What You Should Never Forget .

 

I remember this day like it was yesterday.

        This happened a couple of years ago.

I went home excited, mentally planning our Father-Son trip to the mall. (Each week, I try to have a date with my boys. Sometimes together. Sometimes separately. That day, I was going to have a date with my eldest boy, Bene.)

       But as I arrived home and stepped down of my car, my phone rang.

       “Bo, are you already at the wedding?” my friend asked me.

       “Huh? What wedding?” I asked.

       “The wedding of Amina…”

       Wham! It was like I was hit by a bat on the head. I totally forgot about the wedding! 

        How can I now tell Bene?

        The little guy was so looking forward to our date.

       When I entered the house, I greeted him and said, “I’ve got a problem about our date …” I told him about the wedding. 

        That was when my wife said, “Son, can you go with Daddy to the wedding? That’ll be your date.” (Thank God for my wise wife.)

        A few minutes later, my son and I were riding the car in our matching barong tagalogs. 

         It turned out that we were early for the wedding, so we walked to a coffee shop beside the church, and talked and laughed together as he ate his favorite cinnamon roll.

       The wedding was superb! 

        It was also a wonderful time for me to give mini-lectures to my little pupil—in whispers at the back pew—on marriage, family, and love. 

       After the wedding, the reception was at the exclusive Polo Club.

       While waiting for the dinner to begin, we had a phenomenal time sitting down on the grass (yes, still in our barongs) under the canopy of stars—and chatted the night away.

       “I don’t want to be a cowboy anymore, Daddy,” he said.

       “No more?” This was a shock to me. It had been his declared dream ever since he was two. In fact, his first word wasn’t “mama”. It was “horse.” (I’m not kidding.)

       He piped up, “I don’t want to be a Cowboy anymore. I just want to ride horses for pleasure.”

       “Okay. What do you want to be?”

       “A businessman.” (Six-year old kids have a way of declaring their dreams as though it’s as sure as the planet is round. I wonder what age we lose that confidence?)

        “That’s great. You can own a ranch. How many horses do you want to own?”

       “About ten,” he grinned.

       “How will you earn to maintain the ranch?” I asked.

       “Kids can ride my horses for P20 each…”

       “Uh…, isn’t that a bit too cheap?”

       “They can also feed my rabbits if they pay something. And I’ll sell my customers snacks and have a restaurant in my ranch.”

       “That’s fantastic.”

       “My ranch will also have an imaginary forest.”

       “A what?”

       “An imaginary forest. Parents will be afraid if their kids go to a real forest with real animals. So I’ll make an imaginary forest with robotic animals—even some legendary creatures like dinosaurs, unicorns, mermaids,...”

        “Mermaids?”

        “Yes, because there’ll be a lake in my ranch. With a shipwreck. Kids can also visit the shipwreck.”

After planning for his future, we got our plates and stood in front of the buffet table for the entire evening. Because the food was so fabulous, we didn’t bother to sit down. That night, he ate seven sticks of barbecue and I gobbled up 50% of the European cheeses there. 

In other words, my date with Bene was a ball. 

If I didn’t have a weekly date with him, how will I know about his dreams? I would have missed hearing that he didn’t want to be a Cowboy anymore, that he wanted an imaginary forest, robotic animals, a lake and a shipwreck for kids to visit and have fun…

I was even more convinced of my family goals when I read the frightening statistics from David Perdew about “fatherless kids”. According to statistics, children from a fatherless home are:

·        Five times more likely to commit suicide

·        Thirty-two times more likely to run away

·        Twenty times more likely to have behavioral disorders

·        Fourteen times more likely to commit rape (this applies to boys)

·        Nine times more likely to drop out of high school

·        Ten times more likely to abuse chemical substances

·        Nine times more likely to end up in a charitable institution

·        Twenty times more likely to end up in prison for a long period of time

          Fathers—and mothers—your kids need you.

David Perdew says we either pay now or pay later.

And when you pay later, it always costs more.

 

I suggest you pay now.

 

Have a fantastic 2011—especially with your family.

 

May your dreams come true,

 

 

Bo Sanchez

 

PS. Never Forget Your Family.  Except for God, nothing else is more important. Get powerful inspiration and instruction on how to build your own family. It’s never too late. Log on at www.FamilyReborn.com now!

