Happy New You

Ave Maria:-)

May our good Lord , our gracious Heavenly Father shower upon you and your loved ones... all spiritual blessings and riches obtained by the coming and sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ..

 May precious lessons learned in 2011 pave way for a peaceful and fruitful 2012.. May the fruits we dare to claim  harvest be fruits of wisdom, peace , forgiveness, reconciliation and love. good health too

May the Holy Spirit untangle all our entanglements - those that harm us, make us lose our peace and wholeness in Christ.. that rob us of that abundant life in Christ.

May we discover more and more with each passing day our true calling in the Lord.. joyfully discovering the hundred ways we can give glory to Him by serving our brothers and sisters.. for loving God leads to loving others as He loved us.

You are beautiful and precious in the sight of God and He upholds you .. may we recieve Jesus His Son with an open heart.. and allow our self to be fully restored to the Father.

Bless us Lord.. bless and renew us this 2012 ... following a good priest's exhortation: "HAPPY NEW YOU TO ALL!" 

.Whose Mom is she? videos of Dec.31 mass Kidney Hospital Nki...

.Happy New You............................love and prayers, Dilbert, Mye, Josh , Dad Benny, Lola Lina..Ging 

 

Videos

By mariamye, mariamye| 2 videos

Bye-bye 2011

Ave Maria:-)

What a journey it has been.Thank you 2011.. and it ain't over till it's over, is it?

Who wouldn't wish for a painless, trouble-free.. stress-free.. paved, smooth road for 2011..? yet am I right to suspect that just like yours truly.. our 2011 has been quite.. and this is putting it tamely:... So infinitely challenging- ooh-la-lah. Whoo.. now that the year's drawing to an end.. we can only sigh in relief and hey do let's praise and thank God for seeing us thru... 

now counting all those "bridges" which is a nicer term for trials, hardships, obstacles what-have-yous... we don't even know how we made it in one piece ,right? 

Of course we know it was Jesus accompanying all that time... but just the same... we're like... wow.. Can't believe...I did not actually turn gung-ho.. did not jump over the cliff.. did notclobber somebody till he/she was black and blue all over... did not turn atheist or quit being Catholic Christian simply because the trials were too much to handle. 

We still are...yes..you and me STILL STOUT BELIEVERS IN GOD'S LOVE FOR US MADE MANIFEST THRU HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.HALLELUJAH..Glory, glory to God in the highest.

Let's see...2011?  We worked..whatever that job was - it was either ok, extremely difficult, tiring or boring..hahaha. We played.. oh yes we did have our "r and r" .. some enjoying lovely vacays in the white beach somewhere..others unwinding in a bar... or attacking the fitness routine with a vengeance ..sports , spa.. the works...  others just resting at home, having a good read..having time to watch tv and eat popcorn , chips, fries (n not fit-for-life diet eh?).. many opted for a retreat.. a spiritual recollection ... others..many too busy with ministry ( oh that God give us wisdom to not go overboard and miss out on other duties in life).

  Some goin' thru the fathering, mothering gamut.. raising or at least trying to raise a family.. wondering how to impart Christian values while we're at it... or the other way round..the children having to care for sick..aging parents... or caring for sick, disabled members of our family.. what else happened.?. oh yes that tricky organ of our body --- the heart --- of course we had to pay attention to anything and everything that either turns it on or off, happy /sad... at peace or delirious... the heart can be quite a pouty, petty tyrant -- when we don't discipline it... it can control  our mind and the whole body goes along with it, hehe .

You have a happy , pleased heart... you'll have a clear , bright mind... your body will sing and sway no matter if we're old or physically sick...Or you nurture a hurt, angry... 

resentful ,envious, seething volcanic heart .. and the mind will duet concocting vengeful, negative thoughts .. preparing aura-mismo a precarious list of Bad Things -to-do that boomerangs us in the end.. and our body.. even if it is well.. will generally droop and join the heart's sick tempo. What a feisty.. spoiled heart we can own at times...eh?  Oh that we be vigilant.

