An Anonymous Sharing from a Virgin No More

Transcription

Inspiring You to Live a Fantastic Life
No. 276 Vol. 23
May 2013
Three Prescriptions to Reduce
Toxins from Your Body
There’s Such a Thing
as Holy Sex!
PROTECT
YOURSELF
FROM
MODERN
TOXINS
KERYGMA BARCODE.pdf
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RUPIAH 64,000
Raffy Blasco: Take Care
of Your Health the Natural Way
A Cry for Love:
An Anonymous Sharing
from a Virgin No More
Who Is She?
While everyone’s still dreaming, she rises to serve her family. She puts her husband and children’s needs
before her, making sure things are in order, so that their dreams will come true.
She gives life and nurtures it. Her light shines through the darkest of nights. Her touch and love makes
things all right.
Who is she? We call her by many names — Mother, Nanay, Mama, Mommy…
She is heaven’s heart made visible. What can we give to this beautiful gift that God has given to us? Our
unconditional love and highest respect… and these books that lift her up!
It’s time to give back the love she deserves. It’s our turn to nourish her soul with books that will bring her
even closer to God’s heart:
Happy Mother’s Day!
Order online at www.shepherdsvoice.com.ph or call 725-9999 and we will deliver your order straight to
your home or office for FREE within Metro Manila for a minimum order of P300. Shipping charges apply
for provincial orders.
Do you feel like you are imprisoned
by your present problems?
Do you want to go forward with your
dreams but are lost somehow?
Do you want to succeed in life but
feel like nothing is happening?
No matter how much you pray…
No matter how much you read the Bible…
You still feel stuck.
And you ask yourself, “How can I get unstuck and
finally become successful in life?”
Bestselling author Bo Sanchez has the answer for you in his lifechanging book: “Take charge; give all.”
Through each inspiring page, Bo invites you to take charge and give your all in seven crucial areas of
your life:
1. Focus
2. Identity
Bo Sanchez is a much sought-after Catholic lay
3. Emotions
preacher and bestselling author of more than 30
4. Values
books. As a public speaker and servant of God, he
5. Time
has received three recognitions from prestigious
6. Talent
award-giving bodies in the Philippines. But over
and above all these, he considers his relationship
7. Treasure
Once you do this, you will already be on the
way to determining your destiny and creating
incredible success.
with his wife, Marowe, and two sons, Benedict and
Francis, as his greatest achievement in life. They live in Manila,
Philippines.
Don’t miss the opportunity. You only have one life to live.
Take charge. Give all. Get your copy now.
For more information, log on to:
www.shepherdsvoice.com.ph
D
id you shake hands with someone today?
If your answer is “yes,” let me ask you a disturbing question:
Do you know what that hand touched before it touched yours? Scary. Here’s a scientific fact: The hand you held probably
contained millions of germs. I’m not joking. What kind of
germs? The kind of germs that kills human beings. Every square
inch of that hand was probably covered with layers upon layers
of germs.
But why aren’t you dying? Why aren’t you even getting
sick? Every day, you shake hands with people — and you seem
to be OK.
Here’s the truth: Germs don’t cause sickness. (Germs are
everywhere!) I know that’s a controversial statement, but it’s the truth.
So, if germs don’t cause sickness, what does?
A weak immune system.
I’m sharing this with you to make you understand what
causes us to sin.
Just like germs, temptations are everywhere.
Let me shock you: Temptations don’t cause you to sin.
That bottle of gin didn’t cause you to sin. That casino didn’t
cause you to sin. That girl in a mini-skirt and plunging neckline
The Boss
By Bo Sanchez
didn’t cause you to sin. That annoying, rude and obnoxious
officemate that tests your patience didn’t cause you to sin.
Instead, a weak spiritual immune system caused you to sin.
No, I’m not referring to your lack of religiosity.
There are religious people whose schedules are filled
to the brim with religious activities — going to Mass daily,
attending prayer meetings daily, reading the Bible daily,
praying the rosary daily, and wearing 16 scapulars around
their neck — but they’re rampant sinners. And they also have
the gall to be highly judgmental and critical of others.
A strong spiritual immune system isn’t about religion but
about relationships. Specifically, loving relationships. It’s about
whether you have a loving relationship with yourself, with
others and with God. In other words, your spiritual immune
system is about how much love you have in your heart.
Let me put it in another way. To make your physical
immune system strong, you need nourishing food. To make
your spiritual immune system strong, you need nourishing
love.
And when your spiritual immune system is strong, it’ll be
a little bit more difficult to fall into repeated sin.
May your dreams come true,
How to Fight
Temptation
the Right Way
Bo’s outfit courtesy of Golden ABC/Memo.
MAY 2013 • KERYGMA
1
Mailroom
I just read Rissa’s article, “Return, Not Give,
to God” in Kerygma’s September 2012 issue. I
want to share my experience of God’s generosity,
especially when you give Him what’s due Him.
I started tithing faithfully about two years ago.
I give 10 percent of all my income to God’s work.
Even when I am short of money, I make sure that
I do not touch what is due Him. One morning, my
husband saw me distressed and crying because I
needed money for my kid’s school fees. He gave me
some money but later that day, he learned that I
had given money to the scholarship foundation
of our church. He asked me why I gave my money
when I was already broke. I told him that the
money that I gave was really intended for the
Lord and could not be touched. Anyway, I think
he understood the situation.
Just a week ago, my daughter had dengue
and she had to be confined at the hospital. She
doesn’t have any health insurance, so we had to
shell out some cash as a deposit to the hospital
upon admission. During that time, I was a bit
worried where I would get the cash to pay for her
hospital bills. But I knew, deep in my heart, that
God would not fail me. And true to His promise,
there was an outpouring of prayers and support
from my family and friends. God took care of
our hospital bills! I didn’t have to shell out my
own money to pay for her confinement. Even
the money that we advanced to the hospital was
given back to us. God worked through my family
and friends. The total bill was P22,900 and He
gave me P23,000. I felt so overwhelmed by His
goodness and love. Truly, God cannot be outdone
in His generosity!
Thanks for reading my email. I just had to
share God’s faithfulness to His children.
Myleen
Via email
I started to love and embrace Kerygma since I was
23 and a member of the Singles for Christ (SFC).
With my meager salary, I ordered seven copies of
Kerygma with seven copies of Didache (still in
quarterly edition back then), which I distributed
to my household members.
Now, at age 40, I have grown to embrace
2
KERYGMA • MAY 2013
more the wisdom that Kerygma has given me. My husband is
now a Kerygma subscriber and I regularly share our copies with
my officemates. Afterwards, I keep them so I could send them to
a friend abroad who was once my household member in SFC.
Thank you for continuously inspiring people like us who
love to inspire other people as well. Keep it up!
Rizabelle Paredes-Consolacion
CFC-YFC Chapter Couple Coordinator
Ilian City
I can’t forget the date, December 5, 2012, when a worker at the
adoration chapel here in Butuan City Cathedral handed me
the December 2012 issue of Kerygma.
The word kerygma appeared strange to me and it
ridiculously sounded like kirig, a Visayan word that means
being electrocuted. I laughed out loud at this. But when I
started reading the magazine, my eyes were caught by the word
“Yes” in bold red in Bo Sanchez’s The Boss section. As I read the
article, I was amazed at how important it is to say yes to things,
which would eventually change you as a person, through God’s
moving Spirit.
I love to read and Kerygma is now one of my priorities when
it comes to reading materials. Looking forward to get more from
this life-changing magazine. More power and God bless.
Toffee Abuzo
Butuan City
We Want to hear from
you!
Send your message via email to editsvp@
shepherdsvoice.com.ph, through text to 0923-3784941, or by snail mail to The Editor at 60 Chicago St.,
Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines 1109.
You can also reach us through Kerygma Family. Log
on to www.kerygmafamily.com.
For subscription-related concerns, text or call Sarah
Discutido at 0922-814-7031 or email subscription@
shepherdsvoice.com.ph.
THE MILE-LONG
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
WORK AND VOCATION
W
hy do some people shine at their jobs while
others are bypassed, hardly creating a noticeable
ripple over what they do?
I believe the answer lies in the distinction
between work and vocation.
Think about it. Anyone can work. Everyone
has to! Unless you’re the son or daughter of
Pacquiao who stands to inherit billions from
your pound-for-pound king of a dad.
People create work when they realize they have
needs that have to be met.
That was me in 2003 when I found myself jobless.
The little savings I had was quickly evaporating. I was in
full-time ministry for many years before that, so I lived
and worked in the community center and my daily
needs were provided for. Believe it or not, at the age of
34, I realized for the first time that I needed money for every little move I made.
I needed money if I wanted to drive my car, to play badminton, to use my cell
phone. I even needed money if I wanted to look for a job!
With my glaring needs before me, I was willing to take on any job — even
writing scintillating fluff to sell cosmetics.
I got a callback from a multinational beauty company that asked
me to take a writing test. A woman came into the interview room and
recognized me. I was an obscure servant of the Lord back then but it
so happened that she had attended a few prayer meetings in our
community. She knew what kind of work I did and how dedicated
I was to serving the Lord.
She hesitated as she handed me their cosmetic catalog and
asked me to write descriptions for their different products.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Mabobobo ka dito,”
she warned me.
I just smiled and took the catalog. I needed work.
I did my best. But words like vivacious,
shimmering and flirty didn’t easily come to
mind when I thought of makeup or fragrances.
In other words, I didn’t get the job. Thank
God. Because then I found my way back to my
vocation. Which is a totally different thing.
Take note that I used the same gifts as I would
for “work.” Writing. Editing. Speaking or training.
Just Breathe
Living by Grace
By Rissa Singson-Kawpeng
For you it may be accounting. Or selling.
Or managing.
But vocation has spiritual clarity. You
know why you do or need to do what you are
doing. Vocation has inspiration. You receive
insight and illumination from above. Vocation
has fuel. You are motivated by a force outside
yourself, beyond what you can conjure from
within.
And this is the reason why
you shine.
You don’t mean to. At least
it’s not your primary goal. It’s
actually more of a consequence
of discovering and embracing
your vocation.
So find your vocation and you will be a
success. Guaranteed.
Why you need to find
your calling
“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you
to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been
called by God.” (Ephesians 4:1)
Email me at [email protected], subscribe to my
Facebook updates or visit my website rissasingsonkawpeng.
com.
What to Expect:
Starting with our June issue, we’re introducing
a new column entitled “Seasons: God in Every
Stage of Your Life.”
We have six columnists who will be
contributing their articles to this section
throughout the year. Each of them will address
a certain age range: Michele Alignay for the
children and youth; Jan Silan for the singles
and young professionals; Alan and Maribel
Dionisio for married couples; Earnest Tan for
the midlifers; Beth Melchor for those who
want to take the path of single blessedness;
and Rey Ortega for the seniors. I’m sure your
Kerygma reading experience will be richer
with their contributions.
Rissa’s oufit courtesy of cci cci located at The Ramp, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center.
3
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I’m Sarah!
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THE BO FILES
1
SPECIAL SECTION
The Boss
40
21
22
Introduction
Protect Yourself
from Modern
Toxins
Point of
Contact
28
Three Prescriptions
to Reduce Toxins
from Your Body
DEPARTMENTS
What’s
9
There’s Such a
Thing as Holy Sex!
TESTIMONIES
Inside
May 2013
2Mailroom
6 New You
7 Real Stuff
9 In the News:
Doing Right and
Choosing Right for
Elections 2013
10 Dear K
12 Feast Snapshots
14 KFam Insider
17 It Happened:
JHET: Like a Plane
That Soars and a
Fairy Tale That Is
Real
39 One Last Story:
Jesus Embraced
Abby
Doing Right and
Choosing Right
for Elections
2013
Jhet: Like a
Plane That Soars
Take Care of Your
Health the Natural
Way
17
39
COLUMNS
Jesus Embraced
Abby
3
Just Breathe
The Mile-Long
Difference Between
Work and Vocation
26
ABOUT OUR COVER MODEL
Mary Beverlyn Sapon, or Bevz, may be considered a nerd, having graduated from
a science high school in Manila and the state university in Diliman. But she is
actually a self-confessed frustrated model. She embarrassingly admits that being a
Kerygma cover model this month is a fantasy come true.
