Updates on my life... he graciously agreed to pull back and to take it slow. So we are back to the courtship stage. I told him I still need to deal with my personal issues about how I relate to men and how I value myself.

As it is my birthday tomorrow, he surprised me today with flowers. 

I love flowers. They wither after a few days but while they are alive, they do what they do best-- to be beautiful-- unconditionally beautiful.

 Flowers do not have give any excuses. They are just beautiful. And the fact that we cannot enjoy their beauty for long just makes the experience more worthwhile. 

Beauty has a purpose in this world as well. 

In order to keep any relationship alive, we need to invest our time and our presence. In our world today, it is easier to communicate with our loved ones thru mobile phones or the internet. It is easier to travel to visit our faraway relatives, with cheaper airfare rates and faster planes.

We also need to invest in our relationship with God. We need to make time for Him so that we continue to grow in love. Sometimes, this relationship is the one we de-prioritize first. We claim that we are too busy with work, school, and extra-curricular activities. Maybe we need to use our Sundays to clean the house or to catch-up with the family. If we cannot even dedicate our Sundays to God, do we even make time for Him during the "ordinary days"?

I can relate to the issue of juggling a busy schedule. I work as a School Administrator in a University. I am also taking up my Masteral degree in Business Administration at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business (full-load, at that.) I need to make time for my family. I also have friends from High School, College, School, work, etc. I have three choirs (Apostleship of Prayer Youth Choir, Caelestis Voce, and Japanese Anime Choir Singers.)  I am also actively serving as an officer in the Apostleship of Prayer Youth. 

One can get overwhelmed when we list down all the things that we need to do. But I have realized that if you value something and if you love something, you will make a way to make time for it and to invest on it. 

Today, I wanted to share ways on how we can make time for God in our everyday.

Today's Gospel reading is about the good and bad fruit. While reflecting on the Gospel and on my own life, I realized that it is so difficult for me to discern if people are as good as they say. Sometimes, we are distracted by the "trappings" of a person. We are amazed by their charisma, their physical features, their ability to speak well in public, and their educational background. 

Jesus teaches us where to look in these cases. We should look at the fruits of their lives... the results of their actions. Actions speak louder than words. 

This is not about judging others. Rather, it is about knowing who we can bring us closer to God.

Check out: http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/mp3/PAYG_120627.mp3 for your daily reflection today.

REPOSTED from FR. VIC BALTAZAR, SJ

June 27. The story that our first reading for today (2 Kings 22,8-13; 23,1-3) recounts can very well be entitled "An Old Testament Retreat Experience." While putting order in the temple, to seek out metals for smelting, the high priest Hilkiah accidentally found the book of the law. The high priest gave the book to the scribe Shaphan, who brought it and read it out to the King. When the king heard the Word of the Lord read out, he recognized it and immediately tore his garments. He arranged to gather the people so that the Word of the Lord from the book of the Law may be proclaimed and heard again by all and the spirit of the covenant may be renewed in the hearts of all and in the life of the community.

In a sense our ordinary lives show resonances with what our first reading narrates. We live borrowed lives and in some of us, committed lives. Lives which have been dedicated and covenanted to God, as conduits of God's love to others, and servants of Christ's mission. Yet the dust of every day life, the routines we follow, the desires and obsessions we pursue, the career paths and life directions we trek, all of these can make our promises to God buried in the pile of our life's junk, kept in the dark, hidden and lost to forgetfulness.

Yet God sends grace-filled occasions that cause us to remember, and remembering in Scripture is an essential gift that spells life and redemption as forgetfulness can mean damnation and loss. These experiences of "retreat" renew the spirit of covenant in us and recovers for us the presence of God who remains in us whether or not we notice or acknowledge God. In such retreats at least three important things happen: First we see the disorder in our lives, the very situation that has led to or caused our forgetfulness, the ways by which we have allowed ourselves to lose our hearts to ambiguous or outrightly corrupt desires, the ways we have allowed ourselves to become slaves of instincts and passions that pleasure us but ultimately make us lose control of life. Second, The Word of God finds anew in us a heartfelt hearing. There are readings and there are readings of God's Word. But a heartfelt hearing allows the Word to be heard and received, find resonances or dissonances in us, reflected upon and ruminated, and move us to a response where God's Word becomes us--transforms our valuing for people and things, makes an impact in our choices and our very ways of choosing: God's Word takes flesh in our lives and persons. 

