Author: Aldin Francis Canobas

Attending the recent 25th Anniversary of Singles for Christ and participating in the Pre-ICON activities and the International Conference in Manila, I have asked the Lord in prayers to speak to me and give me the grace to be more sensitive and attentive to his message. It was the message of the Cross – embracing the Cross.

I was amazed on how the Lord truly reaffirms this call that He has given me. I was reminded of a reflection I wrote almost a year ago when the Lord spoke to me about embracing the Cross after having visited one of my lower household’s teaching. They had the household topic of “When Helplessness Means Blessedness.”

Here is the reflection:

It was a moment of reaffirmation and reassurance for all of us. We were reminded again of the reality and significance of the cross in our lives especially in our Christian faith. There is the reality that each of us has a cross to carry. It could be temporary or will last a lifetime until we reach our ultimate goal, which is heaven. There is the lesson that Jesus is continually teaching us: to embrace our cross for it will lead us to our salvation.

It gives comfort knowing that I am not alone. It is not that I am happy to know that my brothers have crosses, sufferings or problems too. I hope and pray that they are always okay and unburdened. But the cross is a reality of life and it gives so much hope and reassurance to all of us that we are not journeying alone in this life, this path to heaven. We have our brothers and sisters, also carrying their cross, walking with us and striving to reach the same destination.

Jesus, in His way to purchase our salvation, has shown us the perfect example of embracing the cross. Human as we are, we feel the pain and burden. With the hedonistic culture of the world, we have focused so much in search of what can make us feel happy, what can make us always feel good. Worst of it all, we settle to temporary escape from our crosses. Jesus endured the way of the cross until the end to save us. The Lord had fallen three times to the ground and still rose up. We are to face our crosses. We are to embrace them. We will fall. Yes, many times we will fall but we have to stand up.

Also, we have to remind ourselves that it is okay to ask or receive help. Most of the times, we tend to just keep our struggles to ourselves as we don’t want to burden others of our load and worse is feeding our pride telling ourselves we don’t need others’ help. Jesus, in the way of the cross, accepted the help of Simon of Cyrene to carry His cross and let Veronica wipe His face. God humbled himself by accepting help from others. We have to ask for the grace of true humility. We can not journey in this earthly life alone. We are to help one another. We are made for communion.

Most of the times when we pray, we thank the Lord for all the good things he has done for us. We too have to be thankful for the crosses that we have. As true Christians following Jesus’ example, we should embrace the cross. Let us regard every challenge, struggle or problem as a blessing from the Lord. Let us face and embrace them and take that difficult and dark moment as our share to our Lord’s suffering in the cross.

We have learned from the Christian Life Program Talk 2 Who is Jesus Christ that he cross is both a language that communicates the weakness of our human nature, discloses our sins and reveals our errors, and conveys our desperate need for redemption and a parable that tells a story and provides a lesson.

The recent ICON have shown us the Cross as a parable that tells us the story of God’s Relentless Love for all of us. Looking through the 25 years of Singles for Christ, we the Singles for Christ of the next 25 years and more have a strong stand post to anchor ourselves to as we continue our journey of carrying and embracing the Cross.

With the new direction that we are called as Singles for Christ, which is to embrace not only the single unmarried men and women but most importantly also our brothers and sisters that are single parents, widows or widowers, singles struggling with same-sex attraction, and those young adult divorced, annulled and separated, we are called to fully embrace this Cross – not so much as a cross of burden but a Cross that speaks of God’s Relentless Love! We are to embrace and share God’s Relentless Love!

The fourth session of ICON that included the Solemn Re-commitment and Passing on of the Cross to each chapter was the highlight of it all. It has rekindled all the gifts that the Lord has blessed us with, personally and as a community. And it put our hearts ablaze, empowered to fulfill the ministry that the Lord has entrusted to us!

Once again, we are reminded:

“For this reason, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

“Solemn Charge. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

“We adore Thee, O Christ, and bless Thee.
Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.” Amen.