Bevz works as an Asset Management Officer for an international fast-food
chain. Though her job takes up so much of her time, she still manages to serve
the Lord in numerous ways. She is a Caring Group Head and a music minister at
The Feast Alabang. She is also an occasional blog contributor for Feast Alabang’s
website. Bevz likewise belongs to the third batch of trainors of the LOJ Training
Ministry. As if that’s not enough, she also serves as a lector/psalmist/commentator at
the St. Peregrine Laziosi Parish in Muntinlupa.
As a faithful offeror of talents, time and treasure, Bevz shares that she has
been truly blessed by the Lord. Turning 30 in October, she believes that God is
still cooking up more blessings in the coming years. She also hopes to continually
be a channel of blessings to others, through her service and with the blessings she
receives.
35
Catholic Soul
Who Is Your
Authority?
38
32
A Cry for Love
K Preacher
Life’s Balance and
Rhythm
chairman of the board and publisher BO SANCHEZ • editor-in-chief and production manager RISSA SINGSON-KAWPENG • managing editor TESS V. ATIENZA • creative director MIKE
CORTES • graphics director REY DE GUZMAN • staff writer MARJORIE ANN DUTERTE • contributing writers BELLA ESTRELLA, ALVIN FABELLA, LELLA SANTIAGO, JOY SOSOBANROA • photographers DANIEL SORIANO, DAKILA ANGELES • columnists ROSANNE ROMERO, JON ESCOTO • sales and marketing manager JOSEPH MARTINEZ • administration and
finance manager WENG CEQUEÑA
KERYGMA. A Greek word meaning Proclamation of the Gospel. It is a Catholic inspirational magazine. It aims to be an evangelistic tool to all nations, providing
Scriptural, practical and orthodox teachings to Catholics, particularly those in the Catholic Renewal, as an alternative to present-day magazines. It is also committed
to fostering the renewal and unity of the whole Christian people. Philippine copyright Shepherd’s Voice Publications, Inc. 2013. No part of this magazine may be
reproduced without permission. KERYGMA is published monthly by Shepherd’s Voice Publications, Inc., whose editorial and business offices are located at 60 Chicago
St., Cubao, 1109 Quezon City. Tel. Nos.: 725-9999, 411-7874, 725-1190. Fax: 727-5615. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.shepherdsvoice.com.ph.
New You
How do you
love your
Mom?
Tips for personal development
THE
LANGUAGE
OF FLOWERS
Let us
count
the
ways!
I
n the Philippines, May is a month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. It culminates in the Flores de Mayo (Flowers of May), where
children and adults offer flowers to Mama Mary during Mass as a
sign of their love for her.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance Period, flower
symbolism was used in religious art. Mary gardens were created by
churches and dedicated to Mama Mary with flowers symbolizing
her virtues and the significant events in her life.
The use of the symbolic meaning of flowers was developed to a
high degree during Victorian times. Here are a few of them:
• Lily represents chastity, virtue, the Holy Trinity, faith,
wisdom, chivalry, royalty, beauty, mother, sweetness,
virginity, purity, majesty, gaiety and gratitude. Lilies are
associated with the annunciation of the birth of Jesus by
Angel Gabriel.
• Daisy symbolizes purity, innocence, loyal love, beauty,
patience and simplicity. Daisies are often depicted
in meadows in Medieval paintings, also known as a
“flowery mead.” Daisies were used in Mary gardens and is
symbolically connected to St. John.
• Rose means love, remembrance, passion (red), purity
(white), happiness (pink), fidelity (yellow), and beauty. The
rose symbolizes Mary herself, known as the “The Mystical
Rose.” A white rose represents Mary’s purity, red for her
sorrows and the Blood of Christ, gold for Mary’s glory, and
red and white for her visitation. Roses and lilies were said
to have filled Mary’s empty tomb when it was opened by
the Apostles.
M
ark your calendars this coming May 12. It is time
to celebrate the greatest woman in your life —
your mother. Here are simple and loving ways you can
honor her on her special day:
1. Write her a poem or a letter. Tell her how much you
appreciate all the things she does for you. Thank her for
all the love she’s given to you and your kids, if any. A card
with kind words from the whole family on what makes
her the best mother will surely make her feel loved.
Include flowers to make it extra special!
2. Cook Breakfast. Start her day by preparing her
favorite meal and serving a warm, delicious breakfast in
bed. Let the children serve it while serenading her with
her favorite song.
3. Give her a massage. A soothing back rub will always
be welcome. Hug and embrace your mother today no
matter how old you are! Don’t let her do any household
chores on this day; instead, serve her gladly by doing
her regular tasks for her, such as washing the dishes.
Treat her to a relaxing massage at a spa.
Source: http://www.wikihow.com
Sources: http://www.livingartsoriginals.com and http://www.fisheaters.com
S
weet potatoes are readily available, inexpensive and highly nutritious.
Rich in Vitamin B6, they help reduce the chemical homocysteine in
our bodies, which has been linked to degenerative diseases. It contains
vitamins C and D and is high in carotenoids, which strengthens our immune
system to fight off diseases. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of
magnesium, which is the relaxation and anti-stress mineral. It is necessary
for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function. It also
contains potassium, which helps in relaxing muscle contractions, reduces
swelling, and protects and controls the activity of kidneys.
Source: http://www.care2.com
6
KERYGMA • MAY 2013
Quick Health Tip:
Sweet Potatoes
Wombs for Hire:
Concerns Voiced for
Surrogate Mothers
W
ith an increase in same-sex marriages, there is also an increased
demand for surrogate mothers bearing babies for these
partnerships. This situation has raised concerns over the exploitation of
women in developing countries by Western couples.
Ireland’s Iona Institute’s report, titled The Ethical Case Against
Surrogate Motherhood: What We Can Learn from the Law of Other
European Countries, noted that:
“Surrogacy compromises the dignity of the child by making the
child the object of a contract— a commodity. It compromises the dignity
of the mother, even if her participation is voluntary, by merely treating
her as a ‘womb for hire.’”
The report noted that due to the high costs involved in surrogacy,
couples tend to think that they deserve children who are more likely
to be good-looking and successful in life. They prefer donors who are
good-looking and have high IQs. Many clinics also use pre-implantation
diagnosis to screen for genetic defects and to select the sex of the baby.
“Women’s bodies become commodities through which others can
purchase what they wish to have, and almost all of the care, concern and
medical attention is directed at the child while the surrogate mother is
left to fend for herself,” the report said.
Even though surrogate mothers are aware of the commercial
nature of their pregnancy, it is inevitable that many still get emotionally
attached to the child they bore. The Iona Institute report noted that
these mothers will experience psychological consequences in the long
term. The situation will be even worse for surrogate children when they
learn that they were given up by their mother not because of adverse
circumstances, but as a result of a commercial arrangement.
Surrogacy reduces both the mother and the baby to commodities
and, as this is a violation of human dignity, it should be banned by
governments, the Iona Institute insisted.
Adoption is different from surrogacy, the report stressed. In adoption
the birth mother makes a decision based on what is best for the child,
while in surrogacy, the decision is made by the adopting parents based
on what is best for themselves. “It is therefore inherently adult-centred
in a way adoption is not,” the report said.
Source: http://www.zenit.org
Real Stuff
Inmates Help Prepare
World Youth Day
Souvenirs
B
razil’s inmates are doing their share in the
preparations for the World Youth Day in Rio de
Janeiro this coming July 23. They are making religious
products for the Catholic youth who will come from all
over the world.
Some 50 men and 30 women were trained for
this project, working six hours, four days a week.
The prisoners are crafting rosaries, bracelets and
other articles for the WYD packages. They also have
meditation and prayer while at work.
Paulo Fernando Melo, vice-president of the
National Pro-Life and ProFamily Association and one
of the partner proprietors of
Jabuti Religious Articles, noted
that the inmates’ prison terms
can be reduced through their
participation in
this work
program of crafting religious
articles. “And it (the new skill) might be useful for them
when they return to society,” Melo said.
The program puts into practice the truth contained
in St. Matthew’s Gospel (25:36): “I was in prison and you
came to visit me.”
“Our intention is to spread this program to other
prisons, to increase the number of prisoners in Brasilia
who wish to take part in it, and to motivate other
businesses so that they will establish work associations
with inmates and awaken the desire to help in initiatives
of this sort,” Melo said.
He added that after the World Youth Day, they
will teach the inmates how to make vestments, habits,
veils and other clothing items of the Catholic liturgical
tradition.
Source: http://www.zenit.org
St. Gianna Beretta Molla
Saints at a Glance
Born and Died: October 4, 1922 – April 28, 1962
S
t. Gianna is the first first female physician to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church. She
was a pediatrician who loved children and whose patients loved her dearly. She was married to an
equally devout man, Pietro Molla. Together, they built a truly Christian family, calling their children
as “treasures” from God.
On her fourth pregnancy, Gianna developed fibroma on her uterine wall. The doctors gave her
options, which she flatly refused as they would harm her child. The third option required a delicate
surgery that would not disturb the baby but would give complications for Gianna’s body after giving
birth. She chose the latter. A week after giving birth to Gianna Emanuela, she died.
Gianna lived her vocation fully as wife, mother and doctor. She is the patron saint of mothers,
physicians and unborn babies. She was canonized on May 16, 2004. Her feast day is on April 28.
Source: http://www.stjmod.com
7
In the News
DOING RIGHT
AND CHOOSING
RIGHT FOR
ELECTIONS 2013
By Joy Sosoban-Roa
S
a isip at sa salita, dapat tama. Lalong-lalo
na sa gawa, dapat tama (In thought and
word, should be right. So much more in
deed should we be right.)
These are part of the lyrics of the rap,
“Dapat Tama,” an advocacy of one of our
major media networks for the 2013 elections.
The song encapsulates our hopes, dreams and frustrations as a
people — of always starting again, of going forward and backwards.
And then it says, “And yet there could be a better future for our
children if only we would do something about it.”
We do want our future to be bright — that is a universal (or
nearly universal) desire for right-thinking Filipinos. The question is:
Do we know what is “right” when it comes to choosing who to vote
for this May 13?
Facing the Question
To help voters out, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible
Voting (PPCRV) and the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan came up with
the “10 Commandments for Responsible Voting,” some of which are
below:
#6. Do not vote for candidates using guns, goons, gold and
glitter.
#7. Do not vote for candidates tainted with graft and corruption.
#9. Do not vote for candidates living an immoral life.
Still, the question begs to be asked: How will you and I know
who among the candidates fall under these three categories?
The simple — and right — answer is for each of us to share in
that load of running our country by making sure our definition of
“tama,” or right, comes from an informed choice.
Arriving at an Informed Choice
How does one arrive at an informed choice? Fundamentally, it
means stepping into the sea of available information about the
candidates, sifting through them, and taking the time to pray and
to discern. As guideline #3 goes: “Strive to understand the issues,
platform and programs of candidates and parties campaigning for
your vote.”
That is Step 1 of formulating an informed choice. Step 2 is more
challenging: “Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will
of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
That renewal comes from reading Scripture and Church
documents, from listening to good preaching, and from
meditating and applying them into our life. Translating the
verse to our elections, it means that we won’t be able to
discern who the Lord wants to rule in our country unless
we have learned to change our way of thinking from that
of the world.
When we have done this, then perhaps we can
confidently face these guidelines:
#1. Vote according to the dictates of your conscience.
#8. Do not vote for candidates simply because of “utang
na loob,” popularity, good looks or pakikisama.
#10. Always put the welfare of the country as top
priority in choosing the candidate you will vote
for.
Getting Down to the Brass Tacks
Here are three suggestions that you can do daily to share
in the work of nation-building through this year’s elections:
1. Read, listen or watch (TV, YouTube, etc) to get
updated on what issues or events are shaping the
elections.
2. Get to know ONE candidate. Read up on the
person, check out his website, know the bills he
passed or was part of, and other activities that the
person is involved in.
3. Share what you know to at least ONE other person.
A Final Note
On May 13, we will be voting for a total of 18,053 total
elective posts. (Don’t panic. That’s just the total — you don’t
have to write that many names.) Let us strive to accomplish
what the song says:
Pagdating ng eleksyon, ito ang dapat na panata.
