Ahuv Sheli

“A specially chosen present makes a soul feel singled out. Take time to question thoughtfully and listen carefully to people’s interests and passions. Besides tailoring each gift to ‘just the right fit,’ You will find your relationships growing in nature and depth.” -Anne Calodich Fone, Elf-help for Giving the Gift of You (Pasay City: Paulines Publishing House, 2006), #25 This is it,  FINALLY, I saw the perfect gift for my friends, and we just received it yesterday... so here it is jim, after one hundred years of waiting for the surprise :P... my sister's birthday cake May 2011 It is with great joy that I share this to my photographer friends whose different styles continue to amaze me: street photography - Aaron Offord http://www.aaronoutward.com/ landscape - Suirya Gayathri http://www.facebook.com/suriyagayathriphotography effects - Subin Sudharman http://www.facebook.com/frickxzp macrophotograp...

A PENNY FOR THOSE THOUGHTS "Moral Courage is not to be confused with a display of power, or with reactions of fear, or the mere utterances of slogans and shibboleths. It is a positive quality, a willingness to defend those fundamental moral principles which one understands and believes." -Charles S. Johnson on "We're Losing Our Moral Courage- http://motifsonthewall.blogspot.com/2011/05/silent-cry.html reading through my soul sister Alpana Jaiswal's post... You are right ...this will be an endless discussion... one reflection leads to another... i'll reflect on the basics but a word on ABORTION first... The following were presented by a female doctor in defense of the legalization of abortion: for therapeutic purposes (inorder to save a mother's life), when one is raped and gets pregnant, presence of genetical aberrations that may result to physically handicapped children)... in addition, she said to prevent occurrences of infection a...

"What to do with this wound, that is so easily touched and starts bleeding again? It is such a familiar wound. It has been with me for many years. I don't think this wound--- this immense need for affection and this immense fear of rejection--- will ever go away. It is there to stay , but maybe for a good reason. Perhaps, it is a gateway to my salvation, a door to glory and a passage to FREEDOM. -Henri Nouwen,Sabbatical Journey,24-25 It was a splendid surprise seeing my former parish priest giving his homily on tv--- I last saw him when I was twenty-four and he'd always tune my guitar before every Eucharistic celebration... His words struck me: “ We prefer  fuga mundi  (flight from the world)---perhaps thinking that this would help us evade sins... but God chose to become incarnated--- to experience humanity, making Himself God-with-us... ” I made this reflection in connection with our initial response to stress: FIGHT vs. FLIGHT... W...

Early Easter Sunday morning, I awoke at the sound of fireworks in our parish. In my country, we have a tradition called “salubong” where an angel unveils Mother Mary’s face and encounters her Resurrected Son at dawn.   My ears strained for more like church bells and the choir singing but there was a deafening  silence after the “salubong”. The thought excited me, perhaps Jesus wanted to surprise me. I greeted the Lord and spent time with Him in the Scriptures, He immediately brought me to read Aaron’s page where he talked about facing death.  http://www.aaronoutward.com/2011/04/why-leukemia-was-best-thing-to-happen.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AaronOutward+%28Aaron+Outward%29&utm_content=FaceBook  It was a good reflection that stayed with me the whole day. We celebrated the Easter Mass at 10 and my family spent time in the mall. Towards the end of the day, I watched Korina’s rated K episo...

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you”. "Hapag ng Pag-asa" (Table of Hope) by Joey E. Velasco   Lord, you desire us, you desire me. You eagerly desire to share yourself with us in the Holy Eucharist, to be one with us. Lord, awaken in us the desire for you.” - Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Thursday Homily 2011 Lord, I seek and desire you… my soul yearns for you… I was deeply saddened that no retreats were available in our parish in preparation for the Easter pre-triduum this year. Last year, we spent three nights reflection with the Dominicans. However, God surprised me by leading me into another form of prayer and reflection this year through sacred art. It was even more profound than I thought. "Beyond Life" features Joey E. Velasco, a famous "heartist" as he fondly calls himself. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=536187&publicationSubCategoryId=70 It was my brother who originally introduc...

Have you ever felt this way? You were fed…  given drink…  and yet there’s this insatiable hunger inside you…  an unquenchable thirst within you… that beckons you  and asks you for for something more…. "God thirsts to be thirsted for..." - St. Augustine ------------------------ lyrics/music by Fr. Manoling V. Francisco, SJ performed by Ms. Lea Salonga

"Hi Melissa, check out my blog I think You might enjoy   it today!!!,” greeted  my friend  Jim of  http://jpweddingphotograpy.blogspot.com   Monday night (11 th  of april). I have been looking forward for his next series of photos since morning... But instead he gave me a wonderful surprise… He posted a picture I truly liked   and   honoured me with a Versatile Blog Award…  THANK YOU VERY MUCH JIM! Since I just passed through the “meme” tradition, let me just share seven blessed trivias about myself ... One, I love nature and I like gardening. but what I like most about it is the feel of soil in my hands...  and seeing the plant grow day by day... then I like lying on the grass on retreat days and looking at the sky by day... and the stars at night... Two, for fun and mind exercise, I’d check out the etiology of one’s name… and play around words. Alpana , for example, means delighted (i...