Tag: 20 day witness challenge

“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” – 1 Peter 2:17

 

 

 

This blog post is taken from project73.tumblr.com a blog created by Frater Emmanuel (Richie Aldaba).

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When Ray Mina, the speaker for the session, encouraged us to find people from different regions to share our love for them, I must confess I immediately disobeyed. I knew of two people that I wanted to say, “I love you to” and I knew they were standing at the back of the room. With my eyes fixed on the back, I headed straight towards them careful not to look at absolutely anyone else.

And there I found them, praying to themselves with the familiar and comfortable smiles on their faces. I nearly broke down when I approached them because I knew how much I owed them, how much they mean to me, and how important it is and was for me to let them know how I loved them so deeply.

That night, I approached Steve and Ellen Cadiz, couple coordinators who have worked with me since 2003. Although that night I only honoured them, (because they were the only ones there), I would be remiss to neglect posting about the amazing people known as parent or couple coordinators for YFC Pacific.

I would like to think the YFCs in my region have abundant blessings and gifts, most especially as it pertains to their faith. My younger brothers and sisters (on the most part) attend confession regularly, joyfully celebrate Mass, and have a remarkably deep understanding of faith for their age. All these gifts are a result of a number of things: solid retreats, great leadership, an amazing spiritual director etc.

But one thing often goes unnoticed. I firmly believe that our spirituality is due in large part because of the prayers of our beloved coordinators: the Rodases, the Cadizes, the Perezes, the Castroes, the Aguilars, the San Joses, the Alcantarras,  the Marcelos, the Siys, the Jayins, the Villamayors, the Empigs, the Umalis, the Trigos, the Diazes, the Reyes, and the Tangcos.

It is through their amazing example that we learned how to pray, how to feast, how to fellowship and how to be authentically Christian.

For me personally, I would be completely lost especially without our titos. They taught me how to love in such a deep and profound way. Despite my faults, they continue to love me to this very day. It is through their blessed love and service that we were ever taught how to care for one another. It is through their blessed love and service we experienced Jesus on a whole different level.

Much like St. Monica and the Holy Family, they nourished us with Christ’s love. Yes they fed us food, but they drew us closer to Christ in the most amazing way possible, through their intimate love for each other, for us, and most especially, for Jesus.

Though the names and faces continue to change with time, Couples for Christ has shone a light in to the very need and longing for every year human being – a need to for community in the divine image and likeness of His Most Holy Trinity.  May our CC’s never go unnoticed and may we, as the youth and young adults of the community, always show gratitude towards the sacrifices they make for us.

Thank you to all the CC’s who have mentored, pastored me and those I’ve been fortunate to serve alongside:
The Cabanos’
The Cadiz’s
The Atienza’s
The Castro’s
The Aguilar’s
The Reyes’
The Dimacali’s
The Dantes’
The Diaz’s
The Tangco’s
The Fournier’s
The Contreras’
The Ganaden’s
The Tadifa’s
The Ramos’

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the Glory, now and forever.

The fragrance smells sweeter with every year.

 

 

 

 

 

Blessed John Paul II, Pray for us!

 

Probably the most pivotal time of my journey in faith was around 2007 – freshly graduated, entering the college life, outgrowing the average age of the youth.  I needed something more, and the Lord knew that.

In 2007 during the busyness of the preparations for that year’s Western Conference, the FTPW for the area Richie Aldaba set me aside and (almost ninja-like) we had an impromptu 1 to 1 on the front porch steps of the infamous Rodas Residence.  It was 30 degrees.  Slushies was the choice of arsenal against the heat and potential dehydration.  We talked about everything – from my life, to my plans after high school, and to my service.  It was refreshing (as refreshing as the slushies), because it was, I believe, the first sincere and genuine 1 to 1 I’ve ever had with a brother.

He told me about Campus Based.  He told me they were starting anew, and that they were introducing the stronghold movement to Pacific.  In short, “Stronghold” would be the refocusing of the formation of our region, by empowering the parishes by way of mentorship and shifting on Campus Based as the champions and leaders.  He asked if I would be interested in partaking in this “movement”.

This impact of this 1 to 1 was quite poignant in my life because it 1) gave me, an off/on active lukewarm Catholic, an avenue to serve beyond my own inhibitions 2)  It sparked the beginning of a brotherhood that instantaneously went from acquaintance and essentially brothers in this community to brothers in the Body of Christ and 3) It sparked an outpouring of love that would eventually nurture my hidden longing to be a missionary (specifically a full time pastoral worker), through brotherhood and mentorship from someone who has travelled a some what similar journey.

For those who were around during this time, some can argue that the movement of “stronghold” was unsuccessful.  Last night, I saw the fruits of Richie and Vanessa’s labour.  I saw parish G.A’s in the hundreds, and I saw Campus members being the mentors to the younger high school aged children.  It brought me such joy (and albeit nostalgia) that I was able to be apart of the earliest days of this vision.

For me, this first service as apart of the Campus core group was that which taught me the beauty and art of mentorship.  This community would be one of repeated mistakes and stagnant growth without the mentorship as cultivated by movement of the Holy Spirit.  Richie and Vanessa were far ahead of their time when they realized that community isn’t just a refuge for misguided youth and a pool of dozens (even hundreds) of teachings.  It was a living organism apart of the bigger body of Christ (the Catholic Church) that grows only through the passing on of gifts of the Holy Spirit and the attainment of graces.

Praise God I’m part of this constantly growing community!  There is no limits to what we can attain when the sole measure of our success is that of eternal Glory in our Lord Jesus Christ!

I leave with you the words of St. Augustine:

‘You are the Body of Christ. In you and through you the work of the incarnation must go forward. You are to be taken. You are to be blessed, broken and distributed, that you may be the means of grace and vehicles of eternal love.’

Truth be told, this youth camp was (and is) a giant blur.  For reasons unknown the Holy Spirit led my brother Cesar Rivera to ask me to be a facilitator for the very first time, a year after joining the community.  I was terrible.  I botched my share, fast-tracked my 1 to 1’s, and paid more attention to my friends at the camp than my own discussion group.

If I were to take one thing from this entire experience, it would have to be my calling as an evangelizer.  This camp was a foretaste of my love for “catching men” by way of witness.  In fact, it was the vessel of that very passion to share and witness that lead me (and another friend) to bring around 10-12 of my high school friends to camp!  In retrospect, it may not seem like a big deal, but in context it truly was God’s victory at work. Most of those friends weren’t your run-of-the-mill cradle Catholics.  They were more likely people who disregarded (or were very indifferent to) the faith.

Although most if not all of them are no longer active, I’m glad that my “yes” (for whatever reason) enabled me to act as an instrument in instilling them seeds of faith, fun, friendship, freedom.

Regardless if I knew it then or not, my being a catalyst for Camp S.W.A.T. was simply the Lord sharing with me a small glimpse of what was to come in my faith journey:  a journey filled with personal witness, sharing of self, exchange of persons, trinitarian love, non-stop evangelism and everlasting desire for Truth.

St. Paul, the Apostle of Truth, pray for us
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of Evangelization, pray for us