Not many but much.

Father-General Nicolas, the superior-general of the Society of Jesus, was in the Philippines a few days ago and he celebrated Mass and gave a talk at school. I wasn't able to attend either event, but my colleague shared a summary of his talk. The theme of it was "Not many, but much" and the real meaning of Magis, depth and universality.

When I was in college, "not many but much" was the wallpaper on my cellphone. A reminder in prayer that what matters is not the number of scripture readings but the depth with which one enters them. A reminder in my org that what matters is not the number of activities but the depth of the activities and the reach of their love.

And I hope that I might continue to be inspired by Ignatius' words today, as a mom, as a wife, as a teacher.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Just wanted to quickly share: Fr. Danny Huang ended his Holy Thursday homily by pointing out that Mark's version of the Last Supper account ends with Jesus and the apostles singing. It's the only time we read of Jesus singing, he points out.

Holy Thursday Mass.

Holy Thursday Mass ... the last Mass before Easter, the Mass that has no end. I haven't been to Holy Thursday Mass in a few years, and I'm longing to go this year.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Pride, sloth, lust, greed, gluttony, anger, envy.

What makes them deadly?

I don't know the theologically correct answer to that, but a few days ago, as I was reflecting on my lack of Lenten spirit, here's what occurred to me.

They are deadly because they are the feelings, emotions, and dispositions that disguise, that numb, our thirst for God.

When we lack God in our life, the emptiness that is supposed to remind us of our desire for God gets covered up by our pride (our desire to build ourselves up), our sloth (our lack of desire to do anything), our lust, our greed ....

And instead of getting in touch with the part of ourselves that hungers for God, we address, instead, the pride or sloth or lust or greed, trying to fill ourselves up with things that give us superficial satisfaction. We become self-righteous or adopt an attitude of entitlement, we fill our idle hours with superficial time-wasters, we try to gratify our sexual desire with loveless sexual conquests, we fill our lives with material things that we don't really need but which we think make us feel better. And yet, beneath the momentary pleasure that all that brings, the emptiness and lack of God remains, a gaping hollowness deep within our hearts.

The amazing thing, however, is that, as St. Augustine reminds us, God can bring goodness even out of evil situations. And maybe, if we are aware of how the devil works, then the next time any of the seven deadly sins strikes, we can recognize the moment as a sign that we need God in our lives, and respond by striving harder to nourish our relationship with the Lord.

Have a blessed Holy Week, everyone. May all of us get in touch with our thirst for God.

Christmas

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

Happy Christmas, everyone!!!!!!!!

Prayer session.

This school year, I was invited to guide a prayer group again. It's been five years since I last did it.

One of my colleagues and mentors remarked that it was going to be different, because I was older. Looking through the old prayer materials and points I prepared for my "guidees" all those years ago, I realized he was right. I could see how in the past, I had rushed a lot of the themes, insisting on getting to a "target" theme within a certain period of time ... similar, I suppose, to the way I handle my lesson plans.

Today, at prayer session, while the group was in silent prayer, I too prayed, and I told God that I was feeling apprehensive, scared, unworthy. I felt like Jeremiah. "It's not your work, but Mine," He reassured me.

Thomas Merton

I've been reading Seven Storey Mountain. A colleague found it in a second-hand bookstore priced at 35 bucks, and he bought it because he "knew that someone at work would want it." I was that lucky someone.

Edifying, inspiring.