A third event in these retreats is fruit-bearing. And Jesus in our Gospel today reminds how quite central this event is if we want to discern the validity and authenticity of our retreat experience. "By their fruit you will know them." For people may have the most dramatic, tearful prayer experience, even with God's Word read (why, even Satan quoted Scriptures to Jesus in the desert temptations!) but real encounters with God are always grace-filled and transforming. The fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah says God's Word does not return to God without having accomplished the fruit it was sent for. So if a retreat experience does not culminate in good fruit, some disconnect must have happened somewhere. We lacked disposition? We were deaf to the Word? We allowed ourselves to hear God's Word but amidst many other noises that block our good hearing of it or distort our understanding of it? We did hear the Word but refused to listen and act on it? Many times a retreat experience is able to plant the seeds of God's Word in our hearts, but the grace sown needs nurturing and constant lived embrace so that it may grow into real virtues and good habits and show robust and abundant fruit in due time.

In the many moments of our forgetfulness in the days of our lives, may God cause us to stumble upon God's Book of the Law and may the Word of God find a new hearing in our lives and renew us from our core. God Bless! 

(Published in my FB Notes last 10 September 2011)



5 years ago, I saw a flyer for the Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS) posted in Church. I don’t know why that particular flyer made me nervous. It made me so nervous that I consulted Mama Edith about it, and she told me that I should have gone to the seminar.

But due to different meetings, the fact that I felt shy about going alone (and other excuses that I made along), 5 years passed by.

Now, 2011, I got to know Gjian and Raymart from The Shepherd’s Flock (TSF), because they became a part of the Apostleship of Prayer Youth’s (APY) Executive Committee. They kept on talking about the LSS and I was finally convinced that I needed to and wanted to go. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to the July/April session because of a meeting or some other thing.

BUT, through the grace of God and the intercession of Mama Mary, 2 days after Mama Mary’s birthday, I committed to coming. Wanting to make sure I had company during the seminar, I invited Ken, Ivy, Pierre, Val, and Ian to come.

Sabi ko, this is it! Kahit na-delay pa ako dahil naglinis ako ng banyo at nagpa-photocopy pa ng piyesa, I was going to make it. Of course, Nelly’s intermittent and personalized text reminders, helped place LSS in my priority list.

Today, I came and conquered. Today, I re-learned and re-understood basic tenets of our faith. Bro. Buddy spoke about how God loves us and how God saved us. Bro. Bong’s talk was on Faith, Repentance, and Forgiveness. These are the basic tenets taught to us in Grade School, more often in the form of memorized items and acronyms that were just words. But today I felt and found out what they meant for me. It also helped that my Shepherd, Sis. Ludz allowed us to process our learnings in our kawan.

Today, I encountered the Power of God, manifested through the Holy Spirit. As Bro. Albert spoke about the Holy Spirit and the Gift we were going to receive, I felt a splitting headache. It made listening more difficult. But I decided to persevere and to surrender the pain to Him.

I felt excited and apprehensive as we closed our eyes and began to pray. While singing “Come Holy Spirit”, I felt myself mumbling strange words. In the darkness, I saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus beckoning to me (how fitting, kasi siya yung lagi kong kaharap kapag Sunday.) I told Him, “Lord I believe in You, Ikaw na ang bahala sa akin.”

A hand suddenly touched me, to anoint me. I felt a bolt of electricity jolt me. It was hot, as if fire was enveloping me. My lips were vibrating and I was saying words that I could not understand.

I stood up and I felt people surround me. They were praying over me and I felt them touch me. My knees buckled and I was swaying from side to side. I tried to resist the force. But I felt myself falling. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor and I was speaking in tongues. My tongue felt as if it was going to fly out of my month. I felt so light. And tears were falling down my face. My tears were triggered by the beautiful music that I heard, it was as if angels were singing.

-------

Empowered and recharged. It was as if all my problems had been lightened because I was no longer alone. I felt enveloped in warmth and love. My headache was gone. And as Bro. Dennis spoke to us about how to let these gifts bear fruit (Pray, Study the Word, Belong to a Community, and Serve), I felt so joyful and so excited. I felt that I was ready to go and serve again.

