Sharing a Christmas letter from a friend, a devoted monk.

December 22, 2012

Greetings from New Melleray! Winter has covered the Iowa plains with snow, but God
continues to kindle the fire of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as we eagerly await the coming of Christ.

Many of you have asked me, “what is life in the monastery like?” From the surface our life is not that different from secular life. I cook, clean, assemble caskets, do laundry, and take classes like Monastic Spiritual Theology (Spring ), Intro to Old Testament (Fall ) and singing. Earlier this year, I assisted with the care of the sick brothers. Today I just finished digging parsnips out of the ground.

But beneath the surface, our life fulfills what was spoken of the Messiah who will come “announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation.” Isaiah 52:7.

“Announcing peace” - In a world plagued by violence between peoples of: 1) the same
nationality (Syria); 2) different ethnic groups (Palestinians and Israelites); 3) the same household (DV), it is nothing short of miraculous to have thirty men (not related by blood nor of similar personality) living together in fraternal charity.

“Bearing good news” - More than ever our culture tells us that only with money, power, sex and the latest electronic gadget can we possibly be happy. Living a simple, celibate, vegetarian and secluded life we announce that even if we are deprived of everything we can find joy in the good news of Jesus Christ. As St. Anselm writes, “a sacrifice willingly undertaken does not lead to wretchedness.” Cur Deus Homo. All the ordinary activities I listed above are done for the sake of Christ and so become consecrated to God and for His glory. We also “bear good news” when in imitation of Mary who carried our Lord Jesus in her womb, we also carry the word of God in our hearts as we meditate on Holy Scripture throughout the day (at work and at chapel).

“Announcing salvation” - Monastic life foreshadows what we will be doing for all eternity – gazing at the “serene and kindly countenance” of our Father. Eucharistic Prayer I. I had the pleasure to see many of you this year (and make new friends too!). Several of you noted that I had lost weight. Some ask why don't you eat more? Part of it is vanity: I don't want to look like a giant jelly donut!
But the main reason is that “fasting raises the mind to the contemplation of divine realities.” Summa Theologica II-IIa, q. 147, art. 1. In turn as we contemplate God, the mind is no longer “dragged down by thoughts of food, nor anxiety concerning dress; it keeps holiday from earthly cares and devotes all its energies to the acquisition of the good things which are eternal.” St. Basil, Letter 2. Perhaps more
importantly, we begin to see Christ in each other anticipating the reality of heaven where we will all love one another.

I am excited about this life because in praying seven times a day in Church we join all the redeemed who praise God day and night singing without end: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Rev 4:8. My prayer is that Christ, the splendor of eternal light, may come and enlighten our hearts that we may become children of light. Thank you for being part of my life.

We remain united in Christ,

The Making 0f Eca Mamaco

Nostalgia. My brother Chito's notes on the Eca Mamaco MTV:
6 years ago, July 2006, when the FBB reunion planning committee was conceiving of a theme for the forthcoming 31st Bautista-Bautista-Carrillo Family reunion in December, the idea of not forgetting the Bautista roots was seeded by KoTon and Teresa to Tita Tessie.

KoTon’s concept dwelt on looking at the future through the past which Teresa translated in words “E mu cacalinguan, Bautista ca.”

The idea eventually evolved as a song presentation using the original Pampango lyrics of ”E ca mamaco”, popularly believed to be composed by Lolo Felix Bautista. To put life to the song, Tessa visualized an audio video presentation featuring family members’ old and contemporary photos against the soundtrack of the familiar Pampango folk music.

Encouraged by the general excitement and acceptance, Teresa initiated the planning and production of an MTV funding the creation of a musical bed, minus one and a dummy soundtrack.

Initially assessed by the oldies Tita Betts and Tita Tessie even Ate Corrie, inputs on the raw output were provided centering on the correct syntax, pronunciation and structure. As further enhancements were made, old photos were collected coming mainly from the files of Tita Tessie, the Razon’s and even the Vergara’s and the Carrillo’s. Contemporary photos were grabbed from the files of Mayo Bautista and other younger photographers.

As the line producer of the project, Tessa working with husband Raul laid in the final soundtrack and oversaw the appropriate use and transition of the visuals. Tita Tessie saw it appropriate to end the presentation with Tatat and even provided a bookmark with Tatat’s picture as a material for digital scanning.

3 December 2006, in the air conditioned social hall of the Carrillo’s at the Don Enriquez Subdivision in Quezon City watched by about 200 relatives, “E Ca Mamaco” was premiered and warmly received by relatives and friends. Using technology, the video was privately circulated all over the world to share the message of not forgetting one’s roots, that of a Bautista. (It was on the same reunion when we launched Tita Nette's book Dear Pamangkin. to immortalize her letters to her pamangkins.)

Because of the association of the MTV with Teresa and the use of her voice in the raw outputs, it has created an urban myth that she sang the soundtrack. We leave it at that, a myth.

