Batik-Batik na Kariktan

Arte + Fe Caceres (Letter from our curator Ms. Maria Tarruella)

2012-01-28T18:27:00.003+08:00

Dear Art+Faith Artists,

I´m happy to tell you that the opening this week of the Art+Faith exhibition in Caceres has been an amazing success!! we had so many people that they were crowding at the entrance! over 200 people came, and several politicians representing the City Council, governors and cultural attachés. As you can imagine the press also showed interest - I spoke in 5 radios that same day! I´m attaching beneath several links from newspapers and press agencies that covered the opening of the exhibition.

The Caceres cultural department did another catalogue of the show- which is good quality, but I must admit, I prefer the one done for the Madrid show... I will send you a catalogue as soon as I can, as I am now planning the next show in Trujillo and after that to the beautiful city of Merida! The city mayor of Merida, came to the opening as was very impressed with the works and has asked for Art+Faith to be taken there!

The show in Caceres, due to its success, is going to stay there longer, until the 17th of February and then on the 20th I will be hanging in Trujillo and the opening will be on the 22nd. I still don´t have the exact dates on how long it wil be in Trujillo before it is taken to Merida, but I´ll let you know as soon as I know.

I´m attaching a couple of pictures on how the show looks so that get an idea of the wonderful space and how the works breeth so freely! if you can´t see your work let me know and I´ll send you another image where you can appreciate it. I managed to hang ALL the works!! Also, there was a dark room where David Lopez did an incredible installation, which was like a floating basin in space filled with water and a projection of his Bath piece over it, representing baptism; smoke and light emerged from beneath, like a space-ship launched to God. It is spectacular! and we were also very lucky to have him come to Caceres, directly from Rome, and give a conference on the meaning art and Faith; on being a contemporany artist who is also a committed christian. It was breath-taking... Thank you David!

I thank the Lord for your work and how it´s acting on its own proclaiming His name, touching hearts and transforming souls as instruments of His Love. Thank you for your support and lets keep this project in prayer so that Art+Faith moves according to His will, advancing and growing for His sake, so that our art may be a bridge to Faith, to Love and to Trust in the Lord.

May God continue to bless your path!

yours in prayer

Maria

http://www.avuelapluma.es/noticia/sala-brocense-acoge-muestra-arte-contemporaneo-internacional

http://www.que.es/caceres/201201242048-sala-brocense-acoge-exposicion-transmite-epi.html

http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=1077944

http://www.agenciasic.es/2012/01/18/arte-fe-la-exposicion-en-caceres-que-une-a-todos-los-cristianos/

http://www.dip-caceres.es/actualidad/_detalles.html?uid=f2e5cb2c-45c7-11e1-83d7-d7e2fcb9b10d

http://www.extremadura.com/turismo/llega_a_la_sala_de_arte_el_brocense_arte_fe_una_muestra_de_arte_contemporaneo_internacional

http://www.europapress.es/cultura/noticia-sala-brocense-acoge-exposicion-transmite-fe-siempre-idioma-hoy-20120124204847.html

http://www.gentedigital.es/caceres/noticia/763144/la-sala-el-brocense-acoge-una-exposicion-que-transmite-la-fe-de-siempre-pero-con-el-idioma-de-hoy/

Of Course, I Could Be Wrong...: TIME IN A BOTTLE

2011-12-02T22:30:00.000+08:00

Of Course, I Could Be Wrong...: TIME IN A BOTTLE

Testimony of What Remains

2011-10-04T23:09:00.004+08:00

AM+DG
X-Tray Film on Light Box, Dried Flowers coated with Polyresin in Empty Bottles
Size: Variable, 2011

This installation, which is mainly composed of X-tray film of the flower arrangement and dried flowers coated with polyresin in empty bottles explores the idea of mortality and questions what truly remains immortally.

Testimony of What Remains, Installation View

Testimony of What Remains, Detail View 1

Testimony of What Remains, Detail View 2

Testimony of What Remains, Detail View 4

Testimony of What Remains, Detail View 5

Weekend of art overload

2011-10-04T09:46:00.002+08:00

By Radel Paredes
Cebu Daily News

2:42 pm | Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

With the end of the semester-long Sinekultura film education series, a sampling of classic and contemporary art films screened regularly at the College of Architecture and Fine Arts theater of the University of San Carlos, comes another treat for Cebuano film buffs: the 14th Cineuropa Film Festival held since Friday and until tonight at the Ayala Center Onstage theater.

Cineuropa is one of the longest-running film festivals in the country today and we are lucky to have the Arts Council of Cebu and its corporate partners to bring the festival here every year. It is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. So expect a long queue near the theater entrance.

Other big cities like Davao and Cagayan de Oro have also started to host the Cineuropa. They also followed Cebu by starting to organize their own arts councils, which often end up as local government initiatives and thus not always having an independent character. With membership based on donations from individual and business entities not beholden to politicians, our own Arts Council of Cebu has been operating for decades as a corporate citizen promoting theater, classical music, ballet and cinema to the Cebuano public mostly for free.

In fact, Cineuropa is just one of the foreign film festivals that the Arts Council brings to Cebu almost yearly. Perhaps it is also the biggest, with member countries of the European Union, the main sponsor of this yearly event, participating through their embassies and consulate offices here by sending a sample of their contemporary cinema for the Filipino audience. This year’s Cineuropa features a total of 19 films.

Movies have long been the most effective way to educate a people about foreign culture. In fact, our so-called “colonial mentality” has largely been the result of years of monopoly by Hollywood of the Pinoy silver screen. The joke goes that our nation spent 300 years in the convent and 50 years in Hollywood.

But that has largely changed now as the Philippine independent cinema is starting to challenge not just Hollywood but the local big studios as well. And of course, there is the proliferation of foreign films and growing interest in them by the Filipino audience.

In fact, even young audiences who regularly watch Japanese anime or Korean telenovelas are starting to get used to reading subtitles. I heard a Korean film festival is also being held right now in one of those SM cinemas. So two film festivals simultaneously running on a weekend is a rare double treat for the Cebuano cinephile.

The foreign film festivals add to the many different ways we experience world culture today. Right at the food court near the theater, choices of foreign cuisine are already confusing to the starved moviegoer. Should we have ramen, lasagna or caramel macchiato to warm ourselves just before entering the freezing caverns of the theater? Of course, there’s American popcorn which may now be flavored with Mexican salsa, teriyaki, adobo or what have you.

Once inside, our cozy seats turn into airline recliners as we are brought to faraway places, with strange food, music, language, architecture, etc., in a virtual travel. The stories may be told in different ways, using plot lines, cuts, and shots not seen in local screen, yet there is always something that strikes a nerve, perhaps a common feeling arising from a universal predicament.

For example, in the Romanian film “Exchange,” featured last Friday night, we saw how a newly entrenched government worker tries to seek opportunities abroad with the last of his money only to be victimized by Romanian “budol-budol” gangs. Away from his family and frustrated by corrupt and inept local police, he ends up taking the law in his hands and becoming the same criminal who had victimized him and other innocent people in illegal currency exchange.

We saw the same moral contradiction being tackled in “Bicycle Thief” by the Italian neorealist Vittorio De Sica and in our own “Kapit sa Patalim” by Lino Brocka. It only goes to show that cinema best expresses that which makes us different from peoples of other countries and yet also the many things that we share in common.

The Cineuropa continues today with films from Spain (“Mataharis,” 10:30 a.m.), Slovakia (“Mosquito’s Tango,” 12:30 p.m.), Sweden (“Mammoth,” 2:45 p.m.), United Kingdom (“Never Let Me Go,” 5:00 p.m.), Switzerland (“How About Love,” 7 p.m.), and The Netherlands (“The Silent Army,” 9 p.m.).

Last day night also saw the opening of “Share Light: A Visual Insight,” an exhibit of paintings on the theme of light by the Cebu Artists Inc. (CAI) at the newly opened Cebu Museum (second floor of the Rizal Memorial Library). I was one of non-CAI member artists invited to participate in this exhibit. Other guest artists include Fr. Jason Dy, S.J.; the French painter Remy Rault; and Malaysian artists Janiz Chan and Queenie Chow. As in the globalization of our cinematic tastes, this show promises to be another cultural fusion.

In Loving Memory at Arte + Fe Exhibition

2011-09-19T23:19:00.011+08:00

In Loving Memory

by Jason Dy

A key part of this installation are empty bottles that can be filled by the visitors of the Arte+Faith exhibition at the current Catholic World Youth Days in Madrid (15-21 August, 2011) with memories of their beloved dead using any mementos they have brought with them. Paper and pen are provided to fill in: In loving memory of _____________.

Next to these bottles stand cast polyresin statues of angels molded from an old and worn-out statue of an angel with broken wings I salvaged from a demolished cemetery in the Philippines. Afterwards it was turned into a housing complex for the poor near our parish. Each statue will be covered with envelopes with intentions for the dead.

On a shelf on the wall I have put several bottles in loving memory of these following groups:

1. Those unknown to human beings but known to God

2. Victims of child abuse and exploitation

3. Victims of natural calamities (flood, tsunami, earthquake)

4. Victims of war and conflict

5. Victims of famine and sickness

6. Modern-day saints and heroes (John Paul II, Mother Teresa, et al.)

The installation finds its origin in the devotional practice of faithful Catholics to remember their departed loved ones, which takes place on November 2 on the feast of All Souls Day. As Catholic believers we believe in the communion of the living and the dead, which means that we pray for each other. For me as a Jesuit priest it indicates that I offer the mass to God as an act of devotion and prayer for both the living and the dead. For me as an artist the installation provided a venue to investigate how this form of art interacts with a Christian devotional practice. It also probed into the potential of employing art in ministry, whereby art does not only display a beautiful form but also becomes an image that opens a window for spiritual encounter and enrichment. I hope the bottled memories will provide people with an opportunity for catharsis, a venue for reliving memories and for keeping the legacy of the dead alive.

May we all be comforted by the words of the Irish funeral prayer ‘Longing for One More Day’: ‘When we lose someone we love it seems that time stands still. What moves through us is a silence... a quiet sadness... a longing for one more day... one more word... one more touch. We may not understand why you left this earth so soon or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget. We will see you again some day, in a heavenly place where there is no parting. A place where there are no words that mean good-bye.’

taken from ArtWay.eu

Arte + Fe Poster

2011-08-02T21:23:00.000+08:00

Radical Expression of Contemporary Art Points to God

2011-08-02T21:08:00.005+08:00

Agnus Dei. William Zijltra -
Agnus Dei. Zurbarán
Madrid, July 15, 2011 – The radical and the profound, need not be at odds with one another, nor must contemporary art and the faith clash. This is demonstrated by the 36 works (including installation art, performances, paintings, photographs) of the exhibit Arte + Fe (Art and Faith) featuring countries from all the different continents (USA, Japan, Netherlands, Liberia, and the Philippines). The exhibit Arte + Fe will be held at the Pons Foundation on the occasion of World Youth Day (WYD) and will offer a look at the Christian contemporary works of artists from around the world whose common goal is to have art serve as a bridge to faith. The exhibit will be open from August 9 to 26 at the headquarters of the Pons Foundation.

"This is the first time in Europe that an international exhibit is held featuring avant-garde artists committed to their Christian faith, whether they be Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. Modern thought thrives on general distrust. This exhibit aims at being art that restores, that brings hope,” said Maria Tarruella, curator of the exhibit.

The exhibit has also been possible thanks to cooperation from the National Museum of Catholic Art in Washington, DC, where the exhibit will be on display after WYD.

Santa Teresa, san Juan de la Cruz, san Sebastián.Alejandro Mañas
Tarruella highlighted that this exhibit shows that "religious sensitivity is not something of the past, but something inherent in human beings, expressed through the artistic expressions of every age. The selected works range from more conceptual works to others with a more classical point of reference."

Such is the case in the work of Dutch artist William Zijlstra in his work “Agnus Dei”, in which he offers a clear parallel with the piece by Zurbarán, which bears the same name. This time, the lamb is sacrificed on a modern altar, made of newspapers with the headline: “Man is capable of any horror”, an article about the Holocaust. What is inexplicable from a human point of view, events such as Christ's crucifixion and the suffering present in the twentieth century, takes on meaning in the light of faith.

Nowa Huta. David López
The transcendence of the ordinary
God and man need not be distant from one another. This is the opinion of many of these artists, such as Spaniard Alejandro Mañas, who used three bottles of Coca-Cola to talk about St. Teresa, St. John of the Cross, and St. Sebastian. Apparently similar, these bottles are like us: "our exterior form is always the same, but how we clothe the exterior depends on how we live on the inside," explains the artist.

"Every ordinary, everyday gesture has a deeper meaning that transcends its functional purpose," says David Lopez, through his work “Nowa Huta”, which depicts the figure of Christ crucified with everyday images inside.

Installation art and performances
There is also room for interactive art in this exhibition. For example, the work “The Tears of Mary Magdalene”, by Sevillian Adriana Torres de Silva, an installation piece made with hair hanging over a painting covered with water, invites visitors to discover it by lifting the hair and smelling the perfume in the water.

Las lágrimas de María Magdalena. Adriana Torres Silva
Another is the installation work by the Filipino Jason Dy, artist and Jesuit priest, whose work consists of glass bottles with memories of deceased loved ones. Visitors of this exhibit will be able to “fill” bottles with a souvenir for their departed loved ones, for example a letter addressed to them and God.

Experiences born in prison
All these works come from the creativity of artists often marked by very strong experiences in which they have found faith. Such is the case with Eugene Perry.... As a prisoner, he discovered the love of God and this became the inspiration for his work “Protective Love”, made from recycled metal. He is now among the USA’s well-known artists.

Virginidad. Sarai Aser
Sarai Aser, Chilean artist based in Rotterdam, has also “spent” her life in prison - in her case, helping others. Her work “Virginity” is an expression of the message she tries to convey to the female inmates she works with: the opportunity of starting afresh in situations of suffering marked by prostitution or other causes related to sexuality.

The exhibition Arte + Fe is one of the 300 activities that are part of the cultural program for World Youth Day. Specifically, it is one of three major art exhibitions, along with the exhibit in the Prado Museum on “Faces of Christ” and the Thyssen Museum's exhibition “Encounters”.

Basic Facts on the Arte + Fe Exhibit:
• Where: Pons Foundation (C / Serrano, 138)
• When: August 9 to 26 (9 am-3 pm). Except for August 16, 17, and 18, days on which the hours will be 10 am-7 pm. The official opening will take place on August 10, from 6 pm to 10 pm.
• Admission is free

Taken from http://www.madrid11.com/en/cultural/1266-arte-para-llegar-a-dios, accessed August 1, 2011.

Concrete Caution

2011-03-18T11:30:00.003+08:00

ART LINKS By Maria Eleanor E. Valeros (The Freeman)
Updated February 20, 2011 12:00 AM

His artworks stood out during the “Cultural Confluence” exhibit from September 2010 despite occupying the leftmost nook of the Art Center of SM City Cebu. This is because he has given Installation Art (an artistic genre of site-specific, three-dimensional works designed to transform the perception of a space) a Christian context.

Fr. Jason Dy, SJ, who goes by the moniker “Paring Jason,” said that the impetus of the project came from his work as physical plant administrator of the Sacred Heart Parish where he is currently the assistant parish priest.

“Somehow I’m able to practice my skills as a civil engineer — specifically a construction manager. Lately, I’ve been collaborating closely with architects, engineers and the construction staff,” Fr. J said.

“The found objects (shovel, boots, trowel, etc.) are things used during the construction of our road. The concrete rubbles are from the old road. Lately I’ve been interested in recycling old concrete rubble with embedded steels,” he added.
The boot box, labeled Caution No. 2, bore the title “Concrete Caution 2: Being Caught Flat-Footed. There’s a pair of rubber boots with warning tape inside the box frame. “This is an allusion to the experience of unpreparedness towards both the uncertainties and certainties of life like birth and death,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the shovel box (Caution No. 3) entitled “Concrete Caution 3: Digging One’s Own Grave” which mainly consisted of a shovel with warning tape inside a box frame “cautions the viewer of certain actions with negative consequences affecting not only himself but other people as well,” this was also learned.

As for the bucket and trowel box or Caution No. 1, entitled “Concrete Caution 1: Building up a Façade”, it serves as a “reminder of what we build up here on earth and its eternal relevance or value”. In a box frame were placed a plastic bucket and a wooden trowel with warning tape.

According to him, the first project that he had with rubbles is the Stations of the Cross (now the collection of University of Cebu, care of Ms. Elizabeth Gan Go).
The Stations of the Cross consisted of abstract sculptures made from cement, barbed wire, electric cable, and other junk materials. This left many parishioners bewildered at how the works came to suggest the stages of Christ’s Passion, more accustomed to the tradition of religious art as a kind of visual aid to the faithful.
“For me, these rubbles are relics of the destroyed road or any structures of their ephemeral quality, however we designed them to last for a long time,” Fr. J went on.
He narrated that when a fellow artist saw the “Concrete Caution” installation, he told Fr. J that such reminded him of the horror of 9/11 which the construction materials represented in building the Twin Towers and used in clearing Ground Zero after the bombing. “It also cautioned him to be prepared for he doesn’t know the time and place the incident would happen again. I never thought that this installation could have an impact like that. I never ever conceived of that. I think that is the power of art. The artwork will have another layer of meaning beyond what the artist intends to communicate,” he further said.

The reaction came as a surprise because though Fr. J is a Christian artist (being a member of the Asian Christian Art Association), he makes it sure that his works are not outright imbued with Christian images. “I do not want to be ‘preachy’ in my works, but I desire to communicate spiritual realities of our human condition,” he pointed out.

Initially, it was the only intention of the “Concrete Caution” project to somehow investigate on the things we build and construct in this world, whether these are buildings or careers, and to question their immortal value. “As a religious artist, I summarize it with a scriptural question: ‘Where do we build our house, on sand or on rock?” (cf. Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:47-49),” Fr. J stressed.
Such also came with a caution that not all the things we build lasts.

As for the warning sign tape zigzagging in the whole area in last September’s exhibit, he said that such alludes to earthquake cracks somehow “cautioning everybody that even the exhibit space and the artworks and the viewers do not really last.”

