Kerygma | July 2019 A

B July 2019 | Kerygma


You Are Important to God
A
few years ago, when my son was younger, I
remember one afternoon when I was swamped
with work.
I had so many articles to write, so many meetings to
plan, and so many business concerns. But my wife said,
“Please bring Francis to the barbershop. He’ll be a ring
bearer.” (That’s the disadvantage of having a cute son. He
gets to be a ring bearer a lot.)
So I put aside all my work in the afternoon and
brought him to the barber.
After the haircut, I was thinking of going back home
so I could work. That was when Francis said, “Daddy, I’m
hungry.”
So we marched to his favorite restaurant and he ate
chicken and rice at 4 p.m.
Again, as we were leaving, I presumed I could now go
back to work. But Francis tugged my arm again and said,
“Daddy, I’m still hungry.” My gosh. Where does this little
guy put all that food?
Later on, I realized he was hungry not for food but
for love. Specifically, he was hungry for Daddy’s love.
So we kept on walking, visiting other shops, until he
saw a playground. His eyes grew large and said, “Daddy,
can I play?”
The Boss | Kerygma | July 2019 1
I believe life is about moments. So I bought myself
a cup of coffee (just because it fitted the entire scene),
sat on a park bench, and enjoyed watching my son jump
from one slide to another.
We had the grandest time.
Why did I disrupt my whole afternoon for Francis?
Because I’m his father and he’s my son. He’s more
important than all my work. He’s more important than
all my ministries. He’s more important than all the books
I write and all the talks I give.
Friend, this is the ultimate reason why you need to
like yourself. Because you have a Father who loves you
so much. You’re more important than all the stars in the
sky. You’re more important than all the galaxies of this
universe. In the heart of God, nothing compares with
you.
If He loves you this much, how can you not like
yourself? K
May your dreams come true,
2 July 2019 | Kerygma | Mailroom

Kerygma touches current issues and helps

readers to accept, handle, and apply these
realities in the different aspects of their lives:
spiritual, physical, moral, psychosocial, etc. Luz Yuzon Bonoan
It also helps us follow Christ in the modern Bacoor, Cavite
world.

It’s always inspiring to read Kerygma with

its stories of how different people carry their
burdens with faith and trust in the Lord’s
goodness. The articles are simple, easy to read Marla Escobar
and understand, and most of all, life-giving. Gimbal, Iloilo
No wonder it’s the leading Catholic magazine
in the country.

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 Just Breathe | Kerygma | July 2019 3

See? God Sees!

He’s not blind
By Rissa Singson Kawpeng
rissakawpeng@gmail.com
Rissa’s outfit courtesy of Elite Garments/Freeway
Photo by Daniel Soriano
Hair and makeup by Ara Fernando

T
o all those who think God has forgotten them; to those
who believe that God answers everyone’s prayers except
theirs; to those who think that they were in the wrong
place and the wrong time when God showered the earth with
His abundant blessings—this article is for you.
There was a time, albeit short, that I thought God had
forgotten about me. It wasn’t His oversight but mine. Maybe
I kept comparing myself to others who had what I wanted,
instead of looking at what I had that others didn’t have. It was
a sure formula not only for discontent but also for blindness
and ingratitude.
The other day, a woman messaged me. She learned from
my newest book, Grace Anatomy: Life Strategies for Life’s
Tragedies, that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer a few
years ago. She, too, has breast cancer—stage three—and just
finished her rounds of chemo and had just started her daily
radiation treatment.
When she was telling me about her condition, as well as
the other things going on in her life, I so didn’t want to be in
her shoes. But she didn’t stop at the heartbreaking details of
her life. She began to send me pictures of herself.
Her head wrapped in a colorful bandana and her face
radiating with a beautiful dimpled smile.
Loved ones embracing her on a hospital bed.
A family member getting a crew cut in solidarity with her
new hairdo.
Her story overflowed with acceptance, peace, and love.
Her eyes saw the many, many things she could be grateful for
instead of the suffering and loss she was going through.
Read the story of the slave Hagar in Genesis 16. She got
into trouble that was none of her making. It wasn’t her idea to hasn’t forgotten you. El Roi sees what’s happening with
sleep with her master Abraham. She was only obeying his wife you and me. Nothing escapes His eyes. Our sufferings,
Sarai’s bidding. And yet when Hagar completed her mission— our trials, our tears are known to Him. He stores our tears
to bear a child—Sarai threw her out of the household. in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).
But God didn’t abandon Hagar. He sent an angel to You haven’t dropped out of His radar. He sees you.
instruct her to return and submit to her mistress, and then God And He will save you. K
promised He would make Hagar’s descendants numerous.
I love the name that she gave to the God who spoke to her: For the eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the
El-roi, a Hebrew phrase which means “God who sees me,” or whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect
simply, “God sees.” toward him, so that he can show his great power in helping
No matter how bad things are going in your life, God them. (2 Chronicles 16:9, TLB)
4 July 2019 | Kerygma | About the Writers
about
the
writers
Michael Espartero manages a
hardware business and is a newbie
financial advisor. He serves in the
music ministry of The Feast Ortigas
Galleria Monday session. He is also a
Feast Light planter in Bacoor, Cavite.
Rose Fres Fausto is a writer, speaker,
Gallup-certified strengths coach, and
behavioral economist. She authored
the books, Raising Pinoy Boys, The
Retelling of The Richest Man in Babylon,
and FQ: The nth Intelligence. E-mail her
at Rose@FQMom.com or FQMomm@
gmail.com.
Niko Capucion has been a full-time
missionary for campuses in Metro
Manila since 2011. He wrote the book,
Reckless: A Discipler’s Guide to Bringing
Young People Closer to Jesus, available
at Shop.KerygmaBooks.com. E-mail
him at nikocapucion@gmail.com
Rosanne Romero is an inspirational
resource speaker for forum discussions
on personal effectiveness, self-esteem,
and family life, among others, despite
being afflicted with multiple sclerosis
since 1986. She wrote the book,
Amusing Grace: A Second Helping,
available at Shop.KerygmaBooks.com.
Dr. Didoy Lubaton is a natural and
holistic doctor, who regularly conducts
health seminars and healing retreats.
He is also the builder of The Feast Mall
of Asia, author of Don’t Let Them Lose
You, and coauthor of Whole Again:
Restore Your Body to Its Original Design.
E-mail him at connect@didoymd.com.
Larah Anjelica Ching is a certified
public accountant, but in gratitude
for her new life, she left the auditing
firm and found fulfillment in
organizing trainings about personal
and professional growth. She serves
regularly in the music ministry of The
Feast Mall of Asia.
Vanya Castor is twenty-four-year-old
freelance artist and campus missionary.
She serves as a music minister at The
Feast Bay Area AM Session and for
Feast Worship. Follow her on Facebook
as vanya, on SoundCloud as Vanya
Castor, and @vanyacastor on Instagram
and Twitter.
J Yogawin is a sought-after speaker,
trainer, and HR-OD consultant. Aside
from being a Gallup-certified strengths
coach, NeuroSemantic NLP trainer,
and metacoach, he is also the builder
of Wednesday Feast Festival Alabang.
E-mail him at info@jyogawin.com.
 Kerygma | July 2019 5

1 The Boss
2 Mailroom
3 Just Breathe
10
6 Daily Pause
8 New You
9 Real Stuff
10 Feast Testimony
13 Dear K 23
15 Family Hacks
16 Health & Home
18 Wealth & Wisdom
20 K-techism
23 It Happened 38
29 Introduction to Teaching
30 Teaching
38 Testimony
43 Catholic Soul
45 K Preacher
47 One Last Story
47
48 Point of Contact

chairman of the board and publisher BO SANCHEZ •

editor in chief RISSA SINGSON KAWPENG • editorial
consultant TESS V. ATIENZA • managing editor KRIZELLE
R. TALLADEN • creative director MIKE CORTES •
creative consultant PAOLO S. GALIA • graphics director
REY DE GUZMAN • assistant layout designer LEAH KIM
S. RECTO • contributing writers MICHAEL ESPARTERO,
LARA JANE CHING, NIKO CAPUCION • staff writers DINA
MARIE F. PECAÑA, ELLE Z. SILVESTRE • columnists ROSE
FRES FAUSTO, DR. DIDOY LUBATON, ROSANNE ROMERO, J
 6 July 2019 | Kerygma | Daily Pause with Pope Francis
1 2
“The resurrection of Christ
is the true hope of the
world.”
7 8
“If we return to the Lord
with our frailties, if we
take the way of love, we
will embrace the life that
never fades. And we will
experience joy.”
13
“Through prayer, we learn
to renounce the idolatry
and self-sufficiency of our
ego, and to admit we need
the Lord and His mercy.”
19
“The courage to encounter
iStock.com/Birute
one another and extend
a hand of friendship is
a pathway of peace and
harmony for humanity.”
25 26
“We don’t need youth “We are all sinners. But
museums but we do need God heals us with an
holy young people.” abundance of grace,
mercy, and tenderness.”
“Look at the open arms of
Christ crucified, and let
Him save you. Contemplate
His blood shed out of love
and let yourself be purified
by it. In this way, you can
be reborn.”
“From the Cross, Jesus
teaches us the powerful
courage of renunciation.
Because we will never go
forward if we are weighed
down by heavy loads.”
14
“If you are young in
years, but feel weak,
weary, or disillusioned,
ask Jesus to renew you.
With Him, hope never
fails.”
20
“Brothers and sisters,
God calls us once again
to conversion: let us pray
to obtain the grace of
a new life in Christ the
Lord.”
27
“Things have a price
and can be for sale, but
people have a dignity
that is priceless and
worth far more than
things.”
 Daily Pause with Pope Francis | Kerygma | July 2019 7

