Prayer of Rupert Mayer

Lyrics Blessed Rupert Mayer, SJ
Music Manuel V. Francisco, SJ
Arrangement Arnel dC. Aquino, SJ

Lord, what You will, let it be so.
Where You will, there we go.
What is Your will, help us know.

Lord, when You will, the time is right.
In You, there's joy and strife.
For Your will, I'll give my life.

Refrain:

To ease Your burden brings no pain,
to forgo all for You is gain
as long as I in You remain.

Because You will it, it is best
Because You will it, we are lest.
Till in Your hands, our hearts find rest,
Till in Your hands, our hearts find rest.


From the album
The Best of Himig Heswita

An Unpredictable Life

Early this morning at around 6:30AM, a triple vehicular accident involving 2 light trucks and a tricycle, took place right in front of our house.

With one truck hitting the tricycle causing head and leg injury to its driver and totally wrecking the tricycle he was riding, and the other truck hitting our front fence when its driver tried to evade the first truck that hit the tricycle.

Fortunately, as of this writing, I had not heard of any fatality.

As I watch what was taking place this morning, I could do nothing except wonder of how life can be so unpredictable at times. Which reminds me of a letter published in one my Friendster group.

The letter was written by a relative of a bombing victim that took place in Makati more or less a week ago. In it, is a husbands agony of how things could have change if He had only decided not to have lunch with her wife in the affected place...

In this world that we lived in, things happens so unexpectedly that most often, the moment we get caught and get entangled with its web, also becomes the time that for most of us realizes the true importance of life and our love ones.

And when pain and sufferings starts to creep in, we tend to remember God and ask the question "why?".

Life is indeed unpredictable. And maybe the reason why it was made that way is so that we could learn to cherish every moment that we had stayed in this world, and to show the people whom we consider important, how we really love them.

Not when they had already passed away, but while they are still living with us. And to know the God whom we worship, not when it's already too late, but while we're still alive and have a chance to serve Him.

Our Time to formally Enter Carmel is at Hand

Today was supposed to be the day, that we are to be clothed as OCDS-Novice 1 and formally enter the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS). Unfortunately, due to some fortuitous events and a little miss communication, it was delayed for two more weeks and if God is willing our clothing will be on the 11th of November, 2007.

Well, I don't believe in coincidence. And whatever the reason for the delay, God willed it and God has reasons for it. Whatever it may be, I know that someday it will be revealed to us surely to learn something from it.

Anima Christi

Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Waters from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passions of Christ, give me strength.

Hear me Jesus;

Hide me in Thy wounds;

that I may never leave Your side;

For all the evils that surrounds me, defend me;

And when the hour of death arrives,

bid me come to Thee,

That I may praise You with Thy Saints, Forever.

To Jesus through Mary!

You can download a copy of this video from youtube by CLICKING THIS LINK.

Wi-fi Anyone?

More than a month ago, my boss asked me to study the possibility and the amount that would be needed to make our Institution a wi-fi enabled facility.

Although during those times wi-fi has already been around for a long-long while and is no longer new to me, frankly speaking, I never really had any Idea how to incorporate and deploy the system within our internal networks.

Luckily for me, a client of ours asked me to do the same, and in less than a week I was able to request a test unit and try a test configuration and temporary deployment.

To my surprise, the set-up in itself was really easy and the only thing that I really needed to do was to reconfigure a setting or two, open a port on our firewall and there it goes.

Well, with plug and play technology nowadays, I really wonder for how much longer will a network system technician be of any use in the future?

I guess, a retraining is not really a bad idea...hehehehe.

Examination of our Conscience

Peace from the One whom we know Who loves us First.

What you will find below is one of the many suggested ways of examining our conscience, feel free to use and edit them based on your personal needs.

Note :

When doing the actual examination of conscience, it would greatly help, if
we are going to look into ourselves as God would see us. When we
realize being guilty of any sins at any given moment during our examination, pause for a while and never hesitate to admit it and ask Jesus for forgiveness.

1. Before the actual examination pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance.

Prayer Before Examination of Conscience

Come Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of the faithful, and in kindle in them the fire of Your Love. Help me to know my sins, be heartily sorry for them, confess them sincerely and better my life. Amen.

2. Meditate on the Ten Commandments

3. Meditate on the six Precepts of the Church.

- in our observance of Holidays of Obligations.
- On fasting and abstinence.
- In confessing our mortal sins at least once every year, preferably before Easter Sunday.
- In receiving Holy Communion during the Easter time.
- In our contribution to the Church in accordance to our means.
- In regards to the Church's Marriage laws.

