When Emotional Problems St.

Maria Candida de Jesus Subtle Attacks Against

Warrant Professional Help in the Eyes of a Follower the Family Explained

Inspiring You to Live a Fantastic Life

EMPOWER YOUR EMOTIONS

They Are the Windows to Your Soul
By Bo Sanchez

No. 246 Vol. 20 Nov. 2010

Are You

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 Kerygma November 2010

the boss
Bo Sanchez

I
t happened more than 60 years ago.
A frail, pale and bedridden woman named Magdalena was suffering with tuberculosis. Her breathing was labored.
An only child cared for her — a 19-year-old beautiful girl named Pilar.
One day, Magdalena said, “Pilar, I want to go to Pacita. Today!” She was talking about her sister. Both were very
close to each other. Tragically, like her sister, Pacita was also sick and bedridden for many years.
Pilar said, “Mama, what are you talking about? You’re bedridden! How can we go all the way to Auntie Pacita? She
lives in San Juan.” And because it was the Japanese occupation, there were very few vehicles on the street. Bringing a
bedridden woman to another city was almost impossible.
But the old woman was adamant. “My sister Pacita is calling me. I need to go to her now!” 
But her daughter put her foot down.  “Mama, we can’t leave the house!”  In Pilar’s mind, she thought her mother was
hallucinating.
But the very next day, it happened: Magdalena finally took her last
labored breath. Pilar was devastated. But as it was wartime, there were no
proper wakes or funerals possible. She had to act fast. On that same day,
Pilar placed her mother’s body in a cheap wooden coffin. She pushed the
coffin in a wheeled kariton (pushcart) all the way to the cemetery.
Late that afternoon, Pilar met a friend on the street.
“My condolences, Pilar,” the friend said, “your Auntie Pacita was a
good woman.”
“Huh?”  Pilar was confused.  “I think you got it wrong.  It was my
mother who died today, not my Auntie Pacita. She’s still in San Juan.”
The friend was shocked. “What? Your mother died?”
“Yes, my mother died early this morning,” Pilar said, “not Auntie
Pacita.”
Her friend covered her mouth. “Oh no. I’m so sorry. I just came from
San Juan. Your Auntie Pacita died yesterday, too.”
Pilar’s head was spinning. For a few moments, she couldn’t speak. Two
sisters dying one day after another!
Finally, she was able to ask, “Did you say Auntie died yesterday?”
“Yes. Why?”
She couldn’t believe her ears. “Yesterday, Mama was insisting that we
visit Auntie Pacita. Somehow, she knew that her sister was dying at that
precise moment.”
The woman said, “This morning, did you know that Auntie Pacita’s
body passed right in front of your house on their way to the cemetery?”
“This morning?” Pilar asked.
It was almost like Pacita fetched her sister Magdalena. 
On her way to heaven.
Sixty years later, my mother Pilar told me this amazing story. 
I never saw my grandmother because I was born 22 years after her
death.
It seemed as though the souls of Magdalena and Pacita were
communicating prior to their deaths — and after.
Friends, do you believe in ghosts? I believe in souls.
Do you have true stories like these that speak about how
there is life after death?  That reality isn’t just the physical
world we see?
These stories remind us that our life on planet Earth is
Do You Believe in

Ghosts?
short, and that we always need to be ready to go home to God
— anytime.
Happy All Saints Day, my friends!
May your dreams come true.

Bo’s clothes courtesy of Golden ABC/Memo.

 MAIL
ROOM

I started reading KERYGMA when I was in high school.

I’m 27 now. I am amazed and really eager to grab a copy
every month. I just love reading it. In the Point of Contact,
I feel as if God touches me every time I place my hand
over Bo’s hand. More power!

Kathleen A. Senados
Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental

KERYGMA stories have been consoling me every time

I’m down and out. Right now, I am full of hope that God
will soon answer the desires of my heart. Thanks, Bo, for
writing “The Boss.”

Dolores S. Gabrillo
Oslob, Cebu

This is my first time to read KERYGMA magazine. I know

that God planned this because I have so many problems
right now. I know God wants me to be enlightened by the
encouraging words of the writers, by the KERYGMA staff
and especially Bo Sanchez. It is really inspiring. I can
feel the presence of God. He will always be at our side,
maybe not in the way we want Him to but in some other
way. Like in my case, I felt God’s presence by reading
KERYGMA. Thank you so much to the staff of KERYGMA.
May God bless you always.

P. J. C.
Dumaguete City

Congratulations! What a beautiful release of July 2010

issue of KERYGMA. I enjoyed reading the articles most
especially on “Act of God or Act of Man?” Very informative
and conscience awakening about our responsibility
towards Mother Earth. Thank you so much and more
power, KERYGMA staff!

Nic Teves
Cebu City

We want to hear from you!

Email us at editsvp@shepherdsvoice.com.ph or text us at

0917-800-5535, or write 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-
858-9781 or email subscpription@shepherdsvoice.com.ph.
 Kerygma November 2010 2 3

JUST BREATHE
living by grace
rissa singson-kawpeng

Doubly Blessed
I Dare You to Outgive the Lord. It’s a Contest You Will Never Win.

R
andy was one of the guys who was always left out. At least in our circle of “elite” That night, Randy’s wife, Thessa, texted: “Of
servants. the two gestational sacs only twin B was
When our music ministry was invited to perform at the Vatican before fully developed. We heard the strong, steady
the Pope and 7,000 priests from all over the world, Randy didn’t make it to heartbeat. Gosh, we’re so thankful for this
the short list. miracle. God just showed us that if He wanted
When we traveled to Colorado to attend the Christian Artists Seminar in the to, He could have given us twins.”
Rockies, he wasn’t with us either. Randy later told me that he wasn’t
When over 30 members of community made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, guess disappointed. He was ready for the worst
who wasn’t in the group? and held on to the proclamation of the three
Randy was the type who was dedicated to the Lord and to the ministry. But young men in the Book of Daniel — that his
somehow, he’d pique some people with something he said, he did, he thought, he God is able to save, but even if He doesn’t, he
breathed, he ate — God knows what else — and soon he’d find himself back in the will continue praising the Lord (Daniel 3:17-
subterranean existence of servants who did not render “greater service.” 18).
But you gotta hand it to the guy. No matter how much discipline, rebuke and The big guy has a big heart and a big
rejection he got, he’d humbly acknowledge his fault — sometimes even if it wasn’t faith. No wonder he receives big blessings as
his — and press on. He accepted correction from community leaders as if it had been well.
the Lord Himself who had spoken. Despite reaching a point of financial distress for
choosing to serve instead of taking on well-paying jobs, he continued to give, to serve, And I will repay you for the years
which the locust has eaten, the
to love. grasshopper, the devourer, and the
But nothing is wasted with the Lord. I watched from the sidelines as Randy cutter… (Joel 2:25)
plumbed the heights of service. (Yup, I said “plumbed” because as our beloved Jaime
Cardinal Sin used to say, you have to stoop as you climb higher to greatness. And for Email me at justbreatherissa@gmail.com.
Randy, who stands six feet tall, that’s a lot of stooping!)
He became director of Bo Sanchez’s weekly Feasts. WHAT TO EXPECT THIS MONTH:
He traveled the world with him to shoot him for his Internet show Preacher in
Blue Jeans. I only have three words for you: Don’t miss
He became director of our TV shows. it! I’m referring to the biggest Catholic event
Head of our radio and TV department. of the year. Kerygma Conference 2010 with
Feast builder of the Makati chapter. its theme, Restoration, is happening on Nov
27-28 with an optional leaders conference
Even on the personal level, I saw how the Lord prospered him, too.
on Nov 26. Our venue will be at the PICC and
Rissa’s clothes courtesy of Freeway.

The perfect wedding to the girlfriend of his dreams. on the 28th at the Araneta Coliseum. We’re
A condo unit in a plush side of town. holding it in Cebu and Davao on Dec 4.
A brand new car. Participants get to choose which
But more than a year after getting married, they were still trying and praying for stream they’ll attend: Marriage Restoration,
a baby. Singles Restoration, Youth Restoration,
One night, when Randy arrived at our caring group meeting with his wife, Thessa, Faith Restoration, Inner Restoration, Single
they had an important announcement to make. Randy pulled out the results of an Parents Restoration and Happy Celibates
ultrasound and read, “Found two gestational sacs. Intrauterine twin pregnancy.” Restoration. There’s a stream for everyone!
Register now at 725-9999 or at our website
If it were a movie, I’d cry, “Corny! Over! Too much!” But no, it’s Randy’s real life.
kergymaconference.com.
A couple weeks later, they had another ultrasound to listen for the heartbeat.
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contribute to all our foundations and be a blessing to:
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 Kerygma November 2010 4 5

what’s inside November

vol. 20 no. 246
publisher
BO SANCHEZ
editor-in-chief
RISSA SINGSON-KAWPENG
1 35 columns.
3 Just Breathe Double
Blessed
managing editor 35 Kitchen Scribbles The
TESS ATIENZA
Rain Falls on the Just
creative director
REN CORTES and on the Unjust
graphics director 37 K Preacher Whole
REY DE GUZMAN the Bo files. Sunday
contributing writers
JUDITH CONCEPCION 1 The Boss Do You
MARJORIE ANN DUTERTE Believe in Ghosts?
ALVIN FABELLA 40 Point of Contact
ELEANORE LEE
DINA PECAñA special section.
JANE GONZALES-RAUCH
LEEANNE SY
photographer
ED SANTIAGO
DANIEL SORIANO
15 19 Are You Whole?
20 Celebrate Your Brokenness
26 Empower Your Emotions
30
DAKILA ANGELES
columnists
ROSANNE ROMERO testimonies.
ALVIN BARCELONA

20
chairman of the board
departments. 26 Once Broken But
BO SANCHEZ
Now Made Whole
marketing director
JOSEPH MARTINEZ 2 Mailroom 30 Get Professional
6 New You Help — Before It’s
KERYGMA. A Greek word meaning 7 Real Stuff Too Late
Proclamation of the Gospel. It is a
Catholic inspirational magazine. It aims
8 Dear K
to be an evangelistic tool to all nations, 10 Kfam Insider
providing Scriptural, practical and orthodox 12 Feast Snapshots
teachings to Catholics, particularly those 13 Kerygma Shepherd
in the Catholic Renewal, as an alternative
to present-day magazines. It is also
13 Laughingly Yours
committed to fostering the renewal and 15 It Happened When I
unity of the whole Christian people. Gave Jesus My Life,
Philippine copyright Shepherd’s Voice He Gave My Back My

