St. Valentine's Day and a Run-around on Catholic Relationships Resources on the Net

Painting by Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo da Ponte) [Public domain] 1500s

Pope Francis Hears Confessions at Vatican Jubilee for Teens

Late St. John Paul II Post 2014

By Zygmunt Put (Own work) 

I was busy.  Sorry.  Happy Hallow's Eve.

More than a week has passed since St. John Paul II's feast day.  Factoid: It's his first feast day since he was canonized just months earlier by Pope Francis.  I'm still wrapping my head around the idea that I was alive during his time.  I was able to see him in the newspapers or watch him on TV.  I even saw him during 1981 when my Mom carried me on her shoulders.  In 1995, I was not really into the faith, to make it more lightly, that's why I wasn't in Luneta then.

My head wrapped like fried spring rolls, I had to contend that this guy was real, like me and you, and he has just 2 miracles more than us.  Well, 2 recorded and confirmed miracles.  He had youthful pursuits (being an actor), coming-of-age decisions (becoming a priest), goes to confession and a had lifetime of struggles and joys.  He even liked the Princess' Bride.  Tom Hoopes of the National Catholic Register listed 10 reasons why he thought St. John Paul II liked the Princess' Bride.  Here were my favorites:

Cardinal Tagle on Confession and Love

By Judgefloro [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I was able to watch this episode at home before I went to Mass that Sunday.  The Word Exposed is a Jesuit Communications show featuring Luis Cardinal Tagle giving his reflections on the liturgy of the Word for a particular Sunday.  Afterwards, he tries to answer questions taken from Facebook and other media.  Since we're about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I got excited when I watched it.

There's a part where I liked in which he reiterated a question: "Why does the Sacrament of Confession have many names?"  Click the link to watch the video.  You can also watch his homily on the Gospel for that day which is about true free will, grace, and God's love fulfilled by Our Lord as Jesus fulfills the law as "the apex of the freedom is found in love" and "only in the heart where true love, pure love is found can we also find true freedom and true obedience to the will of God".  

Excerpt of Interview of Crystallina Evert (in Manila) for Real Love Revolution

You can go to OneBillionStories.com for the complete video and see some of the pictures including the one where they took a shot from behind the stage and got everybody in the audience during Real Love Revolution 2013.  Wohoo!

From seeing failed relationships to going down a spiral not "realizing how far you are going" just to "numb the pain, to numb the reactions" and then taking a chance on attending a talk to understanding that she didn't want to feel ashamed of herself anymore, its a great message from Crystallina Evert about trusting God and knowing what love really is.  

J & C Evert 2013

The plenary hall was full, most of whom were teenagers, who are at the point in their lives where they are looking for what matters most.  They came up and despite the quiet way the Everts' entered, they got a semi-rockstar welcome.  

You can get the books, the audio, visit their new apostolate, but their spirit, love and message comes from a source, where faith, hope and love come from.  May they be showered with graces.

Blessed John Paul II, Jason Evert and September 7

It seems like a strange triad of people and a date but read on for a few moments.  There is great news about the confirmation of sainthood to be given to Blessed John Paul II following news a few days ago of a woman in Costa Rica who was cured through his intercession.  It only affirms our understanding of the man; his life and works are made of good fruit, like the good book shows us.  Ultimately, that is how we will be assessed at the end of all things, not on our looks or how much we have, but by the fruits.  

Some of those good fruits were in Blessed John Paul's writings such as papal encyclicals, for example Laborem Exercens (On Human Work), Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason).   Additionally, he also had his audiences where he was able to convey his work on the Theology of the Body (TOB), a collection of 129 speeches he gave during his Wednesday audiences starting in 1979.  

These audiences delve into our relationship with God, his divine plan and how it is expressed through our bodies, weak as it may be.  Coming from the TOB Institute, it gives a hearty description of the TOB.

"John Paul’s theology of the body not only paves the way for lasting renewal of marriage and the family; it enables everyone to rediscover 'the meaning of the whole of existence, the meaning of life' (TOB 46:6)".

For The Singles Out There - Excerpt from "How to Know You've Found Your True Love"

View image | gettyimages.com

Love, Life and Everything in Between Talk - Excerpt - by Jason Evert

I've been looking for a  Jason Evert video on Youtube and I stumbled on this one which was done here in Manila when he visited.  It's a great talk by Jason Evert on life and love, for people who are thinking of the next 6 months with someone special then finding out about eternity.