11 minute read
September
INSPIRATIONAL ARTICLE FOR THE WEEK
The Power of Good Example
RISING EVERY TIME WE FALL
By TIM PEDROSA
Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising up every time we fail/fall because what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Failure is a part of life. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you will never change. Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough – Og Mandino.
Everyone has inside a piece of good news that we do not know how great we can be; how much we can love; what we can accomplish and what our potential is. However, the greatest mistake we can make in life is to continually be afraid of mistake or failure. Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Life is like riding a bicycle: to keep our balance we must keep moving. Those who have been in rehab facilities learn about creating character: that we must know where we come from, how we can fall down in life and how we can overcome things to make ourselves stronger. In the midst of winter, I found that there is within us, an invincible summer that makes us happy. I have learned that no matter how hard the world pushes against us, within us, there is something stronger, something better, pushing right back. I have also learned that the power of the principle of moving forward eventually gives us confi dence when we look back and see what we have done and accomplished in life. Is it not that when we face our face to the sun, the shadows fall behind us? So every experience in our life is being orchestrated to teach us something we need to know to move forward. We are not meant to stay wounded. We are supposed to move through our tragedies and challenges and to help each other more through the many painful episodes of our lives. By remaining stuck in the power of our wound, we block our own transformation. We overlook the greater gifts inherent in our wounds, the strength to overcome them and the lessons 1. Our Lady of Angels Church - 1721 Hillside Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010 2. St. Isidore Catholic Church - 222 Clark Avenue, that we are meant to receive through them. Yuba City, CA 95991 Wounds are the means 3. St. Andrew’s Catholic Church - 1571 Southgate Avenue, Daly City, CA 94015 to receive through 4. St. Jarlath Church - 2620 Pleasant St., Oakland, CA 94602 4. St. Jarlath Church - 2620 Pleasant St., Oakland, CA 94602 them. Wounds are the 5. St. Isabella Church - One Trinity Way, San Rafael, CA 94903 means through which 6. St. Catherine Church - 3450 Tennessee Church, Vallejo, CA 94591 we enter the hearts of 7. Holy Child and St. Martin Church - 777 Southgate Avenue, other people. They are Daly City, CA 94015 8. Parish of the Holy Infant Jesus - 37051 Cabrillo Terrace, 8. Parish of the Holy Infant Jesus - 37051 Cabrillo Terrace, Fremont, CA 94536 meant to teach us to become compassionate 9. Good Shepherd Church - 3200 Harbor St, Pittsburg, CA 94565 and wise.
In the 13th chapter of John’s gospel, we can fi nd the narrative of the washing of the feet of the apostles by the Lord Jesus. He told them: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do (Jn. 13:15).” Our life of faith gives importance to good examples of life, for such examples edify people’s lives and fosters community. Good examples inspire Afl ame The Heart us in our spiritual journey. All good deeds REV. JOSE PELAGIO A. PADIT, SThD can be good examples to others. Good deeds of some virtue, like generosity or patience, promotes virtuous life. Can you consider yourself, dear reader, as a good example, a model for others in virtues and godly life? Are you consistent in doing good deeds that you can see yourself in some ways a good example for others, especially the youth of today, or to your family members themselves? I would like us to discuss on three ideas about the good deed or good example: First, that a good example, for the fact of its goodness is attractive. Good is di usive, it shines, it is admirable. Thus, good e amples attract attention. Good examples are admirable deeds. When we see good deeds, we would like to take part in doing them. We would like to be in the experience of the very good environment where the good deeds happen. Consequently, we admire and imitate good people with their good deeds and good examples. If we want to be attractive more than physical beauty, let us be doers of good deeds and be good examples to each other in godly living. In fact, if we are behaving in virtues and godly manner; then, it is God’s face, Christ’s face is the one that shines through us. It is, therefore, something that we must not take for granted but seriously become a good example at all times. Second point, any good deed or good example urges to be imitated. In as much as a good deed shines and is attractive; so also, it has the power to push one to do it. A good deed in itself tells us that it is doable and that it brings with it joy when it is done; hence, a good deed as a good example is imitable, it is able to be imitated: if others can do it, then, we too can do it; that’s the idea. Unfortunately, this is the same with bad deeds, it is also imitable and doable, but their conse uence is the di erent bad deeds will not give out true joy but rather emptiness in the end. It will not edify the person doing it, but rather destruction to oneself and the other people to whom the bad action done. In spiritual life; therefore, we must choose not only to be good examples but also, to be imitators of others’ good examples, of others good deeds. Imagine, if we all do good deeds and imitate each other’s good examples; then, we do not only make our world a wonderful one but we build ourselves up in ways pleasing to God. We become, individually and as community, an honor and glory for God. The third point, a good deed or good example is transformative. It transforms the person doing it and also eventually transforms the people and the world around. The logic fundamentally is based on the truth of God; that is, every good deed, God is present, He gave the grace to do it and when we do it; then, we did not only follow His Holy Will, we also became His instrument to do the good and wonderful design He intends to happen or make. God’s work is always transformative; God’s work never is for deterioration but for transformation. If then, we do good deeds, we are being His instruments in the realization of His divine design the wider and divine scheme of things. In spiritual life; hence, we cannot take for granted any opportunity to do the good action that presents us; in fact, the omission of such can become sinful, which we call sin of omission. Moreover, to grow in spiritual life, let us intend at all times to be good examples, doers of good deeds, in order, indeed, to transform ourselves into the person God wants us to be. If we become the person and or as a people God wants us to be; then, we have fulfi lled or achieved in a way the purpose of our e istence. ulfi lling what we are created means living the life to the fullest. May we, therefore, never take for granted the power of doing good deeds and becoming good examples; for this is one concrete way to live our lives in this world to the fullest at the same preparing us best for the life to after; to be in heaven with God. Amen.
