PEOPLE’S CHOICE (Most Viewed) :

Chicken a la Carte

POPULAR (Best Rated) :

Herr Baer

VIRAL (Most Shared/Linked) :

Bapoto

UNDISCOVERED (Must View) :

Life on the fault line

FILM-MAKER’S CHOICE (Best Art) :

Maria’s Grotto

Chicken a la carte. The Filipino film that won international acclaim. The film mirrors our brothers journey in life. Thank you J. Jalbuena for sharing it with us.

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

We are called to be the salt in the world! Salt and light … just what does that mean?

-When salt is applied, it dissolves inward and disappears. The salt speaks of the inward part, the character of the Christian.
-Jesus also described His people as being like light, which is on the outside. The light speaks of the testimony of a follower of Christ, revealing and illuminating the truth.

Let’s now look at the Scripture and ask: who, what, and how.

Who
Jesus was speaking to a crowd of just ordinary folks. Yet Christ said to them, “You are the light of the world.” And today, you are the light of the world. That’s how God intends to get his work done on earth today: through you!

And that’s how God intends to get his work done on earth today: through you! It’s not just pastors and missionaries who are the light; it’s everybody who loves the Lord.

You see, the world doesn’t understand. The world looks at Christians and thinks, “They don’t count.” God takes an ordinary person and uses them to share His message to people who needed Him. When we share our faith, we spread His light.

What
Jesus describes what we are in this passage - the light of the world, not the light of the church. That means we have to get beyond the church walls and take the light out to where it is dark.

You were saved to shine! Don’t hide your testimony or be ashamed to take your Bible to work. Don’t be afraid to pray over your lunch at school. Let others know that you love the Lord Jesus.

Jesus also talked of the strength of collective light. Each house in a city with its lights on cast a glow across the sky. As Christians come together, there is a glow for the Lord that we cannot create individually. We shine brightest when we shine together.

How
How can we shine for God? Jesus says that we are to let our lights shine before men in such a way that they will see our good works and glorify God. That’s how we do it. We live for God.

We have to surrender our lives to Him completely. Christ says we are to “let” our lights shine. In other words, when you get right with God and are filled with the Holy Spirit, He will simply shine through you. You can’t help it; light just pours forth. Are you willing to burn brightly for the Lord?

How can you become a bright light in a dark world? As we begin a new year, here are a few thoughts and questions to begin letting your light shine.

1. What does it mean to be “light”?
-Where do I find myself being light?

2. What do I do to cause my light to shine?
-Where do I struggle being light?

3. Why do you suppose God chooses to use ordinary people, rather than a few specially selected people, to reflect His light?
-Where does the world look for light, and where do they find it?

4. When am I tempted to conceal my light?
-What opportunities do I have for sharing my light with others?

So, now that you have a better understanding about your part in reflecting God’s light, take a few minutes and write a short testimony that you can share with non-Christians. Don’t just go over it in your head. Write it down, so that you know what you want to say. It should be about two minutes in length, following this outline:
-What was your life like before you met Christ?
-How did you meet Him?
-How has He changed your life since then?

1.    Resurrection Life - Future Hope?

 Let me ask you one of those huge life, the universe and everything questions –

What do you think about the future of this world?    
Do you think it has one??    
When you look at how the human race is going, are you hopeful,
or do you despair of what will become of us all?

·        When you look at the apparently endless cycles of evil and retribution, of selfishness and suffering in the world, do you   despair about the human race ever rising out of the mire of self seeking?

·        When you look at the predictions of global warming spiralling out of control and threats of nuclear proliferation, do you despair about the very continued existence of our human race and planet earth?

·        When you face (as we all must ultimately face) your own physical death, do you see that as a final defeat in the struggle against extinction?

Mary despaired.    Her world had come to an end.   

It seemed that the cycle of evil and retribution had indeed triumphed and the grave had triumphed.

But then Mary hears the Gospel - Christ is Risen

Life is stronger than death   -   Light overcomes darkness

Love will conquer evil and hatred.

The resurrection isn’t just about one man 2000 years ago in Palestine –
it is about the whole way the Universe works –

The resurrection says:

·        There is more to life than this world -
Which means that even if we manage by global warming or nuclear lunacy to destroy our very planet and everything on it, still we have hope!

