Author: Anton Brosas

The CFC GMC (Global Mission Centre) Pilgrimage consisted of visiting several churches in Laguna and doing the Stations of the Cross at each one. I was blessed with an opportunity to share my reflection of the 13th Station of the Cross with the GMC pilgrims during one of the Church visits.

The Thirteenth Station – Jesus’ Body is Taken Down from the Cross and Given to His Mother

Moments after Jesus’ death, His body was taken down from the cross and given to His mother. This particular moment is best captured by Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’. Here, we see Mary’s sorrow, compassion and love for Jesus.

 

Every time I look at the Pieta, I remember that Jesus died for my sins. I think it’s important to remember that Jesus died for me and that He loves me. But I also think that there is more that the Lord is calling me to recognize. 

Mary knew that despite the sorrow and confusion she must have felt, she still believed that death was not the end. In the same way, as His beloved, she wants us to share in her faith, hope and love in and of her Son and His plan for us (and humanity). 

May we have faith when things seem impossible, hope in the fruitfulness of our trials, and love in all circumstances. 

Faith, hope and love, being the three theological virtues, come from God alone. They cannot be earned but instead, are freely given (similar to grace). They are gifts of grace from God. These virtues, like grace, builds upon nature. I have to do my part in taking care of and nurturing these gifts. But I also have to humble myself to ask God for these virtues and for His help to grow in them. I’ve realized that these virtues are essentials in living my life. Without proper formation, I would be lost! My relationship with the Trinity would be dead!

Mary, being the Mediatrix of All Graces, is then the one I can turn to. She will not only dispense these graces (virtues) to me but shows me by her example in what faith, hope and love is! Isn’t it amazing how we pray for an increase of these virtues in the first 3 Hail Mary’s of the rosary?

Pray for us O, Holy Mary, Mother of God, that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ!

 

 

My first ICON experience was last year in Marikina. I remember being so amazed by the fullness of the community and wanting to share that when I came back home. I left ILC (now called ICON) with my heart ablazed, desperately hoping for  those in Canada (especially from Pacific Region) to experience Christ at the next ICON.

Fast forward to this year and I was blessed  to see many new faces from Canada attending ICON for their first time. I was so happy to see familiar faces and to know that they will experience Christ in a new and powerful way. I was assured that their experience with Christ would be personal and timely!

Before I found out that I was going to go for training, I actually asked my boss for the time off to go to ICON. Every time I asked for time off, he granted it. He granted time off for me to go to Hawaii, to go to ILC last year, to go to WTNC in the summer, etc. This time around, when I asked for time off for ICON, he denied my request. Despite that denial, the Lord still made a way for me to experience ICON. The Lord had better plans for me. 

I was initially assigned to Workshop Committee for ICON. It was a blessing because I was given an opportunity to help make an outline for one of the workshops. After submitting it to my head, I assumed that was the end of my duties. Shortly after, I was assigned to help with the program for Praise Cruise. They asked me to give a session as an ICON prologue for the Praise Cruise delegates. Its objective was to get everyone excited for ICON, to be excited to be on the Praise Cruise and to prepare our hearts to receive Christ at ICON. I was honoured to give that session so I spent a lot of time preparing for it. In the midst of this, I was asked to do other things for program for ICON. So I continued to prepare and prepare. Little did I know, the Lord had better plans for me. 

Praise Cruise was scheduled to leave around 11pm on the Wednesday before ICON. I made my way to the pier and we found out that the master list of passengers of the boat company and that of YFC was different. Because of this, 90 delegates were not able to board the boat going to Palawan – including myself, Hannah, Ellish and Joseph (US and Canada FTPW trainees).

 

This photo was taken a couple weeks after ICON but it’s one of the few with all of us present.  Shout out to Mier po po the KFC star, Kuya GJ and Ate Laleng (our training heads)!

