I WANT this book!

"Life and Adventures of a Water-Wheel Donkey… and His Little Watch-Mender"

It's a cute little book for kids on the based on simple life of St. Josemaria. The "speaker is a guardian angel, just like the one you have."

I think it's a great book on how to introduce the reality of guardian angels to your kids. Yes, guardian angels, or angels per se, are realities, not just a product of our imagination.

Writer and Illustrator: Paulina Mönckeberg
Palabra Publishers, “Libros Ilustrados” series
Vida de San Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer

About Narcissism and the Small Pleasures in Life

There are just some things that money can’t buy, as the saying goes. Our happiness is not dependent on the things we have and own but in our disposition in life. As such, it does not matter if we can’t afford to buy most expensive things around. What’s important that we live in unity with our beliefs and are one with God. It does not necessitate that we be rich to be happy. If God makes us rich, then well and good, but if not, let us not feel sad.

Sometimes, or rather, many times, with the strong influence of media and the world, we forget this and fall into this narcissism, a failure that, sadly, we also bring upon our own children. My vision is to lead by example in our family so that my kids would not grow up to be materialistic, concerned only about themselves and have that me, my, mine attitude. I don’t think this is the way to bring up good and responsible kids.

In line with this, I read this wonderful article yesterday about the 101 small pleasures you can enjoy everyday. And since small pleasures are my thing, I was inspired to come up with my own random, albeit shorter, list that is based on my personal experience.

1. Discovering your vocation
2. Finding your soul mate
3. Getting the best teachers
4. Having a good cup of coffee made by hubby
5. Creating an original poem
6. Hugs and kisses
7. A clean house
8. Finishing my prayers before I’m too tired to do so
9. Pasta
10. Garden flowers
11. Free access to the playground
12. Aerobics with neighbors
13. Breast milk
14. A pat in the back
15. My kid learning to spell
16. Love letters
17. Good friends
18. Comfy robes to make you look decent enough to go down for breakfast at home. (I also love those soft bathrobes available in hotels, not that we always get bath robes in hotels since we seldom make trips now).
19. Three-day weekends
20. Pregnancy

What I realized the past days.

Continuing on my previous post where I sounded so sorry for myself for the mishap that happened to me last week, I look back and reflect on how God has been really good to me despite the "kicks" He sends every now and then.

You see, that same afternoon that I had the accident, I heard about the Haiti quake and could only pray and feel bad for those thousands of people who got affected. In this kind of instance, it seems that there is nothing they can do to fight God's plan for them. They only have to learn to surrender to it, knowing that with this "bad" experience comes a certain "good".

Seeing the pictures and reading the stories of the people of Haiti's ordeal made me feel humbled.

God, I now know that I do not have a reason to sulk and complain at all.

Ordinary Time

Tomorrow will be Monday and in the liturgical calendar, it'll be the Monday of the First week in Ordinary Time.

For a Catholic, we could take the start of the Ordinary Time as an indication that we have to go back to our daily grind, sanctifying the ordinary things and finding that there is a something special in all things ordinary if we look with our spiritual eyes: the soul.

The Christmas celebrations and holiday may be finished now but the struggle to love continues.

June 26

The date June 26 has always been a very special day for me and my family. That day is the feast day of St. Josemaria Escriva, "our Father" as we would fondly call him.

June 26 was also my parents' wedding anniversary.

St. Josemaria died on June 26, 1975. My parents, on the other hand, wed on June 26, 1971. For so many years, my family and I would celebrate this day with a mass dedicated to St. Josemaria at the Manila Cathedral. My sister (when she still resided in Manila) and I would often be part of the choir who would sing in the choir during the mass. That alone, was a super great experience for me! That was where I learned how to sing Gregorian Chant (Misa de Angelis) and many, many wonderful liturgical songs. My sister, who finished from the Conservatory of Music in UP, would in some of the years, be the conductor of the choir and my parents and I were so mighty proud of her.

