Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still.

A story from Mother Teresa:

Some of my sisters work in Australia. On a reservation, among the Aborigines, there was an elderly man. I can assure you that you have never seen a situation as difficult as that poor old man's. He was completely ignored by everyone. His home was disordered and dirty.

I told him, "Please, let me clean your house, wash your clothes, and make your bed." He answered, "I'm okay like this. Let it be."

I said again, "You will be still better if you allow me to do it."

He finally agreed. So I was able to clean his house and wash his clothes. I discovered a beautiful lamp, covered with dust. Only God knows how many years had passed since he last lit it.

I said to him, "Don't you light your lamp? Don't you ever use it?"

He answered, "No. No one comes to see me. I have no need to light it. Who would I light it for?"

I asked, "Would you light it every night if the sisters came?"

He replied, "Of course."

From that day on the sisters committed themselves to visiting him every evening. We cleaned the lamp, and the sisters would light it every evening.

Two years passed. I had completely forgotten that man. He sent this message: "Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still."

END.

Do You Know That There are Other People Living here on Earth Other Than You?

I am amaze how much “Me” messages out there in the media and in our society. I saw once a guy wearing a tee shirt that sums it up, “It’s All About Me”.

I have noticed that many of us have become insensitive and even indifferent with other people. I am always amazed when I ride a jeepney how people will not move even though one person is already having a hard time sitting, even if that person is a woman. They just sit there as if seeing nothing. I think that best defines our society today. Insensitive.

For a third world country, where the poor is all over the place, we have the talent not to see them. We are all to preoccupied with our selfish desires, that we forget that other people are suffering. We all have excuses not to help them, while we shower ourselves with stuffs we don’t need.

This is what Jesus said about our lack of action in helping others.

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Q. What if you feel you're with 'the one?' Isn't it best just to live in the moment and live each day as if it were your last?

A. If we lived every day as if it were our last, then don't study for finals. They won't come. Don't send in applications for college. What's the point? Spend all of your money today and quit your job. Seize the day, and you'll wake up tomorrow feeling pretty embarrassed. The same goes in relationships.

If you think you've found your soul-mate, then do not give in to the desires of the moment, but build the foundation to make your love last a lifetime. We all have this desire for enduring love, and we all hear about the 50% divorce rate. So, where do people go wrong? For one, couples who sleep together before they marry are three times as likely to divorce.(1) For why this happens, click here.

By the time I was married to Crystalina at the age of 27, I was convinced in four previous relationships that I had found "the one." Since then, one of those girls has been married and divorced, and the other three are married … to friends of mine!

We always hear about living in the moment, and Hollywood gives us the romantic image of spontaneous love without regrets. We see Titanic: "Oh no, we're going to die. Let's have sex." This is a fine way to live if there were no such thing as tomorrow, or eternity. If I knew Crystalina and I would die three days before our wedding, the last thing on earth I would want to do is to remove her from the grace of God through sin. Being together for a few nights would be nice, but being together for eternity would be better. The difference is that love can wait to give, but lust can not wait to get.

Love at the moment may seem intoxicating, but you must have the wisdom to realize that you are worth waiting for. Pray to have the strength to avoid a huge mistake. If you choose to be pure, you will be loving your boyfriend in the most perfect way. If it is truly love that you want to express to him, purity alone can communicate that.

Couples who are chaste still want to be one, so they are forced to learn how to express love to one another in non-sexual ways, and their intimacy deepens. So, why wait until tomorrow to have what you can get today? Because after you get what you want, where is "the one" six months from now? Crystalina thought it was love when she lost her virginity in high school. Now, I've seen the tears fall down her face as she remembers it years later.

So, indeed you should live as if you will die tomorrow. Love to the fullest. Every person on earth should live and love like this. But, the key is that impatient lust is very, very different from love. Lust says, "I want it, you want it, let's go." Love says, "No matter what you or I want, I want what is best for you." Besides, if you're meant to be with this person, you will have the rest of your life to enjoy sex. But if you are not meant to be, then why harm your ability to bond with the one who you will marry? Love is patient. That's one huge element that distinguishes it from infatuation.

I just read a book by a psychologist where he said most teens are in the concrete operational stage of thinking. What this meant, he said, is that most of them have no idea how the decisions they make now will affect them in the future. All they see is present rewards and consequences, not future rewards and consequences. By failing to look into the future, they often make life-changing decisions that harm them.

