When Life, Himself, was Announced

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, of the Annunciation of Life. When the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Our Lady with an important announcement.

Click here for Today's Readings and Gospel.

We first saw the hands-on work of the Holy Trinity "in the beginning" when God made man.

Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Gen. 1:26; Emphasis mine.)

Prior to the creation of man, the words of God were: "Let there be ...". But at the moment of man's creation, God said, "Let us ...".

And in the Gospel today, we see again the hands-on work of the Holy Trinity for the salvation of man, starting with cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

God the Father finding favor with Mary:

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Lk. 1:30)

God the Son being conceived by Mary (and born of her):

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. (Lk. 1:31)

God the Holy Spirit conceiving Jesus in Mary's womb:

And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. (Lk. 1:35)

Archangel Gabriel's started his announcement to our Blessed Mother with, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you." (cf. Lk. 1:28). Our Lord found favor with Mary; and He is with Mary. And through Mary, our God came to be with us: Emmanuel, "God is with us" (cf. Is. 8:10, CCB).

Our Blessed Virgin Mary, with her free will, gave her "Yes" to God. She can say "no"; but she gave her "Yes", totally, freely, and selflessly. Her "Yes" was in total obedience, with total trust, and with total courage of heart for God. Her "Yes" was in the state of full and encompassing Grace from God: Rejoice, full of grace ... (cf. Lk. 1:28, CCB). Like Mary, we must always allow ourselves to be in the zone of saving, sufficient, and sanctifying GRACE. For the Grace of the Lord allows Man to say "Yes" to Him.

Out of his unfathomable Love did God choose to create man. And out of this same Love do God allows men to love him back. We love God because God loved us first. And God wants that this union of God and Man in perfect Love be a Grace from Him, with Man cooperating in full obedience of choosing God and of choosing Life. It happened to our Blessed Mother; it can happen to us. This is possible, for nothing is impossible with God, that's why he is God (cf. Lk. 1:37).

Let me get back to this: "that th[e] union of God and Man in perfect Love be a Grace from Him, with Man cooperating in full obedience of choosing God and of choosing Life". In Deut. 30:19, God asks us to choose: Life or Death; and in the same verse, God taught us to choose the best choice: Choose Life. When Life, Himself, was announced to the Virgin full of grace: Mary chose God by obeying his will. Mary chose life by allowing Life, Himself, to be conceived in her womb.

And this could be the very reason why the culture of death attacks the womb of a woman--abortion, contraception, etc.--because it is through the womb of a Woman is Jesus, the Source of Life, and Life, Himself, was born.

Therefore, for man to experience Life's fullness is for man to choose God, to choose Life.

+
The Angelus
V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary;
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary ...

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord:
R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary ...

V. And the Word was made flesh:
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary ...

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech  Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son,
was made known by the message of an angel,
may by His passion and cross
be brought to the glory of His resurrection,
through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Most Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, the Archangel, pray for us.
+

Make or Break?

Do not arouse, do not stir up love before its own time. (Song of Songs 2:7b)

The HEART can either Make you or Break you.

LOVE is more than just a feeling; it is more than an emotion.
LOVE, driven by COMMITMENT, is a DECISION.

Love's antecedent is preparing and waiting.
Love in correct timing is lasting.

Preparing one's self to be the Right One,
While waiting for God at His Right Time.

Are you in love with the feel-good emotion of love?
Or in love with the person you love?

Having the Right Reason in Loving
Defies treason you don't want having

DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO SETTLE FOR LESS.
FOR GOD MADE YOU OUT OF HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS.

Remember the Future

Let us take the issue that affects most of us: Love Life.

What I just want to point out is this...

When you've had kids in the future, how are you gonna respond when they ask: "Dad, how did your love story with Mom started? What's your love story?"

Are you gonna answer like: "Well... Your Mom and I were textmates then. I courted your Mom through texts, and, oh, I got her that easy. But don't you dare do what your Mom and I did. Don't you dare."

What kind of a love story is that?

Well, very simple, remember the future by doing good and living pure in the present. By remembering, I mean, taking into consideration the future: that in everything we do has a consequence in the future.

LOVE IS PRECIOUS. DO NOT CHEAPEN IT.

Death and Dying

According to Kubler-Ross' theory, there are 5 different stages of grief. These are more commonly known as: DABDA. 

(I don't wanna open my book anymore regarding Kubler-Ross' theory; so I'd just get stuffs from wikipedia just to give my point and my blog substance. Click here for more in wikipedia.)

DENIAL — "I feel fine."; "This can't be happening, not to me."

Denial is usually only a temporary defense for the individual. This feeling is generally replaced with heightened awareness of possessions and individuals that will be left behind after death.

ANGER — "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"

Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage and envy.

BARGAINING — "I'll do anything for a few more years."; "I will give my life savings if..."

The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay death. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made with a higher power in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. Psychologically, the individual is saying, "I understand I will die, but if I could just do something to buy more time..."

DEPRESSION  — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon so what's the point... What's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?"

