a n n o u n c e m e n t s - bld toronto · bukÁs-loÓb sa diyÓs • open in spirit to god theme...
TRANSCRIPT
8 Living Water - August 29, 2014
A N N O U N C E M E N T S
PLEASE WEAR YOUR BLD ID EVERY FRIDAY
LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR #30
SCHEDULE
Shepherding Sessions: Our Lady of Assumption
Church (after Praise & Worship)
Friday, August 29, 2014 : Topic: Salvation
Friday, September 12, 2014 : Topic: New Life
and Receiving God’s Gift
Mon-Thurs, Sept 15-18, 2014 : One-on-One
Shepherding Session
Mon-Tues, Sept 15-16, 2014 : General Confes-
sions, OLA Church, 7:30-9:00pm
Friday, September 19, 2014 : Invocation Mass,
OLA Church, 8:00pm
LSS Weekend Proper: Cardinal Leger Catholic
School
Saturday, September 20, 2014 : LSS Proper
(8:30 am – 7:30 pm)
Sunday, September 21, 2014 : LSS Proper
(8:30 am – 4:00 pm)
Post LSS Shepherding Sessions: OLA Church
Friday, September 26, 2014 : Growth
Friday, October 10, 2014 : Transformation
Grand Reunion: OLA Church Hall
Saturday, November 1, 2014 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
FROM THE DISCIPLING
MINISTRY
UNDERSTANDING
CORPORATE WORSHIP
September 3, Wednesday
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the OLA Hall
Invitees are graduates of LSS#s 27,
28 & 29 Service Ministry Members
and previous LSS graduates who
have not taken this teaching
Please bring your bible, notebook and
name tags. We continue to encourage
participants to be on time.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 FIRST FRIDAY MASS 1st reading...........................Bing or Emma Ongteco
Psalm.......................................Ray or Ellen Lingan
Prayer of the Faithful..............Josie Pabalinas
OFFERTORY: Cruets..............................Carlito and Annie Suarez
Ciborium........................Nolie and Jeanny Mercado
Baskets............................Boni and Ludi Baltazar
EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS......Phoebe Ouano
Ed and Cristy Samson
SEPTEMBER LECTORS
September 12th 1st reading.......................................Bert and Cecile Cruz
Psalm..........................................Felix and Linda Fullante
2nd reading...................................Al and Sol Crisostomo
September 26th 1st reading...................................Nestor and Cielo Naluz
Psalm......................................Clifford and Cristy Jacinto
2nd reading..................................Frank and Grace Gujol
Living Water - August 29, 2014
August 29, 2014
BUKÁS-LOÓB SA DIYÓS • OPEN IN SPIRIT TO GOD
www.bldworld.org www.bldtoronto.com
THEME
We believe in the Lord when we are trans-
formed to think and act like Jesus.
WORD
Jer 20:7-9; Ps 63:2,3-4,5-6,8-9; Rom 12:1-2;
Mt 16:21-27
ORDER
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God.” (Rom 12:1)
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed through the renewing of your
minds.” (Rom 12:2)
“Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow
Him.” (Mt 16:24)
DIRECTION
Evangelize and build Christ’s church.
Continue to shepherd the flock that the
Lord has entrusted to your care.
Soak yourselves in the Word of God to
know and understand the message of the
Lord for you.
REFLECTION
Jesus told his disciples: “If anyone wants to
become my follower, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever
wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it. For what
will it profit anyone to gain the whole world
but forfeit his life? Or what will anyone give in
return for his life? For the Son of Man is to
come with his Angels in the glory of his Fa-
ther, and then he will repay each according to
their work” (Mt 16: 21-27).
The saying goes, “I never promised you a rose
garden.” In a sense, God never promises a
rose garden either, unless the rose plants are
covered with the thorns. Jeremiah realizes
how difficult his life is because he is a prophet
Twenty-Second Sunday In Ordinary Time
2 Living Water - August 29, 2014
which proclaim their allegiance to God.
As we heard in last weekend’s Gospel, St. Peter
proclaimed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah and
the Son of God. Today, Jesus explains what it
means for Him to be the Messiah. It means that
He must suffer and die for the sake of oth-
ers. Peter, the one who proclaims his faith in
Jesus, challenges Jesus’ message about having to
suffer. He pulls Jesus aside and basically says to
Him, “You won’t win many followers and be
able to be the great leader if you talk about
suffering and death.” Jesus likens Peter’s mis-
understanding to a temptation from Satan. Pe-
ter not only misses the point of what it means
for Jesus to be the Messiah, but Peter is also
putting an obstacle (skandalon = “stumbling
block”) in Jesus’ way.
