You Are Near

- Dan Schutte
(Based on Psalm 139)

Yahweh, I know you are near,
standing always at my side.
You guard me from the foe,
and you lead me in ways everlasting.

Lord, you have searched my heart
and you know when I sit and when I stand.
Your hand is upon me protecting me from death,
keeping me from harm.

Where can I run from your love?
If I climb to the heavens you are there.
If I fly to the sunrise or sail beyond the sea,
still I'd find you there.

You know my heart and it's ways,
you formed me before I was born
In the secret of darkness
before I saw the sun in my mother's womb.

Marvelous to me are your works;
how profound are your thoughts, my Lord.
Even if I could count them, they number as the stars,
you would still be there.

thesis statements

oh yes, i'll try to take the ORAL EXAMS for the second long test for theo. but i have to get at LEAST a grade of 2, lest i'll have to repeat th121. oh well. here are the thesis statements. sino may reviewers diyan? turuan niyo naman ako. :)

5. From the point of view of the structure of the sacrament, the marriage is a human reality [Gen 1-2] which constitutes the matter assumed and elevated into the economy of salvation by virtue of the baptism of the parties. This human reality is distinguished by personal and faithful love as well as fidelity in love – characteristics which eminently qualify it to be a sign of sacred realities.

6. The indissolubility of marriage, that is to say the fidelity of spouses to one another, is a value directed to the fundamental and ultimate value that is the human person. It was affirmed by Jesus to be the original intention of the creator [Mk 10, 1-9]. It is this characteristic which conspicuously endows marriage with the potential to be the language to image (sic) God’s unconditional fidelity to his people [Hos 1-3]. Paul understands this to be the task and responsibility of the Christian spouses so they can be a faithful witness to this same unconditional fidelity of God [Eph 5].

7. A proper understanding of the sacraments, and therefore of marriage, must include the following aspects: [a] sacraments are essentially acts of the Church towards the accomplishment of the mission entrusted to it by Christ; [b] they are signs revelatory of divine realities; [c] they are moments of grace, man’s way to fullness of life with God.

8. Gaudium et spes renews the understanding of marriage by collocating it under the paradigm of consortium totius vitae, thus broadening the restrictive model of contrast which sees marriage primarily as an exchange of rights. This renewed understanding makes it possible to see marriage as healing in which intimacy and sexual relation are a positive value (sic), and where they are collocated as belonging naturally and constitutively to the human matrix assumed and elevated into the economy of salvation.

9. Marital union is not only a contract but a covenant in grace and faith, a relationship freely chosen, founded on friendship, and actively nurtured through love and sacrifice. In its human aspects, marriage is a sign of God’s love and man’s engagement in God’s work in the world. The active faith of the couple is an essential prerequisite not only for the fruitfulness of the sacrament but also for its very validity.

listening

for the ANI Volunteers' OrSem held today, i crammed a prayer video using windows movie maker last night, well actually, at around one in the morning til 2. it was my first time to do something like that, since the first time i tried using the movie maker, nothing really happened. but i guess when God wants to say something, He really pushes himself to be felt and heard...

i used Pilgrim's Theme since it was about having a mission, and things like that. i used the version of Hangad in their Acapella! album (thanks for recommending it, kuya mark). the prayer was just made up of pictures that i took here and there. in the process of making this i actually had a chance to stop and pray.

eversince, i've had a problem with my discipline in having a daily prayer time. i remember in freshman year how charlene (of CYA) always asked "O, kamusta ang prayer time mo?" then i would change the topic and say "Ok naman, nakapagsimba ako." but prayer time is different from going to Mass. an individual's prayer time is his own. it is the intimate time between him and his God. well, until now i still haven't fixed that. yes, i know i am currently undergoing Retreat in Daily Life, though for the past weeks i really had (and still am having) a hard time praying the daily prayer points. i would just pray for once or twice every week. my guide forgave me for that since whenever we met, i would be filled to the brim with my experience with my God, and he would also be moved that he would say that i am ready for the next unit.

but then, come unit four, i really haven't prayed even once. well, i tried, but just couldn't. unit four has been with me for two weeks now, but i think it would still be with me for another week because for the entire week i haven't prayed. why? because the theme for unit four is: "God Draws Me Into a Relationdhip of Love"

i'm scared of the theme. i'm scared because He might say something that i really wouldn't want to hear. eversince that Contemplation exercise during the SIGNS prayer workshop, i've been scared of listening because little by little there has been some concreteness in what He's saying.

i'm scared because i know i have to deal with a lot of things. i have to fix a lot of things. these two stanzas say everything that i feel:

Each must go his way. But how can I decide?
Which road I should take; who will be my guide?
I need some kind of star to lead me somewhere far.
To find a higher dream in the greater scheme of things.