33
Publications, Inc. 2010. No part of this
magazine may be reproduced without
Wife
permission. KERYGMA is published monthly 33 In the News
by Shepherd’s Voice Publications, Inc., Defending Family and
whose editorial and business offices are Life Against Subtle
located at 60 Chicago St., Cubao, 1109
Quezon City. Tels: 725-9999, 411-7874,
Attacks
725-1190. Fax: 727-5615. Email: editsvp@ 39 One Last Story
shepherdsvoice.com.ph. Website: www. Walking in the
shepherdsvoice.com.ph. Shadow of a Saint

ABOUT OUR COVER MODEL

The shoot for this cover was a breeze. Thanks to our model, Joel N. Saludares, who
was so game in doing the poses and facial expressions, which our creative director,
Mike Cortes, asked him to do.
Joel and his wife, Renee, are members of the Light of Jesus Family for several
years now and serve at the Ortigas Feast. In the June 2009 issue of Kerygma,
Joel shared with us how he and Renee, both medical technologists, handled their
failure to land a job in Singapore early on in their married life. Today, Joel is gainfully
employed as senior account director in an online advertising company. Renee recently
gave birth to their firstborn daughter, Luzia Joy.
 tips for personal development
NEW SMOKING
YOU RUINS YOUR
LOOKS

GETTING YOUR HEALTH

TEENS UP IN THE
MORNINGS
W hat if every cigarette you smoked created a black mark
on your face? You’d easily have kicked the habit, right?
But years of smoking impact your appearance more than you are
probably aware of. Here are some ways that smoking ruins your
appearance.
1. Bags under your eyes. You are four times more likely than
nonsmokers to feel unrested after a night’s sleep and to have dark
circles under your eyes. Nicotine withdrawal at night could cause
you to toss and turn.
RELATIONSHIP 2. Psoriasis. Although this is an auto-immune-related skin condition,
If you have a teenager at home, getting him out of your risk of having this scaly skin condition goes up when you
bed must be taking all your morning energy. The sleep smoke.
patterns of teenagers are different from adults and 3. Icky teeth. The nicotine in cigarettes can stain your teeth. So in
young children. Their bodies’ internal clocks tell them addition to buying cigarettes, you have to spend also for tooth
to fall asleep late in the night and to snooze longer whitening.
in the morning. Here are some tips to make morning 4. Premature aging and wrinkles. Experts say that smoking accelerates
wake-ups less of a struggle: aging by 1.4 years on the average. Smoking hampers the blood
supply that keeps your skin tissue looking supple and healthy.
1. Tone down the alarm. Set the alarm about 15 5. Yellow fingers. Nicotine also stains your fingers and nails.
minutes before he has to get up. It will help him ease 6. Thinner hair. The toxic chemicals in smoke damage the DNA in
into the day rather than jar him up by a strong blare your hair follicles and this results to thinner hair that tends to go
from the alarm clock. gray sooner as well.
2. Give him a good reason to get up. You can persuade 7. Scarring. Nicotine causes blood vessels to narrow down, thus limiting
him with his favorite breakfast, or you can arrange a the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the tiny vessels in the face and
morning carpool with his close buddy. other parts of the body. The result? Your wounds take longer to heal
3. Make it his responsibility. In the long run, this is and you end up with scars that are bigger and redder than if you
the best that you can do for your teen. Tell him he’s were not smoking.
old enough to get up on his own, so you’ll wake him 8. Tooth loss. You put yourself at a greater risk for all kinds of dental
up only once. problems including oral cancer and gum disease that eventually
leads to tooth loss.
Source: www.parenting.org 9. Skin cancer. Not only is smoking a leading cause of cancer of
the lungs, throat, mouth and the
esophagus; it also increases one’s
QUICK HEALTH TIP: risk for skin cancer. According to
a study, smokers are three times
Lima beans more likely to develop squamous
Lima beans, with its starchy yet buttery texture, have a delicate flavor cell carcinoma, the second
that complements a wide variety of dishes. The pod of the lima bean common type of skin cancer, than
is flat, oblong and slightly curved. Within the pod are two to four flat non-smokers.
kidney-shaped seeds that are cream or green in color. 10. Cataracts. Smoking increases
Lima beans’ high fiber content prevents cholesterol and blood one’s risk to develop cataracts
sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal. When taken with whole because of the oxidative stress that
grains, lima beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. smoke puts on the lens of the eyes.
Source: www.whfoods.org Source: www.health.com
 Kerygma November 2010 6 7

REAL
STUFF
Guyabano, One of the
Healthiest Fruits Known
to Man
T he Philippine
guyabano, known
also as sour sop, is cited
by the United States
Renewed Fight Against National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) in its

Reproductive Health Bill

book, Underexploited
Tropical Plants with
Promising Economic Value,

T he Catholic Church, through the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines, reminded President Simeon Benigno Aquino III in
a lengthy letter to reject the revived reproductive health bill and to
put a stop to sex education in schools beginning in the fifth grade.
In the 14th Congress, the Catholic Church succeeded in blocking
the passage of the bill, re-filed as House Bill 96, that proponents
say would promote maternal and child health and responsible
parenthood.
The CBCP supports House Bill 13, or the proposed “Act Providing
for the Safety and Protection of the Unborn Child and for Other
Purposes,” filed by Representative Roilo Golez early on in the 15th
Congress. The bill recognizes that the government should protect
the life of the unborn from conception, which is at the moment of
fertilization.
It further said, through its president, Bishop Nereo Odchimar
of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, “The constitutional protection of the
unborn child from the first instant of conception is a legacy given
to us some 20 years ago during the presidency of President Corazon
Aquino. In spite of all the foreseeable opposition of politicians and
powerful lobby groups, we pray that (her) moral legacy could be
finally and fully realized during the term of her son.”
as a “tropical fruit with
potential for development
as a processed industrial
commodity.”
Guyabano has a dark
green, leathery and spike-
like skin and measures from eight to 12 inches long and can weigh
up to 2.5 kilos. When ripe, its creamy and delectable flesh is light
yellow in color and soft.
It is cultivated in practically all parts of the archipelago. It
grows in any kind of soil and thrives on elevated areas up to 500
meters above sea level.
The white edible pulp of guyabano is high in carbohydrates
particularly fructose and considerable amounts of Vitaminc C, B1,
B2, potassium and dietary fiber. It is low in cholesterol, saturated
fat and sodium.
Overall, guyabano is a good health food that can be processed
into ice cream, sherbets and other beverages. Aside from this, its
leaves and roots have medicinal value. They were found to cure
colic and convulsions, reduce fever, and heal skin eruptions and
other inflammations.

Source: www.globalnation.inquirer.net Source: www.goodnewspilipinas.com

SAINTS AT A GLANCE
WHO: St. Margaret of Scotland
BORN AND DIED: Hungary, 1045 — Scotland, November 16,
1093
NOTABLE FACTS: Margaret was an English princess who,
together with her mother, sailed to Scotland to escape from the
king who had conquered Hungary. King Malcolm of Scotland
welcomed them and fell in love with her. Soon, Margaret and
Malcolm married.
Queen Margaret was a good influence on her husband
and his court. She made the court beautiful and civilized. The
princes acquired better manners and the ladies imitated her
purity and devotion. Margaret and Malcolm set a good example
by praying together. Her greatest sorrow in life was
when her husband and son Edward were killed
in battle, yet she offered this as purification for
her sins.
Margaret’s private life was spent
in constant prayer and pious practices.
She founded several churches and even
embroidered the priests’ vestments by herself.
She foretold the day of her death, which took
place at Edinburgh on November 16, 1093. She was
canonized in 1250 by Innocent IV.
 DEAR K
How Do I Handle
My Religious
Differences With
My Husband?
I am a Catholic wife married to a non-
Catholic. I was raised in a Catholic
school.
We now have one daughter and we
had her baptized in the Catholic faith. It’s
hard for me because my husband doesn’t
go to Mass with us. He attends his church.
I don’t argue with him regarding religion
but sometimes he blames my religion when
we have some problems.
I just cry and pray that he would
convert to Catholicism. He’s been with
his religion for almost 10 years now.
His mother and one brother belong to the
same religion, but his eldest sister is a
Catholic. I didn’t realize that this would be
a big problem in our relationship. If only
we were both Catholics, I would be free to
attend Catholic community activities like
The Feast, prayer meetings, and so on. I
can’t do this because he disagrees with me
and we end up with misunderstanding
every time I ask permission to attend.
Please advise me on how to handle
my family despite our having different
religions. And please pray for our family.
Mikaela
Vic Español is one of the elders of the Light of Jesus Fam-
ily. At present, he is the Feast Builder and preacher in the
Ortigas Feast every Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Roofdeck,
Prestige Tower in Ortigas Avenue. Vic and his wife, Ditas,
train the counselors of the LOJ Counseling Center. Vic is a
retired executive of a multinational life insurance company.
Dear Mikaela,
I understand what it feels to be in that situation. Differences in religion,
social or income strata, and race can really be a source of conflict between
husbands and wives. But these conflicts can be resolved.
Instead of focusing on the differences in your religious beliefs, you
may want to channel your attention on strengthening further your marital
relationship. Find out how you are affecting him. Look into areas in your
life that you can improve that will make these pleasing to him.
I remember a story from a book that I read during my earlier years in
the community. It is about a Christian pastor who had long been inviting
his wife to attend his church service, but to no avail. One night, while he
was preparing for his sermon in their dining room, his eyes happened to
glance at their wastebasket in the kitchen. He remembered that his wife,
since the time they got married, had been persuading him to bring out the
trash. But he always failed to do so. That night, and every night thereafter,
he started to bring it out. One day, his wife approached him and asked him
when his next church service would be. She would attend it.
I am also starting to learn that people change because they see the
change in us. This principle may also hold true in your situation.
I just prayed for you and your husband.
Vic
Email your questions to editsvp@shepherdsvoice.com.ph. Or if you
need to talk to someone, call (632) 726-4709 or 726-6728 to contact
a Light of Jesus counselor. Telephone counseling is 24 hours from
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 a.m. to 10
a.m. on Sundays. Face-to-face counseling is by appointment. For
correspondence counseling, email lojcounseling@yahoo.com or go
to www.kerygmafamily.com.
(632) 725-9999
Or Call
Pregnant? Confused? Abortion is not the answer. Contact
Grace to Be Born at 0927-501-0605 or email rortega_corinthians@
yahoo.com.
You may also contact Sr. Pilar Versoza at Pro-life Philippines.
Call (632) 733-7027 or text 0920-945-5494 or email pilar.verzosa@
gmail.com.

