These Little Wonders

All of us face struggles and difficulties in life. Today, as we remember the life and sainthood of Ignatius of Loyola, may his prayer be our personal cry to the God who is ever-present, ever-loving, and ever-comforting. :) O Christ Jesus When all is darkness And we feel our weakness and helplessness, Give us the sense of Your Presence, Your Love and Your Strength. Help us to have perfect trust In Your protecting love And strengthening power, So that nothing may frighten or worry us, For, living close to You, We shall see Your Hand, Your Purpose, Your Will through all things. "Give me only Your love and Your grace. With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask." ~St. Ignatius of Loyola Click  here  to know more about St. Ignatius of Loyola. :)

Love is patient. Indeed. I asked Fr. Benedict to pray for Papa. A week after, he asked me about Papa's condition. I answered, "Ayun po, matigas ang ulo. Ang hirap painumin ng gamot." He laughed and said, "Ganyan talaga. Kaya nga sila tinawag na magulang. Pagpasensyahan mo na lang." In a conversation with Papa's cardiologist, he asked, "May asawa ka na ba?" I answered, "Wala pa po." He then said, " Kaya ikaw talaga ang magdadala nito. Magastos pero tiis-tiis muna. Para naman sa Papa mo yan." I just smiled. When I was about to leave the clinic, he shouted, "Mag-asawa ka na!" Those two conversations led me to reflect and I came to realize the following: The Bible says love is patient. And love is best tested when you have to take care of a patient. I really don't like it when Papa is sick because he can get too stubborn, annoying, and "papansin." But that is also the best time for...

Today is Tuesday, July 30 - Feast Day of Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church. Image Source:  www.christtheking.com.sg Fr. Benedict started his homily by introducing St. Peter Chrysologus whose name literally means "golden tongue" (or "golden speech"). He is known as The Doctor of Homilies  because he delivered short (about five minutes only; it was said he was afraid to bore his audience) but inspired talks. 176 of his homilies are extant up to now. But Fr. Benedict made it clear: "You don't become a saint by just being a good preacher. You become a saint if you live what you preach." "People look up to you, you can't help it. As leaders of your organization, and as workers here at your Global Mission Center, people don't just expect you to go the extra mile, but to go the extra smile. " " You are giving the best homily by the way you live your life. " I remember one...

*One of St. Peter Chrysologus' homilies.  SERMON 147: On the Mystery of the Incarnation When God saw the world falling to ruin because of fear, he immediately acted to call it back to himself with love. He invited it by his grace, preserved it by his love, and embraced it with compassion. When the earth had become hardened in evil, God sent the flood both to punish and to release it. He called Noah to be the father of a new era, urged him with kind wards, and showed that he trusted him; he gave him fatherly instruction about the present calamity, and through his grace consoled him with hope for the future. But God did not merely issue commands; rather with Noah sharing the work, he filled the ark with the future seed of the whole world. The sense of loving fellowship thus engendered removed servile fear, and a mutual love could continue to preserve what shared labor had effected. God called Abraham out of the heathen world, symbolically lengthened his name, and m...

Here's something worth sharing: When I was a kid, my Grandma liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day. On that evening so long ago, she had placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my Grandpa. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!  Yet all my Grandpa did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Grandma and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing... never made a face nor uttered a word about it!  When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Grandma apologize to my Grandpa for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then."  Later that night, I went to kiss Grandpa good nig...

This weekend is another affirmation of God's amazing, overwhelming love! We started our Covenant Orientation Weekend Retreat yesterday. God knows what we've gone through just to make it happen. Honestly, I was tempted to cancel it but God said, "Go on, My child. Know that this is not your work but Mine. I will make it happen!" Full of trust and confidence that the Lord will deliver what He promised, we pushed through with the weekend retreat even when there were still a lot of uncertainties. Will there be participants? Will there be enough budget for food and venue rental? And so on.  When almost everything was already settled (music min - check, worship leader - check, participants - check, speaker - on the way), I left to attend to my "daughter duties." As mentioned in my previous post , Papa has been sick and I got really worried when Ate Dimple spoke with me last Friday, telling me that I should convince Papa to see a cardiologist. She ...

