Filipinos are Evangelists

Sunday, Jan.21,2007

My wife and I were invited to attend the "Parangal Kay Sto. Nino by Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago at Dr. Jose Rizal Heritage Center 1332 W. Irving Park Rd., Chicago, Il 60613.

The Feast of Sto. Nino is a celebration in honor of the Holy Infant Jesus. "Started in 1998, by devotees of Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago, the nine-hour one-day novena has become an annual religious tradition in the Filipino-American community. The text of the novena is similar to that used by the Congregacion del Santissimo Nombre del Nino Jesus in the Philippines."

The celebrant was Rev.Carlos Llagas and Rev. Joselito Coquilla, con-celebrant. Thomily was delivered by Fr. Joey apologizing that he has not prepared for a topic but told the over a hundred Sto. Nino devotees on that very cold Sunday afternoon that we, Filipinos always bring with us 2 cultures- the culture of Godliness and the culture of sharing. That Filipinos scattered all over the globe bring with them their religiosity and devotion. That we are evangelists. We celebrate 2 great Feasts: the Birth of the Child God, the Nino at Christmas and the Death of God-Man at Viernes Santo- the Holy Week.

This Sunday is the celebration of the Sinulog- the praising Of the Holy Infant-the Nino reminding us of 2 words: thermometer ( an instrument for measuring temperature and thermostat ( a device that regulates/controls temperature) We must be in control of the environment, not the other way around.

Fr. Coquilla told the story of "nahulog sa tulay"- (fall from the bridge) when one violated the 10th commandment -thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. In the confession, the townsmen were told by the priest to just say I fell from the bridge when they violated the 10th commandment of which they were given their corresponding penalties. However, the priest was transferred and a new priest took over. The same scenario came to the confessional vestibule. Now the new priest told them to really fix the bridge before tragic things could happen. When the town mayor did the same confessional overture, the new priest of the town detected something fishy going on. He made a secret personal investigation and found out that there really was no bridge in town." ( Laughter from the devotees )

"The standard of Christian value is freedom, salvation, liberation. As Christians, we must mature to meet Christ in the calvary of our salvation...We must not let the environment lord over us but we must be in total control of ourselves with our commitment to God's laws, with our Godliness and with our being evangelists.

And lastly, we must never forget the powerful novena of childlike confidence to the Sto. Nino, the Holy Infant who said: " Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you through the intercession of Mary, thy most Holy Mother.

We are grateful to our ancestors, to our culture. We are proud to be Filipinos scattered in different countries of the world.

12/30/06, Saturday

A get-together. A December-born birthday celeb. I (12/19/ ), my sister (12/25/ ) and my son,(12/28/ ). For guests we got my sister, her daughter and her daughter's husband and 2 kids- a boy and a girl. The food - beef, poultry, fish, noodles , veggies and rice. Of course, we have the birthday cake and the three blew the candles amid the clicking of the digital camera.

Over conversations ranging from private to public to religious, political and civics, the get-together was memorable.

Goodbye to the old Year and welcome of the New Year ! And we fondly hope it would be promising...

Two Poems

12/26/06
Longing for a Meaning


Melancholy crept in as I gazed
at the hedges surrounding
the garden of my past. I saw
myself, a mere speck of anonymity,
longing for a greater meaning
in this crazy world.

Suddenly...

My eyes welled with tears
and the moon of December wryly smiled.
I was swept into the vortex of poetic verses
and vaunted love songs. Yesterdays' memories
commenced to carve out hollow cavities
compelling me to untangle the
doubts about my existence.

I ambled over to find a spot at the table
so I could have a gulp of turmeric,
black pepper and honey.

****************************
 (12/02/06)

In My world

You stalked into my world like a phantom arrow
targetting straight through the eyes of my soul
in the coldness of a wintry night
so cold it penetrates in the very essence

of my loneliness.

I love you like a poem of an unknown poet
like the mystery of an enchanted mountain
like the gold is hidden in the savage forest

I love you because you came to me
and you are you.

Immaculate Conception...
Magnificat
And the angel Gabriel announced to Mary
that she will bear a son and
He shall be called
Jesus.
The serpentine promise of immortality
in the Garden started the war
of good and evil.

two women: one defiled
the other undefiled.

