ab epistvlis

A s defined, it meant the state or fact of being present; current existence or occurrence. B ack when Yuppeace had more than a hundred members, you wouldn’t notice if someone was not around. Now with a few Yuppeace who makes themselves visible, it is easy to notice if someone is not around; and so, missed him or her. W e meet every Wednesday. The togetherness that each one brings to the community gives a feeling of warmth and belonging. At times, when there are just but a handful members attending, somehow you feel alone. As soon as members start to arrive, that sad feeling is replaced with joy. P resence preludes bonding. A community gather together not just to meet and greet but to identify oneself with the group and be one with them. Presence is important so that the group continues to be one in spirit and mission. T housands people had attended the Wednesday nights since Yuppeace started in 1995. The community was open for everyone. People come and go but it didn...

My Priesthood Journey I COME FROM A POOR FAMILY. Papa worked as a kargador. I remember Mama preparing to two to three shirts for him, but he would still come home grubby. During paydays, the cinematic arguments at home were about how the few hundred pesos couldn't cover the long list of payables. Papa would desperately propose to rob a ban. During penniless days. I would be asked to go to the nearest suking tindahan, not to drop any raffle entry, but to by a can of sardines on credit. One time I was turned down. I was told they ran out of stock, but I could hear the Ligo and 555 sardines screaming from the shelves. I was a consistent honor student, but was removed from the roster in fifth grade simply because Mama could not pay the Php40 PTA contribution for eclectic fans. I wanted to electrocute them all! My parents never gave up on their desire to give us the best. They enrolled us in a private school for our secondary education. Our payments scheme improved from the pede...

By Liza Tanopo A Child's Journey I’ve always believed what Father Armand said during his homily in one of those Eucharistic celebrations he presided, that “ Prayer in silence is always answered ….” For indeed, it was last Wednesday, March 26, when Irene texted me and informed me about YUPPEACE Easter celebration with sexually abused young girls at Laura Vicuña Center (LVC) that weekend. More than seeing old friends, spending a while with the girls would be an extra-ordinary experience, if I may say, and that’s exactly what I prayed for – to spend quality time with the last, the least, and the lost, as Fr. Anton Pascual, formerly of Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel at Greenbelt, puts it. Little did I know that somehow there would be twist, what you may call a nudge from Christ. Saturday came and I was supposed to meet Ging at the MRT Station – Araneta, Cubao but just in the nick of time, I decided to call up Avic who lives nearby and told her that I’d be joining the activity. When...

By Edward Alivio  ( Yuppeace based in Dubai) That was mid-summer Thursday afternoon. Everyone’s rushing to hit home before the late afternoon traffic build-up for the weekend reverie. Temperature outside reaches at sweltering 45 degrees and relative humidity is high enough to sweat out every drop of water deep within the body. Only in this place of the world where humidity level also inch up along with every rise of the temperature during summer. Bank Street in Bur Dubai as the name suggests is where most large bank in this part of the world merges and intermingle. A place where inching for a mere parking space is a horrendous thing and cabbies dreaded not to go avoiding the traffic caused by brimming mixture of people doing all sorts of wares; bankers, salesmen, applicants, and shoppers in the nearby IT shops. A hush of people is teeming out in the bus stop after I had my late lunch in a walk-in Japanese restaurant nearby. It was 2:30 in my watch as I prepare to try my...

courtesy fotografik mind By Flora Aguilan In this era of multi-tasking, the state of being in solitude and doing nothing is a big crime. It is thought of as a waste of time. We are expected to be in action at all times to accomplish many things for growth and advancement. In this modern environment, we are consumed with a lot of work and leisure activities to better our lives. But wait, can we slow down for a while? Is retreating from this demanding world liberating? Well I should say YES! We need to hold back for a moment to give us time to think and analyze what we are doing and where we are going. Slowing down, finding a place of shelter and reflecting gives us a clear view of our lives. I learned the 3Rs in this moment of solitude. The first R is for Retreat , second R for Recollection and the last R for Reflection . These Rs are intertwined that leads us to better knowledge of ourselves and towards maturity.  We need to Retreat from the maddening crowd ...

By Ruby Jean Remember our school foundations days where fun was all around, moments were light and we passed by the day by just joking, playing and giggling like we were just kids? Those days gone by were relived last 04 Oct 2008, not with our schoolmates but with our Yuppeace Community. The Yuppeace annual anniversary celebration which is fondly called Peacetahan was conceptualized to be sort of a School Foundation Day style this year. Proceeds of this fun-filled event went BKBM . The AVR which is already synonymous to Yuppeace regular activities, was transformed into a mini school ground. Banderitas were hung; game booths were set up for each Discipleship Group (DG). Artworks/art pieces of some Yuppeace were auctioned. I am sure they do cherish these items, but they gave it away for the love of the Community. The atmosphere was festive and spirits were high. There were even few children to grace the event. My favorite part was the Bingo — Fr A style, when we formed ...

