The Widow's Offering

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling all his disciples to him, he said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."

Mark 12: 41-44

*Many thanks to my bff for sharing this with me, after I told her a touching story.

Something I found from a book that a friend just gave me

I just thought I'd share this.

This is something that I found/read fro a book that a friend just gave to me when she learned of my sickness. The book is: Straight From The Heart, A Prayer Companion. Compiled and edited by Fr. Mario Jose C. Ladra.

The Tremendous Value of the Holy Mass

Click on the link to take you to the quotes. In my book, it says that these quotes were taken from the book:

The Hidden Treasure - Holy Mass
by St. Leonard
Imprimatur Michael Augustine
Archbishop of New York,
January 2, 1890.

The Feast of our Lady

Our Lady of Ina ng Awa

It's the Feast of Our Lady ng Ina ng Awa tomorrow, September 15.


For mass services and other information, please visit this site.

A Matter of Trust

In the book I was reading, 'The Last of the Mohicans,' by James Fenimore Cooper, I got this quote:

"Manifest no distrust, or you may invite the danger you appear to apprehend."

It's hard to comprehend.

But look at this situation that is happening right now in Chile.

There are 33 miners trapped at about 2,000 feet below.

And yet, two days ago, they were cheering for their soccer team while on the 34th day of being underground.

To date, no one knows - neither those above ground nor below - how much time before the miners will be taken out. There is a Plan A but news says that it may take about four months to get them out. The certainty of this plan? Who knows? I have yet to read about their Plan B. I'll be glad if you will leave the link in the comments below if you read about it.

And I think for the first time, the NASA people will be doing their part contributing their skills and equipment to get these people out from down at the core of the Earth, instead of their usual task to explore what is out there beyond the clouds.

Amidst the uncertainties, you see the miners having a good time watching the match between their country's team and Ukraine's. Fiber optics technology was able to send them signals to make this possible.

Though I amazed by the technology, I was overwhelmed by the miners' calmness, their attitude towards their plight. They have to have positivity to be able to cheer for their team. They have to have hope that they would get over this.

They have trust amidst all these. Most of the time, trust is all we need. And I think in this situation, TRUST is all they need. But of course, that has to be partnered with hope.

After all, if they do not have the trust, they would have been in dire panic.

Don't we all feel that way when we lack this one important thing?

On Devotion

If your mother used to tell you, "You should have a devotion," and didn't know what it meant, don't worry, that makes us two.

Shrine of San Antonio De Padua
Pila, Laguna

She used to tell me that when I was a kid, but never really understood. I never really knew what it meant. I was a kid, well, old enough to give up playing Cops and Robbers, but too young to understand these words.

This is just one of the million things that mothers told us about life. And this is just one of those thousand things that we never really bothered to understand.

But I guess I understand it now, somehow.

Ever since I was good enough to ride the jeepney after my surgery, I never failed to go on Tuesdays. And that, is a record for me. If this is what my mom called devotion, then, I should have been brave enough and humble enough to ask her back then, what it meant, so I could have followed her since. But mothers will usually just keep quiet about it, hoping that one day, we will understand what she said and leave it to Him to enlighten us.

But ours is a HIM who understands; who gives us time to realize things, who gives us unlimited chances to discover what it is to make a mistake and learn from it.

One Morning

This is that one morning that my family and I would never forget.

Six o'clock is my biological clock's wake up time, and I hardly ever missed it. Aside from our cat scratching the door trying to get in, our dog sniffs low cries asking for bread. I should have finished saying my morning prayers before the pets do this lest I want these sounds to become louder.

I stood up and scooped a handful of kibble for our cat and a piece of that day-old bread for the dog. We sometimes intentionally leave one piece for the dog to chow on the next day.

Normally, my dad will get his swimming bag and set out for his daily morning exercise then comes home with the bread for breakfast. But, not today. Again, normally, he will ask me if I prefer the loaf or the traditional bread. But again, not today. He said that he only have this much left. Only this much to buy a loaf of bread.

Not much.

It's a Friday and hopes are dim for his pension and my salary to be credited to our account. We both felt low but still high in spirits. He said he will just walk his way to the bakery to get the loaf for today's breakfast.

In less than an hour, he was back with two loaves of bread that I knew was way out of the money left. I started to wonder but didn't open my mouth to ask him. I just thought that maybe he went to his friend who lives near the bakery and borrowed some money. I assumed.

We, then, prepared breakfast and while we were waiting for the water to boil, he said, "Do you know what happened to me?"

"What?" I said, feeling a little nervous and trying to hide it.

Click on this link for the rest of the article.