Thanksgiving '06

We have lots of things to be grateful for - life, health, job, family, friends.
We observed such gratefulness with a turkey, of course. But we first scrambled of the late mass observance by making the fingers do the seeking.We found that 9:30 AM Thanksgiving Mass was suitable for us. Luckily, we were able to at least hear the homily. It was stirring reminder of us mortals: that we failed to recognize the blessings that we received because of our persevering pursuit for the material things
for our wants' sake and not of our needs. The Spanish-English Mass was an experience
and we blended due to our blessed culture. And for that we greatly thank God.

" Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain, but you can't make a rainbow without a little rain."

A call from a friend...

'Twas quarter to ten when my wife's cell phone rang. " Hello, ... Boy left us...

We hurried. We arrived just on time. Sure friends were there. We prayed.

Life is short and a mystery. We just have to do the best of what was gifted to us.

Installation Mass of Fr. Peter Fernandes, sfx

(St. Timothy Parish, Nov. 19, 2006, 10:00 AM )

Prayer & Perseverance.

i saw Manny Pacquiao's fight with Erik Morales , Saturday, Nov. 18,2006 on the HBO, PPV. What impressed me most was his devotion, his religiosity, his independence to God. He knows that his power punch, his agility, his luck are not his. He made the sign of the cross many times. (Me, when i'm driving)- When i wake up or retire at night,leave a place, pass by a church, a cemetery, any holy place or when there's lightning i always make the sign of the cross. i don't know why but it is a habitual practice, a vestige of being a catholic or perhaps a reminder of God's great love for us that He gave his only Son to die for us. A sign of the cross and a prayer is power.)

Another impression, was the great unified support shown by Pinoys. Then the fulfillment of Sarah Geronimo's dream of not only winning a singing contest but making her country folks proud by singing the Philippine National Anthem, in front of a global crowd.

Love of Country

As Filipinos, we should love our country. We should elect a leader that loves our unforshaken land. Manny's put us in the world's attention.

Of Friends

It's wonderful to have friends. They are there when you want them;  sometimes they are not when you direly them.

i have to do something everyday
as little things may form bricks
of ideas that eventually materialize into
a citadel of paragraphs building stories
and stories beyond mortal comprehensions.

and there are angels ever ready to help
and there are angels without wings
and in our mortal world we call them
Friends...

to roam this earth without friends is
like sailing on a sailboat with no wind
driving a sedan devoid of any destination
and driving not walking is your consolation.

Speaking at the Toastmasters' Club

A member called me to attend our club meeting ( I was out of circulation for many meetings because of the day: it's on a Wednesday, and this day is very tight in my schedule), and so I have no recourse but to answer in the affirmative. Then he asked me if I could give a speech and the title of it.

The Power of Power.

i finally found the title. It will be about persuation. Maybe the title could be punch-riddled. And I remembered Mahatma Gandhi who said - " You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be No Result."

Goal Setting

I have to utilize the 5 bricks of goal setting " : 1.Destination 2.Desire 3. Guidance 4, Plan 5. Action.

6 Ps of Success

1, Power 2. Purpose 3. Passion 4. Positiveness 5.Perseverance 6.Personal Empowerment


With the above, I have to do more daily Meditation, Affirmation, and Visualization.
What the heck, we all have fear, but we must muster enough mettle to slay that dragon of fear. And the power of power is within us because my friends just think on this -
26 letters of the alphabet produce m oceans of words
10 numbers, including zero, create zillions.... Amazing!

Greetings from Uganda

Hi Greg,

This is Max and I hope you are doing well. My travels back to Uganda were smooth. It's now shortly over four weeks since I arrived and still do not have an assignment. Hopefully I will get a call from my bishop in the coming days.

I'm currently at home with mother, helping with the house work - and occasionally visiting priest friends and classmates. How is Eve doing? My prayers are with you both; and thanks again for all you did to enable my ministry while I was in Chicago.

Greetings to all my friends in the Novena group. I miss you all and I pray for you everyday. Wish you God's peace, and increased health and strength.

