Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts

March 30, 2015

Guide for Holy Week; Red Cross gears up for Holy Week

The first big day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday, the day that we commemorate Jesus entering into Jerusalem. There are a few different ways in which a community can celebrate the beginning of Mass on Palm Sunday but they all begin with the blessing of palms. 

As Catholics enter the church or gather around the back of the church everyone is given a palm (either before or after the blessing). As we gather and listen to one of two Gospels that we will hear at Mass that day we are not just remembering what happen almost 2,000 years ago but rather we are bringing the past into the present. 

It is a special way of recalling past events with the help of signs, symbols, gestures, and our own imaginations. Many people use this special type of memory every year also as they celebrate Passover.

We believe that if only one person needed to be saved that God’s love for that one person would be so strong that He would have endured the cross for that one person. Have you sinned? Then you are responsible for Christ’s death on the Cross. The Good News is that Jesus came to save us and not to condemn us. While the reading of the Passion takes us all the way up to the death of Christ and his burial in the tomb, Holy Week has really just begun.




In anticipation of the influx of travelers this Holy Week, the Philippine Red Cross activated its Holy Week Safety Assistance operations last March 27.

PRC Chairman Richard J. Gordon said this is to ensure immediate response should any emergency arise while people travel to the provinces and visit churches in observance of the Holy Week.

“In observance of the Holy Week, we expect increased people mobility in places of worship, recreational areas, ports and terminals with traffic congestions on major roads and highways, we want to ensure the safety of the general public by setting set-up first aid stations, ambulance services and welfare desks in areas where people are likely to converge. We want to ensure that help will be readily available should any need arises,” he said.

Gordon said the PRC set up First Aid stations and Welfare Desks, as well as deploy volunteers and ambulances in public areas.

He added terminals and ports are very strategic areas as huge volumes of people go through these areas during the start of Holy Week, Gordon added. Such places are: Alimall bus terminal, and Batangas pier.

Gordon said, the Red Cross also mobilized ambulances and volunteers along with the First Aid stations and Welfare desks in gasoline stations, highways, major roads, churches, parks, and other major crowded areas to offer motorist assistance and emergency response readily on standby.

Meanwhile, PRC Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang advised everyone to keep safe and be wary of accidents.

Pang also instructed the Red Cross chapters to coordinate with local authorities for the duration of the operation which is from March 27 to April 6, 2015.

“Prepare First Aid kits with enough supplies and equipment in advance. Tasking shall be made to ensure systematic provision of assistance,” she also instructed.

In case of emergency, the Red Cross numbers are readily available for anyone to contact:
Emergency number: dial 143
Direct line: 524-5787
Trunk line: 527-0000 Loc 117
Sun: 0942-553-3622
Smart: 0939-261-2576

January 21, 2015

Pope Francis' impromptu and heartfelt speech at the "Encounter with the Youth"

Pope Francis' prepared speech for the "Encounter with the Youth" event at the University of Santo Tomas, Sunday, January 18.


The pontiff, however, discarded most of his prepared speech that he was due to give in English, reverting back to his native Spanish to deliver an impromptu and heartfelt response, after a weeping 12-year-old girl, Glyzelle Palomar, a one-time homeless child taken in by a church charity, made her emotional plea during ceremonies, at the UST "Encounter with the Youth", ahead of a mass by Pope Francis to millions of faithful.

"Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many children get involved in drugs and prostitution," Palomar told the pope as she stood on stage alongside a 14-year-old boy who also used to be homeless.

"Why does God allow these things to happen to us? The children are not guilty of anything." Palomar broke down and wept profusely, prompting the pope to take her into his arms and hug her for a few seconds.

Palomar asking how God could allow children to become prostitutes, moved Pope Francis to hug her and appeal for everyone to show more compassion.

Pope Francis decided to deliver an impromptu homily in Spanish which was translated in English by Msgr Mark Gerard Miles.

Below is the full transcript of Pope Francis' impromptu speech, as delivered during the encounter with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on Sunday, January 18.

(Here as translated from Spanish by Msgr Mark Gerard Miles)

Dear Young Friends,

When I speak spontaneously I do it in Spanish, because I don’t know the English language. May I do it? Thank you very much. This Fr Mark, a good translator.

First of all, a sad piece of news. Yesterday, as Mass was about to start, a piece of scaffolding fell and, upon falling, hit a young woman who was working in the area and she died. Her name is Kristel. She worked for the organization preparing for that Mass. She was 27 years old, young like yourselves. She worked for Catholic Relief Services as a volunteer. I would like all of you who are young like her to pray for a moment in silence with me and then we will pray to Our Mother in Heaven. Let us pray.

Leads prayer of Hail Mary…

Let us also pray for her parents. She was an only child. Her mother is coming from Hong Kong and her father is here in Manila.

Leads prayer of Our Father…

It is a joy for me to be with you this morning. I greet each of you from the heart, and I thank all those who made this meeting possible. During my visit to the Philippines, I wanted in a particular way to meet with young people, to listen to you and to talk with you. I want to express the love and the hopes of the Church for you. And I want to encourage you, as Christian citizens of this country, to offer yourselves passionately and honestly to the great work of renewing your society and helping to build a better world.

In a special way, I thank the young people who have offered words of welcome to me.

