Mirror of Justice

I've been accepted!

2006-07-29T23:26:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone,

Just in case anybody is still checking this page, I know I haven't posted for ages but I don't have the internet at home. Just to let you know that I've been accepted by the Dominicans for the novitiate and will move to Cambridge in September. I'm so happy as this is something that I've been wanting to do for three years now and I feel so blessed that I will be entering the Order of St. Dominic, where so many holy men and women have gone before to inspire me. Please pray that everything will go well for me, I'm so relieved and exhilirated.

In Christ through Mary and St. Dominic,
love Daniel

It's been too long

2006-05-11T21:21:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone, I know it's been so long since I last posted but I do have a few good excuses. I arrived back in the UK on the 4th April and I've been so busy ever since. My first task was to try and find a job and I'm happy to say that I found one in a call centre within two weeks. I've been working there for almost a month now and it's a good place to be. Also, I don't have access to the internet at home so what with working five days a week and having to go to the library to use the internet I haven't really had much time for blogging. Next time I post I'll put a couple of photos up of what I've been up to since I got back. One of the things that I missed most when I was out in the Philippines was our historic buildings and so I was so happy to go out to St. Michael's Abbey in Farnborough for mass one Sunday. The mass was very beautiful, it was in Latin apart from the readings and the music sung by the monks was very beautiful, I enjoyed it so much.

Last weekend I went to London and stayed with my sister, she has recently bought a flat with a very big garden and armed with a pitchfork I took to digging the soil for a vegetable patch to grow potatoes and runner beans. I really enjoyed being out in the fresh air and the exercise was good fun. On Sunday I went to mass at St. James, Spanish Place probably my favourite church in London and of course it was incredible, they always sing the most beautiful polyphony there. I then went to Newman House to see some friends which was great and had afterwards had lunch at Carluccio's, my favourite Italian restaurant. I then made a quick dash to Picadilly to meet with a friend and luckily caught a glimpse of the amazing 40ft high Sultan's Elephant ( definitely check out the website if you don't know what I'm talking about) that is making its way through London complete with Sultan and princesses on board at the moment. All in all it was a wonderful weekend that left me feeling refreshed and exhilarated, I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

God Bless you all,
In Christ through Mary

Daniel

p.s. Please pray for me I've got my first two interviews for the Dominicans on Sunday

An Island Paradise

2006-03-01T10:48:00.000+08:00

I know that it's been a long time since I posted but there hasn't been much to write about really apart from what I'm about to describe. I suppose it would be interesting to describe the political situation out here which is completely crazy at the moment but I don't know how safe it would be as freedom of speech isn't so great out here at the moment since the National State of Emergency was declared. Anyway, I'm sure you're much more interested to hear about my vacation when my sister Clare came to visit me for six days. It was so nice of her to come 7000 miles from London to Manila for such a short time but we both had such a great time and she didn't seem to be affected by jet lag at all really

She arrived on Saturday night and Fr Allan took me to the airport to pick her up. From there we went straight to our hotel, the Mabuhay Manor, in the city centre, close to the Roxas Boulevard. It was a lovely hotel, very comfortable with a very spacious room. The next day my friend Glenn came to accompany us around Manila. We had planned on going to mass at San Agustin church, the only remaining colonial Spanish church in Intramuros (within the walls) the old city of Manila. There were so many churches there before but most of Intramuros was destroyed by bombing in WW2. However, when we arrived I realised that the church is not a parish so only has three masses on Sunday, two in the morning and one in the evening. As we had missed the two morning masses we just went to the excellent musueum next to the Church that has the largest collection of Philippine antiques in the country, religious and civil. From there we went on to Makati, the fancy financial district and went to an Indian restaurant for lunch. Now, those of you who haven't been to the Philippines won't realise how rare Indian food is in this country. That one mall is the only place in the whole country where I have seen an Indian restaurant. And if you know British people, you know that we love Indian food. Indian food is more popular in the UK now than British food. Anyway, after that we went to stay with the Dominican sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in St. James Academy, Malabon City.

The next morning we came to Navotas to let my sister see what it is like where I live here. We had lunch in the parish and after that we went straight to the airport to go to Boracay. Boracay island is the no.1 holiday destination in the Philippines. It combines world class white sand beaches with all the stores and restaurants anybody could want. It's a very sophisticated and beautiful place where you can see people from all over the world. That is really rare in this country where there are practically no foreigners at all. To get there we took a flight from Manila to a placed called Kalibo, in Aklan province, Visayas. We went on a package tour so everything was arranged for us and it was very easy. From there we were picked up by our tour agency which held up a sign with my name on at Kalibo airport. We were taken on a bus for two hours to Caticlan where our resort, which had its own boat, picked us up and took us straight to our resort on the island. We stayed at Club Panoly, one of the best resorts which has a private beach, swimming pool, two restaurants, a cafe and a spa. It's very big with two kinds of accomodation: one kind is a high rise hotel and the other kind is single rooms in the style of native huts but with nice Western interiors! We had a wonderful time there and both of us couldn't believe how beautiful it was, we never thought that we would get to go somewhere like this in our lifetimes and especially for me at such a young age. The beach was so big but the whole day there were only about six people on it. I have to thank the Philippines for that. To see more of Club Panoly click on the link above. Remember you can click on the photos which will open a new window so that you can see them full-size.

In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Me on the beach

My sister and I by the pool

Gonna Soak Up the Sun

2006-02-03T21:06:00.000+08:00

I'm so excited because I'm going to Boracay island and in the words of Sheryl Crow "I'm gonna soak up the sun; I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up". I can't believe that in 7 days my sister Clare will be here and we will be going on holiday to a beautiful resort for a much needed rest and relaxation away from my work here in Manila. It's unbelievably not only going to be the first time in over seven months that I will see one of my family but also the first and probably only time that I will meet another British person. The cultural difference here is really overwhelming, it's hard to believe how people can think and feel so differently about so many things. One of the things I read about and in the DVI information pack was the culture shock that volunteers feel not only when they depart but also when they return. This has been on my mind a lot recently especially since it's only two months until I return to England now. I wonder how I will react to being around familiar sights and sounds, tastes and textures again. I'll be sure to let you know when I find out.

Keep in touch and keep praying,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Pet Peeves

2006-02-03T20:55:00.000+08:00

Patti from Mercy Drops Falling tagged me so here goes:
Five Pet Peeves

1. People in the UK who address me as 'mate', especially when they don't know you at all (the first thing it puts me in mind of is a biological partner!). I think the Filipino "Kuya" meaning brother is much nicer.
2. People in the Philippines who call out "Joe, hey, what's up!" to me just because I'm white
3. People who spit/urinate (there are many who do this in the Philippines) in public
4. People who call me narrow minded simply because I refuse to accept the doctrine of relativism that all things can be true at any one time and there is no such thing as absolute truth
5.People who patronize me and myself when I realise that I am being patronizing

In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Quartet Meme

2006-02-03T20:32:00.000+08:00

Sorry I've been away for so long, the truth is that I've been going to the gym every other day and that's kind of been my focus the last few weeks. Also, I had the feeling that nobody was reading my blog but since a couple of people have asked where I am I feel motivated to carry on. I'll start with the meme of Fra Lawrence who tagged me in January:

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:

1. Teaching Religion classes to Grade 6 students 2. A cleaner in my University Residence 3. A Subway Sandwich Artist 4. Teaching Catechism to High School Students

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, and Have:1. The Harry Potter films 2. The Wizard of Oz 3. Devdas 4. The Hours

Four Places I Have Lived:1. Portsmouth/Southsea, UK (my home town) 2. London, UK 3. Manila, Philippines 4. Only three!

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:1. Rome 2. The Gilmore Girls 3. Restoration 4. Jane Hickson's Miss Marple

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation: 1. Rome 2. Paris 3. Madrid 4. Republic of Ireland

Four Websites I Visit Daily:1. The New Liturgical Movement 2. Contemplata Aliis Tradere 3. BBC News 4. CNN

Four Favorite Foods:1. Smoked salmon 2. Pret-A-Manger 3. Thai Green Curry with Coconut Rice 4. English Fish and Chips

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now: 1. At home with my family 2. London 3. A gothic cathedral 4. Rome

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Diocesan Religious Christmas party

2006-01-10T16:53:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday the Diocesan Religious Christmas party marked the end of the hectic Christmas party season and we all breathed a sigh of relief. The Christmas season is a really hectic time for clergy and I know that they welcome the return of ordinary time and the corresponding slowdown in the pace of life. The point of the occasion is to bring together the various religious congregations of men and women in the diocese to get to know each other a little better.

Sisters manning the registration

Sisters of the Institute of the Virgin Mary perform their number for the evening: note the sister on the far left with the electric guitar: a modern version of Sr Maria! And no, the blue shawl is not part of their habit.

Dominican sisters of St. Catherine of Siena peform Christmas carols with the help of their colourful capes!

Sr Melba, also of the Siena congregation, sings the praise of the Child Jesus as she holds him in her arms. Note the beautiful crib arranged behind her.

Sr Anne, a french sister from the Sisters of the Good News who works in our parish sings the traditional French carol "Il est nee le divine enfant".

Our Beloved Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez giving his Christmas message.

The award winning choir of Los Remedios, a chapel in our parish perform in the language of Visayas the song which won them the acolade of best choir in Navotas.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Christmas Season

2006-01-06T19:43:00.000+08:00

The parlour games at the Parish Staff Christmas party. Something that is mostly reserved for children in the UK but is adored by Filipinos of all ages and classes. The party was held on New Year's Eve which here resembles the blitz with every family lighting so many firecrackers that the noise is non-stop from 11pm to 1am.

The intrepid welcome the New Year with Roman Candles, I'm glad the paschal candle isn't that kind of roman candle!

Young and old join in the dancing, this particular number is the "dance routine" hit of 2005, "BOP IT!"

Happy Children at one of the many Christmas parties held for the underpriviledged due to the generosity of parishioners who give their time and money

And last, but certainly not least, on January 1 we welcomed Fr Patrick into our community and it's great to have him, he's a really friendly and happy priest.

Mabuhay! Maligayang pagdating sa ating tahanan.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Merry Christmas

2005-12-29T20:47:00.000+08:00

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Sorry that I haven't posted for so long but it was so hectic here in the days leading up to Christmas and then the last few days there was no internet so there we are. I can't get blogger to put my photos up right now and I have a cold so I'm going to finish now but I'll definitely post properly tomorrow if I am able.

God Bless,

Daniel

Christmas is coming...

2005-12-16T17:43:00.000+08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've been caught with everything that's happening here. The Advent and Christmas season is a really busy time here and I've already attended three Christmas parties. The first was KADSA: that's the organisation that brings together all of the Catholic schools in our diocese: Kalookan. This was held at San Jose Academy. They had hoped to hold it outside but the sky was threatening heavy rain so it was too risky. Outside it was nice and warm but inside were we were there were 10 air conditioning units which together made the room into an ice box. Otherwise it was very enjoyable with nice food and a fun gift exchange and raffle. I came home with two gifts.

Wednesday night was the Christmas party of St. James' Academy which is run by the Dominican sisters of Siena. Their congregation is so kind and generous: they took out all of the school staff, nearly 200 people and paid for a buffet dinner for them in a Vietnamese restaurant. The restaurant was in a mall called Eastwood in Eastwood City, a new development close to Mandaluyong City, a new financial district in Metro Manila. I'd never tried Vietnamese before so I didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed it, it was a very different taste from anything I've ever had.

This morning was the beginning of the Simbang Gabi, a tradition here where mass is said at 4am for the nine days before Christmas. So we all got up at 3:30am and headed into the church. I was amazed to see that it was packed to the rafters and I had no choice but to sit in the choir area right next to the drums and electric guitars played by members of El Shaddai, a Charismatic movement here. I actually got caught up in the spirit of it all quite easily. The enthusiasm was rather infectious and my recently purchased missal doesn't hurt either: I actually understand the readings now, LOL.

I hope everyone is having a happy and holy Advent season,

Keep in touch,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Mass in Latin and Anniversary of Dominican Province

2005-12-09T20:41:00.000+08:00

Wednesday was the anniversary of Fr Allan's ordination so we had a special mass in Latin with Ferdy playing the music of the Missa de Angelis and me singing it. We started with the asperging and I sang "Asperges me Domine". Next came the kyrie where I made a couple of mistakes. The sanctus went well but the one thing I hadn't thought about was synchronising the start of the pieces of the mass with the preceding prayer of the priest. So, it happened that I forgot that the Agnus Dei came straight after the Sign of Peace and Fr Allan had to look in my direction before I started singing it which was a bit embarassing but ok. I think the communion piece: Ave Verum by Elgar went the best as I just sang the Soprano part. It's a very tranquil and gentle piece which I thought made it perfect for communion. For the recessional music Ferdy simply played music on the organ rather singing something as this is more fitting. Despite our mistakes I think it went very well and several people commented on it as "very solemn" and "very beautiful". It was the first Latin mass ever to be said in this parish. I hope it is the first of many to come.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the founding of the Philippine Dominican Province on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and we celebrated it by having a whole day of festivities in Angelicum College in Quezon City. This began at 8am with volleyball, basketball and other sports. I didn't arrive until 11 as the driver was busy so I was just a spectator. After lunch it was time for the presentations of the history of the various houses that make up the province. As is always the case with the Dominicans here nearly all the presentations were extremely well done and two of them could almost have been used commercially. After this we had mass and then dinner. It was a wonderful day and as always here I was made to feel completely at home and very much part of the Dominican family despite the fact that I was the only layperson there. Tomorrow is the birthday mass of our Bishop,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Missionaries of Charity First Profession Pictures

2005-12-09T14:30:00.000+08:00

As promised here are a couple of photos of the first profession of the Missionaries of Charity in Tayuman.