I Have Questions
About Our Faith
I am a renewed Catholic and I have a friend who
is a Born Again Christian. I feel intimidated when
our conversations touch on our beliefs and religion.
I would shy away or ignore the topic because I
know for a fact that she will ask me questions that I
don’t have specific answers to. I really don’t want to
discuss our faith with her because it often leads to
argument. I just tell her what I know based on my
limited understanding, which she could not accept
because, according to her, they are not in the Bible.
Please help me deepen my understanding on
the following issues raised by my friend:
1. Why do we confess our sins to priests when
they are mere human beings and sinners, too? Why
not confess straight to God?  2. Is Jesus not divine? Is Jesus not God? So, Mary can be called
2. Mary is not the mother of God but our Hail
Mary prayer says she is. Isn’t she the mother of
Jesus, not of God?
3. Why do we pray the Holy Rosary, a repetitious
prayer? She says it’s not in the Bible.
4. Why do we call Mary as the Blessed Virgin
Mary when she did not remain virgin because she
bore a child or children with Joseph?
These are some of the questions that my friend
always asks me. Please help me enlighten my friend
about our beliefs.
Doris
When Fr. Rudy Horst came
to the Philippines in 1984, he
was first assigned to the Im-
maculate Conception Parish
in Cubao. It was here where he
came in contact with the still
young Light of Jesus Com-
munity. 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.
Kerygma November 2010 8 9
Dear Doris,
How sad that your conversations with your friend often end up in
an argument. That should not be. Respect for each other’s faith and
beliefs should be the basis for a real friendship.
It is good you asked for clarification. These questions are asked
again and again by Born Again Christians even though they have been
answered so many times already in books and pamphlets written by
Catholics. Here some very brief answers:
1. Jesus told His disciples, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven
them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23). Jesus
could not be clearer in saying that forgiveness of sins is channeled
through His disciples and their successors, the priests, and not
by confessing directly to God.
the Mother of God, as the Church declared officially during the
Council of Ephesus in 431.
3. Right, the Rosary is not mentioned in the Bible. But, again, what
about all the prayers your friend and her community pray? Are
they all in the Bible? Are we not allowed to pray to God even
when the words are not in the Bible? When Jesus, according to
the Bible prayed whole nights alone in the mountains, did He
pray only the Our Father or only what was in the Bible? Was His
prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane a prayer that is in the Bible?
4. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Mary had children with
Joseph. The “brothers and sisters” mentioned are cousins
because in Hebrew there is no word for cousin; they were also
called brothers and sisters. If Mary had other children, why
would Jesus entrust His mother to the beloved disciple?
Much more could be said but the space does not allow it.
Please read The Faith Explained by Leo J. Trese, or Catholic
and Christian — An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood
Catholic Beliefs by Alan Schreck. In these and similar books you will
find answers to the questions of your friend. You may also contact
me by email. Please get in touch with Shepherd’s Voice for my email
address.
God bless you!
Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD
 Kfam INSIDER
With a home like Tahanan, the children are now free to
be children once again.
By Rey Ortega
F
our-year-oldMai-Mai (not her real name)
was dirty and hungry and terrified. A
barangay tanod (village security) found
her wandering aimlessly in Barangay Holy
Spirit, Quezon City. The tanod took pity on her,
fed her instant noodles and then brought her to
the barangay chairman.
The chairman was at a loss on what to do.
Mai-mai didn’t even know her parents’ full names.
And she had no idea where she lived or why she
was there in the first place. Her answers to the
chairman’s questions did not make sense.
In frustration the barangay staff brought Mai-
mai to GMA Television Network. Her photo and
brief description were flashed for several days on
the TV network’s public service program, with an
appeal to locate her parents or relatives. Or even
neighbors who knew her.
Nobody came forward to claim Mai-mai.
After weeks of futile waiting, the barangay
chairman brought her to the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD). But the latter
had budgetary concerns and could take care of
Mai-mai for a few days only. Not permanently.
The solution: DSWD brought her to Tahanan
ng Pagmamahal Children’s Home.
Finding Love
Mai-mai finally found a home — a caring, loving,
compassionate home, just as its name suggests.
Now a healthy, well-adjusted, fun-loving,
seven-year-old girl, Mai-mai is very much at home
with 15 other kids enjoying the compassionate
love of the Tahanan staff. She even goes to the
Tahanan ng
Pagmamahal
A Home Filled with Love for Poor Orphans
nearby public school and is doing well as a Grade Two student.
However, not all the Tahanan kids go to the same elementary
school.
Annalee (not her real name), almost 10, has been in Tahanan
for more than three years now. She was found abandoned in the
Payatas dumpsite. Her body was full of sores, her head infested with
lice. Frighteningly thin and severely malnourished, Annalee was also
suffering from tuberculosis.
A traffic police picked up Annalee for vagrancy and brought her,
mercifully not to jail, but to the local barangay center. The staff took
her picture, enlarged it and pasted photocopies of her photo marked
“MISSING” in the electric posts, barangay halls, public school walls,
all over the area and even in some Fairview barangays.
Sadly, nobody bothered to claim Annalee.
The local DSWD heard of Annalee’s plight and took her to Tahanan
ng Pagmamahal.
There in Tahanan, volunteer doctors from Bo Sanchez’s Light of
Jesus Community brought her back to health. Her sores disappeared
and so did the lice in her head and the TB. Her shyness gradually
disappeared as well.
Shield from Rejection
When the Tahanan staff tried to enroll her in the public school in
June 2008, Annalee suffered yet another rejection. School officials
discovered that she is a retarded child. They could not accommodate
her as they only accept “normal” children.
Ouch. That hurt.
At her age, Annalee cannot read and write. When she talks, what
comes out are gibberish sounds — sometimes intelligible, more
often than not just strange sounds. But she is talkative. And she
loves to laugh a lot.
Thank God for the staff’s heroic patience with her, over time her
words became clearer and clearer, though first-time visitors have a
hard time understanding her.

Caring Groups from The Feast take turns in visiting the children and giving
them treats to brighten up their days. Photos in this page show one such visit.
The Tahanan staff found a SPED school (a learning center
for special kids with learning disabilities). Annalee was
accepted and is being tutored.
Last March 2010, the SPED school gave her a “Most Helpful
Pupil” Award.
The angels in heaven erupted in wild jubilation! Abba
Father threw a great party!
And so did the Tahanan
volunteers.
“What God considers to be pure
and genuine religion is this: to take
care of orphans and widows in their
suffering.”
— James 1:27
Bo Sanchez, Tahanan president and
chairman of the board, invites you
to be a part of this ministry by
supporting it in whatever way you
can.
This orphanage is located in
146 Saint Francis St., Oranbo, Pasig
City. It is just three blocks away
from Valle Verde Country Club, very
near Shaw Blvd. Tahanan is duly
registered in SEC, DSWD, Mayor’s
Office, BIR and issues official
receipts for all donations received.
If you hear God calling you
today to reach out to one Tahanan
child, please contact Rey/Myrna
Ortega, executive couple director,
0922-859-7035 or 0917-803-9139
or email reylindo.ortega@gmail.
com.
Donations may be deposited in
BDO account no. 430191022 or BPI
2670-0006-32.
Kerygma November 2010 10 11
The Pain and Joy
of Giving
By Lolit Torres as told to Leeanne Sy
M y parents, both devout Catholics, raised my siblings
and me steeped in Christian values, so giving to the less
fortunate and sharing my blessings have become a way of life
for me. In fact, we all gave our first salaries to our parents. And
now that they are old, we help each other in supporting them.
But what makes giving painful for me now is the fact that
I’m a single parent with financial obligations to my nine-year-
old daughter who’s studying in Colegio de Sta. Rosa, Makati.
Just the same, I want to raise my daughter the way my parents
raised us up.
How I Learned about Tahanan ng Pagmamahal
Tahanan’s executive director, Rey Ortega, used to be my boss
in Rustan’s in the late 80s. Even after he resigned from the
company, we didn’t lose touch. I started out supporting the
ALAY Scholarship Foundation, his first scholarship foundation,
because I believed in its cause.
Then, when he told me about the Tahanan ng Pagmamahal
Orphanage, I was compelled by love to be one of its benefactors.
I even brought my daughter to the orphanage to teach her to
value more her blessings in life. She always had a blast with
the kids there during her visits. I think it’s an experience she’ll
never forget.
It’s the Love That Matters
I once told Mr. Ortega that I wish I could give more, but he told
me what God would have also told me, “It’s not the amount of
donations that count. It’s how much of your heart you put in
them and your consistency in investing for God’s Kingdom.”
Even during times when my budget was tight, I still
managed to give because I trusted that the Lord would help
us. True enough, He has never failed in fulfilling His promises.
Out of the abundance of God’s blessings, my heart longs
to share. I can say that I’m very blessed in my career. I used to
work for Rustan’s, SM, Inc., Enchanted Kingdom and Malayan
Insurance. I’m currently the group head for Human Resources
in Asialink Financial Corporation. Recently, I got a job offer to
work as a Human Resource Director in a company in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
You can probably
say that the blessings I
get are the fruits of my
generous giving. But
when I give, I don’t
expect anything in
return. I give out of the
abundance of God’s
love, which resides in
my heart.
These kids are able to laugh, play and study
because of benefactors like Lolit.
 FEAST SNAPSHOTS
Angeles Feast Reborn!
W
hen a
baby
i s
born
prematurely, most
likely the doctor
would advise
Marvin Tan leads The Angeles Feast through
that it be put in
his silent but engaging ways. an incubator for
a few weeks or
months. And then when it has fully developed, it is
taken out of the incubator and allowed to grow the
natural way.
Such is what happened to the Angeles Feast, a
weekly Charismatic gathering spearheaded by the Light
of Jesus Family.
In October 2009, the Angeles Feast was launched
under the leadership of the assigned Feast Builder,
Marvin Tan. But somehow it didn’t have the ingredients
that would make a regular Feast.
First, the music. A lone keyboard accompanied the
praise and worship session, and the crowd’s singing
easily drowned out the accompaniment.
Second, the number of participants in the
beginning fell below the required number for a regular
Feast.
Third, there was a shortage in servants to handle
the different ministries.
So they decided to put the baby in incubation.
Instead of a regular Feast, they held simple weekly
prayer meetings. Marvin Tan, who’s from Valenzuela,
Bulacan, went to Angeles City every week, conducted
chapter prayer meetings, talked to newcomers,
developed servants, and built relationships with the
participants. This he did for nine months until, with the
grace of God, they felt it was time to re-launch the
Angeles people now have another way of deepening
their spirituality through The Feast.
By Teena Villafranca and Tess V. Atienza
Angeles Feast on July 9, 2010.
The Angeles Feast is now being held every Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the
Angeles City Library Building located along Sto. Entierro St., across the old
Sto. Rosario Church and the Holy Angel University. The number of participants
ranges from 120 to 170 and might soon fill up the maximum seating capacity
of 250. When that happens, they plan to move to a bigger venue and SM
Clark is an option.
The keyboard player has several co-musicians on stage now: a drummer,
four guitarists (one rhythm, one bass, one lead and one acoustic) and
eight vocalists. The music ministry members include students from various
universities and colleges in Pampanga, all members of the Light of Jesus
Family, Pampanga. Aside from
their weekly service at the
Feast, they are also deployed to
different schools to encourage
the youth to serve the Lord via
school tours featuring praise and
worship songs as well as popular
mainstream music. Joining the
school tours are the members of
the kids’ dance ministry whose
youngest member is three-year-
old Ma. Isabella Villafranca. Young and old, they serve the Lord at The Feast.
Other ministries have been
set up and are manned by passionate servants. Aside from the music ministry,
they now have youth ministry, kids’ dance ministry, intercessory ministry,
greeters/ushers ministry, and food/facilities ministry. Caring groups are also
in place.
Marvin gets support from his council, composed of Teena Villafranca as
events head, Ruben Ramos as discipleship head, Ding Llemos as administrative
head, and Cesar Piscasio as finance head.
Fridays are becoming more exciting for the people of Pampanga. They
now say, “Thank God, it’s Feast day!”
For inquiries about the Angeles Feast, contact Teena Villafranca at 0927-
252-2317. For all other Feasts, call (632) 725-9999.
 Kerygma November 2010 12 13

