UPCAT

Tatlong beses ko inulit ang orientation. Kamusta naman ang boses ko. :P

Pero oh well. Masasanay rin ako.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

Commentary of the day :

Paul VI, Pope from 1963-1978
Apostolic Exhortation on Christian joy, "Gaudete in Domino" (copyright Libreria editrice vaticana)

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord"

For twenty centuries, this source of joy has not ceased to spring up in the Church, and especially in the hearts of the saints... In the first rank is the Virgin Mary, full of grace, the Mother of the Savior. She, accepting the announcement from on high, the Servant of the Lord, Spouse of the Spirit and Mother of the Eternal Son, manifests her joy before her cousin Elizabeth who celebrates her faith: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...henceforth all generations will call me blessed."

She has grasped, better than all other creatures, that God accomplishes wonderful things: His name is holy, He shows His mercy, He raises up the humble, He is faithful to His promises. Not that the apparent course of her life in any way departs from the ordinary, but she meditates on the least signs of God, pondering them in her heart, (Lk 2,19.51). Not that she is in any way spared sufferings: she stands, the mother of sorrows, at the foot of the cross, associated in an eminent way with the sacrifice of the innocent Servant. But she is also open in an unlimited degree to the joy of the resurrection; and she is also taken up, body and soul, into the glory of heaven. The first of the redeemed, immaculate from the moment of her conception, the incomparable dwelling-place of the Spirit, the pure abode of the Redeemer of mankind, she is at the same time the beloved Daughter of God and, in Christ, the Mother of all. She is the perfect model of the Church both on earth and in glory.

What a marvelous echo the prophetic words about the new Jerusalem find in her wonderful existence as the Virgin of Israel: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels," (Is 61,10).

June na!

Super busy dahil college application period na. Kailangan ko na asikasuhin ang mga application ng mga bata. June 18 na ang deadline ng UPCAT. I still need to know the deadline for the rest of the schools.

Whoo! :) Para sa Batch 7!

You will find rest

First Letter of John 4,7-16.

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11,25-30.

At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Master, I want to see.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10,46-52.

They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me." And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me." Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage; get up, he is calling you." He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Sharing of the Week sa ANI. :)

“God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.”

ANI has been part of my summer for the past 3 years. It has allowed me to educate High School kids, and at the same time build relationships with my students as well as the co-teachers. About a year ago, as I was looking at our CL team, I realized that none of us could teach again next summer, except for a handful (Chris and Gino). I was wondering what would life be without a summer of teaching, or crystal mazes, of graduations, and of recollections.

I was a bit hesitant to be the Recollection head mainly because I did not feel like I could do it, with other activities that I had over the summer. I had to go to numerous Evaluation Seminars, Formation Seminars, and all kinds of seminars you could think of. But I said yes. Little did I know what that yes would mean. I, along with my Recollection team, found out how we could create magical events given our short time frame.

The word “yes” would always remind us of Mother Mary. Her complete and dedicated surrendering of herself despite not knowing what lay ahead was the reason Christ was brought here on earth. This, I believe, is what ANI stands for. These wonderful people, who could have spent their summer relaxing on some beach or getting valuable shut-eye, are here every single day, teaching, educating, inspiring, and motivating younger kids to dream. This is why planning and fixing recollection modules was definitely an act of “yes”, an act of saying that we did care, and that no matter what, we would follow God’s will. The whole team had jobs, but still was able to do it, with numerous YM conferences, little planning sessions, and lots of love and grace from our Creator. It was amazing seeing everything unfold, even as it became testy at times, the spirit of saying yes was definitely in our hearts and minds.

I will always pride myself in being a CL teacher, as I have been for the past 2-3 years. But this summer, I pride myself in being an instrument of God more than ever. Being a teacher and touching lives is amazing, but what makes it more meaningful is the God behind it all. I hope after this experience, people do not just look at CL as a subject, but definitely a way of living as well.

A friend of mine once said “The things that truly change our lives are the things we didn’t really have to do, but still did.” I am happy to say that this is one concrete experience of just that. The recollection may not have been perfect, but it was perfectly for our one and only God.

Maybe you can make a difference. Maybe you can do better. Maybe you can say yes more often. It doesn’t cost anything, but it means a whole lot.

-Dino Alcoseba, ANI Recollection Head

The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve

Blessed Guerric of Igny (c.1080-1157), Cistercian abbot
First sermon for Palm Sunday (copyright Cistercian publications)

"The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve"

Man was made to serve his Creator. And what could be more just than that you should serve him by whom you were created, without whom you cannot exist? And what could be more blessed or more sublime than to serve him? To serve him is to reign. "I will not serve," (Jer 2,20) man says to his Creator. "Then I will serve you," his Creator says to man. «You sit down, I will minister, I will wash your feet...

