Best Tutor

Ave Maria:-)

there is prayer..and then there is PRAYER.
there is prayer incidental, accidental...
prayer half-hearted, timid,  or the other side of the spectrum -->bossy, arrogant... presumptuous
there is prayer that makes a connection where a lover finds the Beloved and listens to the Beloved..as there is prayer that makes us feel even farther away from GOD... not surprising because it turns out it is not true prayer at all.

there is prayer that is detailed where we must at all costs enumerate one by one our TO-DO LIST for GOD...  poor soul who thinks this is the goal of prayer .. to impose on the LORD , to dictate our will, our wants and desires.. rather than make it a humble means to seek Him Who Knows All..Him Who created us out of love and for love... and above all to now the Will of this GOD who continues to love us inspite of our pettiness.

Maybe we have experimented with prayer... maybe we thought it is like an art or science form.. or horror of horrors like math where we can measure it in inches or weigh it in grams. 
but as we persist and grow in a life of prayer we realize it is immeasureable.. our mind or body cannot contain it.. rather it is the prayer itself that takes over our being..touching us  in the areas where we need God's healing presence the most...

Prayer simply put must be Reaching out to GOD and allowing Him to embrace us always with love... yes He may scold us reprimand us, instruct us at times-- but always..always there is God's Unfailing Love .

Are there rules..are there formats..is there a software to learn prayer....?
silly questions.. but then we have our bouts with silliness.. it's a good thing God bears with us and understands us.
let us not  enter it (prayer) with fear and insecurity.. BUT approach  it with faith that the One we lift our prayer to WILL LOVE US MUCH MUCH MORE THAN WE CAN EVER LOVE HIM BACK. 

Looking thru the years we must have looked like this as God , angels and saints in heaven viewed us while we prayed.

--  (measuring) I think I've prayed 30 minutes ..that's long enough.
-- (organized) Let's see..did I forget anything..uhh I think I covered it all, good job.
-- (high-strung) And I'll absolutely die if You don't do something GOD.. donot fail me. (uy nanakot pa)
-- (tentative) Uhhh... hello..Anybody there? May nakikinig ba? Geez..I feel like a total idiot..how do nuns do it? beats me.....
-- (loser) But I know You won't grant this request anyways... just the same I thought You should know.... (ano ba talaga?)

thank GOD...GOD is GOD..He knows how limited we are..He knows how we can fail, make mistakes horrendously... be absolute JERKS...  and so amazingly He lets JESUS fill in the blanks  for us..whenever we lack  faith, hope, humility... love... whenever we are unwittingly showing our arrogant , unrepentant horns... JESUS intercedes for us ... reminding the Father how He repaired our wrongdoings on Calvary. If Jesus did not do this constantly for us..we'd be dead ducks a long time ago and you can interpret that anyway you wish

And not only that ----   as we discover along the way how JESUS saves the day for us.. we submit ourself  to His Lordship - this opens the doors to the sweetest blessings ever..becoz then JESUS teaches us now How to Pray...
Who could be our best Tutor than the Son .
And so we marvel at possibilities...How to approach our Heavenly Father as Jesus did....awesome....awesome.....!
And that my friend is no longer  format, art, science or math.. it is CHRIST Himself ,His Spirit praying in us... direct all the way to the Father.. with a connection no demon could ever interrupt.

It is not so much finding the right words to say as it is just surrendering to GOD"S LOVE.

Going thru all the trouble and anxiety of how to pray is part of the "fun" ..part of the learning process so that our faith, humility and spiritual  stamina will grow.

And how reassuring to realize GOD REALLY DOES MORE OF THE HARD WORK.

Akalain mo .  (imagine that )

Let's have a prayerful week ahead... let's rejoice that we can do this.. that it is for free and that God is ever ready to hear our cries.

Psalm 84 8 Yahweh, God Sabaoth, hear my prayer, listen, God of Jacob.

9 God, our shield, look, and see the face of your anointed.

10 Better one day in your courts than a thousand at my own devices, to stand on the threshold of God's house than to live in the tents of the wicked.

11 For Yahweh God is a rampart and shield, he gives grace and glory; Yahweh refuses nothing good to those whose life is blameless.