3 4 5 6
“In the Eucharist, you “Christ . . . sacrificed
“Christ died because He Himself completely in order “By His self-abasement,
really meet Jesus, share loves each one of us: young
His life, feel His love; to save you. His outstretched Jesus wanted to open up
and old, saints and sinners, arms on the cross are the to us the path of faith
there you experience people of His time and
that His death and most telling signs that He and to precede us on
people of our time.” is a friend who is willing to that path.”
resurrection are for you.”
stop at nothing.”

9 10 11 12
“Almsgiving helps “Fasting from sin gives “When we pray, let us
us emerge from the “May the Lord always give
hope to creation, too, which recall that we do so with
foolishness of living to us hope for the future
will be ‘set free from slavery Jesus. Jesus is our courage.
accumulate everything and the strength to keep
to corruption and share in Jesus is our security,
for ourselves, under the going.”
the glorious freedom of the who in this moment,
illusion of securing a children of God.’” intercedes for us.”
future that is not ours.”

15
“Christ is alive! He is our
hope, and in a wonderful
way, He brings youth to
our world.”
16
“Jesus invites us to
contemplate the heart of
our Father. Only from
that perspective can we
acknowledge once more
that we are brothers and
sisters.”
17
“Charity, especially toward
the vulnerable, is the best
opportunity we have to
keep working to build up a
culture of encounter.”
18
“Every human being has the
right to life, to dream, and
to find his or her rightful
place in our ‘common
home!’ Every person has a
right to the future.”

21 22
“The culture of
“If we do not listen to the
appearance, which leads us
voice of the Lord, our
to live for passing things, is
hearts become like soil
a great deception. Because
without water. That is why
it is like a flaring blaze:
the Lord says: ‘Harden not
once it is over, only ashes
your hearts.’”
remain.”
23 24
“May the proclamation of
“If we abandon the law
the Lord’s Resurrection
of love, the law of the
sustain our hope and
strongest over the weakest
transform it into concrete
will be asserted.”
acts of charity.”

28 29 30 31
“Dear young people, do
“The world tells us to “Be shepherds with the “I ask you to ensure
not bury your talents,
seek success, power, and smell of your sheep, in the that humanity is
the gifts that God has
money; God tells us to midst of your people like served by wealth and
given you! Do not be
seek humility, service, and Jesus, the Good Shepherd.” not ruled by it.”
afraid to dream of great
love.”
things!”
8 July 2019 | Kerygma | New You

Help
5
Ways on How
Coconut Oil Can
1. Obesity. Studies show that medium chain triglycerides
(MCTs) in coconut oil can increase calories burned over
twenty-four hours by five percent. Also, the fatty acids in
coconut oil can significantly reduce appetite, which may
help with weight loss.
2. Diabetes. A study revealed that medium chain fatty acids
in coconut oil are effective in helping the body fight insulin
resistance. Coconut oil helps regulate blood sugar, thus
lessening the effects of the disease. It is directly absorbed
by the intestines to the liver and used as a source of energy.

Treat 3. Seizures. Ketogenic diet (low carb, high fat) leads to

increased concentrations of ketones in the blood. This
diet reduces the rate of seizures in epileptic people. Since
the fatty acids in coconut oil is transported to the liver

Illnesses
and turned into ketones, they are often used in epileptic
patients to induce ketosis.
4. Alzheimer’s. Preliminary studies suggest that MCTs can
increase blood levels of ketones, supplying energy for the

C
opra oil, also known as coconut oil,
comes from the meat of mature coconuts.
Its composites contain a cornucopia of
fatty acids and proteins that have positive effects
on one’s health. Here are some body conditions
that coconut oil can remedy:
malfunctioning brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients and
relieving symptoms.
5. Eczema. Coconut oil is rich in  lauric acid, a healthful
fatty acid. Studies on individuals with dry skin show that
coconut oil can improve the moisture of the skin, reduce
irritation and itching, and lower the risk of infection.
Source: https://www.healthline.com
 Real Stuff | Kerygma | July 2019 9

cbcpnews
Notre T
he world mourned as the 856-year-old Notre
Dame Cathedral in Paris, France caught fire last
April 15.
Paris public prosecutor Remy Heitz announced there

Dame
was no evidence of arson. However, the cause of fire is
not yet clear. Officials speculated that a possible electrical
short circuit is most likely the reason behind the blaze.
It took nine hours and more than 400 firefighters
before the fire was finally contained. Emergency teams

Fire
managed to rescue valuable artwork and relics including
The Crown of Thorns and the Tunic of Saint Louis. “It’s
a bit of a miracle; we are very relieved,” André Finot, a
cathedral spokesman said.
Pope Francis expressed his sorrow to Archbishop
Michel Aupetit  of Paris and the people of France, as
Stirs the Vatican offered technical assistance for the historic
sanctuary’s restoration. “May Notre Dame Cathedral once

Heartbreak
again become—thanks to reconstruction efforts and the
mobilization of all—a sign of the faith of those who built
it,” he said. The Pope hopes the cathedral will return to its

and Hope former glory.

Source: https://www.cnet.com; https://www.vaticannews.va

10 July 2019 | Kerygma | Feast Testimony
Debt-Free and
Love-Filled at
The Feast
H
appy-go-lucky, no clear plans in my life,
taking all things for granted—this was the
old me. I was the kind of person who lives by
the moment. “Go with the flow” was my motto. I was
the typical single man who would drink, smoke, and
gamble.
Losing Money
During the first six months of 2018, I became addicted
to gambling (e-bingo and online poker). I experienced
losing fifty thousand pesos in three hours. What’s
worse, I even used the money that my mother gave for
the down payment of the house that my girlfriend and
I were supposed to buy. I hated borrowing money, but
that time, I had no choice but to borrow from three
friends so I could replace the money and pay the down
payment on time.
Afterwards, I stopped gambling, but only for two
months. In August 2018, I went back to gambling
through online betting. I was winning, then losing, then
By Michael Espartero
winning again, until I lost seventy thousand pesos in a
week.
That was when I got depressed. I shaved my head
as a sign of change. And I really did my best to change.
I started going to church again every Sunday. But I still
had a heavy heart because of all the money I wasted, as
there were also struggles in our business.
I didn’t think of suicide but I did reach a point where
I just wanted to disappear. I wanted to flee to a faraway
province where no one knew me and start a new life.
My Journey Back to God
In October 2018, my girlfriend, Leslie, invited me to
the Love Life Retreat of The Feast Ortigas Greenhills
District, as part of her birthday gift to me. Honestly, I
wasn’t fond of retreats. And when we got there, I was
turned off at first because people were raising their
hands in worship.
But when Feast builder Mike Ybiernas gave his talk
about God’s love on the first day, that’s when it hit me.

