GULP Exam: Obvious na ang mali

Good huli-cam there: Gian Litan

Por Dios por Santo, WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? AND WHAT ARE YOU SITTING ON!

Porke lang nabulaklakan ang imahe at nagayakan ay uupuan ang Tabernakulong MAY LAMAN?

Don't justify your ignorance, even when a Priest is present... In that case doble kayong may kasalanan...

Yaiiiiks!

PS- Kahit Seminarian ako mahilig ako mag-GULP parin! Bwahahahahahha... 

May 29: Memorial of Blessed Rolando Rivi, martyred seminarian

Today, is the memorial of a newly-beatified Seminarian, who was killed because he was wearing a cassock, and because he was a practicing Christian.

"Io sono di Gesu", 'I belong to Christ", these are the words in which Rolando Rivi expressed his love for Christ and the Church, and publicly witnessed in wearing his cassock.

Let us pray for seminarians, those who already entered the seminary and those who will be called to the priesthood. May he inspire us to publicly say to the world: "Io sono di Gesu!"

O God,
merciful Father,
who chose the small 
to confound the powerful of the world,
we thank You for having given us, 
in the seminarian Rolando Rivi,
a testimony of total love
for Your Son, Jesus, and the Church,
unto the sacrifice of his life.
Enlightened by this example, 
and through Rolando’s intercession,
we ask You to give us the strength 
to be always living signs of Your love in the world,
and we beg You to grant us the grace of [here state your petitions],
which we ardently desire.
Amen.

Oasis of Love

To be honest, I was persuaded to attend this 3-day Walk with Jesus Seminar, and I was in a hurry packing up my things for this event which will be held in a retreat house (Sacred Heart Spirituality) near our home. I couldn't disrespect my friend by simply refusing it.  It is my first time that I attend this 3-day activity. I never had the chance to take part when I was still in my pre-college formation; at that time I attended a burial of my uncle outside town. But I decided to join to take this opportunity before going back to the seminary this June. I really hope that this activity would be a boost for me to go on with my chosen vocation and a turnaround in my self-formation.


We, the Batch 18, were very blessed to have facilitators and speakers coming from Cebu! They are the managers and TV personalities from the Cebu Catholic Television Network or CCTV Channel 47 headed by their very own Bro. Nonito "Dodong" Limchua and his wife, the darling Nanay Diane "Mikay" Limchua.
Also they brought apologists and motivational speakers that gave us laughs and lessons to ponder once we end the activity.

In their talks I really appreciated the way they made us entertain with their jokes and their interesting stories. I would realize they are also humans trying to reach out with our hearts with their stories. They used to share that they were once gamblers, womanizers, drunkards and hotheads trying to do everything to please themselves. They were once persecuted by their fellow brethren in their diocese for the sake of preaching about Christ. They used to hate the world because of a society that is very sick and fading away. They used to carry the burden of being a wife of a drunkard and a womanizer.

While listening to their inspiring talks, I asked myself: "Am I going to be changed after this 3-day activity?" I really wanted to go home; I had my bike parked at the parking area. I want to home, I said to myself.
The bad thing is, you will miss a lifetime opportunity of experiencing a 3-day activity and you will become a topic of their gossips and thus creating a bad image of yourself. I reminisced on my life, especially in high school, of being rejected and being a fool. I reminisced on being bullied all the time. I am very tired of being a sucker to everyone; I want to become free from this quicksand of folly. I want to change, I want to become a new me, a strong me.

But the light of Christ changed their lives. The love of Christ reminded them to reject their bad habits and live good lives. The love of Christ strengthened them to help them move on, start over and forgive those who offended him much, even from the men in white. Our Lord Jesus Christ touched their hearts and gave them hope and used them to give hope to those who were in trouble living in this dreaded society. Jesus eased their burdens and taught them to love and accept their neighbors, to whom they have a deep grudge, once again. The Lord Jesus Christ loved and changed the sinners very much, and molded them to become models for others.

As we had this activity called "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" in which we trample card boards with the mortal sins written on it and the elders would anoint us with holy oils, there is this part that really touched me most.
The part when the facilitators kissed your feet. It tickled, really. I really wanted to giggle because I can't resist the tickle part. But as the activity went on and on I suddenly reminisced everything in the past. It really hurts.

