St. Louis de Monfort and His Books

St. Louis de Monfort was, according to Wikipedia:

"was a French Roman Catholic priest and Confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.

As well as preaching, Montfort found time to write a number of books which went on to become classic Catholic titles and influenced several popes. Montfort is known for his particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the practice of praying the Rosary.Montfort is considered as one of the early writers in the field of Mariology. His most notable works regarding Marian devotions are contained in The Secret of Mary and theTrue Devotion to Mary.

The Roman Catholic Church, under the pontificate of Pope Pius XII canonized Montfort on July 20, 1947. A "founders statue" created by Giacomo Parisini is located in an upper niche of the south nave of Saint Peter's Basilica." 

St. Louis went on a mission and traveled on foot and was also known as a priest, preacher, Mariology writer, poet and founder of a congregation.

He wrote several books:

• Admirable Secret of the Rosary
• True Devotion to Mary
• The Love of Eternal Wisdom
• True Devotion to Mary.
• Secret of the Rosary

Right now I'm reading his book called True Devotion to Mary.  Just click on the link and you may download the book for free.

Here are five website links where you can legally download Catholic books for free:

1. Free Catholic eBooks Download
2. Free Traditional Catholic Books
3. Good Catholic Books
4. Catholic Spiritual Direction
5. Catholic Books Online 

Hope you guys find the spiritual book you need.

World Religions: Handouts for Sacred Places

I found an acrobat document which appears to be a scanned pages of Special Edition of US News and World Report issued November 26- December 3, 2007. The cover title says Sacred Places, Inside the World's Most Spiritually Important Sites and What they Mean Today.

For those who are looking for something substantial and insightful on the subject, this will hopefully serve as a good introduction.

The link is here with the ebay link.

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

As we celebrate the birthday anniversary of Robert "Bobby" Fischer, the American chess Grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion, I am sharing one of my favorite chess books: Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. A chess puzzle book written by Fischer himself and co-authored by Stuart Marguiles and Don Mosenfelder. Both Marguiles and Mosenfelder were leaders in the educational design of their time.

A great starter book for any beginner or interested student of the game. I have given copies of this book to my students and friends. I have repeatedly read and gone through the pages through the years and it helped sharpen my chess skills: tactics and more tactics.

He was an eccentric genius who was known for his controversial public remarks in his later years. He had trouble with the United States Government and this prevented him from going back to his native country in the last years of his life.

Happy birthday Bobby!

My Notes on The Future of Faiths

As I journey through the third term with my seventh graders for my World Religions class, I can't help but smile and give my students an imaginary pat on their backs after the first part of our discussion of the future of religions.

They had been with me since sixth grade and their growth in their knowledge of world religions, different faiths and beliefs were tremendous. Coming from our Face to Faith Team Blogging activity in second term, these kids are now almost-ready to take on their Ethics class next school year.

Thanks be to God for the beauty and satisfaction I find everyday in teaching and the opportunity to be part of the lives of my students. Praise be to God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit and to the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and all the angels and saints!

I'm sharing my notes on my lecture-discussion on the topic The Future of Faiths:

Looking Over the Spiritual Horizon (Religion  Today and Tomorrow) from the book Many Peoples, Many Faith, Women and Men in the World Religions by Robert S. Ellwood and Barbara A. McGraw.

Things Old and New

1. Some of the religions and belief systems we have looked at are very much rooted in the past, if not irrevocably locked in the past. Some of these religions may give religion a romantic patina or sprinkle it with the blood of grisly sacrifices that are all gone, thankfully they're gone.

2. The past is much simpler, more pristine or pure, the works of the Divine more evident and the moral teachings or values are clearer, somewhat.

3. As we move through time and space, as we practice and live our beliefs, it is expected that we bring along our traditions with us, continuously evolving yet staying in the past.

Will religion survive? Will God survive?

In the 18th century, the scholars and eminent voices from the "learned" circles all over the world have predicted the fading away of religion. If we look at history, as we always do in our class, "Death of god" is nothing new. We have seen how a society's religion and the gods it brings along dies or are placed on the sides when a new, more dominant and stronger "civilization" led by its mega-strong army claimed its rightful place in the conquered society.