Pat Morales: Marching from Failure to Feast LAUGHINGLY

A Kerygma Shepherd’s Story YOURS
By Tess V. Atienza Walking up to a department store’s
fabric counter, a pretty girl asked,

Y ou have just watched a program on ABS-CBN and you want

your husband to see it, too. Problem is, how? You don’t
have a recorder.
“I want to buy this for a new
dress. How much does it cost?”
“Only one kiss per yard,”
You call the network and you’re referred to the Media replied the male clerk with a
Asset Management Department, Pat’s territory. smirk.
Pat leads a lean group of four that handles requests from “That’s fine,” replied the girl.
internal and external clients for copies of their programs. Not a “I’ll take 10 yards.”
highly stressful job, she admits, so her small group is able to maintain With expectation and
a happy working atmosphere — enough to make her stay with the company for 10 years anticipation written all over his
now. face, the clerk quickly measured
Practicing her spirituality in her work place isn’t a problem for Pat. She uses half of out and wrapped the cloth, then
her lunch break every day to attend Mass at the station’s chapel. Every Friday morning, teasingly held it out.
she gathers her staff for a 15-minute prayer to thank God for the week that’s about to end The girl snapped up the
and to lift up each one’s concerns. When they hold their monthly meetings, they also pray package and pointed to an old
before discussing work concerns. man standing beside her.
Outside work, Pat communicates God’s Word by giving away Kerygma magazines to “Grandpa will pay the bill,”
friends and officemates. In fact, it is already part of her budget to buy at least 10 copies she smiled.
every month. Why she does so is her way of giving thanks to God for Kerygma and The Feast
for helping her rise up when she was down 10 years ago.

A Failure That Marked Her Life

Pat was a graduating Computer Science student at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila The 2000-member church was filled to
in March 1999. Unfortunately, she got a grade of 5 in her thesis defense — her first and only overflowing capacity one Sunday
failing mark in her entire life. She felt so down for being unable to join the graduation rites morning. The preacher was ready
at the Philippine International Convention Center. to start the sermon when two
Looking for inspiration, her feet led her to The Feast at Camp Aguinaldo. She knew men, dressed in long black coats
about it through Kerygma. And she found what she was looking for. When Bo asked the and black hats, entered through
first-time attendees to stand in front for the pray-over, she cried buckets of tears. She felt it the rear of the church.
was God standing in front of her, talking to her and comforting her through her trial. One of the two men walked
Since then, wonderful things have happened to her. She graduated in May 1999, joined to the middle of the church while
the Light of Jesus in 2000 and got employed at ABS-CBN in the same year. the other stayed at the back of the
church. They both then reached
Giving What She Received under their coats and withdrew
Pat soaked herself with God’s Word through The Feast, the Light of Jesus Community, automatic weapons.
Kerygma, her caring group, and the ministries that she is involved in. The one in the middle
In 2007, she enlisted as a Kerygma Shepherd. First, it was just to give a regular copy to announced, “Everyone willing
a friend in Pampanga. And then in 2008, she decided to get 11 copies every month, not to to take a bullet for Jesus stay in
sell but to give to people she wants to be inspired. She also avails of the privilege discount your seats!”
given to K Shepherds on other SVP products, especially books of Bo Sanchez. She uses Naturally, the pews emptied,
these as presents on Christmas and special occasions. followed by the choir. The deacons
After one Sunday Feast, Pat and her friend took the train, carrying her copies of the ran out the door, followed by the
September issue of Kerygma. Suddenly, Pat felt a different prompting on what to do with choir director and the assistant
the 10 copies. She gave one to a security guard at the train station, another to the elevator pastor.
operator in Shangrila Mall, to a janitress at the ladies’ room, then to a popcorn vendor. After a few moments, there
Their reactions? Shocked. Thankful. Or no reaction at all. were about 20 people left sitting
Pat trusts that the Holy Spirit will touch and change the life of whoever gets to read in the church. The preacher was
them — just as it changed hers many, many years ago. holding steady in the pulpit.
Deprived of the chance to join her batch’s graduation rites at the PICC 11 years ago, Pat The men put their weapons
marches now with much joy to the very same hall every Sunday for The Feast. away and said, gently, to the
preacher, “All right, pastor, the
Be the missing link to someone’s conversion or transformation. Inspire them with God’s Word hypocrites are gone now. You may
through Kerygma. Sign up now as KERYGMA SHEPHERD. Call (632) 725-9999 and look for Josie. begin the service.”
Or visit a Feast book table.
 Kerygma November 2010 12 15

IT HAPPENED

Monty and Yolly — a beautiful

couple whose love has been tested
by fire.

“I
m tired of sinning. I’m
tired of the competition
in my life.
I want to go
When I Gave Jesus back to You, Lord.”
Those were my words during

My Life, my first personal prayer to

Jesus when I was at the most

He Gave Me Back desperate point in my life. I

was on my way home riding my

My Wife
motorcycle half expecting for a
miracle to happen.
By Monty and Yolly Mendigoria as told to Leanne Sy
 I learned to call out to Him because I needed Him.
I surrendered everything — my extramarital affairs,
my various vices, my relationship with my wife, my
entire life — and asked Him to take me back. To seal
my covenant with God, I asked for an impossible
thing — that the Korean embassy grant me a visa in
a day for my team’s competition in Extreme Sports
in Busan, South Korea.
My visa was granted even after arguing with
Monty’s bike was his other love when the Lord was not yet in the the consul and despite their policy of giving at least
driver’s seat of his life. five days of processing time. Since God fulfilled His
promise, I’m also doing my end of the bargain —
trying to be a nice guy, a good husband to my wife and a responsible father to my children.
His Story
Monty and his girls (clockwise): Yolly, Myka Myrjana, Michella I was a smoker, a drunkard and a physically abusive husband
Marie and Maria Michaela and father. My booming voice was enough to scare the wits
out of my three daughters. When I disciplined them, I’d make
their mouths bleed. If Leonardo di Caprio was the Man in the
Iron Mask, I was the wimp with an iron hand. I even used my
martial arts prowess when I threw a monobloc chair at my
then pregnant wife.
I grew up with a physically abusive father. I’d be black-
and-blue from my father’s blows whenever I failed to obey
him. I think I became a blackbelter because I wanted to
protect and defend myself from the blows of life. Little did
I know that I’d go back to my homing instinct and do the
same thing to the woman I promised to love.

Her Story
I met Monty when I was only 16, and he was almost 18. His
friends invited him to perform at a BMX show in our place. A
common friend introduced us. We discovered we had a lot of things in common but what glued us together was a
common family problem that we had: we both wanted a way out. I perceived myself as a damsel in distress, and he
was my knight in shining armor. I fell in love with him and we eloped thrice. Our parents tried to separate us several
times but to no avail.
He first laid a hand on me after I had our firstborn. I nagged him because he continued to live like a single man.
He stayed out of the house most of the time and had affairs with different women. My mother-in-law said that I was
a fool for love. Even when my husband kept hurting me physically and emotionally, I was like a magnet drawn to him.
After 15 years of his beating and womanizing, I finally said enough is enough. I separated from him when my
eldest daughter ran away from home because of the beatings she received from him.

My Supposed Mourning
I mourned for a week when my family left me. I was left alone in the house. My pride was bruised because they left
me when I should have been the one who left them. After a week, I went out with friends and celebrated my freedom.
I was liberated from all sorts of responsibilities! No more nagging and fights. But I became worse — I smoked two
packs of cigarettes a day. I became a womanizer and a sex addict. I was no longer listening to my parents.
Even when I thought that I was having the time of my life, I had this nagging question in my head at the end
of the day: “Am I really happy?”
 Kerygma November 2010 16 17

Eventually, I also lost my friends. It heightened that nagging emptiness in my life.

That was when the visa miracle happened. As the head of the Asian Extreme Sports
Federation (AXF), it was important for me to be in that world event. The invitation to
compete in Korea got delayed, and we received the visa two days before we flew to
Busan.

