The Peace of Christ (1)

Good morning everybody. As it is a Holy Week, I’ve always wanted to read something related to God. It’s good to think what God sacrifice for us. We have to praise Him.

Peace is the tranquility of order. This order demands first of all man’s right relation to God. This implies man’s subordination to and dependence on his Creator; this demands knowledge, reverence, love, praise and service offered by the creature to his Creator. It implies further a certain possession of deep-rooted virtue out of which tranquility arises.

For no man is capable of peace who does not enjoy a stable supernatural character born of constant striving in the order of perfection. Without this ballast of solid perfection he would be like a light ship tossed about by every wind of fancy and every storm of passion; an instability inconsistent with that peace which demands tranquility of order.

Those who are in close contact with God, those who build their lives on fervent prayer in Christ’s presence, take on the ways of God, and develop in their souls the peace of Christ.

The bad spirit will try to keep us disturbed. For this reason, the soul must have achieved some facility in the discernment of the movement of good and bad spirits influencing our soul, battling for its possession. Our souls are battle grounds where various spirits fight for control. If we habitually remain loyal to Christ, we will enjoy Christ’s peace and victory. –Nelia G. Neri

.Larger than your life

Good morning friends. I was reading one article when I found a good article with reference to Luis A. Quibranza III. I want to share it with you all. It’s a good one.

THE sun may beat at our backs causing sweat to drip from our drenched brows, and rocks trampled upon may become a pressing nuisance to our tired feet. But with a great spirit of adoration will pilgrims overcome the temptation of “taking it easy” and in turn, taking this opportunity to prove their love for their Lord Jesus Christ.

Come the days of Holy Week, hundreds of devotees will gather here at the Celestial Garden in Banawa Hills. Although a large portion of this area is dedicated as a private cemetery, it is still better known among Cebuanos for its captivating “Stations of the Cross.” This 12-hectare property is owned and managed by the Tanchan Foundation.

This place has also become one of the favorite tourist destinations throughout the years. Its existence is an addition to the growing attempts to further establish, strengthen and display our religious roots.

The garden’s “Stations of the Cross” is special in a way because it features life-size representations depicting the agony of our Lord based on the Holy Bible’s account. From the “Agony in the Garden,” “The Crucifixion,” to the “Laying in the Tomb,” each scene is plucked out from history and sculpted into a reality.

To get from one station to the other may take your breath away if you are not in top physical condition.

Each individual station is placed and distanced one from the other so as to encourage the visitors to walk, step out of their comfort zones and offer a sacrifice — step after step on this mountain’s rugged terrain. It is certainly not impossible to accomplish visiting all the stations widely spread, but it may really require determination and perseverance. Isn’t the Christian life a lot like that already?

Needless to say, the peak season for visitors is during the Holy Week. But paying a personal visit alone or with a friend during unconventional times of the year may also prove to be rewarding. The silence is one-of-a-kind: The overlooking view of the city reminds you that the God you are praying to is really larger than life itself.

When bad things happen to good people

Good morning everyone. I want to let you all know that I’m not a Catholic, I’m a Protestant (Methodist). But it’s not a problem to me as long as we worship God Almighty. Even if I’m Catholic, I glad if I read something about God. Like this article which was presented by Bob Garon, it was a nice words he used and that’s why I want to share it with you out there.

“God is good, all the time,” says a popular worship song. In good times, that is easy to believe. Blessings pour down on us and we can almost see the smile on the face of God. So too can we feel His love. All’s well between God and us.

When, however, the times turn against us and things no longer go our way, it is sometimes difficult for us to keep smiling at God. Somehow, we find it hard to feel Him and the smile on His face seems to us to blur a bit. We might even start to wonder if He might be displeased with us.

And there are those among us who are convinced that God sends us His blessings only when they are in line with our expectations. Like little kids who think that if they are good, their parents will agree to bring them to Mc Donald’s, we believe that if we behave well, God will grant us our wishes.

It does not work that way. There are two plans, God’s plans and our plans, and ours don’t matter much. God does not give us what we want, He gives us what we need. And when we don’t get what we want, some of us react like those little kids whose parents won’t bring them to Mc Donald’s.

We react and stomp our spiritual feet and start thinking that He does not longer loves us. We might be adults, but spiritual children. Matured in the ways of the world, but immature in the ways of God. If we expect to get our way with God, we could be in for a big surprise. God has His ways, His plan and it might not be anything like what we want and expect.

