Defending the Beauty of the Catholic Faith

Columbus Crew rookie soccer player Drew Beckie asserts his appreciation for the Church.

by TRENT BEATTIE 

Columbus Crew defender Drew Beckie

– Joe Robbins/Getty Images

In an age when a number of young people leave the Church, professional soccer player Drew Beckie remains happily at home with Catholicism. The former All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation First Team selection at the University of Denver enjoys the structure the Church provides amidst the troubles of life.

The Columbus Crew finished at 12-17-5 and out of playoff contention this year, but Beckie has learned about patience, balance and focus on the field. Helpful teammates are among those deserving credit for the soccer insights the young soccer defender has gained.

Off the field, the 23-year-old has been reminded of the fragility of life, as his friends and family have dealt with flooding in Colorado. Memories of the early loss of his father have come to mind, but, more importantly, so has an overall faith context in which to place them.

Beckie recently fielded questions about soccer, life and Catholicism from Register correspondent Trent Beattie.

What do you think of your first professional soccer season?

It was great to be welcomed onto the team right up front. We have a wonderful group of guys here on the Crew, so I’m blessed to be around them. From a results standpoint, however, it’s been kind of a tough season. One of our starters, Eddie Gaven, went out with a knee injury in May, so we’ve missed his contributions. We finished at 12-17-5 and aren’t in the playoffs. 

However, I have learned a lot, especially about being patient. At this level of competition, there are always going to be guys who are a little better than you are as a rookie. They’ve been around longer and have more experience, so you can’t get discouraged by any setbacks you might have while playing against them.

You just have to do your best every day and try to maintain an even balance. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, it’s better to be a 6 or 7 every time out than it is to be a 10 one day and a 1 the next. Every player in the league can have a spectacular game, and that’s great, but what’s better than one extraordinary performance is many good performances.

You mentioned Eddie Gaven. What is it like to have him and fellow Catholic Danny O’Rourke on the team?

It’s great to be on a team that brings in strong men of faith. There are other Catholics in the league, but it seems as though the Crew has an overabundance of those who are willing to speak about it. Protestants usually do a better job of sharing their faith than Catholics.

Most of the athletes I’ve met in college and the pros are religious. You generally don’t get to this level without some kind of hardship, and relying on faith in God is where most players go for support. Faith is a way to make sense of things and have an overall structure to life.

Then, once you’re successful, you know you have to attribute that to the Lord. Despite the work you put in, you know that, ultimately, God is the one who gave you the talent, the ability to work with that talent and opportunities to display it.

You’re originally from Canada, right?

I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and our family moved to the Denver, Colo., area when I was 3. Then we moved back to Canada and then again back to the U.S. I’ve been able to compete on the Under-17 Canadian National Team, but I currently have a green card to live in the U.S.

Even though I’m not officially an American, I do consider myself to be one. I’ve spent most of my life in the States, and I’m here now, so it just seems like I am a citizen. I know when the recent flooding occurred in Colorado, it hit very close to home. It’s such an overwhelming thing when natural disasters happen. The damage to property can be difficult, but death is the most devastating to deal with, because it’s so permanent.

You encountered a death in the family at an early age. How did that affect you?

My father died when I was 11, but he had been fighting cancer for four years leading up to that, so our family did have plenty of time to prepare for his passing. Father John Lager, a Franciscan monk and friend of the family, helped us in that preparation.

Encountering death is very challenging, but it can also be very beneficial. You can’t help but think about heaven and what we’re supposed to do in this life to get there. The darkness of death can really be a bright light if you treat it as such. You can see the beauty of Catholicism and the unbroken connection we have to those in the next life.

Death also helps you to understand the blessings you have in this life. When I would hear kids complain about their parents, I would get somewhat angry and think, “Don’t they know that it’s a gift to have both of their parents?” Ironically, I seemed to get that better than they did, even though I was operating with one less parent.

I can look back and still remember having my father coach my first soccer team in Denver. He didn’t really know what he was doing, but just being together and playing together was the important thing. Later on, he and my mother would encourage me to have fun playing and put God first. Sports won’t last forever, but God will, so we have to live according to that truth.

What are some of the things you enjoy most about the Church?

I really enjoy the Mass, which, unfortunately, can be misunderstood. Sometimes I hear stories about people who used to be Catholic, but they left the Church because the Mass is “boring” or they didn’t get anything out of it. They thought of it as needless repetition.

