Let me now share with you an inspiration I got yesterday morning as I was praying.

The First Reading was on Isaiah and to the familiar question asked by our Lord, ‘Whom do I send?’, Isaiah’s answer was, ‘Here I am, Lord. Send me’. We’re familiar with that.

But as I continued to pray, the words that grabbed me were the cries of the Seraphims, the angels, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with His glory!

And so, I sat there. And I treasured those words. And I cried out with the Seraphims, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord! All the earth is filled with His glory!’

And so, my brothers and sisters, that inspired me to caption my exhortation today this way, ‘Grateful hearts giving glory to God!….Grateful hearts giving glory to God!’

Lord, thank You for having written our names in the palm of Your hand even before we were born. Even when we were still in the womb of our mother, You already loved us. Thank You, Lord.

And I continued to thank God, and I continued to praise God. And I will highlight some of the miracles, big and small, that I want you, my brothers and sisters, to join me in praising and thanking our God and our King!

I asked the Center to come out with a list (list of 10 Youth Activities was projected on the screen)…. there it is! While we were on summer break, the Holy Spirit was alive and filled with energy, blessing us through all you brothers and sisters serving in all those camps and activities…Can you see them from where you are seated? Can you read them? Ang dami! I was so surprised, so pleasantly shocked! Read them with me…195 participants during the Young Adults Camp. 106 participants during the JYA Camp. Look what the Holy Spirit is doing in our midst thru you, brothers and sisters who have been serving the youth – the youth in Community, even the youth outside Community. I will not bother to go down the list and enumerate them and describe what was happening, but just for you to get a glimpse or visualize what or how the Holy Spirit wants to bless us, moving forward in the years to come…I call attention to the last item here. The 6th National Catholic Charismatic Congress, held at the SMX last May 31, where there were over 4,000 people in attendance. We had 64 UD, CYA and YAs serving in 7 workshops, leading worship and just inspiring all the participants. They must have done so well that the challenge was issued to Ligaya, ‘Will we, in 2015, host and lead the next National Charismatic Congress?’ Will we rise up to the challenge? Will we say ‘Yes’ to the Holy Spirit?

Yes, Lord, use us, touch us, bless us and bless others through us!

(But I mentioned to some of you, ‘Maybe that’s no longer my work. Maybe that’s the work of the next Senior Head Coordinator.)

But let me go on…. Catchfire – the Catchfire Rally that we had last year during the ‘Christ the King Sunday’….. We thought we couldn’t fill up ULTRA, but we, by God’s grace, had over 8,000 in attendance – fired up!

Our theme – One King, One People, One Mission – we ended up all fired up. And some said, ‘Spanky, is that a one day event? You answer that question, my brothers and sisters. Is it a one- time event, or is that fire, that message, the effects of Catchfire, something that we, as parents, would like to drill into our children…that we, leaders of Community, we want to see alive in our members…that we, brothers and sisters, will make sure that that fire of the Holy Spirit continues to burn in all our hearts, not for one day, but to the next Catchfire Rally to be held on November 25?

We wanted a bigger venue, we wanted SMX, we wanted the Arena – why? – we want to dream with the Holy Spirit. We want to dream with one another.

And I’m happy to announce the theme for this year will be ‘ALL FOR THE KING’…’ALL FOR THE KING’. All of us – everything that we are – for the King!

And I have very good news, it will be co-hosted, co-led, by our brothers and sisters from FAMILIA. I’d like to request all our leaders from FAMILIA to please rise and be recognized – headed by Ben Galang, who is now the co-chair of the next Catchfire Rally. Thank you.

And let me share a sense that I have about Catchfire – God is forging greater love, greater unity among us, among the Partners in Mission, because He is preparing us for something that lies ahead – something that will require our collective efforts, our collective prayers, our collective sacrifice.

So brothers and sisters, pray along with me. I also thank the Holy Spirit for the Pentecost Vigil that you, my brothers and sisters, hosted at PDS. For the first time in our history, we had a Pentecost Vigil right behind the Center, in that Covered Courts area, and we invited the brethren from PDS. Unfortunately, most of us Coordinators, were in New Jersey, attending a conference, that we weren’t able to be part of what was happening there. I received a lot of positive feedback (Let’s do it again next year). So Holy Spirit of God, thank You for revealing, once more, Your glory!