A sister receives her cross: the symbol of her crucified spouse.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Busy Busy Busy

2005-12-06T14:05:00.000+08:00

Advent is a very hectic time in this parish as everything seems to happen at the same time. There are first confessions, first communions and all the rehearsals and preparation that is required. There are also a whole host of Christmas parties to attend starting with the KADSA, Catholic schools assocation this evening. Oh yes, and from December 16 there will be nine days of mass at 4am blasted out throughout the area on loudspeakers so I feel I'm going to be very sleep deprived by December 25. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam I suppose.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the ordination of Fr Allan, the parish priest and we will celebrating it with a sung Latin NO mass, sung mostly by yours truly because we didn't get around to teaching a choir the Missa de Angelis. We're going to begin the mass with the asperging, use de Angelis throughout and I'm going to sing Elgar's Ave Verum during communion. This is going to be the first time that almost everyone in the congregation has ever heard a mass in Latin so it's going to be interesting as to how they react. Please pray for me that I will do a good job with the singing.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

First Profession and First Speaker

2005-12-03T14:27:00.000+08:00

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while but it's mostly same old around here lately. One of the dogs gave birth to nine puppies last night so we were all excited to see them this morning. I bet the poor thing is so stressed: I mean, imagine having nine babies trying to feed at the same time!

This morning was the very beautiful mass of first profession of 8 Missionaries of Charity. I will put up photos as soon as they are uploaded to the computer. I love the MCs because they have adapted to working with the poorest of the poor so well without compromising anything. Their habits are simple and practical but still very traditional. To me their habit is the authentic interpretation of the requirements given for a habit by Perfectae Caritatis: the Vatican II document on religious life. They also don't take the erroneous view that in trying to be poor we should impoverish our altars. Their chapel is simple but beautiful and embodies the idea of giving the best to God but the least to ourselves. There are no seats or pews and the floor is very plain but the tabernacle, altar and crucifix are ornate. A perfect balance and the true spirit of poverty: we should never be afraid of spending money for God, nothing is too good for him.

This afternoon Father Allan called on me over lunch to be the first speaker at the altar servers' Advent recollection completely out of the blue. I only had one hour to prepare myself but it turned out alright. It's difficult because they only understand so much English but I like these experiences because they make me feel like I could be a preacher. I managed 40 minutes before I floundered completely as it appeared that they weren't understanding anything by then: I think I exhausted the simple stuff in the first 30 mins. Anyway, I hope that my poor attempt gave them something, it was done in love anyway.

Other news: I'm getting the music ready for a NO mass in Latin we're going to have here next Wednesday, Fr Allan's ordination anniversary, so a few words with St. Cecilia that I won't mess it up would be much appreciated.

I hope everyone is well,

Keep in touch,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

An Excellent Film

2005-11-24T20:39:00.000+08:00

Last night we went out to the cinema to see the film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". I was a bit apprehensive because I never, ever watch horror or scary films as I just don't see the entertainment value but I was reassured by the PG-13 certificate. I really wanted to see it because it had been recommended by the Bishops Conference here as a very instructive movie. It turned out to be not a horror film at all but a very inspiring and moving account of the true-life story of a very devout girl who was the victim of demonic attacks. In our contemporary world there is so little awareness even amongst Catholics of the danger of the dark side of the spiritual so I think this film could be very helpful in reminding many people that this life is nothing less than a spiritual war. Pope John Paul II used to encourage people to say the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel penned by Pope Leo XIII every day. I like to do this myself and include it here for the benefit of others:

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do Thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host by the power of God thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.

Most Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy upon us. (3 times)

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Villa San Miguel

2005-11-22T20:43:00.000+08:00

I've just returned today from an overnight stay at a Hot Springs resort in Laguna province called Villa San Miguel. The piety of the proprietor can be seen in this beautiful statue of Saint Michael Archangel slaying the devil who tempts the revellers at the resort to engage in sins of the flesh by eating and drinking too much! There is also a grotto at the side of Our Lady of Lourdes complete with a kneeling St. Bernadette. The owner is a self-made man who very nicely attributes all of his success to his trust in God's providence.

There were three pools all full of lukewarm water which comes free of charge via the sleepy volcano that can be seen from the resort. We had a great time there eating, drinking, swimming and singing karaoke. I of course was the only one who soaked up the sun. The reason for the trip ostensibly was the meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council but since I'm not on the Council and didn't understand the proceedings anyhow I was free to lounge around. A very restful and happy trip.

Happy Feast of St. Cecilia,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Christ the King

2005-11-20T20:46:00.000+08:00

An altar set up by the Parish Mother Butler Guild on the roadside to greet the procession as it passes down the street.

Today is the Feast of Christ the King and it was celebrated here with a very elaborate procession of the Blessed Sacrament that wsa performed in a relay fashion. The local deanery, the San Jose deanery consists of five parishes. The parish priest of the first parish carried the Blessed Sacrament til he reached the next parish when he then passed on the monstrance to the next priest and so on until the last parish, San Ezekiel Moreno was reached whereupon mass was offered by all five priests and, the chief celebrant being the Bishop of our diocese Deogracias Iñiguez. The walk was quite long and I was glad to be among the privileged few (the priests, myself and one of the parish councillors) who got to sit down and eat merienda (snacks) straight after the mass. Here's San Ezekiel's sanctuary:

I've just now realised my foolishness in writing a post about a procession only to realise that I in fact don't have any photos of the procession itself. Mea Culpa. Never fear, however because one of the brothers from Santo Domingo had his camera so I will email him and ask him to send me a few. Expect them shortly. Sorry about that.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

P.S. Going swimming at the hot springs resort again tomorrow. Going to stay overnight this time: yay!

Bartolome de Las Casas Dominican conference for Justice, Peace and Care of Creation

2005-11-19T20:04:00.000+08:00

Today was the Bartolome de Las Casas Dominican annual conference for Justice, Peace and Care of Creation. Bartolome de Las Casas was a Dominican friar in New Spain (now Mexico) who fought passionately for the rights of Native Americans. In the face of tremendous opposition he wanted the Indians to be recognised as children of God endowed with all the same graces as the Spanish. He is thus our inspiration in the Dominican family for and justice and equality in this broken unjust world so tainted by original sin. The conference was held at Dominican College in San Juan, Metro Manila. Father Allan gave the welcome remarks and we made the Powerpoint presentation together. There were three speakers spread over the day. The first was on "Migrants and Itinerant peoples". The second was "The trafficking of women and children" and it was startling to realise how bad this problem actually is here, with up to 12 children a day being trafficked into all kinds of horrible situations: from forced labour to prostitution. The last talk was in the afternoon and was about "Justice and Peace spirituality" where the speaker mostly concentrated on informing us about the model of the human pysche as understood by Carl Jung. It was glad it was Jung and not Freud because Jung was generally very positive about religion whereas Freud was notoriously anti-Christian.

Tomorrow is the Christ the King procession,.

photos to follow shortly,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

I just got out of hospital

2005-11-17T13:52:00.000+08:00

Sorry for my prolonged absence from this blog but I've just got out of hospital today. I had acute gastrointeritis and was hospitalised from Monday til Thursday, that's today. I went to the University of Santo Tomas (Dominican) Hospital. I had my own room with my own bathroom but it was very boring because there was no TV and the companion who was with me all the time couldn't speak any English and I can't speak much Tagalog so we couldn't really communicate. I'm feeling very tired now because they would wake me up every day at 4:30am to take my vital signs. Also, I've lost weight because I didn't eat for 2 days before I went to hospital and then once I got there they didn't allow me to eat or drink for another day. So I'm looking thin, pale and tired, going to go take a nap.

Hope everyone is well,

God Bless,

Daniel

I've been tagged again

2005-11-07T13:40:00.000+08:00

Br Lawrence at Contemplata Aliis Tradere has just tagged me to do this meme so I will oblige because I like them and don't have anything to blog about at the moment:

Three names I go by:

Daniel

Dan ( only my Dad and my sister Anne call me this, they alone have the priviledge ;-)

Brother Daniel (by the Filipinos)

Three screen names I have had:

Happyguy7

danielden83

danieldjeffries

Three physical things I like about myself:

My gradually developing tan (thanks to the Philippines!)

My eyes: unusually slanted for an englishman

My feet

Three physical things I don’t like about myself:

I wish I were taller

I wish I were stockier, more athletic

I wish I could tap-dance

Three parts of my heritage:

Irish ( my maternal grandfather, hence the Catholicism)

English

Don't know of a third

Three things that scare me:

Violent Crime

Eternal Damnation

Dogs that are trained to kill/injure (they look so evil!)

Three of my everyday essentials:

Daily Mass and Rosary

A good wash

Food and Drink

Three of my favorite musical artists:

Choir of the Brompton Oratory

Sarah McLachlan

Natalie Imbruglia

Three of my favorite songs:

Deserts miss the Rain by Everything but the Girl

Let it be by The Beatles

World on Fire by Sarah McLachlan

Three things I want/have in a relationship:

Love

Intimacy

Constancy

Three lies and three truths in no particular order:

I wear a miraculous medal

I'm originally from London

I'm an aspiring Dominican

I love peanut sauce

I love to read novels

I'd like to be a politician

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to me:

Nice hair

Nice clothes

Cheerful disposition

Three of my favorite hobbies:

Reading

Listening to Radio 4

Going to galleries/museums/stately homes/churches

Three things I want to do really badly right now:

See my family and friends

Eat European food

Have a little fun before I die

Three careers I’ve considered:

Architectual Historian

Manuscript preserver

Working for English Heritage/National Trust

Three Places I want to vacation:

Venice

Kyoto

New England

Three kid’s names I like:

Rose

Joaquin/Joachim

Amelia

Three things I want to do before I die:

Visit the Holy Land

Help to save souls

Become more learned and accomplished

Three ways that I am stereotypically a girl:

I'm an extrovert

I like to go shopping

I like musicals and opera

Three ways that I am stereotypically a boy:

I'm disorganised

Masculine pride

Like to be around other guys

Three celeb crushes:

Britney Spears

Beyonce

Keira Knightley

Three people I would like to see post this meme:

Elizabeth at A Little Flower Garden

Patti at Mercy Drops Falling

Rachel at Testosterhome

Daniel

Despidida ni Helene: Helen's leaving do

2005-11-04T21:19:00.000+08:00

Here's Helene and her sister Murielle enjoying the delights of watching the videoke screen. Not a great photo I know but all the others came out fuzzy.

Pray for me dear bloggers

2005-11-04T10:57:00.000+08:00

Please pray for me dear bloggers. I just posted my application to join the English province of the Dominican Order and so am now officially an aspiring Dominican. I'm glad that it's finished and sent already because my mind was so focused on it recently that I didn't feel that I was really here in the Philippines at all. I was in here in body but not in spirit.

Last night was the despidida of Helene, one of the French volunteers here. I'm going to post on it properly this evening once I have the photos.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-11-03T14:29:00.000+08:00

So, I've been anonymously informed that this is John of Cologne

And this is Louis Bertrand

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The High Life

2005-11-02T10:41:00.000+08:00

Monday night we went out to have a drink at the Diamond Hotel. The hotel is just a road away from Manila bay which can be seen from a completely new angle from the Sky Lounge bar on the 27th floor. The walls were made of glass giving one a superb view of the surrounding area with its glittering towers and colourful lamps that cast a benevolent glow upon the bay. The bar was very subdued: low lit with oil lamps on the tables and the music provided by a pianist and lounge singer. The piano had a beautiful sound; I think it must have been a Steinway or of a similar quality and the singer had a fantastic, soothing voice. Maybe this makes me strange but although I'm only 22 I have to say that I much prefer this kind of setting for an evening out than some noisy place where one can hardly hear oneself speak. It was very relaxing and oddly comforting: you have a nice drink, the music is good, everything is right with the world. This is I suppose the product that the bar is selling. As we entered the lobby I saw some German girls who couldn't have been any older than me going up to their room and it made me wonder what life must be like for those for whom a hotel like that is their standard travel accomodation. I don't know, but one thing I do know is that I'm glad that I'm not somebody who has come to this country and stayed in the best hotels and eaten at the best restaurants all the time, oblivious to the political crisis and grinding poverty that affects so many here. For better and for worse I've seen the real Philippines: its people, its ways, its good side and its bad side. And that, I think, not a fancy hotel, is real travel.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Today is the feast of All Souls when the Church remembers and prays for the eternal rest of all the departed. Let us remember them in our prayers: May the Divine Assistance remain with us always and may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace +. Amen.

Halloween Party

2005-10-30T15:13:00.000+08:00

We had the halloween party of the Knights of the Altar organisation last night, good fun. Since this is the Philippines there was nothing untoward and it even began with a prayer. It involved a dance contest, nice food and lots of dancing overall. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

The girl in the white dress is Sadako from the Ring movie.

One of the entries in the dance contest.

Hope everyone is well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Rainy Days

2005-10-30T14:43:00.000+08:00

I know that I haven't posted in a while but I didn't have much to write about: things are just going on as usual really. Took a few photos lately, though. Thought you might like to see what things are like here when it rains, as we're coming to the end of the rainy season now.

See how flooded it gets!

Saturday, what a day.

