Young Peacemaker by Paulyn Gulmatico

I chose St. Elizabeth of Portugal. I chose her because she's a peacemaker even before she realized that she is. When she was born, her birth itself healed a rift between her Father King Pedro III of Aragon and her grandfather. She is a great role model for our generation of today, because even though at a young age being married to a man that she doesn't even know and also the man was unfaithful she didn't expose the king for his transgressions. She remained faithful to his husband and even payed for his conversion. Also, St. Elizabeth loved and served the poor and built hospitals, convents, orphanages and other buildings. St. Elizabeth made me realize that in the hardships and troubles we should still seek God's help and even though we are hurting we should always do the right thing.

Kindness in His Little Fingers by Samantha Gacho

              Reading the story of St. Martin de Porres reminded me so much of of the story of Cinderella. They both have the reason to be rebellious and despise the world but kindness rise in their hearts. There's kindness in their little fingers. Whatever they are going through, they didn't let it hinder their goodness to others. 

              St. Martin de Porres had a rough childhood. It was hard to be loathed by the people you consider as your family. And be tormented by the judgement of others because you are an illegitimate child. Going through all these loneliness he can be a terrible man. But no, he had a choice. He searched for love and found God. "When there is kindness, there's goodness. And when there's goodness, there's magic." this is the line that struck me the most in the recent movie trailer of Cinderella.I was somehow able to relate this to him. Because of St. Martin's goodness and great love for God he had a magical success in healing the sick. Kindness can make us do million of good things. It may be simple or out of this world. He may not be acceptable in his society during his childhood, but he gave back love to them. 

           I look up to him so much because he is the perfect example for the youth today. As teenagers, we are kind of sensitive with the issues in our lives. This is the time when most youth search for themselves and seek for something they don't have especially love and attention. We don't have to search so far because God is with us. Like St. Martin de Porres, life was so hard for him but he didn't waste his life. We've searched so far but we don't know that God is beside us. We have no reason to do self-harm and do rebellious acts. Have faith. We may think that the whole world is against us, just be kind and God will be so proud of us. .Live out your faith, help the needy and show love and care to others. Show kindness with your heart and with your little fingers, just like what St. Martin de Porres did. 

           

A Woman of Peace

          I chose Saint Elizabeth of Portugal as my role model to live out my faith because she defined faith in different aspects. Having been married at a young age with a man whom she never met was unbelievably shocking, she could have refused but still obeyed her parents' orders. Despite her husband breaking his vows, she remained faithful to him and prayed that he would have a change of heart.
          Saint Elizabeth dedicated her life to the poor, she would do charity works, help the poor, sick, women, and children. She also established a convent for nuns. While doing this she never once forgot to attend daily masses. Her whole life was dedicated to help everyone who are in need and to God.
          I look up to Saint Elizabeth of Portugal not only because of her passion in helping others but also being a peacemaker. She found a way to end a feuds between her family and nations. I hope to be like her someday, to have a deep and sincere love for humankind.

Have Faith in Me

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

          Faith is having a strong belief and trust in someone or something. There are times that we find things hard to believe because we simply cannot see it, but they do exist. They exist just like God exists, we may not know where He might be, we do not know if He can hear us, but it doesn't mean that He's not there, He'll always be there. Faith in God does not require seeing him, it is how we welcome and embrace His presence in everything we do. Faith is a personal relationship between you and God because He is deeply rooted in our hearts.

           It is not enough that we say that we believe in God because He exists. Our christian faith is not solely based on understanding the truths of the Bible, the way we memorize prayers, or the words that we speak, it also recognizes the actions we do. The sincerity and genuine love and care for others must also be seen when we do our works of faith, an example is the Christmas fund drive in school, I donated not because I am told to do so, but it is in my willingness to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

          Another thing I learned is that faith life and social life are inseparable. I think this is the most common mistake we still continue to do. We sometimes forget God when we socialize with others, we need to be aware in the presence of God in each and every one of us. 

          The reason for the quote above is, I was looking for an inspiration to help me to have a more composed thought about faith, I also wanted to help people, specifically my classmates and batch mates or to anyone who is going through a very tough situation, to understand what faith is really about. "Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." It is in times like these, when our path darkens, that we need God the most, that we seek His loving presence in hopes that we will overcome our struggles in life. But what hinders us to reach God is our own selves. We lack faith in ourselves, thinking we will not get past through our problems. We give up easily. Having a little faith in you can go a long way. If we want to believe in something, we have to believe in ourselves first. Trust God that He will illuminate our darkened world and that He will grace us with the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds to do what is right. "Your faith has saved you." 

          

          

St. Martin de Porres (RT 1, Hartendorp, 10-Fortitude)

St. Martin De Porres is the saint I believe is a perfect role model to all, He showed equality to humans but also animals including vermin. St. Martin wanted to go on a foreign mission for the church which would position him as a martyr yet the church did not allow him, And because of that he made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances. He whipped himself three times every time. Of course he did this for repentance for his sins.

St. Martin De Porres as I've said showed equality to all, He showed extreme compassion to humans, animals, the sick and the suffering. He maintained a strict lifestyle, which includes fasting and not eating meat. He established an orphanage and a children's hospital.

The main reason as to why I admire this saint is that even with his sad background he could have continued on living in a bad way yet he picked himself up and live his life in a better way. He treated everyone equally, he was not biased, he did not care whether your healthy or sick, mixed-colors, poor or rich he treated you well, And I wish that I could find people like that today.

