We realize that like the clay in the potter hands, we can be stubborn and resistant but we are still in the potter’s hands--- and the potter has a way of molding and remolding, shaping and reshaping us.

How could someone who, in the eyes of the world, was entrusted with so little still give so much? But see, that intentionality of giftedness, that will to live, that deep and great love in a small, crippled body—that was talent already earning huge percentage-interest, minted in love and presence…

This silence is more important than we may suspect. Blogger Andrew Sullivan has written that silence is “the stillness in which faith needs in order to endure or to be reborn.” What better way to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord than with renewed, enduring faith? 

Indeed, we should not let human power get into our heads. We have to constantly remind ourselves that such power is only entrusted to us. It does not belong to us. Ultimately, it belongs to the Lord, He who has supreme authority over all.

To be true brothers and sisters to one another means making sure that no one among us falls astray the path of truth and justice, that every now and then, we check on each other’s moral slip-ups, and gently but surely, correct our faults as we encourage each other's faith.

What is better than a cake with candles, better than 2000 Hail Mary’s, better than a mass complete with incense? A better gift to Mary perhaps is to imitate her purity and simplicity, courage and strength, and her humble service.

It’s not so much God who is nanunubok, sisters & brothers. We’re the ones who often doubt God’s faithfulness, so we rely on our own powers to get what we want. When all is well with our lives, we tend to push our luck, we tend to waste our blessings.

A sign of this real growth in faith among my relatives is that we seem to be closer to each other, treating each other with greater reverence and kindness than before. We seem to have a deeper sense of the preciousness of life and of persons beyond the material.

What is your pearl of great price, dear friends? What is your heart's greatest treasure? Is it a person ? a moment? a vision? a dream? To rephrase the question, perhaps ask - How has God's love become real and undeniable for you?

We have Jesus to turn to. He will strengthen us. He will never abandon us. He will walk with us everyday as we struggle to become his faithful followers.