What this little boy doing?

 The Little Zacchaeus!

Luke 19:1-10 

 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

Behind the scene! 

It touched me most upon seeing this picture...

While the crowd are busy in preparing for the popemobile to pass this little Boy climbs up on the tree just to see Pope Francis. 

Pope's Unli Smile! :)

His Smiles Brings so much to the people!

Our Loving Shepherd

 

What can you say to our El Papa Francisco's smiles?

Pope Francis in Manila: Six million attend outdoor Mass

An aerial view of Rizal Park shows the millions attending Mass

Pope Francis has celebrated an outdoor Mass in front of unprecedented crowds in the Philippine capital Manila.

Six million people attended the ceremony or lined the Papal route to Rizal Park, city officials estimate.
That would be a record for a papal event. About five million welcomed Pope John Paul II in Manila in 1995.
The Vatican said Pope Francis had dedicated the service in part to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the country in 2013.
The Mass will be the Pope's final full day in the Philippines, where there are 80 million Catholics, concluding his six-day tour of Asia.

Download Flash Player now

You need to install Flash Player to play this content.

Millions of people have turned out to see the Pope despite the rain, as Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports

At the scene - Caroline Wyatt, BBC religious affairs correspondent
The atmosphere has been electrifying, despite the heavy rain. Pope Francis's visit has been seen here as a resounding success. There's been enormous enthusiasm for the Pope and the themes he's focused on - helping the poor, the importance of the family, and protecting the environment.
Those who couldn't reach the park for the Mass stood patiently under umbrellas as close as they could, to catch glimpse of Pope Francis on his way there. A woman called Sara told us that her whole family had come in from the provinces to stay over the weekend and ensure they saw the Pope on what they see as a historic, once in a lifetime visit. One man, Jocson, said: "We are here to bear witness also, to see the Pope personally."

Braving the rain, and holding statuettes of the Child Jesus, they turned out in force to attend the Mass

The colourful setting added to the festive atmosphere

These dancers were there to celebrate

The Pope celebrated Mass in the knowledge of how popular the faith is in a country with 80 million Roman Catholics

Pope Francis arrived in a "popemobile" based on the design of the local minibuses, known as jeepneys.
Crowds sang and cheered as the Pope stopped at various points to greet worshippers.
Some people had camped outside the park overnight to be the first ones admitted when the gates opened early on Sunday morning.
"It's such deep joy - so much hope for our country - we really need his message - we need transformation among us and that is what he told us," one of the worshippers, Chad Soniko, told the BBC, adding and wiping away tears: "Really, really, really touched."
Thirteen-year-old John Paul Jones said: "I saw God in his eyes."
Before the final Mass, the Pope held morning meetings with religious leaders and young people at the University of Santo Tomas which is the biggest Catholic university in Asia.
Pope Francis opened his meeting with over 20,000 students by remembering the 27-year-old woman who had died during his visit to Tacloban.
Earlier, police had reported that she had been killed when scaffolding collapsed after Saturday's Mass.
The Pope then listened to several children speak about their experiences of growing up on the streets.
One of the children, 12-year-old Glyzelle Palomar, wept as she told her story and asked why God had allowed children to suffer so much.
A visibly moved Pope Francis replied: "Only when we are able to cry are we able to come close to responding to your question."
He added that the world needed to learn how to cry with those in need.
"Those on the margins cry. Those who have fallen by the wayside cry. Those who are discarded cry. But those who are living a life that is more or less without need, we don't know how to cry," he said.
Pope Francis, who comes from Argentina, was applauded when he told students that sometimes men were too macho, and that women had much to tell today's society, seeing the world through different eyes, and asking different questions.

