This blog is a gift to my wife, Renee, and my children, Adele, Athan, Audrey, Anne, Amelia, and Andrea.

Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Monday, August 1, 2022

Update: 2021 New Year Resolution - Bible in a Year (and a Half)


Hello Everyone!  Hope you are all enjoying a relatively COVID free summer!  My writing seems to come in waves and the past year definitely has been a trough.  Hopefully, I will make it a priority to do some more blogging this latter part of the year.

As a quick update to my 2021 New Year Resolution of following the Bible in a Year Podcast, I have finished it in pretty much exactly a year and a half (early July)!  I first read through the entire bible when I was in my teenage years.  As you can guess, this second time around was a much different experience.  As a person, I have matured (or at least hopefully), going from a son to a father of six!  I have had much more exposure to the teachings of the Faith and the many challenges our Church is facing today.

Father Mike Schmitz, the host of the podcast, not only reads the Scripture to you, he also spends an equal amount of time commentating on it, which is very valuable, as there is so much richness in Scripture that one often glosses over many important points.  Sometimes, maybe even more importantly, one can hear the passion in his voice (and at times, he even chokes up with emotion), which clearly demonstrates the realness of his relationship with God.  I would definitely recommend any adult Christian (Protestant friends absolutely encouraged) to do this podcast.  It's about 20 to 25 minutes a day and totally do-able if you incorporate it into your daily commute or other routine.  As I had incorrectly assumed initially, the podcast actually does go through the entire Bible!

3 Lessons from Bible in a Year

Of course, I can't really write a blog post without giving my thoughts on listening to the Bible in its entirety.  Here are 3 lessons that I learned.

  1. Pre-requisite for All Christians - This isn't really a lesson, but I thought I'd throw it out there.  How many Christians are there who have not read the bible in its entirety?  Can we really be serious in our faith if we haven't read the most important book ever written on the faith?  It's like saying that I really like Malcolm Gladwell but have not read his books (Gladwell is great, by the way.  Would recommend Outliers and David and Goliath).  With this podcast, it has become so accessible that we really don't have a good excuse not to read it.

  2. Humanity is Broken - if you thought reading the bible would give you the warm and fuzzies, then I'm sorry to report that you may get the opposite, especially if you're reading the Old Testament.  Don't believe me?  These are the things you will encounter after reading the first half of Genesis, the first book in the bible: fratricide, countless cases of polygamy, wiping out of the entire human race save one family, sexual abuse, lying to steal another's birthright, incest, and many accounts of deceit and violence.  More surprisingly, a number of these sins were committed by the patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith.

    Knowing this perhaps gives us a different perspective into the challenges we see today.  Our faith did not originate from a line of righteous and perfect people.  In fact, most of them were pretty horrible.  Take King David, for example; he is perhaps the greatest figure in Israelite history.  However, what is he best remembered for?  It would be his great sin of killing of Uriah so that he can take his wife, Bathsheba, to be his own.  Sin, therefore, is the rule and not the exception.  However, this just doesn't seem right...how are we to make sense of this?  Read on.

  3. Christ is the Fulfilment - Another thing that I realized after reading the Old Testament is that there is no conclusion in and of itself.  The nation of Israel never really recovers its prior glory after it was invaded by the Babylonians.  There is a great sense that there should be some sequel to the Old Testament, like a movie with a dissatisfying ending.

    As with point #2 above, it seems incredibly sad and pointless if our faith doesn't answer these most basic questions in life.  What is the point?  Why do people suffer?  Why is there so much evil in this world?  Why do good things happen to bad people?

    Fortunately for us, God does give us an answer.  Although sometimes it is difficult to really understand, especially when the circumstances in our lives give us moments to pause, the answer is plainly there in the Gospels.  John the Evangelist tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  In Christian theology, we understand God to be love itself.  If God is love, why could he not create a world where there was no pain and suffering?  Why does God permit evil to exist?  He does so such that a greater good can come from it.  He allows evil to exist in the world so that He himself can be betrayed, tried, scourged, and finally crucified and killed, in order to reconcile Himself with us.