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (rt 4, Clarisse Sulquiano, 10-Fortitude)

I believe that St. Elizabeth of Portugal is the perfect role model for me because she is a great woman, a loving mother, a faithful wife, and a charitable saint. She spends her time praying for her unfaithful husband, so that he would finally have a change of heart; she even managed to end a long standing feud between her hunsband and her son. She also spends her time during Mass and recites the Divine Office daily. She is also a charitable woman. She founded institutions for the sick, for the travelers, for wayward women, and for abandoned infants. She established a convent for nuns and  provided dowries for poor brides. She is a great role model for being faithful to the Lord, her husband, her children, and to the people who are in need. Despite her hardships towards her family, she still believed that everything will be alright.

St. Martin De Porres (RT 4, Aquino, 10-Fortitude)

I choose him because I was amazed by his story. It all started from nothing and it ended into something despite all the difficulties in his life. He found love from God and Jesus' Mother was his Mother that loves him tenderly. I admire him for caring for the poor and sick people. His faith is still there and he prayed everyday to thanked God for everything. Some say that he'll never had a chance because of his dark past but then, here he is now, serving God.

St. Martin De Porres (Rt 3, Soriano, 10-Fortitude)

I chose St. Martin De Porres because despite all those problems he encounter all his life like his father abandoning them, his mother not treating him right because he was a illegitimate child, confided in a primary school for 2 years,  him being a donado, people mocked him for being an illegitimate child and he did not gave-up he still did his best. and it is said that he was known for his care for the sick, he was also a very patient man. He also did not gave-up his faith and still prayed, thanked God for everything. I was also amazed because he feed 160 poor people EVERYDAY and he also helped those orphans and gave them a family. I hope I can be like him, strong and faithful despite all life's challenges.

St. Martin de Porres (RT 2, Rabang, 10-Fortitude)

The saint I chose is St. Martin de Porres. St. Martin had the desire to go off some foreign mission but this was not possible so he devoted himself to ceaseless and severe penances. But despite of all these trials in his life, he's still a martyr. That's why God endowed him with many graces and wondrous gifts. I chose him because his love was all-embracing, he even loved animals. St. Martin de Porres also possessed spiritual wisdom. I chose him because he is really a good role model for the people. I adore him so much. Despite what happened to him, like knowing that he is an illegitimate son he still loves all the people around him.

I Was Wrong About Peace by Samantha Gacho (Personal Reflection on Lesson 4)

           All this time I've been using and understanding the word “Peace” in a very wrong way. School works, college entrance test requirements, class governor problems, and ate duties these were the times I really want to have peace. And that time, peace for me was a figurative escape from reality. Having a break from our daily routines and having a pause and be with yourself. Peace for me is more like reading a book; listening to music; watching films; and seeing beautiful landscapes.

             As I reflect, I realized that I don’t have peace the time I was doing those. It’s more of a recreation. Peace is not only about the absence of violence or having a break from this world. Peace is having the presence of God. In the times I shut myself in my room and focus in reading a book, listening to music or do some things for myself, I’m actually pushing away God’s presence. I was too busy looking for the presence of myself and I totally forgot about God. That’s not peace.

                

           There will be peace if there’s love and justice. We have to know to stand for what is right and do what is right. We may get negative feedback when we do this but at the end it’s between you and God. We should not fear to stand for the truth. We should not fear the threats of people who fear the revelation of truth. Just like what’s happening today, the people who stand for the truth were threatened and pulled down. As long as we are doing the good thing, God is always with us and being with God Is having peace. We have nothing to fear because God is bigger than any problems or issues we have in life. We can conquer those as long as we have Him.

               

           Peace is a gift from God. Let us share this gift to those who haven’t found the real meaning of peace. Let us be God’s instrument and give the gift of love and the gift of peace. 

Reflections on Lesson 4 (RT 5, Malabanan, 10 - Fortitude)

Through this lesson I was able to learn that we may obtain  peace without violence, which is called nonactive violence. It is normal to sin for we are only human, so we have to ask for forgiveness and learn from these mistakes. As St. Paul said, "Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you." (2 Cor.13:11) we should never be afraid to turn to God when we sin and ask for forgiveness for he will always forgive us. When we don't ask for forgiveness, sin breaks our relationship with God. I also learned that peace is the Fruit of justice. If there is fairness within a community you may find order. When we live in harmony we are in peace with ourselves and with others. So let us do our best to share and wear the love everyday!

St. Martin de Porres (RT 5, Malabanan,10-Fortitude)

The Saint I look up to is St. Martin de Pores. I find it amazing that he was able to overcome all his difficulties in life. His white father abandoned him and his negro mother despised him because he was an illegitimate child. But despite all that he did not forgot that God was always with him and would never desert him. He found love from God and since he did not have a mother, he turned to Mother Mary. Because of his sad early years he could've turned for the worst but he did not let that happen. But instead he became of service to others for the glory of God. This is what I admire the most about him and hopefully I can be like him in times of difficulties in life.

"Compassion, my dear Brothers, is preferable to cleanliness. Reflect that with a little soap I can easily clean my bed covers, but even with a torrent of tears I would never wash from my soul the stain that my harshness toward the unfortunate would create." - St. Martin de Porres

How do we Live Full? by Julia Tagulinao

In my understanding, 'Live Full' teaches us how to live our lives well and be god Christians. This lesson has taught me how to appreciate my life and be tankful for all the blessings God has given me. My family, my friends, my school, my good environment and a community that molds me to be a good and God-centered person. This lesson has also taught me to be generous and share my blessing to the needy. It made me realize how blessed I am, and God has given me this life to help His people -- my brothers and sister that are in need. That is my mission and I will do all I can to fulfill this and make Him proud. :-)

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