Lenie Rose is a fourth year high school student in Lourdes Academy, San Miguel, Zamboanga del Sur.

Everyone was given life for some individual and powerful mission to accomplish in this world.  We’re given life to cultivate and handle the creation of God for every living thing.  The human which He created in His image, different from everything, is placed in a higher rank among all His creation.  But the question is, does every human think that we are created in God’s image and that therefore we should follow Him?  Are we worthy to be the highest among all God’s creation?  Is our faithfulness enough to worship Him?

Why not?  As the highest one, we are capable of doing something which can make us stable with God’s presence within us.  But sometimes we forget and disobey God to provide our own interest and happiness, and that’s through our selfishness.  We can recognize our wrong deeds if ever there’s something negative that happens, but we go through to fight this part of our self which may carry us away from our Father.

We wouldn’t be here now if there’s no God present in every individual’s spirit.  He created our parents to be his instruments for us to be born for some important mission, and that’s to worship him.  Let’s be his good instruments to guide those who are in the wrong path towards his kingdom. Perhaps some are not totally in God because of their cravenness towards modern things around them.  But the truth is:  God is the essential among all we have, for He never leaves us. Whereas the things we have may be gone and be destroyed any time.  God is very powerful.  He gives to those who follow and obey Him.  He is the life and light which shines through us in the dark.  He is our everything. 

In every man’s experience, it might be good or bad, He is there accompanying us … We should be faithful to Him for He never gives us trials if He knows we can’t survive.  Every difficulty is a just challenge to strive and develop our life as well as our hidden skills.  All we have to do is to be faithful to Him,  because He is just here beside us.  My experience makes me realize that God is really here, therefore I should be faithful.

Since before, three days after I born, I was already here in my grandma’s hands.  My parents left me for the reason that they couldn’t support my needs and my mother was still studying.  Actually they tried to abort me.  My Mom always drank strong medicines for me to die.  She deeply bound her stomach but still nothing happened.  They then hired somebody to do the process which is commonly known as ‘ipamukot’ in order to abort the baby.  But I was still alive, strongly holding on and lying in my mother’s womb.  My grandma prayed many times that I would be born healthy and normal as other babies.  My face and head were not shaped normally (in Visayan, ‘phing’).  But all of this wasn’t a hindrance to my developing life.  We very much lacked money because my grandma was not employed full-time. She could find money if someone asked her to repair their clothes. But if not, we had nothing also.  We planted some vegetables and fruits to help us survive.  Grandma found a lot of sidelines to let me finish school.  Sometimes she went to our neighbors to care for their babies to earn money.  I stood as the mother of my two young cousins. I’m the one who took care of them, putting aside my books for studying my lessons.

We carried these difficulties until I was now in high school.  I studied my lessons very well to maintain my position as an honor student to make my grandma happy even in a simple way … This was the beginning of my another journey in life.  I am very thankful that God made me strong to survive from my mother’s womb until now.  He used my grandma as His instrument to help me to go through.  I am very faithful to Him because despite those medicines which my Mom took to abort me, still I hold on… I believe God purposely strengthens me to be His good instrument towards others.

We should praise and worship Him for He never forgets us despite all the wrong things we’ve done. We should value life, for it’s fragile.  We are very much thankful for we’re chosen this life to enjoy the greatness of the world as well as His creation.

We are here to worship Him … And His peace lives in us …

MAN AND THE WORLD

By Cris Evert Berdin Lato

The author is in third year at the University of the Philippines, Cebu College, taking a BA in Mass Communication. She’s also active in Youth for Christ.

Imagine a world where no human exists. Animals and plants are there, the wind blows and rivers keep on flowing. Trees bear fruit and the sea continues to produce fish; yet no man exists. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west without catching a glimpse of a single individual. Now if we will try to go back to reality, nature still continues the same routine with the presence of one being - man. Everything is turning out fine without man, but we often find ourselves asking, ‘Why does man exist?’ Man came into this world and destroyed the blissful world God created. If this is so, why did God create man?

