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For Task
2: Pink
3: Green
4: Purple
5: Blue

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We created one whole poem as a response to each other's work because even if we aren't blood related, we still consider each other as family. A family functions as one whole unit and embraces each and everyone's differences. Together, we are separate and distinct from one another and yet we act as one

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WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR REFERENCE

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(Response to Task 4)

Once a family,
Always a family.
This is what I learned about family
It is where caress is felt truly
It is where hate is just a story
And where love is untimely

There are times that a family fails to be a family
These are times where everything's in misery
Sometimes it is overpowered with cruelty
That even women goes through misogyny
A family is where we feel safety
It is family which gives infinity

(Bryan Cuaresma)

What a joyous day it is to be one with whom you deeply adore;

To exchange vows during the most holy matrimony.

But nothing can be greater than a union guided by none other than our One True Savior,

To relish in pure bliss brought by love's highest form of testimony.

Yet to be part of something as beautiful is a hard path indeed,

But worry not for if you welcome Him with open arms, no hardship may break the bonds of everlasting love.
(Kiana Leaño)

My family is not as perfect as it appears
Since there are struggles and problems that we encounter
But we know that we are there for each other and grow stronger together
We find our relationship as God-Centered
As we knew that marriage is a sacred nature
(Mikaela Tan)

Thou shall not panic for He's everywhere
And anyone who seeks must see
We only need to trust Him
Believe that He will provide
(Sofia Ronquillo)

The blessing of God bestowed upon
Those who truly love and trust,
And to those who consider each other as home
Two eyes and arms; not four walls
(Khyla Pedregosa)

Our love is like a ring
That once had to start
But now you can't see its ending
With the Lord as your guide
in our endless journey
we will get through everything
for eternity.
(Sophia Icasiano)

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Keep Jesus Near And All Shall Fall Properly Into Place

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Keep Jesus Near And All Shall Fall Properly Into Place

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Weddings are blessings which should be celebrated. It’s an event every bride and groom wishes to be perfect. For the guests, it is but a grand and joyous celebration but behind every successful wedding celebration are hours of planning, organizing, and facilitating the event. Although all or most of us know that marriages are not bounded by the level of its extravagance but by the deep and everlasting love and union that surpasses all that is earthly, we know that couples come out of their way to make their special day truly memorable.

In the Wedding at Cana, we see how happy the couple and the guests were and it was very clear how much effort the couple, along with their family, put into the celebration to make it perfect. From this wedding example we see that the wine had run out and this scenario was somewhat considered catastrophic. Luckily, Jesus was present and was able to save the festivities, of course, with the help of His Mother, Mary. There were some skepticism with Jesus’ aid at first but it goes to show that if we put our faith and trust in Him, then he shall deliver what we need.

- Kristiana (Kiana) Leaño

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(Points of Interest)

The wedding in Cana is said to be Jesus’ first miracle, it shows that His ways does not need to be grand in order to reveal Himself. He decided to slowly reveal Himself in marriage which shows how much He values the sanctity of marriage. Running out of wine in a wedding, a very important event for the lives of a couple can cause a huge humiliation to the couple. In order to save them from that embarrassment, Jesus made the best wine out of water without them knowing that situation. He just ordered His disciple to fill up the jars with water. In that situation, We are the disciples following and trusting God in every step we make, while God has His own plans set for us. The wedding shows how Jesus will never let us down, even in the situations that we are not aware of. He will have His way of showing His love and care for us.

(Khyla Pedregosa)

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(A reflection on my family)

My family is not a perfect family as others might see. They are not married in the church. But as I can see, my family is a better family than other families who are wed in the church but easily falters during the process. What do I mean by process? For me, marriage is just the beginning of the process in the pact of love of both people. The process is how you will stand by the side of each other until the end. It is an unending process. As some say: “‘til death so us part” it is the end of the marriage for me, only death. I don’t mean that if the other half dies, the other would be free of marriage. It is a matter of choice. Marriage can last a lifetime, when it should be, because a person must not enter a divine pact without thinking of it properly. Lastly, my family is perfect for me, because just like the passage, they provide the wine (support) for me when I am in need. They are the perfect Mary and Jesus for me.

(Bryan Cuaresma)

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(A reflection on my Family)

My family taught me a lot of things and values that contributed to who I am today. One of the lesson I learned is that no matter how hard the situation is we just need to trust God and to also do our part in making that situation better. As a family we’ve encountered hardships in life, but what prevailed is our never ending trust in God. Those hardships did not broke us but it only made us stronger. With God’s everlasting blessing, which started from my parent’s marriage continued as we became stronger and closer to God. I realized that nothing is impossible with God. We may not realize His ways but His ways is always out of our expectation. We just need to be thankful in everything even with the smallest and simplest reason.

