Tuesday, November 11, 2008

My Postulancy



Luningning M. Balagdan
Postulant



In my journey in the postulancy, I experienced joys and struggles. These experiences brought me closer to God.

What are my joys? I feel God’s presence in my sisters. I am accepted as part of the community. I make my sisters happy through my sense of humor. These are but a few of the joys I experienced in my postulant’s community.

What are my struggles? I struggle to focus in prayer. I struggle to express my feelings. But little by little, I learn to focus and to express myself. These give me courage to move ahead in my journey.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Postulant’s Community



Roxan T. Sarmiento
Postulant

Living in the postulant’s community gives me a wide range of realization that leads me to true self-knowledge and thus, enabling me to give myself wholly in my apostolate.

The many experiences I’ve encountered here are just revelations of what and who I am, far from the false perception I had of myself before entering. There were many “I thoughts” and “I believes” that were purified, and these purifications were indeed painful to accept at first.

These revelations became my framework in writing my new script of life. With the grace and help of God, I am recreating myself according to what God wants of me –to be truly His beloved child.

Becoming so aware of this truth, I am so compelled to bring something back to God. He is indeed so good, so generous, and so full of love. He even gives me chances and opportunities daily to thank Him and adore Him through the people I see. Wholeheartedly, I give myself to them just as God has given Himself to me.

Praised be His name forever.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Rofina Mariani Uge, CM
Indonesia

Palautian spirituality is the outcome of two currents which merge and fuse in unity, they are: the Teresian Carmelite legacy and, the charismatic experience of Fr. Palau.

The Carmelite Teresian legacy is an integral part of Fr. Palau’s life because his religious formation was based on it. During the period of his religious formation and community life as well as during his exclaustration, he lived faithfully and intensively the Carmelite ideal with an eminently contemplative orientation.

He searched his life’s ideal; which later became his beloved object… “In the austerities of religious life, in fasting, in silence, and in poverty” (MR I, 3). Since then his soul has been steeped with the spirit of the Teresian Carmel.

His understanding of the mystery of the church and his union with her in faith, hope and charity, fulfills his long and intense search… “I sought her and I found her…. I say my love one, and I united myself to her in faith, hope and love”. (MR I, 3) After the long journey of anxious search, “she let herself be seen and known.” Recalling the delightful and longed for encounter, he writes, “At last, after forty years in search of you, I found you. I found you because you came to meet me, I found you because you let yourself be known …” (MR 22, 17)

He discovered in the Church the final meaning of his life, the center of his existence, the guiding light of his pilgrimage, the ideal that gave meaning to his entire mission.

The Church for him was not only and ideal but a living reality, the supreme and final object of his love. He was convinced of his mission “to letting the people know that you –Church- are infinitely beautiful and loveable and to request them to love you” (MR 12, 2). This is the object of his mission to fulfill the precept of love of God and of neighbors. Since then, the Church became everything for him. “…I live and will live for her, I live and I shall die for her”. (MR 1:29) marked his total surrender to the Church.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Agatha, CM
Korea

The elements of Palautian spirituality are clearly shown in the following passages in the writings of Fr. Palau:

 His passion was centered on the search for the beloved: “Apart from the world, withdrawn in the convent, I inquired about the beloved object, I searched for her. And, who would think of such a thing! I searched for her in the austerities of religious life, in fasting, in silence, in poverty; I searched for her and I found her…! I saw my loved one, and I united myself to her in faith, in hope and love! Her presence satisfied my passion, and with her I was happy, her beauty was sufficient for me. God and my neighbor, or rather the Catholic Church seemed to me as beautiful as a divinity. She was covered under the veil of mystery and allowed herself to be seen in the obscurity of night, but it was not so dark that one can not distinguish the infinite perfection which adorned her and which made her infinitely loveable. I found my happiness and blissfulness in her; I was happy!”

 Once found, he offered his life for the beloved: “I give you what I am, what I have and desire all that I could have. I give myself to you, Oh holy Church, in love, obedience, chastity and poverty…. Just as I am I give myself to you, and I am not better it is my own fault; make me pure, chaste, holy and perfect, then I will be”.

 The object of his love: union of God and neighbor or the Church where Christ is the head and the people forming one body with Christ.

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Bridget Eze, CM
Nigeria

From early childhood Fr. Francisco Palau was aware of a burning force of Passionate Love which animated his life as echoed in his writing “My Relations with the Church”: “God wrote this law with his own finger in the stratums of my heart: you must love with all your strength (Mt.22:27). And this efficacious voice created an immense passion in it which made itself felt form my infancy and developed in my youth. I, when I was young love with all my strength because the Law of nature impels me with irresistible impact. What did I love? Who was the beloved object?” This quest for the object of his love consumed him and moved him into a determined search for the object of his love that constitutes the meaning of his existence.

He searched for his beloved through the austerities of religious life, in fasting, in silence in poverty. “I search for her and found her! I saw my loved one and I united myself to her in faith, hope and love”. At this time of search, Fr. Palau was attentive to the voice and action of the Holy Spirit within him, and to the signs of the times revealed in the external circumstances of the historical period. He fought zealously to defend the Catholic faith in Spain with all his might; which at that time or instance he knew as a divine institution. Within forty years of search the object of his love was revealed to him in his spiritual conversation as the Church. “Your beloved exists and lives; she is a moral being, perfect and complete just as an individual. Your beloved is God and neighbor…This perfect being is the Holy Church.”

This encounter became the central focus of his life and the object of his relations in his spiritual and apostolic exercises. In this spirit he identified his mission as “My mission is to announce to the people that you are infinitely beautiful and lovable, and to tell them to love you. Love of God and love of neighbor: this is the object of my mission”. In this authentic, determined and humble manner, Fr. Palau sought and discovered his beloved and was transformed in her who is the moving force behind his perseverance, spiritual zeal, apostolic services and paternity in the Church; and he is alive even today.

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Veneranda T. Ervite, CM
Philippines

“My heart is consumed by the passion of love, is detached from every temporal and earthly object; but it did not know its Beloved and not knowing her, what madness, what illusions, what wanderings, what ravings”!

Love impassioned Fr. Palau to search for the object of his love. He spent long and difficult years in this search. There were so many trials and challenges but these even made him more and more determined. The practice of virtues, the solitude and his total surrender are the forces that helped him moved on and which made him remain faithful.

He searched for his beloved in Carmel. He searched for her in the austerities of religious life, in fasting, silence, poverty. He united himself with his Beloved in faith, hope and love. However, his anxiety for clarification, his desire for something more concrete did not rest.

Finally, he encountered his beloved, the Church. The Church, God and neighbors; Christ the head and the people forming one body with Christ. This is the reality that gives fullness to his capacity to love. And Mary is the perfect model of this Church.