“The rocks with painted steel and the zigzagging black/yellow tape represent the rubbles and the cracks which befall when one is not cautious about these three things,” he continued.

“The concrete rubbles and found objects I salvaged during our church road construction are mediums that help me communicate my artistic and religious vision.”
“That’s my way of reminding viewers and artists to invest on things that will truly last.”

The “Concrete Caution Series” is now the permanent collection of Mr. Amado Go.
As for the recent mounting of the “Muted Voices Series”, which is a part of the “Mithing Sugbuanon” Exhibit at the lobby of the i3 Building (Asiatown IT Park in Lahug), Fr. J said that this project is a “work in progress.”

Moreover, he said that it was conceived a long time ago but that he was unable to find a better medium to communicate. “I have done these sketches and ink on paper transfers when I was in my fourth year at the Loyola School of Theology two years ago. Its inspiration came from my early college years at Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City when I was a volunteer together with my Christian Life Community friends at Balay sa Gugma” – a foundation for streetchildren.”

He further shared that his three-year volunteer work there had a tremendous impact in his vocation and in his art. “I feel compassion towards these abandoned and neglected children at their young age. They are already exposed to brutality, vices and pain. Yet, they are a challenging lot. Just like in Balay sa Gugma, many institutions are helping them but the lure of the street’s carefree and loose life tempts them to jump off the fence of disciplined life in the shelters.”

“Despite this ambiguous stance towards them, there are success stories. One of them is Rodney from Balay sa Gugma. I heard from some of the former staff that through the help of German volunteers, he succeeded in life and is now a medical doctor. I hope we will meet someday and listen to his wonderful journey,” Fr. J added.

The impetus of working on “Muted Voices” again started when Fr. J had a first Friday Mass last December 2010 with the Grade 6 pupils of the Zapatera Elementary School. “During the homily, I asked them to write their hopes and prayers to God and bring them to the altar as part of our offertory procession. When I read them, I was moved by their sincere and simple hopes to God. Then, all things have fallen into place — the mixed media artworks on muted voices of hope finally saw completion.”

As a work in progress, Fr. J hopes to do a show just exhibiting faces of these children and their handwritten hopes.

taken from freeman website.

Paglaum Series (Muted Voices)

2011-03-18T11:19:00.002+08:00

This project is a work in progress. It was conceived a long time ago but unable to find a better medium to communicate it. I have done these sketches and ink on paper transfers when I was in my fourth year theology at Loyola School of Theology two year ago. Its inspiration came from my early college years at Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City when i was a volunteer (together with my Christian Life Community friends) at Balay sa Gugma (Agape House) Streetchildren Foundation. My three-year volunteer work there had a tremendous impact in my vocation and in my art. I feel compassionate towards these abandoned and neglected children. At their young age, they are already exposed to brutality, vices and pain. Yet they are a challenging lot. Just like in Balay sa Gugma, many institutions are helping them but the lure of the street's carefree and loose life tempts them to jump off the fence of disciplined life in the shelters. Despite this ambiguous stance towards them, there are success stories. One of them is Rodney Valeja. I heard from some of the former staff that through the help of the German volunteers, he succeeded in his life and is now a medical doctor. I hope we will meet someday and listen to his wonderful journey.

The impetus of working on it again started when I had a First Friday Mass last December 2010 with the Grade Six students of Zapatera Elementary Public School. During the homily, I asked them to write their hopes and prayers to God and they offered them to God at the altar as part of our offertory procession. When I read them, I was moved by their sincere and simple hopes to God. Then, all things fall into place--the mixed media artwork on muted voices of hope finally completed.

As a work in progress, i hope to do an exhibit just exhibiting faces of these children and these handwritten hopes.

“Ang Laagang Bata (The Wandering Child): The Sto Niño and the Filipino’s Journey of Faith”

2010-12-03T22:26:00.006+08:00

Jazzing up the Niño
By Radel Paredes (CrossHatching)
Cebu Daily News First Posted 14:28:00 11/07/2010

Religious images are often used in art as symbols of an oppressive and intolerant Church. It is now almost a requirement for art filmmakers to insert a shot or two of religious icons, exploiting their rigidity and cold countenance to suggest the futility of faith.

But a closer look at the history of religious art would show how its prevalence today proved the triumph of art over the iconoclastic reaction, which looked at religious imagery as vestige of pagan culture.

If the iconoclasts had their way, humanity would have been deprived of the Medieval art of the illuminated manuscripts, which also flourished in the Islamic, Judaistic, and even Hindu cultures. There would have been no Renaissance or Baroque periods, predominantly religious styles that re-embraced, like a prodigal son, the pagan naturalism of ancient Greek and Roman traditions.

In fact, such openness is also seen in much religious art that evolved from folk traditions. The history of each religious icon proves this. One should only look at the history of the Marian iconography and that of the Child Jesus to see how the Church actually allowed local color to come into play in the evolution of each icon.

From the original garb of a European military officer, the Sto. Niño has taken on different vestments in Philippine iconography, ranging from the regal folk-Baroque to pop versions that border on the naughty.

Filipino Catholics are amused by the image of the Child Jesus dressed as a policeman, basketball player, fisherman, carpenter, etc. It seems that people coming from different sectors felt less inhibited to portray their patron as one of them. He is a child, after all, and is therefore expected to be gentle and less strict.

The Sto Niño symbolizes diversity—cultural or even racial. Ours in Cebu is a dark, curly haired, and poker faced dwarf wearing an oversized and heavily ornamented cape while those in Tondo and Malolos are taller, white, and beam with a slight smile.
My antique collector friend Ben Chua owns a Sto. Niño de Chino dressed in royal Chinese costume. Other popular representations include the Child God sleeping, dancing, playing, or—alluding to the lost boy in the Bible—loitering (Palaboy Sto. Niño).

There’s even a naked Sto. Niño, which hints of our fond acceptance of the boy Jesus’ humanity and innocence. This is also reflected in the local ritual of the “Hubo” (Undress) or the changing of the Sto. Nino’s costume.

This strange mix of piety and playfulness and how the Sto. Niño came to represent the circuitous path our nation has negotiated through colonialism is the theme behind “Ang Laagang Bata (The Wandering Child): The Sto Niño and the Filipino’s Journey of Faith,” a collaborative installation currently being made by Filipino-German sculptor Franz Herbich and a group of selected Cebuano artists for the 1st International Visayas Biennale, a major art event Cebu will be hosting this year in November 15-19.

This idea is for the selected artists to dress up or embellish each of the 100 white resin casts of the Sto. Niño made by Franz Herbich, whose family owns a big sculpture foundry in Liloan town. The finished work, which we hope will show the different ways the artists try to update the Sto. Niño iconography, will be installed in Museo Sugbu in a parade position that would bring to mind Ancient China’s famous Terracotta Army.

In keeping with the inherent paradoxes in the Sto. Niño iconography, the works are expected to reflect the tensions between East and West, local and global, tradition and novelty, as well as the contrasting archetypes of the Heavenly Father and the occasionally misbehaving child.

Save for an artist-priest who has been known for his own reinterpretations of traditional Christian imagery, the artists taking part in this project come from different religious background—or the lack of it.

But given the history of openness to diversity in the iconography, I don’t think the artists would go as far as to make the Niño wear a placard that says “Damaso!” On the other hand, why not?

Concrete Caution Series

2010-09-20T12:56:00.008+08:00

Participating artists for this exhibit are: Cebu: Arsenio Abella, Antonio Alcoseba, Andrew Barba, Cesar Castillo, Felix Catarata, Pronnie de la Cerna, John Dinglasa, Jason Dy SJ, Jet Florendo, Roberto Gonzales, Guido Lubanga, Celso Duazo pepito, Fe madrid Pepito, Ritchie Quijano, Karl P. Roque, Jr., Palme Tudtud, Antonio Vidal, Jose "Kimsoy" Yap, Jr.,Sonia Yrastorza and Orley Y. Ypon. From Manila are: Seb Chua and Emmanuel Garribay. Davao: Lito N. Pepito, Josefina C. Tionko, Arnel Villegas. Malaysia: Janice Chan, Queenie Chow, Aida Uy Sze and Lillian Tan. Remy Rault represents France, while Miriam Kim represents Korea.

The Cultural Confluence: Conclave of the Brush will open on September 14, 2010 at 6:00 o'clock in the evening at SM Art Center Cebu. Invited Guests of Honor for the exhibit opening are few Cebuanos who have been in the forefront in promoting and supporting the plight of the Cebuano artists they are: Hon. Joy Augustus Young, Vice Mayor-Cebu City and Chairman of Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission, Hon. Margarita"Margot" V. Osmena, Councilor of Cebu City, and Vice Chairman , Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission and Chairman of the Committee on Tourism in the City of Cebu, Art Collectors: Mr. Amado Go, Mr. Devin C. Go, Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Gloria Campbell, and Interior Decorator and Collector Ms. Rosebud Sala.

Art Talks and sharing of art experiences will be facilitated in by artists from Malaysia, France, Davao and Cebu. A City Tour for foreign exhibitors will also be provided to give them appropriate time to appreciate Cebu's culture, tradition and scenic beauties.

Taken from Foreign, and Regional Artists Manifest a Confluence Of Culture At Sm Art Center On Sept 14-27 by Celso Pepito

!ha? 3.0-the color blind

2010-09-07T20:23:00.000+08:00

!ha? 3.0-the color blind

Wise Man from the West Opening

2010-08-04T09:25:00.000+08:00

Wise Man from the West Opening

[hubó]

2010-02-17T10:17:00.001+08:00

A Post Sinulog Exhibit

January 22 to February 14, 2010
SHP Garage-Contemporary Art Studio
Sacred Heart Parish,
Jakosalem St., Cebu City

Celso Pepito
Tito Cuevas
Ritchie Quijano
Jason Dy, SJ
Antonio Vidal
Cesar Castillo
John Dinglas
Karen Pepito
Bobby Gonzales
Alnoe Paler
Mike Jo
Anric Boholst

[hubó] to ritually undress the Sto. Niño with his royal garment,
stripping him of his crown, orb, scepter, armlet, bands, cape, tunic and inner garments,
washing its naked body with perfumed water,
and dressing him with less ornate apparel.

In the same spirit, HUBÓ, a post Sinulog exhibit, undresses the event
of its pomp, grandiosity and festivities with photographs, paintings, assemblage,
drawings, newspaper clippings and site specific installations
for both tourists and devotees to reclaim the childlike sense of awe, wonder and reverence
of the stark nakedness of the faith in the Messiah-Child
ruling the world with wisdom and compassion
and to be washed pure with the perfumed water of majesty and mystery.

A Ritual of Undressing

2010-02-17T09:19:00.009+08:00

Ritchie Landis Doner Quijano

THE holy child or the Sto. Nino de Cebu is usually seen by many dressed and adorned in full royal robes and heavy with jewelry.

An interesting religious feature that the Sto. Nino undergoes is the ritual of “hubo” (undressing).

How will the holy child look underneath its elaborate royal garment? Is he a skinny kid or a chubby one?

The ritual of the “hubo” aims to expose more than the child’s complexion and built. In many ways, it’s an act of cleansing and rejuvenation. The ritual strips him of his crown, orb, scepter, armlet, bands, cape, tunic and inner clothes.

It is only during this ritual undressing that we see the Sto. Nino naked. The child is washed with perfumed water, then he is dressed with less ornate apparel.

In the same spirit, “Hubo,” a post-Sinulog exhibit at the Scred-Heart Parish Garage Contemporary Art Studio, undresses the event of its pomp and grandiose festivities in order to reflect, reclaim and reroot both tourists and devotees of the stark nakedness of the Divine, become a child, and be washed pure with the perfumed water of faith and mystery.

Participating visual artists were Celso Pepito, Ritchie Quijano, Jason Dy, SJ, Antonio Vidal, Cesar Castillo, John Dinglasa, Tito Cuevas, Karen Pepito, Bobby Gonzales and photographers Alnoe Paler, Mike Jo and Anric Boholst. The show successfully gathered in one room the disciplines of painting, sculpture, photography and installation/conceptual art. Imagine how a small car garage (i.e. the exhibit area) has become a very potent venue to stage art.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 16, 2010.

Enfleshing the Word

2009-12-24T09:03:00.003+08:00

Enflesing the WORD in Art and Charity

by Celso Duazo Pepito

As Christians, there can never be much joy than celebrating Christmas. No amount of difficulty or catastrophe can deter us from commemorating the birth of our Lord. Neither financial crisis nor political bickering can tarnish the reason of the rejoicing: Christ.

To take part in this celebration, the Sacred Heart Parish (SHP) Community together with selected Cebuano artists collaborated in an art project entitled: "Enfleshing The WORD." It opened last December 16, 2009 at 5:30 in the morning, right after the SHP Misa de Gallo at the SHP Garage Art Studio. The exhibit will run until the feast of the epiphany, January 3, 2009.

In this art project, artists and children attempt to enflesh the essence of the season: the mystery of God becoming Man in Christ. It is the mystery of how God humbled himself to become like us except sin; how Mary and Joseph generously obeyed God's will, and how the Magi patiently searched for the God-Babe and reverently offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to him. In their artworks on paper, the artists visualize the mood, landscape, anticipation, images, characters of this divine revelation while the children sketch on paper their Christmas ideas, prayers and wishes. Through their art, the parish hopes to provide an alternative space for both artist and non-artists, young and old, rich and poor to come together and share the richness of the ineffable birth of the promised Messiah.

Artists Cesar Castillo, Fr. Jason Dy, SJ, Luther Galicano-II, Guido Lubanga, Sio Montera, Celso Pepito, JM Picornell, Ritchie and Franslyn Quijano, and Palmy Pe-Tudtud participate in this art project. Joining them were the four hundred students from Zapatera Elementary School and SHP Sunday School together with the teachers.

Aside from visually expressing what the season means for them, the artists generously donate portion of their sale to raise funds for the Jesuit Infirmary. This institution is home for the infirmed, retired and elderly Jesuits who have devoted themselves for the service of God's people. As an art charity project, the parish community and the artists make an appeal to all parishioners to support the exhibit. Aside from the sale of the artworks, donations are also welcomed. Through your support and generosity, we can create a venue where art is charitable and charity is an art.

For more information please contact Fr.Jason Dy, SJ at 09265159756.

In Loving Memory

2009-10-26T23:22:00.001+08:00

Open Call for parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish both artists and non-artists

IN LOVING MEMORY

Bottled Memories of Our Beloved Dead

An interactive art exhibit for parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish both artists and non-artists in the month of November

a way of remembering our beloved dead using empty recycled bottles and sharing these bottled memories for the living to honor and cherish.

November 7-30, 2009

November 7, 2009 Opening Ceremonies

November 13, 20, 27, 2009 Bottled Memory Testimonials

November 30 Closing Ceremonies

Sacred Heart Parish

242 D. Jakosalem St.,

Cebu City, Philippines

Guidelines for submission:

Get your empty recycled bottles in the Sacred Heart Parish Office. Limited bottles only. If we ran out of bottles, you may use your own empty recycled bottle of Sola Iced Tea. No other type of bottle is allowed.
Creatively use the bottle as a commemorative object of your beloved dead and/or put commemorative objects of your beloved dead e.g. photographs, mementos, cards, letters, prayers, etc. inside the bottle.
Write a brief description of your bottled memory of your beloved dead.
Sign your bottles by writing your name and contact numbers at the bottom of the bottles.
Submit your bottled memories to

Sacred Heart Parish

242 D. Jakosalem St.,

Cebu City, Philippines

253.6479; 253.4359

254.4359; 254.3950

255.1149; 255.6336 (fax)

sacred_heartchurch@yahoo.com

inlovingmemory2009@gmail.com

Deadline of submission is on or before October 29, 2009, Thursday.
Each submitted bottled memory will be posted at http://inlovingmemory2009.blogspot.com/.
After the exhibit, all bottled memories are returned to the owners.
They are encouraged to display the bottled memories of their beloved dead in a suitable place within the home or office.
For more information, please contact:

Fr. Jason K. Dy, SJ (project coordinator)

dyjask@yahoo.com

Ninoy Day

2009-08-21T11:11:00.004+08:00

Yellow
For Tita Cory (August 5, 2009, Funeral Day)

Yellow is just a color of summer
when leaves start to mature before they fall.
Now yellow is a color of sacrifice
when a grain falls into the ground
sowing seeds of democracy and freedom.

Yellow is just a color of the sun
when it glows on wet flowers kissing them dry.
Now yellow is a color of a gold heart
when it beats for its countrymen
warming their hearts, giving them vision.

Yellow is just a color of a ribbon
pin to remember a faraway loved one.
Now yellow is the color one wears
to celebrate a mother's love
heading her call for compassion and charity for all.

Yellow is just a color of chrysanthemum flowers
decorating funerals, expressing both grief and joy.
Now yellow is a color of stringed-beads
contemplating love and suffering
of the true shepherd offering one's life for one's sheep.

Yellow is just a color of faded photographs
of the unsung heroes of the forgotten past.
Now yellow is a color of new dawn
filled with renewed promises of the future
calling more people in yellow.

Yellow is just a color of a skin
of people from the East Asia.
Now yellow is color on which
we stand tall as a people
for it colors us with courage
to fight corruption, apathy and indifference.

Yellow is just the brick road
on which Dorothy met her friends and find her way back home.
Now yellow is the way of life
that leads to peace, dialogue and reconciliation
and ultimately to our eternal homeland.

Heights at ADMU Buwan ng Wika 2009

2009-08-19T22:06:00.004+08:00

Hindi lang isa, hindi lang dalawa, kundi - ano ba, hindi rin tatlo! Apat! Apat ang handog ng Heights para sa inyo ngayong Buwan ng Wika!

1.
KUWENTONG PAMBATA BOOKLAUNCH!!! Akda ni Fr. Jason Dy, S.J. at guhit ni Jessica Amanda Bauza. Halina't kilalanin si Butong Munti sa SocSci confe rooms 3 at 4, ika-14 ng Agosto (Biyernes), ganap na 4:30 ng hapon.