We knew her as Gigi Lazaro. We worked together for the Working Hands Scholarship Foundation together with Marty Manalo, Oyie (who is now in US), Doris Alcantara (who is now in Milan). Gigi now is one of the resource persons of Evangelion Foundation chaired by Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani. Working Hands Scholarship Foundation was formed by Yuppeace. Update. YUPPEACE now acts as formation arm of Working Hands Scholarship Foundation.

When YUPPEACE started in 1995 for the World Youth Day in Manila , we were nearly 10,000 volunteers. We were divided then by 5 houses namely: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. About a thousand of us decided to continuously relive the spirit of the World Youth Day and the spirit of volunteerism by meeting in 5 different places without any goal. We simply wanted to see each other while the fire brought by Pope John Paul II was still burning. Believing it was a heaven call, soon, Fr. Armand Robleza , SDB relaunched YUPPEACE as a registered foundation. The thousand remnants of World Youth Day 95 became directors, officers,   house heads, group heads, cell heads, WEST heads, and members of YUPPEACE. The five houses were renamed based on the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Help of Christians , Mother of Christ, Cause of Our Joy, Spiritual Vessel, and Morning Star. After many years of existence, a lot of us have decided to go home to their hometowns in the far provinces of the P...

Last May 24, Yuppeace celebrated Mass to celebrate the feast of Mary, Help of Christians. That mass was especially offered for the healing of John Karl, a boy who needs a miracle. Fr. Armand, asked Joyce to bring a rose and have it kissed by the image of Mary, and send that rose to John Karl. Here's the message of Joyce. "Today, June 5, John Karl celebrates his 2nd birthday. We thank God in all those who have helped him in one way or another survive his challenging journey of life. Biopsy results revealed benign tissue, GIT infected with h.pylori bacteria. We continue to pray for his healing as he struggles with everyday vomiting in tube feeding. Taking little steps to walk and now weighing 9.4 kgs (he used to weigh 6 kgs). Each day is a miracle."

I write my heart, my thoughts, and my soul for my faith community -- the YUPPEACE. This is my way of witnessing to the greatness and goodness of the Lord, Jesus Christ. YUPPEACE [Young Upbeat Professionals for Peace, founded in 1994] is a community of people who used to be "wounded children" but have grown spiritually Christ-centered through various spiritual and psychological formation programs created by this community. Our spiritual director and founder is Fr. Armand Robleza, SDB, a Salesian priest. Currently, the St. John Bosco Parish in Makati is our home base where we meet every Wednesday night. Our activities, though, reach the various provinces of the Philippines. Yuppeace conducts retreats, recollections, seminars, apostolic activities, and other formation programs. If you wish to join YUPPEACE, drop by at St. John Bosco Parish Church compound in Makati at Arnaiz Avenue on any Wednesday at 7:00 PM. You'll find us at the AVR, 2nd floor of the parish building. Eve...

At the Sacred Heart Novitiate The following are text messages from Fr. James Reuter sent via SMS. 02.01.08 "When a man kisses his wife, and his children, he is kissing God." 02.02.08 "When a mother gets up early in the morning to cook breakfast and to serve her family, she is serving God." 02.04.08 "Foreign forces pour money into the Philippines for population control, but the Filipino and the Filipina feel that their baby is worth more than money." 02.05.08 "In the Filipino family, the love among brothers and sisters is shown in this: the elder children chip in to send the younger children to school." 02.06.08 "The President of the Nurses' Association in the State of New York is a Filipina. She was the seventh child. She was put through nursing school in Manila by the contributions of her elder brothers and sisters." 02.07.08 "The bond in a Filipino family grows stronger as time goes by. Our Lolo and our ...

01.01.08 During the revolution of 1896, many brave young men were killed fighting for the freedom of our people. They are our Unknown Saints. Greater love than this no man hath, that he lay down his life for his friends. 01.03.08 The Filipino man has a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is convinced that, somehow, Mama Mary will save him in the end. 01.04.08 When Our Lord was dying on the cross, He gave us a beautiful gift – His mother, Mary. And she has been watching over us ever since! 01.07.08 Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of the unborn, of the child in the womb. She has been the cause of so many miraculous deliveries and of so many abortion survivors! 01.09.08 It is strange how many Filipino athletes pray to the Virgin Mary before they go into competition. They feel that she understands them – her children. 01.10.08 When you pray for those who have gone, it leaves you with peace of soul and with a balanced outlook on life. You realize that yo...