Anyway, St. Josemaria has, more often than not, interceded for my special needs and that of my family. He has always been and will always be part of our family devotions. I am forever grateful to Him. I know that he has helped my mother a lot during her last days on earth and had somehow showed her the way to Heaven. And for us who are still here struggling, he has been a great example on how to live your life for God.

Happy Thoughts, Happy Thoughts

I don't know what it is with pregnancy that makes me feel so susceptible to various forms of anxiety.

You see, I have been feeling so anxious lately about this new virus going around in the country and in the world. In particular, the school where our helper's son is going has already report two positive cases of the virus. And now that he is likewise having fever, cough and colds right now, I am pretty much "scared" to be exposed to the virus. I am scared for myself, my unborn baby, my 2-year old daughter, my husband and the rest of the members of the household. I kept saying to Him, "Oh God, please spare us!!" and leave it all up to him.

We really do not know a lot about it, how it is spread and it affects. Those are the reasons why I feel anxious. I definitely do not want to be the next victim. Anyway, I hope not to lose hope . I want to believe that prayer can be so much powerful than any virus in the world.

Thus, let us not be fearful. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts!

Nice Email Message

I received the email from my Tatay over the weekend and thought of posting it here.

Without GOD, our week would be:

Sinday
Mournday
Tearsday
Wasteday
Thirstday
Fightday
Shatterday.

I agree.

Almost Fainted

I just came back from noontime mass in the building next to my office. Towards the end of the mass, I felt so hot. I tried fanning myself using my hand for I didn't bring anything with me. After a few minutes, I felt my vision getting blurry and I felt a spinning sensation while standing up. I knew that I was going to faint sooner or later. As the priest raised the Body and Blood of Christ (through the bread and wine) for the second time around and all kneel, I couldn't anymore control my knees. I immediately sat down and closed my eyes. I didn't want to cause a commotion among the people attending the mass. I prayed to God to help me. After a few minutes of sitting down and having my eyes closed, I saw everybody lining up for Communion. I took the courage to stand up again and receive Our Lord. When I got back to my seat, I felt so much better. I had cold sweat all around my face but I felt better. After the mass, I saw my friends who were the dentist and nurse of that building. They were my Good Samaritans. They led me to the clinic, took my BP and gave me water to drink. I felt so glad to have them around. They are indeed heaven-sent. Now, I'm okay.

Thanks be to God!

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Papst Benedikt XVI!

In English, those German words in the title mean - Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI! (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

The Pope (born Joseph Ratzinger) is celebrating his 82nd birthday tomorrow (April 16). So today, I came 'googling' for some things about him and chanced upon this site that features some of the things you need to know about the current pope.

Of course, what's really more important to know (and to live) are the teachings of Pope Benedict (as the Vicar of Christ). However, it's also good to know some trivial facts about him. Here are some of it:

1. His parents are Joseph and Maria Ratzinger (a great combination, I think).

2. His father was a policeman and his older brother is also a priest (Msgr. Georg Ratzinger).

3. He is a great piano player. Of Mozart, Pope Benedict XVI said, “His music is by no means just entertainment. It contains the whole tragedy of human existence.” Pope Benedict XVI said that Mozart “thoroughly penetrated” his soul in his growing-up years in the 1920s and 1930s in rural Bavaria, near Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthplace.

4. The Pope is a cat lover.

5. He loves mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk.

6. Pope Benedict XVI's favorite meal is Bavarian potato ravioli with pancake strips.

7. The Pope doesn't have a driver's license because he never learned to drive but he has a pilot's license for the papal helicopter and likes to fly from the Vatican to the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo.

8. He said that organ donation is an 'act of love' and carries his donor card with him all the time.

9. You can reach Pope Benedict in the following email addresses:
English: benedictxvi@vatican.va
Italian: mailto:benedettoxvi@atican.va
Spanish: benedictoxvi@vatican.va
French: benoitxvi@vatican.va
German: benediktxvi@vatican.va
Portuguese: bentoxvi@vatican.va

10. On his 81st birthday, the White House prepared this cake for him:

Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI! :-) We love you!

