The Ascent to Carmel

And so my trip to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel pushed through!

It was a Monday when my friend Ronald texted me, "Bro, tuloy pa ba tayo sa Carmel?" We've been planning that for weeks but it always get postponed for some reasons. So I immediately texted Fr.Rich,OCD for a schedule and gave an 8:30AM appointment. It's my first time to commute by bus there, an uncharted place for me. Good thing when I got home from church I heard my brother informing my mom he's going to Ortigas on Wednesday with his girlfriend to Cubao. GREAT!!! I'm joining them.

By the way, my mom didn't know I went there. She's against me being a contemplative. Until now I haven't told her I've been there.

When I arrived in Cubao I met with Ronald who knows the way in QC since he's working there, but it came upon me that it was also his first time to go to the Carmel Shrine. He confessed that he agreed to accompany me because he also wanted to go there as well, just to visit the place. We rode an LRT then he led the way. When we turned to a street I saw a large gate from afar with a signboard "Carmel of St. Therese of the Child Jesus" and a large picture of her. Oh! I got too excited! Sabi ko sa kanya, "See Ronald, St. Therese is really guiding my vocation! And she's here to greet me at the entrance." So we went inside with me shaking excitedly.

Praying in front of the statue of my personal patron
to whom I entrusted my vocation.

When we entered the gate there was this statue of St. Therese on a pedestal greeting. "See! See! She's here for me!" I told him how she greeted me in the entrance of the SPCS lobby when I took my entrance exam. So we went inside and found a porter-like man and I asked where is the office of the vocation director. He said there's no vocation director there but nun! Oh goodness we went in the wrong Carmelite convent! He told us to ride a tricycle just outside the compound and say 4th Street Carmel Parish. Then we just had a short visit in the chapel and.... wow! It's beautiful!

Praying nervously by the sanctuary of the chapel.
The image at the back of the tabernacle
is St. Therese of the Child Jesus
offering roses to the BVM and Jesus.
Roses came from heaven as depicted in the cloth
that drapes from the Cross.

So we walked outside and since the Carmel Parish was near, just on the other street, we just walked our way there. Seeing the vast compound and the huge church, it was breath-taking. Ronald asked me if i'm sure of what i'm doing but whether or not i'm sure, by the looks of the church, he said I'm in good hands (haha). We paid a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and proceeded to the Parish Office where Fr.Rich greeted me in front. He was already waiting for me.

We had an hour talk then afterwards he toured us in the columbary where we searched for a niche of an old friend. We prayed then had lunch. Fr. Rich joined us for lunch then he suggested me go to San Sebastian Parish where the first image of Our Lady of Carmel in the Philippines is housed. So we went there and prayed our mid-day office. Before returning home we passed by the monastery of the Carmel of St. Therese then proceeded on our way.

The San Sebastian Church of the Agustinian Recollects
is made of iron-works from Belgium.
The walls, posts, etc. everything is iron! Amazing.
This is the facade of the Church;
not wood, not cement, its iron right.

The first image of the Nuestra Senora del Carmen brought in the Philippines.

I got to know more about the Carmelite friars. Well I thought they are cloistered men but no! The brothers (who are monks) are but the priests (friars) are active in missions, parishes, BEC's, chaplaincies, etc. I saw that their charism is not only in prayer but also in a strong community. Fr.Rich said he will help me journey through Carmel even though I am journeying also in the diocese. For now he will help me discern for a Carmelite Spiritual Director to guide me.

Fr. Rich Escoto, OCD and myself strike a pose beside the image of Our Lady.

What strikes me most is how he told me that I am not in a win-lose situation. My choices for diocesan or Carmel is not a good-bad decision but both choices are better. They are of equal value. He said I should pray more and let God confuse me more. He stressed cheerfulness as a way to holiness and said that God is just playing with me with these choices because He loves me so much that He is giving me good choices, and better ones. He saw me as an outgoing person and very active so he suggested that I go with the diocesan priesthood but with a Carmelite spirituality (and later on join the Notre Dame de Vie).

It was a very good conversation, an enlightening one. It opened my eyes more that the Carmelite priesthood is not only contemplation but also an active one. It made me love Carmel more but for now it would be good to be in the diocese. After our talk he gave me a stampita each of St. Therese, St. Teresa, and St. John of the Cross. He also asked me to have a personal campaign for Carmel in the diocese.