This was my recent visit to the beautiful Boracay Island . With me in the photo are Rona Bunda, Almi Nuguid, Irene Sy, Haids Bongon, & Marie Buhain. Not in the picture are Ichu Rabe & Robust Montealto. These are just a few of my friends in YUPPEACE - an organization that provides psychological and spritual formation. It was my second time in Boracay. My fellow Yuppeace went to Boracay to plan on the foundation that Ichu was planning to put up -- the Connect the Dots Foundation, an organization that provides scholarship to needy children in the Philippines. Boracay Secrets You can download Picasa for free at http://picasa.google.com . "So, here we are. Send us oh, Lord! We embrace the world." -- YUPPEACE

It was my first visit to Boracay; and first to witness the real ati-atihan in Aklan. My mother has relatives in Aklan. If I remember it right, they were the Fuenteses or Gabriels who lived near the church. Incidentally, my friends and I stayed at the home of a priest which was also near the church. I learned about my relatives in Aklan only when I returned home. Fr. Ramiro and Fr. Miguel are priests from Guatemala and Spain, respectively. They ministered to me during their stay in the Philippines. I owe them my road to my redemption from a series of sexual abuses. Some of my friends here are people I met during my journeys with Yuppeace. yuppeace & friends "So, here we are. Send us oh, Lord! We embrace the world." -- YUPPEACE

This is the final artwork of the invitation I made for YUPPEACE Navidad 2007. The pages of the card are attached by a bamboo toothpick. For a dimensional look, I used real bamboo leaves to decorate the card. "So, here we are. Send us oh, Lord! We embrace the world." -- YUPPEACE

"So, here we are. Send us oh, Lord! We embrace the world." -- YUPPEACE

The Invitation This is the invitation I artworked for the Young Upbeat Professionals for Peace (YUPPEACE). It has a Filipiniana theme. The first image is the cover. The second image is the second page. I called it "hinubog ng panahon" (formed by time) because YUPPEACE has molded thousands of Christians through its various psycho-spiritual formation programs. Instead of the usual date and venue details, I wrote a riddle (palaisipan, bugtong) I took the picture of the bamboos at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, Quezon City. If you want to signify your interest in attending the Yuppeace Navidad 2007, you may click this button to direct you to the YUPPEACE Calendar. "So, here we are. Send us oh, Lord! We embrace the world." -- YUPPEACE

MDG's motto is "To serve is God's grace." Translated to Tagalog, "Ang maglingkod ay biyaya ng Diyos." In Latin, it is "Ut servo est a venia ex Deus." The image above shows how it will look like in the MDG's coat of arms. "So, here we are. Send us oh, Lord! We embrace the world." -- YUPPEACE

The Shield One of the faith paradigms of YUPPEACE is about simplicity, which is also one of the four pillars of YUPPEACE spirit. To symbolize simplicity in the Coat of Arms of MDG (Mother of Divine Grace), I used a simple shape for the shield and the color white. A white ribbon envelopes the shield. This tells us simplicity in our daily lives. The white cross, on the other hand, tells us about the simplicity in expressing our faith. (White or silver is Argent in the lingo of the rules of heraldry.) The color of the field is red, the house color of MDG. But for this particular color, I used darker red (almost like the color of the blood) to denote life, royalty, and nobility. (Red is Gules in the lingo of heraldry.) The white (Argent) cross in the middle divides the shield into five fields -- the four quadrants and the cross itself. The cross, complemented by the royal red, represents Christ, His royalty or Kingship, and His nobility. Being white, it signifies light. The cross is at the...

The crest and the helm (helmet), according to the rules of heraldry, should define the achievement of the group or individual to which the Coat of Arms belong. In MDG's case, its achievement is being YUPPEACE itself -- it's creation and existence -- and the individual Christians formed by YUPPEACE. Helm For the reason that we are actually not state soldiers or knights in a combat, we don't have a helmet that we can identify ourselves with. Instead, let's look at ourselves as soldiers of Christ in a battle that fights for our faith and our Church. The Word of God is our helm , symbolized by the Holy Bible . The Wreath, The Crest and the Crown The wreath above the helm is the a pale yellow and Argent flag -- symbolizing the Roman Catholic Church . Nestled on the wreath is a globe with a cross at the center. It symbolizes the transformed humankind -- the wounded people that Yuppeace embraced. Above the globe is fire - symbolizing the Holy Spirit . The Holy Spirit serve...