2005-10-23T15:27:00.000+08:00

Here are Omay and Glenn, two of my friends here, in the Mediterranean cafe in the Podium Mall, Ortigas, where we went yesterday. The staff weren't very friendly and the service was passable but I didn't care because the food was really good and as I have to go halfway across the city to get decent European food I wasn't going to complain about something as petty as service. It's the food and the company that matters.

We had a really good time. We started out in Quiapo as I wanted to visit a church called San Sebastian that is one of the cultural treasures of Manila as the exterior is made entirely of metal. It sounds dreadful but it's actually very beautiful as it was built in 1891 and had withstood all the earthquakes since. Unfortunately it was closed but I got to see the exterior anyway which is very interesting. Later that day I learnt that this is a no-go area at the moment because of the sometimes violent anti-government rallies that form around it. Thank the Lord we didn't encounter anything like that, just a few beggars.

We then went to the Podium and Mega malls, had lunch and went to a few shops. I bought, among other things Raymond Arroyo's biography of Mother Angelica, the founder and CEO of EWTN, the Catholic television network that is the world's biggest religious network and is now broadcast to 105 million homes all over the world. She really is an amazing woman, Catholics and all Christians owe her so much.

I was surprised to find out that Oktoberfest has even made it to the Philippines. We went to a big avenue that had been filled with tables and chairs for the evening. For 150 pesos per person (1 pound 50, 3 US dollars) you got a table, as many beers and loaded nachos as one could physically consume and got to see live bands perform on the stage. At the end there was a rather hastily put together firework display that unfortunately caused the area where we sat to fill with smoke. Many sparks also rained down on us and burnt a big black spot onto my white linen trousers but never mind, it's all an adventure I suppose. I said that the closing prayer of the event should have been, "save us from the fires of hell".

Hope everyone is well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-10-23T15:10:00.000+08:00

Okay, so it's actually St. Vincent Ferrer. Thanks to Br Lawrence for pointing it out.

Now this one's easy. It's St. Peter Martyr who was killed with an knife to the head, hence here a knife is in his head. Old-fashioned obvious Catholic imagery at its best, before somebody decided that people couldn't possibly be represented as having bodies, I mean, that would counter heresy. See the Good News Bible illustrations if you don't get what I'm saying.

I'm It

2005-10-23T14:34:00.000+08:00

I've been tagged by Patti at Mercy Drops Falling.

Here are the instructions of the game:

1. Go into your Archives.

2. Find your 23rd Post.

3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to it).

4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.

My line is from a post entitled "The French Party: a cultural coming together" about the party I went to at the house of the French community here: Tahanang Puso, roughly translated as "Heart's Home". Incidentally I'm having dinner there again on Tuesday.

"I'm really surprised at how much I have identified myself as a European since I've been here."

Quite good for a random selection, don't you think?

I tag Br. Lawrence OP at Contemplata Aliis Tradere, Elizabeth at A Little Flower Garden, Jordan at Contemplating the Laundry, Julie at Practicing Catholicism and Peter at Proslogium Quaerens Intellectum.

Have fun,
In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-10-21T21:21:00.000+08:00

So, Br Lawrence says that it's not our holy father. Who is it then? :-)

Any guesses?

photos from trip to Matabungkay beach

2005-10-19T19:59:00.000+08:00

Trip to Matabungkay Beach

2005-10-18T22:14:00.000+08:00

The photo function isn't working for me right now so I'll post the photos tomorrow.
Yesterday we went on a day trip to Matabungkay beach in Batangas province. We left at 6:30 am for the long but very worthwhile trip. The beaches here are broken up into private resorts where you pay a set fee but get the priviledges of a cottage where you can take shelter from the sun or rain and somewhere to cook you food. As this is a tropical country the water was lukewarm and very nice to swim in, so different from the freezing cold sea of England. The huts behind me are mini-cottages that float on the water but get a little submerged during high-tide. I'm now suffering from the inevitable sunburn (sometimes being white is really annoying) but it was a great day enjoyed by all.

Happy feast of St. Luke,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-10-16T14:53:00.000+08:00

Now I know for definite that this one is St. Joseph, who could forget those radishes? I would have thought that lilies were more appropriate but there you go. Amusing and slightly strange.

Now this is a Dominican who must have had a particular love of the Blessed Sacrament, ideas anyone?

Novena for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy

2005-10-16T14:48:00.000+08:00

Adoremus, the society for the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy is asking us to pray a novena for this intention, crucial at this time of the Synod of the Eucharist. Let's all promote this vital intention.

The Novena

Thanks to Shawn Tribe for the link.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-10-15T22:13:00.000+08:00

Can't remember who this is, sorry.

Ok, so it's not St. Dominic, not sure then who it is..

Went to the Marian and Eucharistic Assembly today, it was so long. At the end the Bishop gave a plenary indulgence and I was thinking, well, we deserve one after being here for so long. Still, it was nice of him to give it. Another only-in-the-Philippines moment was had when the congregation cheered when the indulgence was announced, how POD is that.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

St. Teresa of Avila

2005-10-15T22:12:00.000+08:00

I have a special devotion to St. Teresa of Avila whose feast it is today and one of the many things which I still haven't seen in Rome but the one that I wish to see the most is this sculpture of her ecstasy or transverberation in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. For me, the writings of the mystics are the most inspiring of all the saints and motivate me to love Christ more than any other written word. I first read the writings of St. Teresa when I was 18 in my first year of University and bought "The Way of Perfection". My 18th year was one for me of the greatest spiritual significance. It was the year when I first felt called to religious life and through the writings of St. Teresa and St. Therese of Lisieux, went from somebody who identified himself as a Christian to somebody who wanted to love God as much as he possibly could. I say wanted because I recognise of course my sinfulness and how little I do love God but the desire is there and that's the first and most important step. Two ideas of St. Teresa had a very profound impact on me. Firstly, something that she says on one of the first pages of the Way of Perfection and I paraphrase here:

Jesus has so few true friends that those he has must be good ones

Such a simple notion but so true, who upon reading those words would not want to be a good friend of Jesus? The second idea is that of detachment: the ancient Christian notion that to from everything but God we must be detached. This does not mean of course that we cannot have any friends, be married or have possessions but we must recognise in all these things that they are not our ultimate love and so we must not love them ultimately. We can discern when we are attached to a person or thing when we are hurt when they do not spend all their time with us or when we feel neglected by them, even if they have the best intentions. Discerning our attachments is one of the most important and one of the hardest objectives in the pursuit of the Way of Perfection.

Thus with this background knowledge of how important St. Teresa is to me you can imagine how I felt when in 2003 I had the great priviledge of visiting Avila and seeing the important sites in her life. Greatest among these was the singular honour of hearing mass in the very chapel where she experienced the ecstasy depicted in the sculpture by Bernini shown above. This was one of the most moving experiences of my life. The convent, built in the sixteenth century but lavishly decorated since was the home of Carmelite enclosed nuns. For those of you don't know they are the nuns with the strictest enclosure in the Catholic church, as the saying goes "At Carmel, there is just you and God". The convent thus has a congregation of apostolic sisters who look after it and let in visitors because the nuns cannot leave the enclosure. It was just as one would like it to be: when the priest who was taking us around knocked on the grand wooden door the sister who answered it opened a little panel set into the door to inspect the visitor before she opened the door, fantastic. We were let in and wandered through corridors littered with ecclesiastical treasures of the renaissance and baroque eras til we entered the chapel for mass. The chapel was of course unbelievably beautiful with a painting of the ecstasy above the altar and whilst father was saying mass we could hear the nuns singing the office (prayers said five times a day). I couldn't help tears from falling.

St. Teresa describes the ecstasy as follows:

...Beside me, on the left hand, appeared an angel in bodily form, such as I am not in the habit of seeing except very rarely. Though I often have visions of angels, I do not see them....But it was our Lord's will that I should see this angel in the following way. He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest rank of angels, who seem to be all on fire. They must be of the kind called cherubim, but they do not tell me their names. I know very well that there is a great difference between some angels and others, and between these and others still, but I could not possibly explain it. In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out, I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul then content with anything but God. This is not a physical, but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it--even a considerable share. So gentle is this wooing which takes place between God and the soul that if anyone thinks I am lying, I pray God in his goodness, to grant him some experience of it.

The reason why this sculpture is such a good depiction for me is that it was sculpted by Bernini. Bernini ( who also created the Holy Spirit window with its bronze angels in St. Peter's basilica) was not just an artist but also a very devout Catholic who heard mass every day. For him this sculpture was a way to convey the faith that he loved so much.

St. Teresa of Avila,

Pray for Us,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-10-14T21:06:00.000+08:00

Blessed Jane of Aza, mother of St. Dominic and a holy woman in her own right. Please don't me ask to explain the goblin like creature to her left because it's past 9pm and I really don't feel like researching it. Maybe Br. Lawrence will enlighten us, he probably knows, :-).

Pope St. Pius V, only sainted Dominican Pope (so far), responsible for the codification and promulgation of the Tridentine mass and the changing of the Pope's clothes to white to correspond with his habit! I'm blessed enough to have visited his tomb and the room (of course lavishly decorated by now) where he stayed when in Santa Sabina, motherhouse of the Dominican order in Rome.

Other news : tomorrow is the Marian and Eucharistic Congress of the diocese, I'll be there with the teachers and Fr Allan from 1 til 7 pm, please pray that it will be mostly in English or I'll be bored to tears, :-(.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-10-13T19:46:00.000+08:00

As requested by Br. Lawrence OP, here's a couple more of the fantastic Santo floats from the La Naval procession.

St. Martin de Porres, the first black saint in the Americas.

And our very own San Lorenzo Ruiz: the first Filipino saint. Patron of catechists and of our parish.

Not much happening at the moment, I was supposed to be going on a preaching trip with the Dominican student brothers to a far away province on Saturday but there wasn't room on the trip. I've just finished writing my periodical exam for the elementary school students, that's coming up next week. After that we have the two week semestral break but I'll still be busy in the afternoons because I'll be doing the Bible study in the slum areas. Keep in touch.

In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Our Lady of La Naval, night of a thousand candles

2005-10-10T21:58:00.000+08:00

Here's the full description of the day. Once properly attired we headed off at 3pm to join the procession. It was cloudy but because of the humidity the heat was stifling. I was very pleased when I realised that I was meeting many friendly, familiar faces in the form of the Dominican student brothers or coristas, as they call them here. That's the results of spending a couple of weekends in the student house, great times. Anyway, after getting my candle I had the honour of joining the group that was composed completely of friars and, um, me. Yes, I stuck out like a sore thumb, habitless as I unfortunately was. Did I care? Not one bit, I was enjoying it too much. Our group was the last in the line of saints and came directly in front of Our Lady herself. As we processed along we said the rosary. The procession was very long and tiring in the heat and by the time we reached the church for the solemn enthronement I was muttering about the possibility of special indulgences. When we did finally reach the church of Sto Domingo the human chain had to keep back the thronging thousands so that the priviledged few, including me, could get up onto the resplendent sanctuary. I am pleased to tell you that Our Lady had her own personal elevator that took up to the throne after which many Marian anthems were sung. The provincial then said a few words, gave thanks and we all left to get some much deserved nourishment. I cannot convey the emotions I felt to have the honour of taking part in such a wonderful devotion. I pray that Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval would grant me the honour of being part of the Dominican family all my days.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Our Lady of La Naval, night of a thousand candles

2005-10-10T21:19:00.000+08:00

There were far too many Dominican saints, each with their own float to show you so I settled on just giving you a glimpse of the magnificent Our Lady of the Rosary de La Naval.
Oh all right then, I couldn't resist showing you this Japanese Dominican Blessed. Kimono and mantilla, now that's a cool combination. How about a Catholic Madama Butterfly?

And finally, here I am squashed into the car with the OPLs (Dominican laity). This country is so POD, even the Dominican laity have a uniform! That's more than some sisters in the West.

What obsolete skill are you?

2005-10-09T21:52:00.000+08:00

You are 'regularly metric verse'. This can take
many forms, including heroic couplets, blank
verse, and other iambic pentameters, for
example. It has not been used much since the
nineteenth century; modern poets tend to prefer
rhyme without meter, or even poetry with
neither rhyme nor meter.

You appreciate the beautiful things in life--the
joy of music, the color of leaves falling, the
rhythm of a heartbeat. You see life itself as
a series of little poems. The result (or is it
the cause?) is that you are pensive and often
melancholy. You enjoy the company of other
people, but they find you unexcitable and
depressing. Your problem is that regularly
metric verse has been obsolete for a long time.

How cool, much nicer than my Harry Potter quiz result.
Thanks to Holy Whapping for the link.

I went to the incredible La Naval procession today, full details tomorrow.
God Bless,
love y'all,
Daniel

What obsolete skill are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Two convents, a dinner and a day of shopping

2005-10-08T20:54:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and I went to two convents. The first was the Missionaries of Charity, the sisters of Bld. Mother Teresa. They were celebrating the anniversary of their foundation with five hours of adoration and recitation of the rosary. The people were organised into batches who said five decades before Our Lord exposed in the blessed sacrament. After the rosary we left the chapel and received a drink and some biscuits for our devotion. The chapel was beautiful with a gold coloured (not sure if it was made of gold or not) tabernacle, nice altar and crucifix and stations of the cross. It did not neglect the celebration of the sacraments in any way but in every other way was very simple. It was my favourite kind of simplicity: the kind that thinks that the best should be given to Our Lord but doesn't concern itself with the comfort of the people. So there were no pews, one had to sit on the hard ground and there were there was only one electric fan. Consequently the chapel was really hot and very uncomfortable, a bit too much for me but I appreciate the sentiment and am really impressed at the sisters who can live in that way.

