Presence Sets Us Free

The most difficult part of caring is just to be there.  Nothing more. A mother to a toddler or a daughter to a sick mother would be placed in such a situation for long periods of time.  Without love, one would feel locked up in the trappings of their situation; And many have succumb to such feelings that they opted for paid baby-sitters or caregivers.
It is hard, indeed, to live out one's life so closely knitted with someone else.  You only have one person for your audience who probably wouldn't even appreciate your presence. There is the surge of energy that wants more activity. There is the clamor in the world to make a difference.
Yet, it is a part of loving- to give one's presence to another.  To just be there and be a part of a quiet, inactive life. It requires the total acceptance of the situation and without conditions of reciprocity. To find joy in the simplest of moments - of simply being together.
In the most important phases of  Jesus' life, He offered the same invitation for all of us, just to be there with Him. He came as a Child. Mary and Joseph accepted to be there for Him. And on the Cross, the same invitation came and it was Mary and John who stood simply there.  Jesus allowed Himself to be in a passive state of Infancy and a Crucified Messiah.  And after His Resurrection, He became the Living Bread in the Holy Eucharist, often left in the confines of a tabernacle or a monstrance.
Why must it be so? Sometimes, it is in the silence and stillness of life that we truly come to know each other.  It is then when we come to terms with who we are and who the other person is.  When we give our presence to someone else, it isn't just the attractive or diplomatic part of us that comes out.  The imperfections and brokenness in us become present as well.
How difficult it must be for those in the contemplative life or even those laity who spend hours in front of the Holy Sacrament.  To be there for Jesus and with Jesus.  There is the initial challenge of having a presence of mind and heart. And even after that had been overcome, we come face to face with the nakedness of one's soul. 
It would seem that the baby  trapped in its infancy, the sick trapped in his/her sickness, or Jesus trapped in the Holy Host are the ones who are helpless. Yet, it is actually us whose presence is asked that becomes vulnerable. In the process of allowing ourselves to "just be there", we are actually being freed to truly love.  We are becoming whole in the process. And in a seemingly unequal state of being, we are being given more in the process of giving. That is what love is all about- a giving that doesn't diminish but enriches.  In the distressing disguise, we could easily miss out on a great opportunity to learn to love - the gift of presence that sets us free to love and be loved. 

Tagaytay, a City with a View

The first time I went to Tagaytay City decades ago was for our High School spiritual retreat in the RVM (Religious of the Virgin Mary) Motherhouse.  Tagaytay City, back then, was the home of many convents, seminaries, monasteries, and retreat houses.  Outside the retreat house were vast farmlands over rolling terrains.  Cool and quiet, it was ideal for spiritual retreat.  Morning walks will lead you to the breathtaking view of Taal Lake and the smallest volcano, Taal Volcano.

Since then, Tagaytay City had become the preferred cool place away from the bustle and heat of Metro Manila.  With infrastructures improved, Real Estate developers had their hands on the city.  On a Holy Week, the traffic can be as bad as Manila.  Restaurants in Manila have put up branches. The local residents, too, made their houses to become  “rooms for rent”.  The religious houses are still there amidst the rising commercial establishments. In spite of the changes, often mixed with self-serving development, Tagaytay City retained its appeal. 

When a place becomes a favored tourist destination, the place usually loses its appeal as a place to visit time and again.  Once would have been enough.  Tagaytay, though, is a place you’d like to visit again and again and probably wouldn’t mind making it a home.

It is the view.  There is the wonderful vista of Taal Lake and Volcano and the Batulao mountain.  From Tagaytay, the lake, volcano and mountain seemed untouched.  Year after year, we take pictures of it and the view seems the same while the people posing had visible imprints of the passing of time.  Captivating.  It still exudes beauty and serenity.

It is a distant view, and I’m sure it would be different up close.  Its inhabitants had their share of good times and bad times.  Even the volcano had its share of seismic activities.  Mountain climbers always go to Batulao mountain for its beginner climb.  Trekkers like to visit the volcano in the lake.  For me, it was the distant overlooking view that I experience, and it remains unchanged from that perspective.  And in spite of the changing face of Tagaytay City itself, the view is still something to enjoy.  Fortunately for the city, it owns a masterpiece painting and hopefully it remains within view for peoples to behold.

Life is a Gift of Love and Love is a Gift of Life

I believe that life came to be because of God's love and my parents' love. Yes, life is a gift given by love. Within that gift of life unfolds another gift and that is the gift of love.
I would have never known love if I was never given a chance to live. And on this day, as I celebrate my birthday, I thank God and the people in my world for life and for love.

