Dear Jesus,
     Today, I started at Visteon.  Thank you for this chance and opportunity.  The commute is short and pleasant.  Even the traffic is light.
     Holy Spirit give me the wisdom and knowledge to handle this job.  Without you this little brain of mine would not understand any advancement in technology.  I ask also for opportunity to expand my horizon so I may progress in my career or progress in my pursuit in real estate.  My heart still has the desire to be around houses.  You have placed this desire in my heart when I watched my dad draw and design those buildings and houses when I was little.  I know that there is no desire that can not be fulfilled.  By your graces that satisfaction will come in my life time.  Be the lamp onto my feet and direct me to your path.  I rely on you Holy Spirit to guide me through this new endeavor of mine in real estate. 
     My dear Father in heaven, there are so many people to pray for.  You sent these people to cross my path so I may petition for them.  Though I am not worthy to intercede for them, I like to remind you that your Son , Jesus Christ, has already paid for their sins.  Please see us through the holes of the nails that pierced your son's hands and feet.  Have mercy on the souls of the people I have been praying for - my family to start with, my mom, my dad, my siblings and their families, especially Marissa's children.  Please please let them recognize you and love you.  Even with their free will, tug their hearts so they burn with love for you.  Send a priest-to-be in her line of generation.  I pray for May D L, Tony D L, Elsie, Tony W, Victor D, Nolo and his family, Nancy P and the police officers whom I have already forgotten their names, all the people who have ask for assistance in prayer.  Have mercy on our soul and all the friends you've surrounded us.

     Dear Mother Mary, please pray for my brother to come home to the catholic church during my mom's life time.  Answer her petition for my brother.  Mama Mary, shroud my children with your mantle of love.  As I have prayed for a beautiful prayerful spouse, I ask the same for my children.  You're a Jewish Mama who finds spouses for her children.  You have done me a great favor.  I do expect and thank you in advance that you'll find a good spouse for each of my children.  Keep them from harm and difficult temptations.  They are teens now and thier minds are rapidly forming.  Only fill their minds with things that help them grow to the right path of life.  Mother my heart (and also my mom) will be over joyed when Gabio decides to serve your son completely.  Continue guiding him to technically know then burn this heart with love for Jesus - the true agape love that is so powerful, it can move mountains.  St. Augustin, St Francis, St Teresa of Avila, Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Mother Angelica, Gabio has some of your personalities and traits.  Please pray for him and guide him, Gabio, so he may be a strong church lover and defender, influencer, supporter, pastor, teacher, leader, model and intercessor for everyone who comes in contact with him.
      St. Michael the archangel and guide for my son Michael, please always be around him and make his heart strong for the love of the Lord.
     St. Rafael the archangel and guide for my daughter Rachel, please always be around her and make her heart strong for the love of the Lord.
     All these I ask in Jesus' name.
     Amen.

God is good all the time!

Praise God for He is wonderful!
My heart was full of joy watching the graduates of singles encounter retreat #4 BONDING.

First we gathered at the dining hall preparing for the Eucharistic celebration for our SE#4 grand reunion. Of course our fellowship is always associated with "when do" or "window". People bring in their favorite dish to pass. The question "when do we eat" or "when is the window for eating" is priority. First the drinks - water, soda pop, arizona tea. Then the hopia (which was kept hidden for later after mass). Then Mike's Korean bar-b-que, then Tita Dita's Pinoy bar-b-que in skewers, Tita Sally's yummy spaghetti with huge meat balls, someone brought potato salad, then Annettes "healthy" BLT pizza - with lots of bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and heavy mayo, then the desserts of biko, cheese cakes & crispy turon saging. Everyone had their fill. And then there were more . . .

Onto the mass: The SE#4 grads brought their own praise and worship music! How great - complete with drums, violin, guitar and vocals. Faith, Krystle, Girard and Jarryd have beautiful voices. They got me dancing on that last song - "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever".

