Tribute to Pope John Paul II's Beatification

This coming May 1, 2011, the people of the Universal Church will be watching for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II who had made a lot of landmarks in history. Few knew about the history of this remarkable successor to the chair of St. Peter, and so here I will list down some of what I read about him.

- While still a child, his classmates used to tease him that he'll be a saint one day.
- While still a young priest, Karol Wojtyla went to confession, and the Franciscan priest Padre Pio told him that one day he will become the Pope.
- He was the Fatima Pope of which the Blessed Virgin Mary talks about in Fatima when she said that she asked a priest from her Son to sit in the chair of St. Peter to crush the communist party of in Europe (true enough, he had been friends with Mikhail Gurbachev of Russia and had been in tireless opposition of Russia's communist movement)
- He has Totus Tuus as his apostolic motto (latin for I'm all yours) which is a response to the Blessed Virgin's call to him.
- His coat of arms is the only coat of arms among all the popes which bears the letter M for Mary. A proof that he indeed embodied the personalty of the predicted pope of Fatima.
- His papacy reached out to the hearts of the leaders of the world. The most traveled pope, or the "gypsy" pope, and appealed to the youths.

There are so many things that proves that this man is truly a builder of Bridges.
Other people and even some Catholic bishops and priests may have hated him, which is sad, but there is no denying that Christ is truly faithful to His Church and had given the keys to St. Peter and his successors.

Pope John Paul II has called the Jews "Older brothers" since Jesus Christ is a Jew himself. Without the Jews, there will be no Christ for the Catholics to know, contrary to what others say about Catholics condemning the Jews. (Well, some traditional Catholics refuse to obey the pope and still insist on hating the Jews)

Pope John Paul II was the only man who united the world leaders at his burial. Iran and Iraqi leaders were sitting side by side, even though they were at war at that time. But they had to go there to pay their last respects to this holy man.

Pope John Paul II has truly become an inspiration through his courage and perseverance. The faith he showed when he led the Church was undoubtedly alive.

To be honest, I myself have a lot of doubts about my faith, but seeing him with steadfast belief and hope made me want to see the God he sees. He truly is an inspiration. An example to all, a saint through and through. I am happy to have lived at the time of his Papacy! I caught a glimpse of what a true Catholic should be!

True, priests, bishops and some of the Catholic officials have tarnished the reputation of the Universal Church with scandals and abuses that made the lay people leave the fold, but they are not the Church. There are people who are determined to make things right. Pope John Paul II, you're a hero! Reflecting Christ in this time of confusion.

May the Church produce more people like him!

Cool! A role model!

Happy Easter - Thoughts on my Birthday Contemplation

It was by choice that I declined two invites to go out of town for the Holy week. Not that I am the best in everything or that my choices are far more grand than others. It's just that I knew what I needed in my life right now... I need to meditate.

Holy week for me is an exciting event wherein I could have a chance to contemplate on the God who continually reach out to me amidst the chaotic world and confusing variety of philosophies and pseudo-theologies. (Being born in a family with lots of books, I tend to read a lot)

Those who knew me (or rather thought they knew me) decided that I needed this or that in order for me to be happy. Suggestions from different people came pouring in, from people who are sincere in their efforts to guide me to 'happiness'. At times, I believe them, but at the back of my mind, I was restless. There was a nagging feeling that cannot be silenced.

I came to realize in the silence of the walls of the Church and the guidance of the recollections and retreats that I attended, that I find comfort and clarity of my purpose when I immerse myself to the study of God who I believe made every cells in my body function as He planned it in the greater scheme of things. Only then have I come to catch a glimpse of pure happiness that is untarnished and not fleeting as some temporary joys the secular world offers.

I dare say, my choices may not be appealing to all, but it is the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to be at the forefront alongside the people who have fought the good fight and died for what they believe was right. Holy week for me is a time to recharge my soul in union with my Creator.

I am not a fan of short term happiness, and I am not afraid to be labeled as weird and odd just because I refused to follow what most people do. For me, happiness is the feeling of an undying hope, and the knowledge that you are alive for a reason much nobler than what mere people decide you to be.

It is easy to judge others as inferior when they do not concede to what we believe in, but for me, the true measure of joy is what good it does to one's soul. I would rather die looking for the eternal bliss, than lose myself to temporal joys which are often times meaningless in years to come.

I look up to great people who already found inner peace and make them my guide in determining my decisions, making them my role models. I try to emulate their discipline and adapt it in my life.

On some occasions, some people belittle me and think they are much more accomplished because they experienced a lot of "fun" and advised me to do the same. I had detours in my life, and I must admit that the devil may care attitude of the youths give us lessons as we go through the course of life, but I don't believe in being stagnant and not moving on from mediocrity. I believe that until you fulfill what you have come to accomplish in this world, you cannot be truly happy. You also outgrow these 'joys' and trying to bring back its glory is futile.