Rejection of the Rosary

It's sad my nephew refused to give the Holy Rosary to his classmate because he no longer believes in it.  I should be happy, though, that at a young age of 16 years old, he is already convicted of not promoting or propagating something he doesn't believe in.  I hope he will be as convicted in other things he choose to promote and patronize like movies, sexual values and others.

In a way, it is to be expected.  His mother had chosen to become Protestant and had brought along the children with her.  And Protestants are well versed in all the things they can wage against the Catholic Faith.  That was why, they were called Protestants. (First used during the Diet of Speyer in 1529).  Martin Luther, though, had a devotion to Mother Mary and believes in her special role in God's plan.  The Rosary is biblical and I'm sure bible readers would be aware of that but then, it is the one verse of the bible "vain repetitions" that is their case against the Rosary.

In Fatima, Mother Mary asked the children to pray the Rosary daily.  Is it conceit on her part?  Oh no! The humble handmaid of God knows that it is something that everyone can do.  It is going through the Bible through the different events in the life of Jesus Christ.    When Father Benedict Groeschel was bedridden years ago, almost dead and paralyzed from the auto accident, it was his fingers that could move to pray the Rosary.  In the devastating earthquake in Baguio in 1989, one survivor prayed the Holy Rosary amidst the rubbles and almost imminent death.  St. Bernadette Soubirous (visionary of Lourdes), though, uneducated can pray the Rosary as a child.  Dominican missionaries in China was able to bring the Gospel to the Chinese through the Holy Rosary.  Catholics in the Nazi death camp pray the Rosary by marking the wall.  A mother prayed the Rosary using the fingers of her infant child as she lulls the child.  Anyone can pray the Rosary.

Admittedly though, it is a difficult prayer to make in our world where we could go through many informations in an instant.  Commercial messages are repeatedly sent to us through television in seconds.  We want to keep busy in our body and mind.  And here is the Rosary, 15 to 20 minutes for one mystery or one hour for the four mysteries.  A few minutes that would require a stillness in one's body, mind and heart.  Still, the distractions in the mind would come.  So many thoughts would sneak in.  Or when we finally can make way to a stillness of mind, it is the body that falls into slumber.  Yes, for a few minutes to have our body, heart and mind solely focused in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not easy.  Yet, this REPETITIOUS ATTEMPT is not in vain.  In a way, the Holy Rosary is a pilgrimage into the Holy Land and beyond where ever you are.  The steps may fumble now and then, but it gets us in the way.  We will always remember the joyous, sorrowful, luminous and glorious life in the salvific plan of God.  Difficult it may be, we have Mother Mary to pray with us.  God, truly is so generous and compassionate with us.

Lessons from Children's Whys

Children love to ask why.  When you answer why there is another why; But there are "whys" that can stir your hearts and minds.

A Child Screams

My neighbors are not exactly private persons, what happens in their house can be seen and heard by the compound.  One afternoon, their only child (three and a half years old) was screaming, "Mommy, open the door."  He was crying and screaming.  He gave up and went to his yaya (nanny) and asked, "WHY don't they want to open the door for me?"  And the nanny calmly replied, "There's NOTHING we can do if that is what they want." The incident, in itself, is heartbreaking.  A well-off family.  Both parents are practicing professionals in a reputable, high-paying eye clinic but can not heed the cry of an only child.

That moment stirs my heart because in life, there is sometimes a little child inside screaming.  Sometimes, there are things happening around in life that I wish would just stop.  I scream and cry out inside, "Why do they do the things they do?  Do something."  Sometimes, it feels like God's only answer is the same as the nanny, "There's nothing we can do, that is their choice."  And yet there are moments when an action would be asked of me and I am that nanny who surrenders in defeat to the things of life and say, "There's nothing I can do if that is what they want."  

In this tapestry of life, sometimes it is difficult to live with the choices of other people.  Yet, me must respect them and can not force our choices on them.  There are times it is difficult to make the right choice even though we firmly believe it is the right thing to do.

Still, there is that power given within us, that even amidst the choices of others, we remain to have a choice to respond to these choices.  We can stand by what we believe in.  We can guide others to other options.  And even if we make a wrong choice in the process, there is always a CHOICE after a CHOICE.  This "choice after a choice" is the manifestation of our loving God who never abandons us.  He never surrenders in defeat.  He gives us a chance to make the right choice again and again.  In His grace and mercy, He gives us a chance to right a wrong choice.  That is the beauty of God, He truly sets us free.  He wants us to be free to journey in that inexhaustible richness of love.

