A Time for Self-Examination and Renewal of Faith

Today is Ash Wednesday which signifies the start of the 40-days Lent season in
preparation before Easter. As Christians, this is a season of repentance and soul-searching.

It is a time when we repent, make sacrifices, and observe fasting to have more
time reflecting on the suffering and great sacrifices that Jesus made for all of us.

As for me, Lent is a time for self-examination and renewal of faith. A time to
ask myself on these questions after which, ask for the Lord's guidance to make myself better as a Christian.
-How is my personal relationship with our Lord? Do I pray? Do I listen to HIS words?
-Am I following the 10 Commandments?
-Do I share His words to my family, friends and relatives?
-Am I sharing my blessings to others especially the helpless and the needy?
-What are the sins that are holding me back to fully accept Jesus in my life?

Let HIM speak to you...

I do pray. When I wake up in the morning, while on a trip, before meals, at bedtime and hear mass on a Sunday. I always thank HIM for all the blessings and ask for HIS guidance, blessings and help always.  But seldom that I give HIM time to speak to me.

In today's homily, we are all in search of light.  A light of hope and guidance in our
lives.  Though most of us find hope on temporal and material things, blessed are
those who are searching for light from our dear LORD.
But how do we find for the light? It is not enough that we just thank and tell what
we need from HIM then end our prayer.   Just as how our parents want to catch
our attention from our busiest life and talk to us, the Lord also wants to speak to
us through HIS words - BIBLE.  For it is through the Bible that we will be guided
to search the eternal light - his creations, humble works, all his healing and blessings.

So when we pray for 10 minutes, let HIM speak to us for 3 minutes by reading
the holy Bible.

My 5 Fingers - A constant reminder for praying...

Praying is actually one of the easiest things to do because you can pray anytime,
anywhere and in whatever way you want - no hard rules. And yet, I admit I
sometimes find no time to pray and worst I just pray for myself and my family
and relatives only. 

Before the 2010 ended, I told myself that praying is one of the things that I have
to improve on this 2011. 

Surprisingly, just this morning, I recieved this text from a friend which I
consider a wake-up call for me in terms of praying. This was the first time that
I read about this but when I searched the net, this prayer already had an
overwhelming comments for over a decade now. A shame to myself.

This is all about the "5 FINGERS OF PRAYER"

1. Your thumb is the nearest to you, so pray for those who are closest to you...
   -I do agree with this. Its natural for us to pray for the ones we love and
    dear to us(our families, relatives and friends). What about our enemies who
    are also near to us?  We should also pray for them so that they will be
    enlightened like us. 

2. Pointing finger: pray for those who teach, instruct and heal...
   -They need our support even in prayers that they may be instrument of wisdom,
    healing and spreading the word of God to others. 

3. The tallest finger: pray for our leaders, they need God's guidance...
   -Let us pray for our leaders that they may be guided by our Lord in leading
    and shaping our nation. 

4. Ring finger: weakest finger, so pray for those who are weak, troubled or
    in need... -This reminds us to pray for those who are sick, weak and in
    trouble. 

5. Little finger: the smallest to remind you to pray for yourself...
   -Just wondering why the little and the last/farthest finger?
    Does this mean I have to pray for myself the least and the
    last priority? But after going through nos.1 to 4 again, I realized that
    most of my personal prayers are already said after I pray for the 4. 

I really thank my friend Janeth for sharing this to me -  a PRAYER GUIDE and
a CONSTANT REMINDER (my 5 fingers) for praying.

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