My Conversion
When I started fulfilling my promise to God, I broke up with my five girlfriends and
apologized to each one of them. I told myself, “I can’t do this anymore.” The last vice I
surrendered was my drinking. I started hearing Mass every day and developed a personal
relationship with Jesus.
As a personal fitness trainer, I have some clients in Valle Verde Country Club where
The Feast is held every Sunday. I thought it was a Born Again congregation. When I got
a spam email from a friend that led me to www.bosanchez.ph, it piqued my curiosity
and I started searching for Bo on the Internet. His video teachings in Preacher in Blue
Jeans (www.preacherinbluejeans.com) inspired me to attend The Feast. I attempted
three times before I finally attended my first memorable Feast.
I was amazed at the kind of worship they had and got inspired by the way the
music ministry led everybody in the worship. I told myself that one day I’d join the choir.
Shortly after a week, I auditioned and was given the privilege to serve at the Makati
and Pasig Feasts’ music ministry. Even after encountering Christ, I felt like there was still
something missing in my life. It was Yolly. I wanted her back, but she hated my guts. My
prayer that time was, “Teach me, Lord, how to love her again.” Serving the Lord through music makes Monty
The Lord answered my prayer when I noticed the sweetness of my couple-friend, a fulfilled man.
Mark and Mickie of the Faith Rider’s Club. Since then, I’d always recall my happy
moments with Yolly and, with that, my love for her came back.
Since we hadn’t communicated for several years, I just told Jesus, “I will just serve You while I wait. I’m
confident that nothing is impossible with You and You will give me the desires of my heart.”

A Simple Text from Me

I didn’t know that Monty had already changed and
he’d been praying for our reconciliation every day.
One day, I asked my daughter for his number and
texted him out of the blue: “Kumusta ka na?” (How are
you?) He didn’t believe me at first because he knew
how angry I was at him. But I gave him my mobile
landline number and we started talking. It was our
first peaceful conversation after we had separated.
After some exchange of text messages, we had our
first date with our daughter as our chaperon.

Jesus Gave Me Back My Wife

I learned that no matter how hard the storms in life
are, they all pass. The first time I brought Yolly to
the Feast was the start of the series, “Relationships
Reborn.” Now, we’re back together and enjoying what
God has given us. He gave us hope and happiness by
fulfilling our dreams. It’s true that God gives what
we desire. Because when I gave Jesus my life, He
gave me back my wife.
A happy family once again now that Yolly and Monty are back
in each other’s arms.
 Kerygma November 2010 16 19

Special
Section

H
ere’s a story from one of Anthony de
Mello’s books. A disciple went to his
Master to seek advice.
“I am in desperate need of
help, or I’ll go crazy. We’re living in a single
room — my wife, my five children and my
in-laws. So our nerves are on edge, we yell
and scream at one another. The room is a
hell.”
“Do you promise to do whatever I tell
you?” said the Master gravely.

Are
“I swear I shall do anything.”
“Very well. How many animals do you
have?”
“A cow, a goat and six chickens.”

You
“Take them all into the room with you.
Then come back after a week.”
The disciple was appalled. But he had
promised to obey! So he took the animals
in. A week later he came back, a pitiable

Wh le?
figure, moaning, “I’m a nervous wreck. The
dirt! The stench! The noise! We’re all on the
verge of madness!”
“Go back,” said the Master, “and put
the animals out.”
The man ran all the way home. He came
back the following day, his eyes sparkling
with joy. “How sweet life is! The animals are
out. The home is a paradise, so quiet and
clean and roomy!”
Friends, like the disciple, we sometimes
feel that our life is hell. We experience all
sorts of emotions and at times we end up
being controlled by them.
Often all we need to do is look at what
we have rather than for something that
isn’t there.
In the following articles, you will learn
how to face your pain, your weaknesses and
brokenness. You will also realize how your
emotions can lead you closer to God if you
apply the habit of discerning the deeper
messages of your emotions.
Our brokenness and our negative
emotions are the windows to our soul.
They can put you in a hole if you fight
and escape what they’re telling you.
But they can lead to your wholeness if
you obey their deeper messages.
Your Emotions May Be Putting You So, do you want to stay in a hole or do
you want to be whole?
in a Hole Choose well — and be happy now!

by bo sanchez
Special
Section

Celebrate Your
BROKENNESS
By Bo Sanchez

And Receive Your Greatest Blessing

 Kerygma November 2010 20 21

ick Vujicic is a man whose Life spells

brokenness.
Born in 1982 with neither arms nor legs, Nick
wasn’t what his parents, a nurse and a pastor, were
expecting. Questions ran through their minds when they first saw
him. Would he live a normal, happy life? With his massive disability,
what could he do in life? Will he ever amount to anything? But Nick,
who struggled not with his physical disabilities but with emotional
challenges due to society’s condescending regard for someone like
him, managed to rise above his difficulties. And now, his biggest
tragedy has turned into his biggest blessing. He travels all over the
globe as a motivational speaker, touching lives and inspiring people
with his faith. He says, “If God can use a man without arms and
legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing
heart!”
Around us are people like Nick with varying degrees of handicap. They live
difficult lives. They should be complaining, right? But no, they aren’t.
They have accepted their brokenness, which, in turn, have become the source of their
greatest blessing. And in so doing, they have become a channel of God’s grace for the people
around them.
Brokenness can mean many things to different people. But first, what does the Bible say
about brokenness?
In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, St. Paul writes, “Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it
might leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in
weakness.’ I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may
dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
These are mysterious words. How can you be strong when you are weak? What does it mean
to delight in weakness, in hardship, in difficulty?
Take a look at the big shots in the Bible. They all had weaknesses and character defects.
They came from imperfect families. But God entrusted them with big missions. They were
blessed and became channels of blessing for others.
• Abraham lied.
• Moses stuttered.
• Gideon was a coward.
• Naomi was a widow.
• David fell into adultery and murdered.
• Elijah got depressed.
• Jeremiah was too young.
• Jonah ran away from God.
• Peter was impulsive.
• James and John had a temper.
• Paul was a persecutor.
• Timothy had ulcers.

So if you are broken or weak in any way, don’t despair. Your brokenness will become your
greatest blessing.
TYPES OF BROKENNESS
1. Physical Brokenness
Many people do not like their body. Do you agree?
You feel you’re too tall or too small, too stout or too thin,
too dark or too white. You don’t like your long chin, or your
flat nose, or your crooked teeth, or your kinky hair. Usually
it’s the women who have a problem in this area. Rare are
those who have learned to love their skin color, their face,
or their body.
OK, it’s good to be slim, but it shouldn’t be the goal.
The goal is to be healthy while celebrating the brokenness
of your body parts. God made you that way. Don’t cover it
or be embarrassed by it. Show it, share it and make it the
very feature that will make people remember you.
2. Emotional Brokenness
Some people are immobilized by their emotional
brokenness. It could be a phobia, a trauma or a deep
emotional issue that has built up over the years.
3. Spiritual Brokenness
Years ago, I decided to share about how I was molested
and how I developed an addiction to pornography. You,
too, may have sinned in the past but continue to struggle
in your sinfulness. Or it could be that you haven’t forgiven
yourself.
4. Family Brokenness
Your marriage may have failed or you came from
a broken family. While it’s unfortunate to have this
brokenness, remember that you aren’t alone.
5. Financial Brokenness
Are you literally broke or heavily indebted? Or you
don’t have a job or source of income? Remember, there’s
a way to get out.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR BROKENNESS
The main thing to do is to celebrate and accept your
brokenness. It’s easy to say but difficult to do when you’re
right there in the pit of your brokenness. And that’s
understandable.
Here are four ways that people cope with their
weaknesses. Check which one you’re using and how it’s
helping or not helping you.
1. Flight
People who cannot accept their brokenness resort to
flight. They escape rather than accept their brokenness.
They bury it in addiction. Every single addiction is an
escape from pain. If you have an addiction, it means you’re
not facing your pain.
2. Fight
They get angry and bitter. Nick Vujicic should have been
a bitter person, right? Who wouldn’t if you were born without
arms and legs? He should be angry with God and at life, but
no, he made a decision not to fight or flee.
3. Fantasize
Some people who have brokenness in their life cover it
up and pretend they are strong. I see this all the time.
I know a man who has a marital problem but he never
talks about it. I learned about the problem through his wife.
He always appears jolly in front of others even if his marriage
is breaking apart.
It won’t help if you hide it from others or even from
yourself.
4. Feast
People who feast on their brokenness have accepted and
shared it with others. I get this imagery of the “feast” from the
Mass.
One time, I went to Mass with my wife. In front of me
was the priest, bald, no hair and shining as can be. And then
there was something funny. Right beside him was his sacristan
with a toupee, which was pretty obvious. So I told my wife,
“Sweets, in front of you is my future.”
She said, “What?”
So I pointed to the two men in front, “Option A or Option
B. Show it or cover it? One day I’m going to lose my hair.
Option A is to expose it like the priest. Option B is to cover it
like the sacristan. What do you want?”
And she looked at me and said, “Listen to the Mass!”
I was laughing inside, but you see, that’s the mystery of the
Mass. It’s a celebration of the greatest tragedy and weakness of
the Universe. We celebrate Jesus’ dying on the cross. Why?
Because it has become the source of our greatest blessing, our
greatest victory.
So friends, don’t cover up your brokenness.
If you learn to accept, celebrate and bring your
brokenness before the Lord, it will become a source of
your greatest blessing.