Yet the repetition is one of the things I appreciate most about the Mass. All of life is filled with routines, so why would our faith life be any different? Should we be expected to make up our own worship as we go along or should we humbly receive what’s given to us from the Church?

Sometimes loud bands and lively sermons are sought after in worship. I can understand the desire to get an emotional charge out of things, but that’s not the goal of worship. Worship is about giving to God what is his due: our praise, honor and thanksgiving. It’s clear from Luke 22:19-20 and John 6:51-59 that the Mass is the primary form of worship we’re supposed to participate in.

Some people don’t like the regular routine of the Church, but I do. The rituals of the Church draw us into the life of Christ and provide us with much-needed structure. I like how this structure serves as a base from which we can do charitable works. Those works are an extension of the love of God, not just isolated acts without reference to God. 

I enjoy volunteering with Special Olympics soccer programs and with soup kitchens. When you help those in need, you also help Jesus himself, who is hidden among the poor. It’s important to remember that everything we’ve been given in the Church is a free gift, so we’re obligated to share it with others.

Do you have a patron saint?

St. Joseph is my patron. I have a plaque of him on my locker and also a holy card of him in my car. He’s someone who is often overlooked, but if you think about it, no one, except the Blessed Virgin Mary, was closer to Jesus on earth. No one.

St. Joseph had the unimaginable honor of being the earthly father for the Son of God. That’s a truly unique position in the history of mankind, and the fact that we honor Joseph as a saint means that he fulfilled the duties of the position. Because of this, anyone, but especially fathers, would do well to ask for his intercession.

After my own father’s death, St. Joseph has been a father figure in my life, and so has Father Lager, who was recently appointed national chaplain of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. Father Lager sees the importance of men who are strong in the faith, who can then lead others to Christ and the beauty of his Church. That’s what life is all about.

For couples just starting or even retiring please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your housing needs
.

The A to Z of wellness (Part I)

By Cory Quirino
Philippine Daily Inquirer

 4 106 53

Wellness every day is as easy as A-B-C. The key is to keep the vital do’s and dont’s programmed in your consciousness. No need for complicated memory work—just the alphabet of good things for a better life.

Here are a few:

A—Apples. A rich source of pectin, it is the ideal diet food, as this speeds up the metabolic rate of the body.

Here’s a tip: Go on the apple diet; eat one whole apple one hour before meals (total for the day: three apples). Weight loss result: 2 to 3 lbs a week.

How it works: The fiber and pectin combine to give you a feeling of fullness. Thus, you will eat less and your daily meal intake is under control.

B—B-complex, the vitamin to calm the nerves, is the best antidote for stress. Make sure to take a dose of vitamin B every day. It’s a must for stressed people. On top of this, it assures you of a good night’s sleep. Best time to take it is an hour after dinner. Nutritional sources: whole grains, potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers and beans.

C—One of the most important vitamins in the health bible. This is because vitamin C is not produced by the human body. C boosts the immune system. Recent studies on the benefits of vitamin C include cancer prevention and management and, in some cases, cancer cure via mega-doses. Natural sources: leafy greens, fruits.   Nutritional sources: guava, kiwi, orange, grapefruit, strawberry and cantaloupe.

20 minutes of sunlight

D—The sunshine vitamin is easily sourced from fruits and vegetables. The one direct, free source of vitamin D is sunshine—at least 20 minutes of early morning light is enough. Baking yourself for longer will only give you a sunburn.

Nutritional sources: salmon, tuna, milk, cereal, pork, egg, beef, liver and ricotta cheese.

E—Exercise. It’s the best anti-aging regimen you can adopt. Just 20 to 25 minutes daily is enough to give your heart a moderate workout, your muscles enough toning and your bone sufficient stimulation to prevent osteoporosis.

Exercising daily ensures better sleep, especially when you burn calories in the late afternoon.

The only way to fight fat is to combine a healthy diet with a light-moderate workout.

F—Fiber. It gives roughage to your food and acts as a vacuum cleaner. It sweeps the fats and toxins from your system that otherwise can get lodged in your arteries, which could eventually cause hypertension and fatty liver.

Foods high in fiber include vegetables, fruits, psyllium husks and chia seeds, to name a few.

G—Grapes. Everybody enjoys eating them, especially to gourmets, who like to drink them as wine.

The resveratrol found in grapes (higher content found in red grapes) is a potent antioxidant. If there is a formidable anti-aging component, it has to be resveratrol.

So, eat your grapes—unless you are diabetic, in which case it should be consumed minimally.