 

PS2. By the way, my wife and I homeschool our boys. We know it’s a bit crazy. But I believe it’s one of the best decisions we’ve made. If you’re interested in homeschooling your children, log on at www.CatholicFilipinoAcademy.com now.

Our Gospel for Feb 10. The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

Mark 7:24-30
Jesus went to the district of Tyre.He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,but he could not escape notice.Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet.The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. 



He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.

Ang Pananampalataya ng Babaeng Taga-Sirofenicia

Marcos 7:24-30

 ²⁴Mula roon, umalis si Jesus at pumunta sa mga lupaing nasasakupan ng Tiro at Sidon. Pumasok siya sa bahay at ayaw niyang malaman ng sinuman na naroroon siya, ngunit hindi siya makapagtago. ²⁵Ito ay sapagkat narinig ng isang inang may anak na babae, na inaalihan ng karumal-dumal na espiritu, na naroroon si Jesus. Pumunta siya kay Jesus at nagpatirapa sa kaniyang paanan. ²⁶Ang babae ay taga-Grecia, ipinanganak sa Sirofenicia. Hiniling niya kay Jesus na palabasin ang demonyo mula sa kaniyang anak.    
 ²⁷Ngunit sinabi ni Jesus sa kaniya: Hayaan munang mabusog ang mga anak sapagkat hindi mabuti na kunin sa mga anak ang tinapay at itapon sa mga aso.
   
 ²⁸Subalit ang babae ay sumagot kay Jesus: Totoo, Panginoon. Sapagkat maging ang mga aso man na nasa ilalim ng hapag kainan ay kumakain ng mga nahuhulog na mumo mula sa mga anak.
   
 ²⁹Sinabi ni Jesus sa kaniya: Dahil sa sinabi mong ito, lumakad ka na. Lumabas na ang demonyo sa iyong anak.
   
 ³⁰Pagdating ng babae sa kaniyang bahay, nakita niyang lumabas na ang demonyo sa kaniyang anak. Ang kaniyang anak ay nakahiga sa kama.

Our Gospel for Feb 9. But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.

Mark 7: 14-23


Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. 
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Ang lumalabas sa tao ang nagpaparumi sa kaniya

Marcos 7:14-23


 ¹⁴Muling pinalapit ni Jesus sa kaniya ang napakaraming tao at sinabi niya sa kanila: Makinig kayong lahat sa akin at inyong unawain ang aking mga salita. ¹⁵Ang nagpaparumi sa tao ay hindi ang pumapasok sa kaniya mula sa labas kundi ang lumalabas sa kaniya. ¹⁶Ang sinumang may tainga na nakakarinig ay makinig.    
 ¹⁷Iniwan ni Jesus ang napakaraming tao at nang makapasok siya sa bahay, tinanong siya ng kaniyang mga alagad patungkol sa talinghaga. ¹⁸Sinabi niya sa kanila: Kayo ba ay wala ring pang-unawa? Hindi ba ninyo nauunawaan na anumang bagay na pumasok sa tao mula sa labas ay hindi nagpaparumi sa kaniya? ¹⁹Ito ay sapagkat hindi ito pumapasok sa kaniyang puso kundi sa tiyan at ito ay idinudumi sa palikuran. Sinabi ito ni Jesus upang ipahayag na ang lahat ng pagkain ay malinis.
   
 ²⁰Sinabi niya: Ang lumalabas sa tao ang nagpaparumi sa kaniya. ²¹Ito ay sapagkat mula sa loob, sa puso ng tao nagmumula ang masamang kaisipan, mga pangangalunya, mga pakikiapid, mga pagpatay. ²²Mga pagnanakaw, mga pag-iimbot, mga kasamaan, pandaraya, kalibugan, pagkainggit, matang masama, pamumusong, kayabangan at kahangalan. ²³Ang lahat ng kasamaang ito ay nagmumula sa loob at siyang nagpaparumi sa tao.

Our Gospel for Feb 8. The Tradition of the Elders.