A Child Hurts

One of the most disturbing why I had encountered was when a young girl of 10 asked me, "Why is my surname different from my father?"  She was a child borne of her mother's relationship with a married man who eventually married the father she had come to grow up with.  I answered it the best way I can, telling her the truth that the father she has is not her real father.  She understood it and in some way, she must have already heard about it.  She just needed to confirm it.  What struck me with that incident is the child's face.  The flood of tears and the visible hurt she must be feeling in her young life.  It is difficult to see a child in physical pain, but it is so much harder to see a child in such emotional pain.  It wasn't a screaming voice, it was but a quiet stream of tears.  The eyes that lost sparkle of joy.

This face of pain was inscribed in my heart, and it saved me from recklessly being involved in such relationships.  It made me take a look at what love is beyond emotion because true love could not have caused that hurt in a child.  It was a lesson to seek what true love really is.

God is love, and the opposite of love, then, must be sin.  Sometimes we are not really in love, just in sin.

It Will Pass

The moments though it seems like forever is just passing by. It is but a fraction of a lifetime and a dot in eternity. This minute part of our lifetime though it seems like expending much of our time and energy - is but a giving away of ourselves.

Yes, it is the essence of life - self donation, a gift of our selves. It may not be a fit to my dreams, plans, desires or even my will. It is a risk of not having a life of my own and a death to ourselves. Yet, it is a dying that is life giving because it is what God asked of me. And in doing God's will, there is love - only love. There is growth and not thwarted. It is giving without becoming needy.

It is the paradox of life and the mystery of love. Hidden and yet revealing.

It will pass but would I let this time be a chance to love and be a witness to love.
This fraction - this little bit of eternity, that is all being asked of me today.

Yes, it will pass but I can not pass up the opportunity to love.

The Catholic Church, It is Beautiful

G.K. Chesterton said that if we have one thousand years to live, we will all be Catholics.  

1) The Catholic Church invites us to enter the MYSTERY OF GOD- to journey into the "DEPTH, BREADTH, and WIDTH" of Truth.  God, being bigger than us, must always have a mystery to us.  It is not so much that He doesn't want to reveal Himself to us totally, it is just that our own nature cannot contain it.  The Catholic Church is like an ocean of truth, so many took buckets of water from the ocean and claim to have the truth.  Others stayed on the seashore and judge the ocean and throw stones at it.  To be a Catholic is to enter the ocean and become a part of it.  To become partakers of God's Divinity and co-workers in Truth.  It is an inexhaustible ocean which brings a wide array of Catholics in the journey.  Some may never make it deeper but we see also the great saints immersed and one with the ocean of truth. 

2) The Catholic Church is about FAMILY.  Even the imprint of God is a family - Three Persons in One God- Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.  We have our Holy Father, the Pope.  We have a spiritual mother in Mary.  The Catholic Church is called the Mother Church and the Groom is Jesus.  The saints are like brothers and sisters to us whom we revere and look up for guidance in our pilgrimage.  God said He will never leave us orphaned and with the Catholic Church we can not be.
This sense of family in the Catholic Church is also reflected in the biological family.  St. Augustine lovingly calls the family a "domestic church". Divorce is not recognized by the church.

3) The Catholic Church is UNIVERSAL.
God is just and fair, the Creator of all; Thus, it is natural that His Church is universal and not defined by geographic boundaries, color, or economic status. At the same time, it becomes supernatural because our humanity alone can not handle the differences between us. It must be God who holds it all together and gather everyone to Himself.

4) The Catholic Church shows that everything is  CONNECTED.    The  New Testament is the fulfilment of the  Old Testament.  There is  the Apostolic Succession  which continually links the present to the Apostolic teachings.  There is no dualism bringing into fruition the importance of the Flesh and the Spirit.  Likewise with Faith and Reason, feasting and fasting, sacrifice and healing, bible and tradition.  The Communion of Saints connects heaven, purgatory, and earth.  Everything is connected in this life. The  Church,  thus, is manifesting the mission of Jesus - to have life in abundance (fullness of life).

5) The Catholic Church is FAITHFUL to JESUS.  The church recognizes as valid the baptisms and marriages of other religions for as long as the formula remains.  It shows that it is the teachings of Christ which is of greater importance than just solely the Church as an institution.  While many religions had allowed divorce, the Catholic Church maintains that "what God had put together, no man can put asunder".

6)  The Catholic Church is HOLY but it does not depend on the holiness of its members.  Its claim for being a Holy Church comes from being founded and instituted by Jesus Christ who is God.  It shows God is ever faithful.  Very much the same with His relationship with the Chosen people that goes through cycles of faithfulness and unfaithfulness, but God remains constantly faithful.  Human institutions, though usually off to a good start tend to lose out and change depending on its leaders and members.  On the other hand, the Catholic Church being Divine in its institution had remained the same Catholic Church, in spite of, the leaders and members it had through the years.  This is also a manifestation of God's Divine Justice that the truth and salvation will always be available to all, in spite of, the vicissitudes of the times.