H—Happy. This is a state of mind that ensures good health. Happiness is a state of mind and a choice we make. It leads to another H—the state of the heart. Know that depression leads to illness. So, choose happiness over sadness. And embrace good health and a courageous heart in the process.

Today’s affirmation: “Happiness is my birth right.”

Love and light!

For couples just starting or even retiring please visit http://www.gregmelep.com

The A to Z of wellness (Part II)

By Cory Quirino
Philippine Daily Inquirer

 0 12 3

(Part II)

There’s a reason why the alphabet is the foundation of language. It goes beyond the borders of speech and communication. Last week we covered A to H. Let’s continue:

I—The immune system is the body’s defense against illness and infection. It is composed of an army of white blood cells whose job is to fight free radicals present in the body.

This is how doctors come to know when you have an infection—they study the sudden rise in white blood cells or WBC.

Boost your immune system by taking nutrient-rich foods. In short, eat more raw and fresh fruits and vegetables rather than processed foods.

J—Juicing is the surest and fastest way to pack live enzymes into your body. If you’re averse to eating vegetables (and some people are), then consider juicing as an option.

Start with the basics such as green apple, romaine lettuce, ginger, spinach, moringa leaves (malunggay), coconut water/meat, carrot, sugar beets, pineapple and white turnips (singkamas). You may alternate the combination of these basics.

I personally omitted banana and avocado because their fat content is high. However, just a few small slices (and not the whole fruit) will be good for you.

Once you start juicing, you will realize that your body will start transforming into one that is stronger and sexier.

K—A trio: vitamin K1 and K2, which are formed by natural bacteria in the intestines, and vitamin K3, which is vital to the formation of a blood-clotting chemical called prothrombin.

It is essential to blood clotting and the prevention of internal bleeding and hemorrhage. Natural sources include egg yolk, safflower oil, fish liver oils, kelp, leafy green vegetables, yogurt, alfalfa and soybean oil.

Note: Do not combine the vitamin K supplement with high doses of vitamin E, as they may neutralize each other.

If you are prone to nosebleeds, take vitamin K supplements in the form of alfalfa tablets.

L—Possibly the most important letter of all, as it stands for life and the challenge to live, love, lead, look, listen, learn.

Love, being the most potent force on earth, can heal the body inside and out, and mend broken dreams and aspirations. Today, add a little more love to your diet—both emotionally and nutritionally. Learn to love the foods that nurture life.

Antioxidant power

M—Minerals play a major role, together with vitamins, in providing the body with antioxidant power. Remember that a deficiency in specific minerals can cause health problems.

Lack of magnesium leads to heart palpitations and muscle cramps, while zinc deficiency makes you prone to fatigue, colds and respiratory problems. Natural sources for these minerals are liver, meat, eggs, oysters.

Calcium deficiency leads to low bone density and osteoporosis. Although there is a large concentration of calcium in the body, largely found in the bones and teeth, there is still a need for supplementation. Note: Calcium should exist in a 2-1 relationship with phosphorus (two parts calcium, one part phosphorus).

According to a UN study, women all over the world are most deficient in iron and calcium.

Natural sources are sardines, milk products, cheeses, tofu, oranges, salmon, peanuts, walnuts, broccoli and leafy greens.

N—The nervous system is composed of miles and miles of intersecting networks of nerves. It is through this network that brain signals are transmitted, affecting the cells of your body. An unhealthy nervous system will result in crossed or mixed signals to the cells, thus causing the body to operate in a less optimal way.

The best way to ensure nerve health is to think calmly and respect the body’s need for relaxation. Look into a lifestyle that will safeguard your equilibrium.  In the end, it’s balance we all need in order to live a fruitful and fulfilling life.

Be kind to your nerves. Get enough rest, take your B-complex vitamins and be in the company of loving and supportive people.

Don’t push yourself beyond your own limits. Know when to stop, or at least slow down.

O—Oxygen, without which the human body will die. An oxygen-rich environment in the body is one that can easily fight illness.  This is because viruses and bacteria cannot live in high-oxygen conditions.

Want a stronger body? Raise your oxygen levels through enzyme-rich foods, exercise, hydrogen peroxide IV treatments and highly oxygenated water.

P—A peaceful nature invites healing into one’s life. If you embrace peace, then your inner peace prevails. Find your sanctuary within and allow the stillness of your heart to nurture every cell in your body. This way, you will be less prone to anger and more forgiving and more trusting of others, of situations and of yourself.

Today’s affirmation: “I am bliss.” Love and light!

