One of my firm beliefs in life is that the concept of stewardship will change the way things are in our country and in the world. Stewardship is based on knowing that nothing we have is really ours and that all that we have is given to us to use and take care of for the good of others.

Election after election, presidential candidates assume office only to disappoint us in the end. Corruption is still a major problem, our countrymen leave their families to earn a decent salary in other countries, and a lot of Filipinos remain poor and uneducated. We are a country of highly intelligent, hard-working, and charming people; we are blessed with abundant natural resources but the way things are in this country leaves a lot of room for improvement.

Still, hope springs eternal and on May 10, 2010, you and I have it in our hands to choose the person who will lead us in the next six years. Hopefully, that person will be a steward. How can we tell if the president is a steward?

The person who will be president must be grateful. He must be grateful for the chance to lead this nation and like any other ordinary individual grateful for a gift, the gift of the presidency will be handled with great respect.

The person who will be president must be responsible. He must be capable of dispensing his duties as president in an organized and moral manner. He must use his talents and his unique gifts as an individual to improve the lot of his fellow Filipinos, particularly the last, the least, and the lost.

The person who will be president must be generous and must give back with increase. He must be generous with his time, talent, and his own treasure. He must not enrich himself while in office. He must give back to the people in terms of service. He must give back to this nation a sense of propriety, instill a culture of discipline and decency, and lead us all to be generous with our neighbors and to think of the good of others who may be beyond our circle of friends and family.

On May 10, 2010, I urge you to vote wisely. Remember also though that transformation and change do not lie with the leader or with the president alone. You must be a steward yourself as well. You must also be grateful, responsible, generous, and must give back to others with increase.

That is my dream — the Philippines as a nation of stewards. A nation acting as a loving and caring family. As Lilo and Stich say, no one gets left behind.

If you wish to read further on my take on choosing whom to vote for, please read The Vote to Right.

I suppose it was an indirect way of saying that as Christians or Catholics, it is everyone’s responsibility to evangelize. Bringing people closer to the Lord is a job or vocation that we all have. It is not reserved for priests or religious sisters.

For this coming Holy Week, April 1 to 3, 2010, I would like to gift one person with the chance to attend a Holy Week Triduum Retreat at the Ateneo de Manila University. This will be held at the Escaler Hall, Science Education Complex Building. Daily schedule from Holy Thursday to Black Saturday is from 7:30am to 12:30pm. Retreat Directors are the following: Fr. Miguel B. Lambino SJ, Fr. Victor C. de Jesus, SJ, and Fr. Arturo M. Borja, SJ.

Recollection fee per person for the three days is P1,200.00. If you would like to have the chance to attend the retreat for free, please leave a comment for this blogpost and complete the sentence (you may write more than one sentence): “I would like to attend this retreat because…”

I will shoulder the cost of the recollection fee for one person. If there are several people who leave a comment, or join the contest (there are other ways to join and to have the chance to win, as will be explained in my other website), I will choose the winner by seeing which answer or comment best connects with me.

I intend to choose the winner on March 23, 2010 and will announce the name shortly after that. Instructions will be given to the winner by e-mail or through my blogs.

If you would like to inquire about and make a reservation for the retreat but not join the contest, you may call Ida Solis at 426-6081 to 82.

I hope to hear from you.

The year 2009 leaves us with thoughts of the devastation caused by super typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, as well as fears on the restiveness of Mayon Volcano. In the midst of such occurrences, we remember that everything in this material world is fleeting and that while providing for ourselves materially is necessary, we must focus more on aspects like faith, hope, and love.

No matter what the new year may bring, let us take comfort in Deuteronomy 31:8: “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Mom’s A Stewardess, the book, is not just for mothers, I always say, but most likely, it will be most appreciated by mothers and by women. As I face 2010, I remember a quotation from Mariles, a writing classmate of mine, when she said what a male friend once told her: “Women scare me. You bleed for 7 days and you don’t die.”

Just think about it. Women go through a lot and survive. With resolve and faith in the good Lord, I am sure that 2010 will turn out to be fine. There will be happy occasions to sustain us and challenges to strengthen us. So I wish all of you a grace filled 2010. Happy new year!

I never knew a boxer could evangelize until Manny Pacquiao came along. Quinito Henson, well-known sports columnist of the Philippine Star, writes and quotes Pacquiao as having said: “Everything comes from God…I owe everything to God. He gives me strength. With God on your side, anything is possible. You can do things you thought you could only dream about…”

Now that is what I call giving credit to Whom credit is due. Earning USD 12 million or USD 20 million does not change the fact that Manny Pacquiao did not get to where he is through his own efforts. Sure, he is a disciplined boxer. Sure, he is naturally talented. Sure, he works hard at what he does. But why boxing? Why the rise from rags to riches in such a dramatic way? How did that come to be? Do you know the answer?

And if Manny Pacquiao is there, can Mommy Dionisia be far behind? Mommy Dionisia who never watches the fight live but instead says prayers for her son while the fight is on-going? At times, I am tempted to say that the reason Manny Pacquiao has gotten to where he is today is that he has a mother who prays for him a lot. Then again, that may not be entirely true. As I have learned through the years, prayer does not really change God’s mind about what to do. Prayer is meant to change us. Prayer is not the same as saying our prayers but prayer is listening and conversing with the Lord to find out what His will for us is. Not very easy but quite necessary for us to live a meaningful life.