Isulat kung sino ang talagang sa tingin mo’y tama.
At sa araw na napakabihira lang dumaan,
Dapat sa may katuturan.
(When election time comes, this should be the
promise.
To write down who you really think is right
And on that day that seldom comes,
Do what is meaningful.)
Dear K
My Mother
Threatened to
Commit Suicide
If I Enter the
Seminary
I’m a second year college student from a Catholic institution.
It was during my high school days when I first heard and felt
God calling me to the vocation of priesthood. Since then,
many opportunities came my way that enabled me to enter the
seminary. Each time an opportunity came, I’d tell my parents
I want to go and let them understand that God wants me to
become a priest. Unfortunately, they would always reject me.
Last summer, I received an opportunity again. I was fully
decided to respond to God’s call no matter what. I was willing
to sacrifice everything for Him, with or without my parents’
permission. But my mother threatened that if I continue my
plan, she’d commit suicide. I didn’t know what to do. I was torn
between my mother and my vocation. I was afraid to take the
risk, so I did not continue my plan.
But I’m not setting aside the fact that, someday, I can
still become a priest. Last Christmas break, someone sent me a
message on Facebook, asking if I was willing to become a priest
and he promised that he could help me. He gave me time to
think and to discern. But I’m just worried about my family. Can
I trust this stranger for now and take this opportunity to finally
respond to God’s call? Is this the right time for me to answer His
call? Please help me decide.
Nash Q. M.
Dear Nash,
I was shocked when I read the problem you are
facing. There you are, feeling called by God, willing to
respond by entering a seminary — and being hindered
by no less than your parents. The threat of your mother
is really terrible.
Just in case she would really do what she threatens to
do, you would feel guilty for the rest of your life. So now,
what can you do?
I share with you the experience of an Adoration
Sister. She had a similar problem. Her parents did not
allow her to enter the convent but insisted that she
become a dentist. The young woman did what her
parents demanded and studied dentistry. The day she
got her diploma, she handed it over to her parents and
said, “Here, I fulfilled what you wanted me to do. Now
I will do what God wants me to do.” Then she entered
the convent.
Maybe that is also the answer to your problem.
Finish college and once you have done so and reached
the age when your parents cannot demand what you do
with your life, you can follow the call of the Lord.
In the meantime, pray for yourself that your vocation
remains strong. Pray also for your parents that they may
change their mind. Try, if possible, to be in contact with
a seminary and the priests there — until you will be able
to enter and become a priest yourself.
Rest assured of my prayers for you and, if you like,
you may stay in touch with me.
Fr. Rudy
Email your questions to [email protected]. Or if you need to talk to someone, call (632)
726-4709 or 726-6728 to contact a Light of Jesus Pastoral Care Center’s counselor. Telephone counseling
is 24 hours from Monday to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Face-to-face counseling is by
appointment. For correspondence counseling, email [email protected] or go to www.
kerygmafamily.com.
Or Call
(632) 725-9999
Pregnant? Confused? Abortion is not the answer. Contact Grace to Be Born at 0917-816-4700 or
email [email protected].
You may also contact Pro-life Philippines at (632) 733-7027.
10 KERYGMA • MAY 2013
When Fr. Rudy Horst came to the Philippines
in 1984, he was first assigned to the Immaculate
Conception Parish in Cubao. It was where he
came in contact with the still young Light of
Jesus Family. In 1990, he moved to Christ the
King Mission Seminary, where he still serves as
one of the spiritual directors of the seminarians
and teaches Religious Education. He also
teaches Holy Scriptures at the Maryhill School
of Theology and the Divine Word School of
Theology in Tagaytay.
How Can I Help
My Son Grieve
When I Am Also in
Deep Sorrow?
Last year was a difficult time for our family. We lost
our youngest child to a sudden sickness that left us all
shocked and brokenhearted. We are slowly recovering
from our loss with the help of prayers from relatives
and friends from work and our community.
I saw my young boy cry one time upon seeing the
picture of his sibling and he said that he missed him
so much. How do we help him ease the pain of his
young heart as we are grieving also? Is it possible for
the pain to go away while we keep his memory alive?
How do we help our other children move on but still
remember our sweet angel who has gone to heaven?
Healing Mom
Michele S. Alignay is a registered guidance counselor
and is currently taking up her Ph.D. in Family Studies at
Miriam College. For 12 years, she worked as a guidance
counselor handling grade school children for premier
exclusive schools. Today, she is an associate counselor
at the Love Institute and also holds consultancy and
counseling work for schools on guidance and childparenting programs. Michele is happily married and a
fulfilled mom to two growing children.
Dear Healing Mom,
I condole with the loss of your child. The road to
grieving and healing is a process. Embracing the pain
and grieving is healthy, but you need to move on and
make the most out of it. The support from your family
and community, who are praying with you, is a blessing
and comfort. This can help you in your own process and
recovery.
Your young boy needs to grieve, too. Let him cry
if needed, and do cry for yourself, too. Let him express
his loss through drawings, talking, or allowing him to
be quiet. But you need to be on your toes and not allow
yourself to be so absorbed by your own pain, as it will be
difficult for you to help your living child.
At present, seek activities for you and your son to
give you both a new breath of experiences and different
routines in life. Connect with your son by regularly
spending time with him, doing the things he enjoys.
Make this date regular, as this is a way for you to build
memories together and for him to feel your presence.
Be sure that you make it enjoyable for him as well as
for you. It is important to build your relationship with
each other. Do note that it is likewise a must for you to
be positive and do this as a happy and life-giving person.
Time will heal your wounds of loss but it is in
deliberately winning over your pain that you become
a better person. Keep your son’s memory alive but be
cautious and objective if doing so will cause unhealthy
patterns that would impede you from moving on. You
may keep your son’s memory alive through rituals, like
doing something you enjoyed doing with your “angel”
when he was still alive, or you may keep his special
things in a memory box. You may also talk about him
once in a while, but focus more on the things that will
uplift you and your living child, and not so much on
things that you will cry about.
Be clear with your goal — that is, helping each other
move on and celebrating life for your family now. It will
not be easy, but grieving and living is a conscious and
continuous process, unique to each one, even members
of your family. May God bless your pain and turn it into
a worthwhile life-giving experience!
Michele
MAY 2013 • KERYGMA 11
Feast
Snapshots
People
Power
for God
Feast Bicutan Launch
Text by Osy Erica
Photos by IC de Guzman
P
rayer brigades, people standing for what they
believe in, yellow confetti. These defined the
People Power Revolution of 1986.
Fast forward to February 23, 2013, two
days shy of the 1986 People Power Revolution
anniversary, a reenactment of some sort
happened at SM Bicutan Cinema 1. The cinema
was filled to the brim with people mostly
clad in yellow, praying and standing for what
they believe in: God’s unending love. It was a
revolution alright, but a revolution for God.
With the birth of The Feast Bicutan came a new source of
hope for better things to come. The Feast Alabang senior builder
Arun Gogna led the spirit-filled worship, while The Feast Bicutan
builder Velden Lim gave the assurance that we can have the best,
because we have the best ally: God.
What are you waiting for? Head on over to SM Bicutan Cinema
1 every Saturday at 6.30 p.m. and experience better things coming
your way.
Come and See! Discover for Yourself Why
THE FEAST Is Called the Happiest Place on Earth!
FEAST
VENUE
DAY
TIME
FEAST BUILDER
Alabang 1
2nd Floor, Festival Mall (Near X-Site Entrance), Alabang,
Muntinlupa City
Sunday
8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Arun Gogna
Alabang 2
2nd Floor, Festival Mall (Near X-Site Entrance), Alabang,
Muntinlupa City
Sunday
10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Arun Gogna
Alabang 3
2nd Floor, Festival Mall, (Near X-Site Entrance), Alabang,
Muntinlupa City
Sunday
2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Arun Gogna
Alabang 4
Muntinlupa City
Sunday
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Jonathan Yogawin
Alabang 5
Muntinlupa City
Wednesday
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Jonathan Yogawin
Alabang 6
Muntinlupa City
Saturday
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
James Nicolas
Baliwag
Cinema 4, SM Baliwag, Bulacan
Saturday
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Marvin Tan
BGC
5/F, Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global
City
Saturday
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
George Gabriel
Cardona
Mary Help of Christians Hospital, National Road, Barangay
Calahan, Cardona, Rizal
Saturday
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Nap Col-long
Dasmariñas
Imus
Cinema 5, Robinsons Dasmariñas, Cavite
Cinema 5, Robinsons Imus, Aguinaldo Highway, Imus, Cavite
Saturday
Sunday
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
10:30 a.m. - 12:30p.m.
Boggs Burbos
Rex Robillos
Laguna 1
Feast Laguna Family Center, 3/F Central Mall, Binan City,
Laguna
Sunday
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Jon Escoto
Laguna 2
Feast Laguna Family Center, 3/F Central Mall, Binan City,
Laguna
Saturday
10:00 a.m. - 11:15a.m.
Jon Escoto
Makati 1
AIM Conference Center, Benavidez corner Paseo de Roxas,
Makati City
Thursday
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Randy Borromeo
Makati 2
Cinema 3, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City
Sunday
9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Randy Borromeo
Makati 3
Mondragon House, 2/F Ballroom, H.V. Dela Costa St. (near
Tordesillas Street), Salcedo Village
Tuesday
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Jan Silan
Malolos
The Cabanas Pavillon, Longos, Malolos, Bulacan
Friday
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
John Cruz
Manila 1
Cinema 4, SM Manila
Friday
4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Obet Cabrillas
Manila 2
Cinema 4, SM Manila
Friday
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Obet Cabrillas
Marikina
Bluewave Marikina’s Activity Center, Marikina City
Sunday
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Pio Español
Marilao 1
Barcelona Academy, Metrogate Complex, Marilao, Bulacan
Thursday
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Alvin Barcelona
Marilao 2
Cinema 2, SM Marilao
Saturday
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Alvin Barcelona
Meycauayan
Supima Square (Save More), Malhacan, Meycauayan
Friday
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Alvin Barcelona
Ortigas 1
Cinema 3, Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas
Monday
7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Vic Español
Ortigas 2
Sunday
10:15 a.m. - 12:00p.m.
Vic Español
Ortigas 3
Sunday
1:00 a.m. - 3:00p.m.
Joel Saludares
Pasig 1
Valle Verde Country Club
Sunday
10:00 a.m. - 12:00p.m.
Obet Cabrillas
Pasig 2
Valle Verde Country Club
Sunday
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Obet Cabrillas
PICC 1
Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City
Sunday
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Bo Sanchez
PICC 2
Sunday
9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Bo Sanchez
PICC 3
PICC 4
Sunday
Sunday
10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Bo Sanchez
Alvin Barcelona
QC
Bureau of Soils and Water Management, Visayas Ave., QC
Sunday
9:00 p.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Eng Si
QC
Bureau of Soils and Water Management, Visayas Ave., QC
Sunday
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Eng Si
Sucat
Cinema 4, SM Sucat, Parañaque
Friday
7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Adrian Panganiban
Taytay
Valley Fair, Taytay, Rizal
Sunday
9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Pio Español
Valenzuela
Cinema 1, SM Valenzuela
Sunday
1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Eng Si
Bicutan
Cinema 1, SM Bicutan, Parañaque
Saturday
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Velden Lim
K Fam insider
Volunteers from different Feasts help out in the
annual outreach activity of the LOJ Prison Ministry.
Prisoner or Free —
God Loves Us All
By Bella Estrella
Photos by Dave Apalla
I
n my 15 years of gracing the event and bringing entertainment artists here since 1998, this is the first time that it
rained,” Adrian Panganiban, singer and Sucat Feast builder, remarked.
But the rains that Saturday, January 12, 2013, did not dampen the atmosphere of generosity and gratefulness as
485 inmates happily participated in the annual post-Christmas and pre-Valentine program conducted by the Light
of Jesus Family’s Prison Ministry at the 82-year-old Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.
Highlights of the event included the gift-giving, raffle draw and entertainment numbers by guest artists.