For couples just starting or even retiring please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your housing needs.

Top 10 Christian Halloween Ideas

By Dr. Taylor Marshall

Do you believe in Christian Halloween? Be ready. All week long you’ll be having the “Halloween or no Halloween?” conversation with all of your friends, be they Catholic, Protestant, or otherwise.

For Protestants without a tradition of All Saints Day, it sometimes becomes “Halloween vs. Reformation Day,” the latter being the celebration of the Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on Oct 31 (click for podcast). Even some Catholics are concerned that Halloween has become “evil.”

Well, here are ten ways to keep good ol’ Halloween fun and sacred.

Top 10 Christian Halloween Ideas

Halloween Party circa 1950

10. Don’t call it “Satan’s Holiday”!
There are many Christians who have written off Halloween as some sort of diabolical black mass. In reality, it’s the vigil of a Christian holy day: All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints Eve. Has it been corrupted by our culture and consumer market? You bet. However, Christmas has also been derailed by the culture. Does that mean that we’re going hand over Christmas? No way! Same goes for Halloween. The Church does not surrender what rightfully belongs to her – she wins it back!

9. Don’t feel that you have to opt for an Christian Halloween alternative.
Many churches (particularly Protestant ones) are now how hosting “Fall Festivals” on Oct 31.

That’s like saying, “commercialism has destroyed Christmas, so let’s instead celebrate a “Winter” Festival” on Dec 25. (By the way, I really do believe that Christ was born on Christmas – click here for the article).

It’s All Hallows Eve. Don’t change the name.

Unless you have seriously hesitations about your neighborhood, why not join your neighbors? It could be a great opportunity to get to know them and spark up some relationships. I’ve gotten to know some neighborhood dads as we stand out on the curb and watch our kids go up and the ring the door bells of every house on the street.

8. Have fun, don’t force converts.
Look, nobody likes to get a religious tract in their candy sack. Don’t pass out religious literature in place of candy. Give out big handfuls of candy and the extra large candy bars, if you can. In the long run, you will make more converts with your charity. After all, you’ll be known as “the house that always gives out good candy.” If you have a Halloween after party, maybe that’s the place to give away Rosaries (October is the Month of the Rosary!).

Girl in the black witch costume exclaims: “Wow, this Baltimore Catechism Catholic lady is awesome – jumbo Baby Ruth and Butterfingers!!! Maybe I should ditch my pagan witch costume and go as Saint Joan of Arc next year!”

7. Be salty.Try some subtle evangelism. Don’t drop the Evangelical approach: “Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Would you like to be baptized tomorrow?” Instead, ask people if they know the origin of Halloween. Talk about “saints.” It’s a great “ease in” approach to having a spiritual conversation with your neighbors.

6. Be hospitable – Why not host the neighborhood party?
Christians are supposed to be hospitable, right? It’s in the Bible. Check out Romans12:13. Why not host a Halloween after party at your house with hot chocolate and coffee for the adults? Open up your house or back yard for games. Remember bobbing for apples? Bean bag toss? Pin the tail on the Leviathan?

5. Don’t be turned off by the ghoulish-ness of Halloween.
Every great Catholic cathedral has gargoyles carved into its stone work. Illuminated manuscripts are also full of ghouls in the margins. Catholics are into this kind of stuff. Why? Because Christ has conquered death and the devil. After Christ, death has lost its sting.

Also, All Saints day is followed by All Souls day so it’s okay to be a little macabre. (By the way the word “macabre” comes from Maccabees – those two books in the Catholic Bible that Protestants threw out.) And if you live in an Hispanic area like I do, you’ve got the whole Dia de Muertos to play up.

4. Have a bonfire!
We Catholics used to specialize in bonfires. A Christian Halloween calls for a fire pit. If you have the land and it’s legal, stoke up a blaze. If you’re kids are older why not set out a bunch of glowing jack-o-lanterns and roast marshmallows over a blazing-hot fire? If someone can play the fiddle, all the better.

3. Carve some fine looking Jack-O-Lanterns.
This is a no-brainer. Download some fancy cutting patterns from the web. Spend time as a family carving out some pumpkins. Put some candles in them and let them burn outside your house for a week or so before Halloween. My kids always like to see who has jack-o-lanterns in front of their house. Do you want to make friends in the neighborhood? Have a carving party and give a prize to the best jack-o-lantern.

