Sanctuary

#SeekingMary

Marian Pilgrimage Day 3

Sanctuary. A memorial for one of the few apparitions officially recognized by the Catholic Church.  The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima is a huge complex made up of basilicas and chapels situated on the very spot where Our Mother appeared to three shepherd children. We spent the rainy day in and around the Sanctuary getting to know about the message of Our Lady and the untold sufferings three very young children had to undergo to be bearers of the secret. Until our very informative guide Inez told us their story, I thought Francisco and Jacinta were only canonized because Mama Mary chose to appear to them. It was easier for me to understand why Lucia would be so beatified. But their prayerfulness, obedience to God’s Word through Mary and forbearance despite sufferings earned them that honor. If such young children can display these godly traits, why can’t the rest of us do the same? 

Sanctuary. That is what Our Lady of the Rosary (the name she revealed to the children on her last apparition) is to people going through life’s trials. She is our refuge, someone we can run to in times of trouble because she gives us peace by bringing us God’s word and she intercedes for our petitions to God.

Reflection: I thought sacrifice was only about suffering, doing things you don’t like, going through difficult situations. Through the visionaries of Fatima, I learned that sacrifice is “to make holy” the things that you do for others. 

Highlights:

• Chapel of Apparition - the heart of the Sanctuary where we heard mass and participated in praying the evening rosary using Tagalog for 1 decade
• Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary where the 3 children are buried 
• Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity whose tabernacle is not visible because not all visitors are Catholics (to prevent sacrileges by those who do not practice our faith). It had 8633 seats
• Houses of Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta
• Museum - Exhibition of Fatima Light & Peace featuring the golden crown of Mary with the bullet that almost killed Pope John Paul incorporated in its center.
  

Finding the Lost

#SeekingMary

Marian Pilgrimage Day 2

I misplace things a lot. Keys, files, documents, from the trivial to the important, you name it, I’ve misplaced it. Heck, I sometimes can’t even remember where my reading glasses are even if they’re sitting on top of my head. My memory can get so bad, there was one time I forgot I was supposed to go back to the mall entrance so my staff can load pulled-out inventory from the store we used to have into the car. I had driven a couple of kilometers when she called to ask where I was. With my memory in that state, I call on my all time favorite saint, St. Anthony, a lot to find the lost - things, people, me. I love him so much I kidded my cousin Belle, whose memory is in the same state as mine, I will name my next husband after him 😆

What a thrill it was that our first place to visit when we landed in Lisbon was the Church of St. Anthony. The church was built on the site where he was born and houses a relic of my fave saint. We even got to see his old room. 

Other highlights:

Lunch at Jardim Mundial

Lisbon Cathedral

Suspension bridge

Belem Tower 

Jeronimos Monastery where Vasco da Gama’s remains lay

Reflection: Isn’t it great God does not have a memory like mine? He never loses things, especially the people He created. Even if, through our own foolishness, we get lost, He will always find us. He will look for His lost sheep. 

Marian Pilgrimage - The First Step

#SeekingMary
Marian Pilgrimage Day 1

In Dubai International Airport waiting for our flight to Lisbon.   I’m overwhelmed to be here at the start of this journey to get to know more about our Blessed Mother. Joining this pilgrimage is an answered prayer. When I first heard about this, I didn’t think it was possible. But see, God works miracles. I praise & thank you Lord for your blessings.

Woman of Worth

The warm smiles and hugs.

The rose petals on our beds.

The dainty card that held a promise of a weekend of pampering, discovery and love.

It was a welcome to a retreat like I’ve never experienced before. The rest of the weekend was an awesome journey that I took with sisters and new friends.

I’ve been meaning to write about this experience since the retreat happened over 3 months ago, June 25 and 26 to be exact, but I’m going through a whirlwind of blessings courtesy of my new book that I just couldn’t find the time to blog (Thank you, Lord!). What pushed me to sit and write is that the next batch will be having their retreat this weekend, on October 15 to 16!

I will not spoil it for them by going into detail because every activity, every talk is something that should be savored like beholding a rose bloom in slow motion. Let me just say that it was a weekend of laughter, of tears, of baring our souls, of being surprised that we women hold so much power within us.

What I will divulge are two things that made a great impact on me from the Woman of Worth retreat.