In the evening we went to the grand procession held at the St. James' school, run by the Dominican sisters of Siena. These sisters are really kind and friendly and always prepare very nice meals for us when we visit them. All of the students of the school were there and it was a very vibrant occasion. The students processed in with a larger than life size statue of Our Lady of the Rosary who was greeted by applause and cheers from the students. Once the image was set in place a consecration to Our Lady was made, the Salve Regina was sung and Fr Allan blessed the crowd. This was quite amusing because it was pouring down with rain at this point so it was rather difficult to distinguish between the holy water and that which poured down from the heavens. The occasion was completed by a short firework display and then we had dinner. It was a lovely evening.

Today I went to Divisoria, the mall of the masses, described in detail in previous posts. We were quite scared because at one point SWAT police started running towards a commotion in the middle of the street and I thought there might be a terrorist but it turned out to be simply a fight.

Hope everyone is well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

15Oh No!

2005-10-04T22:25:00.000+08:00

You scored as Draco Malfoy. Spoilt and proud, you place high value on the purity of wizard blood and look set to follow in your father's somewhat shady footsteps.

Draco Malfoy

85%

Hermione Granger

75%

Albus Dumbledore

75%

Ginny Weasley

70%

Ron Weasley

70%

Sirius Black

60%

Remus Lupin

45%

Severus Snape

45%

Harry Potter

35%

Lord Voldemort

30%

Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...?
created with QuizFarm.com

I'm not really like this, am I? I better sort myself out. I really need your prayers if it is. Thanks to Lauren for the link.

St. Francis of Assisi

2005-10-04T17:25:00.000+08:00

Happy Feast of St. Francis. It's a tradition of the Franciscans and Dominicans that on the feast day of St. Francis a Dominican is the chief celebrant at mass for the Franciscans and vice versa. So it was that our provincial here, Fr Ed Nantes went to say mass for the Franciscans today. The funny thing about this is that it's only the mass celebrant and the preacher who go, none of the other Dominicans attended today and none of the other Franciscans attended on St. Dominic's day. One feels that the rivalry still holds.

I went to Market 3 today: the worst of the squatter areas. The difficulty in going to these places is not really physical, it's not tiring but very psychological. One has to really suppress one's sense of disgust and revulsion at the filth and horror at the half dressed, often undressed children wandering through this wasteland. It's such a good experience to go to these places every day and just be with these people in their trials. It makes my time here feel worthwhile.

Just remembered that I should take a look at EWTN. This is a big day for them as both of their religious congregations follow St. Francis.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The painting is The Stigmatisation of St. Francis, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

The terrible plight of the poor here

2005-10-03T21:58:00.000+08:00

A couple of pics to give you an idea of the conditions in the squatter areas of the parish where I help with the Bible study and play with the kids Monday to Friday.

A house floats precariously on the filthy waters that surround the parish: the sea has been reduced to diluted toxic waste by industrial pollution.

Shacks made from pieces of plywood and cardboard joined together with corregated iron rooves, surrounded by rubbish, are all that make up this community called Market 3: the worst of the deprived areas.

Please remember these people in your prayers and if you can afford it, donate to aid agencies, these people are hungry.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Parishioners in love triangle shocker!

2005-10-03T21:12:00.000+08:00

This story has it all: two guys fighting over one gal, the big guy vs. the little contender, a pregnancy (who is the father? We just won't know until the kids are born!) and domestic violence; all under the gaze of clergy who make little effort to stop it. What's this: another scandal in the Church? No, just the romantic liaisons of three dogs who live in the parish, namely Wi Chu, San Chai and Inigo.

Two males and one female dog within the confines of a parish was always going to be a hormonal timebomb. However, it wasn't considered to be a problem because it had long been known that Wi Chu, the big sandy one, took himself outside for extra-curricular activities. What was anticipated was the onset of puberty in Inigo, the little grey one at a similar time to San Chai, the black and white female but it seems that Darwinian ideas (please no ridiculous haloscan about this word) have been borne out; she's gone for the bigger guy. Little Inigo, poor guy, unable to cope with the rejection keeps getting in the way of their courtship and so puts himself forward for a beating by the much bigger and stronger Wi Chu. We are very disappointed by the way San Chai has conducted herself. Since her coat is black and white we had thought that she had was a professed Dominican but were shocked to discover that her vows meant little to her when faced with Wi Chu. She is hereby summarily expelled from the Order. We are all in anticipation til she gives birth to discover who is the father of her puppies, we'll just have to wait .

Things that are hard to accept here

2005-09-29T21:49:00.000+08:00

I just found out today that one of our household staff has taken two weeks off work to go to the funeral of her grandson who died in the provinces from diarrhoea. I had real trouble accepting that somebody to whom I was connected had just died from something that could be so easily treated: I even have the medication in my room. I was informed by the people here that in many places in the provinces people simply don't have clean water and medication with which to deal with these problems. It just makes one feel so helpless. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace, amen.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Feast of the Archangels

2005-09-29T21:19:00.000+08:00

Today is the day on which the Church honours St. Michael, St. Raphael and St. Gabriel: three of the seven archangels. I found a great painting by Botticini that I was going to use to accompany this post but the blogger picture tool is working for me at the moment. Today's feast put me in a reflective mood, especially as regards devotion to the archangels. It must be admitted that in general devotion to St. Michael and the other archangels in popular Catholicism today is practically nil. For example, when I went to help with today's bible study with the poor we asked them to name the three archangels whose feast we celebrate today. They had trouble doing this. This would have been inconceivable before the liturgical reforms when St. Michael would have been probably the most familiar saint to the average Catholic after Our Lady and St. Joseph. The prayer to St. Michael which I include below was said after every low mass in the old rite as part of the prayers after mass added by Pope Leo XII. Since these prayers were suppressed one hardly ever hears mention of St. Michael in particular and the other archangels except for on this day and perhaps the annunciation. The disappearance of these great angels from popular perception can be seen as part of a wider departure within the Church from the eschatological perspective. This departure while not of course occurring in the dogmatic sense did take place in the liturgy thus can be said to have changed how Catholicism feels for the majority of its adherents. The tendency within the Church today is to avoid mention of what we should be working towards: the last judgment. The formerly strong devotion to St. Michael was an integral part of an understanding of the Church as militant: as fighting for the salvation of souls against the devil. Since it is unfashionable to mention the devil it is necessarily the case that there will be no mention of the angelic powers which resist the dominion of Satan. How can one mention St. Michael without describing his main function: to fight the demonic powers. I believe Pope John Paul II realised that it was vital for the survival of Catholicism to rescue and strengthen the devotion to Our Lady that was much damaged by the liberals of the 70s and that is why he worked so hard in this regard. In the same way, the time has come to promote this most vital aspect of Catholicism: devotion to the archangels, particularly St. Michael, if we are to restore the sense of this life as a battle for the good, our own sinfulness and need of God's mercy and grace.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael the Archangel,defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host by the Divine Power of God cast into hell satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Queen of the Parish

2005-09-28T21:27:00.000+08:00

As promised,
Here's a picture of the Queen of the Parish Event

Filipinos love pageants and contests so much. It's unbelievable to me coming from post-feminist Britain the amount of attention and adulation that beauty queens get here.

The Filipina winner of Miss International (picture from the Times of India) has become an instant celebrity here. For two days in a row she has been on the front page of the national broadsheet newspapers and her life is being examined in depth on TV. I commented that in England these things are just laughed at in the manner of the Eurovision Song Contest (for those who haven't seen it, you are really missing out, it's hilarious) but here they are more popular than singers. Funny old world, eh?

Other news: I've started going to the squatter areas every day now to do Bible Study with them. I would love to show you photos of the terrible conditions in which these people live but it really wouldn't be a good idea to take my camera there. When I go there I try to look as simple as possible because the fact that I'm white attracts enough attention in itself . Keep in touch,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

What kind of Elitist are you?

2005-09-28T20:09:00.000+08:00

Name the era, and you can name every artist from
it. You've got an eye for design and a knack
for feng shui. Color schemes, architecture, and
objt d'art - these are all your forts.What people love:
You're the perfect person to shop
with.What people hate: They have to clean their house
whenever you come over.

What Kind of Elitist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks to Lauren for the link
Great Quiz

My parish church's sanctuary

2005-09-25T13:10:00.000+08:00

Following up on the liturgy post, here's a pic of the sanctuary of my parish to represent the average Catholic church here in the Philippines.

Where are you politically?

2005-09-25T13:07:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Lauren for the link.

You are a
Social Conservative
(25% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(25% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Totalitarian

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Well, I knew that, ;-)

An aquatic day all round for an Aquarius

2005-09-24T22:46:00.000+08:00

Had a great day today. Got my hair cut then went to a spa for the first time in my life. It's so cheap here, got to use a jacuzzi, go in the sauna and have an hour long massage for only 350 pesos (3.50 pounds, 7 dollars), it was so good. After that, having worked up a serious appetite, ;-) I went to Greenbelt mall (regular readers should know this place well by now) for some excellent European food. You won't believe what happened. I walked towards a restaurant called Fish and Co which I had read was opening and cooked Fish and Chips (for those who aren't familiar that's fried battered fish with fries) a dish which is much beloved in my native England and I had greatly missed in my three months here. The lady greeting potential customers proceeded to tell me that the restaurant had not yet opened, would not do so until 27th September and that it was only open today for family members of the staff to prepare the restaurant for opening. I poured out my heart to this lady, pleading with her to allow me a taste of something that I missed so much and promising that I wouldn't possibly let my first impressions be spoilt by any unreadiness I might encounter. The lady was convinced and went to check with the manager if we could be allowed to enter. We could and were promptly seated and told that we should order a whole set menu of three courses because everything today was ON THE HOUSE. I was shocked because I hadn't thought that of course they couldn't charge for it since they weren't officially open for business. When I had pleaded with this lady I had of course every intention to pay but discovered to my great amusement that I had effectively begged for a free meal in return for my comments on the experience. The waiters couldn't have been more polite and attentive and the beautiful food was served very promptly indeed. We had baked mussels as a starter, followed by spaghetti in tomato source and probably the best fish and chips I have ever tried ( and I've tried a lot), definitely the most gourmet. What was that someone said about giving yourself to the Lord and him blessing you abundantly?! ;-)

Other news, there has been so much going on in the parish lately, it being our parochial fiesta tomorrow. Last night the Queen of the Parish coronation and party was held. The Queen of the Parish is a ceremonial title and crown which is given to the lady representing one of the various parish organisations who can raise the most money for the parish, photos to come soon. As you can imagine it was rather an exuberant affair with tiaras and ball gowns all round, very intriguing. Tomorrow mass will be celebrated by our Bishop, once again at 7:30 am so I better get to sleep soon.

Last thing: I'm very happy because I think my blog may have had a visit from the very cool Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Well, somebody from Ann Arbor at least.

More parish stuff tomorrow,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Liturgy in the Philippines

2005-09-24T21:04:00.000+08:00

This post came about because of a question by Quintero, author of the excellent but terrifying LA Catholic blog. Quintero commented that he heard of pretty crazy things being done with the liturgy over here in the Philippines so I wanted to give my experience of how things are. I have to say that in my experience and from what others have told me liturgical abuse here is almost nil. The spirit of Vatican II never prevailed here; the new norms were implemented and that's about it. Often altar rails were removed and altars were moved away from the wall slightly (just enough to allow for versus populum celebration, still in the sanctuary deo gratias). Oh yes and sometimes tabernacles were moved to side chapels. Whether we personally agree with these moves they were all recommended by Rome, and the Church here showed its loyalty by following; they went no further. Statues were never removed (my parish church which is in an extremely poor area has seven images of Our Blessed Mother alone) and are still very important for Filipinos. I have yet to meet a priest who would be considered liberal in the west. When I once described te opinions and behaviour of a priest whom I knew from London, including his lack of belief in angels and condemnation of the use of incense, my community were shocked and wondered whether he believed in anything of the Catholic faith. In many ways popular catholicism here has retained much of its pre-conciliar character. First fridays are big occasions when a great number of offerings are given to the parish, many people pray in chapels of permanent adoration (which are common here) every day, the rosary is said by a group of people every day before mass and processions are a big part of life here. What Quintero may be referring to is the widespread pre-Christian beliefs which the average person stills cling to alongside the Catholic faith. These range from what we would consider harmless superstitions to the sacrifice of chickens after funerals. It must be stressed however that these practices are not encouraged by the Church, are often criticised by priests and never form part of the liturgy. It could be said that my experience is skewed by my being in the capital, the place because of its progressiveness where one is least likely to observe irregularities. However, I would respond firstly that my parish is located in an extremely poor area where many squatters who have recently arrived from all over the country reside so it is quite representative of the nation (or at least the Catholic majority, some regions in the south are Muslim). Secondly, since it is the capital it is also the place where one is most likely to find liturgical progressives but I have not observed anything that remotely compares to what occurs on a daily basis in L.A. The solemn liturgies, such as the funeral of Cardinal Sin (which incidentally, Mahoney attended: you see, even he wasn't able to make it dreadful) which I attended may not contain a great deal of Latin and choral music (as is often the case in London) but they also do not contain anything against the norms. The church I mentioned a couple of days ago only deserves particular mention because it was decorated so tastefully and at great expense. The difference between this church and the average here is not one of content but simply of the available money they have to spend and the wealth of the parishioners. Every church I have been into has images of Our Lady and the Saints and I have only been into one where the altar was located in the centre of the church. This was the church built by the Ayala corporation as part of the Greenbelt mall, a high end mall frequented only by the wealthiest sector of society. This mall is very close to San Antonio church (the one pictured upon which Quintero commented) which is run by the Franciscans, I know it's funny but this is the only church in a wealthy area that they have, the rest are in normal/poor areas. For further research I leave you with the website of the Archdiocese of Manila.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Happy Fiesta!