Pope Francis kissed babies as people around took pictures of the unforgettable event

Crowds of worshippers had to be held back by police along the route

People prayed for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan during the Mass on Saturday in Tacloban

Typhoon survivors On Saturday, the Pope visited a region devastated by Typhoon Haiyan just over a year ago.
The Pope said as soon as he saw the catastrophe caused by the typhoon, he had decided to go to the Philippines.
He was due to have lunch in with survivors of the disaster in Tacloban but was forced to cut short his trip due to a tropical storm.
Before he left for Manila, the Pope held an outdoor mass for about 150,000 worshippers amid strong winds and pouring rains.
During the Mass, the Pope spoke of the terrible impact of Typhoon Haiyan.
He told the faithful that "so many of you in Tacloban have lost everything. I don't know what to say - but the Lord does… He underwent so many of the trials that you do".
Typhoon Haiyan, which remains the strongest storm ever recorded on land, created a 7m (23ft) high storm surge, destroying practically everything in its path when it swept ashore on 8 November 2013.
More than 14.5 million people were affected in six regions and 44 provinces. About one million people remain homeless.
A national holiday has been declared in the capital for the duration of the Pope's
 visit.(http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30869019)

Homily of Pope Francis in Manila Cathedral Jan. 16, 2015

“Do you love me?… Tend my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Jesus’ words to Peter in today’s Gospel are the first words I speak to you, dear brother bishops and priests, men and women religious, and young seminarians. These words remind us of something essential. All pastoral ministry is born of love. All consecrated life is a sign of Christ’s reconciling love. Like Saint Therese, in the variety of our vocations, each of us is called, in some way, to be love in the heart of the Church.

I greet all of you with great affection. And I ask you to bring my affection to all your elderly and infirm brothers and sisters, and to all those who cannot join us today. As the Church in the Philippines looks to the fifth centenary of its evangelization, we feel gratitude for the legacy left by so many bishops, priests and religious of past generations. They labored not only to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in this country, but also to forge a society inspired by the Gospel message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common good. Today you carry on that work of love. Like them, you are called to build bridges, to pasture Christ’s flock, and to prepare fresh paths for the Gospel in Asia at the dawn of a new age.

“The love of Christ impels us” (2 Cor 5:14). In today’s first reading Saint Paul tells us that the love we are called to proclaim is a reconciling love, flowing from the heart of the crucified Savior. We are called to be “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20). Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. We proclaim the Good News of God’s infinite love, mercy and compassion. We proclaim the joy of the Gospel. For the Gospel is the promise of God’s grace, which alone can bring wholeness and healing to our broken world. It can inspire the building of a truly just and redeemed social order.

To be an ambassador for Christ means above all to invite everyone to a renewed personal encounter with the Lord Jesus (Evangelii Gaudium, 3). This invitation must be at the core of your commemoration of the evangelization of the Philippines. But the Gospel is also a summons to conversion, to an examination of our consciences, as individuals and as a people. As the Bishops of the Philippines have rightly taught, the Church in the Philippines is called to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly contradicting the teaching of Christ. The Gospel calls individual Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity and concern for the common good. But it also calls Christian communities to create “circles of integrity”, networks of solidarity which can expand to embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness.

As ambassadors for Christ, we, bishops, priests and religious, ought to be the first to welcome his reconciling grace into our hearts. Saint Paul makes clear what this means. It means rejecting worldly perspectives and seeing all things anew in the light of Christ. It means being the first to examine our consciences, to acknowledge our failings and sins, and to embrace the path of constant conversion. How can we proclaim the newness and liberating power of the Cross to others, if we ourselves refuse to allow the word of God to shake our complacency, our fear of change, our petty compromises with the ways of this world, our “spiritual worldliness” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 93)?

For us priests and consecrated persons, conversion to the newness of the Gospel entails a daily encounter with the Lord in prayer. The saints teach us that this is the source of all apostolic zeal! For religious, living the newness of the Gospel also means finding ever anew in community life and community apostolates the incentive for an ever closer union with the Lord in perfect charity. For all of us, it means living lives that reflect the poverty of Christ, whose entire life was focused on doing the will of the Father and serving others. The great danger to this, of course, is a certain materialism which can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer. Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters. We will see things in a new light and thus respond with honesty and integrity to the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism of the Gospel in a society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion, polarization and scandalous inequality.

Here I would like to address a special word to the young priests, religious and seminarians among us. I ask you to share the joy and enthusiasm of your love for Christ and the Church with everyone, but especially with your peers. Be present to young people who may be confused and despondent, yet continue to see the Church as their friend on the journey and a source of hope. Be present to those who, living in the midst of a society burdened by poverty and corruption, are broken in spirit, tempted to give up, to leave school and to live on the streets. Proclaim the beauty and truth of the Christian message to a society which is tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family. As you know, these realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture.

