Celebrating My Life's Milestone

Today, September 5, 2013, is an important milestone of my life as I mark 5 years of freedom from the corporate world.

It is my day of sweet memories, reflecting on life's many valuable lessons, celebrating still the gift of life that those who die young no longer get to enjoy, obviously.

As I continue with my life's journey, albeit towardsthe sunset, I REALIZE...

...that in our younger years we work hard to make a living by what we get or earn. Yet now I know that the sweeter part is that we make our life by what we give and share, especially with those in need;

... that we cannot stop living just because we think we are getting old. The truth is that we actually become old when we stop living;

... that to grow old is really easy and doesn't take any special talent. But our challenge is to continue growing up and moving on by always finding opportunities in every change we encounter while living;

... that the elderly don't have so much regrets for what they accomplished, but rather for they things that they didn't attempt to do at all while young. Yet the years remaining provide golden opportunities to start anew to do things we always wanted to do;

... that the secret of staying young is always to be happy. So we must laugh often and find humor in life's unfolding events each day; and

... that we must never stop to dream. Because when we lose our dreams that's the time we begin to die.

And so on this special day I celebrate life again with happy memories of the past, the joy of the present (while still able to enjoy it), and continue to dream about the future.

Come, celebrate with me life's journey. And as you retire for the night, please remember me in prayers, to thank the Lord for the wonderful gift of life. Thank You, Lord, for this day.

Cheers to life then!

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary

September 8 is the Feast of the Birth of Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mary who is prepared by Divine Providence to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, is conceived in the womb of her mother Anna, her father being Joachim, without the stain of original sin. Her birthday is considered by the Catholic Church as a solemn event, although it is not a holiday of obligation (except this year since it falls on a Sunday). The faithful are encouraged to go to Mass since this is a very important feast because it prepares the way for the birth of Jesus.

Thus, our Lady's birthday has been described as the "hope of the entire world and the dawn of salvation."

The Church's calendar observes the birthdays of only three persons: St. John the Baptist and Mary, mother of Jesus, and the birthday of Jesus Himself, Son of God.

According to tradition, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth is the same house in which the Angel Gabriel appeared to her during the Annunciation.

In celebrating the nativity of Mary, Christians anticipate the Incarnation and the birth of her Divine Son and give honor to the mother of our Lord and Savior. This Feast provides us with the occasion for praise and thanksgiving in honor of the personal sanctity and vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and our mother too, Happy Happy Birthday! Please pray for us always, and help us at the moment of our death. Amen.

Ad Jesum per Mariam