Jesus, you take care of it!

I do not want to agitate myself, my God,
I trust in You!...
Jesus, you take care of it!

(by the Servant of God, Father Dolindo Ruotolo)

Jesus speaking to the soul:
“Why do you confuse yourself and become agitated? Let me take care of your things and everything will become calm. In truth I tell you that every true, copious and complete act of abandonment in me, produces the effect that you desire and resolves the most thorny situations.
To abandon yourself to me does not mean to rack your brains, to upset yourself and to despair, and then offering to me an agitated prayer so that I might follow you: it is to change the agitation into prayer. To abandon yourself means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, divert the thought of tribulation and put yourself in me, so that only I operate, saying: you take care of it! Preoccupation, agitation and the desire to think about the consequences of a fact is contrary to abandonment.

It is like the confusion children cause who pretend that the mother take care of their needs, but want to take care of it themselves, encumbering with their ideas and their infantile foible her work. Close your eyes and let yourself be carried by the current of my grace, close the eyes and let me work, close the eyes and think about the present moment turning aside the thought about the future as if it were a temptation. Rest in me believing in my goodness and I swear by my love that, saying to me, with these dispositions: you take care of it! I will fully take care of it, I will console you, I will free you, I will lead you.

And when I must lead you in a way different from what you think, I will train you, I will carry you in my arms, I will help you find yourself, as sleeping babies in the maternal arms, on the other shore.

That which upsets you and which does to you great harm is your reasoning, your thoughts, your nagging worry and the desire at any price to take care of that which afflicts you by yourself.
How many things I do when the soul, as much for its spiritual needs as well as its material needs, turns to me saying: you take care of it! close the eyes and rest. You have few graces when you torment yourself to produce these things; you will have many graces when the prayer is fully confided in me. You in your sorrow pray so that I might operate, but only that I might operate as you believe. You do not turn to me, but you want that I adapt myself to your ideas; it is not you the sick that ask the doctor for the cure, but the sick suggests it to the doctor.

Do not act like this, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: hollowed be thy name, that is be glorified in my need; thy kingdom come, that is that all concurs to my kingdom in us and in the world; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that is that you arrange in this need as you think best for our eternal and temporal life.

If you truly say to me thy will be done, which is the same as saying you take care of it, I will intervene with all my omnipotence and resolve the most unyielding situations. Do you realize that the misfortune comes right on the heels rather than diminishing? Do not become agitated, close the eyes and say to me with trust: Thy will be done, you take care of it! I tell you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as a doctor and accomplish even a miracle when necessary. You see that the situation is becoming worse? Do not get upset, close the eyes and say: You take care of it! I tell you that I will take care of it and there is no medicine more powerful than my intervention of love. I take care of it only when you close the eyes. You have sleepless nights, you want to evaluate everything, to scrutinize everything, to think about everything and so you abandon yourself to human forces and even worse to men confiding in their intervention. It is this that impedes my words and my views. Oh, how I desire from you this abandonment in order to benefit yourself, and how it grieves me to see you agitated!
Satan tends precisely to this: to agitate you in order to steal from you my action and throw you to the prey of human initiatives. Thus you must confide only in me, rest in me, abandon yourself to me in everything. I will perform miracles in proportion to the full abandonment in me and not in any of your thoughts. I give out treasures of grace when you are in full poverty. If you have your resources, even a little, or if you seek them, you are in the natural domain and thus you follow the natural way of things which is often encumbered by Satan.

No thinker ever preformed miracles, not even among the saints.

The one who operates divinely is the one who abandons himself in God.

When you see that the things are getting complicated, say with the eyes of the soul closed: Jesus, you take care of it! Do like this for all of your needs.

Do like this for everything and you will see great, continual and silent miracles. I swear this to you by my love!”

Let Us Love Our Spouse!

Let Us Love Our Spouse!

No one likes to suffer. Just about all my life I have run from or tried to avoid suffering. But when I look back at these times it seems that the suffering or problem that I tried to avoid kept coming back. During my life I have often asked myself what is the meaning of suffering.

