In Defense of Judas

I remember as a young girl, I learned a declamation piece called "Despair of Judas", in which Judas did not have hope in the end, that's why he opted to take his own life. But as I grew older, I have come to personally believe that even Judas was redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. I personally believe that I cannot pass judgement on Judas. Only God knows whether his soul is for heaven or hell.

And then, I came across this piece by Kalookan Bishop, His Excellency Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio "Ambo" S. David, D.D. 

What a powerful message of forgiveness and mercy in this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy!

In Defense of Judas
By Bishop Ambo David

O Captain, My Captain!

BY WALT WHITMAN

O captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won.
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;


                But O heart! Heart! Heart!
                O the bleeding drops of red,
                Where on the deck my Captain lies,
                Fallen cold and dead.

The Prophet: On Love

BY KAHLIL GIBRAN

When love beckons to you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. 

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. 

Icon Writing: A Spiritual Journey

On the very first day of the workshop/6-day recollection, our teacher quoted Vladislav Andrejev; and I will remember the words always whenever I work on a sacred art, and have brush and paint in hand: "As you write the icon, the icon writes you."

The icon of the Holy Trinity in tempera
by Andrei Rublev (ca.1411 or 1425-27)

I have an inclination towards the Arts, but never had any formal education related to it. I attended a 10-day painting class about eight or nine years ago, and that's about it. There is something in painting that relaxes me, clears my mind, and allows me to contemplate the Beauty that God has made in Creation. That's why even on my own, I risk painting, and one day hope to finish an "obra maestra." I am very much aware that I do not have the professional know-how about the discipline of painting, so I risk expressing myself using brushes and tubes of paint. 

Lately however, it had been extremely challenging to finish a painting, especially those of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus. I have started several, but they're all unfinished. I would try my best to find time, but something more urgent would come that would require my immediate attention. At one point I decided, maybe I really just need to put them all on hold for a while. I felt I needed a little bit more inspiration.

The Credenda from The Gift of Acabar

I was not born a bookworm. I got the habit of reading thanks to my SPED English  back in elementary school where I had to do book reports often. (I was part of an "experimental Accelerated class".)  I am thankful that the love of books was instilled on me early on. If there's an indulgence I will not have second thoughts splurging on, then that would be buying books! I will never trade the smell of pages after pages of a trade paperback to E-books and Kindle.

I do not like putting highlights on my books, I find them dirty. So I do take the extra effort of actually writing favorite quotations from all the books I have read in a notebook. The other day, I went through some old journals, and came across some notes I made from the book The Gift of Acabar by Og Mandino. I read it in high school, and it's actually timely to be reading a part of it again.

Here it goes.

Desiderata

BY MAX EHRMANN

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Translation of the Holy House

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

Christ hear us.

Christ graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

The Dominican Rosary

Although the rosary is said to have predated Saint Dominic, Tradition does hold that the founder of the Ordo Praedicatorum introduced the use of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary as "a balm for the wounds of his contemporaries." Moved by a vision of the Mother of God, Saint Dominic preached the used of the rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensians, who denied the mystery of Christ.

Read SUPREMI APOSTOLATUS OFFICIO, Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical on the Devotion of the Rosary.

The DOMINICAN ROSARY

O Sweet Christ on Earth

"How do you know if you are called? 
That is for you to know. You need to have an open heart to be able to hear God calling you."

The above are not accurate transcriptions (and translation) of memorable lines that struck me while watching the movie Papa Francisco, The Pope Francis Story earlier. (Originally entitled Francisco: El Padre Jorge.) A colleague gave me his premiere night movie ticket for the film about Pope Francis, brought to the Philippines by Pioneer Films, in partnership with  Veritas and SM Cinema, and which will be officially shown in movie theaters on September 30, 2015. 

While paying close attention to the big screen, and making sure I was able to read the English subtitles, I was also having flashbacks of the wonderful experience of seeing the Holy Father so close during his apostolic visit to our country last January. It is amazing how I have been given the once-in-a-lifetime honor to serve the Vicar of Christ.

Sweet Christ on Earth

A Poem for the Virgin Mary

My painting of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
(acrylic, c. May 2011)

I praise and worship the Triune God, 

for giving you to me, my Glorious Queen.

You who with trust bore and gave birth to my Lord,

I rejoice for with your 'fiat' I am redeemed. 

'Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum',

with the Archangel Gabriel I sing.

By a singular grace you were conceived sinless --

as only God can grant you through Jesus our Sovereign King.

To you oh Virgin Mary my Sweetest Lady,

I give honor as Jesus Himself honored you.

I thank Jesus your Son for entrusting me to you;

Know my dearest Mother that I love you!

(It has been four years since I wrote this poem for Our Lady. How time swiftly flew by. I am glad that through all the ups and downs of life, I can claim to also be the child of the Theotokos! "I have gained a matchless prize, and thus I stand beneath the skies; the child of Mary.")