Filipino culture has, in fact, been shaped by the imagination of faith. Filipinos everywhere are known for their love of God, their fervent piety and their warm devotion to Our Lady and her rosary. This great heritage contains a powerful missionary potential. It is the way in which your people has inculturated the Gospel and continues to embrace its message (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 122). In your efforts to prepare for the fifth centenary, build on this solid foundation.

Christ died for all so that, having died in him, we might live no longer for ourselves but for him (cf. 2 Cor 5:15). Dear brother bishops, priests and religious: I ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to obtain for all of you an outpouring of zeal, so that you may spend yourselves in selfless service to our brothers and sisters. In this way, may the reconciling love of Christ penetrate ever more fully into the fabric of Filipino society and, through you, to the farthest reaches of the world. – Rappler.com

Bad and Good in the Virtual World!

On virtual community

The advent of modern technology brings gigantic change in our human history of living, lifestyle, way of life, may it be attitudinal or ideological to the reality that it affects us all. However, may it be with awareness or not, the fact leaves us print that it does paradigm shift in our lives inevitably. Today, our physical world is entangling with a bigger and ever expanding virtual world which transcends more and more our geographical limitation. It goes beyond what we expect throughout the past millennium, century, decade, year and day. Furthermore, the highly modernized technology creates exquisite development on our civilization and a concrete example of this is our technology at present that caters tremendous changes in our day-to-day life which plunged us into wires of virtual connection. Everybody is flocking towards it as they go with the flow of civilization galvanize with the ever fast technological revolution. Inescapably this phenomenon is the fruit of scientific endeavors in the line of technological growth that which helps us to systematize human life's style and make it creative and productive according to its covered ranged. With this applicable cause, we got caught to the fact that technology is an extravagant life-alleviating.

 

Let us go back to our very own experiences and wonder on the impact of technology about particular aspect we are in right now. In our lifestyle, way of thinking, perception etc… whether we like it or not, it does change us! Some realization in this regard claimed that it changes the way we communicate and indeed it is so blatant wherever we may go. For example, before, we do talking face-to-face and this truly needs more time and energy in the agents' side but now we can have video call on Facebook, Twitter, etc… by means of the internet which makes things run smooth and easy as we connect to our friends, family, business partners etc.... On the other side of the coin, or if we try to look at the bigger picture, it also changes the community so fast and even creates new community beyond the borders. This is now called virtual community which only exist because of the internet. At first, to think of a virtual community is neither possible nor achievable but then today's modern world offers this to us. Yes, it is! Out of the high technology, a new breed of community is given birth, and the existence of this virtual world opens the floodgates of opportunities, one of these is the so-called virtual communities. This is strengthened, developed, and even very inviting in our present time because of the advent of continuously upgraded social media and is maintained online. It has opened up yet another portal of seeing and being seen, for knowing and being known, for being in and belonging to community. Indeed, it is a phenomenon that we need to be attuned according to the signs of times; however, it is fitting to spark a fire in the midst to clarify things in its content on both dark and bright sides.

Today, if we talk about communities, some of which are considered as extensions of the physical communities and what we are pointing here is the realm of virtual world. In the article which I've came across it defined a complementary virtual community which is created, gathered, developed, and sustained exclusively online. Accordingly, as long as there is these time and energy that put into quality interaction and shared interest and concerns, no matter where they are located, it makes a group of individuals a community. In addition, it claims that true communities are those whose members stay connected and are mutually supportive from the flow of interactions over the period of time. Indeed, with these setting we are able to economize our time and energy, however, a balance perspective will give as good grasp of our situation today. As a respond to it we better take a look into the framework and examine.