Booksale Find

I chanced upon this book yesterday on a quick peep at the Booksale store at Robinson's.

It's a fantastic book for mothers - from pregnant mothers to mothers of adults.

With all the nice prayers inside this book, I think this will be something I'll be carrying in my bag all the time.

Confession Schedule

Since it's Holy Week, some of you may be interested to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation which I think is the best preparation you can have for the coming of Easter.

Anyway, here's a little guide in case you want to a catch a priest this week:

1. Sta. Rita Parish Church (QC area)
>Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday (all 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon)

2. UA&P Stella Orientis Oratory (Pasig area)
>Holy Thursday - 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. to 12 mn
>Good Friday - 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
>Black Saturday - 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Advance Happy Easter to all!

Do you have an altar at home?

We do...

And it is in this little detail that makes such a huge difference. You wake up and immediately get reminded that we live not for ourselves but for Him.

Lenten Suggestions

With the ongoing season of Lent in the Catholic Liturgical Year, we should try to slow down and start thinking of ways to fulfill the Lenten acts to do prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

On the top of my head, here is a quick list of some Lenten sacrifices (the level of difficulty is always relative) which we can offer up this season:

1. Cut down on TV or better, give up TV altogether until Easter.
2. Try not to take afternoon snacks on certain days of the week.
3. Avoid the mega-sales and midnight madness in the malls this month.
4. Talk to one or two friends about God each day.
5. Don't complain - about the weather, the traffic or your boss.
6. Wash the dishes instead of delegating it to the helpers.
7. Pray the rosary on your way to work.
8. Find time to visit the Blessed Sacrament daily to say 'hi!' to Jesus who is perpetually present there.
9. Donate some clothes, housewares or food to the recent fire victims in San Andres, Manila.
10. Watch your words! Be extra nice to the people around you.

I hope you'll be able to get some ideas from here. :-)

Do We Have the Right to Die?

I was curious about this piece of news today...

...and it truly sadenned me.

We are not God. Only He has the power to make us live and let us die.

Never Without...

Never without a Belen during Christmas...

That's what I learned from my parents. I was raised with this wonderful tradition in my family and I want to continue on with this as my husband and I build our own set of family traditions.

Some folks think that Christmas is just a season for new clothes, gift-giving, ham, snow and queso de bola. But even without all of these trivial things, Christmas is Christmas. But think about a Christmas without the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph. That, I think, wouldn't be the real Christmas.

Thanks to the Belen for constantly reminding us of the real meaning of Christmas.

Recollection Day Today...

"Recollection. Seek God within you and listen to him." -J.E.

A day of recollection at least once a month ~ don't we need it all? Thank God for days such as these.

On Cheerfulness

Christian cheerfulness is not something physiological. Its foundation is supernatural, and it goes deeper than illness or difficulties.

—Cheerfulness does not mean the jingling of bells, or the gaiety of a dance at the local hall.

True cheerfulness is something deeper, something within: something that keeps us peaceful and brimming over with joy, though at times our face may be stern.

-J.E.

On Marriage and Family

Before I got married, I was advised to read a spiritual book entitled "Three to Get Married". Indeed, the book was an eye-opener for someone like me who was getting a little too much into just the material preparations of the wedding day itself. I realized then that getting married is not just about the ring, or the cake, or the honeymoon. Marriage sure is a vocation and a holy vocation at that. Now, being married for almost 3 years, I realize how grateful I am for that person who advised me to also prepare myself spiritually prior to marriage. Putting God part of your marriage is the only clear solution to staying happily married. And as I live my current role as a wife and also now also as a mother, I always ask God to assist us especially in the difficult moments in our married life.