Aldin Francis Canobas

SFC Calgary AB Canada

You walked where I used to walk

Stood right where I used to stand

Saw what I used to see

And it reminded me

Of the dreams that I have

Dreams that one day

I’ll walk her where I used to walk

Stand with her where I used to stand

Together stare at the beauty

Of the places where I used to be

But I am here

You are there

And to be in the same place

At this very moment

Is not meant to be

Lord this is my heart

To You I offer it

All my dreams and hopes

I raise them all to You

All the hurts, regrets and uncertainties

I lay at the foot of Your cross

With faith, joy and gratitude

I will walk with You

Towards the eternal prize

I will set my eyes on

Where I am at right now

I will be my best

I will live in the moment

Grateful of what was

And hopeful of what is to be

Lord I want Your dream

To be my very own dream

One day I’ll walk again that lane

Seeing that dream a reality

Sincerely,

Aldin Francis

The picture shows University of Santo Tomas in Manila where I spent 4 years of my life in College. The lane at the center is called the Lover’s Lane where I used to walk almost daily going home after class. It was where I dreamed dreams. I want to personally call it the Dreamer’s Lane.

Praise God for the successful Singles for Christ True North Conference 2017!

It has been 9 days now since the TNC ended and I’m missing it so much. People ask what do I like most about TNC or which part was most memorable for me. I loved the talks especially because it has helped me understand better and appreciate more the Catholic faith. I loved the testimonies of our religious Brothers and Sisters and the Priests because they inspired me to pray even more and really discern for my vocation. The most memorable part for me was leading the conference band.

I have served as a member of the conference band as a vocalist for two consecutive years in 2011 Whistler and 2012 Ottawa Conferences. I have learned so much from my leaders and band mates and have enjoyed the friendship that the band has developed. We became a family and until now, each time we see each other at events or gatherings, we would rekindle the blessed times we’ve spent serving through Music Ministry and the fun memories we’ve shared.

This time it was a little bit different. I was asked to be the head of the conference band. Oh boy did all the questions, doubts and mixed emotions gushed and flooded my mind! I was excited as that was the first time that I will be leading a conference band. I was excited at the thought of meeting new people and making new friends. I was excited to make use of the talent that the Lord has gifted me with to glorify Him. I was excited of the message that the Lord has for me during this TNC.

There were doubts too. I am not a guitar player. I can play in emergency situations when no one can play the guitar but I will just usually focus on vocals. Usually, it is the acoustic guitarist that will lead the Conference band as he will know when to prompt or cue and he has more knowledge in the instrumental aspect of the band. I did question my appointment but I prayed and just trusted that the Lord will equip me for it. So with confidence in the Lord’s provision, I followed and accepted the mission He gave me.

Then came our practice days before the TNC. Finally, we were able to meet each and everyone face to face and the band was able to practice as one group. We started day 1 with a prayer and dinner then opened the practice with a worship. We did a get-to-know activity introducing ourselves by our names, sharing about our family and service, and what do we love most about our respective areas. We had a brief orientation and overview of our practice schedule, the conference, and the expectations from the members of the band. We did 2 sets of worship songs and the practice went well. We ended our night in a fun board game with one person sniffing a shoe and the other doing a hula dance!

Day 2 came. We had our wake up call at 6 am, had our personal prayer time, attended to hygiene then ate breakfast. By 8 am we had our morning worship. After morning worship, to wake us up because we have been fasting from caffeinated, carbonated and sweetened drinks, we did a game entitled “Protect the President.” We had so much fun during the game! Then we proceeded to a short walk around the community, rested for a bit when we returned home, then proceeded with practice.

We had the whole repertoire of worship songs to practice for the day till 4 pm. In the middle of practices, there were moments when we will feel tired, or will voice out suggestions, or give corrections, or will crack jokes or sort of play around practice time. With the short time left to finish the songs, I found myself losing patience, entertaining doubts in my head, belittling myself, questioning my anointing as head of the band and only seeing that there are other musicians more capable of leading the band than I can. I knew I was being attacked by the enemy. So deep inside me I fervently pray that the Lord take those thoughts away. I was reminded again of the expectations we laid at day 1: be excellent, yes and still enjoy and encounter Christ in everyone.

From then on, I loosened up a bit and learned to trust more in the providence of the Lord. I was reminded of the two sisters close to Christ, Mary and Martha, who in their own ways showed their love for the Lord. I saw myself leaning towards more to Martha focusing on the technicalities of tasks I need to accomplish than encountering the Lord as to how Mary did. I needed to have a balance of both. We made sure we had break times. We played games and laughed so hard! We attended mass and recollection. We had a short day trip for ice cream. We dine out. We had nap time. We had bubble tea. We shared about our lives. We had fun. We indeed encountered our Lord!

