The infectious smile of Pope Francis is so sincere #PapalVisitPH

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Pope Francis for the poor
Will there be a renewal of faith among the Catholics? Since there have been conflicts with the church like the Reproductive Health law (RH Law) , I see renewed hope in Pope Francis’ visit. This pope, my pope has liberal views. I am reminded of his words “As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems”.

Pope Francis arrival1

Pope Francis reiterates that ” the center of my message will be the poor”.  He might just be able to opens the hearts and minds of our Church officials since the RH Law is meant to help the poor make better choices. It is also good that he is close to Cardinal Tagle. Maybe his influence will be felt in the church hierarchy in the Philippines . A lot of our church officials are conservative and Filipinos are hopeful for a more progressive Catholic Church.

watching pope francis

I was not at the motorcade but I feel just as blessed to watch him on live stream. Using the live stream link from the government TV station, I followed his every move from the time his papal cap flew away till his arrival at the Apostolic Nunciature. Pope Francis must be getting his energy from the cheering crowd. He smiled , leaned forward and looked like he was enjoying himself. His smile is pleasant and authentic . Smiling with his eyes, he looks into the person he is smiling to.  It felt like Jesus Christ spoke to me through his smile, even if I am just watching from my laptop. He says “The Holy Spirit will have to work to touch all the hearts of these people that we see.” I believe the Holy Spirit must be working through his smile. It is not only me that noticed his pleasant smile. I read  numerous tweets  that gushed over his beautiful smile.

Pope Francis thumbs up

Gary Valenciano tweets, “Blessed by seeing smiling happy Filipinos showing so much love and gratitude to Pope Francis. I hope we’ve put a smile in his heart too”.

Ginger Conejero notes “Pope Francis’s smile is contagious.”

Mia Noreen added “Pope Francis’ smile is probably the best thing I’ve seen so far this year #goosebumps”.

Sharla Lacbayan ?can’t “explain how grateful I am for being a Catholic. Welcome to the Philippines, Pope Francis! I can see your smile on the tv!”

Julie Mae says “That genuine smile of pope francis is love”.

Jewel notes says “May kakaiba sa smile ni Pope Francis, na-mapapasmile ka nalang din”

Ella Drew calls it “the Divine Smile of Pope Francis”.

pope francis smiling

Even a non-Catholic like Zarlean Centino had this to tweet “I’m not Catholic pero I like the attitude of Pope Francis and his smile”.

That is why I think Pope Francis always asks the people to pray for him. He gets energy from the people around him. It works both ways. His smile is just contagious.

RJ Villaflor thinks so, too. “Yung smile ni Pope Francis nakakahawa, mapapangiti ka na rin pag nakita mo yung mga ngiti nya “.

Pope Francis smile

That smile from Pope Francis gives us strength and renewed hope. His smile is just so heartwarming. I  feel so happy and blessed with the presence of Pope Francis. May he continue to spread his message of mercy and compassion especially to our leaders so they will work for the poor of our country. I pray “renew our country, Lord. Rid us of selfish and corrupt leaders. Raise up only those who lead with pure hearts and wise minds. Amen.” May the cabinet secretaries , politicians and the President become blessed by the Pope’s simplicity . May he enlighten our conservative Church leaders.

Pope francis magnetic smile

I may not live by the rituals, the novenas and the rote praying but I feel that Pope Francis is an inspiration to a lot of cafeteria Catholics like myself to have faith. My daughter hopes “that Pope Francis’s visit inspires Filipinos to become more progressive, tolerant Catholics.” I am hopeful.

Photo via @rapplerdotcom . Other Photos by Robert Viñas/ Lauro Montellano Jr./Gil Nartea/ Malacañang Photo Bureau Some rights reserved.

Originally posted on “Charmed by the beautiful papal smile that brings the message of mercy & compassion“, Blogwatch, Philippine Online Chronicles.

My son’s premonition of death during a Holy Week?

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luijoe-cross

The Holy Week holds a special meaning in my heart as it’s during this time that my precious son talked about eternal life. How would I have known that he was preparing himself for his death?

“When I die, I will be alive again“,
Luijoe (with excitement), a month before he became an angel.