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!

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.

When Human Love Reaches Perfection: St. Therese, Model of the New Millenium

WHEN HUMAN LOVE REACHES PERFECTION:

Saint Thérèse, Model of the New Millenium

written by Sem. Carl Angelo Pua for the 3rd Visit of the Pilgrim Relics of St. Therese in the Philippines, Diocese of San Pablo

Therese may have lost her mother during childhood
but still found comfort in the arms of the Blessed
Virgin who led her to Her Son.

            Love is repaid by love alone. It is in love that the youngest Doctor of the Church found her vocation in prayer and holiness. Saint Thérèse, at the age of 15, received a papal dispensation to enter the Carmelite Monastery of Lisieux. The ardent love of this nun for Jesus was so pure that her desire to win souls through prayer moved her to the confines of the discalced order. Her departure to the eternal world left many saddened yet inspired millions. She has been a patron of many pontiffs, religious, and lay people. It is interesting that in the canonization process, Benedict XV exempted the cause from the fifty years delay imposed by law and in 1921 promulgated the decree on the heroic quality of the virtues of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Pius XI, succeeding the Holy See, made her the ‘star of his pontificate.’ It was said that the relics and picture of the Little Flower never left his working office. By May 17, 1925, in the presence of 33 Cardinals and 250 bishops, Thérèse was proclaimed saint. More than 50,000 people attended the ceremony inside the St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome; not mentioning the overwhelming 500,000 more standing outside. Two years later she was declared one of the patrons of foreign missions together with Saint Francis Xavier. The theology of Saint Thérèse, though not explicitly mentioned, was instrumental in the work of the Second Vatican Council: “the return to the word of God, the priority given to the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) in everyday life, the Church seen as the Body of Christ, the universal mission, the call of each baptized person to sanctify, fraternal attention paid to those who have different beliefs or who do not believe.”

            There is nothing new with the words of this young saint. Many theologians would say she devised nothing ingenious. However, her way of serving God through little acts of love inspired and touched many hearts to conversion. This love is the very message of Christ as He commanded to love God and neighbor (cf. Mk. 12:30,31) and the calling of every Christian of which is the end of human existence. But what really sets the love of this Little Flower is how she conceives it in simplicity. Love should not need to be grand for God to notice one – the mere heartfelt prayer is already an expression of deep love. She never forgot to pray. She never ran out of something to pray for. Like what she wrote to her sister Celine, “Let us not stop praying; confidence produces miracles… let us not forget souls, but forget ourselves for them.” This love which Saint Thérèse teaches is the very act that the world needs today; a love that is pure and holy, eternal and perfected in God.

The young Therese, burning with the fire
of love, showed how it meant to be a true
follower of Christ even at an early age.

            Why the need for a millennium saint? During the pontificate of the late Pope John Paul II, he ushered the whole Church in entering the new millennium most significantly with the celebration of the Great Jubilee Year 2000. This called forth for a renewed relationship with one another – mending divisions, healing strife, and breaking the chains and yokes of oppression, hatred, and iniquities. Saint Thérèse’s simple message of love is seen as the solution for all these. This attracted the pontiff’s vision of telling the world about God who is love Himself. Through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, love reached its climax with a kenosis (a self-emptying). The Little Flower’s devotion to the Child Jesus and the Holy Face expresses both the joy of nativity and the sorrow of Calvary. She teaches that our service and love for the Lord is not limited to moments of success and comfort but in hardships as well. Saint Thérèse knew and felt God’s presence in the most real and authentic manner and her response is that same love. She reciprocated love which emanated from her Master with the same by spending her life doing good on earth: I do not want to rest as long as there are souls to save. But when the angel says: ‘Time is no more’, then I will take my rest. It is a selfless giving of one’s self for the good of others.

            This forms the challenge of devotion to our Millennium Saint: to be transformed by the Divine love, and animated for the service of others. True devotion to a saint entails living-out and imitation of his or her life. Saint Thérèse is our model of simplicity, a way which seems easy yet tough. Saint Thérèse is our model of love, one that emanates from the hearts of the Creator and the created. Saint Thérèse is our millennium saint escorting us to holiness and prepares ourselves to open the door to Christ.

