Mirror of Justice

I've been accepted!

2006-07-29T23:26:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone,

Just in case anybody is still checking this page, I know I haven't posted for ages but I don't have the internet at home. Just to let you know that I've been accepted by the Dominicans for the novitiate and will move to Cambridge in September. I'm so happy as this is something that I've been wanting to do for three years now and I feel so blessed that I will be entering the Order of St. Dominic, where so many holy men and women have gone before to inspire me. Please pray that everything will go well for me, I'm so relieved and exhilirated.

In Christ through Mary and St. Dominic,
love Daniel

It's been too long

2006-05-11T21:21:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone, I know it's been so long since I last posted but I do have a few good excuses. I arrived back in the UK on the 4th April and I've been so busy ever since. My first task was to try and find a job and I'm happy to say that I found one in a call centre within two weeks. I've been working there for almost a month now and it's a good place to be. Also, I don't have access to the internet at home so what with working five days a week and having to go to the library to use the internet I haven't really had much time for blogging. Next time I post I'll put a couple of photos up of what I've been up to since I got back. One of the things that I missed most when I was out in the Philippines was our historic buildings and so I was so happy to go out to St. Michael's Abbey in Farnborough for mass one Sunday. The mass was very beautiful, it was in Latin apart from the readings and the music sung by the monks was very beautiful, I enjoyed it so much.

Last weekend I went to London and stayed with my sister, she has recently bought a flat with a very big garden and armed with a pitchfork I took to digging the soil for a vegetable patch to grow potatoes and runner beans. I really enjoyed being out in the fresh air and the exercise was good fun. On Sunday I went to mass at St. James, Spanish Place probably my favourite church in London and of course it was incredible, they always sing the most beautiful polyphony there. I then went to Newman House to see some friends which was great and had afterwards had lunch at Carluccio's, my favourite Italian restaurant. I then made a quick dash to Picadilly to meet with a friend and luckily caught a glimpse of the amazing 40ft high Sultan's Elephant ( definitely check out the website if you don't know what I'm talking about) that is making its way through London complete with Sultan and princesses on board at the moment. All in all it was a wonderful weekend that left me feeling refreshed and exhilarated, I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

God Bless you all,
In Christ through Mary

Daniel

p.s. Please pray for me I've got my first two interviews for the Dominicans on Sunday

An Island Paradise

2006-03-01T10:48:00.000+08:00

I know that it's been a long time since I posted but there hasn't been much to write about really apart from what I'm about to describe. I suppose it would be interesting to describe the political situation out here which is completely crazy at the moment but I don't know how safe it would be as freedom of speech isn't so great out here at the moment since the National State of Emergency was declared. Anyway, I'm sure you're much more interested to hear about my vacation when my sister Clare came to visit me for six days. It was so nice of her to come 7000 miles from London to Manila for such a short time but we both had such a great time and she didn't seem to be affected by jet lag at all really

She arrived on Saturday night and Fr Allan took me to the airport to pick her up. From there we went straight to our hotel, the Mabuhay Manor, in the city centre, close to the Roxas Boulevard. It was a lovely hotel, very comfortable with a very spacious room. The next day my friend Glenn came to accompany us around Manila. We had planned on going to mass at San Agustin church, the only remaining colonial Spanish church in Intramuros (within the walls) the old city of Manila. There were so many churches there before but most of Intramuros was destroyed by bombing in WW2. However, when we arrived I realised that the church is not a parish so only has three masses on Sunday, two in the morning and one in the evening. As we had missed the two morning masses we just went to the excellent musueum next to the Church that has the largest collection of Philippine antiques in the country, religious and civil. From there we went on to Makati, the fancy financial district and went to an Indian restaurant for lunch. Now, those of you who haven't been to the Philippines won't realise how rare Indian food is in this country. That one mall is the only place in the whole country where I have seen an Indian restaurant. And if you know British people, you know that we love Indian food. Indian food is more popular in the UK now than British food. Anyway, after that we went to stay with the Dominican sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in St. James Academy, Malabon City.

