"Inside a Jaguar"
By Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
Thursday, February 16, 2012
I was recently invited by a family for a lunch. They had promised to send a car to pick me up. I was so surprised when I saw a brand new Jaguar entering our parking lot. Apparently, they wanted to treat me well. So I got in, and as you can guess, I was stunned by everything inside. I was almost literally frozen, because I was afraid that I would do something that would make a scratch or a scar. Yes, I admit, it did feel so so so good. I felt like being in a completely different world.
Later that day, I had to say Mass in memory of one of our beloved sisters. It was a remembrance Mass, one year after her death. She had been diagnosed with a very rare, aggressive, and deadly cancer. Her death after only several months since the first diagnosis was so painful, although we knew that it was a liberation for her. I know that now she is in another world, completely different from the one I live in. And I know, it must feel so so so good up there.
Both experiences became an invitation for me to see death from a different perspective. If I could enjoy and feel so good only in tasting that "beautiful world" inside that Jaguar, how much more God has in store for us. The bliss of eternity is way more than the short glimpse inside that Jaguar. Although death of a loved one is always painful, I want to believe that in the end, it must feel so so so good for the one moving from among us to be with God.
P.S. Well, it's embarrassing to admit that I wouldn't mind another trip with that Jaguar, a longer one if possible. Oh no, this should not be read as part of the spiritual reflection.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Your Love
"Your Love"
By Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
Thursday, February 9, 2012
A German thinker, Jorg Splett, once wrote: "Every person needs more love than he or she deserves." I found this quotation in Father Peter van Bremen, SJ's book "The God Who Won't Let Go." The key to understand this truth lies in the word "MORE." Yes, we all need love, whether we are willing to admit it or not. But in reality many times we don't really deserve that much love. If an accountability report should be made, we would have never been loved at all.
Diana Ross sings "Your Love" that catches another side of this experience. Thinking about everything done in the past, she asks, what is that ONE THING that she truly believes to be priceless. And the answer is, "Your Love." She admits, "Without your love where would I be." The song's chorus reads: "Your love has kept me going through good and bad times. It's kept me growing like a steady flame. Your love has kept on burning through sweet and sad times. I'll keep returning to the magic of your love." In a sentence, she breaths life from the love of her beloved.
How true it is with God. I can sing the song to God. As St. Ignatius of Loyola suggests in the Spiritual Exercises, in times of desolation, just remember the previous consolation given by God. Yes, we need to train ourselves about MEMORY. We need to be built on a strong foundation by always remembering God's love that sustains us. Your love, God, keeps me growing like a steady flame. I'll keep returning to the magic of Your Love...
By Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
Thursday, February 9, 2012
A German thinker, Jorg Splett, once wrote: "Every person needs more love than he or she deserves." I found this quotation in Father Peter van Bremen, SJ's book "The God Who Won't Let Go." The key to understand this truth lies in the word "MORE." Yes, we all need love, whether we are willing to admit it or not. But in reality many times we don't really deserve that much love. If an accountability report should be made, we would have never been loved at all.
Diana Ross sings "Your Love" that catches another side of this experience. Thinking about everything done in the past, she asks, what is that ONE THING that she truly believes to be priceless. And the answer is, "Your Love." She admits, "Without your love where would I be." The song's chorus reads: "Your love has kept me going through good and bad times. It's kept me growing like a steady flame. Your love has kept on burning through sweet and sad times. I'll keep returning to the magic of your love." In a sentence, she breaths life from the love of her beloved.
How true it is with God. I can sing the song to God. As St. Ignatius of Loyola suggests in the Spiritual Exercises, in times of desolation, just remember the previous consolation given by God. Yes, we need to train ourselves about MEMORY. We need to be built on a strong foundation by always remembering God's love that sustains us. Your love, God, keeps me growing like a steady flame. I'll keep returning to the magic of Your Love...
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