Glory and Praise To Our God!

"Joy is the greatest sign of the presence of God"

Roses and Rosaries

Good news to all people everywhere!

We have three beautiful rosebuds in our rose garden. (Hey, farmville addicts, we have three and you have none. Stop the virtual farm and start the real garden!)

The roses in our nursery will be transferred to the chapel garden by next week, IF there are no untoward happenings. How wonderful to see the a leaf coming out of the branch just stuck on soil, and then a bud blooming... What a wonderful, wonderful feeling. And to be able to pick the dewy flowers in the early morning and offer them at the altar of Our Lady... or at the Blessed Sacrament. What joy!!!

Yesterday, 3 of us (Captain Wilmar, Maricar and Godwin) assisted by 3 French ACIM-Asia Volunteers, distributed rosaries in GFI College. Not only students but teachers and school administrators happily went up the stage to crowd around the distribution center. We had distribution in the morning and also in the afternoon. It was nice.

Hopefully, these rosaries would soon bloom into loving Hail Mary's offered from the hearts. Hopefully. Let's keep praying. We'll see what happens next.

FIGHT AGAINST REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL

Lagman's team, sponsored by ICPD, came to Gensan yesterday, September 25. They spared no effort to promote their cause, they even gave FREE lunch to ALL THE AUDIENCE, on top of all the free literatures and CD's that they distributed.

Well, we went to the conference. But we could not get in because we were NOT INVITED. So we stayed outside and distributed HUNDREDS of literatures. To everyone who went out after the conference, to whom Lagman's team had used all kinds of appeal: emotional, economical, and political, we gave literatures and asked them to study the Catholic principles. We gave pamphlets on contraception, population control, abortion, arguments against Lagman's proposed bill, and other related materials courtesy of ACIM-ASIA.

Our Captain, Wilmar, was interviewed. The camera was on him. A video was taken too. Well, we hope that his answers helped state our positions clear. And we hope that God will bless our efforts. And accept our fasting and prayers.

VIVA CRISTO REY!!!

Ave Verum Corpus!

A miracle!

After our regular Stations of the Cross joined by the 3 French ACIM-Asia volunteers, we watched the documentary of a eucharistic miracle at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbg_dhI4XCs.

"How is it possible that while I was studying this sample, the sample was moving, it was beating? So explain to me, how did you take out the heart of a dead man and took it alive to me to my New York lab?"

"Professor Zugibe, this is not what you think... this is a consecrated Host that started bleeding."

Splendid! There is a link at http://aomlibrary.blogspot.com in the Conferences section.

To battle, comrades! Onward!

September 17

We folded rosary guides and packed the rosaries that would be used for the Rosary apostolate next week.

We hope that more and more people will learn to use the beautiful weapon against the heresies of our times and help in the restoration of the Kingship of Christ.

Last month we were able to submit the tally of our chapel for the rosary crusade: 5,940 rosaries. May God receive our offerings and grant us peace in our days.

We need much grace these days. The evils in our days are rising.

Dan Brown, the author of Da Vinci Code, after attacking Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, weakening the already diminished voice of the Church in this modern world, is publishing a book that will promote Freemasonry in the world. His new book is "The Lost Symbol" which is welcomed happily by Freemasons. He hates the Catholic faith and sympathizes with the Freemasons believing that they are the best ecumenical people who offer the best alternative to religions that divide. Expect to find less faith in the world... less morality... more evils... the question remains: "when the Son of God comes back to earth, will He find faith?"

AFter years of just hinting, the proponents of contraception have finally come out to publicly declare that to curb global warming, contraception is the answer. They assert that contraception is the cheapest way to combat climate change. REad for yourself at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/6161742/Contraception-cheapest-way-to-combat-climate-change.html . People want the easy way out: Don't care about God or the Church, let's be practical. But they don't go all the way actually: If they are looking for the cheapest solution: let's all ABSTAIN, MORTIFY, SACRIFICE, EMBRACE THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, BE MORAL, BE FAITHFUL, BE TEMPERATE. Expect more pressure on the third world countries to legislate for aggressive contraception, for measures against personal carbon emission! And expect to do a lot of FIGHTING! IF we are half the men that we are supposed to be, let's prepare our arms and go to the battlefront! Onward, Friends of the Cross!