To Jun and Leandro Santos II and to Rikki, thank you very much. There’s only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are too “machistas” and we don’t allow enough space to women. But women can see things from a different angle to us, with a different eye. Women are able to pose questions we men are unable to understand. Look out for this fact: she is the only one who has put a question for which there is no answer. She couldn’t put it into words but expressed it with tears. So when the next pope comes to Manila, please let there be more girls.

I thank you Jun for talking about your experience so bravely. As I said, the heart of your question has no reply. Only when we too can cry about the things you said can we come close to answering that question. Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart is able to ask itself and weep, then we can understand something. There is a worldly compassion which is useless. You expressed something like this. It’s a compassion that makes us put our hands in our pockets and give something to the poor. But if Christ had had that kind of compassion he would have greeted a couple of people, given them something, and walked on. But it was only when he was able to cry that he understood something of our lives. Dear young boys and girls, today’s world doesn’t know how to cry. The emarginated people, those left to one side, are crying. Those who are discarded are crying. But we don’t understand much about these people in need. Certain realities of life we only see through eyes cleansed by our tears. I invite each one here to ask yourself: have I learned how to weep? Have I learned how to weep for the emarginated or for a street child who has a drug problem or for an abused child? Unfortunately there are those who cry because they want something else.

This is the first thing I want to say: let us learn how to weep as she has shown us today and let us not forget this lesson. The great question of why so many children suffer, she did this in tears. The response that we can make today is: let us really learn how to weep.

In the Gospel, Jesus cried for his dead friend, he cried in his heart for the family who lost its child, for the poor widow who had to bury her son. He was moved to tears and compassion when he saw the crowds without a pastor. If you don’t learn how to cry, you cannot be a good Christian. This is a challenge. When they posed this question to us, why children suffer, why this or that tragedy occurs in life – our response must be either silence or a word that is born of our tears. Be courageous, don’t be afraid to cry.

Then came Leandro Santos II and his question. He also posed a good question: the world of information. Today, with so many means of communication we are overloaded with information. Is that bad? No. It is good and can help. But there is a real danger of living in a way that we accumulate information. We have so much information but maybe we don’t know what to do with that information. So we run the risk of becoming museums of young people who have everything but not knowing what to do with it. We don’t need young museums but we do need holy young people. You may ask me: Father, how do we become saints? This is another challenge. It is the challenge of love. What is the most important subject you have to lean at university? What is most important subject you have to learn in life? To learn how to love. This is the challenge that life offers you: to learn bow to love. Not just to accumulate information without knowing what to do with it.. But through that love let that information bear fruit.

For this the Gospel offers us a serene way forward: using the three languages of the mind, heart and hands – and to use them in harmony. What you think, you must feel and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart and you put it into practice. Harmoniously. What you think, you feel and you do. Feel what you think and feel what you do. Do what you think and what you feel. The three languages...

Can you repeat this? To think. To feel. To do. And all in harmony...

Real love is about loving and letting yourself be loved. It’s harder to let yourself be loved than to love. That is why it is so difficult to come to the perfect love of God. We can love Him but we must let ourselves be loved by Him. Real love is being open to the love that comes to you. The love that surprises us. If you only have information you are not surprised. Love surprises because it opens a dialogue of loving and being loved. God is a God of surprise because He loved us first. God awaits us to surprise us. Let us allow ourselves to be surprised by God. Let us not have a computer psychology that makes us think we know it all. All answers on computers - but no surprises. The challenge of love. God reveals himself through surprises.

Think of St Matthew. He was a good banker. But he let people down because he imposed taxes against his own people to give to the Romans. He was full of money. Jesus passed by, looked at him and said: “Follow me”. He couldn’t believe it. It you have the opportunity, see Caravaggio’s picture of him. Jesus calls him and those around say: “Him? He betrayed us! He is no good! He hoards money!” But the surprise of being loved overcomes him. The day when Matthew left home for work, saying goodbye to his wife, he couldn’t imagine he would come home without money and have to prepare a feast for the one who loved him first. God surprised Matthew more than the money he had. Allow yourselves to be surprised by God. Don’t be afraid of surprises. They shake the ground beneath our feet and make us insecure, but they move us forward in the right direction.

Real love allows you to spend yourselves, to leave your pockets empty. Think of St Francis who died with empty hands and empty pockets but with a full heart. Remember: no young museums, and wise young people. To be wise use three languages: think well, feel well and do well. And to be wise allow yourselves to be surprised by the love of God. That will guarantee a good life.

Rikki came up with a good plan for what we can do in life with all young people’s activities.

Thank you, Rikki, for what you and your friends do. I’d like to ask you a question: you and your friends help others but do you allow yourselves to receive? Answer in your heart.
In the Gospel we just heard, there was a beautiful phrase, for me the most important of all: Jesus looked at the young man and he loved him. When you see Rikki and his friends you love them because they do good things. Jesus says something very important: you lack one thing. Let us listen to this word in silence: you lack only one thing.

What is it that I lack? To all of you who Jesus loves so much, I ask you: do you allow others to give you from their riches to you who have not? The Sadducees, Doctors of the Law, in the time of Jesus, gave much to the people, they taught the people the law, but they never allowed the people to give them something. Jesus had to come to allow himself to feel compassion and to be loved.

