So Help Me God

Ave Maria 

New Years Resolutions : So Help me God

Happy New Year  brothers and sisters , sharing in advance with our beloved community a module for the first Sunday of January -given at our parish Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,

… Di man natatapos ang taon ay mayroon napo tayong iniha handang New Year’s Resolutions, mga pangako sa sarili na sisikapin nating tupdin sa darating na bagong taon. Pinag kaka abalahan po natin ito dahil it’s a way of making the New Year one marked with beautiful positive changes in our life.

Lahat napo yata ng resolutions narinig napo natin:

halimabawa: Hindi na ako kakain ng taba, matatamis at magpapa payat na ako..

 or – mag e exercise na talaga ako regularly to be physically fit.. Marami , sari-sari ang mga new years resolutions , but what if a Catholic were to make a list of resolutions for 2015..ano po kaya ang mai susulat natin? Ang ating talakayan today ay maaring katuwaan ngunit maari rin namang maging seryoso lalu’t kung may ibubunga naman itong kabutihan sa ating buhay. Let us be inspired by this bible verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17 : Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Opo let us be renewed by our Lord Jesus Christ.. thank You Jesus.

 

So let’s try shall we? No 1 : I will have a more personal relationship with Jesus. Hindi ko na ito I aasa sa iba, hindi I-aasa sa dasal ng nanay o asawa ko.. but ako mismo sa bawat araw ng 2015 ay lalapit sa Panginoong Hesus, at gagawa ng paraan upang higit ko Siyang makilala, ibigin at paglingkuran.

No  2 Hindi matutupad ang No 1 kung di ako mag co commit sa isang daily personal prayer time. Madalas na tayo makipag communal prayer tulad ng pagsi simba na kasama ang kapwa Katoliko but it’s time na mag improve naman iyong quality ng personal na pagdarasal ko sa Panginoon. If I make time for my career, for housework , for going to the parlor and parties – for enjoying sports- mas dapat mag laan ako ng oras for personal prayer..becoz all those blessings we enjoy come from the Lord..  Maaari itong magsimula sa maikli ngunit sincere morning prayer at pagpapasalamat bago matulog – at saka natin antaying mamulaklak ang ating prayer life.. and you will see po ..Tayo na mismo ang mag ha hangad to spend more time with Jesus in prayer.

No 3 If I have nothing good to say..don’t say it...ititikom ko ang aking bibig.. magbibilang muna ako hanggang beinte  para mapag isipan kung may katuturan o kabuluhan ba ang sasabihin ko.

 

 Mag-iisip ako ng tatlong beses kung makakatulong ba ang aking mga salita sa isang sitwasyon o kung lalo lang akong magdudulot ng sugat o hidwaan sa kapwa. Higit sa lahat hihingi ako gabay sa Banal na Espiritu so that whatever I say will be for good, for truth, for Christ.

No 4 Mag ma maka awa ako sa Panginoon na huwag na maging late lalu na sa pag attend ng Banal na Eukaristiya… o sa anumang recollection , seminar or service for the Lord. Dahil pag sa opisina , sa school, o kahit sa pagpanood ng sine o concert ayoko ma late – di yata tama na pag para na sa Panginoon ay bale wala sa akin ang wastong oras ng pagdating ? Tapos ay Nagtataka ako kung bakit late o walang grasyang dumarating sa aking buhay, kung bakit  sobrang bigat ang buhay , ayon pala’y  nalimutan ko na lagi nga pala akong late sa misa. 

No 5 Hindi na ako mapipikon agad. Kung may mamintas man sa atin or magbigay ng brotherly correction – pakikinggan ko muna itong maigi at pagninilayan bago ako umalma agad. Dahil baka may katotohanan sa kanilang sinasabi. Mas mabuti na maging mapagkumbaba at hayaang lumitaw kung ano ang katotohan. Mas mabuti ring tanggapin ang pagkakamali at magbago kesa mapikon at magtanim ng galit. Remember God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6

No 6 Imbes na magreklamo o mamintas ako sa mga pari at lider ng simbahan.. ipag darasal ko sila, o kaya’y magha hanap ako ng paraan upang tulungan sila sa Gawain  - o kung kailangan talaga silang kausapin then  let us do it in  in a peaceful and brotherly way… always in the spirit of Christian love.