The next morning we came to Navotas to let my sister see what it is like where I live here. We had lunch in the parish and after that we went straight to the airport to go to Boracay. Boracay island is the no.1 holiday destination in the Philippines. It combines world class white sand beaches with all the stores and restaurants anybody could want. It's a very sophisticated and beautiful place where you can see people from all over the world. That is really rare in this country where there are practically no foreigners at all. To get there we took a flight from Manila to a placed called Kalibo, in Aklan province, Visayas. We went on a package tour so everything was arranged for us and it was very easy. From there we were picked up by our tour agency which held up a sign with my name on at Kalibo airport. We were taken on a bus for two hours to Caticlan where our resort, which had its own boat, picked us up and took us straight to our resort on the island. We stayed at Club Panoly, one of the best resorts which has a private beach, swimming pool, two restaurants, a cafe and a spa. It's very big with two kinds of accomodation: one kind is a high rise hotel and the other kind is single rooms in the style of native huts but with nice Western interiors! We had a wonderful time there and both of us couldn't believe how beautiful it was, we never thought that we would get to go somewhere like this in our lifetimes and especially for me at such a young age. The beach was so big but the whole day there were only about six people on it. I have to thank the Philippines for that. To see more of Club Panoly click on the link above. Remember you can click on the photos which will open a new window so that you can see them full-size.

In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Me on the beach

My sister and I by the pool

Gonna Soak Up the Sun

2006-02-03T21:06:00.000+08:00

I'm so excited because I'm going to Boracay island and in the words of Sheryl Crow "I'm gonna soak up the sun; I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up". I can't believe that in 7 days my sister Clare will be here and we will be going on holiday to a beautiful resort for a much needed rest and relaxation away from my work here in Manila. It's unbelievably not only going to be the first time in over seven months that I will see one of my family but also the first and probably only time that I will meet another British person. The cultural difference here is really overwhelming, it's hard to believe how people can think and feel so differently about so many things. One of the things I read about and in the DVI information pack was the culture shock that volunteers feel not only when they depart but also when they return. This has been on my mind a lot recently especially since it's only two months until I return to England now. I wonder how I will react to being around familiar sights and sounds, tastes and textures again. I'll be sure to let you know when I find out.

Keep in touch and keep praying,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Pet Peeves

2006-02-03T20:55:00.000+08:00

Patti from Mercy Drops Falling tagged me so here goes:
Five Pet Peeves

1. People in the UK who address me as 'mate', especially when they don't know you at all (the first thing it puts me in mind of is a biological partner!). I think the Filipino "Kuya" meaning brother is much nicer.
2. People in the Philippines who call out "Joe, hey, what's up!" to me just because I'm white
3. People who spit/urinate (there are many who do this in the Philippines) in public
4. People who call me narrow minded simply because I refuse to accept the doctrine of relativism that all things can be true at any one time and there is no such thing as absolute truth
5.People who patronize me and myself when I realise that I am being patronizing

In Christ through Mary,
Daniel

Quartet Meme

2006-02-03T20:32:00.000+08:00

Sorry I've been away for so long, the truth is that I've been going to the gym every other day and that's kind of been my focus the last few weeks. Also, I had the feeling that nobody was reading my blog but since a couple of people have asked where I am I feel motivated to carry on. I'll start with the meme of Fra Lawrence who tagged me in January:

Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:

1. Teaching Religion classes to Grade 6 students 2. A cleaner in my University Residence 3. A Subway Sandwich Artist 4. Teaching Catechism to High School Students

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, and Have:1. The Harry Potter films 2. The Wizard of Oz 3. Devdas 4. The Hours

Four Places I Have Lived:1. Portsmouth/Southsea, UK (my home town) 2. London, UK 3. Manila, Philippines 4. Only three!