I can go on and on and on….but I don’t want this to sound like a report. God has been moving in the NOW Ministry. God has been moving in the Tahanan ng Panginoon. God has been moving in all of our lives.

But let me touch on one very powerful event that I and many of the brothers were a part of – that was the International Coordinators Meeting (ICM) in New Jersey during the end of May, for five days. The biggest gathering of Sword of the Spirit leaders. We came together in such a gorgeous campus of Caldwell College in New Jersey. It was a great time to share about our lives and to share about God’s work, as we build bulwark together – as we build God’s bulwark together.

And you know the theme was entitled ‘Saints, Missionaries, Martyrs’…. ‘Saints, Missionaries, Martyrs’. Mga kapatid, it was immensely enriching.

We in Ligaya are part of a bigger body, a bigger family – the Sword of the Spirit. And the Sword of the Spirit is a special unit in God’s army, a special unit in God’s church, entrusted with a special mission for the benefit of God’s army and for the benefit of God’s bigger church. And I will liken it to the Navy Seals, maybe? or the Marines? or the SWAT team?

To use the words of the brothers who made presentations before us during the ICM, “We’re being sent behind enemy lines, strategically, to capture maybe a strategic town… a strategic bridge….a strategic mountain. God is sending us. We are part of what the Holy Spirit has been doing and will continue to do to build His church”.

There were many, many prophecies, but one stood out personally to me. What was that prophecy? “I will make your later years the richest, the most fruitful!” Narinig ba n’yo, those of you behind? God said “I will make your later years the richest, the most fruitful!”. And God did not utter those words just to the seniors, just to the NOW. God utters those words to all of us across all ages. “Your later years shall be the richest, and shall be the most fruitful because I give you My Spirit that can move mountains and can work miracles!”

And one comment was made, ‘ Yes, Lord, I will die for you! But please, don’t make me suffer!’ Na-pick up n’yo ba ‘yon? ‘Lord, , I will die for you! But please, don’t make me suffer!’

Those words echoed within me, and so why did I share that comment with all of us here today? Because, mga kapatid, we need more and more prayers, for more and more Courage. ‘Yes, Lord, I’m willing to die for You, but please do not make me suffer!’

“If you want to be My disciples, deny yourselves daily. Carry your crosses daily, and come, follow Me.”

Last Friday, I received an email from a brother. The email contained the CBCP Pastoral Letter of July 9, 2012, announcing 9 years spiritual journey towards the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines when Magellan landed on March 16, 1521. It was announced and proclaimed that these next 9 years will be an era of New Evangelization, a re-awakening of enthusiasm – really being open to the outpouring more and more of God’s Spirit. The theme: ‘Live Christ, Share Christ!’

So, mga kapatid, everything is bouncing around, is alive, is full of energy because the Holy Spirit is with us. ‘All the earth is filled with His glory! Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord!’

But I am not through thanking the Lord. Last but not least, I thank God for 37 years of His love and His faithfulness to us in Ligaya, His “Community of Disciples on Mission – transgenerational, vibrant: love of a family, discipline of an army, the presence of the Holy Spirit; Disciples: radical, growing in our intimacy with our Lord; on Mission: evangelizing, building community together, Christian unity, defense of the Gospel.”

We are not a perfect people, far from it. We never will be on this earth. We’re all, to borrow the term that Tony used during our Asian Region Council Meeting, we are all ‘walking wounded’. Yes, we are. But with God’s grace, we can be, and are ‘wounded healers’. Yes we are wounded, but with the presence of the Holy Spirit, with love in our hearts, we can still heal together.

There is so much love in Community, but there is also pain. Some had shared with me that they feel taken for granted. Some had shared they are misunderstood. Some even shared they feel unloved….so unloved.

“Lord, help us to love better. Lord, help us to forgive each other.”

And so, Lord, on this our 37th anniversary, acting on an inspiration I received during our last Coordinators Retreat, and Rey referred to it earlier, acting on the inspiration of 2 Chronicles 7:14 and following, and like Isaiah, the First Reading yesterday morning, “Lord, here I am. Begin with me.”