Aside from this annual program, the Prison Ministry, headed by Miriam “Yam” Reyna, also conducts prayer
meetings inside the CIW every second Saturday of the month. Of the 2,015 inmates currently housed at the CIW,
more than 400 attend the monthly prayer meetings.
As Yam Reyna said, “Whether you are inside or outside these walls, the Lord gives you His love. God wants us to be
loving people.” This is what they, in the prison ministry, try to do — let God’s love penetrate the walls of CIW and reach the
hearts of its inmates.
Entertainment Galore
Hosted by Beth Corral and Nick Resurreccion, the program showcased the singing and dancing skills of the inmates. The
CIW music ministry, through its joyful songs, brought the audience to their feet. The dance troupe’s moving interpretation
of “Shout to the Lord” and the elderly’s modern dance number brought both tears and laughter to many faces. Some CIW
employees joined in the presentations.
Guest singer Clare Anne, testifying that she was a drug dependent for more than 10 years, sang Mandy Moore’s “Only
Hope,” reminiscing that she triumphed over her ordeal by the grace of God and with the help of her parents. Her successful
rehabilitation gave high hopes to the women that they, too, can overcome with help of God.
Adrian Panganiban, Sucat Feast builder, is a
faithful friend of the inmates at CIW.
Yam Reyna leading the opening prayer
and worship.
Raffle prizes and gifts, donated by generous
sponsors, waiting to be given away to the
inmates.
Ms. Lulu Santos, Religious and
Recreation Officer of CIW, gives
everyone a hearty welcome.
Inmates lining up for their Christmas gifts.
Graced by Feast attendees from PICC, Makati, Valle Verde,
Quezon City and Taytay, the program teemed with more fun, jokes,
songs and entertainment brought by guest artists led by Adrian
Panganiban. Raffle prizes, numbering over a hundred, were given
away. Gift-giving culminated the event.
On that day, the LOJ Prison Ministry started the year bright
inside CIW by bringing presents and many people’s presence. The
event united the prisoner and the free — proclaiming the message
that everyone is special and loved by God because we are all His
children.
Interested to share your time, talent and treasure to the LOJ
Prison Ministry? Don’t hesitate! Get in touch now with Yam
Reyna (0922-0294-3183) or Beth Corral (0933-235-9571).
You may also deposit your donations directly to the Banco
de Oro account of the Light of Jesus Community Foundation
(Savings Account No. 397-010-5927). Please send a photocopy
of the deposit slip with your name, address and contact number
to Yam or Beth for proper acknowledgment and receipt.
Beth Corral and Nick Resurreccion hosted the program.
It Happened
Jhet had a meaningful time visiting the Holy Land early this year.
JHET:
LIKE A PLANE
THAT SOARS
and a Fairy Tale
That’s Real
By Bella Estrella
Photos courtesy of Jejette Nocum
and Jhet Torcelino-van Ruyven
W
Jhet’s visits always give joy to her parents, Tatay
Amon and Inay Lita.
Jhet and family skiing in Whistler, British
Columbia, Canada.
Jhet, Michelle, Ted and Catherine celebrating a
special moment.
Jhet’s amazing life story garnered for her a
People of the Year award from People Asia
magazine in 2005.
hile vending fruits to foreigners along the Matabungkay Beach, a well-known tourist spot
in Batangas, with a bilao (woven basket) on top of my head and with my skin darkened by
the scorching heat of the sun during my younger days, I once imagined that I would one
day be rubbing elbows with foreigners, not as a vendor, but as an equal.
I wrote down my dreams and pretended that I was already there — with all the
details, sights, sounds and feelings. I visualized how I would want things to happen. The
magic began inside my mind, yes, but I took action. And by God’s design, my dreams
came true!
Like a Jet Plane Soaring High
I was born in Pader, Batangas, to a poor and big family with 12 children. My father was
a family driver and my mother, a vendor. I sold mangoes, rice cakes, fish, vegetables,
candies and pan de sal (salt bread) in our neigborhood after school and on weekends.
A pivotal moment in my life came when Monsignor Antonio “Derps” Unson, for whom
my father worked, helped me get a scholarship. Through his recommendation, I was able
to take a college scholarship test at La Concordia College, and I passed with flying colors.
I could have chosen a four-year business course, but I opted for a two-year medical
secretarial course so that I could immediately help my parents and my younger siblings
financially.
It was at La Concordia College where I got my nickname. Sister Eliza Cervantes, a
young nurse and student nun of the Daughters of Charity, became a very good friend of
mine. Sister Eliza coined the name “Jhet” after the jet plane, and added an ‘h’ to make the
comparison to the plane less obvious. She said I was
small and moved very fast like a jet. Unknowingly,
that nickname would eventually describe my life
journey.
After finishing my two-year course, I got
employed at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center
in Greenhills. I rose from the ranks fast — from
admitting secretary to telephone operator to
cardiovascular technician to executive secretary
of the medical director in a short period of time.
At this point, with the gracious support of Dr.
Reminiscing her youth as a vendor during a
Billote, the medical director of the hospital, I was
vacation in Pader, Batangas in early 2013.
able to pursue a four-year business course, which
I took up at night at the Jose P. Rizal College, now called Jose Rizal University, after my
work in the hospital.
On to Greater Heights
Right after graduation, I was offered a job in the most modern hospital in Yemen, my first
stint outside the country in 1984.
There, I met Mother Teresa of Calcutta in a small house of the Sisters of Charity where
I was a volunteer. I was charmed by the calmness and serenity of this woman who has
been called “the living saint.” It was as if I was seeing an angel in person.
And my good fortune continued. I transferred to an oil company in Yemen where my
salary rose to more than three times of that in the hospital.
My love life also took shape as I met Ted van Ruyven, a Dutch aviation engineer who
came from a devout Catholic family. Our friendship and short courtship led to a grand
wedding at the plush Manila Hotel in 1987. Eventually, we left Yemen. We traveled to
other countries such as Kenya and the Netherlands, and we settled in Surrey, British
Columbia, in Canada. We are gifted with two daughters, Michelle Christine and Catherine
Maria.
Even as a wife and mother in a new country, I continued to exercise my entrepreneurial
spirit. As a stay-at-home mom, I accepted typing and tutorial jobs. Equipped with selling
experience and practical marketing strategies that I learned at a very young age, I took
interest in selling educational toys so my young children could also benefit from them.
The impressive sales incentives of the company motivated me so much. Using my selling
skills and imagination, I was able to meet and exceed the sales quotas and earned all
incentive trips for Ted and myself, and lodgings in five-star hotels with my family.
In 1994, I set up my own print business — Digi-Print Graphics Plus
— in Surrey, Canada which provided office supplies, print and graphics
services to local business customers in the area. Establishing an
extensive network of contacts and gaining satisfied and loyal customers,
I got nominated as Business Woman of the Year In 1996. All of these
happened because I never stopped learning, innovating, exploring my
full potentials, and giving my best in all that I did.
Truly Grateful
During my elementary, high school, and college days, I was the poorest
among my classmates. I could not even afford to buy my favorite Chiz
Curls (a snack item), but I never complained about poverty, nor the
back-breaking tasks of carrying heavy loads as I peddled my wares or
hauled water from a well that I had started doing when I was a child.
I’ve always been grateful to God for all I had, and because of it, I believe
that He helped me rise from a poverty-stricken childhood to living an
abundant life.
In 2004, I met Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the New York Times’
bestselling series, Chicken Soup for the Soul. After hearing my story, he
encouraged me to write a book about my life. I began to think, “If I write
a book, I can plant seeds of hope and touch millions of lives.”
And so, in 2005, my autobiography, The Tale of Juliet: You Have the
Power to Change Your Life, came out. It became an instant bestseller in the
Philippines and on Amazon. In writing my story, I am paying it forward: I
donated a portion of the proceeds to Gawad Kalinga, a Filipino-founded
organization that aims to alleviate poverty in the Philippines and in
other countries.
Choosing What Matters Most
Life truly is not all roses. Aside from living in extreme poverty in my
youth, I also experienced how it was to be terribly heartbroken in my
early adulthood. I have known how it was to become unsure of what
was in store for me when I made decisions. But with faith in God, I always
did what I knew was best, and I kept moving forward. As I wrote in my
book, “Hurtful moments are but a camouflage for greater things meant
to be.”
In 2005, I was selected by People Asia magazine as one of the
People of the Year Awardees in the Philippines for spreading hope
and inspiration. I received many invitations to speak, hold media
interviews and appearances all over the Philippines, Asia, Europe and
North America. My newfound fame and recognition, however, did not
make my joy complete because while many people showered me with
praises, awards and accolades, I was missing my husband’s presence. My
marriage took some twists and turns and experienced rough patches.
Too much time away from the family and being soaked up in busy
schedules and engagements almost cost me our marriage.
Then in 2009, I was diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer.
All those incidents led me to make life-changing decisions. I wheeled
myself onto the road to recovery. I took it as a perfect opportunity to
look inside and ask questions. What is the most important thing to me?
Have I been the best person in our relationship?
I took a sabbatical leave from business and public life. I even got rid
of my cell phone for three years. I set myself off to becoming the best
person in our marriage, and I sought physical and spiritual healing. To
free myself from the stress of running a business, I sold my 15-year-old
company and focused instead on investing in passive income streams.
By consciously spending more quality time with my husband and
family, my scarred marriage was saved and our love bloomed once
again.
I was also healed completely from cancer, and I have
been living an active and healthy lifestyle ever since.
My experiences have taught me to always ask
for divine guidance, and then believe that divine
orchestration will follow. Everything happens for a
reason. I may not always see why right away, but it
happens to serve us all.
Having risen from poverty, I know that money
and fame cannot buy love. Living a balanced life in all
aspects — personal relationships, family, career, social
life, spiritual life, health, finances and service — is the
key to enduring success and happiness.
Living with Passion
I’ve become a life-long learner, through traditional
learning inside the classrooms and by reading, studying
and listening to other successful people who have been
there and have done marvelous feats.
I continue to connect with people to inspire them
and to plant seeds of hope by sharing my life story and
the success principles I’ve learned along the way.
I travel the world when I can with my husband, and
at times with our two daughters when they are available.
I like immersing myself in different cultures and peoples,
and I learn much from them.
I had the opportunity to travel this year to Israel, the
holy place of the birth not only of Christianity but of all
nations. I spent my last birthday in the Holy Land with
Ted. It was an amazing and moving experience to visit
the places where Jesus was born, where He grew up and
performed His miracles, and where he was crucified and
resurrected.
I plan to write a second book that will outline simple
and practical strategies for success to help people take
their life from where they are now to where they want
to be.
Today, my family resides in White Rock, British
Columbia, Canada, in a house with a spectacular view
of the Pacific Ocean. It is another product of my dreams.
I am most grateful to God for everything and
everyone in my life. From my humble beginnings, I
now live a life of gratitude, abundance and purpose —
because I dreamed big and God orchestrated everything
to make my dreams come true!
Jhet with her bestselling autobiography.
Special Section
Introduction
I
By Bo Sanchez
believe our body can heal itself. I believe our body can
fight 99 percent of the germs in the world.
That’s how God created our bodies. Yes, our bodies
are phenomenal!
Our problem is that the healer in our bodies is weak.
Why?
Because of the toxins we allow into our emotions
and bodies.
There are toxins in our emotional life. Our unacknowledged
and unsurrendered stress, angers, fears, shame, sin and guilt
open us up to diseases.
But a lot of the toxins we are exposed to are in the physical
realm. You can protect yourself from them, too.
Friend, do you want to be healed?
To God, there’s no distinction between natural and
supernatural healing. All healing comes from Him. But you
need to take charge of your health.
Make a decision now to protect yourself from toxins (as much
as you can) to awaken the healer in you.
Even if you live in a polluted world, you can do simple
things to avoid the pollution around you. Little things can go a
long way to make you healthier.
PROTECT
YOURSELF
FROM MODERN
TOXINS
Special Section
Three
Prescriptions
to Reduce
Toxins from
Your Body
By Bo Sanchez
I
I
remember my college days.
Going to Ateneo every day was tough.
If I drove Dad’s car, it would take me 20 minutes. But
usually, Dad’s car wasn’t available. (Boohoo!) So I rode
the public jeepney almost every day. And it would take
me an hour to go through the traffic.
