New Year, New Me

This new year, I have one new year's resolution - just one. This new year, I resolve to make use of my time wisely. Time flies so quickly and it is something I can't get back. I must make conscious effort to make time work for me - to avoid idleness, be more productive, and put on more meaning to my existence. I resolve to make each moment count and avoid procrastination because time is precious.

I have never felt so hopeful in my life. Tonight, it's going to be very noisy outside and there is the usual media noche at the strike of midnight. Year in and year out it has always been the same - loud firecrackers to ward off the evil spirits, 12 pieces of round fruits for a prosperous year ahead, and other crazy things we do to make our life better for the coming year, and yet the much needed change is seldom seen because deep in our hearts we fail to silence the noise and contemplate. We fail to look inside to see what things needed to be changed.

Make this new year a different one. Make some life-shaking, earth-shattering changes in your life so that when 2009 ends, you have indeed something to celebrate.

Happy New Year!

Homosexuality: Pope Puts Stress on Gender Roles

Pope Benedict has called for "an ecology of the human being." Pope Benedict XVI has said that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. He explained that defending God's creation was not limited to saving the environment, but also protecting man from self-destruction.

The pope was delivering his end-of-year address to senior Vatican staff. His words, later released to the media, emphasised his total rejection of gender theory. Pope Benedict XVI warned that gender theory blurs the distinction between male and female and could thus lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race.

Gender Theory
Gender theory explores sexual orientation, the roles assigned by society to individuals according to their gender, and how people perceive their biological identity. Gay and transsexual groups, particularly in the United States, promote it as a key to understanding and tolerance, but the pope disagreed. When the Roman Catholic Church defends God's Creation, "it does not only defend the earth, water and the air... but (it) also protects man from his own destruction," the pope said.

"If tropical forests deserve our protection, humankind... deserves it no less," the 81-year-old pontiff said, calling for "an ecology of the human being." It is not "outmoded metaphysics" to urge respect for the "nature of the human being as man and woman," he told scores of prelates gathered in the Vatican's sumptuous Clementine Hall. The Catholic Church opposes gay marriage. It teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are.

(Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7796663.stm)

A Prayer for Christmas

God give us eyes this Christmas
to see the Christmas Star.
And give us ears to hear the song
Of angels from afar.

And, with our eyes and ears attuned
for a message from above,
Let "Christmas Angels" speak to us
of hope and faith and love.

Hope to light our pathway
when the way ahead is dark.
Hope to sing through stormy days,
with the sweetness of the lark.

Faith to trust in things unseen
and know beyond all seeing.
That it is in our Father's love
we live and have our being.

And love to break down barriers
of coloar, race and creed.
Love to see and understand
and help all those in need.

Merry Christmas!

Break It To Me Gently

I love this song even if I'm single. Mark Bautista sings it well...with emotion and all.

Happy Holidays!

The Spirit of Advent

Because of original sin, man naturally grows in vice rather than in virtue. The first age of man is characterized by thoughtlessness; this grows into love of pleasure and, in old age, develops into love for wealth.

So, John the Baptist came and announced the coming of Christ who would have the unrewarding task of instilling in men "a feeling for their own sins." John did this and paid with his head; Christ followed suit and was crucified.

They were both killed by the Jews, a senseless people, who, though guilty of the worst sins, justified themselves -- this was the cause of their destruction. "They are ignorant of God's righteousness and go about establishing their own righteousness, and have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." This was the cause of their evils.

But aren't we like this, too? Thoroughly devoid of "feeling for our sins" (i.e. ignorant of our sins and their gravity), we judge ourselves by our norms and not by the norms of God? So, John and Jesus did nothing else except to bring man to a sense of their own sins.

To be forgiven, we must be sorry for our sins. But how can we be sorry if we do not know the gravity of our sins? And how can we discover the gravity of our sins if we do not even know our sins?

We must have a "feeling for our sins" that we may condemn them. Those sins that we condemn, God will not condemn; but those sins we fail to condemn, God will condemn.

"What must we do?" Repent, reform our lives, deny ourselves. Learn to scorn the things of the earth and aim for the things in heaven. It is not possible to be repentant and to live in luxury.

True repentance is this: to know your sins and the gravity of your sins. Then to forsake your evil ways and show forth good deeds greater than the sins. . .this is the fruit worthy of repentance. So if you have stolen, return what you have stolen AND ALSO give up some of your own to the poor. If you have committed fornication, you must stop it AND ALSO abstain even from your wife for certain appointed times. Have you insulted someone?. . .then learn how to take insults hurled at you AND ALSO do good to those who insult you.