Recipe of the Week
Baked Biko Sapin Sapin Style
Baked Biko Sapin Sapin Style. Traditionally the Pinoy Christmas, native rice delicacies are the food center piece in the old days, especially in the countryside or in the provinces. Most households would cook their especial cooking method of rice with coconut like the Biko, Suman, Puto, Rice Cake, Bibingka and the lists goes on.
Ingredients.
White biko: 1/2 ki lo malagkit, glutinous rice 1/4 ki lo regular rice
Red biko:
1/2 ki lo malagkit, glutinous rice 1/4 ki lo brown or red rice
Purple biko:
1/2 ki lo malagkit, glutinous rice 1/4 ki lo pirurutong, pur ple rice 6 cups coconut milk 1/2 ki lo white suga r 3 tbsp. g rated lemon rind, 2 l emons 3 tsp. gr ated ginger 1 tbsp. salt banana leaves
Toppings:
1 200s mall can condensed milk 1 1/ 2 cups coconut milk cup all-purpose fl our
Cooking procedure:
Separately cook the rice of the white biko, red biko and pur ple biko. Wash the rice mixture, put in a rice cooker, add a pinch of salt, grated ginger and add water as per rice cooker instructions. Cook until the cook switch has automatically switched o , remove rice cooker from the mains and keep aside.
Cook the coconut sugar syrup for the white biko, red biko and pu rple biko then divide in 3 parts. In a large wok put 3 to 4 cups of water, 6 cups of coconut milk, white suga r and grated lemon rind. Bring to a boil and simmer at medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep on stirring until the mixture is reduc e to about half. Remove from wok and di vide into 3 pa rts. Separately cook the white biko, red biko and pur-
ple biko. Using the same wok add in 1/3 of the coconut suga r syrup and let it boil. Stir in the cooked biko rice mixture, mix and blend thoroughly, stir cook for another 15 to 20 minutes at medium to low heat until the biko start to render coconut oil, keep aside to cool dow n. Line some banana leaf at the bottom and sides of a baking tray, put in the cooked biko and platen in 3 layers, bottom layer the pruple biko, middle layer the red or brown biko and the top layer the white biko. Make sure that there is still space for the milk and coconut toppings, keep aside. To cook the milk and coconut toppings, in a small sauce pan mix all the topping ingredients until thoroughly blended. Heat the mixture at low heat till it start to boil, while continuous ly stirring to prevent from burning, ke ep aside to cool dow n.
Siargao, Palawan, Boracay win spot in Condé Nast awards
MAKATI CITY – Three Philippine islands have landed a spot in the annual Condé Nast Traveler (CNT) readers’ choice awards for top islands to visit this 2021.
Out of the 85 de stinations listed, the surfi ng haven Siargao Island was recognized as this year’s top favorite in Asia, while the world-famous Palawan and Boracay Island earned the third and eighth spots, respectively.
The three bested other world favorites in Asia like Indonesia’s Raja Ampat Islands (second), Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands (ninth), and P huke t (10th).
“At a time when we are exhausting all means to revive tourism in the country, we are grateful for this new recognition from Condé Nast Traveler. We have worked to strengthen our position as a top-of-mind de stination around the globe while ensuring that health and safety protocols across our destinations are implemented and observed,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.
She said the recognition bodes well for the recovery of the country’s tourism indus try and D OT’s latest global campaign “More Fun Awaits”, which showcases the Philippines’ preparations for international leisure travel once pandemic restrictions are lifted.
Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked 20t h in the CNT’s list of Top Countries in the World w ith a score of
The annual CNT Readers’ Choice Awards gathers feedback from over 800,000 r eaders across the globe based on their recent travel expe riences in the world’s top hotels, resorts, cities, countries, islands, spas, trains, car rentals, lugga ge, airlines, airports, and cruises.
The results of the 2021 a wards demonstrate the recent travel expe riences of the readers and — gi ven the travel restrictions forced by the pandemic—pr ovide an idea of where
travelers are “dreaming of going next” when the world reopens for international travel.
Siargao has also been chosen by TIME as among the World’s 100 Greatest Places 2021.
Palawan ranked 19t h on Travel + Leisure magazine’s Top 25 I slands in the World and fi fth in the Asian category this year. It was also include d in CNT’s list of The 30 Best Beaches in the World in 2020.
