Journey with Mary of the Rosary

October 31 marks the end of the month of the holy rosary. To culminate it, let me share these wonderful sacramentals that have been journeying with me in my spiritual life. Much of them were given of which I am very much appreciative of (f.y.i. If someone would give me a rosary either as a birthday, thank you, christmas, etc. gift, I am very much delighted. It is a sign of Mary's call to pray harder and I remember the giver in my prayers).

This one was a surprise gift to me by Niño Rickson Acero, my co-seminarian and one close to my heart. He made it especially and in time for my birthday. It bore in it the 4 major basilicas of Rome as it's major beads with the salve bead that of Jesus the Eternal and High Priest. I had this held by the Blessed Virgin in the shrine at the seminary on her birthday. I keep this near me whenever I am in bed at night. I keeps evil forces away.

Grateful for helping her on her thesis (on the Trinity), Sr.Ma.Joy of the Leaven of the Immaculate Heart of Mary had this personally made for me. She said thank you coupled with her prayers. It is a wooden benedictine rosary. I remember all the religious and pious men and women when I pray with this rosary.

When he entered the Benedictine Monastery, Kuya Debaron Tivi learned how to make a rosary. This is a benedictine rosary from cat's eye beads. This is another of my favorites especially when I pray for vocations and the priesthood. My special intentions go to the maker of this rosary as well as Fr. Jerry Gaela, then rector, who gave the piece of Jerusalem Cross that I attached on its salve bead.

This rosary was made by members of the SSpSA. It was a graduation gift from my godmother, Lina Ilag, in 2010. I remember the intentions of the Society who made this as well as my godmothers in prayer through this.

This is my very first rosary given to me by my godfather, Leopold Ilag. He gave it to me after his trip from the Holy Land. A piece of stone from the Jordan River accompanies it but I seemed to have lost it way way back (I dropped it among the gravel near Lola Nana's house and I couldn't find it anymore, sorry). This is my favorite as I still keep it in my pocket. Maybe this has been with me for almost 20 years already and one of my most sentimental mementos.

When I had my first retreat in the seminary, I forgot to bring my rosary (which was unusual). I left it in my other pants. This came from the Capuchin Retreat Ceneter in Lipa and I was able to use this as a rosary just 3 times. All the rest, I use it to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every Fridays.

This is a Christmas present from Fr.Nino then our Formation Director.

Get something from your room which has special meaning for you and give it to your batchmate- that was the instruction. This "summarized" rosary is especially themed with Our Lady of Guadalupe. The cross bears a magnifying glass where you can see the image of Our Lady. This was given by Jefferson Carmona, now our Liturgy chairman. Using this I remember his intentions, that of the batch, and for the defense of the culture of life.

This wooden rosary was a souvenir in the opening of our small religious store in the seminary. It was our formation batch that initiated in opening one to sustain a fund-raiser for the Institute.

This wooden rosary came from Rome. It is simple indeed and has an oak casing (the image of the Immaculate Heart and Sacred Heart interchange). This I keep in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady MMediatrix of All Grace, in my room atop my bookshelf. I had this when I was mid-college already.

The Wisdom of the Pope

Pope Benedict exhorts the young to "love."

"Separating" Church and State

December 2, 1956 - President Ramon Magsaysay, with wife Luz, read the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

 

 

Recently I found an old picture of the Consecration of the Philippines to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in December 2, 1956. It was President Ramon Magsaysay who read the prayer. Beside him was his first lady, Ms. Luz Magsaysay. In a souvenir publication for the Second National Eucharistic Congress of the Philippines, it recounts how the president strongly and willingly pursued this endeavor "even if it meant his political graveyard... He received thousands of threatening letters and telegrams urging him not to read the act of consecration. The President, with clear and unhalting voice, read the formula of consecration."

A journey to the inner self

"Many cry to God, but not with the voice of the soul, but with the voice of the body; only the cry of the heart, of the soul, reaches God."
-Saint Augustine

"We set forth our petitions before God, not in order to make known to Him our needs and desires, but rather so that we ourselves may realize that in these things it is necessary to turn to God for help."
-Saint Thomas Aquinas

This 30th Sunday in the Ordinary Time we are reminded of how our internal disposition in prayer is important. How do we approach the throne of grace, with humility and confidence or with boastfulness and pride? No one is righteous before the infinite majesty of God. No one is worthy to stand before His presence. Yet in this unworthiness God tells us that we are not worthless. Still one who humbles himself will be exulted; from our imperfections, there strength builds up confidence to approach God and tell Him how we are dependent on Him.