Which brings me to the topic of motherhood and the fact that today is Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers reading this. While we may view mothers as exceptional human beings with a seemingly innate capability to just love, give, and serve, being a mother myself, I have realized that if it were just up to me, I would have given up a long time ago. Motherhood is just too demanding, will turn your life topsy-turvy, and will ask that you give your family even that which you thought you did not have. If we just relied on our own individual powers, we will fail miserably. Hindi kakayanin ng powers ko, as they say in the vernacular. As we go through the life of a mother though, events force us to slowly realize that we are not alone. We cannot do it alone. Resolve, determination, intelligence, commitment … these will still not be enough. A mother knows that true power to love and to care can only come from faith and God’s grace. As we raise our kids, we will not like everything we experience. We will not understand everything but we will be grateful because we know that our children are gifts. We will be responsible because we know that our children are really not ours. We will be generous and loving because Our Father is generous and He loved us first. As mothers, we recognize the real Source of our power.

So, to all mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day again. May the good Lord always use you mightily for His purpose as you raise the beautiful children that He has gifted you with.

Youth and beaches remind me of a story called The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley. Let me tell you briefly about it first and then later on, we will see how it relates to Stewardship:

A man was walking along the beach when he chanced upon a young man on the seashore. The young man was picking up something from the sand and throwing it gently into the ocean.

The man asks the young man: “What are you doing?”

The young man replies: “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“Why are you doing that?” The man asks again.

The young man explains: “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

The man continues: “But young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it, you can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened and then bent down and picked up another starfish and threw it back into the sea. Pausing briefly, he replies to the man: “It made a difference to that one.”

What is the point of the story? Most of the time, we (old and young alike), like to dream big dreams. Most people may aim to accomplish things that will move the world and figure that if something is not going to be “grand” enough, it might not be worth doing at all or it wouldn’t make a difference if we did it or not.

Well, let us recall what Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: “In this life, we can do no great things. We can only do small things, with great love.”

Stewardship, as it is defined, invites all individuals, no matter what your age or stage in life, to find the eternally young man or woman in you, pick up a starfish and make a difference. Sure, we can’t send all kids to school. We can’t feed everyone who is hungry. We can’t help all the poor parishes in our country or in the world. We can’t build each homeless person a roof over his or her head. We can’t help everybody grow in their spiritual life. But we can help some. We can help a good number. With each individual’s help and commitment, we can do numerous small things, wherever it is that we may find ourselves.

Stewardship invites everyone to share their time, talent, and treasure with the Lord and with others. We have been blessed with much so we can be blessings to others too. Giving back to the Lord and to others is a way by which we express our gratitude to the Lord who is the Source of all the good that we have. It is a way by which we say to the Lord: “Everything I have is Yours.”

Let us all be star throwers. Pick up a starfish. Make a difference. For the smallest deed of goodness done is much better than the greatest of intentions planned.

If you would like to start by picking up one starfish and making a difference to that one, you may want to find an organization or parish that you can work with on a regular basis. You may also e-mail me through this site if you are willing to help us out at Christ The King Stewardship. I will then get in touch with you to explain how you can help to make Christ the King Greenmeadows the true stewardship parish that it was meant to be.

Have a great summer!

But it is always a good time to pray. In fact, the busier you are, the better. Prayer will calm you down and direct you in the way you need to go.

Monsignor Dan Sta. Maria of Christ the King Parish suggests a quick way to pray at the start of the day. He says you can start by praying one Our Father and one Hail Mary. Then, thank God for a new day. After, ask the Lord: “What good can I do today?” Lastly, ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit and the strength to affect positively the lives of the people whom you will meet today.

Not too difficult, right? And not too time-consuming. We’re just into the first month of 2009. It’s a good time to resolve to pray more. Put things in proper perspective and remind yourself what you are here for by saying the brief prayer above on a daily basis. I am sure you will feel more at peace in the days to come.

Each individual probably fears something or someone. Fear of the dark. Fear of change. Fear of uncertainty. Fear of people in authority. The year that is about to unfold brings many fears. Fears of a global financial crisis. Fear of war. Fear of not having enough.

But our good Lord repeatedly tells us and reminds us: “Courage! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” Look back to the episodes in your life and you will see that things or events which we feared may have brought us to encounter the Lord more closely. To rely on His strength and not on ours. And when we face and conquer our fears by trusting the Lord, positive things unfold and we discover good things about ourselves. Things which we never would have discovered had we stayed petrified.

And so as we start the year 2009, I wish you a happy new fear! Be bold. Do not be intimated. With the Lord by your side, there is nothing to fear.

As a portion of John 4:11-18 goes: “There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives away fear, for fear has to do with punishment; those who fear do not know perfect love.” May you discover and savor the Lord’s perfect love for you this year. Do not be afraid. Have no fear. Just love.

Just wanted to let you know that I finally got to check the blueprint for the book today. I met with Bob Laurio of Claretian this evening and the book will be off to the press soon.

We hope to have the copies of the book ready by mid-June 2008, in time for the launch on July 9, 2008. At around that time too, we target to have the book sold at National Book Store and Powerbooks.

July 9 and onwards, the book will be available in all Claretian Publication bookstores and partner book outlets nationwide. In Quezon City, you can go to their bookstore at 8 Mayumi St., UP Village, Quezon City.

The book will be 151 pages long. No price information yet. We’ll know that too shortly before July 9. I will let you know as soon as I get hold of the pricing information.

For those who are based abroad, there will be a way to order through the internet.

You can check out

=> http://www.claretpublications.com

and you can e-mail cci at claret dot org to inquire about shipping internationally or about volume discounts (but you really have to order a good number).

You may also get in touch with Ms. Chiqui Basmayor at cbasmayor at gmail dot com. She is in charge of the Foreign Orders Department.

See you all at the launch… or at the bookstores. =)