bukÁs-loÓb sa diyÓs open in spirit to...

Living Water– August 11, 2017 1

August 11, 2017

BUKÁS-LOÓB SA DIYÓS • OPEN IN SPIRIT TO GOD

www.bldworld.org www.bldtoronto.com

THEME

We are transformed as

we set our eyes of faith

on Jesus. WORD

1Kgs 19:9, 11-13/Ps

85:9-14/Rom 9:1-5/

Mt 14:22-33 ORDER

‚Take heart, it is I;

do not be afraid.‛

(MT:14-27)

‚Hear what God

the Lord will speak.‛

(Ps 85:8) DIRECTION

Have faith. Believe that He will not aban-

don us.

Obey God’s command at all times, and He

will never fail us. REFLECTION

At our LSS, we welcomed the Holy Spirit into

our hearts and eagerly said ‘Yes!‛ to the great

commission to spread the Good News to the

ends of the earth, bap-

tizing all in the name

of the Father, the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

At the time, it seemed

like a ‚motherhood‛

statement – almost like

a ‘feel-good promise’

that no one could pos-

sibly disagree with.

But history shows it

has not been an idle

promise.

Over the last 26 years, BLD has been fulfilling

that mission. We have stood by that promise

through our evangelization programs and

building new BLD communities in North

America. Although the challenge was daunting

at first, we were able to recruit friends and fam-

ily as well as bring the LSS into parishes, lead-

ing our Catholic brothers and sisters into a

deeper relationship with God. Because of our

successes, we’ve always assumed that our

charism is to ‘wake up’ churchgoers and

deepen their faith. ...Cont’d P2

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

www.bldworld.org www.bldtoronto.com

2 Living Water - January 15, 2016222

Living Water - August 11, 2017

(Counsel...cont’d from P.1)

However, recently, we have been challenged

to cast our nets into deeper waters. Our BLD

prayer group at St. Boniface in Scarborough

has been commissioned by the pastor, Fr.

Mark Robson, to use our LSS program to go

after the lost sheep. He wants us to find and

recruit non-practicing Catholics and bring

them back to the Church – this is a mission we

have not taken on before. Are we going to be like Peter in our gospel

story? Daunted by the storms in these deeper

waters, are we going to lose faith and let our

doubts and fears take over? Or are we going

to focus our attention on Jesus and let the soft

promptings of the Holy Spirit lead us back to

believing that ‚nothing is impossible with

God‛? Hopefully, we can also be like Peter who had

the presence of mind to call on the Lord

for help, and let God show the

way to the fulfilment of His

promise to us:

PROMISE “The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase”. (Ps 85:13)

FOCUS ON JESUS


How does it work?

This Recruitment Initiative was launched to target the upcoming ME#42

Weekend on September 9-10, 2017. The live-in program will start Saturday

instead of Friday evening.

Following the lead of the DCS and DLCs, all ME couples are encouraged to

group themselves into Ninong-Ninang sets. Each set will be comprised of two

couples and tasked with the following:

Recruit at least 1 couple-candidate for ME#42.

Act as Ninong-Ninang for either couple-candidate they recruit or

assigned to them.

Individual BLD members (Singles or Solo Parents) who wish to participate

in this program are enjoined to group themselves in sets of 4.

All Ninang-Ninang Pairings/Sets are to be registered with the Recruitment

Task Force. A table will be set up in the basement of OLA every Friday night

to answer any questions about this initiative.

Remember, if you need any assistance to convince your prospective candi-

dates about the ME, you may request the help of a Ninong & Ninang couple

to talk to them. Please inquire about this assistance.

Each Ninong-Ninang Set is requested to:

Contribute $25.00 per couple (or a total of $50.00 per Ninong-Ninang

couple-paring.

Provide continuous support to ME candidates and graduates through a

ministry of presence and good witnessing.

NINONG & NINANG

A BLD-Toronto Recruitment Initiative



W hile most couple candidates who

attend the BLD Marriage Encoun-

ter come to improve their relation-

ship, my motivation then was totally different.

Back in June 1997, when a business associate

in the Salad Master sales network invited us

to attend ME Class #11, the first thing that

came to my mind was the tremendous oppor-

tunity to expand my potential business clien-

tele. So I immediately filled out the ME appli-

cation form without Linda’s knowledge and

approval.

With just a week before the ME, I was faced

with the daunting task of telling Linda about

the weekend seminar. When she responded

with a big NO, it didn’t really surprise me.

My devious plan didn't work but I thought

that's okay, I'll just consider the non-

refundable deposit as my donation. But to my

surprise on the night before the ME, Linda

asked me what she was supposed to pack for

the weekend seminar. I thought - wow, what

happened? I was floored by her sudden

change of attitude!