For myself, my wife, my family, all our coordinators – sector, district, ministry coordinators …. senior leaders, senior women leaders, pastoral leaders, and all my brothers and sisters in Ligaya, Father in heaven, forgive us for not putting You first always in our lives”.

And now I address you, my brothers and sisters, and allow me again to ask each of you, for your forgiveness, for not having loved you enough,… and for some, for having offended you, without my knowing, or without my intending it, will you all please forgive me.

My brothers and sisters, may God’s love and His peace, be with us always!

“Thank You, Lord, for 37 years and counting. And to You, dear God, be all the glory and honor, now and forever. Amen.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings of peace to you all !

With moral relativism so prevalent nowadays that many claim absolute truth either no longer exists or is irrelevant, your Council of Coordinators thought it wise to state and share with all of you its position on the RH Bill for your consideration and guidance.

While our position focused on H.B. No. 4244, the Senate has recently began its debates on their own version, S.B. No. 2865. It is noteworthy to point out that just today in the Philippine Daily Inquirer,p. A12, in an interview entitled “RH bill about population control, not health – Enrile”, the Senate President was quoted as follows: “RH is a deception. They are calling it a health bill when health should discuss sickness and medicines. What is the therapeutic or medicinal value of a condom? Or that of a birth control pill, an intrauterine device or an injectible(contraceptive)?”

Mga Kapatid, let us stand up for the truth, for our faith, for our God who abounds in His love and mercy for His people !!!

In His service,

Spanky Meer, Senior Head Coordinator (9/12/2011)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE POSITION PAPER OF LIGAYA: STANDING FAST AND FIRM

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

As we thank God for calling us to be His Covenant People living a particular way of life, allow me to address you this afternoon on two matters:  dreams, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

DREAMS

For those of us who were growing up in the 1960s, the words:  “I have a dream!” were immortalized by the black preacher, Martin Luther King, during a time of great racial prejudice and discrimination.  His dream was that sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners could someday sit down around the table of brotherhood.  His dream was that his four children would one day be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin.

I, too, have a dream!  I have been inspired to share it with all of you due to a question asked of me during the Open Forum of the recent Covenant Candidates Retreat, about my vision for community.  My dream/vision is founded and anchored on our identity and our call to be a Community of Disciples on Mission.

My dream/vision is to see:

1. a COMMUNITY,  TRANSGENERATIONAL and VIBRANT:  transgenerational to include our grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren & generations to come; vibrant because it is imbued with the qualities of:
• love of a family
• discipline of an army, and
• the power and presence of the Holy Spirit (nb. based on 1980’s prophecy); 
2. a Community of DISCIPLES: 
• radical — living a radical  Christian life, not mediocre or compromising our kingdom values with the world’s values
• intimacy — growing in our intimate relationship with our Lord;
3. a Community of Disciples  on MISSION: 
• evangelization
• community building (bulwark building),
• defense of the Gospel.   (N.B.  Recently the OLC came out with its position letter on the RH bill), and
• Christian unity or ecumenism.  (John 17 was our Lord’s final prayer of unity, before He began His passion.  It must be our prayer too!)

I am making it my personal mission to help sharpen and deepen our understanding, appreciation and ownership of our identity and our call, so that – by God’s grace – we can concretely live it out, in all its aspects, with Excellence!  Together, let us live out this dream!  Together, let us answer God’s call for us to be a Community of Disciples on Mission, with Excellence!

WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

When I first assumed my role as SHC, one of my battle cries was:  1 + 1 + HOLY SPIRIT = MIRACLES!

So I asked the Coordinators: “Let’s celebrate Pentecost together as a community!”  But we couldn’t find an appropriate venue, so we did it as Sectors.  The North Sector had its Vigil and the strong sense and prayer was:  “Lord, help us in our UNBELIEF!”  Since then, I have made it my own prayer and I ask all of you to make it yours too!

