Managed by Dennis Pangindian, Retreat Coordinator - St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,900 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 48 trips to carry that many people.
It’s Christmas Eve, a majority of the shopping is done, people are finally taking a load off now that the Christmas weekend is here, presents are now being received at Secret Santa and White Elephant gatherings, the Christmas lights are glowing brighter than ever, yet there just so happens to be a handful of people that seem to have lost touch of the holiday spirit that many people have seem to happily have, or at least make people think they have. Yes, the media is partly to blame for commercializing such a beautiful time of year, but this season to me really puts the cliche saying “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” to the test. It’s a little bit of a shame to see people post on Facebook and Twitter how terrible and frustrated they feel like the ‘Christmas spirit’ is not in existence in their lives when they just so happen to be the one’s who might’ve contributed to others’ beautiful Advent experiences. Their frustration only motivated me to give them one last ditch effort to show them what makes this Advent season so special, because honestly, this Advent season has been one of the most beautiful and blessed times in my life, and I’d like for all those closest to me to share in this wonderful feeling that I’m so blessed to have.
It started weeks ago, just a couple days before Thanksgiving, when on the way home from work, my mother and I were picking up dinner at Chick-fil-A, and the girl at the drive-thru window had posed a question to us: “Do you think it’s appropriate to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving, or should it be restricted to only play after Thanksgiving?” I had answered that it should be played after because of not wanting to overlook Thanksgiving, but my mother then chimed in and answered that it was fine, that in the Philippines, people start celebrating Christmas in September, marking it the beginningof the ‘-ber’ months. I thought it was absolutely absurd, but it really got me thinking about it.
That first Sunday of Advent, was the eye-opener for me. We had just gotten off a wonderful retreat, where God really affirmed my ministry work by guiding me through MCing that retreat, and so many people had so many kind words for something I felt so nervous for. The gospel reading had proclaimed for us to WATCH for the Kingdom of God was on it’s way (Mark 13:33-37). Through Fr. Tom’s homily, he had proclaimed that that kingdom is already here, we just have to WATCH, and that’s when it hit me: I’ve been so blind to the spirit of Christmas for so many years. After that mass, I had made it a mission my mine to really open my eyes and WATCH for the bountiful graces that God blesses us all with.
There were so many instances from that point forward that really made this Advent the best Advent for me, and for the sake of your time and mine, I will not go and list them ALL, but there were so many people involved and so many events that contribute to this blessed feeling that I am really empowered by the moment. People like my new candidate, Janelle Bautista, comrades like Nathan, Meesa, their confirmation two class, MY confirmation one class, Marie, Alex, Kaitlyn, JSL, Alyssa, Isa, Sarah, Nikki, Morgan, Jason, Kataina, Ambar, Angelica, Alana, Clarice, Carlo, Dennis, the CrossTrainer CORE Team, the CrossTraining ministry, the youth of St. Paul, my immediate family, especially my MOM and events like Youth Day, FNL, the December retreat, the CT Christmas party, snowboarding with friends, and just the overall feeling of God’s love that showered on me as I opened my eyes and heart to all these graces really gave my Advent a new jolt of spirit and made me appreciate this season so much more.
All of God’s love embodied in all the people and events in my life really gave me the sense that I am truly blessed. Throughout all the pain and suffering I had to endure this year, God really blessed me with the best Christmas present through all of Advent: HIS LOVE. I’m so undeserving of such a wonderful gift, yet just when I felt satisfied, He only gives me more, and it is the most heart-warming experiences that I have ever felt. Which now leads me to YOU, the reader, of this awfully long and probably boring blog:
I’ve already given this challenge to some people, but for those who still might be feeling like the Christmas has died out with your childhood, or haven’t even started feeling like it’s Christmas this year, or people who actually say they hate this time of the year: Where have you witnessed Jesus in these past four weeks of Advent? Was it in a person closest to you? Was it in an event that empowered you like a retreat? Was it in something you read or saw? And for the entire duration of Advent, did you really WATCH as we were called to do in that first gospel reading of Advent? In the realization that God’s love just so happened to be abundant in your life these past couple of weeks, I guarantee that you will find that Christmas spirit had been there all along, it was just a matter of opening your eyes to the beautiful graces that had been under you nose.
Yes, today marks the last day of Advent, but it’s not too late. Let that reflection consume what’s left of this beautiful season and go and spread that love you recieved to all of the friends and family you will see for the next couple days celebrating the birth of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, because He IS the reason for this wonderful season. HIS LOVE has given me and YOU a MERRY Christmas, and I pray that you, my brother/sister in Christ, share in the MERRINESS that has consumed a majority of the world, because more than likely, if you are reading this, YOU have contributed to MY beautiful Advent season. So, thank you, reader. Thank you for being Christ in my life in some way, shape or form. I pray that you and your family “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” I love you.