Jesus challenges Peter and the other followers to
be disciples – disciplined learners. He mentions
that this means three things: denying them-
selves, accepting the cross, and following Je-
sus. Not only does Jesus tell His disciples what to do, but He will give them an example through
His own life, suffering, death, and resurrection.
As I reflect on these three key aspects of being a
disciple, I recall a retreat in which I have partici-
pated dealing with discipleship. In that retreat
we talked about what it means to do all three
requirements. Denying myself means thinking
not of who I am and what I want, but thinking
first and foremost of how I can further the cause
of Jesus. It involves belonging totally to my
Master-Teacher and being able to do anything -
which I am asked to do by my Master-Teacher
and His Abba. Just as Jesus was totally submis-
sive to His Abba and the Abba’s will, so I must submit everything in order to do what is ex-
pected of me.
of the LORD. The only source of help and
strength is a relationship with the LORD as the
Psalm reminds us. St. Paul cautions the Ro-
mans that their lives, their very selves, must be
a sacrifice to God. In the Gospel, Jesus lays
down the requirements for His disci-
ples: “deny yourself, carry your cross, and
follow the Master.”
Jeremiah never wanted the job of being a
spokesperson (prophet) for the LORD. He had
tried to make excuses to get out of the position
as a prophet. Even though God had promised
to take care of him, Jeremiah did not always
feel the protection from God. He was beaten,
thrown into a cistern (a well), and persecut-
ed. In today’s passage, Jeremiah complains
that he was misled by God and he has had
enough. He tries to keep from proclaiming
God’s message, but it starts burning away in-
side of him until he finally has to let it out.
The psalmist realizes that no matter what hap-
pens, God is the one and only help that can be
counted on. It is only when reflecting on one’s
life that it is possible to see God’s hand at
work, guiding, protecting, helping. The only
response is to give God glory and praise.
St. Paul has completed his discussion of the
major theological points he wanted to share
with the Romans by the end of the eleventh
chapter of his letter. He now turns to pointing
out some of the ramifications of those be-
liefs. He begins today’s passage by reminding
his readers that God does not want them to
offer ritualistic sacrifices, but to give them-
selves totally over to God as human, living
sacrifices. This does not mean that they are to
kill themselves or become some sort of human
victims in a rite, but they are to live lives
Living Water - August 29, 2014 7
BLD joins ANCOP Walk 2014
The recent ANCOP Walk held last Sunday, August 24, 2014 at Nathan Phillips Square was a great
success.
We want to thank all our registrants, participants, donors and volunteers for their participation
and generosity to this year’s ANCOP Walk. Because of your participation, we will be able to com-
plete the educational funding of our current 34 high school and 9 college students until they grad-
uate. You have helped uplift the lives of our poor kababayan and you have become an invaluable
part of our team working to provide education for the poor children in the Philippines.
Participants and donors like you play an essential role in bringing better future to these poor fami-
lies. We are making great things possible through your support and you bless others with your
caring heart.
This only proves that we can transform all our possibilities into realities by our faith, by believing
and by trusting with all our hearts to our God Almighty. As always, your time, dedication and
generosity are deeply appreciated.
On behalf of BYOP Ministry, and Mission Apostolate, we thank all of you.
Felix/Linda Fullante, Bernie/Belen Consul, Nito/Joanna Cruz, Al/Sol Crisostomo, Juliet Caniedo
Tony/Angie Ng – Mission Apostolate DCS
6 Living Water - August 29, 2014
Missionaries of Africa 26 August 2014
56 Indian Road Crescent
My Family Encounter Weekend #18 experience
As we went deeper into the Family Encounter process, on Sunday, the 24th of August 2014,
when families were invited to the grand dialogue, the Gospel scene which came so vivid in my
thoughts was that of Jesus walking on the stormy waters inviting Peter to come to him on the wa-
ter. Knowing that it was Jesus, Peter took the risk to walk on the water to come close to his Lord
(Matthew 14, 22 – 33).
I would like to believe that all the 13 families, parents and children alike, participating in
that FEW #18 did dare to take the risk to reach out to the others in the family, especially to those
whom they have had difficulties to relate with. FEW #18 families, as I brought to you the Blessed
Sacrament, my hope and prayers were for each one of you to make that step to go out of your com-
fort zone, whatever that might be, and dare to say, from your heart, to one another: “I love you. I
forgive you. Please forgive me.”
