Something to Rememver

Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVENLIFE').You will enjoy the new insights that RickWarren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life..No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72 First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back.
It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD

The amazing Rosary

Jim Castle was tired when he boarded his plane in Cincinnati , Ohio , that
night in 1981. The 45-year-old management consultant had put on a week
long series of business meetings and seminars, and now he sank gratefully into
his seat ready for the flight home to Kansas City , Kansas .

As more passengers entered, the place hummed with conversation, mixed with
the sound of bags being stowed. Then, suddenly, people fell silent. The
quiet moved slowly up the aisle like an invisible wake behind a boat. Jim
craned his head to see what was happening, and his mouth dropped open.

Walking up the aisle were two nuns clad in simple white habits bordered in
blue. He recognized the familiar face of one at once, the wrinkled skin,
and the eyes warmly intent. This was a face he'd seen in newscasts and on
the cover of TIME. The two nuns halted, and Jim realized that his seat
companion was going to be Mother Teresa!

As the last few passengers settled in, Mother Teresa and her companion
pulled out rosaries. Each decade of the beads was a different color, Jim
noticed.. The decades represented various areas of the world, Mother Teresa
told him later, and added, 'I pray for the poor and dying on each continent.'

The airplane taxied to the runway and the two women began to pray, their
voices a low murmur. Though Jim considered himself not a very religious
Catholic who went to church mostly out of habit, inexplicably he found
himself joining in.

By the time they murmured the final prayer, the plane had reached cruising
altitude. Mother Teresa turned toward him. For the first time in his life,
Jim understood what people meant when they spoke of a person possessing an
'aura'. As she gazed at him, a sense of peace filled him; he could no more
see it than he could see the wind but he felt it, just as surely as he
felt a warm summer breeze.

'Young man,' she inquired, 'do you say the rosary often?' 'No, not
really,' he admitted.

She took his hand, while her eyes probed his. Then she smiled. 'Well, you
will now.' And she dropped her rosary into his palm.

An hour later Jim entered the Kansas City airport where he was met by his
wife, Ruth. 'What in the world?' Ruth asked when she noticed the rosary in
his hand. They kissed and Jim described his encounter.

Driving home, he said. 'I feel as if I met a true sister of God.'

Nine months later Jim and Ruth visited Connie, a friend of theirs for
several years. Connie confessed that she'd been told she had ovarian
cancer.
'The doctor says it's a tough case,' said Connie, 'but I'm going to fight
it. I won't give up.' Jim clasped her hand. Then, after reaching into his
pocket, he gently twined Mother Teresa's rosary around her fingers. He
told her the story and said, 'Keep it with you Connie. It may help.'

Although Connie wasn't Catholic, her hand closed willingly around the
small plastic beads. 'Thank you,' she whispered. 'I hope I can return it.'

More than a year passed before Jim saw Connie again. This time her face
was glowing, she hurried toward him and handed him the rosary.

'I carried it with me all year,' she said. 'I've had surgery and have been
on chemotherapy, too. Last month, the doctors did second-look surgery, and
the tumor's gone.. Completely!' Her eyes met Jim's. 'I knew it was time to
give the rosary back.'

In the fall of 1987, Ruth's sister, Liz, fell into a deep depression after
her divorce. She asked Jim if she could borrow the rosary, and when he
sent it, she hung it over her bedpost in a small velvet bag. At night I held on
to it, just physically held on. I was so lonely and afraid,' she says,
'yet when I gripped that rosary, I felt as if I held a loving hand.'

Gradually, Liz pulled her life together, and she mailed the rosary back.
'Someone else may need it,' she said.

Then one night in 1988, a stranger telephoned Ruth. She'd heard about the
rosary from a neighbor and asked if she could borrow it to take to the
hospital where her mother lay in a coma. The family hoped the rosary might
help their mother die peacefully. A few days later, the woman returned the
beads. 'The nurses told me a coma patient can still hear,' she said, 'so I
explained to my mother that I had Mother Teresa's rosary and that when I
gave it to her she could let go; it would be all rosary in her hand. Right
away, we saw her face relax. The lines smoothed out until she looked so
peaceful, so young.' The woman's voice caught. 'A few minutes later she
was gone.'

