“happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” - albus dumbledore (harry potter & the prisoner of azkaban)
like a lot of my students (and, as i’m sure, a lot of you here in rivers too) i am a harry potter fan. i’ve been one since i read the first book in 2000. everytime news of the release of rowling’s latest installment reaches me, i immediately trek off to the nearest bookstore to make my reservation. i make sure i get my copy exactly on the release date. i would spend the whole day reading.. and would not stop until i’ve read the entire story.
i have a confession to make, though. i hated book 6 (harry potter & the half blood prince). i hated it so much that for a while, i even regretted having bought the book. why? because (1) my favorite character in the whole series died; (2) he died in a way that was (to me, at least) so.. meaningless; (3) the ending left so many questions left unanswered; and (4) i couldn’t believe that the author could find a way to tie up all the loose ends with just one book left in the entire series.
so it was with a bit of reluctance that i made my reservation last march. the 7th and last book (harry potter & the deathly hallows) was to be released on 21 july 2007. i wanted to get a copy, if only to complete my collection.. but at the same time, i was wary that the ending might be such a big letdown. still, my curiosity got the better of me.. so i once again made sure to place a reservation.
finally, it was july 21st. i sped off to powerbooks to get my long-awaited hp7 book. excitedly, i read the first few pages.. and the next.. and the next.. until i found myself so immersed in the story that before long, i’d already finished the entire book! it took several hours (coupled with some eyestrain and sleep deprivation, haha) but it sure was worth the read ü i was definitely not disappointed.. and i’m glad i stuck with harry to the end, hehe.
brothers and sisters, there are many times in our lives when we experience not-so-pleasant things. being in community, after all, does not guarantee that everything will be smooth sailing and rosy. so many times, we find ourselves griping.. asking God “bakit mo naman pinapayagan mangyari ‘to?”
there are moments when we feel like all hope within us has died.. when everything seems so meaningless.. when all our questions go unanswered.. and when we just couldn’t bring ourselves to believe that He could make things any better.
but if we continue to trust Him.. in spite of our doubts and our fears.. in spite of our bad experiences.. then we will be richly rewarded ü because only He truly knows the whole story. we may not see His grand design.. the twists and turns in the plot of our lives.. but He does. He is, after all, the Author and Perfector of our faith. and He never will disappoint ü
“trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight” prov 3:5-6
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
workers' retreat 2007
One of the most enduring love stories of all time is the tale of Shah Jahan and his love, Mumtaz Mahal. It was said that Shah Jahan was so brokenhearted by her death that he not only commanded the royal court to mourn for two years, he also immortalized his love for Mumtaz by embarking on one of the greatest feats of construction ever known to man. Shah Jahan ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal - a temple that would serve as Mumtaz’ tomb.
According to some legends, however, as the construction of the tomb was under way, the Shah’s focus changed. He became so obsessed with finishing the Taj Mahal that, while he no longer felt depressed nor lonely, he also forgot his beloved Mumtaz. The object of his passion was no longer his departed wife. She was no longer his one true love. The Taj Mahal consumed Shah Jahan completely.
Exodus 20:9-10 says, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” And in last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells Martha, “...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) We make time for doing the Lord’s work and being active in His service. But more importantly, we should set aside time to just sit by His feet to listen and to enjoy His presence. For God places the utmost importance to our spending time with Him.
It is for this reason that every year, the Rivers of Living Water Catholic Community holds a special retreat for all its ministry workers. This year, the Workers’ Retreat will be held on Saturday, 28 July 2007 at the RFM Auditorium. This annual event gives all those in ministry a chance to just be still. To cease from ministry work, even for just a day. To be ministered to by the Lord and His Word. The Workers’ Retreat is a “Sabbath” of sorts - a time for resting in God’s presence. And a time to remember Him - our One True Love and our Heart’s Desire.
We pray for all those who are in ministry service.. that they may continue to draw strength from God. That they may be refreshed and renewed.. ready to work for the Lord with enthusiasm and with cheerful hearts. And most importantly, we pray that their hearts and minds continue to be set on Him - the source of all blessings and the Reason for their service.
God bless, brothers and sisters!
According to some legends, however, as the construction of the tomb was under way, the Shah’s focus changed. He became so obsessed with finishing the Taj Mahal that, while he no longer felt depressed nor lonely, he also forgot his beloved Mumtaz. The object of his passion was no longer his departed wife. She was no longer his one true love. The Taj Mahal consumed Shah Jahan completely.
