These Little Wonders

During one of our recent households, our sharing was about the people who inspired us the most.  My answer was short and sweet: our couple coordinators , because I'd like to be one someday :D Seriously, I deeply admire our CFC parents for their dedication and hard work. Imagine the stress of caring for not just one family? Young couples who are just starting to build a family need to work double time in order to ensure that both their children and their adopted sons and daughters in the community are well-fed and nourished in every aspect of life. I really honor them for dedicating their lives and committing not just their time but their talents and treasures as well for the community, and for a higher cause, that is, the love of God.  And so I thank the Lord for the gift of Couples for Christ, especially now that I live independently from my parents. I am blessed to be part of a household led by couple coordinators, I still feel "at home." :) I get free din...

I visited Dra. Riza today. Nothing much has changed in her clinic except the bigger signage outside. What makes me so "at home" in her place aside from her very welcoming smile is the framed poem hanging on the wall at the back of her chair. As far as I can remember, I have already shared it before, but when I checked out my previous blog entries, I could no longer find it. "Senior moment" probably. Yung tipong akala mo nagawa mo pero hindi pala talaga? :) So, let me just share it (again) today. Here it is:  I WOULD RATHER by Ferdi Fuentes I Would Rather... Be the solution than the problem.  Be an active player than a mere spectator.  Be useful than useless.  Be simple than complicated.  Be a man of deeds than a man of empty words. Be busy than idle.  Be a man of integrity than a man of dishonesty. Be a good citizen than an instant celebrity.  Be a peacemaker than a troublemaker.  Be a friend...

During the Jesus Week , Sr. Josefina shared a devotion promoted by Pope Francis himself, the devotion to the Blessed Mother under the title " Mary, Undoer of Knots "   (or  Mary Who Unties Knots ). Last Sunday, I was able to get a copy of the Philippine Edition (edited by Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP) of Fr. Juan-Ramon Celeiro's Novena in Honor of Mary Who Unties Knots .  What I liked about it, aside from the cathechesis on praying to and through the Virgin Mary, is the contemplation on the actual image, a painting that was commissioned as an ex-voto , an offering of thanksgiving for a favor received. The painting can still be seen today at the Church of Sankt Peter am Perlach in Augsburg, Germany.  Mary, Undoer of Knots (Photo Credit: MotherOfGod.com ) I encourage you to contemplate on the image and allow the Lord to speak to you. :) But allow me to share this beautiful Prayer in Honor of Mary Who Unties Knots : Dear Mary, you who truly untie knots, pray ...

"Even though there were so many, the net was not torn." (John 21:11) The Gospel today reminded me of one thing: with God, nothing is "too much." I know in one of my recent posts, I mentioned about God telling me that He loves me too much , so much that He actually died for me (and you). He said so because for us humans, we have our limits. We know when something is already "too much" and we say that too much of something, even of a good thing, is bad. But God has no limits. With Him, everything is possible. With Him, nothing is "too much."  Imagine the scene in today's Gospel. Peter and the disciples were able to catch 153 large fish, but their net was not torn. I assume it was stretched to its limit, probably even beyond, but it was still able to secure all the catch.  I'd like to believe, because God inspired me to do so, that the net symbolizes our life, and the fish, everything that we carry - struggles, difficulties, bu...

I'll keep this short and sweet. :)  Today is a holiday in remembrance of the bravery of our forefathers who fought for our freedom. I have thought of my "things to do" last night, but none of them happened, except for the planned CLP meeting this afternoon.  Apparently, the Lord had other plans - better plans. :)  He allowed me to have a restful sleep and did not wake me up until 9am. After my morning prayer, I hurriedly started my errands beginning with the laundry. I was supposed to meet Joy and Flip but I didn't make it. Instead, I was led to attend the noon mass in Megamall, at the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord. I sensed that God wanted to spend some "alone time" with me. I was privileged to have this date with the Lord, who am I to say no? :)  After the mass, I had lunch at Greenwich (missed eating there already :D) and went to the Supermarket to buy some stuff. Ganun talaga kapag tumatanda na e, sa grocery na ang punta, gamit sa baha...

On Maundy Thursday, one of our activities in the Jesus Week was the Washing of the Feet . Let me begin by sharing the introduction to the ritual:  Tonight, let the physical act of washing one's feet and the openness of allowing one's feet to be washed remind us of Jesus' openness to enter into the spirit of community living. Jesus is a servant, a slave who wants to humbly reveal to us and say to each one of us "I LOVE YOU" and "I AM WITH YOU." Touch is the sense of love. Jesus touched with tenderness and so we are also being invited to do the same. To discover the tenderness in us in a form of love. It creates a movement of oneness. The actual touching of the body of the disciples is important to Jesus who treats them as temples of the Holy Spirit. Our body is the place where the Spirit resides.  The washing of the feet is about relationship, a relationship of TENDERNESS. We use our hands to serve. Let us allow the tender hands of Jesus to touch...

4 April 2015 Black Saturday Here I am sitting on a bench at Dambana ng Kapayapaan . I love it here because it's quiet, and true to its name, here I find peace. I am under the shade of a big tree with flowers that looked pink from afar but are actually colored purple. (I found out later from Sr. Josefina that it's the national tree of Guatemala.)  I was just walking with the intention of going to the big chapel for my personal time with God. But when I saw the pink flowers, I was so amused I no longer bothered to proceed to the chapel (which was just a few inches away :D). Instead, I just stayed on the bench and marveled at the beautiful sight before me.  Then tears started to roll down my face. And I don't know why. In the midst of my crying, this line from the song "All of Me" kept ringing in my head: even when you're crying you're beautiful too . It was as if God was telling me, "Just cry, My child. You still are and will always be b...

I had the best, most meaningful HOLY WEEK ever, so far (the best is yet to come!). :) Thanks to Joy who shared the Jesus Week poster on Facebook. It was God's personal invitation, and I couldn't thank Him enough for the grace that He also gave me to respond. Everything is grace. It was not just my personal decision to join. It was God's grace that allowed me to.  So how did it go? Well, as what I have told my friends, it was amazingly beautiful! The experience was priceless! On Holy Monday, I posted Fr. Jerry Orbos' acronym for HOLY WEEK . I experienced all of that and more! :)  I won't be able to share everything as there is just a lot of personal, intimate encounters with the Lord. But if I were to summarize, it was a time for me to HEAL. :)  H alt . Indeed, I was able to stop and just rest in the Lord. Before leaving Manila, I have already told myself that this retreat will be all about Jesus ( Jesus Week nga e :D ). No emails, no texts, no calls. I...