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IN
THIS ISSUE:
Cover
Page
From
the Head Servant
by Bro.
Pete Lapid
The
Father Speaks
By Fr.
Binzler, SJ
Our
Faith
By Fr.
KJ Veeger, MSC
Place
of Refuge
By
Philip Yuson
Surabaya
Corner
By
Ramon Martillano
Sharing
By Rita
Gomez
Here's
the Latest
By
Pinky Torres
Sharing
By Bro.
Alvin Barcelona
Sharing
By Joji ESCUBAN
By
Armand Sol
Saint
for the Month
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- Catholic
Links
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 - PROFILE
OF THE
- GENESIS
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
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- SURABAYA
CORNER
-
  
- A
few days before Holy Friday, I was totally harassed by the devil.
At home and in the office, I would get easily irritated and in
most cases, I lost my temper. Last Good Friday was the worst.
For no reason at all, I ended up arguing with my wife about a
very, very petty issue. After
that, I was so confused and so mad at myself.
Then I felt as if the devil was tempting me to jump from the 26th
floor of the apartment we were staying. Crazy thought isn’t it?
I mentioned this to my wife and she immediately prayed over me.
-
- Prior
to this, I read the sharing of Bro. Peter F. from the Sabbath,
a publication of Shepherd’s Voice. He shared, “You pray to the
Lord to help you and the more you pray, the more you seem to lose your
temper.” Further, “He will give you more occasions to practice
patience so that you will learn to control your temper.” In my heart
I complained to Jesus, “No, this is not true! I don’t believe this. This is not
fair at all.” After a
while though, I realized that Bro. Peter was right. And I prayed,
“Lord Jesus please don’t do this to me. I won’t be able to
handle these tests. I beg you not to bring me to the test but deliver
me from evil.”
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- At
10:00 AM that Good Friday, the community was scheduled to meditate on
The Way of the Cross at the Redemptor Mundi church here in Surabaya.
With a heavy heart, my family and I left for the church and arrived
there about 15 minutes late. The other community members and some
friends were then praying the rosary (scriptural).
Just before the prayers ended, the song “Lift Up Your
Hands” was sung. While the others were singing, I closed my eyes and
prayed to the Lord to lift up, help me carry the heavy burden that is
upon my shoulders. And when our brothers and sisters were singing the
refrain portion of the song which goes ... “And He said: Cast your burdens upon Me those who are heavily laden ...
Come to me and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30).” It was at this point that I cried and would have cried louder
if I were not inside the church. I could feel the presence of the Lord
at that very moment. Once again I asked the Lord to lift up the burden
from my shoulders. Little did I know that at that very same minute our
daughter Princess “saw the face of Jesus on the crucifix moving.”
Afraid though, she took away her sight from the cross at the altar. And as you will read the sharing of Sister Rita
somewhere in this issue of the GNB, she narrated that she “saw the
image of the Lord came down from the cross to the middle of the
altar” while we were praying the rosary. After that, I am pretty
sure that after coming down to the altar, He came to touch me and took
away the burden from my shoulders because after the song, I felt peace
in my heart. A feeling of peace that only the Lord can give.
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- Now
I understand all the more that indeed the Lord
“will give us more occasions to practice our patience so that
we will learn to control our temper” and be better Christians. And
during the Holy week, particularly on Good Friday, He actually wanted
me to share His sufferings. However, He did not abandon me but instead
rescued me from my confusion, from my guilt and took away the burden
in my heart. For indeed the Lord will never give us trials that we
cannot handle. Praise the Lord!
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- Let
us pray:
- Lord,
let me carry my cross willingly, joyfully, meritoriously. And when I
find it heavy, let me remember, not the light crosses of others, but
your heavy, heavy cross. Amen. (Lifted from
Via Crucis of Peace prayer book.)
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