FIVE STEPS TO “THROW A PARTY” WITH YOUR
BROKENNESS
STEP 1: Acknowledge your brokenness.
Many people don’t even acknowledge to themselves their
brokenness.
I met a guy who was taking drugs. He said, “Oh, I just take it
with friends, no big deal.” After a few months, that same guy lost
his job because he could no longer perform due to his addiction.
So, first things first: Admit to yourself and to God your
brokenness.
STEP 2: Share your brokenness with true friends.
Admit it. Stop hiding. Stop pretending.
Have a small group of people, a few trusted friends, who
will listen to you and who will love you enough to accept you
as you are and urge you to grow. I hope you find these people in
your caring groups at The Feast (our weekly prayer gathering at
the PICC and many other venues in Metro Manila and nearby
provinces) or in your own communities.
STEP 3: Seek help.
There are people who share their brokenness but don’t accept
help from others. Vulnerability doesn’t only mean telling people
about your weakness but also asking active help.
STEP 4: Bless others with your brokenness.
As you share your brokenness, you will heal others.
I can no longer count the number of people who have emailed
me about their sexual brokenness — and how my personal story
as a recovering porn addict has helped them and healed them.
You see, you’re not the only one who has a failed marriage,
or a homosexual orientation, or hounded by a huge financial
debt. There are other people who need your sharing and
encouragement. Be a blessing to them.
STEP 5: Accept the brokenness of others and love them anyway.
When you accept your own brokenness, it is much easier to
accept the brokenness of others. A judgmental person is really
a person who hasn’t accepted his own weaknesses. Show me an
overly critical person and I will
show you a person who is really
critical of himself.
You cannot accept the
brokenness of others if you do not
accept your own brokenness.
In the story of the Prodigal Son, the
father had two sons: the younger son and the
older son. When the younger son returned,
Kerygma November 2010 22 23
poor and broken after squandering his inheritance, the father
accepted him back and threw a party. But someone didn’t join
the party — the older son who had kept all the rules. Why
didn’t his father throw a party for him? Because he couldn’t
accept the brokenness of his younger brother. And many of us
are like that.
When my youngest son, Francis, first saw a crucifix when
he was still very young, he asked with a concerned face, “What
happened to Jesus? How pitiful He is!”
Friends, if you are going through a difficult time now and
it is breaking you apart, look up to Jesus.
He didn’t stay on the cross for long. After three days,
He rose again. And His resurrection became the foundation
of our faith. The Mass where we celebrate His death and
resurrection in the form of the Eucharist is a source of blessing
and healing for us.
Touch your brokenness.
Feel it and acknowledge it.
Share it with other people.
Seek help. And when you’ve become whole again, share
your journey from brokenness to wholeness with others.
That’s how you become a channel of blessing for others.
Be that blessing, my friend.
For your comments, email me at bosanchez@kerygmafamily.
com.
Bo’s Action Steps:
1. Identify your brokenness or weaknesses in
all areas of your life.
2. Decide to face them and accept them in
God’s presence.
3. Select a few trusted friends with whom
you can share your brokenness and seek
their help as you try to overcome them. Or
if you want, you can go to a counselor in
your parish or community for professional
help.
4. Once healed, become a wounded healer
for others.
 Special Section

TESTIMONY

By Mary* as told to Judith Concepcion
* Real name withheld by request.
Once Broken
But Now
Made Whole
I
woke up in the middle of the night.
My shirt was
wet with my own sweat and my heart was
beating rapidly.
It was one of those nights again.
Years have passed since my cousin molested me.
I was only nine then. My uncle did the same when I
was 15. But the effects bruised my young life in ways
I wasn’t aware of. On the outside I pretended that
everything was all right, but like a wound that wouldn’t
heal unless the pus is expelled, mine got buried only
deeper. Nobody in my family knew about it. I kept the
secret to myself for fear that my uncle would hurt me
as he had threatened. So I suffered in silence.
The sight of a needle was enough to make me tremble
inside. I developed a phobia for anything that could hurt me.
I was already 17 by the time my uncle and cousin changed
residence. Only then did I feel out of danger, but only physically
because the pain and the trauma remained within me for years.
It was like being in a dark prison cell where only a glimmer of
light comes from a tiny window above my head.
 Kerygma November 2010 24 25

For years, I was distant to every male I encountered except my father and brothers. I distrusted men and went
out only with my female friends. I didn’t have a nightlife. I attended parties only if my brothers went with me. I
focused all my energies on my studies. I became more prayerful and got involved in religious activities. This became
the window that opened myself to healing and wholeness.

Rising from Brokenness

I first confided my dark past to my college best friend. Then I opened up to a male friend whom I have known and
learned to trust since I was 12. He assured me, “I will protect you and love you and will never hurt you.” He later
became my husband.
I was already 28 years old when I found the courage to confide my secret and my deep hatred for my uncle to a
priest. I forgave my uncle but I didn’t forget. I was only able to forgive him totally after I dreamt of his deceased older
son who said to me, “I am sorry.” I took that as an appeal on his part for me to forgive his dad for his wrongdoings.
Two years later, I confided my past again to another priest because I couldn’t forgive myself. I blamed myself for
not doing anything to stop my uncle from molesting me. I saw myself as dirt and I thought that God saw me in the
same way. By opening up to a priest and receiving absolution, I felt that I was washed clean and felt secure of the
love of God who accepted me in my brokenness. I began to forgive, accept and love myself.
In 2007, in the radio show Gabay sa Biblia, I heard Bo Sanchez share about his past. He said, “It will heal you
completely if you can tell others openly about yourself.” From then on, I became more open in sharing my past to
trusted friends and to my caring group members in my prayer community.
I can now say that I am completely healed. The feelings of hurt, hatred and shame are all gone. I feel light.
I believe that my past hurts and experiences make me more effective in my ministry as a prayer warrior. I have
become more compassionate and understanding of the people who are hurting and were abused. I try my best to
minister to them.
I once was broken but now I am made whole by the loving grace and mercy of God.
 Special
Section

Empower Your Emotions

THEY ARE THE WINDOWS TO YOUR SOUL

By Bo Sanchez
 Kerygma November 2010 26 27

A
doctor goes to a home for the aged,
something like
Anawim, our home for the abandoned elderly in
Montalban, Rizal. The guy in charge of the home
said, “Doc, you need to talk to these three old
men. Their minds are getting weaker. You have to give
them a test.”
So the doctor goes to the first man and asks, “Lolo, tell me, what is
three times three?”
“274,” came the reply.
The doctor rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling, saying to himself, “Oh, boy!
This doesn’t look good.”
Then he goes to the second man. “It’s your turn, Lolo. What is three times three?”
“Tuesday,” replies the second man. The doctor shakes his head. “Oh, boy! It looks really
bad.”
He asks the third man, “OK, your turn. What’s three times three?”
“Nine,” says the third man.
“That’s great!” says the doctor. “How did you get that?” “Simple,” he says, “just
subtract 274 from Tuesday.”

Emotions are like that. They can get as
complicated as “274 minus Tuesday.” But let’s try
to make it simple — as simple as “three times three
equals nine.”
Ready?
Let’s see what the Bible says about emotions:
He heals the broken hearted and binds up
their wounds.
— Psalms 146:3
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.
— Galatians 5:22
Be happy all the time.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:16
A happy heart is good medicine and a
cheerful mind works healing, but a broken
spirit dries up the bones.
— Proverbs 17:22
THREE WAYS OF LOOKING
AT YOUR EMOTIONS
1. As Monster or Enemy
When you look at your
emotions as monsters, I’m
sure you wouldn’t dare touch
it, much less feel it. And when
you do that, what happens?
You become stoic. In Tagalog,
it’s manhid.
When stoic people are
happy, they don’t show it.
When they are sad, they don’t
show it either.
A stoic person would say, “I
lost my job last week. My house burned
down three days ago. My daughter eloped
with her married boyfriend. And I found out
my son is on drugs. Aside from that, I’m OK.”
2. As Master
When you see your emotion as your
master, you obey what it tells you. You say,
“I’m not plastic. What you see is what you
get. When I’m angry, you’ll see me angry. And
I will say what I want to say because I am not
plastic.”
It’s important not to be plastic, yes,
but it’s important to be loving. You
don’t go to heaven because of
emotional honesty. You go to
heaven because of love. In
the hierarchy of values, love
is more important than
emotional honesty.
Sometimes I go home
after preaching the whole
day and I’m exhausted. After all the adrenaline has left the veins
of my body, I feel low. But I have a wife and two boys who need a
happy husband and father. If I’d simply be an emotionally honest
person, I’ll enter the house with a sad, depressed look and say,
“I’m low. Buzz off, will you?”
I can’t do that. So before I enter the house, I practice smiling.
And so I greet everyone in the house, “Hi!” And my wife and my
kids come running and embracing me.
And then later on, when my wife and I are alone, that’s when
I become emotionally honest. I tell her, “Sweets, I feel low after
such a big event today.”
The key to life is balance.
3. As Friend
You listen to your friends, right? And you respect them. But
you don’t always follow what your friends tell you to do. You
discern if what they say is the best thing to do.
THREE SIMPLE WAYS OF
EMPOWERING YOUR EMOTIONS
1. Feel your feelings and
understand yourself.
All of us have experienced anger,
sadness, grief, jealousy, worry and
other kinds of emotions. It’s OK to
feel those things. You acknowledge
your feelings. When you’re sad, say,
“I’m sad.” You feel it.
But here’s the key: You have to
understand that emotions give you three
important gifts:
a. It reveals who you are;
b. It brings you closer to God;
c. It reveals a message that will move you to grow.
Emotions, especially the negative ones, are windows to your
soul. Every negative emotion you experience has a surface message
and a deeper message. Your growth comes from discerning the
deeper message and following its recommendation.
There’s an old couple who lived in the province. They were
going to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and the husband
decided to treat his wife to a weekend stay in a hotel in the city.
So they went to the city, entered the hotel and were awed
by the chandelier, the carpet, the marbled floor, and the people
dressed in gowns and coat and tie. They checked in. After the
front desk guy gave them the key to their room, a bellboy came
to take their luggage. He led them and they followed, smiling to
each other. Then all of a sudden, the wife got angry at the bellboy.
She yelled, “We refuse to settle for such a small room. It has
no windows, no bed, and no air conditioning.”
“But, madam!” replied the bellman.
“Don’t ‘But madam’ me,” she continued, “you can’t treat us
like we’re a couple of fools. Just because we don’t travel much,
and we’ve never been to the big city, and never spent the night at
a hotel, you’re giving us this small room with no windows, no bed,
no air conditioning! I’m going to complain to the manager.”
And the bellboy said, “Madam, this isn’t your room; this
is the elevator!”
Your feelings are elevators that bring you to where
God wants you to go. At least that’s what He wants to do.
Your feelings of anger, sadness or worry — they’re not your
permanent place. It’s just the elevator that’s supposed to
move you to take action, to follow the will of God.
2. Follow the wisest thing to do, not just your emotions.
Ask the greatest question ever: “What’s the wisest thing
to do?”
The greatest question is not, “What are my feelings
telling me to do?”
As I mentioned above, each emotion has two messages
to you: a surface message and a deeper message. And always,
you have to discern the deeper message.
One day, I felt sad. I didn’t know why I was feeling that
way? Immediately, I discerned why was I feeling this way.
The surface message was: “I’m a terrible person.”
My depression was telling me: “You’re lousy. You’re a
terrible person. You’re not doing any good. What are you so
busy about? Look at all the problems you’re going through.
You’ve swallowed again more than you can chew. You’re a
proud and boastful man.”
But I discerned for the deeper message.
The deeper message was: “I’m overworked. I need some
rest.”
I lacked time to rest, to pray, to be with my family.
When I don’t rest, my body and emotions tell me to stop.
So I scheduled a vacation. The moment I wrote it down
on my calendar, I automatically felt so much better. I wasn’t
such a terrible person after all!
3. Learn to be happy more often.
There are some truths about happiness that we all need
to remember:
Truth No. 1: Don’t wait for something to happen before you
become happy. Be happy now!
Some people say, “I’ll be happy when I finish school, or
when I find a job, or when I get married, or when I lose 10
pounds.”
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Truth No. 2: You can choose to be happy wherever you are
by choosing the blessing that’s already there. Because when
you thank the Lord for what you have, you attract more
blessings into your life.
What you consider small or worthless now is incredible
wealth to someone else. Sometimes when we compare our
lives to something that’s worse, we appreciate that which
we have. So be happy with what you have.
Your salary may be low now, but there are so many
people who do not have jobs. You may be sick now, but
guess what, there are many people who have more serious
illnesses.
 Kerygma November 2010 28 29