Here is today's gospel in full, pls...please give time for it and know by heart the history of our salvation.. how powerful the narrative is... but first the verse that hit me in the gut (Simon's prophecy and a special message for Mary :

"Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
--and you yourself a sword will pierce--
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Yes .. yes...  when a soul listens and hears the gospel.. particularly about Jesus and His purpose.. the soul will either accept with joy or painfully walk away and reject the Saviour... this actual response... Accepting or Rejecting Christ is what will define a person, young or old, rich or poor, simple or learned... humble or famous... this is our Heart's Intersection .... Our definite response will translate in everything we think ..do and say.... Christ will be then be our Very Principle, our Breath..Thought..our Heartbeat .. He becomes our Way , our Truth and our Life !!!

And Painful and humbling tho' this may be for our arrogant, self-righteous heart.. yet tis' the truth.

 Hence good brothers and sisters ... we cannot say we are for Christ or we belong to Christ yet break all His commandments without blinking an eye or rationalize this lifestyle ... we break His Very Heart. Lord have mercy on our deafness, blindness and hardness of heart.

On this blessed Feast of the Holy Family.. God the Father gives mankind a chance to redeem the basic unit of society..the family.

And our families could take different shapes..there is the family by blood ..as there are families that grow by adoption, filiation... there are families born out of friendship... there is the spiritual family most of all...  where Christ enters our relationships.. so that no matter what our brokenness is.. no matter how different and apart we are from each other...  His love and sacrifice unites us.. oh We are One in Jesus!  This is the Essence of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Inspite of our imperfect families... the Lord tells us He can redeem us and draw good out of  our pain and mistakes.

Jesus can cast His light upon our family and friendships, our stagnant, lazy communities..and we can all rise up to New Life... like Jesus, Mary and Joseph relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance and provisions.

May the Holy Family pray for us.. may Jesus make our families holy.. may Jesus teach us to be His light-bearers ...God bless you!

......Feast of Holy Family homily.................... Thank you 2011.photo album...............................................te mye 

Gospel Lk 2:22-40

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
They took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
"Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel."
The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
"Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
--and you yourself a sword will pierce--
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Ave Maria:)

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish you a splendid, sparkling , true, joyous Christmas... the 9 day novena of masses has ended..have tried for the longest time to complete it... some yrs.. esp when younger I make it...but in recent years huhuhu did not cooperate with God's grace... sometimes will start determined ... but along the way as lack of sleep, laziness or what other reasons pile up.... will miss a mass or two or a lot of masses. And to think that we have this here at our village every year for the past how many yrs.. not counting dawn masses held at nearby parishes: Mt. Carmel, San Nicolas, Immaculate Conception, the Augustinian convent... Jesus is everywhere.. wherever this happens... the joyous offering of novena of masses here in the Philippines or in any part of the globe... it would be such a loss not to be able to avail of this blessing, this Presence of our Lord in each Eucharistic celebration. 

At any rate... perhaps my late mother , father and other departed relatives were pestering the Lord and the Blessed Mother... please ..please help her complete the novena.She needs it.

Her family needs it..Their community .. her friends and enemies will benefit from it..hahaha.

Glory to God! 

Many are graced to faithfully fulfill this year after year. How fortunate these souls are especially if the devotion bears fruit in good works.. a deepening of faith , knowledge and love for our Lord ... it is not so much the "come-on" offered by some : that if you complete the novena : your Christmas wish will be granted... the truth is .. the 9 day sacrifice of attending masses at dawn or evening (anticipated mass) simply prepares our heart and spirit to recieve Jesus anew.... listening intently to the gospels..the readings the homilies, the worship of the people , embracing the music - all these build up to a yearning in our heart to encounter Christ.. to comprehend his purpose for coming..and to be one in Spirit with Him in His mission. Answere prayers and outpouring of graces..those are

bonuses bound to happen

So we made it. Lord thank you thank you thank you.

Lola Lina too .... Ging our working student had arrived to join us few day's vacation..to help out here at home, as Lola Lina is weaker...and the younger Lola (moi) is also errr experiencing low-bat moments. Bleary -eyed we wake up... sometimes energized..many times groggy... flesh is growling but praise God our spirit so in the groove and the spirit prevails --- by God's grace, it is all His grace.