In the 37th Bautista-Bautista-Carrillo reunion hosted by the FBB at the Bel Air Multipurpose Hall in Makati, “E Ca Mamaco” in its original edit was aired to close the glorious family reunion as requested by the birthday celebrant Tita Tessie.

Six years after its premiere, “E Ca Mamaco” still evokes the same message but with a deeper appreciation for its intention because so many milestone events have happened and a stronger call of bonding is needed. The presentation reminds us that the Bautista will endure because “E mu cacalinguan, Bautista ca.”

Thanks to all who helped make it happen. Maligayang Pasko!

http://tochsarchives.blogspot.com/2012/12/e-ca-mamaco.htm
h

Eca Mamaco

Nostalgia. A video of our Bautista Family, by sister Tessa and Eca Mamaco sung by her. Nice to see Lolos, Lolas, Titos, Titas, cousins. I spy 10 photos of me of yore; siempre, kapatad ang gumawa, our photos were accessible. An updated one with other families' photos will be made. So send your photos now (easy to do now); K. Chito can keep them for Tessa.

http://tochsarchives.blogspot.com/2012/12/e-ca-mamaco.html

Mangan Tamu: Recipes of Love

A feature on the family's cookbook, Mangan Tamu, 2012 by Ms. Ballesteros,
Lifelong Learners. Carmelita C. Ballesteros

Mangan Tamu: Recipes of Love

What does Mangan Tamu mean? Is it a Japanese manga (comics)? Why would my friend Tish, a noncomics person, give me a manga?
Well, after a closer look at the book’s cover, I realized that it’s a cook book. “Mangan” is pronounced with the Filipino /ng/ sound as in “ngayon” which means today. The sentence, “Mangan Tamu,” is the Kapampangan equivalent of “Let’s eat.”
My family and I flipped through the pages of the book and found ourselves smiling, chuckling, laughing and enjoying the stories behind the recipes.
Compiled and edited by Gigi Bautista-Rapadas and Tish Bautista (2012), it is a tribute to their aunt, Noli H. Bautista. The back cover says, “The kitchen was her haven and all of us who tasted her food tasted heaven.”
Although Noli, fondly called Tatat by her nieces and nephews, never married, she gave birth to several generations of food-lovers and kitchen wizards in the Bautista extended family. She always told them that the magic ingredient is LOVE.
Bound by the enduring ties of family, the Bautistas around the world contributed recipes learned from Tatat as well as from other family members and friends. Here’s a sampling:


MORISQUETA TOSTADA a LA TATA PAUL. I’m putting this ahead of Tatat’s recipe because it captures the spirit of the book and Tatat’s legacy. Contributor Ditos Capati writes, “…I couldn’t give any measurements as these are all tantiya-tantiya and just gut feel. So sorry, cannot say kung ilan ang ano!”
Ingredients: Leftover rice refrigerated overnight, Leftover pork chop or barbecue or fried chicken chopped in small bits, Eggs, Chopped garlic, Salt, Oil (Purico then).
Procedure: 1) Soak the refrigerated rice in water while at the same time breaking it up with your hands so the rice grains get all separated. Drain the water afterwards and dry. 2) Heat up the oil with the chopped garlic and when brown, pour all the rice mixing it until almost dry.
3) Now dump in all the pork or bbq or chicken. Break eggs over the rice and mix them in. Don’t bother scrambling them as they will end up scrambled anyway. 4) Keep mixing until the rice is fully fried and voila! Kanin na, may ulam pa!


ESCABECHE A LA TATAT. This is from the affectionate recollection of Lorni Capati-Dillon.
Ingredients: Fish, garlic, onions, ginger, sugar, vinegar, salt, cornstarch, red or green bell pepper.
Procedure (verbatim from Tatat): 1) Fry fish a little (not fully cooked). Set aside. 2) In a pan, guisa (sauté) bawang (garlic), sibuyas (onions sliced big), ginger and a little water. 3) Add sugar, vinegar, salt and cornstarch. 4) Add fish, let boil. 5) A few minutes before being fully cooked, add sliced pepper (red or green).