7) The Catholic Church is TRANSCENDENTAL.  The church shows that there are things in life that is beyond time and space.  The teachings of the Apostles and Church Fathers remain valuable to the present times.  It shows that there is an Unchanging Truth in the ever-changing world.  It is amazing, too, that the lives of the saints like St. Maximillian Kolbe or St. Therese could have passed by unknown to us but divine intervention allowed their lives to live through beyond the confines of time and place.  It shows that God is always present and ever participating in this tapestry of life.  The lives of the saints also show how God works BEYOND our limitations.  Peter, the fishermen becomes pope.  Mother Angelica started a global catholic television network.  Mother Teresa began an international network of charity.  When we look at the saints, they are just like us and we couldn't imagine them being able to do the things they do.  But they did because they were responding to God and allowed the Holy Spirit to do the work with them and through them.

8) The Catholic Church shows a God of JUSTICE.  It is not about predestination, or else that would be unfair.  We won't have a choice.  It is not about the Bible Alone.  That would exclude those who can not read - the poor, the children, or those who simply do not like reading.  It is not about a specific number for an elite, secret group.  Reincarnation, too, seemed unfair that my life was dictated by a previous life I had no knowledge or choice.  

9) The Catholic Church has the SACRAMENTS.  The sacraments having a formula, these allows the sacraments to be operative of grace, in spite of, the people administering it.  These sacraments allow us to have a touch of God, an intimacy with Him.  We don't have to depend on a good preacher, good music, or a wonderful place.  It is efficacious because of Jesus and the degree to which how we want Jesus to touch us.  The highest form of worship one can have is to accept Jesus in these sacraments for we truly allow God to be God.  We allow God to be the ultimate Giver.

10) The Catholic Church makes MORAL STAND.  It is not confined to biblical teachings as if it were a history book or a novel.  It concretizes the teachings to the present time and to the practical side of what God wants.  With this, we can endeavor to be Christians with every breath whether we be in the bedroom, or at the office.  Whether we are doctors, housekeepers, students,  the teachings of Christ has relevance.  Ultimately, it shows that salvation is not just about words, works, or faith, but about a life lived in love.

11) The Catholic Church honors FREE WILL. The sacraments most esp. confession do not force us into the faith but invite us.  This allows us the free will to respond to God's invitation.  It is so easy to dissent, so easy to apostasize, so easy to backslide.  Honoring our free will is not so easy after all, because it requires as to work hard in fear and trembling to respond and keep focus on God and journey to the depth, width and breadth of His truth and Love.  Still, it is beautiful.

To be A Passerby or More

It's dementia alert again and my mother needs to sleep or else her fears will get worse and so will her blood pressure. Dealing with dementia is mentally taxing, emotionally draining, and physically tiring. There's two of us alternately dealing with it and still we need help.
How easily others can just pass by. My sister said her Jesus prayer and went off, she has something to do. My nephew bid goodbye and had to accompany his girlfriend's mother. Yes, so easily we can find excuse helping other. We have duties to attend to. We have business that is urgent. So on and on.
Yes, I am reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan. How easily others went their way . It is the same with the young Chinese, Yue-Yue, laying wounded on the road while many can pass by with their duties to attend to.
To help someone requires time and effort. It requires giving a part of ourselves engaging our body, heart, mind, and soul. Sometimes being stained and strrained in the process.
Yes, it can happen, we can choose to be passersby or choose to be involved. We can detach ourselves or find our connection with another. Some situations render the choice difficult. We can understand why others pass by but we certainly need more people who can spend a little of themselves for others.

Digging Deeper into the RH Bill

Women and Children

• woman's choice to get pregnant or not = woman's power
• less children = more share of the pie 

Digging deeper... 

• Reproductive Health isolates the woman from the man. This gives armor for irresponsible men to engage in sexual pursuits without accountability or responsibility.
• The rate of marital separation or divorce is higher with the use of artificial contraception. Single parenting and fatherless children is one of the most difficult situation for women and children. 

• Having a choice in planning one's pregnancy is a worthy objective but the means for which this must be achieved is just as important. Not getting pregnant is not the be all and end all of woman empowerment.   
• Artificial contraception as essential medicine = fertility is a common sickness. Fertility as a no-no in society had elevated homosexuality as a more preferred orientation. In Thailand, because of the rise of HIV infection and the fear of pregnancy (in spite of the prevalent use of artificial conraception), the target of prostitution industry were very young girls on pre-menstrual stage.
• Children have pricetags thus objectifying children. A mindset of children having a pricetag sets the social conditioning that leads to child abuse and child trafficking. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/182359-UNICEF-Nigerian-Polio-Vaccine-Contaminated-with-Sterilizing-Agents-Scientist-Finds 

Service to the Poor

• free, easy service at local government clinics
• educating the poor on their options

digging deeper, the RH Bill has no concrete plans to help the poor even in maternal services. The primary thing being offered to the poor is to control its population.