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Apichaya N. Poolpokpol, CM
Thailand

Palautian Spirituality has its center on Fr. Palau’s strong idea of the church as the mystical body of Christ, the mystery of communion which he expressed in his love in the precept of loving God and neighbors by serving and doing acts of charity through fraternal love and works of mercy which are part of our active life and fruit of our solitary and contemplative life.

Along his journey, he never gave up his authentic zeal even how he faced many trials and difficulties, his happiness last forever because his hope and search for meaning in life had possessed and dominated him. His passion of faith, hope and love united him to the Church which is infinitely lovable. Fr. Founder also presented Mary as reflective of the holiness of the Church.

We as daughters of Fr. Palau may try to live out this passion in its uniqueness and follow the footsteps of our Founder by practicing it faithfully and joyfully so that our Congregation may be a visible sign of faith, hope and love in this present time.

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Rosenoni B. Combo, CM
Philippines

Fr. Palau, since childhood have been possessed and dominated by a passion called love. God wrote this within his heart: “You must love with all your strength…” (Dt. 6:5; Mt. 22: 37) This powerful voice created a great passion in him. What did he love? Who was his beloved object?

Fr. Palau searched for his beloved in the austerities of religious life, in fasting, in silence, in poverty. At last after forty years in search for her, he found her because she came to meet him, and let herself be known. She was infinitely beautiful, loveable and delightful. The object of love of Fr. Palau is the Church where Christ is the head and the people forming one body with Christ. Love of God and love of neighbor cannot be separated. Because of this revelation, Fr. Palau was ready to surrender totally to his beloved. “I live and will live for her; I live and shall die for her.” (MR 1, 29)

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Regina, CM
Korea

Fr. Palau continually search to love and be loved (MR 1, 2) so he entered Carmel in spite of the difficult times for religious life, and he considered his profession irrevocable.

Palautian spirituality is deeply connected to Teresian Carmelite. Teresian spirituality is the root of Palautian spirituality. Fr. Palau has shown how deep has been his Carmelite formation and how he nurtured what he has received throughout his life (Letter …)

So the infusion of the essence of the Carmelite spirituality is seen in his foundational work (Letter 72, 2). In line with the Teresian tradition, the value or aspect of purification and conversion is given much importance, and also the renunciation and detachment from whatever hinders in following Christ. They imply ascetical effort. Sta. Teresa said of herself “I am a daughter of the Church.” Carmel included all things about love of God. It is a wide spirituality, but Carmel become more ecclesial through Sta. Teresa and then later through one of the sons of Sta. Teresa, Fr. Francisco Palau. One of the spirituality of Carmel is concretized in ecclesiality. It became unique through the charismatic experience of Fr. Palau (Letter 3; MR 4, 22). The ecclesiality is the center of convergence and origin of the whole Palautian spirituality, a life of intimacy with God and the life of service to the neighbors are the two channels of the same love to Christ and the members of his body the Church, therefore it is impossible to separate the love of God and the neighbors. From this profound ecclesial vision, the fusion of the interior life and apostolic activities arise. They are two expressions of the same love (Letter 88).

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Maria Fe Gatungan, CM
Philippines

For Fr. Palau the passion called Love possessed and dominated him since childhood. “You must love with all your strength”. This echoing voice created an immense passion which he felt form infancy and developed in his youth. As a young boy he has all the strength because of love, and nature impelled him to act upon it. His questions: what did I love; who was the beloved object, made him searched the more, a continuous search until he found it in the austerities of religious life, in fasting, poverty and silence. His spirit was transformed before the throne of God. Oh, Holy Church! This phrase he uttered when he found the object of his love after twenty years. It is a passion of love which developed his will to find nourishment rooted in deep faith, hope and love that he was able to recognize the beauty of God in the Church.

In his later years he was making effort to stir up his love fore Mary, he was searching for his beloved; he was searching for his spouse. In the end, the spouse showed herself with ever more clarity and love, the betrothal with her was ratified thru the theological virtues. Love consummated with the bonds of spiritual matrimony. His beloved appeared not as a lover, friend, bride or wife, but as the mother of an infinite member of peoples, as queen and lady in heaven and on earth and in the underworld. Fr. Palau’s object of love is the Church; he recognized that the only perfect and complete type which covers all aspects and dimension of the Church is Mary.

The Church was the ultimate end of his love and that was the unspeakable beauty which his heart searched for. This mystery of the Church is centered in communion, loving God and neighbor. This is the unique experience of Fr. Founder which differs from the other spirituality.

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Justina Apolonia Nio, CM
Indonesia

Fr. Palau said, “I, since childhood have been possessed and dominated by a passion that is Love” (MR p.747). In his youth, his heart nurtured a generous and growing passionate love for the Church. “Apart from the world, withdrawn into the convent to search for the Beloved in the austerities of the Religious life, in fasting, in silence, in poverty, I saw my loved one and I united myself to her in faith, hope and love” (MR p.748).

For 20 years, Fr. Palau was searching for the Beloved, the Church that is God and neighbor, the object of his love. He expressed his love for the Church through contemplation and action or prayer and mission (MR 756).

Reflections on Palautian Spirituality


Sr. Ma. Divina Gracia N. Gamarcha, CM
Philippines

Fr. Francisco Palau was a man of his time. He was very much aware of the realities that surrounded him, yet, with full conviction he chose to live the values he inherited from his pious family. He has a lot of dreams and was enthusiastic to discover the meaning of his own existence.

He confessed that since childhood, he was possessed and was dominated by a passion called love. Inspired by this irresistible force, he search for his beloved – the Church! He searched for her in the austerities of religious life, in fasting, silence, and poverty. He has an excellent attitude of listening to the Holy Spirit which in due time revealed to him the mission of becoming a father in the Church and of the Church.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Desire

God, I want to see the beauty of your countenance, I want to taste the sweetness of your mercy, I want to hear the rhythm of your breathing, I want to feel the throbbing of your pulse, and I want to smell the fragrance of your presence. This is my desire, my longing and dream and I know that this would be fulfilled at the time of your liking.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Palautian Spirituality

The defining element of the Palautian spirituality is the unique experience of Blessed Francisco Palau of the Church as his Beloved. His life was marked by an intense search for the Beloved which eluded him for 50 years (My Relations with the Church, 7, 14). He experienced the Church as a living reality, as one body where Christ is the head and the neighbor forming one body with Christ. The Church is a mystery of Communion; God and man united in one body. This is his spirituality, the inspiration that fired up not only his life but the lives of generation and generation of his followers.

Blessed Francisco Palau was fired up with love but at the beginning he does not know whom to really love. He spent the best years of his life in search for the beloved. He narrated in his diary about this experience: “God wrote this law with his own finger in the stratums of my heart: You must love with all your strength…And this efficacious voice created an immense passion in it, which made itself felt from my infancy and developed in my youth. I, when I was young, loved with all my strength, because the law of nature impelled me with irresistible impact. What did I love? Who was the beloved object? …Apart from the world, withdrawn into the convent, I enquired about the beloved object, I searched for her. And, who would think of such a thing! I search for her in the austerities of religious life, in fasting, in silence, in poverty; I searched for her and I found her..! I saw my loved one, and I united myself to her in faith, in hope and love! Her presence satisfied my passion, and with her I was happy, her beauty was sufficient for me. God and my neighbor, or rather the Catholic Church seemed to me as beautiful as a divinity. She was covered under the veil of mystery…I found my happiness and blissfulness in her; I was happy” (My Relations with the Church, Fragments I 2, 3).

