My Reuter Almanac

Prayer Power, "The Only Hope for the Philippines" by Father James Reuter SJ

2010-07-25T09:48:00.002+08:00

By her own admission, GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) rightfully assessed that over the last decades; our republic has become one of the weakest, steadily left behind by its more progressive neighbors.’ Forty years ago, we were only second to Japan in economic stature, and way ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. Today, at our present growth rate, it will take us 30 years to get to where Thailand is.

We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm. It’s time to claim God’s promise of healing of the land for His people. It’s time to gather God’s people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation.

Is prayer really the answer? Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I’d like you to consider some lessons we can get from history.

England’s ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fueled by intense prayers.

The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the most powerful nation today – a strong faith in GOD and a disciplined prayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.

In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today, led by Rev Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around it are faltering.

Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here, there is genuine humbling & seeking of GOD through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity. Yes, we hope.

Today, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from all over the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only ask for 5 minutes of your time in a day, to fwd this email to your close friends and relatives.

This is the kind of unity, which can make a big difference. Of course, if you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be more involved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center.

We have tried people power twice, in both cases, it fell short. Maybe it’s time to try prayer power. GOD never fails. Is there hope? YES! We can rely on GOD’s promise, but we have to do our part. If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, GOD will heal our land. By GOD’s grace, we may yet see a better future for our children.

‘If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.’ (2 Chronicles 7: 14)

If you care for your children and grandchildren, PLEASE pass this on ...

Let’s not just abandon the Philippines.

Technorati Tags: Philippine economy,economic status Philippines,spiritual battle,Roman Catholic faith,moral reformation,economic recovery,prayers,faith in God,disciplined life,people power,God's grace,God will heal our land,Chronicles 7: 14

2006-11-30T18:34:00.002+08:00

All Children Of Eve
30 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipino does not have money, mansions, beautiful cars, comfort, security. But the Filipino smiles, and loves, and prays. In the things that really count, we are the wealthiest people in the world. Apt image by RoyTC who captions it simply ‘Kids 3’ (flickr.com/). Ford and those who work for Ford at the top are wealthy; these kids’ parents aren’t. But look at all those smiles – they are enough to melt anybody’s heart. And that’s the important thing.

2006-11-29T18:30:00.001+08:00

The People With The Star
29 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipino is a man with a star. The Filipina is a girl with a star. We are poor in the things in this world, but we are rich in the treasures of the spirit. Apt image by Eleventeen who captions it ‘Downtown’ (flickr.com/). Apt? The photo to me transforms the downtown scene, rich with all the wealth in the world, to the essence of what it is: Ethereal. This is in sharp contrast with the treasures of the spirit? Eternal. My mother-in-law is 87 and I am 66; and so I am one of those who can ‘see’ the treasures of the spirit. Take it from me: It is better if you see those treasures while you're still young.

2006-11-28T18:28:00.001+08:00

Star Over The Philippines
28 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The star of the Kings stopped over Bethlehem. In Asia, the Star stopped over the Philippines. We are the only Christian nation on this continent. God is with us. Apt image by Daniel Y Go who captions it ‘Pencil Star’ (flickr.com/). The Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in Asia, and is the only country that believes in the Holy Bible plus Holy Tradition plus the Magisterium of the Church, the only star shining in this part of the world. Merry Christmas, one and all! The pencil also signifies that the Filipino is the #1 knowledge worker in the world. What more can we ask for?

2006-11-27T12:20:00.001+08:00

The Philippine Star
27 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Three Kings followed a star. At Christmas time you see that star in every city, in every town, in every barrio. The Filipinos are a people who have followed the star. Apt image from Felipeanut who captions it ‘Parol & Three Kings, I Mean Kids’ (flickr.com/). Instead of the Christmas tree, the parol is the symbol of Christmas in the Philippines. It seems a sad house that doesn’t hang out a parol before or during the Christmas season. Sometimes that parol hangs there beyond the Feast of The Three Kings in January; sometimes it hangs there the whole year through. Added 2 Dec: Today, I realize that Christmas is for children more than anybody else - it is for the adults to become like children again and love as children love, with abandon, with forgetfulness of hurts, without reservations, without malice.

2006-11-26T12:15:00.001+08:00

Looking Into Oneself
26 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: As a baby in the manger at Bethlehem, Our Lord had only one thing to give to us – Himself. And we have only one thing to give Him in return – ourselves. Apt image from Courtney Bolton who captions it ‘Look’ (flickr.com/). But it is so difficult to give oneself, as the photo seems to illustrate: first you have to look into yourself. There are so many things you want to do or have, and there is so little time or so little to have it with. To give yourself means to share what you have, whatever you have, and multiply the happiness in this world, without sacrificing yours; that can be public. It also means sharing what you have; this can be private, when nobody is looking. It also means to give your everything to whatever you are doing, because you are doing it for God. The thing is: Are you paying attention?

2006-11-25T11:20:00.001+08:00

Home Is Where The Love Is
25 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: At Christmas time, Our Lord was born in Bethlehem for only one purpose – to bring us safely home. Apt image by MaddTom who captions it ‘Even The Blues You Think You Left Behind’ (flickr.com/). But not if we don’t want to be brought home. Not if we treat what we have as our eternal home. Not if we think we know better. Home is not where the heart is: Home is where the love is.

2006-11-24T09:28:00.001+08:00

A Heart Of Gold
24 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When our Lord came down to us, our Three Kings offered Him the best we had to give – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When we go home to Him, He will offer us the best He has to give – the fullness of life, Himself. Apt image by Claude@Munich who captions it ‘Heart Of Gold’ (flickr.com/). Should we give material gifts before, during, or after Christmas Day? To me, it’s enough if each of us has a heart of gold – then we’ll know what to do and it would be of great value or goodness.

2006-11-23T11:39:00.001+08:00

A Kingdom For A Donkey
23 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When our Lord came down to us, our welcome committee was an ox, a donkey, and the shepherds. When we go home to Him, He will welcome us with angels. Apt image by Tennessee-Gator who captions it ‘Through The Donkey Ears Softly’ (flickr.com/). The ox, which is the beast of burden, signifies that it is the poor who are closer to God. We associate the donkey (ass) with stupidity but I prefer to associate this animal with naivety, with blind faith – it is blind faith that we need, not reasoned faith or Bible-based faith or prophet-based faith. We walk by faith, not by sight.

2006-11-22T13:52:00.001+08:00

Praying For The Dead
22 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Pray for those you love who have gone home to God before you. They gave you so much! And now they need your prayers! Apt image by Jennifer Daylight who captions it simply ‘Deadfourteen’ (flickr.com/), one of her ‘dead’ studies. I like the photograph because it ‘shows’ me the twilight zone between mortality and reality in a subtle and reassuring way, not in a scary manner.

The Roman Catholics in the Philippines, especially the womenfolk, are very good at this, while the men don’t bother. This is our legacy from Spain, where the women were taught to work the home and the church and the men to work the fields.

2006-11-20T09:05:00.001+08:00

I Say A Little Pray'r For You
20 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipino, and the Filipina, are prayerful – even if they have never been to school. They learn to pray in childhood, from their (…). Apt image by Matits who captions it ‘Say A Little Prayer For You’ (flickr.com/). (From the song by Diana Ross? I'm jogging my 66-year old memory.) Saying the rosary is the most popular form of praying in the Philippines and, yes, I have been witness to it with my own eyes and ears all over town in Asingan, Pangasinan, since I was that high, the young girls especially learning their rosary from the elder women praying for 7 days before a memorial mass is said and a feast prepared in honor of a beloved who has died. The rosary is simple enough but it is also deep enough if you contemplate on it.