I know that was not an easy and simple thing to do. But some of the best experiences and
opportunities in life will happen to us only after we take risks and dare to fail. If we are too afraid
of failure, we can’t possibly do what needs to be done in order to change our present situation and
open ourselves to new possibilities in life, in our family relationship in particular.
Through their sharing, we have seen marvelous things that have happened in the lives of
the Jacinto and Buado families as they dared to embrace the whole process and challenges of the
FEW. With their firm resolve to forgive one another and embrace each other with that uncondition-
al love of the Lord, their family relationship has changed for the better.
Transformation is a life-long process. Take one step forward at a time. When your efforts
are met with failure, know that you are on to something; because on the flip-side of that failure is a
real, substantial accomplishment that doesn’t come easy. Your failed attempt is evidence that you
have done your very best to reach out, trusting always that Jesus was there carrying you in his
arms, especially when the going really got tough. Don’t get weary to forgive, to hope and to love
again.
FE #17 Family Shepherd and Sponsoring Class, Presenting families, Pastoral teams, all the
support groups, adults and children, your smiles, your dedicated service and help including those
of the workers of the venue, your prayers, your leadership, your wit and your talents made this
FEW #18 an amazing moment of grace! On the sidelines, I lived that whole experience as a beauti-
ful present from you and from our Lord on my 12th Year of Priesthood!
Peace and many blessings,
Fr. Armand Galay, M.Afr., Missionaries of Africa/Pères Blancs
Living Water - August 29, 2014 3
Carrying a cross does not mean I wear a beauti-
ful piece of jewelry that is shaped like a
cross. Carrying a cross means I am willing to
accept the excruciatingly (ex “from;” crucis
“cross”) painful death just like my Master. The
cross was the most feared and dreaded form of
execution in the ancient world. It was devised
by the Romans to cause pain, humiliation, and
torture to those who were crucified. Jesus
agrees to be nailed on a cross and die in order to
show how far God is willing to go to reveal the
divine love God has for the people. If I want to
be a disciple, I must be willing to do what the
Master-Teacher did – lay down my life for the
sake of others.
Following Jesus means more than saying I am a
Christian when I attend weekend church ser-
vices. It means imitating the Master-Teacher in
every aspect of my life (and my death). It means
that people can look at what I say and do and
say, “I know who you remind me of - Jesus.” I
should so much model the Master-Teacher that
people can come to know Jesus and His loving
compassion by the way I treat them. They
should be able to look beyond me and see the
Master-Teacher whom I am imitating.
The retreat likened the role of a disciple to that
of an apprentice who wanted to learn a trade
from a master-craftsperson. The apprentice went
to the master and was more than a student who
read the master’s book (if he had written
one). The apprentice went and lived, day in and day out, with the master. He ate with the
master, joked with the master, worked beside
the master. The master shared not only the how
-to skills with the apprentice, but also his own
personal philosophy and ideals. The appren-
tice would try to imitate the master so much
so that when the apprentice would finally take
his finished work to the market place, people
would say to the apprentice, “I don’t know
who you are, but I know who your master is
because your work reflects your master.”
The greatest compliment anyone can say to a
disciple of Jesus is something similar: “I don’t
know who you are, but I have come to know
your Master-Teacher, Jesus, because your ac-
tions reflect Jesus. I have come to know Jesus
because of what you have said and done.”