Sin is like a dart that has wounded you. You don't only remove the dart (i.e. cease from sinning); you must also heal the wound by good works. So it is not enough for the drunkard to be sober; he must also fast from food and water for a time to cure his spiritual wounds. You who look lustfully at a woman, now be modest in looking, and also deny yourselves even looking at the beauty of nature to heal the wounds of your soul. It was precisely to heal their spiritual wounds that the first Christians went to the desert.

The first step toward holiness is repentance; and the first step of repentance is to have a "feeling for one's sins," i.e. to know your sins and the gravity of your sins. He who shows forth fruits worthy of repentance, he it is who has made his crooked way straight for the Lord.

St. Augustine: "On the Gospels"

(caryana.org)

Our Lady of Guadalupe

A TRIBUTE TO MARY by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a Protestant American poet reminds all America:

"This is indeed the Blessed Mary's Land,

Virgin and Mother of our dear Redeemer!

All Hearts are touched and softened at her name:

The priest, the prince, the scholar, and the peasant.

Alike the bandit with the bloody hand,

Pay homage to her as one ever present!

And even as children who have much offended

A too-indulgent father, in great shame,

Penitent, and yet not daring unattended

To go into his presence, at the gate

Speak to their sister, and confiding wait

Till she goes in before and intercedes.

So men, repenting of their evil deeds

And yet not venturing rashly to draw near,

With their requests, an angry Father's ear

Offer to Mary prayers and their confession

And she in Heaven for them makes intercession.

And if our faith had given us nothing more

Than this example of all womanhood,

So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good

So patient, peaceful, loyal, loving, pure

These were enough to prove it higher and truer

Than all the creeds the world has known before."

“Hear me and understand well...that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed... Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? - Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego.

Today, December 12, is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Morality of Boxing

Note: Attention Manny Paquiao and all his fans. Listen. I think it's high time for all Pinoy boxing fanatics to read this article discussing the morality of boxing (and I guess all other sports similar to boxing). Personally, I don't watch boxing matches. I only catch a glimpse of high-profile fighters during the evening news. Try as I might I really don't have a taste for this sport. I know most straight guys remain glued to their seats whenever they see their boxing hero Manny Paquiao fight it out in the ring, even making this sport sort of a gambling opportunity for them to earn (or lose) extra bucks. Below is an article that might perhaps change your views on boxing.

An early 1950s boxer Laverne Roach died from injuries sustained in a professional match. This was pugilism's first televised homicide—but not its last. Twelve years later, 15 million television fans had a double treat: they watched challenger Emile Griffith scramble the brains of welterweight champion Benny Paret beyond repair, and then saw a rerun of the climactic moments of this state-supervised slaughter in slow motion.

Thus boxing history repeated itself on March 24, just as it will do in the future until informed and out­raged public opinion demands the abolition of civilized man's most atavistic sport—the manly art of mutual mayhem. For mayhem lies at the heart of the prize­fighting game, as opposed to amateur and collegiate boxing where, whatever the incidence of injury, mishap comes about by accident or human malice, and not by the nature of the art.

Ringside requiems involve a predictable reaction ­ritual. The pugilistic massacre prompts an official in­vestigation that finally leads nowhere. Humanitarians clamor for protective devices or rules that will reduce the likelihood of ring tragedies. A few sports columnists call for the abolition of prizefighting. And increasingly, of late years, moralists and preachers seize on every ring slaughter as a chance to compose a homily on the immorality of the professional boxing game.

This last development is a hopeful one. For if all teachers of morality could convince themselves and their public of the immorality of professional boxing, the days of this brutal pastime would definitely be numbered.

A dozen years ago, in this country, Catholic moral­ists seldom directed their attention to the evils of a professional boxing career. Even if they did so, they were loath to condemn it because it seemed to have wide popular approval and to encourage the ideals of clean, disciplined living and hardy virility.

Today things are very different. Perhaps most of our moralists now think that of its essence professional boxing is irreconcilable with the gospel and natural law, and they do not hesitate to make their opinion known. In this they agree with the Vatican City radio and newspaper, both of which forthrightly condemned professional boxing after the Paret tragedy, not just because it is a hazardous career whose rewards are in­commensurate with its risks, but because it is wrong in its nature, aim and methods.

The basic reason why professional boxing is wrong is easy to grasp. It lies in the uniqueness of this activity: of all contemporaneous forms of sport in which man is pitted against man, professional boxing alone has as its primary and direct object the physical injury of the contestants.

