LITURGICAL LIVING Archives - Truly Rich and Blessed

Our Discoveries: Fun and Learning Time with Kinder Joy

June 24, 2018 by Tina

As someone who tries her best to practice intentional parenting—together with my husband, of course—I am always on the lookout for ways to make our family time meaningful and memorable.

This is why I decided to include “Our Discoveries and Experiences” in this blog. I wanted to share about what products and services help to “enrich” me and my family in one way or another. I especially appreciate products and services that help make our time with the kids both fun and educational.

Well, you might be surprised to read that one such product is actually something that you have probably seen in most, if not all, leading supermarkets in the Philippines: Kinder Joy!

Yup, Kinder Joy is the not-so-new discovery that I’ll be sharing about here now. Curious as to why that is so? Well, just keep reading!

Before anything else, let me tell you why I said that Kinder Joy is a “not-so-new discovery” for me and my family. Well, we are already familiar with this product because we sometimes buy them as “treats” for the kids. They have especially “saved the day” for me on Easter in previous years, when we needed instant “treasures” for the kids’ annual Easter Treasure Hunt (one of our Easter celebration activities).

Now, in case you have never heard of Kinder Joy before, here’s a description of it in a nutshell (or should I say “eggshell”?): It’s an edible snack product that comes in an egg-shaped container, along with little toys. One half of the “egg” contains two delicious creams (milky cream and cocoa cream) with two crispy wafer balls, and the other half contains the toy.

My kids love opening both halves of their Kinder Joy eggs—they enjoy the sweet treat and get to have a bit of “learning time” with the surprise toy. Sometimes, it’s a toy that has to be put together, and sometimes it’s a toy that’s already pre-assembled.

Whatever the case may be though, I’m always happy to see them playing with the toys because I believe that play is learning and learning is play for kids and for adults, but especially for kids. (Don’t believe me? Try reading this article for starters.)

The fact that the toys are small and easy to bring around are a bonus for us, too, because I can just pop them into my bag and bring them out whenever the kids want to play. Also, since the toys are non-battery-operated, they fit into our criteria of what toys should be—”simple” and allowing for open-ended play that is only limited by one’s imagination.

Paired with the free Magic Kinder App, the kids’ toy experience is further enhanced with the app’s interesting content that promises fun for the entire family. It features a huge selection of videos, games, and other activities with educational value.

Want to try out the app for yourself? Download it from iTunes or .

Of course, your family’s Kinder Joy experience won’t be complete if you don’t have the actual Kinder Joy treats and toys, so head on over to the nearest supermarket to get them, too.

If you’re Catholics like us, who do our best to practice #LiturgicalLiving, it would be great to stock up on Kinder Joy eggs as sweet treats for special occasions like celebrating saint feast days, namedays, baptism days, etc.

Of course, beyond the treats and toys, what matters most when it comes to kids having fun and learning at the same time is the intention behind it all. Let’s do our best to make every moment with our children meaningful and purpose-filled—even if it’s something “simple” like feasting on the occasional Kinder Joy treat!

The Easter Triduum: Holy-days, Not Just Holidays

March 29, 2018 by Tina

Image source: pixabay.com

Today, Holy Thursday, marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum. We Catholics consider these days the “center” of our Christian faith. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops actually has a short but sweet video that gives some information about the different days of the Triduum below:

Personally, I love the Easter Triduum and everything that it means. But I didn’t always feel this way. Read the rest on PinayVoices.com. I pray that you and your loved ones will have a truly rich—spiritually and emotionally—and blessed Easter Triduum. Happy Easter in advance!

What Is True Love?

February 7, 2018 by Tina

February is popularly known as the “love month” because of Valentine’s Day falling on February 14. It’s the time when many people celebrate love and being loved, so businesses take the opportunity to market their products and services all in the name of “love.”

But really, let’s think about it for a moment: What is love? True love? Is it what the secular world says it is? Is it all about feelings and emotions, and falling head over heels? Or is it something more than that—beyond the fairy tale and telenovela type of love that is portrayed on TV and movies?