    Imagine you are an athlete training for the 100m dash and you end up winning the track meet.  Would you rather have won because you were naturally gifted with superior genes and really did not need to train very hard, or because you had given up sleep and woke up everyday at 5am to train for the meet?  Which scenario would be the one that has greater meaning and satisfaction?  I'm sure most of us would say the latter.  And so it is with life itself.  It is not meaningful despite the brokenness and disappointments, but because of them and the redemption Christ offers us.

    It is easy for me to say this, but fully comprehending this is not only difficult, but may seem impossible at times.  With this, I leave you with a final quote from the Gospel of Matthew, "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).  One cannot only use one's mind to understand this great mystery, but must open one's heart.  Will you start by trying the Bible in a Year podcast?

Now What?

So, just as I was breathing a sigh of relief knowing there's no looming podcast with which I need to keep up, Father Schmitz goes and decides he will do another "in a year" podcast.  Starting January 2023, he will be starting a Catechism in a Year podcast.  Oh boy!  Not many Catholics have read through the entire Bible, but I am sure even less have even picked up and read the Catechism.  What is the Catechism, you may even ask...in short, it's a summary of the teachings of our Faith.  It's a great reference when you have questions, which is what I've used it for mostly.  I definitely see great value in reading through it in its entirety.  In a world where Christian beliefs are at odds with a lot of secular society's beliefs, it is essential to any practicing Catholic to know why we believe what we believe.  Whether it's to ensure you are not shaken in your faith or to help you defend that faith, it will be invaluable.  As you can guess, I will be, maybe a little begrudgingly, following this podcast when it starts next year.  See you there!

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Saturday, January 2, 2016

New Year Resolution: Live Each Day As If I Had Five Years Left to Live


Happy New Year!  Another year has flown by (sorry, a little cliche...)!  We are still expecting our little one to come, any minute now!

New Year Resolution
Last night, as we unceremoniously celebrated the new year, Renee asked me what my new year resolution was.  I gave it maybe five seconds of thought and then answered, "To exercise more...to go to bed earlier..."  But I didn't really feel good about that answer, but I wasn't in much of a contemplation mood; so, I decided not to think about it too much.

Then, today, when I was at mass for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, as the father was saying his homily, my mind drifted (it never happens, I swear!).  I was thinking back to last night and then the answer came to me (it must have been the Holy Spirit).  As you have guessed, my resolution for this year, and probably for the rest of my life is the title of this post: "Live each day as if I had five years left to live."

It's really a spin on the almost cliche "live each day as if it were your last" motto.  I never really liked this motto, not because I didn't agree with it, but as a practical guy, it just didn't resonate with me.  I get it that the intent of this motto is for us to filter out the noise and live life to the fullest, but if one were to live this motto out literally, it would be quite disastrous.  First, if I knew I only had 24 hours to live, I'd probably call in sick, tell Renee to call in sick, take my kids out of school for the day, and just go have a good ol' time, before my time is cut short on this earth.  It wouldn't really work out if I did live out each day like that!

So, my version on this motto is really just to satisfy my desire to have more precision in the semantics.  And I do admit, it doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily...

Why Five Years?
So, why five years, instead of two or ten or twenty?  Well, I didn't end up with five years due to any mathematical proof, but rather, I thought five years was a long enough time that I would have to continue with my day-to-day life, but yet, know that my days on this earth are limited, which is the more interesting part.  

This would change my behaviour drastically, because I know that in five years, my family would lose their primary provider.  Yes, Renee would be able to pay off the mortgage with the insurance pay out, but I would want them to be financially secure, even after that.  Five years is not a long time, but it's not a short time either.  I would work extra hard and in new ways to secure their future, in whatever form that may be.  Perhaps it's starting a business that can be continued even after I'm gone.  Or maybe it's taking some risks that I might not have taken were I to live to 85.