How many young people among you are like this? You know how to give and yet you have ever learned how to receive. You still lack one thing. Become a beggar. This is what you still lack. Learn how to beg. This isn’t easy to understand. To learn how to beg. To learn how to receive with humility. To learn to be evangelized by the poor, by those we help, the sick, orphans, they have so much to give us. Have I learned how to beg? Or am I self-sufficient? Do I think I need nothing? Do you know you too are poor? Do you know your own poverty and your need to receive? Do you let yourselves be evangelized by those you serve? This is what helps you mature in your commitment to give to others. Learn how to open your hand from your very own poverty.

There are some points I have prepared. The first, I already told you: to learn how to love and to learn how to be loved. There is a challenge which is a challenge of u. This is not only because your country more than many others is likely to be seriously affected by climate change. There is the challenge, the concern for the environment. And finally, there is the challenge for the poor, to love the poor, with your bishops. Do you think of the poor? Do you feel with the poor? Do you do something for the poor? Do you ask the poor to give you the wisdom they have?

This is what I wish to tell you all today. Sorry if I haven’t read what I prepared for you but there is a phrase that consoles me: that reality is superior to ideas. The reality that you have is superior to the paper I have in front of me.

Thank you very much. Pray for me!



As delivered by the Pope, in Spanish 
(Spanish transcription courtesy of Radio Vaticana/Guillermo Ortiz)

Primero de todo una noticia triste: ayer mientras estaba por empezar la misa se cayó una de las torres y al caer hirió una muchacha que estaba trabajando y murió. Su nombre es Cristal. Ella trabajo en la organización de esa misa. Tenía 27 años, era joven como ustedes y trabajaba para una asociación. Era una voluntaria. Yo quisiera que nosotros todos juntos, ustedes jóvenes como ella rezáramos en silencio 1 minuto y después invoquemos a nuestra madre del cielo… También hagamos una oración por su Papa y su mama. Era única hija. Su mamá está llegando de Hong Kong. Su papa ha venido a Manila es espera a su mamá…

En la pequeña representación de las mujeres. Demasiado poco. Las mujeres tienen mucho que decirnos en la sociedad de hoy. A veces somos demasiado machistas y no dejamos lugar a la mujer. Pero la mujer es capaz de ver las cosas con ojos distintos de los hombres. La mujer es capaz de hacer preguntas que los hombres no terminamos de entender. Presten ustedes atención, ella hoy hizo la única pregunta que no tiene respuesta. Y no le alcanzaron las palabras, necesitó decirlo con lágrimas. Así que cuando venga el próximo Papa que haya más mujeres.

Yo te agradezco Shon que hayas expresado tan valientemente tu experiencia. Como dije recién, el núcleo de tu pregunta casi no tiene respuesta. Solamente cuando somos capaces de llorar sobre las cosas que vos viviste podemos entender algo y responder algo. La gran pregunta para todos: ¿Por qué sufren los niños?, ¿por qué sufren los niños? Recién cuando el corazón alcanza a hacerse la pregunta y a llorar, podemos entender algo.

¡Existe una compasión mundana que no nos sirve para nada! Una compasión que a lo mas no lleva a meter la mano en el bolsillo y a dar una moneda. Si Cristo hubiera tenido esa compasión hubiera pasado, curado a tres o cuatro y se hubiera vuelto al Padre. solamente cuando Cristo lloró y fue capaz de llorar entendió nuestros dramas.

“Queridos chicos y chicas, al mundo de hoy le falta llorar. Lloran los marginados, lloran aquellos que son dejados de lado, lloran los despreciados, pero aquellos que llevamos una vida más o menos sin necesidades no sabemos llorar. Ciertas realidades de la vida se ven solamente con los ojos limpios por las lágrimas. Los invito a que cada uno se pregunte: Yo aprendí a llorar? cuando veo un niño con hambre, un niño drogado en la calle, un niño que no tiene casa, un niño abandonado, un niño abusado, un niño usado como esclavo por la sociedad? O mi llanto ¿es el llanto caprichoso de aquel que llora porque le gustaría tener algo más? Y esto es lo primero que yo quisiera decirles: aprendamos a llorar, como ella nos enseñó hoy. No olvidemos este testimonio. La gran pregunta ¿por qué sufren los niños? la hizo llorando y la gran respuesta que podemos hacer todos nosotros es aprender a llorar.

Jesús en el evangelio lloró, lloró por el amigo muerto. Lloró en su corazón por esa familia que había perdido a su hija. Lloro en su corazón cuando vio a esa pobre madre viuda que llevaba a enterar a su hijo. Se conmovió y lloró en su corazón cuando vio a la multitud como ovejas sin pastor. Si vos no aprendes a llorar no sos un buen cristiano. Y este es un desafío. Shon nos ha planteado este desafío. Y cuando nos hagan la pregunta: porqué sufren los niños, porque sucede esto u esto otro de trágico en la vida? que nuestra respuesta sea el silencio o la palabra que nace de las lágrimas. Sean valientes, no tengan miedo de llorar.