As Catholic Christians, we are called to believe that yes, love is indeed so much more. It is not just about feelings and emotions. Let’s take a look at God’s Word to learn what true love really is. One of the more well-known Scripture passages about love can be found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

True love is patient and kind.

If we truly love someone—and I don’t mean just our spouses or boyfriends or girlfriends, but anyone whom we claim to love, like our other family members and friends—we must learn to be patient with them. We must show kindness even if it is difficult to do so at times. God even calls us to extend this patience and kindness to strangers, especially those in need.

True love is not jealous, not pompous, not inflated, not rude, does not seek its own interests, is not quick-tempered, does not brood over injury, does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

True love is all about being confident in one’s relationships—there is no room for jealousy when you truly love someone. It’s about being humble and respectful, always looking out for the well-being of the other. When we truly love others, according to Jesus’ teachings, we also don’t bear grudges against them but learn to forgive them. We do not rejoice when our loved ones do bad things or fall into sin; instead we try to help them to do what is right.

True love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

True love can withstand the test of suffering—we do not just abandon our loved ones when they face trials and difficulties, but stand by them and support them all the way. We endure all challenges together, believing and hoping in the beautiful plan of the Lord for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). We endure everything that comes our way, because we know that our God—who is the Source of true love—will sustain us and help us.

True love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.

True love–love that is based on God’s love for us—will never fail. “Prophecies,” “tongues,” and “knowledge” mentioned in 1 Corinthians are actually gifts of the Holy Spirit—but without love, these are useless. Indeed, to answer God’s call to serve others, we must first allow Him to fill us with His love.

To end, let’s look at the following quotes about love from different saints, and try to live out these quotes—plus 1 Corinthians 13—not just during Febibig, but every day:

“Pure love… knows that only one thing is needed to please God: to do even the smallest things out of great love – love, and always love.” — Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Faustina

“Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor… Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.” — Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” — St. Augustine of Hippo

“There is no place for selfishness—and no place for fear! Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands. Do not be afraid when love requires sacrifice.” — Saint John Paul II

As Ash Wednesday falls on February 14 this year, let’s make the effort to show God how much we truly love Him by observing the Church’s teachings on fasting and abstinence, and keeping the day solemn and holy in observance of the beginning of Lent. If we want to celebrate Valentine’s Day with our loved ones, we can do it earlier. This is one way we can show our true love for the Lord. If you’re looking for more resources that tell us why observing Ash Wednesday / Lent is more important than celebrating Valentine’s Day, go here, here and here.

*This article also appears in the February 11, 2018 issue of the Bulletin.

3 Ways to Increase Your Family’s Focus on Faith

January 25, 2018 by Tina

Our family doesn’t really “do” New Year’s resolutions. Instead, we have an annual family visioning and goal-setting activity, during which we look at the previous year’s goals and accomplishments, list down our past blessings, and write down our goals and plans for the year ahead. It’s something we started two years ago, and I thank God that the kids look forward to it every year now.

We did our family visioning and goal-setting activity during the first weekend of January, and one of our family’s goals was to increase our focus on our faith. Here are a few things we plan to do, that will hopefully help us achieve that goal:

1. Commit to individual prayer time.

We usually pray together as a family in the evening, and since the kids are homeschooled, I also pray with them in the morning and at three o’clock, the Hour of Divine Mercy. Now that our first two kids are older, we are also trying to teach them the value of having your own prayer time. So that is one of our goals: To develop our individual prayer time. (Because, to be perfectly honest with you, there are days when I neglect to have this personal time with the Lord! 🙁 #KeepingItReal here.)

2. Commit to reading Scripture every day.

This is something all of us need to work on, including me and my husband. We bought our son his own Bible for this purpose, too, though he also has different Scripture-based devotionals that he can use. Our daughter also uses a Scripture-based devotional, and we do our best to read and reflect on the daily Mass readings together as part of our “Together Time” (a term which we use for our homeschool “Morning Basket,” since we rarely do it in the morning!).

Some of the books we used for “Together Time” last year. Didache is a Scripture-based devotional.

“Do our best” is the operative phrase here, and some days we fail to do this, so this year, we hope to improve in this department!