His mission naturally flowed from that experience. It was the passion that fired up his preaching and his teaching. He wrote: “My mission is to announce to the people that you are infinitely beautiful and loveable, and to tell them to love you. Love of God and of neighbor: this is the object of my mission. And you are my neighbors forming in God only one thing” (My Relations with the Church, 12, 2).

The Church as mystery of communion, where Christ is the Head and the people forming one body with Christ, God and neighbor united as one body, is the focal point of Blessed Francisco Palau’s life and mission. It was the inspiration, the fire, the madness that energized everything he did in his lifetime.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel


Theme: To be born anew with Mary

Today, we celebrate two special events, the feast of our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and our being born anew in Christ with Mary.

Our Constitutions tell us that Carmel looks on Mary as its Lady and Mother, Protector and Trusted Friend, and Model and Ideal of its life of consecration. Indeed having Mary in the midst of our communities, we are drawn much closer to His Son Jesus, our beloved.

In the Scriptures, only a few accounts are told about Mary. Nevertheless, when contemplated upon, these short stories bring inspiration, hope and example from which one can draw what and how it is to be born anew. For example the event of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke, Mary through her fiat allows life to spring forth from her. And I believe this is first and foremost what it means to be born anew with Mary – allowing ourselves to be channels of God’s grace were new life would gush forth. That is incarnating once again the Jesus in us.

Being born anew with Mary:

When one becomes bridge of peace and reconciliation, one is being born anew.
When one forgives and risks to love and trust again – one is being born anew.
When one affords to smile and celebrate life in the midst of challenges and difficulties – one is being born anew.
When one is able to die to one’s self, letting go of one’s selfish desires, going beyond one’s comfort zone for the greater good of all – one is being born anew.
Above all, when one is able to live courageously yet humbly placing one’s trust in the hands of the compassionate and ever faithful God so that others who come to her/his influence fully live and grow in faith and love, then one is truly being born anew.


Just like Mary in today’s Gospel who steadfastly stand at the foot of her Son in Calvary. It is he witnessing that revived and reunited the Disciples of Christ that eventually recreated and renewed them in faith, love and courage.

Are we born anew?

Let us ask the special grace to be born anew through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Liturgists: Sr. Sherna Advincula, C.M. and Sr. Amelita Berso, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Ninth Day


Theme: Mary reconciles, recreates, celebrates

The late Cardinal Jaime Sin said: “A mother always unites.” Mary, true to her role, reconciles us to God and to one another. There are many apparitions that attest to this. For instance, the shrine of the Virgin of Lourdes in France has been known to be a pilgrimage site for many people who are searching for healing not only of sick bodies but even more, sick souls.

Nowadays, people come from broken relationship in varying degrees and stages of their lives. All seek for reconciliation. Certainly this most gentle mother will not delay her intercession with God for the relationship to be patched up or for someone who goes astray to be back in God’s fold.

For us Carmelite Missionaries, who are witnesses of communion, we look up to Mary and her witness to be reconciled in our relationship with our Beloved through fostering our relationship with each other. All along the reconciliation, we recreate our relationship into something better.

With Mary, we are enabled to be what we are meant to be: a community of love. Thus there is a reason for us to celebrate like Mary and with Mary. Let us proclaim the greatness of our Lord and rejoice with all our heart in God’s saving mercy and the wonders He has done in our life.


Liturgist: Sr. Olivia Uy, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Eight Day


Theme: Mary, Exemplar of Community Living


The Wedding at Cana

Let me refresh to you an incident in the life of Mary when she was at Cana. There was a wedding. During that celebration, they ran out of wine. And Mary went to Jesus and told him that they ran out of wine. Jesus hesitated because his time has not yet come. She did not mind it, she believed in his Son, and she told the servants to follow whatever Jesus will tell them to do.

At that moment Jesus did his first miracle. He turned the water into wine.

There are two aspects here that exemplified how it is to live in community. One is real concern for the well being of others and the other is total trust in God. If these two go together, miracles can happen.

They said that miracles do happen to people who will make it happen. Think of an incident in community life; a moment when you were really concern of the well being of others and you were helpless to do anything about it and entrusted everything to God. Did a miracle happen? If not, les us ask ourselves, is my concern genuine and selfless? Is my trust in God strong and unwavering? We needed this in community life.


The Canticle of Mary

In the famous Canticle of Mary, we see the outburst of Mary’s joy. Mary was boasting not about herself but of what God did to her. She was favored by God and she did not hide her feelings. She let it out through a song.

Joy is an important aspect in community life. And joy is multiplied by the number of people you share it with. The treasures that we actually kept in our hearts are the moments of joy we share together. A few days ago we enjoyed so much looking at the talents of the children in all their innocence singing “I love you honey…” What really give us joy are not expensive things or success that tomorrow will not be remembered anymore but what we received from the Lord and are shared with others. We have God given talents to sing, to cook, to recite, to dance, to write, to play the guitar, etc.

The loss and finding of Jesus in the temple

In this event, Jesus decided to stay in Jerusalem without permission when his parents and all the relatives went home to Nazareth. When Mary and of course Joseph, discovered that Jesus was not with the caravan, they were so anxious and went back to look for him. She told Jesus how she felt but gave Jesus time to explain himself and then pondered in the silence of her heart the reason of his son.

This is another aspect that is important in community. There are so many times that we forget to ask permissions of the things we want to do but it should not be a cause of division in the community. Mary teaches us to give each other a chance to explain oneself and we might be surprised of the way God works through the seeming weaknesses of others.

The Visit of Mary to Elizabeth

Elizabeth was six months pregnant and Mary has just conceived. She rushed to the side of Elizabeth. Two women experiencing the same miraculous pregnancy needed each other’s company to confirm each others experience, to strengthen them from the unbelieving community, to keep their faith alive, and to inspire each other in the journey.
We needed this kind of friendship in community. A friendship that enriches ones experience of God, that keep ones faith in Him strong, a friendship that inspires to move on despite the setbacks that come along our way every now and then.

I invite you sisters to reflect on the other events in Mary’s life and discover for yourselves the rich message about community living.

The Announcement of the Angel to Mary about her mission

We also have Mary standing on the cross and Jesus giving her instruction on what to do after his death…

Even the way Mary received the visitors who went to see Jesus when he was newly born, is a great lesson for community living…

Mary is indeed exemplar of how it is to live in community. In this day of our novena we pray that like Mary we too may become source of joy, hope, love, understanding, inspiration, courage, and strength for one another in the community.

