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GOD'S MESSAGE FOR TODAY...

SERVICE fIRST

"If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest." – Mark 10:43

Tito Ernie
was our pastoral leader when my wife and I joined Ligaya ng Panginoon
community. Aside from his leadership, I admire his willingness to serve
others. He would teach during our gatherings, set up the projector,
lead the prayers and more. He does all of these with a cheerful heart.
Anne
is a simple mother who leads a parish-based community for "special"
children. In our meetings, she would delegate the tasks for our
activities but, most of the time, she would take home the longest to-do
list. She loves what she does for the community and never complains.
Tita Neneng
used to have a comfortable life as a canteen owner. She decided to
leave that to serve full-time in Anawim, a home for the abandoned
elderly. She's in charge of everybody who lives there. The sound of her
laughter always gives me reason to thank God for all His blessings.
By
the way, Jesus Christ, who is God, humbled Himself and washed the feet
of His disciples during the Last Supper. He could have chosen to remain
in heaven but instead He came to earth, carried the cross and died for
us. To us He will always be the ultimate example of service. Alvin Fabella

REFLECTION:
How do you react when you are called to serve? How do you define greatness?

Lord,
teach us what true service means. Allow us to realize that in serving
You and our brothers we give You the love and worship You truly deserve.

Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top
COMPANION

1st READING

It
would seem that Isaiah understands that there are times when God will
allow His servants to suffer in order that a greater good would
prevail. This truth is nowhere more evident than in the suffering and
death of his Son, Jesus. There is no doubt that God could have stopped
His suffering but he did not. This forces us to ask the question,
"Why?" I believe it was that the greater good of our salvation would
result from his death and subsequent resurrection. God has the power to
bring good out of evil.

Isaiah 53:10-11
10 The
LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an
offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the
will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. 11 Because
of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through
his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall
bear.

P S A L M

Psalm 33:4-5. 18-19. 20. 22 (22)
R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
4 Upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. 5 He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. (R) 18 See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and
preserve them in spite of famine. (R) 20 Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. 22 May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you. (R)

2nd READING

The
biblical understanding of confession has more to do with the positive
confessing or stating of our faith than the revelation of our sins to a
priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Confessing our faith is thus a powerful way to express what we believe
in particularly in times of persecution as to do so often meant
endangering one's life. The issue at stake here is the depth to which
we believe — is it simply superficial allegiance to God, or is it the
firm belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Father, the one true God?


Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet
without sin. 16 So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

G O S P E L

Ambition in the Kingdom of God is useless and probably sinful unless it is the ambition to outdo one
another in showing love. There is nothing we can do that will alter the
seating arrangements at the Final Banquet. As if it really matters
anyway. All I care about is that I make it to the meal! I believe the
reality of eternal life and living with God face-to-face for eternity
will be sufficient for me.

Mark 10:35-45
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 He replied, "What do you wish [me] to do for you?" 37 They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 38 Jesus
said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the
cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am
baptized?" 39 They
said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you
will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be
baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41 When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at James and John. 42 Jesus
summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized
as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones
make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44 whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

my reflections
think: God has the power to bring good out of evil.

_________________________________________________________

God's special verse/thought for me today________________
_________________________________________________________

T O D A Y ' S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for:____________________________________
_______________________________________________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Isaiah 5-8
SABBATH PAUSE
My weekly time with God
THANK YOU LIST
Things to be grateful for from the past week
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
SPECIAL NEEDS
Things to ask God for in the coming week
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
HIDDEN TREASURE
Most important word God told me this week
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top
SABBATH

"yOu dO nOt knOW WhAt yOu ARe Asking"