·        There is more to life than this world –
Which means that when we approach our own death (as one day every one of us will) we will find that the way of death is not a road to oblivion but a road to new life.

Vera Brittain in her autobiography “Testament of Youth” tells the horrors of WW1.   She describes her own blackness and devastation as one after another those dear to her were killed in the war.   In 1916 her fiance Roland Leighton was killed in France.  
Vera Brittain describes the Easter Sunday morning following his death.   She says she went to Church and sat beneath a painting on the wall.

It showed the tragic figure of Hagar from the book of Genesis, exiled in anguish in the wilderness.
And the title of the painting was “Watchman will the night pass?”

And Vera Brittain, describing the darkness of that Easter Morning, clearly identified with Hagar in her anguish, and says that for her too the day was still dark and she just hung on hoping that indeed the night would pass.

Our lives & indeed our whole world can sometimes seem very dark- and God does not promise us that we will not sometimes struggle in the long night watches –
But he does promise us the dawn.

Watchman will the night pass? – 
Yes the night passes, for the light of Christ conquers death and evil.

So if you are struggling with bereavement
or if you are facing the death of a loved one
or your own imminent death –
well hear the Easter message –

What may seem hopelessly dark from a human perspective
is but a new beginning –
the darkness before the dawn.

2.    Resurrection Life - Here and Now?

But let me say one other thing.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that is the resurrection is only about the future -

But Jesus did not say “I will be the Resurrection and the Life”

He said “I am the Resurrection and the Life”

As Christians we need to grasp the wonderful fact that we can know glimpses of heaven, glimmerings of the glory of life in all its fullness here in this world.

When you are in tune with God, that is heaven –
when you are out of tune with God, that is hell –
(Heaven and hell are not spatial destinations, they are ways of being)

I guess most of us know at least something of
“hell on earth” and “heaven on earth”.

John Robinson once said that life has a grain running through it, and the grain goes in the direction of God’s love.

To try to live your life with or against the grain of God’s love
is like trying to plane a piece of wood with or against the grain.

According to how you live,
you will know something of heaven and hell on earth.

I remember having a great debate with an earnest Christian lady about universal salvation.    I said that I so believed in the overwhelming and unlimited and eternal love of God in Christ that I hoped that every member of the human race (including those who had rejected Christ in this life) would ultimately – in the next world if not in this world - be drawn by the leading bands of love into God’s loving embrace.

The lady I was talking to was horrified.  
But, she said, if we are all going to be saved after we die anyway, what is the point of being a Christian now?!

What is the point??!?    Being a Christian isn’t just a slightly unpleasant duty we have to get through in order to earn our air miles to heaven!!

No – we follow Jesus because in so doing

we begin to feel the chains of our captivity loosening,

we see the light beginning to seep over the horizon

we are vouchsafed a foretaste of the heavenly banquet

Resurrection life, life in all its fullness, is starting right now.

The party is already beginning -
why on earth would we want to wait until we die before joining in?

So let us hurry with Mary to the empty tomb.

There the Risen Christ is awaiting us

Let us bring with us our sins and sorrows,
our fears and our heartaches

Then shall the miracle begin –
as the darkness and despair of our life
is brought into the glorious light of his presence

Then as the sun rises in our life,
let us cry aloud – Christ is risen Alleluia!

Now is the time to live!

 is inviting everyone to the

Catholic Life in the Spirit Seminar No. 25

The preparation for the LSS weekend starts with the:

Salubungan on April 24 (Friday),

to be followed by

four pre-shepherding sessions every Friday evening until May 22. 

The LSS weekend will be on May 29 - 31 at the St. James Parish Church.

For application forms and further details, you may call the Renewal Office 807-6001, the Saint James Parish Office 842-5140 or 807-1623, and the LSS 25 Secretariat 809-2948 / 0917 853-1021

So how can a simple pot plant help you achieve success?

One of the fundamental laws of nature is this:

Anything that does not receive regular
attention will deteriorate over time.