Obviously there are many types of suffering and sorrows. We all react differently to different types of suffering. Having been raised in a family with a strong, domineering father, I tend to react perhaps more strongly than others when I find myself is a similar situation. When I found myself living or working with domineering persons, I have tried my best to at least shield myself from this irritating and often humiliating situation. A few years ago I even fell into depression while living with an authoritarian person who criticized and judged me continually and from whom I was not able to run from or to avoid. When I had to work more closely with this person, he never was interested in my opinion or ideas and he never put the cards on the table to allow me to have enough information so as to enter into the decision making. I tended to harshly judge this person and I was not able to see any good in him. To get things done, this person always resorted to force or manipulation, taking advantage of the structure of the organization, instead of drawing others freely to his idea or plan. If it were not for the obligatory structure of the organization, I wonder who would ever freely follow the ideas or programs of such a person? Sometimes when he harshly criticized me I would defend myself by revealing to him his rather great lack of human maturity; of course this infuriated him all the more. In the end, when I made a minor mistake, he quickly denounced me before our boss and I ended up loosing my position and the fruits of my work that I had become very attached to.

After having the chance to separate myself from this person as well as being able to take some time off to try to cure the resulting depression, I began to read the Gospels as well as good spiritual books. During this time, though, I often could not help myself from going back over and over again in my mind the painful experiences with this person and my great lose which caused me to be very angry all over again; when I saw him coming along my path my stomach would go up into my throat and I would quickly take another route.

Slowly but surely, while praying regularly, especially the Rosary, as well as going to Mass as often as I could, I began to understand better the words of Jesus in the Gospels. I began to realize that the strong words of Jesus were not just for the “Saints” as I had relegated these words in the past. I began to realize that I had to live all the words of Jesus without waiting for the one treating me badly to change: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). My eyes began to be opened to see that I was a hypocrite every time I said the words of the Our Father, “and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” For the first time I began to understand more deeply the meaning of some of the pertinent parables and words of Jesus especially regarding the absolute need to forgive others totally from the heart. I began to also see that when I was not able to forgive and love this person as he was, I was not hurting or getting even with him but rather I was only hurting myself creating all kinds of interior tensions and sleepless nights. Revenge is like a poison that you want to give to the offender but you end up swallowing it yourself.

The parable of the unjust servant finally came alive to me (Mt 18:23-35). The unjust servant owed an incredible sum of ten thousand talents to the king (a talent was more than fifteen years’ wages of a laborer). The king forgave him the debt. But the unjust servant did not forgive his fellow servant who owed him only a hundred denarii (the denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer). When I finally began to realize that my sins were so great that Jesus would have come down to earth and suffered and died on the cross to atone for my sins alone, I was more able to forgive the one who often humiliated me and criticized me and drove me into depression. I realized that this person has by nature a strong character like a bulldozer just as his father. I began to find real excuses for his behavior; he is a hard and generous worker; he gets a lot done. A person with this type of character very often does not realize how much he causes others to suffer. I could finally understand, what a good friend once told me, that I tended to analyze to much the difficult situations instead of seeing with the eyes of faith to believe that every situation that I found myself in came from a God who loves me immensely. I began to see that I had run from and tried to avoid the sufferings and crosses that Jesus had precisely given to me for my sanctification. With the help of the writings of the saints and especially holy people alive today, I began to recognize Jesus crucified specifically in this particular suffering and humiliation. Thus in a real sense I acted just like Saint Peter when he denied Jesus three times. I too went to Mary, as Peter did, which helped me to finally come back and pick up the crosses that I had abandoned so often in the past. I felt like St. Francis of Assisi who was able to overcome his aversion for the lepers. From the writings of the saints I am convinced that if we do not totally forgive those who have offended us, even very acutely, we run a very grave risk of loosing eternal life. I have now begun sending nice greetings to this person by email as well as being the first to say, with a smile on my face, hello to him when I see him. To take this step I also needed a lot more humility because by treating this person in a nice way, it seemed to me that I was admitting to him that he was right and I was wrong; I had held a type of grudge or vengeance in my heart (Mt 18:22; Rm 12:19). But after taking this step, Jesus gave me a new found peace which was accompanied by a greater interior freedom since I did not feel anymore the great need to avoid this person or others with a similar dictatorial or uncharitable character. If I do not love the disagreeable persons, what am I really offering up to God? (Mt 5:44-48) Perhaps God has given me more grace and thus expects more holiness of life from me (Lk 12:48)! When I die, I do not think that I would like to be judged as I had judged many people in the past who had caused me to suffer a great deal (Mt 7:1-2).