Truth No. 3: Don’t live your life to please The people around me complained, “Oh no! We waited for two hours and now it’s
other people. cancelled?”
Pleasing other people will not make Deep in my heart, I did not feel any kind of frustration. Really. I asked myself,
you happy. People pleasers are one of the “Am I in denial?” I should be frustrated like the rest. But no, there was not one
most miserable people in the world. iota of frustration in my heart. You know why? Because in my heart I knew that
One woman came up to me and said, God had a purpose for this difficulty.
“Brother Bo, every day I try to meet the You know, sometimes our dreams are not fulfilled. Sometimes there are delays
needs of the people around me. I try to in the answer to our prayers and our plans are not coming true.
make other people happy. But right now, When that happens, we need believe that God has a purpose.
I’m just so drained. I don’t know what to So, while everybody else around me was complaining, I whipped out my cell
do.” phone, called my driver and told him to pick me up. My talk was at 6:30 in the
I told her, “All your life, you just evening, so there was enough time to take the car and reach Baguio before 6:30
wanted people to like you. Stop that. Start p.m.
liking yourself. Instead of making other I had the most wonderful time in the car. I could not write on the computer.
people happy, make yourself happy.” I could not read a book. So what did I do? I thought wonderful plans for the
I am a people pleaser myself and God community, for my family, for my personal life.
has been healing that area of my life little When I arrived in Baguio, I said, thank God the flight was cancelled. If I rode
by little. the plane, I would not have thought of all those beautiful plans.
My question: Are you allowing God has a purpose. When you go through your trials, when you go through
one person in your life to steal your your problems, I want you to believe that one of the ways of being happy is to
happiness? Are you unhappy because believe that God has a beautiful purpose for your trial, for your problem, for your
someone in your life is unhappy? It difficulty.
could be your spouse, or your child, or
a friend. This person is dumping all her Email me at bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com.
problems on you. This person is expecting
you to solve her problems. This person is
emotionally demanding, asking for your
time and attention, getting hurt if you
don’t give her your time and attention.
Here’s the solution: Accept the fact
that you can’t make them happy. Accept Bo’s Action Steps:
the fact that you’re being controlled and
manipulated. You’ve tried but it doesn’t
work. You did your part — now leave the 1. What negative emotions do you usually experience?
person in God’s hands.
No one should steal your happiness. What are they telling you about yourself? Discern
You serve them, you love them, yes, but the surface and deeper messages.
you don’t let them steal your happiness.
2. Are you putting your happiness on hold, waiting
One Last Story for something to happen in your life? What is it?
I experienced this last year. I was at the Look at what you have and find your happiness
airport at 8:30 a.m., catching a 9:30
a.m. flight. I was going to Baguio City to there.
give a talk at 6:30 p.m. Suddenly, they
announced, “Your flight to Baguio will be
delayed.”
So I just sat there, writing on my
laptop. You know why I ride planes when
I go to Baguio? Because I do not like
the idea of riding in the car and doing
nothing. At least in the plane, I can write
on my laptop and stay productive.
So that morning, at the airport, I was
also productive.
Then at about 10:30, after two hours
of waiting, they announced, “Your flight
to Baguio has been definitely cancelled.”
 Special Section

INTERVIEW

Get Professional Help­­—

Before It’s Too Late
L
eila had been feeling down for days, so much unlike her usual bubbly self.
She didn’t know why. She talked to her friends. They tried to lift her spirits and
then told her, “We’ll pray for you.” The following week, her friends and family got
the shock of their lives. They found Leila hanging by her bedroom window.
Like Leila, there are millions of people all over the world who have opted to take
An Interview with their own lives when there should have been a better way out — a better way of coping with
the challenges of life.
Maria Teresa Gustilo-Villasor,Ph.D.
We Filipinos are known to be a happy, resilient people. Despite all the tragedies that
By Tess V. Atienza have ravaged our country especially in the recent years, our sense of humor has remained
intact. Figures show, though, that in 2004, the Philippines had the highest incidence of
depression in Southeast Asia, with over 4.5 million reported cases of depression. Sadly, only
three percent were clinically diagnosed as depressed. What about the other 97 percent?
KERYGMA interviewed Dr. Maria Teresa Gustilo-Villasor, sought-after clinical
psychologist and counselor, to find out when a person should seriously consider getting
professional help in facing his feelings.
 Kerygma November 2010 30 31

KERYGMA: How do you differentiate and close friends in the person’s behavior changes is essential. It doesn’t help to be
emotional health from mental health? confrontative or to try to talk the person out of feeling low. A gentle suggestion that
Are they the same? the person may need to talk about her concerns and offering to accompany that
Dr. Villasor: Emotions are affective person to a counselor or psychologist can be the first step.
reactions to experiences while thoughts
are one’s cognitive impressions about KERYGMA: As Filipinos, we do have a tendency to spiritualize our problems.
such experiences. Thoughts and Is this good or bad for one’s emotional health?
feelings form part of the attitudes, belief Dr. Villasor: Spiritualization is neither good nor bad. It is, like medication, a
and values of the individual. The ability tool. What can turn this tool to the negative is when it is used without taking
to balance these thoughts and feelings responsibility for one’s behavior. If one relies on medication alone to “get well,”
to come up with appropriate action is that is not enough. One needs to take responsibility for one’s health and become
called mental health. So, to answer your aware of what aspects in one’s life can impact wellness. The same goes for prayer.
question, they are neither different nor Prayer is good, but if the person relies on spiritualizing all concerns and does not
the same. Instead, they go together and look into his role in praying through action (that is, taking responsibility for one’s
determine how an individual responds relationship with self and others), then personal growth is affected.
to his experiences.
KERYGMA: There are many good-hearted people who act as pseudo counselors,
KERYGMA: When is an emotional especially in lay communities. While it is good to open up about one’s problems,
problem serious enough to warrant there are some
professional help? that can only
Dr. Villasor: It is normal for people be handled
to have emotional problems, or to competently by
experience varying emotions as they a professional
go about their daily lives. Negative counselor or
emotions, like simple anger, feeling psychologist.
low, anxious, etc., normally come and What would
go. But when the person’s occupational you advise
and social functioning are impaired these pseudo
or threatened, then it’s time to seek counselors?
professional help. Dr. Villasor: I
cannot assume
KERYGMA: What symptoms should to “advise”
one look out for in one’s self or family others. The
members to say it’s time to go for most important
help? thing for
Dr. Villasor: Among the symptoms are: anyone who
changes in behavior such as eating, works with the
sleeping and self-care (including soul of others,
hygiene); withdrawal from usual social according to
interaction; extreme emotionality Thomas Moore
(weeping, angry outbursts); lack of in his book,
empathy; and self-destructive behaviors. Care of the Soul,
When one or a combination is to know your limitations, know that there may be others who can give what you
of these symptoms lasts two weeks, cannot, and to remember that this is not about you — it’s about the other person.
professional consultation is needed as
the problem could become aggravated,
lead to more serious problems, Dr. Maria Teresa “Dido” Gustilo-Villasor obtained her doctorate degree
increased conflict at home, work and in Clinical Psychology and master’s degree in Clinical Counseling Psychology from the
other self-destructive behaviors. Ateneo de Manila University. A PAP Certified Clinical, Developmental and Assessment
Psychologist, she maintains a private practice in Clinical Clinical Psychology and
Psychotherapy at Makati Medical Center. She is a faculty member at the Asian Social
KERYGMA: Filipinos don’t normally Institute and the Center for Family Ministries at the Ateneo de Manila University.
seek professional help for their
emotional problems because of the CeFAM is a ministry undertaken by the Society of Jesus and its lay partners. CeFAM seeks
stigma associated with it. How can we to promote family well-being, healing and growth. Their services include counseling for
encourage people to seek help before individuals, couples and families; marriage preparation (CANA) and parenting seminars;
it’s too late? academic programs and trainings for persons engaged in pastoral care of couples and families.
Dr. Villasor: Compared to previous Contact CeFAM at 426-4289 up to 92 or cefam@admu.edu.ph. You may also visit their
years, more people seek help these website www.cefam.ph.
days. However, the alertness of family
 Kerygma November 2010 50
32 33

