My Beloved Philippines by Father James Reuter, SJ

I have a lot of friends from the Philippines so wanted to pass this on to as many people as possible. Even if we think that this small country isn't going to effect us, any economy or moral structure that fails is, eventually, felt by the entire world.

 

 

My Beloved Philippines

 By Father James Reuter, S.J.

 BY HER own admission, GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) rightfully assessed that over the last decades, our republic has become one of the weakest, steadily left behind by its more progressive neighbors. Forty years ago, we were second only to Japan in economic stature, and way ahead of Singapore , Hong Kong , Malaysia and Thailand .. Today, at our present growth rate, it will take us 30 years to get to where Thailand is. 1. A population of 160 million; 2. Of those, 70 to 90 million (equivalent to our current population) will live below the poverty line; 3. Our national debt is estimated to be at US$200B (compared to US$28B when Marcos fled, and US$53B today); 4. We will be competing, not against Thailand or even Vietnam , but against Bangladesh ; 5. We will be the most corrupt nation in Asia , if not in the world (we’re already ranked 11th most corrupt nation by Transparency International)...

THE SIGNS are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack of effort. We’ve seen many men and women of integrity in and out of government, NGOs, church groups and people’s organization devote themselves to the task of nation-building, often times against insurmountable odds. But not even two people’s revolutions, bloodless as they may be, have made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, we have moved one step forward, but three steps backward. We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm. It’s time to claim God’s promise of healing of the land for His people. It’s time to gather God’s people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. Is prayer really the answer?

Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I’d like you to consider some lessons we can glean from history. England ’s ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fueled by intense prayers. The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the most powerful nation today -- a strong faith in God and a disciplined prayerful life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movements swept across the land. In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Chris tian church in the world today, led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around it are faltering. Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For where there is genuine humbling and seeking of God through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity. Yes, we believe prayer can make a difference. It’s our only hope.

TODAY, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from all over the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only ask for five minutes of your time in a day, to forward this email to your close friends and relatives. This is the kind of unity that can make a big difference. Of course, if you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be more involved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center. We have tried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short. Maybe it’s time to try prayer power. God never fails. Is there hope? Yes! We can rely on God’s promise, but we have to do our part. If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, God will heal our land.. By God’s grace, we may yet see a better future for our children. “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). If you care for your children and grandchildren, PLEASE pass this on.... Let’s not just abandon the Philippines .

A Timely Reminder . . .

Given all that is going on in the world, today, I thought this was very much worth sharing. Remember to check out The Catholic Education Resource Center site for more informative articles.

From: The Catholic Education Resource Center.

By: Father George Rutler

God so loved the world that he spared us the indignity of making us feel good about ourselves. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). If utopians indulge the dangerous sentimentality that thinks Satan is a mythic cipher to explain the problem of evil, Jesus does not. He knows the origin and character of Satan: “He was a murderer from the beginning. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Satan hides behind the plural: he pretends to be more than he is, intimidating others by celebrity and popular support. “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” But in the presence of the Truth, even Satan cannot lie. He drops the plural and confesses what no mortal yet knew: “I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24). Our Creator knows more about the problem of evil than we do. Logically, if God did not exist, evil would not be a problem. It would be just an energy equivalent to good. In every age, those who have cooperated with Satan have solved the problem of evil to their satisfaction by saying that it is good. Many of these figures have had a seductive power over people that cannot be explained by simple human charm and persuasiveness.

Satan hates not being God. He is only a creature. His hatred refracts into a hatred of the Church, which is the only power against him in this world. He does not waste his time on false religions, heretics and braggarts. He hates the Sacrament of Reconciliation and tears down Confessionals because he wants to separate man from God. “Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries — of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature — to each man and to society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #395).

Satan never looks like Satan. He drapes himself in celebrity and humor and humanitarianism, using celebrity to mislead, humor to mock, and humanitarianism to de-humanize. One hatred in him always exposes him for what he is. Because our Lord said that we must become like little children to inherit the Kingdom of heaven, Satan hates babies. With great wisdom, the older Rite for the Baptism of a Child begins: “I exorcise you, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Come forth, depart from this servant of God, for He commands you, accursed and damned spirit, He who walked upon the sea and extended His right hand to Peter as he was sinking.”

Fast way to Chicken Pot Pies . . .

My daughter told me about her college method of making pot pies. She and her roommate had a weekly dinner party so everyone could get a break from the awful cafeteria food so they always tried to come up with something different and tasty. Pot pies turned out to be very popular. The way she and her friend cooked for a crowd? They used the crescent rolls you can find in the refrigerated section of the market. You know the kind that come in a tube? Well, they would press a unbaked roll in each place of a muffin tin with enough to wrap up over the filling. I was amazed at what an easy solution and already started thinking about how I was going to do it in the future.

The chicken filling can be easy, too. Use an undiluted can of chicken soup with some additional chicken and vegetables. I use frozen one as they will cook through.