Y después vino Leandro Santos. También hizo preguntas sobre el mundo de la información. Hoy con tantos medios estamos híper informados y ¿eso es malo? ¡No! Eso es bueno y ayuda, pero corremos el peligro de vivir acumulando información. Y tenemos mucha información, pero quizá no sabemos qué hacer con ella. Corremos el riesgo de convertirnos en “jóvenes museo”, que tienen de todo pero no saben qué hacer. No necesitamos “jóvenes museos” sino jóvenes sabios.

Me pueden preguntar: Padre ¿cómo se llega ser sabio? Y este es otro desafío, el desafío del amor. ¿Cuál es la materia más importante que tiene que aprender en la Universidad?, ¿Cuál es la más importante que hay que aprender en la vida? Aprender a amar. Y este es el desafío que la vida te pone a vos hoy. ¡Aprender amar! No solo acumular información y no saber qué hacer con ella. Es un museo. Sino a través del amor hacer que esa información sea fecunda. Para esto el Evangelio nos propone un camino sereno, tranquilo, usar los tres lenguajes, el lenguaje de la mente, el lenguaje del corazón y el lenguaje de las manos. Y los tres lenguajes armoniosamente, lo que pensás lo sentís y lo realizas. Tu información baja al corazón, lo conmueve y lo realiza. Y esto armoniosamente: pensar lo que se siente y lo que se hace. Sentir lo que pienso y lo que hago, hacer lo que pienso y lo que siento. Los tres lenguajes. ¿Se animan a repetir los tres lenguajes en voz alta?

El verdadero amor es amar y dejarme amar. Es más difícil dejarse amar que amar. Por eso es tan difícil llegar al amor perfecto de Dios, porque podemos amarlo, pero lo importante es dejarnos amar por él. El verdadero amor es abrirse a ese amor que está primero y que nos provoca una sorpresa. Si vos tenés solo toda la información estas cerrado a las sorpresas, el amor te abre a las sorpresas, el amor siempre es una sorpresa porque supone un dialogo entre dos. Entre el que ama y el que es amado. Y de Dios decimos que es el Dios de las sorpresas porque él nos amó primero y nos espera con una sorpresa. Dios nos sorprende, Dejémonos sorprender por Dios. Y no tengamos la psicología de la computadora de creer saberlo todo. ¿cómo es esto? Un momento y la computadora tiene todas las respuestas, ninguna sorpresa. En el desafío del amor Dios se manifiesta con sorpresas.

Pensemos en san Mateo –recordó Francisco-, era un buen comerciante, además traicionaba a su patria porque le cobraba los impuestos los judíos para pagárselo a los romanos, estaba lleno de plata y cobraba los impuestos. Pasa Jesús lo mira y le dice vení. Los que estaban con él dicen: ¿a este que es un traidor, un sinvergüenza? y él se agarra a la plata. Pero la sorpresa de ser amado lo vence y siguió a Jesús. Esa mañana cuando se despidió de su mujer nunca pensó que iba volver sin dinero y apurado para decirle a su mujer que preparara un banquete. El banquete para aquel que lo había amado primero. Que lo había sorprendido con algo más importante que toda la plata que tenía. ¡Déjate sorprender por Dios! No le tengas miedo a las sorpresas, que te mueven el piso, que te ponen inseguro, pero nos ponen en camino. El verdadero amor te mueve a quemar la vida aún a riesgo de quedarte con las manos vacías. Pensemos en san Francisco, dejó todo, murió con las manos vacías pero con el corazón lleno.

¿De acuerdo? No jóvenes de museo sino jóvenes sabios. Para ser sabios usar los tres lenguajes: pensar bien, sentir bien y hacer bien. Y para ser sabios, dejarse sorprender por el amor de Dios y anda y quema la vida. ¡Gracias por tu aporte de hoy!

Y el que vino con un buen plan para ayudarnos a ver cómo podemos andar en la vida fue Riqui, contó todas las actividades, todo lo que hacen, todo lo que pueden hacer. Gracias Riqui, gracias por lo que haces vos y tus compañeros. Pero yo te voy a hacer una pregunta: vos y tus amigos van a dar, dan, dan, ayudan, pero vos ¿dejás que te den?, contestate en el corazón. En el evangelio que escuchamos recién hay una frase que para mí es la más importante de todas, dice el evangelio que Jesús a ese joven lo miró y lo amó. Cuando uno ve el grupo de Richi y sus compañeros, uno los quiere mucho porque hacen cosas muy buenas, pero la frase más importante que dice Jesús: solo te falta una cosa. Cada uno de nosotros escuchemos en silencio esta palabra de Jesús: solo te falta una cosa”. ¿Qué cosa me falta? Para todos los que Jesús ama tanto porque dan tanto a los demás yo les pregunto: ¿vos dejas que otros te den de esa otra riqueza que vos no tenés?

Los saduceos, los doctores de la ley de la época de Jesús daban mucho al pueblo, le daban la ley, le enseñaban, pero nunca dejaron que el pueblo les diera algo. Tuvo que venir Jesús para dejarse conmover por el pueblo. ¡Cuántos jóvenes como vos que hay aquí saben dar pero todavía no aprendieron a recibir!