But beyond this particular example, I began to discover that all the crosses that I had avoided or abandoned in the past were actually the greatest gifts that Jesus had given me. I began to not only recognize Jesus crucified and abandoned on the cross in each and every suffering and sorrow but, with the grace of God, I began to be able to embrace and to even love these precious gifts that Jesus sends to me. “For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Heb 12:6). With the help of the charism of unity of Chiara Lubich it was revealed to me that Jesus crucified and abandoned on the cross, in person, hides himself behind every suffering and sorrow. Thus I gradually began to recognize, embrace and love Jesus crucified precisely in these difficult moments and situations and persons. I see better now that Christ crucified is the center of the universe, and how each of us react and deal with Christ crucified in our lives in the form of every kind of suffering and sorrow will determine where we will spend eternity, either in heaven or in hell. We are not computers in which one can change the program quickly and easily. It took me years of perseverance, with a lot of good will, to arrive at this conviction and understanding in the most fundamental truths of our faith; it took me even more time to live and put into practice what I had learned. The longest journey in the world is not the 25,000 miles around the earth but rather the 15 or so inches from the brain to the heart!

A good example of this discovery can be found in all of the saints, but I would like to very briefly give a striking example of how St. Teresa of the Child Jesus dealt with her sufferings. One morning St. Teresa woke up to discover that blood had come out of her mouth due to the tuberculosis that eventually lead to her death. St. Teresa did not say I had a mouth full of blood. Instead she said: “My Spouse has arrived.” She recognized Jesus precisely in her effusion of blood.

I have found a new freedom that I never had before. I understand much better now the writings and especially the example of so many saints regarding suffering in general. Not only St. Francis of Assisi or St. Padre Pio but all the saints. St. Rose of Lime wrote: “Would that mortal men might know how wonderful is divine grace, how beautiful, how precious; what riches are hidden therein, what treasures, what joys, what delights. If they but knew, surely they would direct their energy with all care and diligence to procuring sufferings and afflictions for themselves. Instead of good fortune all men everywhere would seek out troubles, illness and suffering that they might obtain the inestimable treasure of grace. This is the final profit to be gained from patient endurance. No one would complain about the cross or about hardships coming seemingly by chance upon him, if he realized in what balance they are weighed before being distributed to men.” These words are not just for “saints” as I once thought. They are words for everyone who loves Love Himself. It is not by chance that our all-knowing God chose the cross as the primary means of our salvation. If more people of good will would discover this profound truth, I believe there would be sold and consumed much less Prozac and Zyprexa as well as much less dependence on psychiatrists who are not able to even fathom these spiritual truths!

As my prayer life deepens and my walk with the Lord progresses, I can now thank God from the bottom of my heart for my difficult experiences because I have come to realize and believe that my personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “and him crucified” (1Cor 2:2), is the real eternal value, not a prestigious position or title or career or great projects, even Godly projects, as I once thought. These painful experiences helped me to detach myself from those things that end with this life, and to discover, appreciate and seek those things that last for eternity. I realize now that before these excruciating loses, God was not first in my life. More and more I am learning from Jesus and the saints to not wait for Jesus crucified to find me as I relax in my comfortable habitat, but to seek Him in the unpleasant persons, the sick and elderly, the AIDS victims, the drug addicts, the ones that the world has rejected or eliminated just as they rejected and tried to eliminate Jesus on the cross 2000 years ago. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta sought out and recognized her Spouse precisely in these outcasts and dying people on the streets of Calcutta and around the world.