No7 Bilang Katoliko kailangan ang isang healthy sacramental life sapagkat diyan po tayo huhugot ng lakas at grasya upang matupad ang mga magandang new year’s resolutions natin. Dagdagan po natin ang ating pangungumpisal at pagtanggap ng Banal na Komunyon, and we will grow stronger mind, body and spirit. Mga kapatid, The best New Year’s Resolution is the one that God wants us to do – to obey God’s Will for us, kaya’t sa pagsimula ng 2015  let us listen to our dear Lord and receive guidance from Him everyday.. and May all of us have a fresh positive start for 2015..God bless you all 

..let us invite with gladness the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us throughout the New Year..............       love and prayers , te mye       

Joyful, Joyful

Ave Maria

Hello good brothers and sisters..praying we all had a joyful Christmas - and here is the good news-- it ain't over yet well here especially in our country 'Pinas - Christmas is celebrated a longgggg time. But when exactly does Christmas start and end?

In the Roman Catholic church-- The Christmas season begins with the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Christmas day, or as a vigil on Christmas Eve. The Feast of Christmas lasts 12 days, until Epiphany. However, the time from Epiphany until the Baptism of the Lord is also included in the Christmas season....  let's wish and hope tho'  that the habit of emphasizing that the Christmas season is coming soon  isn't mainly to stir up sales in malls, markets -- commercialism quite blatant... And really it is better to prepare our hearts rather than our pockets.. better to remember the One celebrating His birthday on Christmas ..

It is so amazing how many cultures/nations  have borrowed Christmas , but not the totality of it, not its true meaning and essence - Just a 'safe' portion of it --- in a newspaper article the other day - I saw elephants wearing their Christmasy red costumes , they seemed to be performing a dance or a cute trick , it was a picture taken in Thailand --- with a caption that said it was an effort to promote Christmas there 

 

 -- hmmmm... here's  hoping and I wish there was more info ...that they wanted to promote the Birth of our Saviour -what it means for the whole human race ... and not just BORROW the holyday and turn it into a mere holiday -- basta cgue lang merrymaking, gift-giving ...entrepreneurs finding a most useful tool to increase their profits hehe --- a kind of aggressive romanticism really wherein one likes the idea of Christmas for the temporary break in monotony of life --- happily welcoming the kababawan --- merriment, noise, the excuse to shop, the tinsel , vivid colors and lights , enjoying the blurry company of people thru endless partying.

Have you experienced office Christmas parties .. or Christmas gatherings where the celebration was Everything, Anything except about Jesus -- endless games, in corporate offices would be typical sexy games - not even merely suggestive but outright very errr ...i am at a loss for words...well in Pilipino ..it is bastos na ...ahhh vulgar... yet we have been blinded and immuned to go along with the flow and so we think it is not naman vulgar or bastos but just really merely funny or cute --- huh, ano???

 And we sing and dance and revel till the cock crows, eat drink and be merry and we go home quite tired, depleted, nursing hang-overs,  even unhappy --- wondering where the unhappiness or emptiness  came from 

eh kaka party nga lang, ba't ganon?

  Well we can sing and dance rejoice and exchange gifts but do this all in the spirit of gratefulness that God sent us Jesus to redeem us from our sins... to bring light to a world darkened by evil.  

Well then... if we must have Christmas let us go back to how the first Christmas was celebrated.