I recently listened to the audio book version of the biography of Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance.  It was an inspiring read...I've been telling a lot of people about it.  The one thing that I love about Musk was that after starting and selling 2 companies, with more than $100 million in the bank, what did he decide to do?  Start another 2 companies at the same time (SpaceX and Tesla), because he didn't want to just take it easy in life.  He wanted to do something great for humanity.  Perhaps I would aim to do something great for humanity as well.

What Else?
Of course, I would also love more fully.  Knowing I have only 5 short years to create lasting memories of their father for my kids, perhaps I would take my eyes off my phone when I'm with them. Maybe I would spend more time with them.  Or perhaps I wouldn't lose my temper so easily when they act like they're...kids.  Perhaps I would teach them more about God and about how one should live one's life.

Perhaps I would even tell my parents that I thank them and I love them more often (媽,爸, love you!).  Or visit my brother and his family more often.  Or take my in laws to dim sum more.  Perhaps, I would reconnect with some old friends and stay in touch with newer ones.

Lastly, perhaps I would love Renee more.  Instead of taking her for granted like I do all the time, I would appreciate all the little and big things she does for me and the family.  Perhaps I would take her out for sushi or go to see a romantic comedy at the theatres a little more often.  Perhaps I would love myself a little less and her a lot more.  Perhaps, I would start writing her love letters again.

So...
And so, this is my new year resolution and maybe also my life motto...cutting out the noise and focusing on the essential.  It's really what is meant when people say, live life to its fullest.  Forget the useless office politics, toxic gossip, keeping up with the Jones's...and just live!
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Sunday, July 26, 2015

Angels

Euro Grad Trip 2002 with Archie and Kelvin

Technology is a wonderful thing.  Ever since I found out that I could borrow audiobooks from the Mississauga Library on my phone, I knew my 1 hour plus long commute (one way) would be more bearable.  The latest book I've read was The Angel Effect by John Geiger.  I picked it randomly from a list books that were not on hold at the moment.  It turned out to be a fairly good read (er...listen).  It talks about experiences of a "sensed presence" that many refer to as angels.  They typically occur during times of danger, stress, or sadness, and often results in miraculous survival or escape from danger.

I'm not going to be doing a book review here, but I did want to talk about 2 things.  First, in the last chapter of his book, Geiger gives a summary of the topic and there was one section which I found especially interesting.  It talks about the brain versus the mind.  Second, I'd like to share an encounter I had during my grad trip to Europe.

The Brain vs. the Mind
Geiger talked about one of the scientific studies that was done in relation to this sensed presence experience.  In the study, a scientist was able to reproduce this sensation of a sensed presence by stimulating a particular location in the left brain.  This correlates well with the data from most sensed presence occurrences, because a majority of people with these experiences claim to see the "angel" at the right side of their peripheral vision or have a feeling that someone is present just behind the right side of their backs.

At this point, some of us may stop here and dismiss these experiences as purely physical phenomena, where our brains trick us into thinking we're seeing an angel.  If we can isolate the part of the brain that causes this experience, does that not prove it to be something physical, and not spiritual?

In Catholic theology, we believe that the human person is both physical and spiritual. That is, we have a body and a soul.  This is precisely why we believe that at the end of time, our bodies will be resurrected and perfected.  Angels, on the other hand, are purely spiritual. Animals are purely physical.

The intersection between our immaterial soul/mind and our body is the brain.  Geiger sees the brain as a lens into our mind, rather than as being the mind itself.  Our consciousness and mind, through the brain, experiences the physical world.  And so, because there is an inseparable link between the mind and the body, any experience in either realm is manifested in both realms.  For example, when one trips and scrapes his knee, the physical experience is translated, via electrical signals in the brain, into a painful feeling within our consciousness.  Likewise, a purely spiritual experience can manifest itself into physical brain activity.  Therefore, just because this sensed presence phenomenon can be traced to a particular physical activity in the brain, it does not automatically mean the experience was solely a physical one or that the source of this experience was physical. 