• Rampant abuses by giving quota (quantitative target) to health workers leading to implementing family planning without the consent of patient, bribing women to be acceptors of artificial contraception in exchange of goods; coercing women to be acceptors of artificial contraception in order to be eligible to other govt programs; misinforming patients of side effects and irreversibility of sterilization, worst - using the poor as lab animals to test new artificial contraceptions. http://pop.org/content/abuse-of-women-continues-population-1481
• The poor becomes unknowing receptors of sterilizing agent.  http://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/health/americanlife.htm 

Poverty

• less poor people = less poor country

digging deeper eliminating the poor populace would be good for the country.  Statistically, it would be viable in terms of GNPs; so it would seem that the country is getting richer.  

• the greatest contributor to poverty are civil unrest, natural calamities, corruption and the RH bill opens another avenue for corruption (corruption - a manifestation of greed and laziness) 
• Statistics show that the Phil had grown economically, the problem is the wide gap between rich and poor. The rich sector is at par with the Western Countries while the poor sector is at par with the poorest country like Bangladesh. Distributism is, thus, a better resolution for the country.

Health

• less pregnancy = less maternal deaths
• artificial contraception = safe sex = less STD 
• sex education = informed choices 

digging deeper, there are really many health issues that the pro-RH are in denial. Since all medications have side effects why worry with the side effects of artificial contraception. But then, most medications are upon prescription and/or advice of doctors while artificial contraception can be made available in dispensers, Seven-Eleven, and Watson's.

• the synthetic hormones is harmful to fishes, evenmore to women. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/es032570f 
• false security in sexual pursuits raises the proportion of exposure to STD.
• WHO classified birth control pills as group 1 carcinogen. 
• Since artificial contraception do not protect from HPV, thus the increase medical need for HPV immunization.

Less Abortion

• less pregnancy = less unplanned pregnancy = less abortion
• [Miriam's logic 101] contraception = no conception = no abortion 

digging deeper

• The bill does not define when conception begins.
• NFP = 99% no conception// BC Pills = 60% no conception// condom = 80%no conception. Since there is no fullproof guarantee, there will still be percentage of conception.
• the mental conditioning of "unplanned and unwanted" pregnancy necessitates the need for abortion as the last resort or guaranteed artificial contraception.
• the assent to Reproductive Health will force the government to live up to the international standard of Reproductive Health which includes abortion. [But the truly novel developments of the last half century have involved primarily the vertical dimension. Thus, contrary to the misimpression of many of our politicians, the national debate on reproductive health is not only limited to the Constitution, but necessarily include Philippine obligations under the legally binding obligations of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, as well as other treaties to which the Philippines is a state party - Miriam Defensor Santiago, RHB logic 101. ]
• Ireland had to stand up to UN that has been forcing the country to legalize abortion. http://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-rejects-un-calls-to-legislate-for-abortion-rulings-250201-Oct2011/

Environmental

• less people = less people's waste // less people = less need for natural resources

digging deeper

• artificial contraception specifically the pill is entering our aquatic system and causing shocking ecological imbalance http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/es032570f 
• Condoms are often disposed improperly.
• less people does not necessarily equate to less materialism that is the cause of natural resources depletion  

Freedom

• more accessible = more choice
• sex education = informed choice 

digging deeper

• without the RH bill is the real pro-choice. ACs are made available by ordinances or by employment in accordance with belief. The RH bill is pushing a choice for prevalent use of artificial contraception
• the right to religious liberty is violated by the bill's lopsided propagation of artificial contraception. [Consistent with the intent of Article 134 of the Labor Code, employers with more than two hundred (200) employees shall provide reproductive health services to all employees in their own respective health facilities. Those with less than two hundred (200) workers shall enter into partnerships with hospitals, health facilities, or health professionals in their areas for the delivery of reproductive health services.]