Liturgist: Sr. Rebecca Polinar, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel- Seventh Day


Theme: Mary – Channel of Communion

As Carmelite Missionaries, we consider Mary as the Mother of the Church and model and channel of communion.

We all know that Mary is blessed among the women in Israel. She was chosen to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has already plans for her since her conception. Do we think that Mary did not also suffer? But why did she persevere and why did we call her Channel of Communion?

If we will look back on the life of Mary particularly on how she became the Channel of Communion, we can say that even when she was just a child she was simple and prayerful. She has always the time to be with her God, to listen and to do His will. What she hears form the bottom of her heart, she lives it out and shares it to others. Her relationship with God reflects on how she deals and treats others. Being prayerful, charitable, simple and humble, Mary became the Channel of Communion. She has always a big heart to accept everybody especially the poor, the oppressed, the sick and rejected. She does not discriminate. What she hears and sees, even the most painful one, she just kept it in her heart and prayed for those who persecute her. If we try to see how Mary took the fate of her Son especially during His passion and death, we can definitely say that we did not hear anything from her. She forgives everybody sincerely without any judgment and criticism. She became the mother of the disciples of Jesus and the Mother of all. Mary is always there to help and teach us how to accept, forgive, love and be humble in order that we become united.

In our community, are we also channels of communion? What are the factors that hinder us to become one? Do we also live out our realization and reflections on the word of God daily? Or are we just deceiving ourselves and the people around us?

Sisters, we must not lose hope, Mary is here waiting for us. She is willing to help us so that we will become channels and instruments of communion. Are we willing to take the risk in letting go of our comfort zones in order to be born anew and to be channels of communion?

Liturgist: Sr. Josefina Pausal, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Sixth Day


Theme: Mary - The Empowered Missionary

Liturgist: Sr. Ma. Rosa Cruza, C.M.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Fifth Day


Theme: MARY, THE CONTEMPLATIVE DISCIPLE

Mary of Nazareth seems on the surface to be an ordinary Jewish woman whose life was indistinguishable from many others. She cooked, sewed and cleaned. She prayed, conversed and served the needs of her family. She won no awards and received no acclaim from the world in her day. Yet, what we see in the biblical stories of Jesus’ birth shows that Mary’s life was extraordinary.

Through God’s divine providence, Mary became the Spouse of the Holy Spirit by receiving in her womb the Son of God. In the silence of her Son’s infant life, she contemplated the astounding truths of heaven, turning them over in her mind and heart again and again. She is rightly called blessed, for she heard the voice of God and kept it. She clearly carried out the will of the Father and therefore it is a greater thing for her to be a disciple of Christ than to be His mother.

In most Masses celebrated in her honor, she is presented as one who shows us the example of a disciple, who is faithful to the words of life. She is one who by a unique gift of God was the Mother of Christ, and above all was His first and most perfect disciple. She continues to do so right through the agony of watching Him die and the ecstasy of knowing Him raised again.

May we imitate the example of Mary, our Blessed Mother, that we, too, may be the true disciples of her Son Jesus, eagerly hearing His words and putting them into practice.

Liturgist: Sr. Virginia Dolero, C.M.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Fourth Day



Theme: MARY - ICON OF CELIBATE FRIENDSHIP

Our heart is the source of who we are. Only God knows our hearts – our inward thoughts and feelings. Scripture reminds us that, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. When God was looking for a virgin who could give birth to His Son and nurture him as the Son of Man, he looked for someone with a pure heart. He found that kind of heart in Mary, the mother of Jesus. The fact that she was chosen for this awesome responsibility means that her devotion to God and the purity of her attitudes and behaviors are examples that we should study and emulate.

Mary is the one who, from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, most perfectly reflects the divine beauty. The relationship with Mary most holy, which for every believer stems from his or her union with Christ, is even more pronounced in our life as consecrated persons and as Carmelite Missionaries. Mary’s presence is of fundamental importance both for the spiritual life of each of us, and for the solidity, unity and progress of our community. Mary in fact is the sublime example of perfect consecration, since she belongs completely to God and is totally devoted to him. Chosen by the Lord who wished to accomplish in her the mystery of the Incarnation, she reminds us of the primacy of God’s initiative.

At the same time, having given her assent to the divine Word made flesh in her, Mary is also the model of the acceptance of grace by human creatures. Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son’s side at crucial moments of his public life, the BV teaches unconditional relationships and diligent service. In Mary, “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” all the splendor of the new creation shines forth. We look to her as the sublime model of personal and communitarian relationships to the Father, union with the Son and openness to the Spirit, in the knowledge that acceptance of the “virginal and humble life of Christ also means imitation of Mary’s way of life. Our Carmelite Missionary vocation implies a special reltionship with Mary. It entails a generous self-giving to her and at the same time her presence should characterize our mode of living. She should animate our existence and in a certain way models and shapes our personal prayer, our communitarian life and our apostolic service. We need to come closer to Mary, to know her better through study and meditation so that we can assimilate her life and virtues. We need to renew our Marian expressions, harmonizing and adapting it to the actual demands of our time, entrusting to her our commitment to interior life, fraternal love and apostolic service.

In Mary, we also find a Mother who is altogether unique. Indeed, if the new motherhood conferred on her at Calvary is a gift for all Christians, it has a specific value for us who have completely consecrated our lives to Christ. “Behold your mother!” Jesus words to the disciple whom he loved are particularly significant for our lives. We, like John, are called to take the BVM to ourselves, loving her and imitating her in the radical manner which befits our vocation, and experiencing in return her special motherly love. The BV shares with us the love which enables us to offer our lives everyday for Christ and to cooperate with him in the salvation of the world. Hence a filial relationship to Mary is the royal road to fidelity to one’s vocation and a most effective help for advancing in that vocation and living it fully in following Jesus Christ, her Son.

Liturgist: Sr. Rosario Fe Lorenzo, C.M.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Third Day



Theme: Mary - A Truly Liberated Woman

The word liberty in the N.T. refers to the state of freedom of the believer, who is not in the grip or bondage of sin (Cf. John 8:32-36) or under the external compulsion of the law (New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible). This is what the word liberated means - freed from the grip or bondage of sin or from the external compulsion of the law.

This state of freedom from sin is attributed to Mary, firstly, because she was "conceived in the state of perfect justice, free form original sin and all its consequences and penalties, in virtue of the redemption won by Christ on the cross. In this sense, the privilege of the Immaculate Conception was the anticipated fruit of Christ's saving passion,death and resurrection" (Catholic Encyclopedia). Hence, the Church, through Pope Pius IX, based on this doctrine proclaimed Mary as the "Immaculate Conception" at the apparition to St. Bernadette. Secondly, because she is "immaculately" conceived. She is the woman prophesied in the book of Isaiah: "The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son and shall be called Emmanuel". She was then predestined to be the Mother of the God-Son Jesus which was further confirmed in Luke's Gospel that Mary, as greeted by the Archangel, "Hail full of grace! is highly favored. And the Angel continued: "The Lord is with you...behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus". Therefore, what makes Mary a truly liberated woman is, namely: she was conceived without original sin, hence she is immaculate, highly favored by God and full of grace. Her freedom from sin gave her a significant role in the history of salvation, God's vessel in His saving plan.