Some of our greatest blessings come wrapped in pain. They are the blessings that hurt for a while, but in the end, give us the most joy. We mourn the breakup of a cherished relationship only to find one more satisfying later on. Now the breakup is seen as a distinct blessing.

As we mature spiritually, we learn to take things as they come and not keep questioning the wisdom of the Creator. We learn to trust Him more and question less. As our faith increases, our doubts are less and our willingness to bow to His will is greater.

Value of time

WHAT is really valuable in life? I’m just reading a newspaper and came across with a good piece of writing of Philippine Daily Inquirer. A good story which publish by R. Valencia and S. Bismark. Let me share that to you. It’s really nice.

“Once, there was a rich Chinese businessman who enjoyed wearing his gold Rolex watch for everyone to see. One time, he was walking around his factory, then an American employee approached and asked him: “Sir, what time is indicated on your watch?”

“The boss proudly looked at his watch and answered: “My watch says it’s 10 o’clock.” The employee looked at his own cheap watch and remarked, “My watch also says it’s 10. It indicates the same time as your watch.” The employee then walked off with a big smile on his face. The boss was very upset.” When it comes to the value of timekeeping and usage of time, the brand of a watch doesn’t really count.

In another incident, a group of rich Taiwanese businessmen went to South Africa to visit the countryside. The local residents were very impressed with the visitors’ watches, so they kept looking at them. Finally, one farmer spoke: “Oh, you have such nice watches! It’s a pity we don’t have things like that.”

A visitor replied: “It’s true we may have expensive watches, but we don’t have much time. You may not have watches like ours, but you have more spare time than we do.”

Indeed, it’s better to focus on what’s truly valuable in life. So, let us use our time—and life—wisely.

History's smallest whale shark rescued in Sorsogon (2)

The team freed the shark from the rope that was tied around its tail. After checking to see that the animal was unhurt, documenting the discovery, and measuring the shark, they transferred it into a large, water-filled plastic bag to allow it to swim freely while preparing for its release. Less than three hours after the report first reached Donsol, the response team was back on their banca, shark safely in hand. They took the shark out to deeper water, where it was less likely to get entangled in a fish net, and there, they set it free.

In spite of all the research that is being done worldwide on whale sharks, to this date no one knows where they breed or give birth. The Pilar 'pup' was so small, it was probably born here and could have been what biologists call a neo-nate. Not only is this animal the smallest live whale shark on record ever to be captured and released here in the Philippines (and arguably, anywhere in the world), it is also the first indication that the Philippines, at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is probably one of the places on the planet where these giants of the sea are born.

For many years, scientists thought that Donsol was merely one of many 'gas stations' along the global network of marine highways where whale sharks cruised. This new discovery is the first ever indication that this coastline may actually be a 'birthing site'. - Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, WWF-Philippines vice-chairman and CEO

History's smallest whale shark rescued in Sorsogon (1)

Good morning everyone. It’s nice to look at the ocean and see the fishes there. Swimming freely, as they own the the ocean. We have all the kinds of fish in the ocean.

Whale sharks? Ohhhh, it’s scary. Have you every seen a whale shark?

Whale sharks are the largest fish on earth. Donsol, a sleepy town in the Philippine province of Sorsogon, hosts what is arguably the largest known annual congregation of whale sharks in the world.

On the morning of March 7, word reached Nitz Pedragosa, Donsol's tourism officer, that a whale shark had been caught on March 6th in nearby San Antonio, a barangay of Pilar town, adjacent to Donsol. It was allegedly tied up, and being sold.

When the report was confirmed through local informants, the team - made up of the Tourism Officer, the Agricultural Officer, the BIO and Elson - quickly drew up an operational plan. As they pulled up to the seashore an hour later, the team was met by Captain Berango, the Pilar police chief. They expected to see a giant animal helplessly stuck, its tall dorsal fin and tail sticking out of the water. But there was nothing there. All they saw was a stick, stuck in sand, with a small rope leading away from it, into the water. Elson walked up to the stick and was amazed to find the smallest whale shark he had ever seen - a mere 15 inches long! - Jose Ma. Lorenzon Tan WWF-Philippines vice-chairman and CEO