WHY I BELIEVE IN HOLY IMAGES

Nothing can be created by man without the grace of God. The first grace that He lets to shine on us is our talents. It is a gift passed on to us through our parent's Holy Union. We inherit the talents of our parents, through our genes, that was imbued in our body, as our mother and father, will pass on to us, as we develop in our mother's womb.

One of the greatest gift that our parents can pass on to us, is the ability to love, to appreciate that love, and express it in a message that we can convey to the people we love and wish to love. Some will express it in poems. Some will express it through music. Some will express it artistically, like a painting, or a sculpture.

The Catholic church have different saints with different feast days. Each day is dedicated for the feast day of a saint that a particular church wants to honor that day, dedicating the celebration of the mass in the name of that saint, offering the sacrifice of Jesus to save mankind, to God the Father. The Catholic church, with the guidance of the pope, elect saints, from those who have performed miracles while they were alive or as witnessed by devotees after their death. These saints are represented by statues, curved by sculptors as inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are curved with a heavenly being like an angel in the image of San Isidro Labrador, who was known to intercede for the workers. Or they maybe curved with another man, woman, or child as in the Holy Family. Or they maybe curved with an animal like the dog that saved San Roque from starvation while he was in the woods. Or they maybe curved with plants, like the palm leaves of San Pedro Calungsod, the second canonized Filipino saint, being the patron saint of the youth. Or maybe they can be curved with an object, like the bolo, bible, and chain, by which Saint Bartholomew chains the devil, whose threat to posses us in thoughts, words, or actions can be defeated. The images of these saints are painted with colors that would convey messages from God, that we are able to discern, as we meditate on the happening for the day, or before, or after.

Last Sunday as of this writing, January 19, was the feast day of Santo Nino. The image of the Patron saint, is in the image of the likeness of Jesus when he was small. The Sunday's mass was dedicated to his feast day. And the children who attended the mass learned from seeing the image, being able to identify with the Infant Jesus, through the voice and movement of the officiating priest, and those who assist the priest, with the vestments they wear. As children, we are inspired by God, through the His Holy Spirit, that we receive during baptism. This inspiration makes us emulate the Holiness of the child...young and old, wanting to please God each moment...For when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, God the Father, as witnessed by the crowd, said in a thunderous voice..."This is my son, of whom I am well pleased..." as people saw the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus.

THE MAESTRO

He is the maestro that holds the baton
Giving the note to sing for every creation
A note that knows the way through darkness
that will keep you company in loneliness

A note that sings its way to the heart
A note that will keep you doing your part
A note that will take you to the sky
A note that will make you learn how to fly

To fly with the music of the maestro
To follow His baton wherever you go...

by carmen herrera uy, january 6, 2014

DID YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP TODAY

Did you take the first step today
Reaching for your dream my child
In congruence with the sun's ray
Mustering the call of the wild

Did you take the first step today
With all your strength to allay fear
Just sing a song along the way
Coming to terms with every unseen tear

by carmen herrera uy, january 6, 2014

YOU ARE ENOUGH FOR ME

You are enough for me
To set this heart free
From the chains of yesteryears
Coming to terms with my tears

You are enough for me
To make me contently happy
To reach out for my star
Aiming for a dream though far

by carmen herrera uy, january 6, 2014

THEY WOULD ANSWER I AM CRAZY

I would hear men asking about me
and they would answer I am crazy
Is it just my wandering imagination
Or just to avoid sinful infatuation

I would hear men asking about me
Then they would give an answer so silly
They would answer I am nuts
And men would believe without buts

by carmen herrera uy, january 5, 2014

LORD TEACH ME TO BELIEVE IN LOVE AGAIN

Lord, teach me to believe in love again
Life was so sweet and beautiful then
When someone would really care for me
All with the sweet blessing of thee

Lord teach me to be in love again
And not to be cynical of all men
Whisper to me who would be true
And to whom my trust will be due

by carmen herrera uy, january 5, 2014

INI MINI MINY MOE

Ini mini miny moe
Who will win my heart
who will be in woe
Who will be torn apart
Or who will I love so
With whom will I have a start
Or who will go

Ini mini miny moe...

JUST THE THOUGHT OF YOU

Just the thought of you makes me smile
Forgetting my woes even for a while
Separated by many years by choice
Heeding the call of my conscience's voice

Other men's attention made me forget
That you have captivated my heart the time we met
Once young and loving you from a distance
When you won't even throw me a glance

Once more my feelings for you ease the hurt
As I hold back the tears that seem to start
A prince by composure and by character
Remembering you once more, a glance at forever

by carmen herrera uy, january 2, 2014