So if you think you found your soul-mate, make smart decisions now, and put God at the center of your relationship. Be at peace and trust God with your bodies. If it is his will, you two will last. In the mean time, I once heard it said that God always gives his best to those who leave the choice to him.
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J.D. Teachman, J. Thomas, and K. Paasch, "Legal Status and the Stability of Coresidential Unions," Demography, November 1991, 571-83.

from http://www.pureloveclub.com

Q. What's wrong with just hooking up?

A. When you "hook up" for fun, physical intimacy begins to lose its depth, greatness, sacredness, and power to bond two people. Sex is shared as easily as a handshake, and the couple loses all reverence for the sacredness of each other's body. You begin thinking that physical pleasure is basically for fun, and can solve the problem of boredom or loneliness.

This leads to the idea that if two people agree to do X, then it is okay to do it. Often, this is nothing more than two people agreeing to use each other for mutual gratification. They receive the physical pleasure of being held, the emotional pleasure of being desired, and they remain together so long as they are a source of pleasure for each other. This is not far from prostitution.

Pope John Paul II said, "Deep within yourself, listen to your conscience which calls you to be pure . . . a home is not warmed by the fire of pleasure which burns quickly like a pile of withered grass. Passing encounters are only a caricature of love; they injure hearts and mock God's plan." (1)

In the long run, no one benefits from these kinds of "relationships." I read of one young husband who said, "I would do anything, ANYTHING, to forget the sexual experiences I had before I met my wife. . . . The pictures of the past and the other women go through my head, and it's killing any intimacy. The truth is, I have been married to this wonderful woman for eight years and I have never been 'alone' in the bedroom with her."

So, if you want the love you have been created to give and receive, realize that it takes patience and purity instead of impatience and lust. Purity is the guardian of love.
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(1) Pope John Paul II, address, 29 April 1989, Antananarivo, Madagascar. As quoted by López, ed., The Meaning of Vocation, 28.

Are You the Source of Your Own Misery?

Have you ever met the unholy trinity? Sure you have! They are always with you 24/7. The unholy trinity is Me, Myself and I.

I have been talking to fairly a lot of people lately. One thing I noticed was the favorite topic of our talk was them. Our conversation mostly revolves on what they have, what they want and what they don’t have. Talking to these people is like entering another world, the “Me, Myself and I” world. To tell you frankly, it’s a very boring world.

There is one word that best describe these people, selfish.

One thing I have observed about selfish people, no matter what they have achieved in life, they still feel deprived of something. They still have lots of things to complain about. They are upset most of the time because things do not go as they want. I still yet to here one of them get upset because people are dying of hunger in Africa. Or children are being abused and abandoned. It is like that they are the only one who has problems in this world.

There is certain irony in selfishness. The more one selfishly acquire the things of the world like money, fame or power, the more their world shrinks. They believe their selfishness will bring them joy, but in reality the root of their misery is their own selfishness. Observe those people who are truly joyful, you will see that they are all unselfish.

God created us in His image and likeness. And God is Love. The love I am talking about is agape or self-donating love. It is the love which Jesus showed us when He was crucified. His love was empty of self.

Now look into your heart. And ask yourself; is my selfishness cause of my misery?

Looking for Broken Lanterns.

Have you ever noticed that even though how broken and damage the lantern is, once you light it up from the inside, the brokenness of the lantern seems to be consumed by the light?

The King is looking for damage and broken lanterns. He will take all sorts and shapes.

God needs carriers of His love in this dark and cold world we live in. He does not really care if you are broken or not. What He needs is for you to open up your heart and let His love light your heart afire. His light is so powerful that it will consume all your brokenness. And the light that God has inflamed in you must now shine on those who are living in darkness. You must be a sign of Love and of Hope to the world. "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a hiding place or under a basket, but on a lamp stand, so that those who enter may see its light. - Luke 11:33

We are all called to be a light to the world. But our light does not come from us, it comes from God alone. We are all too broken to shine by ourselves. Jesus is the only light of the world.

Jesus said this to Mother Teresa: “Come, be my light. Bring me into the dark holes of the poor. Come, carry me, I cannot go alone.” God needs you!

Now, the question is, are you willing to be a source of light to others?

Q. Is it ok to fantasize about my boyfriend? You know, is just thinking about it wrong?

A. It depends upon what you mean about fantasize. For example, it is both healthy and natural for an engaged couple to look forward to the relations that come within marriage.

But, if you're playing out sexual acts in your mind, then this is not pure. It's just teasing you, because the mind is not content with thinking about sex. The more you think of impurities, the more you will want to fulfill those thoughts. On the other hand, the more you purify your thoughts, the purer your actions will become.

In fact, we usually try to rationalize lustful thoughts under the guise that "we're not actually doing it." But we should recall words of Christ, who said "whoever even lusts after a woman has committed adultery with her in his heart."

With that having been said, if you're a long way from marriage, it's not even appropriate to look forward to marital relations with a boyfriend. Now is the time to look forward to getting to know him better, and to focus on where God may be calling you.