3. Go to Confession and Adoration more often.

As Catholics, the Sacraments are very important to us. We hope to be able to go to Confession more regularly (my husband, me, and our eldest), and we also hope to go to Eucharistic Adoration at least once a month. This year, we are also preparing our second child for her First Holy Communion, so being a witness to her (and the other kids) when it comes to fostering a love for the Sacraments is really important.

In addition to the above, we also plan to continue practicing Liturgical Living, reading faith-focused books together, and serving the Lord in our community and in other ways.

So, in case you want your family to be more focused on faith this year, I hope you find these tips helpful somehow. Remember, even the simplest things matter—as long as they help draw us nearer to Jesus! Oh, and if you’re looking for more resources, I recently discovered Pure Flix, which offers educational movies that are faith-based!

Please feel free to share this post with others if it has inspired or helped you in any way. God bless you!

When Christmas Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas

December 27, 2017 by Tina

It’s 3.20 a.m. here in Manila, and it’s the Third Day of Christmas. I woke up earlier because I felt like I was going to throw up (yes, I felt the urge while I was sleeping; no, I didn’t throw up and no, I’m not pregnant! #justsaying). I couldn’t get back to sleep so I prayed the Divine Mercy Prayer, which is usually prayed at 3 p.m. I wonder what the Holy Family was doing at this time, 2017 years ago. What Mama Mary must have been feeling. Did she have the “Christmas feels” as we like to call our feelings during this time of the year? Feelings of joy, comfort, peace, hope? Or did she have mixed feelings and emotions?

Reflecting on all this, and knowing that I “should” have the “Christmas feels” but the truth is Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas too much right now, I take comfort in the “imperfect,” “not Pinterest-worthy” Instagram posts of fellow Catholic moms like , , and .

I know how challenging these busy but beautiful holy-days can be… so I’m sharing this photo of the altar in our bedroom as a “sign” of camaraderie and unity – yes, we still haven’t changed our altar cloth (purple is for Advent – maybe we’ll just keep it on till Lent?! Ha, ha!) and the only reason our nativity set pieces are where they’re supposed to be is because the 8-year-old placed them there.

As I write this, there is a huge pile of clothes in our living/dining area that need to be packed for an upcoming trip to visit extended family. There are more clothes in laundry baskets and drying on clotheslines to be folded, and more to be washed (praying the weather will cooperate so the laundry will dry faster!).

My husband and I’s hopes of doing some much-needed decluttering and deep cleaning during the holidays won’t be happening because of the previously mentioned trip. Which means the New Year will come and the apartment will still be in the (sorry) state it’s in now.

There is work to be done. (No vacation leave for work-at-home-and-everywhere-else moms like me! Ha, ha!) This blog is in a state of neglect. There are homeschooling-related tasks that need to be done as well. Etcetera, etcetera.

Well, you can probably see what I’m getting at now. I could go on and on “whining” but I won’t. Because, despite everything, there is SO much to be grateful for.

There are thousands, even millions, of people here in the Philippines and around the world who would probably trade places with me in an instant. Typhoon victims. Fire victims. Victims of armed conflict. So many people who are suffering, so many people in pain, so many who have lost their lives even.

Closer to home, I have friends and family members whose Christmases will never be the same because they have lost loved ones or have loved ones who are seriously ill.

All of these make my complaints seem so shallow now. So selfish. I have so much to be thankful for. Many days though, I fail to see them. I am too tired. Too preoccupied. Too focused on the “have nots” and “shoulds” and endless “to-do’s.”

So, yet again, I choose. I choose to be grateful.

Thank You, Jesus, for being the Gift you are to me, to my family, to all of us.

Thank You for the blessings *and* the burdens of this life — reminders that this world is not our Home.

Thank You for being born so that You could die and rise again… just for us.

Thank You for always being there for us… even when Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas at times.

I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again:

Happy Birthday, Jesus! We love You!

How’s the Christmas season going for you so far, friend? Whatever you’re feeling now, I pray that God gives you the comfort, joy, peace, and hope that you need! God bless you!