-
Fred Nisperos
Here is a taste of what we experienced this past weekend! Thanks Devyn Bandonillo for your great work!
Here is a piece of a great and inspiring article about hope, perseverance, forgiveness and loving God:
One lesson from Rosario’s story is that we can’t deal with life’s hurts on our own. We may think we’re self-sufficient and can heal all our problems with determination and prayer. God, however, created us to be in relationship with one another. In fact, He does some of His best work through the people who come into our lives. In Rosario’s case, acknowledging that need for help was especially important because it didn’t just bring her emotional and spiritual healing at that time. It laid the groundwork for another attack she would endure years later that would bring her even closer to death.
The recent devastation on the East Coast from Hurricane Irene, as well as all the other natural disasters that occur around the world, often brings to mind questions about God, God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s will, God’s purpose, etc. But why does it usually take huge disasters like these to make us look at God’s role in our lives with a perspective larger than our own bubbles of luxury and comfort?
This past year, the Confirmation 1 retreat theme was “God Is.” NOT “God was..”, “God will be..”, or even “God is Love” because God is larger than our own comprehension! When we lose our sense of how much larger-than-life, how eternal, God is we begin to limit God and try to make God what we want God to be in our own lives as is most convenient for us. But it is when we face these troubling times we are sometimes made uncomfortable because the God we have created to be for us does not necessarily line up with the God we are experiencing in our lives or what God may be calling us to do with our lives. As Jack Jezreel, founder and director of JustFaith, said: “It’s my own experience that I grow spiritually, morally and even intellectually mostly by being made uncomfortable. I consider being made uncomfortable an attribute of the Holy Spirit.”
So in regards to these God-questioning moments like tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. we are forced to look beyond this man-made image of God to confront the God that works beyond our comprehension in our lives. In his article, Water or Ash: God in the Storm, Tim Muldoon says:
I recall these experiences to highlight a basic point: much of the time we live in ways that distract us from the large question of what living is for, and so situations of extremity force us to consider exactly what we think we’re doing. What I have found remarkable about these situations—dating back to a serious flood that struck my family’s home town when I was a boy—is how they can mobilize neighbors and create bonds of friendship absent in the course of “normal” life. There is logic to living in extremity that we ignore under normal circumstances. We don’t generally think about how much we need each other; we don’t think about food rationing, or preserving water access, or checking regularly on the elderly and infirm. We in the developed West have become accustomed to isolation, and have in large part forgotten what it’s really like to think as a community, helping each other to survive and thrive. Losing this big picture, it is very easy to think of life in small, manageable chunks oriented around the small question of what we think we want.
I find it compelling to think of God questions as those which face us when we emerge from our smallness. Many raise these questions only in times of extremity, as if God’s only role is to throw disasters at us every now and again. God becomes the enemy to be overcome with good planning. To be sure, God is in the storm, the earthquake, the tsunami—but God is also in the rescue, the selfless act, the courageous response, the loving community we become aware of when our defenses are down. Against those who would preach a tame, sweet, nice God, I see a God who is master of the winds and rain, time and eternity, to whom we wail upon the death of thousands and praise upon the rescue of a single soul. But most of all, I see a God who, when life is stripped down to its barest minimum, can emerge softly because the noise of the world is no longer in the way.
May the Holy Spirit make us uncomfortable.
-
Dennis Pangindian
Congratulations to the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Herold!
Jim and Tracy got married this past Saturday and it was an affirmation for me of the true vocation for ALL people – what the Second Vatican Council calls the “universal call to holiness”. From the love that poured out of their smiles to the “I do’s”. From the joy they shared with everyone, to the significance of them distributing Eucharist to everyone. Lumen Gentium says that ” in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness” (LG, 39). And nobody can deny the holiness present in Jim and Tracy’s marriage. If you want proof of it just click here!
Lumen Gentium says that “this holiness of the Church is unceasingly manifested, and must be manifested, in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful; it is expressed in many ways in individuals, who in their walk of life, tend toward the perfection of charity” (LG, 39). This is exactly the approach we must take in pursuit of vocations!
In this article on his approach to promoting vocations, Fr. Christopher Jamison, head of the Office for Vocations of England and Wales, says:
“We’ve shifted from asking ‘would you like to become a priest?’ to asking, ‘what kind of person would you like to be and what would you like to do in life?’.”
In other words, Fr. Christopher moves ”from recruitment to discernment”. This is the approach to vocations the Church must take today! In an age where we recognize the call to holiness present in all paths of life (married, single, religious, young adult, youth, parents, divorced, widowed, homeless, migrant, etc.) what exactly does it mean when we “pray for more vocations” during Mass? Why is the vocations office only geared towards religious vocations? Why does “discernment” usually connote “considering being a priest or a sister”?