This fact alone sets prizefighting apart from other sports, no matter how risky they are in themselves or how open to human malice. In amateur and collegiate boxing, presumably, the emphasis is on skill and dex­terity, and elaborate precautions are taken to make the danger of real harm remote. But injury in a profes­sional match is no accident. The very nature of the sport is that two career men, under contract, attempt to mutilate each other for gain. The opponents system­atically attack each other's physical features and organs in a mounting crescendo of mayhem that ideally termi­nates in a violent assault on man's most delicate organ, the brain. A successful assault ends in a moment of waking helplessness called a technical knockout, or, better still, a clean KO whose symbol is the supine gladiator with a mild concussion. Any less decisive climax gets short shrift from the gallery and contributes little to a fighter's career.

Thus professional boxing stands condemned even before the statistics are compiled on occasional ring deaths and the all-too-common. The gospel law of love does not permit brethren to exchange wanton violence for mere renown or profit. There is no charity in a licensed assault that unleashes the beast in the boxer and the sadist in the spectator. As for natural justice, we who have no right to mutilate ourselves for external gain certainly cannot endow others with the right to attempt mayhem upon us by virtue of a contract.

We will welcome the day when the American people finally reject professional boxing for good, and inter it by the side of cockfighting, bearbaiting and the pub­lic execution 'of criminals.

(Source: America - The National Catholic Weekly)

Bloggers Against Pornography

I think it's high time to fight the plague of pornography in our own way. As someone who is constantly exposed to the internet the whole day, I'm no stranger to the allure and temptation of porn, and working in the comforts of my own home seems to make that a lot easier for me.

It's time to fight back.

I will be devising simple and practical ways to do this and I'm planning to post this on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

I would like to enjoin my fellow bloggers to support me in their own way. This is not just someone's personal battle; this is our fight.

Join me.


"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke

You Don't Always Need an Umbrella

No, I'm not going to sing Rihanna's song here. I just want to share this beautiful inspirational thought from Ms. Deanna Beisser, author of What Will Tomorrow Bring?

We will never be able to predict the future.
Whatever happens today belongs to today,
and we all live in the moments that we are given.
What happens tomorrow will be tomorrow's reality,
and we all must wait to see how it becomes today.
The main thing to keep in mind
as you travel through life is that
tomorrow could either be a sunny day
or a wet and rainy day,
but if you carry an umbrella with you
everywhere you go,
chances are that
you will be looking for clouds
(maybe even squinting to see them)
while missing out on blue skies

Take your chances on getting wet every now and then.

Pro-Life Forum on Porn

Note: Please forward this announcement to all people concerned.


An Invitation To The Pro-Life Forum On

“The Pornography Plague”
(La Plaga de la Pornografía)

Designed for parents, guardians, teachers, counselors/life coaches, youth group advisers, catechists, pastors, lay leaders, social workers, students, and all those who deal with issue on pornography

Date :
Friday, December 5, 2008

Time:
8:00 am – 12:00 nn (registration starts at 7:30 a.m.)

Venue:
Bahay Ugnayan, Good Shepherd Convent Compound
1043 Aurora Blvd, Quezon City
(in front of PSBA and beside Katipunan LRT2 North Exit)

Fee :
P150.00 (includes snacks, handouts, and certificate)

Guest Speaker:
Ms. Ma. Perlita “Teacher Phil” E. de Leon
Faculty, Family Life and Child Development Department University of the Philippines

Pornography is tearing apart the very fabric of our society today. Yet, many of us are often ignorant of its impact and apathetic about the need to control this menace.

Listen and be enlightened by “Teacher Phil” as she presents the status of pornography in the Philippines and its psycho-social effects especially on today’s youth, counterpointed by the biblical perspective of pornography and human sexuality. Be there and share your insights during the forum discussion on how to combat pornography.

For reservations or more information, please call Ellen at 422-8877 or 911-2911. Or, you may send us a telefax at 421-7147; a text through mobile# 0919-2337783; or an email at life@prolife.org.ph. Visit our website at www.prolife.org.ph.

AIDS Report

Dear readers,

You might want to read this alarming artcile on the rise of HIV/AIDS in our country:

Government warns versus HIV danger in MSM sector

AIDS and Condoms

Note: Today is World AIDS day and I'm sharing an article regarding this topic. I got this from a Catholic blog

On a personal note, I firmly believe that abstinence and upholding of moral truth is still our best defense against the dreaded disease. Quick fixes simply aren't good enough to solve the AIDS crisis. Educating oneself about the disease is another powerful means to combat it. We simply cannot afford to be ignorant.