If you think about this for a moment, you'll see that this law holds true not only for a pot plant but also for every area of your life:

• If you do not pay regular attention to your health, it will deteriorate over time.
• If you do not pay regular attention to your relationships, they will deteriorate over time.
• If you do not pay regular attention to your finances, they will deteriorate over time

Having a pot plant on your desk is a great visual reminder of this fundamental law because if you don't water it regularly it too will deteriorate.

As you water your plant every few days, use this action as a trigger to remind yourself to review your health, relationships and finances on a regular basis.

A good way to reinforce this idea is to place something like the following on the base of your pot.

Sometimes as you water your pot plant you might realise that you haven't done any exercise for a few weeks.

At other times your may become aware that its been two months since you and your wife/husband have had some quiet time together.

Alternatively, your pot plant may also remind you that you need to review your finances.

As you can see, a simple pot plant sitting on your desk or kitchen table can be a great reminder to pay regular attention to the things that are most important to you.

Dare To Dream!

"Go out and do for others what somebody did for you."

— Randy Pausch,
from The Last Lecture

Has somebody inspired you recently? Then it's your turn to go out and inspire somebody else.

Has somebody made you feel loved and appreciated? Then it's your turn to go out and make somebody else feel loved and appreciated.

Has somebody convinced you that the best way to look is up? Then it's your turn to go out and convince somebody else to look up.

Has somebody blessed you? Then it's your turn to go out and bless somebody else.

Life, you see, really does work best when we don't hoard the things we are given, but share them, instead, with everybody we know.

And may you always be aware that you are loved beyond measure and a cherished blessing to others.

Life is not the way it’s supposed to be, it’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.

— Virginia Satir

And when you cope with it by choosing to see everything as a blessing, every single thing, then life comes very close to being the way it’s supposed to be.

May you always recognize the blessing.

And may you always be aware that you are loved beyond measure and a cherished blessing to others.

May your day be filled
with all things good,

I showered and shaved…… . ……. I adjusted my shirt.

I got there and sat……… …. In a pew just in time.

Bowing my head in prayer…… .. As I closed my eyes.

I saw the shoe of the man next to me….. Touching my own.. I sighed.

With plenty of room on either side…… I thought, “Why must our soles
touch?”

It bothered me, his shoe touching mine… But it didn’t bother him much.

A prayer began: “Our Father”….. ……… I thought, “This man with the
shoes.. has no pride.

They’re dusty, worn, and scratched. Even worse, there are holes on the
side!”

“Thank You for blessings,” the prayer went on.

The shoe man said…….. …… a quiet “Amen.”

I tried to focus on the prayer…… . But my thoughts were on his shoes
again.

Aren’t we supposed to look our best.. When walking through that door?

“Well, this certainly isn’t it,” I thought, Glancing toward the floor.

Then the prayer was ended……. …. And the songs of praise began.

The shoe man was certainly loud…… Sounding proud as he sang.

His voice lifted the rafters….. … His hands were raised high.

The Lord could surely hear.. The shoe man’s voice from the sky.

It was time for the offering…. … And what I threw in was steep.

I watched as the shoe man reached…. Int o his pockets so deep.

I saw what was pulled out……… . What the shoe man put in.

Then I heard a soft “clink.” as when silver hits tin.

The sermon really bored me………. To tears, and that’s no lie.

It was the same for the shoe man… For tears fell from his eyes.

At the end of the service….. . As is the custom here.

We must greet new visitors.. And show them all good cheer.

But I felt moved somehow….. …….. And wanted to meet the shoe man.

So after the closing prayer…… . I reached over and shook his hand.

He was old and his skin was dark….. And his hair was truly a mess.

But I thanked him for coming…… … For being our guest.

He said, “My name is Benito….. ….. I’m glad to meet you, my friend.”

There were tears in his eyes……. But he had a large, wide grin.

“Let me explain,” he said…….. . Wiping tears from his eyes.

“I’ve been coming her e for months…. And you’re the first to say ‘Hi.’”

“I know that my appearance.. …….”Is not like all the rest.

“But I really do try……… ……..” To always look my best.”

“I always clean and polish my shoes..”Before my very long walk.

“But by the time I get here…….. .”They’re dirty and dusty, like
chalk.”

My heart filled with pain…….. …. and I swallowed to hide my tears.

As he continued to apologize… …… For daring to sit so near..