Yes, O Christ, «good and faithful servant,» (Mt 25,21). You have served indeed, you have served with all loyalty and trustworthiness, you have served with all patience and endurance. Not lukewarmly, for you have exulted as a giant to run the course of obedience, (Ps 19[18],6); not fictitiously, for after so many and so great exertions you have gone further and spent your soul too; not complainingly, for you did not open your mouth when, innocent, you were scourged (Is 53,7). It is written and it is justly so: "The servant who knew his master's will and did not act worthily will be beaten with many stripes." (Lk 12,47). But what has this Slave done, I ask, that is not worthy? What is there he ought to have done and has not done? "He has done all things well," those who observed what he did exclaim, "he has made the deaf hear and the dumb speak," (Mk 7,37). He has done everything that was worthy of himself; how is it then that he has suffered thus everything unworthy! He bared his back to scourging and was flogged with stripes that were neither few nor gentle, as is shown by the streams of blood that flowed from so many parts of his body: Put to the question with insult and torture, he was like a slave or a thief laid under interrogation to extort a confession of his crime. O detestable pride of man who scorns to serve, pride that could not be reduced to humility by any other example than the servitude, and such servitude, of its Lord!...

Indeed you have toiled hard, my Lord, in serving me. It were only just and fair that, at least for the future, you should rest and that your slave, if only because it is his turn, should serve you... You have conquered, Lord, you have conquered the rebel; behold, I surrender to your bonds, I put my neck under your yoke. Only deign to let me serve you, suffer me to toil for you. Accept me as a slave for ever, useless as I am, unless now also your grace always going before and following after be with me and toil with me, (Wis 9,10).

Y!M Status

Available - malamang pwede kausapin
Busy - malamang hindi pwede kausapin unless close tayo
Invisible - malamang hindi mo ako makakausap kasi di mo ako makikita, so ako lang ang mauunang mag-IM sayo.

ID

Friends na kami ni CommDev King :P

Kinuha namin yung ID namin kanina sa Personnel's Office at yun. May ID na kami! hahaha.




sabaw.

For My sake.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10,28-31.

Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and (the) last will be first."

Kapanalig

Haha. Ganon pala ang nangyayari sa radio station. First time ko eh. :) Di ko alam kung may nakarinig sa mga kakilala ko sa akin kahapon. Nakakahiya, nagkalat ata ako. Pero yun. Ayos lang din naman. May mga nagtext sa Radyo Veritas to commend what we do in SiLABan at IMPUKAN.

Yun. Nagkwento lang po.

Contemplation for achieving love

Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), Founder of the Jesuits
Spiritual Exercises, 231, 233-234 (trans. Thomas Corbishley SJ)

"All these things will be given you besides"

Contemplation for achieving love:

First of all it is good to note that... love consists in a reciprocal interchange, the lover handing over and sharing with the beloved his possessions... and the other does the same.

Preamble. Asking for what I want. Here it will be to beg for a deep-felt appreciation of all the blessings I have been given, that out of the fullness of my gratitude I may become completely devoted to His Divine Majesty in effective love.

First heading. Recall the good things I have had from creation: my redemption, personal gifts. I will rouse myself to reckon how much our Lord God has done for me, how much that is His own He has shared with me; I will further consider the divine plan whereby this same Lord wants to give me all that it is in His power to give. I then turn to myself and try to see what reason and justice demand that I offer, nay, give, His Divine Majesty in return-all that belongs to me, and with it all that I am in myself - in the spirit of one who makes a present out of a great love: «Take, Lord, into Your possession, my complete freedom of action, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, all that I have, all that I own: it is Your gift to me, I now return it to You. It is all Yours, to be used simply as You wish. Give me Your Love and Your grace; it is all I need.

Sing praise.

Letter of James 5,13-20.

Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. Elijah was a human being like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Bakasyon

Gusto ko pumunta sa Cebu kasama si Kristine! June 7 - 9 sana. Pero di ko pa alam. 4k ang pamasahe, round trip. Pwede makitira sa mga kaibigan/kamag-anak doon. Hmmm. Matagal na naming pangarap ng anak kong si Kristine yun eh. Mamamasyal lang at walang iisiping school o work. Hmm.

Pero kailangan mag-confirm ng flight by May 25. Sa Linggo na iyon!


Pag-iisipan pa...

those who have persevered

Letter of James 5,9-12.

Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because "the Lord is compassionate and merciful." But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your "Yes" mean "Yes" and your "No" mean "No," that you may not incur condemnation.

Mangga

Ang saya ko kagabi kasi--

1. ANI Core meeting, and MonQue made me so proud. Yikee, proud Ate.
2. I started cleaning up at Pathways. Haha. Ako ang bagong Maintenance. Ay!
3. Ate Tish! :) :) :) Haaaay.
4. Tita Anna and A mango from Guimaras. Yey.
5. Dinner out with ANI family, at bagong family tree:
- si Justin ay anak ni Jaymee at Yusun
- pero divorced na si Jaymee at si Yusun--hamak na driver nalang si Yusun
- may affair si Irene na kumare ni Jaymee at si Yusun
- pero friends pa rin si Jaymee at si Irene ONLY when Justin is present (kasi kawawa naman yung bata kapag makita niyang nag-aaway ang Nanay at Ninang niya)
- may affair na rin daw si Jaymee at si Simeon. Hmmm. TJ pa rin daw?! Pattern?
- Nanay ni Jaymee si Tish, pero di siya affectionate sa grandson niya, dahil Chinese ang ama. HUH?! Kaya bumabawi nalang siya kapag Pasko sa sangkatutak na toys.
- anak ni Irene si Yssa
- hindi namin alam sino ang ama. KRV, umamin ka na
- pero may family issues kay Yssa at Irene--"paggising ko, pumasok ka na. pag-uwi mo, tulog na ako. you never have time for me!"
- Hindi pa inaamin ni Yssa kay Irene kung sino si Gino. Hala, ilegal?!
- Pero hindi ko pa rin gets kung ano ang role ng mga ibang tao na kasama sa dinner. Sino si Archie? Si Joms? Si Eumir? "Extra" nga lang ba sila?


