... my mind cannot fully comprehend what courage, what trust , what confidence.... obedience and TRUE FAITH Joseph and Mary had. Such profound faith of Mama Mary to say yes to become the mother of God our Savior , Jesus. And Joseph so typical of us humans to think of running away from our worries and troubles and to do whats easiest, to escape,  but Joseph could have opted out but he didnt,  still thinking for Mary , her shame and her family's dignity, and with Gods prodding and assurance, comes through.

Imagining how hard the travel was for the family, Mary sitted on a donkey pregnant and close to her due, travelling day and night, wind and dust, the heat of the day and coldness of night til they reached their destination, Josephs determination and silent assurance and presence to get Mary and Jesus to safety in order to give birth comfortably

how deeply rooted in God both were, and so open to the spirits promptings , both were not called to understand but to trust.

Trusting God in everything , in every step of the way,  to trust that God knows what He's doing and all for the best... God too trusted them so much! 

Can we imagine Jesus doing less? i dont think so, He,  the sum total of what LOVE, FAITH, HUMILITY, CHARITY, OBEDIENCE IS  IT IS HE Himself,  in all areas of His life from His birth and  til death. He loved  His parents here on earth so much. Then who are we not follow His example. 

He loved both parents so much! He saved them prepared them for His coming, HE chose them, not you or me .He too learned from them, He was loved first by this two , the two human beings whom He loved the most.

thank you JESUS for loving us more that we all deserve and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

thank you St. Joseph for coming through

thank you Mama Mary for saying yes

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY from our family to yours!

Today let me dedicate this to you Mama Mary :) FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY , Patron of Pacitans - Our Lady of Pacita . ( and while writing this her procession just passed by our house! :)  )

.... it was October 7, 1521 Battle of Lepanto, all of Christian Europe was threatened by the menace of the  Ottoman Empire's invasion, the greatly outnumbered  Christian fleet (the Holy League -led by Don Juan of Austria contained vessels from Venice, Spain, the Papal Estates, Genoa, Savoy, Malta) and engaged the enemy in battle, Pope St. Pius encouraged and called all to pray and in particular the Rosary, the Christian fleet rode to favorable winds which aided in the defeat of the Ottomans ..and prevented the spreading of their influence, and therefore  protecting Christianity in the west, in thanksgiving Pope St Pius instituted the feast of Our lady of Victory and later was changed to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which we celebrate every Oct 7.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Mama, today we still are threatened by a different and a not so different menace, everywhere you can see the oppression of Christians all over the world, we are threatened by the culture of death, contraceptions that eventually lead to abortions, abortions, the corruption of families, marriage being defined differently... Mama your Son, Jesus said "Woman behold thy son, son behold your mother" and through those words of your Son, like John we became your sons and daughters too, please take care of us. You left the rosary to use for prayer and meditation - the summary of your son Jesus and your life here in earth, and for us to use as weapon in all these battles we are now facing.

Mama today on your special day too, readings at Mass were for those intending to marry, married couples and those who have separated or divorced from their partners, Mama please take care of those who are suffering today, for those who are lonely, for those whose marriages are in trouble, those who have lost their spouses, and those who are separated or divorced..please help each and evey one of them and their families in ways they need. Help us stay and remain and obedient to the path God wants for us, albeit all difficulties and discomforts.  Please never leave us in this journey and battle of and for life. Happy Feast day Mama Mary:)

PRAYER FOR PRIESTS and those DESTINED FOR THE PRIESTHOOD

a month ago i signed to pray for and adopt a priest in a website found below and was sent two prayer cards that i am by Gods grace and mercy  obligated to pray till my dying day, its contents id like to share so many may pray for them too.. posting it although a day late for( August 4)  in the Feast of St. John Marie Vianney~ Cure of Ars-Patron Saint of All Priests..