So when our Pathways Ministry for Evangelization brought to the OLC the proposal to stage a CATCHFIRE RALLY on Nov. 20, Christ the King Sunday, for 2-3,000 people at ULTRA, the OLC immediately approved it and said, “Why only 2-3,000?  Let’s fill up the place with 5-6,000 people!  Let’s invite our PIM, CFC, BCBP, LAIKO, etc.!”

Given the prevalent climate and culture of Moral Relativism, eg. RH bill, divorce bill, CCP Art exhibit that made fun of our Lord, let’s stand up and be counted!  We are God’s army!

Why CATCHFIRE RALLY?  To catch the fire of God’s love, to catch the fire of the Holy Spirit!  It has two principal objectives:  a) Renewal/ Revival, b) to be moved and inspired by the Holy Spirit to even greater action and mission!  Our theme will be:  One King, One People, One Mission!

It’s consistent with all our recent prophesies:  Do more!  Give more!  Walk through the Open Door!  Dream Big!  Whether as a blazing fire or as a gentle flame, burn!  Burn brightly, constantly!  Don’t allow your fire to flicker or burn out!… And on my way here in the car, our Lord’s words to Peter flashed in my mind:  “Do you love Me?  Feed My sheep! (3x).”

It’s time to think out of the box.  Let’s have a motorcade with balloons/banners from four points converging at Ultra, eg. LNP Center, Assumption Makati, EAPI Q.C., SOW house in Sct. Tobias Q.C. (4 sources of grace/life).  Let’s use media – radio, TV, print, Facebook, Twitter.  Let’s pray over, i.e. towards end of Mass, our government officials, (Sec Rogie Singson, et al.), the military (I asked Andy to invite Chief of Staff Gen. Oban, who used to be in his North Sector).  We will even invite the Azkals and if they come, we will, led by our YA, pray over them representing the youth and athletes.

Brothers and sisters, starting today, let’s all pray for this event.  Let’s be excited about what the Holy Spirit is doing and wants to continue to do in our midst.  Let’s talk about it, encourage one another to be there.  Let’s bring our families and friends.  This is our contribution to the Church, our gift of praise, thanksgiving to our God, our gift of self to our God of the Covenant whose promises are true every morning!!

SPANKY MEER, Senior Head Coordinator

Good morning brothers and sisters. My name is Caloy Atilano. I’m 36 years old. I’ve been married to Laurie for 11 years and I’ve been blessed with 4 wonderful daughters.

I grew up in a very conservative catholic home and went to very conservative catholic schools. I grew up with a personality of always forcing my way to get whatever I wanted.

Things were looking quite bright when Laurie and I got married in Feb of 2000. I was working in California at that time. Our first child, Bea, was born there. We sold our place for a good price and we moved back to Manila after she was born. A year after we moved back, our second daughter Gabbie was born. Soon after, we were able to buy a place near my parents’ house in Pasig. I felt that God was on my side and I could do nothing wrong.

Caloy and Laurie Atilano with their beautiful children

I did whatever I wanted and justified my actions. If I couldn’t justify them anymore, I’d just go to confession. I did these things and acted this way with the thought that I was still a good Christian. God to me was like a “genie in a bottle”. I expected Him to grant me my wishes every time I’d “rub the lamp” through what I thought was prayer. It was all about me. I felt everything was under my control.

But things started to turn for the worse. It was a very slow process. Slow enough to not really see it. I spent a lot of time with my friends drinking and having a good time. My passions and energy were directed to different things. However, nothing I did brought me fulfillment. I did not feel any sort of peace, joy and love within me.  I was behaving like I wasn’t married with kids. I was a terrible husband to Laurie and an absentee father to Bea and Gabbie. And yet God still gave me 2 more daughters, Andie and Talia. I was blessed with other things as well. But I DID NOT acknowledge them as gifts from God. With years of not really having a steady source of income, our savings eventually dried up. I thought I could just “rub the genie’s lamp” and everything will be fine. At this time, around 2008 my sister Anna and her husband Bobby Tenchavez were already inviting me to join them in Ligaya. I said no, it wasn’t for me. I said to myself I didn’t need that because I knew about God enough to not end up in hell. I thought I knew what to do. In hindsight, that was God’s final plea before I ended up doing the most selfish and reckless act in my life.

