Papal Visit: Pope Francis' Encounter with the Youth at UST

Wazzup Pilipinas!

At an encounter with the youth, Pope Francis had expressed so many wonderful words of wisdom for the youth present at the grounds of the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) in Espana, Manila. The Pope prayed for the 27-year old lady Kristel who died in Tacloban before proceeding with the program planned for the day.

There are so many beautiful words in Spanish that cannot be fully translated to English. How beautiful the Spanish language really is. I bet it sounds better in Spanish and understand the situation of the translator that not all Spanish words have an exact equivalent in English. What a waste that most Filipinos cannot speak it when our language is so close to Spanish. Que lastima!

The Pontifex said to allow ourselves to be surprised by God ... it will help us move forward. Indeed, all the so called surprises, including those that shocked us, is a way to lead us to a better and stronger future. "Don't be frightened by surprises. They shake the ground and make us unsure. But they move us forward."

"Why does God allow children to suffer?" Probably to teach us how to cry, to weep. There are certain realities in life we only see through eyes that are cleansed with our tears. "Don't be frightened of crying..learn how to weep!" In reference to the girl who wasn’t able to express her full statements in words, and could only only continue in tears, there are things we only understand with eyes that have been cleared by tears.

Pope Francis said "Be wise young people. To be wise: think well, feel well, and do well. Be surprised by the love of God." He then followed it up with "The danger is becoming a museum of information, of having everything, but not knowing what to do with it. No young museums." He captured it perfectly with "Youth Museum." Think of endless curation, self-motivated goals, putting achievements first.

Rita's Italian Ice: Ice. Custard. Happiness. Now in the Philippines!

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It's not yet summer in the Philippines but there's a good reason to indulge and reward ourselves with some sweet cold treats as early as today.

Rita's Italian Ice is now in the Philippines! Yup! You heard me right! The largest Italian Ice concept in the world, offering a variety of cool treats including the famous Italian Ice, made fresh daily with real fruit, available in over sixty-five flavors including Old-Fashioned Frozen Custard, Sundaes, Light Custard, Frozen Custard Cakes, Custard Cookie Sandwiches made with Oreo, layered Gelati as well as their signature Misto and Blendini creations are finally here in the country to satisfy our desire for sweet deletable cool creations.

We went to their grand opening last January 16, 2015 to try out their cool product lines and experience the very first branch at VMall in Greenhills here in the Philippines - the very first branch in Southeast Asia. With over 600 stores in the U.S., Rita's Italian Ice Rita’s has been dedicated to serving up a big dose of happiness with their freshly made, delicious, custom treats, in a fun-filled atmosphere, spreading “Ice, Custard, Happiness!”

With some perks to give its first customers like a year's supply of Rita's Italian Ice for 1 year for the first 20 customers and and free Mango Italian Ice for the first 100 customers, some have literally camped out at their store area as early as 2:30 am to get the chance to win Rita's cool treats.

Papal Visit: Pope Francis at the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Hoping for a good weather tomorrow at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. We heard news that people are already camped out at the Ma. Orosa entrance near the area for a chance to be among the first to get a good spot while Pope Francis celebrates mass on Sunday.

If we want the homily of #PopeFrancisPH tomorrow to be understood by more, why not use  that Argentine priest who speaks fluent Tagalog as interpreter. Though English is the international language, it would be best for the majority of Filipinos so they could clearly understand the messages of the Pope.

For your information, the Pope's real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio but uses the name of Francis which he borrowed from St. Francis of Assisi. Is it more appropriate to call him "Lolo Jorge" instead of "Lolo Kiko." He surprisingly has an M.S. Chemistry in University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, but worked as a bouncer before getting involved in the church.

He is currently staying at the Apostolic Nunciature located at the corner of Quirino Avenue and Taft Avenue, Manila, and is also the official quarters of all the visitors from the Vatican, as they embark on a four-day trip here in the Philippines including typhoon-ravaged Tacloban to meet the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” after their visit in Sri Lanka. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it is standard operating procedure for visiting popes to stay at the Apostolic Nunciature.