Here are some quotes from St. Josemaria from Christ is Passing By on family and marriage which I want to share with you. It answers my questions on the purpose of marriage and the reason why it can be your/my path to sanctity.

We cannot talk about marriage without referring to the family, which is the result and continuation of what is begun with marriage. A family includes not only husband and wife, but also the children, and, in different degrees, the grandparents, other relatives, and even the domestic help in those households that have it. All these persons should in some way share in the warmth of the home and family.

Of course, there are couples to whom our Lord does not grant any children. If this happens, it is a sign that he is asking them to go on loving each other with the same affection and to put their efforts, if they can, into serving and working for the good of other souls. But the normal thing for a couple is to have children, who must always be their first concern.

Being a father or a mother is not simply a matter of bringing children into the world. The capacity for generation, which is a share in the creative power of God, is meant to have a continuation. Parents are called to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the development of their children into men and women who will be authentic Christians.

The parents are the first persons responsible for the education of their children, in human as well as in spiritual matters. They should be conscious of the extent of their responsibility. To fulfil it, they need prudence, understanding, a capacity to love and a concern for giving good example. Imposing things by force, in an authoritarian manner, is not the right way to teach. The ideal attitude of parents lies more in becoming their children's friends — friends who will be willing to share their anxieties, who will listen to their problems, who will help them in an effective and agreeable way

Parents should find time to spend with their children, to talk with them. They are the most important thing — more important than business or work or rest. In their conversations, parents should make an effort to listen, to pay attention, to understand, to recognize the fact that their children are sometimes partly right — or even completely right — in some of their rebellious attitudes. At the same time, they should help their children to direct their efforts and to carry out their projects properly, teaching them to consider things and to reason them out. It is not a matter of imposing a line of conduct, but rather of showing the human and supernatural motives for it. In a word, parents have to respect their children's freedom, because there is no real education without personal responsibility, and there is no responsibility without freedom.

Turning a House Into a Home

Do you know the song "A House is Not a Home"? Well, it's a pretty old song and maybe people of this generation are not really familiar with it.

I got to learn about this song in one of our English (or was it Home Economics?) class back in high school. I still remember our teacher (forgot her name but she was dark, had big a big nose, black eyes and straight hair) playing the song in her battery-operated cassette player one sleepy afternoon in school.

The song goes like this:

A chair is still a chair
Even when there's no one sitting there
But a chair is not a house
And a house is not a home
When there's no one there to hold you tight,
And no one there you can kiss good night.

A room is still a room
Even when there's nothing there but gloom;
But a room is not a house,
And a house is not a home
When the two of us are far apart
And one of us has a broken heart.

Now and then I call your name
And suddenly your face appears
But it's just a crazy game
When it ends it ends in tears.

Darling, have a heart,
Don't let one mistake keep us apart.
I'm not meant to live alone. Turn this house into a home.
When I climb the stair and turn the key,
Oh, please be there still in love with me.

I don't know why I always associate this song with house blessings. I guess because, whatever kind of ceremony you are happy with, house blessings for me are very much like the rite of passage into turning your house into a home. Blessing your home is like saying that you are letting God be the center of your home. After that, the real test of making your house into a home is now in the way the members of the family try to love each other day in and day out.

This post sponsored by Rabbi Yitzhak Miller.

Sad News.

I heard my mobile phone ringing at 1:00 a.m. earlier today and saw that my Dad was calling. I was kinda half-awake when I answered the phone and ended up wide-wake upon hearing him say that my Ninang's mother just passed away (after having a heart attack) a few minutes before that.

It's really sad to hear about this especially when we just saw "Inay" a few weeks ago when my Dad and Ninang brought her to our house to visit us. I even remember that we all had to help her out to get inside the house since she sports an artificial leg (yes, she lost her leg due to diabetes a few years back). We all tried to make her laugh so that she will not get scared going up to our house.

Now she now walks with God.

For the readers out there, kindly say a li'l prayer for Inay (her full name is Magdalena Perez). Thank you.