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:1. Rome 2. The Gilmore Girls 3. Restoration 4. Jane Hickson's Miss Marple

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation: 1. Rome 2. Paris 3. Madrid 4. Republic of Ireland

Four Websites I Visit Daily:1. The New Liturgical Movement 2. Contemplata Aliis Tradere 3. BBC News 4. CNN

Four Favorite Foods:1. Smoked salmon 2. Pret-A-Manger 3. Thai Green Curry with Coconut Rice 4. English Fish and Chips

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now: 1. At home with my family 2. London 3. A gothic cathedral 4. Rome

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Diocesan Religious Christmas party

2006-01-10T16:53:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday the Diocesan Religious Christmas party marked the end of the hectic Christmas party season and we all breathed a sigh of relief. The Christmas season is a really hectic time for clergy and I know that they welcome the return of ordinary time and the corresponding slowdown in the pace of life. The point of the occasion is to bring together the various religious congregations of men and women in the diocese to get to know each other a little better.

Sisters manning the registration

Sisters of the Institute of the Virgin Mary perform their number for the evening: note the sister on the far left with the electric guitar: a modern version of Sr Maria! And no, the blue shawl is not part of their habit.

Dominican sisters of St. Catherine of Siena peform Christmas carols with the help of their colourful capes!

Sr Melba, also of the Siena congregation, sings the praise of the Child Jesus as she holds him in her arms. Note the beautiful crib arranged behind her.

Sr Anne, a french sister from the Sisters of the Good News who works in our parish sings the traditional French carol "Il est nee le divine enfant".

Our Beloved Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez giving his Christmas message.

The award winning choir of Los Remedios, a chapel in our parish perform in the language of Visayas the song which won them the acolade of best choir in Navotas.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Christmas Season

2006-01-06T19:43:00.000+08:00

The parlour games at the Parish Staff Christmas party. Something that is mostly reserved for children in the UK but is adored by Filipinos of all ages and classes. The party was held on New Year's Eve which here resembles the blitz with every family lighting so many firecrackers that the noise is non-stop from 11pm to 1am.

The intrepid welcome the New Year with Roman Candles, I'm glad the paschal candle isn't that kind of roman candle!

Young and old join in the dancing, this particular number is the "dance routine" hit of 2005, "BOP IT!"

Happy Children at one of the many Christmas parties held for the underpriviledged due to the generosity of parishioners who give their time and money

And last, but certainly not least, on January 1 we welcomed Fr Patrick into our community and it's great to have him, he's a really friendly and happy priest.

Mabuhay! Maligayang pagdating sa ating tahanan.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Merry Christmas

2005-12-29T20:47:00.000+08:00

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Sorry that I haven't posted for so long but it was so hectic here in the days leading up to Christmas and then the last few days there was no internet so there we are. I can't get blogger to put my photos up right now and I have a cold so I'm going to finish now but I'll definitely post properly tomorrow if I am able.

God Bless,

Daniel

Christmas is coming...

2005-12-16T17:43:00.000+08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've been caught with everything that's happening here. The Advent and Christmas season is a really busy time here and I've already attended three Christmas parties. The first was KADSA: that's the organisation that brings together all of the Catholic schools in our diocese: Kalookan. This was held at San Jose Academy. They had hoped to hold it outside but the sky was threatening heavy rain so it was too risky. Outside it was nice and warm but inside were we were there were 10 air conditioning units which together made the room into an ice box. Otherwise it was very enjoyable with nice food and a fun gift exchange and raffle. I came home with two gifts.

Wednesday night was the Christmas party of St. James' Academy which is run by the Dominican sisters of Siena. Their congregation is so kind and generous: they took out all of the school staff, nearly 200 people and paid for a buffet dinner for them in a Vietnamese restaurant. The restaurant was in a mall called Eastwood in Eastwood City, a new development close to Mandaluyong City, a new financial district in Metro Manila. I'd never tried Vietnamese before so I didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed it, it was a very different taste from anything I've ever had.

