A lot to swallow?

(A memorial for the unborn located at Star of the Sea parish)

Happy Respect Life month! =)
"Life is a gift." How many people say that? Now how many people actually stand up and say to the world that all life is a gift from God, much less write a song about it?
That's why BarlowGirl is one of my favorite bands. Not just because their music is great, but because they're willing to stand against the tide of what the world is trying to conform us to. One of their songs is called "Tears Fall", and is proudly pro-life. Alyssa from the band says:

"We’ve always felt very passionate about the sanctity of life. I come from a family with very strong beliefs. Our parents instilled in us from a very young age the importance of callings and destinies. We believe that as human beings created in God’s image, we all have a calling and a destiny. As we’ve opened our eyes to the horrors around us, we can see that one-third of our future population has been brutally killed through abortion. So one-third of our destinies have been killed off. What if an aborted child was going to cure cancer? Did we terminate the life of someone who had the cure for AIDS? Everyone is meant to further the world somehow. In our craving for comfort, Americans have decided it is their right to end someone’s destiny.
I heard a teaching about Genesis Chapter 4 regarding the story of Cain killing Abel led to God saying Abel’s destiny was crying out to him in the original text. I think everyone should have a chance to fulfill God’s plan for their lives. A lot of men and women have been deceived about abortion. We know this is a very sensitive subject for people. We know people who have been through an abortion need healing and we also know that God wants us to protect life."

Here's the whole story.

I once heard someone say that there's a war like never before being waged on humanity; that none of these problems and issues we face today had ever been so strongly imposed. And it's true. When in history have we ever been so unsure about our morals? Do we ever listen to our consciences now, or have we drowned them out? When did the line between right and wrong become so blurred that we're not ever sure how to define life? Or marriage? Or anything else??

This is the world I'm trying to grow up in...and it's a battlefield. The biggest challenge? It's the kind that can't be seen with physical eyes. I know this is probably the last thing you want to read. It's not something I want to acknowledge with either...I've got enough to deal with, being a young person and all! Let's face it, though, running away is one of the things that brought this upon us.

But I'm not giving up hope.

"Finally, my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having gird your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..."
~Ephesians 6:10-18

I don't know how much good I'm going to do in this; goodness, besides at least two faithful readers, I don't even know who comes here! In the blogosphere, I'm not anybody, really. But I can't ignore everything that's happening around me. I'm probably in for a pounding, but: "There's still some good in this world...and that's worth fighting for."

So, friends. When you're called to fight, would you take a stand? In this battle that's raging over, in front, and in our heads, which side are you going to take?

"Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

The Unexpected

(Tsk, tsk. So messy. ^_^)


This Saturday, our parish Youth and Young Adult group is holding a movie event in time for the 1 year anniversary of Father Damien's canonization. So in preparation, we've had meetings these past two Fridays to get ready with some poster boards on Father Damien. Since everyone knew were were in the middle of our moving process, my siblings and I weren't placed in charge of anything. Whew! "Thank goodness for that," we thought. Unfortunately, our relief was too good to be true and very short lived. We skipped one meeting, but attended the recent one ('cause we're finally done moving ^_^), wondering what became of everyone during the first meeting. Sure enough, we found that only 2 out of 3 poster boards were actually being worked on (and not quite done at all), and my little sis and I were to roll up our sleeves to work on the last one. Ack. Yup, I could hear God laughing at me from that bare tri-fold cardboard. =P
In no way am I condemning the people who didn't show up to do their assignments. For all we know, they had a good reason not to be there. But it did remind me that we always have to be ready and willing. We might not be expecting God to hand a project to us immediately after we'd just finished the last one, but He often does just to keep us busy and on our toes. ;) Like in today's Gospel, the poor servant had just come from plowing the fields and keeping the sheep, when his master goes and tells him to "prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink". Well...after all, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty."
We must always be ready and willing to accept the unexpected happenings in our life, and perhaps one day we might hear: "Well done good and faithful servant...Come and share your master's happiness!"

Btw, you are all invited to this Saturday's movie event. XD If you haven't yet guessed, the movie will be a film on Father Damien. If you're on the island and can make it, join us at the Cathedral Kamiano Center at 7pm!

