Fragments
from the Table of Life
At family gatherings, oftentimes, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren asked me questions about my childhood life in the Philippines and how I ended up in Columbus, Ohio, and became the director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States for the Diocese of Columbus.
Jokingly, I told them, “Maybe I should write a book about my life.” So I did. That was how Fragment came into being.
In looking back, I could see that my life is a miracle. In all situations – good and the not-so-good – I could see the finger of God working in me, through people and events, to accomplish his plan for my life.
I wrote the book to thank God and to glorify him for his love and mercy.
I pray, “Father God, thank you for having created and for calling me into your church. May my act of love and gratitude in writing this book give you glory. In Jesus’s name, I ask.” Amen.
Excerpts:
I love to feel the gentle ocean breeze touching my face and hair; I love to listen to the waves as they break and dash into the shore. The sound has a calming effect on my soul.
The ocean is God’s beautiful creation. What a gift God has given us! And God did not stop there. He created us with the ability to admire the ocean. He gave us eyes to behold its beauty. That is an amazing grace!
My wife bought a beautiful painting from a store at Carolina Beach. It shows a small house near the sea and is hanging in our bathroom at home. The artist wrote a caption for it which says, “Heaven is a little closer in a house near the sea.”
I love that thought. I would love to live in a house near the ocean.
I believe nothing comes to my life – the good and the not so good – without God’s approval; rather than cry or complain about the challenges I face, I ask God to give me grace to consider my challenges as opportunities to bring glory to him, to give me courage and patience to bear my burden in a way that will honor him. I ask God to help me lift my eyes from my trials and keep my eyes fixed firmly on him.
Do you sometimes worry that you have missed God’s will for you? Have you wondered if your decisions have taken you in a different direction than God intended? Are you afraid you have gone astray from God’s purpose for your life because of your past decisions? Do you think your mistakes have taken you too far off course?
If you do, I encourage you to realize something I learned not long ago: your actions are not powerful enough to derail God’s purpose for you. God loves you so much that he will never abandon you. Nothing you could do would be powerful enough to stop his purpose for you.
Review
Fragments from the Table of Life is a random collection of Lany’s memories spanning from his childhood days in Balilihan to his formative years in Cebu as a Salesian and right up to his present mission in Ohio as a family man, an educator, and a church worker. The author recounts his varied experiences in life both ordinary and extraordinary, pleasant and unpleasant, trivial and crucial. As he recalls them, he sees how God has gradually led him to accomplish his divine plan for him.
The inspiring stories told in the book are like bits and pieces of different shades and shapes that eventually fall in place to form a marvelous mosaic – a veritable masterpiece crafted by the hand of God in the life and person of the author. In fact, Lany understands his life as a product of what he calls divine orchestration.
Bishop Patricio Buzon, SDB, DD
Diocese of Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Footprints in the Sand of Caregiving
“Footprints in the Sand of Caregiving” is a compilation of a soul’s reflections on its solitary walk on the shore of a lonely island of caregiving.
Withdrawn from my previous routines, lifestyle and social activities to focus on caregiving, I feel isolated and disconnected. In my loneliness and desperation, from the bottom of my heart, I cry to the Lord and the Lord answers me saying: “My steadfast love never ceases; my mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is my faithfulness”
(Lamentations 3: 22 -23).
What a wonderful promise of our Father God! When I am tempted to wallow in the mud of self-pity, I turn my gaze to the Lord. When I become depressed and distressed, I cling to His promise of unceasing love and mercy which are new every morning.
May these reflections lighten your path when you cross the dark valleys of life. May God bless you, my friend.
Review
Just finished reading your book, Footprints. Wow, you should be canonized alive. Bitaw, thanks for your powerful testimony of true love, which has its source in God alone. I pray for you and Delores that God may continue to give you the strength and consolation to go through the indescribable agony you’re both experiencing. You have no idea how your book can be a great source of inspiration and encouragement not only to caregivers but also to us since we are all our brothers’ keepers.
Bishop Patricio Buzon, SDB, DD
Diocese of Bacolod, Negros Occidental
Philippines on “Footprints in the Sand of Caregiving”
It is the Lord!
“If today you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your heart,” says the invitatory Psalm of the Catholic Church’s Office Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours.
What it says indicates that Gods speaks to us more the we realize; and that God wants to communicate with us directly and often.
God Communicates with us anywhere: in church, at our place of work, in our kitchen, or wherever we are. St. Ignatius of Loyola calls this truth “finding God in all things.”
An experience of gratitude, peace, and joy are some of the ways God communicates with us. And the experience of consolation, too, in times of sorrow or hardship. Saint Ignatius Loyola calls this truth, “God moments”.
God’s moments are real and are occurring all around all of the time. They are happening whether we recognize them or not. In fact, I’m convinced we miss many of them.
Ignatius found God everywhere: in the poor, in prayer, in the Mass, his fellow Jesuits, in his work, and, most touchingly, on a balcony of the Jesuit house in Rome, where he loved to gaze up silently at the stars at night. During these times he would shed tears in wonder and adoration.
Tiny Drops from the Ocean of God’s Grace
God is sheer love. Everything God does is love. Everything God says is love. God loves you with an Infinite love.
God does not love you more when you are being good, nor does He loves you less when you not being good.
God does everything to help you return to Him. God will take a million steps to help you.
He shouts and He whispers to get your attention. But there is one step God won’t take and cannot take – your “yes” to His love.
Allow God to Find You
“Allow God to Find You” is a compilation of reflections, taken from daily experiences in which God reveals His loving presence in our lives. When Adam and Eve said “yes” to the snake and “no” to God, their lives were turned upside down. They began to fear God and hid from Him. We inherited Adam’s fear. May the reflections in this little book help you to be open and receptive to God’s presence in your life. May they help you realize that God is actively seeking you and help you surrender your will to God’s guidance. Allowing God to find you involves praying and seeking God in the Scriptures, and actively pursuing God’s will in your life. It is about creating space for God and trusting that God will lead you on the right path. In Scripture, we read about a shepherd who had 100 sheep. One of them got lost. The shepherd left the 99 and went to search for the one who was lost. He went through the valleys and canyons, cupped his hand, and called the sheep’s name. When he found it, he joyfully put it on his shoulders and went home. The shepherd is Jesus and the lost sheep is you. (Luke 15: 1 – 7).In another parable, a woman had 10 silver coins and lost one. She stopped everything she was doing to search for the lost coin. She lit the lamp swept the house, and carefully searched. And when she found it, she called her friends and neighbors and told them, “Rejoice with me. I have found my lost coin!” The coin is you. Allow God to find you. (Luke 15: 8 – 10).”We have to celebrate and be glad because your brother was dead and is alive again. He was lost and now he is found,” the father told his older son in the parable of the prodigal son. The lost son is you. Allow God to find you. (Luke 15: 11 -32).