... a beautiful prayer for Priests and those destined for the Priesthood by the Handmaids of the Precious Blood Cor Jesu Monastery~ nunsforpriests.org

My Beloved Jesus, by the Precious Blood which You did shed on the day of the Circumcision, 
deign to watch over the infancy and the early education of the children to whom You have destined to minister at the altar, that they may be preserved spotless till consecrated to You by the Holy Unction.
Bless the families that honor Your Precious blood and spread this devotion by choosing from their midst a large number of vocations to the priesthood and by maintaining their fervor till the close of their lives.
       Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices
       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen


Lord Jesus by the Precious Blood You did shed in the Garden of Olives, take pity on all aspirants to the priesthood who, through the temptations of the evil one, or dread of the responsibilities of the sacred ministry, are in danger of losing their vocation. Impart to these tortured souls sufficient courage to make the sacrifices by which the Eucharistic Chalice must be purchased; and in return for their generosity, inebriate them at the altar with the Blood which, in Heaven, shall be their eternal source of delight. 
      Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices

       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen

Lord Jesus, by the Precious Blood shed in Your painful scourging, shield with Your own special protection and that of Your Immaculate Mother all ministers of the sanctuary so that, having renounced the goods of earth in order to belong entirely to You, they may every day offer and receive Your Body and Blood with such pious disposition as to enable You to find in their hearts a " Paradise of delight ".

       Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices

       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen

Lord Jesus by the Precious Blood which You did shed in Your Crowning with Thorns, we beseech You to maintain our clergy in such filial submission to the Holy See and its representatives as will foreever secure then the veneration, confidence and docility of the faithful children of Holy Church

      Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices

       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen

Lord Jesus,by Your Precious Blood shed on the way to Calvary, take pity on priests who are victims of injustice and who, like their Adorable Model, receive in return for their devotedness but crosses, trials and persecutions.

       Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices

       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen

Lord Jesus by the Blood of Your Crucifixion, inflame with ever increasing zeal the dispensers of Your Blood. Grant that, thirsting like You for souls, they may continue the work of Your Bloody passion by applying its merits. Succor most of all the poor missionaries, who after  watering

with their sweat and their tears the soil in which they have sown the Divine Seed, may still be called upon to dye with their own blood the land upon which they planted the Cross.

       Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices

       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen

Lord Jesus thru the Blood and Water shed by You after death, take special pity we beseech you on those among Your ministers who will be mown down by death. If , thru human frailty they have become the debtors of Your justice, grant that this very day the infinitely Precious Blood may discharge their obligations.

        Our Lady of the Precious Blood, watch over the living chalices

       of the Blood of Jesus. Amen

the second prayer card contains a short prayer for the Spiritual Director assigned to me which i will leave blank for his privacy :

Lord Jesus, live in all priests and help them truly appreciate their unique oneness with You so that they shall never crave for more or less than just Yourself and Your love forever.

Grant Father ________________ the grace to seek for no greater joy than Your Love and the privilege of bringing it to others.

 Grant to me an ever deepening reverence of Your Priesthood.And when death ends my life here on earth, may You, the Eternal High Priest, reveal to me in the Beatific Vision the consolation everlasting of having prayed and sacrificed for Your priests here on earth .Amen.

I am a FILIPINO, i love GOD, my countrymen, and my beloved motherland. And so I OPPOSE THE RH BILL!

On August 7, 2012, the Philippine Congress, will vote on a BILL in the guise of healthcare for women and children,  a bill that is really only population control, there are so many branches of the government that are already taking care of womens & childrens health and welfare, ( Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and so many NGO's -  non government organizations) instead of really providing for our motherlands immediate needs like jobs, education,altleast 3x a day food on every Filipinos table, clean water in far provinces, electricity, good roads. Money to be used for population control should be diverted instead to those more immediate needs of the poor, people will not buy their last centavo with a condom, or a contraceptive pill!  but something to alleviate hunger. So this Bill will just be a waste of funds for the government since they will be the one funding it to give to the people, but, not if it gets to the politicians pockets first. It is already sad and frightening how politicians are handling too much freedom, what more if this Bill gets passed.