The author of the article claims that virtual community is real. As I tried to read and reflect on its arguments and presented proposition, it made me react on certain aspects which the author did not consider just like for example the negative side which engulfs some important element on what it is being a family and community. First, virtual community, as it is claimed, is only maintained online exclusively. The situation is still problematic since without the internet connection communication is impossible and thus this virtual community showcase dependency to the web created. Second, anybody may share the same experience online and discussion as well, moreover if we try to scrutinize the participant's authenticity we cannot guarantee a hundred percent truthfulness coming from the very being of its self because chances are discussions and sharing insights may fall only on the head level. In addition, perhaps some may just fabricate stories and this calls the benefit of doubt. Third, for example, the person whom you met at the virtual community has lest intimacy in the real score of life. They may notice your words but not in the way you feel and this is the concrete reason why it is difficult for them to empathize. Moreover this is in the context of case to case bases, however, in the virtual world there is only one way traffic at times because of dependency to be on in the internet.

It is important to clarify how we define and view "Real". Perhaps, what is real in the virtual world is an illusion most particularly in the physical world. And, if so happen that we are able to distinguish what is real and illusion, if there is, how we are going to reconcile the differences and gaps between two worlds?  As I have mentioned above, the physical world is entangled with virtual world and either we like it or not the world's direction is flowing towards it.  

Personally, I do appreciate the benefits that we are harvesting today with this virtual world because it also serves as our portal to connect throughout the whole world. Communication becomes easy and faster than before. It creates another dimension that plot as the one ever expanding avenue for the people to meet and discover. However, together with tremendous advantages it carries the shadow of disadvantages that slowly kills the good values, cultures, privacy etc… of individual community. The author of the book considered the virtual communities as real because of the criterion that they shared common interest and concerns, however, these bases of viewing what is real is problematic and some of the critiques are the following: A virtual community varies according to its dimensional context such as business, relational, and religious communities etc… online. Its members are coming from different parts of the world and are located in different nations with different cultures, and norms etc… which shares (for example the religious communities online) ideas like inspirational words as they are entitle of this spiritual need. All of these have no grounds in real life if those agents to whom you connect cannot help you out in day-to-day life!

The life-blood of this community is the presence of the spiritual or inspirational need of the contingent looking for possible answer and this need discussion among the group via online dimension. If one or more members cannot connect to the internet, this virtual community will also be paralyzed because it is dependent to the attendance of the members considering the fact that they are in different situations and perhaps time frame as well. Those whom they encounter in the virtual world truly may cause also damage of reputation, dignity, career etc… and the sad thing is that people they may encounter coming from different places in the online group has no existential bearing in one's life unless if the agent knows that person personally.

If we take extremely this virtual community into our lives this would cause us to escape from the reality of our life. Chances are we might give more time and focus to the virtual community while we give less attention to what is happening around us in the physical world. Mostly we are caught by it with unawareness just like for example, if you invest to much this virtual community with your time and energy and in the end all you have are but no help in the real life's situation especially if it takes physical presence.

Pope Francis: New Years Best Gift to The Philippines!

The Best Gift of the Year!

Our Beloved Pope Francis will visit us so soon!

From the moment Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he won the hearts of the people.  His humility, simplicity and closeness to the poor reveal a man deeply in touch with the Gospel. His profile has soared. He has initiated a fundamental reform of the Roman Curia, challenged a “globalization of indifference,” and become the most talked about person in the world.
 

We Filipino’s love to say, "It is more fun in the Philippines," even in the midst of calamities that happened in the past years. This is so because we still yet have lots to offer unto others such as our smiles which is a grace from above despite the tragedy that we have gone through. Some of our brothers and sisters lost their houses and family members especially the people in Tacloban and neighboring islands, however, after months and years  slowly  they were able to recover with smiles on their faces even in front of the camera despite the sad reality.  All of these are reflections of our very own culture, our mark as Filipino which has then ability to fight and stand up after we fall.

New Year came and all of us wonder: what would be the best gift we could ever have for this new beginning? But I tell you, the best gift is almost at hand because this coming January 15-18, 2015 Pope Francis will visit our nation and he brings to us the message of God, "Mercy and Compassion." Mercy is the Lord's most powerful message from God for us! I think it is but fitting for us all to remind ourselves and inculcate into our individual hearts what God taught us, to be merciful especially to our brothers and sisters who led astray in the world far away  today.

