Champions again!

When it comes to cheerdancing, I have the highest respect for the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe and of course, the UP Pep Squad. The creativity, synchronization and level of difficulty of their stunts are remarkable. I am proud of how the UP Pep Squad revolutionized cheerdancing in the Philippines, coming up with unusual stunts, routines and costumes.

This year I was surprised at how much the cheering squads of the other schools have improved, since the last time I watched the UAAP Cheerdance Competition was four years ago. The UE Cheering Squad and Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion impressed me because of their clean performances. On the other hand, I think the FEU Cheering Squad did well too, but their costume hindered me from further appreciating their performance. Despite my admiration for the UP Pep Squad, I was uncertain if they could beat the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe this year. Their execution was flawless, but I felt it lacked "umph." After the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe's performance, I had the same reaction. I was a bit happy though because they were unable to execute one of their pyramids which increased the chances of winning of the UP Pep Squad.

Seeing the performances of all the participants, the top four teams for me were, in no particular order, UP, FEU, UST and UE. In the end, I cannot decide which team will be champion. Once the scores were read, I noticed that the difference of the 2nd runner up to the 1st runner up was .5 and the difference of the 1st runner up to the Champion was .5 as well. It was a close fight, but as the saying goes, in the end, there can only be one. Yes, the UP Pep Squad has regained the title. Woohoo! It has been a long journey for this squad to reach the top again, but in the hearts of all the Iskolar ng Bayan, they have, are and will forever be No. 1.

U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas! U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas!

Dinner at Seaside Dampa

To those kapamilya who were not able to make it.... mainggit kayo, hahahaha....

Steamed Alimango

Inihaw na Panga

Buttered Shrimps

Chili Alimango

Sinigang sa Misu

Baked Scallops

Sweet and Sour Lapu-Lapu

And more!

See more pictures at http://www.zoto.com/iyaleo/albums/7698/

Have a safe trip tita Becky and tito Rhobin!

We love you Lola

Yesterday was a sad day for all of us. Let us all pray for our beloved lola's soul.

... and remember her always.

We love you lola! We will miss you.

What EWTN? EWTN What?

Mmmm. . .

What the heck is EWTN? Editha Won Tongits, naku? No. Esbers Win Two iNnovas? No.

EWTN stands for Eternal Word Television Network. It started out in humble circumstances, sometime in 1980-81 by a Franciscan nun by the name of Mother Angelica. It has grown big since then, through the financial support of Catholics mostly from the US. At present, it is the only 24-hour Catholic global satellite cable TV network, which can also be found in the web at www.ewtn.com, and in radio throughout the US and Canada. Based on survey and data, EWTN cable TV, radio and internet now reaches about 100 million homes worldwide.

For starters, one can't help but be awed about its growth and reach, considering that it all started in an abandoned, beat-up garage of a monastery by a sickly nun who had no money. Think about it for a second. You know how much TV equipment costs, not to mention satellite dishes and airtime. This venture into cable TV in the early 80's truly started with zero money; nothing at all.

Oooh, incidentally, remember Jeanne Young, our very own former actress and TV personality? She now works for EWTN as a producer of various shows for the network. Once in a while, she appears on the shows singing or sharing her story.

EWTN does not have the viewer-base size of NBC, CBS and ABC, or Fox even, but it is not on air for business or profit, you know. It does not air paid TV ads that generate revenues and it does not also charge fees for the airing of its shows. It runs total on donations.

Its only objective is to spread Jesus, the Eternal Word, and what a great job it is doing.

Do I believe that God has a hand in this - the propagation of The Word through EWTN? You bet I do, and millions of others.

In my 6 years or so of tuning in to EWTN, I have heard hundreds of testimonies from people who have once turned away from God but have reconciled with God through some show being aired at EWTN. People who hunger for God's Word have been hooked, yes, literary hooked to the catechism shows; while others who were down experienced conversion by listening to testimonies of other converts.