Constantly we are plagued with different questions. We wonder why something happens and why we exist. More often than not we get the answers to all these questions but the greatest point is asking ourselves about the person that we are. Why do we exist? Why do you exist? In creation history, God created man on the sixth day, after He had set up everything for him. He let man name all the creatures. God created man in his own image and likeness. This statement alone manifests the responsibility that God bestows upon man. He created man because He believes that man is capable of doing things that He could do; that is the reason why man is called the caretaker or steward of God’s creation. God granted man the wisdom to think, say and do things that are right. He never gave wisdom because He wants man to use it with evil intent. God gave man wisdom so that he would take care of God’s creation.

God and I

God created man for very special reasons: to let him know God as his father; to let man know that as a Father, He truly loves him; to serve God by taking care of His creation; and to be with Him. Yet what did man do? He used God’s creation for his earthly desires. He abused nature for himself to prosper. He destroyed the beauty of God’s creation and let himself be manipulated by his animal instincts. This should not have happened! As said, man was given wisdom and because of this he is rational. He has the capacity to think, and that is thinking for the betterment of all. Naturally, God created man as a free and loving being. But man did not know the true essence of freedom and love. Freedom is not a license and does not mean that you can do whatever you want to do. Therefore, it is not freedom when man cuts down trees without a justifiable purpose. Likewise, loving has been misinterpreted. It takes real freedom to love. People often say that they are in love but the truth is, they are just in love with the idea of love. Why are there failed marriages? Why do some men hire prostitutes to fill their earthly desires?

Man is created in the image and likeness of God. God is within each one of us. Thus, man has no right to abuse others. If one hurts his fellow human, he is also hurting God. God is the source of all goodness. God created man; therefore man is fundamentally good. In spite of man’s evil doings, he still has hope to change himself. Changing one’s self for the better will be possible if there is genuine determination and a deep conviction to change.

Your Values and the World

But the world that we are in is a world with various beliefs and a world that imposes different values. These values often go beyond or may even fall short of what God labeled as moral values. God created a Utopian World but later on, as many human beings came into existence, the world changed. It became confusing and offered ambiguous responses to problems. Politics, economics, personal intentions and the like govern the world. It has become so complex that if someone relates himself to the world, he either gets himself lost or finds himself confused. The word ‘world’ per se is not anymore used as a global term. Rather it now has its personal connotation: my world, your world. When a human person does his own thing, which is different from what others do, he is said to be ‘doing things in his own world.’ It is really tiring to think of and, worse, to do things to change the world. When you attempt to save the world, you end up facing difficult problems and so you have no choice but to quit. This is where cooperation among human beings must enter.

A Better World

In order to achieve a better world, it all boils down to man, his very essence as a human being. If one wants to change the world for the better, one must first try to make oneself better, as a person and as God’s child. One cannot give the world true happiness if within oneself happiness is absent. Somehow, a human being and the world complement each other. As a human being does things, whether good or bad, the world is affected. As the world continues to move and cope with fast-paced changes, man in turn is affected. The existence of a human being is to see to it that he does things for the betterment of all, not just because of his own desires, whims and caprices. If a human being learns to discover and probe in deeper detail that God brought him in this world for the purpose of being his steward, he will have the chance to make the world better. With the help of other individuals, man then lives a genuine life as the person that he truly is.   He then learns to cope with the world that he lives in and maintain the world God created for him.You may contact the author at:evert17_up@yahoo.com

By Charles Phukuta Khonde CICM

Elsewhere we have an article showing how Filipinos have brought the Simbang Gabi to the USA. Here a missionary from the Democratic Republic of Congo discovers a parallel Mexican novena in his American parish. Both articles show how migrants can enrich the Church by bringing and adapting their religious traditions to the countries where they settle.

Advent means ‘coming.’ Hospitality is at the heart of Advent because it is a season of opening doors. During this time the community of Saint Eugene Catholic Church in Wendell, North Carolina, USA, prepares, like all other Christians around the world, for the coming of Jesus, born that first Christmas in a stable. Here, our Advent season is marked by two special traditions among others: the novena preparing us to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 December, and the Posadas, a novena that prepares us for the celebration of Christmas. The Spanish word posada means ‘inn.’ ThePosadas begin on 16 December and end on 24 December. They are a reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem (Luke 2:2-7).

Christmas Procession

The parish community participates in this novena on the nine nights before Christmas. The first part of the Posada is strictly religious. People process from house to house. Two young people dress as Mary and Joseph and lead the procession with the crowd behind them, symbolic of the journey before Jesus’ birth.

