the stations of the cross at JMJ Madrid 2011 were absolutely powerful and prayerful. here is the 9th station, Jesus is Stripped of His Garments. before each station and after each station's prayer and meditation, there would be a song or instrumental piece of some sort. this here, is by far, one of the most moving stations that i experienced that hot afternoon. it gave me the chills - but in a a very moving, beautiful way. glad i was able to track it down on youtube!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
respond and value
read this and was compelled to share. the body of Christ is vast and all created are important - let us pray for the poor and the marginalized and continue to do so, everyday, keeping all of our brothers and sisters close to our hearts.
---
Listen to the Poor
When we understand that we are one family, our concern for others becomes both intimate and urgent. Jesus responds in a particular way to the poor and the marginalized. Let us pray for the grace to hear the poor of our world, respond to their cry and value their wisdom and experience.
Oír a los Pobres
Entendemos como una sola familia nos lleva a una
preocupación intima y urgente por los demás. Jesús responde de forma particular
a los pobres y los marginados. Oramos por la gracia de escuchar a los pobres de
nuestro mundo, responder a su clamor y valorar sabiduría y experiencia.
here and now by nouwen
read this reflection by Nouwen, and thought to myself, YES! this is beautiful. "The Word of God is not a word to apply in our daily lives at some later date; it is a word to heal us through, and in, our listening here and now." i have found that the more i dive into scripture myself, the more i am able to learn more about Jesus, the way he works, and just his life in general. there's so much to learn! hardest part, is getting started, and not just reading the words, but feeling the moments that Jesus faced and experienced, and realizing, hey, just maybe my friend, Jesus knows exactly what i'm feeling - he certainly has been through a lot. and endured so much more.
---
Discerning the Presence
The Gospels are filled with examples of God's presence in the word. Personally, I am always touched by the story of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth. There he read from Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
for he has anointed me
to bring good news to the afflicted.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives,
sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)
After having read these words, Jesus said, "This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening." Suddenly, it becomes clear that the afflicted, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed are not people somewhere outside of the synagogue who, someday, will be liberated; they are the people who are listening. And it is in the listening that God becomes present and heals.
The Word of God is not a word to apply in our daily lives at some later date; it is a word to heal us through, and in, our listening here and now.
The questions therefore are: How does God come to me as I listen to the word? Where do I discern the healing hand of God touching me through the word? How are my sadness, my grief, and my mourning being transformed at this very moment? Do I sense the fire of God's love purifying my heart and giving me new life? These questions lead me to the sacrament of the word, the sacred place of God's real presence.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
the sun of god is love
thought i would throw this your way. it is a good reminder for your day, as you are basking in the sun, driving around under the sun, walking under the sunlight's rays...God's creative goodness is indeed everywhere! may God's love be with you today.
---
Knowing God
Your missionary ancestors told Indian people that they were worshipping a false god when we pray to the sun. The sun is the most powerful physical presence in our lives. Without it, we could not live and our world would perish. Yet our reverence for it, our awes, was considered idolatry.
But your missionary ancestors misunderstood even that much, because we never worshipped the sun. We merely saw in it the reflection of the sacred, the Creator, and used its image to focus our prayers of thanksgiving for the Creator's life-giving power. It is, for us, a constant reminder of the creative power of God, as we greet the sun in the morning when we first arise and again in the evening. In between, as we go about our day, we constantly will see our shadow on the ground and will be reminded again of God's creative goodness. We can stop, look up, and say a short prayer whenever this happens.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
cabrini at JMJ 2011
...follow the blog i set up for the Cabrini - Stella Maris Province at the following link : http://cabriniwyd2011.wordpress.com
( read the reflections from the other WYD pilgrims! )
 |
| the entrance of the school where we are staying! :) |
here's one of the entries i wrote...