Religion is always changing. That's a fact. Maybe subtle or the opposite, but it changes.

What are the factors affecting Religions Today?

1. Nuclear Proliferation
2. Technology
3. Ecological and Population Crises
4. Gender Inequity

Work on your reading assignments and we will continue our lecture-discussion next week.Have a great day! Be safe and my the blessing and protection of God be with you all!

The Garabandal Story

Mother Mary, the Mother of God, and St. Michael the Archangel visiting a small, laid-back village called San Sebastian de Garabandal in the early years of 1960's.

According to the Official Website of the Workers of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel:

"San Sebastian de Garabandal is situated at the very end of a winding road cut into the side of the mountain. A solitary cluster of nine pine trees stands starkly on a rise against the horizon to the south. The village itself consists of some eighty rustic stone buildings huddled together on a small strip of land overlooking a wooded valley.

Like Fatima and Lourdes, Garabandal is a place of unearthly serenity and beauty. The villagers were known throughout the region for their piety and their faithful observance of devotional prayer which they offered together as a community several times each day.

In 1961, it was the poorest and most isolated of all the agricultural hamlets in the region. The only access to the village was via the three and a half mile oxcart path that went up from Cosio, the next closest village."

Here are the videos I recently watched and gave me the motivation to pursue the story:

Maria Saraco's First Focus Interview:


Maria Saraco's Second Focus Interview"

Sunday Secrets Since 2004

I've been reading and following Post Secret blog since 2004 and I've seen it from being just a crazy idea from Frank Warren to become a touring event across North America and publish books in the last ten years or so.

Today is a Sunday and while I wait for this week's post to be uploaded, I checked out Frank Warren's Half A Million TED Talk and I'm sharing them to you below:

 

Secrets...

Coursera: Intro to the Science of Cancer

After accomplishing a verified course at Coursera, I enrolled myself in another course, this time its the Introduction to the Science of Cancer. Since March is the time of the year when Colorectal Cancer Awareness is celebrated, I'll be sharing the videos from this course in parts.

Here's the overview from the course:

"The OSUCCC - James is offering this course to help you better understand the many different diseases that together we call “cancer.” We believe that if more people have a better understanding of cancer, they are more likely to take steps to lower the risk of cancer for themselves, their families and their communities. Helping people achieve a deeper understanding of cancer can also lead to improved care for cancer patients.

The course is designed to be accessible to those with limited knowledge of science, but it will also be useful to healthcare professionals who may have limited background in the field of cancer. It is organized so that earlier modules provide information that will help you better understand later modules.

The course is organized so that the earlier modules provide foundational information, through lectures and readings, that will help you better understand later modules. For example, the first four lectures in Module 1 will orient you to the nature of cancer from a holistic and human body point of view, while the last three lectures take you into the cell, where cancer actually starts. These lectuers describe key components of cells, followed by the fundamental cause of cancer: changes in DNA and genes.

Moving on through the course, modules 2 and 3 explain how cancer is diagnosed and treated and build on our first module. Those first three modules together underscore the importance of cancer prevention, which is the topic of module 4. While there is always a possibility that someone will develop cancer during his or her life, there are ways to lower the risk of certain cancers, and those measures will be explained.

Our fifth and last module is about cancer research. Here you will be introduced you to the various types of research and how they advance our knowledge about cancer and lead to new ways to treat and prevent these diseases.

As you progress through the course, be sure to read the articles we’ve chosen from Frontiers, our magazine about cancer research at the OSUCCC – James. In each module, we also provide links to interesting and related videos and web sites. Last but not least, be sure to follow—and contribute to—the course discussion."

There are five (5) modules for the course with required quizzes and final project. You may or may not go through the quizzes and project if you do not intend to have the certificate just like me. I'm taking this one to arm me with the basic knowledge of Cancer --my wife was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, Stage 2.