Briefing: Condoms are an easy but false solution to AIDS, since they encourage the behaviour (promiscuity) which spreads the disease while only reducing, not eliminating, the risk of infection. This simple point is apparently incomprehensible to the condom-pushers, but that is because they think promiscuity and contraception are good in themselves.

From LifeSite, via CFNews: Following the report that an official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) had told media, in defiance of established Catholic teaching, that the use of condoms by HIV and AIDS-infected spouses is morally permissible, this position was soundly trounced in an article in the Vatican Newspaper L'Osservatore Romano by a member of the Pontifical Council on the Family. Msgr. Jacques Suaudeau slammed the idea of condoms for AIDS prevention, saying it cannot be proposed as a model of humanization and development.' Msgr. Suaudeau also pointed out the danger of relying upon latex condoms to prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus: 'We are asked to believe that the HIV virus, 450 times smaller than spermatozoa, can almost always be magically blocked by a condom, without taking into account that spermatozoa themselves can pass through the latex barrier in 15 out of 100 completed sexual acts.'

The condom-for-AIDS theory, while directly contradicting the teaching of the Catholic Church as repeatedly reiterated by Vatican officials, also flies in the face of recent statistics showing a correlation between increasing rates of AIDS infection and the spread of condom use in the Philippines. In 2006, the Philippine Health Secretary reported that the number of HIV/AIDS cases almost doubled in three years from about 6000 in 2002 to 11,168 in 2006. This was the same period in which private companies and UN-funded international NGOs began bringing condoms into the country. In 2004 alone, DKT, a private organization run by a well-known US pornographer, with the support of the Packard Foundation, distributed 27.8 million condoms as well as chemical abortifacients and contraceptives in the Philippines. Indeed, in many countries, statistics have shown that far from reducing the transmission of AIDS, the use of condoms has greatly exacerbated the problem.

The relentless push by foreign 'experts' for condoms is being increasingly condemned by local governments in the developing world who have seen successful AIDS prevention programmes undermined by the western obsession with latex. The first lady of Kenya said in 2006 that the western programmes pushing condoms in her country were the primary culprits in the spread of AIDS. Lucy Kibaki spoke to Kenyan schoolgirls at an awards ceremony, telling them, 'The condom … is causing the spread of AIDS in this country.' Mrs Kibaki said the rapid spread of AIDS in Kenya could be put down to pressure from abroad to use condoms instead of practising self-control. 'I am not telling you to use condoms. I am not in favour of condoms.' Officials in charge of the most successful AIDS prevention programme in Africa have recently condemned the efforts by western advisors to undermine their programmes promoting abstinence and marital fidelity.

A Ugandan official wrote a piece last week for the Washington Post, saying that the western obsession with casual sex was killing the people of his country. The spread of artificial methods of contraception in the Philippines has long been one of the major goals of the international population control movement, funded through agencies like International Planned Parenthood and the United Nations Population Fund. The Philippines was one of the countries specified in a 1974 US government document, the National Security Study Memorandum 200 (NSSM), authored by Henry Kissinger, that re-directed the work of such international organisations as UNICEF into population control in order to protect US economic interests by lowering fertility rates in the developing world.

In 2002, the Catholic bishops conference of the Philippines issued a statement condemning the attempts by various international organisations to implement the NSSM 200 programme by pushing artificial contraceptives. Currently the attempt has been made again and the Church is vehemently opposing two pending pieces of legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives that will allow 'family planning' organisations to begin their contraceptive programmes in the strongly Catholic country. [LifeSiteNews]

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving Holiday today in the US. That means no work (read: no income) for me today. You see I work in the BPO industry. We do not necessarily follow the local holidays here in the Philippines and today is one such holiday that is uniquely American. I wonder if the American people in general feel like being thankful today considering the economic situation in the US.

On the other hand, don't you wish we have the same here? Well, I know we already have more than enough fiestas and holidays throughout the year, but what is nice about Thanksgiving is the idea behind the celebration - that is, to be thankful and grateful for everything, even if we're in for the not so good times. Personally, how I wish I can develop this "attitude of gratitude" in whatever situation I might find myself to be in. You see, being grateful when things aren't going my way is not second nature to me. I'm guilty of complaining and comparing myself to others. Indeed it is easy to feel grateful when things are going your way. But when challenging situations confront you, what should you do?