At each home, the people divide themselves into two groups: one group goes inside the house as innkeepers, while the other group remains outside playing the part of the pilgrims. At the first few houses, the group sings a dialogue of traditional verses, asking to be let into the homes. Behind each closed door comes the response that there’s no room for them. As the people walk from one building to another, sometimes carrying lighted candles, they sing villancicos or Christmas carols, preparing peoples’ hearts to be open to the newborn King. For the nine nights of the Posadas, the young people take turns changing roles and costumes. The smallest ones usually want to be shepherds, angels or magi all nine nights. As young as they are, the children are learning to share crowns and wings and staffs. Sharing is what love is all about, and that is what the Posadas teach, in action as well as in word.

‘Enter, Holy Pilgrims’

At the last house, the hard hearts behind the door melt and the joyful chorus, ‘Enter, Holy Pilgrims,’ ushers the participants into the home. On the last night, the Posada ends at the church where the baby Jesus is placed inside the Nativity scene at midnight.

This drama, recreating the Gospel scene, is very well produced. Each evening draws a mixed congregation of parents, their children and young people walking side by side. The procession includes many people dressed in traditional Mexican costumes. Neighbors come out to watch, allowing them to be evangelized by this ancient yet ever new tradition of Mary and Joseph knocking on doors seeking lodging.

Breaking of Piñata

A second activity associated with the Posadas is the breaking of a piñata. Piñatas are often made of paper, glue, balloons, crepe paper, and filled with fruits and candy. The piñata is firmly tied to a rope, and then hung from a pole or a branch of a tree. Someone holds the other end of the rope, pulling the piñata up and down to make it a more elusive target for the person attempting to break it open. All children present take a turn and the people sing a special song while the child follows the directions of others and tries to break the piñata.

When it is broken, all scramble for the candy, fruit and gifts falling to the ground. For the community of Saint Eugene, the piñata is a symbol of faith, hope and love of God. Traditionally, a piñata has seven peaks representing the seven capital sins. Breaking it with a stick signifies virtue, since the stick that breaks the sins plays the part of Christian faith.

Tradition of the Past

After the piñata, dinner is served, every family bringing food to share. A typical meal includes homemade tamales (a Mexican dish prepared with a mixture of meat and chilies and cornmeal, wrapped in a corn husk and steamed), ponche (fruit punch), bunuelos (a thin fried pastry sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar), champurado (hot chocolate mixed with cornmeal and brown sugar) and cookies. The Posadas constitute a powerful and meaningful church and family tradition. These traditions establish family roots and connectedness. They help tie the past to the present, linking year after year, childhood to adulthood, grandparent to grandchild, with shared experiences, values and memories. This cultivates a sense of identity – who one is and where one belongs.

Our Divine Visitor

The Posadas remind us all about the need to show hospitality to one another. The meaning of thePosada, however, is as much about Jesus’ coming as it is about our own readiness to welcome him into our hearts, our homes, and our lives. The doors of our hearts must be open and ready to welcome the Christ who continues to come to us. Advent is an appropriate time to recommit ourselves to this openness. Advent is a season of opening doors so that we can both give and receive this love. Advent is a wake-up call, alerting us and challenging us to become more aware of the Divine Visitor who faithfully knocks at the door of our lives. How we welcome other human beings into our lives is how we welcome Emmanuel (Mt 25:31-46).

What Bethlehem really means

Through the Posadas, we recall the many times we have shut our inner door on Emmanuel. It allows us to reflect about the times we’ve refused to receive the truth, love and goodness that are offered, when we have chosen to be alienated from others or ourselves, when we’ve barred the door to those who need our forgiveness, kindness and compassion. Advent is the time to let in those people who have been standing at the door of our heart for a long time. Bethlehem is not just ‘an event’ that happened and is finished. It is something we must live. In our lives, in the circumstances in which we live, we need to respond to Bethlehem’s full meaning. Through the Posadas, becoming a pilgrim and following Mary and Joseph, each person becomes part of the Christmas story.

By Suzanne Goloy-Lanot

This article is reprinted by permission of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, where it first appeared first appeared on 19 December 2004. Suzanne Goloy-Lanot is originally from San Juan, Metro Manila, and her husband Leonardo, now retired from the US Navy, from Mandaluyong City. They live inBremerton, Washington State, with their daughter Adrienne Marie (23) and their son Jean-Lenard (19).