Module Topics:

1. Module One : What is Cancer? 
2. Module Two : Diagnosis of Cancer 
3. Module Three : Treatment of Cancer 
4. Module Four : Prevention of Cancer 
5. Module Five : Cancer Research 

The course creators are a collection of knowledgeable and veteran doctors and educational program specialists from OSUCCC – James Translational Therapeutics Program and led by Michael A. Caligiuri, MD.

You can check out the team of experts behind the scenes here.

I've downloaded the lecture videos from Module 1 and the links are shared below. Please spread the word. Your act of sharing the information can help you or someone you know who is going through Cancer. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power.

1. Introduction to Module 1

2. What is Cancer?

3. Solid tumors

4. Hematologic cancers

5. Childhood cancers

6. Childhood cancers 2

7. Anatomy of a cell

8. DNA, RNA and Protein

9. Genes and the changes that lead to cancer

Share away and spread the awareness!

Term Break Working Break

Tomorrow will be the 1st and last day of our term break here in school. And like any other term breaks I've had here, it means only one thing--I'll be working on the narratives and marks for my student's report cards. The good thing is I know us, the teachers here in my school (an IB School) are not overloaded with work compared to other schools.

Since yesterday I have been working encoding grades on our ManageBac and while doing so, I've had the sweet time to listen and peek into my favorite movies on Youtube.

Some of my favorites:



I saw this movie with my wife. She found it too childish I found it too good to miss.









Three out of five movies is a Julia Roberts movie, what does that say?



I am Sam movie made me cry inside the cinema, period. And of course my go-to-video to perk me up:



And it's almost time, I have to fix my stuff and go home-sweet-home.

Ash Wednesday 2016

Today, February 10, 2016, marks the beginning of the Lenten Season and almost everyone in the Christian world observes this beginning with Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting, abstinence and repentance. The Latin Catholic Church or the Roman Catholic Church follows the regular Sunday Eucharistic celebration schedule --there is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist every hour in your parish most likely.

In the early days, Christians adopted the use of ashes as a symbol of penance. The Bible makes no specific mention of Ash Wednesday, but practices observed during the day such as mourning in sackcloth and ashes are found all throughout the Old and New Testaments. According to Wikipedia we can find the significance of ash in the bible:

"Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief. When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, "she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying" 2 Samuel 13:1. The gesture was also used to express sorrow for sins and faults. In Job 42: 3-6, Job says to God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." The prophet Jeremiah calls for repentance by saying: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" Jeremiah 6:26. The prophet Daniel recounted pleading to God: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" Daniel 9:3.  Just prior to the New Testament period, the rebels fighting for Jewish independence, the Maccabees, prepared for battle using ashes: "That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes" Maccabees 3:47 and 4:39. Examples of the practice among Jews are found in several other books of the Bible, including Numbers 19:9, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1 and Hebrews 9:14. Jesus is quoted as speaking of the practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13: "If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago (sitting) in sackcloth and ashes."   

It is meaningful and important that this season, members of the church are encouraged to focus on renewal of one's spirituality and that Christ died on the cross for our sins.

Here's a video from Catholic Online's YouTube Chanel to help us understand further about the season:

Learning and Earning a Certificate at Coursera

I did it!

Finally I finished a certified course at Coursera! I enrolled and successfully completed the Sports and Society verified course. It helped a lot that I was granted the verified course under their scholarship scheme.

I think this is just the beginning, there will be more topics to explore, ideas to look into and a lot of discoveries to unearth.

I love to learn and I love teaching but earning certificates online may just be one of the many steps toward success. Certificates are not an assurance of success but this may lead one to a successful path towards one's goal. This also has motivated me to finish a set goal in a specified time frame.

In the meantime, I'd like to share to you my dear readers this video of Coach John Wooden, one of basketball coaches legends:

  

From the YouTube description:

"With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father's wisdom."