2.
MAY QUOTA ANG PAG-IBIG: ANG PAGSUSULAT NI RICKY LEE. Sa bawat limang umiibig ay isa lamang ang magiging maligaya. Kasama ka ba sa quota? Alamin at tuklasin! Tara na sa panayam kay Ricky Lee tungkol sa mga kuwento sa likod ng nobelang Para Kay B, at marami pang iba. Kitakits sa ika-17 ng Agosto, sa Escaler Hall, 4:30 ng hapon. :)

3.
KASARISARIAN: USAPANG PANGKASARIAN SA MGA BAGONG TEKSTONG POPULAR. Nasa pamagat na. TNL ka ba? Wala lang, natanong ko lang. Kitakits sa Escaler Hall, ika-24 ng Agosto, 4:30 ng hapon. Digs?

4.
BIGKASAYSAYAN. Balikan ang hiwaga ng mga salita - sa orihinal at tradisyunal nitong anyo: pabigkas. Kitakits sa Escaler Hall, ika-25 ng Agosto, 4:30 ng hapon.

isang malaking KITAKITS SA INYONG LAHAT!!!

THE FRONTIER OF DEPTH

2009-08-19T06:33:00.001+08:00

Portrait of Fr. Adolfo Nicholas, SJ,
General Superior of the Society of Jesus
Acrylic and Ink on Printed Photograph
August 2009

THE FRONTIER OF DEPTH
excerpt from "Challenges & Issues in Jesuit Education"
(Keynote Address of ARPN Adolfo Nicolas, SJ,
Superior General, Society of Jesus
On the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary
Of Jesuit Education in the Philippines
Irwin Theater, Ateneo de Manila University)

(12) The first frontier I would like to propose is the frontier of depth. Depth, for me, is perhaps a better translation of Ignatian Magis. The trouble with translating Magis simply as “More” is that it can too easily be understood as the “More” of a competitive, consumerist culture. If we have more awards, higher rankings, more computers and sports facilities, more faculty members with advanced degrees, then we can too easily fool ourselves into thinking that we are living the Magis. I am not saying that these are not important; they are vital for a good school. But to be a good Jesuit school, they are not enough.

(13) Ignatius was always concerned with depth. You have heard many times, I am sure, his principle of Non multa sed multum, literally, “Not many, but much,” originally one of the annotations in the Spiritual Exercises, but applied often to Ignatian pedagogy as well. One could paraphrase this as “not quantity, but depth”: “what satisfies the soul,” Ignatius says--in other words, what really matters in the business of becoming human and Christian--is not many superficial bits of knowledge and information, but a deep understanding and appreciation of what is most important.

(14) When one looks at the Gospels, we see that Jesus always responded in depth. Look at any healing story: the way Jesus heals the paralyzed man brought in by his friends through the roof; the leper; the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus first responds to a concrete, immediate need: the healing of a sickness. But then he goes on to respond to a deeper need: the burden of guilt or the sense of hopelessness or rejection and isolation. Finally, he goes deeper still and offers what they long for most, often without knowing it: the gift of the Kingdom of God, of friendship with a God of unconditional love, in a way that transforms them at the core of their persons.

(15) What is the depth of the education we provide, and how might we be called to go deeper? Let me offer a few questions that might help explain what I mean.

(16) How deeply do we respond to our students’ needs? If our instruction is good and up-to-date, then we respond to their need for forming and developing their talents. But beyond that are deeper needs. Even the brightest and most talented of our students are struggling. Beyond the normal struggles of youth, many of them struggle with families that are broken, wrestle with problems of isolation and misunderstanding and insecurity deeper than their minds. And how do we respond to their deepest hungers for meaning and purpose, for strength and hope that is the Kingdom of God experienced in their lives?

(17) These days, in the liturgy, we have been reading from the story of Jacob and his struggle with God. His first vision is consoling, promising, full of light: he sees angels ascending and descending on a ladder to heaven. But his last vision is much darker and more mysterious because it is deeper. He wrestles with a stranger, who turns out to be God, and Jacob wins the struggle, but comes out limping, walking a little like Ignatius did. Perhaps this should be the image of what our students turn out to be: not just walking out of our schools straight, tall, completely confident and sure of themselves, but rather, limping, even a little, because they have struggled deeply.

(18) How deeply do we help them see? When you live in Rome, you enter many beautiful churches adorned with glorious images, frescoes, statues, paintings, stained glass windows, and you realize that in an earlier age, these were the images that filled people’s imaginations. They were images that taught people to aspire to a certain model of humanity. But our young people are growing up in a world where the media floods them with other glittering images, on billboards, on websites, on magazine covers and MTV’s. They are images that are filled with promises. They sell dreams that tell them that they become more human when they have the right gadgets and wear the right clothes. What these images do is hide the face of the poor and the suffering, and make them invisible. How can we help them see more deeply, to truly see the real beyond the virtual, to see beyond these images that make false promises so that they can see the face of the hidden humanity of the poor in a way that moves them to want to serve in compassion?

(19) How deeply do we invite them to think? Our students today, as you know, are flooded with an incredible amount of information that keeps entering our houses, our computers, our lives. The sheer amount of information and the ease with which one can “surf” from one page to another can promote superficiality. How deeply do we help them screen, digest, connect, decide about this flood of data and the accompanying (albeit camouflaged) values that accompany them? There is evidence that the capacity of people for sober understanding and a critical sense have weakened. When I look around and see so much fundamentalism and fanaticism around the world, and the suffering that these escapes from sober thinking have produced, I wonder whether we have to think more creatively of how we can ensure that our students learn how to think deeply?

(20) How deeply do we form their inner persons, their commitments and convictions, their faith and their strength? You are aware of how quickly even a religious culture like that of the Philippines is becoming secularized and pluralistic. All around, our young people are being given more and more choices—not just choices of websites on the Internet, or choices of TV stations on cable TV, or choices of stores in malls, but choices of values and beliefs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that one cannot expect that external structures and traditions alone will support them in the Christian faith, beliefs or values. I have worked with Filipino migrant workers, and I have seen how easily, in a different environment, they have gone over to other groups. As the external supports become weaker, then the inside must become stronger. Depth of knowledge and, even more important, depth of experience, must mature into a depth of conviction that is able to remain peaceful and steadfast even in a confusing and hostile world.

(21) In the end, the test of whether our education is one of depth, is whether we are able to produce people who can “decide from inside”—which is another way of saying, the test of our education as Jesuit education is if we are able to produce people of discernment. More and more, people are making choices, not from the inner realm of faith, conscience, values, truth, but from the seductive voices coming from the outside, of gain, profit, public opinion, convenience and fashion. People are becoming weaker in the habit of finding in the depths of the heart the answers to difficult emerging questions. On the other hand, if one looks at the alumni we are proudest of as products of the Jesuit educational system, I think we will find in them a certain of depth of perception, thinking, commitment, and character, and the habit of deciding from inside.

STOPOVER

2009-04-01T17:58:00.000+08:00

s t o p o v e r

boyAgimat
buen calubayan
jason dy, sj
manny garibay
rene javellana, sj
jason moss
leobensant marquez
jose tence ruiz
jaime pacena ii
alma quinto
iggy rodriguez
benilda santos
angelo suarez
wesley valenzuela

---

Holy Wednesday, 08 APRIL (6PM)
until 25 April / 2009

LIONGOREN GALLERY
111 New York and Stanford Sts.,
Cubao QC (+632) 9124319

---

Stopover was previously shown at the Ateneo de Manila University,
as part of the Asian Christian Art Conference on "Art, Theology and Imagination"
presented in collaboration with TutoK:Karapatan and Loyola School of Theology
last October 28-30, 2008. This re-installation of the exhibit formally launches the year of preparation
for "KRITKAT" (Kritikal Katoliko); a multi-disciplinary attempt
to portray a significant reflection of our society; set to happen in lent of 2010.

Merry Christmas to All!

2008-12-23T22:16:00.003+08:00

藍眼睛中的亞洲倒影——另類的一千零一夜 (Once Upon a Time in Asia ----Stories of Harmony and Peace)

2008-11-19T20:06:00.003+08:00

藍眼睛中的亞洲倒影——另類的一千零一夜
Once Upon a Time in Asia ----Stories of Harmony and Peace

傑姆‧克羅格（ James H. Kroeger, M.M. ）、尤禎‧塔爾曼（ Eugene F. Thalman, M.M. ）編，李傑聖（ Jason K. Dy, S.J. ）繪，姜川譯

2008 年 8 月初版
書號 206159
定價 280 元 / 304 頁 / 平裝 / 25開 / ISBN: 978-957-546-628-2

本書簡介

古今交錯的廣闊亞洲，充滿各種故事、信仰及文化傳統。從西方來的傳教士，在我們習以為常的事物上，體會到豐富生命的另一風貌：活在當下、寧靜致遠、寬容互敬、重視家庭、天人和諧共處的智慧與平安。一起來聽這些有趣的故事吧！

___________________________________________________________________

作者簡介
傑姆‧克羅格神父（James H. Kroeger）：瑪利諾會會士，著作等身，在馬尼拉羅耀拉神學院（the Loyola School of Theology in Manila）教書。

尤禎‧塔爾曼神父（Eugene Thalman）：瑪利諾會會士（1933-2005），是香港社會正義中心（the Center for Social Justice）的創辦人。

李傑聖（Jason K. Dy, S.J）：菲籍華裔耶穌會讀書修士，擅長以藝術天賦傳揚福音。

譯者簡介
姜川，耶穌會士，曾從事社會、教育工作，目前在美國攻讀高等教育。曾譯：《從枯井中汲水》、《麥子中的莠子》、《匝凱，下來吧！》、《藍眼睛中的亞洲倒影》。

中英文對照、插圖生動細緻

在古今交錯的廣闊亞洲，從創世到現代，從日本到土耳其，從蒙古到東帝汶 …… 充滿各種故事、信仰及文化傳統。

從西方來的傳教士，一直是東西文化交流的關鍵。

當他們和亞洲古老的神話傳說、今日的現實生命、

和佛教徒、穆斯林、道家、孔子、甚或亞洲的基督徒相遇時，看到的、聽見的、感動的，成了說不盡的「另類一千零一夜」。

藍眼睛追尋的，並不是異文化的蒐奇；他的視野，也不是無知天真的夢幻憧憬。以相同有限的肉身和真心，他們在我們習以為常的事物上，體會到豐富生命的另一風貌：活在當下、寧靜致遠、寬容互敬、重視家庭、天人和諧共處的智慧與平安。

《藍眼睛中的亞洲倒影──另類的一千零一夜》，有細緻動人的插畫，中英文對照，對於想要認識亞洲，或練習中、英文閱讀能力的朋友，是最佳贈禮。

起來聽藍眼睛說：「從前從前，在亞洲，有一個國家，他們說，世界的創造，是從一隻鱷魚和人相遇的故事開始的 …… 」這個有趣的故事吧。

____________________________________________________________________

故事大類：

肇始／In the Beginning　　

在亞洲生活／Living in Asia　　

家庭的重要意義／The Importance of Family　　

團體中的互敬互愛／Caring for One Another in Community　　

關於文化／Culture Matters　　

東方的智慧／Wisdom from the Orient　　

一位真神──多元的信仰傳統／One God—Many Faith Traditions　

天主的種子落在亞洲的土地上／Seeds of God in Asian Soil

精采書摘：

飼餵餓鬼（台灣）

　　中國人對往生者有忠誠的敬禮，他們非常嚴肅地履行自己對亡者和祖先的義務。

　　邱碧麗（音譯）是一個工廠的工人，她是臺灣沙鹿堂區的第一個慕道者。當她快要結束教義培訓課程時，我告訴她說：「你是你家和村裡第一個成為天主教徒的人，你的父母對這件事情的看法如何？」

　　她回答說：「我的父親沒有反對我，但是我的母親卻說我將來死後會成為一個餓鬼，因為沒有人拿東西給我吃。但是我告訴我的母親：『不要擔心，我非常清楚地聆聽了天主教的教導，對基督徒來說，死後有一個永生的盛宴。我不會成為一個餓鬼。』」

Feeding the Hungry Ghosts

The Chinese people, who have a loyal devotion to those who have died, take obligations to their deceased relatives and ancestors very seriously.

Tio Bi Le, a factory worker, was the first catechumen in Shalu parish in Taiwan. When she neared the end of her study of doctrine, I said to her, “You are the first one in your family and your village to become Catholic. What do your parents think about it?”

She answered, “My father isn't opposed but my mother says I will become a hungry ghost after I die because no one will put out food for me. But I told my mother, ‘Don't worry. I listened to the Catholic teaching very carefully, and for Christians there is an everlasting banquet after death. I won't be a hungry ghost.'”

True story, Father Eugene M. Murray, M.M., Taichung Hsien, Taiwan

非常遺憾

　　當日本在一九四一年進攻菲律賓時，他們把美國人拘留在這裡，包括瑪利諾傳教會的修女們。當時食物遠遠不足需求，但是修女們注意到負責的日本軍官和士兵與犯人分享同樣少量食物。

　　修女們在她們被囚禁之地的角落放置了一個十字架，每天聚在那兒一起祈禱。聖誕節臨近了，修女們收集了一些竹片，木頭和布搭了一個馬槽的外景。她們在木頭上雕刻了瑪利亞、若瑟、牧童、動物和嬰孩耶穌的小雕像。在聖誕子夜她們把嬰孩耶穌的塑像放進了馬槽裡。當日本軍官看到在馬槽裡的嬰孩時，他指著十字架說：「這是同一個人嗎？」

　　修女們回答說：「對，是同一個人。」日本軍官回答：「我對此感到非常遺憾。」

So Sorry

When the Japanese attacked the Philippines in 1941, they interned the Americans there, including nuns from the Maryknoll community. Food was scarce, but the sisters noticed that the Japanese officer in charge always shared the little food they had equally among the soldiers and the prisoners.

The sisters placed a crucifix in one corner of their quarters and they would gather there to pray each day. As Christmas approached, the sisters gathered scraps of bamboo, cloth and wood, and constructed a crib scene. From the wood they carved figurines of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the animals, and the baby Jesus. On Christmas Eve they placed the infant Jesus in the crib. When the Japanese officer saw the infant in the crib, he pointed at the crucifix, “Is that the same person?” The sisters said, “Yes, that's the same person.” And the Japanese officer replied, “I am so sorry.”

True story, a Maryknoll Sister, the Philippines

中英文對照、生動活潑的小故事，
適合想認識亞洲、增進中英文閱讀能力、作文功力的朋友。
送禮、自用兩相宜。

光啟好書再推薦

taken from http://www.kcg.org.tw/

stacked together

2008-07-28T22:23:00.001+08:00

"stacked together"
ball point pen on skecthbook
june 2008 villa
punta fuego, batangas

ARMONIE

2008-06-15T13:01:00.008+08:00

ARMONIE

Volti dell`Asia volti di Dio Faces of `Asia faces of God

by Fr. James H. Kroeger, M.M.

ISBN 978-88-307- 1758-9 – pp. 160 – Anno 2008 – € 10,00

Contribuiscono anche a nutrire il senso d’identità degli individui, delle famiglie, delle comunità, di intere nazioni. They also feed the sense of identity of individuals, families, communities and entire nations. Sondano in profondità l’animo umano, i misteri della vita, le relazioni delle persone con Dio e con il prossimo.

The stories tell us who we are and connect with other people worldwide. Sound in depth the human soul, the mysteries of life, reports of persons with God and neighbor.

Le storie che emergono dall’antica tradizione asiatica – letteratura asiatica, scritta e orale, poesie, preghiere, testimonianze, miti e racconti fantastici – possono far luce sul cammino/pellegrinaggio spirituale comune a tutta l’umanità, a cristiani, musulmani, hindu o buddhisti.

The stories that emerge from the Asian tradition - Asian literature, written and oral, poems, prayers, testimonials, myths and fantastic stories - may shed light on the path / spiritual pilgrimage common to all humanity, Christians, Muslims, Hindu or Buddhists.

Come i grandi maestri di sapienza dell’Asia – Confucio, Lao-tzu o Gandhi – Gesù ha raccolto esperienze e aneddoti dalla vita quotidiana nelle parabole, invitandoci a guardare alla vita con occhi nuovi, aprendo le braccia e il cuore alle persone intorno a noi.

Like the great masters of wisdom countries - Confucius, Lao-tzu or Gandhi - Jesus has collected experiences and anecdotes from everyday life in parables, inviting us to look at life with new eyes, opening his arms and hearts to people around us.

Le storie presentate sono integrate dai disegni di Jason K. Dy.

The stories presented are supplemented by drawings of Jason K. Dy.

taken from Editrice Missionaria Italiana website at www.emi.it

Editrice Missionaria Italiana
Via di Corticella 179/4 - 40128 Bologna (Italy)
Tel. 051/ 32.60.27 - Fax 051/ 32.75.52
C.F. e P.IVA n. 01164630376
C.C.P. n. 11657400 intestato a Coop. SERMIS - Bologna (Italy)

2008 8-Day Retreat Sketches

2008-05-29T18:36:00.008+08:00

some sketches i've created during my eight-day retreat
in mirador retreat house, baguio city.

"be still and know that i'm God"
ballpoint pen
may 17, 2008

listening to the preliminary points...
asking for the grace to be still,
to be silent,
to surrender...

"withstanding the storm"
ballpoint pen and watercolor
may 17 and 18, 2008

tropical storm "cosme" was raging with strong winds, heavy rains, and thick fog for two days.
before going to bed, i watched the pines trees being tossed by the winds, drenched by the rain, covered with thick fog, yet ever rooted on the ground. i stood there in front of the glass window, wrapped with thick brown blanket, amazed by the withstanding pine trees.

those days and nights, i was praying for the grace to be a dependent and trusting creature to his loving Creator.

"blackout"
ballpoint pen
may 18, 2008
11:00 p.m.

petromax lantern

a homage to the lantern
that burned brightly in the dark and in the storm,

that attracted me to come closer for light and warmth
like a moth in the night.