The Belen : this Nativity scene brought back to life by statues or figurines helps remind us of the characters in Christmas -- whether this be Joseph, Mary ..the shepherds..the three wise men, the angels.... and quite possibly the animals present then  ---they must have had common denominators... They all believed and loved God , they recognized and adored Him...they were in search of more important things -- forgiveness, hope, love, salvation, peace ... all good things that only God can give. Perhaps they all had humble hearts -- hearts that realized human weakness , flaws

  --- Fr Uly so beautifully put it this way --- We must have humble hearts if we are to recieve a humble GOD . Because Jesus was so humble. He humbled himself to help us be rid of all our pride and vanities... to restore us to goodness..to holiness even. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Christmas is not over yet so let us make the most of it ...giving time for prayer and quiet reflection..listening..listening for God's word and then obeying , doing what God commands us to do --- He will most certainly talk to us, get His message into our coconuts if we truly seek Him in prayer -- and we must not rush the Lord --- go and rush everyone else but not GOD except perhaps during emergencies hahaha -- then it's ok to holler : "Yo , GOD I need some major help down here "   Otherwise it is beautiful and wise to grow slowly but surely in our prayer life.

Christmas Day at Violago was a gift from the Lord. ..perhaps a fruit harvested from the Simbang Gabi   God puts certain people in our life ... since ours is a very small family just Dil, me and Joshua : we welcome each year whomever the Lord sends -- there will be years when  it will be relatives ... but in recent yrs the Christmas guest list has been brothers and sisters -- from our community ...and then dear Lola Lina our dear old yaya always waits for her 'tribe' to arrive: Edgar and his  children Mei-mei , Baby Ann - their mom working in Saudi.. Mila with hubby Allan and four very boisterous chubby energetic children in tow.... This year our visitors were Sis Lyn and her  grown up sons, plus nephew Andrei , wife Mary and  her  babies ....Sis Lovely and Bea - member of our music ministry ... Bro. Don Ross, an American missionary Ate Juaning,  also from our community , Ging ... It was utter chaos -- I mean we can't ever have elegant table settings with everything in place --- oh no sirree -- not when the children are here--it is mayday mayday hahaha - Edgar drives a taxi, Mila's husband works in a barber shop ..their income meagre but it is amazing how the children have grown up so healthy, vivacious -- so full of life ---God is good --how He provides , how He hears lola Lina's prayers... Ate Juaning said God sent his angels because indeed innocent children are like angels...This is the party where the guests will help chop  the veggies, wash the dishes --- Jesus is present.. it is lovely, just lovely... No expensive gifts here ... but there was just enough food ... and then plenty of love and good cheer.

There was time to pray, always - we do this each year before we part ways, a practice from Mama Lydia,  -- I love it when  Bro Don and Ate Juaning are always around, they help give the  exhortation , prayers, reflection -- there was short sharing from each one after the gospel was read ... contrary to what we think and feel : people do welcome       a moment of prayer and reflection ... just pray for it to happen and the Lord helps us push the right buttons...and your Christmas fellowship happens  after all --- Jesus is the Celebrant , He would want to be the Center of Attraction, right?     

Everyone who shared mentioned  being in the midst of grave challenges this past year , even severe tests..but all put their trust in the Lord...Ate Juaning reminding the younger ones that   God can draw much good even from our sufferings. .. So let us dig deeper into the treasures of the Christmas season...God has a lot of  wonderful gifts in store for us but His greatest gift is : JESUS 


 Merry Christmas and a Grace-filled year to all ....... te mye

Make it Happen this Advent

Ave Maria :-)

Such a special Season and one we often take for granted.. Good morning from our little space on earth in Quezon City... from the Family Tree  Tree?? hehe I married a Puno which means tree in Tagalog. Love to muse about the streets where we lived..grew up in a quaint street called Biak-na-bato -- translated roughly would mean broken stones -- I wondered if that was a clue to the Narrow Road that leads to salvation Loved that street of San Juan where in the early evening everyone youth ranging from three to thirty yrs old  to  would come out and play tumbang preso kinda like tag using a tin can you kick around...patintero too wonder if they play this in other countriesOur home started as a one house affair -- but with both sides of my very Visayan parents knocking at our doors seeking temporal help/moral support or refuge -- the one house by God's grace soon became two houses - a much smaller one constructed at the back . 
 I was an only child - sickly often sad or lonely but was exposed to a mingling of the Boholanos my dad's side and Leytenos from my mom's province - the place where Tacloban of Yolanda fury is situated... This is how I learned a bit of both dialects.