4. Meditate on the Seven Capital Sins

- Pride
- Covetousness
- Lust
- Anger
- Gluttony
- Envy
- Sloth

5. After the Examination, Pray the Act of Contrition


After the examination, and we found out that we had committed a mortal sin, never receive Holy Communion until having a confession and receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation.

By making the examination of our conscience a habit, not only will we know who we really are but it would even make us closer to God.

As Jesus Himself had said " ...forgive your brothers seventy times seven..."

Never hesitate to go to confession and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for Jesus is always waiting for us and never fails to receive us even though the sins that we commit is far more than the grains of a sand in the sea.

Jesus, died on the cross for our salvation, by denying ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are also denying Christ Passion and Death on the Cross.

Examination of Conscience before Receiving Communion

Time has passed and things had indeed change, and because of this changes, some Catholics specially the young ones nowadays had totally forgotten or maybe had failed to understand the importance of examining our conscience before receiving Holy Communion.

Why is it important for us Catholics to examine our conscience before receiving Holy Communion?

Let's see what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about this one Holy Sacrament.

1322 The Holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by baptism, and configured more deeply to Christ by confirmation, participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.

1323 "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. This He did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"

The very words of the Catechism, "...in which Christ is consumed..." already states the reason why we need to examine our conscience before receiving Holy Communion.

Sad to say, but nowadays, some Catholics no longer adhere to this rule, totally forgetting that what we are receiving during Holy communion is Christ Himself. Totally disregarding the words that the Minister utters before giving us the Holy Host, "the Body of Christ!" and our answer "Amen".

Totally forgetting, that when the Minister says "the Body of Christ!" what the Minister is actually stating is a fact and not a question. And whenever we answer "Amen", we mean "I totally Agree".

To receive Holy Communion under the state of Mortal Sin is far more greater Sacrilegious than destroying an image of a Saint or even of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For doing so, would be far more greater than slapping Christ right in the face.

But sadly, there are some Catholics who no longer believes in this, and would even question the right of a Pastor or of a Minister to deny Communion to Catholics who openly, either by their own words or by their action opposes the teaching of the Church, where they claim they belong. The very Church that Christ Himself has founded.

Examining our conscience before attending mass is not only a matter of requirement, but a a responsibility that every Catholic should adhere too, in order to make sure that we no longer hurt Christ.

Christ had already suffered before, and through the very suffering that He endured, we were given the privilege to attend the Paschal banquet.

And similar to earthly privileges, it comes with a requirement, and one of those is to make sure that we are indeed worthy to receive Him, by examining our conscience.

In Christ.

Importance of the Holy Mass

As I was visiting our friendster discussion group 100% Katolikong Pinoy", I happen to chance upon a question of "how important is the Holy Mass (celebration of the Holy Eucharist)?".

Here is my answer.

Attending the Mass is one of the most important aspect of our faith. For only through the Mass can we be in-communion with Jesus and His Church while were still here on earth.

If were going to analyze the things that the Church had been doing from the beginning, one can see that everything leads to the Most Holy Eucharist, our prayers, the Sacraments, etc.

Why, simply because Christ is truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist, and as I had said in my post on another topic, not attending to our Holy days of Obligation is a direct disobedience to the Third commandment, since it is a direct refusal to worship God, and refusal to be with Jesus. Thus, not attending mass makes it a mortal sin.

But what really hurts most is this, when Catholics are ask if they want to go to heaven, the answer that one will always receive is a big "YES". And when ask why? Most of the answer is that "I want to be with God". And yet, most Catholics would not go to Mass for no reason at all.

We need not die and go to heaven to be with God, all we need to do is to attend Mass receive a Holy Communion, make an Adoration, or visit the Most Blessed Sacrament to be with God.


For "JESUS IS TRULY PRESENT IN THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT"










Wasn't He, Jesus Himself who had said "this is My Body....this is my Blood..."?


In Christ.

Note: some of the text has been edited for translation purposes.

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

As I was browsing the web and started to visit some of the Catholic Links that I had stumbled upon, I happen to remember my enrollment at St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

St. Paul's Center for Biblical Theology offers free online classes about the Bible, which the center labeled as "tracks".

At present, each track contains individual courses with complete cross-references to Scriptural text and Church Documents which are considered essential when studying Biblical Theology.

Here are the three tracks with their brief description that the center are currently offering for free, and its course title contents:

Salvation History Track

A course of study designed to introduce students to the main events and themes of salvation history as recorded in the pages of Scripture.

Course 1: Covenant Love:Introducing the biblical World view.
Course 2: The Lambs Supper: The Bible and the Mass.
Course 3: "He must Reign": The Kingdom of God in Scripture.

Apologetics Foundations Track

A course of study specially designed for students seeking to learn more about the biblical basis of Catholic beliefs and devotion.