One of the signs of our times is women's demand to be treated equal with men. And so way back in the 70's we encountered in the headlines of some journals "Women Liberation" with pictures where women were doing men's work and the men clapping their hands cheering them. Then, came the feminist movement where the pro-choice women claimed to be liberated by choosing to do away the product of their conception through abortion. And lately, women wanting to become ordained priest, which is already happening in non-Catholic Christian churches.

It was God who gave women equal right with men through the dignity He gave to Mary through God's redeeming grace. But Mary never considered herself equal with her son when she was going with Him in His public life. She was always at the background as her Son Jesus went about doing the Father's will.

We are all beneficiaries of God's redeeming grace but we cannot yet be equal with Mary in her being truly liberated until such time when God's power rests upon us as it had in Mary. Women need not assume men's work neither to get involved in feminist activities to be considered liberated. The feminine Sunday we used to observe does not even give any sense of liberation but tied us up to a meaningless practice.

We are truly liberated when we, like Mary, remain always constant and faithful in listening to God's word and putting it into practice in our daily life, in the faithful living of our consecrated life, striving always to be congruent in our behavior especially with regard to chastity since Mary our exemplar is all pure and chaste.

She is the pure virgin before giving birth, during birth and after birth. She is the woman who fixed her single-hearted love to God and to us her children and to no other love. Pure love liberates, it is always at work and is never idle; it endures till the end. This was what Mary did and does through her liberating love until now to the whole of humanity, saving it from the grip of sin, from the evil one, the devil and his evil doings.

Liturgist of the day: Sr. Isabel Gregorio, C.M.

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Second Day



Theme: Mary, Woman of God Centered Intimacy

"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."

The message of our Gospel reading today focuses on the call for intimate relationship with God and our neighbor. This is also the focus of our theme for the second day of our Novena.

Whenever we think of Mary, we remember a loving mother, simple and virtuous, chosen by God to do a magnificent role in the history of salvation.

If we go through the life of Mary in the light of the Gospels, the evangelists have consistently shown Mary as intimately centered in God.

First and foremost she is the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God. Mary is intimately bound to Jesus in the physical, psychological and spiritual sense. As a mother, she was there in all the journeys of his Son and in all His missionary endeavors; trusting, believing, loving, and caring for Him to the end. In so doing, she was deeply involved in the cause of humanity, the very cause of her Son. That's why we call on Mary for intercession. We are banking on that intimacy she has with God, to intercede for us in our time of need.

Liturgist of the day: Sr. Marivic Bucton, C.M.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - First Day



Theme: Life in the Spirit with Mary

None of us has ever seen the Holy Spirit, yet, like the wind, the Holy Spirit makes His presence known in tangible, sensible ways. His sanctifying intervention in the Virgin of Nazareth was a culminating moment of God's action in the history of salvation. He filled Mary with new life at the annunciation and Mary conceived the Incarnated Word. At every step in Mary's life the Spirit is present, to guide, inspire and strengthen her. With Mary, He formed Jesus in us so that others may be brought to new life in Jesus Christ, just as He filled the Apostle's with new life and they immediately gave birth to a new era through their preaching and example.

The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Mary is a specially pertinent in our time. Her whole life was a song of love inspired by the Holy Spirit. Concretely, Mary's love for all persons that she met in her lifetime was always patient and kind; never jealous, never boastful or conceited, never rude or selfish. It took no offense and was not resentful. It was always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever came. Her love never came to an end. Without love, all other gifts of the Spirit in Mary and even in us would be meaningless.

Just like Mary, let us freely and earnestly heed the interior prompting of the Holy Spirit at all times. He always gives us other signs and make us aware of his presence in us and in his action, working through our poor attempts at faith in the mission he entrusted to us. If we are willing to open our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to take our lives, we will see extraordinary things.

Let us, therefore, turn our gazed to the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus to renew the face of the earth and strive for this union of the Holy Spirit in Mary in our souls so that they can reproduce Jesus in each one of us.

Liturgist of the day: Sr. Mary Cristina Dean, cm

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Book Recipients

Here are the pictures of some of the books that Dino George sent to the Carmelite Missionaries. These books will be sent to Mt. Carmel College, Escalante, Negros and Mt.Carmel College, Agusan, Mindanao and the Institute of Spirituality in Asia, Manila through Fr. Gabriel Dolotina, OCarm.

The pictures were taken in the convent of the OCarm Fathers at #31 Acasia St., New Manila, Philippines.





Saturday, June 28, 2008

A Retreat Experience

Nightfall
(Day 1)

I could not remember exactly how old I was when this incident happened. But I am sure I was in my primary years in school. I could not also remember the preparations my father made for me. All I could remember was that I was sick. I had a very high fever. Then, I woke up around 9 o’clock in the evening. I was alone in the room which I shared with my sister. I remembered that it was that very night I had to give a welcome speech. I saw my beautiful clothes on the chair and my socks and shoes. I still had fever that time, but I could not let my father down. I had to deliver that speech.

So I got up and changed my clothes with those new ones. I went to the plaza and directly went to the stage and approached the emcee. I told her that I will deliver a speech. Then my name was called. I went up to the stage and got the microphone and delivered the speech. Afterward I went down. My father waited for me at the bottom of the stairs and slapped me. I did not know why. I intended to make him happy, to make him very proud of me. He was dragging me toward our helper and told her to bring me home. I still had fever at that time. I went home and went back to bed and slept.

It seemed as if nothing happened. I forgot all about it. There were times that I remembered that event, but I didn’t put so much attention to it. It was just like a nightmare in my life. Nevertheless something terrible must have happened inside me which I am not in touch or refuse to get in touch. I don’t know what it was but now I could not ignore it. I see a pattern of that event happening in my life over and over again.

Insecurity, loss of confidence, fear of rejection, superficiality, daydreaming, pretensions, feeling of abandonment… These are but a few of its side-effects but the worst is the pattern it is creating. Similar incidents of different times and causes are happening in my life and with much more destructive effects and of greater magnitude. It was as if I was creating a chain collecting similar incidents of failure and rejection and just shrugged my shoulders and turned my back away from it. I went on living as if nothing happened, as if I were not hurt but as I grew older it took a toll in my life. My way of coping with the pain is daydreaming and planning. I project my life in the future; I build castles in the air.

This could not go on for the remaining years of my life, or else it will curtail whatever contributions I am supposed to make in my lifetime and I don’t have much years left. If life is 80 for those who are strong, I have already spent more than half of it.