I believe the Lord places us in a particular environment - a setting where one can grow up... be educated, be loved...nurtured   oh there is my dear father Ramon and our beloved Uncle Msgr. Nonoy Gaviola -- pic taken in one of their visits to Cagting ,Bohol -- so much love in this place during the Japanese occuppation  WWII

----- OR and you will hate me for saying this vice -versa --- one grows up in a setting so bereft of love, of spiritual and material nurturing ... could even be a place so reminiscent of hell.... Why is that so?

Our faith  teaches us that God has a wonderful plan for every human being -- that this plan would include being created in His image and likeness -- this plan so tarnished by sin's entry thru Adam and Eve our first parents -- but..and this is the biggest BUT of human history , thru the coming of God's only Begotten Son Jesus Christ -- we have been redeemed from our sins, from an eternal death --- and that this divine salvific package --Dream Package if you wish--- includes the fulfillment of our true calling  for our  life.
  the apostles  sure shifted their careers..

Phew.... pls bear with me - I pray God helps me find the right words for this -- it means that our short stay on earth --whether this be 5 months, 5 yrs or 5oo can be spent living a life full of divine purpose -- that parenting ...slugging it out in our daily labours...our chosen profession.. our leisure..our passions... our hobbies... our family/social life... every breath we take and expel..every action..movement we make..even our sleep our rest...our thoughts ..everything except our sins -- can Be our Way of Expressing and Sharing God's love and salvation to each and every soul we will encounter -- it is so heady this knowledge -- because we can become  just like the saints who lived hundreds of years ago -- 
their lives had  a powerful impact on us -- St. Peter, St. Paul, the Blessed Virgin Mary and nameless un recognized un canonized saints who are in heaven just the same  --we benefit by their merits and sacrifice All united to the greatest Sacrifice of all - Christ Jesus whose life was offered for our sake...All glory and honor to Him forever

From Biak-na-bato we finally landed at Yakal street --good Lord Yakal  is a native tree tho' I'm not sure if I've seen one. And so what's with a tree? Well Jesus is the Tree of Life - He said I am the Vine and you are the branches...cut off from me you can do nothing ... from the beautiful gospel of John
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

... throughout my married life I am reminded then of this truth ..I am married to a man who carries Tree as his surname..and I am no longer called by my maiden surname but called Mrs Puno... how's that for a daily reminder? -- how do you escape living out this truth..Yet the sinners that we are -- time and again -- I commit sins , yes plural po...  I pray for that glorious day when I can honestly say: " Dearest  Jesus I am so done with sin, ayoko napo talaga : OK na po ako..I am yours... a hundred plus percent .. but part of our suffering dear friends includes bearing with  our flaws ..our inclination to sin... patiently trusting this process of purification   -- it is suffering because when we truly love someone and that Someone happens to be Jesus ...it is painful for us to bear -- no one wants to hurt a loved one right?

 

      Advent is a gift from never -ending gifts from our loving Father in heaven.

you and I and most folks must be scurrying like squirrels running here there everywhere for endless appointments of a merry season... As if our work and family duties are not enough ..we can also have other obligations, passions..hobbies..extra-curricular activities that beg..beg..beg for our time. And we borrow that line from that Christmas carol --we better watch out we better not cry ... cause our heart minds..whole being must be so attuned to the Reason of the Season... prepared for the Coming of the our Saviour his re-birth this time in our hearts. 

