Live Life!

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"He receives the answer: "Who are you?"And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"The voice answers: "I admire you!"Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"He receives the answer: "Coward!"He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"The voice answers: "You are a champion!"The boy is surprised, but does not understand.Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.It gives you back everything you say or do.Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"

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Kabankalan Sinulog

More than the noise of drums, the festival has a laudable origin. It dates back when Kabankalan was just a barangay of Ilog, the once capital of Negros Island and Siquijor. Since Ilog was navigable, it was the center of commerce and had been very progressive, to the envy of Muslim pirates who were about to conquer the place but with people gathering in Church and praying, a small Child with the shining sword atop the Church’s roof drove the pirates away. People believed that it was Sto. Niño, and to honor him, dances were offered first by the sacadas but because it was attractive to tourists, it has later become a festival.

Sinulog derived its name from "Sulog" a Hiligaynon word for current, as Ilog is a river. Actually, the festival for me had been paganized before, as you can see women in two-piece suit carrying Sto. Nino, leads the tribe while dancing and drunk men raise their bottles of beer shouting, Viva, Senor Sto. Nino. Thanks to Father Henry Pineda's valiant homilies. He also used to tell the difference between 'pang-fiesta and merry-making'. When you go to the place and attended the fiesta, you are with the community in thanksgiving to their patron. But if you just went there for fun, that's merry-making and not pang-fiesta. (I read somewhere that Sto. Nino cannot be a patron because he is the Second Person of the Trinity, that is why Cebu's patron saint is Our Lady of Guadalupe).

Never did I enjoy the merriment at the plaza, probably because of my introverted personality. I often stayed at home to accommodate guests, if there was any. I sometimes question how the celebration had been commercialized and how people had been pre-occupied by the menial tasks thus losing the real meaning of the celebration, that is, Jesus, was born amongst us and had been a child such that, we must have that childlike dependence on God, yet doing our best in every endeavor.

http://www.misyononline.com/misyonforum/index.php?q=node/716

A Funny Story

(This story is posted at www.misyononline.com)

Happy new year to all.. I hope all of us had a wonderful Christmas as well as the new year. Let me share my funny new year, can I? hehehe. proceed jesh...

December 30, 2008, I was very sad because I was planning to buy a cake for my younger sister for her birthday on new year's eve, yet I guess I won't be able to give her a cake for I don't have enough money on my pocket. The past few days, I was desperately asked some help to my relatives to raise enough money to buy a cake for my lil sister. But yet, I failed to raise some amount to "dagdag" sana sa konting pera ko. That moment I got only 2 hundred pesos, and I need 3 hundred pesos to buy a cake. The night before my trip back home, I really asked God to help me, I really cried, I know if someone would read this I know they would say, "ang babaw naman", yes, I admit that, yet that's our happiness.

Anyway, the next morning I was ready to go home with deep disappointment. Before I step out to the house of my cousin where i presently living, she called me and handled me 3 hundred pesos for my fair. I was shocked for I didn't expect that she would give me more than enough to my fair. Now, I have enough money to buy a cake.. I was really happy, while on the bus I just can't help smiling, I was like a crazy person.hehehe.. I want to surprise my lil sister, so I didn't let them know that I bought a cake.

After 3 hours, I finally got home to our house, and the funny thing was they are all in shocked when they saw the cake. And you know what the next thing happen? they all asked, "ba't ka pa bumili ng cake? naka order na kami.."huhuhu.. then I whispered, "I didn't know.." isn't it funny?hehehe. After all the things I've done, the worrying moments that I thought there would be no cake on her birthday, yet, we end up with 2 cakes on the table.. hehehe.. I still can't help but laugh even now..

But because of that, i realized that God really helping us, even in the last minute. If, we can only wait...

http://www.misyononline.com/misyonforum/index.php?q=node/698#comment-345

Epiphany Sunday, January 4, 2009

HAS THE CHURCH DIMINISHED THE MEANING OF THE EPIPHANY AND OTHER FEASTS?

A Happy New Year to all! And, as we say in the Philippines, 'Happy Three Kings!' The Epiphany is properly celebrated on 6 January. The Philippines, and some other countries, observe it on the second Sunday after Christmas. About 40 years ago the Irish bishops switched the feast to that Sunday but the people were very unhappy with the change and they moved it back to its proper date after only two or three years.

This is one of the Church's oldest feasts, being observed universally since the fourth century. Among Easter Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, the Epiphany is a much more important feast than Christmas. It is in many ways a missionary feast since it celebrates the recognition of the Savior by symbolic representatives of the Gentiles and has an implicit call to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

President Arroyo has moved around every single distinctively Filipino national holiday - Independence Day, Rizal Day, Bonifacio Day, etc, in recent years to create long weekends for government employees. Many think she has diminished the meaning of these holidays. Has the Church diminished the significance of feasts such as the Epiphany and the Ascension, both rooted in the Gospels and in the life of Jesus, by allowing them to be observed on Sundays? What do you think?

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