I can go on and on, talking about miracles of conversions and deeper spiritually but I do hope that you, my blood relations, find time to browse at some of the shows being aired. There are a lot really to view, but all of them point to Jesus. The EWTN website is also a great source of Catholic teaching because it has, in electronic form, copies upon copies of writings and works of great Catholics - from Popes to the Saints.

In this world of so much evil, lies, deceit, hate and anger, I urge you to go back to the teachings of the Church on faith and morality.

EWTN has helped so many people know more about God's love for man and man's search for the truth, and that includes the writer hereof.

Tell your friends about EWTN and what it does. The life you save may be your very own.

Remembering Tito Edward

For whatever its worth, I was not able to pay my last respects to Tito Edward Loilo and commiserate with his grieving family - wife, kids and siblings, particularly Tita Perla. My schedules go a little mixed up but I am guilty by not exerting a little bit more effort to do a Christian obligation of comforting those who are in mourning.

I, however, would like to take this opportunity to make up for my shortcomings by paying tribute to the life of Tito Edward.

I wasn't able to really spent much bonding time with him but most of our time together was spent on the tennis court, giving me free lessons at Fort Bonifacio. He was always jolly, pumped-up and smiling. His PR was very good.

He knew a lot of very important people because of his job and amiable personality. I never got to benefit from his "connections" even if he was very generous in committing himself to it (you know, the kinda stuff you need when asking favors from people who can make decisions), but I had to presume he could deliver what he offered. In short, he was willing to go out of his way to help people, us included, in the same manner he was generous in giving his time to us for free tennis lessons.

In all those occasions I saw him, whether in Manila or in Bulan, I never saw him distressed, angry, sad or down. I had to assume that he must have done his thinking, planning or grieving alone.

He was, for me at least, a man whom I could not talk very serious and deep down topics. I got the impression that I could talk deep advocacies with him like being pro-life or saving the environment. He always took life smoothly, almost as smooth as silk, I suppose.

Let's face it, we could not talk about Tito Nono and Tito Edward in the same space. Its like comparing an apple and durian. Tito Nono is always drawn back, calculating, quiet, mystical even. Tito Edward always celebrated life and tried to capture every moment of it.

To you Tito Edward, I am gonna miss and I am sorry I wasn't able to pay my last respects.

I pray that you already heard these words: "Well done my faithful servant, enter into the joy of My Kingdom."

Who Will You Vote?

In his latest pastoral statement, Cardinal G. Rosales, Archbishop of Manila called on the priests and faithful to vote for candidates who:

• Love and fear God
• Guided by a well-formed conscience
• Always sensitive to the choice of what is good
• Live and serve consistently with moral principles
• Are honest, nonviolent and compassionate
• Respect and protect the limited sources in nature and require others to do the same
•Are ready to sacrifice personal, party or group interest for the sake of unity.

Please try very much to check the background and advocacies of the candidates you are already considering.

Please be extra careful in choosing the "right" Party-List. Being Christians, let us, as a family, support groups which advocate pro-life policies and denounce those which are pro-choice.

Let us protect life from conception until death.

End of the road

No, I'm not referring to one of the popular tunes of Boyz II Men. This goes to Sanjaya Malakar, one of American Idol's 12 finalists. Finally, he didn't get enough votes to make it to the Top 6. I'm not against him personally. I see him as a lost kid, trying to find his way (or himself) while trying to stay alive in the competition. He has proven that he has talent, BUT finds it difficult to shine vocally and performance-wise. First and foremost, American Idol (AI) is a singing talent show. To be specific, one must be a standout singer and performer who has the X factor. For long time viewers of the show, we know that it is expected from contestants to excel week after week after week. The performances of Sanjaya since he made it to the Top 12 weren't noteworthy except for last week. He has been given sufficient time to prove that he is worthy to be the next Idol. Now the verdict's out and the show's (voting) viewers feel that he has failed them.

Arrivederci Sanjaya!


P.S.
What happened in VA Tech was terrible. I hope such violence will never occur again, any violence for that matter.