Maria Mater Dolorosa

Sept 15: Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

The gymnasium was packed with people welcoming someone claiming to be a "Living Dead", saying he had been dead, embalmed, and then came alive again with a mission to heal and preach...

But that night we were at the chapel for our conference on The Seven Dolors of Mary. We learned about the seven sorrows, meditated on each sorrow, offered sincere prayers after each meditation. As Apostles of Mary we saw it was our duty to learn and love the feast days of Our Lady so that we would have a living devotion to her and be ever ready to ezplain about her feasts and her important role as Co-Redemptrix.


The devotion is very beautiful because the promises of Our Lady to those who accompany her by a devotion to her Seven Sorrows are marvelous.

Her 7 promises to those devoted to her Sorrows are:
1. I will grant peace to their families.
2. They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.
3. I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.
4. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of My Divine Son or the sanctification of souls.
5. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
6. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their MOther.
7. I have obtained (this Grace) from My Divine Son, that those who propagate devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from the earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and My Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

How beautiful to die and be taken directly to eternal happiness! If you want to know the Seven Sorrows, here they are:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon.
(Our Lady was told her Son would be a sign of Contradiction, that a sword will pierce her heart.)
2. The Flight to Egypt.
(The Blessed Mother's heart was grieved that her little innocent Baby was being hunted by Herod and his men, wanting Him dead.)
3. The Loss of the Holy Child in Jerusalem
(The Blessed Mother was very sad because the Child Jesus was lost! What could have happened to Him? The Divine Son entrusted to her safekeeping by God! What loss!)
4. Meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary
(Our Lady had to see Him bleeding, carrying the Cross, falling on the ground, spat upon, crowned with thorns, jeered at, hated...)
5. Standing at the foot of the Cross
(The Blessed Mother kept Her Son company as he hung dying on the Cross and heard his anguished seven last words... and she was desolate, left by the disciples who had become afraid.)
6. Taking down Jesus from the Cross
(Finally, She took into Her arms the dead body of Her Son and God. The Mother's heart was very sad to hold her dead, cruelly treated Son.)
7. Burial of Jesus
(Covering His dead body and laying Him in a stranger's sepulchre in a rush... She did not even have enough time to bid goodbye before the stone had to be rolled in and they had to go home to observe the Sabbath.)

After each explanation, we had a short meditation and prayer, and said a Hail Mary.

At the 1st Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of humility and the gift of holy fear of God.
At the 2nd Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of generosity, especially towards the poor, and the gift of piety.
At the 3rd Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge.
At the 4th Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of patience and the gift of fortitude.
At the 5th Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel.
At the 6th Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding.
At the 7th Sorrow, we asked for the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom.

May we persevere.... May God grant us the grace to see Our Blessed MOther at the moment of death!

Adoramus te Christe!

Sept. 14: The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee! Because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world!

We gathered to pray at 6:00 AM, meditated on the mystery of the Cross and our redemption. For our sake, Christ was obedient until death, death on the Cross.

Then we had breakfast together. Some orange juice, hotdogs, some slices of beef, fried dried fish, rice (of course), coffee...

In the afternoon we did some cleaning at the chapel and tended our garden.

Blessed be God!

Blessed be the Name of Mary!

September 12: Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

We had solemn prayers together and had a conference on the Great Graces that Our Lady promised once Russia is consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart.

The triumph of the Immaculate Heart is the triumph of the Social Kingship of Christ! May God hasten the day. May the peace of Christ be upon us...

Viva Maria! Viva Cristo Rey!

Happy Notre Dame Day!

September 8:

It felt good to wake up very early to greet our Blessed Mother a Happy Birthday!

At 4:00 AM we rang each other's phones to sound the alarm, and went out for the procession in the cold breeze. There were 26 participants offering rosaries and hymns to honor Our Blessed Mother (and 4 non-traditionalists who were attracted by the Rosaries and hymns!).

We had a potluck breakfast and discussed the conduct of the Rosary Apostolate with the lady who donated Rosaries and Miraculous Medals for our Flores de Mayo catechism last May. It was a happy breakfast, we had lots of bread and coffee and hot water...