During the fourth stage, the dying person begins to understand the certainty of death. Because of this, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving. This process allows the dying person to disconnect from things of love and affection. It is not recommended to attempt to cheer up an individual who is in this stage. It is an important time for grieving that must be processed.

ACCEPTANCE — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."

In this last stage, individuals begin to come to terms with their mortality, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event.

(My thoughts start from this point.)

It is not necessary that a person undergoes the stages chronologically like, Denial first, Anger second, and so on. One may be on the Denial stage, and is also Bargaining. It is also not necessary that a person has to undergo everything of the DABDA stages, as one may not go through Depression. As I remember, for sure, Acceptance go last.

With due respect to Kubler-Ross, I would like to propose two more stages. Let's make it DABDATH. I agree and would not alter DABDA as Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance; for these are natural and human responses to death and dying. And as human as we are, these additions are, as well, essential.

First off, TRUST. Trust in the Lord that this is His wisdom. We maybe losing our earthly life, or the life of our loved one, but, let us trust God that this is His will. This is God's perfect timing. We may not be able to understand it now, yet we are assured of His love. 

Last proposal, HOPE. Hope that the Lord is up to something good. Romans 82:8 says, "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." Let us hope that in the end we will all enjoy eternity with God in his Heavenly Kingdom.

We believe in the communion of saints.

We believe in the resurrection of the dead.

We believe in life everlasting.

Amen.

May the souls of tito Felix, lolo Ato, lolo Ardie, lola Basi, tito Rory, and tito Ellie, and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

And here's a song for all of us...

In pain or in happiness

In abundance or in absence

I will praise Your Name

In triumph of defeat

In sickness or in health

I will praise Your Name

For You said, You know well the plans You have for me

Plans for my welfare and not for my woe

Plans You give to me a future full of hope

When I pray to You, You listen to me

I cling to Your promise, my God


*Bible verses in here are from the New American Bible.

Heart Status

Boracay from the 25th to the 29th of December 2011. It was my first time. Yey!

I am with (from Left to Right) ate April, kuya Tony, Paolo, Nino, (and that's me), Kevin, Daddy, and tito Pol, who took the picture.

BORACAY FORMED MY HEART.

Banana boat. Helmet diving. Boat sailing. Island hopping at Puka Beach. Skim boarding. Eating. Sleeping. Food coma (Sleeping right after eating). Walking and lots of it.

Doing this new things (plus the Zipline and Wall climbing done in Eco Park, QC.), all of them for the first time except for the eating-sleeping-food coma part, reminded me of what I stood up for God at the beginning of the year 2011: To live a FEARLESS life for Him. And to live a fearless life is to always grip on to God's sufficient, saving, sanctifying GRACE because He is always gripping on us. If I have remained in my fear of doing new things, I wouldn't be able to experience how great those things are, and ultimately, how Great GOD is.

I don't have much interest in adventurous stuffs, but as I did the above-mentioned activities, the more I became awed of how great God is. The more I get to bask in the greatness of our Creator. 

God is the Master of all. In all the things I saw and did, what I always say is: "Ang galing ng Diyos!" (Great is our God). That for every wave tossed in the ocean, He is in control. That the coordination of His creation, sea, wind, and all, was designed very well. That the entire scene is God's artwork. And that Boracay is one big playground created by God for His children.


BORACAY BROKE MY HEART.

As hotels and restaurants were all over the place, so are bars and beers. We went there on the 25th. And it was heartbreaking to see some who celebrates Christmas without having the real Reason of celebrating it: JESUS. It breaks my heart that Christmas--God becoming Man, uniting Himself fully: physically and spiritually, with man--became just a holiday to some.

It breaks my heart to see some who do not respect their bodies as exposing them as if they are having a private time, forgetting that they are in a public place. And that there are also a lot of shops offering temporary and permanent tattoo; and I even saw kids having one.

If you don't respect your body, who will? . . . Our bodies is an invitation to love, and not an invitation to lust. --Jason Evert, Catholic chastity speaker.

It is heartbreaking to see that the virtue of chastity and purity of life, of body and soul, were abandoned by many. Maybe because they just don't know or, worse, they have forgotten about it. My heart breaks when I see people missing out the point of living life to the purest. 

As these things broke my heart, it also affirmed me that there are a lot of work to be done and we are on the right track.


MMH.

When Jesus saw [his] Mother, and the disciple, he said to [his] Mother, "Woman, this is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "There is your mother." And from that moment the disciple took her to his own home. --John 19:26-27, NAB

At the very last day of our stay in Boracay, by God's plan and grace we saw a grotto of Mother Mary; elevated, situated in a rock. I wasn't expecting it in Boracay. And it reminded me that even Boracay is under the Motherly love of our Perpetual Blessed Virgin; and that Mary will not forsake us. She is our Mother, and we are her children.

I noticed, as well, that when some climbed up to the grotto to take picture, they won't include Mary in. They'd just take advantage of the elevation of the place. And yes, it broke my heart again.


There is really a lot of things that needs to be done. And I have to have a heart like Mary: MMH (Mama Mary Heart). A heart full of obedience, trust, and courage. 