A month or so before Luijoe went to heaven, he asked me questions about angels, death, heaven and graves. I don’t exactly remember when Luijoe started to ask me those things.

luijoe-at-luijoe-meadow1

This is what I wrote two weeks after Luijoe died.

Read More →

It probably means that Dec. 21 is the end of a great era & also the beginning of a new era.

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Today, December 21 is the most dreaded day of 2012. If we are to believe the Mayans, today is supposed to be  the ““end of the world” and the start of a global apocalyptic event. Like other predicted doomsday events, it will cause destruction and the end of humanity.

A descendant of the Maya, Jose Manrique Esquivel from Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula says  the December 21 date is a celebration of their survival despite centuries of genocide and oppression. He blamed profiteers for fueling doomsday fears.

Esquivel added that “for us, this Dec. 21 is the end of a great era and also the beginning of a new era. We renew our beliefs. We renew a host of things that surround us”.

While some believe that the Mayan prediction is true, I  look at it as another prophecy that will not happen. Doomsday scenarios are bound to happen again. What do we do when it comes again?

I say to just let go and let God.

Serenity

I recall a few years ago, my daughter  wrote that “ the only thing we should strive for, she said, is calm. “. I immediately thought of serenity. The following day, I asked “did you mean serenity?”

And she said “I think so”.

I explained that most human beings search for serenity in their otherwise chaotic life. It is probably true that the end of the world may come sometime in the future but what can we do about it?  Things will never be within our control.

So I told my daughter Serenity isn’t freedom from the storm , but peace within the storm and I reminded her “Remember the Serenity Prayer poster you bought for dad two years ago from the States?”

serenity prayer
The Serenity Prayer Poster Lauren bought at art.com is now placed at our bedroom wall

The Serenity Prayer is a prayer that applies to most of us in recovery whether in grief, loss, broken-heart, alcoholism, addiction or some dysfunction. And what is the most common element?

God or God as we understand God , to be more politically correct.

Without sounding preachy, I enthused that  “it was God that helped us in our grief recovery. Despite our initial anger with God, He helped us through the pain. Perhaps God can guide you too”.

True, it is God that is our source of guidance and positive change. It doesn’t mean we’re not responsible for ourselves. We are but we aren’t alone. Recovery is not a do-it-yourself project. We do our part, relax, and then trust that the changes we’ll experience will be right for us. Recovery does not mean looking at other people as our source to meet our needs. Sure they can help us but they are not the source. We can tap and trust God for the energy, wisdom and guidance for our recovery process.

Living one day at a time

We live life one day at a time which requires so much faith in us. We don’t look back at the past unless healing from the past is part of today’s work. We look ahead to make future plans. We focus on this day’s activity, living it to the best of our ability.

We surrender to God’s will . We stop trying to control and settle for a life that is manageable. We trust that God ‘s will for us is good, generous and with a direction. Through trial and error, we learn to separate our will from God’s will. An important of recovery is owning the power to take care of ourselves. Sometimes, we need to step out, step back or step forward which can be very frightening.

Without God’s help, I would not be where I am today in my grief recovery.

And so every time, some thing bothers me like the angst of my daughter, I always recite the Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

And I call upon God to help me and I will ask for what I need.

Just like Esquivel,  this Dec. 21 can be the end of a great era and also the beginning of a new era.

Healing of the Family Tree

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family tree

When I was new in my grief, many well meaning friends and relatives advised me this and that. I don’t know who among them suggested the “Healing of the Family Tree” and gave me a prayer. Each night, I was to say this prayer hoping in the belief that the curse of family deaths would end . (My 2 brothers, and a mother died before my son’s death in 2000) . As if we don’t all die.

A part of this prayer goes:

“Heavenly Father, I ask You now to go back though all in my bloodline, my husband’s/wife’s bloodline, and the bloodlines connected to all of my family and relatives and forgive the wrongs, heal the illnesses, bind the evil deeds. I ask You Lord to break the chains, associations and links any of these may have to us here in the present. On their behalf Lord, I seek Your forgiveness, your healing and a pouring out of your Divine Love so that Your Love may now pour forth through the years and touch us in the here and now. So that Your Divine and Healing Love will take the place of all the past hurts, angers, hates, unlove of You, destructive emotions or actions and evil ties of our ancestors. So that Your Precious Blood and Divine Love and Healing will heal us of the residue we carry from our ancestors. In true faith I thank You Lord because You have said ‘Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you’. Today Lord I knock, I seek, I ask. All praise and thanks to You my loving Father.”