Josh my son... made it to let's see.. the 2 dawn mass when we sang at Mt. Carmel ... and then 2 masses here at Violago.. his father's birthday Dec. 18.. Josh attending and Dilbert also attending a couple of masses is like hitting lotto bigtime..the lotto that angels play  Hallelujah.

a brother, close friend has passed away on Dec. 23..this has cast a different light for us.. to spend time with the grieving family and to still beleive and cherish Christmas for Christ is our consolation and hope.

Oh I could share a dozen little stories.. of Christmas unfolding.. but it has to wait... must go ...God grants a reunion with close relatives...God is good...God is merciful!

Here is a video of Dec. 24 th mass at National Kidney Hospital... do savor the rest of the season..do embrace the very meaning of Christmas.. with Jesus in heaven....it is up to us to help others believe and experience the truth of Feliz Navidad.

Praying for you and your loved ones.. for peace and wisdom to reign .. for us to joyfully share our Saviour's love to all!Silent Night, Holy Night

 God bless you.....................te mye  

Who's Coming to Town?

Ave Maria:-) 

I thought I would not sit down today, as there a hundred and one things to do (errands, preparations, chores..sleep lol etc..)

 and e-mail you..but there is too much joy.. it must be shared...I'd be so selfish not to share this.

2011 is almost over... thank God each year ends with Advent peaking to Christmas Day itself. It gives the faithful an opportunity to check one's alignment to  the Lord. The season itself even as we are besieged with the busyness of it all could open the doors for us to actually stop dead in our tracks...:

 Teka muna.. what is happening in my life..what have I been doing..? how have I been affecting..relating to the people both near and close to me.. to people both those I know and those I donot know.. those who could even be on the other side of this planet --- oh yes Swee'pea, our words, thoughts, actions reverberate to the farthest point of the universe.... any good we do blesses creation.. just as any bad... voluntary evil we do also cascades into a deathly waterfall affecting everyone and anything even perhaps the poor termite.... where even the aborigine in a remote island in the Pacific suffers a setback, will not even know what hit him --- iyon pala (but holy cow..) it was our "doing" ... we have acted terribly and this sends off spiritual radiation worse than nuclear bombs can give. Yah so you think , my description is too epic. Really it isn't ..and one blessed day.. we will UNDERSTaND IT ALL...all of it... by the grace of God.  

We thought we would not have an opportunity to sing for the annual dawn mass, where each choir in the parish is assigned a slot. In fact all slots were taken.. and we were thinkin'... "Oh , the Lord probably wants us to be quiet and reflective .. have more time for prayer... ok Lord"... ... but at the last minute .. with just a night before the dawn mass we were assigned to serve at.. we recieved instruction to fill up the slot for Dec. 21.... a choir had backed out or sumthin' like that.

Of course we were excited ..at the same time worried too... Who will be available.. who can play for us? who can take time out for work.. who is not out of town.. who isn't sick.. are we prepared... can we study the assigned songs in time? and most of all..who is willing to come at 3:30 a.m. and sing for 2 masses? 

The Lord doesn't want us too be so prepared, so up to it... as this would tempt us to think: "Well gee.. I don't need the Lord...I can figure this out myself." That is eminent  Danger . 

On the other hand when we are faced with situations that get out of hand,  where yes..! we experience  many hits but yikes even more misses.... where we realize  our resources, strength, abilities, knowledge, wisdom , love IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH TO MEET THE OCCASION OR NEED.. then this provides us with the golden openning to yell and holler :

 " God .... yahoo....I really, really need some help here.Please come and be quick." 

Our good Bishop ..Bishop  Honesto Ongtioco reminded the faithful to give more importance to Jesus rather than Santa Claus..sounds trite but it's the actual truth.. first he told a funny-sad anecdote of how Jesus and Santa met up and how Santa noticed how incredibly sad Jesus was..."Why are you sad, when you're the Birthday Boy?"