He shared about his failure in his
career, love life, and other areas of his
life. I was able to relate to his stories.
I looked around me and realized that
I was the only one crying.
That Love Life Retreat became
a turning point in my life. I started
to attend The Feast Ortigas Galleria
even if I live in Bacoor, Cavite.
Several weeks after attending,
despite my initial disgust over
worship, I found myself serving in
the music ministry.
I then realized that it wasn’t the
end of me yet. By December 2018, I
was already debt-free.
When the New Year rolled by, I
stopped smoking and lessened my
drinking. I started to go to the gym
in March so I could take care of the
Feast Testimony | Kerygma | July 2019 11
body God has given me. I also started From L-R (clockwise): Michael and his girlfriend,
Leslie; Michael (in yellow shirt, second row)
a Feast Light in Bacoor, a small group and some of his Love Life Retreat batchmates;
meeting where we watch a Feast Michael singing his heart out for the Lord at The
teaching on video, share our insights, Feast; Michael (in pink shirt, last row standing)
and pray together. and his fellow servants at The Feast; Michael,
with his fellow music ministers, singing “Through
I had been trying to change, but
Christ” by Generation Unleashed; Michael and
I wasn’t successful—until the Lord Leslie worshiping God together at The Feast
Himself changed me and gave me
His power to do so.
I learned that mistakes don’t
define us because we are all good
by nature. We just sometimes
forget that we are made in God’s For Feast schedules
image, so He has to remind us.
When I returned to Him, the
and venues near you,
blessings overflowed. We now visit www.feast.ph.
have a new house, a new car, a
personally managed business, and
a spiritual family at The Feast. K
12 July 2019 | Kerygma
 Dear K | Kerygma | July 2019 13

My Teenage Son
Wants to Serve But . . .
My teenage son told me he wanted to be an altar server in our parish. I was so happy when he said this
because I really wanted him to serve God even at a young age. However, I heard of stories of some altar
servers in our parish who drink alcohol in bars, smoke, post inappopriately on social media, and got their
girlfriends pregnant. Now, I am no longer sure if I will still allow my son to serve. How can I guide my son
well in this matter?

Concerned Mom

Dear Concerned Mom,

Sorry to say but it seems like the altar boys in question are victims of gossip. Where did you get this
information? Surely, if any of this information is true, they are grounds for dismissal from altar service.
My advice is to clarify fact from fiction. One sure way to do this is to pass by the church and speak to the
parish priest or his assistant. He will investigate. If the allegations mentioned in your letter are found to be
true, the boys will be dismissed.
Either way, your son will be safe to join serving as a knight of the altar. Hope my response helps.

God bless,
Father Bob

Fr. Bob McConaghy is a retired priest from the diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Having retired from
active parish ministry for health reasons, he has come back to Manila, Philippines where he has been
serving at Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Institute Seminary. He gives retreats and offers pastoral counseling in
Greenbelt Chapel in Makati City. He authored Closer: Pray Your Way to Intimacy with God and Deeper:
Finding Grace in Every Season, both available at Shop.KerygmaBooks.com.
14 July 2019 | Kerygma

The Magic of the Thirteen Dishes
By Krizelle R. Talladen
T
here’s a New Year’s Eve superstition of displaying
twelve round fruits on the table to bring good
luck to the coming year. But as Catholics, we
believe more in offering our future to our Lord through
prayer. One family, though, put a more personal
approach to this superstition not so much for good luck
to come, but to make the family and even their relatives
closer.
The Rubis Family Tradition
Cena Rubis, the eldest among four children, shared
how her mother, Rose, started the tradition of cooking
thirteen dishes during New Year’s Eve. When Cena was
in grade six and both her grandparents were still living
with them, she noticed how her mother would cook all
thirteen dishes long before the firecrackers began to
blast outside.
At first, she was overwhelmed with how much food
they had to prepare. But later on, she saw the benefits of
her mother’s efforts. Sometimes, Rose would even cook
more than thirteen dishes if she was in the mood.
Among the dishes, her embutido, laing na gabi, and
Family
FamilyHacks
Hacks || Kerygma | July 2019 15
buko pandan are Cena’s favorites. Her siblings love her
pinapaitan, siomai, spaghetti, rice cake, pancit, and goto.
The Food Magic
When they started this annual family tradition, their
relatives began coming over to their house to celebrate
New Year with them. That included almost all of
their relatives, especially from the mother’s side, from
cousins to uncles and aunties to nephews and nieces,
celebrating the day together. It brings so much joy to
everyone, most especially to Cena’s grandparents.
Now that Cena and her siblings are all grownups
and are working, they ensure that they are present
during New Year’s Eve until New Year’s Day despite
their busy schedules.
When asked if she would follow Rose’s footsteps
when she becomes a mother herself, Cena answered,
“Yup! I definitely will.” K
Let’s strengthen more families! Share with us your unique
family bonding traditions by sending us an e-mail at
editsvp@shepherdsvoice.com.ph.
16 July 2019 | Kerygma | Health & Home

Stay
Healthy during the
Rainy Days

By Dr. Didoy Lubaton
D
o you feel gloomy because of the rainy weather?
We’re in the second half of the year when rains and
winds reign in our usually sunny archipelago. It’s
also the season when people get down with a cold. So how
do we arm ourselves to fight this common viral infection?
1. Hydrate.
Our body is made of seventy to eighty percent water. Not
getting enough water may lead to dehydration, which can
result to many ailments. During this rainy season, dehydration
leads to excessive mucus production and buildup in your
body. If it accumulates in your throat, it might get itchy. If
an excessive buildup in the lungs happens, then swelling can
lead to pneumonia. Allergic attacks can also happen if we
are dehydrated. Histamine, a substance that is involved in
allergies, is produced more when we’re dehydrated, which
leads us to sneeze and blow our nose more.
Health Tip: Drink at least one to two glasses of water per
waking hour. During meal times, drink at least one glass of
water. You can add a piece of sliced lemon to add taste and
vitamin C to it.
2. Eat fruits and vegetables instead of popping a pill.
Some fruits and vegetables are known to be rich in
vitamin C. Vitamin C supports the skin’s barrier function
against bacteria and viruses. It’s a powerful antioxidant
that potentially protects against oxidative stress, which is
harmful to our body. This vitamin also accumulates in white
blood cells that eat bacteria. Overall, it enhances the process
of microbial killing in the body. When we are stressed and
down with flu, vitamin C levels also go down in the blood.
That’s why it’s important to eat fruits and veggies to pull up
the levels to strengthen our body’s immune system.
Health Tip: Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fruits rich in
vitamin C include guava, orange, strawberries, papaya,
pineapple, and mango. Vegetables rich in Vitamin C
include red and green pepper, broccoli, parsley, peas, and
Health & Home | Kerygma | July 2019 17
cauliflower. Drink a warm hearty bowl of clear soup of
horseradish or malunggay. It has seven times more vitamin
C than an orange.
3. Prioritize sleep.
Do you tend to get sick when you don’t get good sleep? A
United States study done among twins in 2017 compared
the relationship between the length of sleep and strength of
the immune system. Between two identical twins, the one
who slept less tended to have more swelling in the body.
It’s consistent with studies showing that if sleep-deprived
persons are exposed to a rhinovirus, which is the most
common cause of colds, they are more likely to get the virus.
Long-term short sleep shuts down programs involved in our
immune system.
Health Tip: When you’re down with flu, better sleep it out
rather than push your limits. This might save you from
injuring yourself further than resting a body tired from work
and stress.
4. Be physically active.
In a scale of 1 to 10, how physically active are you? What
fun physical activity have you done over the week? It’s been
proven in Britain that having some form of exercise lowers
the risk of having the sniffles. Those in the upper one-fourth
who do physical activity experience cold symptoms forty-
three percent less compared to the bottom one-fourth.
Exercise can also decrease the incidence of colds by as much
as sixty-eight percent.
Health Tip: When you’re sick but can get up, walk around
the house and do light activities. Try tai chi or yoga and feel
the stretch in your joints.
Keep in mind these tips to stay healthy during the rainy season.
A good balance of all these will help you build a stronger
immune system and prepare you to weather the storm. K
18 July 2019 | Kerygma | Wealth & Wisdom

