Bumping Into St. Josemaria Escriva and Opus Dei

Today is the birthday in heaven of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. He died in the room where he worked in Villa Tevere in Bruno Buozzi, Rome, Italy,  a little after praying the Angelus. He was 73 years old when he passed away. I first heard about Opus Dei when I was in second year high school, when an alumna of my school, who happens to have the same name as I do, visited the campus one afternoon. Our guidance counselor told me that Michelle, who is around seven years older, is a member of Opus Dei.

The first prayer card that I received was not that of St. Josemaria, it was Bishop Alvaro del Portillo's, St. Josemaria's first successor who passed away in March 1994. It was my Communication professor at UP Manila who gave it to me while I was taking the final exam for his subject. Now that professor of mine, I learned later on, is also a member of Opus Dei. As in any occurrence, I cultivated the habit of asking why about situations and circumstances I find myself in, trying my best to do so in God's presence. So I asked myself why I often bump into members of Opus Dei every so often. And what is Opus Dei all about? And then one day, when I got home, I saw 3 prayer cards of St. Josemaria on our glass vitrina in the living room. It was my father who brought it home, a taxi passenger of his gave it to him.

Today, as I wish that St. Josemaria's fame of being very close to God i.e. his holiness, reach far and wide, I would like to write about one of the recent favors I received through his intercession. I have already submitted this favor to the Office of the Causes of Saints, hoping that it be included among so many that St. Josemaria has granted to countless individuals, so that God's glory may be seen and felt through this faithful servant of his.

A Charming Exhibit: KOI-Yaw at Ayala Center-Cebu

Walking around UP campus over the weekend, I chanced upon the poster promoting this exhibit which was launched last Saturday, June 15. What caught my attention was the colorful image it had of a Fish, the icon of the Chinese zodiac I am born under, Pisces. Since I still had an errand to do at the Ayala Center, I thought maybe I could swing by Level 3 of Paseo Marina where this fish sculpture exhibit is mounted and see what it's all about.

KOI-Yaw, as the exhibit is called, displays fish sculptures made of rattan, a known local material used for furniture and decor products. Inspired by the fish family 'koi', the sculptures are available for purchase and up for display here at Ayala Center Cebu from June 15 to June 30, 2013. It is a project of the Product Design 3rd year students from the University of the Philippines-Cebu.

I was not familiar with this existing furniture art form until I saw it myself. At the registration desk where the guestbook is, the mobile numbers of those who can be contacted for fish sculpture items up for purchase were made available. I told my work colleague, Venus, who is also Piscean like me, about KOI-Yaw. We hope to go see it together before the month of June ends, as the rainy season here in Cebu gradually sets in.

For more information about KOI-Yaw, you may visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/koiyawcebu.

Tubod: The Philippines' Ultimate Domestic Furniture Trade Show

Right after our Saturday afternoon activities last June 8th, I was invited by Tesa, an Interior Designer and one of those living with me here in Banilad Study Center, to accompany her in checking how her staff is managing the 'packing-up' activity i.e. egress, of their domestic furniture items at Waterfront Hotel's Atlantic Hall where “TUBOD”, The Ultimate Furniture and Furnishings Show for the Domestic Market, was being held since June 6th. This domestic furniture trade exhibition is part of the 4th PhilConstruct Visayas 2013 Expo, Cebu's biggest construction show to date. 

The Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc. (CFIF) conceptualized and spearheaded this event. Aptly called “TUBOD” (or in English, “Source”), the word is used as a noun to refer to spring and water fountain. TUBOD as an event takes on this objective: to set an industry in motion to serve a dynamic and booming domestic furniture and furnishings market. It is envisioned to be the source and the wellspring of the flow of ideas, talents and resources between and among designers, contractors, manufacturers and other players of the interior design and construction industry with the furniture and furnishing manufacturing industry in Cebu.

Gabi-i sa Kabilin: Cebu Cultural Heritage At Its Best

If there is one event that other cities in the country should copy, this annual event in Cebu is definitely IT!

Last May 31st, I had the wonderful opportunity to see for myself how alive and kicking our love for our cultural heritage is here in Cebu City. Several of us from the study center and from our office trooped to the pegged heritage sites all over Cebu to witness the richness of the Filipino's cultural past here at the heart of Central Visayas.

Now on its 7^th year, “Gabi-i sa Kabilin: A Night of Heritage,” is a yearly cultural event sponsored by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), in celebration of the Philippine National Heritage Month and International Museum Day. This provincial-wide event was made possible by the active cooperation of those from the national and local government i.e. Department of Tourism and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and from the different museums and heritage sites found here in the province. Aside from Cebu City, other participating cities included Mandaue, Talisay, and Lapu-Lapu.

The rain right before we left our office didn’t dampen our excitement and enthusiasm to go and participate actively in this unique activity. It was so good to sense palpably how Cebu’s families supported this event.

We got to visit the Sto. Nino Shrine, Magellan’s Cross, The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral’s Museum, Plaza Independencia, and Fort San Pedro. The last venue was where we took the Tartanilla i.e. calesa ride, much to our enjoyment. The last time I took the calesa was around seven years ago, in Vigan, Ilocos Sur where we had one of our excursions in our annual seminar held in Baguio City's South Drive.

Of course pictures had to be taken --- from anywhere, and everywhere! This had to be documented because we don’t have the likes of this activity every month. For only Php 150, we could go to ALL the participating heritage sites i.e. Casa Gorordo, Museo Sugbo, Cebu City Museum, Cebu Cultural Center, Museo Parian sa Sugbo, etc. the list goes on! What really mattered to me most was the value we were getting in this enriching cultural fete.

Last Friday night was definitely Cebu’s Cultural Night of Heritage at its best!

For more information about this annual event, please visit. www.rafi.org.