I don't like being used

Have you experienced waking up one morning and suddenly a person you have been treating as a friend just turns out not talking to you anymore? Whether you have or not, it is saddening. It is sad when people make friends, or in proper words, befriend you because they just need something from you. It is injustice to friendship. It is immature. It is selfish.

One aspect of insensitivity is utilitarianism. This attitude lacks the proper virtues necessary to see that each person is not merely an object of one's pleasure but as subjects of relationships. The great John Paul II while still a prelate of Poland once wrote in a book he entitled Love and Responsibility (1960) commented how persons should not be treated as things which we just use and leave away afterwards; sounds like saying, no strings attached. He pointed out that “A person's rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use.” People are meant to be loved and not used.

Care, trust, and love - these are some of the essential parts in keeping a good friendship alive. They are not ideas floating in thin air but attitudes and expressions that needed to be acted upon. The insensitivity of utilitarianism stems from a frightening ego, one that devours even the wholeness of the person. When we allow ourselves to be pampered so much, when we always think we can get what we want, when we feel that all eyes are on us as if we are always the star of the show - this is ego.

This morning His Excellency Bishop Famadico celebrated Mass for us in honor of Sts. Cosmas and Damian. He reiterated the value and essence of having a relationship with Jesus. He repeatedly challenged us to know the Lord through a meditative question, "Who are You, Jesus?" It is a challenge because this question can be answered by academic research, by reading the scriptures, articles, books, etc. but the key to knowing who He really is is through a personal encounter, a relationship. The Bishop also reminded us of our commitment to the Lord. He said, "How could you commit to someone you do not know?" and this ignited our hearts to really encounter the Lord. Friendship is a person to person relationship and unless we know nothing of the other person, we would not have a real commitment because "friendship is not developed from information from others." Lastly he noted that will power to create friendship is not enough, it also requires the grace of God and one's openness and trust.

We meet different people daily and everyone is not expected to be a close friend of us. The challenge is how we look at them and deal with them. A smile is not bad. A simple "Hi!" or "Good morning" would not be a burden.

CBCP NEWS: Leave the 'selfie' mindset, go back to God

A headline in the CBCP's website reads
Leave the 'selfie' mindset, go back to God
Here's a repost of the news:
___________________________________

MANILA, Sept. 23, 2013—An excess of ‘selfie’ photos may not just be a symptom of selfishness, but may show a need to go back to God, a prelate said. 

“We are selfish, this is what we need to do away with. [It's all about] I, me, myself [like] those who keep on taking selfie photos,” Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani, Jr. said in a homily to some 2,000 people gathered to see the international pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal last Wednesday. 

This kind of mindset is reflected in the social media phenomenon of the ‘selfie’ photo, a self-taken picture made possible by front-facing cameras, according to Bishop Bacani. 

All taking, no giving 

“I joked some people, telling them, ‘You’re all about picture-taking, but never about picture-giving.’ This is the world today, it’s all about taking,” he said. 

In an intended pun, Bacani said this selfishness is evident even in the halls of political power, saying, “If by any chance, you don’t take pictures yourself, you take from the pork barrel instead.” 

According to Bacani, this shows an unnatural self-centeredness in the “smallest to the most powerful” in society — with 90 million selfie photos posted on Instagram alone, this does not seem hard to believe. 

Talking about a topic that seemed to strike a chord with many of the faithful, he said, this phenomenon also reveals a culture that needs God more than ever before. 

“What God wants to say is, ‘Leave your selfishness.’ This is what you need to leave and live in God instead because in God is true peace,” Bacani said during a 9 a.m. mass at the San Fernande De Dilao Parish, Paco in honor of the visit of the Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal image. 

Penance, a return to God 

He explained that this return to God or repentance is part of the message Our Lady gave to three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. 

“The original meaning of penance is to return to God,” Bacani said, dispelling widely-held notions that penance is about extreme physical mortifications like self-inflicted pain. 

Together with prayer, penance forms a formula of sorts for lasting peace, he explained. 