2006-11-19T16:34:00.001+08:00

Do You See The Family?
19 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When a lavandera washes clothing as best as she can, she is also serving her employer … and she is also serving God. Apt image by Isolano who captions it, enigmatically, ‘A Family’ (flickr.com/). The note that accompanies the photograph explains it all: One of the reasons why I love laundry lines is that they make you guess who lives behind that window. Can’t you see the father, at least one little boy and the mother who does all that washing? And maybe she’s the gardener, too. So the mother is the washerwoman. So she is serving her family. So she is serving the Lord.

2006-11-18T16:20:00.001+08:00

Yes Or No?
18 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When children obey their parents, they are pleasing their father and mother. But they are also pleasing God. Apt image by Umiyomo who captions it simply ‘Parent-Child’ (flickr.com/). The problem there is with the child, as it may be too much for that child to think that to obey one's parents is to obey God. This is actually the old Filipino culture, but with the kids today, obedience to parents is a losing proposition. This is a generation gap that is not easy to bridge.

2006-11-17T11:20:00.001+08:00

A Day In The Life Of A Fireman
17 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When a fireman goes into the flames to rescue a trapped child, and comes out carrying the child in his arms, he is risking his life for (…). Apt image by Narisa who captions it simply ‘Fireman’ (flickr.com/). One of the most dangerous jobs in the world is that of the fireman - he is not doing his job when he is not risking his life for the sake of others - and this is all in peace. They are heroes - they get paid to do their job, but the pay is not commensurate with the risk. Any fireman is more heroic than any overseas Filipino worker who sends back to the Philippines US$ 100,000 a year.

2006-11-16T20:23:00.001+08:00

Where’s The Maid?!
16 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: You serve God with the labor of your hands. When a maid cooks carefully, she is serving the family. And she is also serving God. Apt image by IlMungo who captions it ‘Molasses-Spice Cookies’ (flickr.com/). The problem is that we Filipinos look down on manual labor, so we don’t expect our maids to look up to us or to accept themselves as themselves, and so they disappear even if they are around somewhere. So, the maid-cook serves us, but in fact we serve ourselves.

2006-11-15T15:56:00.001+08:00

Eye For Chemistry
15 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: A doctor serves God by being a good doctor. A lawyer serves God by being a good lawyer. You serve God by doing your job, as best as you can. Apt image by Mormegil who captions it ‘Eye For Chemistry’ (flickr.com/). President, Senator, Representative, judge, minister, journalist, writer, scientist, scholar, or historian? We must serve the same – unless you have other gods. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, once wrote to one of his relatives: ‘We cannot all be doctors. Someone must cultivate the soil.’ We all have a place on this earth, and we each must play our part in the best way we can, even if our part is only to pick up the trash. But this is difficult in a country like the Philippines because we denigrate those who use their hands to work; we detest those who dirty their hands because they smell. That’s our legacy of the 450 years of Spanish rule in these Pearls of the Orient Seas, our Paradise Lost. How do we get rid of our self-destructive tendencies? We will never rise beyond our own prejudices against our own people until we admit to God, in earnest, that we are nothing except by the grace of God.

2006-11-14T15:23:00.001+08:00

Giving Of Herself
14 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If a mother nurses her baby at her breast, she is giving herself to the baby, and through the baby to God. Apt image by Danitza who captions it ‘Niklas & Mom’ (flickr.com/). Nowadays, most babies are bottlefed. My wife breastfed all our 13 sons and daughters (a ratio of 5 to 8), until they themselves quit, some after 3 years. That kind of breastfeeding has an added benefit, if you want to look at it that way, and take it from me: While the mother is breastfeeding, she is not fertile - and isn't that heavenly?! Pleasure without the pressure, you might say. The mother breastfeeds because that is the natural thing to do; the mother refuses to breastfeed because she doesn't want to give up herself to anyone, including her baby, who she feels is an intrusion in her free life. She is no longer free! Doesn't she know that? 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven!' She who can but doesn't give of herself suffers.

2006-11-13T12:24:00.004+08:00

Beggar On Bridge
13 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The heart of the Gospel is sharing, caring, love. If you share what you have with someone in need, you are living by the Word of God. Frankly, I’m a little scare of the word ‘sharing’ because I tend to define it according to my own standards. For instance, I do not give to all beggars that I meet on the street anywhere and everywhere – I look first and size them up if they really look needy or simply pretending. Are they whom I’m looking at themselves? Apt image by Andwar who captions it ‘Beggar On Bridge’ (flickr.com/). So, are you going to look at a beggar high up on the bridge you are about to go through and down, and say: 'I beg your pardon?'

2006-11-12T10:50:00.002+08:00

Stairway To Heaven?
12 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Heaven is not only a peaceful rest. It is the fullness of life. Eyes have not seen, nor ears have heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man to conceive the joy that God has prepared for those who love Him. Apt image from Lumkness who captions it ‘Stairway to heaven’ (flickr.com/). Really, the problem is not Heaven but going the way to heaven: Are we? Are we going up or going down? I believe that that is what should make life exciting as well as promising. If I could reach An Approximate Heaven (on earth) without giving hell to others, that would be enough heaven on earth to me.

2006-11-11T22:30:00.001+08:00

My (Filipino) Father

11 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: I have never known a Filipino father to turn his back on his own child. God loves you like a father. His love is eternal. It will never die. Apt image from Lush.i.ous who captions it ‘My Father’ (flickr.com/). That is because the Filipino is family-oriented. Of course, there are also broken families, but Filipino society on the whole is much unlike Yankee society where the Protestant ethic allows, even encourages broken families, but calls it by another name, a euphemism millions don’t catch: divorce. There is another legal term for it for which the Yankees are famous, male and female species both; they call human rights, as in the right of the woman to her body. Filipino society will never allow the family to be overwhelmed by the human institutions of divorce and human rights that trample on other humans’ rights.

2006-11-10T22:19:00.001+08:00

God's Powers
10 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: With God you can do all things. Without God, you can do nothing. Everyone learns this, from his own life, as time goes on. Apt image from Reenshi who titles it borrowing from the photo itself, 'Powers of God' (flickr.com/). In case you don't know, that's the Philippine jeepney, a creation of the Filipino mind out of the US Army Jeep of World War II. The Filipino mind has inventions great ('People Power') and small (the jeepney). Without the direct intervention of God, People Power would have been bloody, and other oppressed countries in the world would not have had a model to copy and successfully carry out their own democratic liberation.

2006-11-09T13:45:00.001+08:00

Knight In Shining Armor
9 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The warrior believes that a man is noblest when he is on horseback, riding into battle. But really a man is most noble when he is kneeling quietly before God, with his head bowed in prayer. Apt image from Rocky Runner Bird who captions it 'Bearded Knight' (flickr.com/). Yesterday, we were watching Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom and, yes, the knight in shining armor atop his horse riding into mortal danger was a noble sight. If you have a romantic heart, you must believe in King Arthur, as I did. But since 2 years ago, I have quit believing that there is such a thing as a war to bring peace. We still need knights in shining armor, but not to do battles but to do peace.