PHOTO: Bob Farmer

From its humble roots in the Philippines, the Simbang Gabi has been celebrated sporadically among Filipino communities throughout the United States. Now it is observed in its grandeur and pageantry as part of the Advent devotion in the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Parishes are encouraged to celebrate it, following a standard liturgy, including music and readings. Here it is a sacred ritual of lights, symbolized by the parol, which the Archbishop of Seattle, the Most Reverend Alexander J. Brunett, refers to as the Light of Christ. 

On 17 December 1997, on the eve of his installation, the archbishop celebrated the first Simbang Gabi and was so moved by the experience, he has since encouraged the entire archdiocese to participate in it.

Spearheaded by 27 parishes, the novena now involves over 80 parishes, including those without any Filipino members. Parish coordinators confer with the archdiocese and the schedule of Masses throughout western Washington State is disseminated through community publications and websites.

Like a crusade, the archdiocese tries to get more parishes involved every year. 

The Archdiocese of Seattle, home to people from different countries and cultures, has dominion over 10 deaneries that encompass over 160 parishes throughout western Washington State. My parish, Holy Trinity, as well as Our Lady, Star of the Sea and five other parishes and two mission churches, make up the Olympic Deanery.

The first novena Mass is called the Commissioning Mass, during which the archbishop commissions the parish coordinators to return to their parishes and commence the novena. Parishes within the deaneries then take turns in hosting the Simbang Gabi until the remaining eight novena Masses have been completed.

Because the vitality and significance of Simbang Gabi in the community has grown, the first Mass is now celebrated at St James Cathedral, Seattle,, the center for cultural and ecumenical events.

When I lived in the Philippines, I rarely attended the Simbang Gabi. But now, even on a stormy night and after a long day at work, I go all the way to Seattle to attend it, if only to see the parols hung near the altar, representing the parishes involved in this Advent devotion. 

For this I am thankful to Dr Telly Muldong-Tantay, a retired physician with the rank of captain in the US Navy and now a member of the Asian Pacific American Advisory Board of the Archdiocese of Seattle. She has been promoting Filipino Christian values and founded the San Lorenzo Ruiz Guild of the Our Lady Star of the Sea parish.

Kimona in freezing weather

I remember the first time I attended the Commissioning Mass at St James Cathedral. In the freezing downpour, the bus going to the ferry terminal was filled with passengers like me, clad in our nativekimona and barong underneath heavy coats and thick jackets.

Covered and protected from the elements, two parols were brought on board. One was from Our Lady Star of the Sea parish, the other from Holy Trinity, where I belong.

During the 45-minute trip to Seattle, across Puget Sound,, the ferry bobbed with the rhythm of the raging waves. However, amid the fury of the elements, there was a collective calmness among the passengers.

Because of the cold December weather and rushed workday mornings, Simbang Gabi is celebrated at night followed by a reception, ranging from a simple merienda to an extravagant fiesta, complete with cultural entertainment.

Last year, the commissioning rites were moved to a noontime weekend Mass in order to accommodate workers and to allow an easier commute for those who had to travel from the far ends of western Washington, especially during inclement weather.

Dazzling procession

As I entered the 100-year-old St James Cathedral, a fine example of Italian Renaissance style, I was immediately made aware of the Divine presence by the Latin mosaic inscription Domus Dei, Porta Coeli (House of God, Gate of Heaven) on the floor.

After admiring the stained glass windows and the exquisitely crafted paneled ceiling, which emulated the coffering techniques of some of the great cathedrals and basilicas of Europe, I proceeded toward the sanctuary which was positioned at a cross point where the transepts intersected. At the center of the sanctuary stood the altar, beneath a circular skylight called the oculus Dei (eye of God).

Then the lights were diffused and the first chords of Advent music from the pipe organ reverberated. Subsequently, rays of crimson, azure, emerald and gold radiated from a procession of parols of varied sizes, shapes and colors, illuminating the path toward the sanctuary. 

Fastened on poles and carried by parish coordinators, the parols dazzled with the brilliance of kaleidoscopic sequences and others, more traditional in design, glowed with subtlety and grace. This stunning exhibition of lights was followed by the procession of altar servers, deacons and priests, culminating in the arrival of the archbishop.