Lion's Cup Developmental League 2016

Here is the schedule for the Lion's Cup Basketball Tournament:

.
FEBRUARY 7, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SUNDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U12) KSBS – WC
(U12) JGSS – OLHRS
(U14) KSBS – WC
(U12) CVS – JGSS
(U14) GGCS – DLA
(U12) DLA – OLHRS
(U14) KSBS –ASJ
(U12) CVS – WC
(U12) DLA – KSBS
.
FEBRUARY 8, 2016 @ 7:00AM (MONDAY)
VENUE : JESUS GOOD SHEPHERD SCHOOL
(U14) CVS – DLA
(U14) JGSS – KSBS
(U12) OLHRS – CVS
(U12) KSBS – JGSS
(U14) ASJ – JGSS
(U14) CVS – GGCS
(U12) DLA – CVS
(U12) CSSM – KSBS
(U12) DLA – WC
.
FEBRUARY 14, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SUNDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U12) IUCS – KSBS
(U14) JOSIAH – JGSS
(U12) DLA – CSSM
(U12) IUCS – JGSS
(U12) KSBS – OLHRS
(U14) WC – JOSIAH
(U12) DLA – JGSS
(U12) CSSM – WC
.
FEBRUARY 20, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SATURDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U14) CSSM – CVS
(U14) ASJ – JOSIAH
(U12) IUCS – CVS
(U14) CSSM – DLA
(U14) JOSIAH – KSBS
(U12) CVS – KSBS
(U14) CVS – MFA
(U12) IUCS – CSSM

.
FEBRUARY 21, 2016 @ 7:00AM (SUNDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
(U12) IUCS – OLHRS
REST 1 HOUR
(U12) IUCS – WC

FEBRUARY 25, 2016 (THURSDAY)
VENUE and TIME : TBT
(U12) DLA - IUCS
SEMIFINALS AND FINALS OF U14
.
FEBRUARY 28, 2016 @ 7:00AM (THURSDAY)
VENUE : CAVITE SCHOOL OF ST MARK
SEMIFINALS AND FINALS OF U12

. 

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2016

It will be a long weekend, thanks to our Chinese brothers, they'll be celebrating their new year on Monday, February 8, 2016. What will you guys be doing for three days? Will you still be working at the office? Will you be travelling out of town? Will you be biking with family and friends? What will you be doing?

I will be attending to my basketball coaching and fatherhood duties this coming weekend.

University of Asia & the Pacific Men's Basketball Team will have a game on Sunday for our Summer League and will be playing against Our Lady of Fatima University at the De La Salle-Antipolo Gym. Tomorrow I'll have the whole morning to be with my HS Basketball team, training and coaching. I'll be bringing along my son M for the workouts.

Monday will be a two-game billing for my HS team....Game 2 and Game 6, it will be a killer but my boys will be up to it.

And yes, Yang Chow Restaurant called me up this week and said I won a Set Meal and I can claim it (eat it!!!) anytime. Yehey!

Going back to the topic...

For 2016, according to Chinese tradition and this website, it will be the Year of the Monkey. And better watch out, they say people born in a year of the monkey, 2016 is considered a bad year. Bad year huh? But what do they say about the monkey for the Year of the Monkey?

The Monkey is ninth of the 12 animals in the recurring 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle. Every 12 years there is a Monkey year. Monkey years are all multiples of 12 --- from 12 AD, through 1200 AS to now in 2016.

Beware: Zika Virus Infection

Everyone around me seems to be getting sick and the symptoms are almost the same: feverish to high fever usually at night, coughing and colds. These would go away for awhile and then returns when the medication expires.

I've gone through two weeks of doctor consultation and hospital visits for my children last month due to these symptoms and the doctors would tell me it's viral.

Today I received an email from our HR Manager and I'm sharing it to you here: Medical Bulletin: Zika Virus.

Be safe, be happy.

February Feast Days of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary

Today our brothers and sisters in Forli, Italy and the Catholic Church are celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Fire. Happy feast day to all of you my dear brothers and sisters!

And who is Mother Mary if you may ask?

The Blessed Virgin Mary plays a major role in the salvation history of Mankind. According to the New Advent Website page, "the Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God."

