Tag: saints

Woman and Man

(Pope Francis on Marriage) “…a man and woman walking together, wherein the husband helps his wife to become ever more a woman, and wherein the woman has the task of helping her husband to become ever more a man.”

You would’ve thought that he would’ve said, “the husband helps his wife to become a better woman … a better man,” but he didn’t. He simply said “ever more a woman” and “ever more a man.” I think he was careful to say this to gently remind all of us that to be a “better” man or woman, one only needs to be who he/she is meant to be—a person created in the image and likeness of God. A husband and wife help each other do just that—to discover the masculine and feminine genius within each other.

For women, they help by allowing their husbands love and honour them as Christ loved and honoured His Church. For men, it’s laying down his life as Christ laid down his life for His Church, His bride. As one, it’s journeying wherein both are constantly encouraging and affirming each other of their growth as being ever more that man or that woman of God they were created to be.

He also mentions “walking together.” No one is ahead of the other. They are side by side, walking and not rushing the growth of love between them. Though it’s not a passive walk. It is a task, and the journey toward becoming a man/woman and helping each other must be intentional, so we make it our duty.

I look forward to this journey with my fiancé. I am definitely not the man who I feel God is calling me to be—not yet. I have a lot of work to do, and God has a lot of work to do in me. I’m grateful that He’s blessed me with a sister in Christ to help me be ever more a man.

Saints are those who became the man or woman God called them to be. I pray for all those already joined in marriage, that they may continue with great patience, to help each other become saints. Please pray for me as well.

Amen.

Red!

I’ve always looked forward to Eucharistic Celebrations where in the priest wears red vestments. When I was still in university, I looked forward to the Holy Spirit mass at the start of the school year because all the jesuit priests would be wearing their red vestments. To me it breathed life to a rather nerve wracking start of school.

It wasn’t until a few months ago that I read a book, that red vestments are also worn during the celebration of the feast day of saints who were martyrs. So every time a feast of a famous saint who died a martyr would come up, I would try to make it to mass.

Yesterday however, I was tired and really feeling a bit under the weather. The past month has been non-stop in terms of mission and travel, and frankly I just needed to rest my weary body. I was kind of lazy in going to Church because I already had a long day, and I had another meeting that night. But by the grace of the Lord, we were given a ride going to Church. So we were given a chance to go to adoration first before we went to mass.

During the mass however, I experienced something I’ve never experienced before. The moment I saw the red vestments of the priest during the procession, I felt that my heart was being crushed and I was overcome with sadness and grief. And throughout the mass, I was wondering why it was so.

I wanted to cry, but no tears came, the grief came from within. A sadness that could not be quenched. I already knew that it was the Feast of St. John the Baptist because of my prayer time earlier in the morning, but hearing the gospel acclamation of the beheading of St. John – it was as if I felt the hearts of those closest to him, his friends, his family, even the heart of Christ when they all heard the news of his death.

 

I even was asking the Lord during the whole time of why St. John the Baptist, and all the other martyrs (including the two Filipino saints, Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod) had to die if they followed Christ. It just did not make sense. Isn’t following the life of Christ supposed to bring peace, hope, and joy – not suffering?

It was only during the Eucharistic Prayer when the priest said:

Take this, all of you, and drink from it; for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant; which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  

That the pain in my heart was eased and I felt embraced by Christ himself. If Christ has to bleed for us, so that we may come to know Him. It is also by the blood we bleed out that Christ will be known in us.

How many times have we chosen to stay silent when we needed to speak out? How many times have we chosen to not do anything when action was needed? How many times have we bled for Christ?

Lord, may the blood You spilt wash away the sins of the world and bring to life, us, who are dead and dying. Amen.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Home.

With the amount of times that I’ve had to travel within an eighteen month time frame, most people would assume that I no longer suffer from homesickness. The past three trips (2009, 2012, 2013a) have been by myself; the shortest trip lasting 8 weeks and the longest lasting 6 months. Most people base their judgement on my social media posts and are probably thinking, “Dang, she is living the life.”

Well, reality check: I still suffer from homesickness. I still feel somewhat lost even though I’ve revisited Place A, B and C more than a handful of times. I still feel out of place in a room full of old friends and the nausea that accompanies displacement is very much real.

All those things still exist. Even now. Even when my family is here with me. We all haven’t been together in a very, very long time. Dad’s had to work out of town for the past 2 years and my brother’s had to live away at Waterloo ever since he started his Undergrad. And me, well…..I’ve been traveling to PH.

A few days into our family trip here, I was still feeling so bothered. My temper kept getting the best of me. I grew impatient and volatile. I couldn’t understand it. Shouldn’t my family have cushioned the hypothetical “emotional blow” that always hit me during my trips? Shouldn’t the weird jumble of emotions have stopped because I was with my loved ones? The anger and frustration drained me so much that one night, I decided to just leave the group. The innermost depths of me was craving for something. I didn’t know what that something was, but what I did know was that going to God wouldn’t leave me any more desolate than I already was. So I looked for a church.