Now being newly bereaved and distraught, I went along with the idea that my ancestors were so sinful that all these deaths were brought about by their sinful ways…. Yes, it must be a curse, “malas” “karma” or “gaba” until one day, I just had it.

Praying the “Healing of the Family Tree” is the most depressing thing ever. In the first place, before my son died, we underwent a public healing of our family tree at Christ the King Church through our “Couples of Christ” group. We prayed that all the cancers, diabetes , hypertension would not continue on our present generation. Also, we prayed that early death will be spared further in our families.

I believe that our families have patterns of behavior that are passed on from generation to generation. This is especially true for those with genetic predisposition to suicide, alcoholism . Some of these patterns are not coincidences. We are also adversely affected by the sins of parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, and by the sins of the ancestors who adversely affected them.

Don’t be mistaken, I believe in the Healing of the family tree. What I find truly objectionable in the prayer is guilt feelings that most newly bereaved feels whenever a priest tells them about the “Family Tree”. Also, the prayer is so repititious like all Catholic prayers. Imagine praying that everyday for the rest of your lives. There is no meaning . No substance. We have no control over the sins of our ancestors. We did not cause their sins. A bereaved mother thinks her great grandfather who was a priest might have been the root cause for her son’s death. Another bereaved mother attributes the death of her daughter because her marriage was not blessed in Church. Is God truly vengeful? Why are others spared? We cannot cure the sins of our ancestors but we can truly change ourselves.

We heal our family trees primarily by changing ourselves to be better persons, even much better than our ancestors could ever be. We heal our family trees by taking care of our health so our predisposition to certain genetic diseaes will be curtailed. We heal our family trees by receiving a new nature through total commitment to God . Secondly, we heal our family trees by repentance and healing. The change starts in us. Healing starts in us. It’s time to stop looking back at the past and move forward now.

Sunflowers spark hope for the new graduates

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“Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men and animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Summer afternoon…oh the summer afternoon. I would rather have the summer heat than the winter cold.

It was the perfect time last April 7 to view the gorgeous and bold sunflowers at the UP Diliman campus, the place where my husband and I met 34 years ago ( You can read our love story.) I wore my pretty yellow sun hat to protect me from the scorching heat just so I won’t get a migraine.

Today, at the University of the Philippines, 3,998 graduates will be marching to receive their diplomas at the UP Diliman’s 101st general commencement exercises. They will pass through the “waysides on University Avenue as thousands of sunflowers—those huge, bright yellow blooms used to depict the sun—greet graduating students .” Graduation is not complete without the sunflowers.

The heat did not bother me that time. I recall Helen Keller quote about sunflowers. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do. ”

The sunflowers with its bright yellow petals were stunning! It only blossoms on April just before the annual university graduation. Sunflowers spark hope for the new graduates. A subtle message seems to beckon graduates to look forward to a bright future.

I was fortunate enough to see the Sunflowers at its full bloom. Cars barely drove by the avenue. No security guards to bother us. The Sunflower heads gazed towards the oblation, as it worships the sun.

Light-enchanted sunflower, thou
Who gazest ever true and tender
On the sun’s revolving splendour.”
~ Pedro Calderon de la Barca

The bright, blooming sunflower heads , symbolic of the sun itself represents warmth, happiness and all things positive. The sunflower is the happiest flower of all and it gave such a cheerful atmosphere that sunny afternoon. It was a delight to just admire the scenery. I call out my husband to pose for me.

I discovered Sunflowers can be said to hold a very spiritual meaning. “The flowers appear to loyally and devoutly follow the course of the sun as it moves across the sky from the East to the West. In a spiritual sense, the sunflower is seen as a genuine follower of the sun. The sunflower will seek out the light, no matter how little light there is and hold their heads high in worship. Just like having a faith, these flowers are a symbol of constant, true and unswerving loyalty to something bigger and brighter than themselves.”

