ABC STARS Inspires

faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see....... Hebrews 11:1

James Z. Carpio, writer I remember my late father he was playing a computer game. I was in high school. I came home almost in the wee hours in the morning. There was a big event at school. I gave him a kiss on the cheek then he asked me "have you eaten, son?" then, I replied, "yes." After all these years, it is only now that I realized that he waited for me. He made sure I got home safe.

I went to the Adoration Chapel. It was a cool and windy Tuesday afternoon. It was my first time to go to that particular Adoration Chapel. And God is huge. I was overwhelmed. I stayed there for a time that I cannot distinctly explain. I was half-asleep and half-awake. I was in between heaven and earth. I used to go to the Adoration Chapels in the suburbs of Metro Manila and other cities abroad. It was frequent. Anyway, I was the only one there. Except for Him as well and the Angels. They were about nine. To be specific: paintings of faces of cherubims. He is always there. Never too busy for anyone. I remember my own father when he was alive. I needed help with my mathematical homework. He was there. Then, he explained everything to me. That's how I felt that time I went to the Adoration Chapel. I felt like His son. And, I sensed that He missed me. Yes... He is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere. But, that chapel is tiny. I think i...

At this point of my life nothing and no one disturb me anymore. Maturity. I am now an orphan. My father and mother passed away already. However, like that photo, I keep a picture of them taken as a couple kept inside my wallet; to honor them, and for them to protect me. I am blessed and grateful, I have a brother who was a Monsignor and before he died, he told me, "I am entrusting you to seven angels." So, Before I leave the house, I pray to them which goes: Angels of God  My guardians dear  To Whom His love  Commits me here  Ever this day  Be at my side  To light and guard  To rule and guide  Amen. Prayer is powerful. For your peace of mind... In the final analysis, there is Divine Justice. All will defend our life to Him in the Last Judgment. We are accountable to everything; whether good or bad. photo credit: archer10 (Dennis) 114M Views Israel-05344 - Pain...

I cannot swim. However, I can float. Hope floats. Remember, from the Holy Bible, when Jesus walked on the waters of the sea? Practically, I could take a nap and keep floating. Why swim, when you can float? I have been putting off this story in the back burner for so long. Sorry, I was being selfish. It is just so good that I wanted it all to myself. It is my secret. I am who and where I am now because of that secret. So,  Finally, The cat is out of the bag. I decided to share with you my secret. Jesus was very angry with me. He was talking with me, to be aptly written, He was giving me a sermon. And, I listened. We were in heaven at that time. To put it simply, He was telling me, what was I doing with my life? I was speechless. I got nothing to show Him. Not even a paragraph of good deeds. His voice sounds like Thunder by the way, when He is angry. I went blank. Meaning, He was right. My h...

I  woke up and the world, totally, changed. Do you know about the story of Rip Van Winkle? The man who slept for so long and when he woke up, it was not the same.  At least, in that story everyone just became old. It is poignant indeed. Before original sin.  The world was a paradise. After that dereliction, there became a war between good and evil. The question is... Whose side are you fighting for? I am a writer. I am a Roman Catholic writer. I write for God. He is Jesus Christ The King! Our Lord and our God! Amen. photo credit: Nicolas Vollmer Rome - Adam et Eve au Paradis Terrestre, par Wenzel Peter via photopin (license) License: (license)

Since the first day I begun my career in writing, God has always been my Master. Recently, I had become a juggler. Unfortunately, not a good one. It became catastrophic. A lot of doors opened, and I was being "nice" and I tried to accommodate their requests. Regretfully, I have to let go of being a Columnist. With a heavy heart I would have to bid my final farewell to the firm. Providentially, a writer will always be a writer until his last breath.  photo credit: Waiting For The Word God the Father 13 via photopin (license) License: (license)

How do you fix a broken spirit? How do you fix a broken mind? I can fix a website. I can write. But, again, how do you fix a broken spirit? But, again, how do you fix a broken mind? I can make you smile. I can tell you stories. Yet, again, how do you fix a broken spirit? Yet, again, how do you fix a broken mind? He does not like to be touched anymore. He finds human contact horrid. So how do you fix a broken spirit? So how do you fix a broken mind? His side of the story had always been ignored and doubted. He is all by himself. And they are a pack of wolves.  Broken spirit? Broken mind? That which we cannot see. That which we cannot feel. Why? Why? Listen... Just listen... God is watching us. He sent a Bridge through the Blessed Mother She is called by many names. But here, she is Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia. And the Bridge... El Divino Rostro... photo credit: C. P. Ewing A Short Walk Into the Sunset via photopin (l...