The image of Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal is on pilgrimage in the Philippines until December 18, 2013 and is currently in the Diocese of Pasig.

Chief Pastor admonishes co-shepherds

Pope Francis addresses 120 new bishops on September 19 urging them to be more pastoral than living a "princely" lifestyle.

Live like the Little Flower

Browsing a commemorative calendar of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese which was founded by the late Archbishop of Lipa, Rufino Obviar, I stumbled upon one of his excellency's notes. It wrote:

"Live like the Little Flower, to offer the little things that came to your life,

little displeasures and everything that you could offer to the Lord."

I began meditating and deeply pondered on his words that followed:

"Look at the branches of the mango trees.

They are bent when they are filled with fruits. They are erect when they are empty."

Today starts the novena to St. Therese of the Child Jesus who teaches us the sure way to heaven - a gaze of loving humility. She taught no dogma but lived her life totally out of love. This is why she was declared a Doctor of the Church, the Doctor Amoris (Doctor of Love), and was esteemed as the Millennium Saint. She is a model for our contemporary life where we need love the most. For the next days, we pray to her intercession asking that we too may live as she deed, to follow her example and be truly conformed to the image and likeness of Christ, who gives His total self for love of God and others.

The relics of St. Therese in her 3rd Pilgrim Visit to the Philippines.
My hand, in black cassock and laced surplice, touching her.

NOVENA PRAYER

Dearest Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth. Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions…

(State your intentions)

Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me, and one day see the Face of God whom you loved so deeply.

Saint Therese, you were faithful to God up until the moment of your death. Pray for me that I may be faithful to our loving God. May my life bring peace and love to the world through faithful endurance in love for God our savior. Amen.

Following Christ

"Following Christ is not an outward imitation, since it touches man at the very depths of his being. Being a follower of Christ means becoming conformed to him who became a servant even to giving himself on the Cross (cf. Phil 2:5-8)"

-Veritatis Splendor, 21

Why does God call weak men?

"And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor."

The names of the twelve apostles can be found in the verses of Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, and Luke 6:13-16. The readings for this week revolves around discipleship. The readings are exhorting how Christians should lead a life of discipleship. Looking at the men whom Jesus called to be his most intimate followers, they were not men of great power and stature, they were not politically minded persons, or even the wealthy ones of the time. There is that recurring question and still is a mystery that is found only in the wisdom of God: Why does God call weak men?

I think this is one of the turning point and foundation of a good follower- that he acknowledges his weakness. This weakness is not the physical weakness that we easily think but a humble character. They are the ones who responded quickly to leave their nets, to lower them when the Master said so, and were strong enough to face radical choices in their lives for the salvation of souls. People who have nothing and no one else to hold on to except God are the ones whom God calls. People who have the willingness to follow, people who are receptive to the voice of the shepherd and not stubborn to insist on their own wants.

To leave our nets is to go out of our comfort zones. It means detaching ourselves from unnecessary things that can hinder us from truly seeing God. When God calls us, it is not to show off ourselves but to give more glory to the One who called. In the darkness, the light shines the brightest. In our weaknesses, there God is the strongest. Saint Paul tells us:

"My grace is sufficient for you for my power is perfect in weakness."

-2 Corinthians 12:9

What Motivates You?

Back in 2001 when I was graduating in Grade 6, I received my first hardbound book. During those times I wasn't fond of reading, not for lack of good materials but because I was timid to do so. The book ended up on top of my study table collecting dust for almost four years until I finally decided to read it. It was about the Blessed Virgin Mary as found in Sacred Scriptures. It was written by an Evangelical Protestant-convert to Catholicism who now is an acclaimed Catholic biblical theologian in Ohio. To cut the long story short, I’m currently finishing reading my 15^th book by the same author.

What motivated me to take and read that book? What struck me in the head to decide after four years to go ahead and read it? What made my heart beat to love the works of that author?

As another school year opens in the seminary, we are challenged to evaluate and reexamine our motivations. What motivates us? What motivated us in this our chosen vocation? It is a journey towards the inner self where we question our thoughts, our desires, our passion, and our will. Seminarians are always reminded to submit to their formation and to take every moment in and outside the seminary walls as an avenue for growth and maturity. We are like clay in the hands of the Potter. But is this formation a loving gaze of obedience and surrender or a frail and blind observance of rules governing seminary life?