Why that long? Three reasons.
First, jeepney drivers are very friendly, sociable guys
who like to stop in the middle of the road to chitchat
with other drivers.
Second, jeepney drivers drive very slowly, because
they use secondhand engines that overheat if they go
faster than 30 kph.
Third, jeepney drivers are known to wait for
passengers to fill their seats. So even if the passenger is
still at home, eating his breakfast or taking a shower, the
driver will still wait for him.
I’m kidding. Just having fun here.
Here’s my point: If you’re not the driver, you can only
complain.
Friend, in any vehicle, there are really only two seats:
the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat.
Let me ask you this big question:
In the vehicle of your life, where are you seated?
Where You’re Seated Spells the Difference
A lot of people are passengers. They don’t take charge.
All they do is complain.
“Why am I not getting a promotion in my job?”
“Why is my relationship not working?”
“Why am I so sickly?”
Let me give you a universal principle you can take
to the bank: The amount of blessings you’ll receive is in
direct proportion to the amount of responsibility you’re
willing to take. The more responsibility you take in, the
more blessings you take in as well.
Blessings and responsibility are really two sides of
one coin.
Do you want more blessings? Take more
responsibility.
Let me give you an example. Why does a manager
earn more than a messenger? Because the manager has
more responsibilities than a messenger.
This principle applies to your spiritual life, too.
If you want more blessings for your spiritual life,
you have to take charge over your spiritual needs.
And this applies to your health as well.
One of the best things you can do
for your health is to take charge of how
much toxins you take into your body.
To do this, you need to follow
these three crucial prescriptions, all of
them requiring that you take charge of
your health:
Prescription #1: Clean Living
Prescription #2: Natural Eating
Prescription #3: Holistic Healing
PRESCRIPTION #1: CLEAN LIVING
“You shall warn the Israelites of their uncleanness, lest by
defiling my Dwelling, which is in their midst, their uncleanness
be the cause of their death.”
— Leviticus 15:31
You’ll be amazed by this.
The Bible was so ahead of its time when it came to hygiene and
sanitation. This is mind-blowing, considering that biblical authors
had no scientific understanding of germs yet, something that Louis
Pasteur would discover only in the year 1860.
Let me give you four examples…
Example 1: Quarantine Contagious Disease
Because our kids are small, all of us sleep in one room. (It’s a winwin for all. The kids love it because they’re with Mommy and Daddy.
And Mommy and Daddy love it because we save on electricity!) But
when one of us gets sick, that person sleeps in a separate room —
to avoid spreading the sickness.
The Bible talked about this a long time ago. It talked about
separating people with leprosy and other contagious diseases
(Leviticus 13:46). Even their clothes were to be burned.
But centuries later, these simple procedures were forgotten.
Thus, from the year 1000 to 1200, leprosy killed millions of people
in Europe. And in the 14th century, also in Europe, the Black Death
or the bubonic plague killed more than 60 million people.
Let me give you a rather obvious example.
Example 2: Toilet Training
Would you believe? Toilet training is in the Bible.
The Bible tells the Israelites to “have a place outside the camp
where you can go when you need to relieve yourselves. Carry a
stick as part of your equipment, so that when you have a bowel
movement you can dig a hole and cover it up” (Deuteronomy 23:1314).
In the newer Bible versions, it says, “Carry a stick and toilet
paper — preferably double ply.”
Just kidding.
Back in those days, you couldn’t flush waste away. So people
used a stick. The key here was to dig your dump — and cover with
soil. But during the Middle Ages, this simple sanitary method wasn’t
done in many capital cities of Europe. Especially in the slums. In
fact, the common practice was that people just dumped their
poop on the street.
Example 3: Take a Bath
When I was a kid, Mom would have to force me to take a bath. I
don’t remember why, but to me bathing was like water torture.
But the Bible was pretty big on washing (Numbers 19:1122). It even gave the ingredients for soap — so that hand washing
would take more than 15 seconds — enough to remove the germs.
During biblical times, this was a religious ritual. Today, we realize it’s
a very important hygienic practice.
But during the Middle Ages, bathing fell out of custom. Are you
ready to be shocked again? During the Middle Ages, in Europe, most
people took a bath one, two, three, or four times in their whole life.
I’m not kidding.
In Old Testament times, religion supported bathing. In the Middle
Ages, religion supported not bathing. For example, the monks felt it
was vain to take a bath. St. Francis of Assisi believed that to be dirty
was a sign of a holy person. Even St. Benedict recommended that those
who are young and strong should seldom take a bath. It was said that
St. Catherine of Siena avoided washing. And St. Agnes, who died at
the age of 13, had never taken a bath. Queen Isabella of Spain was
proud to say that she only took two baths in her whole lifetime. And
Queen Elizabeth of England was seen as a very vain woman. Why?
Because she bathed once a month.
PRESCRIPTION 2: NATURAL EATING
He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of
his doctors.
— Chinese Proverb
Germs aren’t your only enemy. We now have new enemies:
modern, man-made toxins. And it’s in our food. Let me tell you about
Jack Lalanne, a fitness teacher.
He is 96 years old. At his age, he still works out twice a day. That’s
two hours of weight training in the morning and another two hours of
swimming or walking in the afternoon. When people ask him what’s
his best advice for becoming healthy, he tells them, “If man made it, don’t
eat it.”
Once upon a time, we ate food made by God. I love it when the
Bible says, “And they ate what grew in the fields. They found wild honey
among the rocks; their olive trees flourished in stony ground. Their
cows and goats gave plenty of milk; they had the best sheep, goats,
and cattle, the finest wheat, and the choicest wine” (Deuteronomy
32:12-14).
I agree with Jack Lalanne. I believe many people are sick today
because of the amount of processed food that we eat.
Here’s what you need to watch out for…
1. Zero Nutrition
Many times, all the nutrition in processed food has been
wiped out by its “process.” But the packaging says it’s
“enriched” because they put a few vitamins in it.
Crazy.
2. Preservatives and Additives
Because food companies want to increase their
products’ shelf life, they’ve loaded them with
preservatives. Because they want their food to be
tasty yet cheap (and increase profits), they put
additives and other chemicals to make
them taste like the real thing. And many
of these chemicals are not healthy for
us.
3. Chemicals in Our Meat
A few years back, a chick required 45
days to become a full-grown chicken.
Today, because of these chemicals,
growth hormones and antibiotics, some
chickens are ready for “harvesting” at
only 28 days. A cow, by itself, produces 500 gallons of
milk a year. Today, “super cows” produce 20,000 to 30,000
gallons of milk a year. That’s because of the chemicals
that they inject into these animals. (Super cows don’t
move around anymore. They’re held by a steel frame. And
they’ve got tubes connected to their udders 12 hours a
day.) These chemicals are what we ingest when we eat
or drink their produce.
By nature, cows are vegetarian. But in many parts of
the world, cows and pigs have become cannibals. They eat
their own kind. Why? To increase their bulk, protein has
been added to their feed. And the most available protein
would come from dead cows and pigs — usually those
that died of sickness. Their carcasses, even their bones,
are crushed to powder and mixed with the animal feed.
Some scientists believe that this is the main cause of
the foot and mouth disease.
My Recommendations
Here’s my advice: Eat natural foods as much as possible.
Decrease your processed food intake.
For breakfast, instead of eating hotdogs, tocino, pancakes,
white bread and sugared drinks, I suggest papaya, pineapple,
melon, watermelon, banana, mangoes and other local fruits.
For snacks, instead of chichiria, sodas and bottled juices,
eat kamoteng kahoy, raw nuts and fresh fruit juices (made in
your home).
For lunch and dinner, instead of corned beef, instant
noodles, and white rice, I suggest kangkong, okra, talbos
ng kamote, carrots, other vegetable salads, tofu, fish and
unpolished rice.
If you want to eat meat, look for “organic” meat. These
are grass-fed cattle and free-range chickens. These are more
difficult but not impossible to find.
Once again, take charge over your health. Eat natural
food.
Here’s my third prescription…
PRESCRIPTION 3: HOLISTIC HEALING
Half the modern drugs could well be thrown
out the window, except that the birds might eat
them.
— Martin H. Fischer
Medicine sometimes
sometimes gives it.
snatches
away
health,
— Ovid, Ancient Roman Poet
One day, w h e n my s o n , Fr a n c i s, w a s five years old,
he woke up coughing. By afternoon, he had a fever. A few
years back, we would — without much thought — have given
him paracetamol and cough syrup. If the cough and fever
didn’t go away, we’d give him antibiotics.
Today, we’re much wiser. What do we do?
We awaken the healer in our kids.
Believe me, it’s the most powerful thing we’ve ever
seen.
Starve a Fever
Haven’t you noticed? When we get sick, we usually lose our appetite. There’s
a purpose to this. Our bodies are telling us something.
Observe your pets. When they get sick, they don’t want to eat, too. They
stay in a corner and sleep or sulk.
Years ago, when our kids got sick, we force-fed them. We scolded them, “Eat
your rice! Eat your chicken! So you’ll have energy to fight the germs!”
We no longer do that craziness.
When we’re sick, we lose our appetites (our tongues can’t even taste
food) because our bodies are telling us a simple message: “Don’t eat. I want
to use all my energy to fight the disease.” Remember that digestion takes up
huge amounts of energy. Your body wants to focus on defense.
So what do we do now when our kids get sick?
We “arm” their immune system with weapons necessary for the fight.
How?
Let “Natural” Food Be Your Medicine
When Francis got sick that day, we made him drink fresh fruit juices. We
threw in fresh fruits in a blender. Watermelon. Mango. Melon. Banana. Any
local fruits we could get our hands on.
For the entire day, that was all he had. Virtually no solids. He wasn’t
hungry anyway. He lay down on the couch, in the arms of Mommy, watching
Jurrasic Park, sipping his fresh fruit juice many times that day.
Here’s the amazing thing: The following day, his fever and cough were
gone. We couldn’t believe it.
The healer in him won!
(Note: If a child still has fever for more than three days, that’s the time you
bring him to a doctor.)
A Disclaimer
I’m not a doctor. So please, before you apply what I’m asking you to do,
consult your doctor. Ask for a second, third and fourth opinion.
Like my friend, Dr. Romy Paredes (author of Health Made Incredibly
Simple, published by Shepherd’s Voice Publications), there is an increasing
number of doctors who are growing dissatisfied with the mechanical model
of their medical practice.
And in their own way, they’re practicing holistic
healing. More and more, they’re realizing that
people aren’t machines. They’re body and soul
— and if you want to heal the body, you have
to heal the soul, too.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM MODERN TOXINS
I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
— Author Unknown
We won’t find a Bible verse about modern toxins. But
since they are harmful to our bodies, we need to protect
ourselves from them, too. So in the “spirit” of the biblical
passages on healing, we need to protect ourselves from modern
man-made “germs.”
Protecting ourselves from these toxins is an essential part of
caring for our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
For example, some “processes” change the molecular
structure of the food, making them unhealthy for our use if we
eat them in large amounts.
• Avoid intake of refined sugar (raw sugar is better).
• Avoid “sugar-free” food and the use of aspartame, etc.
Minimize EMF (Electromagnetic Field)
Sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation is
the emerging health problem of the 21st
century.
— Dr. William Rea
EMF comes from all electrical appliances and
wiring around us. Though people are still debating
on this issue, some scientists have already concluded
that too much EMF causes cancer (such as leukemia),
headache, depression and other health problems.
Science sometimes takes time to decide on
issues. The World Health Organization (WHO) has
been studying the effects of EMF for years now,
without conclusive reports. My suggestion is before
they make it official, we should take precautionary
measures. (If it’s not true, you don’t lose anything.)
Again, there was no such thing as EMF when
the Bible was written, so I can’t quote a passage
about it for you. But in the spirit of “protecting” our
bodies from anything that harms us, it’ll be wise to
decrease EMF pollution.
You can’t totally avoid EMF. Because it comes
from every electric appliance in your home,
including the wiring of the house. It comes from
your cell phone and cell sites. It comes from the
high-voltage wires in the streets.
But you can create some distance between you
and the source of EMF — and protect yourself from
it.