2006-11-08T23:29:00.001+08:00

Confidence To Be
8 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Prayer brings peace of soul. It relaxes the body. It clears the mind. It fills the heart with confidence, with hope, and with love for God and man. Apt image from Chorickr who captions it 'Confidence to be' (flickr.com/). That is, if you pray earnestly either in your own words or from a book of prayers or from somebody else. Especially if you pray without ceasing. Praying doesn't mean you are always mouthing the words of supplication, praise, forgiveness, love. The more important thing is the attitude of prayerfulness.

2006-11-07T11:07:00.001+08:00

The EDSA Lady
7 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Virgin Mary protected the Christians in the Battle of Lepanto, in the Mediterranean. And she protected millions of Filipinos on EDSA, in 1986. Apt image from Sensible28 who captions it simply 'EDSA' (flickr.com/). Having seen many images from that year, to me it is obvious that the photograph was taken in 1986. It even has this quote as notes for the image: ‘We are doing so at a time when the nation is torn, anguished, and bleeding, when 54 million Filipinos cry for succor, when our countrymen are fast losing hope that nonviolent means can restore those freedoms ...’ - Joaquin 'Chino' Roces, Chairman of the Cory Aquino for President Movement. There was the presidential order to do violence on the people, but after 3 days, it all turned out to be non-violent; in fact, it was bloodless - and it succeeded in scaring the 'benevolent dictator' to flee the country. His benevolence was nothing compared to the benevolence of The EDSA Lady. You don't see her? But she was there.

2006-11-06T10:56:00.001+08:00

My Unborn Baby
6 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lady of Guadalupe takes special care of babies who are not yet born – babies in the womb. Her heart goes out to every expectant mother. Apt image from Black Magic who captions it 'My Unborn baby' (flickr.com/). This lady is celebrating the coming of her baby - unlike many others. From what we gather: Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas. She appeared to a native American in Mexico City 1n 1531. Her feast is celebrated on the 12th of December in the whole continent as declared by Pope John Paul II on his third visit to the sanctuary. The Pope 'entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born' (sancta.org/).

2006-11-05T10:24:00.001+08:00

Children Paint Life
5 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: On Calvary, Our Lord gave us the Virgin Mary as our mother. She has taken this to heart. She loves you, as a mother loves her children. 'Woman, behold your son.' 'Son, behold your mother.' Apt image from Rutke who captions it 'Children Paint Life' (flickr.com/). Once a mother, always a mother - except some modern mothers who believe in human rights instead of family rights, who believe in abortion rather than giving birth to a precious human being, because they want to have some fun and eat the cake too. I believe many of us know already that Mary is our mother - the problem is that many of us don't know how to love Mother Mary, Protestants and Catholics alike: the Protestants, by rejecting her; the Catholics by ignoring her.

2006-11-04T11:44:00.001+08:00

Sometimes Sun, Sometimes Rain
4 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Ask and you shall receive. Our Lord said that. And God always keeps His promises. Apt image from Quizz who captions it 'Sometimes sun sometimes rain' (flickr.com/). What if you liked rain and not sun? With the image, I'm implying that God sometimes answers with sun, sometimes with rain, and may not be exactly like you like it. You have to learn how to take it. Also, is it necessary only that we pray? 'Lord, give my son a regular job like everybody else. He has a big family to feed.' I know a mother who prayed that same prayer for years and years, and nothing happened. I mean, God didn't give the son a regular job. And how do I know that this is so? She was my mother, and I was her son. So, it depends on how we pray? Who is praying? Maybe, it depends on what we do after we pray. We can't really leave everything to God to work out everything for us.

2006-11-03T20:18:00.001+08:00

One Way, Looking Up
3 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord forgave the Romans who were nailing Him to the cross. No matter what you have done, He will forgive you. That is why He came down from heaven. He was looking for you. Apt image from MDumlao98 who captions it 'One Way, Looking Up' (flickr.com/). Looking for you is His part - looking for Him is your part of the bargain. That reminds me. He did say something like this, if I remember right: 'Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me.' I believe that can be modified to say, 'Inasmuch as you have done it to the lesser of my brethren, you have done it unto me.' Whoever we are, if we do it to the lesser of our brethren, and down the line, we do well. 'For when I was hungry, you gave me to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink.'

2006-11-02T17:57:00.001+08:00

Blind Man
1 November – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The heart of our Lord went out to the leper, to the man born blind, to Mary Magdalene. Whenever you are suffering, the heart of God goes out to you. Apt image from Mbusolt who captions it simply 'Blind Man' (flickr.com/). The problem is: How can you tell, how can you feel that God's mercy is waiting for you when you feel miserable? You cannot if you are blind to it, if your head tells you you can deal with whatever you are suffering on your own, if you think you can handle all by yourself, if you believe you are in charge. You have to give up the conceit that you can do it all by yourself. And that is the challenge, there lies the real blindness.

2006-11-01T10:24:00.001+08:00

Me-Love=Dead Body
1 November - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord was filled with compassion for the widow of Naim, whose only son was dead. When your heart is broken, Our Lord is filled with compassion for you. Apt image from Meek Caroline who captions it ‘Me-Love=Dead Body’ (flickr.com/). The same is true if you are a widower. Or if you are neither. Or if you are simply you.

2006-10-31T11:38:00.001+08:00

Big Brother
31 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord was born as a baby, because He wanted to be loved. It is hard to love anything that you cannot put your arms around. Everyone loves a baby. Apt image from Pete The Chops who captions it 'Big Brother' (flickr.com/). 'It is hard to love anything that you cannot put your arms around.' That's a good rule of thumb, I think. Now, what do you do when you want to love and yet you cannot put your arms around it? My answer to my own question is: Translate or transform it into something huggable!

2006-10-30T14:40:00.000+08:00

All Of Us
30 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The West finds strength in possessions – the big house, the car, money in the Bank. The Filipino finds strength in the love of all those around him. Apt image from Worp who captions it 'All Of Us' (flickr.com/). In one word, family; in two words, extended family - what you see in the photograph. In the United States, when the child gets 18, that child's family is broken up, deliberately. So how can that child cherish a family when he doesn't have one?

2006-10-29T15:12:00.001+08:00

Not A Nursing Home Mother
29 October 2006 - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipino family is unique. We do not have nursing homes. We take care of our Lolos and Lolas because we love them. Apt image from Neuropathee who captions it 'Beauty in its own way' (flickr.com/). In the Philippines, we are averse to the hiring other people to take care of our old parents and grandparents. We owe them our lives. We owe them the dignity of our being; we owe them the dignity of their age.

2006-10-28T11:14:00.001+08:00

The Filipino Amid The Ruins
28 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The virtues of a Filipino surface when everyting is going wrong. Then you see his patience, his courage, his amazing durability. Apt image from Roger Alcantara who captions it 'San Ignacio Church ruins' (flickr.com/). This is a very beautiful illustration of Fr Reuter's text; it is as if the image was really intended to give it life. You wonder where it is all coming from? From his past, from his faith.