 Why is this Bill such a big deal? 
The Philippines is predominantly a Christian Catholic nation, where the use of artificial methods are not acceptable in planning a family. End of story ? YES ... its tampering with procreation and reproduction, GOD GIVEN GIFT.( JEREMIAH 1:5) ⁵ 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you... now how do you argue with that?


This Bill is  a Pandora's Box waiting to explode on my motherland's face.. with it will be a door that would open the legalization of using contraception, that would lead to more legalized abortions, contraception use when failed, would definitely lead to abortion because first and foremost the child conceived is unwanted, contraception directly tampers with Gods gift of procreation, will encourage marital infidelities, legalization of divorce, and euthanasia. When this door gets opened ... closing it will be forever difficult.


So are we overly reacting???     NO!!!...BECAUSE PREVENTION HAS ALWAYS BEEN BETTER THAN CURE!...


Help us dear JESUS, STOP this attack on YOUR FAMILY. Enlighten our politicians who are severely blinded with greed and power, forgetting that they are in position, FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE.

Send us ST.MICHAEL and the heavenly armada to HELP FIGHT and DEFEND US in battle, and Mama Mary cover your children with your loving mantle of protection.

Opposing the RH Bill ( from WIKIPEDIA)

• Antonio de los Reyes (2002). "Coercive Population Ploys in the Philippines". Population Research Institute.

• Angelita Miguel-Aguirre (2008-08-11). "Medical Issues in the Reproductive Health Bill". Monograph.

• Francisco Tatad (2008-09-14). "Procreative Rights and Reproductive Wrongs". Scribd.

• Raul Nidoy (2010-11-07). "Science Facts on the RH Bills". Scibd.

• Ang Kapatiran Party (2010-11-15). "A Position Paper on the Reproductive Health Bills". Phnix.

• Pro life Philippines. "Why pop-control is not the solution to poverty". Prolife Philippines.

• Jo Imbong (2008-08-16). "Reckless and irresponsible". Philippine Daily Inquirer.

• Tony Roxas (September 2009). "The Socio-Economic Sophisms of the RH Bill 5043". Impact Magazine.

• Roberto de Vera (2008-08-11). "A Primer on the proposed Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood, and Population Development Consolidated Bill". Scibd.

• Alliance for the Family (2008-11-06). "Questions about the Reproductive Health Act". Alliance for the Family.

• Gregory Gaston (2008). "Misconceptions and Clarifications on Issues Related to Humanae Vitae and the Reproductive "Health" Bill in Philippine Congress.". Avenues (San Carlos Seminary Graduate School of Theology).
• World Youth Alliance: 8 Reasons Why We Should Not Pass the RH Bill

THE MAN IN THE SILVER VEST AND DELAYS

Last night after my sister and the kids spent time with us, we prepared taking them home and the usual delays   were there, a milk bottle cant be found :D , a slipper is missing, the comfort pillow of another, and my dad shouting to hurry since its night and Cheska the oldest grand daughter still had an assigment to be done. The usual bad driver who overtakes at top speed and angering my dad :D prompting him to always say, that these people should never have been given licenses and also those driving the public utility vehicles not parking on the right places to off load their passengers causing accidents. So Dad since it was a getting late and the kids sleepy decided to pass the fastest route which is inside the Town Proper of San Pedro.

  This passes a very slanted railway that has no lights, nor barriers, and lucky if theres a good citizen there to warn you, it was then  the very first time that we ever heard a train when we passed those roads at that time of the night, my dad was thinking he could beat the train and calculating it was still very far, he told us he heard it but thought still so far,  but he sort of heard a whisper to stop at once, and like there was something holding and preventig him and my sister sort of like thinks a gripping on both his shoulders, my sister and i saw a man in silver vest, waving his two hands and even his foot to us to back off, my sister and i were shouting, Dad reverse! reverse! he reversed at once not thinking anymore if we will hit a another vehicle at the back, we were merely inches and away , putting your hand out and touching the train near , that near, from getting instantly all killed.We could only pray and wait for impact and were thinking of immediate ways to shield the baby asleep i was cuddling and my sisters two other daughters nearest me. There in that vehicle was my dad 2 sisters, me and 4 kids ranging from 4 months to 4yrs old.