Who Wants
to be a
Millionaire?
Handling your allowance
is your training ground

By Rose Fres Fausto


T
here are two basic schools of thought about giving
allowance to children. One is to make the children
work for it in order to earn it. The other one is to just
give it to them on a regular basis with little or no conditions,
depending on the agreement between parents and children.
Some prefer to do a combination of both.
What do you practice at home? Choose the method that
agrees with your family values, and make the guidelines and
reasons clear to both parents and children.
Handling student allowance is a great training ground
to become a millionaire. How you are with your allowance
now can determine how soon you can become a millionaire.
Our Allowance Story
Several years ago, I was listening to the homily of a Jesuit
priest who said, “The problem with parents is that they are
so preoccupied with what they didn’t have when they were
growing up. And now, they make sure that their children
will get it­—be it a Voltes V or Barbie toy. The thing is, you
will never know the effect of that thing that you didn’t have.
Instead, why don’t you focus on what you had as a child
that really worked well for you, and then give that to your
children.”
I came home thinking about those words and looking
back at my own childhood. I recalled how receiving my
allowance on a weekly basis (which was not yet the norm
during my time) worked well for me. My mom trusted me to
be prudent enough to make my allowance last for a week as
early as when I was in kindergarten. She was right in doing so,
for I didn’t just make it last for a week but also saved regularly
from it, with the help of my coin bank shaped like a transistor
radio given to me as a gift by my Aunt Vicky.
Guess what? I have been a consistent saver since then.
Applying the Lesson to My Children
My husband and I started giving our sons allowance when
they entered Grade 1, when they were around seven years
old. We decided not to include the other school materials
in computing for their allowance because these things were
not needed on a regular basis anyway. We bought them their
notebooks and other school supplies at the start of the school
year.
 We gave the boys allowance on the low side. When their
school prescribed the maximum cash a boy could bring
to school at P100 per day back in the nineties, our sons’
allowance was only P100 per week or P20 per day. It was OK
to do that because they continued to bring baon to school.
  They kept their cash in a treasure box, which was a
giveaway from their kiddie savings accounts. Every week,
they wrote down their savings in their small notebook. At
Wealth & Wisdom | Kerygma | July 2019 19
first, they were very excited that they would sometimes save
their entire weekly allowance for a hundred percent savings
rate.
Pay Yourself First 
As the boys grew older, we saw their savings rate go down.
There were weeks when they had zero savings. We didn’t want
them to drop the habit of saving regularly so we suggested
to them a minimum savings rate of twenty percent. And
we asked them to set this aside as soon as they receive their
weekly allowance. It was our way of training them to follow
the golden rule in personal finance—pay yourself first.
Go Beyond Saving
We didn’t stop with their treasure box. When their money in
the treasure box reached P500 to P1,000, they deposited it in
their ATM account.
When their ATM account reached an amount way
beyond the minimum balance, we moved the money to
higher yielding instruments such as fixed income and equity
investments.
The first time I showed them the power of compounding
with the aid of an Excel file, they were blown away by the
thought that they could actually become millionaires even
with just small amounts saved and invested religiously. You
may download this file for free. Just go to www.FQMom.
com and type “The Magic of Compounding.” Once you
download the file, you may input the figures that will suit
your own circumstances, and use it as your tool in becoming
a millionaire.
The Main Lesson
So, do you want to be a millionaire? If you do, regularly save
and invest from your allowance now. It is the surest way to
become a millionaire.
Yes, you can be a millionaire even before you start
working if you start early on. Remember, it is not in the big
bucks that you will earn, nor the lottery that you will win, nor
the inheritance that you will receive, nor the rich partner you
will marry and give your financial abundance.
It’s in the discipline of “pay yourself first” that you will
eventually have your first million.
Do this regularly starting now and you’re off to
enjoying financial abundance well into your adult life.
(If you want to know your current standing in your money
knowledge and behavior, take the FQ Test now in www.
FQMom.com.)
Cheers to high FQ! K
20 July 2019 | Kerygma || K-techism
KTechism
Authentic
F
reedom. Kalayaan. Liberty. For me, this
quality or state has evolved and has had
varied meanings over the years.
As a young child, freedom for me was running
around in Luneta Park or riding the Matorco double-
deck bus along Roxas Boulevard or choosing what
clothes to wear for a friend’s birthday party.
When I was a teenager, I felt most free when
I was with my barkada, hanging out at the park
or dancing ’til you drop at the disco or shopping
for new outfits for school. As a member of the
workforce, freedom meant earning my keep
and supporting myself or being able to travel or
indulging my little luxuries. When the Lord invited
me to have a personal relationship with Him, I
discovered a different kind of freedom—authentic
freedom.
Human freedom can easily be misconstrued as
By Dina Pecaña
the freedom “to do and say what I want.” According
to the Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC), real
freedom from God is one that enables you “to do
good” (CFC 694, cf. CCC 1740). We are free to
be good and do good. But how many of us know
this truth? And why is it that good deeds are more
challenging to do than bad ones?
Saint Peter enjoins us to “live as free men, but
do not use your freedom as a cloak for vice. In a
word, live as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16). It is
ironic that Peter tells us to be free and yet live as
God’s servants.
From the world’s perspective, a servant is
owned by his master, and does whatever the master
asks of him. But from the Lord’s perspective, to be
His servant means to be free to know, love, and
serve Him and His people.
“Authentic freedom has many aspects. One
 K-techism | Kerygma | July 2019 21

saint
at-a
glance
St. Alphonsa
Feast Day: July 28
Birth: 1910
Death: 1946

S
t. Alphonsa was born in Kerala, India
and was baptized with the name of
Anna. Her aunt brought her up and
forced her to get married. But Anna was
adamant to enter the convent, as she had
a vision of St. Therese of Lisieux whose life
inspired her to become a religious.

Freedom
aspect is freedom from everything that opposes our true self-becoming with
others in community. These may be interior obstacles such as ignorance, or
our disordered passions, fears, personality defects, bad habits, prejudices or
psychological disturbances; or these can be exterior forces such as violent
force or even the threat of violence. . . . But the greatest single obstacle to
authentic freedom is sin” (CFC 696).
Another aspect is freedom for growing as full persons and children of
God, sharing in the life of Christ our Liberator, in His Spirit.
There are two levels of this freedom: 1) freedom of choice to act in this
way or that, to do good or evil; and 2) fundamental freedom of my very
self.
By always choosing to do good, we gradually become free-loving
persons, and grow toward authentic, mature, fundamental self-freedom
(CFC 697).
Authentic freedom is a choice but one that is difficult to make because
it requires complete surrender to God. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “God
required nothing less than self-surrender as the price for the only real
freedom that is worth having.” K
Anna voluntarily burned her feet to
oppose her aunt’s wishes, but accidentally
fell into a pit of burning chaff. This left her
partially disabled, and this convinced her
aunt to let her become a nun.
Anna then joined the Clarist convent
at Bharananganam in 1927 on the Feast of
Pentecost. She received the veil postulant on
August 1928 with the name Alphonsa. By
1935, Alphonsa entered the novitiate where
she had a hemorrhage. Fr. Kuriakose Elias
miraculously cured her through prayer, but
she continued to experience other sickness.
The pain never discouraged her; instead,
it helped her to rejoice in the Lord. She
realized that suffering is valuable for her
own growth in holiness and of the world.
Alphonsa died at the age of thirty-five.
She was the first Indian woman to become a
Christian saint.
Source: https://indiancatholicmatters.org
22 July 2019 | Kerygma
 ItItHappened
Happened| | Kerygma | July 2019 23

Breakthroughs Are Real:

A Story of
Coming Back
to Life
By Larah Anjelica Ching

W
hy would God the Father
allow His only Son to die for
us to live? I would always
think and reflect on that question
especially during Lent. I cried buckets
of tears while watching the movie
Breakthrough, directed by Roxann
Dawson, because I saw right before my
eyes how God saved my life and gave
me a second chance. What happened to
John Smith in the movie is very similar
to what I experienced three years ago. I
felt God telling me that whoever you are
and wherever you are, He will be there to
rescue you and will give you the miracle
you need no matter how impossible it is.

By Ligaya
as told to Elaine Marie Factor
24 July 2019 | Kerygma | It Happened
It has been three years since that
fateful day. I won’t say that I have
not experienced challenges and
trials after that, but the complete
trust I have in God enables me
to overcome them. I know that
no matter how impossible the
situation is, God is in control.
The Trip to Boracay
It was our first day in Boracay on September 16, 2016. I was so excited
because it was my first time there. It was also a much-awaited vacation
with my colleagues after a toxic tax season at work. When we got to the
beach, we were chased by a number of people offering different tour
packages with water activities. We negotiated a good deal that included
five activities for the day.
We had an amazing time experiencing the first three activities:
banana boat, flying fish, and helmet diving. When we were at the
fourth activity, parasailing, I found myself marveling at God’s beautiful
creation, singing worship songs, and praising Him while soaring 500
feet above the ocean.
A few minutes later, the wind started to blow hard. It got stronger
and stronger. At that time, I didn’t know that the rope connecting the
parachute to the speedboat had snapped. My two colleagues and I were
descending slowly, but I had no idea that something was wrong. A few
seconds later, we hit the water. Because we were already separated from
the speedboat, the parachute went out of control. It flew in whatever
direction the strong wind was heading and we were being dragged at a
great speed. I struggled to swim so I could get my head above the water.
But no matter how hard I tried, I remained submerged while my other
companions were floating. I was running out of air and I knew that in
just a few more seconds, I would drown. At that moment, I knew it was
going to be the end of my life and I surrendered to God’s will.
I prayed to God and thanked Him for the wonderful life He gave as
I recalled moments spent with my loved ones. I told God that I hope my
family and friends have experienced His love through me. I surrendered
them to God knowing that He will take care of them even when I am
gone.
Then, I asked for forgiveness for all my sins and asked God to forgive
all the people who have deeply hurt me too. I felt at peace after that.
Lastly, I asked for the help of Mama Mary, Saint Joseph, and all the
angels and saints I knew to intercede for my soul. I knew I wasn’t worthy,
but because of God’s love and mercy, He can make me worthy to be with
Him in paradise. After all, my soul desired to worship and sing praise to
God for all eternity. After that, I lost consciousness.
By the time the rescue team was able to stop the parachute from
dragging us further, we were near the Romblon area, a neighboring
island. When they pulled my body from the water, I was bloated, filled
with bruises, and had no pulse. Upon seeing my condition, the resue
team and my colleagues knew that only a miracle could save my life.
No one knew how to do CPR so they rushed back to the shore to find
someone who could save me.
At the shore, I regained consciousness. All I said was, “Thank You,
Lord.” One of my colleagues was praying beside me telling me to hold
on. I tried to move a part of my body so that they would know I was alive
but I couldn’t move a thing. I was rushed to a clinic to be given medical
attention and then to a hospital in Kalibo, which is an hour away from
Boracay.
Surrender and Recovery
When I arrived at the hospital, I asked the nurse how long would I stay
 ItItItHappened
Happened
Happened| || Kerygma | July 2019 25