"here in this place"
ballpoint pen
may 20 and may 23, 2008

with crossed legs and folded hands,
i listened to the sound of my breathing
hoping to hear the breath that animates within

but my breathing in and out
or the breath within and out
must have put me to sleep.

i just woke up drenched in yellow light,
immersed in the quiet stillness of the sanctuary

and heard the breath
(or rather felt his presence,
his peace.)

may 20, 2008
8:00 p.m.
vigil chapel

"incarnation-adaptation"
ballpoint pen
may 19, 2008

a camouflage praying mantis surprised me one afternoon. i did not notice it.
it disguised itself as a seven-forked thin branch with four tiny leaves.
it was hanging freely on the layered pine tree wood.
it unconcealed itself when i touched it and it opened its four tiny wings.
and i got startled!

a lesson on adaption, on incarnation, on God's surprising and mysterious ways.

"profanity of the sacred"
ballpoint pen
may 20, 2008

God has a sense of humor.
He manifests his sacredness
in the profanity of the three roses
planted in the vase of water
harmoniously diverse in color, shape,
blooming and withering yet one in beauty and grace.

makeshift altars

2008-05-29T18:24:00.002+08:00

last may 2006 retreat, i designed two makeshift altars.
both were made out of the available indigenous and scrap materials
found mirador retreat house, baguio city

ifugao inspired altar design
pencil sketch

japanese inspired altar design
ballpoint pen and ballpen sketch

presbyteral ordination 2008 memoirs: stoles, pictures, and a speech

2008-04-22T12:05:00.006+08:00

presbyteral ordination stole
of frs. xave olin, sj and nono alfonso, sj
12 april 2008 (date of ordination)

designed by claro alfonso and jason dy,sj
embriodered by talleres de nazaret
(agoncillo st., u.p. campus, 1101 diliman, quezon city)

a set of stole and chasuble

***

fr. xave with jesuit novices and philosophers
he is missioned as the jesuit philippine province vocation promotions director
and will reside in xavier school community, greenhills as a part-time chaplain of the school

fr. nono with fr. ari dy, sj (jescom director) and jescom staff
he is missioned as the next director of the jesuit communications foundation
and will reside in jesuit residence community, ateneo de manila campus

***
The Bell Ringer
Second Part of the Thanksgiving Speech of Fr. Nono Alfonso, SJ

When I am asked about my vocation story – how I discerned or heard God's call – my simple answer is that, I heard the pealing of the bells. I remember when I was still very young, in Naga City, the bells of the Cathedral that signaled the first mass of the day would wake me up early in the morning and most especially during special occasions like the simbang gabi or the grand fiesta of Ina or the Lenten services when they rang the loudest. The bells would ring endlessly – waking me up, enticing, beckoning, summoning me. Among the sounds or noises in this world, I find that the sound of the bells is rather unique. It is quite out of this world, quite supernatural. The bells led me to the Church and ultimately to God. They led me to a deep awareness of the existence of the supernatural, of the reality of the sacred. I realized that there is more to this world. There is a God who is enticing, beckoning, summoning us to his loving embrace. I am therefore not alone. We are not alone. We are loved.

That was the start of my love affair with God. For what is vocation all about but an awakening to our fundamental relationship with our creator. To the truth that our seemingly ordinary and mundane lives are graced by God's presence and that these lives form a divine tapestry. One spiritual writer defines vocation this way. Each of us, each life is a story. Indeed, each life is like a novel. Vocation is learning that there is a greater story – God's story, God's love story with humankind which culminates in the passion of his son for us. And if we are able to insert our little, finite stories into this great story of God, our lives will become an adventure. In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius speaks of the same thing. In the Principle and Foundation, he says that God has a dream, a vision for us, for our world. And he wants us to join him in this project, in this wonderful undertaking.

When I responded to God's call - albeit with fear and trembling - my life indeed has become a great adventure. Who could ever imagine that this grocer's son, a probinsiyanong intsik would one day be writing for the most popular national newspaper, or appearing in the country's no. 1 tv and radio station. Indeed my life is a testament that when you offer yourself to God, he makes it bear fruit - a hundredfold. In John 10:10, Jesus says, "I have come so that they may have life, life to the full." When we surrender our lives to God, he takes us to the adventure of a lifetime. And yet, perhaps necessarily, he takes us, as the evangelist John says, where you do not want to go. The writer warns us, do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

By that I mean that my life the past 12 years in the Society of Jesus, in my pursuit of God's summons, has never been a walk in the park, or a bed of roses. With the joy, comes the pain as well. When I was in the novitiate for example, my mother figured in a vehicular accident that made her bedridden for nine months. I suffered no end during that time, wondering if God was being true to his promise – you see, when I surrendered myself to him, I asked him a liitle favor: if he could just take care of the family I love so much. In the philosophate, my brother was shot five times and was left for dead. Miraculously, he survived. And in the last two years, my father and another brother at the early age of 41 passed away. You cannot imagine how painful these past two years were for the family. Once I asked Lalo, my brother, why all these pains, these struggles when I was trying to follow Christ. He simply said, God is merely stretching your heart, so that you can love more, so that it can contain more people.

That is why my friends, you must understand why my family feels so happy today. As my brother Paeng puts it, tama na ang bad news, good news naman. For them, in this Easter season, my surviving the past 12 years, my ordination, is truly a manifestation of Christ's resurrection. Because in his resurrection, we are able to rise as well from our daily strifes and struggles. When Francis Alvarez asked me for a biblical passage for my stampita give-away, I chose the verses in St Paul's letter to the Corinthians where he writes, “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body....Therefore that I may not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me ...three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me but he said to me, `My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.'” I have gone through a painful lot these past many years and yet here I am, still standing, through the grace of God.

Truly, I thank God, for I have survived these past many years, not through my own strength or powers, but through his, through his love. In my deaconate ordination retreat I shared with Fr. Mon my realization - I was surprised of having reached this far, knowing fully well, how sinful I am. I told him that my single contribution to this vocation was my weaknesses, my rebelliousness. Parang kinakaladkad lang yata ako ng Diyos, tinutulak: O, sige na, on to the next stage ka na. Reassuringly, Fr. Mon told me, "Oo nga, Nono Matigas nga ang ulo mo."

Whatever I am now, my dear friends, this very ordination, it is God writing straight through crooked lines. In the end, I can truly truly say, God was more faithful to me, more than I ever was, to this vocation, to this great adventure which he has called me to embark upon. Now it is my turn to be his bell ringer.

taken from http://www.jesuits.ph/

Be There in the Meeting Places

2008-03-15T13:30:00.004+08:00

"lost and have been found"
acrylic and found objects on board
featured at "Untitled Folio," a biennial folio created
to showcase the works of professional Filipino illustrators

***

Lost? Meet with us at the garden, hill, and tomb...

We are inviting you to do something different this Holy Week. Aside from the

usual services, how about joining a 3-day online retreat? Visit
http://www.jesuits. ph and encounter the Lord in "MEETING PLACES," a retreat made
up of three modules, one for each day starting Holy Thursday and ending on Black
Saturday. You can go through the modules anytime on those days at your
convenience and at your own pace. It would be best if you can set aside about 30
minutes for each module.

There are three Lenten places, where the mysteries of Holy Week unfold:

The Garden (Holy Thursday)

The Hill (Good Friday)

The Tomb (Black Saturday)

We will hold our online retreat in those virtual meeting places, where we hope
to meet the Lord in a special way.

If you're interested, we have already uploaded a prayer exercise to help you
prepare for this retreat. Visit: http://www.jesuits. ph/articles/ retreatprep

If you know people who may be interested to go on this online retreat, please do
forward this e-mail to them.

See you in MEETING PLACES!

-jesuits.ph

***

This Holy Week On-Line Retreat is conducted by Fr. Johnny Go, SJ.
Visit his site at Pins of Light: A Bible Blog (frjg.multiply.com)

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

2008-03-08T10:39:00.003+08:00

"led to the slaughter"
acrylic paint on canvas
12 inches x 12 inches
2007

Jer 11:18-20

I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.

Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more.”

But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!

Alang-Alang sa Katotohanan at Pananagutan

2008-02-19T12:50:00.003+08:00

Alang-Alang sa Katotohanan at Pananagutan
Homilya ni Fr. Jose Mario C. Francisco, S.J.
Misa Alang-Alang sa Katotohanan at Pananagutan
6: 00 n.g, 18 Pebrero 2008

Nabubuhay ang Ebanghelyo ni Jesus kung ito’y pinakikinggan sa patnubay ng Espiritu Santong nangungusap sa ating kalooban at ipinapahayag sa gitna ng ekklesia, ng sambayanang tinipon ng Diyos tulad natin ngayon.

Narinig natin ang pagbasa buhat sa Ebanghelyo ni San Lukas, ika-anim na kapitulo, bersikulo 36-38. Parang hindi ito bagay sa mga pangyayaring nagdala sa atin dito—ang kadilimang bumabalot sa proyektong NBN—at sa tema ng Misa natin—katotohanan at pananagutan [truth and accountability]. Sinasabi sa pagbasang “Maging mahabagin, huwag humatol, huwag magparusa at magpatawad at magbigay kayo.” Pinalalambot ba nito ang ating mga tuhod? Maliwanag na hindi dahil sa mga naunang bahagi ng kapitulo, pinapahayag ring “Mapapalad ang mga dukha, nagugutom, tumatangis at kinapootan,” samantalang “aba naman ang mayayaman, busog, nagsisitawa at pinupuri ngayon.” Ngunit sinusundan ito ng tawag na “ibigin ninyo ang inyong mga kaaway, at gawan ng mabuti ang napopoot sa inyo.”

Napapaloob sa kapitulong ito ng Ebanghelyo ni Lukas ang Salita ng Diyos na ayon kay San Pablo’y “dapat nating pakinggan, napapanahon man o hindi.” Nandito ang pangaral ni Jesus sa lahat ng nais sumunod sa kanya, at ang hamon sa atin ngayon. Pakinggan ang ating mga puso’t isipan at pahintulutan ninyo akong magbigay ng tatlong maikling gabay.

Una, hinahanap ang katotohanan. Maliban kay Jesus na “daan, katotohanan at buhay,” na siyang tanging nagmamay-ari sa atin at nagbunyag ng tutoong pagpapala sa lahat, lalo na sa dukha’t inaapi, anumang katotohanan ay kailangang tuklasin. Hindi ito parang bagay na pag-aari natin o magaang binibigay sa atin. Dahil dito, dapat nating pakinggan ang pahayag ni Jun Lozada at ng iba pa, at dapat tawagan ang lahat sa pamahalaan at pribadong sektor na sabihin ang kanilang nalalaman. Kung mayroon ditong may nalalaman, dalhin sa liwanag at huwag ikubli sa kandadong opisina. Suriin natin ang bawat katibayang inilalahad at timbangin alang-alang sa ating ikikilos.

Pinamana ng ating Amang San Ignacio ang paraan ng pagkilatis [discernment], hindi upang magkulong sa konsepto o maparalisa sa pagkilos kundi upang ang pagkilos natin ay batay sa ating pakikinig sa Salita ng Diyos sa banal na templo ng ating mga puso bilang sambyanan ng Diyos. At ang katotohanang tinutuklas natin dito ay hindi lamang katotohanan tungkol sa mga pangyayari kundi katotohanan tungkol sa ating sarili at komunidad. Kung hindi natin masilayan ang katotohanan, hindi kaya natatakpan ng kanser ang ating mga mata o kaya’y nagbubulag-bulagan tayo?

Ikalawa, ipinaglalaban at pinaninindigan ang katotohanan. Halimbawa nito ang buhay ni Jesus na nagpatutoo sa pag-ibig at habag ng Diyos sa kabila ng pagtutol ng iba at pagtalikod ng kanyang mga disipulo. Hindi sementadong expressway ang daan tungo sa katotohanan. Bukod sa mga lubak na dala ng taunang tag-ulan, marami itong hadlang, pati na iba’t ibang checkpoint. Dahil dito, dapat nating ipaglabang matanggal ang lahat ng sagabal na ito—ang pagtatago sa likod ng direktiba, ang pagpilipit sa butil-butil na impormasyon para palabuin ang usapin, at ang paggamit sa usapin upang isulong ang pansariling pampulitikang interes. At dapat managot ang sinumang may kinalaman rito.

Ngunit sa paglabang ito at pananagot para sa katotohanan, dapat rin nating labanan ang ating sarili o iyong mga tagong bahaging nakakahadlang rin sa katotohanan. Kailangan nating itanong kung mayroon din tayong pananagutan sa katiwaliang laganap na naghahari sa buo nating paligid. Sino sa atin ang nagpapadulas sa sandaang piso para lamang hindi maabala ng paglabag natin sa batas trapiko o nagsasabing “Pasensya na sir, pari ako at may hinahabol na Misa”? O kaya’y napakadaling hindi lamang umiwas sa buwis kundi magduktor ng papeles para hindi magbayad? Ilan kaya sa ating mga mag-aaral ang nagtiis na pumila at magparehistro upang makaboto sa halalan?

Ikatlo, nagbubuklod ang katotohanan. Inanyayahan ni Jesus ang lahat upang manindigan para sa katotohanan at hindi niya o ninumang propeta pinagbuhatan ng kamay ang sinumang tumalikod sa katotohanan. Kung tayo’y nandito at nagkakaisa, ang pinakamalalim na bukal nito ay hindi dahil sa magkapareho ang ating paboritong kulay (maging asul o berde o pula o dilaw), at hindi rin dahil magkakapartido tayo. Katotohanan ang tumawag sa atin dito at nagbigkis. At inaasahan nating sa hinaharap hindi tayo magbibingi-bingihan sa tawag na ito.

Dahil rito, ipagpatuloy natin ang ating pagsama sa iba’t ibang grupo at komunidad upang hanapin ang katotohanan at kumilis ayon dito, ngunit dapat rin nating alisin ang anumang galit laban sa iba. Magalit tayo sa kasinungalingan at katiwalian ngunit isaloob natin ang narinig natin sa Ebanghelyo: “Magbigay kayo at bibigyan kayo ng Diyos: hustong takal, siksik, liglig, at umaapaw pa ang ibibigay sa inyo.” Ibig sabihin, ang pagpapala ng katotohanan.

Allow me to end with what may appear at first sight as a strange image: that of the bloodied Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Upon being asked “What is Truth?” by Pontius Pilate who knew it not and washed his hands, Jesus replied with silence—not passivity but the deafening witness of a life totally lived in and offered for truth. During these days and hereafter, may we as individuals and people do likewise. Only this will ensure genuine transformation of our society and lasting peace for our children’s children.

- hango sa http://www.jesuits.ph/articles/massfortruth

mga kuha ni Schol. Neo Saicon, SJ

Untitled 2008

2008-02-07T22:33:00.000+08:00

Untitled is a portfolio created to showcase the creative talent of Filipino illustrators. The group is composed of professional illustrators whose range of works covers editorial, advertising, promotional, fashion, scientific, architectural, comic books, children's books illustration, graphic design and even interior design. Browse through the members section to see some of our best works. If you feel like working with any of us, feel free to check our individual websites or email us and we'd be glad to get in touch.

We look forward to collaborating with you.

visit our site at http://www.untitledfolio.5gbfree.com/

In Loving Memory of Fr. Honti

2008-01-17T22:38:00.000+08:00

Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ, was born on 20 December 1923 in Molo, Iloilo City. He was one of eight children born to Jose Hontiveros and Vicenta Pardo.
Fr. Honti, as he is fondly known, was educated at the Capiz Elementary School and the pre-war Ateneo de Manila in Padre Faura, graduating from high school in 1939. From 1939 to 1945 he was at San Jose Seminary. He entered the Society of Jesus after the war in 1945, pronouncing first vows at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches in June 1947. There he finished his studies in philosophy and then proceeded to Ateneo de Zamboanga for his three-year regency, teaching religion, Latin, and English, and moderating the Choir String Band. In 1951, he traveled to the United States to study theology, and was ordained in 1954 by Francis Cardinal Spellman. After earning a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, he returned to teach in the Philippines in 1958. He pronounced final vows in the Society of Jesus in 1960.

Fr. Honti had a long career as a theology professor and seminary formator for Jesuits and San Jose seminarians. He served in various capacities, including as Rector of San Jose Seminary and Dean of Loyola School of Theology. For more than thirty years until 1991 when a stroke seriously hampered his mobility and capacity to communicate, he was a fatherly figure to generations of Jesuit and Josefino seminarians.

But Fr. Honti is best known for his music. In 1965, as the Second Vatican Council ended and called for inculturation of the liturgy, Fr. Honti, whose family is musically inclined, was already composing Mass hymns in Tagalog. He asked the church choirs in Barangka, Marikina, and Pansol, both communities near the new Ateneo campus in Loyola Heights, to sing his songs, and he readily adjusted the notes if the choir found his compositions too difficult. Before long, he had composed a complete set of hymns for the Mass. Thus began Fr. Honti’s love affair with heartfelt liturgical music. His songs spread to other parishes and by the 1970s, aided by a fresh wave of nationalism, his songs had become staple fare at Masses.

His name may not be familiar to all, but his music certainly is. He was not the only Filipino who experimented with sacred music in the vernacular starting in the 1960s, but he was certainly the most prolific, and most successful, if success is measured by the popularity of one’s work. Over a period of twenty-five years, Fr. Honti composed hundreds of hymns, many of which with moving stories of ordinary people behind them. He has inspired younger generations of composers like Fr. Nemesio Que, Fr. Fruto Ramirez, Fr. Manoling Francisco, Fr. Arnel Aquino, and Fr. Jboy Gonzales. It is no exaggeration that Fr. Honti has been called the Father of Filipino Liturgical Music.

Today it is a testament to Fr. Honti’s pioneering spirit that so many styles of church music are sung in our Masses and other gatherings. The choices can seem quite daunting, and it is never easy to select songs that various generations of churchgoers can follow, but play the opening notes of Fr. Honti’s Pananagutan, or intone his Luwalhati, Santo, Kordero ng Diyos, or his Magnificat, and everyone can join in. That is the surest way to show that while his name may not ring a bell, his music does.

Fr. Honti’s initiatives have been recognized with the Ateneo de Manila University’s Tanglaw ng Lahi Award (1976), the Asian Catholic Publishers’ “Outstanding Catholic Author” (1992), and the Papal award Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (2000), among many other awards and citations. He suffered another major stroke in early January, and went home to the Lord on 15 January.

