1. Today, we begin the discipline of Lent. Our Lenten practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting help us to meditate on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the Paschal mystery of God’s Love made real and true for all humankind. This is the truth of our Christian Catholic faith; we recall this more intimately and with greater reverence through our participation in the liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

    Individually and together, almsgiving, prayer and fasting also invite each of us into the particular Lenten experience of going into the wilderness, and there meeting God. This journey however is not of our own making. It is God’s divine providence: seeing how our efforts to be saintly are often marred by our human weakness, God reaches out to us even more at this time. He does so to lift us up from the quagmire of tainted human existence into His own wonderful light. Hosea reminds us that it is God who calls us into the desert to speak tenderly to us (2: 14). Lent is therefore a graced moment for us to respond to these, God's redeeming actions.

    What would God say to us if we meet him there? Perhaps, this painful truth: “You have sinned against Me and against My people.” We know this even if we try ever so often to evade it. Yet, God utters this in the same breath as he speaks tender words of forgiveness. These words remind us, like it did the prodigal son, that we can come home; there, we will be welcomed in a love that accepts, affirms and celebrates who we are, still God’s beloved.

    I’d like to believe that when you and I dare to be truly honest with ourselves and God, we can accept this invitation to go into the wilderness. This wilderness however is not physical; it is the barren, dry and sometimes ugly landscape of our Christian life. When we brave ourselves to traverse this landscape that we often avoid entering, we will surprisingly find a merciful God who has always been present there, forgiving us to nourish daily, even as we pain Him again and again with our sins.

    This is a Lenten theme we know so well. Sadly, we are sometimes numb to its deeper message. I am guilty of this too, now and then. This is why in my prayer at this time I wish to meditate on this Lenten truth: God wants to give us His mercy because He is truly a compassionate God. To guide my prayer, I have written these questions: “Does it really matter to me that God wishes to be merciful because He loves me? Do I really want God’s mercy? What must I do to receive it?”

    Perhaps, you too might want to reflect on these questions as we begin Lent together. I believe meditating on them will return us to that singular invitation Lent presents us with, conversion. Like the prodigal son, conversion is the pathway for you and me, who so often try our best to be good but repeatedly stumble, to really reclaim God’s gift that the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus proclaims—His infinite mercy saves!




    artwork: Christ of st john of the cross by salvador dali, 1951

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  2. At the heart of all presents we receive is presence.

    When we receive Thomas the Train for our birthdays as children or pineapple tarts from the boss at Chinese New Year, we are receiving more than the present itself. What we hold in our hands expresses another’s love and care for us, even her interest. Indeed, what I am really being gifted with is the presence of a family member or friend. Mom's presence will remain long after I have torn apart the wrapper and found the gift. And after the birthday guests have departed, my friend's gift of a book will continue to speak his presence in the now quiet room.


    These past weeks I have not blogged because I have been busy with work in the office and parish. It has been tiring and trying: tiring as I juggled the many works and trying as I struggled to balance prayer, ministry and rest. There were times when prayer was dry and ministry was routine. Yet, in the midst of all this, God was kind enough to make Himself present. Through people, events and circumstances, through prayer and the Eucharist, God blessed my life and works. His forgiveness was poured; his love abounded. Nourished, I learned once again that God is not only gracious and faithful: He is indeed to be found in all things, as Ignatius reminds us.

    But why would God bother to be with us when we sometimes don’t bother enough about Him? I believe God does because He wants to be with us. At Christmas, we recall God’s gift of Jesus to humankind. In Jesus, who said “to see me is to see my Father,” we can take heart that the living, loving presence of the mysterious, invisible God is one with us.

    I celebrate this truth when I recall Jesus choosing to sit with tax collectors and prostitutes, with holy men and God-fearing women. It is assuring: truly, this is a God-with-us. In Jesus, we see a God who wants to meet us as we are because He wants to involve Himself in our everydayness, be it saintly or sinful. And when I read of Jesus at the wedding of Cana, I cannot help but ‘see’ Jesus feasting and laughing, singing and dancing with us. Jesus shouts out loud that He wants to celebrate life and faith with us. What a wonder!

    To be present then is as much to be with--and not only for--another in good times, as well as in the bad and difficult. This is Christmas’ good news: God’s presence is ours. Truly, the gift of God’s presence to us, and that we give to another, in turn, is most precious and sacred.

    God was faithfully present in my busyness from, and sometimes my forgetfulness of, Him. Then, I found myself asking this question: “what am I to do?” I found an answer in my daily struggles to be friend with Jesus. As I kept trying, I found myself saying, “Here, I am, Lord. I come to do your will.” When I did it right, I smiled. When I failed, I recognized how much more I needed to let God be present in my life. What I was really saying in all of this was “Here, I am Lord. Teach me to be your child.” Does this echo your prayer?

    I’d like to believe that as we continue to live in friendship with Jesus, He will teach us that God desires no other gift but ourselves. God invites us to give Him ourselves so that Him can perfect us.

    When we do this, we can listen and converse with God. We can then follow Him more closely because we will know why we want to follow Him and how to do so. Indeed, our lives can then become a better present to Him and to all peoples.

    The year is young. There is still time to give God and others the gift of our presence. Will you join me to do this?




    artwork: les noces de Cana by louis kahan, 1949
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"Bukas Palad"
"Bukas Palad"
is Filipino for open palms
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Peace and welcome, dear friend.
I hope you will find in these posts something that speaks to you of the God who loves us all and who always holds us in the palm of his hand. Blessings!
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Fall in Love, Stay in Love
Fall in Love, Stay in Love

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute way final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."

Pedro Arrupe, sj, Superior General, 1965 - 1983

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is a 50something Catholic who resides in Singapore and works for the Church. He is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.
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©adrian.danker.sj, 2006-2018

The views I express in these pages are personal. They do not speak for the Society of Jesus or the Catholic Church.
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