I sold our place and started a business that I knew absolutely nothing about. I started a medical clinic and I’m not even a doctor! I thought I had the capability to do a miracle and make a business, I knew nothing about, profitable within a year.

Surprise, surprise my plans didn’t work out.  The clinic didn’t open in time. And when it did we didn’t get the volume of member patients needed to break even. We decided to close it down just 6 months after it opened. That was the lowest point in my life. I lost all the material things that God entrusted to me for my young family. And I knew I was the only one to blame. I felt no one understood what I was going through. I felt so alone. I also felt everyone abandoned me, not physically but emotionally and psychologically. I felt the world tuned me out. I felt like I was falling into the abyss. I thought it was the end. I just kept on saying sorry to God.

At the totally lowest point of my life, I went to mass on a Friday evening in Christ the King Church. After the mass, it started raining hard and I didn’t have an umbrella. I decided to stay for a while. For those who haven’t been to Christ the King Church, there is this huge statue of our Lord behind the altar with his arms raised as if He is bidding you to go to Him. I felt like He was looking straight at me with His loving eyes. I felt like He was smiling at me and bidding me to come to Him. So I imagined myself running to Him and hugging Him. And I honestly felt Him embracing me ever so tightly and telling me that He loves me very much. He made me feel everything was going to be alright. He made me feel safe. He made me feel His peace. I didn’t want that moment to end. I wanted it to go on forever. I remember that night as if it was just last night. That was the moment I started to surrender myself to Him. That was the moment I acknowledged that He was my one true God. That was the moment I realized that I am never alone because He has always been, is and always will be with me.

Persistent prayers and invitations by Anna and Bobby Tenchavez brought the Atilanos to Pathways

A few weeks later, my sister Anna, again, invited me to attend one of their MWG meetings. Laurie and I decided to go. When we left the meeting, I still couldn’t see myself doing it on a regular basis. But I was intrigued by the community.

A few short days after that, Anna called me to say that there will be a Choices seminar in Poveda a few days from that time. And again I felt the urge to just say yes and see how it goes. So we attended.

Even though the seminar was for the hundred or so people in attendance, I felt like God was talking to me on a personal level. Through  the sharings of the speakers I started to see how God works in people’s lives. These sharings were quite inspirational. I saw a common trend… people did their own thing and went their own way (which I did). They got lost so they called on God (which I also did). God heard their call and led them to Him (which happened to me). As they connected to Him they started doing His will. Choices taught me how to connect to Him and how to maintain that connection. It taught me how to develop a real relationship with God. Slowly I started singing with everyone. Slowly I could feel my hand rising up on its own (even if tried holding it down with my other hand). I started downloading songs of worship and not only to listen to them in the car but to sing them as well.

I have slowly learned to appreciate God’s blessings. I have come to appreciate my wonderful wife. How caring and loving she is to me and to our girls. I have come to appreciate the beautiful singing voice God has given my Bea. She is also very much like her mother, very loving and caring. I have come to appreciate the artistic talents God has given my Gabbie. She also likes to make people laugh. I appreciate the dancing and gymnastic talents God has given my almost 4yr old Andie. I admire her strength of character and her fun loving nature. I appreciate my soon to be 2 yr old daughter, Talia’s talent to sing and dance. She puts a smile on all our faces. I have also learned to appreciate myself the right way. I’m proud of the fact that God loves me unconditionally and He uses me as an instrument to do His will. God has blessed me with opportunities to take care of our material needs. Best of all He has been showering me with graces for all my spiritual needs together with the grace to truly appreciate them. I have only one true passion now, God. And my passion for Him just keeps on getting stronger. In God I’ve found real peace, real joy and real love.

In Scripture it says “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents”. Brothers and sisters on behalf of everyone whose lives have been affected by the choices seminars, thank you. Because of your invitations, inspite of probably countless rejections, you lit up our path back to the Lord. You have truly made God and heaven rejoice countless times because of that. God bless you all.