The four of us were left, along with 2 other MVs from Metro Manila (shout out to Minelsa and Alvin), and then the 90 delegates. It was at this point that I realized that this is FTPW training. It goes beyond the technical skills, the manual, and knowing the ins and outs of the community. Training is about learning how to be and bring Christ where ever we are, in whatever circumstance we are in. Good or bad.

So in a situation that was easily filled with chaos, confusion, disappointment, hurt and anger, we were compelled to share hope and compassion with each other, the delegates and the CCs. We prayed the rosary, had praise and worship, talked to the delegates and just tried our best to be with them.

We spent the entire evening there in the waiting area of the pier as CFC from the local sector picked up some of the delegates and hosted them. Morning came and some sectors decided to go back to their sectors and we went back to the Mission House, unsure of what was going to happen next but trusting that the Lord had better plans for us.

That same evening, I found out that one of the workshop speakers could not attend their workshop! Because of this, I was assigned to deliver the workshop “Journey to the ends of the Earth” with my fellow trainee, Hannah! Funny enough, the workshop was a missionary workshop that was geared to help the youth learn more about mission and the experiences of it. What a blessing to share what I am currently experiencing as FTPW trainee!

We weren’t able to send the powerpoint to each other over email so we took a picture of every slide hahahaha 🙂

The next day the Lord provided us with something GREAT. He upgraded us from Praise Cruise to PRAISE FLIGHT! The 90 delegates had a chartered flight from Manila to Palawan which allowed us to arrive at ICON on the Friday afternoon.

This was one half of the plane 🙂

Praise the Lord! We were all filled with joy and thanksgiving because God’s plan for us was EXTRAVAGANT. First ever PRAISE FLIGHT! An entire flight just for YFC. Unheard of 🙂

I wasn’t able to be part of the ICON program. I wasn’t able to give a session on Praise Cruise. But instead, the Lord blessed me more. He allowed me to meet 90 delegates on a first ever Praise Cruise. He allowed me to give a workshop with a fellow missionary in which I was able to share the overflowing joy that I am currently experiencing as a missionary. To top it off, I was able to attend the Praise Cruise from Palawan to Manila with 950 delegates 🙂

And after experiencing these blessings, I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂 The Lord taught me a valuable lesson over the past few weeks. I may have my own plans and they may be good but God’s plan is always better!

 

A very simple message that the Lord has been sharing with me can be summarized by St. Irenaeus:

The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of a man is the vision of God.

It’s been a week since arriving in the Philippines. I am still adjust to the culture, language, weather,  and living conditions. But the Lord never fails to speak to me in my vulnerable and uncomfortable (physically) state.There are several moments where the Lord reminds me of the joy that can be experienced when living out His will.

I’ve been blessed with many opportunities to have one on one’s with the brother Full-Time Pastoral Workers (FTPWs) assigned here in Metro Manila and even those assigned in the provinces. I was really affirmed that the Lord’s call to mission is personal and timely. Mission work is not an escape from the realities of life, but rather an opportunity to let God be first in my life. I have found an inner peace that can only come from the Lord because He is number one.

I am alive because Christ is alive in me 🙂

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be trained for full-time pastoral work. I am currently at the airport gate trying to put to words all the emotions, affirmations and messages I’ve received from the Lord in my prayer time and through His people.
Everything happened pretty quickly. It was only 3.5 weeks ago that I found out there was an opportunity for me to be assigned somewhere. Next thing I know, I’m having interviews and in the span of a few days, I have to make the decision to leave my engineering position and pursue pastoral mission work.

I’ve been with my former company for about 2.5 years. Doesn’t seem like a long time but in that time, the Lord really made known my innate desires of mission. The position also helped me develop as a professional and contribute to several projects which I can stand behind with a sense of accomplishment.