With a renewed energy, I feel like I have only just begun. We have only one life which is so very short and eternity is so infinitely long! We have so little time here on earth to arrive at a greater intensity of love of Jesus who is Love and loves each of us immensely even to the point of dying on the cross for each one of us personally! As St. Francis once cried out even in the midst of tremendous suffering due to the stigmata: “Love is not loved!”

As St. Francis of Assisi also wrote, “When we give, we receive” (Lk 6:38) So encourage and give to others by sharing your spiritual gifts and experiences of living the Gospel with others, especially the concrete experiences of coming to recognize, to embrace and to love your Spouse. Alleluia!!!

Joseph Dwight


(Click on the photo of Joseph Dwight to go to the other blog sites.)

May 15, 2008

Girl rescued after 68 hrs in China quake rubble


YINGXIU - RESCUERS on Thursday pulled an 11-year-old girl from the rubble of a school 68 hours after it was destroyed in the devastating earthquake that hit southwest China, a reporter witnessed.
In one of the few good news stories that have emerged since the 7.9 magnitude quake claimed tens of thousands of lives, Zhang Chunmei was carried out of the collapsed building in Yingxiu weak but alive.
'It's wonderful, she's alive!' one onlooker exclaimed, as a dozen nurses wearing white coats and uniformed soldiers, all wearing protective masks, tended to her.
They wiped her semi-conscious body with disinfectant and checked her pulse before taking her away for medical care.
AFP reporters were among the first foreign media to reach Yingxiu, the epicentre of Monday's quake, which was accessible only by a boat ride and a two-hour hike along a slippery mountain path.
The small village of about 10,000 people was almost completely destroyed in the quake, and Zhang's miracle survival gave little comfort to other people there who had lost friends or relatives.
At the Yingxiu primary school, well over half of its 500 students are believed to have died in the disaster.
While 150 students managed to escape following the quake, only Zhang and one other child have been pulled out of the rubble.
Many of Zhang's schoolmates have been pulled out dead.
'Why did you leave your mama? Why did you die?' a grief-stricken mother said as she bent over the corpse of her son of about 10 years old, draping him in clean clothes she had brought from home.
Meanwhile, a pair of tiny feet were sticking out of the school's massive collapsed concrete roof, a grim sign that many more bodies were likely to be found.



Thank God that another victim was saved.
the victims involved in this unforseen disaster, pls be strong and hang in there. the rescuers are trying their upmost best to save you. Be strong, u will be able to go through this rough patch.it will be over soon.

Be Strong.

I read this article from the straits times online.
Really made me felt sad after reading it. My mind could imagine the scenario.
I hope that many will be able to overcome this ordeal and hope that the rescuers will be able to save more people.

It's really sad to see the parents of those children that were trapped under the collasped school. what else more, due to china one child's policy, the parents have lost their only child, only hope. it's heart wrenching.

I pray and hope that these people will be strong to get through this rough patch.

This is the article i read:
May 14, 2008

Schools of death
Field is turned into makeshift morgue with bodies of students carried into tent every few minutes
By Chua Chin Hon, China Bureau Chief

JUYUAN (SICHUAN) - NUMB with grief, parents and family members waited in silence as rescue workers pulled one teenage corpse after another from the wreckage of Juyuan Secondary School.
All it took was a single tell-tale sign - a bag, a shoe or a shirt - for hearts to shatter as the lifeless body of a son or daughter was recognised.

The wailing would draw other parents to crowd around, as if to make sure the victim was not their child.

'He is such an outstanding boy! Such an outstanding boy!' the mother of 15-year-old Liu Dingxian wailed, throwing herself over her child's body.

Equally inconsolable, the boy's grandfather, Mr Liu Zhoubo, said between sobs that he had waited without food or sleep since Monday afternoon for news of Dingxian.

I arrived at the school yesterday afternoon to find these wrenching scenes of immeasurable loss repeated over and over again.