2006-10-27T21:26:00.001+08:00

Filipina Maids All In A Row
27 October – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipina yaya is in demand all over the world. Because she sees God in every child. Apt image from Drew313 who captions it thus: ‘It was a holiday so all the Filipina maids were chillin’ in the passageways’ (flickr.com/), in Hongkong. No exaggeration, that. While we may look down on maids as inferior citizens, they are not inferior in the eyes of God. And the Filipina maids? They feel this is an honest way of making more of a living, so why not?

2006-10-25T17:28:00.001+08:00

Filipino Smiles
25 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipino smiles and laughs, no matter how hard his life is. That's courage. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. Apt image from XRoad who captions it 'Filipino Smiles' (flickr.com/). If you are a foreigner, the first thing a Filipino gives is his smile, even if (or especially if) he is not after your pocket. After all, we Filipinos live in these sunny islands, so why shouldn't our faces radiate the morning star to the rest of the world? There is much to be thankful for.

2006-10-24T18:41:00.001+08:00

Mother & Children
24 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When a man is faithful to his wife, he is being faithful to God. When he works for his children, he is serving God. Apt image from Robin Dude who captions it 'Mother & Children' (flickr.com/). Apt I say because I want the husbands to look at serving their own families as their way of serving God, like Fr Reuter says. This is a happy family; you can almost see the face of the father who loves them all, mother and children.

2006-10-23T21:08:00.001+08:00

The Eternal Husband
23 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Religion is not only in external acts of devotion. Religion is in the heart and soul. When a woman loves her husband, she is loving God. Apt image from FlubberWinkle who captions it 'The Eternal Husband' (flickr.com/). Question: But suppose the husband is unlovable, an eternal pain in the ass? Answer: You cannot choose whom to love. To love the lovable is too easy. No pain, no gain.

2006-10-22T11:54:00.001+08:00

Native, Filipino
22 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Filipino indigenous people, our tribal natives, have deep strong values, even if they cannot read or write. Apt image from Gerald Beckham who captions it 'Feathered fertility god' (flickr.com/). They have to have those, otherwise they will not survive in the wild. How about us? We will not survive in the cradle of civilization if we do not have strong values either!

2006-10-21T10:40:00.001+08:00

The Black Nazarene & Fanaticism
21 October – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: A brilliant German, who had written books on theology, watched the people in Quiapo touching the Black Nazarene. He wept and said: ‘If only I had half the faith of these people!’ You can’t believe it. Apt image from ShutterWil who captions it ‘The Black Nazarene’ (flickr.com/). The images in the composite show the Filipinos paying rapt attention to the Black Nazarene passing by, to what’s happening. The non-Catholics (including the intellectuals) would call this fanaticism. And the non-Catholics are fanatic about that condemnation. Ah, but the Roman Catholics are nothing if not fanatics. You have to hand it to them. Faith after all is nothing but the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2006-10-20T23:25:00.001+08:00

Mother Mary
20 October – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Filipino, and the Filipina, are prayerful – even if they have never been to school. They learn to pray in childhood, from their mother. Apt image from Cherry Starynyte who captions it 'Mother Mary' (flickr.com/). The mother as teacher. That’s why they call Filipino society matriarchal – and they are right. The mother is the power behind the throne. And that explains the role of Mother Mary in the Roman Catholic faith. The Mother of All.

2006-10-19T12:18:00.001+08:00

Washing For Whom?
19 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When a lavandera washes clothing as best as she can, she is serving her employer ... and she is also serving God. Apt image from Kalabird who captions in simply 'Washing clothes' (flickr.com/). The key thought is: 'as best as she can' - happiness, as much as God, requires that you should be doing the best you can whatever you happen to be doing that you ought to be doing. Ultimately, everything begins and ends with God. In our self-centered existence, that of course is difficult to see, not to mention accept.

2006-10-18T11:01:00.001+08:00

Children & Parents
18 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When children obey their parents, they are pleasing their father and mother. But they are also pleasing God. Apt image from Lithoglyphic who captions it, of course, 'Children obey your parents' (flickr.com/). Nowadays, children obey their parents more in the exception than the rule. Do we parents deserve such respect? Me, I don't listen to my children like I should, so why should I expect them to listen to me more than I listen to them? My joke here is this: The problem with being a parent is that when you learn to be good, it's too late.

2006-10-17T21:55:00.001+08:00

A trapped child
17 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When a fireman goes into the flames to rescue a trapped child, and comes out carrying the child in his arms, he is risking his life for the child, and for God. Apt image from Napaeye who captions it simply 'Ghost' (flickr.com/). You can't be a fireman if you're not heroic; being a fireman is one of the few jobs in the world where you are paid and given a chance to be a hero. It is a difficult life, and we can't thank the firemen enough.

2006-10-16T12:59:00.001+08:00

Cook, cook, cook!
16 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: You serve God with the labor of your hands. When a maid cooks carefully, she is serving the family. And she is also serving God. Apt image from Tulapops who captions it ‘Cook cook cooks’ (flickr.com/). Can the cook appreciate that? All she does is cook, cook, cook! Can we the eaters appreciate that? All we do is eat, eat, eat! We each have to learn to appreciate what we do in the context of what others do.

2006-10-14T04:43:00.001+08:00

The Mother & Child
14 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If a mother nurses her baby at her breast, she is giving herself to her baby, and through the baby to God. Apt image from OjosVerdesDeJuana who captions it 'Mother Nursing' (flickr.com/). In the modern world, there is so much emphasis on the woman's body by, who else, the woman, that she chooses not to breastfed her baby, because that will 'expose' her, not to mention 'destroy' her figure - in fact, often, she chooses not to have a baby at all! Many (millions?) women don't see the beauty of The Mother & Child.

2006-10-13T18:13:00.001+08:00

Ones To Share One
13 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The heart of the Gospel is sharing, caring, love. If you share what you have with someone in need, you are living by the Word of God. Apt image from GoldFishah who captions it 'Sharing!!!' (flickr.com/). What do you do when you have only so much to share with so many? You share anyway. You can refuse to share, of course, but that means you can live pretty much by yourself. You are selfish. But if you think through this one, you will see that if you were really thinking for yourself, you will share because what you share comes back to you one way or the other.

2006-10-12T17:55:00.001+08:00

Happy Heart
12 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If you love someone, what you get back is love - the sweetest thing in all the world, the most precious possession that you will ever have! Apt image from Lucy10 who captions it 'Happy Heart' (flickr.com/). Have a happy heart, everyone!

2006-10-11T18:19:00.001+08:00

What Did I Do Wrong?
11 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Be kind to everyone, even if they do not do everything right! Apt image from Sheila Hudson who captions it well: 'What New Year's Day was like' (flickr.com/). Surely you can always find a lesson from a mistake, something to celebrate from an error, a happier point of view from a sad state of affairs. The image shows sadness, but isn't it lovely?

Note: What did I do wrong? How do I explain the many posts I have on this one day, the eleventh of October? The last typhoon ('Milenyo') hit Los Baños with her savage fury and left us without power for a good 11 days, and I have just come around to blogging at this site.

2006-10-11T18:05:00.001+08:00

Saints?
09 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: How do you become a Saint? By doing the best you can, every moment of your life. Not even God can ask more than that! Apt image from Buddha1098 who captions it simply 'Saints' (flickr.com/). Be sure you did your best when you say you did your best. You can lie to others, but you can't lie to yourself. If you fail, you have the warm, consoling thought that you did your best. It's not easy to be a Saint, is it? No. Doing your best is a habit you have to cultivate by doing your best all the time - and then doing more.

