The 4 Basic Mathematics of Life- An Spiritual Assessment

In one of our Sunday mass homilies in a congregation where I belong, our parish priest homily struck me a lot.  It has very simple and yet striking message to everyone. This is why I want to share it with you. 

According to him, to be a true Christian we had to follow the 4 Basic Mathematics of Life.

ADDITION, SUBTRACTION, MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION.

ADDITION

This is the first step and the most important aspect of being a good Christian.

We have to accept Christ in our heart and in our life.  We can never be called a Christian unless we put Christ at the center of our life.  He will be our guiding force.  The captain that will lead us to the right path and ensure safety in everything we do for as long as it conforms to the values of a good Christian. 

But being a Christian also implies bigger responsibilities.  We need to practice good works.   And we can never be called a good Christian if this will not reflect in our day to day life by doing good things to others.

Let the the Gospel of Matthew summarizes these: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ... And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (22:37-39).

SUBTRACTION

Sometimes or most of the time, it is in this state, when we are starting to accept Christ in our heart that we are being tested for our faith. Some has fallen to the trap; others remain strong to conquer temptations and sins.

Leaving behind and not accepting the things that will hurt our relationship with Christ is very important.  Again, this is where our faith will be tested.

" Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible by you." (Matthew 17:20)

MULTIPLICATION

Good Stewardship of Christ.  We have to be instrumental in spreading the Good News. 

Remember that we are not living in this world not by just ourselves.  We have our neighbor, friends, love ones and even enemies who are looking for God’s mercy and love.  And if you truly love Christ then, you will be happy to be with Him together with the people who really mean a lot to you.

"The Earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it". (Psalm 24:1:)

DIVISION

This is where sharing, giving and dividing one’s blessings comes in.

However, funny as it was, I have observed that sometimes when we are at the lowest moment of our lives that we always remember the people who needed help.  But once we received all the blessings we prayed dearly and started enjoying it that when we forgot other people’s need.  The attachment to material things and power has overcome who we really are.

But if we really love our neighbor as how we love Christ as our Savior, we will always be The Good Samaritan that Christ has wanted and expected us to be.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

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The message is so simple but how are we going to practice it requires a lot of FAITH and LOVE. 

I hope we can all reflect from this.

This is the 4 Basic Mathematics of Life.

What about sharing your own good news?

Happy Reading,

Arlene 

The Grieving Pet Owner

(This article was written January 2, 2013.  I told you I am a late bloomer in blogging that I kept all my thoughts in MS Words file lol.  Well, I still like to share it with you guys to serve some lessons on proper pet caring).

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Yesterday, we lost our dear pet, Lex.

It was a devastating turn of event for my family whom we had learned to love and treated Lex not just an ordinary pet but as part of the whole family.

What made it worst was that it was New Year’s Day, a time when everybody are looking forward to  a bright new days ahead of them.  But this tragedy that struck us left us feel really, really bad.  To make it even worst, it was not just an ordinary death for him.  Something you would not want to happen to the one you love and care so much.

We left home at around 11:30 AM to attend a family reunion.  Before I left, I remember talking to him if he felt stress after the night merry making amidst all the firecrackers that greeted the New Year’s Day.  My younger daughter even run to him, grab his left and right chin and said “you’re so cute”! My husband also checked his tie to make sure he could breathe easily.  On ordinary days, we just let him roam around at our roof deck but since we will all be leaving that day my husband brought him down to serve as watch dog.  That were the last encountered we had with him before he finally left us….

We reached home from the reunion at around 5:30 PM.  My husband and I were even inviting some of our relatives who were with us on our way home to take a cup of coffee. Until my husband discover his death.  When he opened the side home window he was surprised to see Lex hung to death.

Lex had this habit of jumping every time he saw a cat walking at the side fence between my sister’s home and I. Apparently his chain clasp at the steel bar where we put his chain.  It was a horrible scene- he died standing.  His front two feet hanged in the air.  The other two almost touching the ground.  His tie was below his mouth- reason why he was not able to bark and ask for help. 

Nobody from the neighborhood notice what happened.  According to them, they never heard Lex bark.  He was so quiet during that time.  We even saw pieces of loaf bread near him which was given to him by a two year old boy visitor of my sister before he left. 

If there are other people who were more than shocked with what happened, it was my two daughters.  I really felt sorry for them.  During the whole incident, they were crying and running as if they do not know what to do.  My younger daughter even blamed herself for joining us.  She thought that if she just stayed home, she could have save Lex.  I keep on consoling her that if it is God’s will to take anybody’s life we could not do anything about it.  .

But honestly, I am also grieving so much for our dear pet.  My sister said that Lex was still barking at around 2:30 PM before her visitors left their home.  We reached home at around 5:30 PM.  Just three hours difference.  He could have been saved if we reached home early.

That night, I couldn’t sleep well.  Tears keep on running down my face.  I am missing the presence of Lex.  I won’t feel safe now especially at night.  His single bark always warns us that there was somebody near our gate. We will miss the nights, when we are all watching TV while Lex peeks on the window steel as if joining us watching our favorite telenovela.

To our dear pet Lex, sorry we were not able to save your life.   Sorry if we were not able to spent the rest of our life with you.  Sorry, sorry.   

Happy reading !

Arlene