Measuring true love by pride - 1

Good morning everybody. LOVE? Have anyone doesn’t know what’s the meaning of this? I’m sure no one. Even kids although they don’t know the meaning itself, they knew how it feels, how to show it to their love ones. Have you ever notice how couples who have a deep, meaningful love relationship always feel proud of each other? There is this distinctive mark about every dynamic love.

He keeps singing her praises, saying she’s a wonderful woman, a terrific mom and an incredible wife who answers to his needs. She’s got this quality and that talent. And, yes, he always says that he’s one of the luckiest guys in the world to have her.

She believes that she is so fortunate to have found him. He isn’t like most men. He’s a rare find, a good provider whose love for her has grown over the years. He cares for her as few men could. She can tell you so many good things about him. She has countless stories about how he shows his love for her in so many ways that she never ceases to be amazed at how and how much he loves her.

She wants to tell more people about him but often hesitates because she is sensitive to the fact that so many of her friends are into sinking marriages. The more she talks about her loving husband, the worse her friends feel because the contrasts are so great. She is indeed the envy of her friends who also share the feeling that she is among God’s favored ones.

reference: Bob Garon

Choosing our destiny - 2

3. Knowing the true nature of the world, great sages don’t focus on the temporary material realm and instead strive for what’s permanent. The great scriptures guarantee that the person who focuses on the transcendental is capable of attaining permanent satisfaction and peace in his or her lifetime and thereafter.

4. Those who strive for spiritual goals are assured of attaining imperishable wealth and good fortune, by taking shelter in our God’s long-lasting affection. They’re blessed with spiritual love, kindness, wisdom, humility, truthfulness and generosity. They’re able to share their blessings with those who need them.

Everyone will go through suffering. But, unlike the materialists, who are overcome with lust, loneliness, anger, frustration and anxiety, spiritualists can rely on a higher form of happiness to see them through the material realities of diseases, old age and death. They also face problems, but they have real solutions for them.

It’s up to us to choose the kind of future we wish to have. We’re encouraged to follow the peaceful and happy lives of saints and reject the miserable, empty lives of demons. Let’s follow the wise men’s advice: “Choose the better future and become truly happy!”

ref: R. Valencia S. Bismark

Choosing our destiny - 1

Good morning everybody! We people in this world always wanted to have a good and better life for their family. Most of us doing nothing and instead just depend on our God what they plan. Yes, it’s right. God have something in each of every one of us. But the thing is that we should not all depend it to God. Don’t give Him all the responsibility. We have to do things also and only God will guide us in everything we will do.

Many people want to know if they have a good life ahead of them. Sometimes they have felt the need to see a fortune teller. And, the better the future looks, the happier we feel. But, there’s no need to fall victim to fortune-tellers who will just rip us off or feed us the wrong information. Great sages have a lot to teach us about our future. According to them, the future is predictable, and our destiny is in our own hands:

1. The material world is full of suffering, and we’re destined to suffer—from diseases, old age and death. There’s no escape from the miseries of material existence.

2. You work to get the things you want, then you lose them. There’s no guarantee for security in the material dimension. When we die, all material things are taken away from us. You’re driven out of your body, and you can’t bring anyone or anything with you.

ref: R. Valencia S. Bismark

Feast of Black Nazarene - 3

The pathetic-looking Black Nazarene suddenly looked down and spoke: "Oo, magpasalamat ka" (Yes, you ought to give thanks).
* * *
The official was startled, then blurted out: "Lord, what do you mean, ‘you ought to give thanks’"?
"Magpasalamat ka dahil hawak ko itong krus. Kung hindi, matagal na kitang sinapak!" (Give thanks because I’m holding this cross. Otherwise, I would have slapped you long ago!).
* * *
There is a need to bridge the gap between pious devotions and day-to-day life and conduct.
Otherwise the Lord will make the indictment He said to the hypocrites of his time thus: "This people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me."
* * *
STORY OF ‘HONEST’ COUPLE. A man and woman were returning a paper bag containing the day’s cash for deposit at a fast-food restaurant which was mistaken for an order.
* * *
How relieved the manager was to get the money back! He said to the couple, "You should be featured on the evening news for your honesty."
"Oh, please, no publicity!" replied the man nervously. "She’s not my wife."
* * *
To be honest with another’s money but dishonest with another’s spouse isn’t being consistent.

Ref: manilabulletin

Feast of Black Nazarene - 2

Another reason for the strong appeal of the feast stems from the Filipinos’ special devotion to the suffering Christ.