This morning was the beginning of the Simbang Gabi, a tradition here where mass is said at 4am for the nine days before Christmas. So we all got up at 3:30am and headed into the church. I was amazed to see that it was packed to the rafters and I had no choice but to sit in the choir area right next to the drums and electric guitars played by members of El Shaddai, a Charismatic movement here. I actually got caught up in the spirit of it all quite easily. The enthusiasm was rather infectious and my recently purchased missal doesn't hurt either: I actually understand the readings now, LOL.

I hope everyone is having a happy and holy Advent season,

Keep in touch,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Mass in Latin and Anniversary of Dominican Province

2005-12-09T20:41:00.000+08:00

Wednesday was the anniversary of Fr Allan's ordination so we had a special mass in Latin with Ferdy playing the music of the Missa de Angelis and me singing it. We started with the asperging and I sang "Asperges me Domine". Next came the kyrie where I made a couple of mistakes. The sanctus went well but the one thing I hadn't thought about was synchronising the start of the pieces of the mass with the preceding prayer of the priest. So, it happened that I forgot that the Agnus Dei came straight after the Sign of Peace and Fr Allan had to look in my direction before I started singing it which was a bit embarassing but ok. I think the communion piece: Ave Verum by Elgar went the best as I just sang the Soprano part. It's a very tranquil and gentle piece which I thought made it perfect for communion. For the recessional music Ferdy simply played music on the organ rather singing something as this is more fitting. Despite our mistakes I think it went very well and several people commented on it as "very solemn" and "very beautiful". It was the first Latin mass ever to be said in this parish. I hope it is the first of many to come.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the founding of the Philippine Dominican Province on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and we celebrated it by having a whole day of festivities in Angelicum College in Quezon City. This began at 8am with volleyball, basketball and other sports. I didn't arrive until 11 as the driver was busy so I was just a spectator. After lunch it was time for the presentations of the history of the various houses that make up the province. As is always the case with the Dominicans here nearly all the presentations were extremely well done and two of them could almost have been used commercially. After this we had mass and then dinner. It was a wonderful day and as always here I was made to feel completely at home and very much part of the Dominican family despite the fact that I was the only layperson there. Tomorrow is the birthday mass of our Bishop,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Missionaries of Charity First Profession Pictures

2005-12-09T14:30:00.000+08:00

As promised here are a couple of photos of the first profession of the Missionaries of Charity in Tayuman.

A sister receives her cross: the symbol of her crucified spouse.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Busy Busy Busy

2005-12-06T14:05:00.000+08:00

Advent is a very hectic time in this parish as everything seems to happen at the same time. There are first confessions, first communions and all the rehearsals and preparation that is required. There are also a whole host of Christmas parties to attend starting with the KADSA, Catholic schools assocation this evening. Oh yes, and from December 16 there will be nine days of mass at 4am blasted out throughout the area on loudspeakers so I feel I'm going to be very sleep deprived by December 25. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam I suppose.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the ordination of Fr Allan, the parish priest and we will celebrating it with a sung Latin NO mass, sung mostly by yours truly because we didn't get around to teaching a choir the Missa de Angelis. We're going to begin the mass with the asperging, use de Angelis throughout and I'm going to sing Elgar's Ave Verum during communion. This is going to be the first time that almost everyone in the congregation has ever heard a mass in Latin so it's going to be interesting as to how they react. Please pray for me that I will do a good job with the singing.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

First Profession and First Speaker

2005-12-03T14:27:00.000+08:00

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while but it's mostly same old around here lately. One of the dogs gave birth to nine puppies last night so we were all excited to see them this morning. I bet the poor thing is so stressed: I mean, imagine having nine babies trying to feed at the same time!