God 

• Stewardship and responsible parenthood = artificial contraception
• Bishops are not God 

digging deeper

• The true objective of the Reproductive Health is to erode the Judeo-Christian ethics to a new ethic wherein the objective value of human life is replaced by a relative & selective value of human life. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/%22A+New+Ethic+for+Medicine+and+Society%22-a055354923
• artificial contraception negates the religious conviction that God is the Creator of human life and this Creatorship is manifested in the sexual act. Thus, any artificial intervention on the sexual act is a denial of the Creatorship of God. http://vitae2day.blogspot.com/2011/05/artificial-contraception-wrapped-into.html

A Secret Superpower

Praying does have a bad image.  One mother was afraid to prod her daughter to pray before exams because she thinks her daughter would become lazier and just depend on prayers.  And the old ladies praying daily in church and goes about cursing their spouse and children, gossiping about their neighbors, or maltreating their house helps; what's the efficacy of their prayers as many would wonder.  And the smart alec would say, "we don't need your prayers, we'd rather have your cash."  Then, the activist would say, "we don't need prayers, we need action".  

Still, it makes me wonder why some people end in dissipation while others have a chance to rise up and regain their lives.  God is Just, so it couldn't be just random "time's up, finished or not, pass your paper".  Neither could it be favoritism, "you come from a good family, I will give you another chance".  There is something in people's lives -a hidden factor even from the person himself or herself.  I think intercessory PRAYER is the invisible factor in people's lives.  There are people praying for them.
We ask others to pray for us and our loved ones.  For Catholics, we even ask the saints to pray for us, our loved ones, our country and more.  I wonder who prays for me; But then, I am not really sure who prays for me, only God knows.
But why should intercessory prayers be so powerful to make a difference in people's lives?
Prayer moves people into action.  It allows grace to flow from God to humanity.  And it is love, secret it may be, to pray for someone else - a good will for another.  An invisible helping hand in the trials and challenges in life.

St. Augustine was seeking something in his restless heart.   It led him to relationships, cults, and various studies that left him unsatisfied.  The prayers of his mother, St. Monica for his son was persevering.  Eventually Augustine found what he was looking for in Christianity.

When I see someone whose life changes for the better, I see the love and mercy of God but I also see the prayers that people have said for this person.

Yes, intercessory prayer is love. Pray. 

Abortion, a betrayal in Intimacy

The United Nations with its powerful lobbyists want the Universal Right to Abortion. Sometimes, it is still incredulous how anyone can even think of it as a right. At the same time, the culture of death had always been at war with the culture of life. Roman civilization had bloodbaths in their circuses, and there were cheerers. Of recent times, Hitler had rounded up Jews in Concentration Camps. Many Germans were hailing Hitler and even leaders of other nations were honoring the German Fuhrer.
Yes, it can happen. We can be desensitized by constant exposure. We can be blinded by great rhetorics and euphemism.
Still, everything pales in comparison with abortion. It is not just the innocence and helplessness of the child within the womb. It is the most intimate of social interaction. A body within a body, a soul within a soul. A heartbeat so close in rhythm with a mother's heartbeat. The mother and the child within the womb being nourished separately. The mother and the child within the womb can face life or death separately. Yet, they affect each other greatly. The mother's sadness or stress affects the child within. The child within can also have his/her own stress that can affect the mother. They are together 24/7 facing the bigger world.
This is the most intimate of human relations, a world so closely shared with one another. The mother and the child within the womb becomes vulnerable to each other, a nakedness beyond compare even to sexual relations.
Abortion, thus, is curtailing humanity of this intimacy. We were all beneficiary of this intimate social relationship as we are all dwellers of the womb.
Seeing the Chinese video of a little girl being run over by a vehicle where passersby go on with their lives. It is heartbreaking. It is a cold world. And in our world where institutionalized abortion destroys the warmth of intimacy in the relations between a mother and a child within the womb, it can truly be cold.
Still, it is not a lost cause. We were meamt for intimacy. We can not remain cold, empty statues for long, we would want to reclaim our humanity. And for Catholics, the Holy Eucharist is the most intimate relationship we can have with God, and for that we can never never let abortion betray our true humanity.

Something about Mary

We are all called to be "co-workers in truth" and the Truth has a name in the person of Jesus Christ whom we believe when He said, I am the "Way, the Truth and the Life".  Thus, everyone has a role and participation in God's redemptive work, working out our "salvation in fear and trembling".  It is a choice we have to make.

We turn to Mother Mary, addressed by the Angel as full of grace "kecharitomene" as the masterpiece of creation, faithful co-redemptrix in God's salvific plan.  She responded in complete  submission, "let it be done unto me according to His  Word", overshadowing all her existing plan and repercussions in Jewish society.

Teaching us in our earthly life to "do as He (Jesus) tells you"- a continual submission to the "Word became Flesh".

God, in His love and mercy, had began the work of salvation from the first fall of humanity, "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel" (Gen 3:15).  The "woman" Mary that brought forth Jesus, the Messiah. Though there are many workers in the Vineyard of God, Mary though human had personified the "fullness of life" for which Jesus came to bring.