Filipino pride

Touched by the radiance of the parols, the archbishop stood in the midst of the parish coordinators gathered around the sanctuary and performed the commissioning rites that commenced the first novena Mass of the Simbang Gabi.

A choir of about a hundred members from various parishes joined in celestial harmony with renditions of Filipino liturgical compositions. As songs of exaltation filled the air, a huge, golden five-point star descended from the ceiling, preceding a stream of smaller stars. It remained suspended over the altar.

My heart swelled with Filipino pride.

Serenade for archbishop

But what touched me most was the archbishop's brief yet impressive salutation in alog, and his powerful message to the congregation, portraying the parol a as the Light of Christ.

This year, in appreciation of the archbishop's tremendous support of Simbang Gabi a serenade in Filipino fashion will honor him when he makes his entrance to the banquet hall.

Pilgrimage

The essence of this celebration is in the spirituality shared by a diverse community of believers. For me and for countless others who observe this Advent devotion, the gathering in Seattle has become a pilgrimage.

Pope Benedict XVI

This is the talk given by the Holy Father in Cologne, Germany, at the vigil on Saturday night, 20 August. It is believed that the relics of the Magi, ‘The Three Kings,’ are in Cologne Cathedral, hence the theme of WYD XX, ‘We have come to worship him’ (Mt 2:2). The Holy Father touches on the questions discussed by Cris Evert Berdin Lato in Our Hideaway.

Pope Benedict XVI

Dear young friends,

In our pilgrimage with the mysterious Magi from the East, we have arrived at the moment which Saint Matthew describes in his Gospel with these words:  ‘Going into the house (over which the star had halted), they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him’ (Mt 2:11).  Outwardly, their journey was now over.  They had reached their goal.  But at this point a new journey began for them, an inner pilgrimage which changed their whole lives.  Their mental picture of the infant King they were expecting to find must have been very different.  They had stopped at Jerusalemspecifically in order to ask the King who lived there for news of the promised King who had been born.  They knew that the world was in disorder, and for that reason their hearts were troubled.  They were sure that God existed and that he was a just and gentle God.  And perhaps they also knew of the great prophecies of Israel foretelling a King who would be intimately united with God, a King who would restore order to the world, acting for God and in his name.  It was in order to seek this King that they had set off on their journey:  deep within themselves they felt prompted to go in search of the true justice that can only come from God, and they wanted to serve this King, to fall prostrate at his feet and so play their part in the renewal of the world.  They were among those ‘who hunger and thirst for justice’ (Mt 5:6).  This hunger and thirst had spurred them on in their pilgrimage – they had become pilgrims in search of the justice that they expected from God, intending to devote themselves to its service.

Even if those who had stayed at home may have considered them Utopian dreamers, they were actually people with their feet on the ground, and they knew that in order to change the world it is necessary to have power.  Hence they were hardly likely to seek the promised child anywhere but in the King’s palace.  Yet now they were bowing down before the child of poor people, and they soon came to realize that Herod, the King they had consulted, intended to use his power to lay a trap for him, forcing the family to flee into exile.  The new King, to whom they now paid homage, was quite unlike what they were expecting.  In this way they had to learn that God is not as we usually imagine him to be.  This was where their inner journey began.  It started at the very moment when they knelt down before this child and recognized him as the promised King.  But they still had to assimilate these joyful gestures internally.

They had to change their ideas about power, about God and about man, and in so doing, they also had to change themselves.  Now they were able to see that God’s power is not like that of the powerful of this world.  God’s ways are not as we imagine them or as we might wish them to be.  God does not enter into competition with earthly powers in this world.   He does not marshal his divisions alongside other divisions.  God did not send twelve legions of angels to assist Jesus in theGarden of Olives (cf. Mt 26:53).  He contrasts the noisy and ostentatious power of this world with the defenseless power of love, which succumbs to death on the Cross, and dies ever anew throughout history; yet it is this same love which constitutes the new divine intervention that opposes injustice and ushers in the Kingdom of God.  God is different – this is what they now come to realize.  And it means that they themselves must now become different, they must learn God’s ways.