We will only realize the value of someone or something until that someone or something is already gone. Yes, a poignant lesson we should like to learn early on to spare ourselves of regrets in the end. At first, we may feel angry or confused but if we try to put ourselves in the shoes of that someone or maybe try to fathom the disappearance of that something, then we could understand why. Cliché as it may sound, everything happens for a reason. Yes, Sir. Never take the matter personally, as always, it is not our business. It is a natural human phenomenon. And oftentimes, an act of God. But by chance or more so a blessing, it may even be one in a billion, that the person comes back and explains to you the grand scheme of the jigsaw puzzle—then, hopefully —you will be comforted, be reassured, and the dark clouds will be dissipated. Hence, you are no longer in the dark. Illumination . In the final analysis, people will go through these five stages: denial, anger,...

Brandon received a call from Elizabeth, his cousin, he was still sleepy. It was Christmas Day. Liz told him that their Uncle Ron had a massive heart attack and died at 3:00 a.m. at the hospital. Brandon was somber. His Uncle died at the ripe age of 92 years old. He thought it was his time.

I rise, repent, till death. desire enflames the will and, reason blinded, covet and fall! 29feb60  photo credit: Roman Soldier via photopin (license) License: (license)

I Atop a bamboo bordered hill Where sun-browned sparrows sung all day Where wind and rain came cool and clean Beyond Baras, beside the Bay, The cogon grass once covered all. And there was naught but nature's peace Until one dusty day in May When men, all clad in combat green, Came up the virgin hill to stay Where once the cogon covered all. They raised their flag and built their camp Of nipa huts in neat array They cleared and burned the cogon grass That hampered both their work and play; The grass that once covered all. The sound of men and war machines The cry of life, the sighs of still- Unspoken hopes, the grief of death Then sounded, echoed on the hill Where once the cogon covered all. But that was long, so long ago Upon that hill now naught is seen But one decaying broken pole (The flagpole once, of the men in green) And cogon creeping over all Atop that bamboo hill Where sun-brown...

disciples of greed, by vile speeches, now praise the new and curse the old as if no one know their goal is gold. even rats remain rats till the end; but they, they blend with each tide and trend! despicable breed of spineless leeches!! 27-11-61 photo credit: Chameleon's eye via photopin (license)   License: (license)

              Ah money, money everywhere!        In books and checks and slips they sign;        Money, money everywhere        Not a cent of it is mine! 10feb64        photo credit: Throw cash at the problem via photopin (license) License: (license) photo credit: Pile of Cash via photopin (license) License: (license)

                                                                                               They told me: "I was made to know                                    "To love, to serve God and to be                                         "Happy with Him forever in Heaven."                      But, that was when I was Seven.                      I'm older now, this rhapsody                   ...

Image courtesy of Simon Howden at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net The wailing wind now sings your lullaby And only swallows keep your company For not a human voice or forlorn sigh Punctuates the stillness that pervades this sea Of wee white crosses where at last you lie. No longer will your footsteps echo along The halls and mountain bivouacs we shared. No longer will your roguish laughter, your song Of rustic loves and tales of dangers dared Enthrall and entertain our common throng. Yet you will always be, to us who know The humanness that made you what you were A man, at once a saint and sinner too, A simple soldier, lowly commoner, The friend, my friend who unto death was true! Feb., 1960

My home is an old-fashioned home Where portraits hanging on the walls Are of the little ones who roam And play at will within its halls; And where a greater King than I, Enthroned, is first to catch the eye. Where she, my queen, is still the core Of life and warmth the whole day through To whom my children can outpour Their aches and longings, old and new Learn life from mother no one less Not from a maid or governess. Where little feet still run to meet Their father coming home from work With cries that lift up one's conceit Be he a king or common clerk; No longer will they watch the street The family is again complete And where, as if we have just started To live again, we're all together Boisterous and single-hearted All in orbit around mother In the kitchen, yard or other places Her brood of dear, demanding faces. Perhaps our ways seem silly and strange In this jet, atomic, beatnik age But, what do we get i...

Photo by cc I gazed at what had caught my eye--- The early sun perched on the hill As red and ominously still As an egg yolk painted in the sky. Enrapt in its beauty I stared At this portentious whitening or Until my eyes could not absorb Its burning brilliance shining unspared Long had I sought the reason why My mind could never comprehend The mysteries that know no end That reason fails to satisfy. Yet, if the naked eye goes blind At the glory of this finite sun How can I, O Infinite One, Contain Thee in my finite mind! 19-4-60         

Photo by cc We met; Our first and last. I greeted you with lead That plowed your breast you gasped for life In vain. We played A morbid game. Your creed was not my own. The killing was dispassionate. Routine. Your fate Could have been mine. We are no more than pawns; Convenient, mute, unwitting tools Of greed! *1960; Naga Times, April 11, 1982