His wake is being held at the Oratory of St. Ignatius, Loyola House of Studies, Ateneo de Manila University, where daily masses will be held at 8:00 p.m. The funeral Mass is scheduled for Saturday, 19 January, 8:00 a.m. at the Church of the Gesu in Ateneo Loyola Heights campus. Interment will follow at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Loyola School of Theology, for the Eduardo P. Hontiveros, SJ, Professorial Chair.

15 January 2008
Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus

Loyola School of Theology
Ateneo de Manila Campus, Loyola Heights,
1108 Quezon City
P.O. Box 240, U.P. Post Office, 1144 Quezon City
+63-2-246-6430 to 35
+63-2-426-5967
http://www.lst.edu/

2007-12-23T17:09:00.000+08:00

EnVisionChurch is pleased to present their first online art exhibit,
featuring crèches from around the globe. Online Exhibit

Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ and I have contributed to this online exhibit.

Title of Piece: Songs of Christmas
Date of Creation: 2005
Brief Description: This creche made for a Christmas card of the Fine Arts Program of the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines. The figures were made of white modelling clay and photographed using a digital camera. This background was modified using Photoshop. The work was ephemeral because it was fragile although there was the possibility of casting it in more permanent form. The standing figure are 8 inches tall; the seated figure 6 inches; small figure 5 inches.
Artist Info: René B. Javellana, SJ, Quezon City, Philippines
Photographer Info: Rene B. Javellana, Quezon City, Philippines

Title of Piece: “Around the Nest at Christmas”
Date of Creation: 2007
Location: Private collection
Brief Description: Wood, Ceramics, and Nest 2007 This is my personal crèche set. This nativity scene is composed of a wooden carved statue of our Lady, ceramic figure of the baby Jesus, a real bird’s nest, and an Asian boy kneeling. Most of them are hand-me-down pieces. The wooden statue of our Lady was left at the corridors of our seminary. It was just standing there beside one of the columns unclaimed for several months covered with dusts. Since nobody claimed it, I asked permission from my fellow seminarians if I could keep it. And it has been with me for five years. The ceramic figure of baby Jesus was given to me by a fellow seminarian. It was laying down on his table without any crib. I told him that it would be a good Christmas gift for me and I would surely provide its manger. And it has been with me for almost seven years. Its “manger” came much later. I found it when there was a storm here in the Philippines several years ago. The nest was blown by the strong winds and landed on the corridor of our seminary. Since then, it became the “manger” of the baby Jesus ceramic figure. The ceramic Asian boy kneeling was a for-grabs item of my novice master when he died last 2005. I have placed all of them on my small prayer altar. It was only this year that I realized that they could be assembled into a nativity scene. This scene will remind me of the first Christmas and how the Babe and his mother draw me close to them as I continue my priestly formation as a Jesuit seminarian. It will encourage me to pray for my fellow seminarians and my formators (both dead and alive). And they will be enthroned in the small corner of my room, not just on Christmas but all year long.
Artist Info: Jason K. Dy, SJ, Manila, The Philippines

KASAYSAYANG EXHIBIT

2007-11-18T11:21:00.000+08:00

TutoK presents KASAYSAYANG: a two-part exhibit on history

The artists' initiative TutoK presents "Kasaysayang," its seventh exhibit in two parts at two Makati venues this November.

After setting its focus on human rights issues in a series of exhibits last year and in early 2007, TutoK takes a provocative look at the past as it continues to the present. "Kasaysayang" is a play on what history as a word evokes, eliciting on one hand, a sense of misgiving, but also looks forward and commits to bring history forward into new meanings, functions and actions.

"Kasaysayang" is curated by Noel Soler Cuizon, and features past and recent works by over 180 artists and collectives who have been supporting TutoK in the past two years. Through this exhibition, TutoK hopes to generate funding to fuel more collaborative efforts next year- workshops, talks and other events that will further promote artists' initiatives and advocacies.

The first part, Takdang Aralin - Unang Yugto will open on November 17, 7:00pm at the Artspace of Glorietta 4, Ayala Center , Makati City , and may be viewed during mall hours until November 27.

The second part, Balik-Aral, Ikalawang Yugto will open on the 2^nd Anniversary of TutoK, November 30, 7:00pm at the Alab Art Space of the Intellectual Property Philippines , 351 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue , Makati City, and may be viewed 9:00am-6:00pm until January 11, 2008.

A forum on art, history, and intellectual property rights will be the exhibit's culminating activity at the Alab Art Space on Friday, January 11, 2008 from 2:00-5:00pm. The exhibit and its corresponding activities are open and free to the public.

Sales inquiries may be directed to Britania Art Projects, Telefax 3876373 and Mobile 09178070327.
________________________________________________________________

Ref: KAREN OCAMPO FLORES
0917.8179593 / 0918.9002682
kangkong666@yahoo.com

taken from http://cinemas-movies.blogspot.com/2007/11/up-film-institute-tutok-opens.html

see reviews:
History as Present Imperfect
ZOETROPE By Juaniyo Arcellana
Monday, November 12, 2007
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Arts%20and%20Culture&p=49&type=2&sec=40

retreat painting

2007-11-02T21:50:00.001+08:00

"desolation-consolation"
oil painting, 1989

collection of sacred heart novitiate

this is one of my early paintings.
i did this during my thirty-day ignatian retreat nine years ago.

please pray for the first year novices of the jesuit philippine province
who are having their thirty-day ignatian retreat
together with the jesuit tertians and other retreatants.
may they have a grace-filled and fruitful reatreat.

Launching of Fr. Benny Calputora's 2-Volume Book

2007-10-10T21:03:00.000+08:00

book icon for the two volumes
which symbolizes Fr. Benny as deep thinker and compassionate co-discerner.
this owl is sketched from one of Fr. Benny's owl collections.

first semester villa sy 2007-2008

2007-08-31T19:34:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy, sj
sketches
water color pencils and ballpoint pen

peninsula de punta fuego,
nasugbu, batangas
visit their site: http://www.puntafuego.com

INVITATION AU VOYAGE EXHIBITION - HONG KONG

2007-08-03T17:24:00.000+08:00

INVITATION AU VOYAGE EXHIBITION - HONG KONG

Moleskine has always been a favourite notebook of travelers. To celebrate the launch of the new Moleskine City Notebooks, we have invited Asian travelers to join the Invitation au Voyage competition in January 2007.

This travel notebook competition has captured the imagination of the travelers’ community in Asia. We have received more than 100 magnificent notebooks from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and The Philippines. Our most unexpected submission came from Inner Mongolia.

We are proud to showcase these ultimate travel notebooks and hope you will start planning and dreaming of your next trip!

Date of exhibition: 30th July - 26th August 2007

Exhibition Venues:
Citysuper - Times Square, Causeway
Hong Kong Book Centre - Cityplaza, Taikoo Shing
Logon - Festival Walk, Koloon Tong

Winner: An Air France Return Ticket To Paris
Philip Wan (Hong Kong)

1st Runner Up: Full collection of 16 Moleskine City Notebooks
Shannon Pawliw (Vancouver)

2nd Runner Up: 12 Moleskine European City Notebooks
Audrey Salmon (Beijing)

Top 10: 3 Moleskine City Notebooks + 3 Moleskine Notebooks
Aggole Leung (Hong Kong)
Chan Yi Thying (Malaysia)
Daphne Lim (Singapore)
Dream Li (Hong Kong)
Goh I-Ming (Malaysia)
Prudence Mak (Hong Kong)
Rabi Mark (Hong Kong)

Top 50: 3 Moleskine Notebooks
Annaleah Llanes (Philippines)
Aurelia Castro (Singapore)
Charis Kan (Hong Kong)
Chi Leung (Hong Kong)
Emily Ma (Shanghai)
Eudora Rusli (Singapore)
Eva Lam Yik Wa (Hong Kong)
Eva Tseng (Hong Kong)
Fan Ya-Ru (Taoyuan, Taiwan)
Goh I-Mei (Malaysia)
Jaclynn Seah (Singapore)
Jan, Hau Kin (Hong Kong)
Jason Dy (Philippines)
Jessica Chuan (Malaysia)
Kathleen Yao (Singapore)
Lian Li (Hong Kong)
Lin Hsiu Lien (Taipei)
Liu Ying Chieh (Taipei)
Luo Ling (Shanghai)
Melda Linawa (Singapore)
Nancy Hu (Taipei)
Noel Lam (Hong Kong)
Nohara Kazumi(Japan)
Pamela Hong (Singapore)
Poon Yiu Tong (Hong Kong)
Rachel Wong (Hong Kong)
Sanjit Silva (Singapore)
Shih Ming Feng (Taipei)
Supawadee Juysukha (Thailand)
Tsz Wan (Hong Kong)
Vency Yee (Hong Kong)
Wu Xiao Tong (Inner Mongolia)
You Wei Chuen (Taipei)

taken from moleskine asia website:
moleskineasia.com
visit also these sites for more information about the results of the contest:
www.littlecreambook.com
http://moleskine.vox.com

First Companions Stained Glass

2007-07-17T10:19:00.001+08:00

First Companions Stained Glass
Center for Ignatian Spirituality (CIS) Chapel
visit their website at http://jesuits.ph/cis.htm

Stained Glass manufactured by KRAUT Art Glass
visit their website at http://www.krautartglass.com/mainframe.htm

"Ignatius:Contemplatio" Stained GLass Panel 1 Detail
"Faber:Oblatio" Stained GLass Panel 2 Detail
"Xavier:Missio" Stained GLass Panel 3 Detail

iv weeks

2007-06-12T16:17:00.001+08:00

iv weeks
40 pages leaf prints
using moleskine notebook
may 2007

my 8-day retreat prayer journal
arrupe month: pre-ordination conferences,
relfection and sharing sessions, and retreat
april 24-may 24, 2007
jesuit residence, ateneo de manila campus
good shepherd retreat house, baguio city

eastern wisdom for western minds

2007-05-28T18:45:00.000+08:00

Eastern Wisdom for Western Minds
by Victor M. Parachin,
With Art by Jason K. Dy

Book Description

From Awareness to Zen – an A to Z handbook to understanding the benefits of Eastern spirituality for Christian living.

The purpose of this book is to enrich the faith that is already there. Christians especially will benefit from the principles and practices from the East that are universal and applicable to everyday life.

The entries include stories and drawings to awaken the inner eye. Together they inform, enlighten, and even entertain. Among them:

• Attachment • Forgiveness • Generosity • Karma
• Kindness • Meditation • Possessions • Suffering

Victor M. Parachin, an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has also authored Prayers from Around the World and Across the Ages, and Lessons in Living from the 23rd Psalm. Mr. Parachin lives with his wife and three children in Tulsa, OK.
Jason K. Dy, a Chinese-Filipino Jesuit scholastic in theological studies, uses his artistic gifts to serve evangelization.

This Item is currently unavailable.
Please reorder after 9/30/2007.

Product Details

172 pp.
Paperback
14 Line Drawings

taken from Orbis Books Website at
http://www.maryknollmall.org/description.cfm?ISBN=978-1-57075-738-9

as you move on

2007-03-23T16:51:00.000+08:00

for the berchmans class 2007
ateneo de zamboanga university

as you end your high school journey

of standing in line in flag ceremonies as a class
wearing school uniforms and ids
declaring who you are and are not
praying the morning offering and al-fatihah
believing in one God, practicing diverse traditions
reciting the ateneo’s vision-mission
hoping to imbibe its spirit
singing “fly high”
spreading fragile, blue wings

of being in one class, one room
disarranging chairs to bond with friends
sharing notes on difficult subjects
asking teachers questions with no answers
getting unsatisfactory answers to your questions
whining together over challenging projects
taking exams that test intelligence, diligence and endurance
listening to talking boards of wisdom and confusion
reading un-prescribed books and gaining new insights
solving some puzzling problems
contemplating on life’s mystery and paradoxes
rejoicing over your small winnings
shedding tears for not hitting the mark
sweeping, scrubbing the dirty and dusty floors

of experiencing life outside the classroom
killing boredom with frills and gimmicks
texting your daily activities and whereabouts
surfing the net for possible links
wasting time in computer shops and chat rooms
studying not the lecture notes but on other things
practicing the basketball-game of life
falling in love for the first time
hurting others and being hurt
discovery the wide world outside your house
planting mangroves for the environment
spending overnights of ghost-hunting
losing things and missing people
dreaming of new possibilities

of living high school life to the fullest

cherish the memories
learn from your experiences
celebrate your gifts and persons
look at your shadows
forgive
make peace not war
pray for each other
say good-bye
give thanks
dare to dream great things

for the road ahead
is long and exciting

pro Deo et patria

23 March 2007
loyola house of studies

growing pains

2007-03-22T09:16:00.000+08:00

"growing pains"
watercolor pens and ballpoint pens

for tinig loyola cover
loyola school of theology student publication

CLCP Logo Artwork

2007-03-06T15:20:00.000+08:00

"CLCP Logo Studies 1 and 2"
Magazine Cut-Out, 2006

"Our logo today symbolizes the circle of community which differentiates the CLC from other organizations. Its color expresses its special love for Mary as our model. The shading symbolizes the permanence of the way of life in light and in darkness. The focus of the logo is an empty cross which depicts the Risen Christ and where each member should be the body of Christ to others. At the heart of the Cross is the flame of Ignatian passion, the fire which burns in our hearts - the fire which lights our way in the many crossroads which we face in life. The three elements of Spirituality, Mission, and Community keep the symbol together by way of the nails. The four weeks of the Spiritual Exercises seen through the quadrants envelope and give prominence to the Cross and the flame Bro. Jason Dy, S.J. designed the new logo to communicate the mission and vision of the CLCP. He is experienced in this task having successfully developed the logo of many of the Jesuit apostolates, e.g., Mirador, Emmaus, CIS, etc."

taken for Christian Life Community Philippines Website at http://www.clcphilippines.org
visit their multiply.com site at http://clcphilippines.multiply.com/profile

Waiting

2007-02-23T16:57:00.000+08:00

"Waiting"
mixed media, 2005
18 inches x 12 inches

vicky tan collections

Silent Protest

2007-02-23T16:56:00.001+08:00

"Silent Protest"
mixed media, 2005
18 inches x 12 inches

vicky tan collections

Rain

2007-02-23T16:54:00.000+08:00

"Rain"
mixed media, 2005
18 inches x 12 inches

vicky tan collections

on the 10th SBC Conference

2007-01-30T23:51:00.000+08:00

the conference was like distributing conference kit to each participant consisting of spiral notebook, plastic ring-bound country report, black ballpoint pen, lined pad paper, commemorative stampita, church-at-the-service-of-country magazine and transparent folder placed inside the blue back pack.

the participants brought their researches about the situation of migration in their respective countries, how they responded (or not responded) to it, and what they ought to do about it;

the speakers presented the plight of the migrants, the negative effects of urbanization and globalization, the trafficking of human persons, the various action (and inaction) of both public and private agencies, the international instruments promoting the cause of the migrants;

the participants immersed themselves with the stories, joys and pains of the migrants (documented or not) over cups of coffee, bottles of beer, bowls of indian soup and chinese noodles, spoonful of chicken curry with rice balls, and the lack of them as they celebrate their holiday break from planting palm trees, constructing multi-storey buildings, hunting for a descent illegal employment (and for christians, their christmas away from home);

the speakers drew out the experiences, reflections, analysis, and actions of the participants through group sharing, reporting, creative presentation, and theological discussion.

in the process, filled their spiral notebooks with questions, points to remember, scribbles of things to be done, drawings of the migrant faces;

reported, read, lined, highlighted, and annotated their plastic ring-bound country reports;

used up the ink of their black ballpoint pens in order to exchange contact numbers and email addresses, rewrite their reports, jot down significant learnings, sign-up for future volunteer work with the migrants, affix their signature to amend the newly drafted recommendations;

folded lined papers, stripped in several pieces and sizes, collated insights and action points unto its lined pages;

commemorative stampitas of the first companions were kept as the vision, passion and compassion of each patron enflamed their hearts along with the renewed vigor of their vocation and forging of new companionship in the lord during meal times, coffee and cigarette breaks, drinking sessions, night market shopping, bus transits, silence and prayer, and eucharistic celebrations;

church-at-the-service-of-country magazine allowed them to exchange other magazines, posed for the magazine, some wrote articles, others were interviewed, and most of them read the magazines in order to broaden their ideas on migration and other issues;

transparent folders mirrored their honesty and courage in expressing their views amidst different languages, cultures and personalities in order to come up with unified and discerned recommendations for future actions.

after fourteen days, they all placed their scribbled spiral notebooks, annotated plastic ring-bound country reports, ink-drained black ballpoint pens, stripped lined pad papers, kept commemorative stampitas, exchanged church-at-the-service-of-country magazines and symbolic transparent folders inside the blue back packs to be carried back to their various countries, and to unpacked upon their arrival in order to share the distributed valuables they received (and the shared) inside the blue back pack.

10th SBC Conference Photos

2007-01-30T22:11:00.000+08:00

Christmas Message

2006-12-13T17:51:00.000+08:00

he people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

--Isaiah 9:2a

For to us a child is born,
for to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulders,
and his name will be called
“Wonderful Counsellor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.”

--Isaiah 9:6

ACLC* Retreat Sketches

2006-11-30T15:06:00.000+08:00

October 21-28, 2006
Sienna College Retreat House,
San Jose Bulacan

*Ateneo Christian Life Community

Two Rites. One Eucharist.

2006-11-29T11:09:00.000+08:00

A reflection on the similarity and dissimilarity of the Tridentine Mass and Vatican II Mass.
By Jason K. Dy, SJ

The old rite emphasizes sacrifice,
The new one ecclesial communion

Yet both share the one offering of Christ,
Partake of one bread of life, one cup of salvation.

In olden times, Latin psalms and hymns are sung to God;
In contemporary times, the Word of God are proclaimed in various languages

Yet both listen to one Voice,
Preach one Good News in words and deeds.

The old rite orients their church east
While the new one in various directions

Yet both await the eastern homecoming
As they pass-over the cyclic seasons
Of advent, christmas, lent, easter.