The devotees, who come mostly from the masses and underprivileged, identify their sufferings with that of a pathetic Christ struggling to carry His heavy cross.

* * *

The phenomenal devotion to the Black Nazarene shows the strong, vibrant piety of Filipinos.
What bears examining, however, is that such pious acts should have a deeper internal effect on daily life, meaning, they should be translated in deeds, otherwise they are merely external ritual.

* * *

What I mean is that if afterwards devotees go home and continue to be unkind, harsh and unjust to their fellowmen or are engaged in corrupt practices and vices, their pious acts are defective, inconsistent and self-centered indeed.

* * *

There’s a story about an official working in a lucrative government agency whose virtue was definitely not honesty.

Kneeling before the miraculous Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church, the official said: "Lord, nagpapasalamat ako sa mga maraming biyayang ipinagkaloob mo sa akin" (Lord, thank you for all the many blessings you’ve granted me).

* * *

"I have just closed a multi-million peso deal. I’ve acquired a second house in Tagaytay and two Mercedes Benz...(obviously all ill-gotten).

Lord, sobrang biyayang ibinigay mo sa akin (Lord, you’ve lavished me so many blessings).

Ref: manilabulletin

Feast of Black Nazarene - 1

ALL roads lead to Quiapo Church today.
Tens of thousands of devotees will jam the streets around Quiapo district as the yearly rites and procession of the Black Nazarene will take place.
* * *
Although women in the Philippines are generally more demonstrative of their piety than the men, the feast of the Black Nazarene is clearly a male bastion.
* * *
The great majority, clad in the traditional maroon t-shirt emblazoned with the image of a pathetic, suffering Christ, will walk barefooted; the men will jostle for position to pull the lengthy rope of the "carro."
* * *
Why does the feast continue to attract huge crowds every year?
Most devotees I talked to claimed they have a "panata" (vow) to join the procession annually. To break the vow is believed to bring misfortune or miss God’s blessings for themselves and their families.
* * *
Others believe that by touching a part of the highly-revered image, they are either blessed or obtain healing or their sins are forgiven. Those who cannot touch the image of the Señor Nazareno throw towelettes to those manning the carro to be wiped to the image, then thrown back.
* * *

ref: manilabulletin

Oil drops nearly $1 on economic gloom - 2

Crude oil stocks in Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for US crude futures, rose 4.1 million barrels last week, reaching a record high of 32.2 million barrels.

Prices had gained some support earlier from violence in Gaza, widening natural gas supply disruptions due to a dispute between Russia and Ukraine, and mounting evidence of OPEC's compliance with production cuts.

Three rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel, slightly wounding two people and prompting the Jewish state to respond with artillery fire, officials said.

While the conflict did not directly threaten any oil supplies, Middle East unrest can bolster prices because countries in the region pump about a third of the world's oil.

Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas supply dispute at a meeting in Moscow, but will continue talks to end the confrontation, which has choked off supplies to Europe, a senior Ukrainian gas official said on Thursday.

The dispute has cut heating fuel supplies hundreds of thousands of people across the Balkans and hit supplies as far west as France and Germany as Europe faces freezing temperatures.

Signs that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are implementing the group's biggest-ever output cuts grew this week after Kuwait and Iran told customers of bigger January supply curbs.

Ref: dailyinquirer

Oil drops nearly $1 on economic gloom - 1

US crude for February delivery fell 93 cents to settle at $41.70 a barrel, while London Brent crude fell 97 cents to $44.89 a barrel.

Oil prices have dropped more than $100 a barrel since July as a global financial crisis has cut consumer and business energy demand, threatening to shrink total world oil usage for the first time in 25 years.

A US government report on Thursday showed the number of people remaining on jobless rolls last week rose to a 26-year high, even as new claims for unemployment benefits slipped.

Adding to the economic gloom, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which accounts for a 10th of US retail spending, reported a disappointing sales performance in December and cut its earnings outlook.

Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration's weekly report showed crude stocks rose last week by 6.7 million barrels, more than seven times the 900,000-barrel increase analysts had expected.

"Brent is done going under $40, but WTI (US crude) is a different animal altogether ... crude stocks in the Midwest are very high because Cushing is a landlocked base with pipes that only go in one direction," Christopher Bellew of Bache Financial said.

Ref: dailyinquire

I am Filipino – 5

I am Filipino. I am born of freedom, in a free country. As such, I dedicate my freedom to ensuring that my people and country shall always remain free. I shall use my freedom to help other people, in my country or in other parts of the world, gain their own freedom.