Source: http://reflectionsbybob.weebly.com/aug-31-
2014---22nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html
GOD’S PROMISE
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in
the glory of Father, and then he will repay each
according to their work.” (Mt16:27)
“Firstly, I would like to personally thank everyone
who donated time and money to help raise funds
for the youth ministry and their activities. On
Monday, twenty-four of the youth members in-
cluding myself returned from this year's Youth-
Inter-District-Conference in Kearny, New Jer-
sey. We had a great opportunity to experience,
share and strengthen our love of Jesus Christ with
our brothers and sisters across North Ameri-
ca. Through talks by Fr. Leo Patalinghug and
Ramil Caragay about this year's theme of break-
YIDC 20 14: An enriching
experience for the youth
4 Living Water - August 29, 2014
(YIDC...continued from page 3)
Taught us that it is possible to live out a proper yet exciting Christ-centred life, not just on Sun-days.” (Marylou Malicdem)
“In my opinion, YIDC was a fun and enjoyable experience. I felt like the event was well organized and for the most part, executed perfectly. I learned a lot from Father Leo's talks and the workshops that were planned. The group leaders were very friendly and they made the teachings simple and easy to understand. The food at the venue was cooked extremely well and was very delicious. The beds were very comfortable. The music was sung beautifully and the musicians made it two times better. For future YIDC's, I think the hosts should manage the time better because most of the districts did not get to perform their skits. Also, the morning praise and worship should be more exciting and upbeat. But overall, I really enjoyed this YIDC and I would recommend YIDC for anyone who wants to try it. It was a great experience to strengthen my faith and bring me closer to God.” (John Respicio)
"YIDC was an amazing experience. It not only brought me closer to the youth in other districts, it brought me closer to the other Toronto youth and especially God. We listened to talks that really touched me and helped me come to a better understanding of God and how I can be a better follower of Christ. The praise team there was amazing, and I could feel their prayer through the song. Our theme song is still stuck in my head. Father Leo had amazing talks that both intrigued me and made me laugh. He made connections that us youth could understand because he compared bible teachings to things that happen to us in everyday life, like temptation and how we can avoid it. 'You see a person you want to make fun of, say.... 'woah he looks like a CHILD OF GOD'. It's really hard to put my experience into words, because so much happened in such a small time. I made new friends, and I recon-nected with old ones. My relationship with God has grown stronger just when I felt like it was fading away, and I think that it will stay this way, thanks to the weekend and the other Youth. I'm really glad I got to go to YIDC, since it was my first time and all, I was really nervous, but it was so great I wish it didn't end!" (Vanessa Soares)
YIDC Delegates (Toronto /St Catharines)
BLD Toronto Youth delegates: Aaron Castillo, Allison Mingaracal, Alyssa Andino, Alyssia Sanchez, Amiel Castillo, Angelica de la Cruz, Angelyn Fullante, Ariana Ang, Arielle Uchida, Carlo Genilla, Daniel Fernandez, Dara Andino, David Dimen, Dyllen Alhambra, Eric Sanchez, Ginelle Feliciano, Gio Del Castillo, Kristina Meriel, Kyle Fernandez, Lubert Montero, Madi Martinez, Marylou Malicdem, Pete Delgra and Vanessa Soares, Adult chaperones: Froilan & Charito Piamonte, Fe Sanchez, Mon & Len Carluen and Gerard & Joy Del Castillo
BLD St. Catharines Youth Delegates: Ann Nguyen, Janella Tutanes, Janzen Tutanes, John Paul Tabi-os, John Respicio, Justin Sambajon, Ken Nguyen, Matthan Condez and Vicky Pham
Erratum: In the August 22, 2014 issue of
the Living Water Bulletin, there was no
mention of the nine youth delegates from
St. Catharines who attended the YIDC in
New Jersey. Our apologies for the acci-
dental omission.
Living Water - August 29, 2014 5
Family Encounter Weekend #18 reaps 13 lovely families
We thank and praise the Lord for a very successful, powerful, and spirit filled Family Encounter
Weekend #18 at the Valley of the Mother of God Retreat Centre last weekend (Aug. 22-24th). God’s
mighty strength was manifested by the boldness of our Pastoral Team, Fr. Armand Galay, as the Spiritu-
al Director of the weekend, the presenting families: the Buado and the Jacinto Families. We would like
to extend our heartfelt thanks to the FE # 17 Shepherd Family, the Dimen family and all the Sponsoring
families, the entire BLD community for prayers and support, the DSL and the DCS, members of vari-
ous BLD Ministries, and to the Staff of the Valley of the Mother of God. Special thanks, to our generous
donors and to those, who in one way or another contributed their time, talent, effort and treasure to the
success of the weekend.
Congratulations to our FE #18 families together with their shepherd family, the Jacinto family.
To God Be The Glory,
The Family Life Ministry
Eric, Glenda, Sean & Leanne Alhambra; Arnold, Fe, Aaron, Amiel & Angela Castillo; Rey,
Rose, Joy, Jet & Leslie Cavida; Dexter, Ritz, Hans, Keith & Danielle Chin; Alain, Traci,
Aaron & Angelica De la Cruz; Bob, Annie & Matthew Gleeson; Phil, Sharri, Julia, Liz,
Paula, Patrick, Stephanie & Owen Keogh; Vel, Rica, Julia, Theresa, Bryan, Tina & Justine
Meriel; Virgil, Helen, Eryn & Erica Navarro; Francis, Rhodelia, Denisse & John Tapia;
Selwyn, Lily,Sabrina, Liselle & Brendan Tungol; Manny, Tina, Paolo, Pia & Patty Valen-
cia; Nestor, Melds, Daniel & Noel Vilela