I like its symbolism of faith, loyalty and adoration. The idea that the sunflower follows the path of the sun all day means that it is seen as a symbol of unbending faith, loyalty and devoted love.

The sunflowers remind me of our love and devotion to each other. Yes, my husband just had to be in this photo he took of me.

sunflowers in UP Campus

Eagle of flowers! I see thee stand,
And on the sun’s noon-glory gaze:
With eye like his thy lids expand,
And fringe their disk with golden rays;
Though fix’d on earth, in darkness rooted there,
Light is thine element, thy dwelling air,
Thy prospect heaven.

So would mine eagle-soul descry,
Beyond the path where planets run,
The light of immortality,
The splendour of creation’s sun;
Though sprung from earth, and hast’ning to the tomb
In hope a flower of paradise to bloom,
I took to heaven.
(A sunflower poem by James Montgomery)

sunflower
Image credit : here

There be dragons: on friendship, love and forgiveness

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When I was a little girl, I loved reading books about saints. It must have been their courage and faith which struck me the most. There was even a time I imagined the Virgin Mother Mary to appear in front of me. Sitting on a rock at the back of our house, I prayed, clutching on to the rosary beads and waited for the Blessed Mother …and waited. I may never be a saint but I can try to be good to others and do service to my country.

St. Josemaria Escriva, known as “the saint of the ordinary” is a one saint that most of us can relate to. He believed that we need not do ‘great’ things in order to become saints but rather we must find God in the simplest and most ordinary events in our lives.“There be dragons” is a movie inspired by the life of Escriva. It deals with the inner dragons one must face while making tough decisions in life. The movie centers on Josemaria Escriva and Manolo Torres, two childhood friends who took different paths in their lives due to several reasons. One chose the path of peace and becomes a priest while the other chose the life of a soldier driven by jealousy and revenge. Each struggled to find the power of forgiveness over the forces that tore their lives and friendship apart.

The movie tells the story of London-based investigative journalist Roberto Torres (Dougray Scott), who visits Spain to research a book about Josemaría Escrivá (Charlie Cox), the controversial founder of Opus Dei. A New York Times article cited Heriberto Schoeffer, an independent film producer in Los Angeles and a member of Opus Dei when he first conceived of a film dramatizing the life of Escrivá. ““All I wanted is for people to see a good side of him, because so many bad things are said about him and Opus Dei.” Schoeffer mentioned.

I will not be a spoilsport so I will end there and leave the review to a certified movie critic and others at the Review section dragons.ph.

However, let me share a few reflections on my life as I watched the movie.

Loving God in times of grief

A death in the family especially that of a child is impossible to describe in words. The young Escriva asked her mother “do you hate God now?” when his sibling died. The mother tearfully replied that she loved God. Not everyone will react the same manner as Escriva’s mother. Some will question “Why God? Why me? why my child?” in anger. Others will accept their loss as God’s will. How should a believer in Jesus, a follower of Christ react when they are in deep grief? It is so easy for others to say not to question God’s will when they have never lost a child. This is a process that bereaved parents have to go through in order to reach the next stage.

The answers were never clear to me for the first five years after my son’s death. The reason ““Why?” unfolded when I earnestly prayed and sought God’s will. I have written about this before that it happened when I sat down on Luijoe’s favorite chair and just like that, I felt God’s presence.

Faith is shown by Escriva in many ways.

Faith is a gift, Escriva tells his disheartened companions, “and God has called us to manifest it in love here on earth. Unwavering love for every child of God no matter who it is, no matter what side, no matter what circumstances.”

There is another scene where a woman catches Escriva praying. She goads him “He doesn’t hear you does he? All this pain and he stays silent. I don’t know how he can allow such thing.” The woman even referred to God as a monster.

Yet the woman said that she loved God which Escriva found odd. “Even though he is a monster?”

She replied. “A woman can love a monster. I fight him with love”.

Just like her, my faith was shaken but in the end, I turned to Him for comfort. I can say the same thing as Escriva did when he uttered, “You were there tonight, Lord. I felt you there.”

God’s world is so full of goodness

“God’s world is so full of goodness,” Escriva says to the Archbishop as he opens a window to showcase the beautiful scenery outside.

There is so much to be grateful and be joyful about.