The first is a line from one of the talks and it went something like this: “It’s just one bit of information out of the (250 million things that happen every second).” That’s in parentheses because I lost my notes when my laptop conked out on me so I’m quoting from a memory that gets challenged quite often. But the point is that whatever is bothering us about our lives, our current problem, is just a teeny tiny part of the universe. That was a paradigm shift for me. It put the trials that we think are so huge into a different perspective – a view from the eye of the universe. That’s not to say we should ignore our problems. It’s just that everybody goes through some problem or other and we should not worry ourselves to death with what we are handed. When we trust that the One who holds the universe in His hand has His eye on us, things will work out for good in the end.

The other was the stone we were asked to choose in one of the activities. While many shared that they chose their stones because it represented some roughness, some lack or things that needed transformation, I latched onto my stone because of its evenness. The stone I picked was quite unusual because it was like a cube, almost flat on all sides. I realized that it resonated with me because at this point in my life, I feel fulfilled. Oh, I still have dreams that are unanswered and things I still want to accomplish that’s why my stone is not a perfect cube. But then, I feel like I’m on an even keel because I have found my purpose. It’s empowering to know that I’m doing what God designed me to do. That gives me the feeling I am a Woman of Worth.

To the next batch of WOW attendees, may you find the power within you! God bless.

The Jewel of Truth

“She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her.” – Proverbs 3:15

It’s been almost a month since I’ve written a blog for this site but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been receiving my B.A.G. of Miracles lately. On the contrary, I’ve been blessed recently with a couple of answered prayers. I’ve just been remiss in glorifying the One who has been showering me with these blessings.

And so today, I will catch up by telling you about one of them. Actually I plan a series of blogs on this topic because the experience and the materials are too rich to share in just one blog. So what’s this blessing? It was my attendance last April 30 to the 2016 Jewels Conference, the first one for Jesus-empowered women ever to be held here.

The day opened with spirit-filled worship led by an all-women ensemble – from the worship leaders to the full band. Then Rissa Singson-Kawpeng introduced the theme of the conference: Seasons of Truth.

She said everything starts with the Word and because God’s Word is TRUTH, it’s just a matter of time before it comes true. Do you have a prayer that has remained unanswered for so long? Are you about to give up on that dream? Have you reached the point of frustration that you already gave God an ultimatum? Is this your prayer now: Lord, If I don’t get that boyfriend I’m praying for when I turn 30, I’m invoking leap year and catching one no matter what size, shape or form he’s in?

The truth is: if you believe in something, it becomes true. There is no need to give God a deadline.

Rissa cited the story of Judith who used both her faith and the beauty and wisdom God gave her to gain victory for her people single-handedly. The Israelites were at the point of surrender and had given God 5 days to hear their prayer. But Judith prevailed on them to let her do what she intended to help her people.

I was intrigued by her story so I read up on her in the Bible. Now she’s what I call an empowered woman! She’s my new super heroine. One other thing I loved about her is she’s a widow like me – a woman after my own heart.

So sisters, remember this: when we hold on to God’s truth and are empowered by it, we can create our own miracles!

“Rather, as we wait patiently for him to save, let us plead with him to help us. He will hear our voice if such is his good pleasure.” – Judith 8:17

Hang Out with VIPs

“Become wise by walking with the wise.” – Proverbs 13:20

“Successful people surround themselves with successful people.” – Jack Canfield

“Inspire”. That was the first talk of the new series at The Feast, “The Spark”. How do you get inspired? How do you motivate yourself to achieve your goals, your dreams?

The first step is to analyze your situation. We were given 3 pieces of paper and were told to write down our goals in life, our dreams, on the first one. Next, we were asked to write down the names of five people we spend most of our time with on the second sheet. Then the questions came: “Does your gang match your goal? Do your companions match who you want to become.” This was important to determine because as Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

So if you want to be a millionaire, hang out with millionaires. You want to up the ante? Then hang out with billionaires. You want your creative juices to flow, then hang out with creative people. I guess that’s why artists and writers form an artists’ circle or a writers’ community so they can feed off each other’s creativity.

The talk was very timely for me as I had just attended an Authors Crash Couse in Marketing last week. I was awed that I was in the same room as published authors, several of them pretty well known. And there I was, merely someone dreaming of having my own first book published. I felt humbled to be there. 

But with this talk, I realized it was a privilege and a blessing that I attended that course. It gave me the opportunity to hang out with VIPs. Three of them were already friends and colleagues. Another was a community sister. I only need to make one more friend from among the people there so I will average out into what I dream to become – a published author. 

 So what’s your dream? Are you hanging out with the right people?