 With Jesus replying:" It seems more know, recognize and recieve you Santa.. rather than know me.  It seems more believe and love you Santa than they would believe and love me. That's the reason why I'm sad." Oh how the Bishop reminded us of the essence of Christmas.. how he made us reflect, ask ourselves  if those who suffered form the recent flash floods in Mindanao could still experience Christmas?   The Bishop then sang a fave carol :"Santa Claus is coming to town"

 and changed it to "Jesus Christ is coming to town."

Because it is sad when children are more knowledgeable about the Santa who brings toys, gifts and goodies rather than this Jesus  who comes to us with gifts of hope, forgiveness of our sins and salvation and love. 

You betcha ..we better watch out..we better not cry.. for if we don't help spread the message and help more realize Of Who Really Has Come to Town... THEN WE'LL BE SO SAD AND DEFEATED BEYOND WORDS... OH... and MOST PROBABLY DEAD TOO.

 ²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23  And only Christ has the power to deliver us from sin and all evil.. money and glory can be cool..but they can't give us eternal life, or even a truly good life for that matter ... so don't watch out for Santa... let's watch out  instead--- as our Bishop and many priests  exhort us ....watch out for and only Jesus   Look out for the One Who's Coming to Town and how!

Surely we each have had our share of joys... achievements...as well as  mistakes and sorrows... some too ghastly we could suffer a stroke simply remembering the horridness of our sins.

But in each mass we attend.. as we offer this memorial of what Jesus did for us at Calvary.. as we open our self to the forgiving love of the Father in His Son Jesus Christ.. then Jesus lovingly accepts you and me... warts and all... we are His birthday presents.. and He offers us to God the Father.. not wanting to lose anyone of us. We are forgiven and healed. We become new ! Splendidly new!

He sees us when we're sleeping.. He knows when we're awake.. He knows if we've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.... Surely good ole' Santa doesn't have the powers to do this.. but Jesus Yes... JESUS is the One Who takes good care of us... praise the Lord! 

Here are vids from the dawn mass.... Kordero ng Diyos and the Communion song : In Him ALone

...Him Alone!.............kordero...........have a beautiful Christmas...God bless you all.....te mye

Dreaming the Impossible Dream

Ave Maria:-)

To dream the impossible dream...! A beloved uncle's fave song, none other than Bishop Mariano Nonoy Gaviola. Now I'm suspecting that he loved this song not just because of the beautiful melody /lyrics that set off his rich baritone voice but also because it echoes God's Word :" With God, all things are possible." .. a powerful saying from Jesus himself.

Who amongst us does not have that secret dream, a yearning which we are almost afraid to voice out because we know it is much too difficult to achieve, with no human means in sight to even come near it... a dream that others would chide us for: " Sobra ka namang mangarap!" ..." what... how can you even dare to think that'll happen.. be realistic.. not in your wildest dreams, girl."

well guess what? good brothers and sisters... The wildest dream.. the highest goal.. the most impossible difficulties have been hurdled and triumphed over many times, countless times by men and women of faith..again and again and again. By God's grace, by the immensity of His love...His faithfulness, hallelujah!

It drives me bananas when men strut around proclaiming achievements or overcoming the greatest of difficulties saying : " AND SEE.. TWAS BECOZ OF ME.. I DID IT... and then goes on to enumerate the great talents , intelligence, abilities he utilized to gain that victory.. so ok.. we ARE able to do great things in life.. but we must never forget the Source or Cause of any greatness we experience. It is all on account of God's Spirit touching us.. allowing us to overcome all odds.. raising us to heights beyond our human weaknesses and pettiness. God even goes so far as to arrange circumstances in our favor, ano ba?

In the readings today.. two couples are able to proclaim mightily and victoriously ..:"The impossible has become possible!For the ALmighty has done great things for us!" And these would be the happy and awestruck parents of Samson (yes, he of the long hair with great strength that could move pillars: this was the prophecy given about Samson:

As for the son you will conceive and bear,

no razor shall touch his head,
for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. 
It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel

from the power of the Philistines.") 

and John the Baptist..last prophet who announced the Coming of Christ.