The pursuit of meaningless happiness in repetition doesn't make any sense at all. Detours are only a waste of time when you already know what you want out of life. Make one mistake and take the lessons you need in order to do better next time. Make progress, that is the only way to be able to reach happiness in its totality. Get out of your comfort zone if you must, even when it means being laughed at for not joining the pack.

Believe in your path for you are the only one who knows where you can truly be happy... there's no one who can hinder your progress to greatness but only you. People and unfortunate circumstances cannot do anything as long as you refuse to let go of your goals and dreams. Be brave amidst endless mockeries and close your ears to the endless discouragements people throw at you.

Turn the tables with your perseverance until your stubbornness prove that they were wrong about you. Lead them with your great example, refuse to allow them to put out your fire. And make this world a better place to live in. Fight for your dreams... life is short, and there's only one chance for all of us to prove ourselves. Cut yourself out from the rest. :)

Face the world with a new fuel of determination! Fight a good fight! Shine your Light! Happy Easter to all! ^_^

A learned a Great Deal in My Cathoic Faith this Holy Week

In my years of existence and of being a member of the Catholic Faith since birth, this was the first time I heard about the truth as to why Christ had to die on the cross for the sins of mankind.

For so long, I thought that He died on the cross to redeem us, by shedding his blood in order to expiate and placate the justice that God thirsts for.. But this isn't what redemption is all about!

Theologians have twisted this story over the years... it was all a mistake taught by the bishops and priests and so called theologians.... but never the Pope!

Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that this theory, that God needed His Son's blood in order to redeem us, that only the Person of equal rights and stature has the right to redeem us is all a misunderstanding and it came from mankind's mis-representation of salvation of mankind which they based on the feudal system... wherein the offended party could only be appeased if the offensive party shed blood of a person of the same noble birth! It is in direct contradiction to the parable of the Prodigal Son wherein the father loves his son and welcomed him home unconditionally.



Just as Hell wasn't made by God to punish the demons who betrayed Him (For they themselves made hell because they cannot live in a place that God made because they hated God and everything that God created.), so the story of redemption was twisted!

According to the original doctrines of the Church, Jesus came here not to appease the father with His shedding of blood, but to show God's love for us. He sent His only begotten Son to bridge His love to us, with Jesus becoming man and telling the people about God's love. The people, who are full of violence and hatred were anxious to inflict Jesus with sufferings. Thus, Jesus, knowing this, underwent the suffering till the end, till man was satisfied. He went through it all without complaining so that He could send the message that God loves mankind, contrary to the lies that the devil feeds them. And by the power of His infinite mercy, he won man over... not all, but at least there were those who responded to His sufferings and understood why He came to Earth.

Only Christianity have a God like this... a loving God who is willing to die for His people. Such a good story. It's hard to imagine that for so long, I knew an angry and vengeful God. Clearly, what the media feed us are all distorted truths!

I am lucky to have found Christ like this! Lucky to be in a 3-day recollection of knowing Christ this holy week... I wouldn't exchange this time with Him for anything! :)

I sometimes learn about attitude towards life in my favorite cartoon shows ^_^

Yeah, I have a confession to make... and it's kinda funny but I think it's not a crime to share. I was lately becoming bummed out because I felt that my progress in all my undertakings were really slow.
I was really uninspired lately, talk about grown up stuffs people ask me to face... (It is boring really... and it's no fun!) And at times like these I look outside my window and reminisce about my old days.... yeah, back when I was a healthy dreamer.



I dream a lot, really. Thank goodness for that... and because I used to watch a lot of cartoons where tha main characters are driven towards success, I picked some of the champion's mindset. Yes, you won't believe it, but you really can get a lot of a leader's mindset in quality animes. And just by watching, I slowly remembered what kind of a person I was---- Dreamer and Driven.


As of now, I picked up Takehito Inoue's Slam Dunk. It is a very good anime. I was really inspired to be myself and be disciplined as I watched the main characters practice more and more each day to surpass their old selves. Animes like these are really good... if only the Philippine society is like this, then everything will be cool--- i mean if they only start putting an end to making excuses and blaming other people why they are not progressing.

I used to watch this in college for entertainment's sake, it was a  rerun in the local network for the nth time. It's a really funny series and I almost fell on the floor when I was able to watch it in dubbed Tagalog... the dubbers' ad lib were hilarious and used languages that the ordinary Filipinos use in everyday life... it's really worth re-watching a thousand times! I still love it after more than a decade of its existence.

Takehiko is a guy full of wisdom to create such a story, strong and deep words overflow as I watch slam dunk... It deals with the slices of life, on how to live up to the challenge of life and be the best a person can be. Slam Dunk, you made my day. Now, Takehiko Inoue is now one of those people who inspire me... great story.... the best I've seen in my life. “Play hard so you will have no regrets” - Kaede Rukawa- Slam Dunk (Takehiko Inoue)