Maligayang bagong taon sa inyong lahat! Dahil sa Freestyle ang tema ng Litratong Pinoy ngayong linggo, naisipan kong ito ang ilahok. hehe.
Last Monday, some friends and I went to MOA to buy a basket of goodies. Well, the original plan was to go to S&R only, but we ended up going to Greenbelt (to have lunch), to S&R (to see if they have the basket, but they didn't so we just ate ice cream, tsk, choir pa man din kami) and finally to MOA to buy a goody basket in the Hypermarket.
Well, as the title suggests, this post has something to do with parking - parking in MOA anyway. I've recently discovered the newest feature of the covered parking lots in MOA.
On our way home from Tagaytay, my girl best friend and I were discussing the things that happened to us this year. So many obstacles have popped up into our lives (separately) that we have always wanted 2008 to end. Anyway, while we were discussing it, I pointed out that the problems that we were experiencing were just a test from God. She, on the other hand, contradicted me and said:
I don't want to think of God as a God who gives tests. What happens when you don't pass the test? Rather, I'd like to think of Him as a loving God. He gives us these problems no to test us, but rather to teach us a lesson.
I like the way she put it that God doesn't test people. Oo nga naman, what will happen to us if we don't pass the test? Do we get red marks and fail?I like it better that He only gives us these challenges to make us learn valuable lessons in life. As she said, the bigger the problem gets, the bigger the lesson that God wants to teach us. And yes, our God is a loving God who has always wanted us His children to return to His flock.
Merry Christmas!
Repost from Multiply (03.09.08)
Anyway, while I was at the Manila Polo Club last Saturday waiting for my breakfast to arrive, I was reading the newspaper, particularly the Philippine Star. I was intrigued by the column of Fr. Reuter, because of its title i think (but i can't remember the title now.) haha. He was relating this story in his column:
There was a girl who wanted to enter the convent. However, she was not accepted by the Mother Superior because of an unknown reason.
There was a boy who wanted to enter the seminary. He was declined by the rector because of his health. He was too frail to be able to accomplish his task well when he became a priest.
The two people were so unhappy with the outcome of their, um endeavors. (Forgive me, I am just re-telling, rather, re-writing the story from memory.) Anyway, to cut it short, they saw each other one day and fell in love. It was love at first sight but the girl did not view it that way. Rather, she wrote in her diary that she was"divinely illuminated" that this was the man she was supposed to marry (even without meeting him first!). So they met, got married and after their wedding, they, uh.. made vows of celibacy. You read right. They vowed to be virgins.
Anyway nine months later, (no she did not give birth - yet) they realized that they would "glorify God more" if they had children. And so they went to a priest, had their vows removed and had err, 9 children. Five of them were girls while the other four were men. All five became nuns (out of their own will might I add, not coerced by their parents) and the four men, well, I don't know what happened to them. One of their five daughters is St. Therese of Lisieux (whose relics are incidentally here, it will remain at the Manila Cathedral until tomorrow, as Ate Rose had said. This was why Fr. Reuter wrote about her parents' love story).
What inspires me the most about this story is that the love of this two people are centered in God. Loving with Love as the center (God = Love) diba? It is so inspiring to read about this love story. Wala lang, ako nainspire, sana ikaw din.
I'd like to add something else. My brother always relates this story to me. It's about Therese's (of Lisieux) father. He had said (in his lifetime): If I had one more daughter to give, I'd gladly give her to the Lord. What a very very devout man. I hope he becomes a Saint (with the capital S) if he is not yet one (along with his wife and his whole family). He is truly an inspiration of whole-hearted giving for the glory of God.
One more love story. In our Humanities class, we were asked y our teacher to read the book Man's Search for Meaning. Of the entire collection of Victor Frankl's (the author) experiences in the concentration camp during Hitler's Regime, there was one account that struck me the most. And I quote: (this is a bit lengthy but I think it will help illustrate my point further.)