2005-09-23T17:19:00.000+08:00

Here are the Grade 6 (my class, biased? moi?) contestants for Little Mr and Mrs SLRPS, don't they look sweet? Today is the second day of San Lorenzo Ruiz, my elementary school's, Foundation Day(s) celebration. For some reason I can't quite fathom everything: even fun filled recreation has to start SO EARLY. Ok, so 7:30 am may not sound so early to you but it does strike me as an unusual way of preparing a crowd for festivities. I got sunburnt yesterday (only my second time in three months, not bad) so spent today shielded by a cap and covered in factor 50 sunblock, desperately trying to avoid more cancer-causing UV rays. The day began with what they call a Field Demo here. This just means that each year group performed a dance for the rest of us to watch, the last two being the parents (inc.. me, don't ask) and the teachers. This was followed by the basketball game putting the faculty of the school and the parents head to head. I was supposed to take part in this but I was worried about getting more sunburnt (sometimes it's really annoying to be white) so I skipped this one and sang "Fields of Gold" on the karaoke instead. After lunch I was feeling really tired so I effectively skipped the rest of the day by taking a siesta, making the assumption that I I was needed then somebody would text me and the text would wake me up. Just realised that I've been online for two and a half hours so better go and say evening prayer before mass. Below you can see my Grade 6 students enjoying the day.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Say a rosary for the unborn

2005-09-22T18:22:00.000+08:00

This Sunday people all over the world will be saying the rosary for the protection of unborn children and you can pledge to join them here. Thanks to Danielle for the link.

Today was the first day of our elementary school's Foundation Day(s?) so lots of fun was had by all, more details and pics later today or tomorrow.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Good News

2005-09-21T22:19:00.000+08:00

"The FBI is joining the Bush administration's War on Porn. And it's looking for a few good agents. Early last month, the bureau's Washington Field Office began recruiting for a new anti-obscenity squad. Attached to the job posting was a July 29 Electronic Communication from FBI headquarters to all 56 field offices, describing the initiative as "one of the top priorities" of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and, by extension, of "the Director." That would be FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III."

From the Washington Post: click here for the full article (requires registration)

Catholic Content: Daily Mass Readings

2005-09-21T21:48:00.000+08:00

Happy Feast of St. Matthew. As you can see I've added a graphic with today's mass readings to my side bar, courtesy of Catholic Content. It's a great resource that is updated every day and I'd encourage all Catholic bloggers to do the same. Thanks to Amy for the link.

Tomorrow is the foundation day of my elementary school, just a tiny part of our fiesta activities (where I'm a teacher, not a a student: in case you were wondering ;-) ) so we have a whole day of fun and games beginning with a 7:30 am mass, my school is so Catholic, hee hee hee. It's all in honour of San Lorenzo Ruiz (click on his name for a biography from Catholic.org), Dominican, Martyr and our patron.

The Wake of Haydee Yorac: Requiescat in Pace

2005-09-21T14:49:00.000+08:00

Just in case people are getting the impression that my time is all dirt and poor people I'd like to tell you that are also some pretty glamorous moments. Last night for instance, the second Society Wake I have attended since I came to the Philippines; the first was that of Cardinal Sin. After dinner we hurriedly got changed and rushed off to the Franciscan church of San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati, one of the most exclusive areas of Manila. Haydee Yorac was a great political activisit and opponent of Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator of the Philippines, so her wake was attended by many in Manila Society, including a senator. GMA television channel was there to film for the news and we knew that we would attract attention because people always assume that am I rich or important or both just because I'm caucasian and once again I was the only one. The cameraman did in fact zoom in on me twice but it was Fr Terry, not me who ended up on the news. Oh, the media is a fickle mistress LOL. Seriously though it was a very interesting evening as I got to see a very beautiful church, San Antonio, probably the most beautiful I have seen here and to pray for the repose of a very important figure here. The church even had two frescoes on the walls in the style of Fra Angelico with a halo of gold leaf, exquisite.

Just to avoid confusion I'd like to point out that the photo is just a photo of the church and not of the wake.

Blogs 4 God rises from the dead

2005-09-20T16:15:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link. Blogs 4 God, the directory of Christian bloggers, has just come back in business today, if you're a Christian blogger add your site to the list, I just did.
In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Clash of Civilisations?!

2005-09-19T21:20:00.000+08:00

Can't believe what I've just read:
Bishops suggest apology for war:

"Church of England bishops have suggested Christian leaders apologise to Muslim leaders for the war in Iraq. As the government is unlikely to offer an apology, a meeting of religious leaders would provide a "public act of institutional repentance", it said. It urges a "truth and reconciliation" meeting, but acknowledges that arranging it could be difficult. The report, entitled Countering Terrorism: Power, Violence and Democracy Post 9/11, was written by a working group of the Church of England's House of Bishops. It suggests the meeting would be an opportunity to apologise for the way the West has contributed to the situation in Iraq, including the war."

How can the Church of England be considered instutionally responsible in anyway for the Iraq war? I can't believe that they would be so idiotic as to encourage the thinking that the war is part of a fight between Christians and Muslims. It's extremely offensive to all those Christians who opposed the war to be told that they should apologise for it. Are they assuming that all Christians wanted a "crusade" and all Muslims opposed it? This is utterly bizaare. It only serves to add credence to the nonsense notions of the tiny minority of Muslims who peddle this "evil west" fundamentalist-holy war garbage. I know the Church of England is tries to please as many people as possible but even they surely don't advise apologising for things for which one is in no way responsible?!

I'm going to go and pray,

This world really needs it,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

My Sojourn in a Strange Land

2005-09-19T14:53:00.000+08:00

Praying daytime prayer this afternoon I noticed something in the reading that was brought out by my experiences here living in a very different culture. One can often feel out of place and it is difficult to feel a sense of belonging, to feel "at home" here. In 1 Peter 1:17b St. Peter instructs us:

"Conduct yourselves reverently during your sojourn in a strange land."

St. Peter is of course speaking of the strange land that is this earth for us Christians who are not of it, it is not our Kingdom. However, it also makes me think of my stay here as a sojourn in a strange land, a place that by its differences and many things I find incongruous reminds me that not only this country but this whole world should not be the place in which I make my home. For Our Lord tells us "Make your home in my word, then you will be my disciple" (Jn 8:32). It is the Word, it is Christ through the scriptures in which we should make our home. I suppose that is why the saints always recommend and exhort those who wish to be holy to do penances and make themselves uncomfortable, to be more aware of this world as a "vale of tears" . It is not our "native land" . There is also a second element to this instruction: I must act reverently during my stay here. I must resist the temptation to be proud and snobbish, disliking and sneering at something simply because it is different from that to which I'm accustomed. Please pray that I will be faithful to these instructions of St. Peter,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Google "[Your name] is"

2005-09-18T21:52:00.000+08:00

Got the following idea from Elizabeth:
Google "[Your name] is..." Here are my results
Daniel is 1!
Daniel is an executive committee member of the Campus Web Council of Wisconsin
Daniel is riding across a steep hill on his bike at night - suddenly he isaccosted by Johnny, Tommy, Bobby, Dutch and Jimmy on their motorcycles
Daniel is one of the few OT books that can be given a [what?!]
Daniel is struck by a brilliant inspiration [well of course] that leads to the drawing up of his famous Plan for the Rebirth of Africa [interesting...]
Daniel is a recognized authority on Java software development [news to me]
Daniel is described as living in Babylon for the entire duration of the ... [what? You'll have to know your scripture to get this one: comments appreciated]
Daniel is back [no not yet, still in the Philippines]
Good fun,
In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Funny Sunday

2005-09-18T21:34:00.000+08:00

Got up at 5:30 am (not an easy thing for me to do) this morning for morning prayer at Santo Domingo. Felt so tired by 9am after mass that I went back to sleep for 2 hours, well, I didn't have anything to do and I really needed it. Another great weekend with the coristas, Dominicans are so cool. Thought I'd report a funny conversation I had yesterday with Fr Robini, a very amusing man:

Watching TV we see a news report about very poor people in India, I notice that the clothes are really beautiful
Me: If they're so poor how come they have such beautiful clothes
Fr. Robi: They're very cheap and they're the only clothes they have
Me: So they wear them for a month and when they wash them...
Fr Robi: Then they're naked for three days
Me: And they stay inside the house
Fr Robi: And that's when they get pregnant
We both laugh
If anyone thinks this is in bad taste remember we are living in a poor country and working for the poor so it's only meant as a silly joke. Fr Robi is a great guy to talk to, we can banter easily.

In Santo Domingo again

2005-09-17T20:30:00.000+08:00

I'm writing this post from the computer room of the Convent of Santo Domingo, the formation house of this province and the home of Our Lady of La Naval, who can be seen on the left. There is great devotion to this statue and many pilgrims will come for the procession that takes place on her fast approaching feast day in the second week of October. The convent is buzzing with preparations to beautify the church for the occasion. It is wonderful to see the great devotion to Our Lady that is absolutely standard here and is not considered anything out of the ordinary. Throughout the country every Wednesday is dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (every church seems to have her icon) and hymns are sung in her honour before and after mass. Anyway, back to the script: yesterday I arrived in the early evening and just had time to settle in before the angelus was said. It's a really nice practice here: a bell is rung and everyone stops what they are doing at 12 noon and 6pm (not 6am because we are in the middle of mauds, that's morning prayer and mass combined, oh and with the rosary for good measure :-) to come out onto the corridor and recite the angelus, such a great custom. After evening prayer we had dinner and then there was a choir practice which I was eager to join. I got a chance to sing Victoria's Ave Maria again so was very happy. Today I'm feeling dazed and confused after getting up at 5:15 am to be in church in time for the rosary. After breakfast I went straight back to sleep (I'm not an early riser, it's going to take a lot of hard work for me to get used to early wake-up calls) for an hour. As I didn't have anything to do I have spent most of the day in the blogosphere and have to admit that i'm currently skipping choir practice because my throat is sore. Though I haven't actually done that much I always feel like a gain a lot from my time here. I love to say the office in common and it's wonderful to be around so many young, friendly and enthusiastic religious, they are a great inspiration. I get very excited when they call me brother, I know, many people in the parish call me brother all the time but when it's from friars it seems extra special.

Special prayer request for my friend Br. Lawrence (that's his religious name) Paul Lew as he begins his novitiate in Cambridge, may Our Lady and St. Dominic be with him.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Mater Dolorosa

2005-09-15T14:22:00.000+08:00

Today is the day on which we honour Our Lady of Sorrows, whose heart was truly pierced by the lance that tore her son, Our Lord. Who could be better at teaching us how to reflect upon the sorrowful passion and death of Our Lord than his own mother who had to witness it all, powerless to help. The second reading in the Office of Readings for today is from a sermon by St. Bernard, one of the saints most devoted to Our Blessed Mother. The most interesting point for me came when he highlighted the exchange between Christ on the cross and his mother when Our Lord told his mother that from now on St. John, the beloved disciple, would be her son and she would be his mother. I had always regarded this exchange wholly positively as I considered unbelievable the concern for us that Christ showed that even in his dying agony he gave his own mother to be our own, how blessed are we to call the Immaculate our own mother. And from then on St. John made a place for her in his home, as we should make a place for her in our hearts. However, I was surprised when St. Bernard pointed out that for Our Lady this would have only added to her sorrow for she had lost the Son of God and is given only a Son of Man, she has lost God himself and is given merely a creature as substitute. Here St. Bernard shows how much he loves his Blessed Mother in that he is thinking only of her sorrow and not of the great joy we receive from becoming children of Mary.

The parish fiesta in honour of San Lorenzo Ruiz, our patron, begins today with a motorcade,

Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray for Us

St. Joseph, Pray for Us

St. Bernard, Pray for Us

San Lorenzo Ruiz, Pray for Us

St. Dominic, Pray for Us

Daniel

The picture above is a detail from the deposition by Rogier van der Weyden and can be seen in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

2005-09-14T21:44:00.000+08:00

Happy Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. Sorry that I haven't posted for a while but I didn't have anything interesting to report. Yesterday I started a new work: I went to help the BEC (Basic Ecclesial Community) volunteers with their Bible study and preaching to the poorest of the poor in the squatter areas. I was not looking forward to it because I knew that the squatter area we would be going to was Market 3, the worst of the three. However, it wasn't so bad at all because the room where we held the BEC was very close to the road so I didn't need to walk for long through the filthy, flooded, narrow paths that snake between the shacks; definitely the worst part of any visit to the squatters. I couldn't do much because it was all in Tagalog but I read the passage along with them in my own Bible and I prayed with them. I suppose the most important thing is that I show that I care about them just by being there with them in their difficulties. In the evening we went to see the movie Brothers Grimm, it was very nice I thought, kind of in the line of Van Helsing but with not so much action and less scary, more romantic (in the traditional, not the hearts and flowers sense.)