CALOY ATILANO, Pathways Ortigas

Every year, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Feast of Our Covenant by going through 40 Days of Renewal.  It is a time of reflection about the value, significance, and relevance of our Covenant with the Lord and with one another in the community and the Sword of the Spirit. We invite all of our brothers and sisters to enter into this time of renewal with expectant faith and hope that God will deal with us individually and as a people to strengthen the bulwark that He has called us to build and continue to live holy lives for Him.

Below is a message from our Senior Head Coordinator, and some links for materials on how to prepare for the coming Feast.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I still remember the joy and gladness which the Lord placed in our hearts during our 36^th anniversary. Indeed, He was with us and He spoke to us about His love and faithfulness.  He reminded us that He is a covenant God who works hard to make sure  His covenant with us is protected. He affirms His love for us by His abiding presence among us and treats us as His cherished possession.

And in our hearts He promised that we will hear His voice, and His call (a call to be Holy) and His promises of many blessings.

During these 40 Days of Renewal, let us approach this God of the Covenant through our prayers and reflections and listen to His call and promises with attentive hearts. Let us respond to His faithfulness with our own faithfulness and protect our covenant with Him with the grace that He Himself provides.

Faithfully yours in Christ!

SPANKY MEER

Click here to download the guidelines and the meditation guide in preparation for this feast.  Prepare for the FEAST, and discuss this meditation with your mwg.  May God be glorified by our faithfulness to our covenant with Him.

• Week1 Meditation Guide
• Week 2 Meditation Guide
• Week 3 Meditation Guide
• Week 4 Meditation Guide
• Week 5 Meditation Guide
• Week 6 Meditation Guide

At the end of the 40 Days of Renewal, PLs should spend time with their individual members and discuss the self-evaluation done by each member. Click here to download the Self-Evaluation Form revised August 2011.

SEARCH ME FOR I AM IN THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART

And the Lord says,  “You have tested Me, You have tried Me, and I have been faithful.  You have walked in darkness and I gave you light.  You have been in scarcity and I have sustained you.  You have questioned Me and I have answered.  You have wept and I have dried your tears.  When you were alone, I walked with you”, says the Lord your God.  “For I am a faithful God.  I am a God that is trustworthy.  I am a covenant God.” 

And the Lord says, “Search your heart.  Search your heart”, says the Lord.  “Listen to My voice, deep in your heart.  Find Me there.  Search for Me”, says the Lord our God.  “Search for Me for I live in the depths of your heart.  Come to Me and I ask you, ‘Why, why are you here My people?  Why are you here today?’ Search your hearts”, says the Lord your God.  “Hear My voice in the temple of your heart”, says the Lord.

I CALL YOU TO BE HOLY

“My sons and My daughters, each of you is here because I have called you.  ……Each of you is here because I have called you……  And I tell you now on your 36^th anniversary, that My call to you is not a call to be perfect.  My call to you is a call to be holy…. My call to you is a call to be holy…. 

And I ask you to be holy in your relationships…..  I ask you to be holy in your relationships…..  I want you to have hearts of compassion, mercy and forgiveness for each other.  I ask you be holy in your relationships. 

I further ask you to be holy in your use of the material goods I have given you.  These are all Mine and I ask you now to be holy stewards of all the material resources I have given you.  These were not given just for your enjoyment and for your families before you.  These resources I have given you to share and be My instrument of love.  I ask you to be holy stewards of your resources. 

I ask you to be holy in your use of time.  Carve out more time for Me.  Carve out more time for  your community.  Carve out more time for our service of love.  I ask you to be holy in your use of time and remove all distractions that are binding you from serving Me.  And as you strive to be holy, I will perfect you with My perfect love. I will allow you to love unconditionally. 

This, My sons and My daughters  is My call to you today.  Rise up and be holy.  I will be the one in charge of making you able to love perfectly.”

PROTECT OUR COVENANT WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE

Brothers and sisters the Lord says, “My people, maybe you think that you have worked so hard to protect the covenant that you have with Me, but this I tell you today, if you have worked hard to protect your covenant with Me, I have worked harder.  I have worked harder to make sure that I have protected My covenant with you.  That is how much I love you.  My love for you is so great that I am willing to do anything, go to any extent, go as far as I can just to protect My relationship – My covenant with you.

