Prosper the Peace

Peace is a shelter -

the belonging that make safe

our generations.

Peace is a labor -

the work to make past present

opening futures.

Peace is a longing -

the vigilance that preserves

our remembrances.

Peace is a prayer -

the wings that ascend our hopes

like incense to God.

Peace is a calling -

the devotion of friendship

preserving good will.

Peace is a pathway -

the long march of the nations

into brotherhood.

Peace is a threshold

and leads to the building up

of the promised morn.

Peace gathers.

Peace prospers.

---<--@

Prosper the Peace. Prosper the People.

---<--@

Slit Eyes

Why, hello there you!

Looking at me with those eyes,

those mysterious eyes.

Ebony windows

adrift in blue, green or gold...

Looking sharp, slit eyes!

Hey there you,

there you are.

---<--@

Old Defiant

Fly Old Defiant!

Lead on toward destiny -

in our hearts, Country!

Banner of brightness

make one thy sons and daughters

against the darkness...

The Morning

now cometh!

---<--@

Today is Flag Day.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas, long may our remembrance serve us!

May God bless all Filipinos everywhere.

Land of Promise

Glorious Motherland,

Pearl of the Orient Seas,

the fire of our love for thee

pines for thy proud embracing.

Land of Promise,

Cradle of the Brave,

from the tyranny of oppression

thou shalt never yield.

Across thy shining seas

and verdant mountain peaks,

fair winds and thy native blue skies,

the splendor of this hymn and song

speaks of thy vaunted liberty!

The brightness of thy Banner

undiminished in triumph waves,

the glory of thy stars and sun

are lights that shall ne'er fade.

Land of the Morning,

worthy of honor and of love -

our home away from Home -

what happiness it is

should the enemy draw near

to die for thy liberty.

(This is my personal English translation

of "Lupang Hinirang",

the Philippine National Anthem.)

Two weeks and a day from now, I shall be celebrating the birthdays of two of the most important women in my life (both just as lovable and jealous as hell) - my Country and my Miyang.

June 12th of this year is also Pentecost, the birthday of my Holy Mother Church - the most important woman in my life after my Mama Mary.

Old Compliant

Flee Old Compliant!

We, the People, command thee -

Let our Country free!

Thy wicked reign ends -

Our Nation march not for thee!

Let our People free!

After Night

cometh Day...

---<--@

"...akala ko batis, yun pala kanal..."

(from the song, "Akala" by Parokya ni Edgar)

Old Compliant is the false image of Old Defiant, my people.

It is everything we are not supposed to be by virtue of our nationhood.

It is everything we are not purposed to be by the will of the LORD, our God, the one Sovereign of all nations.

Unconquered

DREAM, my precious Starshine,
and be thankful for the dreaming
more than the dream itself -

For as tomorrow remains unwritten
yet every hope is made secure
so trust you must in thy dreaming
more than in thy dream itself
for as the eagle soars with wings
knowing not how it must fly
so must your own freedom become
more than what can be held by hands:

Thy freedom, dear Starshine,
like thy dream and thy dreaming
is a thing held not by grip
but a thing beheld by thy releasing
for to hold freedom tightly
like it is to deny it's flight
is to lose it entirely.

For thy freedom walks
upon the unconquered grounds
and wills to take it's flight
untrammeled and untamed.

So seek of thy freedom,
my precious Starshine,
but in thy seeking know -
here and Now,
that freedom lives in the giving
like every dream is in the dreaming
for it is always in the giving
that we become free.
---<--@

Freedom that is free is free indeed.

Refiner's Fire

Some people are numb,
they throw like words don't offend,
and for what reason?

Perhaps, they are hurt
and blinded by their own pain,
they mourn at our plight.

Alas, they
should rejoice!
---<--@

My friend,

Humility is not timidity. Humility is not being less of yourself. Neither is humility being more of yourself.

Humility is just being yourself, no more, no less.

It is a free and knowing acceptance of God's will and mysterious purpose for making you you.

"For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation."

(Sirach 2: 5)

Bright Morning Star

Our Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI,
once remarked, I learned...

How at Holy Mass,
the Church used to face eastward,
but now, the Pope said -

Christ the Lord
is our East!
---<--@

Christ-centeredness is other-centeredness.

Church Suffering

Knowing that their love
has yet to arrive when their
faith now rest in God...

The timeless souls - long -
for their burning thirst to end,
their hope they left - HERE.

Pray for the
Holy Souls!
---<--@

The Call of Grace

Why is there tension
between two oppositions
in the heart of Man?

When the soul is sure
yet the flesh is unwilling
God beckons, "Come see."

The deaf hears,
the blind sees.
---<--@

Life in the Trinity

Knowledge of the Son
and the Father who sent Him,
how is this our faith?

Faith distills like dew
the truths of our Christian faith
upon hearts made free.

Truth is Christ,
Spirit life!
---<--@

God Encompassing God

O LORD,

God encompassing God,

God encompassing All in Thyself!

O LORD,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -

Blessed Unity,

Holy Trinity,

Perfect Company!

O LORD,

there is none but Thee,

there is none like Thee!

O LORD,

Thou art from everlasting to everlasting -

in Thee All draw their being,

in Thee All draw their living life,

in Thee there is no shadow of turning,

in Thee there is neither darkness nor Night,

in Thee there is joy, abundance and peace,

in Thee there is only love and the Light!