2. Visit the graves of your loved ones.
This applies more to All Souls Day (Nov 2) than it does to All Saints Day (Nov 1). Still the point is to remember our loved ones and to pray for those who have died marked with the sign of faith. Death is not the last word. Christ has overcome death by His own sorrowful passion and death through the resurrection. That is is the source of our hope and strength of all the saints.

1. Be holy.
If you persevere in the love and grace of God, you too shall be a capital “S” Saint. The whole point of “All Hallows” is to remind us to be “hallowed” or “sanctified”. Most of us won’t have our own particular feast day and so All Saints Day will be our feast day. It is the feast day for most of the Church’s saints, those who lived peaceably, followed Christ, loved their families, accomplished their duties in life and passed on to the next life. May their prayers be with us.

Have a happy Christian Halloween!

4 Essential Real Estate Marketing Tactics Using Online Tools (Infographic)

October 27, 2013 by Jay Castillo 2 Comments

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In this day and age, smart real estate investors and real estate brokers already know that using internet marketing for real estate is essential. I cannot stress this enough when I am invited to speak about internet marketing for real estate. In those talks I give, I often find myself saying that those who don’t harness the power of the internet will get left behind, and with good reason…

According to the 2012 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 90% of home buyers used information from the internet for their home search. Although these statistics are for the USA, I am quite confident that the numbers for the Philippines would be catching up and become close soon enough. With this huge percentage, it is pretty obvious how important internet marketing is for real estate.

Think about it. If 90% of home buyers searched for homes online, and you are not marketing your real estate on the web, then it follows that you are NOT reaching 90% of all potential home buyers out there. That’s a huge chunk of the real estate market which you have missed. Such a waste don’t you think?

I suppose most of the investors and brokers out there are already convinced of the importance of using the web to market properties. Question is, how do you market real estate online?

How can you use the internet to market real estate?

The following infographic tries to answer this question as it illustrates four tactics that can help market properties effectively, using online tools. We know these tactics work because we have tried using them here in ForeclosurePhilippines.com.

Are you using any of these tactics to market your real estate online? Why or why not? Let me know which of the tactics are working for you (or not) through the comments.

For couples just starting or even retiring please visit http:www//gregmelep.com for your housing needs.

The Second Coming of Filipinos to America

By Rodel Rodis

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Filipino communities throughout the US are celebrating the month of October as Filipino American History Month by commemorating the 426th anniversary of the landing of Filipino crewmen (“Luzon Indios”) on board the Nuestra Senora de Buen Esperanza in Morro Bay, California on October 18, 1587. There are historical markers in Morro Bay and state and federal proclamations to inform the public about Capt. Pedro de Unamuno’s historic voyage from Manila to Macao and thence to Acapulco by way of California. Unamuno’s ship was the first Spanish vessel to land in what is now California, which was discovered by Native Americans.

What is often said about beauty queen contests or sports competitions also applies to historical events. People generally don’t know who came second. For example, do people know about the second group of Filipinos to set foot in California?

PHOTO/Thelencreative

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Filipino_Americans

But the Point Reyes landing of Filipinos in 1595 will not be obscure much longer.

A new documentary film entitled “The San Agustin: California Shipwreck” by independent filmmaker George Thelen is set to be aired on public television this coming December and January. The hour long documentary will cover the 250-year history of the Manila Galleon trade and the journey of the legendary ship, San Agustin which was wrecked off Point Reyes, California in 1595.

san agustin 1.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=651tPiYBFRQ&feature=player_embedded#t=2

When I communicated with him recently, Thelen informed me that the historical interest in the San Agustin is because it is the oldest known shipwreck on the U.S. west coast and has yet to be found.

The Marin History Museum, which is a sponsor of the film, describes the fate of the San Agustin as follows: “More than 70 men were stranded in an unfamiliar land with little more than the clothes on their back when the San Agustin went down off Point Reyes in 1595. The Captain, Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno, would pilot the surviving crew more than 1500 miles back to New Spain (Mexico), using only a small craft the galleon had carried with her for exploration, saving all but their dog.”

George Thelen PHOTO/Thelencreative

Historical context

The Spanish colonization of the Philippines began in 1565 when Capt. Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived with several galleon ships from Acapulco, Mexico. Accompanying Legaspi was Fr. Andres de Urdaneta who returned back to Acapulco and then traveled all the way to Madrid to personally inform King Philip II of the rich potential of the galleon trade between Mexico and the Philippine Islands.

The Spanish king endorsed the recommendations of Fr. Urdaneta and the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade became a prime source of revenue for the Spanish monarchy. (By the early 17th century, the value of this trade exceeded the value of the Atlantic trade between Spain and the western hemisphere).

