Love Someone Today Lesson 1

God Has a Great Purpose for Your Life

I spent the better part of my morning rummaging through old issues of Kerygma Magazine. There’s this story about a disabled girl I was looking for. 


I can’t recall what her disability was. All I remember is that she can’t move around like a normal person does. What was remarkable about her was that she blesses so many people from her bed. She is a prayer warrior. People text her their petitions and she prays for them. That’s what she spends most of her waking time on.


I wasn’t able to find the article. It’s a good thing this month’s (May 2012) issue of Kerygma featured another amazing girl with a disability, Jessica Cox. Jessica was born without any arms but she can do everything a person with hands can do. More than that, she plays the piano, has 2 black belts in Taekwondo and is listed in Guinness as the first armless person to get a pilot’s certification.  (I have two hands and forearms and triceps and biceps and I can’t do any of that.)


In the KMag article by Tess Atienza, Jessica admitted she did go through times when she questioned God and pitied herself. If I remember right, the other girl did too. But they did not waste their time whining about their lot, throwing tantrums when they can’t have their way (read in the article how Jessica dealt creatively with her desire to have a TV) and cursing the womb that bore them. Instead they rose above their disabilities to serve as inspiration to others.


Lesson 1 of Bo Sanchez’s book Love Someone Today is “God Has a Great Purpose for Your Life.” God has a plan for you no matter what shape or form or color or status you were brought into this world. Just look at these two girls. 


Bo said: “I believe your most important purpose is to be one with God – because from your oneness with God, you’ll be able to share His love to the world through the gifts and talents He has given you.” No matter how physically, economically, emotionally challenged you are, YOU HAVE A GIFT AND A PURPOSE. 


Some friends and I faced a challenge this week via a barrage of text messages. I’ve said it before and I say it again: God uses ingenious ways (yes, even exasperation) to inspire my blogs. These are some thoughts He prodded me to write:

The acceptance of your disability, character flaw or misfortune in life is the start of accepting yourself. Once you learn to accept yourself, you can start “fulfilling God’s design for your life.” The feeling of rejection comes from focusing on your neediness for other people’s acceptance. 

When you look beyond yourself and serve others with joy, other people will naturally gravitate to you. A person who exudes love for others is easy to like and difficult to reject. Looking outward (what can I do to make other people happy) instead of looking inward (what should other people do to make me happy) is the key to acceptance and the antidote to rejection. 

---

For my cyber-friends to whom I dedicate this LST series to, let me share this tip from the book: “As you begin your relationship with Jesus, start with J.O.Y.


Join a weekly Prayer Meeting (such as The Feast) and Small Groups for personal discipleship.


Obey God’s Word by reading the Bible every day. You may use the assigned Mass Readings of the day or read 3 chapters of the Bible daily.


Yield to the Holy Spirit so you can share Jesus to others.”

---

By the way, thank you Jennet (one of the cyber-friends I mentioned in my last blog) . I made this Strawberry Cheesecake with the luscious strawberries you sent.

---

Postscript:


I found the KMag article (April 2007) I was looking for thanks to Tess who also wrote it. The  differently-abled girl's name is Ann Martha Padilla and she has cerebral palsy. She is “a prayer warrior of the Regina Rosarii Contemplative Association.” 


Like Jessica, she uses her toes to do things particularly texting her advice to the many people who send her messages. She said, “I would ask God what he wanted me to do given my condition.” Through her disability, she is performing God’s great purpose for her life – to “offer encouragement and prayer for His troubled people.”



Photo of Jessica from Jessica Cox Motivational Services http://rightfooted.com/photos/

Let Me Love You Today

I have a confession and I hope none of my community elders will read this. I’m being disobedient about something we were instructed to do. But before I get booted out of the community for being pigheaded, let me explain (or justify) my insubordination.

THE MISSION

The Light of Jesus Family’s mission is to “Make Disciples”. Our leader, Bo Sanchez, wrote the book Love Someone Today, a One-to-One Discipleship for Catholics. This is the tool given to the servants of the Feast to use in our evangelization. It’s a small but powerful book that can and is already touching lives.

We were given marching orders to seek one person to love and eventually disciple. This meant approaching a Feast attendee, starting a relationship and going through 7 lessons with her (or him for the brothers).

THE PROBLEM

Easy enough? Not quite. Last night in our meeting, we were grouped and asked to discuss our experiences in doing one-to-one discipleship.

True, there were inspiring stories from some members. Without a doubt, there are disciples in the making.

But there were stories not shared in the assembly but only discussed in the groups.

A brother shared that he was totally ignored by an attendee he tried to connect with. The man pointedly kept his earphones on.