I am born of love, out of God’s immeasurable love, in a country and in a world that can only be made beautiful by love. Love is the reason why God made me. It is what He wants me to bring into this world, so love shall be who I am.

I am born as part of the whole, as part of the answer to the question, as part of the solution to the problem, as part of the hope to our people. I am born to help the Filipino become great not only in the eyes of the world but, more so, in the eyes of our Lord.

I am Filipino. I am a faithful child of God. I shall live my life to do God’s work on earth, to help build a beautiful country for my Filipino family, and a better world for all humanity. And soon the world shall see the full measure of the greatness of Filipino, for truly the world has yet to see what God can do to and through a child, like the Filipino, who is faithful to the Lord.

ref: dailyinquirer

I am Filipino - 4

You will know me by the word “po” in my sentences. You will know my children by their “mano po.” You will know me by the smile on my face and the warmth of my hospitality. Most important of all, you will know me by my loving and caring heart when you are in need of help, even if you are a stranger.

As a child of God, my Creator has a beautiful story for me and my people. And the story we see today is but a fleeting portion of that beautiful story that has yet to fully unfold before the eyes of the world.

I am Filipino. I am who I am today because of the role God wants me to play.

I am born to succeed. God has equipped me, within me and around me, with all the essentials I need to succeed in this world. God truly wants the highest, the best, and the most beautiful for me, because I am His child.

I am destined to be great. God planted seeds of beauty and greatness in me. He truly wants me to be great and beautiful, for God truly wants me to add more beauty and greatest to our world.

ref: dailyinquirer

I am Filipino - 3

The beauty and richness of my country lured many mighty powers of the world to invade our shores. So today, my blood is a mixture of the best and the finest of the West and the East. My mind is an heir to all the great thoughts of the West, and the great virtues of the East. My heart beats with the romanticism of the West and the passion of the East.

I am Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Juan Luna, Ninoy Aquino and all those who fought for our land to become a nation of free people. I am the grandeur of Banaue, the enchantment of Boracay, the serenity of Manila Bay, and the depth and breadth of Tubbataha Reef.

I am Filipino. My Creator’s plan is for me to live my life as a Filipino and therefore, in my heart and in my mind, I shall always be a Filipino wherever I may be in the world. God wants me to belong to the Filipino family and as such, I am a “kapatid” [brother] to anyone and everyone who is Filipino, wherever he or she may be on earth.

ref: dailyinquirer

I am Filipino - 2

Here it is:

I am Filipino. I am a child of the One God who is the Creator of all that is in our world and the universe. I am as perfect and as beautiful as my Creator planned me to be, for God created me in His image, out of His perfect love.

I am a beloved child of God, like everyone else in our world, no less than the stars above or anyone else below. As such, I have equal right and claim to all the beauty and bounty that God provided in my country and in the world.

I am an equal part of the family of humanity. I am therefore a sibling to all the men and women of our world, brethren to all Christians, to all Muslims, to all Jews, to all Buddhists, and all other peoples whose faiths lie somewhere else.

I am Filipino. My Creator planted me on a specific spot on earth, where the sun always shines, in an archipelago of 7,107 wonderful islands, which the whole world calls the “Pearl of the Orient.” Pilipinas is the country God gave to me and my people. It is the birthplace of my race. It is the home of the Filipino.

ref: dailyinquirer

I am Filipino - 1

Good morning everyone. When you are being called a Pilipino, you must be something. We Pilipinos are very friendly and hospitable. Sometimes that our attitudes were misunderstood by someone. But we know ourselves better more than anyone else. All I can say now is I’m proud to be a Pilipino.

One of the most important things we need today as a people is a beautiful way of looking at ourselves as Filipinos, a positive and healthy image of ourselves, a wonderful definition of ourselves as a people. Our children especially need to believe that there is greatness and beauty in us as a people and as a race.

So much beauty and greatness can spring from a beautiful mind and a faithful heart.

But loving ourselves as Filipinos is not only patriotism or nationalism. There is a reason higher than that. It is primarily about stewardship. It is loving what God has given us. God gave to each one of us the Filipino and the Philippines, for us to love and care for. But how is the Filipino in our hands today? How is the Philippines, the land God gave to us as a people, in our hands today?

It is for this reason that I wrote the poem below. I give this poem as my humble gift to all of you, my fellow Filipinos. You are the brothers and sisters, the family of people, God gave to me.

It is my hope that this poem will help develop in us and in our children a healthy sense of faith and love in the Filipino, in ourselves as a people. For truly, our Creator wants us to have faith in and love for the Filipino.

ref: dailyinquirer