Solo te falta una cosa. Esto es lo que nos falta: aprender a mendigar de aquellos a quienes damos. Esto no es fácil de entender aprender a mendigar. Aprender a recibir de la humildad de aquellos que ayudamos. Aprender a ser evangelizados por los pobres. Las personas a quienes ayudamos, pobres, enfermos, huérfanos, tienen mucho que darnos. ¿Me hago mendigo y pido también eso?, ¿o soy suficiente y solamente voy a dar? Vos que vivís dando siempre y crees que no tenés necesidad de nada ¿sabés que sos un pobre tipo?, ¿sabés que tenés mucha pobreza y necesitas que te den?, ¿Te dejas ayudar por los pobres, enfermos y por aquellos que ayudas? Esto es lo que ayuda a madurar a jóvenes comprometidos como Riqui en el trabajo de dar a los demás, aprender a tender la mano desde la propia miseria.

Hay algunos puntos que yo había preparado: aprender a amar y a dejarse amar. Hay un desafío además, que es el desafío por la integridad. Amar a los pobres. Nuestros obispos quieren que mires a los pobres de manera especial este año. ¿Vos pensás en los pobres?, ¿vos sentís con los pobres?, ¿vos haces algo por los pobres? Y vos ¿pedís a los pobres que te den esa sabiduría que tienen? Esto es lo que quería decirles. Perdonenme porque no leí lo que les tenía preparado. Pero hay una frase que me consuela un poquito: “La realidad es superior a la idea” y la realidad que ustedes plantearon y la realidad de ustedes es superior a todas las respuestas que yo había preparado. ¡Gracias!

January 20, 2015

Pope Francis Visit Ph 'Tell the World of His Love’


Thousands of young people and devotees shouted and cheered Pope Francis as he made his way inside the University of Santo Tomas in Manila Saturday morning for his Encounter with the Youth.


Before Pope Francis gives the final blessing of the Eucharistic celebration during the Youth Encounter on Sunday at the University of Santo Tomas , Darren Espanto, The Voice Kids Season 1” Philippines finalist performed 'Tell the World of His Love’ with more than thousands youth and devotees. 


Pope Francis holds hands with the youth while the song "Tell the World of His Love" is being sung at UST.

‘Tell the World of His Love’ was the theme song of the 1995 World Youth Day presided by Pope Saint John Paul II in Manila.



For God so loved the world
He gave us His only Son
Jesus Christ our Savior
His most precious one
He has sent us His message of love
And sends those who hear
To bring the message to everyone
In a voice loud and clear

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked
Astray and lead them home
Fill the world's darkest corners
With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road
And tell the world, Tell the world of His love

(Tell the world of His love)
(Tell the world of His love)

Our Lord our savior our king
Emmanuelle prince of peace
Begotten of the Father's love
Born to set us free
Let heaven and earth sing His praises
His righteousness proclaim
Let every heart rejoice in His love
And magnify His name

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked
Astray and lead them home
Fill the world's darkest corners
With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road
And tell the world, Tell the world of His love

(Tell the world of His love)

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked
Astray and lead them home
Fill the world's darkest corners
With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road
And tell the world, Tell the world of His love

(Tell the world of His love)
Tell the world of His love

January 17, 2015

Pope Francis' Meeting with Families at MOA

Pope Francis met with Filipino families, including those representing OFWs and PWDs, at the “Meeting with Families” at the Mall of Asia Arena, his day 2 , January 16, 2015.

During his homily, he reminded the Catholic faithful to “protect the family”, and noted that economic challenges are tearing families apart as more people migrate in search of better employment. 

Pope Francis with the theme of his visit to the Philippines, "The Holy Family's Journey, The Pilgrimage of Every Family", as he calls for respect for life. Pope Francis quotes Saint John Paul II and says the future of humanity passes through the family. He calls for respect for life and reminds the audience of the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death.

Pope Francis reminds listeners to make time to pray. He says we must make time to pray and that rest is essential for our spiritual health, so that we can better hear God's voice and understand His message.

Pope Francis reminds the crowd not to lose the capacity to dream. "When you lose the capacity to dream, you lose the capacity to love."

Below is the full text of the prepared speech of Pope Francis, which he delivered during the Meeting with Families at the Mall of Asia Arena

Below is the full text of the prepared speech of Pope Francis, which he delivered during the Meeting with Families at the Mall of Asia Arena, Friday, January 16.


Dear Families,

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am grateful for your presence here this evening and for the witness of your love for Jesus and his Church. I thank Bishop Reyes, Chairman of the Bishops’ Commission on Family and Life, for his words of welcome on your behalf. And, in a special way, I thank those who have presented testimonies and have shared their life of faith with us.

The Scriptures seldom speak of Saint Joseph, but when they do, we often find him resting, as an angel reveals God’s will to him in his dreams. In the Gospel passage we have just heard, we find Joseph resting not once, but twice. This evening I would like to rest in the Lord with all of you, and to reflect with you on the gift of the family.

Joseph’s rest revealed God’s will to him. In this moment of rest in the Lord, as we pause from our many daily obligations and activities, God is also speaking to us. He speaks to us in the reading we have just heard, in our prayer and witness, and in the quiet of our hearts. Let us reflect on what the Lord is saying to us, especially in this evening’s Gospel. There are three aspects of this passage which I would ask you to consider: resting in the Lord, rising with Jesus and Mary, and being a prophetic voice.