The excitement is starting to build as we quickly approach
attending world youth day! We started our journey at 5pm on August 10th,
where we (Norlyn, Mary Grace, and I) met up at SOSCFI (Save Our School Children
Foundation, Inc.) to gather all our belongings, do one last final check, and
get all our ducks in a row before heading out for our pilgrimage to Spain! We
had a sending-off ceremony, and members of the staff, family and friends,
joined in this prayer service.
As soon as we began the prayer, I got so excited for World
Youth Day! It was interesting because no longer was I in high school, attending
World Youth Day, as I so vividly remember back in 2002, but this time, I am
older (maybe not so much wiser!), and I am bringing two of our College Scholars
with me, under my wing. I reflected on how nine years later, I am returning to
this international celebration, amidst thousands of other people from around
the world, and this time, I am a Cabrini Mission Corps missioner. I am at a
completely different place than I was nine years ago when I attended WYD with
Steve Angrisano, Tony Melendez, and the rest of the Orange County parishes.
Such a blessing it is to be able to return back. No doubt it will be a
different experience.
We departed for the bus at 8pm and arrived in Manila around
2am on August 11th, with enough time to make it to our 6am flight to
Hong Kong. As we were driving to the airport in a taxi, I realized, AH! I
forgot my sleeping bag in the upper compartment! So, the taxi driver brought us
back to the airport, and of course the bus we rode was already on its way back
to Cubao…so, end of story – no sleeping bag for me! Completely bummed but also
realizing, hey, there are worse things that can happen on this two week
pilgrimage, we get to the airport, one of the first in line, and come to find
out, our flight to Hong Kong is delayed five hours…which means, we miss our
connection flight to France, and therefore, miss our connection from France to
Madrid.
Trying to work out various schedules with the agent at the
check-in counter, turns out the only available itinerary we can jump on, is to
take that Hong Kong flight which instead of departing at 6am, was now departing
at 11am, and then get to Hong Kong around 1pm…the catch is that, the next
flight from Hong Kong to Paris, France, is at 11pm! Which meant…10 hours
chillin’ in the airport. NOT FUN. Then from there, we were told we could get
our boarding pass in Paris, to get on a plane to Madrid at 9:35am on the 12th,
to arrive in Madrid at around 11:40am on the 12th. Originally, we
were supposed to arrive on the 11th at 9:45pm. So yes, 12 hours
later – not too bad…but, quite the trip!
What ended up happening, is that as soon as we landed in
Hong Kong, I saw my name on this large posterboard thing. Turns out Cathay
Pacific got us a room at Panda Hotel in Hong Kong, so that we can use it for
the day to rest and whatnot, and we were also provided with dinner. And so, we
took up the offer! Checked out of immigration to enter Hong Kong, hopped on a
bus to Panda Hotel and we were given an awesome room in the Executive Suite!
Pretty cool. We were able to take showers, watch TV, rest, and then before
dinner, I thought it would be a good idea to go over the Gospel of the Day and say
some prayers for the remainder of our travel. It was beautiful and we were able
to continue our reflections as we prepared for Spain. We laid out our candles
that we used from our sending-off prayer service and brought out our rosaries
too. It was nice.
Dinner was delicious! It was a buffet and I think I stuffed
my face – I was so excited at the variety of seafood and fruits. We checked out
of the hotel, hopped on the bus, got back to the airport and we were ready for
our flight to Paris. Twelve hours later, we landed in Paris, France, and I am
now sitting outside of our gate. So far, we have taken airplanes, buses, and
underground trains…eat, sleep, ride. That so far, has become our theme on our
pilgrimage! Eat, sleep, ride and pray. Sounds like a pilgrimage to me!
Now, waiting an hour until we can get on a bus to our gate,
to board our plane for Madrid – praying that everything works out! If this post
ever makes it onto the blog, that means all is well. Yes, praise the Lord! We
are on our way!
…and with that – the flight from Paris to Madrid went
smoothly, except for the agent having no record of our re-routing. But all
worked out, and the rest of the Stella Maris Province will be arriving in a few
hours! Looking forward to it all! :)
enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)