2006-10-11T17:58:00.001+08:00

Absent Friends
10 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Be grateful for your friends! They are the real treasure of your life! Apt image from Lou Rouge who captions it 'Absent Friends' (flickr.com/). How can you tell if you're grateful for your friends or not? If you are grateful for your friends, you will prove to be a friend to each one of them. You can't be a friend in words only. If you are an absent friend, you radiate silent words that hurt.

2006-10-11T17:48:00.001+08:00

Eager Hands
08 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: You serve God with every smile, with every handshake, with every kind word. In loving people, you are loving God. Apt image by OxDE who captions it 'Tee Ball: Handshake' (flickr.com/). Your eager hand will show your eager heart with every handshake - or it will betray you. Your warm smile will warm a heart who may happen to be cold right now. Your kind word will lighten a load that may happen to be heavy at the moment. You never know.

2006-10-11T17:30:00.001+08:00

Hands That Cook
07 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: We serve God by the labor of our hands. The doctor serves God in every delivery, in every operation. The servant serves God in every meal she cooks. We serve God by doing the job that God has given us, as best as we can! Apt image from Hideo JP who captions it simply 'Cook' (flickr.com/). She is a cook; he is a doctor; I am a writer - do we do what we do in the best way we can? He cuts his patients (he's a surgeon); she writes her menus down; I cook up different kinds of articles - are we doing what we are doing in the name of love?

2006-10-11T16:08:00.001+08:00

A Beautiful Mom
06 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The martyrs gave themselves to God in one swift moment - the agonizing moment of death. We give ourselves to God in every beautiful moment of life! Apt image from EllesMommy who captions it 'A real life moment, captured on film!' (flickr.com/). We don't have to be martyrs all to give ourselves to God, as this mother beautifully illustrates. It is, quite literally, an act of life, an act of love.

2006-10-11T15:57:00.001+08:00

Resurrection Lines
05 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord felt compassion for the widow of Naim. He raised her son to life. He feels compassion for us, and when we are sunk in sin, he raises us to love and life! Apt image from Tunruh who captions it 'Resurrection lilies' (flickr.com/). But not that fast. We sink in sin that fast, but we don't acknowledge the sin and ask for forgiveness that fast. Pity, we don't fall in line for resurrection here and now. The giver is waiting to be asked, the asker is nowhere to be found.

2006-10-11T15:35:00.001+08:00

Sad & Sweet
04 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Virgin Mary suffered seven sorrows. But she stayed sweet, even when she was in pain. That is exactly what we should do. Apt image from BennyAdams who captions it 'Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Tugatog' (Our Lady of Sorrows) (flickr.com/). Stay sad and swee: Isn't that too much to ask of any mortal? Indeed, it is - and that's exactly why it is asked of each of us, if we would be blessed. Blessedness is given to those who deserve it.

2006-10-11T15:04:00.001+08:00

The Colors of Gethsemane
03 October - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord sweated blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, because of the agonizing fear of death. But he said: 'Not my will but thine be done!' That is exactly what we must do! Apt images from Madrigle who captions the first one simply 'Gethsemane' and the second one 'Gethsemane detail' (flickr.com/). Blood, sweat and tears are the colors of Gethsemane. Today as I write this (11 October), EWTN's Mother Angelica is being asked in a 1996 broadcast about a happy death. She says that's what she prays everyday for, a happy death. She says that whatever the manner of our death, we have to accept it. Revised with 2nd image uploaded 03 November after comment by Madrigle.

2006-09-27T10:10:00.001+08:00

A house on fire
27 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it. That means: He sent Our Lord to find you and to bring you home. You are the prodigal child. Your father does not wait for you to come back home but sends his son to go look for you. And you will come home only if you like - love is not forced on anyone, otherwise it is not love.

Another view: The world is a house on fire right now. Apt image from Nybird who captions it 'Burning down a condemned house' (flickr.com/). The solution to the problems of the world is not to condemn the house, not to set the house on fire, but to save the house. 'Make love, not war' was the hippies' slogan in the 1960s. They were right!

2006-09-26T09:18:00.001+08:00

Stumbling blocks
26 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The mercy of God is above all His works. His heart goes out to you, especially when you fall. Apt image from Charles Requina who captions it 'Stumbling house in Williamsburg' (flickr.com/). I say apt because we are all stumbling blocks or bodies, no one exempted. We all fall. Even Confucius says, 'Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.' We can always rise as long as we want to, but we can't rise in love without the love of God. You can only rise to your height if you don't believe in God or you don't follow his commandments.

2006-09-25T13:08:00.001+08:00

Is Mary Magdalene you?
25 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord said - I will have mercy - and not sacrifice!' He had mercy on Mary Magdalene. He will have mercy on you. Apt image from Catou who simply captions it 'Mary Magdalene statue' (flickr.com/). Mary Magdalene was a sinner, and that was public knowledge. But she repented; she asked for forgiveness. She showed much respect for Jesus. Now, what happens when you don't realize that you are a sinner? You can't be Mary Magdalene. You can't show any respect for the Lord either.

Added 26 September: Another interpretation of 'I want mercy, not sacrifice' is this: I want love, not merely sacrifice. I want you to give love, not merely a little mercy. Love is all mercy; a little mercy is not love. Your tender mercies are welcome but do not equate to love.

2006-09-24T09:39:00.001+08:00

Hopeless case?
24 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: There are no sins that God will not forgive. There are no hopeless cases. He is a Father and you are His child. Remember the Parable of the Prodigal Son? I rather like to call it the Parable of the Prodigal Father. American Heritage Dictionary says prodigal means 'rashly or wastefully extravagant' - the father in that parable is prodigal in his love for his wayward son who had come home and asked for forgiveness. How much more the Father above?

Another view: Apt image from Legoolas who captions it 'Hopeless is you never done your best' (flickr.com/). If you have no faith, you have no hope - and vice versa. You must believe in yourself also, and then to act according to that belief. Faith - along with hope and love - is not a noun; it's a verb. You have to do it; you have to act it out, not simply think about it, not simply talk about it. Just do it!

2006-09-23T10:11:00.001+08:00

To let or not to let go
23 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Peter asked: 'How many times should I forgive? Until seven times?' Our Lord answered: 'No. U ntil 70 times seven times!' That is the Hebrew symbol for infinity. Apt image from John Hanscom who captions it simply 'Forgive_front' (flickr.com/). If you say you have forgiven but have not forgotten, you have not forgiven - as simple as that. There is resentment, or anger, or vengefulness, or humiliation or all of the above still simmering in your heart.

Me, I have been a victim of my naivete. I had been doing things for people who would be promising to give back a definite something - and then nothing, or almost nothing. But I had not been disillusioned. I keep going back. My naivete means I had been giving people the benefit of the doubt, including the people who had done it unto me according to their weird sense of love of fellowman. I had been forgetting what they had done to me in the past. And what were those? I can recall them if I like, but not with resentment, not with anger, not with vengefulness, not with humiliation on my part. Don't tell me you believe in God but cannot forgive, reallly forgive. I don't have to believe in God to be able to forgive - I know that not being able to forgive is bad for my health!