Maybe we can view it in a more positive light and that there is still something good that can come out of it. When you don't feel like being grateful, look around you and observe. You might realize that despite your situation, you're still better off compared to others. I say this so that we may realize how blessed we are still and this should make us realize that grumbling won't make things better. Perhaps, difficult times challenge us to take actions we've never taken before. It may be upsetting but try to dig deeper into the situation. Whatever situation we might find ourselves to be in, we must learn to be thankful. Isn't it that the happiest people around are those who are grateful, simple, and cheerful? Isn't it true that happiness can be found in life's simple pleasures?

Now, that's something to be hopeful about and maybe from now on we can practice to be a little grateful for things both big and not so big.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Erase all Sexual Thoughts

Interesting article on how to control thoughts, particularly lustful thoughts, that bug us every now and then. I hope you find this helpful.

On Purity by St. John Bosco

I am presently reading a booklet I bought at a Catholic bookstore years ago entitled "The Way to Heaven". It deals with the topic of chastity in the life of St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesian order. I am amazed how John Bosco practiced this virtue in his lifetime so as to make him more angelic than human. I want to share some pointers from the book on safeguarding chastity, which according to St. John Bosco is a very delicate virtue that makes men like unto angels. He loved this virtue so much so as to make it the hallmark of his congregation just as much as the Franciscans are well known for the virtue of poverty.

Nine Safeguards for the Holy Virtue of Purity

1. Avoid idleness.

I must admit that I am most vulnerable to succumbing to sexual temptations when I am idle and alone.

2. Shun bad companions.

Unfortunately they are all around us - a vexation to the spirit. You don't have to hang out with these people.

3. Associate with good companions.

These are the people you should make friends with. These are the good guys and fortunate are you to find even just one.

4. Go to confession frequently.

If you can't stomach not taking a bath at least once a day, then give your soul a "spiritual bath" at least once a month - that's how Pope John Paul II defined frequent confession - at least once a month. Of course, you can receive it as often and as frequent as you would like but be sure to make each confession a good one.

5. Receive communion often.

Don't you dare receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord if you're conscious of mortal sin. You must have recourse to Confession first before you can receive communion. Receiving communion in a state of mortal sin is sacrilegious; you'll just end up deeper in the pit.

6. Pray to Mary often.

I won't argue with our Protestant brothers about this, but as Catholics we pray to the Blessed Mother because we venerate her and we know how powerful Her intercession is before God. You cannot afford to ignore Mary in working out your salvation because all graces that come from God is dispensed by Her.

7. Hear Mass devoutly.

Don't be contented with attending masses on Sundays and holy days of obligation. If you have free time during the week, attend an extra mass or better yet attend it daily with as much devotion as you can muster. It's all for your own good. Offer masses for the Poor Souls as well coz one day you might end up as one of them and how you would wish that others pray in your behalf.

8. Make up for past faulty confessions.

So, you're going to confession regularly, but you keep falling into the same sins over and over. Perhaps, you don't have a firm purpose of amendment like me. Well, don't lose heart. Make an effort to make every confession as contrite and sincere as possible, and pray hard for the grace to amend your wrong ways and to overcome your weaknesses.

9. In Mary's honor, make small but frequent acts of self-denial.

Offer it all up to Our Lady and She will help you. You see, self-denial is indispensable if you want to live a chaste life because a life of chastity is a life of renunciation, self-discipline, and yes sacrifice too.

On the Virtue of Chastity:

"Where there is chastity, there too are all the other virtues, because chastity attracts them all. Without chastity, all other virtues are nonexistent. Chastity must be the pivot upon which all our actions revolve...nowadays, sterling modesty and chastity are a must. If you love this virtue which is so delicate, and tender, you will be like angels of God. By cherishing this virtue, you will acquire the holy fear of God and peace of heart.

You will have no further anguish or pangs of conscience, but only a fervor in things which pertain to God's worship and a readiness to suffer anything for His sake. Possessing this virtue, we can be sure we are walking along the right path, even our most insignificant actions will be pleasing to God. We shall thus earn countless merits and be certain of one day attaining our immortal reward, the full possession of God in our heavenly home.

Let us therefore make every effort to shun any thought which may dim this virtue ever so slightly, any glance or touch of ourselves or others, for as I again repeat, all other virtues which we may acquire are dependent on chastity. What will help us most to safeguard it jealously is obedience in all things. These two virtues go hand in hand and one who is perfectly obedient can also be sure of possessing the inestimable treasure of purity.

Let us earnestly implore the Lord for it because if He grants us chastity we shall not need anything else. Simply by keeping chaste we shall obtain every good joy from heaven."

