Last Holy Week I decided to join the Kerygma Lenten Recollection hosted by The Feast Laguna in the Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center. Admission was free and they had a good lineup of speakers including Rissa Kawpeng, Obet Cabrillas, and of course, Jon Escoto. It went on for three days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 8:30-12:00 nn). My friend Mae went with me.
The stage
It was fun and so refreshing! We did worship, and listened to powerful talks and touching sharings. Many things were discussed but two topics really struck me: Love and Forgiveness.
Love
This is what I learned the hard way about love: You cannot love others if you do not love yourself. This particular phrase had been said many times over by so many different people but it took me twenty five years to learn it. However, this statement is incomplete. The recollection made me realize that you cannot truly, completely love yourself if you do not accept God's love.
I say accept because God's love has always been there. It is unconditional. It is all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful. God loves us not because of anything we have done or have not done. It is because of His grace. It is simply because He is a loving God. Isn't this just amazing? We don't even need to do anything, and He just loves us! No need to make yourself prettier, or thinner, or pretend to laugh at jokes, or go on countless errands. No need to prove anything. Amazing!
God's love will always be there. There is nothing we can do or not do to make Him love us less. There is also nothing we can do or not do to make Him love us more. God's love is perfect. We just have to accept it. Once we do, we can truly appreciate our value and be able to fully love ourselves.
Forgiveness
I have a very good memory. It is both a gift and a curse. It is a gift because a good memory comes in handy in my studies. It is a curse because my good memory had been a source of conflict in my relationships and a source of pain for me. I sometimes even pretend to not remember some things to maybe trick my brain but of course this doesn't work. It is because of my good memory that I find it hard to forgive someone who hurt me. Thankfully, I learned a lot about how to forgive during the recollection.
I love how Mr. Obet Cabrillas preached about forgiveness. He did it through humor, but with powerful, striking words. The audience was laughing but were also saying "ouch" because natatamaan kami. Haha.
This is what I learned: the key to forgiving someone is to set it in the right perspective. Forgiving is actually a selfish act. You are doing it more for yourself than the other person. It helps you move on. Also, forgiveness it not just about you and the other person. It is about you and God too. You are accountable to God for your acts. Therefore, you should do the right thing and forgive. In the same way, that other person is accountable to God for his acts. God will take care of him. You don't have to think and obsess about whether or not that person "will get what he deserves". This is not for us to worry about. God will take care of it. Lastly, God is accountable to us. He knows all our pain. He knows how difficult it is to forgive. He will take care of us, and He will reward us eventually for this act of kindness.
Prusisyon
I am so thankful for being able to attend the recollection. I learned so much, and I feel stronger. This was just what I needed. Bar exams are fast approaching and I need all the strength I can get!!! :) Pray for me, will you? Thanks! :)
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