2006-09-22T14:49:00.001+08:00

Virgin Mary, forever!
22 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Virgin Mary is all heart, all love. You are her child. She will guard you and guide you, forever! I like this Virgin Mary for today's message; the image is that of Monceau who captions it 'Virgin Mary in the cemetery' (flickr.com/). This is a mother who is willing to soil her clothes for the sake of her children, to the very end. In Luke 2: 22-35 is the story of the Presentation of the Child Jesus where an old man named Simeon takes the child in his arms and says to the mother that her heart too will be pierced with a sword. But her faith has always been full: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord,' she tells the announcing angel, 'be it done unto me according to thy word.' By our deeds her heart had been pierced, but she would always be our mother.

2006-09-21T12:52:00.001+08:00

Your Mother & Child
21 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The Virgin Mary ran to lift up the child Jesus when He fell. She will run to lift you up when you fall! Apt image from Beloved Supplanter who captions it 'Holy Mother & Child' (flickr.com/). She is also your Mother and you are also her Child. Who is the mother who will not run to pick up her child when she falls? The absent mother. But this mother is not an absent mother; she is an ever-present mother.

2006-09-20T13:02:00.001+08:00

Pure girl
20 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If a girl is pure, she is beautiful - not only on the outside, but in her heart and soul. Apt image from PJJ Penny who captions it 'Beautiful Girl' (flickr.com/). PJJ has many shots of beautiful girls but I chose this photograph of a girl who is not smashingly beautiful or radiantly good-looking but a girl who is acting and looking herself, not pretending to be what she is not, an innocent-looking little lady with gladness in her heart. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the heart of the beholden.

2006-09-19T15:12:00.001+08:00

The Golden Sun
19 September – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If a man is faithful to his wife, his strength is as the strength of ten, because his heart is pure! Apt image from Chellguth who captions it ‘GoldenGateMorning’ (flicker.com/). Are you as faithful as the light shining on the Golden Gate at sunrise? In the United States, the divorce rate is 23 out of 1,000 married couples. That speaks much of the value of marriage to the Yankees. What about all over the world? I searched for FAITHFUL WIFE in Flickr and I got 48 photos; I searched for FAITHFUL HUSBAND and I got 89 photos. That's even worse.

Now, what about being faithful and having the strength of an ox? I don’t know about that, because I have been faithful and I don’t have the strength of ten; I’m as strong as me, the one who can’t lift a 60-kilo bag of rice, or a 60-kilo computer monitor. Actually, what Fr Reuter means is not about physical strength but moral strength. A faithful husband would be able to influence the fidelity of at last ten other husbands.

2006-09-17T09:10:00.001+08:00

To tell you the truth
17 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If someone tells lies, habitually, they are sick in their mind and heart. If you tell the truth, always, you are strong and healthy in your soul. Apt image from See Brown Eyes who captions it simply 'Mind' (flckr.com/). That is correct, Father. I agree with you. But, to tell you the truth Father, if you always tell the truth, you won't have friends. So, perhaps, we can temper it and say, 'Always tell the truth with love.' Even 'Always tell the Truth with Love.' Love not only in the Biblical sense but also in sense of the Magisterium and in the sense of Tradition. Telling the Biblical truth is not enough.

2006-09-16T11:12:00.001+08:00

The Sick & The Doctor
16 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord said, 'Those who are well do not need a physician. Sick people do!' He describes sin as a sickness. And it is! Apt image from Ajl Lesko who captions it 'I didn't feel good that day' (flickr.com/). When Jesus was castigated for associating with sinners, he replied that that was precisely the reason he associated with them: they needed to know their sins. And of course that was where the danger was. Associating with sinners is always a risk. Hate the sin but not the sinner. If you do that, then love becomes a risk. But then, if it is not a risk, love is nothing.

2006-09-15T10:59:00.001+08:00

Do you love or hate?
15 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Love is the heart of the gospel. If you love anyone, in loving that person, you are loving God. There's an apt image from Maia Taieb who captions it 'Je peux tres bien' (flickr.com/) and which I don't understand and can't translate. I think it's apt that I dont' understand love being the heart of the Gospel; I don't have to understand love or God to be able to love. If you try to understand or define love, you'll never be able to love.

2006-09-14T10:24:00.001+08:00

Forgive & forget
14 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Forgive! If you forgive from your heart, God will forgive you for all your sins!' Apt image from AlterredEgo aka ArtsySF who captions like you read it (flickr.com/). The tragedy of 11 September was so devastating that it was really a wake-up call for Americans that they are vulnerable. Now, it's impossible for the Americans to forgive and forget, right? It is. That is why it is worth all the mighty effort. If there is a God, that one will be made right in its own time. The Americans who will not forget, they will never forgive. And they will never receive God's grace.

2006-09-13T09:59:00.001+08:00

God is life
13 Septembber - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: God is life. Nobody knows what that means. But it is true. God said it. Apt image from Paco Espinoza who captions it simply as 'Mariposas' (flickr.com/). Actually, any image that shows life is apt this time. Who understands life? Only the scientists claim to understand life, that it just happened, the cause that was not caused by an uncaused cause. How can science claim to understand life when it cannot get out of life in order to understand it? Science cannot make life an object of research because scientists are part of life. They cannot understand life in relation to life, only in relation to something greater than life, which they do not believe in.

2006-09-12T14:00:00.001+08:00

Cup of Kindness
12 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The heart of the Gospel is love - God's love for us. We return that love to HIm through each other. Every time you are kind to anyone, you are being kind to God. Apt image from Asteri Design who captions it 'Cup of Kindness' (flickr.com/). It is not easy to be kind - if it were, everyone would be kind. But that's exactly the reason why we should be kind, we should try mighty hard to be kind - because it's difficult. I have no formula how to be kind; if I had, I would be a saint. And then again, maybe the lives of saints can give us a good idea how to get there.

I just surfed the Internet googling for "patron saint of kindness" and I found Herb Dengler, Portola Valley artist and naturalist. 'Herb was the patron saint of kindness,' says Philippe Cohen, director of Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, where Herb has inspired generations of researchers and docents for 40 years (almanacnews.com/). He said he was 'the voice of inarticulate invertebrates.' In other words, he was kind to animals of all kinds.

2006-09-11T09:30:00.001+08:00

Kindly be kind
11 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If you have a kind word for everybody, Our Lord will have the kindest of all words for you. 'This day thou shalt be with me, in Paradise.' Apt image from ScarabTroy2 who captions it simply 'Kindness' (flickr.com/). Kindness has to be engraved in our hearts if it is to be of use. It has to be a habit like smiling. Of course it is a risk to be kind - but what good would it be if there is no risk? If you are kind to those who are kind to you, what good is there in that? Don't the criminals do the same?

2006-09-10T23:14:00.002+08:00

Helping Hand
10 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: There is no one so poor that he cannot give. You can always give a helping hand. You can always say the gentle word. You can always smile. You can always give yourself. You can love. Apt image from Megan's Dad who captions it simply 'Helping Hand' (flickr.com/). Unless we are like children, we will always be so poor that we cannot give a helping hand, say a gentle word, smile, give ourselves, love. Suffer the little children to come unto me, Jesus said, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

2006-09-09T12:46:00.001+08:00

Friends?
9 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: As you grow older, you will come to realize that the most beautiful gift that God can give to anyone is a friend! Thank God for every friend you have! Apt image from Pumpkin77 who captions it 'Friendship' (flickr.com/). Two bikes parked together is a beautiful symbol of friendship, I say. It means that you share more than just riding a bike, more than just bringing along food even if the other can't or didn't. It means more than physical closeness. It means warmth.