Max

(Note: This is from Fr. Max, a secular priest, from Uganda who came to States for his graduate studies. He stayed for a while at St. Timothy Rectory where I came to know him.)

Why I am here?

And that's The Question!

In my everyday waking moment, a question always pops up. Why am I here? Not a complaint but clarification on the mystery of existence. And the temporary status.

Is it the desiderata? The purpose-driven life? The power of purpose? And why have I the audacity to bring this out of the open?

Recently, I met a person at Home Depot, who understood the beauty of life, of existence, of FAMILY. (Father And Mother I Love You) This person, after paragraphs of conversation, confessed that his parents are from the Philippines who left the country when he was a child. He understood Pilipino and has a heart of his birthplace. Now he is married with 2 children. The family has just moved 6 months ago from Las Vegas. He intimated that Las Vegas is only a place for vacation not to stay, live, raise children. But to retire? It's a no-no. That's his take!

I met another person sporting a southern droll. He was enthusiastic about life. He talked with great pride about what life has offered him. I listened...

And lately, I crossed paths with a religious woman who was happy to talk to my wife and me about God, Jesus, and His most blessed mother Mary. She said she has drifted and was lukewarm to his religious life that she needed a push, a motivation, persons to listen to her agony; that she is willing to listen to, to their enriching, enlightening, enhancing words on prayer, forgiveness, and gratefulness. In fact, she is very devoted to the Holy Infant who is an unfailing partner to her in her triumphs and trials.

The denouement of that shall we say the intimate talk was a question - Why are we born? Why are we here?  

After the Path to Rome was the Road Back Home

During lunch time, we poised our vision to the Chicago Loop where the widely acclaimed Bayanihan Dance Troupe of the Philippines venued. Once again we were sentimental.
Our birth country's history flashed in the colorful live dances and songs performed by the young, the talented Filipinos. Reminding us that Filipinos are lively, lovely and zestful people. Product of European and western cultures. The Cross of religion and the Torch of education and Hollywood. The country that Gen. Douglas McArthur proudly proclaimed his famous " I shall return" promise.

The Philippines is the Pearl of the Orient Seas but the social cancer of graft and corruption exits. We pray that our Mother of Perpetual Help and All Saints will come to her succor.

Path To Rome International Conference - Chicago 2006
Oct.06 - 08, 2006
My wife and I attended. Met friends who were relgion friendly.Truth seekers came from all over the States and abroad. They were all enlightened. We discovered that the Catholic Religion is getting stronger and stronger unexpectedly. We learned that knowledgeable protestants sought shelter to the Catholic Church while the weak and non-knowledgeable Catholics departed from the Universal and True Church- Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the GATES of hell shall not prevail...
Path To Rome conference series was held at the Wyndham O'hare Hotel, Oct. 6 to 8, 2006. It is the only international conference of famous converts to the Catholic Church and is sponsored by Miles Jesu.