TNC day came when all our efforts, prayers and preparations will finally be put into action. I was excited and at the same time nervous. But the sight of our Blessed Mother right from where I stand in the band gave me so much reassurance, encouragement, peace, and joy that we will be well taken care of. The sight of our Lord on the Cross reminded me of the real purpose of my passion and mission. I was just all eyes on Him the whole time we played music and led worship.

It has been 9 days now since the TNC ended and I’m missing it so much but I know that the experiences and the relationships built have not ended but still is ongoing leading us even closer to Christ.

I will forever be reminded of our band’s  favorite version of the Liveloud song Eyes On: “Eyes on the ice cream pressing on, looking forward to McKay’s.” The journey continues and I’m keeping my eyes on the “ice cream,” which is heaven.

Our prize is eternal, 
into your direction forward to reach our home 
Shake off our chains, the sins of our past 
Will fade in Your awesome love


Lord, Your grace speaks true love
None can fathom Your ways
In every stride, we take by faith
As we give our all to You


Eyes on the distance pressing on
Looking forward to that day
When every heart sings out Your name
Our lives will pave the way


For You, for You
We live for Your name's sake
In You, in You
Our lives won't be the same

Tears were wanting to come out while I was listening to one of the sharing during a young adult ministry event. I thought I had let go of the pain. I thought I would not care anymore. But I knew deep within me I was crying. A part of me was sympathizing on what the sharer went through but mostly was me hurting and silently responding to the sharer’s question, saying: “I can. I could have. I will and am still willing to accept, love and fight.”

I bravely hold my tears, calmly persevered and listened, humbly swallowed my pride and set aside my selfish intentions.

Then came the very presence of our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament: the Lord in His humblest form of an unleavened bread yet radiantly shining in His heavenly glory.

There came the Lord saying: “My son, I know how you feel. I am here, I have always been here. Say it all to me and I will listen. Bring unto me your darkness and I will shed you light. Offer me your heartache and I will give you comfort. Surrender your brokenness and I will restore you. Rejoice in your weakness, for through them I have made you strong. Hold on my Son. Have faith. I love you.”

I knew in that very moment that no one could understand me except the Lord.

In that moment I surrendered. I knelt before His presence and cried my most honest cry. I was like a child who ran to his father to be consoled. I let go of my tears. I offered to the Lord all the hurts. I asked for forgiveness. I thanked Him for all the blessings He has given me. I thanked Him for the struggles and challenges too. Then I set my eyes on Him. I basked in His presence.

His light outshined the darkness I was in. I felt His embrace. There is peace.

There were things I wished could have happened the way I wanted them to be. But the very presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has enlightened me that His ways are better than my ways. He has the best plan for me, for all of us. The Blessed Sacrament has reminded me of God’s faithfulness. After all, He never left us. He is ever-present with us through the Most Blessed Sacrament. In fact, He has always been waiting for us.

That aspect of my life I am letting go and surrendering to the Lord along with the other important things I value and hold on to. For I know the Lord has already taken care of everything for me.

“O salutaris Hostia,
Quae caeli pandis ostium:
Bella premunt hostilia,
Da robur, fer auxilium.
Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria,
Qui vitam sine termino
Nobis donet in patria.”

Amen.

It is always said: “Let go of the past and move on.” I will never forget my past. My past is a testimony of God’s faithfulness, generosity and love.

I grew up in an imperfect family. My Mom had to work overseas to provide a promising future for us, as she had the opportunity to do it. My Dad had to stay with us kids to take care of us. As the years went by, our family started to lose sight of that promising future which we hoped for. My dad became enslaved by drugs. My Mom had to endure the pains of being away from her family, most especially from her husband who she should be supporting and walking hand in hand with in those difficult times, in hopes of still providing that promising future for our family. This was our situation and our struggle for 21 years and that was my life before Singles for Christ.

I must have lived in fear, uncertainty, mistrust, and hopelessness with that kind of life our family had. In some degree, yes. But really, looking back and remembering it all, there is only one thing that remained true: the faithfulness of our Lord. He has always been the generous, caring and loving Father that He is. He has become my Provider.