Some progressives name the old rite rigid,
Some traditionalists label the new rite secular

Yet both are off-springs of reformers
Desiring to marry heaven and earth,
To unite the sacred and profane,
Mystical and worldly,
Creativity and order,
Faith and culture.

Priests preside the mass privately, accurately, solemnly;
Laity celebrates the eucharist fully, actively, consciously,

Yet both for man’s sanctification
And to God’s glorification.

loyola house of studies
6 september 2006
am+dg

Bro. Georg Josef Kamel, SJ

2006-10-12T20:08:00.000+08:00

exhibit lobby of the selected reproductions of Bro. Georg Josef Kamel's
botanical illustrations.

Bro. Josef Georg Kamel was a Jesuit brother
who arrived in the Philippines in the 17th century
and continued to be active as a pharmacist and naturalist
until his death on 2 May 1706.
In Europe, Bro. Kamel was known for his botanical research
because his catalogue of Philippine plants
was published as a supplement
“Herbarium aliarumque stirpitum
in insula Luzone Phippiniarum prima noscentium”)
to the magnum opus of the British botanist John Ray, Historia Plantarum.

Kamel’s sensitive line drawings (or copies of his drawings),
preserved in the Jesuit Archives at Louvain,
suggest that he illustrated from live specimens
rather than from mounted and dried specimens as was common in Europe.
Luc Dhaeze, who describes himself as an amateur botanist
who has been growing camellias for years,
says that the "The manuscript came into the possession
of French botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (1748-1836),
and was bought by the Belgian count Alfred de Limminghe (Gentinnes)
on February 6, 1858 at the sale of the possessions of the former.
De Limminghe presented the manuscript as a gift to the Jesuit college in Leuven."

--taken from one of Fr. Rene Javellana's blogs:
http://letrasyfiguras.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 28, 2006; Flora and Zero-in

Contradicting Margaret

2006-10-12T19:45:00.000+08:00

31. Spring and Fall
Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ (1844–89). Poems. 1918.

to a young child

MÁRGARÉT, áre you gríeving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leáves, líke the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Áh! ás the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

1. "Contradicting Margaret:
A Tribute to Bro. Georg Josef Kamel, SJ"
2006

Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ and Jason Dy, SJ
Interactive Painting
Leaf Prints and Sketches
Acrylic on Concrete Wall

flora exhibit pictures

2006-10-12T19:06:00.000+08:00

Flora: Beauty, Desire & Death

2006-10-11T21:34:00.000+08:00

Flora: Beauty, Desire & Death
Ateneo Art Gallery,
Ground Floor, Rizal Library,
Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
opens on 11 October 2006

curator: Rene B Javellana, SJ

"Flora: Beauty, Desire and Death, an exhibition commemorating
the tercentenary of Bro.Georg Jose Kamel, S.J.’s death,
brings in dialogue the arts and sciences
by meditating on the role images and illustrations play
in the development of these diverse disciplines.
While science uses images as a support for texts and equations,
art employs images less for their denotative value
but for their connotative repercussions.
Images in science point to precise facts,
images in art open possibilities for exploration."
--taken from one of Fr. Rene Javellana's web logs:
letrasyfiguras.blogspot.com

The exhibition forms part of Zero In 5: Convergence,
the annual consortium project of the Philippines’ leading private museums:
Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Lopez Memorial Museum,
Museo Pambata and guest member Bahay Tsinoy.

for more information about the exhibit please visit the following websites:
http://letrasyfiguras.blogspot.com/
http://gallery.ateneo.edu/flora.htm
http://www.zeroin2006.com/aag.htm

catholic media fair

2006-10-09T16:10:00.000+08:00

Catholic Media Fair
at the Books and Bean Show
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
October 12 - 15, 2006

Megatrade Hall 3, Building B, SM Megamall
EDSA Ortigas Center Complex
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

Activities

October 12, 2006 Thursday
10:00 AM
Opening of the Book and Bean Show

October 13, 2006 Friday
2:00 - 3:00 PM
Shepherd's Voice prsents "Think Rich Pinoy"
by Mr. Larry Gamboa

5:00 - 5:30 PM
Lauching of "Once Upon a Time in ASIA:
Stories of Harmony and Peace"
by Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM
with Jason K. Dy, SJ
sponsored by
Claretian Publications and Jesuit Communications

6:30 - 7:00 PM
Lauching of the "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of teh Church"
by Word and Life Publications

7:00 - 8:00 PM
Seminar/workshop on an Up-to-Date Catholic Religious Formation
by Word and Life Publications

October 14, 2006 Sunday
1:00 - 2:30 PM
Launching and Presentation of "Gospel Komiks Collectors' Edition"
by Communication Foundation for Asia

6:00 - 6:30 PM
Mini Concert by Noel Cabangon
presented by Jesuit Communications

cisco, ody, and me

2006-10-04T00:27:00.000+08:00

regents
ateneo de zamboanga university
school year 2003-2004

Joseph And Dreams

2006-09-13T13:02:00.000+08:00

An adaptation of Genesis 37 and 41

Joseph had a prophetic dream
of binding sheaves of grain with his ten elder brothers,
of his sheaf rising and standing upright,
of his brothers’ sheaves gathering around his sheaf, bowing down to it,
and of sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him.

These dreams made his brothers hate him more.
They plotted to kill him,
strip him of his richly ornamented robe,
throw him into a cistern,
declare that a ferocious animal devoured him,
sell him for twenty shekels of silver
(actually succeeded as they had planned
except in killing him).

Hearing Joseph’s tailored death,
his father tore off his clothes, put on sackcloth,
mourned for his beloved son for many days, and refused to be comforted.

And Joseph became a slave in Egypt.

---

The chief cupbearer had a dream
of seeing a vine with three branches in front of him,
of the vine budding, blossoming, and its clusters ripening into grapes,
of having Pharaoh's cup in his hand,
and of taking the grapes, squeezing them into Pharaoh's cup
and putting the cup in his hand.

The chief baker dreamt too.
He dreamt of carrying three baskets bread on his head
of birds eating all kinds of baked goods for the Pharaoh in the top basket.

As dreams belong to Yahweh, Joseph interpreted their dreams:
as three vine branches bud, blossom with ripened grapes,
the cup bearer’s head will be lifted up
and restored his position of putting Pharaoh’s cup in his hand;

as birds eat all kinds of bread in the top basket,
the baker’s head will be lifted off and hanged him on a tree
and the birds would eat away his flesh.

After three days, what was foretold happened.
The cupbearer was released and restored to his position
and the baker was hanged and the birds ate his flesh away.
But the cupbearer forgot his promise of mentioning Joseph to Pharaoh
and releasing him out of prison.

And Joseph was left in prison,
serving the sentence of a crime he did not commit,
waiting for the fulfillment his dreams.

---

Two full years had passed.

Pharaoh had a dream.
He dreamt of standing by the Nile
seeing seven sleek, fat cows
coming up out of the river and
grazing among the reeds,
of seeing seven other ugly, gaunt cows
coming up out of the Nile after the seven sleek, fat cows
standing beside those on the riverbank,
of seeing the ugly, gaunt cows eating up
the seven sleek, fat cows.

Then Pharaoh woke up.
He fell asleep again and had a second dream
of seeing seven healthy, good heads of grain
growing on a single stalk,
of seeing seven other thin, scorched by the east wind head of grain
sprouting, swallowing up the seven healthy, full heads.

Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
He was troubled.
He sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt.
Pharaoh told them his dreams,
but no one could interpret them for him.

Then Pharaoh’s cupbearer remembered his dream and that of the baker
and the fulfilled interpretation of their dreams.
He remembered Joseph and fulfilled his forgotten promise.

Joseph was brought from the dungeon,
Shaved and changed his clothes and came before Pharaoh.

As dreams’ answers belong to Yahweh, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams:
seven sleek, fat cows and seven healthy, good heads of grain
are seven years of plenty, abundance;
seven other ugly, gaunt cows and seven other thin, scorched head of grain
are seven years of drought, famine.
As seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
seven years of severe famine will follow them, ravaging the land.

Joseph made known Yahweh’s plan:
“Thus, as these things will happen soon,
a discerning and wise man is to be put in charge of the land of Egypt
who orders to take and store up a fifth of the grain’s harvest
during the seven years of plenty for the seven years of famine.”

Since there’s no one like Joseph
who is discerning and wise
in whom the spirit of Yahweh dwells,
Joseph was put in-charge of the palace
Enthroned next to Pharaoh.

And the rest was the fulfillment
of his dreams.

to choose wisely

2006-09-03T16:37:00.000+08:00

once upon a time in asia

2006-08-25T19:06:00.000+08:00

ONCE UPON A TIME IN ASIA
Stories of Harmony and Peace

James H. Kroeger, MM
with Eugene F. Thalman, MM and Jason K. Dy, SJ

Brings together stories from the many peoples, cultures, and religions of Asia,
from behemoth China to tiny East Timor,
from the mostly Christian Philippines to Buddhist Thailand and beyond.

“Stories to awaken the human, Christian and Asian in us!
A guide to contemplation.”
Luis A.G. ‘Chito’ Tagle, D.D.
Bishop of Imus, Philippines

“Through this book, you’ll know and touch and feel
the heartbeat of faith in Asia.”
Bo Sanchez
Shepherds Voice Publications

Editor/Author:

James H. Kroeger, a Maryknoll priest and author of several mission books (see inside pages),
teaches at the Loyola School of Theology in Manila.

Co-Author/Compiler:

Eugene F. Thalman, also a Maryknoll priest (1933-2005), was a founder of the Centre for Social Justice
in Hong Kong.

Illustrator:

Jason K. Dy, a Chinese-Filipino Jesuit scholastic in theological studies,
uses his artistic gifts to serve evangelization.

Publishers:

Claretian Publications is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines.
It aims to promote a renewed spirituality rooted in the process of total liberation and solidarity
in response to the needs, challenges, and pastoral demands of the Church today.
Contact: Claretian Publications, Inc.; U.P.P.O. Box 4 Diliman; 1101 Quezon City, Philippines;
Tel. 921-3984; FAX: 921-6205; E-mail: claret@cnl.net;
Website: http://www.bible.claret.org

Jesuit Communications produces audio-visual and print materials
for evangelization and education in the areas of Religious Education, Spiritual and Pastoral Ministry.
Contact: Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc.; Sonolux Building,
Ateneo de Manila University; Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines;
Tel: 426-5971 to 72; FAX: 426-5970: E-mail: jcf@admu.edu.ph;
Website: http://www.jesuits.ph/jescom

Orbis Books, original publisher of Once Upon a Time in Asia,
is the publishing arm of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and endeavors
to provide works that enlighten the mind, nourish the spirit, and challenge the conscience.
Orbis seeks to explore the global dimensions of the Christian faith and world mission.
To learn more about Maryknoll and Orbis Books,
please visit the website at http://www.maryknoll.org

on meals and grace

2006-08-19T17:44:00.000+08:00

"Mealtime"
ballpoint pen on paper, 2006
14 ' x 8'

one of the illustrations
found in the book
"Once Upon A Time In Asia"

Babette’s Feast: Of Grace and Transformation
by Jason K. Dy, SJ

a living remembrance
of a protestant minister and his hundredth birth anniversary who preached
mercy and truth meeting together, righteousness and peace kissing one another
with hell-fire-and-brimstone followed a strict puritanical rule
had been loved and feared (even after his death)

by a little congregation
of two women remembering four decades of hurt
and forgetting yesterday’s pleasant chat,
of an old man unforgiving of his brother who cheated him forty-five years ago,
of man and woman accusing and blaming each other having had an affair decades ago,
of old people being tormented by the pangs of their sins in the distant past
and the fear of the righteous God’s anger, calling each other brothers and sisters
yet recalling each other’s faults to one another with bitter resentment

and by his two daughters, ‘flowering fruits trees,’
who were trying to walk in their father’s austere path of faith,
renouncing the pleasures of this worldly life,
spending their meager income on filling the soup-pails and baskets for the poor,
shepherding the dwindling inherited flock,
fearing for their joys:
believing earthly love and marriage were of scant worth and merely empty illusion
yet in the secret chambers of their hearts, they were treasuring their own lovers—
an opera singer who envisioned his life with the younger sister, a diva for a wife
yet turned him down because she was too “afraid of her heart,”
hoping that in Paradise he will her voice again, singing together
and a general who envisioned a ‘higher and purer life” with his beloved
yet felt unworthy of her left her, in despair, vowing never to see her again,
declaring “that in this world there are things which are impossible,”
living his life in vanity and morality and emptiness.

a real French meal of exquisite food and wine spreading over a candlelit table
with its precious silverware and china
making it a love affair of the union of body and spirit
filling the house and hearts with “warmth and sweet smell”
cooked by an unknown chef
who lost her husband and son and all that she possessed in a war,
fled from her famed world and exiled as an unpaid servant,
lived quietly and intimately attached to nobody,
that cost her ten-thousand francs lottery prize and her widow’s mite
as a deliberate sacrifice and joy
of not expecting any recompense, of offering all her gains,
of not returning to her famed world, of living as an exiled servant all her life
and of creating as an artist

yet eaten in communion by the twelve feasters with tasteless buds
of suspicion, silent protest, fear and ingratitude
except an old general who feasted each savor and sip with delight and gusto
and remembered the known great chef and artist, greatest culinary genius
in the finest café of Paris
in lieu of the customary plain supper and a cup of coffee.

a lavish, prodigal God who gathered the communion of misspent lives, lost lovers, war victim, worn-out souls, tired bodies, bruised and hardened hearts
blessing the finite offering of the chef into an infinite encounter of heaven on earth,
uniting the profane with the spiritual, turning water into wine
in anticipation of an eschatological wedding banquet
in the sacramental feast of bread and wine
filled with His abounding mercy that needed to be received in gratitude
then, transforming “these people, usually silent at meals, on this night
found somehow their tongues loosened and their hearts melted”
as their bodies feasted, souls healed;
as He was praised, worshipped
as His “exquisitely tender grace poured out at a festive meal.”

a pastoral liturgy reflection paper
am+dg; loyola house of studies
11 july 2006

Ignatius Loyola and Apostolic Spirituality

2006-08-02T21:21:00.000+08:00

Ignatius’ unique gift to the Society and the Church as an apostolic spirituality: a spirituality of labor with God, in God’s labor in the world. Ignatius had a mystical vision of a Trinitarian God at work in the world for the salvation of humanity. Christ for Ignatius is not so much a great figure of the past, but a living Lord, inviting men and women today to labor with him in his ongoing struggle against “the enemy of human nature” (Exx 136), in his ongoing project of filling the world with “knowledge of the true life.” (Exx 139). Thus, for Ignatius, it was “not sufficient . . . to do some work for God.” “Ignatius wishes to insert himself into the very work of God.” (Kolvenbach).

"Ignatius: Contemplatio"

Acrylic on Canvas, 2006

3' x 1'

Jason K. Dy, SJ

Ignatius and Vision

We need the vision of Ignatius that will allow us to see God, the world, our work, and ourselves in a new way:

∙ In an increasingly secular culture, we need his capacity to see the invisible God “who works and labors in all things.” (Exx 236).

∙ At a time of much discouragement in the country, we want to see again that we are not the only agents of change, but that the “risen Christ, far from being absent from the world, . . . is now present . . . and continues to mediate God’s work of bringing salvation, justice and reconciliation to a world that is still broken by its sins.” (GC 34)

∙ We need to see our works, not as isolated personal projects, my work, my ministry, but our privileged sharing in God’s great work in the world.

∙ We need to see ourselves, not primarily as parish priests, or educators, or social workers, or artists, or formators, but as servants of Christ’s mission. Thus, we might rediscover freedom: that readiness to continue, adapt or let go of particular works, as we seek to discern and serve God’s ongoing work and unfolding plan.

Taken from the Jesuit Philippine Province Jubilee of the First Companions Document drafted by the JUBILEE YEAR COMMITTEE on July 20, 2005.

Peter Faber and Cura Personalis

2006-08-02T17:29:00.000+08:00

Peter Faber embodied the dimension of cura personalis. “Not gifted for governance as was Ignatius or impelled toward great exploits as was Francis, Faber devoted himself to the spiritual companionship of a great number of people who were searching for God.” (Kolvenbach) Reflecting the consoling ministry of the risen Christ, he accompanied people in a personal way,with delicacy, charity, and kindness, “as friends are accustomed to console friends” (Exx 224).

"Faber: Oblatio"

Acrylic on Canvas, 2006

3' x 1'

Jason K. Dy, SJ

Faber and Caring

We hope to be given the caring spirit that builds community of Peter Faber.

∙ At a time when the burdens that we bear are so many, because of the numerous demands on us, our fewer numbers, our increasing proportion of elderly and sick, our over-extended men, we Jesuits desire to fulfill better the office of consoler to each other and so build apostolic community.

∙ We hope to build a true apostolic community among Jesuits and lay partners, who are bound to each other not simply by bonds of employment, but of spirit, mission, and friendship.

Taken from the Jesuit Philippine Province Jubilee of the First Companions Document
drafted by the JUBILEE YEAR COMMITTEE on July 20, 2005.

Francis Xavier and Mission

2006-08-02T07:45:00.000+08:00

Francis Xavier, “a man of intense missionary activity, stops at nothing to proclaim the good news.” (Kolvenbach) If Ignatius reminds us that it is God’s work we participate in, Xavier symbolizes the human response to God’s invitation. In Xavier, we see the passionate sense of urgency and the total giving of oneself in gratuity to the work of evangelization. We see in him that burning desire to “help souls,” precisely because so many “are deprived of their proper humanity and are plunged into misery.” (Kolvenbach)

"Xavier: Missio"

Acrylic on Canvass, 2006

3' x 1'

Jason K. Dy, SJ

Xavier and Passion

We desire to receive a share in the passion for mission of Francis Xavier.

∙ In times of complacency or resignation, partially due to the magnitude of problems and concerns, we need a reawakened “urgency to announce the good news.” (Kolvenbach)

∙ We need a share in Francis’ acute sense of the need of those around him and his desire to bring the hope of the risen Lord to those most deprived of it: “Francis bears the good news to help those who no longer reflect the image of God and are deprived of their proper humanity and are plunged into misery.” (Kolvenbach)

∙ At a time when we are tempted to despair because of the seemingly unending cycle of poverty, corruption and political instability, we want a share in Francis’ dauntless spirit of perseverance in the face of trial and apparent failure, his unalterable conviction that the Truth and the Life which is the Lord can transform human life.