This morning was the very beautiful mass of first profession of 8 Missionaries of Charity. I will put up photos as soon as they are uploaded to the computer. I love the MCs because they have adapted to working with the poorest of the poor so well without compromising anything. Their habits are simple and practical but still very traditional. To me their habit is the authentic interpretation of the requirements given for a habit by Perfectae Caritatis: the Vatican II document on religious life. They also don't take the erroneous view that in trying to be poor we should impoverish our altars. Their chapel is simple but beautiful and embodies the idea of giving the best to God but the least to ourselves. There are no seats or pews and the floor is very plain but the tabernacle, altar and crucifix are ornate. A perfect balance and the true spirit of poverty: we should never be afraid of spending money for God, nothing is too good for him.

This afternoon Father Allan called on me over lunch to be the first speaker at the altar servers' Advent recollection completely out of the blue. I only had one hour to prepare myself but it turned out alright. It's difficult because they only understand so much English but I like these experiences because they make me feel like I could be a preacher. I managed 40 minutes before I floundered completely as it appeared that they weren't understanding anything by then: I think I exhausted the simple stuff in the first 30 mins. Anyway, I hope that my poor attempt gave them something, it was done in love anyway.

Other news: I'm getting the music ready for a NO mass in Latin we're going to have here next Wednesday, Fr Allan's ordination anniversary, so a few words with St. Cecilia that I won't mess it up would be much appreciated.

I hope everyone is well,

Keep in touch,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

An Excellent Film

2005-11-24T20:39:00.000+08:00

Last night we went out to the cinema to see the film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose". I was a bit apprehensive because I never, ever watch horror or scary films as I just don't see the entertainment value but I was reassured by the PG-13 certificate. I really wanted to see it because it had been recommended by the Bishops Conference here as a very instructive movie. It turned out to be not a horror film at all but a very inspiring and moving account of the true-life story of a very devout girl who was the victim of demonic attacks. In our contemporary world there is so little awareness even amongst Catholics of the danger of the dark side of the spiritual so I think this film could be very helpful in reminding many people that this life is nothing less than a spiritual war. Pope John Paul II used to encourage people to say the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel penned by Pope Leo XIII every day. I like to do this myself and include it here for the benefit of others:

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do Thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host by the power of God thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.

Most Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy upon us. (3 times)

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Villa San Miguel

2005-11-22T20:43:00.000+08:00

I've just returned today from an overnight stay at a Hot Springs resort in Laguna province called Villa San Miguel. The piety of the proprietor can be seen in this beautiful statue of Saint Michael Archangel slaying the devil who tempts the revellers at the resort to engage in sins of the flesh by eating and drinking too much! There is also a grotto at the side of Our Lady of Lourdes complete with a kneeling St. Bernadette. The owner is a self-made man who very nicely attributes all of his success to his trust in God's providence.

There were three pools all full of lukewarm water which comes free of charge via the sleepy volcano that can be seen from the resort. We had a great time there eating, drinking, swimming and singing karaoke. I of course was the only one who soaked up the sun. The reason for the trip ostensibly was the meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council but since I'm not on the Council and didn't understand the proceedings anyhow I was free to lounge around. A very restful and happy trip.

Happy Feast of St. Cecilia,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Christ the King

2005-11-20T20:46:00.000+08:00

An altar set up by the Parish Mother Butler Guild on the roadside to greet the procession as it passes down the street.

Today is the Feast of Christ the King and it was celebrated here with a very elaborate procession of the Blessed Sacrament that wsa performed in a relay fashion. The local deanery, the San Jose deanery consists of five parishes. The parish priest of the first parish carried the Blessed Sacrament til he reached the next parish when he then passed on the monstrance to the next priest and so on until the last parish, San Ezekiel Moreno was reached whereupon mass was offered by all five priests and, the chief celebrant being the Bishop of our diocese Deogracias Iñiguez. The walk was quite long and I was glad to be among the privileged few (the priests, myself and one of the parish councillors) who got to sit down and eat merienda (snacks) straight after the mass. Here's San Ezekiel's sanctuary:

I've just now realised my foolishness in writing a post about a procession only to realise that I in fact don't have any photos of the procession itself. Mea Culpa. Never fear, however because one of the brothers from Santo Domingo had his camera so I will email him and ask him to send me a few. Expect them shortly. Sorry about that.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

P.S. Going swimming at the hot springs resort again tomorrow. Going to stay overnight this time: yay!