It
must have come to Jesus like a slap in the face. He had just taught
about detachment (see last Sunday's reflection) and had told for the
third time that He is about to be arrested, tortured and killed. And
there they come, two of the closest friends of Jesus, James and John,
and ask in — I would call it — a disrespectful manner for places of
honor in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew found their demand too much
and changed the story a bit by letting the mother of the two brothers
approach Jesus and ask the question.) Instead of scolding or ridiculing
them, Jesus just sighed and made them gently aware of their
foolishness: "You do not know what you are
asking." After all, He had encouraged them to ask this question saying,
"What do you want me to do for you?"
I
wonder whether Jesus would tell us also, "You do not know what you are
asking," when He listens to some of our prayers. Of course, Jesus
wants us to verbalize and express our needs and desires in prayer. But
often we ask in our prayers for things which are not our real needs.
Our prayers and petitions can be at times rather self-centered. This
does not mean that we should not ask the Lord for personal favors. But
these prayers of petition will be pleasant to God when they are
patterned after the attitude of Jesus and His Mother Mary. Isn't it
true that the all-important words in prayer, learned from
Jesus, come only hesitantly and seldom on our lips, "Not my will but
Your will be done."
After
all, God knows better; He knows us through and through and so knows
what is good for us and what is not. "You do not know what you are
asking." We would not know; but God knows and for our own good He might
not give us what we pray for. If we only had the trust Jesus had in His
Father. But we can develop this trust and react to unanswered prayers by saying: "God knows better. It must have not been good for me. I must
have asked again something like James and John, not knowing what I was
asking for." Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

Reflection Question:
How do I react to unanswered prayers? Do I trust God enough when He does not answer my petitions?

Lord,
thank You for this eyeopener.I am at times likeJames and John, asking
You for things I do not need, for things that might be even dangerous
for me. Lord, enlighten me and let me see things more with Your eyes.

St. Luke the Evangelist, pray for us.

__________________________________________________
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HISTORIC SINCE 1967 METRO MANILA and LUZON FLOODED

HISTORIC SINCE 1967 METRO MANILA and LUZON FLOODED

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MULA sa AGB, narito ang Mega-Manila overnight ratings ng mga programa ng GMA 7 at ABS-CBN 2 nu'ng MARTES (Set­yembre 22)

Mega Manila Ratings
(ABU TILAMZIK)


MULA sa AGB, narito ang Mega-Manila overnight ratings ng mga programa ng GMA
7 at ABS-CBN 2 nu'ng MARTES (Set­yembre 22):
SiS 8.3% vs. Ruffa and Ai 4.5%;
Last Romance 12.4% vs. Game Ka Na Ba 9.6%;
Eat Bulaga 25.5% vs. Wowowee 18.6%;
Daisy Siete 16.4% vs. Kambal sa Uma 15.7%;
Ngayon at Kailanman 19.3% vs. Maria de Jesus 12.4%;
Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin 23% vs. Mr. Bean 7.5%;
Hole in the Wall 13.2% vs. Precious Hearts 12.1%;
Ikaw Sana 22.4% vs. Katorse 22.5%;
24 Oras 34% vs. TV Patrol 28.3%;
Darna 38.2% vs. May Bukas Pa 29.5%;
Stairway to Heaven 30.7% vs. Tayong Dalawa 33.3%;
Rosalinda 33.4% vs. Dahil May Isang Ikaw 30.1%;
Survivor 25.4% vs. Sineserye 20.6%;
Shining Inheritance 17% vs. Showbiz News Ngayon 15.3%;
OC to the Max 10.9% vs. Bandila 11.1%.

MULA sa TNS, narito ang National Ratings ng mga programa ng ABS-CBN 2 at GMA 7 noong MARTES (Setyembre 22)

Abu Tilamsik
National Ratings


MULA sa TNS, narito ang National Ratings ng mga programa ng ABS-CBN 2 at GMA
7 noong MARTES (Setyembre 22):
Blue Dragon 6.9% vs. Jackie Chan Adventures 8.3%;
Naruto 7.9% vs. Bleach 10.8%;
Pedro Penduko 6.9% vs. Hunter X Hunter 12.7%;
Ruffa and Ai 6.4% vs. SiS 6.8%;
Game Ka Na Ba? 13.1% vs. Last Romance 10.5%;
Wowowee 25.4% vs. Eat Bulaga 17.7%;
Kambal sa Uma 22.2% vs. Daisy Diete 15.2%;
Maria de Jesus 17.2% vs. Ngayon at Kailanman 16.7%;
Mr.Bean Live 11% vs. Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin 19.8%;
Miss No Good 11.4% vs. Game About Love 9.2%;
Precious Hearts 16.8% vs. Hole in the Wall 11%;
Katorse 33.1% vs. Ikaw Sana 14.5%;
TV Patrol World 37.9 vs. 24 Oras 23.7%;
May Bukas Pa 37.2% vs. Darna 30.8%;
Tayong Dalawa 37.4% vs. Stairway to Heaven 25.1%;
Dahil May Isang Ikaw 29.9% vs. Rosalinda 24.7%;
Florinda 19.2% vs. Survivor Philippines 19%;
Showbiz News Ngayon 11.3% vs. Shining Inheritance 11.4%;
Bandila 6.8% vs OC to the Max 6.2%.