For this, Mary's role in salvific history can not be ignored, and how could we miss out revering and loving the person that God had "so favored".

Meet Brother Richie

Bro. Richie, Richard  Michael Fernando (1970-1996) died at a young age of 26 in the Jesuit mission, Centre of the Dove in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  He was teaching and caring for young children - handicapped by the violent environment of Cambodia.  He had first encountered the Cambodia amputees during World Youth Day in Manila 1995.  On October 17, 1996, Bro. Richie had been 18 months in the mission when a grenade was thrown at the center.  The explosion injured two boys and killed Bro. Richie.

So many children and adults in Cambodia were marred by the unexploded mines buried in the fields.  The Jesuit mission sought to give them a helping hand through technical skills in building wheelchairs and artificial limb.  Bro. Richie was joyful amidst the visible scars of war in the mission, he felt closer to Jesus. 

I wish, when I die,  people remember not how great, powerful, or talented I was, but that I served and spoke for the truth,  I gave witness to what is right,  I was sincere in all my works and actions,  in other words, I loved and I followed Christ." 
Richie Fernando's retreat diary,
January 3, 1996

What kind of heart must we have to truly love the poor?  They do wear the imprints of some bad and ugly things in this world that was not necessarily their making.  Many would wish them away and do their utmost so they dwindle in number by reducing their population.  A priest friend of mine, when I asked if we can visit where he was assigned.  It was a neglected and undeveloped region in the Philippines.  All he could say is that it is not for the weak of heart.

Brother Richie, Mother Teresa, Father Richard Ho-lung and their missionaries must have more in their heart that they do not fall into desperation over the plights of the people they care about.  Courage - to accept the world we live in is not paradise.  Hope - to see that there is a chance for better and happy lives amidst the conditions they are in.  They are not social workers wherein the poor are the least and they are the superior ones that they depend on.  No, I think Bro. Richie, Mo. Teresa, and Fr. Richie knew that as much as they give, they are also being given.  They knew that beyond the poverty, the poor still has something to give.  Most of all, the heart of these missionaries had a heart after Jesus' own heart.  They love Jesus and Jesus loves the poor.  Although, most of the people they are working for are not Christians, Jesus was very much alive at their midst, because they start to love each other where they are and who they are.  From that foundation of love, they can move forward to possibilities and eventually experience far greater love - giving themselves totally.

Open to Life is Open to God is Open to Love

Open to Life is Open to God is Open to Love

Sexual relations reflects the very INTEGRITY OF LIFE, since all human life comes from sexual union of a man and a woman.

Sexual relations is a total giving and receiving for it to be a gift of LOVE.  With Artificial Contraception, one is rejecting the fertility or infertility of one's self or one's partner.  It is a rejection of an integral part of a person's uniqueness.  Much like saying, I like you but I don't like your face, can we cover it or just cut it off.  Whether we like it or not, there will be something in another person that we may not like but learn to live with and respond with ably.

More than the rejection of another person's totality, is the rejection of God's manifest Hand in Creation.  God being the SOURCE of life and love, is being barred from the most personal and most fundamental of co-existence.  Artificial contraception is not open to life, it is not open to God, it is not open to love, and it is not open to life's possibilities.

Sexuality is not just a facet in a person that has something to do with sexual organs and sexual gratification.  It is the total integration of body, heart, and soul of the person.  A totality which makes every individual unique in every stage of life.  It allows a FREEDOM OF BEING so that a child can be a child, a woman can be a woman, a man can be a man, a sick can be sick, a celibate can be celibate, a married person can be a married person.

Artificial contraception, though, accepted by couples with well-meaning intention, was never meant tor a loving sexual relations but for a "using" or even abusive sexual relations.

A Child is More

A Time for Co-Redemption

There are five dogmas of the Blessed Mother Mary proclaimed by the Catholic Church.  Okay, some would say that dogma could not save us but love.  However, dogma helps us get to know God who is Love and the source of love.  It also shapes our relationship with God.

In 431 AD was “Mary, Mother of God”.  It is often known as the Theotokos.  The belief in polytheism was still pervasive at that time.  Even the Arians could not accept the divinity of Jesus.  To them, Jesus was a lesser god, an intermediary between God, the Cause and humanity.

Mary as the Mother of God was quite difficult to conceive because Mary isn’t a goddess; And if she isn’t a goddess but a human, how could she possibly be the Mother of God.

Like all dogma, the focus must be on the truths of God.  This dogma affirms that Jesus is God and in His humility and love took Flesh and became Man.  So, Mary is the mother of the Man Jesus, but then, Jesus is not half man and half God.  He is fully human and fully divine.  Jesus is God and there is a seamless nature in Him.  And so, Mary is the Mother of God.