O LORD,

Thou desire salvation for all beings

to whom shall all needful souls turn to,

my God, but to Thee?

O LORD,

Thou art the one Sovereign of all nations

unto Whom shall Thy exile peoples return to,

my God, but unto Thee?

Abide in us, O LORD, be with us!

Be the God of our lives, our families,

and our national communities!

O Goal of all my goals,

I love, I trust, and I adore Thee!

---<--@

Our God, O my beloved of my heart, is a God of relationships - One, Triune Perfection!

The Saving Cross

O Christ, my Savior!
Why do You allow suff'ring
to burden mankind?

To free us from sin
by our dying from evil
upon Thine crosses...

...O so kind,
God of mine.
---<--@

God did not say it's going to be easy. He said it was going to be worth it.

Being Single

Now, the married state

being the call of many

seems the call of all.

But being single

being the call of the few

is seen not at all.

If single -

pray, fear not.

---<--@

If you are single like me, you should know that no amount of planning or anxiety can replace trust.

Once upon a time, I thought that the object of the single life is to get married. But this is just not so.

The object of any mature human life, whether single or married, priestly, religious or civic, is to find your own particular vocation to serve.

So pray, trust and fear not - one can not decide to get married by one's self alone.

"...a prudent wife is from the LORD." (Proverbs 19: 14)

Consider this thoughtfully -

This seems to suggest that a particular state of life is superior to the other. There are indeed people who become bitter for their being single!

But which state of life is really superior - the single life or the married life?

It really depends on how well you discern your own particular vocation to serve.

The object of life is not marriage. It is happiness.

Bagyong Chedeng

Twenty-eleven,

second storm of the season -

one "Typhoon Songda".

It was due last week.

The longer it stays, the worse.

Hoy Chedeng - kilos!

Lumihis

ka bruha!

---<--@

My Country is hit with a slew of these typhoons every year, my darling.

Holocaust

Where was dignity

when law itself was murdered?

Hope was left naked.

Fear humanity!

For thy heart when divided

is the death of thee.

Remember

ye the names!

---<--@

Lest we forget,

lest we forget -

Law

From Babel was born
the need for human accord;
a longing for peace...

Within human hearts
exists the Eternal Law:
the map of our hope...

Peace descends
from the Law.
---<--@

At Babel, the Law of Man was confounded by God.

The Fate of Lot's Wife

There exists a line
between yesterday and Now -
between life and void...

Let go of the past!
For there is no looking back
to see what's ahead.

Stand your ground
in the Now.
---<--@

"But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19: 26)

Choose absolutely.

Fear

Fear when in excess,
is a cold grip, a blindness,
that undoes reason...

Fear when it's lacking
tempts the good to spurn wisdom,
and undoes the brave.

It quickens
the alert.
---<--@

Fear of the LORD is not a fear of hurting God, for who can hurt God?

Fear of the LORD is a proper reverence of the reality of God and a fear of hurting our relationships with Him.

It is the only fear that quickens the alert -

Sometimes God brings us down low in order to raise us into a reverence of the Truth that God is and He is God, the LORD!

If you love the LORD, you will fear Him.

If you fear the LORD, you will obey Him.

If you obey the LORD, He will be with you always -

even unto the end of the age.

Blades of Knowledge

The sharpest of swords

exists to defend against War

the life of nations.

But the brigthest blades

exist to teach our young ones

the value of youth.

"Who you teach,

you preserve."

---<--@

Those who love God loves instruction.

The Crossroads Cafe

You sit with your thoughts,

here at the Crossroads Cafe -

at the edge of space.

You've been living hard,

you've been running out, you pray -

the Crossroads Cafe!

Chances are

you've been here.

---<--@

Some writings on the wall at the Crossroads Cafe -

If life is all about winning -

then living is all about second chances.

You learn to be happy by mistake.

And so expect that you will make many of them.

=^.^=

Rosemary

Greenwich, capsicums...

why do I remember these,

your most favorite things?

Pringles, malls, movies,

what you wore on our first date,

the songs, the times, you.

It ended.

I didn't.

---<--@

You're a Whiskas model.

Remar, you cat.

I hope for you and your family all the best. Peace!

Scrupulosity

When there is darkness

leave plenty of room for God

to fill you with light.

Where there is shadow

leave plenty of room for faith -

Don't beat yourself up.

Trust to God,

He is able!

---<--@

Scrupulosity sees darkness when there is only shadow and shadow where there is none.

It is form of vice; a deficiency in faith. It leaves little room for a healthy sense of trust in God to flourish. It arouses needless fears and anxieties and is rooted in a secret sense of false pride.

You don't imagine sin. You don't imagine love. Because both exists and is therefore knowable.

So know, else trust in God. He is worthy of all your love and trust. Do your best to be good is all you can do, you can never go past the you being you.

So leave some room for the sunshine, dear starshine.

Let it be, let it shine!

Pointy Ears

Hey there, pointy ears!

A twitch here and a twitch there,

double folded back!

Ah, the ear language...

that subtle language of cats.

It's really an art.

To learn it,

you love it.

---<--@

The ear language is a partial expression of the total language of cats which includes body and voice, scene and relationship.

I call this total language Kittenese. It is the universal language of cats. =^.^=