2006-09-08T09:37:00.001+08:00

God's canvas

8 September – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: See God in the sunset. Feel his breath in the morning breeze. Hear his voice in the laughter of a child. And thank God that you are alive! Apt image from Tobyotter who captions it 'God's canvas' (flickr.com/). It is not only the sunset that is God's canvas; you are part of that canvas. The world is God's canvas. Thank God you are part of that canvas. A sunset is beautiful, so is a sunrise. If there is no sunset, there is no sunrise. Some see the painting, others see the painter - you should see both.

2006-09-06T18:21:00.001+08:00

Veronica, is that you?
6 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Veronica wiped the spittle from the face of Our Lord with her veil. When you befriend an outcast, you are like Veronica, the friend of God. It is impossible to see God in outcasts like squatters and prostitutes and sinners and men, women & children begging in the streets, right? Right! That's precisely why we must do it. If God wants us to do something easy, what reward would He give us? (Apt images from TheWellGathering who captions it 'Station 6 - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus' and MaryLea who captions it 'Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus,' both from flickr.com - I couldn't decide which one is best, so I decided to show both.) Everyone of us needs the faith of Veronica to be able to do the impossible.

2006-09-05T17:44:00.001+08:00

Forgive them?
5 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When Our Lord was arrested unjustly, tried, convicted, and nailed on the cross, he said: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!' You must try to be like God. Apt image from mike donahue who captions it 'Forgive them, they know not what they do' (flickr.com/). But how can you forgive your enemies: it's impossible, right? It is, if you're trying to do it all by yourself. You just keep telling yourself, 'I forgive you, I forgive them ...' If you do that, I guarantee you keep remembering the hurt, the harm, the hard feelings. And the hardest person to forgive of all? You, yourself. Unless you forgive yourself, you cannot forgive others. You must start with yourself. And how do you do that? Start by admitting that you're not perfect either. I mean, swallow your pride!

2006-09-04T09:35:00.001+08:00

The Prodigal Son
4 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: The father of the prodigal son watched for him, from the rooftop. And when he saw his son in the distance, he ran to him! You must be that way, with anyone who hurts you. You must be like God. Apt image from Simon K who captions it 'The return of the prodigal son' (flickr.com/). My own title to the story and the photograph is 'The Prodigal Father' - you must be the prodigal father even (or especially) if you were once the prodigal son. At 66, I'm just learning to be the prodigal father myself, and I am glad.

2006-09-03T10:11:00.000+08:00

Broken Hearts
3 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If you say a kind word to one whose heart is broken, they will be grateful to you, forever. And God will remember that kind word, forever! Apt image from Butterfly Deniz who captions it 'Welcome to the Club of Broken Hearts' (flickr.com/). The girl in the photo is Deniz herself. It is clear from the eyes that she has a broken heart; sometimes you cannot tell a broken heart by just looking. Say a kind word anyway!
Added 4 September
Deniz has written these lines (comment to a comment):
Don't be scared of your shadow
You can't hide from your sorrow
You can't stay here till tomorrow.
Welcome to the club of broken hearts
Where a thousand lonely souls
have passed.

2006-09-02T11:34:00.001+08:00

Saint or sinner?
2 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord looked for the sinners, and was very kind to them. When your friend does you wrong, be kind. Keep an open mind, an open heart. Try to be like God. Apt image from Meaty Ogre who captions it 'Sinner!' You are either a saint or a sinner. Why did Jesus associate with sinners? Because it is the sick who needs the doctor, he said. It is the sinners who need the washing of their souls. If you are not kind, if your mind is not open, if your heart is not open, then you are not a saint - you are certainly a sinner.

2006-09-01T21:39:00.001+08:00

Suffer, the little ones
1 September - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Our Lord said, 'Suffer the children to come unto me.' You must be like God. Be good to the little ones. Apt image from SkiSkiSkiCanada who captions it 'Poor Children' (flickr.com/). Poor children! It is always the children who are helpless. It is always the children who must suffer us adults. It is always the children who are at our mercy, even the meanest of them. They love us more than we love them.

2006-08-31T21:20:00.001+08:00

Reaching out
31 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Christ our Lord reached out to the leper. You must reach out to everyone God sends to you this day. They are hungry for God. They must find God in you. Apt image from Meanest Child who captions it 'Anandwan logo + leper' (flickr.com/). To reach out is to extend one's helping hand, not simply tongue. You can pray for every poor in the world and not reach out and help someone who begs for alms, a coin or two from you. You can easily say this particular beggar is lazy he prefers to beg. You can easily say it's the job of government to provide for the needs of beggars, not you. But it doesn't have to be a beggar, or a leper. It can be anyone asking for help, or not asking for help but needing it anyway.

2006-08-30T17:11:00.001+08:00

3 is family, 4 is a crowd

30 August – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: You will meet many people today. Each one if your brother, your sister. You are one family, the children of God. Treat them that way! Apt? image from DuChamp Fitz, no caption (flickr.com/). You may ask: How can I feel each one of those as part of my extended, extended family? In the first place, I don't know any of them, and I don't like the looks of some of them. My own answer is: The brotherhood of man does not rest on blood but on their single village, their single town, their single province, their single country, their single region, their single world. What's in it for me? We are all in this together whether we like it or not, so we better like it!

2006-08-29T10:06:00.001+08:00

The Parable Of The Lost Shepherd
29 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If you have wandered away from God, if you have lost Him, Our Lord will come looking for you. You are the lost lamb. He will carry you home on his shoulders. Apt image from Geoff Handley who captions it simply 'Sheep' (flickr.com/). Now, consider the metaphor of the lamb. Since you strayed, do you still consider yourself a lamb? That is important. You need a shepherd. But whether you got yourself lost or if you consider yourself The Shepherd of the Lamb that is You, that's an entirely different matter. In that case, the parable is that of The Lost Shepherd and you are the hero!

2006-08-28T12:28:00.001+08:00

Looking at pain
28 August – The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Thank God for pain. It unites you to Christ on the Cross. You become like the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John, sharing the suffering of God. Apt image from The Dark Side who captions it ‘Suffering City’ (flickr.com/). Accept it and thank God that you are able to bear the pain. Reject it and it will become worse. In any case pain, like joy, is meant to be shared. Sharing informs our humanity. When you come to accept that, you will see that pain is part of the gift of life. Thank God for the gift!

2006-08-27T12:00:00.001+08:00

Don't say it!

27 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If someone insults you, or ridicules you, or hurts you – do not strike back! Your silence will heap coals of fire on his head. And your patience will bring you closer to God. Apt image from EDavid3001 (flickr.com/). You can declare yourself a ridicule-free zone. Of course, it is easier and simpler to strike back – and that is usually your first reaction. I know the feeling. Even if you don’t say a word to strike back, if you keep the hurt inside, that’s not the idea at all. For years, I used to do that. You need to transcend the situation, to think beyond the hurting words, to not mind what words are being said but instead to understand why they are being said.