Samson's mother was barren..Elizabeth, John's mom.. an aged ninety(?) year old...certainly not a rockin'mommma .. both were delivered from the shame of being childless.. a big no-no at that time... the gospel relates:

After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,

and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
"So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit

to take away my disgrace before others."  Luke 1: 25

Oh how the Lord has done great things indeed for His people . 

the greatest being : the Blessed Virgin Mary concieving and giving birth to our God and Saviour , Jesus Christ.SALVATION in sight for God's people, Glory to God in the highest!And peace to his people on earth!

Again who amongst us does not have that yearning for the impossible to happen?

Perhaps an illness that human doctors and advanced science cannot heal..?

Perhaps relationships so broken beyond repair.. beyond reconciliation because too many words and terrible actions have been taken by both sides..and it is just unimaginable that forgiveness can happen..that reconciliation can take place and love can grow again? It's impossible we say...

Perhaps our financial situation has struck bottom low... with no help to redeem us... for we have used up all possible avenues of help..and no one anymore is able to save us. Oh where is the rope or the cliff where we jump off?

Perhaps  like the calamity striking Mindanao the very moment I type this.. of flash floods killing hundreds..destroying and covering whole towns in mud and water.. hunger, lack of water.. poverty.. disease adding to the victims' sufferings.. who will even have the inclination to dream: " It will be alright.. We will rise up again. We will survive this."

The priest at this dawn mass hammered upon us: " But believe that with God the impossible can happen. However we must..pray...pray...pray....pray and cooperate with the graces that will flow from the prayers we have offered."

We say we cannot be healed whether of physical or spiritual affliction.. but today God tells us...I CAN HEAL YOU.

I cannot come out of a painful situation alive, whole and sane.We issue a verdict:" I will be forever broken and despairing ." But Jesus says: " I have shed my blood for you.I have the power to forgive sins and defeat all evil. I am risen from the dead. I will raise you up."

We say it is too dark..there is no light... but today the angels and saints in heaven joyously shout to us: "BEHOLD..CHRIST IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD AND HE HAS COME...COME LET US ADORE HIM..CHRIST THE LORD."

From spending all our energies dissecting where , when and how God has failed us.. why not be humble enough to recognize the countless times God has fished us out of murky, extremely horrid instances?

And if we have suffered much in the past and still at present .. hadn't we better pray harder to have faith and trust that the Lord deems it good for us to undergo these trials by fire? For our own good, however it may be difficult for us to comprehend. Dahil sa totoo lang...May maidudulot itong kabutihan sa ating kaluluwa.? We could grow wiser, humbler, more obedient and loving to God and neighbor. 

this is my quest..to follow the star.. no matter how hopeless..no matter how far... to be willing to give... when there's no more to give.. to be willing die so that honor and justice may live.. for I know... if I'll only be true tothis glorious quest... that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I lay to my rest.

Dearest Tio Mons..sing to us this song from heaven above... your last years were steeped in pain , unbearable if not for the love of Jesus sustaining.. but your greater pain must have been the fear that your loved ones, family , friends ..flock to whom you had preached and shared Christ thru the years would not bear the fruit of faith, hope and love for our Lord... would go thru life not knowing and experiencing Jesus! That is what tortured you. Thank you for bearing sufferings just like your Saviour.. humbly and quietly so that many of us would find that seed of faith sprouting and growing.. slowly surely towards perfection... You were willing to give... you and our other elders touched by the same Spirit of God so that when our turn would come we too would follow and serve the Star Who is Christ Jesus.

Life is so beautiful Mons, thank you for showing us its true beauty, this life in God!..Thank you.. thank you Daddy Ramon .. Mama Lydia.. aunts and uncles.. praise God for the whole court of heaven who unceasingly pray for us, the Militant Church. Good brothers and sisters..savor the remainder of Advent season..and let us together have a most joyful Christmas,A Christmas full of forgiveness... one that starts from our heart.

Mahal tayo ng Panginoong Hesus, God bless you all.....te mye  

we had the blessing of spending a day together with visiting cousins form Cebu..sharing 1st vid with you.

Highlander

Impossible Dream Andy Williams lyrics