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Published on Fortitude on August 4, 2010

©Copyright 2010 Clara Baldemor

Photo of the Week: August 28- September 3, 2010

Nothing But Courage

This one caught my eye when I was in town back in 2007. If I am not mistaken, I took it when I was to leave for Dubai in a matter of days. It caught my eye because the flag that these Katipuneros were holding were totally torn. What I was thinking at that time I took the shot was, "How can you fight for something that is totally damaged, torn and vandalized." But we continue to fight, even if there is nothing left. We have the courage, the spirit, the hope.

I guess my thought is still true nowadays, considering what happened last August 23, 2010.

But, we, the Filipinos, don't lose hope. We keep on fighting.

A Gesture of Humility

I have been wanting to share this since I can remember. But it's not that I didn't have the time nor the connection. None of that reasons. Right now, all I can think about is that maybe it's not yet time or probably because of those distractions that I came across with lately.

But I don't consider this something to many at all. It's just that I felt like sharing it to some people who might not have known it yet…. Like me.

As a child, I went to mass with my mom. And as many of us did, some of those parts I hardly understood, not to mention the gestures that everyone makes on certain segments. But, again, like many of us did as a child, we just followed or mimicked our parents on everything they did during the service.

One thing in particular is the gesture that we make as we sang or recite Kordero ng Diyos [Lamb of God].

I never really knew the reason why my mom puts her right hand or her right chest as she recited it together with the others.

Years passed and as a teen, I think I stopped doing that.

But as an adult, I started doing it again. Funny how we realized a lot of things that our parents taught us when we reach a certain age. How we realized that they were indeed right on those things that they taught us as a child.

I still didn't understand what it meant or why it's done when I started doing it again.

A few years ago, after hearing mass with my sister, she asked me why and I didn't have any answers. The only thing I could tell her is that because Mommy taught us to do so.

Just recently, after a service, she again, asked me. But this time, I know she has the answer.

She learned from one of those masses she has been into that putting your right hand on your left chest while reciting Kordero ng Diyos [Lamb of God] is a gesture of humility and submitting yourself to Him.

I hope this gave you the answer, if you, too, had been asking but was timid to ask.

Side by Side

2 Cor 5:15

When I saw these flowers side by side, it's what immediately came into mind: He died, so that we may live.  But I had a hard time with the caption.  I didn't want to put it just like that.  I wanted to create a moment of ponder; for the whole message to sink in.

I hope it did.

The Month I Would Not Miss

As early as this month, we Filipinos in Dubai begin to wonder and ask each other when this month would start. Although many times they could predict the month, they couldn't exactly tell you what day. That is because they base the start of the holy month upon the appearance of the moon. I was on my Reader this morning and I saw this. So, for this year, Ramadan would start exactly on August 11.

I checked my blog for entries. Last year, there were about only one for August and three for September. I did this to check what I was writing about. Back in 2008, I was had a few entries but nothing actually connected to the month. I guess it was out of fear that my site would get blocked if I say something that is that is not in accordance with their race, religion and culture.

What I remember from last year is that my job required me to do a lot of field work. So that meant that, while on the streets and in the bus, I couldn't drink, eat or even chew gum. You can't even light a cigarette on the street while waiting for a bus.

Fasting begins as soon as the sun rises and ends when the sun sets. After the sun sets comes the Iftar. Iftar means breaking the fast and this is the time that you can eat, drink, take a bath, smoke, amongst other things that I am not aware about at all. What I remember was I endured a 42-degree-Celcius day outside the office and it wasn't fun. There was even a time that I wanted to pee but couldn't because I have sweated all my body's water content. I drank almost a liter of water the moment I got home just to hydrate myself so I can pee.

I guess this month is the month I wouldn't miss when in Dubai. But, thinking about it, I had good times with friends celebrating Iftar. Restaurants have good offers during this month like big dinner servings or combo servings for a very good price.

August is one of the hottest months of the year in Dubai, and the season is one of the hardest events to celebrate. I just hope they will find the Iftar equally rewarding as it was for me.

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The mosque above is in Ras Al Kaimah; taken during one of the very few road trips I made up north when I was in the country.

Three Questions

I am sad.

I received a message today that a dear friend of mine passed away last night. She has been fighting cancer for quite some time now, and I could say that it was a good fight.

We never really met, although we've been talking to each other for years now. If I am not mistaken, we met around year 2000 online and I think the communication was unintentionally broken somewhere around 2004 or 2005 when I kinda went offline most of the time. Then, I think we rekindled our communication when our friend succumbed to cancer I think in 2006. She was the one who broke the news to me. But the communication stopped there again.