Due to the inavailability of the students due to the school examination schedules, we moved the campus Rosary apostolate to the 4th week of September.

After the day's work / classes, we met again to pray and discuss about the Rosary Crusade for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the 3rd Secret of Fatima, the crisis in the Church related to loss of faith among the people and the clergy. Then we had dinner together, celebrating with very big hamburgers and cold drinks.

Blessed be the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy!

Facebook, Farmville, and more

FIRST THINGS FIRST: What is the purpose of our existence?

Our main goal is to be united with God in heaven after our bodies die. This requires EFFORT.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT FACEBOOK, TWITTER, MYSPACE, OTHER ONLINE NETWORKING SITES?

Meeting friends, sharing pictures, playing games.

NOW, WHAT'S WRONG WITH FACEBOOK, ETC?

Facebook (why single out this one? Because we know for sure that VERY MANY of US are members of that network. That's WHY!!!

Facebook and other social networks offer strong temptations for BORED OR INSECURE PEOPLE to construct a SECOND LIFE, a life of virtual friendships that are not natural. Too often, for the sake of fun, people INVENT STORIES OF THEMSELVES OR THEIR ACTIVITIES. And thus begins a habit of telling UNTRUTHS, when one's joke becomes too good to be given up, one would rather NOT LIVE UP TO REALITY, but rather immerse himself/herself to a world of make-believe. For short, DAYDREAMING... The temptation is great because of the unlimited audience paying attention.

Read these from Fr. Paul Robinson, SSPX (Where Madness Lies):

"Teenagers engaging themselves in the social networking would enter a NARCISSIST INCUBATOR that is as addictive as its astounding ability to make one feel good."

"Exhibitionism is rampant in the online matrix." (Note how many post pictures of themselves portraying themselves as glamorous individuals or established socialites... wine glass or cigarette in hand, or as sexy stars.) This makes teen life a "theatrical, self-directed media production". (Self-produced too.)

If only these people would take time to reflect, they would realize that they are already dangerously SELF-ABSORBED, snapping self-photos and mailing them on regular basis to all their friends.

SO WHAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE? Where does all these self-advertisement lead? HUMILITY? MODESTY? Come on. Let's be honest.

FARMVILLE, OH FARMVILLE!

Do we count ALL THE TIME WASTED AT THE INTERNET?

Many young people are encouraged to pretend that they are busily engaged in productive work when in fact, all they do is PRETEND to be farming and DAYDREAM about a harvest and an income. They don't want to work on a real farm because the virtual farm offers "more money"... fictitious money. STUPID.

Farmville Fans, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. THERE'S A LOT OF ARABLE LAND IN THE PHILIPPINES, GET YOUR TOOLS AND START REAL FARMING AND YOU WILL GET OUT OF POVERTY. IF you imagine you're too rich to start farming, start opening your wallet and start GIVING. That's the only way to go to HEAVEN. iF you keep up the farmville, you'll harvest your wasted time in HELL.

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE:

How many hours did I spend on farmville, and how many duties did I NEGLECT because of my hours in farmville? (SLOTH is the mother of many vices.)

And how about all the flatteries and lies.... can I count the ways? What was my motive for posting that picture? For telling that lie? (PRIDE...)

And how many times did I feel bad when others overtook me in the games level? (ENVY, PRIDE... urging me to waste more time at the computer just to beat the other one, for short, engaging in SLOTHFUL OCCUPATION).

And what about covetousness and lust that were stirred inside...???

FRIENDS OF THE CROSS, WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THESE ONLINE NETWORKS? Hard to give up? Well, LIFE IS A WARFARE... a warfare between two standards. The standard of Christ and the standard of satan. CHOOSE!!!! Christ or Satan? Life or Death? Heaven or Hell?

La Cucaracha!

Happy Sunday to everyone!
Yesterday, September 5, was the Tuna Festival in our very own General Santos City. We missed the boat race, the tuna float parade, the fish dance contest, tuna culinary competition and most of all, the free tuna fiesta meal! Here instead we tell of our adventures yesterday.