12 Yahweh Sabaoth, blessed is he who trusts in you.

Jesus What A Beautiful Name

http://youtu.be/5CfHt6r-sQo

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

Makabuluhan..Makahulugan!

Ave Maria:-)

Words...words..more words..but which ones do affect us..which ones create beautiful changes in our life? which ones... destroy the very fibre of our being, wounding us so deeply..we are disabled to love and to continue doing good.. some words uttered to us whether directly or indirectly impact us so much...we are scarred for life.

But thank God there are many words that we can hold onto...joyfully recieve and allow it to enter our whole system.. words that so to speak give us life!

Mama Mary, our Lady of Mt. Carmel must have been working double time.. To celebrate the Golden Jubilee the parish was treated to a novena of masses with no less than bishops saying mass and giving the homilies..it is very rare that a bishop makes a visitation and does not bring maximum blessings to the faithful..bishops after all are given extra anointing by Jesus to shepherd and strengthen the flock.. but even if there are no bishops..God is so good that He sends us from time to time priests even laymen with such anointing - who are able to convey God's message clearly, powerfully -- it would be very hard to sleep or attempt to be bored and unaffected while they are "ON" meaning--> offering the mass and especially when they give the homily and preach.

For sure Mama Mary had a gift for everyone in the parish..and for the noon massgoers, Glory Be to GOD, Fr. Vic Sadaya of the Claretians no less was our guest priest.
Thank you, thank You JESUS..we love all our other guest priests, but sometimes, some speak so very softly or very thick accent the words are lost on the faithful..and the sound system which does need a major upgrading does not help at all.These are the times you could cry becoz, many hear mass only once a week..and TO NOT HEAR OR RECIEVE ANYTHING AT ALL IS DOWNRIGHT TRAGIC AND FRUSTRATING.

Was able to video Fr. Vic's talk but just in case the audio is not that good..will try best to share his homily with some personal insights..as he really hit me..bull's eye.

What are the things we consider, meaningful and valuable? Ano ang makahulugan at makabuluhan sa ating buhay?

Fr. Vic related how a lady in her 60's shared words spoken to her by her father when she was only 6 yrs. old..."Anak, mahirap ang buhay , kaya tibayin mo ang iyong loob."
"My child, life can be hard..so  be strong, be brave of heart."
These words clung to her... gave her direction..for the woman then a mere child, they were meaningful and valuable words... later as she grew older..she was able to tie up the significance of these words to the very words of our Lord, Christ's teachings..and the bible. When her father exhorted her to be strong...she understood that one sure way to achieve this, tibayin ang kanyang loob-- was to study and reflect on God's Word..Now...these were the words that were of ultimate meaning and value...makahulugan..maka buluhan! 

an example is when we hear the words of Jesus:
"Courage it is I don’t be afraid," ....we listen to the Word of God and it strengthens us..affects us to the degree that we understand and believe it.

We never forget these kind of words because these bear good fruit in our lives.

Many times in our life... we hear makabuluhan at makahulugang words...we can try our best to avoid being affected...cgue lang ilag nang ilag... but Fr. Vic says no amount of avoiding or pag-ilag can stop God's grace-- if and when He decides it is time we are impacted positively by His Words.

Think of a St. Paul when he fell off his donkey and heard the voice of JESUS... he was changed for life. He was first blinded by the Lord, until a Christian ministered to him..and started teaching him about the life and principles of Christ..but certainly Paul, persecutor of Christians did not have the power to resist God's love, power and grace.

And he went on to be one of the most powerful preachers..going to the pagans boldly and building so many Christan communities. up to this century , the words of  St.Paul affect us!

Fr. Vic says... a time comes when one gets hit by words... cuts to our very heart..and we stop avoiding.. Di na tayo umi-ilag..sa halip ay sumusuko na sa Panginoon.We start Surrendering to the Lord. Oh my Jesus let it happen soon enough for us..this very moment.

A wonderful and touching exhortation by Fr. Vic was given to parents... that parents must never tire speaking the truth and words of wisdom to their children..whether this is accepted or not..many times , we parents will suffer so much , the times our children resist good words we speak, or worse answer back at us..... resist valuable teachings... resist formation according to Christian faith... how painful this is..yet we cannot ..must not stop.

