I was at my lowest point in my life last week. My self-confidence was at zero for entertaining negative people and things in life.
I told myself, life is gritty, and above all, life is full of ups and downs. Sigh!
When I went to visit dyRD office on Thursday, I got my copy of the book Hashtags for Seekers written by Fr. Harold Arnold Parilla courtesy of Michael Cañares, the book’s publisher.
While I read the book deep into the night while the whole household was in sweet slumber, it helped me to get my life back. I learned how to heal and rebuild my confidence.
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Fr. Harold Anthony Parilla writes Hashtags for Seekers
to illustrate the love of God. Courtesy: Ric Obedencio
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I’d read lots of books about inspirational stories on life, love, and happiness. However, reading Hashtags for Seekers is young and refreshing yet full of insights to inspire, guide, comfort and draw you closer to the Lord’s endless, boundless love.
Published by Creannovate Publishing House in Tagbilaran City, Hashtags for Seekers is a welcome breather from the homilies and Sunday gospel reflections of Fr. Parilla which first appeared on Facebook in 2011. The homilies were posted at the request of some of his friends from Italy and the US.
Fr. Parilla makes the Word of God easier to digest for the young ones. It is a powerhouse filled with stories and practical practical suggestions for learning to make good decisions and becoming happier in ways that are meaningful and lasting.
“Hashtags for Seekers- the title speaks of what is contemporary yet old-age. In concise but nuanced and penetrating reflections on the Sunday liturgical readings, Harold unpacks the vitality of the Word of God in dialogue with some of our most real yet unrecognized questions and longings,” says Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle in the book’s Foreword. “He makes the Gospel message attractive rather than intrusive and condemning. Words proclaimed and written centuries ago sound like a hashtag meant for me now.”
From About The Author: Fr. Parilla, who was ordained priest in 2003, is a paring Bol-anon from Clarin town who is currently a formator and lecturer at St. John Vianney Theological Seminar in Cagayan de Oro City. After some years of work at the local seminary and in the chancery of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, he left for Rome to obtain a licentiate degree in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. His academic resume includes masteral degrees in pastoral ministry ad educational management from two Jesuit universities in the Philippines. His ministry in the Church involves teaching and formation work.
Buy a copy of Hashtags for Seekers before it goes out of stock.
Remember, God loves you!
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Grandpa beaten by Abu needs help
An 82-year-old survivor of Abu Sayyaf torture in Bohol has appealed for help from government as he struggles to recover from injuries he sustained from the beatings by the bandits.
Octogenarian Porferio Cosenas now has difficulty speaking and walking. His whole body aches and he has to buy a lot of medication to recover but he does not have the money to buy them.
As he recalled the torture he suffered in the hands of the bandits, Cosenas spoke as if he was being strangled. He walked slowly since his groin was still aching.
An 82-year-old survivor of Abu Sayyaf torture in Bohol has appealed for help from government as he struggles to recover from injuries he sustained from the beatings by the bandits.
Cosenas, also known as Lolo Peryong, was being beaten by two Abu Sayyaf bandits, minutes before they were killed by soldiers on Pangangan Island, Calape town, last May 15.
His back, chest and groin remain painful even if it has been two weeks since he was beaten up.
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Porferio Cosenas is asking for financial assistance
from the government so that he can buy his medicines
needed to heal his body from the beatings he endured
in the hands of two Abu Sayyaf bandits. The two gunmen
were later killed by government troops on Pangangan
Island, Calape town, last May 15. Leo Udtohan
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On Tuesday (May 30), Lolo Peryong was accompanied by his daughter, Rodelita Granaderos, to Tagbilaran City for his check-up.
They also dropped by radio station dyRD to air an appeal for financial assistance from the government to buy the medicines needed to treat his wounds.
Granaderos, 49, said she could not afford to buy the medicines her father needed.
“Our situation is very difficult. That is why we are asking for help,” she said.
Police reports said the elderly chanced upon Abu Ubayda, who was armed with an M-16 rifle, while he was trying to escape from government troopers who had been hunting the bandit group down.
He tried to fight Ubayda off using his bolo but was overpowered and beaten up.
Ubayda was later killed by government troops, along with his companion, Abu Asis, in Barangay Lawis, on Pangangan Island, Calape town.
The two were the last men standing out of several Abu Sayyaf members who tried to set up a base in Barangay Napo, Inabanga town on April 10.
All were killed in separate operations in different towns that lasted for more than a month.
But according to Lolo Peryong, the two Abu Sayyaf members, and not just one, attacked him and even threatened to kill him.
One of the armed men hit the elderly with the rifle butt while the other jumped on top of him and choked him.
He said one Abu Sayyaf member then spoke in Bisaya: “Ato lang ni patyon ning tiguwaa (Let us just kill this old man).”
Lolo Peryong said he had to plead for his life.
“Unsay sala nako ninyo nga patyon man ko ninyo? (What have I done wrong that you want to kill me?), he told the bandit group.
Abu Ubayda repeatedly punched and kicked him in the body and groin area that he lost consciousness.
“Abi nako patay nako adto higayuna (I thought that was my last)” he said.
The men fled and government troops found the unconscious Lolo Peryong who was then brought to a hospital in Calape town.
He had a wound in the head that required stitches. The police said it could be that his head hit a rock when he fell unconscious or was bashed by one of the Abu Sayyaf members.
The physicians also had to stitch his genitals because it was damaged due to severe beating.
Although he was released from the hospital, his back and chest continued to ache while his groin remained painful due to swollen testicles.
To help Lolo Peryong, you may contact Rodelita Granaderos at 0936-115-2615.
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Thanks for your letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow leoudtohanINQ at Twitter /Facebook.
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