Thursday, September 3, 2009

Begin with grace

Today I arrived in Manila to begin this Tertainship Adventure in Asia. I begin with grace. For me, this means to be grounded and rooted in grace – responding out of grace. God has been surprising me with so much grace this entire summer. I have been crying a lot in prayer, at Mass, with people: ecstatic when seeing young adults unfold and blossom on retreats at the renewed discovery of God’s personal love for them; amazed at the wedding of Kim & Kyle, whose Catholic and Lutheran families came together so beautifully; surprised at the going away celebrations; joyful at the 3rd Anniversary of my grandfather’s passing; enliven by hope when celebrating the Centennial with California Jesuits and welcoming young men into the Novitiate …

For me, to begin with grace is to live out of a heart-felt, gut-sense of knowing that I am blessed, loved, and chosen by God – just because. I am humbled by grace, by people’s love, by God’s gentle and often hidden presence each day. Embracing each day’s challenges from this place of grace makes life much richer and meaningful for me, even on very difficult days. Acting and building on grace allows me to “bear fruit and grow” wherever I find myself today (Col 1:10). Concretely speaking, I am visiting Jesuit friends on this campus and just sitting in the chapel before the Eucharist, both of which grounds me in grace as I begin to be at home here (once again) at Loyola House of Studies on the Ateneo University Campus...
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11 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 3, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    Dearest Cha Tri, Thank you for allowing us to share your "glimpses of grace" Mommy and I are looking forward to the next blog. I miss you! ~addison anh lan tan

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  2. messengersofloveSeptember 3, 2009 at 11:48 AM

    Dear cha,
    I wish you a safe trip to Manila. Please keep in touch. I still haven't given up on "Villa du Coeur" yet :-) I had a dream last night and in the dream, there was a place in the middle of the woods, under the misty rain, where my friends and I went to to get away from the business of life. It resembles Villa du Coeur, although the color is brown instead of white :-)
    Will miss your presence here in USA,
    LB

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  3. UnknownSeptember 3, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    As I was reading your email at work, an intense joy ran through my veins flushing through my heart, with so much love and gratitude for you. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers, as quarky as this sounds I feel the prayers, almost as though your hands are still on my shoulder. I miss you and I am feeling much at peace for you...
    Con Thuong Lam.

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 3, 2009 at 2:09 PM

    Thank you thank you and thank you for allowing me reading your blog. It feels like I just had a cold nice rain pour over and wash away my nonsense worries about little things. I don't know you for long but yet, it seems like I have known you for a long time. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers.

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 3, 2009 at 9:59 PM

    fT! congrats on beginning this new adventure! thank you for your prayers, i will pray for you as well! and this time when you get on a bus, say, "here is my money!", not "here are my..."! hahaha God bless you father tri!
    dinesh

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  6. UnknownSeptember 4, 2009 at 2:19 AM

    Cha!

    I'm glad you got there safe and sound! I will definitely pray for you! I pray that you will bless everyone in the Phillippines that way you've blessed the rest of us.

    God Speed!

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  7. sweetsoleilSeptember 4, 2009 at 9:08 AM

    Yes, I'm really surprised by Grace today, through your Glimpses... Thanks so much Cha oi, your inspiring words and thoughtful prayers are indeed the gift of Love that God is sending our way! Take care nha Cha, be well (so that you can write a lot more ;))

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  8. tran thu haSeptember 5, 2009 at 9:15 AM

    Cha Men,

    Doc email cua Cha ma con khong cam duoc nuoc mat . cam on Cha da cau nguyen cho chung con , con se co gang tap cau nguyen cho nhung nguoi Anh em va tap thuong Anh em tung ngay nhu Chua da thuong Con...Chuc Cha suc kheo doi dao....

    Ha Canada

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  9. UnknownSeptember 6, 2009 at 12:32 AM

    Wow...the internet is such a gift! We're so lucky to communally be a part of your journey--thank you so much for sharing with all of us. Our love and prayers are with you in this special time, Joanne and Brian

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2009 at 7:25 AM

    Hello Fr. Tri,

    Thank you so much for your add on Facebook. I don't know if you still remember me, since you have sooo many children, and i guess that you can't keep track of who is who. This is NoodleBabi. I was 1 of the classmate of Thien Thanh LHC, and we used to go to Loyola Marymount University to learn the Bible. We met you a couple of times at Congress, and several times you came to Nha` Me. in Gardena.

    Hope you have a safe & fruitful trip in Manila. Please say hi to God for me, and don't forget to tell God i miss him sooo :) Thank you so much for your prayer!

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  11. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2009 at 1:57 PM

    Hello again.
    It is a beautifull love poem. Thank you. I pray that you will always have love and peace in you.

    ReplyDelete

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