 Had it hit any part of our vehicle, the consequences would be great, had my dad did not listen to that voice , us and his instincts, we would have been all dead, on that speed the train would certainly not brake anymore and it would have dragged us and pinned to our deaths. We were all silent, and reflective after, my dad could not get over it, i was kidding him , Dad had you been your stubborn self and not in Gods grace and didnt listen, your entire part of the clan would have been wiped out  :D and see Mom would not live knowing were all gone and only Francis family and Mark left. The thought was  jolting. When we got back home, my mom breathed a sigh of relief telling us she was so uneasy the whole time we left not knowing why and we told her and her knees almost buckled and she was teary eyed, and well scolded Dad :D. I couldnt thank the Lord and all our Guardian Angels enough!. And thinking GOd isnt finished with our family yet, and maybe our missions on His vineyard not yet done too.And how short life is, and how so precious, so short not to tell people you love, you love them, for after all we all are in borrowed time. And that DELAYS can be blessings too!

 We were having breakfast with the family and talking about the whole thing this morning, Dad was telling us he didnt see the man wearing the silver vest, strange that it was only me and my sister who saw him, waving to us with all his might , to back off,  felt like he was right in the middle of the tracks and in danger himself. We went by that road again on the way home to find the man and thank him , NONE FOUND.

To me and my whole family it was not just our angels there last night but the big man himself:D St. Michael, knowing our dads stubborness, we were amazed he listened while we shouted, reverse dad reverse!

Like most Catholic families, we have an altar everywhere, you see in our family vehicle there glued in the dashboard are small blessed icons of Mama Mary very luminous :D, the Infant Jesus, A Saint Benedict Medal, a hanging rosary in the mirror and Saint Michael who almost always does not want to stay glued, and last night he wasnt there again.

Good Shepherd Sunday

Sheeps are interesting creatures, they have excellent peripheral vision or side vision, which is good for detecting motion outside of the usual direct line of vision, and are even  able to see behind themselves without turning their heads, that is why most sheeps do not have hair on its faces, but for some breeds that  have facial hair,  this causes "wool blindness". Sheep have poor depth perception which is often mistaken for poor eyesight or blindness , shadows and dips in land may cause them to stop.. or miscalculate steps causing injuries. It also has this natural inclination to follow a leader to new pastures and become stressed when separated from the flock.  They have a tendency to move out of the dark and into well lit areas and prefer to move uphill when disturbed. What sight problems they may is greatly compensated by their good hearing and are very sensitive to noise when handled. Sheep have little ability to defend themselves compared with other livestock, that even if they survive an attack, they may die from injuries or simply from panic. They can also recognize human and ovine specie even after so many years. Interesting to note that although a sheep and a goat are closely related they are separate specie and cannot hybrid nor reproduce.  

hmmm.... like sheeps we all have a characteristic blindness one way or the other, and have 

poor depth perception but the difference with sheep? they stop, while we humans, most times in our world today do not anymore recognize pitfalls, shadows, cliffs,  causing us to walk and walk and do things our way, only stopping  when we feel lost, we get hurt, or we experience suffering.

We should be like sheep easily led to goodness, have that natural inclination to follow Jesus, to realize we are in the dark and move out and go to well lit areas, for like sheep we are prone to all predators of this earth, corrupting the good in us and when we are far away from God we cannot survive attacks, all of us have injured souls, no one is exempt. But like the Shepherd that knows His sheep and flock inside out, we sheep should not fail to recognize and go back to our Shepherd, only there in His shoulders, only with Him and close to His chest are we safe. And like the difference between the sheep the goats, we cannot ever follow Jesus while holding hands with the devil. 

Lord remove the blinders from my eyes, because like stubborn sheep I will definitely lose my way without You, and Lord when at times my eyes cannot perceive you anymore or refuse to see You around me, behind me, in front of me, and when even my heart is mummified,

 like your lost sheep ... please do not forsake me and let me atleast.. hear YOU.