(Top) From being a regular Feast attendee since

January 2010, Larah (wearing green in the middle)
became a regular servant in the music team of The
Feast Mall of Asia after the accident.
(Bottom) The whole Love Life Retreat Batch 18 of
The Feast Bay Area where Larah belongs
26 July 2019 | Kerygma | It Happened

at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). After looking at

my condition, she told me that I might stay there
for several months. While I was there, I applied
everything that I learned from The Feast for the
past seven years. I filled myself with gratitude,
declared complete healing, and opened myself to
God’s miracles.
My mom flew to Boracay when she learned
about the accident. Even if she discouraged me
from going to Boracay and I still went, she didn’t
say a thing. Instead, she showered me with love
and made sure that everything I needed was
taken care of.
When my family and friends found out about
what happened to me, I got tons of messages
especially from my Love Life Retreat batchmates
saying that they were all praying for my complete
healing and recovery. Two days after the accident
was a Sunday and I was informed that I was
included in the Prayers of the Faithful during the
Mass at The Feast Bay Area SYNC (now The Feast
Mall of Asia). The Mass was held in the morning.
In the afternoon of that day, I was released from
the ICU. I believe that months of recovery became
two days because of the outpouring of prayers.
Even if they were miles away from where I was,
all the prayers reached me. I felt so blessed to be
part of such a loving community at The Feast.
I was released from the hospital on Tuesday.
We did not spend a single cent since the parasailing
company paid for the hospital bills. We stayed in
the house of our colleague from Kalibo for two
more days and were treated like a family by his
parents. We flew back to Manila on Thursday
and, by Monday, I was back to work. God worked
so powerfully that I was able to recover within a
week of the accident.

Paying It Forward
God didn’t just give my life back. He gave me a
new life. He gave me a new perspective in the
journey of life. Since then, I promised myself that
I would cherish every second of life and make the
most out of it. I’ve learned to appreciate and be
grateful for everything, spend quality time with
family and friends, forgive easily, do the things I

From the parachute to the hospital bed to the trip back to

Manila with her mother, Larah is a living testimony of God’s
saving breakthroughs. Joy and gratitude now fills her life.
 It Happened | Kerygma | July 2019 27

love, pray for others, serve God and His people,

and give my life to God.
It has been three years since that fateful day.
I won’t say that I have not experienced challenges
and trials after that, but the complete trust I have
in God enables me to overcome them. I know
that no matter how impossible the situation is,
God is in control. Even if I feel like drowning in
problems, I know that He will be there to rescue
me if I just surrender everything to Him. As long
as I have done my part, I let go and trust God to
do His part. I have peace in my heart knowing
that all things will work for good.
It happened to John Smith in the movie
Breakthrough. It happened to me too. I know that
the same God who rescued us will be the same
God who will rescue you from whatever trial
you are going through. That’s how much God the
Father loves us. He allowed His only Son to die
and save us so that we can experience life to the
fullest as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to
where we should be. Keep the faith. Surrender.
Trust God completely. Open yourself to God’s
miracle because breakthroughs are real. K
28 July 2019 | Kerygma
 SPECIAL SECTION: Introduction to Teaching | Kerygma | July 2019 29
O
ne day, I was eating in a restaurant when a guy
introduced himself to me. He said he was one of the
leaders of an old prayer group. He asked, “Brother
Bo, can you help us? We’ve lost all our young people. Some
years ago, we had lots of them coming to our prayer meetings.
Now, they’ve vanished.”
“Sorry to hear that,” I said, then asked, “What’s the
average age of your members?”
He did the math in his head and said, “Between sixty to
seventy years old?”
“Really?” I said. “Gee, I thought I was old.”
“There are so many seniors in our community, someone
suggested that we change our name to Pre-Departure Prayer
Group.”
“That’s too obvious,” I said. “Make it more subtle, like
Almost Heaven Prayer Group.”
“I guess young people don’t know how to commit
anymore, right?” he looked concerned.
I shook my head and said, “No. The problem is not
the commitment of young people. The problem is the
commitment of old people.”
“Huh? We’re very committed,” he said.
“I know. People don’t lack commitment. People are just
Are We Committed
to the Youth?
By Bo Sanchez
committed to the wrong things. Let me ask you a question
that will give me a clue to what’s happening. How old is your
community?”
He said, “We just celebrated our thirty-second
anniversary.”
“Congratulations,” I said. “Here’s my question: Do you
sing the same songs that you sang thirty-two years ago?”
He thought for a moment and said, “I guess so. Is that
wrong? Do we need to change our songs?”
“It’s not about changing your songs. It’s about changing
your commitments. What you do to your songs gives me
a little clue as to what you’re committed to. Do you know
why you’re losing your young people? Because you’re more
committed to your past than your future. You’re more
committed to your programs than to the people in those
programs. You’re more committed to the manner of your
mission than to your mission.”
Friend, are you really committed to help young people
follow Jesus?
If yes, then this issue is for you. As we celebrate the Year
of the Youth, let us acknowledge our roles to help them
become the best Christians they can be. Turn the page and
be blessed. K
30 July 2019 | Kerygma | SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching

Unleash
the Secret Weapon
How to Start Discipling Beloved, Gifted,
and Empowered Youth
By Niko Capucion
I
came home defeated. I went straight to my bed
and buried my face in my pillow. I questioned
my capabilities as a missionary. It had been two
years since I started as a campus missionary, and I
wasn’t sure if I was doing a good job or not. I was
at my wits’ end thinking about programs and what
to discuss in small groups. To top it off, this young
guy, to whom I’ve poured much time, effort, and
love, stormed out during our one-on-one session.
He felt like I didn’t understand him, was against
him, and didn’t appreciate how much he had grown
and improved over the years. I was ugly-crying as I
muffled screams of frustration with my pillow.
In desperation, I questioned God, “Am I really
for this? Am I still doing the right thing? Because
right now, I feel like they need someone else to lead
them.”
Lo and behold, five minutes later, I received a
text message. It came from the same young guy I
was discipling. It read, “Hi, I just came home from
a date with my dad. We were able to talk and bond
at a deeper level. Thank you for all the love you have
SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching | Kerygma | July 2019 31
given me. If it wasn’t for that, I would never have
had enough love to give to my dad.”
I started to tear up even more after reading
it. That night, I realized that it was never about
the programs or how profound our small-group
sharing was. It was about God’s love that I shared
with them.
When we talk about ministry of whatever
type, we often think about programs, events, Bible
sharing, outreach efforts, and the like. So when
we see that nothing is happening in our ministry,
we think that it’s because our program stinks, or
it’s because we’re not cool enough or hip enough.
Well, sometimes there’s truth to that, but for the
most part, ministry is not about programs and
events. It’s first and foremost about love. That’s the
main package! The programs and events are just
the mediums through which love can flow. If your
programs and events do not allow you to love better,
scrap them! But even before the programs and the
cool gimmicks, the very first medium you have and
the most important one is YOU!
32 July 2019 | Kerygma | SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching
Start with Yourself
God’s ultimate weapon, the secret to all success in
ministry (and also the main cause of its failure if
neglected), is God’s work in your life.
Before you can even start unleashing God’s work in
other people’s lives, you have to allow Him to release
His power in your life.
If you grew up in a Catholic school, you know this
verse and often talk about it: “Love your neighbor as
yourself ” (Matthew 22:39). It’s so ingrained into our
minds because our Religion teachers, priests, and
preachers talk about it often.
The problem is we only talk about the first part and
often forget about the latter. We always talk about loving
our neighbors but rarely talk about the “as yourself ”
part, when the truth is, we can only love other people as
far as we have learned to love ourselves.
To do this, we have to learn to fill our heart, clean
it, mend our brokenness, be self-aware, and forgive
yourself. Let’s tackle these one by one.
1. Fill Your Heart
Imagine you are a bottle and the water you contain is
love. Because you kind of understand God’s love for
you, and you sometimes feel it, you are half-filled. Then
a person who is empty comes into your ministry. You
want to love so you pour from the love you have and
give your all. Now he feels loved but at your expense.
Because now you feel empty and burned out.
Because you gave him everything, you expect him
to give you back the love or at least be grateful. But when
he doesn’t, you reprimand him for being unappreciative.
He owes you one and wants to help you out as well, so
he loves you back the way he experienced it from you—
he gives his all. This makes you feel alive, appreciated,
and all fired up again to love, but again, at his expense.
He’s down again and becomes needy. It’s a vicious cycle
that repeats itself until you no longer want to give but
guilt eats you up inside.
You consult some friends and they say, “Save some
for yourself!” It seems logical, so the next time you give,
you only fill him up with half of what you have. But
being used to receiving more, he complains that giving
him half the love is injustice. It turns into a hopeless
situation that can eventually destroy him or you, or
maybe even both.
Is any of this familiar to you? How long are you
willing to put up with this cycle? Until when?
Open your life up to God’s love. Let the love that
you need and the love that you give come from Him.
2. Clean Your Heart
My father-in-law, Luis, owns a fishpond which used
to bring him good profit. He took care of the fish,
cultured them, and sold them. But because he wasn’t
able to take care of the fishpond, dirt built up. What
 SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching | Kerygma | July 2019 33