As Christians that are called to holiness, it is the responsibility of us all to properly discern and ask ourselves the question Fr. Christopher is asking - “what kind of person would you like to be and what would you like to do in life?” If we truthfully ask ourselves this question with our “universal call to holiness” in mind, we can ALL claim responsibility for the holiness of the Church and the way in which we manifest holiness in our individual lives! This is not to downplay the holiness of priesthood or religious life, but rather to uplift the call to holiness for all of the faithful! Should we take this approach, not only would we have an increase in those entering religious life, but also an increase in faithful marriages, Christ-centered families, holy lay ecclesial ministers, and a more relevant Church in the 21st century!
Thank you Jim and Tracy Herold for reminding me of how truly holy we are all called to be – may God bless your marriage for the rest of your lives! May we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession on this Solemnity of her Assumption.
May we always strive towards the perfection of charity in our own lives.
-
Dennis Pangindian
Happy Fourth of July! As we commemorate the birth of our independence, let us not forget the responsibilities and the personal call that freedom brings. Here are a few words from Pope Benedict XVI during his Apostolic Visit to the United States in 2008:
“Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience — almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one’s deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate. In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good.”
Perhaps the best way to celebrate our Independence Day is by committing to take seriously this personal responsibility every day that we enjoy our freedom. Not just because it is our responsibility, but because “it is a challenge” of OUR generation that must “be won over for the cause of good.”
God bless America!
-
Dennis Pangindian
In honor of the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostles yesterday. Here is a prayer that has been hanging by my desk since I first started my job as retreat coordinator:
Glorious St. Paul,
Most zealous Apostle,
Martyr for the love of Christ
Give us a deep faith,
A steadfast hope,
A burning love for our Lord.
So that we can proclaim with you
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Help us to become apostles
Serving the Church with a pure heart
Witnesses to her truth and beauty
Amidst the darkness of our days.
With you we praise God our Father
“To Him be the glory, in the Church and in Christ
Now and for ever.”
Amen.
Today is the officially the first day of summer, also known as the Summer Soltice. This is the longest day of the year (with daylight…NOT hours) and the shortest night. It is often a celebration of light and life because, as translated from it’s latin roots, the “sun stands still”. Also, the summer days that follow get shorter and shorter as it slowly slips back into Autumn. So while it is a great celebration of light, it is also an acknowledgment of the limited time we have with such a gift.
I can think of no better “coincidence” (I say this facetiously because in God’s grace there are no coincidences) than for this year’s Summer Soltice to fall on the same day as the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, one of the patron saints of youth! At the age of 10, Aloysius – also known as Luigi – became interested in the priesthood. However, being born into a noble family – his father was the marquis of Castiglione and his mother was the lady-in-waiting to the wife of King Philip II of Spain – Aloysius was expected to carry on the family name and continue the family’s noble lineage. So for most of his childhood, Aloysius suffered the pressure from his father to be a nobleman and not a priest. Yet, at the age of 17, Aloysius’ father reluctantly approved of his vocation. It is noted that as Aloysius entered the Jesuit novitiate, he carried a note from his father to give to his Superior that said “I merely say that I am giving into your Reverence’s hands the most precious thing I possess in all the world.” More of his biography can be found here.
Summer Soltice is the day that the Earth’s axis is most inclined toward the sun. As God’s children, we can celebrate St. Aloysius Gonzaga’s life and learn from his trust in his natural inclination towards God’s will for him! Gonzaga often went to extremes in pursuit of God’s will for him, but always did so with fervent passion, faith and desire – something youth can relate to! Even in spite of parental pressure, contrary orders from his superiors, and the sacrifices necessary to accomplish God’s will (again all things YOUth can relate to), Aloysius Gonzaga remained faithful and headstrong in his pursuit of God’s will for him even as it led him to contract the fatal plague while serving the sick. He died at the age of 23.
This summer I challenge everyone (including myself) to celebrate and reclaim that youthful spirit within us (regardless what your age may be)! As we relax over summer break with family and friends, or study during summer school, or even as we work our summer hours, may we be mindful of our natural inclination towards the source of all light, warmth and life – God our Creator, Savior, and Paraclete. When we are mindful of our natural inclinations towards God and when we reclaim our youthful vigor, then we open ourselves to the Lord’s will for us so that we make this passing gift of life count towards the greater glory of God! We move closer to being able to say to God “I merely say that I am giving into your Reverence’s hands the most precious thing I possess in all the world” – our whole self: heart, mind, and soul.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
-
Dennis Pangindian
Today – May 1st, 2011 – was Divine Mercy Sunday as instituted by Blessed John Paul II (also beatified today).