We must beg for the humility and wisdom to deliver again words that are makahulugan at makabuluhan that our children and many others be saved.

Of course we are not referring to petty nagging which does not solve anything at all... but truly those words spoken in love and with God's wisdom.

In closing Fr. Vic warned us....

 time comes whether you’re ready or not…. You’ll be hit by God’s Words.. let us welcome that moment indeed.

Let us be fully conscious of the things we value and find significant in our life and honestly appraise if these bring us closer to Jesus and to eternal life .. Whatever we consider as treasure ---iyon lang ang pag kaka abalahan natin.., that's where we will invest our time talent and treasure -- these things we consider meaningful and valuable then  are the only things that will grow in our life..now that's scary in case we still consider only the world and all it offers , sin included as makabuluhan at makahulugan... TO SAY THAT THESE ARE THE ONLY THINGS THAT WE CAN GROW AND CONTRIBUTE TO OTHERS..SCARY INDEED...as Fr. Vic put it in Tagalog ... yun lang din ang mabubuhay sa atin,the  only thing that will live and survive..

If we are filled with venom and hate, greed and frivolities... vanity and our ego..then that is what we will be capable of passing on.

Not exactly good givers.

Let it be then that the Eternal Word made flesh  who is Jesus Christ, let Him be the One we hold as most Meaningful..most Valuable..that He will grow in our life and we can pass Him on to others.

If we have Jesus, truly befriend Him..we have everything..if He is with us, it will be hard for us to utter vanities and desire or speak evil. Oil and water will never mix, oui?

We cannot commit sin without feeling horrible afterwards, that is how it is when the Spirit of Christ reigns in our heart.

Blessed Monday to all.............Lord..let every word we speak, be spoken in love and create goodness for all. Amen......

Fr. Vic's video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBHrTei1HxM.......

...

VIGNETTES http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2050563697903.2113249.1058791569&l=feeaeb1788

.........................PTL...te mye

grateful, grateful

Ave Maria:-)

As i write this , it's the feast of our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, 5o yrs. .., a novena of masses was held , with different Bishops offering mass each evening..tomorrow they say, Cardinal Rosales himself will be there. what a downpour of graces and blessings ushered in by our our beautiful Mama Mary.

there is no perfect parish... the older and the bigger it is, the richer in experiences, the deeper the bench in as far as parishioners and lay leaders are concerned. There will be some who will be quick to point out negativities , complaints, any lack or poor service rendered but during this particular fiesta..as we celebrate 50 years, there can only be GRATITUDE TO THE LORD.

All glory and honor to You Mighty Father!

There are so many places in the world, where Christians can't find a church to worship and come together regularly as the Body of Christ..no priests to say mass..and therefore no holy Communion to nourish the people... so we must be extra thankful

for there  are 1001 reasons

 to praise the Lord , why it's a Golden Celebration 50 yrs...WOW!!!! 

I'll have to reflect from where the Lord particularly allowed us to be during a portion of these 50 yrs. Many parishioners have served as Lector/commentators.. a lot of ladies have given their time and strength being very committed members of Mother Butler or Daily Dawn Rosary, there is also the Catholic Womens' League, the brothers are able to serve as Lay Ministers... or if younger as sacristans... there are many opportunities for service in any parish ..and it paves way for a richer experience of our Christian faith. But we were led to join the charismatic community..and that openned doors for a fuller experience of renewal of spirit.

Once in awhile I browse thru old pictures or videos... save these in cds so that the computer memory isn't filled up right away --yes, Virginia, I have a truckload of videos, hehehe.

Tonite, I chanced on our first studio practice with Bro. Albert. We were preparing then for a Pentecost Rally of cHarismatics -APCC .... when Albert joined us, we already had practised some songs, the music ministry especially the younger ones who never met our brother, didn't quite know what to expect.

Many were hesitant, nervous --was he strict.. would he bite?hahaha... The studio rented was a small one.. jampacked but all earnest  in contributing to the rehearsals.

Watching and listening to the video, the more I realized how life is such a gift from God - and how the opportunities for service given us must be cherished because many times -- we may do it only for a limited time.Very Limited.