Loving God and Father, grant me the grace to relive this experience fully today. Grant me the courage to experience once again the pain. It is high time now Lord, before, it might have broken me but now I am old enough to bear it without breaking.

Oh my God, you must have allowed all those other incidents to happen in order to strengthen me to face this very delicate stage in my life. You must have allowed it so that I can finally faced that first trauma I had as a child. You must have allowed this incident to happen in my adult life so I can face that incident in my life where I was so vulnerable and so fragile.

Oh my God, you are actually working double time to make me whole once again through those failures and rejections. Oh my God how slow I am to see your finger in all these painful incidents in my life. Oh my God…

My childhood experience is begging for fullness, for completion. Living it once again in its fullness now will complete that experience, and only then can I say goodbye. Incomplete experiences are like unfinished business. It will recur asking actually for attention, begging for closure.

Let this be the moment that I will spend the day with you dear God for this particular sad event begging for this grace. So help me, God, Amen.


Contemplative Gazing
(First Hour of Prayer)

I was standing once again in that same room looking at myself as a little girl sleeping alone on the bed. God was standing beside me with his right arm around my shoulders. I saw the little girl woke up and she remembered that that was the time she has to deliver the speech. She could not let Papa down; there was nothing else in her heart but to please Papa, to show her love for him, to make him proud of her.

She knew she has a fever, but she was determined to deliver the speech. How can she frustrate Papa, he has plenty of visitors at that very moment. It was her way of showing love to Papa. It was the right moment of showing her love to Papa; she must go no matter what. Papa also wants to show off his favorite and intelligent daughter.

I saw her changed her clothes, put on her socks and shoes and with trembling knees went to the plaza and confidently approached the emcee and told her that she would deliver the speech and I saw her got the microphone and there in front of all the visitors delivered the speech upside down. Not one sentence was correct; all were mixed up in an unintelligible way. I saw Papa fuming with anger and shame for what she did but she did not know it. All she wanted was to deliver that speech to make Papa happy and proud in front of his visitors. That was all she wanted. In her little heart there was nothing but pure intention of love.

She finished the speech and confidently went down the stage and there at the bottom of the stair I saw Papa waited for her. She expected an embrace but what she got was a slapped on the face and a pinch in the ear and she was dragged towards the helper who brought her back to the house.

Her little mind could not grasp what really happened and she was literally carried back home, straight to bed and she went back to sleep. A very deep wound was inflicted in her psyche but she was too little to understand it all. She slept brutally wounded but when she woke up as if nothing happened. She did not understand the implications of those blows. She was too little and her psyche too fragile. It must be protected by innocence. So she woke up the following day, as if nothing happened. Life continued its normal course, but something inside her was altered and because she did not know it she thought it is just part of life. The resolution of that incident can wait when the psyche is already strong to face it once again.

Now is the long awaited moment to heal the little girl from the wound she did not even know she had.

God no one was at fault. Everybody was innocent. Life is an interplay of human talents, strength, weaknesses and limitations. That’s why you said that “they do not know what they are doing”. Oh God, I’m beginning to have an insight into the great mystery of the cross. So you were willing to die because you see all of us innocent despite of the seeming malice of which acts were done. The cross, the cross… that cross…


Landmark
(Second Hour of Prayer)

I went back again to that incident but this time I paid more attention to my body. I recalled the incident and scanned my body for discomfort. In what part of my body did I feel pain, discomfort, heaviness, shame…I tried to locate that particular part of my body, the landmark.

I realized I felt the heaviest part in my heart. My chest was so heavy as if I were carrying a very heavy emotional burden. Then my shoulders had some acute pain. I first focus on my chest then I did breathing exercise and I imagined Jesus and the divine rays coming from him to unload my heart opening the long bottled-up pain stock in there and releasing the energy out into the atmosphere where it can be recreated. I spent the rest of the hour in this awareness…

Somebody said that “success is just a point along the road; the real goodness of living comes with the journey itself”. I say that the painful experiences in our lives are landmarks which indicate important points in our live’s journey. When you want to go to a new place you always ask for landmarks that will tell you that you are in the right track.

As we move on with life, we encounter experiences that are new but are familiar. It is painful but the pain is familiar. Somehow you have a memory that you have experienced it before. That memory would be helpful if it is devoid of emotion, you just remember the incident but without the underlying current of emotion that goes with it. That is the kind of memory that is powerful. It will help us face the present moment with stability and serenity.

That is why healing of our memories is very important. If our memories are not healed, which means that it is still emotionally laden, then it will be a burden not an asset in our life. It will add up to the present experience multiplying the present pain several times. That is why we said that one person is overreacting to the incident. The overreaction comes from the previous incidents that were not yet healed. It is like collecting burdens as we move on with life. You were just corrected for one little thing and you went ballistic about it, and the people around you wonder why, but you feel justified because you feel it. But it is not only the present pain which was only very little. That very little pain just triggered the tons of accumulated pain bottled up inside.

Healing the memory is not forgetting the incident, we could not forget painful events in our lives and it is not healthy to forget it. If we try hard to bury it, time will come that it will come out with a vengeance and we could not control its effect. It is like cancer cells buried in our body. When we know about it; it has already multiplied a billion times that drastic interventions have to be done.

There are plenty of pains buried in our lives and we are not anymore aware of most of them. As I have said they come to the surface when they are triggered by present experiences. We know that something is triggered because of our over reactions to little things. These incidents are God’s way of revealing to us what we do not want anymore to see. This is what’s really beautiful with God; He reveals our pains to us one by one, piece by piece, little by little, incident by incident. And God heals these sorrowful mysteries of our life in silent prayer.

The first half of our life is spent in creating lots of pain and the second half is spent in healing them. That’s where I am now. That’s where we are now and it is a crucial task because that’s where our real mission lies. We are called to be healers of the pain that we ourselves have inflicted on the human race. No one is exempted. And our first mission assignment is ourselves. Let us buckle down to do our mission, remembering that we are not alone, God is there ahead of us, He is just waiting for us, waiting for so long…

Offering
(Third Hour)

Loving Lord Jesus, I offer this particular pain to you. It rightfully belongs to you my Lord because you have redeemed it already by your suffering on the cross. My pains are prepaid by your precious blood my Lord. I offer it back to you now. This is my Christmas gift to you my Lord. Thank you my Lord and God.

The final moment is not a saying goodbye; it is offering the pain back to God. In the first place, he redeemed it already. It rightfully belongs to Him. The cross, the cross…that cross has unfathomable meaning. I was mesmerized by it as a child and until now, it has a message to me that I could not grasp. All I can say is the cross, the cross…that cross…

Yes, our cross is but a shadow of that cross that Jesus our Lord had carried. It was God’s way of telling us “I love you”. With His cross all the pain of humanity are prepaid, paid for by Christ. So when we encounter it, do not dilly dally, go to Him immediately and lay it down on his feet, on the altar, offer it back to him. God wants us to live life to the fullest, not half full, not just full but to the fullest. That’s why he came, that’s the reason for Christmas.