Here are some recommendations:
• Don’t carry your cell phone in your pocket
or belt. Put it in a bag. In the evening, don’t
sleep with it in the same room. Use a handsfree kit (with wires) when using a cell phone.
• Don’t use your laptop on your lap!
• Don’t use your microwave oven.
• Don’t put a plugged electric alarm clock
near your bed.
• Electric appliances (air conditioners,
electric fans) must be at least seven feet
away from you when you sleep.
We can’t cover all the recommendations
in this entire topic, but mentioning some of
them here is an invitation for you to study
this phenomenon further and take charge
of your life.
Friend, hold the steering wheel of
your life.
Email me at [email protected].
(This article is lifted from Bo’s book, Awaken the Healer
in You. To order, call (632) 725-9999 or visit www.
shepherdsvoice.com.ph. We deliver free of charge
within Metro Manila for a minimum order of P300.)
Special Section
Testimony
Raffy and Cely, whose children are already married, have
more time to do what the Lord has called them to do.
TAKE CARE OF
YOUR HEALTH
THE NATURAL
WAY
H
An Interview with Raffy and Cely Blasco
By Tess V. Atienza
e isn’t a doctor, yet Raffy Blasco has been treating and healing a lot of people, even those with terminal
illnesses. At the heart of his practice is a dream that more and more people would follow the natural
law of life, go back to basics, and take charge of their health.
Raffy, whose real name is Rafael (God’s Healer), considers what he’s doing now as a “calling” that
God can take away from him any time. But while he’s at it, he wants to reach out and teach people
how to switch to a healthier lifestyle. It is his advocacy; it is his life.
Read on and know more about Bo Sanchez’s health mentor, who hasn’t been sick in the last 27
years. His wife, Cely, who is his partner in this ministry, joins this interview with Kerygma.
Kerygma: How did your journey into natural and healthy living start?
Raffy: It just came naturally way back in 1986. I was working in a multinational company and would
normally read business books. Then suddenly I got interested in health. But before that, I had a chance
to meet a health guru, a Filipina who was married to an Indian. She’s a Catholic Christian who thoroughly embraced the vegetarian
way of life. I attended her workshop and when I came home, I immediately shifted to a plant-based diet. It was very drastic, although
I did not impose it on my wife and kids. When I say plant-based, it is not only vegetables and fruits. It includes grain, root crops, and
anything that comes out of the ground.
Cely: In the beginning, it was hard for me to plan and prepare two sets of meals. Our children were still in grade school. So, one day, I
just told them, “Let’s follow Papa’s diet.” It was not hard to convince them. We simply explained to them the benefits.
Raffy: Withdrawing milk from our kids was the most difficult. And
here’s the irony: at that time I was working for a milk company. It was
crazy — working in a milk company but not patronizing our product.
That’s how serious we were about living healthy. I was so convinced
that I was doing the right thing.
Kerygma: How did your “calling” as a healer start?
Raffy: I could see that many people were getting sick. Whenever we
would go to hospitals around Metro Manila to visit relatives or to pray
over a sick friend, we were appalled at the conditions of the hospitals.
In 1990, I started advocating in small groups. Some people would
not believe me. Others would say it’s rubbish. But I persisted.
In 1993, I decided to leave the corporate world and focus on my
many businesses. I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to earn so
much money. But you know, when you meet the Lord, He can change
your path. Cely and I were already with Couples for Christ then (we
were also part of the Light of Jesus Family during its earlier years) and
were trying to follow the Lord more seriously.
That time, we still had a broiler business covering an area of 10
hectares with a 24-hour operation. We were growing chicken for 45
days, then we began hitting 43 days. A two-day reduction spells big
profit in that business. But broilers being what they are, and living in
a small environment, they get sick easily. As they grow bigger, their
space gets cramped. And when one chicken gets sick, say it catches
a cold, the rest would catch it in less than 24 hours. So what’s the
vet’s solution? Massive doses of antibiotics that are given orally. But
the lungs of chickens are small and get constricted. Thus, they could
not eat much. The result? No weight gain. Remember, this is a weight
business. Sometimes also, the chickens are harvested while they’re
still taking antibiotics, and then brought directly to the dressing
plants, and eventually to the supermarkets. What happens? People
who eat chicken end up ingesting the antibiotics.
So I told my wife, “I don’t think this is the business for us.” And so
we let go of it — easily. We decided to pursue our new “calling” and
follow where the Lord was leading us.
Kerygma: How did you prepare for your ministry?
Raffy: When we started doing mission work in CFC, I didn’t know
I had the gift of healing. A sister in the community called us and
requested us to pray over her child who was confined in a hospital in
Manila. People had this notion that when you are a “missionary,” you
can do everything for them. But we took it as an opportunity to show
them who God is. We granted her request, and lo and behold, the
next day the child was discharged. But the funny thing was, because
she was in the ward section, the other patients, who saw what we
were doing, wanted to be prayed over, too. One woman who had a
case of bleeding got miraculously healed. Her bleeding stopped after
we prayed over her. And many other instances of healing followed.
I said to myself it can’t be just spiritual. “What can I do?” I asked
the Lord. And true to His promise, when God calls you, He equips you.
I studied more about the basics of health. I enrolled in an Indian
medical school. I devoured health books and noticed I was absorbing
what I was reading so easily. I also studied Eastern medicine under a
Korean guru, where I was one of only three Filipino students among
a group of foreigners.
I kept on studying and improving myself. I went to China and to
other places to learn more about natural healing. I studied different
modalities. As a practitioner, I make my own discernment on what
treatment would work best for a particular patient.
Because for me, the real medicine is what works.
You know what pushed me further to pursue this?
In my studies, I got more exposed to the limitations of
Western medicine. Statistics show that the common
modalities for cancer, such as chemotherapy and
radiation, have a very low success rate. Western
medicine, or the conventional medicine being practiced
now, treats the symptoms of the disease, not its cause.
Eastern medicine looks at the cause and focuses its
treatment on that.
My firm belief is that, sooner or later, we will all go
back to basics — to the natural law of life that respects
the trillions of cells that God put in our body. You kill or
undernourish your cells, and your organs will suffer.
Kerygma: What do we need to go back to how God
wants us to treat our bodies?
Raffy: First is to change the way we look at disease.
Consider it as a friend, not as an enemy. And don’t try
to kill the symptoms with antibiotics or pain relievers
because they are expressions of the disease. A symptom
is your body’s way of speaking to you.
Having the right paradigm about disease is already a
big step that one can take in taking charge of his health.
For us, the key to wellness is nutrition. Conventional
medicine will never accept that the lack of good
nutrition will surely lead to disease. Understanding how
our cellular system works, as God created it, would help
us see how nutrition plays a critical role in maintaining a
healthy body. We would be eating only the food that will
nourish our system and not just satisfy our taste buds. We
would eat only food that God made, not “man”ufactured
by man.
Kerygma: What normally happens when a patient
comes to you for consultation or treatment?
Raffy: Before we accept a patient, we talk to the family.
We tell them the situation (this or that organ is already
damaged) and this is what we can do. We’re very frank
with them. We tell them the causes. We ask them what
they expect us to do. The sad thing is that people
come to us when everything has failed — they’ve had
chemotherapy, radiation, etc. What we want to happen
is for people to consider natural modalities first before
they go for invasive treatments.
We also assess their family situation. I need to see
the support of his or her family, especially the spouse.
If the support is only financial, it would be a waste of
time and effort. We try to delve deeper into the patient’s
relationships, his or her outlook in life, and so on, because
we believe in holistic healing. We don’t treat each organ
separately. Everything is connected.
And when the patient goes through the treatment,
which does not involve invasive procedures, he or she
goes out of the center living a normal life — unlike if
they go through chemotherapy or radiation. They get to
enjoy a better quality of life.
There’s
Such a
Thing as
Holy Sex!
Special Section
Turn Your Sexual
Passion into
Passion for Life
By Bo Sanchez
L
L
et me shock you: Even as I write about sex now, my goal today
is to empower you to reach your dreams.
I know what you’re thinking. Those two topics — sex and
reaching your dreams — seem to be the most far out, totally
disconnected topics in the world. But trust me, by the end of
this article, you’ll realize that one feeds the other.
As usual, I won’t write from theories I read in a book.
Instead, I will use my personal experience of two decades of
battling the demons of my porn addiction. The powerful threestep solutions I will share with you have been rigorously fieldtested in my life and in the lives of many people I help.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ
himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite
them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he
who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in
body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But
he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in
spirit.
—1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Sex isn’t a handshake. Sex isn’t casual. Sex can never be
casual because it’s sacred. Something happens to your spirit
when you have sex! Sex isn’t just about your body but also
about your soul. You become one, intertwined, with the other
person.
So when there is nothing deeper between you and that
person other than your skin connecting together, something in
you disintegrates. You disintegrate. You see this disintegration
in people today, which manifests itself in the disintegration of
families.
Flee from Sexual Immorality
Historians have been studying why, in the past 5,000 years,
there were civilizations that were on top of the world at one
point and then, after a few decades, were at the bottom of the
heap. They’ve observed that a civilization breaks down not by
an advancing army conquering from the outside, but from a
disintegration of core values from the inside. They’ve observed
that a society starts disintegrating when there are enough
people in that society that don’t follow sexual morality.
All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he
who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is
in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor
God with your body.
— 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Instead of sexual passion breaking you up, let your sexual
passion build you up. You can use your sexual passion to
achieve greatness in life — by turning your sexual passion into
a passion for life.
Let me show you one of the most expensive kitchen knives
in the world. Maybe only superstar chefs use this knife. This
Nesmuk knife costs (gasp) P2.4 million.
These kinds of kitchen knives are extremely sharp. In
the skilled hands of a superstar chef, this knife will produce
food masterpieces only found in the best three-star Michelin
restaurants.
This knife was designed by its creators to prepare
delicious gourmet food.
But imagine that one day, a serial killer enters this
restaurant, steals this knife from the kitchen, and in the next
three weeks, tortures, mutilates and kills 27 people. Using
the exact same knife.
Friend, that’s exactly what happened to sex. It was
designed for beauty, but it’s now used for ugly purposes.
Holy Sex and Ugly Sex
Sex was God’s idea. God invented it. God designed it. God
manufactured it. But sex has been kidnapped by the world
and they are claiming it to be their invention.
That’s why today, there’s holy sex and there’s ugly sex.
From one angle, they look alike, but they’re totally opposite
to each other.
Holy sex is one of God’s most beautiful gifts to us.
Sometimes, holy sex blesses a husband and wife with
children. But holy sex always strengthens their spiritual
covenant, trains a spouse to serve the other by thinking of
the other’s pleasure before his own, deepens their bonds
of love, elevates their human spirit, thereby blessing their
family and their world.
But ugly sex is the monstrous, bastardized, perverted,
vandalized, demonic version of holy sex. It kills the human
spirit. It destroys marriages, breaks up families, steals the
dreams of young men and women through unplanned
pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, sexual abuse and
emotional damage.
Do You Need Sex?
Media tells us, “If sex is only for married people, and you’re
not married, how can you fulfill your sexual needs?”
Do you know what’s wrong with that question?
You don’t need sex. You desire sex. There’s a huge world
of a difference between need and desire.
Let me explain: You need air, but you don’t need ice
cream. You desire ice cream. That’s very different.
If you don’t have air, in less than five minutes, you’re
dead. Without oxygen, after a certain threshold, your brain
cells die by the thousands for every single second you’re
starved of oxygen.
But if you don’t eat ice cream, you won’t die. OK, you
may go into some type of severe depression. But surprisingly,
there are very weird creatures in this world who have never
eaten ice cream in their entire life — and they’re still alive
today.
Here’s my point. If you don’t have sex, you don’t die.
What I’m going to say next is blasphemous, according to
popular media, but I’ll say it anyway: You can live without sex. In
fact, many people live very happy lives without it.
But I believe you need love. And that’s where the confusion
comes in. People mistake their love needs for their sexual
desires.
Express Your Sexual Desires in the Right Way
One guy told me, “I have to find an outlet for my raging,
testosterone-fueled, sexual desire.”
Yes, but you should find the right outlet.