Akala ko si Super Man lang ang pwedeng magkaroon ng kapangyarihan. Ako rin pala pwedeng maging Super Joan. Nakalimutan ko na Siya ang pinaka-bukal ng lahat. At dahil sa kabutihan Niya, pinili niya ako. Oo ako ay makasalanan at hindi ako perpekto.  Pero dahil sa pag-ibig Niya, ako ay nagiging buo.

I will follow Your call, Lord. All that I have is Yours. Use me to direct others to You.

My wish is that you too follow the call. Magpaligaw (courtship) ka at magpaligaw (lose yourself) kayLord. And you too will discover your super powers.

My boss asks us to hold a monthly birthday salo-salo for all our staff. No one is required to bring food for everyone (there are more than 40 of us in the group, so this would be unsustainable.)  But it a chance for us to celebrate the birthdays of the celebrants for the month... it is a chance for us to eat together and to just gather as one.

This month, the Procurement Office was assigned to spearhead the birthday salo-salo. This is one of the busiest offices in the university, as they are a part of the bidding process, purchase everything from pencils to cars, etc.

It was heartwarming to see the effort that they placed in preparing the event. Not only did they reserve the venue, invite everyone, etc. But they also went beyond and prepared video clips with themes on team building, camaraderie, and heroism. 

It is truly inspiring to see your team going beyond what is expected. This is the best reward that a manager.. rather, a leader, can get.

After suffering from a bout of Monday sickness, I decided to prowl through the halls of TED Talks to look for something that would cheer me up while I worked.

I stumbled on JK Rowling's Commencement Speech for the Harvard Graduates of 2008. You can watch the video here. 


Hearing a speech from a gifted writer was just a treat, it was both humorous (in a Brit kind of way) and poignant. JK spoke about what failure and poverty taught her. And she also shared how imagination fueled the empathy she felt as a fellow human.

It was the perfect Commencement speech for such a privileged group as the Harvard Graduates. Not only did it present food for thought by showing common, human experiences in a new way-- JK was also able to skillfully weave in a call to action. The structure, the humor, the story telling made the bitter medicine of truth go down easier. 

JK's speech led me to reminisce about my own graduation day. We were lucky enough to graduate during the 150th year of the Ateneo de Manila University. The author of the book Heroic Leadership, Chris Lowney, was our speaker. I myself cannot remember the words our Commencement Speaker gave to us back in 2009. But I remember the emotions that I felt during that day, the excitement, the pride, and the anxiety of stepping out into the real world. 

After 4 years of working and study a.k.a. "living in the real world", I realized that it was not the grades, the concepts, or the theories that were of most value to me, after getting my education from Ateneo and from St. Scho ... these schools gave me something more than my degree. 

I saw a blog entry about the inhumane way CebuPac treated some customers in Dumaguete. There was a guy who did not make it to his job interview, a couple who had to buy another Php 240,000 for tickets back to Europe because they would miss their connecting flight, etc. But to top it all off, CebuPac did not even have the decency to provide accommodations for the stranded passengers, because it was against Company Policy.

You can view the whole entry here. 

It just saddens me that corporations as successful as Cebu Pacific can do something like this. Greed will not do good for your business Cebu Pac. And the same people who placed you at that number one position can also pull you down.

As consumers, let us remember that we have the power to influence businesses. Let's use this power for the better.

Please spread the word about this incident. And let's all think twice before buying tickets from CebuPac. This incident just proves, not EveryJuan can fly with CebuPac.

I have been feeling very bothered about the issue with the Spratly's. Not only is there a real threat of war from China, the decision we make here will affect the environment, and consequently, generations to come.

I was glad to hear the voice of reason from Atty. Oposa's letter to the President. Read it here. 

We all know we cant win a war against China. But the Philippines has the law on its side.

As you know, I am an Atenean working for La Salle. Due to more than 5 years of Jesuit Formation (Currently, I am also taking up my MBA in AGSB), my boss decided to send me to-- Mindanao for a 5-day Retreat/ Formation sponsored by De La Salle Philippines (DLSP). 

I am a member of the Return to the Vaugirard Batch 16. It was a week when I began to see the world differently. We were forced out of our comfort zones to discover the big and wonderful world we are so often afraid of. 

My realizations:

- Mindanao is a peaceful place.
- Muslims and Lumads are our brothers
- We need to take care of Mother Nature.
- Ateneans and La Sallians need to work together to make the world a better place. 

After the 5-day retreat, I realized that I can be both an Atenean and La Sallian. :) View the video below to get a peek on what people from 17 La Salle Campuses around the country can do.