it was june 20, 2007. it was a good day to celebrate with my companions in the International College of Sedes Sapientiae after we finished our bachelor's degree in theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. in the morning of that day, we had the final oral comprehensive exams and we all passed successfully. we went to St. Peter's for this picture (at left) and went for lunch at an austrian restaurant (buffet style and very cheap)... how nice it is to think (and also sad) 3 years have passed so quickly... hard to forget this moment we all shared.

NEVER MOCK GOD!

Make a personal reflection about
this. Very interesting, read until
the end...

It is written in the Bible (Galatians
6:7): "Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.

Here are some men and women who mocked
God:

JOHN LENNON:
Some years before, during his
interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, Today we are more famous than Him" (1966). Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

TANCREDO NEVES (President of Brazil): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him
from Presidency.. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President,
then he died.

CAZUZA (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During a show in Canecão ( Rio de Janeiro ), whilst smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you." He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.

THE MAN WHO BUILT TITANIC:
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it" The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.

MARILYN MONROE:
She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus". A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

BON SCOTT:
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang:
"Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell". On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

CAMPINAS/SP IN 2005
In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter - holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "MY DAUGHTER, GO WITH GOD AND MAY HE PROTECT YOU."
She responded:
"ONLY IF HE (GOD) TRAVELS IN THE BOOT, CAUSE INSIDE HERE IT'S ALREADY FULL"
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had, but surprisingly, the boot was intact. The police said there was no way the boot could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the
boot was a crate of eggs, none were broken..... Boot means trunk.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus. Many have died but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive.

JESUS!!!

"What benefit does it have, if a man
gains the whole world but loses his
soul? What can man give in exchange
for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26).


GOD BLESS US ALWAYS!!!

...a glimpse of the reality...

It is 1:34 in the morning. Well, what can I say. Living in the seminary for 8 years was like living in an idea. As seminarians, we were succumbed to the knowledge that life is easy and that we will be able to handle every situation with ease and hassle free. We were like a child, a blankslate who was given everything that he needs. We thought that life in the seminary is hard, difficult because of the pressure imposed especially on studies. And to think that it is the only thing on my mind that is hard to do in the seminary. Yet we complain. It is hard and difficult. Yes it is. Philosophy is really a hard course. Too much of philosophy is insanity, little of it is ignorance. But you see, aside from studying, whatelse is hard in the seminary? Is it hard to play basketball everyday? How bout cleaning the grounds or dorms? Is it hard to eat especially if you're food is already served? Yes we complain bout the hardships that we face inside the seminary. I doubt if once we leave the seminary, we will not complain... I said that living in the seminary is like living in an idea. Once we leave the seminary, there is the reality...the reality we learned in philosophy. The true face of life awaits us outside the ideal. Some would hide; others will run; still others would complain. But the big question is; how far will we think we can escape reality? We cant. We have to face it and struggle to face it until we die. On personal basis, I've been working for 2 years. Though I am able to apply and share the abundant knowledge from the seminary, still I fell short. There is still lacking. And so even if I did my best, my best isnt really good enough to pull things over. Experiences of delayed salaries, memos and shouting of boss are just mere examples of what I encounter and still I find myself hanging for the reason that without work I dont have anything to support my needs. You see in the province, you maybe able to eat with just P5 at hand while in Manila you cant. You will starve to death. You might ask; why dont i leave manila and return to bicol? The answer is simple. Challenges and sacrifices will make us a strong person. For a diamond to have a perfect shape it should be handcrafted perfectly. Working is just an example of how hard life would be. Other people experience more hardships than mine. In manila, you will see the reality. Starving people. Children sleeping on bridges, overpass, newspapers, etc...holdups, pickpockets. thousands of applicants applying for a few openings lining up for interviews. this is reality. we may stumble and fall. but we cant escape, we cant go back. the only motion is to move on. learn from it and face the hardships that the reality is imposing on us.
This is just a glimpse of what could be the culture shock that a newly grad seminarian will undergo once he leave the seminary. So while inside the seminary, enjoy and value the time you have coz when the time for you to leave the seminary a new life awaits you and there is no turning back.

I just thought that maybe someone might be interested on taking up a biblical theology course ONLINE. It's absolutely FREE. It's a made-easy course, and you can take it by your own phase coz you can download the hand-outs.
the author-professor is Scott Hahn, a former protestant converted to catholicism. His well-known book about his conversion and his wife's is called "Rome Sweet Home". He once visited our seminary last year (see the pix). Here's the site address. www.salvationhistory.com.
I think it's always nice to learn something more...hehehehe.

ako, si philippe (batch 2001), and cyben (batch1995)...

sr. del of ssdh

this is not intended, a mere test to post something on the blog. anyway, it's fr. rj and sr. del in Rome a year ago.