And I challenge you today, to protect your covenant with Me.  Do not allow your work, your other commitments and the many things that the world offers you today – do not allow these things to rob you of these precious treasure that I have with you – My covenant with you.

And only then when you have protected your covenant, when you have valued your covenant so much, that you can boldly share this covenant with others. You have something good to offer other people – My covenant with you.  Protect it with everything you have,” says the Lord.

I LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO ME

“My people, I called you by name because you are precious to Me and I love you.  My people, through all the times –  your sufferings, your afflictions – I was there with you.  Your days of abundance and plenty, I was there with you.  My Ligaya, I know I have been with you because I love you and you are precious to Me. 

And I love you My Ligaya because you have the ability to love Me in return.  I tell you, I ask you, believe Me, believe in the love that I have for you, and return this love to Me because you, My Ligaya, you have the capacity to love Me, your God.”

THE CHURCH WILL ASK FOR YOUR HELP AND FOR YOUR ADVICE.  BE READY.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord says, “I have promised much blessings to those who respond.  And indeed, My word is fulfilled.  

But I say to you, this is just a start, because now the momentum of My work is to be experienced not only by you, but the whole church in Asia.  The church will ask for your help and for your advice.  Be ready.  Do not hesitate.  Do not relent, but be glad that you received much blessings.  And be glad that many will come to experience Jesus. 

Be ready by doubling your time of prayers, being generous to the poor, dying to your own selfish wants.  Now is the time to embrace the unloved, the wounded. 

My word will not come back to Me empty.  It will come to pass.  But who among you will be there to reap the bounty?  Whom among you will I use to the field?  Those who listen and those who respond will be the happiest.”

Quoting Joe Tale (Couples for Christ), "We need to acknowledge Ligaya as our mother community."

Happy anniversary Ligaya! Happy 36th birthday!

It’s really wonderful being here together with all of you this day. Seated here earlier as I was looking over the gym here, I said, “ Lord, thank you for the fine weather. The prediction, according to Jun, the next 10 days, including today, would be rain. Kung hindi ulan, araw naman! But, so far, so good! It’s not too sunny and definitely there’s no rain. Lord, you’ve been answering our prayers, and we thank You”.

As I was asking our Lord, “Lord, what do I share with the brothers and sisters this morning?” He brought me back to a couple of weeks ago. Let me share this with you, very briefly.

BOASTING ABOUT THE LORD’S FRUITFULNESS

Let me tell you where Fr. Herb, where Melmarx and Cor, Apples and myself were three Sundays ago, and unfortunately, Rey and Nini couldn’t be with us because they had a very important family event, and of course, Andy and Landa had to be with Tita Naty. You all know that she needs our prayers. She has not been well.

So, Fr., Melmarx, myself and our spouses were at the Luneta, would you believe? I haven’t been to Luneta in ages! But there was a special reason for us being there. We were invited to celebrate with our brethren from Couples for Christ – their 30th anniversary! 3 – 0! And, I was talking to Joe Tale the other day, the Chairman of the International Council, I said, “Joe, we don’t need this…this honor. Let me share with you his reply. He said, “Spanky, this is not for you. This is for us. We need it. We need to acknowledge Ligaya as our mother community. Be with us”.

And so mga kapatid, let me briefly describe to you the occasion. Mass at 6:30 in the evening. There must have been 10 or more bishops, majority of whom were bishops from abroad – from Pakistan, from Africa, from Singapore – kung saan-saan! And there must have been what – 30 or so priests – punong-puno ‘yung altar. But the International Council of CFC invited us onstage. And to tell you really the way I felt, when we were introduced, and when they said that “Here are our parents – our parent community,” I was so happy to be there! And when the presiding celebrant of the Mass, Bishop Arguelles acknowledged our own Fr. Herb out of all the priests, and said, “If not for this priest, maybe all of us would not be here today!” Imagine that?

 And it all started, I understand, from the first Christian Life Program held in June 1981, where 16 couples finished the Christian Life Program. From 16 couples, what’s Couples For Christ’s population now? Over a million, globally?