We found each other again on Facebook last year. At that time, I have been seeing her updates and I thought I always saw something more than what she said. But I didn't ask. I learned to respect other people's different ways of dealing with whatever they are going through, so I figured it best to just let it be.

Until.

Until that time that she heard that I was on the same boat with her. I, too was diagnosed of the big C but was cleared after my December CT Scan. I got a message from her inquiring about my condition, replied that I am 'off the hook' and asked her how was it to be in this roller coaster ride. We called it 'our roller coaster ride' because we find it awkward to call it cancer. I asked how it was like to be in the ride longer than I have just been. She never really answered the question directly, but we started to talk about a lot of things. After a while, for some reason, we moved to e-mailing. Chatting was never our choice anymore. We found it more convenient to e-mail. And since it's not like we know each other personally and that we have yet to know more, we eventually wrote on our e-mails' subject: Three Questions. This is a move I initiated. On each e-mail, I could ask three questions about anything about her.

The only thing I feel like saying is the answer to this question: What is the newest thing you own? She said: pants and pullovers and a blue Samsonite shoulder bag. I colored it red because that's how she answers my e-mails. She inserts it in my letter and colors it red to signify that it's her reply.

My last question to her was: How was your summer when you were young? (I'm sure this would be worth more than three questions.)

She never got to answer this. But I got one last group e-mail from her for April. She wasn't pretending she was fine, nor was she pretending she was sick. It was just an update.

On her March update (a group e-mail again), she ended it with hoping for better days.

Now, she's gone.

And I still hope for better days.

My friend, here's to our happy, sad, roller coaster ride.

E. R.

This happened about a few weeks ago.

I visited a friend who is sick. Her husband was sick, too. We were having a good, afternoon conversation, until the time came that the husband asked to be brought to the hospital for severe stomach pain. We went straight to the E.R. of the provincial hospital with a couple of her relatives and house helps. It turned out that one of her relatives met a friend who was at the E.R. at that time. The chit-chat with her co-teacher took a while that we thought of asking her what was that all about.

Later on, here is the story. Co-teacher passed by a mother and her barely-a-month-old daughter hailing for a ride somewhere along an isolated road. Co-teacher took them to the hospital, but while on the way, of course, a short chat took place. We learned that the husband left them for good and that the infant was having difficulty breathing that's why she's taking her to the hospital.

At the hospital, the co-teacher couldn't just leave them. She stayed there; that's the reason why my friend's relative saw her. Co-teacher bought food for the mother, left some money because the infant needs some tests and medicines. But what co-teacher gave wasn't enough. So relative told us the story. She said the infant was such a beautiful girl. She said that she gave Php 100 to the mother. She was teary-eyed while telling the story because her heart goes for the mother and her child. She said that she wanted to give some more, but she has to think of her child, too.

I couldn't get this story out of my mind. Having gone through a medical condition myself, I feel for people like her. It's a good thing though, that there are still good souls out there who are willing to do something for people they don't know no matter how small this may be.

I told this story to a friend because she's been looking for ways on how to give a hand. But I understand that she's being too cautious on who to extend her helping hand. She doesn't want her hard-earned money to go to the wrong hands.

So, I told her, and now I am telling you, that maybe, the best place to go to if you really want to give a hand is the E.R. of a government hospital. There, you will be sure that people really need money. This is the place where people need to go when they do not want to, when they are not prepared to. This is the place where you can be rest-assured that the hand that you're willing to extend will truly make a difference - a difference as much as between life and death.

A Special Kind of Friday

This one of the reasons why it still feels to be home at this time of the year. This is the time to really look inside us and think about those things that happened to us - good and not-so-good. The past two years that I was away, I looked back during those times that I was part of this event. True, there were parts of our life that we spent this time up north, meaning the beaches. But we got over it.

There were also times that we went to the mountains to reflect on everything, too. Lying on the ground up on the mountain, the sea on one side and mountains on another, the stars upon you, you feel small, but overwhelmed in so many ways. I did it for five consecutive years. I had the fear of heights and nothing felt so bad as the first time. And then it was almost gone. After a bad fall at the place they call the Kalbaryo (Calvary), I didn't go the years after. I don't know if it was a bad decision to stop. But even if I want to, Mount Banahaw was closed for about ten years for restoration. I think I will have to find out if it is open again. I feel like I'm missing the mountains, and the feeling of awe in being there, without most of the conveniences.

This year is a very significant year. Having gone through an operation, the sad news of the biopsy, and then the gift of the CT scan result, there is no other reason for going except to thank HIM that I am: Admiring the little things around me, the joy of reading books, the laughter of a sit-com, to feel for other people's sorrows, and much more.

Can You Sleep While the Wind Blows?

Here's a beautiful story...