A lot of people think that the only way to express their
sexual desires is through sexual acts. That’s not true.
Why? We’re not dogs. Have you noticed? Twice a year,
dogs are in “heat,” and you can’t stop dogs from mating. They’ll
do “it” with any dog they find in the street.
But we’re not animals.
As a human being, your mind rules your body. That’s your
glory. That’s your dignity. As one wise man said, “You’re not
a human being with a spiritual experience; you’re a spiritual
being with a temporary human experience.”
You can express your sexual desires in non-sexual ways.
Remember that pent-up sexual energy is physical, emotional
and spiritual energy, and so re-chanelling is possible.
If you have sexual desires, that means your body is healthy,
your mind is healthy, and your soul is healthy. Thank God that
you have them!
Let me teach you how to channel your sexual energy.
You can use these three powerful steps to free yourself
from any kind of addiction you have.
Step One: See the Aim of Your Addiction
Porn addiction is becoming more common today. No matter
what your addiction is, it is in your life for a specific,
functional purpose. If you want to get rid of
an addiction, the first step is to know the
reason why it’s there.
Shift your attention to the aim of your
addiction.
Here’s the truth: You’re not really
addicted to the behavior of your addiction;
you’re addicted to the feeling that you get
from that behavior.
For example, you’re not addicted
to premarital sex; you’re addicted
to the feelings that premarital sex
gives you. You’re not addicted
to porn; you’re addicted to the
feelings that porn gives you.
What is that feeling?
The big answer: It’s the
feeling of being loved. Every
addiction is a desperate hunger
for love.
People think they desire
sex, but actually, deep down,
they desire love — parental love, familial love, fraternal love
and, most of all, Divine love. Sexual addiction, bottom line, is a
desperate cry for God’s love!
Sex can be used as a painkiller to deaden the throbbing
emptiness in our hearts. Unless that emptiness is filled with
real love, sexual desire is urgent and intense. But fill that heart
with real love, and sexual desire loses its urgency and intensity.
Here’s the good news: According to statistics, most people
heal their own addictions. For example, 66 percent of alcoholics
stopped drinking on their own, without going through medical
treatments or going through Alcoholic Anonymous. Ninetyfive percent of smokers stopped on their own, without going
through medical treatments as well.
If you have any addiction right now (it doesn’t have to be
sex), you can be healed.
Step Two: See the Atrociousness of Your Addiction
Porn looks beautiful, yes. For it to sell, it has to look beautiful.
But beneath the surface, it is monstrous, horrific and ugly.
If you want to be free from porn addiction, you need
to change what is associated with the addiction in your
subconscious. For the longest time, your mind said, “Porn is
beautiful, glorious and intoxicating.” Starting today, your mind
should say, “Porn is monstrous, horrific and totally ugly.” Unless
that shift of association happens in your subconscious, you’ll
never be free from slavery.
Porn Is Ugly
Pornography is a hideous beast. It’s so scary. It’s so big, it earns
$14 billion a year. At any second, over 300,000 people, mostly
men, are watching online pornography. This monster is so big,
it’s destroying the lives of millions. It’s victimizing those who
are addicted to it, especially porn actors, even as young as 14
years old.
This is how ugly porn is: After many exposures, naked
people won’t satisfy you anymore. Normal sex won’t satisfy
you anymore. Your cravings will increase. That’s why there’s
such a thing as hard-core porn — gay sex, brutal sex, sex with
old people, sex with kids, orgies, sex with animals. All the
perversion that you can think of, it’s available online. No doubt
about it — porn is ugly.
After a while, a porn addict’s world will become very small.
He will become a very small man. How small? He’ll shrink to
one percent of his original size because he only thinks in terms
of sex. He’s lost 99 percent of his life. He disintegrates.
Casual Sex Is Ugly
If you have casual sex with someone, it isn’t only an exchange
of bodily fluids. It’s an exchange of spiritual parts. A part of you
remains with the person you had sex with. And a part of that
person remains in you.
For years now, I’ve been ministering to people who are
promiscuous or adulterous and I’ve noticed that, deep down,
in their spirit, they feel very broken. Why? Because broken
parts of their spirit have been scattered to their different sexual
partners. And broken parts of those different people are still
inside them, too.
Let me give you an analogy. You are like a jigsaw puzzle.
Every time you have sex, you give a piece of the jigsaw puzzle
to your partner. If you are promiscuous, not only do you feel
incomplete — because you have given away parts of you —
but a lot of foreign, disjointed jigsaw pieces are now trapped
inside you.
If you are this person, let me tell you: God can heal
you. He can bring back all your missing pieces, bandage all
these pieces together and, with His healing love, glue them
together and make you whole again.
Marital sex is totally different. When I give one piece of
my jigsaw puzzle to my wife, and she gives one piece of her
jigsaw puzzle to me, we treasure that piece. We hold on to
that piece. And we wait for the next piece that will come. We
form the presence of each other in our hearts.
Step Three: Shift Your Attention from Addiction to
Ambition
If you notice, your goal is not to stop the addictive behavior.
That rarely works. Your goal is to live a fantastic, passionate,
wonderful, amazing life. The goal isn’t freedom from bad
habits. The goal is freedom for great habits.
This simple shift of attention is powerful. This is where a
lot of Christians make the mistake. They judge, condemn and
feel ashamed about their sexual desires. They were taught
that the more they criticize their sexual desires, the less they’ll
have them.
Wrong!
Here’s a spiritual principle you can take to the bank:
Attention, whether positive or negative, is still attention. And
attention is addition.
I met a man who kept repeating to himself, “I won’t
smoke anymore” hundreds of times a day. He said it never
worked. He kept on craving for cigarettes. Why? Because his
subconscious doesn’t know the difference between negative
attention and positive attention. Even if it’s negative attention,
it’s still attention. What you pay attention to adds up.
In the same way, if you say, “I won’t look at porn, I won’t
look at porn, I won’t look at porn…” or “I won’t masturbate,
I won’t masturbate, I won’t masturbate…” and repeat it 100
times a day, what are you actually doing? You’re making your
sexual desires grow. Why? Because attention is addition.
Turn Your Sexual Passion Into Soul Passion
You have the natural ability to channel your sexual desires
into a passion for life. You were born with this unique ability.
God gave it to you the day you were born.
This isn’t spiritual mumbo-jumbo. This
is for real.
In fact, this isn’t only a spiritual
concept, it’s even taught in business.
Napoleon Hill, in his classic book
Think and Grow Rich, talks about
“transmutation” of sexual energy
into creative business success. He
says that many of the most successful
businessmen were able to channel
their potent sexual energy
to great success. He talks
about other businessmen
who should have been even
more successful, were it not
for their unbridled sexual
energies that caused them
to be distracted. He wrote
this in 1937. He already gave the solution a long time ago.
In fact, there were many who gave the solution before he did.
Think of the saints who were celibate — St. Francis, St. John Bosco,
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Dominic, St. Ignatius
of Loyola. These saints built huge congregations, universities,
hospitals and orphanages. Some of them died a martyr’s death.
They had so much passion for life!
To be celibate doesn’t mean they had zero sexual desires. But
they were able to re-channel their sexual energy into a passion
for life.
Sexual energy IS energy. People don’t understand this simple
truth. You can express your sexual energy through a passion for life.
I repeat: Shift Your Attention to…
Big, Hairy, Audacious Dreams
When you have a sexual desire, acknowledge it with gratitude,
and simply shift your attention to your big, hairy, audacious
dreams.
Do you know what’s the most common problem of people
today? They don’t wake up each morning with soul-elevating,
heart-pounding, life-intimidating, God-sized dreams. Many
people wake up not knowing what to do with their lives. And so
the most exciting thing for them is watching a girl in a mini-skirt.
What’s most exciting for them is watching porn online — women
paid to undress, women who will be psychologically scarred for
the rest of their lives.
I’m a guy. I must be honest with you. If I see a girl in a miniskirt, I will find my eyes gravitating towards her legs. If I see
a woman wearing a plunging neckline that reaches her belly
button, I will look. But because I’ve got other more exciting things
to do — like raising my wonderful kids to become passionate
disciples, or building a fantastic marriage that will last forever, or
shaping a new generation of leaders in the Light of Jesus Family,
or creating profitable businesses that will finance the work of
the Kingdom, or preaching God’s love to a desperate world, and
forming exciting organizations that will change the world — I can
shift my attention away rather quickly.
How I Win Over Sexual Temptations
Let me share with you my trade secrets.
This strategy works for me.
This is how I fight sexual temptations.
Whenever I’m tempted to fall into sexual sin, I tell myself, “Bo,
you’ll get whatever feeling you’re looking for (like being loved)
when you follow God’s way; only this time, it will be a million
times more fulfilling and it will be permanent.”
I tell myself, “You’ll get a million times more happiness,
fulfillment, excitement and love if you follow God’s way!”
Whenever I’m tempted, I use these two “triggers”: million and
permanent. When I say those two words, immediately, I snap out
of the hypnosis of my temptation and feel very strong.
When I do that, sexual desire, instead of fueling my addiction,
is now fueling my ambition. I use the same sexual energy to bring
me to my dreams.
The Bible says it in a different way: “But walk by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
So you thought this article is just about sex?
No. It’s about your dreams.
Pursue them with passion.
Email me at [email protected].
Special Section
M
Testimony
Love
A Cry for
An Anonymous Sharing of a Virgin No More
as told to Lella M. Santiago
M
y body shook like one gripped by high fever. My tongue felt
glued to the roof of my mouth. That first time I confessed
I was no longer a virgin, my back was the only part of me
brave enough to face him. It must be the hardest thing for
a woman to admit to a man she’s falling in love with. And
it didn’t get any easier with the others. When I told my
last boyfriend, my eyes were shut tight the whole time. I
couldn’t bear to see his reaction. Every time I revealed my
past, the fear of rejection was an agony I had to endure.
The First Fall
I pledged to protect my virginity until my honeymoon. It
was something my conservative upbringing and Catholic
education instilled in me. But the words, “If you really love
me…” rocked my foundation and I fell. We were both 18.
He was my classmate in college, my first boyfriend and my
first love.
There was nobody I could really talk to when he was
putting the pressure on me. I kept it to myself. Although
they didn’t tell me directly, I knew my classmates and
friends who had boyfriends were doing the same thing.
Nobody would have stopped me. That relationship lasted
for two years not because it was worth keeping; I just felt I
had to hold on to it because of what we were doing.
Cycle of Sin
A year after we broke up, I went through a very dark time
in my family. It was the lowest point in my life and I had
no one to confide in. I was driven to look for my ex. That
started our “friends with benefits” phase. Looking back, I’d
say I was searching for love and our past relationship was
the closest thing I had. My situation proved true what I
later heard in one of the talks at The Feast: “Sin is a cry for
love.”
Deep inside I fought against this life of sin and started
searching for God. Through a religious community I
joined, I heard the Word of God and found hope. Through
my new friends I experienced God’s love — a cleaner
kind of love, the kind I was looking for. The baptism in the
Holy Spirit made such an impact on me. It was then that I
received God’s grace to leave my sinful relationship.
Ironically, I fell again when I had another boyfriend
who belonged to that community. I thought he would be
different. He was a servant of two religious communities
and had reacted unfavorably when he first heard about
my past. So I was surprised when he pressured me into
doing the same thing. I guess I gave in that time because
of the thought that I had done it before. We were
together for only six months.
Thankfully, my third relationship was a long
distance one. He worked abroad so we had no
physical contact. But from our conversations, he
implied that he wanted the same thing. I felt I’ve
had enough and ended the relationship quickly.
The cycle of sinning and asking for God’s
forgiveness didn’t stop there though. I began
getting my “love highs” from pornography. Again,
by God’s grace, I got tired of the shallowness of
what I was doing.
Proof of God’s Love
I was losing hope that I would ever find a man
who will accept my past and respect me — one
who will not ask me to have a sexual relationship
as the others did. Then I met someone from
the same religious community that my second
boyfriend and I belonged to. He was the one who
encouraged me to be a regular Feast attendee.
Unlike the others, he respected me. Sadly, we
found out during our relationship that we had
different goals and dreams. Because of that, he
didn’t see me as the person he wanted to spend
the rest of his life with.