But it gave me a message; I must forgive.

A very important thing to change and to forget everything that surrender everything to God.

Then there is the anointing. One by one we were anointed, we received the gifts coming from the Holy Spirit. One by one we fell down so as to feel the power of the Holy Spirit. As the anointing went on people prayed endlessly; they prayed in tongues. One cannot understand for us humans. We would surely laugh at those people who kept on babbling gibberish things. But for them it is prayer, an endless praise and adoration understood by God and by the heavenly hosts. A tool to evangelize and to build churches for centuries.

I felt peace and comfort. Not because the floor was cold but because I felt the peace in Jesus and all my anxieties and worries suddenly disappeared. I had a very light feeling in my mind and in my heart.

On the last day of the activity, the participants shared their experiences. One saw Jesus Christ walking with them at the beach. The other one saw Mama Mary. Another one experienced the shaking of the ground while entering the chapel all by himself. Another one is seeing St. John Paul II being with the mass celebrant wearing his white vestments. And the rest is history. They decided to share it on their way home.

As the activity ended, so is the start of everything new. I know that we will be not change immediately; Rome was not built in a day. I still use cursing, I am still the same me, a sulky and a reserved one. But if we strive to change, he will be a new person. If we only strive.

“Before beginning this celebration, I bring you a greeting. Before I left this morning, I was with Pope Francis, and I told him: “Holy Father, I have to leave soon. I’m going to Rimini where there are thousands upon thousands of faithful of the Charismatic Renewal: men, women and young people.” With a great smile, the Pope said: “Tell them that I love them very much!”  - Archbishop Rino Fisichella

Our Lady of Fatima: a simple prayer to Mary

Prayer to Mary for the Asian People (from Ecclesia in Asia)

O Holy Mary, Daughter of the Most High God,

Virgin Mother of the Saviour and Mother of us all,

look tenderly upon the Church of your Son

planted on Asian soil.

Be her guide and model

as she continues your Son's mission

of love and service in Asia.

You fully and freely accepted the Father's call

to be the Mother of God;

teach us to empty our hearts

of all that is not of God,

that we too may be filled

with the Holy Spirit from on high.

You pondered the mysteries of God's will

in the silence of your heart;

help us on our journey

to discern the signs of God's powerful hand.

You went quickly to visit Elizabeth

and help in her days of waiting;

obtain for us the same spirit of zeal and service

in our evangelizing task.

You sang the praises of the Lord;

lead us in joyful proclamation of faith

in Christ our Saviour.

You had compassion on the needy

and spoke to your Son on their behalf;

teach us never to fear

to speak of the world to Jesus

and of Jesus to the world.

You stood at the foot of the Cross

as your Son breathed his last;

be with us as we seek to be one

in spirit and service with all who suffer.

You prayed with the disciples in the Upper Room;

help us to wait upon the Spirit

and to go wherever he leads us.

Protect the Church from all the powers

that threaten her.

Help her to be a true image

of the Most Holy Trinity.

Pray that through the Church's love and service

all the peoples of Asia may come

to know your Son

Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world,

and so taste the joy of life in all its fullness.

O Mary, Mother of the New Creation

and Mother of Asia,

pray for us, your children, now and always!

Mater mea, fiducia mea!

My Mother, my hope!

Of cassocks…

Seminarians of the Archdiocese of Lipa wearing cassocks

I remember a long time ago when I envied a priest or an altar boy wearing a cassock and a neat surplice. That was when I was still a young kid. As I grew up, I asked myself when can I wear one, and as I reached the part when I entered the guild of altar boys, I became pretty excited with wearing the cassock and surplice. This excitement and fascination is still with me until now, and a witness to this is the number of cassocks and albs I have at home. Some I gave away, and a pair of clerical garb, one cassock and one alb is still with me now.

Now that I am in the seminary, I am still proud that I can wear my cassock and that whenever I serve, attend processions or am in occasions where we are asked to wear one, I still feel happy and glad. Why?