After establishing Spanish control of the archipelago, Legaspi determined that its chief value would be to pick up Chinese goods, brought to Manila from China, and transport them to Mexico and then to Spain. In exchange, the Chinese merchants were paid with silver the Spaniards obtained from their mining in the New World and this became the main trade currency.

To facilitate the transport of the Chinese goods to Acapulco, Spanish galleon ships would have to be constructed in the islands by conscripted natives known then as “Luzones Indios” who would also compose the ship’s crew. More than 110 galleon ships would be constructed in the Philippines (mostly in Cavite and Leyte) in the 250 years of the galleon trade.

The first locally made galleon ship to leave Manila for Acapulco was the San Felipe which sailed from Manila less than a year after Legazpi’s colonization of the islands. But the San Felipe was lost without a trace somewhere in Baja California, Mexico in 1567.

After Capt. Pedro de Unamuno’s voyage in 1587, the next galleon ship to leave Manila for Acapulco was the Santa Ana which was filled with gold extracted from Philippine mines. Unfortunately, the Santa Ana was hijacked by English pirates off the coast of Mexico.

Despite the constant threat of shipwrecks and hijackings, the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade in Chinese goods flourished.

PHOTO/Thelencreative

The San Agustin

In 1595, the galleon ship San Agustin left Manila for Acapulco with a cargo of 130 tons of Ming Dynasty porcelain, silk, and other trade goods from China via Manila. The ship was staffed by a crew of Filipino mariners and Spanish soldiers led by Capt. Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno.

After crossing the Pacific Ocean, Capt. Cermeno’s ship sighted land and docked in what is now Point Reyes in Marin County on November 6, 1595. Capt. Cermeno christened the bay “La Bahia de San Francisco”, the name it is still known today, San Francisco Bay.

The Spanish soldiers on board the San Agustin urged their captain to quickly resume the voyage to Acapulco but Captain Cermeno rejected their pleas as wanted to explore the land that was not in any of their charts. As he set down to explore the land, he made contact with the local natives, the Coast Miwoks, who lived in about six villages in the area. Capt. Cermeno gave them cloths and other gifts while the Miwoks reciprocated with gifts of seeds and a banner of black feathers.

Capt. Cermeno and his Spanish soldiers were not the first white men the Miwoks had encountered. Sixteen years earlier, on June 17, 1579, they had welcomed Sir Francis Drake and his crew of English privateers on board The Golden Hind which had docked on their land for food and supplies. Drake had named the land “Nova Albion” but he had no intentions of exploring and colonizing the land as he was on his way to circumnavigating the globe, pillaging Spanish galleon ships he encountered along the way.

PHOTO/Thelencreative

At Capt. Cermeno’s direction, the Filipino crewmen assembled a small launch on the beach to explore the shallow waters nearby. Unlike the Filipinos with Capt. Unamuno who explored Morro Bay, the Filipinos with Capt. Cermeno stayed at the bay for three weeks. They would have stayed longer but unfortunately, a storm came, which pulled the ship’s anchor up and propelled the ship to the rocks, killing a dozen men, including a priest. It is likely that Filipinos were among the dozen men killed but there is no historical record of their names.

As to what happened to the precious cargo of the San Agustin, according to Carl Nolte (“400th Anniversary of Spanish Shipwreck”, San Francisco Chronicle, November 14, 1995), “the Miwoks picked up the cargo, slept on the silk meant for the royalty of Europe, ate from the priceless blue porcelain of the Wan Li period of the Ming Dynasty”.

Safe return to Acapulco

Captain Cermeno and his remaining crew then built a larger launch from the materials they could find in Point Reyes and sailed out to Acapulco, which they reached without losing a man. The crew reported, however, that they had to eat their dog to survive.

The 420th anniversary of the landing of the San Agustin in Point Reyes will take place on November 6, 2015.Perhaps a commemorative plaque, similar to what was installed in Morro Bay, can also be set in place to mark the hitherto unknown historic event.

Addendum. After reading the draft of this article, Mel Orpilla of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) immediately contacted key officers and members of FANHS about the project to install a commemorative marker in Point Reyes. Mel also set up an appointment to meet with Greg Sarris, the chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok. By coincidence, Greg’s father is Emilio Hilario, a Filipino Miwok, and according to Mel, Greg is not the only Filipino Miwok in the Graton Board.

For couples just starting or even retiring, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your housing needs.