A sister sensed that the person she tried to disciple got freaked out. Initially, the woman tried to hide from her during the Feast. Eventually, she stopped attending altogether.

And my personal problem? I just haven’t had the time to scout around for a prospect much less squeeze in a face-to-face encounter over a cup of coffee or tea (for me, since I rarely like coffee). Considering the myriad of duties I have, I may never have time to sit and talk.

MY SOLUTION

During our Love Someone Today (LST) workshop, I already knew I wouldn’t be able to do this. I lightheartedly said that I will just blog about it.

But seriously thinking about our mission, I felt that we each have our own way of making disciples. Since I’m a writer, my blog is a tool I can use to accomplish the task I was given. (I sometimes kid that if I get mad I will duel with my blog as my weapon of choice. Since this time it's all for love, it will be used to reach out and hopefully touch lives.)

Considering the advancements in technology, it is no longer strange to form relationships in cyberspace. My niece, for instance, met a guy from China online. Their romance blossomed via the internet. Now she’s married to him and awaiting the birth of their first child. So who’s to say disciples can’t be made online?

FINDING FRIENDS ONLINE

As a Didache and Gabay* writer, I often get messages from people who were touched by my reflection. Some have become cyber-buddies that I exchange emails with.

So here’s what I commit to do. I will write about each chapter of the LST booklet and do online discipleship. (I’m not encouraging others to do this. This is just me because writing is my gift. I say, “Go find your own thing” :) lest I be taken to task for being a bad influence.)

It may not exactly be what we were tasked to do but I feel I have God’s blessings on this one. I got His confirmation just this morning as I was praying about my plan:

“Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” – Acts 5:20

The passage said “take your place” and my place is to write…here in my blog. I take it that “this life” refers to the life in community, a life following Jesus.

By writing about the lessons in this book I hope to deepen friendships with 3 ladies I met online:

I got to know Jennet because she would comment on my articles in our now-defunct website, Proudly Filipina. We reconnected through Didache and became online friends. I regularly send her my blogs.

May sent an email to all Didache writers about her job problem in Australia and I responded. After an exchange of emails, she visited us in Feast Alabang when she came home. She got a wonderful miracle a few weeks after – she and her husband got jobs in the U.S. We kept in touch for a while after she left. I hope through this online LST, we can continue the friendship.

I “met” Erma also because of my Didache reflection. She is planning a trip to Manila soon and I’ve invited her to visit me at the Feast Alabang. In the meantime, I have connected her to Feast Cagayan de Oro.

But I’m not limiting the interaction to these three ladies. If you can relate, become touched or would just like to reflect on what I will write about the LST, be my cyber-friend and drop me a line.

See you all soon for my take on the Intro to Love Someone Today.

*Didache and Gabay are daily bible reflections for Catholics.

Spiritual Warfare

Two years ago, I wrote the following reflection about a spiritual warfare that we in the Feast Alabang Media Ministry experienced. It was featured as the April 2 reflection for Didache 2012.

“BACK OFF!”

“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen.” – Isaiah 42:1

“Back off!” Piurie heard a male voice from out of nowhere. It was Saturday night. She was alone editing the video to launch the Caring Groups at our Feast the next day. This was the last incident in a string of spiritual harassments that our Media Ministry experienced that week.

Osy, who conceptualized the presentation, figured in a three-vehicle smash-up. My monitor, which was working fine, suddenly flat-lined. Our videographers with their high-tech cameras and our talent were unavailable. One member was hospitalized due to asthma and severe back pains.

The thought that we were being attacked by evil forces to prevent the video from being used to harvest souls was chilling. But God provided and God protected. Tin, usually busy, was free to make the presentation. She roped in her friend, Piurie, to volunteer. Mike was able to borrow a camera. AJ from the youth ministry agreed to do the funny poses we needed to shoot.

When we asked for prayers, we were assured that God had sent His angels to cover us. Backed by the strength of God’s forces, it was our turn to say to the devil, “Back off, we’re showing this!” And we did.

The night before the reflection came out, our AVP Team Head Noemi texted me to ask for prayers. She was making the Awesome Kids AVP that will be used for ASK, our Holy Week Recollection.

Technical problems were hampering her efforts. Not only that, she felt a presence when she was typing in the words “Who is God for you?” She decided to stop.

She later said that when she attempted to do it again the following night, her son asked her to sleep beside him. He felt someone touching him when there was nobody there.

When I got her text, the first thing that popped into my head was that my reflection was coming out the next day. It was creepy that it was happening at this time. I prayed a spiritual warfare prayer for Noemi.

Things like this are scary especially because when you serve God you are in the forefront of the battle.