I taught my second Catechism lesson to the public High School this morning, at 7:10am! I'm really starting to enjoy it because the only thing I'm given is an outline so I need to be very creative, especially as I'm trying to communicate to people whose English varies greatly; it's a great challenge and feels like practice for preaching (blushes). At the moment we are exploring the notion of freedom and what it really means. In the last session we went over the Church's view of freedom as being found only in Jesus Christ and how this affects our view of school, community and country. Today the theme was "Freedom and Me" with the scripture verse John 8:32 "and will you know the truth and the truth will set you free". I explored what is meant here by the truth, stressing that it was the truth not a truth and that truth was Jesus Christ. We then looked at how this truth set us free and I took St. Paul's assertion that the value of our lives can be seen in the cross of him who gave his life for us, as the theme. I was really happy to share this radical notion that we judge our worth not on the things of this world but that we were worth enough for Christ to die for us; it's something that helped me more than I can say. This theme built upon the last session's idea that the greatest obstacle to our freedom is sin and the best example of a truly free person is the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Our Lady's yes at the annunciation we see perfect freedom unshackled from the chains of sin. We then explored what else putting Christ at the centre of our lives would free us from. These included greed, lust and violence, each explored in turn. I was really annoyed that I forgot that today was a feast of the Cross and only remembered when I said the Office after the class as I would have related this to the topic. Today's feast reminded me of Our Lord's words in John 12:32 "when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself" and how this refers to the crucifixion in a mystical way. I always found this verse really moving. I spend this weekend in Santo Domingo, the Dominican formation house, can't wait.

May the Lord draw us all to himself,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The painting is an early Raphael and can be seen in the National Gallery of Great Britain in London. I particularly like how the angels are collecting the precious blood of Our Lord in chalices, very sacramental.

Which saint are you?

2005-09-10T20:46:00.000+08:00

How cool, I'm an English mystic! Well, maybe someday.

You are Julian of Norwich! It's all about God, to
you. You're convinced that the world has a
happy ending. Everyone else is convinced that
you're a closet hippie, but you love them
anyway.

Which Saint Are You?
brought to you by

Omay and I outside Enchanted Kingdom

2005-09-09T22:11:00.000+08:00

The Butterfly House

2005-09-09T22:09:00.001+08:00

School Field trip to Butterfly House and Enchanted Kingdom

2005-09-09T22:09:00.000+08:00

On Wednesday I went on the parochial school field trip to a butterfly house and enchanted kingdom, the theme park here. We had to get up really early as the coach left at 6:30 am. The night before we had been to the cinema (I saw Cinderella Man, which was a very moving film, well acted) but I didn't get to sleep til about 12:30 am so I was really tired in the morning. However, as soon as we got to Enchanted Kingdom I woke up completely as I was really excited to go on the rides; I'm just a big kid really. First we went in one of those cinemas where the seats move to match the movie and then we on the rio grande, a water ride where you ride in those big rubber rings; I got completely soaked. After that I decided that I needed to get something to eat so we got burritos from a Mexican stand, I was really happy to eat Mexican food as I hadn't had it for 2 months. After the food we went on the log jam, a really high log flume that was my favourite because it was exhilarating but didn't make you feel sick. In contrast to this was the space shuttle, one of those really intense rides that seem to have replaced roller coasters (can't remember the name of them) everywhere. It spun us upside down and then upside down backwards, I felt really ill afterwards and had to sit down for half an hour, not a good feeling. It was a fantastic day though and everyone really enjoyed themselves. I hope you all are well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Happy Nativity of Our Blessed Mother

2005-09-08T20:00:00.000+08:00

A happy birthday to the Blessed Virgin. DVI asked me to write a letter about my work here and so I did. Seeing as this is the kind of thing this blog is all about I thought that I'd post it here:

My work amongst the poor of Dagat-Dagatan

It was with trepidation and fear that I looked out on my surroundings from the comfort of the air-conditioned car of Fr Clarence as we approached the parish where I was to work for the next ten months. As we passed the infamous “Smokey Mountain” of garbage that used to be the most potent symbol of the destitute of the Philippines I could see all of the signs of a terribly deprived area. The shacks put together from garbage, skeletal stray dogs with their ribcages protruding and children sniffing drugs from plastic bags: all of the things that I had before only witnessed from afar on television were suddenly brought crashing into stark reality all around me. I have to confess that my first thought upon seeing all of this was: what I have got myself into? The sheer vastness of the 7000 miles that separated from me from my family seemed overwhelming in itself. However, at the point when all of these worries were rushing into my mind I had yet to be immersed in the heart-warming, welcoming hospitality for which the Filipinos are famous. My parish priest Fr Allan, Fr Terry and all the others actively involved in the parish of San Lorenzo Ruiz, of which there are far too many by mention by name, could not have done a better job of making me feel comfortable and supported in this alien environment that is gradually becoming familiar to me.

I’ve been here for two and a half months now and have come to really enjoy my work. My first and foremost role is as a religion teacher for Grade 6 in the parochial school. This involves preparing lessons to teach to the class for 40 minutes Monday to Friday, assessing their progress through recitations and tests and then marking and grading this work. I had never taught before I came here and my first lesson was dreadful: I was really nervous and didn’t have a clue what to do. However, I started to learn by observing the lesson of the religion teacher and now feel completely comfortable with the class. From this teaching baseline Fr Allan has gradually expanded my work and so I now instruct the fourth year star section class of the high school in catechesis every Wednesday morning for one hour and have also started to lead English fluency seminars and a Bible study on the gospel for the following Sunday for the faculty and staff of our parochial elementary school. These seminars will be held twice a month. Next week I will begin working with the volunteers who lead these Bible study sessions with the poorest of the poor in the squatter areas. This is something that I have been working up to, preparing myself psychologically and spiritually. The conditions in which these people live are hard to believe unless one has experienced them first-hand.

I won’t pretend that my time here is always easy but it is an incredible experience and one that I wouldn’t give up for the world. I know the difficulties that I experience here are making me a stronger person who is more open to the will of God in my life. There are so many things that I do here on a regular basis, like ride in the side car of a motorbike without a helmet, that I never would have done in England before I came here. Perhaps the hardest doubt to live with here, especially on days when you don’t have so much to do, is wondering whether I am actually doing any good here, making a difference. This was a strong theme in my mind when I received the letter from Fr Enrique addressing this idea exactly and reassuring me and the other DVIs that the important thing is simply to be here, to give our time to be with these people when there are so many things that we could be doing that perhaps would be much easier and materially profitable for us. I knew when I read that letter that the Lord was speaking through his words. Please remember to pray for me and the other DVIs,

In Christ through Mary with St. Dominic,

Daniel Jeffries

The inhumanity of the aftermath in New Orleans

2005-09-06T13:56:00.000+08:00

This post started as a email response to the post of Br. Paul Lew, whose post on the subject can be found here: http://contemplare.blogspot.com under Sept. 3.

As regards Br. Paul's post on New Orleans generally I completely with him. I don't think that the behaviour of the those in the city can be justified by their circumstances. From what I can remember people in 9/11 acted very decently. However, the only point where I would disagree with him is his comparison of poverty in New Orleans with the poverty in Manila. I come from a city which was highlighted on a TV documentary because it contains one of the most deprived areas in the country so I feel that I can speak on this matter. In my opinion the poverty of a traditional culture like that of the Philippines is mostly of the material nature: despite their shortage of material comforts and perhaps a lack of education they are generally bound together by a common belief in basic decency usually provided by a religious authority, whether through conviction or simply through conformity. The poverty that I have seen in England however is a very different kind of thing. It is mostly a poverty of culture, perhaps involving a lack of parenting because one of the parents refuses to bring them up. Where material poverty exists in this sad situation it is greatly exacerbated by the absence of a common value system. While I agree with him that the rise of individualism is an important factor I would stress more the collapse of commonly held set of values to which almost everyone conformed ( at least publicly). As an analagous example I would cite the rise of the neo-conservative Catholics since the dark days of the 70s. While this group generally shares an "old-fashioned" conception of the Church and Catholicism they cannot escape their upbringing in an extemely individualistic society. The result of this is that they may even frame the demand for the vindication of their views as a matter of allowing greater personal choice, something greatly at odds with the views they hold. Thus I would stress more the absence of a commonly held set of values than the absence of the sense of a strong sense of community which can so easily exclude those whom the community considers undesirable. For instance many people tell stories about the signs which could be found on bars and shops in the 1950s (often held up as the heyday of manners) stating "no Irish, no blacks". The difference I believe between the poor Filipinos and poor westerners is like the difference between the old respectable working class of which Britain used to be proud and the new underclass of chavs which are almost universally vilified. In my opinion the greatest and most crucial difference between the underclass and the mainstream is low expectations, a lack of aspirations for them on the part of those who are supposed to be their mentors. To give one small example, a friend told me of people that he knows who live in a deprived area next to Hampstead Heath, one of the most beautiful parks in London, but haven't visited it even once! To me the similarity between poor Filpinos and the old English working class is their sense of respect for those whom they perceive to be "better" than them, whether economically or morally.

However, in the end the reason why the behaviour was so atrocious may simply be that under normal circumstances most people have the basic decency to treat their fellow citizens with respect but when it comes to a real calamity the number of people who can be expected to act well is so low that they may be not simply decent people but everyday heroes, one may go so far as to say saintly.

May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary in her glory protect us all,

Daniel

Videoke evening: goodybye to Fr Jepoy

2005-09-02T22:07:00.000+08:00

Firstly, I'd like to express my shock and sadness at the natural and human disaster taking place in New Orleans. Let's all pray that no more lives will be taken and those affected can rebuild their lives as soon as possible. Our Lady of Prompt Succour, pray for us.

Last night the Catholic Women's League organised a farewell occasion for Fr Jepoy, the priest who normally is in Paris studying but is here back at home on a short vacation. It's interesting for me to talk with a Filipino who has spent time in Europe and knows how different things are as we get a chance to compare. We first went to a Chinese restaurant in Malate, the bar district and then went on to a Videoke bar. The place was quite funny as it was made of several small rooms in which a group of friends can sing Karaoke without having to worry about strangers making fun of them. The rooms were named and decorated after different countries. This explains how when I came out of the bathroom, which I went to as soon as we entered, I looked around and not being able to see my friends was rather surprised to be told by the waitress that they were in Egypt! I was tempted to reply "wow, that was fast" but wasn't sure if she would get the joke. Had probably the best evening since I've been here, most probably because I feel much more settled in now and was more comfortable around a smaller group than is usual here. I'm really beginning to appreciate the climate: it's really nice to go outside and feel the warmth every night, such a change from England. I hope everyone is well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Monday trip

2005-08-30T20:41:00.000+08:00

As yesterday: national heroes day, was declared a national holiday by the president we decided that we should make the most of it by having a little trip visiting places of interest. We had fun at Manila zoo, seeing a couple of animals for the first time. It was quite a natural environment: full of trees and plants that made it feel a lot less like an institution that many of the other zoos to which I have been. I saw an Orangutan for the first time, that was exciting. After the zoo we went to Greenhills, a big mall the inside of which is like one huge market, very claustrophobic but fun in its own way.

Sorry but not much to write about at the moment, missing everyone in England, remember to email me please, it's always great to hear from you.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Rockwell Center: Powerplant Mall

2005-08-28T19:05:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I went for a day of complete fun as I needed a break from the place where we live. I went to the Powerplant Mall, one of the most exclusive malls in the country to get some great food in a serene and beautiful environment. It speaks volumes that the only contact numbers displayed on the website are for the US and UK. Getting there required three means of transport. We had to get a tricycle (that's a motorbike with a sidecar attached) to the bus station from where we got a bus to the MRT (that's a monorail). From the MRT station, sweetly called Guadalupe we needed to get a taxi to the Rockwell center. The Rockwell center is located in Makati: the financial district where almost all of the sophisticated eateries and bars can be found. I made the most of the well-stocked bookshop to get a Teach Yourself Latin pack and a Latin dictionary as well a new novel for my entertainment: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. After this we headed to Mati: the Greek restaurant that I had seen advertised in the newspaper, as I was desperate for some European food. It lived up to my expectations and beyond; it was tastefully decorated with well executed "ancient mural style" figures and patterns painted on a background of muted beige. The service was great and the food was beautiful, overall a really pleasant atmosphere and the cocktails were only 120 pesos each! (that's 1.20 pounds, sorry for the strange way of putting it but the keboard doesn't have a pound sign) Went to the cinema and tried to see The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants with Alexis Bledel, one of my favourite actresses, but we were late for the showing due to an extremely long queue. So, overall it was a very enjoyable day until that was I found out about the corpses for rent! As I heard from my community the practice of renting a corpse to those who wish to gamble is widespread among the poor. This occurs because generally gambling is illegal but if it takes place at a wake so that the family can raise funds to pay for the funeral the police turn a blind eye because it may be the only way by which the family will be able to afford to bury their dead with respect. Thus those who wish to gamble can take advantage of this situation by going around and looking for wakes which are taking place. However, things even weirder when a family had perhaps failed to raise the funds that they require through the gambling at the wake. They may then "rent" their corpse so that a group of gamblers can put on a fake wake. As you can imagine I found this piece of news rather unsettling. It lent the whole day a rather surreal air.