He said, “When I get here…….. …”I know I must look a sight.

“But I thought if I could touch you..”Then maybe our souls might unite.”

I was silent for a moment…… …… Knowing whatever was said

Would pale in comparison.. . I spoke from my heart, not my head.

“Oh, you’ve touched me,” I said……”And taught me, in part;

“That the best of any man……… …”Is what is found in his heart.”

The rest, I thought,…. ……… … This shoe man will never know.

Like just how thankful I really am… That his dirty old shoe touched my
soul

(More articles inside SJRM-FORUM)

By Dana Hudepohl

“Once a cheater, always a cheater.” “People cheat when they’re unhappy at home.” “If your mate cheats, you’ll know.” We’ve all heard these bits of conventional wisdom; they’re comforting, in a strange way. But they’re all wrong, say the experts who study infidelity. What’s worse, believing these myths can do a lot of harm, because it gets in the way of your preventing, spotting, and recovering from infidelity. (Yes, recovering — contrary to popular belief, an affair doesn’t have to destroy a relationship.) We’ve unraveled the latest research so you can protect your relationship with the facts.

Myth #1: There’s a “cheater” profile.
The reality: With the right trigger circumstances, anyone is susceptible to cheating. “There are as many different profiles as there are people who have affairs,” says Douglas Snyder, Ph.D., a couples therapist and a professor of psychology at Texas A and M University. Yet the myth persists that there’s a recognizable “type” of person who’s unfaithful. That’s why it took Linda Mitchell, 43, a personal trainer in Monroe, OH, by such surprise when she found out her first mate was having an affair. “He never did anything to lead me to think he would cheat,” she says. “He’d bring me flowers, tell me how beautiful I was and what a great partner I was.”
While some people are chronic philanderers, it’s more common to unintentionally wind up in an affair. “People who have accidental affairs have no thoughts of being unfaithful,” says Snyder. “It’s not even consistent with their values system, but the opportunity presents itself.” Maybe a coworker hits on you during a business trip when you’re stressed, or your cute handyman compliments you when you’re getting over a fight with your mate.
“Here’s the best way to prevent affairs: Rather than saying, ‘We will never have one,’ instead think of the kind of person, situation and mood that would make you vulnerable,” says Barry McCarthy, Ph.D., a marital therapist and author of “Getting It Right This Time: How to Create a Loving and Lasting Marriage.” Maybe you’re so nurturing that you’d be vulnerable helping a neighbor whose wife just died, while your fun-loving sister would be susceptible during a trip to Las Vegas. It may feel contrived or scary, but having this tough conversation with your partner can help you both recognize chancy situations and be on guard.
You can also stay in safe territory with friends of the opposite sex by not confiding personal things, like airing complaints about your mate, and not keeping anything about those friendships secret. “You know you’ve crossed a line if you don’t want your mate to know about whatever you’re talking about with this person,” says Tina Pittman Wagers, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist and instructor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “If it starts feeling like that, then you need to pull back and reestablish closeness with your mate.”

Myth #2: It’s men who cheat.
The reality: While baby-boomer men do cheat more, women in their 20s and 30s have affairs just as frequently as men their age, according to new research. One reason: More women are working. When you have a job, you’ve got more financial freedom, which could make you more comfortable taking a gamble with your relationship. You also have opportunity; around 46 percent of women and 62 percent of men who have affairs cheat with someone from work.

Myth #3: Long-term boredom leads to an affair.
The reality: Michael, 34, a lawyer in Tampa, says his wife started having an affair before the couple’s two-year anniversary. “I never, ever thought that would happen,” says Michael. Yet the so-called honeymoon period is actually a high-risk time for infidelity. “More people have affairs the first two years of marriage than any other time,” says McCarthy. Women may experiment with a comparison affair: Would I be better off with this guy? Did I make a mistake in marrying my spouse? Men, on the other hand, are likely to cheat for reasons that have nothing to do with their relationship. Thanks to their upbringing or their circle of friends, they may believe that’s just what guys do.
An early affair may be just a last fling that a couple can work through, but it’s more likely a wake-up call to a person that his or her partner has a fundamentally different model of monogamy, says Wagers. Still, newlywed affairs don’t have to spell doom. If both partners decide that they want to give their union another shot, it’s important to figure out what factors contributed to the affair and whether there’s any hope for changing them.