Some of the comments from the SE#4 grads were:
"The SE gave me courage. I am able to speak in front of people now." - Dominic
"I've learned to make time for God." - Ann Marie
"I've learned to let go of grudges." - Rachel
"SE opened my eyes and set me up onto the right direction in life." - Jarryd
"The most noticeable change in me I learned is to forgive and forget." - Albert
"We are serving the same master no matter which group we are in." - Girard
"God makes many changes in minute ways." - Michael

Keep bonding - like a coal in a fireplace - everyone helps keep the fire burning in each other's heart as they worship together our One Great God.

Catholic Singles Retreat in Michigan

Searching and searching everywhere for the meaning of life. When you get to a point where you have to make life decisions - you are growing. You may not have all the information to make a confident decision. However - you still have to make choices. For if you don't initiate the selection - destiny will decide for you. Which in effect - you have made the decision to not decide. Sometimes your emotions will lead you to search for answers in books, sometimes in solitude, sometimes in parties, sometimes in friends. Emotions are so undependable. They come in and go like waves on the shore. The high and lows of it stirs chemicals in your body where some effects give you euphoria and some give you depression. Do you hear the knock on the door? Yes, somebody is knocking at your door - the door to your heart. Don't be shy, let a friend in - Jesus. He is such a gentleman. Wait till you look into his gentle eyes. You'll be able to read in them that He already knows you. Before you even attempt to open your mouth to say something - he already knows how to comfort you. Keep your focus on Him. Give Him first dib on your life and He'll add everything else to what you need. Once you begin to understand Him, He will overflow your heart with joy - sometimes this joy lingers for many days. If you are single, come enjoy Jesus' company in a Catholic Singles Encounter retreat. You'll be with new and old friends who are of the same mind set. The retreat will be held at St. John Youth and Family Center in Plymouth, Michigan on July 11 through 13, 2008. Contact Dita at (248) 640-3742. You'll be glad you did.

Invitation to BLD Catholic Singles Encounter retreat

Hey, hey, hey. Are you on your "fork on the road" in life? Are you searching for a deeper meaning or your purpose in life? Come and join single catholic folks like you who are on their journey to discovering themselves through an Encounter with Jesus Christ.

You are invited to discover and strengthen your purpose in life as a single catholic through an encounter with Jesus. The Bukas Loob sa Diyos (Open your spirit to God) Covenant Community of DETROIT (BLD) is sponsoring Singles’ Encounter No. 4 Weekend for you. This will be held from Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13, 2008. Registration will start promptly at 5:30pm on Friday. The Encounter weekend will end approximately 4:30pm on Sunday. The venue will be at The Retreat Center at St. John’s, 44011 Five Mile Road, Plymouth, Michigan 48170, Tel. No. (734) 414-1111. Mapquest or Googlemap finds this.

Come, say ‘yes’ to Jesus. Bring friends or meet new friends who are on the same journey. We know you will find this weekend to be very rewarding and full of opportunities to reflect on your present life as well as to discern its meaning. As you deepen your interpersonal relationships with family and friends, you will realize a closer, more personal connection with God. You shall experience His love in a very intimate way. We promise you a very invigorating and life-changing weekend.

The cost including meals, lodgings and materials is $100.00 per person.

Please fill out Application Form (http://www.blddetroit.org/links.htm) and return to us on or before June 3, 2008 with your $50.00 deposit. Deadline for full payment is on June 25, 2008.

In the love and service of the Lord,

Tony & Dita Alojipan ---
Coordinators, Singles Ministry--
(248) 640-3742 (Dita);
antonioalojipan@yahoo.com

Romy & Laida Laranang --
District Council of Stewards --– Pastoral
(248) 559-6243; romnel06@sbcglobal.net

Don't be lonely now.

You don't have to be lonely now. Have a profound experience of a higher level through the help of the Holy Spirit. Let him accompany you to lofty adventures you never would think of yourself. When he calls for a deeper interaction - let him lead the way. Amazing things start happening many of which are unexplanable - for the unbelievers. Relax - he is in-charge. He knows what he is doing and he always lets you in on the plan. Humility is the door that reveals the Father's plan to oneself. Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble. Help me to acknowledge that nothing comes from me. Help me to accept that everything comes from you. Come Holy Spirit come - give me the wisdom and understanding to know lofty things only you can reveal. Come Holy Spirit come now.

