Luab: The long walk home
THE title isn’t original, for it is the title of a book by Will North. The book is all about the miracle of love after loss and longing. It really is a beautiful, poignant book. My sharing today, however, is nothing about that.
Today I am talking of the journey we all are taking toward...
Luab: “L’chaim” To Life
EVERY time there is a celebration, we enjoy raising our wine glasses and usually we say “cheers” or “salud,” which means “to life.” When we drink a toast together, this means we are including everyone present to share our well wishes and we really encourage everyone to be happy with us.
Luab: Moving on, taking risks
IF ANYONE had told me that I would eventually give up my comfort zone, I would have called him crazy. But I just did get out of my comfort zone.
Sometime in the month of March, I realized that I needed to move on, to change my lifestyle. Doing so many things, multi-tasking was taking a...
Luab: Moments of sheer joy
WE ALL are blest with moments of sheer joy. Even Kiko, my youngest grandson, will rush home from school to enjoy a ride on his scooter. Enricko, my eldest grandson, will spend his free time using his Ipod. Kate and Manny, two of my grandchildren, have different pleasures.
The boy will...
Luab: God has his own timetable
I HAVE always dreamt of retiring and living in a farm, and for a time I thought my wish would be granted but it wasn’t. I’ve always loved the mountains, green things, animals, birds and flowers. I’ve always wanted a veranda where I could sit to enjoy the dusk and the fresh air. I was never given...
Luab: Life’s ongoing project of love
SUMMER has begun. Life is an ongoing project so we go on living after a very fulfilling Lenten season.
The aging process is not so pleasant for many of us because we just want to be left by ourselves. We prefer to do the things we only like to do and we hide when there is so much hustle...
Luab: Rise, love, live
TODAY we celebrate Resurrection Sunday. Jesus Christ overcame the sufferings in his humanity and now is raised gloriously from the dead and sits at the right hand of our Heavenly Father.
Luab: Accused of being Christians
“IF WE are to be accused of being Christians, what would be the evidence against us?”
This line came from Fr. Charles, our Irish priest missionary of our Lady of Africa who celebrated mass for the 25 retreatants up at Forest Hills last March 23 and 24. He left the question hanging for us...
Luab: Easy to forget what really counts
DURING the first week of March, I formally told my children that each one of us must chart our own journey in life. All five of them have already set their ships asail. All of them are pretty good navigators now.
So my next question is, “What about me? What do I really want out of life?”...
Luab: Becoming a sign of divine joy
BENEDICTINE monk Bede Griffiths was asked in a class of meditation, “What can we do?” His answer was “We can become a sign of divine joy and a fountain of divine love.”
Griffiths knew from experience that a close relationship with God would bring us to share the kind of love that shines...
Luab: No twisting God’s arm
FR. MARTIN Tobin’s homily last March 1 at the 7 a.m. mass at Redemptorist Church spoke of our having no need to twist God’s arm when we want something badly.
The lines from the Gospel of Mathew 7:7-12 which he used to prove his point I’m also quoting here. “Which one of you would hand his...
Luab: Power begets arrogance
LAST Feb. 23, two cars left for Tindog, Medellin, because we wanted to pay our respects to Gina Apoya, the sister of Sr. Perry Inso of the Cenacle Sisters. In one car were Tita Zosa, Remy Barrera and Sony Velez. In the second car were Elizabeth Go, Brenna Borgonia and me. We left Cebu at 9 a.m....
Luab: Heart balm, anyone?
I GUESS if someone could invent a heart balm for all the hurts we receive in life, he would be (pardon the expression) filthy rich. Perhaps that is the reason why no such medicine has been found yet. Wouldn’t it be wonderful that with one swipe, or one swab of cotton, the hurt would vanish?...
Luab: Working together to effect change
CONGRATULATIONS to the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges Foundation Inc. for successfully hosting the 45th APMC Annual Convention at the Cebu Institute of Medicine in Cebu City.
The theme of the convention was “Professionalism in Medical Education.” That message in itself speaks...
Luab: Blessed is the person who is loved
JUNE is the month for brides, but February is the month of love. There really are three stages of love. The first is when love hits you with full force when you are in the ages of 16 to 21. (It seems, though, that the present generation starts younger than 16). This is when caution is thrown to...
Luab: Faith in God, goodness of man
I KNOW with no doubt, whatsoever, that God loves me. One thing which meditation has instilled in my being is that I am rooted in a God who holds me in His embrace because I have accepted Him into my life. God lovingly offers me the roots which I am blessed and privileged to hold on to.
Luab: Goodbye, Dodong and Henry
TWO of my dear friends passed away this January: Vicente “Dodong” Coloyan, beloved husband of my cousin Dely Tumaliwan, a childhood friend of mine around my age, and Henry Co, 59 years old, my former student and also my dear friend in the Ayala Hiking Community. He belonged to the Chinese-...
Luab: To live by our principles
ARE we committed to living our lives by our principles? If not, 2012 would be a very good time to start. That is the only way we can survive as a nation!
I am so proud of one of my daughters. She got married around 10 years ago here in Cebu. Just after their marriage, her husband got...
Luab: No expectations—be pleasantly surprised!
WHEN you reach the golden and diamond years, you learn through experience that when you just live in the present and are happily satisfied with things as they are, God surprises you with so much unexpected happiness.
Thursday afternoon, Jan. 5, I received a text from Dr. Billy Jaca that...
Luab: A higher tolerance level for 2012
Luab: Time not only flies, it soars and flees
AS 2011 was nearing its end, even before the Christmas carols began, we all were amazed at where Time had gone. The usual comment was, “My gosh, it’s already Easter Sunday!” Then we felt that Nov. 1 came too soon! When Christmas carols began in September, we said, “Christmas is just around the...
Luab: Letting go and letting God
THE first time I heard these words, “Let Go and Let God,” I was in high school. We had a championship game in softball, and we wanted to be the champions. Our teacher gave us this piece of advice. The look I gave her then spoke clearly my thoughts. “Did she expect God to pitch for us, to catch...
Luab: The changing face of Singapore
MY first trip to Singapore in July of 2007 was with my Thursday Bible Group. We attended an Inter religious seminar. We loved Singapore. I went back in September of 2008 via Silk Air with Mariles, my youngest married daughter. We enjoyed our trip more.
I went back to Singapore last Nov....
Luab: Expectations and frustrations
WE LISTENED to the tape of Fr. Jerry Pierce just before our meditation last Nov.23. All of us who listened to the tape nodded our heads in agreement to most of the sharing that went on after our meditation. (By the way, we shall have a seminar on “Prayer and Meditation” on Jan. 7, 2012 from 2:30...
Luab: 'Pabaon'
PABAON has so many possible translations. The closest I can come up with is “an allowance” or a going away package or an “extra pack of snack” or a “going away wish,” but the one I like best is the translation “the last thing I want you to remember.”
Let me start with the easiest...
