Welcome to the December Edition of Epistoliorum!
Learn from the business success of our Fray in Focus, Eugenio Michael Plana who has used as his life guides the charisms of The Dominicans and attained spectacular success in various businesses he embarked on.
Outwit hackers by learning from Fray Joel Gabriel how to make and maintain better passwords. Find out how hackers have guessed the password of the founder of Facebook and what was the password he used.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been and still is the centerpiece of television shows on Thanksgiving Day. Find out what Toronto does on their own Christmas Parade from Fray Ted Fullona’s write up. And don’t miss the history of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree from Fray Joel Gabriel’s in-depth article.
Which island was picked as the best in the world by a group of readers of Conde Nast? Fray Peter Nunez has shared with you his three trips on this island and it’s in the Philippines. Do you know what are the next best two islands? They are in the Philippines, too!
Feel the emotion of wishing someone to be by your side on Christmas Day by reading Fray Joel Gabriel’s lovely poem in Tagalog. Experience a bit of holiday shopping craze by reading Fray Peter Nunez’s short poem on the subject.
Find out the status of the real estate market in Metro Manila and the Philippines as well as its future outlook from the authoritative contribution of Fray Jimmy Cura. Appreciate his contribution to the Rotary Club International by reading his article on the same.
Feeling miserable about you financial life? Find out how to feel better about it by understanding the very first Universal principle of wealth accumulation as discussed by Fray Peter Nunez on Money Talk. It is not as complicated nor novel as you may have thought.
Every Christmas season, there’s always a celebration. Filipinos everywhere are fond of celebration. And whenever we celebrate, we gather ‘round the table to partake of the best of Filipino cooking. Our famous roasted pig (lechon) usually occupies the center of the table, surrounded by other equally sought out foods like kare-kare, palabok, pansit, eggroll, dinuguan, sisig, litson kawali, valenciana, bulalo, and many others including our unending list of mouth watering desserts. Find out how we can protect our health from Fray Celso Paguntalan’s treatise on food selection, handling, and cooking – a very scientific and practical guide indeed.
Fray Ted Fullona’s scholarly discussion on the demise of traditional Filipino sports and recreational games is worth reading. Find out the reason for its demise and what we are losing on its account. Also, discover the rise and fall of the people of Dumalag a small town of Capiz in the Philippines where Fray Ted Fullona and Fray Peter Nunez have spent their childhood. Fray Ted has covered beautifully the journey of Dumalagnons in his usual scholarly fashion.
Fr. Rey’s gentle reminder that the gift of oneself is the greatest gift we can give is worth heeding. As you continue to browse our newsletter, you’ll find more articles, some new that may be of interest to you or could be a source of joy. Enjoy!
From the desk of the editors of Epistoliorum, we greet everyone a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
The curtain is closing out soon on 2017. But before this year fades off to a memory, I would like to cite a few milestones that 2017 leaves behind its trail. Life, in general, has been good to me and my family and foremost in my mind as something to be thankful about. Being healthy and of sound mind is also top in my consciousness and I am equally thankful for this. Chasing names against vivid pictures of faces continue to be a challenge. And recalling words from memory banks where you know for sure that they were stored somewhere there years ago, even corroborated by your written vocabulary, is one thing that slows me down when I write and speak. I hold on to some level of optimism that different kinds of Omega 3 capsules I have ingested over the years will yield some dividends. Hope is magical, and I even spend at least $10 a week to keep my hope up on a couple of lottery lines. You will never know what will hit you. So let us keep hoping.
On personal and family aspect, the wedding of my son and the welcoming of a daughter-in-law to our family stands out the most. We’ll just leave the grandkids issue for later and hope it will transpire when the right time is due. For this, goes our fervent prayers.
The success of Filii biennial reunion in Canada was one of my focus in 2017. This year we raised the status quo higher in terms of proactivity in all aspects of preparation and event organization with the help of my wife. A lot of works and logistics have been put behind its success but seeing Filii brothers enjoyed and appreciated the effort are the inspiration that will carry on to the next reunion.
The birth of Epistoliorum resides at the tail end of a spectrum of many important events in 2017. It is born out of love, dedication, and immense hard work. We, the newsletter editors, hope to infuse interest among Filii brothers to make themselves relevant to our common objectives and goals. Epistoliorum is our common voice that will speak to many topics of interest coming from each one of us. We will not be able to sustain its life if you remain coy from committing to contribute towards its longevity.
Thus, cap significant events in my 2017 calendar.
2018 is seven days away after the release of this issue of Epistoliorum. The December issue is a fun thing to do because of the breadth of graphical elements that we have used to highlight the season. The atmosphere is festive and we hope that we will give you a balanced content to read during your free time following a hectic Christmas preparation as events ebb down to a hiatus towards the new year.
‘Tis the time to celebrate and may I wish everyone a blessed Christmas. May the holiday spirit prevail in your heart and may you all have lasting cheers and great new year!
Celebrating the dawn of our salvation as we welcome the Messiah and approaching that rare event in the month of the mythical Janus, we are in a unique vantage point within the year to appreciate how the year has been and get a glimpse of how far we can forge well into the future. Allow me to share with you lessons I learned and record it in posterity – think of it as unsolicited advice: if you must avoid the inconsistencies that I have so far caused or experienced, so much the better for you. My favorite mentor once told: “if you find yourself on the way to the top when most of your dreams have been realized, share the secrets you learned along the way; this is the only way for a byway to get developed into a highway. Don’t think of a goldmine you find as ‘gold that is mine’, nature has devised it to have enough for everyone.” If you find even one of it useful, then my task is done.
1. Some days are meant to be counted, others are meant to be weighed.
2. Hope refreshes the everydayness of living, faith strengthens our conviction that what we aim to achieve will come to pass, love makes it all worthwhile.
3. Never fret on things that have not occurred, rather, dwell on the possibilities that tend to your interest.
4. Wish if you must, but most of all pray…providence has a way of granting the remotest of your heart’s desire if you just bend a knee.
5. Believing in a God above makes us more human, humble before the majesty of One who created it all.
6. God answers every prayer, but most of the time the answer is “No!” or “Not yet!”
7. Never work for money, wealth naturally is attracted to the concept and feeling of success.
8. Build fond memories, those will surely bring smile to your lips when you retire.
9. Don’t get disappointed when things don’t go according to plan; detours may keep us preoccupied, but as long as we should end in the same destination as we plotted, then enjoy the ride.
10. Be grateful no matter what, others are in a much worse shape especially when they have simply surrendered to fate rather than keep the faith.
11. Be joyful, you have but one chance at life, much too precious to get mired in misery.
12. Accept whatever fate throws back at you, remembering that destiny is but a mirror of all your decisions, beliefs, choices, wishes and omissions; be careful what you wish for.
Strive to make a difference, mediocrity falls on us if we follow the same train of thought. All the best in 2018!