So mga kapatid, Fr. Spoke earlier, about a “mustard seed”. It started with a few brothers and sisters in Ligaya, sometime in 1975. And what has happened? The fruits do not belong to us. So when I share that with you, I boast in the Lord, that He has blessed our faithfulness and He has shown us in our lifetime, the fruit.

A week thereafter – it was the turn of Familia – their 18th anniversary! And this time, Rey and Nini, representing the OLC of Ligaya were there to celebrate with them. I will not mention anymore the other anniversaries that I also attended. There are many anniversaries I’ve attended and many more I hope to be able to attend to celebrate with our Outreaches and our Partners in mission.

DREAMING TO BE 50

Truly, truly, God is a faithful God – a loving God! But, we are only on our 36th anniversary. And I will borrow from the CFC anniversary, and sabi nila doon, “From Pearl, 30….. to Gold, 50!” So mga kapatid sa Ligaya, we are 36 – I do not know what material or stone that is – but definitely, definitely, can we not dream of being together ‘til the Golden Anniversary – 14 years from now?

“What will make us get to our 50th?” you might ask. And I will draw from a Coordinator’s retreat two years ago. I do not know if the brothers remember it. But two years ago, we were led by John Keating, and the first opening question he asked the brothers was, “when God calls, how do you respond?” Uulitin ko ‘yon, “When God calls, how do we respond?”

A possible response is, “I am a member of the ‘NOW’ – Nuggets of Wisdom – seniors, I can respond as ‘Lord, alam nyo may edad na ako, pasensyahan na lang n’yo ako, hindi na ako pwede as before, etc. Dito lang naman ako, eh’!” Di ba, pwedeng ganon ang response natin?

Kung “middle age” kayo, hindi pa kayo “senior citizen”, ano ang pwede n’yong response? “Lord, sila na lang. Matagal na ako dito. Pagod na rin ako”. Di ba? Don’t we sometimes hear that inner voice within us?

If you’re young, how might you respond? “Lord, bago pa lang ako dito. Marami pang oras, marami pang mga taon na pwede akong magsilbi. Mag-enjoy muna ako.”

Nandito ang mga kaibigan ko. “Tsaka na, Lord.” Doesn’t that sound very natural? Yes, mga kapatid, it’s very natural.

Again, ano ang sabi ni John Keating sa amin? Listen to his description. Those responses are a “gracious resignation in the face of reality”. Gracious resignation in the face of reality.

But we have to move forward, mga kapatid.  To get us to go to our Golden Anniversary, 14 years from now, is it okay that we graciously resign ourselves to the realities that we face? “Sila na lang. Pagod na ako. Masyado pa naman akong bata. Sila muna”.

My brothers and sisters, we all know the answer. We heard the prophetic words earlier,

“Holiness !” “It is I. Learn from me.”

Again, a few days ago,

“Those of you who are tired, take my yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble of heart”.

Mga kapatid, again and I echo back to you, “One plus one plus Holy Spirit equals….equals….equals….Miracles! Sigaw natin, “Lord, we need You! Lord, we can’t do without you! Lord, be our all. Be our everything!”

Mga kapatid, the challenge before us, if we are to expand, and we have heard our Lord call out to us, “Give more. Do more !”. . . Mga kapatid, the challenge before us, is

“We must transcend MEDIOCRITY. We must latch on to the Holy Spirit and His grace, and His power and His energy, and be excellent – excellent in all our roles! If you are father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, child, son, daughter, employer, employee, Coordinator, SL, SWL, member – we need to give our best to our God and Master in all our roles. Not because kaya natin, but because His Spirit lives – lives within us. Kaya be natin, mga kapatid? By the grace of the Holy Spirit. By the grace of the Holy Spirit !”

Let me end with the a quotation from 2 Corinthians 12:9 : “My grace is sufficient in your need, for My power is made perfect in your weakness”.

Pray with Me. Let’s bow our heads. “Father, as we stand together side by side, on this 36th year, we acknowledge that it was You who brought us this far. Father, we know that even the small steps I make, we cannot take unless You journey with us, and we know that You are here with us. Lead the way, dear God. Inspire us, fill us with Your love. And Father, may Your Holy Spirit reign now and forever. Amen.”

-  SPANKY MEER

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