I remembered talking with a priest the other day and asked what is the most important aspect in human formation. He said it is prayer and spirituality. But there is this specific part in prayer that he gave emphasis and which is given less attention nowadays- that of what he called "internalization." It is a going to the inner most depths of one's self. It is a journey within to see and search God in one's heart. God dwells in each one and it is in this journey that we find not only God but who we are as His created beings. We come to an examination of our values, our morals, our actions, and totality in light of God's wonderful work for us.

Pope Francis greets the Filipino people: Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE FRANCIS

TO THE PHILIPPINE CONFERENCE ON THE NEW EVANGELIZATION

18 October 2013

University of Sto. Toman

Manila, Philippines

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,

I greet all of you with the peace and joy of our Lord. The first Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization is our offering to the Year of Faith. For this I thank all of you: brother Bishops, the priests, religious men and women, seminarians, and the lay faithful who organize and are participating in the conference. I am happy to learn that you came to Manila from different parts of the Philippines and Asia. The Holy Spirit is actively at work in you.

The Church of Christ is alive. Through this conference, I hope you would experience again the loving presence of Jesus in your lives, that you would love the Church more and that you would share the Gospel to other people with humility and joy. Don’t get tired of bringing the mercy of the Father to the poor, the sick, the abandoned the young people and the family. Let Jesus speak now in the world of politics, business, arts, science, technology and social media. Let the Holy Spirit renew the creation and bring forth justice and peace in the Philippines and in the great continent of Asia that is close to my heart.

Please pray for me. I need it. I promise to pray for you especially to our Mother, the blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization.

Mabuhay ang Filipinas! Mabuhay ang Asia! Pagpalain kayo ng Diyos.

God bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

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audio file in the Vatican Radio: http://media01.radiovaticana.va/audiomp3/00395512.MP3

I-Thou

It's brain wrecking to study philosophy especially those of the modern thinkers!
I couldn't think of a world without the Divine.

Just to share, my favorite groups are the existentialists like Kierkegaard, Buber, and Wojtyla.
They not only hold that man's essence cannot be separated from God but also it's height consists in a transcended relationship, one that not only sees each man as an object but a person as a subject.

This they called the I-Thou relationship.

Praying for the Carmelites

Carmelites have a special place in my heart. I grew in a parish where the patron is a discalced carmelite, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Since then I was devoted to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Through the years, I learned more about them and their spirituality and I grew in love too with Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross.

As we has the Mass in honor of Saint Teresa de Avila yesterday, October 15, I prayed for my prayer partner, Sr. Bernina of the Holy Family, O.C.D., who in faith never abandoned me and constantly prays for my intentions. I also remembered my professor, Ms. Cleofe O. Ciar, M.A., who never failed to exhort me in prayer. This evening as I knelt in from of the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima in the cathedral, I asked the Blessed Mother to enlighten me more in my vocation. Carmel has been my first love and feel I am still called to ascent to the spiritual mountain.

May the Lord show me the true way. Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

When a good samaritan came

Doing my usual course and an "apostolate" for seminarians I drove for the evening recolletion to and fro the cathedral. After two  short drives, I decided to have my dinner and take a break before commencing on my reviews (oh, I'm still a student by the way and it really is hard when you have a lot of things to manage and do plus two major philosophy exams coming on the next day... and I still took the time to blog this out).

After I parked the vehicle, I alighted and guess what, the gate of the entrance is locked. I waited there for almost 5 minutes until a seminarian saw me. I waved at him hoping that he notices me and call the gatekeeper to have it opened. No. He just laughed at me. Another came and I also called his attention. Unlike the first one, he waved, then left. After almost 10 minutes, someone passed by and seeing me just seemed to ignored my presence. I took a chair and sat down. Looking around, I thought, WHO WOULD BE A GOOD SAMARITAN THIS EVENING?

Much like the story of the man beaten by robbers on his way to Jerusalem, many passed by and saw him but none responded generously. Is this selfishness that we think of our own benefits, of what is good only for ourselves? It is as if saying that being generous now entails something coming back to me after I do it. Well, one could say, "I am busy and I am doing a lot of things so I wasn't able to call the gatekeeper." Couldn't we give a short time for someone in need? This demands a heart of compassion, one that is sensitive to the needs of others.