 

At the Gaudete Sunday mass - in this particular Advent mass the resounding theme was joy, joy joy -Rejoicing in God's love... Fr Larry Garces our parish priest reminded us : Hey... how can we possibly wear long faces if we believe and understand how God Almighty decided eons ago to bless grace heal deliver this planet --  redeem our very very beyond words STUBBORN human race from all evil darkness by sending us Jesus, His Son Lord and Saviour ....
This season may we take time to reflect how God our Creator , the Perfect One, The Holy One comes decides to clean up our mess --- to give us hope, salvation... to bestow upon us Every Possible Good  -- coming not as an Invisible Untouchable GOD ..but inhabiting our same flesh --- a divine effort to redeem our flesh - our humanity... We will never ever  be able to comprehend this --- and the little wisdom or enlightenment God permits us is enough for us to Be Truly Jolted out of our Deadness and Complacencies and utter worldliness --- And we Decide to Follow this Light of all Lights..to serve this King of all kings -- to love and live for this Lord of all lords -Emmanuel -God-with -Us...Jesus Christ.  

 

 How are you all dear brothers and sisters? : Life is peculiar ... and God is amayyyzzing ..because even as we can have our share of sorrows, troubles -- yes some anxietes , occasional fits of fear -- ok let's face it -- suffer a broken heart for whatever reason --- still when we stick to the Lord --draw close to Jesus-- seek shelter under the mantle of our Mama Mary ... share...talk to the saints and angels who are with us everyday ---

I am not a looney -- that is really the way it is --- they may all be in heaven but they accompany us thru their love and prayers..interceding for us -- so that one blessed day we too can be part of that glorious court in heaven singing praises to the Lamb who Takes Away the sins of the world... And they are our dependable partners ..urging us on..on .Stay the course.. walk with Jesus no matter what it takes..He will supply you with the graces you will need...How kind the saints and angels are.

I took a cab to the office which is located in MKT... early morn there are shared taxis -- this spares you from the octupus line at the MRT station --- so thank God taxi was a perfect fit, I was sandwiched between 2 heavier persons, was lugging a big plastic bag - it's our Christmas party at the office -- so I was so grateful for the cab, my middle seat,  the aircon was working too-- best of all--- the ride didn't take all that long - thank you God..He is merciful.. He knows when we need extra help.

Listened to the radio news --- it was terrible-- at our National Prison-- the NBI finally did its own investigation of drug lords continuing to run the prison -- still trafficking drugs-- making huge profits-- making prison guards obey their every whim and command--- women free to enter their cells bet. 12 to 3 a.m...jacuzzi ? inside a cell..? many other amenities --- it's scary cause they theorize that  the guards are too afraid not to cooperate , the syndicate too powerful -- puede kang ipatumba kung dika makikisama was how one guard put it... Next to this horrifying news was the very opposite of how a jeepney driver returned P22,000 to a passenger -- even as his wife was confined in a hospital and they needed money badly --- so the municipal officials honored him  ---

this was so touching--- how goodness still shows up --- might seem to be a small light but it can steadily grow into a powerful flame of faith, truth , hope and love...Courage to stand up for Christian truths.

I was so touched by the radio -- and I seldom listen to the radio ... we get the news more from  watching tv newscasts -- but while riding a vehicle - I don't know , there's a different kind of

impact... maybe because you don't see visuals so your mind is working double time to process news you recieve.

My brother my sister know as you read this that  God loves us so very much..that it was precisely for this that Jesus was born... these remaining days of Advent let us  humbly offer everything that has happened and is currently happening in our life -- offer these all to Jesus for Him to create a miracle -- for Him to draw good and grant graces from our little offering -- may His love forgiveness, peace and joy flood our hearts --- and then may we become God's precious gift to others -- His love flowing thru ..healing us,healing others..healing the world. May you and your loved ones savour the blessings of Advent. Come Lord Jesus. 

 

love and prayers, te mye