Tomorrow is a national holiday so I don't have any classes,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Fr Terry and I with the huge crab

2005-08-24T21:02:00.000+08:00

The house where Sis Virgie's party was held

2005-08-24T21:01:00.000+08:00

Sr Leony's Birthday Dinner on Monday

2005-08-24T14:54:00.000+08:00

Happy St. Bartholomew's Day, I had a lovely time on Monday at the dinner to celebrate the birthday of Sr Leonie at St. James' school, run by the Dominicans sisters of Siena. It was also the 2nd anniversary of our Bishop's episcopal ordination and the anniversary of my 2 months in the Philippines, so there was a lot to celebrate. As always with the Siena sisters the food was beautiful and the atmosphere was very nice as the dinner was held at the sisters' covered garden. There were huge colourful crabs on offer, bigger than I had ever seen. I'll post a photo of them later today as I haven't got around to uploading it yet. This was our 2nd birthday celebration of the evening as we had already been to the party of a member of the Catholic Women's League. This was held in a grand five storey house with its own swimming pool and there was even a karaoke machine for the occasion. It was strange because from the top of this luxurious house one could see down to the huts on stilts that are put together from debris and litter the coastline around here. It was possible therefore to see both sides of life here simultaneously. It put me eerily in mind of the "I'm the King of the Castle" children's rhyme. I sang "Swear it Again" by Westlife but was soon put to shame by the veritable talent of Fr Jepoy who is here on a break from his studies in Paris.

This morning I finally started my Catechism sessions at the public high school after two failed attempts due to a problem with the schedule. I have to say that it went very well, there weren't so many students as I anticipated, those who were there were courteous and since the lesson began at 7:10 am the room wasn't hot despite the absence of any air conditioning. So, all in all a successful morning, praise God, let's just pray that it wasn't merely a honeymoon fluke.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Saturday's wedding

2005-08-21T22:32:00.000+08:00

Sorry that I haven't posted the last couple of days but I didn't have anything interesting to write about which in a way I suppose is a good thing because it means that I'm settling in to life here. What I mean by this is that as I adjust to the way things are done here I no longer need to comment on quite so many things. Anyway, went to a nice wedding yesterday at the oldest church in the area. That's not really saying that much however as the area is pretty new: the church only dates to the 19th century but was very nice all the less. Nice reception after the wedding with good food. I unwittingly sampled cow's tongue meat which I have to admit was actually very good, it had an interesting sauce. I knew it was something strange because the people at my table started to ask me what I thought it was. Momentarily shocked as I thought I might have just ingested man's best friend I relaxed when I found out that it came from a cow. After all, that's a normal animal to eat, isn't it? Sorry no photos as I didn't take my camera but I promise that I'll take it tomorrow for the dinner at St. James's convent, where the Siena congregation Dominican sisters always serve excellent food. Yum! I'll fill you in soon,

From what I caught on EWTN WYD 2005 seems to been a resounding success both spiritually and logistically. Can't wait to hear first hand accounts from my friends who were there so make sure you email me soon, you know who you are ;-) So good to see the crowds coming to love Benedict as our new Holy Father, BENEDETTO!

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

From Cosmopolitan to Monocultural

2005-08-17T20:44:00.000+08:00

Last night I went to see a film called The Great Raid. It's set in the Philippines during the Second World War at the time when the Japanese were retreating from the advancing Americans. The raid of the title was performed against a Japanese POW camp where it was feared that the Japanese would kill all of the prisoners as the Americans grew closer if it was not liberated first. One of the most interesting things about the film was that it included shots of a computer generated Manila as it was before the bombing, as the film says (I paraphrase) "...it was known as the Pearl of the Orient: an international city where people from all over the world lived and worked." The contrast with the Manila of today couldn't be greater, even in the middle class malls I am almost always the only caucasian; only in the top malls can one see many foreigners. This is a sad result of the Marcos regime worsened by the present economic stagnation. The Great Raid is an interesting, well acted film and I would recommend it.

Today I went to a concert by the University of the East Chorale. It was a mixture of classical and contemporary Filipino music. The choir was very good and it would have been a beautiful concert if it hadn't been for the children who were making so much noise. I hope to go to another concert by the same choir in November that will hopefully be a more formal occasion. Remember to keep e-mailing me,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Happy Assumption of Our Lady

2005-08-15T20:22:00.000+08:00

Happy Feast of the Assumption. A few of us from the parish went to Baywalk: a section of Manila bay which is festooned with open-air bars, eateries and is also the location for live bands every night. Since it's an open space the amusing phenomenon of "window drinkers" standing behind the fence just wanting to listen to the music and not drink anything occurs. The only problem with this setup is that you never know who will have the pleasure of listening to on any particular evening. Thus last night we found ourselves serenaded by a group called "Fat Babes" which was made up of two ladyboy transvestites and what we took to be a genuine female but couldn't be sure. I was glad that there songs were in Tagalog but wasn't spared blushes because their body language left nothing to the imagination. We tried to leave but as luck would have it the waiter took a ridiculously long time to bring us the bill. It was with great enthusiasm therefore that I heralded the arrival of the celebration of the purity of Our Lady today, after witnessing such depravity last night for it is in the darkest room that the candle shines the brightest.

In class today I had fun explaining about the four seasons in England and the different temperatures to my Grade 6 students; their reactions were priceless Tomorrow is the 2nd anniversary of my diocese, the diocese of Kalookan so we will go to a special mass at the Cathedral of San Roque (Roch) for the occasion.

I'll update you on that tomorrow,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The picture is of the Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini.

Weekend in Santo Domingo formation house

2005-08-14T19:39:00.000+08:00

Just got back from a weekend spent in Santo Domingo, the formation house of the Dominicans here where the simply professed brothers live and study until they are ordained. This was arranged to give me more of an experience of community life and I will be staying there one weekend in a month from now on. The priory is in Quezon City, a generally prosperous area of Metro Manila. Its location is interesting because it is caught between an extremely affluent area where some famous people live and a poor area so the congregation is quite mixed but generally middle class. It has a beautiful courtyard with trees and flowers. I'm sorry that this picture of the cloister is far from inspiring but I didn't take my camera and I haven't asked anyone to email me pictures yet.

I must say thank you here to the priests and brothers for their warm welcome; they couldn't have been any more hospitable. I had the great priviledge of staying in one of the rooms on the cloistered corridor rather than the usual guest room and am very grateful for that. It's a really big convent with 40 students and 20 priests, who are in seperate wings of the building. The early starts of 6am were definitely worth it for the experience of saying office with the brethren in the very impressive and huge church. The church is the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosay La Naval, the statue of which is incidentally the only major survivor of the Dominican church that used to stand in Old Manila (intramuros)but was destroyed by ww2 bombing, along with all the other churches there apart from San Augustin. It was so nice to say office with so many brethren, there are so many that no one person stands out, allowing one to be still and meditate very easily. This I feel is the benefit of a large community.

Yesterday after daily morning rosary and morning prayer a few of the priests and I headed off to Makati, the financial and most upmarket and cosmopolitan district in the city to visit the Ayala Museum. The Ayalas are an old and extremely wealthy (the income of their corporation was 50 million pounds last year alone) Spanish society family who own a whole group of companies but are most famous for their malls and property developments. These finance the Ayala Foundation which runs the museum.

The Ayala Museum is in my opinion the most contemporary and interesting building that I have seen in Manila so far; its avant garde design put me in mind of many building in London. It has a varied collection with one floor given over to a permanent collection of dioramas (scenes made up of action-figure sized clay figurines) depicting the history of the Philippines from 60,000 BC to the year of Philippine independence. There was a whole floor full of religious art, its two sections covering 18th century Spanish style statues and paintings from 16th to 19th C. respectively. From the museum we went to the fantastic Greenbelt Mall 3 which is conveniently connected to the museum. Watched Bewitched, which I found disappointing but amusing anyway and then went back to the convent. After dinner there was a presentation to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the DSMC, the Dominican Student's Media Center (that's the name, not my spelling becoming Americanised ;-), the aim of which is to train the students in working with and in the media. This was followed by a little celebration which included sushi :-) .

Today I had an amazing time at the the Dominican Formation Encounter which was attended by all the Dominican (minus the cloistered nuns of course) brothers and sisters in formation. It was such an inspiration to be surrounded by so many young Dominicans, there must have been about 200 there, all in habits, I was quite overwhelmed. We had mass there presided by the Provincial and then listened to the preaching of Fr Enrico Gonzales, an amazing preacher, he has so much presence and charisma, he's like a comedian. After lunch several of the congregations and the brothers performed dance routines (yes, dance routines, this is a very young province) and then we were split into groups and played games which were great fun. It was such an enjoyable and inspiring day, this province really knows how to put on an occasion. I'm sure everyone left feeling refreshed and happy to meet so many other Dominicans, the main purpose of the day being for us to simply get to know and love one another. What a great weekend!

Well, that was an extremely long post, hope I didn't strain your eyes, In Christ through Mary, Daniel

Santo Domingo study house

2005-08-12T14:19:00.000+08:00

Hi,
I'm going to be in Santo Domingo, the study house here from Friday afternoon til Sunday so don't expect any new posts until Monday but I'll give a full report then.
In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

The deep imaginative faculty of the soul

2005-08-10T16:04:00.000+08:00

Whilst reading Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina I was struck by the following passage:

"Like Lydia Ivanovna and others who shared these views, Karenin was quite devoid of that deep imaginative faculty of the soul by which ideas aroused by the imagination become so vivid that they must be brought into conformity with other ideas and with reality."

Tolstoy's comment on the ability to contemplate and assimilate one's notions into a coherent system of belief struck me as the task that befalls anyone who cares about theology. This passage seemed particularly appropriate to describe theology because it suggests that abstract notions must be tested by the demands of reality. Theology should never be idle philosophical speculation; if it does not concern itself with giving glory to God and seeking the salvation of souls then it can so easily wander down the path of selfish, aimless pondering that helps no-one and may confuse and misguide many. The coherence of and concern for a truth that is lived that exists within Catholicism is for me one of its greatest treasures. In the lives of the Saints one can glimpse the living out of a beautiful notion that is not only conformed to but most effectively conforms human beings to their fullest reality: the image of God. Tolstoy's thought also gives one an insight into how one grows into sanctity: the mystic's love for God becomes so vivid that he must conform his whole being to this overwhelming reality.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The painting is "The girl with the peach" by Valentin Serov, a contemporary of Tolstoy.

Photo of Caleruega chapel of the transfiguration

2005-08-09T17:43:00.000+08:00

This is the Caleruega chapel. I'll post some more photos of the place later.
Daniel

Happy belated St. Dominic's day

2005-08-09T17:39:00.000+08:00

A happy belated feast of our holy father St. Dominic. Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday but I didn't feel like it after coming back from a trip to Calaruega, the retreat house of the Dominican friars here in the Philippines. It's a really peaceful and beautiful place, the motto of which is "Close to nature closer to God". It's a real santuary, situated on the edge of a lake which is on top of a mountain. In the middle of the lake is a dormant (but not extinct!) volcano: the smallest volcano in the world. All the retreat houses of the vast plethora of religious orders that exist in the Philippines are located in this place. Being up in the mountains it's much cooler than the low lying places, so cool that I actually found it too cold! That was because it was raining and the sun wasn't out.

The celebrations began on 7th August when we met for the presentations of the planificatios (plans) of the various priories. After this was evening prayer, followed by dinner. After dinner we all took part in what they call a spree. A spree involves drinking, eating and playing games. The games consisted of a "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" style quiz. The first two sections were all about the friars of the province and in the last section we had to guess what was going to happen in a series of commercials which they then played projected onto a screen. The spree was very raucous and loud because the province here is so young. There are 20 guys in the pre-novitiate, 10 in the novitiate and about 40 students, it's unbelievable.

The next day we began with morning prayer followed by mass which was presided by a Franciscan, with another Franciscan giving the homily. After mass we had lunch and then headed back to Dagat-dagatan. Strangely enough I was glad to get back to the warmth. During my time in Caleruega I found out that I will be spending one weekend a month in Santo Domingo, the student house here. This was arranged to give me more of an experience of the community life here as the priory where I'm staying has only 3 priests and is exceptional because it is a mission, being in such a poor area.

Other news,

I'm a bit nervous because tomorrow I start my teaching in the public high school. Since the school is free there are 70 in the class, they have no textbooks and there is no air con. Luckily I'm only taking them once a week and I've got the top group. Please pray that it will go well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Marc Chagall's Madonna of the Village

2005-08-02T21:22:00.000+08:00

Happy feast of Blessed Jane of Aza, the mother of St. Dominic, a visionary woman and inspiration to us all.

I feel like I've been neglecting the cultural side of this blog lately so here's one of my favourite religious pictures for you. It's the Madonna of the Village by Marc Chagall. I really like the way that the Virgin seems to fit into the valley like a part of the landscape, this is no brief visit for her but a place where she makes her home as Queen of All Hearts. I hope you like it.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The Japanese and the Fishport

2005-08-01T20:32:00.000+08:00

Yesterday the Japanese came to the parish and attended the 9am mass to see what goes on around here. In the afternoon they helped the missionaries of charity (Mother Teresa's Order) in catechising the children. In the evening there was a presentation by several people. Ferdy and Paul sang a Beatles' song, the dance group who are really good did break dancing and I sang a Japanese song in Japanese. I think it went well, this was possible because I studied Japanese for two years at evening classes once a week. However, that was four years ago so I've forgotten most of it now. I also sang Scarborough Fair. After that we went to the Fishport, a huge complex that is the main employer in Navotas ( the area of Metro Manila where we live). There are all kinds of fish there, from tiny fish to huge fish and it is very busy. As usual I attracted a lot of attention, being the only white person in the place. I'm getting used to it however and am even beginning to relish correcting people who call me an "Americano". They assume that anybody who is white is American because they were occupied by the U.S until 1946. There are many children working there, which would be easy to condemn but the situation is more complicated than it may seem. If the children do not work then the family may not have enough to eat. Even though there are free schools some parents cannot afford to buy the uniforms, pencils and books that are required for attendance. Therefore, there is no possiblility of self-improvement, it's very sad.

