we may act accordingly to what God tells us to do.

26/11/2019

13th day of 31 days Meditation with St. Ignatius

Five Tips for Beating Loneliness from St. Ignatius

By

Rebecca Ruiz

A recent study revealed an epidemic of loneliness in America. Loneliness and social isolation isn’t limited to America, though; it’s a global scourge that Pope Francis has addressed:

There are no longer close personal relationships. Today’s culture seems to encourage people not to bond with anything or anyone, not to trust…At the root of so many contemporary situations is a kind of impoverishment born of a widespread and radical sense of loneliness. Running after the latest fad, accumulating “friends” on one of the social networks, we get caught up in what contemporary society has to offer. Loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to feel recognized. (Address to Bishops at the World Meeting of Families, September 27, 2015)

St. Ignatius Loyola knew from his experience of extreme penitence at Manresa that isolation is not healthy. By turning inward and focusing only on his own thoughts and the parts of himself that he despised, he neglected to recognize God’s love for him. Years later, when he founded the Society of Jesus, he ensured that his brothers would always remain in community so as to avoid this pitfall.
What wisdom might Ignatius share with us today as we contend with this epidemic of loneliness?

1. Know your worth.

St. Ignatius opens the Spiritual Exercises by inviting the retreatant to reflect upon self-worth in light of God’s unconditional love for us. Jesuit Fr. Mark Thibodeaux elaborates upon this mediation most beautifully: “Reflect on the staggering, almost unbelievable notion that all the things of the earth were created with my benefit in mind—that God, billions of years before my birth, considered my personal needs and my unique desires while creating the universe.” (God’s Voice Within, 140) Recognize that God created you out of love for you and has placed you on earth at this time and place for a particular purpose. You are important. You are necessary.

2. Discern your mission.

Pope Francis tells us, “I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing.” (Evangelii Gaudium 273) In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius offers effective methods to help us discern our personal mission in life, which will lead to us living with more joy and encountering others with similar missions as we work together.

3. Maintain a support network.

“It is absolutely crucial that I have a strong support network following close behind me, cheering me on, booing the false spirit, whispering tips in my ear, and passing me Gatorade. I will need good mentors, good companions, and a strong link to the church.” (God’s Voice Within, 73) We all need a trusted circle of friends and mentors who will keep us on track. And we need to keep our network strong by investing time in these relationships.

4. Build bridges.

Wherever he went and wherever he sent his brother Jesuits, Ignatius sought to build bridges. Pope Francis continues this tradition today when he speaks of his desire to build a “culture of encounter.”

There indeed we find true healing, since the way to relate to others which truly heals instead of debilitating us, is a mystical fraternity, a contemplative fraternity. It is a fraternal love capable of seeing the sacred grandeur of our neighbor, of finding God in every human being…and seeking the happiness of others just as their heavenly Father does…Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of community! (EG 92)

When we come into dialogue with a mutual respect for the other, listening deeply, we build bridges of trust and make our lives fuller and our communities stronger.

5. Live generously.

Ignatius missioned his fellow Jesuits to be men of service to others. Pope Francis continues to extend this call to serve today. We serve, he says, because “God created that person in his image, and he or she reflects something of God’s glory. Every human being is the object of God’s infinite tenderness, and he himself is present in their lives.” (EG 274)

When we serve others, it helps us to gain perspective, inspires gratitude, and nourishes both giver and receiver, bringing us closer together.
As people of hope, we can turn the tide on loneliness. We might start by asking: What gifts do I have that God is calling me to share with others? In what way is God calling me to participate in God’s work by answering the prayers of another? Together, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can infuse joy into our communities and banish the suffering of loneliness.

So in the book of proverbs is written

"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it."
Proverbs 4:18 & 23

Let us generously be the light for others Amen.