But it is also a firm affirmation of two truths. One: that the devil is also afraid of us, of the things we can do as warriors for the Lord. Two: that the Lord is our vanguard and our rear guard in this spiritual warfare. When you have the most powerful force with you, how can you lose?

Noemi’s story ended like Piurie’s. She too completed her task by the power of prayer. God will always help us to be victorious. All we have to do is ASK!

ASK, Feast Alabang’s Lenten Recollection, will be held on April 5, 6 & 7, 2012 (Holy Thursday to Black Saturday) from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Bellevue Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City. Entrance is free, so if you’re free, come and join us.

Prayer for a Balanced Life

To my family and friends and to all those who are blessed by this blog even in a small way: A Grace-filled and Prosperous New Year! Thank you for sparing time to read my thoughts and reflections about the crazy, wonderful, sometimes frustrating, oftentimes enlightening events in my life.

Here I am at the start of the year feeling like I have two pairs of eyes. One pair at the back of my head looking back to the year that was. With gratefulness I see the Lord’s abundant blessings to me, my family and my Feast family.

He has given us good health and provisions. He even gifted us last year with special treats. My elder son landed in the top ten in his licensure exam. My younger son got a new job just as the year was about to close. And I began writing for a magazine that recently won a Catholic Mass Media Award. (Yey for Kerygma! I have a reflection about that just bursting to be written.)

And the other pair is where they normally are gazing ahead to the coming year with hope that more dreams will come true. They are also looking at ways to apply the lessons learned in the past year.

One challenge that I grappled with last year was how to cram everything into a 24 hour day. I wish there was a 48 hour version of those days. It seemed like many things on my to-do list were all needed yesterday.

Often, time for my family and my health regimen were sacrificed. Even work schedules were sometimes shredded to itsy-bitsy pieces. So this year I’m praying for a balanced life so that each area will get equal or equitable attention.

If you feel that your timetable is as chaotic as mine, pray this with me:

When my schedule gets roiled in a turbulent sea,

I must stay afloat to get where I want to be.

Help me Lord to keep my life on an even keel.

All areas steered by your steady hand on the wheel.

My family I put at the top of my list.

When more pressing things beckon help me to resist.

My body is your temple, a gift you have knit.

Grant me a firmer resolve to keep myself fit.

My work is your way to shower me with treasures.

Keep me diligent and far from useless pleasures.

My service is how I bring others to know you.

Give me a loving heart for this task to pursue.

Throw in friends and some hobbies to this scale I must balance.

Now you see why I need you Lord to give me your guidance.

I pray that you’ll help me end this year with joy and success

‘Cause I breezed through my myriad of roles with minimal stress.

There Must Be a Better Way to Celebrate Christmas

My son getting pulled over for running a YELLOW light by a PEATC cop angling for payback for working on Christmas Day was the last straw. It capped a month of barreling through a sea of Divisoria shoppers while weight lifting two or three or four heavy bags; wrapping gifts (I didn’t make it on time), cooking and preparing costumes till the dawn mass bells rang; and racking my sleep deprived brain for scripts.

I am now officially a non-fan of the Christmas season.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not joining Scrooge and saying, “Bah, humbug!” to Christmas. I’m not swearing off all the trappings and the decorations (I would love to dress up my home more if only I had the time).

I still love the reason for this season deeply and passionately. I’m still grateful to the Lord for the great gift of His Son.

What I don’t like is pressure and hassle that the celebration brings. Do we even remember who it’s all for in the mad rush to buy gifts, in practicing for Christmas presentations and in budgeting for the one hundred and one charitable causes that mushroom in December?

What I’m saying is there must be a better way to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. I’m looking for something more intimate and serene. A celebration where He is the important one. A celebration where He does not get substituted by other people and events.

So here I sit in the quiet of the 26th – a lull before the revelry of the New Year brings on another hectic round of wrapping gifts (yup, still doing that), partying and cooking – pondering on how I can honor the celebrant properly.

Maybe next year I can celebrate Christmas on the Feast of the Annunciation. After all life begins in the womb and this was when Mary was told she will be the mother of the Son of God – “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31)

That will certainly be stress-less as only Jesus and I will be in His party. I can go on a personal retreat so we can really hang out and talk.

As for the Christmas gifts, I still have to give my family gifts on Christmas because the children look forward to that in our gatherings. But as for my friends and people I work or serve with, I want to think of a creative way to get around that.

I can give my Christmas gifts on their birthdays. That way my gift giving will be spaced out throughout the year and I can spend more time honoring the celebrant in December. I can also use the extra time to savor the memory of each blessing He has gifted me with for the year.