And so that was how the Lord called us to

serve in his vineyard some 20 years ago and

the Holy Spirit had touched our lives ever

since. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts

nor your ways my ways'' says the Lord. Truly,

our God is an awesome God.

After the ME, my initial intention of gaining

more prospects to demonstrate the Salad Mas-

ter quickly disappeared. In fact, we lost inter-

est in selling Salad Master altogether which,

ironically, was my primary motive in joining

the ME. After that ME weekend, we did not

even attempt to sell to any of our 37 couple

classmates.

Little did we know that our gracious God had

a different plan for Linda and me as we be-

came ‚fishers of men‛ -- not for financial gain

but spiritually, to help others get closer to

God. We were moved to inspire others to

put God at the center of their relationship. To

date, we have sponsored a total of 31 couples

to the ME, 7 to Solo Parents Encounter, 2 to

the Singles Encounter, and 1 to the Family

Encounter.

We do not really have any special recipe in

recruiting people. Because we were touched

by the Holy Spirit in our own ME, our mar-

ried life has truly been blessed and enriched

by that experience. We are therefore moved to

testify to others, to share and pass on the same

feeling of joy at every opportunity . Our sim-

ple motto is -- we care, we give, we serve.

Caring, Giving and Serving: Looking Back At Our ME Experience By Felix/Linda Fullante - ME#11


Convincing people to see it our way is not

always easy. We remember of couples that

took up to 2 years of courting before they fi-

nally said yes to our invitation. One of them is

my own brother and his wife whom we

prayed for almost 2 years before joining the

ME. Another one is a couple friend who was

on the verge of separation whom we con-

vinced to give it a last chance through the ME.

Praise God that to date, their love for each

other remains very strong.

Prayer is such a powerful tool in convincing

prospects to join. Once we invite a couple to

any encounter, we always pray for them. Also,

from time to time leading to the weekend, we

call them up to build their excitement. Finally,

we make sure that on the day of the encoun-

ter, we pick them up to bring them to the

venue. In short, we serve and treat them like

royalty. We also serve as members of the

working team during the weekend.

All challenges notwithstanding, Linda and I

believe that BLD is the right community for

us. Twenty years of committed service and

some 41 recruits to BLD is a testament of our

love for the Lord through this community.

Praise be to God!

Caring, Giving and Serving: Looking Back At Our ME Experience

ME#11 REUNION 2010



When we took a break and looked over the rows of benches we arranged prior to the start

of the Community Picnic at the Mary Lake Shrine Park , we couldn’t help but embrace the

joy that came in the momentary stillness of that morning. It was the first weekend of sum-

mer without rain. The sun was up early, the sky was cloudless and the tall trees were cast-

ing playful shadows on the ground. We started work at 7am, sprucing up the venue and

getting all the equipment ready. But surprisingly, after breaking sweat, there it was...the

welling of joy and gratitude in our hearts. ‚Thank you, Lord, for the promise of this won-

derful day; Thank you for the blessings of community!‛ As sponsors of the Picnic, we all worked hard but we certainly did nothing to

earn or deserve the immense joy that came that day. And we knew that eventu-

ally, it would pass away like the shadows cast by

the trees. But there in that moment, standing be-

fore the paper-covered benches in the stillness of

the morning, we simply had to open our hands

and accept it for what it was — grace.

PRAISE BE TO YOU! FROM ME31 & ME32


2017 BLD-TORONTO COMMUNITY PICNIC



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Some of us may think that the only place to find God is in the Church. Yet, God has

blessed us with this wonderful world to live in and enjoy. In the words of St. Ireneaus,

“the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” So we find God in a place where we have

fun and enjoyment as well—whether it be the enjoyment of nature, of singing, of dancing,

of playing, of loving one another, or of the overwhelming conviction that the whole of

Creation is a testament of God’s immeasurable love for us. Praise be to Him!

2017 BLD-TORONTO COMMUNITY PICNIC



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2017 BLD-TORONTO COMMUNITY PICNIC P

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LSS #35 GRAND REUNION

OUR LADY OF ASSUMPTION CHURCH HALL

SATURDAY, AUGUST 19/17 - 10:00AM TO 3:30PM

Mert and Nimfa Geronimo (seated in white) are welcomed by Liturgy Ministry members and outgoing DLC, Frank and Grace Gujol. To Mert and Nimfa: May our Lord bless and guide you as you do His work in your spe-cial calling as Liturgy Ministry Coordinators for BLD Toronto.

Marriage Encounter No. 42

To you who will heed God’s call,

the best is yet to come!

September 9-10, 2017 Valley of the Mother of God, Orono ON

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