I'm quite sure I did a poor job of explaining this, but the point really is this: God created the world in such a manner that He is able to manifest Himself to us, without breaking the laws of this universe.  For example, just because evolution is a product of probability and chance, it does not mean God did not have a hand in shaping the evolution of apes into humans.  In fact, I think this is the beauty in and also the definition of faith.  That is, faith cannot be proven.  God created the world such that He can never be proven to exist.  Otherwise, what merit would we have in believing in something that is true in plain sight?

Encounter with an Angel?
Enough with the philosophical discussion...I  will now tell of the experience I had, which to this day is vivid and also inexplicable.  It definitely does not fall into the same category of experience as the "angel effects", but there is a mystery that surrounds it. 

It happened during my grad trip in 2002.  +Archie Wong and +Kelvin Lai, and I did a whirlwind backpacking trip across Western Europe in 2 weeks.  We spent a few days in Paris, which was one of our last stops.  

Since we were poor university grads back then (I'm now a poor employed professional now), we utilized public transit as much as possible.  One day, while we were at a subway station, heading towards the platform, we heard our subway train approaching it.  There was a flight of stairs between us and the train.  Afraid of missing the subway (don't really remember why we were in such a rush during vacation...), I started running up the stairs.  Since I was still relatively fit in those days, I got to the top of the stairs first, with Archie close behind and Kelvin much farther back (lol... He still smoked at that time).  

That was when I saw a young lady who was standing inside the train, beside the door, looking at us.  The door had been open for some time now and we felt that it was going to close any second.  To my surprise, the young lady stepped out between the doors, as if she was going to keep the door from closing on us.  I got on the train quickly, and as I passed by the lady, I looked at her and said a quick, "Merci".  As I got on the train, I saw Archie do pretty much the same thing as I did.  Kelvin was still taking his sweet time, but eventually, he made it onto the train as well. 

The car that we got on was the first car of the train, and we got on through the door closest to the front.  Therefore, the only place we could go was towards the back of the train. And that was exactly what we did. We walked a few steps towards the back of the train, being still pretty close to the door which we had just gone through.  After we got settled, the train started moving.  At this point in time, we hadn't even had a chance to talk about what just happened, nor was I really thinking about doing that.  What my mind was thinking about was what a nice thing that lady did for us.  In fact, I wanted to get a good look at her.  I looked toward the spot where she was standing (next to the door), but funny, she wasn't there.   She also wouldn't have walked to the back of the car because that's where the three of us were standing.

So, I looked at Archie, and Archie looked at me.  Without even describing what was going through my head, I said to him, "Where did she go?" He looked at me and replied, "I don't know."  It was apparent to the both of us that we were both trying to find the lady who had just helped us.  So, we both turned to Kelvin and asked him if he knew where the lady was.  He said, "What lady?"  "The lady who held the door open for us," I replied.  "I didn't see anyone at the door," was his response.  "How could you not have seen her?  She kept the door open for us," my voice getting a little more excited.

In the end, we couldn't figure out where she had gone.  The only other possibility was that she got off the train after she kept the door open.  But yet, before she had stepped in front of the door, she had no intention of getting off the train; the door had been open for several seconds already.  It just didn't make sense.

But yet, it could make sense.  What if she was an angel, sent by God to protect us from whatever could have happened had she not stood in the way of the door?  But there was no imminent danger.  Worst case scenario is we missed the train or maybe got separated.  It certainly didn't seem like a situation where an angel needed to interject in our daily lives. And why was Kelvin not able to see her, while only Archie and I did?  

I cannot explain the events of that day.  The lady could have been just a really nice Parisian who Kelvin just didn't notice.  But I keep the possibility of her being an angel an open one.  I certainly wouldn't mind having such an experience, but I guess we will never know what really happened... 
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