BLD-Detroit covenant community sponsors a retreat for young Catholic Singles in July 2008

With the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, more of the youth and young adults are set on fire to know and love our Lord Jesus.

This is an invitation to a formal retreat to encounter the Lord Jesus who is calling you and inviting you to come even closer towards Him. If you are single and Catholic - do you feel the Spirit moving you to find a venue where people of your age and conviction are gathered together - kind of hanging out with each other - in an intimate way - for the Lord? One of the venues that can help facilitate your responding to getting to know the Lord Jesus is the Catholic Singles Encounter Retreat - presented by the BLD-Detroit covenant community. This will be held at the beautiful, peaceful, contemplative grounds of the St. John Family and Youth Center in Plymouth, Michigan on July 11, 12 and 13, 2008.

Here, you'll meet singles who are being changed or already changed by the Holy Spirit even before coming to the encounter weekend. Some have fully accepted the desire to be with the Lord and some are just getting started in having attraction towards the Lord. The most difficult part of the retreat is to say ‘yes’ to attend a whole weekend dedicated to experiencing the presence of God. Most singles have multiple demands on their time. Some have colleges; some have work, some have both. There are parties to celebrate, cafes to meet friends in, basketball and football teams to cheer for, new-beer-tasting events at different pubs; laundries and chores to attend to reserved only for the weekend. In spite of all these heavy demands on your time – when you feel the tug of the Holy Spirit – do not resist. Resistance is futile. Come in obedience to the calling that is put deep in your heart. You are God’s chosen children and you are naturally drawn to the Heavenly Father. Say ‘yes’ to spending personal time with the Lord for the weekend. What time you give Him in a weekend – He will multiply it a hundred-fold in your lifetime. Here's the website for more information and to register. For more info and to register for the retreat, here's the address: http://www.blddetroit.org/links.htm.

Testimonial:

. . . I would like to give a concrete example, that being of my brother Ray, Singles Encounter #2 (SE2) graduate. My brother Ray had his calendar filled with golf outings...Even more resistant to the weekend than I was (who has graduate school to attend to), he was emphatic that he was NOT going to attend. I did not even imagine he would show up, let alone graduate from SE2...And though my mother tried her best, I really believed forces bigger than you and I made it possible for him to make his first steps toward St. John's Center that fateful Friday afternoon....During dinner that evening, I tried to gauge his mood and he was light as air, which if you know my brother, he is always 'on turbo boost', very serious, very business-minded...But his relaxed and happy mood during dinner told me that the job had already been done. My brother has been changed because he said ‘yes’ to God. Way before the encounter weekend, behind the scenes and without us knowing, the Holy Spirit had already penetrated the most vulnerable and sacred part of my brother that only God and HE alone had direct access to! HE changes hearts. HE changes souls. Because of this, my brother was open to a close and intimate encounter with God through a BLD Singles Encounter. Glory to God!

Yours respectfully, Claire O. - Plymouth, MI

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Catholic Singles Encounter Retreat in Michigan

Energize your understanding of the single life. Intermix with single Catholic adults 19 and above and exchange camaraderies in a solemn as well as friendly atmosphere during this retreat. Retreat, according to Wikipedia says "it's the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from one's usual environment in order to immerse in a particular subject matter". The real encounter in a singles retreat is with the Lord Jesus. It will be a time of solitude experiencing one on one our personal Lord and Saviour. It will also be a time of community with believers of the same personal Lord and Saviour supporting each other and encouraging each other to deepen one's faith.

Are you searching for a deeper meaning of your purpose in life?

Come join BLD-Detroit's Catholic Singles Encounter Retreat at the beautiful St. John's Family and Retreat Center in Plymouth Michigan. This retreat is scheduled the weekend of July 11, 12, & 13 2008.