Course 1: Genesis to Jesus
Course 2: the Lamb's Supper: The Bible and the Mass
Course 3: Holy Queen: the Mother of God in the Word of God.

Biblical Theology Track

A course of study designed to introduce students to the main issues and themes in theology, which is the study of the bible as a unified whole that expresses God's Word as revealed by Jesus Christ.

Course 1: Covenant Love: Introducing the Biblical World view.
Course 2: Reading the old Testament in the Gospel of Matthew.
Course 3: The Lamb's Supper: The bible and the Mass.


Currently I'm taking up Track 1 Lesson 1.

By the way, if you are too busy, and just don't have the much needed time, or maybe having a hard time reading text in computers, they also have a printable version for each lesson that you could print and bring along with you, which you could read and study later at your own leisure.

Many thanks to Dr. Scott Hahn, the center's Founder and President for making this online course for free.

Try and see it for your self St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Priesthood Sunday (US) Oct. 28 ,2007

In celebration of Priesthood Sunday October 28, 2007
A special day set aside to honor priesthood in the U.S.

Prayer for Priesthood Novena
October 19-27, 2007

Father,
You sent your Son Jesus Christ
To be our High Priest,
And you gave us the gift of the priesthood
To continue his saving work.

Bless our priests, and give us more of them.
Make them holy.
Strengthen them to proclaim the Gospel of Life,
And to defend the rights of all,
Especially the unborn.

Bring us, your priests and people
To the life that never ends.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Taken from priestforlife.org

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Saying goodbye

As I follow on the feeds that I had subscribed on to, i came upon a blog about seminary departures which reminds me those times when I'm still active in the Cursillo movement.

Cursillo is a short course about Christianity. Through it, a candidate is introduced to the Catholic faith and is reminded of ones role as a member of the Church.

For three days and four nights, candidates are totally secluded from the world, giving then time to recenter themselves on their spiritual life.

And truthfully, it has been a great privilege for me, to had served in the Cursillo movement for five years, not only for the helped that it gave me in regards to the development of my own faith and spirituality but for being able to serve and bring the good news to those people who had been considered by some as an outcast of society. Yeps, you go it right. Our group focused more on prisoners.

As with other apostolates that deals with prison inmates, we too, encounters unique problem and situations that we could have not resolved if not for the true presence of Christ.

But most often the part that we always encounter with most difficulty, is when it comes for us to say our goodbyes, during our "abraso".

"Abraso" is the moment where all those who had participated in the retreat is presented to the candidates and must say their parting words while embracing each other (thus the term "abraso").
 

If only one could see us, this is the hardest part not only for us but even to those who were not part of the Cursillo, for it even reaches out to the prison guards. For how many times had we actually seen them cry with us as we say our goodbyes to the inmates?
 

We cry not for anything else, but because we know that one way or the other Christ presence can truly be felt.
True enough we can really say "You were in prison and we had visited You".

Saying goodbyes most of the time are painful, but knowing that in every "goodbye" that we utter, comes the sweetness of God's "Hello" is more than enough to move us forward and continue on...
 

Oh, how I really miss those days...

Part III Our role in this society

"Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the exercise of authority."(1928, CCCC 1994)

"Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man..."(1929, CCCC 1994).

"Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature..." "If it does not respect them, authority can rely only on force or violence to obtain obedience from its subject..."(1930, CCCC 1994).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is very specific in our role in society. We as Catholic Christians above all, must become a role model of people that respects human dignity.

As the Catechism states in paragraph 1994, Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as 'another self', above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity." (1931, CCCC 1994)

Thus, respecting the human dignity of a person does not only mean fulfilling our role in society, but it also means following the second great commandment of Christ, " to love our neighbor as we love ourselves."

We need not go faraway and even do miraculous things to stop abuses. We only need to look upon our own neighborhood, our own family, our own self, renew our vows in Baptism and start living as Christians as Christ Himself has commanded it to be.

For no changes can ever happen in this world, unless we first start from within ourselves.

Yours in Christ.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950's, 60's and 70's !!

A friend of mine send this to me via e-mail, posting it here so that the others could read them too, kinda true in a way...


First, some of us survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. ( sioktong ang inumin)

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, fish from a can (brand : ligo), and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints , pati na yung laruang kabayu-kabayuhan.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads , sometimes wala ngang preno yung bisikleta.

As children, we would ride in car with no seat belts or air bags – hanggang ngayon naman, di ba ? ( jeep )

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. ( maykaya kayo pare ! )

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle ( minsan straight from the faucet)

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.

We ate rice with tinunaw na purico ( dahil ubos na ang star margarine), nutribuns na galing kay macoy and drank sopdrinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight kasi nga ..... .