St. Therese

(A clay rose made by my little sis)(update 10/2....um, yeah, now there's a picture ^_^)

Happy feast of Saint Therese!

"You probably think that I do as I say. No, I am not always faithful, but I am never discouraged. I drop into the arms of Jesus...It is enough to bear one's faults meekly; that is true holiness... When we accept out disappointment at our failures, God immediately returns to us."

"I have no way of proving my love for you other than that of strewing of flowers, that is, not allowing one little sacrifice to escape, not one look, one word, profiting by all small things and doing them through love."

"Everything is a grace."

~Saint Therese

Note to Self

If God laughs at you...


Make sure you laugh with Him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
=D

Thoughts on moving

A friend of ours asked how we've been doing wih our move. Thinking back upon the state of our house, all I could say was that we were doing alright...I think... If anyone has ever moved house before, then I'm pretty sure the image of helter skelter books, half filled boxes, and all around random tidbits can be imagined. O Progress, where have you gone??
Ok, so for the past week we've been sorting through our things, giving away what we've out grown, stuffing our stuff into boxes...and it was still a mess this morning with no indication that we've actually made any progress. Or at least that's what it seemed like.
Today we hauled away several boxes. It was only then that the house felt a little roomy-er, and we realized that we had actually done quite a bit; more than we'd originally thought. *gasp!*
I guess life can be like that sometimes. Maybe we can't see how much progress or good we've done at the moment until we move into our heavenly home where He shows us just how far we've come.

Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist. Only he gives the fullness of life to humanity! With Mary, say your own “yes” to God, for he wishes to give himself to you.
~ Pope Benedict XVI


When I am before the Blessed Sacrament I feel such a lively faith that I can’t describe it. Christ in the Eucharist is almost tangible to me. When it is time for me to leave, I have to tear myself away from His sacred presence.
~ Saint Anthony Claret


When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.
~ Mother Teresa

Bye bye birds

Oh, did I mention that we're moving? Well, where we're going, no birds are allowed. Yup...today the first pair of our feathered friends found their new home.
Farewell, feathered friends!

In Adoration

Quote of the week! ...To me anyway. =) Found this in the book "Life for the World" by Sister Marie Paul Curley, FSP.


"Avoid all formalism.
This holds good for all prayer, but especially for the Eucharistic Visit.
The real Visit is a spirit which pervades the whole of our time, thoughts,
relationships, and life.
It is a sap or life-giving current which influences everything
and communicates its spirit to the most ordinary things.
It shapes a spirituality that is lived and passed on.
It shapes the spirit of prayer which, once cultivated, changes all kinds of work into prayer...
Tell Jesus everything; if you have some troubles, if your heart is full of hope, full of the desire to be united with Him...
Confide even those worries that you dare not say to anyone...tell Him even if your shoe hurts.
Tell Jesus everything with the simplicity of a child."
~Father James Alberione


Oh, and please say a prayer for one of my and CT's friends who is entering postulancy with the Daughters of St. Paul tomorrow (or today, depending on your time zone), along with two other young women! Mahalo. ^_^ And please take some time to visit the Postulants' blog!

"What it means to stay awake"

This is actually yesterday's meditation from the Magnificat, but it's too good to keep to myself. Just had to post it! =)

What does progress mean? Progress means diligence, application, and discretion. More, it means concentration to its depths on the work we are doing - for that is where God is for us - without worrying about the past or the future. That is the only way to banish all tension, all anxiety, all those useless imaginations which are so much more tiring than the work itself.
There are two dispositions you must never lose sight of if you would make progress and at the same time remain at peace. For the moment, be content with what you are, and you will find joy and peace, since you already possess God, although maybe imperfectly. Bear with yourself as you are; give simply, but fully, what you have.
As regards the future, never say: "What I am today is good enough for tomorrow." Strive always to become better; to advance towards a closer union with God. Let the present serve as a starting point for the future. Thus you will go from God to God.
Life progresses slowly, and it is only what endures that counts.
~ Dom Agustin Guillerand, O.Cart.
(1945) French Cathusian monk and revered spiritual author.

As a certain member of the Pauline Family would say, "A little progress every day!"

Devotions Meme!

Yay, now for a bit of fun! ^_^ I got tagged by Mrs. Cathy for a Catholic Devotions Meme! Mahalo!

