St. the Parish Church John Beloved

W NEEKLY BULLETI6 March 2011

Studying in the University of Santo Tomas was an unexpected turn in my life. However,

being a Thomasian turned out to be a big blessing in disguise. UST was founded back in

1611 by the Dominicans led by the first Archbishop of Manila, Miguel de Benavides. It has

survived throughout history. With 400 years of unending grace, the University has pro-

duced a number of significant people in the Philippine history including our national hero,

Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, presidents like Manuel L. Quezon, Jose P. Laurel and

Diosdado Macapagal. The University dedicates herself to the pursuit of truth through the

production, advancement and transmission of knowledge for the formation of competent

and compassionate professionals, committed to the service of the church, the nation and

the global community.

During my first month as a college student in the university, I struggled as I faced

homesickness, culture shock, strict nuns in my dormitory and terror professors all at once.

During those times God’s word has given me comfort and security as I was taught in our

ministry training in the Word Studio to read a chapter of the Bible once a day. However,

when I learned to cope up with college life, I began to neglect spending time with the Lord.

I barely touch my Bible nor pray. My parents would even scold me for not being faithful in

my ministry anymore. In those times, problems in my subjects were still bugging me, it

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By Isabella Senia

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The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adver-

sity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity which is something very different.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the

Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Psalm

91:1, 10)- The place where you are at one with God.

If you are a child `of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you

should not be surprised when you come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of

good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.”

The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often

complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it

means to live the life of a saint.

God does not give us overcoming life – He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of

life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain there will be no strength. Are you asking

God to give you life, liberty and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain.

And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own

timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment- To him who over-

comes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Revelation 2:7) If you completely give of

yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you

get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but

only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the stand-

point of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good” cheer even when seemingly

defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone except God.

The Teaching of

Adversity An excerpt from: My Utmost for his Highest by

Oswald Chambers

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seemed no matter how hard I study I still could not get the grade that I want. My obsession

in redeeming my grades even caused me to regress more and more in my spiritual life, but

still there were no results.

One time I and some of my class-

mates asked Paul, the best student in

our class, where he draws his super-

human intelligence. He answered,

“God, He is the source of all wisdom.”

Later on we found out that Paul, com-

ing from his house in Quezon City,

which takes an hour to get to UST,

arrives in school every day at 5:30 in

the morning to attend the mass held

in the UST’s Santissimo Rosario Par-

ish, the University Chapel. He even

wanted to be a priest before but he

was not permitted by his parents so

he decided to take up Philosophy in the Catholic University of the Philippines. By hearing

this, I was struck and I realized what I was missing and why I struggled so much in my studies-

--God. I’ve been looking for the answer so hard that I didn’t even notice that it was already

in front of me the whole time. In the first place, it was Him that brought me to this path.

Realizing this, I tried to restore my relationship with the Lord and being in UST was of

great help. For instance, in our Theology class we were required to submit weekly reflections

on the Homily in our own Churches for

three months. With this assignment, I

was compelled to pay attention and

take notes every Sunday during the

Homily. At first it was just a routine

for my homework. But somehow,

even after the duration of the assign-

ment, I still take notes every Sunday

and reflect on the Word of God. UST

has also scheduled college masses, rec-

ollections, confessions and prayers

daily, weekly, monthly and some, an-

From page 1, My Life at the...

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nually that has helped me in my spiritual life. As UST promotes a Godly environment, most of

my friends are somehow religious, one of which is Kristine who is a devout protestant, and one

of our most popular class officers. She confidently expresses her faith in God and even invites

us to join fellowships held in their church. Being one of my closest friends, she has shown me

that it is very important for us to let God’s love be manifested in our actions. UST has helped

me a lot and I began to appreciate the privilege God has given me to study at the Royal, Pon-

tifical and Catholic University of the Philippines.

I remembered, back in January 2010, when I found out that I did not make it in the Univer-

sity where I wanted to study, I was somehow devastated. I had everything planned out for

myself, why did God let this happen? I asked. But in time I have learned to accept that it wasn’t

really for me and life must go on. However, at first, I thought that studying in UST was only by

coincidence because I had no other choice as I have only applied for two universities. As I re-

flect on everything that has happened, I realized that everything happens for a purpose and

that God has planned a greater future ahead of me. As it says in one of the posters in our dor-

mitory, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

From page 4, My Life at the...

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Across 1 We have here only five loaves of bread and two ___ (Matt 14:17) 5 And all that handle the ____, the mariners (Ezek 27:29) 6 fishermen’s gear (Mark 1:18) 8 the ship struck a ___ and ran aground (Acts 27:41) 9 One of his disciples, ___, Simon Peters brother (John 6:8) 11 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of ___ (Matt 15:29) 13 "I'm going out to fish," ___ Peter told them (John 21:3 14 A safe place to anchor ships (Acts 27:12) 15 they saw a bay with a sandy ___ Acts 27:39 16 they decided to run the ship ___ if they could (Acts 27:39)

Down 2 rear part of a ship (Acts 27:29-30) 3 where he found a ship bound for that ___ (Jonah 1:3) 4 the men did their best to ___ back to land (Jonah 1:13) 7 the God of heaven, who made the ___ and

the land (Jonah 1:9) 8 weighed anchor and ___ along the shore of Crete (Acts 27:13) 10 roaring of the seas, the roaring of their ___ (Ps 65:7 12 they lowered the sea ___ and let the ship be driven along (Acts 27:17) 13 Jesus crossed to the far ___ of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1) 14 Your hand will lay ___ on all your enemies (Ps 21:8)

Community Meetings TODAY! March 6

Please coordinate with your community leaders.

March 12 & 26 - Bible School 7:00 - 8:30 PM SJB Sanctuary

March 13 - Men’s Fellowship

March 20 - Ladies’ Fellowship

March 27 - Yohanine’s Fellowship