Bartolome de Las Casas Dominican conference for Justice, Peace and Care of Creation

2005-11-19T20:04:00.000+08:00

Today was the Bartolome de Las Casas Dominican annual conference for Justice, Peace and Care of Creation. Bartolome de Las Casas was a Dominican friar in New Spain (now Mexico) who fought passionately for the rights of Native Americans. In the face of tremendous opposition he wanted the Indians to be recognised as children of God endowed with all the same graces as the Spanish. He is thus our inspiration in the Dominican family for and justice and equality in this broken unjust world so tainted by original sin. The conference was held at Dominican College in San Juan, Metro Manila. Father Allan gave the welcome remarks and we made the Powerpoint presentation together. There were three speakers spread over the day. The first was on "Migrants and Itinerant peoples". The second was "The trafficking of women and children" and it was startling to realise how bad this problem actually is here, with up to 12 children a day being trafficked into all kinds of horrible situations: from forced labour to prostitution. The last talk was in the afternoon and was about "Justice and Peace spirituality" where the speaker mostly concentrated on informing us about the model of the human pysche as understood by Carl Jung. It was glad it was Jung and not Freud because Jung was generally very positive about religion whereas Freud was notoriously anti-Christian.

Tomorrow is the Christ the King procession,.

photos to follow shortly,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

I just got out of hospital

2005-11-17T13:52:00.000+08:00

Sorry for my prolonged absence from this blog but I've just got out of hospital today. I had acute gastrointeritis and was hospitalised from Monday til Thursday, that's today. I went to the University of Santo Tomas (Dominican) Hospital. I had my own room with my own bathroom but it was very boring because there was no TV and the companion who was with me all the time couldn't speak any English and I can't speak much Tagalog so we couldn't really communicate. I'm feeling very tired now because they would wake me up every day at 4:30am to take my vital signs. Also, I've lost weight because I didn't eat for 2 days before I went to hospital and then once I got there they didn't allow me to eat or drink for another day. So I'm looking thin, pale and tired, going to go take a nap.

Hope everyone is well,

God Bless,

Daniel

I've been tagged again

2005-11-07T13:40:00.000+08:00

Br Lawrence at Contemplata Aliis Tradere has just tagged me to do this meme so I will oblige because I like them and don't have anything to blog about at the moment:

Three names I go by:

Daniel

Dan ( only my Dad and my sister Anne call me this, they alone have the priviledge ;-)

Brother Daniel (by the Filipinos)

Three screen names I have had:

Happyguy7

danielden83

danieldjeffries

Three physical things I like about myself:

My gradually developing tan (thanks to the Philippines!)

My eyes: unusually slanted for an englishman

My feet

Three physical things I don’t like about myself:

I wish I were taller

I wish I were stockier, more athletic

I wish I could tap-dance

Three parts of my heritage:

Irish ( my maternal grandfather, hence the Catholicism)

English

Don't know of a third

Three things that scare me:

Violent Crime

Eternal Damnation

Dogs that are trained to kill/injure (they look so evil!)

Three of my everyday essentials:

Daily Mass and Rosary

A good wash

Food and Drink

Three of my favorite musical artists:

Choir of the Brompton Oratory

Sarah McLachlan

Natalie Imbruglia

Three of my favorite songs:

Deserts miss the Rain by Everything but the Girl

Let it be by The Beatles

World on Fire by Sarah McLachlan

Three things I want/have in a relationship:

Love

Intimacy

Constancy

Three lies and three truths in no particular order:

I wear a miraculous medal

I'm originally from London

I'm an aspiring Dominican

I love peanut sauce

I love to read novels

I'd like to be a politician

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to me:

Nice hair

Nice clothes

Cheerful disposition

Three of my favorite hobbies:

Reading

Listening to Radio 4

Going to galleries/museums/stately homes/churches

Three things I want to do really badly right now:

See my family and friends

Eat European food

Have a little fun before I die

Three careers I’ve considered:

Architectual Historian

Manuscript preserver

Working for English Heritage/National Trust

Three Places I want to vacation:

Venice

Kyoto

New England

Three kid’s names I like:

Rose

Joaquin/Joachim

Amelia

Three things I want to do before I die:

Visit the Holy Land

Help to save souls

Become more learned and accomplished

Three ways that I am stereotypically a girl:

I'm an extrovert

I like to go shopping

I like musicals and opera

Three ways that I am stereotypically a boy:

I'm disorganised

Masculine pride

Like to be around other guys

Three celeb crushes:

Britney Spears

Beyonce

Keira Knightley

Three people I would like to see post this meme:

Elizabeth at A Little Flower Garden

Patti at Mercy Drops Falling

Rachel at Testosterhome

Daniel

Despidida ni Helene: Helen's leaving do

2005-11-04T21:19:00.000+08:00

Here's Helene and her sister Murielle enjoying the delights of watching the videoke screen. Not a great photo I know but all the others came out fuzzy.

Pray for me dear bloggers

2005-11-04T10:57:00.000+08:00

Please pray for me dear bloggers. I just posted my application to join the English province of the Dominican Order and so am now officially an aspiring Dominican. I'm glad that it's finished and sent already because my mind was so focused on it recently that I didn't feel that I was really here in the Philippines at all. I was in here in body but not in spirit.

Last night was the despidida of Helene, one of the French volunteers here. I'm going to post on it properly this evening once I have the photos.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

More floats from La Naval

2005-11-03T14:29:00.000+08:00

So, I've been anonymously informed that this is John of Cologne

And this is Louis Bertrand

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

The High Life

2005-11-02T10:41:00.000+08:00

Monday night we went out to have a drink at the Diamond Hotel. The hotel is just a road away from Manila bay which can be seen from a completely new angle from the Sky Lounge bar on the 27th floor. The walls were made of glass giving one a superb view of the surrounding area with its glittering towers and colourful lamps that cast a benevolent glow upon the bay. The bar was very subdued: low lit with oil lamps on the tables and the music provided by a pianist and lounge singer. The piano had a beautiful sound; I think it must have been a Steinway or of a similar quality and the singer had a fantastic, soothing voice. Maybe this makes me strange but although I'm only 22 I have to say that I much prefer this kind of setting for an evening out than some noisy place where one can hardly hear oneself speak. It was very relaxing and oddly comforting: you have a nice drink, the music is good, everything is right with the world. This is I suppose the product that the bar is selling. As we entered the lobby I saw some German girls who couldn't have been any older than me going up to their room and it made me wonder what life must be like for those for whom a hotel like that is their standard travel accomodation. I don't know, but one thing I do know is that I'm glad that I'm not somebody who has come to this country and stayed in the best hotels and eaten at the best restaurants all the time, oblivious to the political crisis and grinding poverty that affects so many here. For better and for worse I've seen the real Philippines: its people, its ways, its good side and its bad side. And that, I think, not a fancy hotel, is real travel.

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel

Today is the feast of All Souls when the Church remembers and prays for the eternal rest of all the departed. Let us remember them in our prayers: May the Divine Assistance remain with us always and may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace +. Amen.

Halloween Party

2005-10-30T15:13:00.000+08:00

We had the halloween party of the Knights of the Altar organisation last night, good fun. Since this is the Philippines there was nothing untoward and it even began with a prayer. It involved a dance contest, nice food and lots of dancing overall. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

The girl in the white dress is Sadako from the Ring movie.

One of the entries in the dance contest.

Hope everyone is well,

In Christ through Mary,

Daniel