2006-08-26T09:24:00.001+08:00

Rejecting a gift
26 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Thank God for all the beautiful gifts he has given you. Life, itself! It is better to be than not to be. Every day, every hour, every minute is a gift. Apt image from Photoglah who captions it 'Retirement' (flickr.com/). Well, you don't have to be 92 as Fr Reuter is to be retired from life; you can be 82 or 72 or 19 and not appreciate what life has to offer. Didn't someone say? 'Today is the beginning of the rest of your life!' To retire from life is to live on the negatives, on the regrets, on anger, on blamings, on the hurts, on the unhappy memories. To reject the gift of life is to not accept that your role in society is but a small one; to accept is to be glad that no matter how small it is, you are playing your part in the grand design, which is not yours.

2006-08-25T10:12:00.001+08:00

When you have nothing
25 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Whenever you have nothing to give - that is when you are richest! Give a helping hand. Say a kind word. Smile. They are the most beautiful gifts of all. Apt image from Definitely who captions it, of course, 'A Kind Word' (flickr.com/). The best gifts in life are free! Even so, we have a hard time giving: a helping hand, a kind word, a smile. That's because we are always thinking in the negative. We don't have faith, and that's what we share even if we don't say anything at all. Okay, I'll reverse this one and say: Whenever you have nothing, whenever you feel empty, that's when you need to give. So, give yourself a helping hand, a kind word, a smile.

2006-08-24T10:40:00.001+08:00

Thanks a lot!
24 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If someone offers to help you, accept it! And say, thank you! It will make the one who helped you feel good. Apt image from Pookah Dots who captions it 'Marching Thanks, detail' (flickr.com/). To accept help is to accept the commitment to relate, to acknowledge that you cannot live without other people, that you're incomplete with just you alone. To reject help is to announce to the world that you don't need anybody to tell you what to do or to help you in what you're doing. Which means what you're doing is only for yourself: 'No, thank you.' Yes?

2006-08-23T11:14:00.001+08:00

The sharer shares
23 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When you do not have enough to eat, share the little that you have! The food gives strength to your body. But sharing gives strength to your soul. Apt image from Sound of Silence who captions it 'But sympathy , that's what we need' (flickr.com/). The tag of her photograph says: Illusion. Sympathy is an illusion if you don't have it; if you have it, it's very real to the person you sympathize with, and you can feel it, and makes you feel better. If you are selfish, you deny yourself the chance to make that illusion a reality.

2006-08-22T10:23:00.001+08:00

HELP!

22 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Whenever someone is in need of help, try help him! You don't lose a thing. And you gain a friend. Apt image from Robson Cassimiro who captions it 'HELP' (flickr.com/). As far as I can determine, that’s Paul McCartney and John Lennon singing ‘HELP!’

HELP!
The Beatles

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,
My independence seems to vanish in the haze.
But every now and then I feel so insecure,
I know that I just need you like I've never done before.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me?

When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way.
But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground,
Won't you please, please help me, help me, help me? oh.

2006-08-21T11:07:00.001+08:00

We're a team, aren't we?
21 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When you are at work, encourage those who work with you! Congratulate them for everything they do well. They will love you for it. Image from JoelManers who captions it 'Cat and Mouse' and doesn't look like it's apt for the message this time. But it is - when you work with people, you're a team whether you like it or not. So you better be a team. A family is the best example of a work group, although the 'work' happens to be 'play' - if somebody follows Fr Reuter's advice, everybody wins.

2006-08-20T08:56:00.001+08:00

Forever and forever
20 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Whenever you give, even if you are cheated, you are giving to God. And God will remember it, forever! Apt image from Dead End Girl which she titles 'The stars that go on forever and ever ...' (flickr.com/). Of course! If you remember it, why not God? When you give and you don't feel cheated, God will remember it. Even if you forget it, you can be sure God will remember it. The poor we will always have with us; what about the giver?

2006-08-19T09:26:00.001+08:00

Dody's Beggar
19 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When you give to a beggar, it means: You are my brother. You are my sister. I want to help you, all I can. Apt image from Dody who captions it simply 'Beggar' (flickr.com/). 'You are my mother.' I never thought of it that way. It certainly is not all I can, but a little help goes a long, long way. It's very easy to say, 'She's a beggar because she refuses to work. She just likes to beg because it's easy, it's not work. Me, I have to struggle to earn something, so why should I share it with someone who is lazy? She is probably begging for somebody else who is as lazy.' If you think like that, you are of course right. You are using reason. But since when did love require reason?

2006-08-18T10:05:00.001+08:00

Beg your pardon?
18 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: When a child approaches you on the streets, begging, try to give something, even a little. Apt image from The Allens who captions it simply 'Mexico03' (flickr.com/). Apt I say because the photo indicates that there are at least two sides to a begging, especially by a child: one side we see, one side we don't. Usually, we see only the hand begging, not beyond that. Not very often, but sometimes I hesitate to give because I see the same hands and I think of why I should support mendicancy. She looks healthy to me, she's begging for somebody else. That is the logical me, the critical me. I am applying reason, social science. Now, where is my faith? Isn't it that to those who have been given more, more shall be demanded? To those who have been given a little, a little more shall be demanded. 'For no one is so rich that he cannot receive; no one is so poor that he cannot give.'

2006-08-17T17:11:00.001+08:00

Thank God for rains
17 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: Thank God, even for the rain! Not only does it clean the air, it is good for the farmer too. Apt image from Eno On who captions it 'Rain dripping from leaf' (flickr.com/). The rain has two meanings to all of us, including the farmer. Can there be too much rain? Yes, if it floods. Yes, if it erodes the soil. And why does rain erode the soil of the farmer? Because he has not been taking good care of it, has not left enough organic matter in the soil to keep the soil particles in place. If the farmer has a bare field, and usually he does, and it rains, there goes the muddy water, carrying off the fat of the land. Thank God for the rain anyway: what would we do without the rain?

2006-08-16T09:49:00.001+08:00

Breakfast at Kym.'s
16 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If you like what you had for breakfast, praise the ones who prepared it. You will make their day. Apt image from someone who signs herself Kym. (with the .) and captions the image 'Breakfast at Kym.'s' (flickr.com/). Suppose the breakfast is as simple as a toast and butter? I will give praise anyway. I will also give praise for the cow who gave the milk. If it were eggs, I will give praise for the chicken. It is good to give praise.

2006-08-15T11:48:00.001+08:00

Not doing good.
15 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: In your own family, be positive. Praise the ones you love for all the good things that they do. Apt image from Joy Mom Becky who captions it 'Not doing good' (flickr.com/). 'That's what the boys say,' she says: '"I'm not doing good."' What is Mom or Dad supposed to do? Suppose there's nothing our loved ones do that we see is good? The problem is not with our loved ones but with us - we cannot see anything right in others, and we cannot see anything wrong in us. The solution? Learn to give thanks to God for everything. In the end, everything works together for the good of those who love God.

2006-08-14T09:19:00.001+08:00

Say something ... nice!
14 August - The pastoral text of Fr Reuter is this: If the thought that comes to you is harsh, don't say it. Be gentle. Always say something good. Apt image from BabyM who captions it 'Saying ... something' (flickr.com/). Easy to say: It's difficult to control the tongue - if you have an unforgiving attitude in the first place, if you are not like a child who does not keep count of hurts. And how do you get a gentle, forgiving attitude? You can't, until you learn to forgive yourself, until you learn to forgive others, and until you admit that the world can go on without you.