DRINK OF THE GODS. Actually, this is a nontraditional recipe. It comes with a heart-warming, funny, and nostalgic anecdote written by Ditos Capati.
Tata Nilo loved spending time with his nephews back in Pampanga in the 1950s. The sharpest sharpshooter in the neighborhood, he was adored by his nephews. They loved Tata Nilo because unlike their parents, he didn’t make them take a bath. He would take them hunting birds, then he and the boys would grill birds as well as hito and bulig for lunch.
One day, Tata Nilo took them boys to a sugar cane field where a carabao was pulling huge gears to draw juice from sugar cane. The juice was being cooked in a cauldron to make raw sugar. Thick and black, raw sugar looked absolutely revolting.
Tata Nilo asked for bamboo glasses, had them filled with raw sugar, then told the boys to try it. Fearless cowboys that they were, they downed the enemy in one gulp. It was the sweetest drink with a divine sweetness beyond words. It’s the drink of the gods!
DOREEN FERNANDEZ’S LECHE FLAN. Doreen Fernandez, the food guru, was also a literature professor. She and Tish Bautista were visiting lecturers at the Ohio University in Ohio, USA in 1983. Tish, like other international visiting lecturers, was invited to showcase a native dish during a party for students.
Tish writes, “Doreen knew I had a fear of kitchens and so she taught me the simplest recipe she knew – the recipe below.”
Ingredients: 1/4 cup sugar to caramelize, 1 regular-sized can evaporated milk, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar.
Procedure: 1) put 1/4 cup sugar in big leche flan llanera and caramelize directly on burner. Do not stir with a spoon. Just swirl and slide back and forth over the fire until it turns amber. Watch carefully as this burns easily. Let cool. Caramel should harden.
2) Beat eggs slightly in a bowl, just to break the yolks. Add milk and sugar and stir gently, just until combined. Tip: do not use a mixer for this, otherwise bubbles will form. 3) Pour mix into a llanera – make sure caramel has completely cooled and hardened before doing this. Cover with aluminum foil.
4) Steam leche flan over boiling water for about 40 minutes. To check for doneness, remove foil cover and gently shake llanera. Flan should be firm. 5) Cool leche flan completely before serving. Run a knife around the edges and then invert onto your serving plate. Caramel should coat top of flan and run down the sides.
SPAGHETTI IN A JIFFY OF TITA AGGIE. When maids take a day off, the kids are drafted for kitchen duty so they would learn how to cook. But some simply don’t like cooking. What happens when the maids are not around and no one among the teenage kids know how to cook?
Fortunately, there’s Tita Aggie whose recipe below is a real lifesaver. It can be done in 10 minutes and it tastes so good you would eat your plates clean.
Ingredients: 1 box of spaghetti, a big can of tomato sauce, a can of Libby’s Corned Beef, and Tita Aggie’s magic hands.
Procedure: 1) Boil the spaghetti until pliant enough. 2) At the same time, heat the pan with the tomato sauce in it. 3) Mix in the corned beef and stir to perfection. 4) Pour the spaghetti into the pan and stir them all together.


Mangan Tamu is a simple cook book with no pretensions to culinary perfection. The loving, honest, down-to-earth, and funny anecdotes thrown generously into the recipes turn them into priceless ‘value meals.’
For comments or inquiries, please e-mail Dr. Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista

Memorial Day, 2012

Something I wrote in 2010, reposting.

MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012
Memorial Day is a day to remember and honour those who died in service for the United States of America. It was originally called Decoration Day. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed on 30 May 1868. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Small American flags are placed at the graves of our veterans. Congress made the day into a three-day weekend with the National Holiday Act of 1971. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.

Moina Michaelin 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," wrote a poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Ms. Michaelin founded the National Poppy Movement, where red poppies are worn on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. In 1922 the Veterans of Foreign Wars became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. The VFW ladies provide the red poppy flowers to all naturalized US citizens; remember having received yours during your oath taking?

Memorial Day is also celebrated to remember all those who have passed on, not just the departed veterans. In the Philippines, our beloved dead is remembered during All Souls' Day on 2 November which follows All Saints' Day on November 1, which commemorates the departed saints. This is a long weekend, when families go to the cemeteries, to their provinces, where their beloved ones' graves are cleaned, painted, bedecked with flowers; candles are lit, prayers are said, and parties celebrated by the graveside(!)

The "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on December 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, all Americans are asked "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

Our freedom is not free, let us remember and honour those who have died that we may have freedom.

Eternal rest grant unto them O, Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon them.

Most of information was gleaned from: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

Guia, etc. Fitness Classes, May 2012

"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be..."
Robert Browning (1812-1889)

Yoga with Guia:
United Medical Park: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12 noon.
Wheaton Franciscan Wellness Center, WFWC: 8 a.m. Fridays.

Fusion Dance & Fitness:
Tuesdays, 5:30 pm.
Saturdays, 9:15 a.m.

Zumba:
WFWC: Tuesdays, 3:45 - 4:30 p.m.
Landmark Commons: Wednesdays, 5:45 pm - 7 p.m. and Sundays, 2-3:30 p.m.
YWCA: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 p.m.

United Medical Park: Fridays, 5:30 p.m.

BodyWell for Seniors:
WFWC, Mondays, 10:30 a.m.

What a coincidence!

co·in·ci·dence [koh-in-si-duhns] noun 1. a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance (Dictionary.com)

What a coincidence! I just have to document, less I forget.

After waiting in line at Walgreens, I was finally at the pharmacy counter, picking up an eye ointment for hubby Claro Palma. At the same time, I hear the drive through clerk repeating the drive thru customer's request of picking up the same eye ointment for Carlo Palma. I did wonder if that was Claro out there. My pharmacy aide asks me if the drive through customer is my husband, so I take a peek, but it is not Claro. It was Mr. Carlo Palma, our girls' Spanish teacher! We were in Walgreens at the same time, being served at the same time, I at the counter, he at the drive through, picking up the same medication, for 2 individuals having similar names!

I have my Powerball ticket for tonight.

How about you? Any goose bump inducing coincidental, serendipitous experience?