(Khyla Pedregosa)

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(Point of Interest)

The wedding Cana was God’s first miracle, for me it means many things. First, “For with God, nothing is impossible” Luke 1:37. Second that the sacrament of marriage is one of the most important sacraments that a person can have. Third, that the wine symbolizes the blood of Christ, and that the drinking of the wine symbolizes the bitterness and sweetness that the couple would experience together.

(Sophia Icasiano)

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(Significance of Marriage and the Passage)

A wedding being an event where Jesus’ performs His first miracle shows how much he values it. He did not let a single situation ruin it for the couple in the wedding of Cana. Setting His miracle aside, His appearance in a wedding shows that He gave His blessing and He hopes that the promises made were being kept. This is the reason why a wedding is performed in front of an altar wherein a man and woman promises to God that they will spend the rest of their life with each other.

(Khyla Pedregosa)

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(Points of interest)

The wedding in Cana showed us how God made everything possible and that everything can be solved if we believe in him since this wedding is where the first miracle of Jesus happened. Even though things don't work out the way we wanted it to be, I realized that God gives and provides us something better or even the best than what we imagined because like in the story, when there is no wine left, Jesus created wines through water that makes everything go to its proper position.

(Mikaela Tan)

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(significance of marriage and the passage)

The wedding in Cana is where the first miracle of Jesus happened. I believe that this event also simplifies his significant participation and the blessedness that he gave to the marriage or the wedding. This passage made me realized a lot of things, especially in marriage because even though I'm still young, I learned how significant and important marriage is for God and to the couple that is about to be married as it is a sacred act wherein it shows the love and bond of a man and woman with each other. Also,  It is an act of being one since they promised to love each other endlessly and unconditionally.

(Mikaela Tan)

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(A Reflection on my Family)

The wedding at Cana was Jesus’ first miracle, and for me, that implies that not only should we sanctify the sacrament of marriage, but we should also honor it. And we should also always remember that blood is thicker than water, that before we try to help others, we should be there for our family first. My family taught me that whilst helping others is important, we should learn first how to lend a helping hand to the family members in need. Blood is thicker than water isn’t always about helping, but it also implies that before we love and take care of anyone, we should first learn how to take care of our family and love them unconditionally.

It is said that the Mary was related to one of the spouse in the wedding at Cana, and Mary asked Jesus to intervene because the feast was still going on, yet there are no more wine. For me, the implication of this is that when the couple gets married, their family becomes the other one’s family.  My parents separated even before they got the chance to marry each other. But my family still makes sure that our own families help one another when someone is in need. And for me that’s something that’s beautiful because normally, when a couple is separated, families tend to stay away from each other because of their own reasons, but I’m so thankful that even though my parents are separated, our own families still respect & love one another.

(Sophia Icasiano)

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(A reflection on my Family)

My family isn't perfect.

Every time I answer questions in this course, I always give a portion of myself. It actually feels different now that it may be seen by more people and not just my professor. I am not expressive so please understand that sharing is a huge deal for me.

My mom was already pregnant with me when she married my dad. Sometimes, I feel like I am the reason they were forced to marry each other no matter how many times they convince me that they were supposed to get married already so my entrance to this world is actually a blessing. I can actually see that they are true to their words. However, there's just this one side of me doubting myself again, worrying I might be a burden to anyone.

They were in a relationship for eleven years before they married each other. I am not really sure how they were able to survive those years of waiting given that communicating back then is really hard not to mention my father is actually a seminarian.

There were fights - lots of them. As the eldest child, often times, I am torn with who to follow. Their orders often contradict each other when they're mad and us, as their children, are stuck in the middle. (An elaboration will be written on my performance task).

They broke up twice and I saw it all. It was so painful as a child to see your parents parting ways; little did I know that it was more painful when you're already grown up and was able to grasp everything that's happening and saw it again.

Let's end the drama here for now. My point is this: No matter how many times external factors knock a couple down, if God is the foundation, it will always and always be restored.

The love of God flows in them and they transmit it to us. I know, that even when they're mad at each other, they still love each other like how my mom asks me about how my dad is doing even when they're fighting and vice versa.

Maybe I am a blessing after all - or just a catalyst to finally bind two people who are meant for each other from the very start.

(Sofia Ronquillo)

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Points of Interest

In the story of the wedding in Cana, we can notice that during that time, an event would not be complete without a wine which is the problem of the newly weds wherein they had a shortage of wine, good thing Jesus was with them and created a miracle: he made wine out of water which is impossible to do.

As we can see, this is how God works for us, he makes the impossible, possible through His magnificent grace. Also, wine must be a significant for an event, just like the blood of Christ which is symbolized with the wine.