Easter "Highs"

To all my relatives, I greet you Happy Easter. May the blessings of the Almighty God be with us always. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.

I would also like to greet a belated happy birthday to my brother DJ (April 5), and advance happy birthday to my Dad (April 10) and brother Erwin (April 16). May God bless you and keep and may He cause His face to shine on you, In the name of Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Short Catechism for Holy Week

Allow me to remind you, my beloved blood relations, about what you might have forgotten about what the Church (still) teaches the faithful for a truly blessed and spiritually uplifting Holy Week, the holiest days in the Roman Catholic faith - when our Lord Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday to prove the following points:

1. God's power, love and mercy is more powerful than death.

2. There is life after death. But there is also condemnation for those who reject God's offer of eternal life. Spiritual death is much more terrible than physical death because it can lead to eternal damnation.

3. By rising from death, Jesus gives us hope, that there is indeed a purpose for our existence here on earth. We were truly made in heaven, born on earth and destined back to heaven. St. Paul declares that ". . . Jesus our hope. . ." in 1 Tim 1:1. In St. John's gospel , Jesus says that He is "the way, the truth and the life - JN 14:6, and that He is the only way to heaven and if we follow him, coupled with His mercy, we too will reach heaven.

I can't emphasize enough the healing power of the Sacrament of Confession. I can only tell you in all humility that those who sin the more are most often those who believe that they do not need confession, either because of pride or because they feel that their sins are too grave to be forgiven. However, Jesus death on the Cross outpoured so much mercy that no sin is too big that can't be forgiven.

Confession heals. It reconciles us with God and brings us back to the state of being God's child, similar to the ever famous Bible story of the Prodigal Son found in St. Lukes gospel - Lk 15:11-32. When people are able to let go and let out those which hurt God and others, we feel happier and lighter and whole. Jesus knew this from eternity. That is why one of this first things He said to the Apostles hiding in the Upper Room, after He rose from the dead was:

"Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you. " Then he breathed on them and said: "Received the Holy Spirit. If you forgive peoples sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

If sacramental confession is not needed, why did Jesus have to say this?

In the confessional box, it is God who waits for us. The priest is made an instrument so that God can utter those words of absolution: "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

Please make an examination of conscience before entering the box.

"To Do" List:

For Holy Thursday:

• No fasting and abstinence required.
• Attend the Mass of the Last Supper where there will be a ritual washing of the feet of the 12 Apostles.
• Bisita Iglesia to at least 7 churches, for the adoration of expose Blessed Sacrament and commemorating the Stations of Cross.

What is the Biblical significance of Holy Thursday?

• Jesus perfects and fulfils God's covenant with man, the covenant established first with Adam and Eve, then with Noah and his family, then with Abraham and his tribe, then with Moses and the people of Israel, and with David and the Kingdom of Israel, by saying: "This cup is God's new covenant sealed with my blood which is poured out for you (Lk 22:20)."
• Jesus institutes Eucharist by giving us His body and blood for us to eat and drink, to show our acceptance of God's covenant and to sustain and nurish us spiritually because Jesus said that He is the bread of life which came down from Heaven, and that those who do not eat the bread of life will not have life in them (See JN 6:25-71)
• The Eucharist, taken from the Greek "eucharistia" which means thanksgiving, fulfils the Old Testament thanksgiving offering-sacrifice called the "todah", which offers to God ritually clean, unblimished and prime produce offerings as a thank you for His blessing. No wonder St. John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God, who takes the sin of the world", when he baptized Jesus in the Jordan.
• Jesus, being the eternal High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek, institutes the new order priesthood in the New Covenant, perfecting the Old Testament priesthoods of the first born male child and the Levites after the "golden calf" worship in Exodus 22, because it is only through the priesthood that the eternal thanksgiving sacrifice to God can be made.