Fervently, she gripped Ruth's hands. 'Thank you.'

Is there special power in those humble beads? Or is the power of the human
spirit simply renewed in each person who borrows the rosary? Jim only
knows that requests continue to come, often unexpectedly. He always responds
though, whenever he lends the rosary, 'When you're through needing it,
send it back. Someone else may need it.'

Jim's own life has changed, too, since his unexpected meeting on the
airplane. When he realized Mother Teresa carries everything she owns in a
small bag, he made an effort to simplify his own life.

'I try to remember what really counts - not money or titles or
possessions, but the way we love others,' he says.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY, MAY MOTHER MARY ASK HER SON



JESUS TO SHOWER YOU WITH GRACES.

Please feel free to pass this mail on, especially to all those in despair
so that they might know that they are not alone in their hour of need.

The reason I sent you this mail is because I know the power of the prayers
of these simple beads and I wanted to share it with you.

Every sacrifice has a fruitful reward. Every failure has a second chance.

We only have to be strong thru God's grace and persevere in life's many
tests! May GOD bless you always.

Daily Good News

DailyGood News: A Table For Three

Three keys to more abundant living: caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others. --William A. Ward

My husband and I decided today was the day to finally treat ourselves to a nice dinner. It started off as 'our' day' but little did we know that it would turn into much more. I didn't want the whole day to be about yearning to leave the office for the upcoming dinner and I didn't want the dinner to be just another romantic night for two... So, I felt compelled to turn up the notch of giving that day and see what that could do. 
During the work day,  I began in small ways. I inserted a few more quarters, dimes, and nickels, into the vending machines at work for the staff, so that something extra jingled inside for the next hungry worker. I posted smile signs in the lobby which gave clear instructions on how to smile as employees entered the office, either before their morning cup of coffee or right before a meeting with their boss. I drafted some powerful words of inspiration on colorful strips of paper and decorated my cube, so that any colleagues who came by, might just stop for a moment, read, and perhaps change their mood.
Oh, and when it came time for our lovely dinner to come to a close that night,  I left the server a hearty tip and a well-wishing note for her to have a wonderful day after thanking her for all of her kind service. As my husband and I were collecting our dinner mints and were just about to leave our table,  the waitress broke down in tears beside us, as she clutched the note in her hand . We asked her to sit down with us and we just listened.  As an emotional mother, I too, cried along with her. Our table for two was now for three.
It was a day that was not just ours, but it was the waitress' day, my co-workers' day, and now it is your day too! 

Be The Change:
Make a practice of "sharing" your happiness in big or small ways with others .

Homily of Fr. Fernando Suarez

Good Morning everyone!

Last night, I was in Newark and as I entered the Cathedral at 8 PM. Fr. Paul Lehman (District Director of Bukas Loob Sa Diyos Newark) asked me, “Are you aware that you have Mass tomorrow at 11 AM in Guelph (Canada)?” Further adding, “How is this possible?” I replied, “I don’t know. I’m going to fly!” (Audience laughs)

The Mass ended around midnight and by 5 AM, I was already at the airport. I asked our Lord, “God, you want me to be in Guelph.” I don’t know how I was able to come here. Our Lord provides for everything. God even feeds me. We went to a restaurant in a hurry. Two of my confidants went to the manager and told them that many people were waiting for this Healing Mass. In the end, the manager came to our table to pay! Free breakfast, not because of me but because of all of you here!

This happened to St. John the Baptist when we serve the real Jesus. He (Christ) will do everything and anything for us. In the Sacristy, one of the priest told me (regarding the atmosphere of the Church) this feels like Easter or Christmas. Isn’t this the way it should always be?