Taken from the Jesuit Philippine Province Jubilee of the First Companions Document

drafted by the JUBILEE YEAR COMMITTEE on July 20, 2005.

notes & poem by becky anonuevo

2006-07-13T22:12:00.000+08:00

notes on the parable of the seed series:

"...thanks to your paintings, which really, really quietly amazed me . I love your colors, and the sense of proportion, and the metaphor as transferred on square canvasses. I was looking intently at the yellow and brown on the third square and saying quietly to myself the word in Filipino, tinikan, beautiful word but painful. Even if it will take a lifetime to be even close to worthy of the fourth seed that fell on good soil, I thought it resonated a lot with me."

her poem:

NATUTUHAN ***
ni Becky Anonuevo

Aapat na sulok ang kuwartong lagus-lagusan ng tanghaling-araw
At muli’y tila isang mundo iyon na sinisipat niyang paikot
Sa palad; nakasahod ang kanilang mga mukha, nauumid,
Tulad ng blangkong pisarang pumupukol ng di maihugis
Na mga tanong, kundi man ipinagkikibit-balikat
Paanong nagaganap o nabibiyak ang mga pag-uusap?
Ang guro sa bawat isa sa kanilang naroroon at wala, bakanteng
Silya at kukote na inilipad na ng pananaginip sa ibang pook.
Ganito ang pag-uusap, sabi ng isang mistiko, hinihipang tambo,
Ano’t dumadantay sa labi, tamburin na nagpapahabag na makipagniig
Hanggang kasu-kasuan, hanggang muling magtali ang mga napatid.
Gayunman ay may hindi na lilingon pa, o hindi magaganyakan
Ang kalawakan; ang mga bituin ay di maisisiwalat, di luluha
Ang langit, di gugulong ang kulog bilang panaghoy ng diyos.
Sa isang kuwento’y tila nag-uusap ang mag-asawang kalilipat
Ng tirahan, malayo-layo sa siyudad, maya-maya’y napansin
Ng babaeng walang kape, at kanina pa natatakam ang dila niya
Ng kape, pero may bunton ng lubid sa gitna ng sahig,
Ni hindi maikakabit pangsampayan, o ano pa kayang silbi.
Nauwi ang pang-uusig sa salansan ng itlog na nabasag,
Nasamsam na martilyo at pako, ang kawalan ng anak sa bahay.
Walang panipi ang kani-kaniyang pahayag, wala ring mga mata,
Walang tumitingin sa kapwa mata, walang kahugpong ng mga daliri;
Ipinipiksi ng likod ang anumang tangkang paghagod ng buong kamay.

Minsan ay tumunganga ang marami sa kanila nang tapyas ang tainga.
Di nila narinig ang pananabik at pagtangis sa muling pagtatagpo
Ng mga tauhan—siyam na taon, at ni walang aksidenteng
Pagsasalubong; ngayo’y di makahahabol ang paa sa bibig,
Ngayong tila kusang nagbukas ang pinto, at di natitinag ang araw.
Umaapaw ang puswelo sa mga salita na di makapanghihilom.
Hayun siyang awtor na sumulat ng nobela sa pagbabaka-sakaling
Babasahin ng pinatutungkulan, na gaganti naman ng awit sa saliw
Ng gitara tungkol sa kariktan ng kay-ikling gabing nalango sa pag-ibig.
Sa isang klasikong kuwento’y babagtasin muli ng isang lalaki
Ang dating pamilyar na kalye, magtutuos sila ng pangarap na sinta,
Pero ano’t lumamlam na ang ningas, hindi, tuluyang napugto, nanlamig,
Walang hininga na magpapaalala sa sumungaw na pangangahas.
Sa isa pang kuwento’y singlinaw ng barkong gumuguhit sa dagat
Ang hugis ng mutyang malaong kipkip sa dibdib ngunit hindi naangkin
Dahil pinahahalagahan ng lipunan ang karangalan at pagtitimpi.
Sa lahat ng mga tagpong ito’y paanong may nalingid sa mga nag-uusap,
Paanong nakapagtiis silang hindi makapangusap, bakit nakatalilis ang dilim?

Di mga walang-muwang ang sumasaksi, di nagmamaang-maangan.
Umuulit at bumabalikwas at nang-uusig ang bawat pag-uusap,
Ang pagtalikod o pagwawalambahala, ang bawat piraso ng pananahimik,
Ang pikit-matang pagyakap ng guniguni sa simbuyo at sa lumipas.
Alin sa takda ng oras o iniimpok ng apat na sulok: hindi ang mangingibig
Ng salita ang umiiral, hindi ang kaniyang pangalan, hindi ang pagkakaisa
Nilang huwag umimik, sa halip na hugutin sa pusod ang tinasahang kawayan.
Bawat nilalang kaya’y may ganitong pagkakataon na hindi maging makata,
Hindi kaibigan o ina o kapatid, kundi isang napapatdang guro?
Sabay-sabay na ibinaling nila ang tanaw sa labas ng bintana
Sa magiting na puno sa ilalim ng pinakamasidhing araw sa lahat ng araw—
Tulad iyon ng puno ng peras sa isang kuwento, nakatayo at naniniyak,
Kahit nahiwatigan ng babae ang pagkatukso ng kabiyak,
Kahit ang ubod ng luwalhati’y mahinahong-mahinahong naglalamat.

9 Pebrero 2005

***dr. rebecca "becky" anonuevo was inspired to read her poem
while contemplating the parable of the seed paintings
during our "EHEMplo" informal workshop on communicating integrity.
the workshop was attended by various creative communicators last month
held in omiod, ateneo de manila, facilitated by fr. albert alejo, sj.

she teaches english literature in miriam college.

last year, her latest book of poems (on memory and memories) entitled "SAULADO" was published by UP Press.

integry for her is "... a celebration of work, and your devotion to it, because no work is small before God. "

parable of the seed

2006-07-08T18:43:00.000+08:00

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,
"Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed,
some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
"Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil;
and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
"But when the sun had risen, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away.
"Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
"He who has ears, let him hear."

Matthew 13:3-9

"on the path (1/4)"
oil on canvas, 2006
12"x12"

"on the rocky ground (2/4)"
oil on canvas, 2006
12"x12"

"upon the thorns (3/4)"
oil on canvas, 2006
12"x12"

"on good soil (4/4)"
oil on canvas, 2006
12"x12"

Ignatius, stargazer*

2006-06-30T17:34:00.000+08:00

by Fr. Jett Villarin, SJ
Xavier University
Cagayan de Oro City
31 July 2005

I wish to draw your attention to this painting titled “Inigo, nakatingala sa mga tala” (Inigo, nakahangad sa mga bitoon, ug namalandong). It is an enlarged version of a painting by a Xavier alumnus and Jesuit scholastic, Jason Dy SJ (enlarged by chapel aides Simo ug Walter ug Kryl ug Sheryl ug Ignacio). Here portrayed is the man Ignatius, a small man given to gazing heavenward at the stars. I, for one, coming from the Manila Observatory before being missioned to Xavier here, can resonate with Loyola’s penchant for the evening sky.
Jason Dy magnifies one human faculty in this picture: the eyes. The eyes are arresting and they tell of the one gift, among many gifts, that Ignatius bequeaths to us. The gift of sight, or more properly, the gift of discernment, the grace of beholding God’s action in our world and in our lives. Discernment is the one grace that confronts the confusion and uncertainties, entails so much weighing and wrestling, so much sifting and turning of the human soul as it begins to be touched by the very presence of God.

When Ignatius would glance at the stars, he would be moved interiorly, and he would invariably fall to tears. What did he see? What was it about the evening sky that moved him so? Had he known about those galactic, stellar fires or the cosmic brevity of E=mc2, he might have been impressed by the Great Artist and Architect and Engineer of the Universe. Were those tears then drawn from the contingent awesomeness of the sky? What did he see? Perhaps he saw the vastness of the void, the immense darkness, and in this enveloping emptiness, a scattering of distant light, from the stars, like splinters of hope in a landscape of blackness. Whatever it was, there were strong seismic upheavals in the interior of his soul. He was being moved. Forces afoot were vying for his soul, for the world. Whatever those movements were, he was being drawn to decide.

To acknowledge these ancient tidal forces in our hearts and in our histories, to recognize the ebb and flow of consolation and desolation, to confess the light and the shadows in our lives, to name all these, and then to choose, to decide: these are the infinitives, the verbs that accompany the gift of discernment which Ignatius Loyola shares with us today. The gift is beautiful because it presumes another grace lying beneath it, a grace we so often take for granted, the grace of our being free.

There can be no discernment (and for that matter, no love, no faith) if we are not free. And (mystery of all mysteries) we know that we are only finally free when we have finally chosen. We can only be free when that very freedom of ours is dissolved in the choices and commitments and oblations that define the ultimate trajectories of our lives. Thus, when Moses presents a choice to us in Deuteronomy, a choice between life and death, we are being offered a stark choice, no in-betweens, no shades of gray here. We are either on the way to living, or on the way to dying. Either we are moving toward heaven or we are gravitating toward hell. And there where the road diverges, we are being asked to decide ourselves which way it will be for us.

My friends, the image of God that Ignatius must have seen in all this is that of a God who waits, who invites, who keeps vigil, who never foists himself, forces himself on us. For Ignatius, the master of discernment, God must have been no different from a lover full of desire but who nonetheless cannot compel or make his beloved love him back.

So that when, in the Gospel, Jesus asks us “who do you say that I am,” we can very well say: You God do not matter in my life; You are an abstraction, an invention; because I do not readily see You, I will place You at the perimeter of my concerns. We can very well say all these and lightning bolts from the sky will not zap us. OR we can very well confess and bear witness with others: You O God are real to me; I believe You even if I do not readily see You; You matter even if I fail to show it at times; You are the Christ I have longed for all my life; You love me deeply enough to set me free, so I can mean to love you, mean to return Your love with my very life.

Who do we say Jesus Christ is for us? Do our lives mirror the consequences of our choosing Christ in the world? Look at the death-dealing choices we have made in the way we have run our world. Look at the confusion of our politics, listen to the litany of broken promises here in the land of promise that is Mindanao. Behold the poverty of our people. Look at the selfishness and blindness and ignorance that continue to bind us, divide us, and keep us perenially vulnerable. By our freedom, we have made all this so. By choice, we have brought this valley of tears upon ourselves and our children.

If we cannot discern and decide who God is for us, or where diverges the road to life, Ignatius perhaps would have told us to gaze at the evening sky. With big eyes. Look at the stars. Look at the life-giving choices we have made and can make. Look at the promises we have kept, the loves we have borne. Look not on our sins, on the shadows our fears have cast, but look at the faithfulness of the Church, the People of God. Look at the compassion and concern (even our cautious oblations) that shimmer like stars at eventide, scattering hope in a landscape of blackness.

With big eyes, look at the stars. God could’ve said, let there be light and let there be none after that. Let’s close Genesis with starlight, with the faithful, if mechanical march of the constellations. The sun and moon and stars are good enough, lovely enough. Yet (mystery of mysteries) He chose to go all the way to the sixth day and give us life. From then on, with love giving us life, He set us free, so that we can mean to love him back with all our lives.

There lies the secret of Ignatius’ tears. With big eyes, Loyola saw (through the density of darkness) how Love, even if eclipsed by our desperate choices, how Love moves and stays and waits. With tears blurring his eyes, Ignatius knew dearly that while Love shepherds us through this valley of darkness, Love leaves us free. While Love sets us free, Love never grows faint. While Love leaves us free, Love never leaves.

St Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us, pray Christ to give us bigger eyes and a bigger heart to love Him back with our very lives.

Amen.

* Fr. Jett is the new president of Xavier University.
He delivered this homily during their 2005 St. Ignatius Feastday Mass
at the university chapel of the Immaculate Conception.

inigo: nakatingala sa mga tala

2006-06-30T16:39:00.000+08:00

"Inigo: Nakatingla sa mga Tala"
2005
oil paster on paper

Jason Dy, SJ

2005 St. Ignatius Philippine Province
Celebration Invitation

lay-out artist: Francis Alvarez, SJ

(Habang nakatingala sa mga tala)*

ni Anne O. Heramia

Habang nakatingala sa mga tala
Iyong dakilang pagmamahal nadarama
Sa bawat sinag ng bituin
Kasiyahang nadarama'y nais awitin
at nangangakong Ika'y patuloy na mamahalin

Habang nakatingala sa mga tala
Iyong tanglaw nakikita
Saan man tumungo kahit sa daang may putik at tinik
Nais Kang sundan at sa piling Mo'y nasasabik

Habang nakatingala sa mga tala
Iyong pagkilos sa kaluluwa'y nadarama
Sa buhay ko'y Ikaw ay natatanto
at sa bawat pintig ng puso
Pangalan Mo, O Hesus, ang tanging binibigkas.

* Anne was insprised to compose this poem
while contemplating the image of St. Ignatius
gazing at the stars.

punta fuego

2006-06-09T20:46:00.000+08:00

"first semester villa"
6 june 2006
watercolor pencils
8" x 13"

four days of peace and quiet,
of communing with the sea, sand, seashells, and sky,
of being anchored on the seabed teeming with fish and corals
awaiting to sail again
to visit islands and distant shores

siesta

2006-06-09T20:26:00.000+08:00

"siesta 1"
7 jun 06
watercolor
pencil
9" x 13"

"siesta 2"
8 jun 06
watercolor
pencil
9" x 13"

a family of domesticated cats, 2 care takers, 2 cooks, 2 policemen,
5 jesuit priests, 1 american guest, 16 jesuit scholatics sharing one roof in order to rest, re-create, and recharge for four days in batangas shore before plunging back into our world of work, prayer, and studies

theologians subcommunity villa
de los angeles', punta fuego resort, batangas
june 6-9, 2006
de los angeles

gathering of the storm

2006-05-11T11:25:00.000+08:00

gathering of the storm

punta fuego, june 2005
oil pastel on paper
12 inches x 18 inches

still life

2006-05-09T09:33:00.000+08:00

"still life"
24 inches x 18 inches
oil on canvas
2005

Jason K. Dy, SJ

Exhibited at UP Fine Arts Workshop, February 2006 and
Mirador Jesuit Retreat House, Baguio City
(Arts Jesuitica, Filipino Jesuits Group Art Exhibit, March 2006)

Maundy Thursday Dusk Impressions

2006-05-07T12:55:00.000+08:00

An email letter from Fr. Nick Yatco, SJ**

Hi Jason. Here are my impressions of your "Maundy Thursday Dusk" (MTD).The more I look at MTD, the more deeply touched I am both by what I see and even more by what I do not see but more fully realize as part of my personal life. This experience is all the more truly so since you hanged your artwork in my room, for me the most impressive of all your works I have seen so far, during the time of the Holy Week Retreat.

As I quietly and prayerfully contemplate your eloquent MTD during those days of quiet and grace, these are the realities that have deeply touched me:

1) the ominous gloom of a dying day masterfully portrayed by the lengthening shadows of the trees and by the pink sun sharing its somber hue with the surrounding clouds and hills,

2) all this convincing portrayal depicting the unseen gloom descending on the very person of Jesus now washing the feet of his disciples one of whom will soon betray him, another who will three times deny him, and the rest most of whom will abandon him -- all of these agonizing realities so artistically implied in MTD gradually transforming Jesus, the Lord and Servant, into the Man of Sorrows as he slowly makes his way to Calvary to give his life on the cross, and

3) in the midst of all this silent suffering, with deep reverence I beg for the grace I now greatly need and desire -- "I ask for sorrow with Christ in sorrow, brokenness with Christ in brokenness, tears and inner pain because Christ, my Lord, Teacher, and Friend, is now suffering so much pain, and all this for me!"

Needless to say, Jason, MTD has very deeply touched me especially during the retreat and even now, and your extraordinary artwork was certainly instrumental in deepening my realizations and in bringing me closer to the suffering and risen Lord. Daghang Salamat, Jason. Nick Yatco

**Fr. Nicomedes "Nick" T. Yatco, SJ is a theology professor in Ateneo de Zamboanga University, College Unit.

maundy thursday dusk

2006-04-16T17:45:00.000+08:00

Maundy Thursday Dusk
18 inches x 24 inches
oil on canvas

Jason K. Dy, SJ

Exhibited at UP Fine Arts Workshop, February 2006 and
Mirador Jesuit Retreat House, Baguio City
(Arts Jesuitica, Filipino Jesuits Group Art Exhibit, March 2006)

polgas

2006-04-06T22:50:00.000+08:00

"polgas"
5.68 inches x
4.74 inches
ballpoint pen on paper

Pol (Ang Asong Hindi)
Real Name : Polgas
Description : Talking dog of Pugad Baboy. Works as the secret operative "Dobermaxx" for OCB (Organized Canine Bureau).

taken from: http://www.pugadbaboy.pardinas.net/pb_meet.html#polgas
visit the pol medina jr. website at http://www.pmjunior.com.ph/

ordination to the presbyterate

2006-04-04T13:26:00.000+08:00

ina

2006-04-04T11:58:00.000+08:00

"INA* (Our Lady of Penafrancia)"
ballpoint pen on paper, digitally enchanced
Jason K. Dy, SJ

Fr. Angelo "Buboy" A. Silerio, SJ's priestly ordination stampita
8 April 2006, St. Ignatius Oratory, Loyola House of Studies,
Ateneo de Manila Campus, Philippines

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with with confidence, I fly to you, O virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions,
but in your mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen.