Name your five favorite Catholic Devotions!

1. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (not sure if this counts though)
Mom dragged us to daily noon Mass one year, and honestly, there were times when we would rather stay home and study rather than drop everything in the middle of the day. Well. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how we even used to survive without dragging all our intentions with us and dropping everything at our Lord's feet! ('Course He doesn't whisk them away, but at least we are given renewed strength to carry on.)
Besides, who would willing miss out for a chance to see the most beautiful miracle in the world!?


2. Adoration
There's a story about the simplest, but most profound way of Adoration. I forget where it's from, but here it is: There once was an elderly man who went to Adoration everyday. The parish priest was happy to see him visit, of course, but a bit perplexed at the long hours the elderly man spent with our Lord. One day, the priest decided to ask the elderly man what his conversation with Jesus was like. Very childlike, the elderly man replied, "Oh, I don't say anything, Father. I just look at Him and He looks at me."
Jesus doesn't ask us for long essays, He already knows what's in our hearts. He just wants us to come to Him and spend time with Him. Sometimes, the best prayer we could offer is that of being with Him in loving silence.


3. The Rosary
"Be it done to me according to thy word." I don't suppose the young girl - who was probably just minding her own business until Gabriel appeared - understood everything that the angel told her. Did she really know the enormity of the situation?? Probably not. Even if she didn't, she accepted it anyway because she at least knew that she could trust in God. Mary is my Confirmation patron because of that. She reminds me that, even if you have NO IDEA what the Gabriel person is saying, you should still trust that God will bring you through.
To be honest, I have a hard time praying the Rosary. No joke...it takes me an hour sometimes. :( But when you're a young person with this humongously giant thing called the future in front of you and you have NO IDEA what's going to happen, turning to someone who was in a similar situation, taking her hand, and letting her walk with you to God makes the task seem at least a little more possible. "For nothing is impossible with God." ^_^


4. Divine Mercy Chaplet
The first time I ever heard the Chaplet was when my Aunt brought it to my Grandma's in the form of a CD. We didn't exactly know what it was, but we stuck it in the CD player anyway. Well, it started out very nicely, and it was sung by a couple of people. "For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." Hm, great tune and interesting lyrics. But then the same thing played again. And again. And again. And...again. It went on ten times. Then a different tune played. (Something new!!) Then it reverted to the same old tune. At that time, we promptly turned it off. Impatient bunch of kids. :p
It took attending a Divine Mercy conference for us to find out what it was all about. Though, even now, I'm still not able to put into words why I like it so much. Yet it is such a beautiful, simple prayer with so much meaning and gravity.
Guess what? We love singing it now.

5. Liturgy of the Hours
This one is rather new.
Once again, when Mom decided to do Evening Prayers out of the Magnificat, we had to drag ourselves to do it. Or at least we kids did. It was loooong. Eventually, though, we became used to it, but that was my introduction to the Liturgy.
So how come it's #5? When CT and I visited the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston, we said Morning Prayers with the Sisters before Mass. I don't mind getting up early, but staying awake is the hard part. Particularly when the first thing you do in the morning is read "long" psalm prayers. (They seem long when you're really tired!) We did manage to stay awake, though, and found some of the prayers really helped when it came to preparing for Mass. When we left Boston, the first morning away I went around thinking that something was missing. You know...that miserable feeling that you forgot to do something, but don't remember what. So I checked the time. Oooh. That's what it was! Time for Morning Prayers!
Don't ask me why, but I really, really missed Morning Prayers. Fortunately, my family has a couple of editions, so I sneaked one off the shelf. I don't know why I've never noticed, but there's a psalm for every occasion. There's one for when you're happy, for when you're peaceful, for when you're angry, for when you're down, and for when you're in despair. Starting the day with these sets everything in a positive perspective. Most day have been go much smoother, particularly when you know that you've started them right.

Yups, that's five.
So now to tag...um....actually, I don't know who comes here anymore. Let's just say that if you, dear reader, haven't done it yet, consider yourself tagged. ^_^ What are your five favorite Catholic Devotions, and why?

And yes, I know I'm not doing a good job posting things more regularly. Sorry...but keep reminding me and someday there will be improvement! =)