Very early in the morning we helped pack the medicines and supplies for the ACIM-Asia - Hearts and Brains, Inc. medical mission in the B'laan village in Sarangani Province. We sent 200 pcs of rosaries and rosary guides for that mission, but only Magali, Marte and Sheryl were there because we had to assist at the burial of one Legionary in Marbel.

So we fetched Fr. Suelo from the airport, and while waiting under the very hot sun, we watched the official welcome dance for the tourists and guests coming to celebrate our city festival. Also we tried to practice the chants for the Requiem Mass when we could find a shade. The airplane was late, and so we tried to meditate on the temperature in hell, surely it's worse than the temperature in Gensan. And when we reached Marbel, it was hotter there! (Hey, there's no place like home!)

After the Father blessed the corpse we proceeded to the chapel for the Requiem Mass, and then we processed to the cemetery. We arrived to see the gravediggers still digging, and we had to wait for an hour as they dug. While waiting, we knelt on the grass and prayed the Rosary.

Ate Yolly was kneeling on her ankles looking very weary, not holding her rosary beads but clasping on the blue hymnal. Then I crawled towards her and whispered, "Ate Yolly, there's a cockroach on your hair!" She froze while I flicked the roach off her hair. Unfortunately, I had flicked it in the direction of Ate Maricar, and the cockroach began climbing up her skirt. When she scrambled to drive it off her clothes, Ate Yolly turned her head to see what cockroach I was whispering about, only to see that it was crawling back towards her. And so she took her slipper to smite it, but missed. ATe Maricar stood and trampled on the roach with passion. So it died. Poor little animal, it did not have a Requiem, nor a decent burial. It died despised. Lesson for the day: Check the tree where you seek shelter, it may be the powerhouse of a strange ecosystem!!! If you see lots of cobwebs with pollens trapped on the webs, and you see the leaves puckered up or full of holes, you shall consider it a roach harbor. And expect that when a gust of wind comes, a cockroach shall land on your hair. Don't blame us for not warning you.

Now let's go back to the essentials: Ate Maricar was disappointed that her rosary count wasn't as many as she wanted because the meditative moment was interrupted by La Cucaracha!

When we returned to Gensan, we were hungry and tired but Magali and Sheryl were waiting to endorse to us a patient from the mission who needed to be sent to the hospital. So, more work was done until the night.

But, the chapel garden was not to be forgotten, so I, together with Ate Yolly, checked on the progress of the roses and the carnations and the white angels. We swept away the dirt, and did some watering for the plants because the heat dried up the plants.

We checked on our nursery and I, Kitz Wilson, by the power vested on me as Chief Gardener, (I hope Kuya Patrick doesn't react badly, because he is the 2nd Chief Gardener - rather, 1st chief gardener depending on who does the roll call), hereby declare that there are 6 roses budding forth some leaves from the plain cuttings that we planted, and that there 5 roses showing green hope from the 10 marcots that we planted, 1 of whom has a pink bud coming out unexpectedly, overcoming with much fortitude the difficult, hot days and terrible soap sprays it was subjected to.

Well guys, that's the way to celebrate the Tuna Festival.

Happy Feast Day of St. Pius X!

Joyfully, we started the day with the dawn procession in honor of St. Pius X! Twenty three happy people processed, praying 15 decades of the Rosary and singing hymns.

Then we had the annual raffle draw of prayers and good works for the priests of the District of Asia and sat together for the bread and coffee while presenting our song compositions for the "10 Commandments". Judith was the only one who presented a full song, the others were not able to present a full composition... so, by popular demand, we are extending the songfest until we can all present a memory song to be used for teaching the Ten Commandments to children.

Today was also our deadline for the chapel garden landscaping. We brought a Red Rose plant, 3 red carnations, 4 White Angels, and 2 little pink and orange Piti-Mini Rose plants. May our garden bloom with heavenly grace.

And today we are happy to present the namesake saints of the clan members. This is a nice time of discovery for us members, as our parents did not think of saints when giving us names, so to find out that we have namesakes is a very happy event!

