Vlad M. was born on a warm summer's night in San Carlos City in the Philippines. He spent the first 8 years of his life there after which time he arrived with his parents to Canada. He quickly earned the title, 'Bible Boy' from his Grade 4 colleagues as he was heard in recess spouting Scripture by heart. From then on, he cultivated what appeared to be a natural aptitude to theology. His studies led him to pursue a Bachelor's degree with a specialist in Christianity and Culture at St. Michael's College and a Master's degree in Divinity at Collegium Christi Regis, both at the University of Toronto with the hope of continuing on to complete a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. An aspirant to the Secular Order of the DIscalced Carmelites, he is also acquainted with ministry at parish and diocesan levels. His religiosity ranges from Augustine of Hippo and John of the Cross, music and the arts to reruns of the Simpsons, Golden Girls and Keeping Up Appearances.

   

1. Within me is the living water which says deep inside me, "Come to the Father" (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

 

2. Christ made himself known to me, he has captured my heart and has never let it go since. He is my first and last love, my way, my truth, my life. My life makes no sense without him...

 

3. I've come to experience faith as that belt that Jesus described would be wrapped around my waist taking me to where I do not want to go.

 

4. Elephants changed my life in ways others would never fully know!

 

5. Four living people crossed my path in one specific moment, touched my deep core and impacted my life: A stranger in a school parking lot on Easter Sunday evening, Sr. Marie de Veretuille CSJ, Manang Vanessa Bringas, Angie Carboni.

 

6. No show has made me laugh as much as the Golden Girls.

 

7. I enjoy high culture.

 

8. Two stories that continually frame my view of humanity and the world: "The Grand Inquisitor" from The Brothers Karamasov by Fyodor Dostoevsky and "A Short History of the AntiChrist" from War, Progress and the End of History by Soloviev.

 

9. I've come to appreciate questions and things that make me go, "hmmm."

 

10. I'm always so careful when using the word, "love."

 

11. "You'll understand when you're older" I was once told. It appears as if I'm beginning to enter that "older" phase of life. I don't know how I feel about this.

 

12. While still in the process of discerning, I am moving closer and closer to the conviction that the seeds of my vocation are sown at Carmel.

 

13. I am human, with my own weaknesses and failures. I brag a lot but I am no better than anyone else, I have my own struggles and one too many times, my journey consists of falling and persistently getting up again.

 

14. Many saints have made the path clearer and more understandable but not as much as Augustine and John of the Cross.

 

15. I cannot stand city life. Even though I've been living in a suburban area of the past sixteen years of my life, I'm a small town/quasi-rural type of person.

 

16. Although I often miss grounding myself in this truth, it is deeply rooted in my heart: I am more than my contingent reality, I am more than my choices, I am more than the sum of my strengths and weaknesses, I am more than what others see me, I am more than my sexuality-- my deepest and most authentic identity is held in the Mystery that has captured my heart.

 

17. Although the journey has been a difficult one, I have absolutely no intention of ending my life. There are many times when I can summon no motivation to continue, when I easily succumb to negative thoughts, when I hide behind temporary reliefs but at through it all, I am determined to keep moving forward.

 

18. There are those who map a road but find the destination entirely different and there are those who have reached the destination even before realizing it.

 

19. Scars are the rubies of our victory. In Heaven, they will shine with the splendour of the risen Christ. The way of life is a rendezvous with Lady Pain.

 

20. I have 'emo' sensibilities. As is reflected in #21. lol.

 

21. There is value in the darkness. As life is composed of nights and days, winters and summers, sunny and rainy days, so our lives too consists of good and not so good days. Often times, our falls can teach us more than our strengths.

 

22. There is a difference between optimism and hope. Optimism says, "Don't worry, be happy, all will be ok." Hope, however, does not envision life as a linear progression-- the future may involve more pain, more heartaches, more darkness and more confusion, but it rests assure on the promise that ALL of it follows the rhythm of Grace. It is not easy but it is worth the journey.

 

23. It is in difficult times where real friends show their true colours. True friends will love you as they point out your falls. Unreal friends are those who, seeing your wounds, shun you away. Not every criticism is bad and not every assessment is accurate.

 

24. Love is NOT about making you happy. It is a form of initiation that may radically transform you, making you more of who you are and less of who you have been. ... Love gives you a sense of meaning but it asks for a price. It will make you into the person you are called to be but only if you endure its pains and allow it to empty you as much as it fills you.

 

25. A little boy was a given a burning ember. 'What am I to do with this?' he asked. 'The village needs a flame.' came the reply.'Ignite a fire'

Not knowing how to properly hold the the hot and fragile ember, he enclosed and sealed it in a jar of clay. In time, the ember so heated the jar that it was burning his hands. He knew he needed to break it open. For seven days he tried, resulting only in cracks and scratches. Not knowing how to break open the jar, in desperation, he threw it, hitting another boy and consequently hurting him. This was on the eve of the eighth day. The jar did break and the ember was released... but it was a bittersweet moment: his coal is free but at the expense of hurting another. The village, rightfully so, was angered by having hurt the boy. The Ember-Boy was angry at himself because all he wanted was to share a flame.

 

It is said, the 8th day is first day is the first day of the new creation. It is the first day of the week and the last. It is the day of eternity. It is the day of perfection. It is in time and outside it. It is the day of redemption

 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Real names tell you the story of the things they belong to... It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.

"Treebeard" THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, J.R.R. Tolkien

  

Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'

Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades

For ever and for ever when I move.

How dull it is to pause, to make an end,

To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!

ULYSSES, Alfred Lord Tennyson