Blessed Rolando Rivi, seminarian martyr

To explain everything, I will use the story of Blessed Rolando Rivi, an Italian seminarian whose life I read recently and made an impression on me…

“Rolando wore his cassock and white collar with pride, even in vacations in the hot month of summer. Some of his peers who normally sought comfort didn’t wear the cassock and even some of his relatives told him: “You are on vacations, take off your cassock, be freer to move and play…” He answered: “I don’t have to take my cassock off, I can’t, it is the sign that I belong to Jesus!”

His cassock was not for him a human or social barrier for relationships with others. It was not an impediment for the development of his activities, even the recreational ones. The seminarian Rolando Rivi was a very active young man.

After having “amazed” the kids of his town with his abilities and his virtues he used to propose to them: “Now let’s go to pray to Jesus in the church.” He took the opportunity to lead them to the front of the altar and teach them to relate to Jesus, who was his best friend.

Everyone knew how affectionate he was to his cassock. He wore it always.

It was very common to see him walking the streets of San Valentino, normally going towards the Church alone or with others, always smiling in peace, ready to say hello to everyone, always with his austere cassock.”

(P. Alfonso Maria Bruno, F.I., Rolando Rivi: The testimony of the bloodied cassock, Congregation for the Clergy website)

Essentially that explains it… the cassock signifies belonging to Jesus Christ in a special way, that is of being a future priest or of cooperating in a priestly work. Being in a cassock or even in a clerical shirt signifies union with the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Or even without them, at least we should even try to act like priests and seminarians, so that others may recognize the Christ working in all of us, the Christ willing to serve and sacrifice…

In reality, one of the saddest realities of priests and seminarians today is that some of us always try to hide our identity, by not wearing the proper garb, or even acting like one, because they don’t want the respect given to them by the members of the Church, or because they don’t want to be caught in places where they shouldn’t be…. And another saddening reality is that of laity dressing up like priests and seminarians and acting like they are better than clerics… Is there really a reverse of roles today? Priests trying to laicize themselves and laity clericalizing themselves? Wah!

(And oh, we’re not really in a persecuted land, so hey, why hide?)

(I’d ask a ranter from TPC-The Pinoy Catholic to come over and give a heavy rant!)

The cassock really- is a derivative from monastic garb. So this brings us to our first point, the cassock helps us realize our need for self-denial and self-abnegation. The wearer of the cassock should bear in mind that the Lord is his inheritance and his portion and cup- according to the traditional formula when the seminarian is given the cassock in Tonsure. This should shun away those clerics, seminarians and laity who like to show off themselves in clerical garb for food, money and cash!

Next point, the cassock helps us to ponder closely on our model-Christ our Lord. Being vested with the cassock should enable its wearer to live in virtue and holiness. Imagine someone who proudly wears a cassock during the day and molesting young kids in the night or doing MYSTERIOUS things in the night…. Horrendous! Horrible! or to least express ourselves…. Yuckkkkkk!!!!!

Third and final point, the cassock is a garb for service. Thus altarboys, seminarians and clerics wear one because they are servants of a greater mystery- the eternal Priesthood of Christ Jesus. When priests wear their clerical garb…. this helps them to become more visible for service. I often hear this from someone else- Priests cannot immediately minister to accident victims or those dying suddenly because they cannot be identified as such…. Seminarians are not really tapped anywhere because they are not visible…. Altar servers without distinctive garb looks drab! The cassock, when worn, enables all of these people to serve the Lord properly, especially in the Mass. Imagine priests, seminarians or altar servers chitchatting or taking selfies during Mass- ewwwww!

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Yet, a disclaimer….. I am not telling all of those mentioned, our venerable Fathers and brothers, to go around in flowing cassocks all the time… No! We should at least bear ourselves fitting to our dignity, and wear suitable garb and at least wear the cassock and clerical garb at the proper times.. (we all know when those will be)

And a note to liturgical cosplayers, I do know that wearing one is cool, but do wear one when you're really entitled to it.... Ha!

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To end, I hope that nobody gets really hurt by the reflection, it’s really just a reflection, and I hope that whoever has ears, does hear!

(And a special tip of the hat and kind regards to fellow admin Nico, who recently obtained a new white cassock... his new cassock and my prayers inspired me to do a commentary on this, while waiting for the dryer to do its thing on my cassock...)