But looking back at it now, I know that the Lord has been always asking something more of me. And maybe that’s why I didn’t have much hesitation leaving work. I had no negative feelings towards the work or the people I worked with but I certainly knew that there was something more. So when I gave my two week notice, my boss, although caught off guard, admired what I was doing – answering a calling. He affirmed me in my development as an engineer and said that this experience would make me an even better engineer, should I choose to go back to that profession. Similar feelings were echoed by the clients I directly worked with and this made my decision to leave easier because of the peace I would leave with knowing that people supported me. And I barely knew them!

In a similar way, I was able to share this conviction and peace with my extended family. It was brought up with my parents consistently throughout the year but specifically, at the foot of their bed for this news. Afterwards I drove straight to my girlfriends house and shared with her and her family the news. Each instance was received well and it helped that they knew I was discerning about this for quite some time. To be able to share every single desire and conviction in my heart with complete openness, and having them support and encourage me, affirmed and strengthened the peace and joy that I received when I said YES.

If you asked me 1 year ago how I feel about full time pastoral work, I would probably say it isn’t for me. But I’ve learned that the Lord uses every day experiences to speak to me. Through my many faults, many victories, many heartaches, and many moments of happiness, the Lord revealed a desire that He planted in me when I was born.

I believe that every person is made to love God. In different moments of our life, we are called to love God in different, but concrete ways. Sometimes it’s through our studies, or by being a good son/daughter. For others, loving God is by getting married and having a family, or becoming religious or even a priest. But each person’s calling, although similar in state, are so unique and personal. For me, I am called to love God as a full time pastoral worker.

God will call and will continue to call me. He will call me to places that may seem unfamiliar or scary. He may also call me to places of familiarity or peace. Wherever and whenever He calls me, it is always with a purpose. I love planning and being one step ahead. But this experience has helped me to really let God lead me.

Wherever I am called to, I can go there with a sense of peace and joy because He promises to be with me to the end of the age. That promise is enough for me to live each day with joy. He is my strength.

I absolutely LOVE being in control. Some say I am goal oriented and I’d like to think that when I put my mind to something and go after it, I’ll achieve it. So when something doesn’t go according to plan, I generally get thrown off course pretty easily and mishandle the situation. As a Mission Volunteer, I have been able to be surrounded by brothers and sisters who find joy in letting the Lord take control. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have goals for ourselves  or lack direction in our life, but it does encourage us to leave room for God to work. After all, God loves us so much that He gives us the choice to cooperate with His will for us. When we do, life becomes beautiful 🙂

Yes, Lord! You know that I love You!

Sometimes I wonder if the Lord really knows that I love Him. Sometimes I wonder if I actually do things that say, “Lord, I love You”. I’m weak and I fall often. Surely the Lord doesn’t feel loved there. But I think the Lord isn’t quite after perfection as much as He’s after (or desiring) us as we are.

When Jesus asked Simon if He loved him, I think He was reminding all of us that the Lord wants our love first and foremost. The best way to love Him is by doing His will. His will for us is to live out our lives and do ordinary things extraordinarily well (as St. Don Bosco would say).

If you’re having a challenging time loving Jesus faithfully as He deserves like I am, we can ask our Mother Mary to help us as we pray:

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.

 

 

With every year that comes and goes, I tell myself that something has to change by this time next year. I need to increase my prayer life. I need to have an increased active lifestyle. I need to write more songs. I need to learn outside of my job so I can be successful in my job. The list goes on and on and on.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with my best friend and was reminded of the urgency needed to set goals. Effective goal setting requires commitment and conviction but also the grace of God and willingness to be held accountable. In some cases, it requires radical decisions, feeling uncomfortable, and being ready to sacrifice.

There are a handful of things in my life that have to change. Yesterday, I realized what one of them was. And so I made a goal to turn my life around. It will be challenging just like any other goal. But if it’s done for the glory of God, then I have nothing to lose. This journey will incorporate my willingness to change, to be vulnerable to others, and to cooperate with the grace of God to be better.

Through God’s grace and my cooperation with it, I will be a better man because I have set a goal.