Myth #4: A man is driven to infidelity when he’s not happy in his relationship.
The reality: It’s true that the majority of women who’ve had an affair reported being physically and emotionally disengaged from their partners for at least a year before the affair. But more than half of men involved in affairs reported being happy or very happy in their marriages prior to cheating, according to a survey by the late Shirley Glass, Ph.D., noted infidelity researcher and author of NOT “Just Friends.” Lots of other factors weigh into a guy’s decision to start an affair, including chemistry, opportunity and poor impulse control. “I counseled a couple where the husband’s younger coworker made a pass at him when they were at a conference and he accepted,” says Wagers. “Even though he felt close to his wife and he felt like he had a good marriage, he was excited and flattered that this woman who was 15 years younger found him attractive.”
Many cheaters do blame their actions on a less-than-perfect home life, but researchers say they’re just rewriting history. “Often times these are retrospective reports that are now having to justify how it is that the partner violated vows,” says Snyder. Granted, lots of cheaters are unhappy on some level in their marriages. But so are many men and women who don’t have affairs. “Infidelity isn’t the only road,” says Wagers. “If you’re not satisfied in your marriage, you might also be driven to talk to your partner.” That’s why therapists say it’s so important to stay in touch with each other. For you, that might mean setting aside 20 minutes every night to talk about your day, your differences and your dreams. “It’s the whole idea of staying close to your spouse,” says Wagers. “The more disconnected you get from the relationship, the easier it is to slide down the slippery slope of infidelity.”

Myth #5: Adulterers find lasting happiness with their affair partners.
The reality: No matter how blissful they feel, affair pairings rarely get to happily ever after. A whopping 75 percent of affair partners who marry end up divorced. For one thing, the qualities that attract you to an affair partner — like impulsiveness or extravagance — might be the polar opposite of what makes you happy long-term. And during affairs, lovers are under the spell of chemical changes in their bodies that make them feel euphoric — feelings that are exaggerated even more by the secrets they’re keeping. They’re in a type of fantasy world, focusing only on each other and not getting bogged down in day-to-day stuff like bills and child rearing. “Somebody may seem like a soul mate when it’s all fresh and shiny,” says Wagers. “But you can’t assume the new-car smell is going to last 15 years.”

Myth #6: Betrayed partners know on some level when their partners are fooling around.
The reality: In many cases, the betrayed mate is totally in the dark. “A lot of cheating partners are really invested in keeping this secret and are very good at lying,” says Wagers. So true, says Dayle DeCillo, 39, a mother of five in Mission Viejo, CA, who had zero suspicion that her husband of 11 years was unfaithful — until she discovered him with another woman. “I was blindsided,” she says. “He was a paramedic and firefighter, and was gone a lot, either ‘working’ or ‘working out.’ I was never concerned he wasn’t where he said he was.”
DeCillo simply made the same assumptions most people do: You assume you’re trustworthy and your mate is, too. The possibility that he could stray isn’t even on your mind, so you don’t get suspicious if he says he has to work late or go on a golf trip with his buddies. Usually it’s not until the affair is out in the open that the betrayed mate can go back and give new meaning to history.
It’s also common after an affair is exposed for the betrayed mate to feel like he or she is facing a new truth: You never can be sure whether your partner will cheat. In reality, it’s a truth that was there all along.

Five essential tips to prevent infidelity:
1. Be each other’s number one confidant. You shouldn’t be sharing private thoughts with others that you’re not sharing with your mate.
2. Make time to connect on a regular basis. Daily moments of connection help you build a sense of togetherness and shared purpose.
3. Don’t let family time squeeze out just-the-two-of-you time. Relationships that are too child-centered are at high risk for an affair.
4. Recognize when you’re temporarily attracted to someone else. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with your relationship — or that you have to act on it.
5. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and your relationship. If you’re ever tempted and don’t feel like you can tell your mate, you’ll have someone else to confide in who will steer you straight. And if one of you does stray, you’ll have a strong support network to help you put your relationship back together.

(More articles inside SJRM- FORUM)