*Write-up on the first session of the SFC Metro Manila Conference (MMC) 2013. “We are wearing hospital tags because we are beloved… and love is patient.” This was the opening statement of Ace Lu, former YFC fulltime missionary for Middle East and currently SFC fulltime missionary for South A, as he delivered the first session of the SFC Metro Manila Conference last July 19. Indeed, the first night, just like the rest of the conference, was all about love – God’s love that is.  Referring to the biggest MMC delegation yet, Ace declared, “We are making history. The Lord brought us here simply because He loves us!” He then shared about his personal experiences of the Lord’s greatness, boldly proclaiming that God never ceases to amaze and surprise him. Then he asked the delegates who Jesus Christ is for them. One sister said Jesus is her life, while another answered “God of everything.” Ace recalled that when he joined the Youth Camp many years ago, Jesus was the driver of...

Yesterday was special.  I woke up with an aching stomach and a painful back - what's new? :) It took me a while to leave because I really wasn't feeling well.  Thank God I didn't have to wait too long to get a ride. I got off at Ermin Garcia and started walking to 20th Ave. When I passed by TIP, someone came from behind to hug me. It was Renzy, fellow SFC from East A. I really appreciate hugs especially these days. I had a typical day at work with the usual calls, texts, and emails that I have to respond to. Thank God for the daily mass at 12 noon. Fr. Augustine once again shared a personal experience, this time, it was something that really hit me. Here's the story: On his way to the Philippines, Fr. Augustine met a lady at the Bangkok International Airport. He noticed the lady because she was praying the Rosary. Fr. Augustine smiled at her, said "hi", sat beside her, and talked to her. When he was about to leave, the lady invited him for lu...

I love going to masses and I look forward to every homily. Thank God there's an everyday mass at the Global Mission Center, and so before feeding my body, I get to feed my soul first. :) My favorite day is Tuesday because Fr. Benedict presides the mass. :) He would always say that the priest is not the most important character in the mass, and I agree. It's not really about who presides the mass and I would still go even if it weren't him, it's just that I can relate to his homilies better, and somehow I feel more blessed.  Proofs that his homilies have greatly impacted my life are my journal, my social media accounts (FB, Twitter, Alternion), and this blog where I post most of the insights and bits of inspirations that I get from him.  Fr. Benedict is truly a gift to the church, a strong advocate of faith, and a great example of humility. Tuesdays are never the same with him and I praise and thank the Lord for allowing me to meet such an angel. In one of ...

*Cluster 4 Household Topic When we sin there are consequences. When we disobey God, there are consequences we must deal with. We bring them on ourselves. But God uses them to bring us back into fellowship with Him. He relentlessly pursues us. He will never give up on us. Jonah chose a path of disobedience. God would have been within His rights to have said, "Jonah, you have disobeyed Me, and as such you have forfeited the right to be called My child. I am letting go!" But He didn't. Jonah expressed his rebellion, but God loved him too much to let him go. The Bible says that God sent the storm. This was not just an ordinary storm but a storm so great that even veteran sailors were afraid.  Sometimes God doesn't calm the sea; He stirs it up. The issue, whether the sea is calm or stormy, is to choose to live for Christ, to follow Him, and to obey Him. And when the calm sea turns stormy, then we can call out to Him like the disciples did when they were with J...

Couples for Christ Global celebrated its 32nd year as a community last June. I was privileged to be part of the Liturgy Committee and so from day 1 of the Global Leaders Empowerment Convention, I was in close contact with our guest priests. It was such an honor and I felt really blessed! The highlight of the anniversary week was the grand celebration held on June 22 at Quirino Grandstand. And it was also one of the moments when I felt closest to God. The Holy Eucharistic celebration was presided by His Eminence, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, joined by not less than 50 other priests including 2 bishops from all the world. During the homily, Cardinal Tagle challenged the CFC community to live up to the theme of witnessing to the world . He then asked the crowd, "Who are you witnessing to?" He continued, "The Christ that you know is the Christ that you witness to. Everyday, Jesus reveals Himself to us, but will we be there to get to know Him? W...

I found this prayer very timely. Pray with me, and together, let's receive God's blessings! :) Image Source:  http://www.choosing-life-my-way.com/blessing-prayer.html Father, I thank You for being the God of every blessing, the fount of every joy, and the source of everything good. I know it is in Your heart to bless the lives of Your children, and as Your child, I desire Your blessing upon my life. Thank You that Your blessings enrich my life, leave me without sorrow, bring me the treasures of Your grace, and express all the kindness of Your favor. Thank You, Father, that Your blessings abound to me in Christ, they are mine freely because of the great price He paid. I thank You that because I am in Him, You have showered upon me every blessing that heaven could possibly give. I receive Your blessings for this day as I walk with You—I ask for Your hand to cover me, Your power to keep me, Your face to shine upon me, Your love to fill me, Your strength to sust...