Mark 7:1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,do not eat without carefully washing their hands,keeping the tradition of the elders.And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves.And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the eldersbut instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written: This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,Honor your father and your mother ,and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God),you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” 

Marcos 7:1-13

Ang Malinis at ang Marumi

 ¹Sama-samang nagkatipun-tipon sa kinarooronan ni Jesus ang mga Fariseo at ilang mga guro ng kautusan na nagmula sa Jerusalem. ²Nakita nila ang ilan sa mga alagad ni Jesus na kumakain ng tinapay na may madungis na mga kamay. Pinulaan nila ang mga alagad. ³Ito ay sapagkat ang mga Fariseo at lahat ng mga Judio ay hindi kumakain malibang makakapaghugas sila sa natatanging paraan ng kanilang mga kamay. Pinanghahawakan nila ang kaugalian ng mga matanda. ⁴Kapag galing sa pamilihang dako, hindi rin sila kumakain nang hindi muna sila naghuhugas^[a] ng kanilang sarili. Marami pang ibang mga bagay ang kanilang pinanghahawakan na kanilang tinanggap at sinusunod. Ito ay tulad ng paglubog ng saro, ng banga, ng mga kagamitang tanso at ng mga higaan.    
 ⁵Kayat tinanong siya ng mga Fariseo at ng mga guro ng kautusan. Bakit hindi lumalakad ang mga alagad mo ayon sa mga kaugalian ng mga matanda? Subalit kumakain sila ng tinapay, na hindi naghuhugas sa natatanging paraan ng kanilang mga kamay.
   
 ⁶Sumagot si Jesus at sinabi sa kanila: Tama ang pagkahayag ni Isaias patungkol sa inyo, mga mapagpaimbabaw. Ito ay gaya ng nasusulat:
      Iginagalang ako ng mga taong ito sa pamamagitan
      ng kanilang mga labi, ngunit ang kanilang mga
      puso ay malayo sa akin. ⁷Sinasamba nila ako
      nang walang kabuluhan, na nagtuturo ng mga
      turong utos ng tao.
    ⁸Ito ay sapagkat iniwanan ninyo ang utos ng Diyos at inyong pinanghawakan ang mga kaugalian ng mga tao tulad ng paglubog sa natatanging paraan ng mga banga at mga saro. Marami pang ganitong mga bagay ang inyong ginagawa.
   
 ⁹Sinabi pa niya sa kanila: Napakahusay ninyong magpawalang-bisa sa utos ng Diyos, upang masunod ninyo ang inyong mga kaugalian. ¹⁰Sinabi nga ni Moises: Igalang mo ang iyong ama at ina. Sinabi rin niya: Ang magsalita ng masama sa kaniyang ama o ina ay dapat siyang mamatay. ¹¹Subalit sinasabi ninyo: Kapag ang isang tao ay magsabi sa kaniyang ama at ina: Ang aking kaloob na salapi na kapaki-pakinabang sa inyo ay Corban. Ang ibig sabihin nito ay inihandog sa Diyos. ¹²Sa gayong paraan ay pinahihintulutan ninyo siya na hindi na siya gumawa ng anumang bagay para sa kaniyang ama at ina. ¹³Winawalang kabuluhan nga ninyo ang Salita ng Diyos sa pamamagitan ng inyong kaugalian, na inyong ibinigay. Marami pang bagay na tulad nito ang ginagawa ninyo.

Our Gospel for Feb 7.Many who touched Jesus cloak were healed.

Mark 6:53-56  

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at  Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;and as many as touched it were healed.

Mahipo ko lang ang laylayan ng iyong damit ay gagaling na ako. 

Marcos 6:53-56

 ⁵³Nang sila ay nakatawid na ng lawa, dumating sila sa lupain ng Genesaret at dumaong sa dalampasigan. ⁵⁴Sa kanilang paglunsad mula sa bangka kaagad na nakilala ng mga tao si Jesus. ⁵⁵Sa paglibot ng mga tao sa paligid, sinimulan nilang dalhin ang mga maysakit na nakaratay sa higaan. Dinadala nila ang mga maysakit saan man nila mabalitaang naroroon siya. ⁵⁶Saan man pumasok si Jesus, maging sa nayon, o lungsod o karatig pook ay inilalagay nila sa mga pamilihang dako ang mga maysakit. Ipinamamanhik nila sa kaniya na payagan silang mahipo man lamang ang laylayan ng kaniyang damit. Lahat ng nakahipo sa kaniya ay gumaling.