Did I really think the world is full of goodness? It took some time to realize that and in the end it was a matter of choice. The road from mourning to joy was not easy. Pain is my greatest teacher. Regardless of where the pain comes from, there are always lessons to be learned. Pain from losing my loved ones moved me towards finding the joy. Grief is inevitable but misery is optional. Joy over misery is the path I chose. I tried to find the good in this world, finding the joy in myself, from my husband, friends and family.

Finding joy was tantamount to finding myself.

God’s work

“½Escriva referred to his work as God’s work. Opus Dei — the name is Latin for work of God — “teaches that ordinary work can be a path to sanctity if the believer maintains a demanding regimen of religious practices intended to achieve holiness.” I may not belong to the “Opus Dei” but I believe God’s work lies in each one of us.

When my son died, I wondered why God took my precious boy away when he was so young and full of promise. Why didn’t he just take me away? For a couple of years, I just wanted to waste away and die of natural causes. After a couple of health issues, I found myself, still alive…and wondering ” so why am I still alive?”

There must be some work I have to accomplish.

Bobit Avila in his article, Evil dragons still live within our midst , clarifies the message of God’s work. “Indeed, in the past, the clergy taught the idea that we can only find Jesus Christ inside the church. But St. Josemaria Escriva preached the idea that we are all called to a life of holiness even in our most ordinary work.”

I don’t know enough of the “Opus dei” to write an objective look into it . All I know is the Opus Dei is violently opposed to the Reproductive Health Bill. I have no information whether or not Illuminati shares the views of Opus Dei on the subject of reproductive health interpreted by the Catholic Church as an abortion proposal.

As you might all know, I am pro-life and pro-RH which is part of my work as an advocate for children’s rights and women’s health. It is ordinary work that I took upon myself out of deep concern for women’s health and the quality of life of their families. (more on Why I support the Reproductive Health Bill)

Learning to forgive

The dramatic point of the movie reveals Manolo and his son Roberto in a touching scene where one hopes for a last opportunity of forgiveness.

“½”So many wrong turns in my life,” the dying Manolo told his son. The journalist muses: “When you forgive, you set someone free: yourself!”

How many wrong turns have I made in my life?

A few maybe. Some of these wrong turns were beyond my control. It is not the number of wrong turns that matter now. It is about getting up and moving forward to pick up the pieces. Part of this involved learning to forgive. In learning to forgive and keeping a clean slate, the person I am really freeing is myself.

The capacity of every human being for sainthood

Oscar Wilde once said ““Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.”

Even good people have a past. They’ve done things before which were bad. Every one who’s led a bad life still has a chance to do right. Maybe my childhood dream to be a saint is all gone but I can always strive to do good and not commit the same mistakes in the past.

My childhood dream to become a saint may not qualify me anymore but a dear friend reminded me that “the only difference between a sinner and a saint is that the saint stands uo and tries again when he/she falls”.

Nothing can change the past, but forgiveness can change the future.

The director of the movie says this is a story for “every human being” — who feels, who thinks, who has a family, who feels angry, feels the need for revenge, who feels love, wants love or needs love.” Who hasn’t grappled with these emotions? The movie is “100% about humanity” that will surely touch your hearts.

Here are the complete details of ‘There Be Dragons’ Cinemas and Showtimes (MTRCB Rating PG-13).

Where is God?

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The Kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift a stone, and you will find me. –“Stigmata”

Like all Catholic schools, Religion was taught as early as First grade. I can still remember my book with images of clouds, and a man in long beard and a dove or was it a bird I forgot how God was taught by the Belgian nuns. I recall God to be someone powerful who watches over me, yet there was some sort of fear of being a bad little girl. In my little girl’s mind, I looked around for God. Where is he?

As the second sibling in the family, I looked up to my eldest sister, Lorna for her words of wisdom. I took her every word, well because she was a year older and knew more than me. Naturally.

I tugged her sleeve. “Do you know where God is? ”

Lorna nodded and dragged me to the kitchen. She pointed to the leftover mango seed on the kitchen table.

In a solemn voice, she said, “When you crack open the mango seed, you will find God in there.”

My eyes widened, “really?”

Her revelation elated me. God is real.