They had come to place themselves at the service of this King, to model their own kingship on his.  That was the meaning of their act of homage, their adoration. Included in this were their gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh – gifts offered to a King held to be divine.  Adoration has a content and it involves giving.  Through this act of adoration, these men from the East wished to recognize the child as their King and to place their own power and potential at his disposal, and in this they were certainly on the right path.  By serving and following him, they wanted, together with him, to serve the cause of good and the cause of justice in the world.  In this they were right.  Now, though, they have to learn that this cannot be achieved simply through issuing commands from a throne on high.  Now they have to learn to give themselves – no lesser gift would be sufficient for this King.  Now they have to learn that their lives must be conformed to this divine way of exercising power, to God’s own way of being.  They must become men of truth, of justice, of goodness, of forgiveness, of mercy.  They will no longer ask:  how can this serve me?  Instead they will have to ask:  How can I serve God’s presence in the world?  They must learn to lose their life and in this way to find it.  Having left Jerusalem behind, they must not deviate from the path marked out by the true King, as they follow Jesus.

Dear friends, what does all this mean for us?  What we have just been saying about the nature of God being different, and about the way our lives must be shaped accordingly, sounds very fine, but remains rather vague and unfocussed.  That is why God has given us examples.  The Magi from the East are just the first in a long procession of men and women who have constantly tried to gaze upon God’s star in their lives, going in search of the God who has drawn close to us and shows us the way.  It is the great multitude of the saints – both known and unknown – in whose lives the Lord has opened up the Gospel before us and turned over the pages; he has done this throughout history and he still does so today.  In their lives, as if in a great picture-book, the riches of the Gospel are revealed.  They are the shining path which God himself has traced throughout history and is still tracing today.  My venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II beatified and canonized a great many people from both the distant and the recent past.  Through these individuals he wanted to show us how to be Christian; how to live life as it should be lived – according to God’s way.  The saints and the blesseds did not doggedly seek their own happiness, but simply wanted to give themselves, because the light of Christ had shone upon them.  They show us the way to attain happiness, they show us how to be truly human.  Through all the ups and downs of history, they were the true reformers who constantly rescued it from plunging into the valley of darkness; it was they who constantly shed upon it the light that was needed to make sense – even in the midst of suffering – of God’s words spoken at the end of the work of creation:  ‘It is very good.’  One need only think of such figures as Saint Benedict, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Charles Borromeo, the founders of nineteenth-century religious orders who inspired and guided the social movement, or the saints of our own day – Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein, Mother Teresa, Padre Pio.  In contemplating these figures we learn what it means ‘to adore’ and what it means to live according to the measure of the child of Bethlehem, by the measure of Jesus Christ and of God himself.

The saints, as we said, are the true reformers.  Now I want to express this in an even more radical way:  only from the saints, only from God does true revolution come, the definitive way to change the world.  In the last century we experienced revolutions with a common program – expecting nothing more from God, they assumed total responsibility for the cause of the world in order to change it.  And this, as we saw, meant that a human and partial point of view was always taken as an absolute guiding principle.  Absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is called totalitarianism.  It does not liberate man, but takes away his dignity and enslaves him.  It is not ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the living God, our Creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is really good and true.  True revolution consists in simply turning to God who is the measure of what is right and who at the same time is everlasting love.  And what could ever save us apart from love?

Dear friends!  Allow me to add just two brief thoughts.  There are many who speak of God; some even preach hatred and perpetrate violence in God’s name.  So it is important to discover the true face of God.  The Magi from the East found it, when they knelt down before the child of Bethlehem.  ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father,’ said Jesus to Philip (Jn 14:9).  In Jesus Christ, who allowed his heart to be pierced for us, the true face of God is seen.  We will follow him together with the great multitude of those who went before us.  Then we will be traveling along the right path.

This means that we are not constructing a private God, a private Jesus, but that we believe and worship the Jesus who is manifested to us by the Sacred Scriptures and who reveals himself to be alive in the great procession of the faithful called the Church, always alongside us and always before us.  There is much that could be criticized in the Church.  We know this and the Lord himself told us so:  it is a net with good fish and bad fish, a field with wheat and darnel.  Pope John Paul II, as well as revealing the true face of the Church in the many saints that he canonized, also asked pardon for the wrong that was done in the course of history through the words and deeds of members of the Church.  In this way he showed us our own true image and urged us to take our place, with all our faults and weaknesses, in the procession of the saints that began with the Magi from the East.  It is actually consoling to realize that there is darnel in the Church.  In this way, despite all our defects, we can still hope to be counted among the disciples of Jesus, who came to call sinners.  The Church is like a human family, but at the same time it is also the great family of God, through which he establishes an overarching communion and unity that embraces every continent, culture and nation.  So we are glad to belong to this great family; we are glad to have brothers and friends all over the world.  Here in Cologne we discover the joy of belonging to a family as vast as the world, including heaven and earth, the past, the present, the future and every part of the earth.  In this great band of pilgrims we walk side by side with Christ, we walk with the star that enlightens our history.

