Rev. Fr. Dennis Alexander Apostol Cunanan, Jesuits Christi Infiniti (Fr. Dennis Cunanan JCI) On writing as revelation for the spiritual and for the human When I was a young deacon, I was determined to be able to document the exploration of my earthly and spiritual life throughout the years and as my involvement in this vocation progressed. I had the idea of keeping a journal so that I could write to reflect, and, after much inner silence, compose prayers to God the Almighty Father and to Jesus, His beloved son. I began my foray into keeping documents with several worn away pencils and ordinary notebooks, and as time and technology progress, I also find myself religiously journaling on different platforms, such as this current blog. The extent of the material that I write about ranges from the deeply spiritual to the perfectly ordinary. Sometimes, when I write, my inspiration truly seems divine in nature, and i am almost not joking when I say that sometimes I am as inspired as the great Saint Augustine of Hippo in provisioning a verse from the Holy Bible or from Church teaching. Imagine that--Fr. Dennis Cunanan JCI, a new doctor and hero of the Church! Not bad for someone still very far away from eighty years old! (As my mentor Father Johnny Sanchez says, one is never too old or too young to be a saint.) But otherwise, I write about simple things in my everyday life. Priests also enjoy a good cup of hot coffee (my personal indulgence being a hot cafe latte from Starbucks just once every month). Priests, like children, play with dogs. Priests are scared of cockroaches and the other creepy crawlies that one finds in the seminary. Priests feel sad on rainy days and need that special cup of tea to cheer them up. Priests have family members and receive packages from their hometowns with their favorite pastries. Priests even have homework and terror teachers to complain about (as I have had while taking up my masteral in Philosophy)! So, what i inevitably ended up discovering in my quest to become closer to the divine was how human my spirit was. It is subject to the many weaknesses of the world, and sometimes when I am at my most honest, the act of writing becomes somewhat painful, and makes me feel vulnerable. On the other hand, some revelations make me so happy that my hands shake as I type or write, and these are the most difficult moments to write about of all. In most ways, my self-revelations have been very helpful, for now, I see myself not as some particularly special and unique person with the material entitlement that comes with being a priest, but as a servant, one among the billion human beings in this world who try every day to find meaning. My joys and my sorrows, my moments of desperation at being helpless and the fulfillment that I receive in both divine and human revelation–all o

1. Rev. Fr. Dennis
Alexander Apostol
Cunanan
Revelation for the Spiritual
and for the Human
Rev. Fr. Dennis Alexander Apostol Cunanan, Jesuits Christi Infiniti (Fr.
Dennis Cunanan JCI)
On writing as revelation for the spiritual and for the human
When I was a young deacon, I was determined to be able to document the
exploration of my earthly and spiritual life throughout the years and as my
involvement in this vocation progressed. I had the idea of keeping a journal
so that I could write to reflect, and, after much inner silence, compose
prayers to God the Almighty Father and to Jesus, His beloved son. I began
my foray into keeping documents with several worn away pencils and
ordinary notebooks, and as time and technology progress, I also find
myself religiously journaling on different platforms, such as this current
blog.
The extent of the material that I write about ranges from the deeply spiritual
to the perfectly ordinary. Sometimes, when I write, my inspiration truly
seems divine in nature, and i am almost not joking when I say that
sometimes I am as inspired as the great Saint Augustine of Hippo in
provisioning a verse from the Holy Bible or from Church teaching. Imagine
that--Fr. Dennis Cunanan JCI, a new doctor and hero of the Church! Not
bad for someone still very far away from eighty years old! (As my mentor
Father Johnny Sanchez says, one is never too old or too young to be a
saint.)
But otherwise, I write about simple things in my everyday life. Priests also
enjoy a good cup of hot coffee (my personal indulgence being a hot cafe
latte from Starbucks just once every month). Priests, like children, play with
dogs. Priests are scared of cockroaches and the other creepy crawlies that
Visit our blog site @ http://denniscunananjci.blog.com/

2. one finds in the seminary. Priests feel sad on rainy days and need that
special cup of tea to cheer them up. Priests have family members and
receive packages from their hometowns with their favorite pastries. Priests
even have homework and terror teachers to complain about (as I have had
while taking up my masteral in Philosophy)!
So, what i inevitably ended up discovering in my quest to become closer to
the divine was how human my spirit was. It is subject to the many
weaknesses of the world, and sometimes when I am at my most honest,
the act of writing becomes somewhat painful, and makes me feel
vulnerable. On the other hand, some revelations make me so happy that
my hands shake as I type or write, and these are the most difficult
moments to write about of all.
In most ways, my self-revelations have been very helpful, for now, I see
myself not as some particularly special and unique person with the material
entitlement that comes with being a priest, but as a servant, one among the
billion human beings in this world who try every day to find meaning. My
joys and my sorrows, my moments of desperation at being helpless and the
fulfillment that I receive in both divine and human revelation–all of these are
things that I share with humankind, and things that our loving Jesus Christ
also shared with us in His life on earth and His death on the cross.
So now, here is the personal prayer for this journal entry: that my words
stay close to the Word of God, and that my everyday trials and tribulations
as I write of are a testament of myself, and are part of a collection of
wonderful human stories that it is the greatest joy of God to read over and
over again. Amen.
Visit our blog site @ http://denniscunananjci.blog.com/