Ate Maricar, whose real name is "Maria Caridad", presented the story of St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, who joined the "Refuge of Our Lady of Charity at Tours on October 20, 1814 (Ate Maricar celebrates her birthday every October 20!) and later founded the large congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd of Angers. How beautiful! To read the life story of her namesake saint, click on http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/04-24.htm

Kuya Patrick presented the story of St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, credited with the conversion of Ireland to Christianity. He was a Roman Briton kidnapped by pirates and brought to Ireland. There he worked as a slave and learned the language and the beliefs of the people. When he came back to preach the Gospel, he addressed the people in the Irish tongue and his holy life and the miracles that God sent during his preaching converted the pagans.

Ate Judith happily shared her discovery of St. Judith who lived in the 13th century in Thuringia, now central Germany, who wanted to imitate St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She was married to a wealthy nobleman. She persuaded him to live and dress more simply in order that they would have more to give to the poor. Her husband died while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and she raised her children alone. When they grew up she gave away everything she had and lived as a hermit where people would not know she was from a wealthy family. She cared for weary travelers who passed by her hut, and prayed for non-Christians and newly baptized Christians. She once said, "Three things can lead us to God: painful physical suffering, being in exile in a foreign land, and being poor by choice because of love for God."

Ate Yolly, whose full name is "Yolly Eileen", related the story of Blessed Yolanda of Poland also known as Helen of Hungary, who was a daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary and was married to Duke Boleslaus of Greater Poland, and who was devoted to works of charity and became a Poor Clare nun when widowed. A summary of her life is available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolenta_of_Poland

....we will continue the reporting after the classes.... please visit our blog again.

September 4: Thank you for following our blog!

Kitz discovered last night that there is a Saint Kizito! And tonight he shared the story of St. Kizito from Uganda whose name had a close resemblance to his. St. Kizito was born in 1849 in the village of Waluleetato in Bulemeezi county, to Lukomera (father) and Wangabira (mother). He was a Muganda and he belonged to the Mamba (lungfish) clan. Kizito was 14 years old and he served as a page (servant) in the inner courts of King Mwanga II. Though he was a young boy, fellow pages admired him greatly because he was very hard working and loved Jesus Christ very much. He was baptised on May 26, 1886 by Charles Lwanga and martyred on June 3, 1886 because he and other Christian men refused to denounce Jesus Christ. Kabaka Mwanga was annoyed and ordered that they be burnt to death. St Kizito became the patron of children and primary schools.

Please keep posted for the reports of Kuya Wilmar (St. Wulmar), kuya Godwin (St. Godwin), Wilfredo (St. Wilfred), and Rogel (St. Roger).

September 5
The name Rogelius is nearer to Rogel than Roger so....

Tonight Rogel shared with us the story of his saint,Saint Rogelius....A monk Fr Rogelius, from a village near Granada, together with a Syrian pilgrim, whose name in Latin is Servus Dei, entered the mosque in Cordoba. To the horror of the Muslim worshippers present, they preached the truth of the Gospel and the falsehood of Islam. Saved by the authorities from death at the hands of the irate crowd, the two were sentenced to a grisly punishment: their hands and feet were cut off before they were beheaded and their bodies were then cremated. One of the first official actions of the new emir, Abderrahman’s son, Muhammad I, was to purge the Cordoban bureaucracy of Christians. He must have been pleased with the apparent effect of this change in policy: the next nine months passed without incident. But again, as the following summer approached, a new parade of martyrs stepped forth. By the way, if you still don't know, Rogel is from Cotabato City and he had lived in some villages in Sultan Kudarat Province too. So it's not hard for him to imagine what happened to St. Rogelius.

September 6

Kuya Wilmar presented the story of St. Wulmar, a Benedictine abbot who died in the year 689. He was born near Boulogne, Picardy, France. He was actually married but was separated from his wife and entered the Benedictines as a lay brother. He must have had an exemplary attitude because he was eventually ordained and became the founder of the monastery of Samer near Boulogne, which he served as Abbot. There is not much known about his life, but the fact that the abbey was named Saint-Vulmaire in his honor tells us that he must have been an exceptional personality. Kuya Wilmar will continue to search for more details regarding the life of St. Wulmar, who is also known as Vulmar, Ulmar, and Vilmer.