(Bryan Cuaresma)

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(Significance of marriage and the passage)

The significance of marriage and the passage is that it exhibits the relationship of Christ and Mary as groom and bride with which Mary asked a carpenter (Jesus) to do a supernatural thing to create wine. It is the husband’s (Jesus) job to follow His bride and do whatever it takes to please her. A miracle happened and a wine was produced from water. As we can see, it is like in marriage, it is not where a person overpowers the other, it is where both work together to create fruitful outcomes. Lastly, it is about faith with each other. As Mary, knowing that Jesus is still making a name for Himself, she believed in Jesus who is the Messiah. In marriage, faith is a requirement for both to work efficiently. When faith is in the relationship, all else would be easy and smooth, but if faith is absent, both might falter to difficulty.

(Bryan Cuaresma)

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(Points of Interest)

They were almost helpless in that high pressure situation. Everything was set. They did their best, and yet, something is still lacking. They ran out of wine.

Sometimes, we know we did our best but our best wasn’t good enough. We prepared really hard, did everything, invested a lot, and yet, there’s still something lacking. The natural tendency is to panic or break down. Often times, we doubt ourselves and admittedly, we doubt God. We feel so worthless. We feel like maybe things aren’t meant for us. We look for signs but these signs are nowhere to be found. In the end, we drown in our own misery.

Because we are so busy looking at the things that didn’t work, we fail to see the beauty in the things that did. We focus too much on how we see ourselves as a failure that’s why we fail to see that the fact we were born, we are already considered winners. We tend to neglect the people around us. We tend to forget the different images of Mary who traveled with us as we journey in life. We tend to neglect our friends and our family, our very foundation. We often forget that these people can help us in those trying times. We often forget about the different versions of Mary who stayed with us despite all the pain that we caused them. We forget those who loved us when we can’t even love ourselves.

Sometimes, we even get tired of praying, thinking that it won’t do anything anyway. But when things get tougher, still, we go back to the toughest – we go back to God. Always, He is the strongest foundation, the mightiest shield, the fortress. He is the light that shines in the darkest moments of our lives. He is the one who is always willing to listen.

Even if in our perspective, things will no longer fall to its proper place, we must keep in mind that our God is omnipotent. He has the power to create miracles.

He can move mountains. I was moved too.

(Sofia Ronquillo)

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Marriage is the real start of the union of a man and a woman. They promise to love and take care of each other unconditionally, till the end of their lives. But, marriage isn’t only the union of husband and wife, alongside with this, their families also become connected to each other. The families of the man and woman also start looking after each other, and do everything that they can to help and support the married couple.

(Sophia Icasiano)

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(A Reflective Response)

With my parents’ wedding came the start of a forever family; a family that is together through different circumstances, be it happy, sad or anything in between. Our family is bound not only by the blood that runs through our veins but by the eternal bonds of faith, hope and love brought by the holy sacrament of marriage.

Growing up, I’ve come to realize that marriage comes with an array of wonderful gifts or benefits but I find it truly admirable knowing that this particular reason is not what makes and builds a strong relationship but rather a healthy mixture of patience, commitment, understanding, love and respect for one another.

(Kristiana “Kiana” Leaño )

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(Marriage and the Passage: The Connection)

Focusing on the sacrament of marriage, the passage seems so on point. Aside of course from the fact that the passage itself used a wedding ceremony as the venue for the first miracle, its implicit lessons are also in line with the sacrament of marriage.

It says in a song, “Tell me how to people find each other in a world that’s full of strangers”. The union of two individuals in this overly populated world is a miracle itself. The faith and nakedness they share in each other is even more unbelievable but it is real.

It takes enough bravery and faith to surrender fully to someone. It is giving your entire life to them as well as sharing the same future. Wine symbolizes the blood of Christ. In my opinion, one reason why Christ did that miracle, aside from genuinely wanting to help, is that He wants his blood to flow to the bodies of the couple as well as to the community they are in. The people, then, will be the vessel of His divine love and will share in the divine role of procreation. In the last part of the passage, it says, “The temple He is talking about is His body.” And because the temple is the body, it implies that it is sacred.

(Sofia Ronquillo)

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(A reflection on my Family)

As I read the wedding at Cana, I realized a lot of things, especially about my family. The verse "1 John 5:14 says, "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." reflects how my family overcomes the struggles that we have experienced by putting God as the center of our relationship. We knew that life was not easy but through our faith in God and with each other, we became much stronger and happier as we know that God made it all happen for a reason. Moreover, the sacrifices that we do show how we support and care for each other because whatever life throws at us, we always have each other back through good and bad times and I believe that's what family is all about.

Even though my Mother and Father were young when they got married, it does not mean that it is against their will and freedom. It just so happened that I existed first before they got married but it occurred because they love each other and they want to create a good and happy family. Hence, It showed how they value marriage since it is a sacred act between man and woman.

Lastly, Like what I have said in my poem, my family is not perfect. There are times when we fought over and over but that does not mean that we don’t love each other. We fought because we care for one another. We fought because we want each other to be better. We fought because we love each other. But with God and our faith as the center of our relationship, we did overcome all the problems and struggles that made us an even stronger and better family. Therefore, I believe that the real essence of family is to be connected and together as one with our Lord.

(Mikaela Tan)