by Bo Sanchez

Let me share with you a simple secret about succeeding in life.Don’t ever try to please everyone.

I’ve been a leader of Catholic organizations for two decades now. If I tried to live up to all the expectations that people heap on me, I’d need to be Padre Pio and Bill Gates and Francis of Assisi and John Rockefeller and Clark Kent rolled into one.

Talk about severe schizophrenia!

Some want me to be Padre Pio: ‘Bo, your early morning prayer time – done at four - should last for three hours. You should levitate once in a while. When you walk around, we should smell the odor of sanctity and see a beautiful glow on your face.’ Jeepers, I have some type of odor, I know. But I doubt if it’s sacred. (Spell out my name. Remind you of something?)

Others want me to be Bill Gates, the great CEO: ‘As our leader, you should manage a well-knit, well-run, well-oiled organization. You should implement reengineering, develop our marketing niche, and work towards ISO 9002 systems in our prayer group.’

Others want me to be St Francis of Assisi, the ascetic: ‘Bo, you should live in poverty, wear second-hand clothes, and never touch or own or think of money at all. Drive a beat up, rusty, dilapidated car. And live in a squatter area.’

And yet another group of people insist that I be John Rockefeller, the philanthropist: ‘When we have financial needs, it’ll be nice if we see you dig deep into your pocket and help us with our children’s tuition fees, our hospital bills, our shopping sprees.’

By Bo Sanchez

At about nine that morning, a member of our Catholic group called up and told me that her daughter was in the hospital. She needed P9,000.00 pronto!

“Lord, how could you?” I whispered under my breath. “Why do You always have to be so exact? Why do You always ask for all that I have?”

“Pick up your money here,” I told her as cheerfully as I could, hiding my anxiety. At the back of my mind, I was already imagining the dire and morbid consequences of my decision. Living with only P700.00 in my wallet meant not eating pizza for a few years (Oh, no!), jogging to my prayer meetings and wearing the same old clothes I have until I reached 75.

A few minutes later, another friend barged through our front door, weeping and telling me about her family problems. It ended with her very nervous plea, “Bo, can you give me P500.00?”

I started to laugh, “Not P700.00?”

By Bo Sanchez

There are some things in life which I deeply enjoy. Like standing on top of a serene mountain breathing in God’s beauty. Or simply reading a good fat book that I can’t put down. Or just being hugged by a little child or eating ice cream with friends. But here is this one specific thing that I do which I find exquisitely sweet. Awesome even. It probably one of the most profoundly inspiring things that I do.

By Bo Sanchez

How to pray when you’re not a priest or nun but a regular office employee who rides the Tamara FX to work for two hours, raises three kids who need help in their homework and does the family’s laundry during weekends.

Do What Works

There is no one way of praying. Continue to search for the way of prayer that enriches you, that blesses you, that allows God to speak to you more or work in your life more. You’ll know. Because I’m a writer, I pray by writing in my journal. And that blesses me immensely. I get up from my prayer time refreshed, restored, and energized! If you were to tell me that this isn’t the proper way of praying and that I should kneel down and be quite for thirty minutes, I’d tell you to ask Him why do I feel more blessed with my improper way of praying and feel totally bored and tired with so-called ‘proper’ way. Does He like to torture me and make my time with Him totally unenjoyable?