Two of my younger brothers finished their majors in engineering this summer from the same university where I obtained my degree in sociology. At the present moment, they are now reviewing for board examinations. Sooner or later they would be applying for jobs, leave home, establish their own families, and get along with their lives as normal men do. Sometimes I think of the many opportunities the world offers, how I can be useful in many other fields than in the seminary, or how far I may have achieved (by this time I could have finished my Master’s degree, but I’m still taking bachelor’s units in philosophy).

Vocation is a sacred calling. Whether one is called to the ministerial priesthood, to a life of conjugal love, or to a religious and/or celibate life, all are called to sanctity.

Vocation is a gift that is freely sent coupled with divine grace. It is like a seed planted in the hearts of every human being entrusted with determination to cultivate it. Vocation does not grow by itself. It is nourished by one’s cooperation. One cannot give it away or if one gravely turns his back on it, he finds no meaning to his life.

Vocation is strengthened by the prudent practice of virtues and faithful witness to the laws and commandments of God. Freedom does not entail detachment from the law but through a loving obedience of it.

The hand of the Divine Potter is unpredictable but nevertheless perfect. His way of forming the lives of men is not through coercion but through charity. When He said, “Behold, I make all things new” indeed He does. His authority is not mandated but emanates from Himself. Clay may look to be slimy mud but it can be transformed into an elegant decorative vase for a beautiful parish church or the cathedral altar. It may sometimes look dirty but it can be changed into fine jars to store holy water used to bless and cleanse the people of God.

We are always and everywhere challenged to ask ourselves: What is our motivation? Do we see our actions as sacred, as a gift, and as guided by God’s divine law? Do we allow ourselves to be clay before the Potter who would mold and subject us into the fiery heat in order to fortify and toughen us? We always learn from Him Who is the Master, “gentle, meek, and mild” before the will of God. There is no growth until we decide for ourselves and take the first step to it.

The following article is written as an editorial for CLAVES: The Official Publication of the St. Peter's College Seminary Vol. XVII No.3.

"Duc in altum" - Put into the deep

As I was accompanying a nun in our seminary library she asked me, "Brother, how did you find your vocation?" I felt the curiosity was off-topic since we were minding her thesis about the Trinity and mine on Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI's relativism. I just answered "through prayer."

Jesus tells Simon in the gospel today to "put out into the deep" (Lk. 5:1-11). The disciples were catching fish for almost the whole night but caught nothing. It was their expertise. Their families for generations were fishermen and here comes a carpenter from Nazareth who tells them to lower their nets. Simon would have complained "What do you know of this, you are only a carpenter!" Yet through their obedience, they caught so much than what they have expected.

Recalling the point when I was deciding to enter the seminary or pursue a professional career, it was a serious moment of prayerful discernment. It was in prayer that I heard the call. In prayer we hear the Lord speak and He listens. It is a communion of two hearts - that of the Creator with His created. It is a meeting of a deer longing for panting streams (Ps. 42:1-5) and the life-giving water that whoever drinks will not be thirsty (Jn. 4:14).

Our questions and search for meanings all find their answers in prayer. St. Thomas Aquinas once believed that the best books in the world is the crucifix. Life's answers are not found in the many voluminous books and academic researches but in the meditation of the cross. When we fix out eyes on Jesus, when we tune our ears to the beating of His heart, when we lift our hands in adoration so too does He gaze on us, so too does He listens, so too does He stretch out his hands to embrace our humanity.

Where did I find my vocation? In prayer I know God led me to a place of refreshing springs. It may not be the land of milk and honey but surely it is the vineyard of the Lord where much work is to be done. He tells me to "put out into the deep" and though I have my personal hesitations - still I obey. This is the challenge for all, especially for Christians. God wants us to win souls for Him but we must first allow ourselves to be caught by His net of love. He calls us to different paths of life: some for the married life, others to different religious vocations, and some to the holy celibate life. Wherever and whatever He calls us to be, let not our response be a deaf ear but an open spirit of acceptance in His wisdom and divine plans. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." Are we ready to leave our boats and follow Him? He calls us to put into the deep, duc in altum - will we?