Today we went to three of the areas where the illegal squatters live. Market 3, the one closest to the fishport is the worst of the three. The dirt and squalor there is unbelievable, I now know what the Victorian slums in England must have been like. At least the people here never feel the cold, however, that would be truly dreadful. Once you've been to Market 3, Road 10 (the best of the three) looks positively sparkling by comparison. I really hope that the government can get the ecomonic situation together and end this terrible poverty in a few year's time by strong ecomonic growth.

The new car arrived today. We needed a new one because the old one kept breaking down and when you live in Dagat-Dagatan it really isn't a good if your car breaks down in the middle of the night. Thank the Lord it never happened whilst I was in the car.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The Incarnation amongst the Poor

2005-07-30T21:30:00.000+08:00

While praying the Office of Readings on Friday I was struck by the words of St. Augustine when he says that:

"Do not grieve or complain that you were born in a time when you can no longer see God in the flesh. He did not in fact take this privilege from you. As he says: 'Whatever you have done to least of my brothers, you did to me.'"

This passage really touched me, I think it was for the simple reason that now I am surrounded by poverty and encounter it on a daily basis, those passages which are concerned with or make reference to the poor have a much greater resonance for me. Before I came here, any reference to "the poor" in scripture seemed distant and rather abstract to me since I hadn't experienced a tangible expression of it. This passage made me aware that my natural reaction of a lukewarm response to theologies which focused heavily on poverty or oppression was an expression of my lack of faith in and understanding of the immense significance of the incarnation. In humbling himself in taking human flesh Our Lord showed us not only how to be an effective presence of God to others but also how gain a deeper love for him by loving him in others. This is another example of the supernatural abundance of the Lord that when we feed his sheep we lose nothing that we could have gained ourselves; on the contrary, by loving him more by showing greater love for others we take our spiritual food from a purer source and in greater abundance. To realise that I can see Christ in the flesh in the needy and deprived is a great inspiration for me as I seek to make my tiny contribution to the spiritual and social life of the parish here.

The six Japanese from the humanitarian organisation arrived today. The aim of the programme is to give the young people an exposure to the poverty and problems that exist in other countries while doing a little to solve them. They engage in practical work such as picking up rubbish and planting trees whilst also educating the people in a better way of treating their environment. Tomorrow we will have a presentation for them where I will duet with Ferdy the music guy to sing Beatles' songs.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

What is life like for the ordinary people here? Hot and Crowded...

2005-07-28T22:10:00.000+08:00

Today I visited the mall where the ordinary people go to, it's called Tutuban and is built into the old train station that isn't used as a train station anymore. Close to this mall there is the church of the Black Nazarene, a very popular devotion here. The church is in a bad area and it is said that if you arrested the people who take part in the annual procession then you would have a large percentage of the bad element of Manila locked up. The square of the church is famous for its assortment of new age and witchcraft items that can be purchased. These include candles of different colours (including black!) that are supposed to represent different desires and also voodoo-like ones that are made in the shape of people to supposedly cause them harm. There are also charms, stones and a herbal drug that will cause an abortion if drunk (abortion is illegal in the Philippines). This is just one example of the superstitious practices that exist here but should not be overdramatised because they exist amidst a culture of great love and devotion to the Catholic Church.

The mall itself is more like a covered market, although it is inside a structure. There is no air conditioning so it is very hot and the products on sale are very cheap. One of the saddest things that I have seen in this country is the sale of empty bags from leading fashion labels such as Levis so that those who purchase them can pretend that they bought something from these stores which are far beyond the means of the average Filipino.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Photo of Laguna pool where I swam on monday

2005-07-28T21:54:00.000+08:00

Dominican Contemplation

2005-07-26T20:44:00.000+08:00

I've been reading the Dominican spirituality book by Hinnebusch the last few days and today I read the section on how Dominican spirituality is contemplative. I was inspired by his reflections on how even those who are very busy with an active apostolate can be contemplatives if they do all in their power to be receptive to the infinite love of God through being faithful to their religious observances and by thirsting for the salvation of souls. This made me think that if those who are so busy can be true contemplatives than I who have so much time must have some chance. It inspired me to reflect upon scripture and what came into my mind was the Wisdom of Solomon where the author says in chapter 2:16a that

"It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it."

This verse reminded me that many do not think about the life of Adam and Eve before the fall and the fact that they would have lived forever is they had not chosen to rebel against God and lose paradise. The Wisdom of Solomon here reminds us that it was sin that caused death, it was not part of God's creation and in that sense is not natural, in the same way that our flawed minds with their inclination to sin are not natural. If then, the cause of death was not natural but supernatural in the same way a supernatural feat was required to overcome death. The author reminds us that by desiring sinful things that lead us into mortal sin we invite death and not just the death of our bodies, but the second and infinitely worse death that is the extinguishing of the divine life of grace within our souls when we commit mortal sin. Let us not forget that it was this pining for sin that caused the terrible death of Our Lord on the cross and let us daily pray for the supernatural grace to overcome temptation that is the fruit of his glorious resurrection glimpsed through contemplation.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Trip to Laguna

2005-07-25T21:15:00.000+08:00

Had a really fun day today at a hot springs resort called Laguna, about 2 hours away from where I live. A big group of us went, 19 in total. The resort is on active volcano and is comprised of beautfiul naturally heated pools surrounded by trees and flowers and huts where you can bbq and make lunch. The pools vary in temperature from a plunge pool with its own waterfall that is about the same temperature as the sea in England to a really warm one where the jet that falls from a huge jug is like a hot shower. It's incredible that it requires no heating at all, it's very environmentally friendly. The others in the group couldn't believe that I was able to stand underneath the hot jet of water but I reminded them that they are not used to hot showers. People don't even have hot water taps here as there's no need. Also when you live in such a rugged climate as England you need to adjust to changes in temperature when you have to go from a cold room to a hot shower in winter for instance. I really enjoyed the warm water the most as it wasn't hot today, just lukewarm as the sun wasn't out. Tomorrow I'm going to have lunch with some Dominican sisters,

I'll post a photo of the pools tomorrow,

God Bless,

Daniel

Photo of us at the Shangri La Plaza hotel on Saturday

2005-07-25T20:58:00.000+08:00

Philippines: two worlds

2005-07-24T16:07:00.000+08:00

I had a really interesting time yesterday when I attended a press conference held at the 5 star Shangri La Plaza hotel for "The Power of Faith", a documentary film that was made by Robert Evans (producer of the Godfather and Chinatown) at the request of the Vatican 18 years ago. It was originally made to be a gift to the then Holy Father Pope John Paul II but since his death the Vatican decided that it wanted the film to be shown to as many people as possible. The Filipina (that's a lady from the Philippines) who is bringing the film to the Philippines to be released on DVD and VCD is called Pam Tan. She is an actress in Hollywood and is passionate about the film as a vehicle for promoting peace and love in this troubled world. The climax od the film is the visit of JPII to his would be assassin and the forgiveness which he so readily gave him. It was really nice to be in such a beautiful hotel and to have a break from the poverty and deprivation of Dagat-Dagatan, the area where I live. There was a dinner with beautiful food, followed by a trailer of the film and we were even given a goody bag on the way out! I will post photos of the evening later.

The experience really higlighted the huge disparity in wealth that is the norm here in the Philippines; to enjoy such a luxurious place and then come out into a world where people live in shacks put together from rubbish was really quite shocking, despite having foreknowledge of the situation outside this privileged island. The whole of yesterday I had been in a reflective mood because I was feeling homesick and had been discussing with Paul and Fr Allan the plight of the people here and the possible effect upon my opinions/character, it was really thought provoking. That day I realised that the reason I was missing home was that instead of embracing my stay here and trying to get the most out of the experience I had been trying to ignore the fact that I was living in an extremely poor area and simply trying to continue my life in England by looking forward to the breaks I had from it in the form of trips to the mall and other frivolous things. It really made me think about the reason i am actually here and that is to be Christ for the people here, to see Christ in them and in my small way to give them hope. I need to integrate much more into their lives and their concerns if I am not to feel like an outsider for ten months, no matter how welcoming they may be. This is the challenge that stands before me, please pray that I will live up to it,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The French party: a cultural coming together

2005-07-21T21:21:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the party to celebrate the birthday of Helene the French missionary and the sad leaving of Emmanuel, another French missionary. They are part of a lay community called "heart's home", the aim of which is to be a presence among the people, to live as close to them as possible. It was a very nice party with cocktails, I was very impressed as they had all the ingredients for about 10 different cocktails, I had a banana dacquiri which was lovely. It's very nice to spend time with fellow Europeans who have very similar reactions to the way things are here. I'm really surprised at how much I have identified myself as a European since I've been here. While in England the difference between our way of thinking and that of the French seemed miles apart but here those differences seem as nought when compared to how different things are here to Europe. I think the next European Union conference should be held somewhere in Asia and then the countries would most definitely see their similarities differently through the prism of such different attitudes. I think that if I were to spend some times in another European country on my return from here I would feel much more at home because of my experience here. However, there are definite benefits to the way of life here. People are very accomodating and helpful, staff in clothes shops particularly are very attentive and of course most people are religious and have a deep respect for the Church.

God Bless,

Daniel

Arrival of Bro. Paul

2005-07-19T21:25:00.000+08:00

Today Bro. Paul, who was my predecessor here last year, came to stay for three weeks. It was very nice to meet him as we've been in touch by email for a while. We picked him up from Clark Air Base, it used to be an American military base until the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. We could see the mountain on the horizon today! Clark is now a special economic zone, like Camp John Haye that I talked about on my post on Baguio. It's full of duty-free shops that price everything in dollars, it can be very cheap for some things but average price for other things. For example, there were pairs of jeans on sale for only 4 dollars, but a big bottle of shampoo was also four dollars, very odd. We went to a really nice restaurant in the country club there where membership is 200,000 pesos a year, that's 2000 pounds, which is vastly expensive for the Philippines, if you think that you can buy a very nice house for 10,000 pounds.

We had a really amusing experience which illustrates something about the culture here. We were walking around the park of the country club, which was very beautiful when suddenly we walked into a patch of wet concrete and I nearly lost my flip flops in it, which was quite scary at first but then very funny. I observed that there was no sign to warn us of this drying concrete and when Fr Allan asked the man about the missing sign he answered in what sounded like a blase fashion that he had forgotten about it. I had to wash the concrete off my sandals and feet as I was quite concerned about it drying on me. This to me illustrated a general attitude that I have observed here, that people are very laidback which has its pros and cons. So, in this example the negative side is that the man forgot to put out the sign but the positive side is that he didn't express any anger at us for having messed up his work, so perhaps inefficiency can be a tool for patience, I'd appreciate comments on that thought. Is it the people's patience that causes the slow pace of things or the slow pace of things that forces people to be patient?

On another note, I'm a big fan of polyphony, motets and so on and am currently wondering what other pieces I should add to my collection, if anyone has any suggestions, I would be very grateful.

God Bless,

Daniel

Trip to Baguio city

2005-07-14T14:06:00.000+08:00

I've just returned from an amazing trip to a really beautiful place called Baguio city, it's a six hour drive away from here in Manila and so different. It's on the top of a mountain range, really, it's above the low lying cloud and so the climate is very different to the low land. It's not humid at all and the trees are mostly pines rather than tropical plants. It's actually quite cold when the sun isn't out, it's like late spring or early summer in England, so different from Manila where it's always humid apart from when it rains. Fr Allan and I went with an organisation from the parish called Soldiers of Christ, we stayed one night in a Dominican convent with very kind and cheerful sisters. It was a very good experience for me as a volunteer as I led a Bible study on St. Peter's speech at Pentecost in Acts and had to try to communicate what I had learnt in my degree in a devotional setting. I think it went ok, I gave it my best try anyway. The views from the convent were breathtaking (see photos) and even the drive to Baguio was really stunning as we gradually climbed the mountain range and saw the waterfalls emerging from inside the mountains. We did so many things, it was a hectic schedule but very enjoyable. We went to Baguio cathedral which was very nice, we then went to see the Dominican's summer house which was manned by a lone, very kind and welcoming friar from Holland who has been assigned to the Philippines for half of his life. We also went to the botanical gardens and the park where we had our picture taken with indigenous people called Igorots who were traditional dress and look very different to the rest of the Filipinos.

We also visited the pink sisters, a group of enclosed nuns who were a pink habit in honour of the Holy Spirit and whose church is very similar to Tyburn Convent in London, they are also adorers of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Next were the good shepherd sisters, whose convent is famous for its different varieties of jam which are produced on an industrial scale by trainee young people. The most unique place in Baguio however, in my opinion is Camp John Hay, an exclusive gated community/country club that enjoys duty free status because of its history as a American military camp. Because Baguio's climate is so cool, the houses are set in a pine forest and are so quintessentially American the place could almost be Stepford, there are armed guards who protect the residents at a checkpoint. It's a world away from humid Manila wiht its poverty, pollution and dirt. There is even a store that sells its products in dollars!

Baguio was another insight for me into this fascinating country of contrasts,

I hope everyone is well,

God Bless,

Daniel

Journey to Baguio city

2005-07-14T14:03:00.000+08:00