One day, I thought of talking to God. I got a mango seed ad sat by the window sill that overlooked the garden and slowly pried opened the mango shell. As I opened the shell, I felt awed. I found God! My body felt like a balloon as if I was floating around the garden. It was a joyful moment.

My little girl’s heart cried out in gratitude, ““Okay God. I hope you protect me. I promise to be a good girl.”

I know this “Where is God?” anecdote is really funny. Lorna laughed as I recounted the story to her. She forgot that she taught me this.

I grew up praying to God every day and attending mass at the Catholic Church every Sundays. It seemed too routine until a friend introduced me to the bible and told me to read the book of John. I just knew that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and everything in the bible was true and good and I wanted it in my life.

Pretty soon I had kids of my own but I made sure that God was something that my children felt in their hearts. It had to start with something more tangible at first.

I see the moon and the moon sees me,
God bless the moon, and God bless me.

As a nursery rhyme, I felt the toddlers understood God to be good. Two of my three children suffered from asthma and letting them understand that “Jesus lives in their hearts” so they would calm down and feel more relaxed in prayer. I also felt that it will heal them faster if they are in a relaxed state of mind.

I guess the real test of my faith in God came when my beautiful son died 11 years ago. Questions soon came:

Where were you God?

Why God?

Why me God?

Every parent who lost a child or a loved one ask these questions. I know now that the feelings of “Why me, God?” are real. My pain is real. The questions form part of the grief process. Well-meaning friends often like to point out not to question God’s wisdom. So easy to say especially if that person has not lost a child.

While God may have seemed distant during those bleak moments of my life, it was God who also showed me the light in the quiet still of the room. As I sat on the Luijoe’s favorite couch, feeling despondent over our family situation, I felt a warm tingly feeling that emanated from within me and then feelings of peace and joy. That difficult journey left me literally with a broken heart but not too broken because why did God give me a second wind in life to make a difference in this mortal world? That light…starting and living a new life without my precious son but still living a good life.

It is these good and bad moments that affirmed that God is good, all the time.

While I continue to believe in His words and His teachings, I may not necessarily find God in Churches , disillusioned and disenchanted as I am with the Catholic Church on its stance with the Reproductive Health Bill… but that is another story.

Today, my new dialogue with God is … “God, this is going to be an interesting journey. I’m excited to see how you are going to bring good out of this one. I trust you will!”

Photo credit: and here and here

True friends are never apart, maybe in distance, but not in heart

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“A part of you has grown in me, and so you see, it’s you and me together forever. Never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart.”

There are friends that come and go and there are friends that make a huge mark in our lives. It must have been 30 something years ago when a friend gave me a bible. Inside the inner cover, he wrote:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I was young and naive about love. All I knew then was being “in love” or loving my parents. I mean, what did those phrases meant? I loved it though. I kept reading the words over and over again.

Like most friendships, there were good and bad times. I don’t recall it now but perhaps my friend went through a rough period in his life. Before I knew it, we drifted apart. I recall feelings of sadness and hurt…and being abandoned. But those words about love stuck.

Love is patient. Love is kind.

How could I stay mad at this person who introduced me to the Holy Bible, to be open to other religions other than the Catholic faith?

How could I get hurt for long knowing that love does not keep a record of wrongs?

How could I feel abandoned when my friend never left me? The friendship remained in my heart.

My friend left a huge mark on me forever as I often went back to the bible passage on love..as I struggled with my marriage for better or for worse.

By chance, we bumped into each other. It was as if thirty years did not change our mutual admiration for each other. I needed to say one thing. Life is precious. We are getting old.

So I told my friend “Thank you for introducing me to the bible. Thank you for the 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 quote that gave me the courage to continue on loving when loving was almost so difficult”.

We laughed at the good old days until tears streaked down my face from too much laughter.

But that night in bed, I found myself tearing, so touched about the love and the friendship that continued to live on in our hearts.

I believe that life is partly what we make of it, and partly what is made by the friends whom we choose.

Thank you for wonderful friends.

Image from Writings on your wall.

Obsessed with sex

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I do not understand why the good Bishop Oscar Cruz calls it the “Sex Bill 4244” when it is plainly, Reproductive Health Bill HB 4244.