You can do the same thing with the refrigerator cookie dough and make  pies. Again, just press the cookie dough into the muffin tin, add some canned apple pie filling, and bake.

Naturally, if you are not in a hurry, you can use your favorite cookie or pie crust fillings to accomplish the individual pies.

For this evening, however (the reason the topic came up!), I made a chicken pot pie in a large, oblong baking pan. I don't think I will get any complaints!

Amazing World . . .

Awhile back, I mentioned an elderly friend who needed prayers for an upcoming cancer surgery. The surgery took place last Wednesday and one guess who showed up at Mass this morning! Hospitals certainly don't keep people there long these days even 85 year olds! I was so surprised to see Carlos and his wife sitting in their usual pew this morning. Carlos is walking slowly but without a cane or walker. He looks much improved and the surgery was a huge success in that all the cancer was found and removed.

After Mass, Carlos wept with emotion as he asked me to send out a thank you to each and every person that prayed for him during this time. So, here I am relaying the message for him!

What a change in the world, however, with how soon people are sent home after surgery. When I had my c-section surgeries, they had me up and about within hours and on my way home in less than three days.  My second c-section took place on a Wednesday morning and I was at the mall that Saturday. My second two babies came the 'normal' way. One was worse than a c-section and the last was fast, easy, and unmedicated. I guess I can speak from all spectrums of the delivery process now!

The good news about Carlos certainly put a shine on this Sunday morning. The sun is up, the weather is moderate, and the wind condition is down to a mild breeze.

I vote to agree with the first one!

"I believe that every human has a finite number of heart-beats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises."
-- Buzz Aldrin

"The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you."
-- Nancy Astor

"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."
-- Abraham Lincoln

"There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker."
-- Charles M. Schulz

Thrifty Treats and other musings . . .

What is it with scraps/leftovers? It seems that every time I get some new fabric, I tend to come home and create a new quilt primarily out of scraps I already had on hand. Some of my best quilts come from my ever-growing scrap boxes. Having to work with less seems to ignite my creative spirit to see how far I can stretch things. Yes, the new fabrics eventually get used but that just renews the scrap boxes and . . .

The same goes with my cooking/baking. My most memorable meals or baked goods have come from those before pay day weeks when I have to make do with what I have on hand. I guess it just shows that no matter how little it seems I have on hand, you can come up with a warm meal or a warm quilt!

I read about a man who loved to quilt. It was during either the Depression or a war so he had to be extremely thrifty in his use of fabric. He would cut postage-sized pieces of fabric and come up with the most beautiful quilts. A yard of fabric in his hands certainly went a lot further than it does in mine . . . even with my scrap collection.

I suppose that idea of thrift and care for what we are blessed with seeped into my ideas about cooking/baking. I enjoy the times I have to forage through the freezer and cupboards to produce a meal. Knowing that the lean times do arrive rather frequently, I watch my use of food in the 'abundant' times!

We love roasted chicken but I never throw away the carcass. It goes into the freezer and, eventually, makes a great pot of broth. The same goes for roasts and pork bones. Sometimes, I have an extra boneless chicken breast left. It is amazing how a pot of soup comes together with the broth, the finely chopped up chicken leftover, a few carrots, and some pasta or dumplings. Thrift and love . . . they seem to come hand in hand when it comes to providing for the family!

One of our favorite, thrifty snacks was 'invented' by my husband.

4 cup all- purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Enough cool water to form a workable dough
Enough oil for frying

Stir the yeast into about a quarter up of cool water. Add this to the flour and salt. Mix in water gradually until you have a workable dough. It shouldn't be too firm but you don't want loose and sticky either.

Roll out pieces of the dough and cut into strips. A pizza cutter works great. Drop them into the hot fat (I use a large, heavy frying pan for this) and fry until golden. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with either powdered sugar or a cinnamon/sugar mix.

Out of the mouth of babes . . .

My 18 year old had an interesting and somewhat profound view on the recent back and forth with the funding from Susan G. Komen to Planned Parenthood. He said that it seemed to him that if Komen had taken a stand and stuck with it, he'd have more respect for their group than the obvious caving in of their decision in the face of opposition. He said that backing down the day after making such an announcement seemed to show to him that they really have no solid ground of belief either way on the subject otherwise they wouldn't have wavered at the first sign of disagreement.

When the whole story broke initially about them stopping funding to Planned Parenthood, I mentioned that it would be a nice gesture to send Komen a donation in thanks. My son said to wait because it didn't seem like a done deal in spite of the publicity. He was correct and I wa fortunate to not have thrown my money into an organization of which I wasn't entirely in agreement.

We were talking with our pastor this morning and he said that, yes, Planned Parenthood would abide by the limitation of use on the funds and not use it for abortion.  However, by giving them money to go only towards 'women's health', it frees up their other money to go towards abortion. This happens all the time in business practice and it's legal . . . but legal, in this case, doesn't necessarily make it right.