used to contain four feet deep of water can now only take a
foot deep. Is your heart in the same state?
Your heart was created by God to contain so much love.
But as you grew, you started to trust less, forgive less, and
worry more. Consequently, your heart can no longer contain
as much love as it used to. Why is that? Because of fear that
slowly accumulated at the bottom of your heart. The only way
to clean it is to dig it up and let love flush it out.
After heavy rains, the canal in front of our house
gets clogged with lots of garbage like leaves and dirt. If I
procrastinate in sweeping it after the rains, grass starts to grow
on the clogged dirt—and that causes more problems. Now I
cannot remove the dirt until I dig it up with a shovel.
Dig into your heart, unload and share it with people you
can trust like your small group or a mentor. Let them see every
corner of your messy life so you can give them a chance to love
you unconditionally and give yourself a chance to be rid of all
the anxiety and fear in your heart. Allow God to use them as
shovels to dig out what is not supposed to be in your heart.

3. Mend Your Heart

Remember that bit about you being a bottle and how hard it
is to fill empty bottles with the water that you have left? Now
imagine if that bottle has holes. Imagine how more difficult it
is to fill you up then. No matter how many people try to pour
love into you, you continuously run on empty even if you don’t The youth don’t need cool
give anything out. You have a constant need to be filled and
it would be hard for you to give out any love to the people programs as much as they need
around you.
What are these holes then? These are wounds that may
you. They need the witness of your
have been inflicted by others, but most of the time those that life. Model it to them. Your healed
we inflict on ourselves. Out of the many possible causes of these
wounds, I found a common denominator. They boil down to a and shining life is God’s ultimate
question of worth. The big question is, “Am I worth anything?” weapon.
More specifically, for women, it’s “Am I worth it?” And for
men, it’s “Am I capable?” Both questions aren’t really exclusive
of each other because it’s often a crazy mix of both. If these
questions go unanswered and factors like people, situations,
and problems that make us ask ourselves these questions aren’t
dealt with, these questions will haunt us to destruction and
will rob us of any love that we get from anyone.
When we become aware of our brokenness, we will know
what needs mending and how to mend it. But what if you can’t
see them? That’s where loving relationships come into play.
People you trust can help by revealing to you your blind spots.
As they act as mirrors to let you see yourself better and in a
clearer way, you become more aware of your wounds.
There are extreme cases though when we are aware of
our wounds but keep denying them. Maybe we even go to the
extent of covering them up with “false love.”
What’s false love, you ask? They are counterfeit sources of
34 July 2019 | Kerygma | SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching
love that we use to fill up our love tank. It’s anything
that substitutes for real love and can come in the
form of busyness, work, beauty, vanity, affirmation,
validation, your talent or skill, humor, material wealth,
pride, weekly night outs, wrong relationships, sex,
addictions, vices, discrimination, being overly critical,
and the like. But they aren’t what we really need. They
are just thirst quenchers. They may satisfy your thirst
at the start, but in reality, they only make you even
thirstier. We end up becoming needier, clingier, and
more insecure.
4. Be Self-Aware
To know yourself, you need a two-step plan. First,
identify the root of your problems. Second, shed light
upon it.
Oftentimes, the problems we face aren’t caused
by the obvious reasons we see. To identify the real
cause of the problem, we have to start understanding
ourselves.
Ask yourself hard questions and answer them
truthfully.
• What life-changing event happened in my life?
• How did it make me feel?
• What did it make me say about myself?
• How did it shape my perspectives?
• How do I view the world because of it?
• In what ways am I coping for the damage it did?
Some, if not all, of the questions would need some
reflecting, much more honesty, and a whole lot of
humility to answer. But it would most definitely help
you identify where these insecurities are coming from
so you can surrender them to God’s healing.
If you cannot trace the root of the problem, then
you will need the help of feedback. You need to find a
person or people who has/have gone ahead of you in
this particular problem, share the problem to them,
and allow them to look at it from a third-person
perspective. They will be able to see things that you
will normally be too familiar to see, or maybe even too
afraid to look into, or too proud to admit. Once you
have traced it, bring it to light and to The Light.
Bring it to light. Share it with trusted people.
Let them love you with the knowledge of what
happened in your life. Give them a chance to love
you unconditionally. Yes, it’s scary and a lot of what-
ifs will pop in your mind. But look at it this way: it’s
a win-win situation. If they reject and judge you for
it, then that helps you narrow down your real friends
from your fake friends. But if they love you even with
the knowledge of your past and your woundedness,
then you’ve gained lifetime friends and accountability
buddies. You have allowed the unconditional love of
Christ into your life.
Next, you have to bring it to The Light—Christ.
Reflect on it with the knowledge of what He did for
you at the cross. Understand that when He died for
you, He already knew this. He knew how dirty you’d
become and how shameful you would feel. Still, He
accepted, understood, and forgave you anyway. And
when I say He accepted you, I mean every single bit
of you. He accepts you—the good and the bad, the
pleasant and the repulsive, the beautiful and, most
especially, the ugly in your life. Let the knowledge of
God’s acceptance allow you to accept yourself totally
and completely as well.
5. Forgive Yourself
The last and, I have to say, the hardest part is to forgive
yourself. Why is it the hardest? First, it takes a lot of
humility to admit that, one way or another, directly
or indirectly, you were at fault in the damage inflicted
on your person. It’s possible that there are many
different reasons. Maybe you think that you allowed
this to happen to yourself or that you didn’t do what
you needed to do. Or maybe you even think that you
didn’t do enough and you could’ve done something
better.
It takes courage to look into that part of your
life, look into every part and corner of it, face it, and
embrace it with God’s love. But this is where your life
starts to illuminate. You will begin to see God in every
aspect of it, how He loved you through it, and how He
continues to love you in spite of it. And as His love
pours into your life, slowly you begin to love yourself
the same way He does—unconditionally. Your life will
illuminate.
My Story
I grew up in an environment that wasn’t so affirming.
Positive words were hard to come by. Fighting, arguing,
and criticizing were far more common than being
encouraged and making each other feel appreciated.
The result? I grew up insecure.
I tried as hard as I could but felt that I was never
going to reach the standard my parents, especially my
father, had set for me. Because of that, I started hating
myself. I labeled myself as incapable and unlovable.
I was afraid of rejection and failure, so when I
wasn’t sure about what to do, I wouldn’t even try. But
as long as I knew how to do something, I would push