The road before me bends; I don’t know what I’ll find.
Will I meet a friend or ghosts I left behind?
Should I even be surprised that you’re with me in disguise
For it’s your hand I have seen in the greater scheme of things.

uncertainty and confrontation makes me feel so uncomfortable.

I know I should just trust in His Heart.
Just like what Sir Leland said in his reflection yesterday, there are some things that only the heart, and not the mind, can comprehend.

hay. Lord! ano po ba talaga? :(

happy birthday, guita!
i'm still compiling our gift for you. :)

miss you so much! ♥

--

naiinis ako.

matutulog nalang ako.
(peste, oo ala-singko).


sana okay ka lang, kasi ako hindi.

shux

ang hirap maging development worker.

kailangan kong matutong hindi masyadong ma-attach at magpa-affected sa mga bagay.. totoo naman kasing nakalulungkot ang poverty, inequality, injustice, etc. pero yun. masyado kasi akong naaapektuhan eh. nalulungkot ako. nadedepress ako sa realidad. lalo na kapag hindi na konsepto ang nakikita ko. lalo na kung nakikita ko na sa harap ko ang mga mali sa mundo. putik, ang hirap.

pero yun. sabi nga sa philo, hindi pwedeng primary reflection lamang. totoo nga, namumulat ang mga mata ko sa primary reflection. napaghihiwalay ko ang mga bagay sa primary reflection. nakikita ko ang katotohanan at nasasaktan ako. nakikita ko ang realidad at nararamdaman kong hindi mabuti ang mundo. pero hindi ako dapat malimita sa mga ito. kailangan kong tumungo sa secondary reflection. ano ang magagawa ko? kung ganito ang realidad, paano ako makagagawa ng pagbabago? hindi kinakailangan malaki, pero paano ako makakapagbahagi ng aking sarili para sa ikagaganda at ikabubuti ng madla? kapag naisip ko na ang mga ito, kinakailangan ko nang kumilos. hindi pwedeng napag-muni-munihan ko lamang ang mga ito. kailangan kong gumawa ng nararapat na aksyon. 'ika nga sa pastoral cycle process.

hay. sabi ko nga, ang hirap maging development worker. pero narito na ako. malapit na. konti nalang. kailangan magpatuloy. hindi pwede sumuko. masakit ang katotohanan, pero may magagawa tayo para malampasan ito.

"lagi mo lamang tatandaan na maraming nagmamahal sa'yo."
- ate tine


(alam ko marami na ring ibang nagsabi, katulad ni ate tish na palagi rin sinasabi yan..)

nananalangin...

nabigla ako nang malaman ko ang balita, pero marahil mabuti na nga rin iyon. sa wakas wala na ang paghihirap. sa wakas kasama mo na Siya, kung saan wala nang sakit, kung saan payapa na ang lahat..


you're a great guy, Nikki. i'm very thankful that i met you. i remember during freshman year how we always talked about how we could improve things. how we could imbue our schoolmates with the values that we believed in. i remember that you asked me to run for block rep. i remember our long talks about our frustrations and our dreams. you inspired me to strive hard. you inspired me to serve my community well. you inspired me to serve with humility, and with excellence.

idol kita, Nikki. hanga talaga ako sa iyo. lumaban ka hanggang sa huli.

i'll keep you always here in my heart.


let's pray for the soul of Nikki Castro, and also for everyone who loves him...

You are a Child of God

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure. Its our LIGHT not our darkness that frightens us the most. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children of God do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconciously give others the courage to do the same
- Mariane Williamson


galing kay Mel.

weh!

ang nanay ko, ilang buwan pa lamang sa Canada, sosyal na.
biruin ninyo, dati tsinelas lamang, ngayon "flip flops" na!

weh?

philo

maui just texted me right now..

i got a B!

yay. :) i love philo. i'll blog about my orals next time, doing volunteer formation work right now.

hacker

my blog got hacked, pero ito pa rin ang url ko.
basta, complicated ang ginawa ko.
for now, i'm testing if this will get hacked again.

sige, yun lang.