I ended up at Sto. Rosario. I got through confession. I kneeled at the Adoration Chapel. I sat through Mass and received Holy Eucharist. And you know what? For the first time I felt good. Not just ice-cream-on-a-hot-sunny-day good, but ‘passing my final exam with flying colours and making the honour roll’ kinda good. I was a fish out of water that suddenly found my way back to the water. I could breathe again.

As I contemplated at the Adoration Chapel I was reminded of a promise I made to Him during the SFC precon praisefest. It just so happened to my birthday too. I told God that I was willing to finally give Him the one part of me that I hadn’t let go of yet- a very specific piece of my heart that was put on reserve. I didn’t have the strength to fight that fourteen year battle any more. It took me that long to surrender. That day He said to me, “Exodus 14:14, my beloved. Do not forget. I will fight for you, you need only to be still.

In the presence of the Eucharist and in front of the altar, I felt God whisper me to me, “Therese, my dearest Therese. You silly stubborn girl. Remember what you offered at the foot of my cross weeks ago? Remember that you promised me you’d finally give that last piece to me? Home is where the heart is and yours just so happens to be with me. It’s safe. It’s in my hands now. I’m happy that you finally found your back. My child, right now at this very moment …you are home. I’ve been waiting.”

All the puzzle pieces fit.
It all made sense.
I felt this sudden rush of peace, of final certainty.

Everything in this world is temporary. Even my family. But God, God is infinite. God is timeless, boundless and endless. I am made to stand in His presence, to bask in the love that is always present in His house.

 

Father, I’m coming home.
Amen. 

The Three Apostles

Yesterday I found myself in the Oratory of Saint Joseph in Montreal. A year after I said yes to becoming a Mission Volunteer, a month after I became a Full Time Pastoral Worker  – finally ticking off all the major areas where CFC-Youth is present in Canada. And while the whole basilica is beautiful inside and out with amazing architecture, art, and history on it’s side plus the Holy Eucharist being inside it; you can never really go wrong. And while the hundreds of pilgrims were doing there thing, I found myself glued to three fixtures that were grouped together. It was the three statues of Saints Jude Thaddeus, Mathias, and Peter.

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For the longest time, I’ve had an affinity to these three apostles. In fact, it’s safe to say that they have been my friends since day one.

Saint Jude

Saint Jude Thaddeus, the forgotten apostle, because his name was close to that of the traitor is in fact the patron of hopeless causes. Out of the three he was the latest I befriended, but had an immediate click with. He found me at the time when I was preparing for my licensure examination for Chemical Engineering in Manila. I had to cram 5 years worth of knowledge, formulas, concepts in Math, Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering in 6 months for a three day exam – I deemed it impossible. Doubt, laziness and a host of other things crept up that led me to breaking down quite a few times before and during the exam. But praise God, Saint Jude prayed for me and I passed. In the bigger picture, I do consider myself a hopeless and lost cause. Yet here I am, a missionary for one of the biggest lay organizations of the Catholic Church.

Saint Mathias

Saint Mathias was the outsider who found himself cast into the inner group. When Judas was gone, they needed somebody to fill in his place – and in a stroke of luck (literally, his name was casted from a lot of a hundred or so), he became part of the twelve. Being the non-canadian for the first batch of Mission Volunteers in Canada, and the only non-canadian trainee for full time pastoral work from Canada – one can say that I am in fact an outsider. Me being a Mission Volunteer was not in my plans when I moved here, but through God’s grace and calling – I’ve taken a step further in Full Time Pastoral Work.

Saint Peter

Saint Peter, the rock, was not whom Jesus loved the most. In fact the gospels say that it was St. John whom Jesus loved the most. Saint Peter was the one who loved Jesus the most. He was the first one who would always jump out into the water to meet the Lord even if it meant walking on water and almost drowning. He was the one who wanted to serve the Lord first in all things, but he was also the first one to deny him – he did so three times in one instance. But the Lord did not give up on him, he in fact was called to something greater – to be the rock of the Church – our first pope. More often than not, I have denied the One whom I love the most – yet still He calls me. He still loves me and gives me more chances than I deserve. 

The Three Apostles

I could go on and on about how I can relate to these apostles, but the amazing thing is that they were grouped together somewhere in a church thousands of miles from where I was born. And to see them together, praying for me all this time brings me to tears and above all – amazed that God loves me so much to take three of His best to pray for me and lead me to where I am.

They all went to the ends of the world to proclaim the Risen King, and here I am in Montreal – the last of the big mission areas of Canada that I haven’t been to an affirmation of the mission in the Three Apostles.