Resting in the Lord. Rest is so necessary for the health of our minds and bodies, and often so difficult to achieve due to the many demands placed on us. But rest is also essential for our spiritual health, so that we can hear God’s voice and understand what he asks of us. Joseph was chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. As Christians, you too are called, like Joseph, to make a home for Jesus. You make a home for him in your hearts, your families, your parishes and your communities.

To hear and accept God’s call, to make a home for Jesus, you must be able to rest in the Lord. You must make time each day for prayer. But you may say to me: Holy Father, I want to pray, but there is so much work to do! I must care for my children; I have chores in the home; I am too tired even to sleep well. This may be true, but if we do not pray, we will not know the most important thing of all: God’s will for us. And for all our activity, our busy-ness, without prayer we will accomplish very little.

Resting in prayer is especially important for families. It is in the family that we first learn how to pray. There we come to know God, to grow into men and women of faith, to see ourselves as members of God’s greater family, the Church. In the family we learn how to love, to forgive, to be generous and open, not closed and selfish. We learn to move beyond our own needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them. That is why it is so important to pray as a family! That is why families are so important in God’s plan for the Church!

Next, rising with Jesus and Mary. Those precious moments of repose, of resting with the Lord in prayer, are moments we might wish to prolong. But like Saint Joseph, once we have heard God’s voice, we must rise from our slumber; we must get up and act (cf. Rom 13:11). Faith does not remove us from the world, but draws us more deeply into it. Each of us, in fact, has a special role in preparing for the coming of God’s kingdom in our world.

Just as the gift of the Holy Family was entrusted to Saint Joseph, so the gift of the family and its place in God’s plan is entrusted to us. The angel of the Lord revealed to Joseph the dangers which threatened Jesus and Mary, forcing them to flee to Egypt and then to settle in Nazareth. So too, in our time, God calls upon us to recognize the dangers threatening our own families and to protect them from harm.

The pressures on family life today are many. Here in the Philippines, countless families are still suffering from the effects of natural disasters. The economic situation has caused families to be separated by migration and the search for employment, and financial problems strain many households. While all too many people live in dire poverty, others are caught up in materialism and lifestyles which are destructive of family life and the most basic demands of Christian morality. The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life.

Our world needs good and strong families to overcome these threats! The Philippines needs holy and loving families to protect the beauty and truth of the family in God’s plan and to be a support and example for other families. Every threat to the family is a threat to society itself. The future of humanity, as Saint John Paul II often said, passes through the family (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 85). So protect your families! See in them your country’s greatest treasure and nourish them always by prayer and the grace of the sacraments. Families will always have their trials, but may you never add to them! Instead, be living examples of love, forgiveness and care. Be sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death. What a gift this would be to society, if every Christian family lived fully its noble vocation! So rise with Jesus and Mary, and set out on the path the Lord traces for each of you.

Finally, the Gospel we have heard reminds us of our Christian duty to be prophetic voices in the midst of our communities. Joseph listened to the angel of the Lord and responded to God’s call to care for Jesus and Mary. In this way he played his part in God’s plan, and became a blessing not only for the Holy Family, but a blessing for all of humanity. With Mary, Joseph served as a model for the boy Jesus as he grew in wisdom, age and grace (cf. Lk 2:52). When families bring children into the world, train them in faith and sound values, and teach them to contribute to society, they become a blessing in our world. God’s love becomes present and active by the way we love and by the good works that we do. We extend Christ’s kingdom in this world. And in doing this, we prove faithful to the prophetic mission which we have received in baptism.

During this year which your bishops have set aside as the Year of the Poor, I would ask you, as families, to be especially mindful of our call to be missionary disciples of Jesus. This means being ready to go beyond your homes and to care for our brothers and sisters who are most in need. I ask you especially to show concern for those who do not have a family of their own, in particular those who are elderly and children without parents. Never let them feel isolated, alone and abandoned, but help them to know that God has not forgotten them. You may be poor yourselves in material ways, but you have an abundance of gifts to offer when you offer Christ and the community of his Church. Do not hide your faith, do not hide Jesus, but carry him into the world and offer the witness of your family life!

Dear friends in Christ, know that I pray for you always! I pray that the Lord may continue to deepen your love for him, and that this love may manifest itself in your love for one another and for the Church. Pray often and take the fruits of your prayer into the world, that all may know Jesus Christ and his merciful love. Please pray also for me, for I truly need your prayers and will depend on them always! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Singer Jamie Rivera ends the program at the Mall of Asia by singing We Are All God's Children. Pope Francis leaves the Mall of Asia Arena and heads to the Apostolic Nunciature to rest.

January 15, 2015

People's Pope - Pope Francis Visit in the Philippines

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10896965_10204354966447271_7168007492513846502_n.jpg?oh=91a38b5638037c00dc2a48a8f4fe9f36&oe=5525486C&__gda__=1428281985_44de3aa63a54f0d5d43a1fcf551d0140

Jorge Mario Bergoglio or Pope Francis is said to be of the most charismatic leader of the Catholic Church. His holiness is also known as the "People's Pope". 

Pope Francis will celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, which will involve a reading of the Holy Gospel, reflection, prayer, and blessings for all families present. 

According to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, the said event will convene families who are faced with the "three most difficult challenges" present in the contemporary Philippine society: poverty, migration, and disability. 