Or maybe I can pick another special holy day to give out my Christmas gifts. Let me think about that. I should come up with something by New Year’s Day because my fondest wish is to be able to enjoy the Christmas season next year and be a fan again.

From Glory to Glory to Glory (Day 2)

The tenor’s fluid rendition of the song gave me goose bumps. “Hosanna, in the highest. Let our King be lifted up. Hosanna.” A hush fell over the audience as Arun Gogna, the last speaker for the Kerygma Conference 2011 Faith Stream, announced the arrival of our special guest.

He was ushered in by 4 young men bearing banners that proclaimed His greatness – “King of Kings”, “Messiah”, “Alpha & Omega”, “Lamb of God.” Our special guest was Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

As Fr. Steve Tynan bore the monstrance down the aisle, the crowd instinctively fell on their knees in adoration. It was a stirring sight enhanced by dancers solemnly marching in with raised flags.

Many faces were bathed in tears, mine included. Unlike the audience, I knew what was going to happen but I was still awed by His presence in the unfolding event.

It was a fitting finale to a day spent deepening our knowledge about the Catholic faith. It also capped months of preparation by the Faith Stream team; the last few days steeped in stress. With Jesus before me, I could now serenely look back to what was…

The job description for Production Manager only said: 1) assemble production team and coordinate communication; 2) coordinate with secretariat; 3) provide scripts/schedules; 4) provide t-shirt sizes of the team; and 5) coordinate with PAs of speakers.

Sounds manageable. I can do that. I agreed to serve especially since the whole team is from Feast Alabang. But my duties morphed into something resembling the mythical Hydra. When I ticked a task off my list, more popped up.

So there I was at the Faith Stream dealing with a string of unrelated tasks and bloopers. “Where are the table cloths for the book tables?” Huh? “Where will we put the signage for the parking lot?” Duh. “There are attendees who bought food stubs for the other venue and they’re mad the concessionaire is not here.” Uh-oh.

“Sis, even the front row seats were numbered, where will the speakers sit?” I cringed as I imagined asking our first speaker, the Archbishop-elect of Manila no less, to vacate his place when the ticket-holder for that seat comes.

And there’s my personal blooper. I turned my cellphone to silent mode in obedience to the house rules. I therefore missed several calls to alert me that Bro Bo Sanchez had arrived. I flubbed my primary role of being the key coordinator.

But I was not alone in the welcome bloopers. When Myrna, our hardworking Program Director, asked Bo to sit beside the Archbishop who had arrived earlier, he mentioned that her beloved hubby was still at the entrance waiting for our esteemed guest.

By God’s grace, the problems were addressed and the bloopers became memories we could laugh about over dinner.

God rewarded the teams’ efforts by helping each one survive many challenges. The stage with its stained glass cathedral windows design came out majestic. The singers and the band heightened worship with world class music. The dancers were gracefully in sync. The technical team managed a glitch-free event.

We were also blessed with high powered speakers(Archbishop Chito Tagle, Bro Marwil Llasos, Fr. Domie Guzman and Arun Gogna), host (J Yogawin), worship leaders (Rissa Singson-Kawpeng and our track head, Carl Fontanilla) and capable Central Support teams.

As I knelt before the Holy Eucharist during the recessional, I thanked God for revealing His glory at the KCon.

Special thanks to IC de Guzman for this precious photo with Archbishop Chito Tagle who is touted to be the next Pope. (I hope, I hope, I hope.)

Our Meeting Place

Feast Alabang Leaders’ Retreat – October 28, 2011

I was late. I had to go up to my room to get my bible. Everyone had found their nook – their meeting place with God. I still had to search for mine…that place where God will tell me to stop so we can sit and talk.

I made my way up the knoll where the grotto was. There by the side of the grotto’s pool was my spot. It was an imperfectly perfect place.

Imperfect. The stone on which I sat was jagged, uncomfortable. There were ants on the other stones beside it. In a few minutes the path back to the retreat house will be dark as the sun draws the curtain over the canopy of trees above me.

Perfect. Mama Mary was behind me just as she always is – praying for me to her son. The ants didn’t take a single nip at me even if I was in biting distance. And a nearby lamp turned on to give me light just as the dusk set in.

My spot. It lies beside the pool much like the setting in the passage we were asked to ponder upon. John 4:1-42 was about the Samaritan woman by Jacob’s well.

My reflection: When we come to drink the living waters, the conditions are not always comfortable. But we sit with the Lord in any circumstance. We serve even when it is difficult. And our Lord, Jesus, gives us protection from the bites of reality. He gives light to guide us over the rough path so we can find our way safely home.

Thanks to IC de Guzman for the retreat attendees' photos.