For Good Friday:

• Fasting and abstinence required. Fasting is denying yourself food. This is a case of the spirit dictating the physical body. By abstinence, meat is avoided but expensive seafood like lobster, salmon, cod, etc, should also be avoided.
• Attend Mass where there shall be the veneration of Cross and where the Church prays from all the problems in the world - from liberation from war, unity - including the union of all peoples under one universal and catholic faith.

Biblical significance of Good Friday?

The 7 Last Words should be a good point for deep contemplation:

• Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
• Eloi, Eloi lema sabactani - My God, my God, why did you abandon me.
• I thirst.
• Woman behold thy son, son behold they mother.
• Today you will be with me in paradise.
• It is complete.
• Father into they hands I commend my Spirit.

I can go on saying a lot about these words. Suffice to say that up to last moment, Jesus was still pouring out His mercy to man.

The Meaning of Coffee

A colleague sent this to me and I thought I'd share it with you. Happy Reading!

God's Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this... Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups........ .. Enjoy your coffee! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

To blog or not to blog?

First, I congratulate Kalli's Mom and LA, and Leo (who probably is another conceptualizer) for this excellent work of providing our family a web-base venue and forum for sharing - from pictures, ideas, advocacies, faith matters and general interests. Political talk, though a part of everyday life, is allowed but might not fit in well with the concept and purpose behind this blog page - which is the welfare and upliftment of each clan-member's status in life, and his and her deeper conversion to the faith and salvation.

Personally, I believe that the matter on deeper conversion and salvation should be a top priority among ourselves because in the end, we would like to see each and every clan-member in heaven.

Our Christian faith unequivocally teaches that we all live and exist on this earth, not really for ourselves, but for others - blood relations included, of course.

Second, please note that this page has been brought about due to the need to up our Loilo Yahoogroup email a notch or level higher, and to be in-tune with the ever-changing world of the internet.

Third, this page hopes to reach out, though the web, to blood relatives outside the Loilo Yahoogroup, in the hope that they too may have a thing or two to share with us.

Fourth, this page hopes to bring out the best in each of the clan members, to highlight and showcase each and everyone's ability and strenght.

Fifth, this page hopes to foster family ties and bonds since we all are called to love one another.

Every now and then, we expect disagreements amongst family members but that's OK. What is important is that we all have a health respect for each and everyone's beliefs. Whatever it is, we should always subordinate our opinions to the higher cause of strenghtening family bonds amongst ourselves.

Easter is just a few days away and what an opportunity it is to pause and ask for God's mercy and think about family.

What is Family?

(definition taken from Wikipedia)

A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the Roman Empire).

In many societies, family ties are only those recognized as such by law or a similar normative system. Although many people (including social scientists) have understood familial relationships in terms of "blood", many anthropologists have argued that one must understand the notion of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand "family" through other concepts rather than through genetic distance.

Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State".

So what is family to you?

Welcome

Welcome to the Dire Mao /di-re' ma-o/ blog - the blog of the loilo family. I have created this blog as requested by our dear kuya Rommel as a venue for sharing, touching base, self expression, and knowledge exchange.

In this blog, you can expect to read about our family, the Loilo Clan from Sorsogon Philippines. Although our ancestral home is in Bulan Sorsogon, most of us are living in the metro. Others are residing outside the Philippines.

You may also expect to read other stuff in this blog - anything and everything under sun. This blog is also for self expression after all. So even if you don't know us, you're welcome to visit this blog anytime. Who knows, you may find this blog helpful and entertaining - or not.

This blog is still under construction so please bear with the current messy layout. I'll try to fix it this month - if I get some free time.

About the title: The phrase "Dire Mao" is a bicol phrase that means "Isn't It?". I've temporarily used this phrase as the title of this blog for lack of a good title to use. Feel free to suggest one - just leave a comment on this post or email me at loilo_clan@yahoo.com.

Kapamilya, magsurulat na kamo. Kahit dire kita nag-iirimudan, makapag-istorya pa ring kita. Surat na!

Ok, that's enough nonsense from me today.

Happy Browsing!