Saints Jude Thaddeus, Mathias, and Peter, Pray for us. Amen.

 

Saints

saints

Hagiography [hag-ee-og-ruh-fee]
the study of the lives of the saints.

“I will be their God and they will be my children.” – Rev. 21:7

Last Sunday, a few brothers and sisters from my household, along with myself, took a road trip to the states to celebrate mass and visit Fatima Shrine. I’ve always heard of youth going there with their families but this was my first time visiting. When we entered the church, the first thing I noticed was the way the pews surrounded the altar. So much so that it seemed like the altar was completely invading the space of the congregation. The next thing I noticed was a red flame burning on the Paschal candle. I wondered why the candle burned a bold red; usually candles within a church burn a bright yellow.

After the mass, all of us separated to explore the different areas of the shrine, having our own personal prayer time. After spending some time inside of the church, I exited the church and began walking outside around the gardens of the shrine. I heard that Blessed John Paul II would frequently take walks outside and pray the rosary, and so I did as well. I was amazed to discover dozens and dozens of statues of the saints, it was so beautiful. My heart was so full of joy and wonder, thinking about the various hundreds of people that devoted their life completely to Christ. As I walked through the garden, it felt as if I was meeting each saint personally. I would look into the eyes of each statue and I could feel the different personalities of each saint. I thought that this was what heaven must be like. Imagine being able to personally meet each and every saint that ever existed, what an amazing experience that would be!

As I was coming to the end of meeting all the saints in the garden, I realized something. Right now, I am so focused and worried on where the Lord will lead me and what my vocation will be. I realized that no matter where God calls me, whether that would be religious life, full-time pastoral work, marriage, or single blessedness, all I know is that I want to be a saint. Every time a saint is canonized, it is reminder of God’s call for us to fully surrender to Him. Also, with the life of every saint, God shows us the infinite extent of His transforming power, if we can say yes to Him.

As I reflect now, the way the church in the shrine was set up reflects on the essentials of the life of a saint. Primarily, the person’s life must be invaded by the living and breathing presence of Christ, if you recall the invasion of the altar into the congregation. Secondly, the red flame on the Paschal candle signifies the blood of the saints, as their lives were all willingly offered for the glory of God the Father!

We are all called to live a life fit for a saint. It is in this holiness that we are worthy of being sons and daughters of Christ! To be a saint is to offer to God what He has given us; our time, talents, treasures, and most of all our lives. The Lord desires for our yes, so that He can shower us with an unending, overflowing, limitless, ocean of His love. To be a saint is to fully surrender ourselves to Christ. To be a saint is to offer our lives as a sacrifice in union with Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. To be a saint is to trust in the unconditional faithfulness of the Lord so that we may be fearless.

Almighty Father, stir up within us the constant desire to pursue You and the holiness that You freely provide for us. May Catholics everywhere realize their personal call to sainthood and the importance of the sanctity of life. Fill in us the thirst and hunger to know You more. Grant us with everything we need to bravely answer the call to devote our lives fully to You, in accordance with Your Will. Pray for us, all angels and saints. Amen.

Heavy Cross? Don’t fret

It may come in any point of your time where you might feel like you’ve got a heavy cross.  What does that mean?  It could mean that you’ve taken on a lot of responsibilities, you also might have heard the term “spreading yourself too thin” or “burdened.”  Well in any of these cases I will share to you some points of how we can continue walking with our cross just Jesus did himself.  The biggest thing I want to share with you is do not be afraid to fall.  There’s been quite a few changes going with my service the last few months and let me tell you this change is starting to hit me good.  Taking on a new responsibility and continuing the ones I have on top of being a part time student with a career does sound like a handful but for now manageable.  I have been slowly learning the secrets from my mentor about how to use my time effectively because he is telling me that our time in this service is short.

Here are some tips I found effective to keep up with my service and life.  First I’ve come to learn that a heavy cross probably means His will for you is being done (that’s right we constantly pray for that.) He’s working through you.

  1. Understand the trial you are facing, learn to love what you’re in and be the BEST
  2. Pray. And don’t stop find your perfect time, yes I said perfect… in the morning after I wake up works for me. Also read the daily Gospel, see what He is trying to tell you each day.
  3. Pray to the saints.  In whatever situation you feel stressed in there is a patron saint for your specific needs.  Use them, they help because they want you to also join them in Heaven one day.
  4. Last, go to confession (its one of our national directions.)  Going to regular confession (monthly/weekly) will help you feel God’s love and purify all your intentions
  5. Ask for help.  From your counterpart, MCG, potential leaders

And there you go, this is my daily grind.  Though my cross may be heavy I know that whatever I bare will be in His hands and His victory.

@itsmetimmm