- St. John Bosco

Understanding Abuse Part 2

Sexual Abuse

One of the most devastating forms of power inflicted on children is sexual abuse. Molestation is any act of sexual power (overt or covert) that is forced upon a child under 18 years old. For too long our culture has defined sexual abuse in terms of genital contact. Sexual abuse can encompass any act of sexual power - from intercourse to voyeurism (being sexually leered at). Children were never designed by God to contain within their souls (and bodies) any form of adult sexual energy. This sexual power can leave different forms or intensities of destruction. This is manifested in how a child feels about his or her body, sense of protection, ability to trust, and personal safety.

Many adults who experienced sexual abuse as teenagers feel guilty and personally responsible, especially if pleasurable feelings arose in them. Also devastating can be the sad truth that legitimate longings for love, concern, and attention were met perversely by the abuser. Adults are solely responsible for their sexual energies and are accountable for misusing their power by crossing boundaries with children.

Healing

Defining abuse is much easier than summarizing the process of healing. That's because abuse affects every facet of one's being and there is no simplistic process to the healing of the soul. At the same time, healing is simple. It involves applying the restorative power of Jesus to the destruction, and calling the victim to live out of his or her true personhood.

The Wound

I see healing of the soul as two simultaneous processes. The first is allowing the Presence of Christ to enter the injured places - the memories, feelings, and beliefs that formed around the wound. An abusive experience untreated will have some form of defense around it. It can be a conscious or unconscious mechanism attempting to keep unbearable pain to a minimum, but the defense ironically keeps the wound from being healed. The Holy Spirit's desire is to enter the memory (the wound) and begin to heal the damage. This usually involves a time of grieving over the event. Most victims need a "season" of mourning the fact that a very bad thing happened. This is especially true when the person has repressed or suppressed memories and feelings.

As the pain is submitted to Christ, He takes it into Himself on the cross. With a consistent practice of bringing memories and feelings into the presence of the Lord, Jesus can begin to fill them in with truth, joy, objectivity, authority, and victory. The memory doesn't disappear - Jesus doesn't rewrite history - but the destructive residue left from the force of the abuse is cleansed out and replaced with His presence and healing intention.

Defenses

The second process of healing (ironically the area we wish not to face) is our defensive and/or sinful reactions to abuse. These are areas of personal responsibility. When fearlessly and humbly faced, the victim can choose to give them up. These defense mechanisms once served a purpose in childhood by covering the wounds. But like a cheap bandage, they have outlived their purpose and must be removed. Without their removal, the Lord will not have complete access to the injury. His desire to heal will be hindered, and we will continue to use the defenses to block future pain.

Some of these defenses are denial (not remembering or feeling), passivity and fear, taking personal responsibility where that responsibility belonged to another, secrecy, inner vows, compulsive behaviors and addictions, and not forgiving. Each of these areas must be soberly recognized in our lives and brought into the Lord's light. In the security of His presence, we can find the courage to let go of our old ways of defending ourselves.

The Long Road

God's love and faithfulness won't stop until He's finished with us. All the wounding from the past can find its end at the foot of the cross. To our amazement, like a sunrise overtaking darkness, the good things of life which were always an arms reach away can become our own. Life won't be perfect, but very good, filled with the joy and the fruit of the Spirit. Best of all, we become holy and obedient people of God.


www.desertstream.org

Understanding Sexual Abuse

Understanding Sexual Abuse
by Shawn Corkery

The subject of abuse has skyrocketed in the American consciousness over the past few years. It seems every month another scandal, court case, or testimony fills the airwaves. Such media saturation shocks us, and can eventually make us numb to the destruction accrued in so many people's lives.

No matter how overwhelming it may seem, abuse will not go away. The cork on denial has been lifted off, and will probably continue to saturate until our society.

Sadly, the secular world has little power to stop abuse or to provide powerful healing for victims. Social service agencies can provide some immediate help for victims but affords them no long-term solutions.

The good news for Christians is that we have a healing answer! Though not quick or simplistic, we have the real capacity to heal abuse. The answer is in the person and power of Jesus Christ. Unlike the world, which can rely only on human means, followers of Christ have One greater than themselves to help heal abuse. He enters into our pain and despair then leads us out of the destruction accrued from abuse. Jesus, whose divine nature and desire redeems humanity, can heal victims of abuse. Victimization can come to an end through Christ's intervention.

Defining Abuse

To help apply the Lord's power to this problem, we need to understand abuse better. Childhood abuse, in all forms, can be defined as any act of power that is forced upon a child that leaves destruction. A good image for this would be a weapon (a bullet, spear, arrow, etc.). A weapon's capacity for destruction can be determined by the amount of power behind it. A weapon first makes contact with a person's body at the skin - our outside defense. The weapon then makes its way inside the body where it leaves destruction (tears flesh, breaks bones). If a wound is not addressed properly, infection will eventually set in.