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan taguan….

No one was able to reach us all day (di uso ang celfon , walang beepers). And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our trolleys or slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms...

...WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words…..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,,,,ang sasabihin sa iyo…..beh buti nga !

We play in the dirt , wash our hands a little and ate with our barehands…we were not afraid of getting worms in our stomachs.

We have to live with homemade guns – gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakit….. pero walang nagrereklamo.

made up games with sticks (syatong) and cans (tumbang preso) and although we were told it would happen, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay….paminsan minsan may nabubukulan.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Walang sumasama ang loob.

Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang bata….hindi para makialam.

This generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and managers ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the government regulated our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!


PS - The big type is because your eyes may not be able to read this…. at your age ok lang ba kaibigan? Pakipasa nga ito sa mga tunay mo na kaibingan para makaalaala pa.

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A hectic schedule

The past few days have been hectic for me, I could not even finished my blog about abuse.

Anyway, I hope that I'll be able to cope with my scheds...to finish my blog and to continue blogging.

sigh... which reminds me, this evening, I attend a thanksgiving mass celebrated by a newly ordained priest at Castillejos, he will be the fourth Ordained Priest coming from the said town. It's really nice to know that there are still lots of Zambalenos who aspires to be a priest. I'm hopeful that there will be more to come.

In Christ.

P4L6 The Birth of the Order 2

Part 4 Our Identity Values and Commitment
Lesson 5 The Birth of the Order 2


Lesson Objectives:

To discover seeds of inspiration in the development of the Carmelite tradition shaped in the context of tension and transition.

Scripture Reading : 1Kings 19:1-12


Topics for Discussion:

1. Carmel in the West

a. Carmelite foundations in Europe
b. Medieval crisis
c. Adaptation in the Rule
d. The Scapular Vision
e. The Sabbatine Privilege

2. Decline of the Order

a. The plague in Europe
b. The Hundred Years' War
c. The new humanism and the renaissance

3. Mitigation of the Rule

4. Various reforms

References:

Rohrbach, OCD, Peter-Thomas, Journey to Carith: The Story of the Carmelite Order, pp 55-123.

Points of Reflection:

The second half of the thirteenth century was a time of growth, transition and tension for the Carmelites. There was a need for prayerful responsibility: a deep sense of solitude, silence and the desert. If the desert is carefully tended it flourishes. The desert is not so much a physical place, but rather the geography of the heart. What can this mean to you?

P4L5 Our Identity, Values and Commitment

Part 4 Our Identity, values and commitment
Lesson 5 The birth of the order


Lesson Objectives:

To understand and appreciate the origins of the Carmelite Order, and cultivate a nurturing spirit for it.

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 18:19-46

Topics for Discussions:

1. Foundation tradition

a. Description of Mt. Carmel
b. The Elijah story

2. The early Hermits of the Order

a. St. Berthold: The First Carmelite Prior
b. Brocard: "B" and the other Hermits

3. The Carmelite Rule

4. The Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel

5. New foundations and the Carmelite habit

References:

Rohrbach, OCD, Peter-Thomas, Journey to Carith: The Story of the Carmelite Order, pp 17-53


Points for Reflection:

It was about the year 1190, that some hermits began to organize themselves on Mount Carmel and is this group that stands at the origins of the Carmelite tradition. At this point, reflect on your understanding of who these hermits were and what they stood for. Can you conceive any connection between them and you? Explain.

An Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for all my sins because of them I deserve the eternal pains of hell, but most of all because I have offended you my God who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to confess my sins, to do penance, to avoid the proximate occasion of sin and never to sin anymore.

Amen.

Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

This morning, I attended mass for two reasons. First, it's the feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Second, it's the last day of the novena mass I had offered for my late mother Francisca, since last week was her first death anniversary.

I was really touched by the homily of our Mass Celebrant and by the music that was sung by the choir especially the Lord's Prayer, actually tears just fell out of my eyes as we sung the Lord's prayer this morning, for reasons that I myself could not really explain.

The homily was about, the 3 virtues of St. Therese which are Thrust, Humility and Simplicity. Since St. Therese, if I'm not mistaken, was given the title Doctor of the "little ways", She became the third Carmelite to be given the title Doctor of the Church.

Her "little ways" refers to the ordinary things that we do in our daily lives that can be offered and be made pleasing to God, so long that we offer it to Him with great love."

She became a Saint not because of anything else, but because of her "little ways" and actions that can be compared to a child, full of Humility, Simplicity and Thrust to Jesus our Lord and Savior.


Picture was from Wikipedia.com - St. Therese of the Child Jesus

under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 (Unported). and the GNU Free Documentation License