June 19,2011
Reading 1 Exodus 34:4b-6,8-9. Reading II 2 Cor 13:11-13.
Gospel John 3:16-18

June 19, 2011 is the 150th birth anniversary of the Philippines' national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. He is the spark that blazed the road for our (the Filipinos') independence due to his brilliant ideas and martyrdom. He is the father of the Philippines and his birthday anniversary coincides with the Father's Day celebration in the United States.

The gospel today is also my favorite bible verse- the love of the Father that sent His only Son to die in His thirties to save the world from sin. Rizal came back to his native land unafraid to give his life. He died too in his thirties so his country will eventually be free and independent.

In the backyard, Father's Day was celebrated with grilled meat and fish and steamed rice over bottles of beer and cans of coke by two fathers and their wives. The gathering was unplanned and in a flash of the moment.

That moment made marriage alien to divorce as the conversation floated from birth to wanderlust,to new found country, the pains and the laughter, the agony and the glory. Nerves were restored to normalcy and a perfect respite from the day's doldrums.

Indeed, that was a Father's day to remember.

Tribute to Msgr. Salvador Mora, a friend

06/17/2011
Tribute to a Friend in Roman Collar

All of the things that you rained on me
Are manna for my soul in plight;
They are dewdrops in my pale dawn,
Beacon light in my gloomy night.

A rudderless boat on the sea;
Without direction but held on
To its destination with glee
You appeared- I was not alone.

From rugged Visayan terrain
To Zamboanga's shore, you came
To ease the penury and pain
In your humility to proclaim.

We sang the melody of love,
Of sharing and of forgiving
Of humanity's hearts that throb
With a rhythm of life worth living.

( The poem is a grateful dedication to Msgr. Salvador Mora. a diocesan priest;

an alumnus of San Jose' Seminary, Manila-, Philippines. With

his friendship. I drank the wisdom of loving God and neighbor

and beheld the beauty of humility. He instilled in me prudence on critical subjects but conversant on agreeable matters. He is a typical down-to-earth, non-ivory tower priest in his human secular capabiltiy.