There are just people who remember you when they need something from you but forgets you or not even remembers how you are doing when they are already happy and contented. Waiting was not a problem for me but it saddens me to see how insensitive others are especially when they call you their own brother, or do they? After 15 minutes, someone came and seeing me called the gatekeeper. Thank God there is still one who cares and I pray he makes a difference. This is more than a locked gate, when our hearts are locked and we do not open them for others. When our hearts have grown cold and selfish, we fail to see that there are others who like us, are in need of love.  What is in the heart of an apostolic work is not work per se. It is the heart open to one another as if seeing Christ in every person we encounter.

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary with... who are they?

The Blessed Virgin Mary handling the rosary to Saint Dominic
and Saint Catherine of Siena.

Beginning the month of October, I had an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary carrying the Child Jesus on her lap while handling the rosary to two saintly figures in kneeling posture enthroned in the chapel. The intention was catechetical, that is, in order for people to get curious (if they do not know) who are the two characters depicted and so have a glimpse of Church history.

Almost a week past and no one reacts. I thought maybe they already know. I tried to ask several people if they know who the two saints are and surprisingly, out of 10, only 2 know! Sadly disappointed for their lack of initiative to know who these figures are, let me share.

So, who are the two saintly figures?

The first is Saint Dominic de Guzman who established the mendicant Order of Preachers. It was said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him the rosary as a powerful prayer to attack the Albigensian heresy. True enough, the Dominicans won over such enemies of the Church.

The second is Saint Catherine of Siena. She was not a contemporary of Saint Dominic but came later. She is not a nun but a lay woman who entered the Dominican Tertiary. She was heavily instrumental for the return of the papacy in Rome which ended the great schism. Through her prayers and the rosary, unity was restored in the Church.

Let's not calculate

And this is the wisdom of one did not obtain a doctorate degree in theology but only did what she said- to love.

A blessed mishap

I left our house at 10:30 AM bound for Pacita Complex to pass our presentations planning that I should be back in LB in time to serve for Mass. When already in San Pedro I thought of passing by a co-seminarian's house then proceed with my endeavor. I did and as I was on my way to Pacita crossing the San Pedro bridge, the van's clutch malfunctioned and I couldn't shift gears. I only had a thousand in my pocket and I was problematic how things might work out. I was in the side way for almost two hours. Thank God there was a tricycle driver who generously offered me help by pushing the van to a better station and pointed me to an auto-shop a few meters across the street. I also extend my gratitude to Mr. Simatu who was about to go home but was interrupted just so fix my vehicle. He wasn't really a mechanic but a patrol officer I think as he said and a part-time jeepney driver.

It was a new experience. I had my cellphone with me but I did not call home for help. I thought there are a lot of people around and I could have used their help, which I did. If I were bringing the seminary van and I don't have a phone with me, what would I do? That I did.

I'm home safe, 7:45 PM, and wasn't able to serve in the Mass. I'll make up for it tomorrow and thank the Lord for not leaving me abandoned in the unfamiliar streets of San Pedro. 

God was at work!

The TAU Cross

Before Msgr. Jerry Bitoon of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples went back to Rome two weeks ago, he gave me a Tau Cross suspended on a brown threading.

For year's I have wondered what this letter "T" meant for Christians.
Lately I knew it was the "Tau Cross."
It is the Greek "Tau" which is, in ancient Tradition, forms the abbreviated symbol of the Cross in New Testament accounts (that is, together with the Rho).
Franciscans have used this widely.

On this Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we are reminded of a simple and humble lifestyle. Poverty is not literally owning nothing but having a full and loving trust in the abundant provision of God. Pax et bonum!

Have you talked to your Guardian Angel?

Let's not forget to greet our Guardian Angels today. A short prayer to them would do.
Let us thank them for continuously guiding us, protecting us from danger and from the snares of the evil, and for giving us light, leading us to God.

PRAYER TO ONE'S GUARDIAN ANGEL

ANGELE DEI,

qui custos es mei,

Me tibi commissum pietate superna;

(Hodie, Hac nocte) illumina, custodi, rege, et guberna.

Amen.

ANGEL OF GOD,

my guardian dear,

To whom his love commits me here;

Ever this (day, night) be at my side,

To light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.