My Daily Nourishment

It is nice to remember sometimes or maybe all the times our high school experiences and memories. I attended a religious Catholic school during my high school and college days. I could still remember when we used to attend masses in the church particularly on first Fridays of the month or when there were religious masses on Sundays. I was a member of the church choir and I love singing church songs. My friend who is a very good organist and guitarist used to accompany us when singing. Another friend in college who was member of the school band sent me an email last time if I can find him some Daddario Guitar Strings. He is a very good singer and can also play the guitar very well. I heard that he is having his own band now and performs live in some celebrations like fiestas or birthdays.

I truly had a wonderful time being in a choir during my school days. I love it but my singing talent is only for my family and friends.

Fasting and abstinence from meat are simple penances that remind us of what being a disciple of Jesus means — that sometimes we have to sacrifice things we like, even food, in order to free up time to deepen our relationship with Him and fulfill His call in our lives. Let us all seek to grow in these areas.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
13 See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. 14 Even as many were amazed at him — so marred was his look beyond human semblance and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man — 15 so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it. 53: 1 Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. 3 He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. 4 Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. 6 We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. 7 Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. 8 Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, 9 a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. 10 But the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. 11 Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. 12 Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. http://www.kerygmafamily.com

As the saying goes, “There is no place like home”! Yes, I am finally back home again. Spain trip is over. Due to some unavoidable and man-made circumstances, I need to go home earlier as planned. There were sad things that happened but I would say that there were more good and wonderful things that took place. I am happy to meet new good friends and I was enriched by the many experiences I encountered when I was there.

There should be things that I would love to do more in Spain  if I fly back home with the original return ticket. I would love visit more places there. I would love to go more shopping and bring home with me one of those sidi motorcycle boots but my budget already went low. I expected to work a bit there but it did not materialized. Things had changed but I believed it was better that way. I cannot forget that Spain trip I had lately. There were lots of beautiful memories during that trip and one of those was meeting new good friends. Thanks a lot Madrid ladies for your friendship. I am truly thankful about it. I am home now but the memories we had will last forever. Thanks for everything!

St. Paul tells us that we proclaim a crucified Christ. Jesus tells us exactly the same thing, that when He is “lifted up from the earth He will draw all people to Himself.” There is no escaping the paradox that exists in the Gospel: a crucified Christ is the redeemer of the world. We will never be able to fully understand the wisdom of this truth but we certainly have to learn how to build our lives around it.

John 8:21-30
21 Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” 27 They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

think: Sometimes, to get to a particular destination, there are some rocky roads that we have to traverse.

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It  is  always a nice feeling when someone is engaged.  You will soon be entering another stage of life…the marriage life. I know someone who is  happily engaged.  She is currently waiting for her fiancee visa to the United States of America. I remember when she told me that her soon to be husband gave her one of those designer engagement rings. She was surprised that time and felt a kind of happiness.  I wish her all the best in life especially in entering the marriage life. I am quite happy and excited for her big day.  Congratulations sister! You are finally engaged. I hope to see you soon!

Sometimes, to get to a particular destination, there are some rocky roads that we have to traverse. There is nothing that we can do about this. A wise person knows this and has the patience to endure the difficulties, knowing that there will be an end to them if he just waits. It is not a perfect situation, but sin leaves us with no alternative.

Numbers 21:4-9
4 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, 5 the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” 6 In punishment the Lord sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, 8 and the Lord said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will alive.” 9 Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

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Hi folks! How it is going? I am doing fine despite of some unexpected things that happened the past week. This is the optimistic attitude in me where I always see positive things on negative situations. I always see it as a challenge and I am always ready to face it. At least, I am enjoying my trip here in Spain. Last Tuesday, I went near the Prado Museum to buy some souvenirs to give as presents to my friends back home. At the same time, I was looking for cohiba cigars here in Madrid but can’t find one. I guess I can search it online to have more information where to find and buy it. It is a perfect present  for someone who love cigars.

I believed the souvenirs I bought here in Madrid are quite enough to give to friends. More updates to be posted here and in my other blogs when I will be backed home. Have a lovely day folks! Take care and till next time!

Some of the things that Jesus said in His mission were quite inflammatory. Did Jesus want to be provocative? Quite unlikely, but one thing is sure. He was not willing to compromise the truth so He always spoke it as He saw it. The Church knows what doing this means and how the intellectuals of society will take it. However, this is a small price to pay for the truth. This is easy to say, yet far more difficult to be faithful to it.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION:
I hope in the Lord, I trust in his word; with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.

Luke 4:24-30
24 Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. 25 Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. 26 It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. 29 They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
think: It does not really matter which path we take; what matters is that we have traveled a path and reached our destination of becoming a disciple of Jesus.

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Good day everyone! It seems that I am not seeing  the sun shining outside.  Oh yes, I finally see it.  Let me talk about furniture shopping this time. I guess some of you have the difficulty in choosing the  furniture for  your home. I do the same.  Last month,  as we were looking for bathroom furniture , it took awhile  for us to decide which color we will buy.  We finally decided to have a white one. We are also planning to change our living room furniture.  We are still thinking of buying a leather sofa.  I am not quite familiar about leather furniture dye.  Another question is if we decide  to change the color of the leather  furniture, is it possible to do it with  this leather dye. I am already thinking of the results.  Another factor we have to consider is the price of the furniture and the space  we have in our living room. These are only some of the  things we need to consider when buying  home furniture. Right folks?

I wish you all a lovely day! I love the nice friendly weather in  Madrid, Spain!

Some people come to faith in God through a relatively easy path; others by the torturous path of the road less traveled. It does not really matter which path we take; what matters is that we have traveled a path and reached our destination of becoming a disciple of Jesus. It is not for us to judge the faith journey of another. We need to learn to respect the personal responses of each and every person. This is part and parcel of our human dignity — to have freedom of religion and thought.

2 Kings 5:1-15
1 Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the Lord had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper. 2 Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife. 3 “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,” she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 Naaman went and told his Lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 “Go,” said the king of Aram. “I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments. 6 To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: “Am I a God with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!” 8 When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: “Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 The prophet sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” 11 But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the Lord his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. 12 Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” With this, he turned about in anger and left. 13 But his servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.” 14 So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”