Jesus rose from the dead, in order for us to have someone to hang onto in times of difficulties & trials. You are all here because a loved one is sick or you yourself have cancer (etc.) But the main reason is because God called you here. He is going to give His Son Jesus through the Eucharist to heal us. We have only one healer.

This is all too humbling for me. Some tell me of their particular sickness to which I draw a blank. “You’ve never heard of this type?” “No,” I reply, “I’m not a doctor.” I never imagined that I would heal (be an instrument of God) but rather preach. God has his own plan for those who believe and are faithful like St. John.

Yesterday, I met a couple who told me they traveled all the way from Florida. I answered, “I hope you are not disappointed.” (Crowd laughs) There was one lady who came from California. In the end, I gave her a hug and said, “God loves you!” She cried and looked at me, “Father that was worth the trip!” There is such a great hunger and need for love yet it is so hard for it to penetrate into our bones and being. I hope you realize this very truth that He (God) loves each and every one of us. God is so faithful and loving and desires to make Himself available in every Sacrament. A Sacrament is not a Sacrament without the very Presence of Jesus. Jesus is so powerful and society (at large) is trying to kill God who is within us. (Since we are created by Him and in His Image.) Mary, Our Blessed Mother knew of this truth and I continually invoke Her intercession.

I was so young, 16 when I first encountered a manifestation of God’s power to heal. I knew no prayers other than the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. As I recited them, lo and behold she (the lady) stood up and walked. I was frightened!

These are the only prayers I do when I’m praying over people. Mary is so powerful and so too is St. John because of their faith in God. Some people tell me, “Why should I pray/ask Mary? She is only a human being.” To which I reply, “Why then are you asking me to pray for you. I too am a human being!”

Last night I met a troubled boy whose grandmother told me was very angry. He was expelled from his last school for bringing in a weapon. The boy, 9 years old came to me and wanted a photo. I forced myself to smile as it was already midnight and I was tired. He was so pleased that he gave me $US20. I told him, I would give this to the poor as I embraced him. Sometimes I have to push myself to be conscious of what I’m doing. I prayed, “God give him the grace to experience your love,” and touched his forehead adding “Don’t be angry.” At 3 AM (this morning – 3 hours later) I get a phone call from the boy’s grandmother saying he cried for 2 hours non-stop and that his facial expression changed to that of a lamb!

How much more can we have when we receive Jesus! We need to learn to forgive others and to break our hardened hearts. We deprive ourselves from experiencing the presence of God since He is not our priority. There is so much helplessness and fear. Look up. Look to the Cross. “Come to me, all of you heavily burdened.” Do not be afraid if you have cancer, etc. With so many who are ill, perhaps that is why these Healing Masses are so popular. (Crowd laughs knowing Father is joking.) God offers you permanent joy!

I first met Bong a young 35 year-old American scientist suffering from pancreatic cancer a couple of years ago in Ottawa. Doctors gave him 2 months to live. Now two years have passed and while I was in a conference in San Francisco, I received an email from someone saying, “Father, there’s this guy (Bong) whose suffering in great pain but is refusing to enter the ambulance until he sees you.” I went to him bringing a ciborium with Jesus. “This is Jesus, the Body of Christ. He is here!” The moment that host touched his tongue all pain immediately disappeared. The lady who brought me there flipped. “Father, I saw him in pain dying.” Praise the Lord!

This past February, Bong attended my 6th anniversary celebration as a priest. “Father, my cancer is still here but you and Jesus have given me a sense of hope to live. I now live life to its fullest as if I do not have any cancer.”

Sometimes we Catholics don’t fully know who Jesus is. Some parents teach their kids about Jesus as if it’s an exam. So when they finish school, no more exams, no more Jesus. Don’t just go to Jesus when you need something. Go to Him seeking a personal relationship. You will find that He will change your life. Have the strength and peace the world cannot give. This comes only from God, the God of eternity who is so good, magnificent and omnipotent and who loves us all.

AMEN.