Speakers were: Msgr.Stuart W. Swetland, STD, who became a Catholic while studying at Oxford. Has B.A. and M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford; a Div. and M.A. from Mt. Saint Mary's Seminary and S.T.L. and S.T.D. from John Paul 11 Institute for studies on Marriage and Family, Pontifical Lateran University. Currently serves as Director of St. John's Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and chaplain to Catholic Students at the University of Illinois and Parkland College.
Steven W. Mosher, a convert to Catholicsm is the author of best selling A Mother's Ordeal: One Woman's Fight Against China's One-Child Policy. His other books are: Hegemon: China's Plan to Dominate Asia and the World; China Attacks; China Misperceived: American Illusions and Chinese Reality; Journey to the forbidden China and Broken Earth: The Rural Chinese. Steve is president of the non-profit Population Research Institute and widely recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on the population question.
Deacon Alex Jones, a lifelong Pentecostal who was converted to Catholicsm in 2001. He was the senior minister of 2 churches in the city of Detroit: Zion Congregational church of God in Christ (1975-82), the 2nd oldest Pentecostal church in Michigan, and Marantha Christian Church (1982-2000), an evangelical/charismatic church. While reading the Apostolic Fathers and subsequent church history, he discovered the Church to be charismatic/liturgical, hierarchical and Eucharistic-centered. The more he read, the more he came to conclude that the present day Catholic Church - and the Holy Mass - is the same exact"worship service" from the very early Church.These discoveries lead to a 2-year journey in the Catholic Church that converted 54 members of his previous congregation including 11 members of his own family to the Catholic Church. He has a Masters of Arts in Pastoral Studies and is employed by the Archdiocese of Detroit as the Evangelization Coordinator. Was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Archdiocese of Detroit on Oct. 1, 2005 and continues to preach with his fiery passion about Christ and the Church.
Michelle McGhan, a young Mormon convert to the Catholic Church after a long search which began in her early twenties. Discovering the fullness of Faith in the Catholic Church she was never persuaded by her family and friends to remain a Mormon but remain firm in her commitment to the Truth. She said,"If God exists, then there are real and absolute triths about Him. Truths that neither we, nor anyone else can change. And, if you take the time to study, you will find, as I did, that those real, unchanging absolute truths are here in the Catholic Church". Michelle is currently a second grade teacher in Arizona.
Mrs. Linda Poindexter,who was converted to the Catholic Church, was raised in the religion of Disciples of Christ until 1959. Then she became a member of the Episcopal religion; became a deacon and then as an Episcopal priest. She was married to John M. Poindexter, Retired Rear Admiral of the United States Navy, who served as National Security Advisor to former President Ronald Reagan. She has traveled throughout the United States, enjoys swimming, tennis,sailing, birdwatching, needlework and reading. She is also a fan of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Oct.2,2006/ Tuesday
Tempus fugit! Time flies.

Pope Paul VI said, "Tell your sons, your nephews, your grandsons; tell the people that the pope loves the Kights of Columbus. The glory of the Knights of Columbus is not based on humanitarian works alone. Even more admirable have been your insistence upon the supremacy of God and your fidelity to the Vicar of Christ. In truth you can call yourselves 'brothers' because you call God your Father and have declared yourselves ready to do his will and serve his cause...the Knights of Columbus an immense force for good."

In the pre-vatican II days, the mass was in Latin. As an altar boy, I have to memorize and mumble the Ad Deum que laitificat juventutem meam... as a response to the priest's Latin intro to begin the mass. Little did I know that I would someday become a member of "the world's largest lay Catholic family service organization. And tonight, I became one of the three new members of "these men they call Knights."

It started with an invitation to attend a meeting.

Myrna approached me and said, "Remo is going to call you as the meeting starts at seven."

"OK, I'll wait for his call." And we drove home.

"You can go, but you better eat first," said my wife as we arrived home.

Tempus fugit! And time flies. I became a member of the First Degree of Knights of Columbus, Father A. Ryan Council No. 5025, this 2nd day of October, 2006.

SAN PEDRO HOSPITAL, DAVAO CITY, PHILIPPINES CLASS OF '62 REUNION. Related article is : An Afternoon To Remember

09/24/06,Sunday

Priests.Music.Entertainment.Friends.

Those were the contents of the package that my wife and I received when we went to St. Patrick High School Auditorium at 5900 W. Belmont Ave. It was a day after autumn
begins(September 23). The affair was Harana sa Kabitoonan, A serenade to the Stars featuring: The Singing Priests of Caseres. I understand this was sponsored by the devotees of Our Lady of Penafrancia.

Garbed in black,white barong tagalog,the 4 singing priets of Caceres thrilled the audience with their ethnic songs and of the Bicolano's favorite- Sarong Banggi, medleys of love songs interspersed with jokes and dancing. Sung were : Maybe tomorrow, Our Love Affair, Misty Eyes in English and Historia de un Amor,Rumba beat, Solamente Una Vez in Spanish. There was the appearance of a group of 14 with 6 males and 8 female blending their notes into the delight of the crowd.

We were greatly enthralled. We were happy to meet new and old friends.

Saturday (09/16/06)

An Afternoon To Remember

Plans have been made. Lots of them. But just that! Only plans. Yet this short-notice plan of a reunion meeting came to a stunning reality. In this epoch, who could believe that a magnificent 7 Florence Nightingales of San Pedro College could be together after over 2 score years? And of all things, they were all euphoric women. They really were in the seventh heaven as their waves of laughter shook the rafters of the joint, so to speak.

They came. They met. They talked. And streams of college joys and tears gushed forth from their eyes as they recalled their yesterdays in the College of Nursing in Davao City, Philippines. Those days were momentous and beyond forgetting.

They are worthy to be in the book of records as they are successful in their own respective fields of endeavor, careers, and marital life. They are in alphabetical order: Connie, Fe, Loida, Polly, Tessie, Thelma, and Vangie.

According to Peter S. Temes in his book, The Power of Purpose," the trick to making a typical marriage work, it seems, is the balance of the good against the bad, the sharing of the whole package. If you can't help but fight over money, but then don't balance that out by sharing the small joys of a life truly shared, you might think that money problems have sunk your marriage, when in fact it's the lack of the good, not the presence of the bad, that makes all the difference. It's the total package that leads to success, the sharing of whole lives. If you give your spouse only part of yourself, if you keep secrets, if you try too hard to put only certain pieces of your personal puzzle into your marriage, you'll make a happy ending harder to find. The best prescription for a marriage is to focus on things that both partners agree on that help build the habits of caring and mutual support. "

The horizons of these Magnificent 7 Florence Nightingales are rosy. They were vibrant and full of vigor. In fact, Connie emailed, that it was a "nice afternoon. Could we meet to have another of that?" And Tess wrote, " Lunch was wonderful. we need to do it again."

That meeting in the Filipiniana Restaurant at Niles was indeed an afternoon to remember.

( By Greg Intas Alcala Caponong Trabanca )

Reflection

09/13/06, Reflection on a Wednesday

Alone. I am alone. And it's thinking time. Time to look back. Time to separate the good old days from the bad. I turn on the computer.

There's stillness in the house. Not a soul move. I cringed to my left.I saw my figure from my chair on a 3-piece mirror.On the front was another mirror; while immediately in front of me is my PC, an hp pavilion mx70.The 32-inch Sony TV is on the right with the antenna, the artificial flower and the small sony radio and CD player.

I heared a car screeched to a stop as there was a stop sign between Jersey Ave and Ardmore. And another one.

I sat. I gazed at the wall. I saw the number 38. That's 5 weeks & 3 days). A couple of days and it's done. Unbelievable!

I thought of what brought me to the facility, to meet people of wisdom in medical and spiritual fields making this world a wholesome, wonderful, happy place despite  its shattered dreams, fraudulence, and drudgery. To them, I said deep in my heart -Thank You Very Much. To All of you and to the new friends I met in that memorable 38 days, may you be at peace with God, whatever you call Him. He is our Hope, our Light, our Guide, our Healer, our ALL. Seek Him anywhere, knock on His door anytime, and of course you have to ask Him on the whys of your seeking and knocking. However, we should not only seek, knock and ask during our trying moments but also on our happy hours.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

In my mental meandering,I found these paragraphs interesting written by Carlos Bulosan (11/24/1913-09/13/1956), well-known Filipino writer writing in the West Coast, who at the age of 17 came to America and spoke little if any English. He never went back to the Philippines.This is from the introduction of Carey McWilliams on Bulosan's book, America Is In The Heart, A Personal History by Carlos Bulosan.

" America is not a land of one race or one class of men. We are all Americans that have toiled and suffered and known oppression and defeat, from the first Indian that offered peace in Manhattan to the last Filipino peapickers. America is not bound by geographical latitudes. America is not merely a land or an institution. America is in the hearts of men that died for freedom; it is also in the eyes of men that are building a new world. America is a prophecy of a new society of men: of a system that knows no sorrow or strife or suffering. America is a warning to those who would try to falsify the ideals of free men.

America is also the nameless foreigner, the homeless refugee, the hungry boy begging for a job and the black body dangling from a tree. America is the illiterate immigrant who is ashamed that the world of books and intellectual opportunities is closed to him. We are all that nameless foreigner, that homeless refugee, that hungry boy, that illiterate immigrant and that lynched black body. All of us, from the first Adams to the last Filipino, native born or alien, educated or illiterate -
We are America!"