Jeepney ride... from YOUNGBLOOD of INQUIRER.net

Youngblood
Jeepney ride
By Katrina I. Martin
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:56:00 09/03/2009

Filed Under: Road Transport

Every day I get up at 6:30 in the morning. I eat breakfast, take a shower, get dressed for work, go downstairs, put on my shoes, check myself in the mirror, say goodbye to my mother, and walk out the front door. I stroll down our street, then another before reaching my usual waiting place. There I stand for about a minute before the right jeepney comes along. My hand makes the slightest wave, and the jeepney driver sees it and immediately steps on the brake to let me get on.

I take a seat as near to the entrance as possible. Once I feel comfortable, I take my wallet out and count P12 for my fare. I hand over the money while announcing, “Bayad po!” I wait for one of the other passengers to hold out his hand so I can place my money on it. He in turn places it on another passenger’s hand, until it reaches the driver’s own.

The jeepney stops for somebody. She is a middle-aged woman who expertly gets on board while balancing her shoulder bag and files and closing her umbrella at the same time. She takes a seat across me and extends her arm to give her fare. The student nearby does not budge. The woman has to try twice before she finally catches the attention of the student, who reluctantly reaches out to receive the fare.

In this short span of time, the jeepney has managed to move once more.

As I face the wide-open window on my side of the vehicle, I see a man smoking on the street a short distance ahead. He is waiting for the right jeepney. When he sees it, he gives a small wave and takes one last puff on his cigarette before flipping it casually on the street.

I narrow my eyes, but before I can give him a piece of my mind, something distracts me. It is the sound of a drum. I spot a boy in his mid-teens, walking on the street. He has dark skin, and his striped T-shirt and shorts have turned gray from use and dirt. He is trying to catch the eyes of the driver.

He gets on the jeepney and starts handing out white envelopes to the passengers. He then sits on the step and starts playing his makeshift drums made of cans, plastic, and rubber while singing in a tongue I do not understand. I have seen his kind before, but never experienced riding in the same jeep where they played.

I look at the envelope in my hand and see some writing on it. “Konting tulong lang po para sa Badjao,” it reads.

I remember placing a pack of soda crackers in my bag that morning and take it out to put inside the envelope. A girl sitting near me sees me do this and gives out a small laugh. Maybe she isn’t used to seeing people give food to strangers. I smile at her, hoping she has a pack of crackers to give as well. It seems she doesn’t.

The young man seated beside her pulls out some coins from his pocket and drops them into the envelope. I smile again.

The boy playing the drums stops, gets up, and goes back in to collect his envelopes. He stops in front of the middle-aged woman who just ignores him. He nonchalantly reaches out to take the empty envelope beside the woman (he is used to that kind of treatment).

The girl gives back an empty envelope too. The young man next to her gives his envelope of coins, while I give mine stuffed with crackers.

I smile at the boy before he taps on the roof of the jeep, a signal to the driver that he is getting off. The jeepney slows down enough for him to safely jump off before speeding up again. I smile and look out of the window again.

Badjaos. I am sure I have heard of them before. Perhaps I studied something about them back in high school, but I can hardly remember. I am glad I finally met one.

Using one’s talents to entertain other people is a perfectly good way of making a living. Actresses and musicians and writers get paid for doing their thing, so why not drummer boys? I promise myself to write about them. Something about the beat of the makeshift drums and the boy’s unfamiliar words cling to me. I smile and for a while, I am at peace amid the hustle and bustle of the rush hour.

Other people may not understand it, but I find joy while seated inside a jeepney. Though the smoke threatens to spoil the pleasure, almost everything else contributes to the appeal. Jeepneys have an almost magnetic charm for me. In exchange for a handful of coins, you get an authentic and rich insight into the lives of real Filipinos—and intimate peek, if you will. No, the jeepney isn’t exactly squeaky clean. Neither is it all pleasant and inviting, which is perhaps that is the reason some people hate it: we cannot all yet own up to the fact that life isn’t perfect. It is what it is. And depending on how you see things and what you make of what you have, it can be good.

(Katrina I. Martin, 21, is a research assistant at the UP Manila National Institute of Health and a mission volunteer for Youth for Christ Campus-Based.)

Copyright 2009 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.