Finance was always a struggle especially having a family member addicted to drugs. There will be times we won’t have decent food to eat at the table. There will be times we would have to talk to the Principal and hand in a promissory letter so that we can take our periodical exams just because the money that is supposedly for our tuition fee was used for something else. My Mom sacrificed a lot and worked hard to provide for us but still we found ourselves struggling.

We struggled, yes. But God continuously and faithfully provided for us. He blessed us with loving, understanding and generous “Inay” (my grandmother) and my uncles and aunts who have helped us in those challenging times. We never starved. We had good education.

Growing up to be a good person and a God-fearing Christian must be impossible in my family setting. Again, it was a struggle. But I realized, it was not impossible. I would have been a school dropout or another drug addict as an influence from the family I grew up with but the Lord in his faithfulness and love never let that happen.

The Lord has blessed us by helping our parents provide us a very good Catholic Education. From kindergarten to finishing university studies, I have attended Catholic Schools: Our Lady of Caysasay Academy and University of Santo Tomas. I grew up in prayers, obedience, faith, and most especially service. The Lord provided for me an avenue to enhance the talents that He has given me and at the same time share them to others. It was at school that I have honed my passion for Music by serving in the choir. It was at school that I have learned to continue to respect and obey my parents even when it is difficult. It was at school that I have learned to fervently pray for our family. It was at school where I grew in reliance to our Mother: The Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Caysasay, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

The Lord has also blessed us with persons who are strong in their faith and are genuine in their love and care. Out of the many people who were instruments of God’s love was my Inay. Being a widow left with the care of her 6 young kids, she endured and remained faithful to the Lord. Having a son who is addicted to drugs and having grand kids greatly affected by the unfortunate family situation, she remained a strong foundation where we took refuge. Her relentless prayers, scripture reading, attendance of mass, and service had led us closer to Christ. I would not have known Christ if not for my Inay.

These are just a few of the many instances when the Lord has shown his faithfulness, generosity and love to me. He has been faithful in so many ways or I should say faithful in every way. He has healed my dad. He has brought our family together. He has brought me to where I am now. He has brought me joy like I never felt joy before when Jesus offered and initiated that personal relationship with me.

Now the question is: “What else should I be fearful about? Have I not truly seen yet what the Lord has done for me? When will I fully trust in the Lord?” This will be my journey. This will be my discernment as I walk with him in pursuit and discovery of my vocation and the fullness of mission.

Lord let this be my song:

Ever faithful
Lord of Lords
Your promise never fails
And Your word never fades

In your splendor, You chose to give Your all
Paid for my sins, died to save my soul

Your undying love for me Lord, now fills my life
You’re all I’m living for and all that I long for

I’ll sing to you this song and worship You
Give you all my praise till the end of my days
These hands I’ll raise, as I surrender all for You Oh Lord will forever be my God

When thunders roar and oceans rise
I won’t be moved
And won’t be shaken
For I know and I am certain
That You my God will be there

I’ll sing to you this song and worship you
Give you all my praise till the end of my days
These hands I’ll raise, as I surrender all for You Oh Lord will forever be my God

I will let go of the past but will never forget of the Lord’s faithfulness and great love. I will move on, more so, move forward trusting in his faithfulness and firmly holding on to the truth that the Lord will be with me wherever I go.

To the mission, here we go! Amen.

In Christ,

Aldin Francis

Yellow card: bad things that I want to unlearn and let go; My sins and past mistakes.

Red card: good things that I have been doing and that I want to keep doing; My passion, purpose and service.

Blue card: new good things that I want to learn and do; My aspirations, plans,  and adventures; Those new skills and knowledge I want to acquire.

Those were the three cards I was holding on to in front of the bonfire at the Music Camp while being guided by our couple coordinators into a healing prayer. After a long day of fun, worship, inspirational talks, music workshops, and team building activities, we all participated in a healing session in hopes of becoming the “Totally Empowered Ablaze Musicians” that we are called to.

We are asked to pick the yellow card first, where our sins, shortcomings, past mistakes, and the other things that we want to let go and be healed are written. After praying over it, we were asked to let go of it into the fire. It was freeing. It was an easy let go. Wrong things that we have done and that which we really want to get rid of are in a way the easiest to let go.