So let us celebrate because we have a God who became man and as man carried the cross for us, suffered the pain for us, felt the thirst for us, endured the wounds for us, braved the insults for us, accepted the humiliations for us, received the blows for us…what can we asked for?

With His birth, God initiated the exchange of gifts between Himself and us. He was born to assume human weakness that we might become strong. He cried to assume human sorrow that we might be happy. He died that we might live and live forever with him. This is man’s hope and my hope.

I sleep this evening at peace with myself, at peace with my father, reconciled with that particular incident in my life. I am redeemed and I accepted fully this redemption offered to me today, at this very moment: December 16, 2007 at 9:30 in the evening.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

My God Experience

I know better than anyone else what my personal experience of God is. It is important that I be aware of and reflective about that experience. It is important that I be able to identify and articulate the nature of my God experience.

1. For me God is …

2. I seldom think of God as …

3. I feel most in touch with God when …

4. For me Jesus is …

5. I have felt the Holy Spirit active in my own personal experience when…

6. What I would want most of all to share with someone about my experience of God is ...

7. What delights me most about God is …

8. When I think about God’s love for me personally I am …

9. For me the surest sign of God’s presence in my life is…

10. One ‘moment’ in my own life when I was most aware, most conscious that God’s power was working in me beyond my own limits was…

11. My prayer to God is most often…

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

My Vision-Mission

MY VISION

I am a woman of GOD consecrated to LOVE.

I calmly begin my day with a bright and focused mind and a deeply prayerful heart.
I enthusiastically work with determination guided by my mission, goal and objective.
I certainly know what to accomplish today and I do it with serenity and joy.

I pause at noon with gratitude in my heart for a morning filled with grace, vibrant with life and radiant in beauty.
I create clear systems to facilitate space and time to listen and love others.
I accomplish my task with utmost satisfaction and end the day renewed and contented for having given my best.

I gladly contemplate the setting sun pregnant with hope for a new gift of dawn.
I specially love those who needed love most and wholeheartedly support the endeavors of others.

I peacefully retire in the soft breeze of the night humming the melody of life in harmony with all creation.
In the silence of my soul, my heart prays in a song:
LORD, I LOVE YOU TODAY.
I OBEYED YOUR WILL, I GAVE MY ALL, AND I DID MY BEST.
INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT.



MY MISSION

Is to create, inspire and foster communion of love for all those around me.


MY GOAL

Is to build communities of love.


MY OBJECTIVE

Is to be loving and lovable today.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

A walk in the night

Last Saturday I went to Calamba to be with the Aspirants' Community. I left Manila at around 5 pm. There were so many passengers but I was lucky to get a seat. The alley of the bus were filled with passengers standing all the way to Calamba. When it was my turn to get off, the alley was already cleared.

I just walked going to Carmel Valley. I felt confident at first because it is just a short distance. But when I arrived at the Postulants' House of the Dominicans, it was very dark. I felt a little hesitant to walk all the way but I have no choice. I have already informed the sisters that I will just walk.

When I entered the dark part of the road I realized that it was not at all dark. It seemed so dark looking at it under the lamp post but once I am inside that darkness it was not at all dark. I could see the road and the outlines of the trees lining the way.

It dawned on me that I just have to brave the darkness. Once I am in there, the darkness will show me the way and even accompany me towards the light.

In life, there will always be dark sides as well as light sides. It is so easy to live in the lighter side of life and not so easy to live the darker side but that night, I have learned that when darkness comes I just have to walk through it and it will lead me to the light again.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Easter 2008 passing me by

I was out of touch of the whole activities of the Holy Week leading to the great celebration of Easter. I stayed in the hospital sitting at the bedside of my aunt, Eming. I wanted to give my time to her during my vacation. I considered it a privilege moment because I never had opportunity to served any of my old folks since I entenered the convent.

It was also an opportunity to meet other relatives who cared for my aunt. They came to visit and talked for a while because there is nothing much we can do in her situation.

It was at this time that I learned of all the good things that Tiya Eming did to them. I never knew that. She helped a lot of our relatives in their times of need.

It dawned on me that on our way to death our good works will accompany us. Their might be mistakes or blunders done but they are not the ones highlighted but the good things experienced by people. In her moment of helplessness her strengths were well remembered.

Though I miss most of the services, but Easter in the hospital has taken a different form, a real experienced of resurrection. What resurrected at that time were the good experiences in life as it faded away slowly...

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Acceptance

There are so many things in life that need to be accepted, and doing so is a very healthy way of living. By accepting negative things, I can save my energy.

Instead of trying hard to win the attention of others or fighting for a place in another person’s heart, I can just relax and be contented where I am, of course trying to improve myself too but not for the sake of pleasing others but for goodness sake.

Instead of getting angry at the wrong things done to me, I can forgive and move on knowing that there will be more wrong things that are going to happen and I could commit blunders too.

Instead of criticizing the defects I see in others, I can praise the good qualities they have and remember that I too have defects that I don’t even care to overcome.

Instead of lamenting why I am like this and not like that, I can just thank God for giving me life and strive to give it back to God by serving others.

It takes a lifetime to accept everything. I better start now because I am already 47 years late. I might ran out of time accepting whatever there is in life.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Ash Wednesday

"Sackcloth and ashes" is a familiar phrase, arising from a medieval custom of humbling oneself in public before God or the Church community to beg forgiveness. But dust or ashes go even further back as sign of mourning to the time of Moses and the Old Testament.

Within Christian churches today, the custom continues in the application of blessed ashes to the foreheads of the faithful in the sign of the cross, with the exhortation “Repent and believe in the Gospel”.

The ashes remind us of our mortality, our sinfulness and we leave them on our forehead as a sign of humility.

The Church emphasizes the penitential nature of Ash Wednesday by calling us to fast and abstain from meat. Catholics who are over the age of 18 and under the age of 60 are required to fast, which means that they can eat only one complete meal and two smaller ones during the day, with no food in between. Catholics who are over the age of 14 are required to refrain from eating any meat, or any food made with meat, on Ash Wednesday.

This fasting and abstinence is not simply a form of penance, it is also a call for us to take stock of our spiritual lives.

Let us be one with the whole Filipino Church in our desire for renewal but let us start it within ourselves and in our own small community. If its one of us will radiate a renewed life then our community will magnify the little contribution of each one to effect change. Let us start again today.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Journey

I heard a voice calling me home.
I want to go but I lost my way.
Groping in the dark, afraid of what I'll see
I stumble, I fall alone.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder
Leading the way in that dark alley
Then I saw a light in the distance
I walked, I ran with him.

When I arrived it was dawn
And I realized I am alone again
But I am not afraid anymore
The silence, the stillness is my home.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A Home for a Child

Lapasan
Cagayan de Oro City
1991

I stayed in Cagayan de Oro City for my community exposure and during this time I lived in our convent in Lapasan. I worked as Campus Minister at Cagayan Capitol College which is now Capitol University.

