On All Souls' Day

Hubby and I weren't able to go to Ilocos to visit his father's grave since I still wasn't allowed to go on long drives plus we only had the weekend to do so, so... We offered candles and prayers instead to our dearly departed...

Prayer for the Departed

O Master, Lord our God, Who in Thy wisdom hast created man, and didst honor him with Thy Divine image, and place in him the spirit of life, and lead him into this world, bestowing on him the hope of resurrection and life everlasting; and after he had violated Thy commandments, Thou O Gracious lover of mankind, didst descend to the earth that Thou mightest renew again the creation of Thy hands. Therefore we pray Thee, O All-Holy Master give rest to the souls of Thy servants, Eleuterio, Ildefonso, Arsenio, Jesus and Eduardo, in a place of brightness, a place of green pasture, a place of repose, and, in that they have sinned in word, or deed or thought forgive them: For Thou art a good God and lovest mankind and unto Thee do we ascribe Glory, together with Thy Father, Who is from everlasting and Thine All-Holy and good, and ever giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer for Safe Delivery

O great Saint Gerard, beloved servant of Jesus Christ, perfect imitator of your meek and humble Savior, and devoted child of Mother of God, enkindle within my heart one spark of that heavenly fire of charity which glowed in your heart and made you an angel of love.
O glorious Saint Gerard, because when falsely accused of crime, you did bear, like your Divine Master, without murmur or complaint, the calumnies of wicked men, you have been raised up by God as the patron and protector of expectant mothers.
Preserve me from danger and from the excessive pains accompanying childbirth, and shield the child which I now carry, that it may see the light of day and receive the purifying and life-giving waters of baptism through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Maundy Thursday

When I was a child I used to always wonder during "Maundy Thursday" how Thursday became "Monday"... well that was a very long time ago, and my parents, and then later on my religion teacher (Sister Luisa) have already explained to me the meaning of Maundy -- which actually came from a latin word which means "mandate" or Commandment -- which is the Thursday before Easter. This is when we commemorate the day when Jesus, before he was crucified, instituted the Holy Communion during the Last Supper.

In the Christian liturgical calendar, Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is the fifth day of Holy Week, and is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot. The morning celebration of these events marks the beginning of what is called the Easter Triduum or Sacred Triduum. The Latin word triduum means a three-day period, and the triduum in question is that of the three days from the death to the resurrection of Jesus. It should be noted that for Jesus and his followers a day ended, and a new day began, at sunset, not at midnight, as it still does today in the modern Jewish calendar. The Last Supper was held at what present-day Western civilization considers to be the evening of Holy Thursday but what was then considered to be the first hours of Friday. Its annual commemoration thus begins the three-day period or triduum of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, days of special devotion that celebrate as a single action the death and resurrection of Christ, the central events of Christianity.

Well, as a catholic, not only is this day a very special day of realizing how the Lord loves us so much but it is also a time of reflection of what is innately good in us and in the people around us... This is truly how we can see Jesus through our neighbors, our family and friends. May we always remember that life is what we make it and if we choose to live life with faith that Christ will always guide us (we just have to listen well).

Palm Sunday

Today, Holy week officially starts...

Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday

This Sunday observes the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that was marked by the crowds, who were in Jerusalem for Passover, waving palm branches and proclaiming him as the messianic king. The Gospels tell us that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, enacting the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, and in so doing emphasized the humility that was to characterize the Kingdom he proclaimed. The irony of his acceptance as the new Davidic King (Mark 11:10) by the crowds who would only five days later cry for his execution should be a sobering reminder of the human tendency to want God on our own terms.

Traditionally, worshippers enact the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem by the waving of palm branches and singing songs of celebration. Sometimes this is accompanied by a processional into the church. In many churches, children are an integral part of this service since they enjoy processions and activity as a part of worship. This provides a good opportunity to involve them in the worship life of the community of Faith. In many more liturgical churches, children are encouraged to craft palm leaves used for the Sunday processional into crosses to help make the connection between the celebration of Palm Sunday and the impending events of Holy Week.

I'm just thinking, do the young ones of today realize the real meaning of Lent? And soes holy week something more than just school holidays to them? Well, I hope so...

Desperately Depressed

A couple of hours ago got a text message from a friend whom I haven't heard from in quite a while. She was asking us (I'm guessing she texted most of the people listed in her phonebook) to pray for her as she was just recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. I called her right away not even thinking first of what I was going to say... what words would ease the pain of a mother trying to fight for her life so she could watch her child grow for a bit longer.

As her soft, always cheery voice reached me, I could not talk for a moment. What was I going to say? "Hello, How are you?" seems to be inappropriate. She broke the momentary silence by saying "Heidi, I know... Thank you for calling me..." And so we launched into a 30-minute long conversation about her bout with her illness and how very sudden the events were and how she didn't feel sick at all until her doctor told her and how she would not even know if she didn't go for a check-up due to a suspicion of being pregnant again. What was supposed to have been a wonderful surprise turned out to be a series of nightmares. And here I was envying her just a couple of months ago when I received an invitation for her daughter's second birthday party. I was thinking... we got married almost at the same time, and now her daughter is turning two while I still have yet to conceive...

I know that people cannot even begin to understand the innerworkings of God's reasons for these things happening in one's life. Or what good it would bring us but I will not question God's plan, I will not even bring myself to think that this is unfair because, I have long understood that life IS not always fair, but fate has a way of showing us that eventually, something good is going to come out of every disaster, something nice will be born from mistakes and something great would be revealed from the worst packages. So when my friend told me that she was "desperately depressed" I told her, well then... expect wonderful miracles because nothing is impossible with a handful of faith and a lifetime of being good. So to you, my friend... know that you will always have friends to hold your hand in times of need, a family and a wonderful husband to stand beside you even if worse comes to worst and your daughter to always remind us that miracles do happen every single day!

Ash Wednesday

Wikipedia states that:

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty days before Easter (excluding Sundays). It falls on a different date each year, because it is dependent on the date of Easter; it can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10. On this day Christians abstain from eating any kind of meat.

At Masses and services of worship on this day, ashes are imposed on the foreheads (or tonsure spots, in the case of some clergy) of the faithful. The priest, minister, or in some cases officiating layperson marks the forehead of each participant with black ashes in the shape of a cross, which the worshiper traditionally retains until washing it off after sundown. The act echoes the ancient Near Eastern tradition of throwing ash over one's head to signify repentance before God (as related in the Bible).

Today's workday was started with a mass which gave all of us a chance to take part in this catholic ritual. I'm hoping it would bring about true penance for us all to bring about the real meaning of the lenten season.