PRAYER

          

            “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

                                                                                                - St. Therese of Lisieux

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.  He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer.  Only when we humbly acknowledge that “we do not know how to pray as we ought to “(Lk. 18:9-14) are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer.

            It is indeed a blessing that the topic Prayer is included in our Big Tent Festival.  Let us recall salient points from Bro. Leo Ferrer’s talk on this subject.

A – Adoration is praising and acknowledging God as God

C – Contrition is the act of being sorry for the sins committed and confessing   them before the Lord; we ask for purification on this part

T – Thanksgiving is expressing our gratitude to God; Always remember the

      giver, not the gift.  “I decrease and you increase.”

S – Supplication is when we lay down before God our petition

S – Silence is the moment when we contemplate and simply wait for Him to talk.

          In prayer God wants us to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, and GO just as He had called Moses to deliver His people from Egypt.

Stop – forget a while everything that we are doing

Look – be focused on God

Listen – let God do the talking

Go – after hearing His message, “do whatever He tells you…” (John 2:5)

                                                                                   

Prayer of Intercession

brev cHacHi, brev broA and brev Lynelle

            According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Prayer of intercession consists in asking on behalf of another.  It knows no boundaries and extends to one’s enemies.”

            It is so amazing how intercession works.  Even St. Jeanne Marie Vianney claimed that intentions for other people are answered quickly compared when he prayed for himself.  Prayer of intercession can even stop the greatest destruction that can beset our world.  This kind of intercession was done by Abraham and also during the time of Jesus Christ.  Up to this present, by faith we believe that Mother Mary and all the saints in heaven are interceding for us.  The power of intercession even extends to those souls in purgatory.  Every prayer said for the poor souls is a source of consolation. Moreover, it speeds up their entry to heaven.

-       Brev Lynelle and Brev cHacHi

The Dangers of Being a Brev

A Pentecost Message

Hi Brevs,

Today we remember how the Holy Spirit was received by Mother Mary and the disciples.  Suddenly the disciples spoke in tongues and were filled with wisdom. They began to have confidence to go out and tell the world of the good news. Jesus has risen from the dead and salvation is at hand.

We have the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is our choice to be open to
the grace of God's Spirit. The Lord has made the new covenant with His children, by staying in the temple of our hearts. Open yourselves to God's wisdom. It is time to listen to His voice. Let that voice come
out from your mouth and bring out God's love to all.

Share the Holy Spirit. Make that little good deed at a time.

Have a Spirit filled Sunday and always claim the dreams that God has
planted in your hearts.

Otcho!!!

Breviarianly yours,
brev LooKie

It's Summertime!

Pick-up Line:  

"Brev ka ba?"

"Bakit?"

"Kasi...I chose you!"

      Hello fellow kabibis*! It’s summertime. after the egghunting days comes the jobhunt blues. Rather than spending time doing nothing, thoughts run on how to land a summer job with probably different reasons why. To earn a few bucks. Get an experience. Or just for the fun of it. Whatever, it’s the point of getting a feel of how it is in the real world.  Others  may dwell on honing their skills in music, cooking, sports, the martial arts, swimming or dancing. Still others set their sights on the environment by hiking, camping, beachcombing, or plain nature tripping. 

………………………..

      Since our naturalities tend towards the unknown, the deep and the sublime, we suggest you go to the roots of your life purposes.  With a five-letter word pronounced, FAITH, summer might yet just be the right time to explore and delve into your divine senses and sensibilities. The discovery will certainly surprise you.

……………………..

      Work give us the dignity of our being. If this is the case, then we might as well be working on our being here. There are easy ways.Here are some:

1.       Join a faith-based youth group. There are lots out there. Inquire from your parish office. They are onto different charisms. Music ministry or choir. A charismatic community. Outreach driven. Parish-oriented-altar servers, readers and commentators. Or maybe a formative-teaching team or a prayer group. They are very accomodating and always welcome newcomers.

2.       Be on the look out for exciting church activities. Summer youth camps (Big Tent Fest), recollections, retreats, or vocation orientation seminars are aplenty. They can change the way you look at life and be aware of this world’s trappings.

3.       Read the Bible. It's God's love letter to us. A manual of life.It’s ok to browse or bible-cut at first. That should put you in a starting mode. All things work together for good to them that love God anyway. Great stories are waiting to be read from the Old Testament. The Life of Jesus make up most of the New Testament and sprinkled with the writings of St. Paul and other witnesses to Christ in the flesh.

4.       Read the lives of Saints. Much inspiration is gained from those who followed in the footsteps of Jesus. Their blood became the seeds of of the Church. Just look at the fruits.

5.       Pray the Rosary. May and October are Marian months. When it’s your home’s turn to host the block rosary, do not absent yourself. Take the lead.

6.       Receive the sacraments. A good confession gives you the grace to be stronger the second time around and a worthy receiver of the Body of Christ which is the Eucharist.

7.       Do a good turn daily. This isn’t just a scouting blabber. Its wisdom and practice gives you a good night sleep and hope for another day.

8.       More are to be discovered along as you journey your way through. Be not afraid. The Spirit is in the lead.

……………..

     With a good prayer life in the offing, it will be no wonder why people get the giddy of being caught with nothing in their hand to make something out of. A sense of purpose will shape up and sooner you will find yourself  an effective instrument in His loving hands. Put God first and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.

.................

Note: *Kabibe" is any of the marine bivalve mollusks from which pearls come from, usually averaging 27 a shell.. ka, from the word kapatid, or next of kin. bi from our radio program B.I. meaning, Brev Influence.

Lenten Message by brev Mark Robe

It's Lenten Season all over again. A time to look into ourselves and reflect on what we have done with our lives. We only get to live once. Have you asked yourselves, "What if God takes me now? Will I be prepared to leave my life and face Him?"

I loved this movie which starred Angelina Jolie. The movie was "Life or Something Like it". The line that struck me in this movie was when the main character said, "Live each day as if it was your last." This helped me realize that we have to make every second count.


Have you expressed your affection to your love ones already? Or even let them know that you love them in any way? Have you given your gratitude to the people that have blessed you so much? They may be your family, friends or even your enemies. Have you forgiven the people who have wronged you or have you said your "sorry" to the ones you've hurt?

Life is a gift. It was given for us to enjoy and have the freedom to make ourselves truly happy. True happiness that you can gain by doing everything right. Every trial, problem, hurts and warfare becomes petty if we all look into our lives and see all the blessings, triumphs, fulfillment and love that God has set right in front of us. To quote Bo Sanchez, "Our life consists of 1% problems and 99% blessings." How true! We just don't see it because we are too busy looking into that 1% part of our lives. We are a race that looks into details yet we don't want to see the whole picture of our lives. Turn to that 99% of your life and you will see how your life is wonderful and is blessed by God.

For the coming days, let us reflect on our lives and see the goodness of God. Leave your problems and sins behind. Today is a new day. Your past won't define your future. Be renewed in God's spirit and be free of all that is not from God. He loves you and He wants you to share His love to everyone else.

Live each day of your life as if it were your last.


Breviarianly yours,
brev LooKie