* if you want to more about INA, please visit the web log (blog) of xavier olin, sj at
kurabsili.blogspot.com

Filipino Jesuits Group Art Exhibit 2006

2006-03-26T17:47:00.000+08:00

Year of the First Companions

A Filipino Jesuits Group Art Exhibit

Savadera, Frank Dennis B. S.J.
Nebrao, Arthur W. S.J.
Maramara, Joseph Lester C. S.J.
Lambino, Miguel B. S.J.
Javellana, Rene B. S.J.
Francisco, Manuel V. S.J.
Dy, Jason K. S.J

Cafe Loyola
Jesuit Mirador Retreat House,
Mirador Hill, Baguio City

March 27, 2006 to April 1, 2006

clcp

2006-03-17T22:34:00.000+08:00

"clcp"
8.5 inches x 11 inches
cardboard cut-out

for
(christian life community
of the philippines)
clcp 2006 national convention
poster background artwork

adzu hs batch 06

2006-03-17T22:02:00.000+08:00

"transforming lives through excellence, spirit, and service"
ateneo de zamboanga university high school
2006 graduation theme

for adzu batch 2006
ogilvie
pignatelli
borgia
xavier
realino

silbi (EDSAna ngayon!)

2006-02-22T22:26:00.000+08:00

(an invitation from Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan)

Peace.

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

and various organizations of San Jose Seminary

and Ateneo de Manila University

will celebrate the 20 th anniversary of EDSA I

with the theme "EDSAna ngayon!" .

Program details, as follows:

6:00 pm Eucharistic Celebration with Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ
February 24, 2006 (Friday)
San Jose Seminary covered court
special guest: Ms. June Keithley

Free alternative concert after the mass

In this regard, we cordially invite you

to participate in the affair

as a way of celebrating the EDSA I spirit

especially as we desire to educate the young people

about the value of such historic event.

holy family 2

2005-12-28T18:25:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy, sj
colored magazine collage with pen
3.2 inches x 7.7 inches

After they (three magi) had left,
the angel of the Lord suddenly appeared
in a dream to Joseph with the command:
"Get up, take the child and his mother,
and flee to Egypt. Stay there
until I tell you otherwise.
Herod is searching for the child
to destroy him."
Joseph got up and took the child and his mother
and left that night for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
to fulfill what the Lord had said
though the prophet.

-- Matthew 2:13-15

Paglamig ng Hangin

2005-12-26T10:34:00.000+08:00

Jason K. Dy, S.J.

ika-15 ng Disyembre, 1998
alas dies treinta ng gabi

Malalim na ang gabi. Patay na ang lahat ng ilaw dito sa aming dormitoryo. Mga mumunting alitaptap na lang ang kumikutitap. Naaaninag ko na lamang ang banaag ng buwan sa pisngi ng dahon mula sa bintana. Tahimik na rin ang kapaligiran. Sadyang ganito sa seminaryo pagsapit ng gabi. Ingay na lang ng kulilig at hilik ng iilan sa mga kasamahan ang naririnig.

Ngayong gabi, hindi ako makakatulog. Naririnig ko pa rin ang mga himig ng pamaskong awitin sa sinasanay naming awitin sa chant class kanina. “Paglamig ng hanging hatid ng Pasko, nananariwa sa ‘king gunita ang mga nagdaan nating pasko, ang noche buena’t simbang gabi…” Parang nakikita ko pa rin ang mga mukha ng mga kasamahan ko habang inaawit namin ito. Nakapikit pa nga ang mga mata ng halos lahat. Tumitingin papalayo, palabas naman ang iba. Isa nama’y namumula ang mga mata. At nakangiti lang ako. Pilit na kinukubli ang totoong nararamdaman.

Siyam na araw na lang pala, magpaPasko na. Naaalala ko ang aking pamilya at mga gawain namin tuwing Pasko. Ako ang nag-aayos ng krismastri sa bahay. Nagmimistulang Santa Klaus din ako sa tatlo kong nakababatang kapatid.

“Magsasabit kayo ng mga medyas n’yo para pagdaan ni Santa Klaus, may kendi kayo.” Anyaya ko sa aking mga maliliit na kapatid.
“Kuya, saan po namin ilalagay?” interesanteng tanong ni bunso.
“Sa may hagdanan, malapit sa krismastri para mas makita ni Santa Klaus.”
“Sige kuya. Puwede po bang maglagay ng dalawang medyas? Tanong ng isa.
“Oo naman. Okey lang ‘yan kay Santa Klaus. Marami naman siyang kendi.”
“Yehey!”

Tumulong din ako kay Itay sa pag-aayos ng nagbuhul-buhol na mga krismas lights at pagsasabit nito sa bintana’t pintuan. Pagdating naman ng pasko, sama-sama kaming pumupunta sa simbahan para sa Misa de Gallo. Abala naman si ate at si Inay sa paghahanda ng noche buena pagkatapos ng misa. Hindi nawawala ang mga mansanas, pansit, tinapay, keso, biko at sorbetes sa aming mesa. Wala kaming kuwitis at five-star dahil sabi ni Inay, baka raw kami’y maputukan kagaya ng pinapalalabas sa TV pagkatapos ng Pasko. Nakaupo na lang kami sa labas ng bahay, pinagmamasdan at panapakikinggan ang makulay at maingay na mga paputok habang nangunguya ang mga kapatid ng mga kendi mula kay “Santa Klaus” at bibit ang medyas na sinabit nila sa hagdan. Pagkatapos nito’y babalik na kami sa loob at kakain muli. Wala nang regalong bubuksan dahil binigay na nina Itay at Inay ang mga regalong nais namin matanggap (basta nasa loob ng budget nila) noong pumunta kami sa supermarket bago magPasko. Kahit minsan wala kaming regalo, sapat na sa amin ang isa’t isa. Binabati na lang namin ang isa’t isa sabay ang mainit na yakap at ngiti. Pero ngayong Pasko, alaala na lamang ang lahat na ito.

Malayo na ako sa aking pamilya. Malawak na dagat at maraming isla ang namamagitan sa amin. Pero kahit kami’y magkalayo, tuloy pa rin ang Pasko. Magdidiriwang pa rin ako ng Pasko kahit papaano. Sigurado sila rin. Alalahanin ko na lang, sa bawat paggising sa malamig na madaling araw para dumalo ng simbang gabi, kapiling at kasabay ko si Inay. Sa pagsabit namin ng krismas lights dito sa seminaryo, naaalala ko si Itay. At pagsapit ng Pasko, sa aking puso kapiling ko pa rin silang lahat na dumadalo ng Misa de Gallo at kumain ng noche buena.

Tumatagos na ang lamig sa kumot ko. Hihingi na lang ako ng makapal na kumot bukas.
...

ika-25 ng Disyembre, 1998
alas tres ng madaling araw

“Narito na ang Pasko
At nangungulilang puso ko
Hanap-hanap, pinapangarap,
Init ng pagsasalong tigib sa tuwa
Ng mag-anak na nagdiwang
Sa sabsaban n’ong unang Pasko.”

Naririnig ko pa rin ang mga koro sa kapilya ng Erya G, Sapang Palay na kumakanta kanina ng Paglamig ng Hangin. Pasko na. Tapos na ang Misa de Gallo sa erya. Tapos na ang pagtatanghal ng Panunuluyan. Makabuluhan para sa akin ang pagbaba ng nakasabit na maliwanag na parol sa kisame patungo sa sabsaban sa kabila ng madilim na gabi sa loob ng kapilya, habang ang artistang Maria’y nagsisilang ng kanyang sanggol. At ang unang iyak ng sanggol sa aki’y nagpapaalala kay Hesus noong siya’y unang nagpamalas sa buong mundo noong unang Pasko. Ito rin ang ibinahagi ni Padre Ben kanina.

‘Diyos ay Emmanuel, kahuluga’y nasa atin ang Diyos. Kapiling natin.!” Ito ang diwa ng Pasko winika ni Padre. “Isinilang si Hesus para nananahan sa atin. Bukod tanging magpamahal na Panginoon na nagpakatao, akayin lang tayong lahat pabalik sa tangi nating tahanan—ang Ama na nasa langit…”

Pagkatapos ng misa, nagyakapan at nagbatian kaming lahat sa kapilya. “Meri Krismas.” Ang tanging handog ng bawat isa’y ang mismong sarili.

Sumaglit-dumalaw din ako sa sabsaban na yari ng kawayan na may damong kogon na nakalatag sa sahig nito. Pinagmamasdan ko sandali ang sanggol na Hesus. Maaliwas ang kanyang mukha at mapula-pula pa ang pisngi nito. Nakataas ang kanyang mga kamay na parang nag-aayaya sa akin na lumapit sa kanya o na kargahin ko siya. Simple lang ang dalangin ko sa kanya.

“Hesus, maligayang Pasko. Nawa’y maging maligya ang pasko ng aking pamilya at ng bawat tahanan. Amen.”

At may ngiti sa mukha ng sanggol.

May ngiti din sa aking mukha ngayon habang nagbabalik-tanaw sa araw na dumaan. Nagpapasalamat sa pagdating ng paskong hinahangad. Dumating na ang Pasko. Busog na ang lahat sa masarap na Noche Buena kanina. Nasindihan na’t sumabog ang lahat ng paputok. Tulog na ang mga kuro. Tapos na ang masaya at maingay na pagsalubong ng Pasko, ng Mesiyas. Tahimik na ang lahat maliban na lang sa ingay ng mga kulilig at hilig ng iilan kong kasamahan.

Mula sa aking higaan, nakikita ko ang isang maliwanag na bituin sa kalangitan. Kumikislap. Pinagmamasdan ko ito hanggang ako’y nakatulog.

At sa aking pagkahimbing, sa puso ko’y naririnig ko pa rin ang pamaskong awitin…

“Sa pag-awit muli ng himig Pasko,
Nagliliyab sa paghahangad,
Makapiling kayo sa gabi ng Pasko,
Sa alaala magkasama tayo…”

simbang gabi*

2005-12-20T16:06:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy, sj
oil pastel on paper

Simbanggabi'y simula ng Pasko, sa puso ng lahing Pilipino.
Siyam na gabi kaming gumigising, sa tugtog ng kampanang walang tigil.
Maaga kami kinabukasan, lalakad kaming langkay-langkay.
Babatiin ang ninong at ninang ng "Maligayang Pasko po"
At hahalik ng kamay.

-- stanza 2 ng "Simbang Gabi"
musika at titik ni Lucio San Pedro

* Dawn Mass, a Filipino Christmas tradition
of attending Mass for nine consecutive days before Christmas day

Emmanuel

2005-12-19T14:47:00.000+08:00

Jason K. Dy, SJ
Pen on Translucent Paper
8" x 9.6"

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:5

The Fire Tree

2005-12-14T20:33:00.000+08:00

Jason K. Dy, SJ

You root yourself
beside an old, stone-cold building
ready to lick and burn it
with your fiery flowers
then paint its walls black

and I,
standing from a distance,
afraid to get burned.

Yet from afar
you stand still
like in those summers past
of green leaves unleaving,
of flowers blooming then enflaming
with yellows and vermilions
without bothering
the mockery of usually green trees
of your uncommon guise.

Silently you root yourself
in the earth’s womb
that bears you since
you were a tiny seed
sowed by invisible hands

and embrace yourself—
a burning tree
that neither blazes nor flickers
as the wind passes
nor consumes others near,
nearest you

but you only breathe life
into the old, stone-cold building
and shower life’s hue
into the green grass on your foothold
by the sheer falling of your redness,

and invite me—
still from a distance—
to come nearer.

June 20, 2002
Berchmans Building

sj jubilee logo

2005-12-07T17:39:00.000+08:00

society of jesus
philippine province jubilee logo

collage-mosaic colored magazine cut-outs
on illustration board

krismastri

2005-12-05T16:23:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy, sj

pinili't tinipon
mga sangang
bali-bali't
hiwa-hiwalay
mula sa punong
bumagsak
at nawasak
noong bagyong
sa ami'y
sumira't
naminsala.

mga sangang ito'y
pinilit na lamang
ginawang krismastri.

sa malaking
latang yupi,
mga sanga'y
sinisiksik,
pinagpapatungan
ng mga batong
malalaki't maliliit,
at sa berdeng
papel de hapon,
ang lata't
mga bato'y nagkukubli.

kumpol ng
nakatayong sanga,
palamuti'y
ibang-iba:
may kending
nakatali sa sanga,
pero karamihan nito'y
batong hugis-kendi --
nagmimistulang kendi,
mayroon ding
sitserya,
'sang piso lang
ang halaga
ng bawat isa,
nakasabit din
ang mga punit na't
lumang krismas kard,
at may belen pang
ginupit lang
sa diyaryong
pambalot ng
daing
noon pa.

pagsapit ng
pasko
pagmamasdan ko ito
habang
umiinom ng
kapeng mainit
at ngumunguya ng
pandesal
na malamig,
at sana
masulyapan ito
ng mga bituin
sa kalangitan
kahit sandali
man lang.

sa mga taga-erya G4,
sapang palay.
pasko 1998

nailathala ng heights
tomo xlix, bilang. 1, taon 2001

ode to a candle

2005-11-29T17:00:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy, sj

in a glass container,
you were a prisoner
standing on iced-water,
shivering in night’s frown.

but man heard your desire,
with a match-breath of fire,
your birth broke an empire
of darkness and unknown.

your leaf-face blazed, imbued
with sunflowers’ bright hue,
with sea-skies’ touch of blue
as you streamed through wind’s gown.

as your wick stretched at length,
your flame flickered your strength,
bleeding your wax in depth—
with pain dripping, drown-down…

yet, you still sparked brighter
as a truest fighter
for darkness to shatter,
for you life’s light be shown.

when your life’s at fullest,
you fluttered, breathed your last,
your white-blood buoyed up fast
as your soul circled, blown.

C.I.S. FLAME
2.4 inches x 4 inches
colored magazine cut-out on paper

CENTER FOR IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY (C.I.S.) logo
visit C.I.S. web log at cisphil.blogspot.com

paglisan

2005-11-10T20:11:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy, sj

kay rosing, jvp--
nag-alay't
naglingkod
ng lubos,
buhos, at
ubos.

'Nay, 'di ba
maaaring
pigilan ang
pagpigtas
ng bugso
ng hangin
sa 'sang dahon
na nakalambitin
sa sanga
o pigilan man
ang usok
at upos
ng sigarilyo
sa pag-agaw
ng buntong-hininga?

pakli mo'y
hindi.

kagaya ng
kay raming
bagay:
paghabi
ng dagat na bughaw
na pinagsasalitan ng
ginintuang araw,
luntiang kapatagan,
at namumulang rosas
sa hugis-kuwadradong
tubaw;
pagkaipit
ng mahigpit
ng mapagbigay-siglang
book mark
sa 'di maalaalang
pahinang
pinagwakasan;
paghalik
sa labi ng puting sobre
para pamaskong
pagbati sa
mga kaibigan,
mga anak
ay maihatid
kalakip
ang walang
maliw na init;
at pag-order ng
pork chop na malutong,
mainit na hugis-tasang kanin,
maanghang na laing,
at siyempre
coke na malamig,
(na may yelo),
sa clubhouse ng Ateneo
(na minsa'y walang bayad),
pasasalamat daw
ni Manang
sa regalong mong
leche flan.

oo, nga
'di nga
pupuwedeng
pigilan.

mapalad ka, 'Nay,
'di ka pa mapigilan,
habilin mo pa'y
nakaukit
sa mga noo't puso
magpakailanman—
“sa abo galing,
sa abo din babalik...”
at halimbawa mo'y
kay hirap tularan:
kusang paglilingkod
habambuhay—
maghain,
magsubo
kasabay
ng tinapay
at alak na inialay
sa kaluluwang
gutom, uhaw.

kaya,

sige lang
(kahit gusto
kitang pigilan)
patuloy sa
paglakbay,
sabayan mo
ang nahuhulog
na dahon,
sumakay ka
sa pakpak
ng hangin
habang
sumasayaw,
ngumingiti,
nahuhulog
sa bisig
na umaakay
at lumikha
ng lahat
ng nilikha.

Si Nanay Rosing ay isang mabuting kaibigan.
Naglingkod sa Jesuit Volunteer Philippines (JVP).
Namatay noong Mierkules ng Abo pagkatapos maglingkod bilang Lay Minister
sa misa ng Pamantasan ng Ateneo de Manila.
2-28-2001

a failed attempt

2005-11-03T11:44:00.000+08:00

jason k. dy sj

for m.v.

you invited Death
with a butter knife
sharpened through time
to slice your life
of stale bread and melted butter
into reddened, dried bits and pieces
of breadcrumbs.

and Life responded
with salted tears
to season your life
of dough to be re-kneaded, re-shaped, re-baked
into a tastier
bread.

february 26, 2005
mt. abong-abong,
pasonanca, zamboanga city

with new eyes*** series (2002)

2005-10-19T15:28:00.000+08:00

" advent season"

"christmas season"

"lenten season 1"

"lenten season 2"

"easter season"

"ordinary season"

"With New Eyes" Artworks

pencil drawings on paper

***A collection of homilies
written and preached by:

Fr. Danny Huang, SJ
Fr. Jojo Magadia, SJ
Fr. Jett Villarin, SJ

Fr. Ari Dy, SJ (editor)
Jesuit Communications

Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

2005-10-15T19:28:00.000+08:00

Jason K. Dy, SJ

I watch with my eyes closed--

with each ivory plucking
of the dawning breeze
accompanied by the soft, caressing brush
of the creeping light
as it pushes-presses-pulls the spell
cast by the passing night
away from the cherry tree
that slowly awakens from her deep slumber

on the silken string that ties the bridge
of heaven and earth,
of autumn and spring,

the cherry buds are blossoming
into pink and white oriental petals

then in their heightened beauty
falling one by one,
in chorus
steadily dancing to the rhythm
of nature’s flowering

marking their falling with ripples
on the still, quiet stream of water
where they are floating, flowing,
circling around ancient rocks,
cascading into eternal, renewed chants
of silence--

and I doze off to dream.

While listening to the ancient yet refreshing music
of the 13-stringed Japanese instrument called KOTO.
August 2, 2005
ADMU

ascent series 2001

2005-10-06T14:50:00.000+08:00

ascent 4
8 inches x 11 inches
oil pastel on water color paper

artist's gift to fr. james meehan,sj

ascent 3
9 inches x 9 inches
oil pastel on water color paper

arrupe international residence collection

ascent 2
9 inches x 9 inches
oil pastel on water color paper

arrupe international residence collection

ascent 3
9 inches x 9 inches
oil pastel on water color paper

arrupe international residence collection