Abuse is like a weapon to the soul (body and spirit). It is any act - physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual, or neglect - with a force of power behind it, which penetrates personal safety and boundary, then enters the soul where it causes destruction. Because secrecy is usually needed for abuse to occur, most wounds go untreated, and become infected with shame, self-hatred, and spiritual oppression.

The power behind the act (or weapon) is the key factor. Abuse is measured not by the act itself, but by the destruction it leaves. It is very easy for adults to minimize their own childhood experiences of abuse by saying "Oh, it wasn't that bad. A lot of people had it worse than me." The problem is focusing on the event, not on the effects that it left in their hearts and souls. It would be like saying "I was only wounded by a pinprick," but the pin entered the body and punctured major nerves and arteries.

Part 2 to be continued...

The Power of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Note: Many people do not realize the infinite value of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I hope these statements from the Popes and the Saints will help us realize what we are missing. After reading this post, think about setting an extra day in the week to attend Mass besides the usual Sunday Mass. Offer this for your personal intentions, for your loved ones, or for the souls in Purgatory.

The Power of the Mass

The Greatest Prayer

The Tremendous Blessings and Benefits of the Mass as Told by Popes and Saints

Pope Paul VI
"The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer!"

Pope Benedict XV
"The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death."

St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
"The celebration of Holy Mass is as valuable as the death of Jesus on the cross."

St. Gregory, Doctor of the Church
"The heavens open and multitudes of angels come to assist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

"It is most true that he who attends Holy Mass shall be freed from many evils and from many dangers, both seen and unseen."

St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church
"The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass."

"He who devoutly hears holy Mass will receive a great vigor to enable him to resist mortal sin, and there shall be pardoned to him all venial sins which he may have committed up to that hour."

"He [who attends Mass with all possible devotion] shall be freed from sudden death, which is the most terrible stroke launched by the Divine Justice against sinners. Behold a wonderful preservative against sudden death."

St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church

"Without doubt, the Lord grants all favors which are asked of Him in Mass, provided they be fitting for us; and, which is a matter of great wonder, oftentimes He also grants that also which is not demanded of Him, if we, on our part, put no obstacle in the way."

St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church
"When Mass is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels who adore the divine victim immolated on the altar."

St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church
"A single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after death."

St. Teresa, Doctor of the Church

Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God's goodness and asked Our Lord "How can I thank you?" Our Lord replied, "ATTEND ONE MASS."

St. Leonard of Port Maurice
"The principal excellence of the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass consists in being essentially, and in the very highest degree, identical with that which was offered on the Cross of Calvary: with this sole difference that the sacrifice on the Cross was bloody, and made once for all, and did on that one occasion satisfy fully for all the sins of the world; while the sacrifice of the altar is an unbloody sacrifice, which can be repeated an infinite number of times, and was instituted in order to apply in detail that universal ransom which Jesus paid for us on Calvary."

"I believe that were it not for the Holy Mass, as this moment the world would be in the abyss, unable to bear up under the mighty load of its iniquities Mass is the potent prop that hold the world on its base."

"Be now confounded for very wonder, reflecting that the proposition just laid down is indeed most true; a soul assisting with adequate devotion at Holy Mass renders more honor to God than that which all the Angels and all the Saints put together render with all their adorations."

"And, yet, with the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, viewed according to its intrinsic preciousness and value, satisfaction may be made completely for committed sin ... Not that the Sacrifice of the Mass by any means cancels our sins immediately, and of itself, as does the Sacrament of Penance: but it cancels them mediately, calling down various aids of interior impulse, of holy aspiration, and of actual grace, all tending toward a worthy repentance of our sins, either at the time of the Mass itself or at some other fitting time."

"O blessed Mass, by which we come to have the Son of God placed not within our arms but within our hearts, nor is there a doubt but that with Him, and Him alone, we shall be able to satisfy the debt of gratitude which we have contracted with God."

"It is in our power by means of it to pay the fourth debt due to God, which is to supplicate Him, and to entreat new graces of Him. ... Yes, yes: in holy Mass our dear beloved Jesus, as the chief and supreme Priest, recommends our case to the Father, prays for us and makes Himself our advocate. ... How can you doubt but that He wishes to give you all the virtues and all the perfections which are required to make you a saint, and a great saint, in Heaven?"