 In the video whose link will be provided --- many faces are still with us..some are no longer with us -- they need to focus on their studies... one has landed a job as a nurse... others are busy preparing for married life - translation : working hard, and saving for the wedding bells.

It's not a mortal nor a venial sin to quit from a particular service especially when God tells us to do so but it's a must that as we are still in the thick of it (habang nag si silbi), to give it our very best -- in Tagalog it's concretely phrased:

"Wag mong titipirin." (Don't scrimp...not on pesos or dollars, but on the blood, sweat and tears we invest as we serve the LORD.

whether others are simply killing the time... foolin' around.. complacent, bored... resist the temptation to DO THE SAME... CONTINUE GIVING YOUR BEST  BECOZ YOU ARE SERVING THE LORD. And by doing so..you will bless others , it is like a contagious fever and before you know it..everyone is finally of THE SAME FRAME OF MIND AND HEART. That makes the service beautiful and fruitful.

And should we move on to do other things:

migrating, working, studying, marrying, having babies, perhaps joining another Christian group... or to go on rest mode or plain enjoy old age.. whatever it is..for us TO NOT FORGET WHAT LESSONS WE LEARNED AS WE WERE PART OF THAT GROUP OR SPIRITUAL ACTIVITY.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

Philippians 2:14 NIV

The video tells it all..I love it even more that it's at least 2 yrs old..and i can follow-up the transformations, the evolution of every brother or sister..myself included.

Bro. ALbert has been playing the keyboard and teaching choirs since the old Testament.. his children are all grown up..and he really is due for retirement (kidding, kidding brod) , but he is still at it.

Maybe he has eccentricities, as who amongst us does not have one? But he has persevered in serving the Lord in the way God called him to.
God will favor that.

Jec2 who plays the violin is now having a lot of sleepless nights as he pursues his architectural course --- he's finding out soon enough that playing sweet music on the violin is A LARK compared to all the plates and schoolwork he has to accomplish.

Young ones..young ones --ahh marami sila..will always want and dream of a rosy romantic life-- meeting that Special Someone. Hmmm... the youngsters have had some hits and misses there...

 broken hearts worn on their sleeve until sufficiently  recovered and then they're back on the "Romeo..oh Romeo..where art thou, my Romeo?" trail again... sanamagan.

Haay naku, have they or have they not listened to Gary Valenciano's "di na Natuto?"

But seriously... many have learned that even where one's Lovelife is concerned... no, make that --->ESPECIALLY WHERE ONE'S LOVELIFE IS CONCERNED..GOD HAS TO BE CONSULTED... they finally realize that the "Ask and you shall recieve" promise also applies to finding one's lifelong partner. Take heed young ones... you've only got on life to live.

The song being rehearsed is a medley of  invitatory Songs to the Holy SPirit : You are Welcome and Let Your Spirit Come .

The wonderful thing about these kind of songs is that even during practice..even if you just sing in the shower or while cooking your sinigang / waiting for the laundry (multi-tasking ba? while we sing them with all our heart..the divine blessing comes even before we finish singing the song...We cannot say to the Spirit ..You are Welcome, more than welcome..to abide in this temple..to reside in this place --- singing it contodo mucho gusto and expect the Holy SPirit to take leave? --- He is not deaf nor heartless...OF COURSE HE WILL COME TO US.. BECOZ HE SENSES WE REALLY WANT HIM TO.  
LET YOUR SPIRIT COME..LET YOUR WILL BE DONE
LET YOUR PRESENCE FALL ON ME..
CHRIST YOU'VE SET ME FREE YOU'Re MY LIBERTY..
LET YOUR PRESENCE FALL ON ME...

May this be our common prayer as we move onto the second half of 2011.Come Holy Spirit..come and renew us, grant us a New Pentecost.. May our Lady of Mt. Carmel..the Blessed Virgin Mary grant us all a plenitude of graces..foremost of which is a real return to the Father thru Jesus Christ Our Lord.

May we realize that it is in our power and decision to always live our life for Jesus ... no matter how at times we wonder if we're making any sense at all .. in the end, by his love and grace.. He , the Holy One sanctifies all our efforts.

Here is the video you are Welcome

http://youtu.be/peS5VfXlBT4

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