Although we didn’t end up together, he
gave me hope that there is someone special out
there who will love me for who I am and who will
respect me enough to wait until our wedding
day. I feel that God sent him as living proof that I
can rise above my past.
Forgiveness and Acceptance
My past is not something I’m proud of. It’s been
very hard to admit this even to close friends. I fell
repeatedly because, for a long time, I couldn’t
accept myself. Then I experienced love, healing
and God’s constant forgiveness. That, and being
accepted and respected by a man who loved me,
helped me to forgive myself. Now I can tell my
story without anguish.
Presently I’m unattached. I pray and believe
that my one true love and I will meet one day,
love each other, and grow the way God wants
us to, get married and only then have sex — no
longer ugly but holy.
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Catholic Soul
By Edgardo C. de Vera
N
Who Is Your Authority?
on-sectarians enjoyed phenomenal growth through the ‘70s and ‘80s
when Fundamentalists, Pentecostals and Evangelicals made inroads
into Catholic ranks with a twin-pitch of the Reformation’s doctrinal
pillars: Sola Scriptura (Bible Alone) and Sola Fide (Faith Alone).
Everyone probably knows a relative or friend who abandoned the
Catholic faith of his youth for some so-called authentic Christianity
hooked in by zealous proselytizers who preached “Bible Alone” as the
sole rule of authority.
which even approve the moral aberrations of abortion,
contraception, divorce and remarriage, euthanasia, gay
marriages — all in Christ’s name! Until AD 393, there was
no Canon of Sacred Scripture, no Bibles in fact within
layman’s reach, and few could read. Existing copies were
all handwritten: laboriously penned by clerics word-forword, line-per-line, page-by-page, taking months for a
single Bible until the 16th century invention of printing.
Disenchantment with Clergy
Many of these fallout Catholics are sincere individuals who failed
to find spiritual nourishment in the Church. Disenchantment with
clergy is a common cause: lack of evangelical zeal among priests,
nonsensical homilies, ignorance of Scriptures, inadequacy to explain
doctrines well, and liberal outlooks; aggravated by the loss of a sense
of the sacred in shabbily attired clergy indistinguishable in public,
worldly behavior, and involvement in politics. Yet imperfect clergy is
never a valid reason for leaving the Church, not even scandal — you
don’t abandon Peter and the Apostles because of Judas.
Laymen make matters worse by ridiculing Church hierarchy and
disagreeing with teachings. Have opinionated dissenters checked
the Catechism of the Catholic Church or read a single Papal encyclical?
Catholics are expected to share, not question, their faith. Our first
Pope stressed we should always be ready to render an explanation
(1 Peter 3:15). The harvest is rich but the average Catholic is oddly
hesitant to learn doctrines, lapsed into clericalism characterized by
lame excuses: Nariyan naman si Father… Pang-pari lang iyan… and
the classic cop-out… Nagsisimba naman ako.
Authority and Deteriorating Morals
A fundamental reason for today’s deteriorating morals
is the question of authority. Where is it found in the
disharmony of generic Christendom? Can Christians
effectively witness to the world in glaring doctrinal
diversity? Does authority rest in the Bible or the Church
that composes it? A logical deduction from Luther’s
own admission, even as he denied Church authority,
expresses the evident: “We are obliged to yield many
things to the Papists [Catholics] that they possess the
Word of God, which we received from them, otherwise
we should know nothing about it.”
Jesus prayed for unity at the Last Supper in order
that the world may believe. He
established His Church on
Peter and gave him and the
Apostles authority to teach
truth in a mandate carried
on through centuries to
the present Pope in the
Apostolic Church: “Go and
make disciples of all nations…
He who hears you hears Me…
He who listens to you listens to
Me…”
Doctrinal Ignorance
“Bible Alone!” cries the non-sectarian, followed by a steady barrage
of carefully selected verses, and the uncatechized Catholic, mired
in doctrinal ignorance, is frozen into speechlessness and soon gets
convinced that the Bible is the only authority.
Where in the Bible is “Bible Alone”? Who interprets the
Bible? Why are “Bible Christians” fragmented into over 35,000
denominations and sects with respective mini-popes in inconsonant
cacophony and inconstant doctrines, and still dividing? A number of
Email me at catholicsoul@
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K Preacher
By Alvin Barcelona
O
ne of the most memorable scenes in the original classic movie,
Karate Kid, was when Miyagi, the teacher, was training Daniel
San on a stump of wood, on what he considers a very important
element of karate.
Balance
The teacher emphasized to his student that if you have “good
balance, you have good karate.” Later in the movie, when Daniel
develops a love interest, Miyagi would continue to coach him
saying, “Balance… not only for karate. Balance also for life.”
But balance is a tricky thing. Notice that people will always
find something to focus on more. “Spiritual people” devote more
time for spiritual things. “Physical people” sweat it out more in
sports and spend hours in the gym. “Intellectual people” immerse
themselves more in reading, writing, attending seminars, and
discussing their ideas with others.
Yet, I agree that too much of everything will indeed not only
make you an imbalanced person. You may also be missing out
on a lot of things that you can try out and enjoy in life.
Most of my time is devoted to ministry. I’m a preacher.
Throughout the week, I prepare for my talks and write messages
and articles. I preach at least three times a week. I also attend
meetings for planning and brainstorming. I give time for
pastoring and for caring groups. I get invited to give recollections,
retreats and seminars — even concerts — to different groups.
I host a radio program. I read and pray a lot. All of these are
ministry-related.
But if I don’t find time for family, for friends, for physical
exercise, for my businesses and additional sources of income, for
rest and recreation, not only will I be less effective and credible
with my chosen focus in life as a preacher. I will also be missing
out on the other important areas of my life.
Now, how do I maintain balance with that kind of life? I tend
to believe it’s “by God’s grace or by the power of the Spirit.” (See
how “spiritual people” are biased with spiritual beliefs?)
But there is also such a thing as rhythm.
Life’s Balance
and Rhythm
Rhythm
It’s like when you’re learning the melody and lyrics of a
song. You may have some difficulty at first. But when you
catch the tune, you just go on and sing it — naturally and
effortlessly.
I discovered that once you get the rhythm of your
life, once you just continue doing what you love to do
and what you need to do, life will simply flow — naturally
and effortlessly. No, not automatically like a robot, but
flawlessly and joyfully — again like singing a song.
And you continually discover that while life wants
you to choose something that you want and
need to focus on, it also reminds you to
enjoy the many other things it offers.
Maintain your balance.
Follow your rhythm.
And live life to the fullest!
The glory of God is man fully alive.
— St. Irenaeus
Email me at kpreacheralvin@gmail.
com.
Catch Alvin Barcelona
at The Feast PICC
every
Sunday
at 4:00 p.m. or
at The Feast
Marilao every
Saturday, 6:30
p.m. at the
Cinema 2 of
SM Marilao,
Bulacan.
One Last Story
JESUS
EMBRACED
ABBY
By Eric Abellera as told to Alvin Fabella
Eric, Jenny and Abby survived a difficult ordeal through God’s
miraculous intervention.
J
enny got a phone call from the school asking her to
pick up Abby, our 12-year-old daughter. She rushed
to the school clinic where she found Abby with a very
high fever, fluctuating from 38 to 39 degrees Celsius.
She took her home.
Abby started to vomit when they arrived home.
Jenny gave her paracetamol and a sponge bath,
thinking that Abby would be fine the following day.
The next day, my sister-in-law dropped by our
house to give her pasalubong from an overseas trip.
She is our kids’ pediatrician, so she also checked on Abby who, by
now, had been feeling so weak and could not even get up from
bed. My sister-in-law suggested that we bring her to the hospital
so she could be checked further. At the hospital, after some tests,
it was confirmed that she had dengue.
The Chilling Effects of the Disease
Abby had to be confined right then and there. We felt worried but
we found comfort in Abby’s faith when she told us, “Don’t worry
because I have already prayed and I will be healed.”
Abby’s fever did not go lower than 39 degrees after three
days, and most of the time it would even go beyond 40. She felt
constant muscle and abdominal pain. We felt her pain yet we
were helpless. And we were shocked when the doctors said that
Abby had to be transferred to the ICU! She was grimacing in pain
while being wheeled into the ICU and it broke our hearts.
Her stay in the ICU proved to be more challenging each day.
Her platelet count went down to 18 (the normal level is 150),
so she needed blood transfusion. Abby’s condition went from
bad to worse when she went through a rare condition called
dengue shock. Fluids started to leak out from her blood vessels,
her blood pressure went down, her heart became weak, and her
other organs began to falter. She also had pneumonia, cardiac
myocarditis, dengue hepatitis and swollen kidneys. Her body
accumulated 15 liters of fluids. Because of this, we could hardly
recognize her. Her body was bloated. Then her lips started to
bleed. She coughed out blood! She had to be hooked to a
respirator to aid her breathing. Seeing our daughter fight for
her life was extremely painful for us. To add to her burden,
she also had a bacterial infection. The doctors said she would
undergo dialysis if her condition did not improve within the
next few days.
God’s Miracle on the Way
We pleaded with God to heal her. But our prayers seemed
to fall on deaf ears. Abby was not getting any better and the
doctors told us to pray for a miracle.
We cried out to God for a miracle. Deep in our hearts, we
felt God telling us not to weaken our faith, to expect a miracle.
That conversation with God gave us peace. Jenny held on to
Abby’s arms and kept on praying. She told Abby how much
we love her, and to seek the face of Jesus. Abby felt so cold
and pale but we knew that she heard our message and our
prayer.
The school chaplain arrived the next day to give her the
Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. I could never imagine
seeing our daughter being given the “last rites.” This is truly the
most painful experience we had ever had as a family. We drew
strength from our family, friends and community members.
They prayed for Abby’s immediate healing.
On Abby’s sixth day at the ICU, she finally urinated at
around 4 a.m. This was a sign that her kidneys were already
functioning normally. When Abby woke up, she asked for a
pen and paper, where she wrote, “Jesus was embracing me all
the time, He never left me.”
Soon, Abby’s condition improved remarkably — her
other organs began functioning normally, her respirator was
removed, and all her other tests produced normal results. God
was truly at work!
After further testing, Abby was transferred to a regular
room where we stayed for two more days before she was finally
discharged. We went home after more than two weeks in the
hospital and accumulating almost a million pesos in hospital
bills. But we will forever be grateful for the love, prayers and
generous support of our family, friends and community. Most
importantly, we glorify God as we share about this miracle
that He has granted to our dearest Abby.
Point of Contact
I pray that you
receive your
miracles in
Jesus’ name!
I
By Bo Sanchez
pray that God lift your trials,
heal your diseases, bless your
problems and direct you to the
path He wants you to take. I
pray that God remove your fears
and give you the courage to
surrender your burdens to Him.
So place your hand over my
hand, and let’s pray with trust,
together with our prayer team of
intercessors praying for you right
now…
This page is our Point of Contact, our spiritual
connection.
Say after me…
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit.
Lord, I surrender to You my worries and
anxieties. I surrender to You my needs, my
problems, my trials. I place them all in Your big
hands. And I open myself to all that You want to
give to me. On this day, I say yes to Your love, to
Your blessings, to Your healing, to Your miracles.
And Lord, specifically, I ask for the following
miracles for my life...
I believe that You answer my prayers in the
best way possible! And I thank You in advance
for the perfect answers to my prayers. I also
ask for the special intercession of Mama Mary.
I pray all this in the Name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
SPECIAL INTENTION FOR THIS MONTH:
Bless the readers of Kerygma, Lord. Thank You for creating us according to Your most holy design. I pray that we will all respect that
design and not tamper with it. Grant us the wisdom to choose to feed ourselves with nourishing food, not only in the physical realm,
but also in the spiritual aspect. Help us to avoid temptations that will only cause us to sin and leave toxins in our beings. Fill us with
Your love so that we won’t have need for superficial love in our lives. Amen.
Praying for you, 40 KERYGMA • MAY 2013
Email your prayer requests to me at [email protected] or write to me at
Shepherd’s Voice Publications, #60 Chicago St., Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines 1109.

An Anonymous Sharing from a Virgin No More

Transcription

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