Juyuan Secondary is where 900 students were feared buried under rubble after the school collapsed during Monday's powerful earthquake.

The school was due to send off a new graduating class later this month. Yesterday, its grounds were a makeshift mortuary.

As the rain beat down relentlessly, a new victim was carried into a tent at the edge of a muddy field every few minutes.

The school, about 130km from the epicentre of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province's Wenchuan county, was the most badly damaged building in Juyuan township, residents said.

One of the school's four-storey buildings was said to have collapsed inwards, trapping students before they could escape. But shell-shocked teachers could not verify this version, or even confirm the school's enrolment.

The young appeared to have borne much of the brunt of the devastating earthquake which happened at 2.28pm, when classes were in full swing.

Several other schools in Sichuan and those in neighbouring provinces also reported considerable casualties.

In Sichuan's Mianyang City and Hawang Township, a total of about 1,200 students and teachers have been reported dead or missing.

In Chongqing municipality and Guizhou province, dozens of primary school pupils were killed after school buildings collapsed.

By yesterday, the toll had soared past 12,000, state media reported. But a Chinese official I met told me in the morning that the undisclosed death toll is already twice that figure, though the government was still trying to verify statistics pouring in from stricken regions.

The eventual death toll is expected to be much higher, given that rescuers have yet to find out what had happened to worst-hit Wenchuan and its population of more than 110,000 people.

Several rescue teams were expected to reach Wenchuan on foot last night, after incessant rain and damaged roads prevented them from getting there sooner.

Although the Chinese government mobilised resources swiftly, there was a palpable sense of anger among parents of students at Juyuan Secondary at the rate of search-and-rescue efforts.

'It is going too slowly,' said Mr Dong Xiangshen, 39, as he sat slumped in a chair facing his 14-year-old son's body, wrapped up in blankets and towels.

The family lit candles and placed them at the boy's feet as offerings.

Other families lit firecrackers in an apparent bid to ward off evil spirits.

As another body was carried into the tent, Mr Dong said: 'If any of these children had a chance of survival, it is gone now.'

The official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that at least 60 bodies had been recovered from Juyuan. It was not clear if any children had been found alive.

The overwhelming grief at Sichuan's schools reflected not only the number of casualties and personal tragedy of so many families. It also came from the unspoken realisation that the community's hopes for a better future had been crushed in a single afternoon when so many of their brightest and youngest were buried at one go.

Given China's one-child policy, many couples had lost their only child.

At Tuqiao Secondary, 14-year-old Wei Jiamin escaped the earthquake unscathed. 'My two cousins were going to graduate soon,' said the teenager. 'This was supposed to be a month for celebrations.'


Pictures:


DEATH'S COLD HAND: A man is overcome by grief yesterday as he grips the lifeless hand of a student near a school that collapsed in Juyuan. About 900 students of Juyuan Secondary School are feared buried under the rubble.
TRAPPED: Only the hand of a trapped child is visible in the rubble of a collapsed primary school in Hanwang township in Mianzhu city. The earthquake struck at a time when classes were in session.

SAVED: Rescuers pull out a young girl alive from under the rubble of a collapsed school in Juyuan yesterday. Untold numbers remain trapped under collapsed schools and are feared dead as the death toll mounts. GRIEF-STRICKEN: The parents of an earthquake victim mourning near the child's body at the site of a collapsed school building in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, yesterday.

记得要感激现在所拥有的，因为不管怎样，我们都是幸福的孩子。

random post.

hahaha.. i looked like jay chou 76% ? so lovely. hahaha.

it's been awhile since i last update.

well, nothing much lately.

just kept things running on my mind 24/7.

i hope that everything will turn out smoothly. but life is never perfect. there bound to be the unexpected occuring to test you.

anyway, nothing much to post, i only know that i want to get my things done.

school is starting tml. say hi to buisness statistics and Organizational Behaviour Modules.
the modules are Dry. Super Dry.

i hope to get over and done with asap.

alrights, i'll take my leave.

bye.