One afternoon, I arrived home greeted with a cry of a baby. I saw my sisters cutting a bed sheet into several pieces and sawing the edges. I asked them where the cry was coming from and what were those sheets for? They said that we have a visitor staying in one of the rooms and she has a newly born baby. I pressed for more information and I learned that she was single, a student, and got pregnant. But when the boyfriend knew about it he cut communications with her. She also does not want to go home for fear that her father will kill her. She took care of the baby in her womb but she could not take care of her needs now that she is born so she wanted the baby to be adopted and she was asking our help.

After supper that evening, we were all in the room where she stayed and my elder sisters were convincing her to go home and tell her family about it. My sisters promised to accompany and assist her financially for the trip. She said that her father will be good to her as long as we are around but as soon as we go, he will beat her to death. Her father already warned her to bring a diploma home and not a baby without a father. And that was exactly what happened, a baby without a father.

My sisters explained to her of the pain later on for the sense of loss and maybe of guilt for giving her child away. But she insisted on having her baby adopted. We started looking for a couple that would adopt her baby. We asked our friends and I was told to go to different subdivisions to see this family and that family to no avail.

We presented the problem to the parish council and they told us that maybe we can talk to one of the parishioners who was teaching in Don Mariano State College. We went to their house and my sister presented the case. Their son who was around 8 years old heard the story and was so excited to have a baby that he started jumping for joy and convincing her parents to get the baby. We did not get a positive response that time but we were told to go back the following day to give them time to talk it over.

The following day they came to our convent with clothes, diapers, toys and cans of milk and so many baby things. They went shopping for the baby and were there to get her. We introduced them to the mother and they offered her to stay in their house. They were even willing to send her to school to finish her studies. The mother was so happy for the couple who adopted her baby.

After a week, the mother came back to our convent. She was so grateful because she saw how much the couple loved her baby but she cried with pain. The wife gave up her beauty parlor to personally take care of the baby and another helper was hired to take care of the household chores. She was assigned only to cook because she was still studying. But her heart bleeds seeing her baby in the arms of another woman instead of hers. She decided to leave and stay in a boarding house. The couple consented knowing the pain in her heart. She was told to come back when the baby turns 16.

The mother’s pains and sufferings became a source of joy for that family. It was a disgrace turn to grace. Isn’t this a mystery? Isn’t this a miracle of love?

"I Am a Buddhist"

Bali, Indonesia
July 21, 2005


I arrived in Bali at 2:45 p.m. from Kupang. I went outside the airport and waited for someone to say hello to me. An hour passed and no one came. I sat on a bench and waited. No one came. I prayed the rosary. A man sat beside me. Seeing that I’ve finished my prayers, he asked me if I speak Indonesian. I said no but I speak English. He speaks English too and we started to talk.

Sister Esther assured me that someone will come to the airport to pick me up and bring me to a welcome house where I will spend the night. The following day I will be flying back to Manila. I have to take the international flight in Bali. It was my first time in that city and my sisters were so busy that they had no time to furnish me with the necessary information of the place and the people I am supposed to meet.

The man asked me a lot of questions and the last was “where will you stay?” I said I am waiting for someone I do not even know who and whether that someone will come. He asked me for contact number and address but the only address I had was that of my sisters in Kupang. He got the telephone number and called Sr. Esther through his cell phone and they were talking in Bahasa Indonesia for long. Then he dialed another number and talked for sometime.

Afterward he told me “no one will pick you up, keep watch of my bag”, and he left in a hurry. When he came back he showed me a taxi ticket and got all our things. He said “follow me and I will bring you to the taxi that will bring you to the welcome house”. He got one taxi, showed the ticket, placed my things inside, and explained to the driver where to bring me. Afterward he assured me that the driver will bring me to the welcome house where I will stay for the night.

I hurriedly got my wallet to pay for the ticket but he told me “No, that is my gift to you. I should even be grateful to you. You are in need and it gives me opportunity to help. Today you are a blessing to me. I am able to do something good and I am so happy about it. I am a Buddhist. In our belief we are grateful to people who allow us to do good.”

I got my pen and paper and ask for his name, contact number and address, someday I might be able to return the favor but he said “No, any good thing done should not be repaid otherwise it will lose its merit, just write this event in your diary. That is enough for me”. Then he closed the door and told the driver to go. I bade goodbye to him forever, I didn’t even know his name.

I wrote that event in my diary but I carry the story in my heart. On that day I experienced a miracle of love. He was there when I was in need and I didn’t even know who he is except that he is a Buddhist.

My Philosophy of Education

Education begins at home. It is enhanced, widened, deepened, and refined in school. It is applied, tested, challenged, and further enhanced in the workplace. It is purified and synthesized in old age and accompanies the person in the journey towards death. The whole of life is education.

At home, the child learns the very basic and fundamental requirements of living: love, respect, care, and all the fundamental values needed for a healthy society. This is an important phase in education because it is the foundation of character formation.

Early formal education in school would enhance what has been learned at home and also corrects those manifestations that are not helpful in the total well being of the child with the cooperation of the parents. Later stages would deal with the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will help develop the child into a caring and responsible member of society.

Education continues in the workplace. The young worker would learn a lot of values that were taken for granted in earlier years like the value of money, work, relationships, independence, learn new skills required for work and would take on roles laden with responsibilities. Successes and failures would be great learning opportunities that will usher maturity.

The years will filter out all these learning experiences giving birth to wisdom. It is now the flowering of the educational processes undergone through life. It is seen in the contented smile of an old woman, in the serene look of a man, in the understanding nod of a grandmother, in the compassionate presence of a grandfather.

The final test of real education is the moment when the person bade farewell to this life and faces the next. It is a gracious letting go in order to surrender to God all that has been in the past. Successes and failures will be forgotten but the love shared during ones lifetime will endure forever.

Education then is life and the essence of that life is love. Therefore, EDUCATION is LIFE and LOVE.

New Year's Invitation 2008

be true
in everything you do

be honest
in whatever you feel

be faithful
in all your commitments

be authentic
in your life and everyday affairs

For No Reason At All

You dwell in my heart
You inspire my life
You strengthen my weakness
You console me in my loneliness
For no reason at all

You pick me up when I fall
You accept all my failures
You protect me from my fears
You wipe away my tears
For no reason at all

You shield me from rejection
You laugh at my ambitions
You wonder at my imaginations
You save me from damnation
For no reason at all

You smile at my innocence
You forgive all my sins
You listen to my wishes
You care for my dreams
For no reason at all

You come when I need you
You stay when I forget you
You walk with me in my journey
You stand by me in my insecurity
For no reason at all


But

LOVE!

For me, this is the meaning of Christmas 2007.



December 20, 2007
CMCS, Tagaytay City
Philippines