The gathering will have the theme "The Holy Family's Journey is the Pilgrimage of Every Family" and will be the Pope's first time to lead an event of its kind.





Things about Pope Francis

Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, the capital and largest city of Argentina,on December 17, 1936. 

From the moment he stepped into the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica upon his election to the papacy on March 13, 2013, His Holiness Pope Francis has captured the world’s attention for his simple message of God’s boundless love and mercy. 

Here are 10 things you need to know about His Holiness Pope Francis:

1. Pope Francis is a pope of many “firsts”.

2. Pope Francis sees himself as a sinner.

3. Pope Francis believes the Church should be more like a “field hospital after battle,” with bishops serving as true pastors and priests spending more time in confessionals, consoling wounded souls.

4. Pope Francis wants to keep it simple but “cannot live without people.”

5. Pope Francis only has the deepest of affections for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, his “brother” who now lives in a monastery at the Vatican.

6. Pope Francis is a reformer; he is not afraid to shake things up.

7. Pope Francis says “no” to an economy of exclusion.

8. Pope Francis warns Christians against falling into the trap of spiritual worldliness,” which is “self-centeredness cloaked in an outward religiosity bereft of God.

9. Pope Francis is a fervent devotee of the Blessed Mother.

10. Pope Francis is a son of the Church.


Selected Sources:
Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, November 24, 2013
“A Big Heart Open to God: The Exclusive Interview with Pope Francis” (America: The National Catholic Review), September 30, 2013
Press Conference of Pope Francis During the Return Flight from the Apostolic Journey to Rio de Janeiro on the Occasion of the XXVIII World Youth Day, July 28, 2013

Pope Francis arrives in Manila

Pope Francis arrived in the Philippines, on Thursday afternoon, the second and last stop in his week-long Asia tour for a state and pastoral visit from January 15 to 19 amid one of the biggest security operations in the country's history.

His Holiness Pope Francis visit to the Philippines is to send a message of mercy and compassion to millions of poor Filipinos, including those hit by one of the strongest typhoons to ever hit land.

Here are the beautiful photos I saw in many facebook pages, and some I screenshot in TV coverages during Pope Francis arrival. 


(Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)
Pope Francis arrives at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. 

(Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)

All people cheered excitedly as the 78-year-old pontiff Pope Francis peered out several times from the window of a plane that brought him to Villamor Air Base in the Philippines.


Upon arrival, he was received by President Benigno S. Aquino III, and a papal delegation. (via @govPH)


The Pope was all smiles even as the wind blew away his skullcap after he stepped out of the plane.

(Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)
(Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)
President Benigno Aquino III personally welcomed the Pope.


The two then stood on the ceremonial dais for the papal anthem and the Philippine national anthem.


His Holiness Pope Francis, accompanied by President Benigno S. Aquino III, receives a bouquet of flowers during the arrival ceremony at the 250th PAW of the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City for the State Visit and Apostolic Journey to the Republic of the Philippines on Thursday afternoon (January 15, 2015). (Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)

After the playing of the Philippine and Vatican national anthems, the Pope greeted by 10-year-old orphan Mark Angelo Balbero and Lanie Ortilla, 9, Francis hugged hugged and blessed the two children, who gave him bouquets of white and yellow flowers.

Church officials, Cabinet members and two children were among the first people to greet Pope Francis upon his arrival in the Philippines Thursday.



Pope Francis shook hands with 12 members of the Aquino Cabinet and 12 leaders of the Catholic Church.


The Pope gladly meeting again, hugged and exchanged pleasantries with Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle who was part of the conclave that elected him Pope.

(Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)

More than 1,200 devotees from the Diocese of Paranaque dancing outside the plane, and around 1,500 schoolchildren welcomed the Pope with lively dances, waving white cloths, and red, white and blue umbrellas to form the Philippine flag. Their shirts were printed with the message "Mabuhay (Welcome) Pope Francis!"

Pope Francis boards the "Popemobile." January 15, 2015 

His Holiness Pope Francis takes leave of President Benigno S. Aquino III and boards the Papal Mobile after the arrival ceremony at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City for the State Visit and Apostolic Journey to the Republic of the Philippines on Thursday afternoon (January 15, 2015). (Photo by Lauro Montellano Jr./ Malacañang Photo Bureau)
The Nunciature where Pope Francis will be staying during his trip to Manila. (Photo by Jim Guiao Punzalan, Manila Bulletin)

Thousands of people lined the streets of the Manila on Thursday, waving flags, cheering, jumped, clapped and singing, greeted shout, cheer, shed tears of joy to welcome Pope Francis on his first visit to Asia's largest Catholic nation.

The Pope will bring a message of compassion to millions of poor Filipinos suffering from the effects of corruption and decades-old insurgencies, as well as the problems faced by millions of impoverished and the families of the 10 million-12 million Filipino migrant workers overseas.

He will visit the central province of Leyte, which is still struggling to recover from Typhoon Haiyan that killed 6,300 people in 2013. 

About two million people are expected to attend an open-air mass on Saturday at Tacloban City airport, almost completely destroyed by Haiyan.

On His first day here in the country, watching the TV coverages and seeing him smile and greet people, I feel the spirit of the Lord, I feel Jesus in Him - a true servant , with Mercy and Compassion.
Photo by Gil Nartea/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)

Hail to Pope Francis for giving the Philippines his utmost attention!