The theology and history of Mary the Mother of God follow the chronological order of their respective sources, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Early Christian and Jewish witnesses.

As part of my share in celebrating Feast day of Our Lady of Fire, I am sharing a book called The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by  Anne Catherine Emmerich.

Also, I am listing below the February Feast days of Mother Mary:

- Eve of the Purification-----February 1 
- The Purification-----February 2 
- Our Lady of Saideneida, Damascus-----3  
- Our Lady of Fire, Forli, Italy-----4 
- Dedication of the First Church of Our Lady by St. Peter, Tortosa, Italy-----5 
- Our Lady of Louvain, Belgium-----6
- Our Lady of the Bowed Head or Our Lady of Grace, Rome-----7 
- Abbey of Our Lady of the Lily, France-----8 
- Our Lady of the Bells, Cathedral of Saintes, France-----9 
- Our Lady of the Dove, Bologna, Italy-----10 
- Our Lady of Lourdes-----February 11 
- Our Lady of Argenteuil, Paris-----12 
- Our Lady of Pellevoisin, France-----13 
- Our Lady of Bournourg, Flanders-----14 
- Our Lady of Paris, France-----15 
- Our Lady of the Thorn, Chalons-sur-Marne, France-----16 
- Our Lady of Constantinople, Turkey-----17 
- Our Lady of Laon, Rheims, France-----18 
- Our Lady of Good Tidings, Lempdes, France-----19 
- Our Lady of Bolougne sur Mer, France-----20 
- Our Lady of Bon Port, France-----21 
- Our Lady of Succor, Rennes, France-----22 
- Our Lady of the Rocks, Salamanca, Spain-----23 
- Feast of the The Procession of Pope St. Gregory  
- with Painting of Our Lady by St. Luke, Rome-----24 
- Our Lady of Victory, Turkey   
- and Our Lady of Great Power, Quebec, Canada-----25 
- Our Lady of the Fields, Paris-----26 
- Our Lady of Light, Lisbon, Portugal and Palermo, Italy-----27 
- Institution of the Monastery of the Annunciation, France-----28

Our Queen of Heaven, Pray for us!

Wednesday Rosary Day

It is time to pray the Holy Rosary everyday because it is time to obey what we were told to do by the Mother of God:

Monday, Rosary Day

It's Monday today and here's the Rosary prayers for today: Joyful Mysteries.



Th Quick Guide to to Praying the Holy Rosary is simple step-by-step instructional website we all can use to share and teach the prayer.

Ever wondered how or when the prayer started?

Check this one, The History of the Rosary.

7th Season of CSSM Lion's Cup

Cavite School of St. Mark Lion's Cup opened last Saturday, featuring basketball and volleyball tournaments for boys and girls in 14 and Under -12 and Under categories. CSSM has been leading the way and providing opportunities of for sports development for students within the province of Cavite.

It's impressive to find out that this is the seventh season of Lion's Cup and that there are two conferences for it, the July-September and February-March.

The wanna-be student-athletes of Cavite will never run out of tournaments to play in.

Great job Coach Alvin and CSSM!

The George Harrison Philosophy

George Harrison talks about life, music and everything under the sun:

Best Version There Is

Today I discovered that there was tribute concert for George Harrison called "Concert for George 2002". George Harrison is often referred to as the "quiet Beatle" who could make his guitar weep long after his days with the Fab Four.

Now we all know that this tribute concert won't be complete and successful without George's friends playing and paying tribute to him.

I've been a big fan of the Beatles and George's music produced after the break up of probably the most successful band in the world is a showcase of how important the guitarist role played in the quartet.

In this video, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr plays "Something" together with Eric Clapton and several others on stage. Sir Paul opened the song with a ukelele played it until the middle part of the song where electric guitars jammed along. Quite soulful without trying to be one. Ang ganda!

This is for my wife, I love you Clara!

Here it is:

    

A Time for Everything

As we all go begin to go through 2016, I'd like to share this video of one of my favorite song, Turn, turn, turn by The Byrds: