Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI

Photo credit: Children dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes dance for Pope Benedict XVI during the Pontiff's 85th birthday celebrations in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican April 16, 2012. REUTERS/Gregorio Borgia/Pool

Do you have someone in your life you consider your hero? I have plenty of them. But today, I will write about the person to whom I dedicate this blog – Pope Benedict XVI. I came up with this blog because of his call (see the About page). It is but proper to write a post about him.

I couldn’t keep myself but to reminisce the experience I had during the World Youth Day. Truly, the experience is without measure. It is priceless.

One of the perks of joining the World Youth Day is seeing the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Since then, I became his raving fan.

To me, Pope Benedict XVI is very humble. If you went to the World Youth Day, you can tell that.

Before the World Youth day, he wrote to us – the youth. He already kept us in mind (I bet he still is). He wanted to reach out and show that he cares, even if we are still young and inexperienced.

During the World Youth Day, he did not mind the extraordinary summer heat of Madrid. We could have easily understood if he did not pursue with the Papal Mobil Parade if he wanted to because he is already old and his body might not be able to take it. But he pursued even if he turned pinkish and it was obvious that he got very tired. (The youth who complained will be embarrassed).

He did not complain when it rained in the Cuatro Vientos Aerodrome. He stood strong even if the wind almost knocked him off. He even sincerely thanked the youth for praying with him.

He knelt in front of the Blessed Sacrament like a Child of God.

To me, he is an epitome of strength, of great faith, of a true leader. I see Christ in him.

If ever I get the chance to go to the world youth day again, I will still shout with all my heart. Esta es, la juventud del Papa. We are the youth of the Pope. I am a youth of the pope.

Belated Happy 85th Birthday Papa Ratzi!  We, the Catholic Youth love you!

I'm Sorry :'(

Father, Forgive them for they know not what they do. This is the first of the Seven Last Words of Jesus before He died on the cross. In relation to this, I’d like to relate my personal experience on the Holy Week.

After the mass of the Lord’s Supper last Thursday, I went to the confessional to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Because there was a long line of penitents, I was able to think and reflect. As I waited for my turn, my thoughts went back two years ago – the time when I again went to the Sacrament after ten long years.

2 Years Ago...

I was accompanied by a new found friend to the chapel where I approached the priest in the confessional. I was scared to go but I went anyway.

I so longed planned to go to confession that time but for some reasons, I was not able to go. Perhaps I didn’t know where to start. It was then that I met this friend whom I believe God sent as an instrument to help me.

It was timely because at that time, I was carrying something heavy in my heart. It was the effect of sin. I was guilty and ashamed and I had low self worth.

Guilt causes shame. Shame is bad for the confidence. Shame is bad for self-image.

Photo credit

When it was my time to go, I inhaled deeply and entered the confessional. I told the priest everything. After which, I was liberated. I was not condemned by the priest. Instead, I was forgiven. He was compassionate.

That brings me to the event in the bible when the Pharisees and the teachers of the law brought an adulterous woman to Jesus. Jesus did not condemn the woman, rather, He showed compassion. It was the start of her conversion. Somehow, I felt like the adulterous woman in the bible. I knew that my conversion started after that confession one faithful evening.

I also felt like the Prodigal Son who, after squandering his father’s wealth and realizing his mistakes, went back to the father. He expected to be rebuked and condemned but he was not. Instead, he was welcomed by his father with open arms.

That’s what Divine Filiation is to me. That’s what I meant in my last post entitled Moving Forward. Because of His grace and great mercy, I was able to go back to Him. My past sins were forgiven. All my guilt and shame were washed away. I regained my confidence. Suddenly, the world is bright and my future is bright. I no longer dwelt in low self worth. All because I know that I am a daughter of God.

He loved me first. As a result, I loved Him back.



I'm adding this post to Sunday Snippets

Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival

I am writing this post because I was invited to join the Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival. It is where catholic bloggers gather to share their best weekly post. It’s my pleasure to be invited. To learn more about the carnival, click here.

I only have two posts the past week. One is about Asking for wisdom instead of a sign and the second one is about my moving to another company where I also talked about the confidence that the Divine Filiation brings. Although the picture in “Give me a sign” is cuter, I think that “MovingForward” is better because it highlights how everything is possible with God. It talks about how my world became a world of possibilities again because of Him.

To read more about my two posts, click the link below.

1.       Give me a sign

2.       Moving Forward

Thank You Rann for inviting me.

Moving Forward

Time moves so fast. Three days from now, I will glance at my desk no more. I will sit in my chair no more. I will see my work station no more.

Three days from now, my contract with the Finance and Administration Office of The Philippine Foundation for C.E.D. will end. No, I was not fired. I tendered my resignation last February 13 but my superior requested me to extend my stay until March 30 and I agreed. I admit that since February 13, I have waited for March 30 to come. I was anxious and excited and talked about my bright future to my friends. I know my colleagues in the foundation understand why I am leaving. Being a CPA, they know that I still have many things to discover and to learn and to apply that I cannot do in the foundation. They are happy for me, yet, it was inevitable that some of them were saddened. Somehow, I developed a camaraderie among them and a some kind of an attachment was formed.

I was saddened too. I worked for the foundation for more than two years. It was my first job. I grew a lot during my stay there and I learned many things. But perhaps nothing is really permanent and we have to be open for change. I am moving forward to an Art Outsourcing I.T. Company where I hope to grow with too.

I don't know what is in store for me in my new job. But it's the risk I want to take and the challenge that I accept.

As a child, I have always been a dreamer. I have imagined many good things that can happen to me. I was very confident. I believed that I can achieve everything that I can ever think of.

Somewhere in between my childhood and now, I experienced a drop in confidence. I have counted the years. For eight years, I had low self esteem. For eight years, I forgot the dreams I had as a child. For eight years, I looked at myself as a good for nothing. I thought I everyone else was better than me.

I was wrong. Little by little, I have gained back my confidence with the help of some friends that I know the Almighty has sent me. Slowly, I have realized my self worth with what is called the "Divine Filiation", the confidence that comes from the fact that you are a child of God. The dreams and the confidence that I had as a child came back.

Now that I look at the eight years of my life that has been  "wasted" in low self worth, I want to make up for it. I still have my fears of failure and rejection but I do not want to grow old or to die doing nothing about my dreams.

Yeah, that illustration is creepy. I myself got chills when I was drawing that. But that is not meant to scare us. It is just an invitation for us to move towards our dreams. Let us not bring our dreams with us to the grave.

What are you willing to take in order to achieve your dreams?

Live Fully,
Divine

Give Me a Sign

As I was browsing in Facebook one afternoon, I saw a status update of one of my friends. She said “Give me a sign”. And below that status, another friend commented “beware, the devil hears you too.” It took a moment for that statement to sink in to me. How do we really know if the sign we just asked for came from God or from the devil?

As I reflected, my thoughts went to the wise King Solomon in the bible. He was a young king. To the standards of their time, “young” means naïve – inexperienced. As a young king though, he did not ask for a sign on how to rule his kingdom. He asked instead for wisdom. To this day, he is known as the wisest king who lived. (I’m not of course comparing him to Christ the King.)

My thoughts wandered through time. I remembered the times when I asked for signs. An example of a sign I asked was “Kapag dumaan yung truck sa harap ko, ito ang gagawin ko…” (When the truck passes in front of me, this is what I will do…) I know it might sound silly but I did ask for that sign when I was younger.

How do we know, really, if the signs are devil-planted or God-planted? My thought on this one is this: God embedded in the universe natural signs.

These natural signs are like symptoms

Four days ago, my brother and I experienced food poisoning. After eating our food, we suddenly felt sick. We had headaches, fever, and rashes all over our body. The headaches, fever and rashes are signs that we have taken something that our bodies did not want.

Signs can be as simple as that.

You might be telling me now, “that’s common sense. Of course, everybody knows that. Buti sana kung ganyan din kadali sa totoong buhay” (That would be good if it’s as easy as that in real life [literal translation])

My friend, I don’t know what you are going through right now. You might be going through an intense pain, confusion, and you do not know what to do.

But here’s what I learned from my life. We have to listen to those natural signs. For example, if you are being abused by someone, physically or emotionally, it might be a sign that your relationship might not be working. (Yes, I’m talking from experience). If you are unchallenged with your job, then it might be a sign that you need to explore other opportunities. If you are still broke despite your many economic activities, it might be a sign that your strategy is not working.

On the other hand, if you are doing well in your relationship, if you are enjoying your job and if you are seeing good fruits of your economic activities, then congratulations, you have just found your winning formula. It’s a sign that you have to continue what you are doing.

It’s a case to case basis of course. But what I’m trying to point out here is this. Do we really need to ask for signs like “hit me baby one more time”? My answer is no. Signs are already present. Look around. Look deep within. Reflect. And ask for wisdom instead of signs. And as a priest once said, "Look for the signs in the secular events with the eyes of faith."

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