God will meet us right where we are. Whether on mission or on vacation, God will. He never stops surprising His children. And as He surprises them, He teaches them. He assures His children that He is God. 


I have to remain FEARLESS for my God is now my Strength!


Most Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.


A blog of Boracay pictures will follow; I just don't know when that will be.

Sa Totoo Lang Po

I AM FOR THE FAMILY AND LIFE!
I AM AGAINST THE RH BILL.

Theology of the Body

Everyone is invited to attend the Theology of the Body course details as follows:

Fr. Joel Jason, Dean of Studies at the San Carlos Seminary and Prof. of Moral Theology and Sexuality, will be our main formator.

The details of the program are as follows:

Venue : Multi-Purpose Hall
San Carlos Seminary Lay Formation Center
Guadalupe, Makati City

Time : 7:30 – 10:00 PM

Dates : Aug. 10, 17, 24, 31, Sept. 7, 14, 21, 28

Fee : PHP 50.00/session

Since the program is an integrated course, we request all participants to attend all sessions consecutively. A certificate will be issued to those completing the program.

Let us continue to cherish the gift of life, family and community given to us we move forward in studying and living out the Theology of the Body of Blessed John Paul II.

What the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill is Not

What the RH Bill is not

MANILA BULLETIN

Business Option

By MERCEDES B. SULEIK

March 24, 2011, 1:14am

  

MANILA, Philippines – The Reproductive Health Bill is not what it purports to be. It is not about reproductive health rights. It is not about women’s maternal health. It is not about preventing infant mortality. It is not about responsible parenthood. Nor is it about poverty alleviation.

The RH Bill is in fact a tyranny of half-truths. This Bill, which has gone through so many permutations and attempts to be passed, is a melange of obfuscations and inadequate information.

  

Efforts to ram it down our throats through apparently tainted media coverage, through surveys that ask leading questions, and through taking advantage of general ignorance of the substance of the bill, not to mention apathy of fence-sitters, is perhaps the reason why it is vaunted that the RH Bill is the best thing that could ever happen to the Filipino family and nation.

Let’s start by considering the premise on which this bill rests. An early title of the bill said “Reproductive Health and Population Development Act,” which in its present “consolidated form” now has been revised to include “Responsible Parenthood” in the title, hijacking this very proper term to dissimulate and thus appear to indeed be for everyone’s good! Its view of development is very narrow, averring that the Philippines is overpopulated, and only by lowering the birth and fertility rates will this country finally burst out of its mire, and alleluia! We become a first world country!

  

In the first place, the Malthusian (and its other manifestations) population argument has already been shot to pieces, with most of the developed world in fact facing a demographic winter, threatening the prospects of these economies over the long term. Picking up a quotation from an article by former Secretary of Finance Roberto de Ocampo, he said that according to some researches, “in order for a culture to maintain itself for more than 25 years, there must be a fertility rate of 2.11 children per family. With anything less, the culture will decline. Historically, no culture has ever reversed a 1.9 fertility rate.” Is this what we want for the Philippines?

Regarding its claim to provide the “right to complete information” particularly about contraceptive options: the advocates completely forget to inform women about the health risks of hormonal contraceptives. The World Health Organization itself has classified these as bringing about the risks of cancer, particularly breast cancer, in their WHO/IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) Report wherein it was found that hormonal contraceptives do cause cancer. At least, let the women know the risks!

   

It’s the same with other contraceptive devices, such as the condom. It has been found that these do not prevent pregnancy from occurring, nor has it been proven that it protects against AIDS. Moreover, failure of contraception eventually leads to abortion, which while it is claimed that the bill has taken note of the fact that abortion is illegal, the effect of failed contraceptions is an implicit support of abortion.

  

Another obfuscatory provision hidden in the bill are the punitive sanctions that are, if truth be told, attempts to curtail the Filipino’s civil liberties: obligatory requirements for medical health practitioners to actively promote artificial birth control without regard for their consciential rights, for example, if they in conscience cannot do it themselves, they are obliged to refer to someone else who don’t have the same misgivings. And hey, there are even sanctions for “criticizing” the bill (if passed).

  

The bill, while pretending to be for the benefit of the Filipino and the family, overreaches itself. Why is it taking over areas best left to the decision of the Filipino married couple, such as whether they want to have children or not, such as their right to educate their children on matters related to sex and morality. The State should govern, and not meddle in the Filipino individual’s decision.

  

A key principle in corporate governance is that the Board should govern, and let Management take care of the micro aspects of business.

  

Another hidden provision is to consider contraceptives as “essential medicines,” which effectively means that there is no need for bidding nor for COA restrictions. As far as I know, no other medicine has been declared “essential”...(and I do have a quarrel with calling contraceptives as “medicine” because pregnancy is not a disease!) This provision thus leads to the use of tax money on what many citizens consider offensive to their beliefs – is this not a devious way of allocating money which have been paid into the government’s coffers by a majority of Christian taxpayers?

  

Let me repeat. The RH bill is not about reproductive health. It is not about giving women a choice. It is not about poverty alleviation. It is not about the Filipino and his family. It is about state control.

merci.suleik@gmail.com