IN THE
NEWS

Defending Family
and Life Against
Subtle Attacks
R
aquel is 25 years old and is three months pregnant with her sixth child. The
midwife has just checked her. “You have to deliver this baby at the hospital
this time,” she says.
Raquel’s usual bubbly self turned pensive. So many questions are running
through her mind. Where will I get the money for my hospitalization? Should I continue
with this pregnancy? Liza, my neighbor, said she knows someone who can terminate this
pregnancy and she said it’s safe. What will my husband say? Is it really a sin to have an SAFE is a program
abortion? Will God ever forgive me if I had one? If I allow this baby to live, how can we feed
her? under the Episcopal
The economics of feeding another mouth is a concern that has led more and
more women to take the forbidden path: abortion. It is just one among the many Commission on
attacks against family and life that threaten the very survival of society.
In the Philippines, the threats are so real yet so subtle that the public can be Family and Life of
deceived. If not for the Catholic Church’s strong stand against the reproductive health
bill in the last two Congresses, abortion and contraception would have been legalized the Catholic Bishops
in the country.
Conference of the
The SAFE Program
In 2001, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin issued a pastoral letter entitled “Subtle Attacks Philippines.
against the Family Explained (SAFE).” From this letter evolved a program called SAFE.
SAFE is founded on the belief that “the future of humanity passes by way of the
family. It is therefore indispensable and urgent that every person of good will should
endeavor to save and foster the values and requirements of the family… Loving
the family means identifying the dangers and the evils that menace it in order to
overcome them” (Familiaris Consortio, Pope John Paul II). By Tess V. Atienza
The SAFE program is conducted as a three-day seminar but can be modified
into a one- or two-day seminar to suit participants’ availability. It covers seven
modules, namely, Demography and the Overpopulation Hoax; New Age, an Anti-
Christ Spirituality; Sex Education and the Hidden Dangers in the Classroom; Truth
and Meaning of Human Sexuality; Mass Media and the Family; Attacks on the Gospel
of Life; and The Family in God’s Plan.
The program operates under the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life
headed by Bishop Paciano Aniceto, with Fr. Gregory Gaston as program director. It’s a
huge task to spread the program all over the Philippines, but they are relying on the
zealous and like-minded people who have caught on the passion to protect family
and life against the attacks. SAFE now has a team of facilitators who are available to
conduct the seminars in different parts of the archipelago.
Kerygma joins the Catholic Church in defending the Philippines against the subtle
attacks on family and life by presenting the SAFE Series starting with this issue.
For more info on the SAFE Program, visit www.safe.ph or call 696-0382/1729.
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KITCHEN SCRIBBLES
By Rosanne Romero
The Rain Falls on the
Just and on the Unjust
A
t a dinner get-together,
someone attempting
to be sagacious said,
“Everything bad that
happens to you, you have brought
upon yourself by thinking it —
sickness, financial lack, failure,
etc.” She glanced at my direction
quickly after having stated this. I
kept silent.
Never mistake my silence for depth.
Or approval. Because after she had said
this, I thought, Gosh, anyone remotely
intelligent would know better than to
believe a statement like that.
In fact, I had plenty to say in response,
but I was certain I would froth in the mouth
as I made my point, and thereby embarrass
some of my immediate family members
seated on the same table.
Choosing to refrain from speaking
busted my fuse. What I wanted to say was,
“Oh yeah? Say that to the relatives of the
girl who was murdered and then stuffed
Kerygma November 2010 34 35
photo © fjsanchez
and cemented into a drum. They constantly thought of this possibility,
you think? Following your line of thought, they dreamed this and wished
it?”
“Say that to the relatives of the people who got bludgeoned to
death with a backhoe in Maguindanao. That came upon them because
they thought it in their minds: One fine day, some people are going to
plot our murder. Wouldn’t it be exciting to be bludgeoned?”
“Tell that to my sister-in-law whose son got SSPE (subacute
sclerosing panencephalitis), a progressive, usually fatal brain disorder
occurring months to usually years after an attack of measles. So you
mean this came upon him because at four years old he said, ‘I’m going
to be fatally ill’?”
“Say that to the tourists from Hong Kong who were held hostage on
their last day in Manila. They thought much about this? Brought it upon
themselves? Say that to the angry Hong Kong nationals.”
“Lastly, say it to me. I’ve had multiple sclerosis for 24 years. That
statement is supposed to help me? I asked for MS? I asked to be disabled
and diminished in so many minute ways? I asked to be here?”
Preposterous. No one knows why these things happen. Why do bad
things happen to good people? And the reverse, why do good things
happen to bad people? There is an answer, but only God really knows.
I take my cue from several Scripture verses. I quote one of them
here: “The Lord sends rain to fall on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew
5:45).
Email me at kitchenscribbles@gmail.com.
 Kerygma November 2010 36 37

K PREACHER
By Alvin Barcelona

One Whole Sunday

S
undays are sacred to me. But it wasn’t the end of that story.
Of course, it is church day, so I hear Mass with my wife, Minutes later, while we were still at
our teenage son and our baby girl. the same counter (we must have really
But it also means happily spending the rest of the day together — bought a lot of stuff so it took us long), the
from morning Mass to afternoon bonding, with lots of talking and laughing same little girl came back to the store. She
seemed to intentionally avoid us. She went
and eating (spaghetti, ice cream, etc.) — and extending up to evening with
straight to the drugstore counter, bought
non-stop sharing and playing with our baby. (And with extended eating, some medicine with the money she was
too.) supposed to have saved for her allowance,
One Sunday was extra special. and hurried out again. The medicine must
My wife and I passed by the grocery store after Mass to buy stuff for the surely be for another family member,
week to come, and for another special Sunday to celebrate. probably for her sick mother or a younger
At the counter, while our items were being packed, a little girl, probably eight sibling.
to 10 years old, was standing next in line. On her thin hand was a can of sardines My wife and I looked at each other,
with two P20-bills squeezed in. wanting to do more but were frozen in
I couldn’t fully describe how she was looking at all the stuff we had while awe at what happened so quickly.
holding on tight to her sardine can. When we got home, it was another
“Are you alone?” I asked in Filipino. happy Sunday — sharing stories with our
She politely answered, “Opo (Yes).” son, playing with our baby — and yes,
My wife read what I had in mind and asked, “How many are you eating that enjoying ice cream and spaghetti for the
sardines?” rest of the day.
“Pito po (seven),” she said in a low tone. But somehow, that Sunday was extra
SEVEN PEOPLE FOR A CAN OF SARDINES!?! meaningful.
There goes my cue. “Go back and get more,” I told the girl. It was “more whole.”
She rushed back to the grocery shelves. I was preparing to pay more for There was God.
whatever she would get, imagining that she must have taken a cart and filled it up There was family.
with everything at hand. And there was that one little girl at the
To my surprise she was back in a minute. On her hand were two more cans of grocery store.
sardines. Wholly Sunday!
I didn’t know exactly how to react. So I just paid for what she got and told her
that the money she saved she can keep for her allowance. She hurriedly went home.
Email me at kpreacheralvin@gmail.com.
 Kerygma November 2010

one last story

Aida’s faith grew as she imitated the faith of St.
Candida Maria de Jesus.

T
he expanse and the lush trees that
greeted me took my breath away.
I stood there and just allowed the
beauty around me to embrace my spirit.
The sisters’ welcome added to the warmth I felt
within.
But I had a dilemma.
Should I accept their offer as academic
coordinator of the grade school department of
Manresa School in Parañaque?
I told the sisters, “I don’t think I am capable of handling
the responsibilities because I don’t know anything about the
elementary system. My experience is in the preschool system.”
But they encouraged me to just be open. And in my continued
collaboration with and service to Hijas de Jesus, I learned how

WALKING IN THE
important it is to walk in faith, just as their Mother Foundress did.

Her Story
Blessed Candida, whose real name was Juana Josefa Cipitria
y Barriola, was the eldest of seven daughters of a poor family in
Andoain (Guipúzcoa, from a Basque county in Spain). As a teenager,
she took off to Castile to help her parents financially and found a
job as a domestic helper. She was illiterate and hardly spoke the
Castilian language, but her good heart more than made up for
these. She sent half of her salary to her family but the other half
she shared with the beggars on the streets.
She was a very pious young woman who heard Mass at dawn
every day and spent the night in prayer. Her only desire was to
do what God wants her to do. Before long, while in a church in
Valladolid, before the altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she heard
God express His desire for her: “To found a congregation with the
name of Daughters of Jesus, dedicated to the salvation of souls, by
means of education and instruction of children and youth.”
And so it came to pass that the illiterate girl, together with
several companions and under the guidance of her spiritual
director, founded the congregation now commonly known as Hijas
de Jesus. Today, just over a hundred years later, they run schools,
retreat houses and other institutions all over the world, including
the Manresa School in Parañaque.
A Lesson in Faith
I was hooked by her story — such strong faith despite her
inadequacies, and such determination to fulfill God’s mission for
her.
I decided to ask for her guidance about my dilemma and after
a week of prayer, I got the sense that she was telling me to accept
the offer. So I did, and followed what God wanted me to do, just like
what she did when God asked her to found a congregation.
After that, there was no turning back. I spent the next 34 years
of my life in Manresa and I am now the assistant principal of the
high school department.
In the same manner, my relationship with Blessed Candida
deepened and, like a real mother, she made her presence felt at
the crucial moments in my life.
SHADOW
OF A SAINT
By Aida A. Gomez as told to Dina Pecaña
and Tess V. Atienza
Receiving Mother Foundress’s Favors
At one time, I had to be operated on for myoma because I bled
profusely for a month and had intolerable pain in my abdomen.
I hesitated to go under the knife because I worried about my
96-year-old mother who was already weak. My brother, a polio
victim, could not take care of her.
I was afraid, too, so it took me a month to agree to an
operation. But the sisters prayed for me and said, “You just go
on, Aida, because you have to take care of yourself.” Before my
surgery, they placed the relic of Blessed Candida in my palm
and when I woke up after my hysterectomy, it was still there.
Thankfully, the biopsy done on my myoma was negative.
Another time, during my mother’s hospitalization, her
doctor needed to put a catheter on her. With all the tubes
already attached for nourishment and medication, I didn’t think
her constitution could handle a catheter. But her doctor insisted
so I had no choice.
After three days, the catheter had to be removed. I was so
worried that it’d be too painful for her. I had earlier placed Blessed
Candida’s relic under my mom’s pillow. I prayed really hard to her
to spare my mom from the pain. The nurse, after removing the
catheter, asked, “Wow! She didn’t feel any pain?” So I told her,
“That’s because I prayed to her (pointing to Blessed Candida’s
relic). She’ll be a saint soon.”
On October 17, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI canonized her as a
full-fledged saint.
 point of contact
bo sanchez

I pray that you receive your

miracles in Jesus’ name!
I 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 prayer 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. You know what they are going through right now. You know their weaknesses and their
brokenness. In Your great love for them, I know that You want them whole, You want them healed. Grant them the courage to
face their brokenness and to seek help. Grant them Your comfort as they travel the road to wholeness. And when they have done
so, fill their hearts with love for those who are still languishing in pain and brokenness. Make them Your channels of blessing and
healing for Your other children. Amen.

Praying for you,

Email your prayer requests to me at bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com or write to me at
Shepherd’s Voice Publications, #60 Chicago St., Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines 1109.