"What graces, gifts and virtues the Holy Mass calls down ... repentance for sin ... victory over temptation ... holy inspirations which dispositions to shake off tepidity ... the grace of final perseverance, upon which depends our salvation ... temporal blessings, such as peace, abundance and health ..."

In having Masses said for the suffering souls in Purgatory: "The holy Mass not only shortens their pains but also extends great immediate relief to those poor souls .. the charity you exercise toward poor souls under purification will all redound to your own good."

In having Masses said for your own soul: "... get celebrated all the Masses possible in your circumstances not only for the souls departed but for your own. Do this for two motives: first to obtain a good and holy death - it being the invariable opinion of theologians that there is no more efficacious means for attaining so holy a purpose. Another motive is that you may yourself issue quickly from Purgatory and fly away into eternal glory, there being no means more adapted for obtaining from God a grace so precious as that of going direct to Heaven, or at least a short detention on the way, than Indulgences duly gained, and the holy Sacrifice."

St. John Vianney
Patron Saint of Parish Priests
"When we receive Holy Communion, we experience something extraordinary - a joy, a fragrance, a well being that thrills the whole body and causes it to exalt."

"If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy."

"There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us."

"When we have been to Holy Communion, the balm of love envelops the soul as the flower envelops the bee."

Saint Padre Pio, stigmatic priest
"It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass."

Revelation of Christ to St. Gertrude the Great
For each Mass we hear with devotion, Our Lord sends a saint to comfort us at death.

Revelation of Christ to St. Mechtilde
He who is in the habit of devoutly hearing Holy Mass shall in death be consoled by the presence of the angels and saints, his advocates, who shall bravely defend him from all the snares of infernal spirits.

Recommended books:
1. Hidden Treasure, Holy Mass, by St. Leonard of Port Maurice.
2. The Incredible Catholic Mass, by Fr. Martin von Cochem.

Note: Register the living and the dead - and please be *sure* to register yourself (will anyone really and truly have masses said for you after you die?). And rememeber, all registrations are permanent.

http://www.holysouls.com/enter.htm

Boycott Pepsi

Forwarded email: I got this email about Pepsi supporting the gay agenda. Please read the entire email.

EVIL THRIVES WHEN GOOD MEN DO NOTHING.

Please help us get this information into the hands of as many peopleas possible by forwarding it to your entire e-mail list of family and friends. Pepsi Company gives $500,000 to promote the gay agenda in workplace. Company ignores two requests from AFA to discuss Pepsi's support of gay groups. Take Action! E-mail Chairman Indra K. Nooyi. Tell her that you expect Pepsi to stop supporting the gay agenda. After sending your e-mail, please call Pepsi (914-253-2000)(800-960-3602) and ask the company to remain neutral in the culture war. Forward this e-mail to your friends and family so they will know about Pepsi's support of the gay agenda.

Pepsi's products include Pepsi soft drinks, Frito-Lay chips (800-352-4477) , Quaker Oats (800-367-6287) , Tropicana (800-237-7799) and Gatorade (800-367-6287) . On November 14, 2008, Pepsi has given Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) a half-million dollars to help push the homosexual agenda in the workplace. PFLAG is a political advocacy group that promotes radical homosexual political causes like same-sex marriage, hate-crime laws, and gay adoption. Pepsi has a long tradition of financial support for homosexual groups. According to Jacqueline Millan, director of PepsiCo CorporateContributions, "We are delighted to continue our partnership with PFLAG...(in) promoting the necessary message of inclusion to untapped groups...and that is a crucial step toward building a healthy working environment. "Despite the fact that 30 states have passed constitutional amendments defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, Pepsi continues to support the efforts by same-sex groups pushing for homosexual marriage. AFA wrote Pepsi on October 14 and again on October 29 asking the company to remain neutral in the culture war. Pepsi didn't care enough to respond to the AFA letters. Pepsi's lack of response indicates the company plans to continue support for the homosexual agenda.

Thank you for caring enough to get involved. If you feel our efforts are worthy of support, would you consider making a small tax-deductible contribution to help us continue?

Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon
Founder and Chairman American Family Association

Voltes V Ending Song

If you grew up in the 80s, you surely are a fan of this well-loved Japanese anime. I just feel like posting it here coz I love the ending song. By the way, here is the lyrics:

Oya ni hagureta
hinadori mo
Itsuka wa yasashii
hutokoro ni
Kaeru ashita mo aru darou
Danoni naze meguri aenu
chichi no kage

Naku mono ka
Boku wa otoko da
Shinjiteru shinjiteru
Sono hi no koto wo
Kono te de chichi wo
Daki shimeru hi no koto wo