October 10, 2014

Superbook Season 2

Good news to all Superbook lovers and fans! Finally, the long wait is over!


Superbook Season 2 will air on Philippine TV for the first time in ABS-CBN beginning October 11 at 9:30 a.m.

Packed with 13 all-new and exciting episodes, Superbook Season 2 is definitely the perfect bonding and learning time for the families.

Superbook lovers will surely enjoy watching their favorite Superbook characters Chris, Joy and Gizmo as Superbook surprises them to experience new adventures, meet new friends and new heroes, explore new places and discover new lessons based on the greatest story book ever written -The Bible.

For our first Superbook Season 2 episode, we will meet Jonah, a man who was tasked by God to do a very special mission. Will he do it? Find out this Satuday, October 11, 9:30 on ABS-CBN. Invite the whole family and your friends. Don't miss this amazing trip back in time!

Trailers c/o ABS-CBN:

Superbook Jonah episode: http://youtu.be/CRMTnMu_3d8

Superbook S2 World Premiere trailer: http://youtu.be/gV2Yl5mJmDs

Goin Bulilit on Superbook Season 2: http://youtu.be/TpSLfc3OEig

July 10, 2014

Superbook is now an official Kapamilya!


Superbook, the well-loved animated series from the 80’s and 90’s along with its new reimagined version is now a Kapamilya!

Abs-Cbn welcomes Superbook to the Kapamilya family. Superbook is known as the television series spreading the Word of God to children and families. Superbook episodes will higlight values and emphasize the importance of being God-fearing, morally upright, and excellent citizens.
Just recently, Kapamilya executives and CBN Asia signed the contract to officially welcome Gizmo and the Superbook team to the Kapamilya Network and the contract signing held at the ELJ Towers, ABS-CBN Compound in Quezon City.

“Of course, we are very happy that finally Superbook is with ABS-CBN because we really believe in this animation and because we feel we have the same objective to better the lives of the Filipino, and for the kids to the best always. We feel that we are in sync and we have the same objectives. Superbook was meant to be here,” said Cory Vidanes, ABS-CBN Head for Broadcast.

“It’s really God’s timing for Superbook to be in ABS-CBN. We have always wanted to reach a new audience to share God’s love with,” added Peter Kairuz, CBN Asia President.

Superbook will air in Tagalog so that more children will be able to understand and grasp the values and lessons incorporated in the animation.

Superbook Project Head Icko Gonzales also highlighted the quality of the animation of the new and reimagined Superbook.

“The really exciting thing about it is the people behind Superbook are award-winning creative people, producers and animators. Superbook has been remade to fit the taste of the younger generation," Gonzales said.

Superbook is expected to reach more homes as kids and the whole family can watch their favorite Superbook characters Gizmo, Chris and Joy and their timeless Bible adventures at the Kapamilya Channel without having to wake up early as in a more convenient timeslot.


Watch Superbook Classic every Saturday beginning July 12, 9:30 a.m. and Superbook Reimagined every Sunday starting July 13 at 9:30 a.m. on ABS-CBN. 

For more information on Superbook, check out the website www.batangsuperbook.com, LIKE its official fanpage www.facebook.com/batangsuperbook, and FOLLOW on Twitter and Instagram @BatangSuperbook. •

Superbook is a multiyear series of world-class animated Bible stories, created by an Emmy® Award-winning team of writers and animators whose credits include Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. You’ll see incredible attention to biblical detail and accuracy as your kids learn God’s Word.

#superbookkapamilyana

April 20, 2014

Happy Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is one of the most festive events worldwide. It commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death. The day symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and his triumph over the grave.
The holiday known around the world as Easter Sunday usually brings pleasant images, greetings, quotes, family gatherings, egg hunts, and visits from the Easter bunny.

The seven days before Easter Sunday is referred to as Holy Week, or the Passover season. These days are set aside to commemorate the brief life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

"Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Thankful and we think about the new life that we have in Jesus.

Easter Bible verses help us to meditate on the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus.


These verses help us to focus on the risen Christ and bring us hope for our eternal home in Heaven.

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe in this?" John 11:25-26

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Co 1:18

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:8-11

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Co 15:55-57

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isa 53:4-5

"Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died---more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." Romans 8:34

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to death --- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Php 2: 5-11

April 14, 2014

"Heaven is for Real"




"Heaven is for Real" movie, based on the No.1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name - HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, brings to the screen the true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world.

The movie Heaven Is For Real, a family drama starring Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Connor Corum, Margo Martindale, Thomas Haden Church and directed by Randall Wallace. Screenplay by also Randall Wallace and Christopher Parker.

"Heaven Is For Real" stars Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® award winning actor Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo and co-stars Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, the real-life couple whose son Colton (newcomer Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience, an emergency surgery.

Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth. Those are the things he couldn't possibly know. 

Todd is called upon by his congregation to explain the meaning of Colton's revelations, and he and his family are challenged to examine their faith and draw meaning from this remarkable event.

"Heaven Is For Real" movie hits theaters on April 16, 2014.

I have always faith in God. Life is not always easy but having faith gives me hope always. I believe that there is something beautiful out there for us all. I believe in God with all my heart and with all my soul.

That's true -  Heaven is for Real.

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
--- John 14:2-4



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