constantly and even brag about it. I looked down on
people who couldn’t do what I could do, but was afraid
of things that I didn’t know and understand. See the
irony?
When I couldn’t hate myself enough anymore, I
started putting other people down so I could tell myself
I was better than them. When I grew a little older, I
resorted to blaming my father. I told myself that he was
incapable of loving and he was the reason why I was like
this. But then I joined a Catholic community that loved
me through and through, most especially when I failed
or committed a mistake.
Learning to Love Others
My small group, headed by J Yogawin, taught me how
to love myself, other people and, through both, God. I
became more appreciative and affirming, more lenient
and encouraging. J told me that if I wanted to love God
better, I should love my family more, especially my father.
It was not an easy journey. He helped me understand
that it’s possible that my parents weren’t affirming because
no one gave them that kind of love growing up as well. So
I started to love my family just as my small group loved
me. I affirmed them, forgave and accepted them. There
were times we would still fight, and I would run back to
my small group where I could fill myself with love. Then
I’d go back home and give it to them. This was a cycle
that went on for three long years. Then finally, something
happened that changed my world forever.
Receiving My Parents’ Love
One day, it was the first time the song I composed would
be sung in our community. I got up on stage and saw
SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching | Kerygma | July 2019 35
that the place was so jam-packed. I sang my best, laid
down my guitar, and started to walk off the stage. When
I faced the aisle, the first people I saw were my parents.
My heart jumped and was filled with joy.
I rushed toward them, hugged them, kissed
them, and whispered, “Did you hear my song?” My
dad embraced me back and said, “Niko, your song
was beautiful. I’m proud of you.” Upon hearing those
words, all my fears disappeared. I knew I could conquer
anything because my dad is proud of me. How many
songs more should I write? Where else will I speak?
Where else will I sing? From that day on, my dad and
mom became two of my best-est friends. Mutual respect
was established. Love was received. Understanding was
visible. Our relationship is not perfect, but it sure is very
far from where we started.
God sends me people who have the same problems,
too. I understand them and know how to love them
because of what I’ve been through. When my hurts and
pains turned into a testimony, I suddenly realized how
many hurting people have been entrusted to me. And
I’m willing to give myself to them in gratitude to the
people who willingly gave themselves to me.
Offer the broken and wounded parts of your life
as worship, so God can use it to change your life and
change the world. The youth don’t need cool programs
as much as they need you. They need the witness of your
life. Model it to them. Your healed and shining life is
God’s ultimate weapon. Your life on display is God’s best
tool to showcase His grace and love to the youth He will
send your way. You will be “the rock upon which” God
will build His youth ministry (Matthew 16:18). K
Youth
36 July 2019 | Kerygma | SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching
Books for the
Reckless: A Discipler’s Guide to
Bringing Young People Closer to Jesus
By Niko Capucion
Born from his personal experiences as
a youth discipler, Niko Capucion shares
the nitty-gritty of how discipleship
starts within yourself, how to bring
other people along in the journey of
becoming more like Jesus Christ, and
how to help them become disciple
makers themselves.
Moreover, this guide will help you
identify the obstacles and lies that keep
you from having the right attitude in
youth ministry; combat these hurdles
with the important truths to strengthen
your call to serve; discover the power of
stories and the four principles of one-
on-one discipleship; acquire the right
discipler values through the leadership
watchlist; answer your frequently asked
questions on discipleship; and many
more!
These life-changing titles are available at Shop.KerygmaBooks.com in paperback and e-book formats.
The Lost Chronicles of Eden:
Champions
By Karren Renz Seña
Do you like the Hunger Games? Are
you still waiting for your Hogwarts
Acceptance Letter? Do you want to
go to Narnia, or to defeat Sauron and
become the next lord of the Rings?
Are you frustrated that all these series
are over? Worry no more. Here’s a
Filipino epic fantasy book similar to
the ones above . . . but with a gripping,
intriguing twist!
Seven angry, uncaring and un-
Finding You: A Memoir of Dreams,
compassionate young men and
Detours, and Destiny
women were forced to team up to stop
By Elaine Marie Factor
a possible apocalypse from happening.
As they journey toward the Far West
At twenty-four, Elaine finally decided
to retrieve a stolen sword, the seven
to enter a religious congregation to
Champions brave one trial after
fulfill her childhood dream. Besides
another and ultimately find out what it
experiencing overwhelming joys and
means to become a true hero.
challenges in the different aspects of her
life, she also faced a series of enounters
with her true self and her greatest Love.
What she gained in the four corners of
that convent were way beyond what she
had expected.
Based on Elaine’s journal entries,
this memoir will take you on a journey
of discovering your greatest call, taking
unexpected detours, and finding the
path to your true destiny.
Finding You was chosen as a finalist
for the Youth Category of the 11th
Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards.
 SPECIAL SECTION: Teaching | Kerygma | July 2019 37

Prayer for the 2019

Year of the Youth

God, our Father, who always looks at us with love

we come together as a Church, the Body of as He did with the rich young man,
Christ. the disciples on the road to Emmaus,
and through Your Holy Spirit. and those who seek Your Kingdom.
we pray for our young people
in this Year of the Youth. Form us by Your Holy Spirit
into credible guides for our young people,
In Your great mercy, You sent Jesus, Your like Mary Magdalene, witness and
Son. missionary
who grew up as a young man among the of the Resurrection,
youth, to be IN MISSION:
became an example for the youth, joyfully proclaiming Christ
and consecrated the youth to You. who died and rose again.

Hear our young people Nourish us and our young people

every time they proclaim: through Your Word and Eucharist,
so we may always choose to be life-giving,
A: We are BELOVED. especially to the least, lost, and last.
B: We praise You for Your love for us,
which saves us and gives meaning to our Together with our young people,
lives. may we follow the example of our Mother
Mary,
A: We are GIFTED. whose YES to You, O God,
B: We rejoice over the many gifts You give gave way to the fulfillment of Your Divine
us, will.
enriching us and our communities.
We make this prayer
A: We are EMPOWERED. through Christ our Lord.
B: We accept Your Spirit Who enables us Amen.
to share Your love and grace
especially to other youth. St. Pedro Calungsod, patron of Filipino
youth,
During this Year of the Youth, pray for us.
help the youth of our nation encounter
Christ

Source: Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

Episcopal Commission on Youth
38 July 2019 | Kerygma | |SPECIAL
SPECIALSECTION:
SECTION:Testimony
Testimony

My Dream-
Chasing
Adventure By Vanya Castor
Photos by Daniel Soriano
 SPECIAL SECTION: Testimony | Kerygma | July 2019 39

T
here was the curious three-year-old me, in front The Goal of Hope through Music
of the TV screen, singing with the artists I was Now that I’m twenty-four, a freelance artist, campus
watching on a music channel. That’s how I actually missionary, and music minister at The Feast Bay Area, God
started singing. has blessed me in so many ways I can’t even keep track of.
My parents noticed that I was in tune enough so they Because I can be forgetful and I also tend to feel things
enrolled me for voice too much, composing my
lessons. After that, they own songs has been my way
got me to sing in school of recording or taking note of
events, church, recitals, important lessons in my life.
contests, weddings, local It’s my effort to sort of make
TV programs, family sense of them or process
gatherings—every chance them in my head. My ultimate
I could get. goal in both composing and
It could’ve been performing is to speak to
tiring but that’s when my even just a single soul and
appreciation for music let them know that they’re
grew, especially in how not alone in the things they
colorful and different struggling with—to spark
it could be every time. hope, no matter how tiny.
For every occasion, As for the youth, with so
there’s always something many things going on in the
to sing about. It can world today, with cultures
take on different forms and subcultures, music
and expressed through becomes a unifying force now
different genres. It can more than ever. It’s a way to
make people happy or give express things we can’t find
them comfort. Singing and words for.
performing every chance
I get made me love how Overcoming the Challenges
fluent a language music is. Despite the many blessings,
It’s amazing and I love it so it’s not all roses in this
much. adventure. Perfectionism and
My parents have staying focused have been my
always supported my main struggles. Oftentimes,
singing aspirations. My because of my desire to get
Mama, especially, is a music lover but she told me that things done perfectly, I fail to start at all. This prevents
my singing and love for music must have come from my me from actually doing or creating something, so I turn
grandmother who used to fill the church with her powerful to distractions instead. This is especially true with my
voice, back when microphones and sound systems were songwriting.
not yet in use. But God is good. He sends people to empower me and
40 July 2019 | Kerygma | SPECIAL SECTION: Testimony
to convince me to step into my courage zone,
to be vulnerable, and to tap into His unlimited
creativity and amazing artistry. These people
remind me also to tame my restless need to
do everything all at once, and instead, to stay
focused on one thing at a time.
My Message for the Youth
If there’s one thing I would like to impart to the
young people of today, it’s this: pursue God and
show up. Having your small and big dreams
come true won’t be as sweet (it may even feel
empty) if your journey wasn’t spent in getting
to know your Dream Giver and your purpose.
It’s not gonna be easy. It’s not gonna be all
glitters, bouquets, and rainbows all the time.
There are going to be times when you won’t feel
like going on anymore, like you have reached
the end of yourselves. And that’s precisely why
our dreams should go beyond our hope for
ourselves.
I remember what American pastor Tim
Mannin once said, “Our dreams shouldn’t be
rooted in the big or impressive, but rather in
the hope for the people and places around us.
Look around you and dream wildly—that’s
God’s will for you!” K
Kerygma Magazine would like to thank Ara
Fernando and Toni Santos for Vanya’s hair and
makeup; and Infinity Records in Quezon City for
the photo shoot venue. Vanya shared that when
she was still part of a band, they were the first
ones to rent the studio when it was still newly
opened.
Kerygma | July 2019 41
42 July 2019 | Kerygma