Hahaha. Okay. Sabaw entry. This is just totally in our heads.
Yown. Comments for violent reactions are most welcome.

In the end.

Book of Deuteronomy 8,2-3.14-16.

Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. you then become haughty of heart and unmindful of the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers, that he might afflict you and test you, but also make you prosperous in the end.

Hay

Pagod na ako. :( Ayoko na ito tapusin pero hay. Di ko man lang alam kung ano ba ang gagawin ko pa dahil di ko talaga alam. Gusto ko na matapos ito. Ayoko na. :(

Don't expect an urgent response. Haha.

Leave a comment here and...
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal


As usual, galing kay JenTan. Kanino pa ba? :P

One Week

I want to be done by Wednesday para by Thursday resume na ako sa bagong trabaho ko. :) Fight! na ito. :)

malapit na matapos to!

the first day is done. syempre di maiiwasan ang kapalpakan, pero naaayos ko naman kahit paano. haha. mukha namang successful. all my hard work. tsaka mabait naman sa akin yung board. biruin mo, pagdating ni mayor belmonte, pinatawag ako nung chair, tapos pinakilala ako. haha, pakialam ba ni belmonte kung sino ako diba? hahaha.

tapos yun, ako kasi ang nagmmake sure na ayos ang mga bagay. e dahil late si sen. pia, chums ko na yung mga staff niya. tapos bait naman siya pagdating niya, ang saya saya niya at kinamayan niya ako enthusiastically, tapos sabi "i need to go to the restroom!" hahaha. si among ed naman, nilapitan ko after magpapicture lahat ng fans niya. hahaha. tapos sabi ko "this is the second time that i saw you this year" haha. and made kwento about what i plan to do with my life. yun. apir-terms na kami ha! haha. parang fr. ben.

magaling naman volunteers ko. astig sila! :) yey. nag-evaluate kami after at natutuwa naman ako sa kanila.

ayun. ngayon back to work. may aayusin ako para sa reg.


(o diba jentan? edi tipid yung entry ko)

sorry na at mali-mali ang capitalizations ko. it's 4am for crying out loud.

Malapit na!

Excited na ako matapos talaga sa project na ito. Grabe. Tapos sa Friday, unang araw ko sa susunod na bahagi ng buhay ko (haha, kahit na may end-of-project reports pa akong sobrang dami na due in two weeks).



Whooooo.
Formator na akong tunay! :)

So that you may be perfect and complete.

Monday of the Sixth week in Ordinary Time

Letter of James 1,1-11.

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways. The brother in lowly circumstances should take pride in his high standing, and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away "like the flower of the field." For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

U-Turn

The plan was that I'd just bum around during the summer and start looking for a job come June. I told myself I deserved the two-month break after all those years of hardwork in school. I planned that I'll just focus with ANI (handle a class, or even teach if there were slots), enroll for flute classes again (after three years), and fix the systems of IMPUKAN.

That was the plan.

But then two days after the A NIght Stand, I started working for a project-based job that would last till May 15 (plus two weeks for deliverables). Alright, it made sense. It's just a month. I could still rest after that and work again come June.

The twist then came again. I start working on the 16th again.



Ang bilis 'no? :)
Salamat, Lord.

Are you at peace?

I never expected it would be this fast. During the 8-day, one grace I've held on to is Him telling me, "I just want you to be happy." I didn't know what that meant, but that grace indeed made me feel good.

Now I know why I cannot fulfill my June 15th anymore. Again, I am reminded that I do not have control over my life. No matter how detailed I plan my life, something else (that is unexpected) would happen, and things would make much more sense than before.

I am so excited about everything.


Yes, I am indeed at peace. :)

Kapoy.

:(

For my Sabaw Sister!

Happy Birthday kay Inca Siojo! :)




Yun lang. :) Yikee, excited na ako para sa iyo. Kwento ha!

Respect

The world would be a better place if people respected others more. This is one principle that I really believe in.



I wish to see it, even in my own life.

Rainbow!

When I asked her what her favorite color is, she replied, "Rainbow!" :)

Louisa with Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday, Glenys. Up to now we still don't have a picture together yet. :( Hmm. There will be lots of opps naman, as you always say, and when the time comes, it will be grand! :) (plagiarisng Doria). Mwah. Happy! :) Love.

Distractions

I miss the silence.

Go on speaking.

Acts of the Apostles 18,9-18.

One night in a vision the Lord said to Paul, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city." He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, saying, "This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law." When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, "If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters." And he drove them away from the tribunal. They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio. Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.