* * *
The danger of losing our True Love is something that all of us, as servants of the Lord, have to guard against. In the busyness of day-to-day living, it is so easy to lose our focus.. to forget the Reason why we do the work we do. Just like the Shah in the story, we may all start our service with the best of intentions.. our hearts burning with love for God. But if we are not careful, our heart might soon desire something else - friends, fellowship and yes, even community activities and services.Exodus 20:9-10 says, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” And in last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells Martha, “...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) We make time for doing the Lord’s work and being active in His service. But more importantly, we should set aside time to just sit by His feet to listen and to enjoy His presence. For God places the utmost importance to our spending time with Him.
It is for this reason that every year, the Rivers of Living Water Catholic Community holds a special retreat for all its ministry workers. This year, the Workers’ Retreat will be held on Saturday, 28 July 2007 at the RFM Auditorium. This annual event gives all those in ministry a chance to just be still. To cease from ministry work, even for just a day. To be ministered to by the Lord and His Word. The Workers’ Retreat is a “Sabbath” of sorts - a time for resting in God’s presence. And a time to remember Him - our One True Love and our Heart’s Desire.
We pray for all those who are in ministry service.. that they may continue to draw strength from God. That they may be refreshed and renewed.. ready to work for the Lord with enthusiasm and with cheerful hearts. And most importantly, we pray that their hearts and minds continue to be set on Him - the source of all blessings and the Reason for their service.
God bless, brothers and sisters!
Monday, July 9, 2007
communication g.a.p.
Council is planning will hold a pre-UPCAT event gathering this coming on at from
that’s about as far as they got. ‘coz before we knew it, 20 minutes were up; and they all had to go to their classes. so i ended up writing the letters, instead. and i made a mental note to hold a special meeting just to teach them basic letter writing skills ü
* * *
the other day, my 4-year old “playmate” carlo held out his hand to me and said, “tita, dirty na hands ko. penge nung mabango.” i stared blankly at him for about 15 seconds, not getting exactly what he meant. then he repeated his request, “tita, ung binubuhos sa kamay.. ung malamig kapag ni-blow mo..” oh. that. haha. it took me a while to understand that he was asking me to put some rubbing alcohol on his dirtied hands.
* * *
“ate, sabi ng mama mo bumili ka daw ng soup” our maid told me one day. ok. so i went to the grocery before heading home and bought some instant soup. when i went inside the house to give mom her soup, she says to me, “o anak, nakabili ka ba ng sabon?” great. my mom wanted SOAP.. not SOUP.. hayyy..
* * *
there are times when i think i say my prayers wrong. i start out with a “dear god, thank you for..” but i end up telling him about my gripes, my fears, my tampo, etc. sometimes i pour out my “sobstory” - ranting about some injustice done to me. at other times (especially while i’m stuck in traffic), i find myself rambling to god about my hectic day.. or about the weird happenings in school or in the choir. or about how nervous i am about an upcoming observation.
and there are those other times, when i’m tired and flustered.. or when i’m upset and feeling hurt, the opposite happens. i can’t find any words to say to him. and all i could do is sit in a corner of my room and mope. or cry. and i’d *really* try to start praying.. but i couldn’t. ‘coz no words.. no thoughts would come.
but there’s one thing i’ve learned through the years: whether i’m babbling like an idiot (telling god about my kwentos and sumbongs) or quiet as a mouse, there is no communication gap between me and the lord ü my choice of words, my grammar/pronounciation.. they don’t really matter to him. ‘coz he knows my needs.. how i feel.. better than i do. he knows what i will say.. what i will ask for.. even before i say anything at all!
it’s great how he understands me - words or no words. all i have to do is show up and meet him. and he’s happy ü yup. it’s so true.. god appreciates perfectly ü
how to make a klein bottle
start with a square, gluing together corresponding colored edges, so that the arrows match. glue the red arrows of the square together,resulting in a cylinder. glue the ends together so that the arrows on the circles match (pass one end through the side of the cylinder). gradually push a piece of the tube containing the intersection out of the original 3D space. this immersion is useful for visualizing many properties of the Klein bottle. for example, the Klein bottle has no boundary, where the surface stops abruptly, and it is non-orientable (with no distinction between the "inside" and "outside"), as reflected in the one-sidedness of the immersion. -from wikipedia
uhmm. i can pretty much imagine you scratching your heads after reading the previous paragraphs, hehe. don’t worry. this is *not* about math and topology - er, not entirely, at least, hehe ü
the Klein bottle is a weird surface (for math lovers: it’s very much related to another weird surface, the möebius strip). what makes it odd is that it is a “non-orientable” surface - it has no inside nor outside. what’s even weirder is that the Klein bottle does not exist in 3 dimensions. it is possible to make a 3D model of it.. but one can only view it properly in 4 dimensions.
