"Saints and Sinners"
Divine Mercy Sunday, April 15, 2012
by Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
There is a saying from St. Augustine, "There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future." How true it is. A person has become saint because he or she has let God to touch their past. With God's grace, everything in the past makes more sense. Even every single sin we committed in the past can bring wonderful meanings. Our shadows are no longer pitch dark, but a comfortable shade under which we can have happy nap.
Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us that true mercy is always divine. When someone forgives me, I know deep in my heart that this person brings me back to my divine identity, because this person has also been rendered divine by God. If this has happened in Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, St. Augustine, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and a great number of saints, this can and will happen to each of us.
The question is: Are we ready to take off that "sinner" tag on ourselves, and put on that "saint" tag? For some reasons, we wish to linger longer with the worse tag...
Showing posts with label mercy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mercy. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Self-Anesthesia
“Self-Anesthesia”
Lent 2010 – Day 7; Wednesday, February 24.
Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
Ever been to a dentist for tooth extraction? Well, to make your life less miserable, today’s doctor is generous enough with anesthesia. You won’t feel any pain, and you trust your dentist to proceed. If he or she wants to fool you, he or she can extract any tooth. You simply trust him or her, as long as you don’t feel the pain.
I’m afraid that I might have been so used to self-anesthesia in regard to my sins. Year after year, I’ve been able to convince myself that everything is just fine. Heaven knows, how many times I have asked God to hit me hard so that I can repent from my sins. God has indeed hit me hard many times, yet I haven’t felt any pain. So why bother?
Too much confidence in God’s mercy and forgiveness can indeed make me numb. Problem is, how much time do I still have before my time is up?
Lent 2010 – Day 7; Wednesday, February 24.
Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
Ever been to a dentist for tooth extraction? Well, to make your life less miserable, today’s doctor is generous enough with anesthesia. You won’t feel any pain, and you trust your dentist to proceed. If he or she wants to fool you, he or she can extract any tooth. You simply trust him or her, as long as you don’t feel the pain.
I’m afraid that I might have been so used to self-anesthesia in regard to my sins. Year after year, I’ve been able to convince myself that everything is just fine. Heaven knows, how many times I have asked God to hit me hard so that I can repent from my sins. God has indeed hit me hard many times, yet I haven’t felt any pain. So why bother?
Too much confidence in God’s mercy and forgiveness can indeed make me numb. Problem is, how much time do I still have before my time is up?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Kitchen Witness
“Kitchen Witness”
Lent 2009 – Day 26 (Mar 26)
By Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
When I was a student in Berkeley some years ago, I lived with other Jesuits on their way to priesthood, and we took turn in cooking our evening meals. Our agreement was simple: “When you cook, use whatever you need, try to clean up as you cook, others will do the rest after meal, and you are free to relax!” Fair enough. There was one in particular who always used almost everything and left piles of dirty kitchen wares. On the day he cooked, cleaning up after meal seemed to take forever! Seeing those piles, we could say without doubt “He was here!”
I often channeled my urge for order to the drawer where we kept the silver wares. Every now and then I would arrange spoons, forks, and knives into a perfect lining! When someone opened the drawer afterwards, he could say “Deshi was here!” This is true with others. When I found the mixer had been used and nicely washed I knew who had just made his favorite brownies. When I found raw ox-tails on the kitchen counter, I knew exactly who had just been there. Yes, what we did in and to the kitchen witnessed about who we were! That’s an unbeatable kitchen witness!
When the Israelites are leaving Egypt, they say “God is here!” Soon afterwards, having no clue about Moses’ where-about, they say “God is gone!” Jesus’ opponents demand a clear explanation, but Jesus’ works clearly witness about who He really was. Moses reminds God to be merciful and forgiving. Jesus shows who God is by being merciful and forgiving. When we know about God, but we don’t experience God’s mercy and forgiveness, not surprisingly, our deeds will never witness about God.
If things are messed up, I hope that no one will say “Deshi was here.” If they do, my deeds clearly lack for mercy and forgiveness. It’s no witness to God! Our Berkeley kitchen knows better how to witness!
Lent 2009 – Day 26 (Mar 26)
By Deshi Ramadhani, SJ
When I was a student in Berkeley some years ago, I lived with other Jesuits on their way to priesthood, and we took turn in cooking our evening meals. Our agreement was simple: “When you cook, use whatever you need, try to clean up as you cook, others will do the rest after meal, and you are free to relax!” Fair enough. There was one in particular who always used almost everything and left piles of dirty kitchen wares. On the day he cooked, cleaning up after meal seemed to take forever! Seeing those piles, we could say without doubt “He was here!”
I often channeled my urge for order to the drawer where we kept the silver wares. Every now and then I would arrange spoons, forks, and knives into a perfect lining! When someone opened the drawer afterwards, he could say “Deshi was here!” This is true with others. When I found the mixer had been used and nicely washed I knew who had just made his favorite brownies. When I found raw ox-tails on the kitchen counter, I knew exactly who had just been there. Yes, what we did in and to the kitchen witnessed about who we were! That’s an unbeatable kitchen witness!
When the Israelites are leaving Egypt, they say “God is here!” Soon afterwards, having no clue about Moses’ where-about, they say “God is gone!” Jesus’ opponents demand a clear explanation, but Jesus’ works clearly witness about who He really was. Moses reminds God to be merciful and forgiving. Jesus shows who God is by being merciful and forgiving. When we know about God, but we don’t experience God’s mercy and forgiveness, not surprisingly, our deeds will never witness about God.
If things are messed up, I hope that no one will say “Deshi was here.” If they do, my deeds clearly lack for mercy and forgiveness. It’s no witness to God! Our Berkeley kitchen knows better how to witness!
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