“Mercy and compassion” will be the theme of Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines, where devastation from Typhoon Haiyan is still being felt more than a year later, along with the earthquake that hit the region of Visayas. All those tragedy that Filipinos faced were challenges that make them who were hit badly and us all stronger as we all move on and continue in the journey of faith. St. Paul says, "it is when I am weak that I am strong" indeed these words capture our very own being and situation that is constantly in need of God's grace as well as His Mercy and Compassion for us all.

The theme of the Pope's  visit is inspired by the gospel of Matthew 9:36, where Jesus, after “seeing the people, felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

The very presence of the Pope Francis is a gift to us all here in the Philippines, Asia, and to the whole world. He is a concrete message for all of us that offers a challenge, “to imitate Christ, the Good Shepherd, who is Mercy and Compassion.” Supported by his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, in which Pope Francis wrote, “The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel."

Therefore, we have  many reasons to laudably shout to the whole world this gift we could ever have this year which is the Apostolic visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines. Most of us all Christians believe that our Beloved Pope Francis brings hope to the hopeless and strength to those who are weary as he reminds us in Christ. 

The Apostolic Visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines from January 15 – 19, 2015.

       His Holiness Pope Francis will bring his message of “mercy and compassion” to at least 11 different venues in the province of Leyte and Metro Manila during his Apostolic Visit to the Philippines on January 15-19, 2015.

       Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka, the first leg of his Asian trip, by plane past 5 p.m. on January 15, and will go on a motorcade to his official residence in the Philippines. The following morning, January 16, Pope Francis will be officially welcomed by President Benigno S. Aquino III at Malacañan Palace on J. P. Laurel Street in Manila. The Pope will also meet Philippine authorities and members of the diplomatic corps.

           After the Palace reception, Pope Francis will go on a motorcade to the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Manila Cathedral) in Intramuros for a Mass with bishops, priests, and women and men religious. Later, he will have an encounter with families at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. In Leyte Province in Eastern Visayas, Pope Francis will visit the Archdiocese of Palo. He will offer Mass near Tacloban Airport  in the morning of January 17 and will have lunch with the poor and survivors of natural calamities at the residence of the Archbishop of Palo. Afterwards he will bless the Pope Francis Center for the Poor in Palo, and visit the Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration (Palo Cathedral) to meet with priests and women and men religious.

            On January 18, the Pope will meet religious leaders and young people at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila. In the afternoon, he will go on a motorcade for the Concluding Mass at Quirino Grandstand in Rizal (Luneta) Park.

Pope Francis will leave for Rome on January 19.

APOSTOLIC TRIP OF HIS HOLINESS, POPE FRANCIS, TO THE PHILIPPINES

15-19 JANUARY 2015

Thursday 15 January 2015
17:45	Arrival at Villamor Air Base in Manila
	OFFICIAL WELCOME
Friday 16 January 2015
09:15	WELCOME CEREMONY at the Malacañan Palace
	COURTESY VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT
10:15	MEETING WITH THE AUTHORITIES and the DIPLOMATIC CORPS at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the Presidential Palace
11:15	HOLY MASS with the bishops, priests, women and men religious at the Cathedral – Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila
17:30	MEETING with the FAMILIES at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila
Saturday 17 January 2015
08:15	Departure by plane from Manila for Tacloban
09:30	Arrival at the airport of Tacloban
10:00	HOLY MASS near Tacloban International Airport
12:45	Lunch with some of the survivors of typhoon Yolanda at the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo
15:00	Blessing of the Pope Francis Center for the Poor
15:30	MEETING with the Priests, Women and Men Religious, Seminarians and Families of the Survivors at the Cathedral of Palo
17:00	Departure by plane for Manila
18:15	Arrival at Villamor Air Base in Manila
Sunday 18 January 2015
09:45	Brief Meeting with the Religious Leaders of the Philippines at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila
10:30	MEETING WITH THE YOUTH at the Sports Field of the University
15:30	HOLY MASS at Rizal Park in Manila
Monday 19 January 2015
09:45	Leave Taking Ceremony at the Presidential Pavilion of Villamor Air Base in Manila
10:00	Departure by plane from Manila for Rome
17:40	Arrival at the airport of Rome/Ciampino[1]

---

[1] http://papalvisit.ph/the-papal-visit-itinerary/