it’s funny how the human mind can imagine something so complex and so interesting (at least, to me.. and to other math geeks haha) as the Klein bottle. i mean.. technically, it doesn’t even exist! it resides only in the imagination. and yet mathematicians talk about its properties.. its uses (yes, it *does* have practical applications!).. its beauty (yeah, we do find it beautiful, ok?!).
the brain truly is powerful. it can come up with the weirdest, most complicated things. stuff dreams are made of. it can create objects that have not yet been made. it can create objects that can never exist. yup, the human mind sure is great.
we may be blessed with great minds that understand how to make Klein bottles. we may have brains that can solve complex math equations, write inspiring compositions and handle a multitude of tasks. but no matter how superb our brains may be, we can *never* fully understand the greatness of our Lord.
ecclesiastes 3:11-12 says, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” we have eternity in our hearts.. yet even that is not enough to contain God’s greatness! how awesome is that?!
we don’t need big brains to know our God, after all. so even if we can’t solve those math equations, that’s all right ü all we need are big hearts - willing to open up to let Him in. He knows us inside out - we’re kinda like the Klein bottle to Him - He sees our inside and outside at the same time ü and He wants to make Himself known to us.
now *that* is reason to be glad, indeed ü
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
a rhino in my nose
i caught a bad case of the colds this weekend (hence, i was not able to serve at the GSS nor the tv mass. tsk tsk. great timing). i was stuck at home.. in bed for hours on end.. and practically immobile. boredom quickly set in.. and soon, i found myself in front of my pc. and, for lack of anything better to do, i decided to research a bit on the cause of my suffering - the rhinovirus.
this from www.discovery.com:
it feels like it sounds: a rhinovirus is a good indication of how it would be to have a rhinoceros stuck up your nose.
an aficionado of rhinoviruses, which cause at least one-third of colds in adults, hendley says the common cold is uncommonly hard to understand. one surprising revelation, though, is that your painful parade of symptoms isn't exactly the fault of the virus.
"what we do know is that the symptoms aren't because the virus eats the inside of your nose out," hendley says. "it's the body's own inflammatory response that causes the symptoms."
o-kay?! so technically, it’s not the teeny tiny rhinovirus that’s causing my nose to run, my eyes to water and my throat to feel scratchy?! apparently, my body’s immune system is overreacting to the presence of the intruder virus.. hence, wreaking havoc and mayhem.. and effectively immobilizing me for a couple of days. how weird is that?!?
it’s funny.. but sometimes, the things we rely on to protect us and to keep us secure - education, wealth, popularity, fame - can turn out to be the source of our troubles at some point. when we rely too much on our “security blankets” to keep us safe, then there are moments when the Lord would rock the boat and make us lose our balance a bit. just so we’d know better than to trust in “things that pass away”
ps 146:5-6 says, “blessed is he whose help is the God of jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth,the sea, and everything in them--the LORD, who remains faithful forever.”
He’s all we need to keep us safe from every storm. and from every cold virus, haha ü God bless, everyone! ü
this from www.discovery.com:
it feels like it sounds: a rhinovirus is a good indication of how it would be to have a rhinoceros stuck up your nose.
an aficionado of rhinoviruses, which cause at least one-third of colds in adults, hendley says the common cold is uncommonly hard to understand. one surprising revelation, though, is that your painful parade of symptoms isn't exactly the fault of the virus.
"what we do know is that the symptoms aren't because the virus eats the inside of your nose out," hendley says. "it's the body's own inflammatory response that causes the symptoms."
o-kay?! so technically, it’s not the teeny tiny rhinovirus that’s causing my nose to run, my eyes to water and my throat to feel scratchy?! apparently, my body’s immune system is overreacting to the presence of the intruder virus.. hence, wreaking havoc and mayhem.. and effectively immobilizing me for a couple of days. how weird is that?!?
it’s funny.. but sometimes, the things we rely on to protect us and to keep us secure - education, wealth, popularity, fame - can turn out to be the source of our troubles at some point. when we rely too much on our “security blankets” to keep us safe, then there are moments when the Lord would rock the boat and make us lose our balance a bit. just so we’d know better than to trust in “things that pass away”
ps 146:5-6 says, “blessed is he whose help is the God of jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth,the sea, and everything in them--the LORD, who remains faithful forever.”
He’s all we need to keep us safe from every storm. and from every cold virus, haha ü God bless, everyone! ü
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