Quit
Whining
S
ome months back, I had a fall that fractured my hip. As
I was waiting for the ambulance pickup, my mind raced
about things I had not put in order. I figured that if this
was a bonafide and legit fracture, I would need surgery. The
worrisome thing there is that people with multiple sclerosis
(MS) don’t take too well to surgery because anaesthesia can
host chaotic complications.
In the ambulance, my mind was on overdrive.
I figured I might not live past the surgery. If I did, I would
most likely end up a plant. And my family would say cheerful
things to me and water me some and put me out in the sun.
Yikes.
I started e-mailing my two close friends with instructions
to please open my cabinet and throw out all my prayer
journals. All­­—as in spare none. Since we’ve been friends since
kindergarten, I could trust them to follow my instructions
and be dispassionate about my stuff. I also feverishly e-mailed
bank details to my daughters and my niece.
Anyway, as you can see, I made it out of surgery. And I
didn’t turn out to be a plant.
Finally today, I had the time to attend to odds and ends. I
updated passwords and double checked bank accounts of my
mom put in my charge. I recorded on Excel all her meds, each
of her doctor’s details­—their names, their secretary’s names,
landline, and cell phone numbers.
Kitchen Scribbles | Kerygma | July 2019 43
By Rosanne Romero
Then I tackled my other concern—my prayer journals.
I should really just throw them out. I don’t want anyone
reading through them whether I’m alive or dead.
So I dumped them on the floor. As I started tossing them
out, I picked up one randomly. I read an entry from 2008
saying that I felt vexed.
I had scribbled the Scripture reading for the day from
Isaiah as well as a quote from evangelist George Muller. “Dear
Lord, in Isaiah 40:27, You posed this question: Why do you
say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the
Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God?’
“Lord? I do not want to wallow in the thought that my
way is hidden from You. Instead I want, I desire to run to You
for cover each time I am beset. You are my safe place. You
have my cause at hand. Grace me to keep my eyes riveted on
You.
“‘My eye is not on the dense fog but on the Living God,
who controls every circumstance of my life.’ (George Muller)
“Note to self: Remember that there is nothing that
God cannot use! Robbery. Injustice. Swindling. Betrayal.
Disappointment­—nothing is for nothing! It is always for
SOMETHING!
“So quit the whining.” (end of entry)
I need more time to decide which to keep and which to
throw out. K
44 July 2019 | Kerygma

By J Yogawin Are you
THE ONE?
T
he One” has been sought after as every person’s dream
car, dream house, dream wedding dress, dream job,
and of course, the most popular of all, one’s dream
romance. Whenever I’m asked about looking for Mister or
Miss Right by those who are exasperated in their search for
the One, I mention this rather simple but poignant statement:
“The One becomes the One only when you choose this
person to be the One.” In other words, love is a choice. It is a
conscious, mature decision to forget oneself and prioritize the
greater good of another—every day.
I must say, the same dynamic applies to leadership. (Sorry,
this isn’t an article on dating or finding your one true love!)
Leadership is a form of love since it selflessly puts the interests
of others ahead of oneself through service.
Do you know that God Himself is searching for “the
One”? He is looking for His dream leader—the one who will
choose to serve, choose to love, and choose to lead because he
or she is moved by selflessness.
I believe we’re all called to leadership in one way or
another. The next level you seek may be in God’s calling for
you to rise up as a leader. All you have to do is choose.
Choose to be the leader God has called you to be.
But where is He calling you? One way to determine His call
to leadership is to see what He has gifted you with.
What are your capacities? What areas of confidence and
K Preacher | Kerygma | July 2019 45
capability have you experienced success in? More importantly,
as leadership is about influence, in what areas has the Lord
given you life-giving relationships with people and positive
influence upon them? These may be the leadership areas He
calls you to.
But capacity alone isn’t enough to discern one’s leadership
calling. Our abilities or gifts were all given for a reason.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.” God has foreseen areas of need or
concern that only you can supply or address. One is gifted to
“do good”—not for oneself, but for others. Our good works
would be meaningless if they were self-serving.
But our capacity, abilities, and gifts can only be of good
use according to our character. It takes character to be a
leader.
Friend, will you choose to be this leader? Will you choose
to lead in order to serve? Have a selfless heart and acquire
the skills necessary for effective leadership. In whatever way,
know that you are destined for greater things. If you allow the
Lord to move you and make you a leader, you will be blessed
and be a blessing as well.
One thing’s for sure, if you say yes to His call to leadership,
Christ in you will fulfill it!
You’re the One! K
46 July 2019 | Kerygma
 One Last Story | Kerygma | July 2019 47

Touched by an Angel
By Favored Grace

I
t was April 2017 when we had our Light Group At that moment, my guardian angel spoke in
Heads meeting. Angela came with her older my heart, “Answer the call. She can help you to feel
brother, Patrick. Angela is a special child with better. Don’t end your life this way. God has great
Down syndrome. things in store for you!”
It was getting late at night and I noticed she But the devil wouldn’t give in. “God gave up on
was getting sleepy. I whispered to her, “Lala (her you! You have the power to end your miseries. Do
nickname), would you like to lie on my lap so you it now or else you’ll be sorry! More sufferings will
can sleep better?” Before come your way!”
she could answer, her My phone kept
sleepy head was already ringing.
down on my lap and off
she went to dreamland. Guardian Angel: Answer
After that meeting, she her call! Don’t believe the
became fond of me. She devil. He’s a liar!
always texts and calls me Devil: Drink them all! End
on Messenger and waits your pain!
for me at The Feast, our Guardian Angel: Drop the
prayer gathering. I realized pills. Answer her call now!
that she never forgot that
one act of kindness I did By now, I was
to her. weeping, the struggle was
A couple of months strong and fierce. But God
passed. I was afflicted did not abandon me. His
with pneumonia. It was grace and mercy made me
easy if pneumonia was all choose to live.
I got, but coupled with a spinal disease, chronic I dropped the pills I was holding and answered
headaches, and chest pains, I felt like I was being Lala’s call. It was God’s saving grace.
tortured. I was suffering and miserable. Depression Our conversation made me forget to commit
was creeping in and so did the temptation to end suicide. My depression immediately vanished. I
my life. was glad I answered Lala’s call.
I was about to drink my meds and antibiotics Even though I messed up and failed to trust
when a voice suggested, “Why don’t you end your Him, Jesus still rescued me through Lala. I was
pain and suffering? Drink all your medications and literally touched by His angel. It was a divine
antibiotics for the next ten days all at once and die intervention that the Lord used a special child to
peacefully.” give me hope. God wanted me to finish strong.
In my desperation to end my pain, I entertained “My story will end in victory. God is preparing
the thought. I gathered all my pills and tablets—a my great ending!” I hold on to His prophecy and
dose that amounted to 7,000 milligrams—to put promise.
me to sleep and never to wake up again. I was Life is too short to be unhappy. That moment
holding all my meds in my hand when my phone made me realize that God is real and Jesus saves.
rang. It was a Messenger call from Angela. Better things are coming! K
48 July 2019 | Kerygma

point I Pray That You

of
contact
Receive Your Miracles
in Jesus’ Name!

I
pray that God lift your
trials, heal your diseases, bless
your problems, and direct you to the
path He wants you to take. I pray that God
remove your fears and give you the courage
to surrender your burdens to Him.
So place your hand over my hand,
and let’s pray with trust, together with our
prayer team of intercessors praying for you
right now . . .

This page is our Point of Contact, our

spiritual connection.
Say after me . . .

In the Name of the Father, of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, I surrender to You my worries
and anxieties. I surrender to You my needs,
my problems, my trials. I place them all in
Your big hands. And I open myself to all
that You want to give to me. On this day, I
say yes to Your love, to Your blessings, to
Your healing, to Your miracles. And Lord,
specifically, I ask for the following miracles
for my life . . .
I believe that You answer my prayer
in the best way possible! And I thank You
in advance for the perfect answers to my
prayers. I also ask for the special intercession
of Mama Mary. I pray all this in the Name
of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.

SPECIAL INTENTION FOR THIS MONTH:

E-mail your prayer requests
Dear Father, thank You for the gift of the young people around us. Thank You for the to me at bosanchez@
great privilege of being an instrument of love for them. May they continue to be the kerygmafamily.com or write
hope of our nation and of our Church. Love them. Bless them. Anoint them. Let Your to me at Shepherd’s Voice
light shine through them. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. Publications, #60 Chicago
St., Cubao, Quezon City,
Philippines 1109.
Kerygma | July 2019 49
50 July 2019 | Kerygma