We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones and through large puddles, along the one road running through the camp. The accompanying guards kept shouting at us and driving us with the butts of their rifles. Anyone with very sore feet supported himself on his neighbor's arm. Hardly a word was spoken; the icy wind did not encourage talk. Hiding his hand behind his upturned collar, the man marching next to me whispered suddenly: "If our wives could see us now! I do hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us."
That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind. And as we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another on and upward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look then was more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.
A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth--that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world may still know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when a man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way--an honorable way--in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life, I was able to understand the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory."
I was browsing through my old blogs in my Multiply and I stumbled upon this draft post. Uh-oh. I think I forgot to publish it. Anyway, I haven't even answered it yet. Now, I will. :D
I was tagged by Char and Jeff last July 8, 2007. :))
what makes your blog unique?
Which blog? the paulalaflower or the one in Multiply? I'm still undecided on how to go about both blogs. :D
when did you start blogging?
well, according to the archives of my old blog, January 2005 was the start of my obsession with this online writing thing.
what do you hope to accomplish in your blog?
For paulalaflower, I just want to share my thoughts, experiences and other what-have-yous. Maybe turn it into a photoblog or something (I think the or something will be much more feasible. I am sometimes too lazy to go take pictures.) My Multiply Blog is generally more personal. :D
what's your favorite childhood memory?
I'm not so good with remembering these kinds of things. hehe.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want to have with you?
My cellphone, a first aid kit (aha, the doctor-ish side of me is showing itself. hehe) and hmmm. can a person be considered a thing? hehe. someone to be stranded with (so I won't bore the hell out of myself.)
Does your moral values affect the way you blog? if yes, why?
Yes. Erm, because moral values are always there to dictate every action? :D
what is the weirdest thing that ever happened to you?
How do you define weird?
what is your worst quality?
I am so lazy.
==========================================================
A - Age: I am 19 going on 20 (next year!)
B - Band:Band Aid. Haha. I am so corny.
C - Career: I'm a student, what career?
D - Drink or Smoke: drink at parties. :)
E - Easiest Friends To Talk To: Erika, Jeff.
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Bears
H - Have a Girlfriend: Err, if I did, that would be weird. :)
I - In love: with LIFE! :)
J - Junk Food You Like: I can't think of any as of the moment.
K - Kids: If I get married, definitely.
L - Longest Ride Ever: Train ride from xiamen to some mountain in China. We even slept on these bunk beds on the train. :D
N - Names For Your Future Kids: I haven't thought about them yet. or should I say, yet again.
O - One Wish You Have Now: To have more wishes (I can't think of anything right now.)
P - Phobias: err, none that I know of.
Q - Favorite Quotes: ...
R - Reasons To Smile: It's Christmas!
S - Sleeping Hours: my sleeping time is not regular.
T - Time You Woke Up: before 8
U - Unknown Fact About You: ...
V - Vegetable You Hate: Celery, Okra, Ampalaya
W - Worst Habit: Being lazy. And putting off things just so I can twiddle with my blog.
X - X-rays You've Had: chest for physical examination
Y - Yummy Foods: I think I haven't eaten anything yummy in a few days. Hmm. Pad Thai is yummy.
Z - Zodiac Sign: Gemini
reposted from Multiply
Time is a Nuisance man invented for himself.
(new)
Traffic in Manila last Wednesday was hell. I think we could attribute it to Pacquiao's homecoming. Or the Maynilad excavations that are still plaguing our streets. Or the lowered gas prices that convinced motorists it was cheap to drive again. Everywhere I went, every street I passed was full of cars. Sheesh. My class was at one, I left the house at around quarter to 12. See the time? I was still in the Taf-DLSU area by that time. Buti na lang maaga ako umalis, kundi, late nanaman ako. (3 out of 4 meetings na akong late. hehe)
School's almost ending (well, for the Christmas break at least, then hell will again rule my world), this new blog will live off re-posts. I am sorry, my supply of creative juice has been sucked dry by the written reports which now have big red marks on them. Sheesh. If, and only IF, I find the time to repost previous blogs, I will. :)
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