Then we were asked to raise the red card. It was the card that contained the good things that I have been doing and that which I want to keep doing. I contained my service to my family and the community. It contained my passion for music. It contained the progress I’ve been having at work. It contained almost all the best things that has been happening to me. It contained my discernment to pursue and follow our Lord.

They asked us to burn the red card. That was a very difficult decision to do. Will I let go or shall I keep it?

Letting go of the good things happening in our lives is like losing control of everything. We always have the inclination to have control of our lives and when the Lord comes and asks that He takes control, it becomes very difficult to let go. I struggled but in the end I took courage and humility to surrender.

The only card left is the blue card. I was left with nothing but hopes, vision of a better life, things new, and trust in the Lord that He will take care of everything and that He has great plans for me. Then the burden of letting go of the yellow and red cards became less and less pressing. I am hopeful.

“In Him alone is my hope. In Him alone is my strength. In Him alone I will justify. In Him alone I’ll be saved.”

Amen.

Aldin Francis Canobas

It was on a Sunday Mass during last weekend’s Christian Personal Relationship Weekend Retreat when I saw a young boy with Down’s syndrome in the choir playing the tambourine and guitar with guidance from his grandmother. He did really well. I sensed genuine happiness seen through his smile as he played the tambourine and guitar.

I was reminded of the young boy in the miracle of the feeding of ten thousand men, who only had 5 loaves and 2 fishes with him to share and help feed the people. The young boy, with the little that he had, offered it all to Jesus. Then a miracle happened. His tiny offering was able to feed ten thousand men and their families and there was even more left of the food.

We have been blessed by God with gifts. Being the Generous Father that He is, God has bestowed on us necessary and precious gifts not only essential for our survival but most importantly for us to use in helping others. This way, God has made sure that His love would be always present and be felt by us through the sharing of His gifts as the Holy Trinity has perfectly shown in the constant sharing of love by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We all have gifts. It is on the way we look at things, at our circumstances, and at what others have that we acquire a worldly view that we either have little or more gifts. And when it comes to answering the call to share our gifts, this worldly view can affect us so much and can leave us asking: “Do I have anything to give?”

When I started journeying with the Lord, I learned about His great love for me. I came to know His son Jesus, who is the greatest expression of His love. I have looked deeply on how I live my life as a Christian and I tried my best to respond to His love through the path of faith and repentance. I knew this journey would demand from me something. With God’s love and generosity, will I not give Him what He actually gave me in the first place? That has always been a thought I keep pondering on.

Being a member of Singles for Christ and as a young adult,I know I am soon approaching the crossroads of my life when eventually I will respond to God’s love and call through my vocation: married life, single blessedness or priesthood. Just thinking about this life decision, it makes me excited, yes but more nervous. I have a lot of questions: “Do I have anything to give? Am I ready to give of myself? Can I give up what I have? Do I have the courage? Am I worthy? How about my past mistakes and sins? How about my current struggles? Will my offering be enough?” The question goes on.

Trust and surrender.

The young boy in the feeding of the ten thousand gave it all to our Lord with full trust. I am called to do the same. I am called to lay at the Lord’s feet all that I have. Aside from my gifts, talents, abilities, and everything good that the Lord has given, I am called to lay at his feet even my insecurities, uncertainties, sinfulness, incapacities, and fears. I must allow the Lord to create a miracle through me and that will only happen if I surrender to Him and trust Him.

As I continue this journey towards fully responding to God’s love, as much as I can, I am trying not to focus on the many questions that I have. I am choosing to look at the constant love, forgiveness, acceptance, provision and guidance that the Lord has for me. I will bask in His Love and share that love to others in the best way that I can. I will grow and bear fruit where I am planted at the moment. Then eventually, when God pulls me and plants me somewhere else, I will obey and continue to witness to His love.

Lord, as I continue to journey with You and respond fully to your love, receive my five loaves and two fishes. Amen.

Take and receive, O Lord, my liberty
Take all my will, my mind, my memory
All things I hold and all I own are Thine
Thine was the gift, to Thee I all resign

Do Thou direct and govern all and sway
Do what Thou wilt, command, and I obey
Only Thy grace, Thy love on me bestow
These make me rich, all else will I forego.

– St. Ignatius de Loyola