“Jesus shows His hands and His side [to the Apostles]. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in His Heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity.” -Blessed John Paul II
I was born in New York city. I was raised in Queens. I stayed at the World Trade Center just 2 months before 9/11. I love New York and, more so, the United States of America like no other. Yet tonight I cannot help but pray for both our nation and, yes, Osama bin Laden himself. Jesus raises the bar for us when He says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:43-44). Instead of celebrating the violent death of a tyrant, perhaps we should pray for the lost soul of a child of God. After John Paul II was shot in an assassination attempt during a public appearance, he visited his would-be assassin in prison and even heard his confession. That is Divine Mercy. That is true holiness. And that is what we are all called to live.
With the recent news of Osama bin Laden’s death, I find no better words than the following which came from this site:
The Death of Osama Bin Laden and the Christian Reaction
As I write this the twitterverse, facebook, news stations, and general U.S. public is buzzing about the reported death of a well known terrorist named Osama Bin Laden. To many this death means justice is being served, that the United states is the hero of the world, and/or that the war on terrorism is a good idea. I’d disagree with about all of these things. However, I’m not writing this to debate those issues. I have one simple message right now for Christians.
We are to be a people of love who imitate Jesus Christ. Jesus loved all people so much that he died for all of them, wiping away their sins, calling them his children. He forgave all evildoers as they tortured and killed him. During the greatest of injustices he suffered and exampled perfect love, asking God to forgive those evildoers. In his teachings he told us to emulate our Father in heaven who is faithful to the wicked and the righteous, causing his rain and sun to fall upon both. He sent his son for all the sinners of the world. The public sinners, the private sinners, the violent sinners, the sexual sinners, the mental sinners. He did this in an effort to bring all people to him. He wanted all people, all sinners, all wicked men and women, to repent and join his kingdom. He gave us Jesus, the “Way”, so that we would have unity with him.
That is what love looks like. In the book of Ezekiel God speaks to his people and twice makes it clear that he does not delight in the death of the wicked because his true desire is for them to change their ways and join him in his way. Ezekiel 18:23, 33:11. The second states, “…As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!…” Jesus commands us to forgive others nonstop. Paul instructs the Romans to never seek or invest in revenge but to be people of love who bless others and do good to their enemies. THIS is a huge aspect of the Christian life. The Christian is defined by love.
So when men like Osama Bin Laden die we should not celebrate their death (or killing/murder/whatever) but mourn for someone died without repentance (as far as we know). That is worth our mourning. That is worth sadness. If we are people of love then someone dying outside of love should touch us deeply and not cause us to throw our arms in the air rejoicing. The fact that people, even Christians, rejoice in the death of other men proves that this world is broken, sinful, fallen, and in need of true redemption. We know that God will judge all and justice will come to pass but right now, for us, mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness, blessings, and love are our focus, duty, and supreme pleasure. Let us not get caught up in the “victory” of the United States (which is no victory at all to those of us who know the love and salvation of God, the meaningless of nations and the value of every human being who is created int he image of God) but let us mourn the sadness that penetrates the kingdom of heaven as a brother sleeps in sin and may not enjoy eternity with us and with God. How could we celebrate such a tragedy? Let us not think that bombs have brought redemption and justice but instead let us remember that redemption and justice was already brought in the greatest of ways through Jesus Christ dying on the cross, as a weak and seemingly defeated criminal. Violence is not the hero. Christ is the hero. Love wins, it never fails.
This death is not the depiction of God’s justice. The cross is that portrait. This death will unite us in mourning and love or in revenge and hate. We can not be a people who support endeavors which consist of top priorities such as killing a particular man. We must support evangelistic and gospel-oriented endeavors that have goals of converting men into repentance. Our military belongs to heaven and not a specific nation. The terrorism we stand against is not made of flesh and blood but of powers and principalities. We must have a gospel based view of reality and no lesser view.
Therefore, let us invest in love, mourning this day, not celebrating the ways of violence and shallow justice. Let us align ourselves with the God who does not delight in the death of wicked men but desires that all men come to him and may he be a part of drawing others near. Today we can do that with how we approach this popular death. We can pray for the middle east and what may come as a result of this death. We can pray for all the people in various militaries that they find safety. We can set an example by mourning and speaking love. We can do many things to distance ourselves from hate, revenge, nationalism, and all the evil things that are floating around in our society at this very moment. It was once said that Christians are the reason the good flows on in this world. Let us live in such a way that this may still be true even if we are accused of loving too much.
Proverbs 24:17, “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice”
May God bless America, bless & protect our troops, and grant true peace on earth. We pray for the victims of 9/11 and their loved ones still coping with their loss today. May we be inspired with forgiveness and mercy on this Divine Mercy Sunday.
Blessed John Paul II
Pray for us.
-
Dennis Pangindian