You know what the Bishop said ? End products of Sex Bill 4244: Promiscuity. Insensibility. Amorality.

Risa Hontiveros delivers a brillant rebuttal to the Sex Bill.

End products of House Bill 4244: Women and youth’s welfare. Choice for couples, a chance in life for people.

Risa adds “Even without the bill, there is promiscuity. ““Copulative delight without fear or worry.” Is that an evil thing? Isn’t that how God or the universe envisioned lovemaking? Fearful and worried copulation—is that what the good archbishop desires for couples? Hardly a godly or humane vision. The first topic in adolescent RH and sexuality education would be values formation. ABC: Abstain, Be faithful or monogamous, and Contraceptives, including condoms, would be taught.”

Reality is that promiscuity exists even without the RH Bill. Abortion too. I believe the sexual act will even be valued if these are discussed through sex education. At least for me, that worked. I am blessed to get sex education during my high school years in the mid-seventies together with my mother’s guidance. I have since passed this knowledge on to my two daughters. But how many mothers are like me? Just read through my sex education article to see the dilemma most parents face. Most say they are clueless, fearful, or feel awkward.

I have talked to single mothers and parents with daughters pregnant in their teens. The single mothers wished they had known more about sex and the consequences. The mothers wished they were not too uncomfortable talking about sex education to their children. I will talk more on this topic in another blog entry.

There is just too much obsession with sex that the main essence of reproductive health is lost.

A simple rebuttal to the Sex Bill is easily explained in Section 4 of the RH Bill 4244 .

To Bishop Cruz main point that it is against reproduction is false.

To call it ““Reproductive Health Bill” is a big distortion. Reason: the Bill is not ““reproductive” simply because it is against reproduction.

The RH bill helps couples with infertility problems.

Reproductive Health Care refers to the access to a full range of methods, facilities, services and supplies that contribute to reproductive health and well-being by preventing and solving reproductive health-related problems. It also includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and personal relations. The elements of reproductive health care include the following:
(j) prevention and treatment of infertility and sexual dysfunction;

The bishop forgets that even when the Bill passes into a law, the Church can still continue their teachings on the sanctity of marriage, morality and other values to uphold.

Read the Reproductive Health Bill HB 4244


Rapture, the world ends on Saturday? Dud.

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““The Day of Judgment is an important notion: but that Day is always with us” Alfred North Whitehead

(Updated- May 22, 10:30 AM ) Is it really the end of the world? There are thousands of Twitter conversations that center on Rapture, the ““Judgment Day” that some believe is set for today, Saturday .


““Don’t wait for the last judgment – it takes place every day.” Albert Camus

I often asked this question the past few days. The thought of the last day of the world never occurred to me. Perhaps because I have heard this prophecy many times in my life. OR perhaps the end of the word seemed to happen to me the day my son died 11 years ago. I felt the earth swallowed me up. My mind seemed to be nowhere. Since the loss of my son, I live my day as if it is my last day on earth. No big deal here.

The possible beginning of the end of the world is nothing to ignore to a lot of people but it also means I will be reunited with my beloved son. Not that I want it to happen now but if it does, it is also alright. I can go either way.

Any rapture regrets?

Well, I wished I was more adventurous when I was a teen, not afraid to be a “bad girl”. Then again, I also think that I can still be adventurous later in life but not necessarily be a “bad girl”, just one having the time of her life. There are regrets that are negligible such as not going into sports. Still, all these regrets don’t have to be regrets. They can still be realized if “rapture” does not occur today.

Time zones have now crossed on saturday. How has everyone been thinking ? Some are making light of this through tweeting about their “rapture regrets” or imagining “If Saturday is the last day.”

Sunday, May 22

I am still here. The world has not come to an end. The time 6PM came and went at time zones across the world, and nothing unusual emerged. I noticed Inquirer.net kept releasing earthquake reports in various parts of the country like Iloilo and Isabela. Volcanoes also triggered some quakes (taal, bulusan, Mayon). Life continued on as normal for me yesterday as all days are.

“People are making jokes like there’s no tomorrow,” one of the top tweets said.

Life should be treated a day at a time. The Day of Judgment is important notion to most Christians but that Day is always with us.