‘Going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him’ (Mt 2:11).  Dear friends, this is not a distant story that took place long ago.  It is with us now.  Here in the sacred Host he is present before us and in our midst.  As at that time, so now he is mysteriously veiled in a sacred silence; as at that time, it is here that the true face of God is revealed.  For us he became a grain of wheat that falls on the ground and dies and bears fruit until the end of the world (cf. Jn 12:24).  He is present now as he was then in Bethlehem.  He invites us to that inner pilgrimage which is called adoration.  Let us set off on this pilgrimage of the spirit and let us ask him to be our guide.  Amen.

The author, now a high school senior, overcomes her reluctance to fulfill a class requirement as she is touched by two articles. 

Father Seán Coyle,

I’m Myla Patricia Aquino, a junior at St Scholastica’s College Manila. I’m writing to you as partial fulfillment of my requirements in Christian Living class. At first I never really wanted to do this task but, on the contrary, not only did I find one article that intrigued me, but I found two very interesting articles. Both are from your September- October 2004 issue.One is your own article on Gianna Beretta Molla, Choose the child – I insist on it and the other Life- giving Moments by Rosemary Taker. As I read these, I realized certain things that seem to be the answer to most peer pressure problems I, and people I know, face right now.

One of my friends once told me, ‘Love doesn’t make the world go round, money does.’ When she told me that, I felt for a time that perhaps she was right. Maybe, we all don’t really need love to survive; we need money to go on. After all, those that we consider as our daily necessities we get in exchange for money. We need money to buy food, to buy clothes and maintain our homes. Sometimes, we even have this tendency to think that money, and money alone, could make us happy since it could provide us with our necessities plus our luxuries in life. This kind of mentality would also lead us to think that we need to work for money so that we could live content. But reading those two articles made me change my mind. It made me realize that money is not the source of happiness and contentment. Simplicity of life often provides us with all the experiences we will ever need to overcome the challenges of life. And with these experiences, we will always find love.

I realized that when you put money in the picture, everything else loses its value and its essence seems to get jumbled up. By the time you realize that everything is complicated, your first initiative is to get money to resolve the issue and to get money is you have to go and look for it. You feel that without money, you won’t live happily because you think that it is the only thing that would resolve everything. An example is when you are hooked on the idea that the only way to be happy is to be popular, and the way to be popular is to acquire the latest gadgets – the latest cellphone model, an iPOD, a laptop, and when you reach 18, you’d want a car. So the way to be happy is to have money. This is totally wrong. It’s like you’re looking for something that is supposed to look for you. Happiness isn’t supposed to be located through a treasure-map, but in the heart of everyone - waiting to be shared.

In your article Choose the child – I insist on it, I felt that every pregnant mother has something to learn from Gianna Molla. We all live in a materialistic, self-centered world and we sometimes have to go with the flow in order to get by. Gianna proved the world wrong by clinging to her faith for survival -- not to what her environment dictated. During her last days she involved herself, not in enjoying the world for the last few moments, but in pursuing a better relationship with Him. And it seems she died a happy death. It made me realize that when all else fails, He will always be there for us no matter what the circumstances are. As Rosemary Taker puts it in her article, ‘…becoming vulnerable and powerless has brought me closer to God and strengthened my prayer life.’

On the other hand, I admire Rosemary Taker. It takes great courage and a huge leap of faith to be able to step, no, jump down from the world she’d grown up in and known and enter a place she’s not even sure she can handle. She showed great initiative in putting aside her desires and even some needs to perform missionary work, which happens to be her passion.  Work deeply rooted in love paved the way for her to experience instances of happiness and contentment.

As for my life, I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave everything I own - material things - to experience the happiness the simple things in life might bring my way. But one thing I know now for sure, love would be the only thing that would make my world go round.

You may email the author at: torete_03@yahoo.com