Fr. Fernando then began a general prayer for healing, “Merciful and loving God; you called all these people from various countries, heal them of . . . Lord God, grant them the grace to forgive and to remove their anger and bitterness . . . Thank you oh Lord God!"

At this point, several people in the pews are openly weeping as if from just Fr. Suarez’s words a heavy burden was being lifted!

After the final blessing, Fr. Suarez then began to pray over each and every person individually. This was to last till 4:15 PM with him only stopping for a minute to drink some water or when moving down to the church hall.

As one of the catchers, I saw scenes that I’ve become rather accustomed too. Namely, someone complaining they cannot hear in one ear or of pain in their backs, etc. Seconds later, I see that very same person now smiling and praising God! As usual, there are several medical doctors who with a notebook are taking down their names and asking for more details.

In all my years of attending Father’s Healing Masses (which I know that every Mass is a healing one), that particular Mass yesterday was a very powerful one. When we went downstairs, I was overwhelmed by the large numbers of people sitting in wheelchairs. Fr. Fernando quickly went to the first person told them “get up” and they did so instantaneously! In fact this happened to the first 15 in a row and all I now saw were men and women pushing their wheelchairs out of the room to make space for those standing behind them and awaiting their moment to experience God’s love through Fr. Suarez’s intercession. The atmosphere in the room was one of great awe and electrifying. I asked a family member “How many years has he been in a wheelchair unable to walk?” With tears of joy in her eyes, she replied “40!”

After Mass, we had dinner and some quiet time with the Church’s Pastor, Fr. Fernando, and a few members of his family and close friends.

By 5:30 PM, Ivanka and I left heading back to Toronto overjoyed/in awe with the day’s events and what we were now experiencing right before us. Fr. Suarez would be driven by another friend to a local hotel to finally catch up on sleep before boarding another flight out to the West Coast early Sunday morning!

Prayer given at the opening session of the Kansas State Senate

Prayer given at the opening session of the

Kansas State Senate.


Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask
Your forgiveness and to seek your direction and
guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those
who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we
Have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed
Our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it
The lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it
Welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it
Choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it
Justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our
children and called it

Building self esteem..

We have abused power and called it
Politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions
and called it

Ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and
pornography and called it

Freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values
of our forefathers and called it

Enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts
today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!

Mary Mother of the Poor Medical Mission 2008

September 19 2008. Austrian Red Cross headed by Mrs Putz sponsored MMP Medical Mission, in the Province of Batangas. MMP’s preceded by 1 day (19 Septerber 2008, Friday) medical clinic put on by Butong Taal Batangas Doctors and from Batangas City. Volunteer Doctors were: Dr. Boy Leano, Dr & Dra. Edgardo & Erlinda Salazar, Dra. Daisy Cauntay,Dra. Lally Masangkay, Dra. Deborah Salazar and Dr. & Dra Jun & Juliet Berberabe and five Dentist from Batangas City.
The open clinics were held in the covered courts in Butong Taal Batangas,
A large portion of the medications were provided by the Austrian Red Cross thru initiative of Mr & Mrs George & Anabel Mortel.

The medical clinics were divided into sub-specialties: Dental, Pedia, Internal Medicine. The main dental procedures involved basic check ups and tooth extraction.
Common pedia ailments included cough and colds,and in extreme cases, severe malnourishment and parasitic infestation and anemia. .Internal medical ailments included headaches, stomach and chest pains, coughs, hypertention, diabetes and pulmonary disorders. Patients were given a small course of medicinal treatments along with prescriptions should they need to fill a prescription later.
The team saw over 500 patients only for one da.y. Unfortunately, the reality is, clinics such as this provide temporary relief only and are not a long term solution for all of their medical concerns. With increased funding, MMP hopes to be able to provide a permanent or at least ongoing medical clinic and possible future surgical missions for the region to help make a more significant long-term impact. The next medical mission is scheduled for the December 2008 or January 2009. The location is yet to be determine.