All Christians are awed by this love of God who had reached out to us – to redeem us. Jesus entered the human family so we, in turn, can enter the family of God.

“Mary was ever Virgin” was proclaimed in 649.  Again, this points out to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s promise of a Messiah.  Mary was ever Virgin affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ.  How?  If Jesus is truly God, then, no one in humanity can share the same womb that God had occupied.  He had already in His humility chosen to take abode in the womb of a woman.  He couldn’t possibly have half-brothers who would be half-gods.

In our relationship with God, Jesus came as Son so we could be adopted children of God.  It is an invitation to become heirs and heiresses to His Kingdom. 

On December 8, 1854 was the dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception.  It states that Mary was free from original sin.  Of course, it makes sense that Jesus would take abode in a womb that had no sin.  Jesus is God and sin is contrary to His nature, He couldn’t possibly make His first earthly Home be stained with sin.  Tabernacles of the Jewish and Christian Traditions guard the tabernacle from impurity and Mary was definitely the first tabernacle.

We are reminded that our relationship with God requires a choice – to keep away from sin.  It is purity and sanctity that is our ultimate goal and that is love.

Pope Pius XII declared the dogma of the Assumption of Mary on November 1, 1950.  Mary, needed to be assumed body and soul, not through her efforts but by God’s power.  God had promised a resurrection – a new Jerusalem in His Second Coming.  The assumption of Mary affirms God’s promise as true.

This dogma helps us to focus not just on our earthly life but also on our eternal life.  Amidst the travails of this world, there is always that hope for a place where only love exists.

On November 21, 1964, Paul VI proclaimed Mary as Mother of the Church.  Again, we are reminded of the familyhood that God had established    Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride.  The wedding feast prefigures the feast of being a part of our Eternal Home in the Kingdom of God.

We are family- brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.  It also stresses that the sense of family must never be lost in our earthly pilgrimage.  As God had gathered us all into one humanity created by One and the Same God, we are also given a mother.  We are never orphaned.

It’s a time for Mary as Co-redemptrix with the Redeemer.  Jesus ALONE saves but we need to be reminded that everyone has a role in salvation history.  We affirm Jesus as the Messiah and as a response to Him, we must do our part in the salvific plan of God just as Mary did.  We are co-workers in Truth and it is not “Jesus and me” is enough, we have a responsibility and a connection with other people, too.

In our world, where there is much division and isolationism, the dogma of Mary as Co-redemptrix will remind us of the participatory role of each one in God’s plan.  And in a world of broken families, broken traditions, broken friendships, broken marriages, broken people, and broken lives, it is a time for co-redemption.

Divided we fall, united we stand a chance for love and salvation.

A Man and A Woman; The Cross and the Tabernacle

A man and a woman both created in the likeness of God-

Three Persons in One God.

A man and a woman - both with body, heart and mind-

yet totally unique from each other.

A man carries the CROSS within his soul;

A woman carries a TABERNACLE within her soul.

A man has to bear the humility of the cross;

A woman has to bear the purity of the tabernacle.

A man carries his cross daily;

A woman follows the way of the cross.

Just as the cross finds solace in the hilltop;

And the tabernacle finds solace within the altar.

A man finds home from a view outside the house;

A woman finds home from a view within the house.

A man protects the family from being broken from the outside;

A woman protects the family from being broken from the inside.

A man grows in love as he learns to give up himself for the treasures of life;

A woman grows in love as she learns to keep herself for the treasures of life.

A man must die to himself to find new life;

A woman must live for others to find new life.

A man bears the imprint of the life within the cross;

A woman bears the life within the tabernacle.

Apart, they are both keepers of life-

destined for love, free to know the truth.

Together, they make a home-

a family that can be built on love from the inside and out.

Just as the Cross and the Tabernacle combined-

becomes a sacrifice and a celebration.

Both reflecting the mysteries of life, death and resurrection.

The Cross and the Tabernacle,

different they may be in appearance and material-

The Cross in its rough, common wood;

The Tabernacle in its delicate, precious metal.

The Cross and the Tabernacle

carry One Messiah in our Lord Jesus Christ.

180 and A Million

The 180movie is so powerful. It begins with a question of who Adolf Hitler is. Hitler's time was not a distant history but many surprisingly had a vague idea of who he was. The documentary also shows how shallow thinkers we had become and with a few questions, the interviewer was able to dig deeper into the hearts and minds of the people, enabling them to rethink their positions. It is a powerful video.

On the other side of the world, the Family Rosary Crusade launched a rosary crusade for world peace. Entitled, a million roses for the world, everyone is enjoined to pray one Rosary a day for a particular country. In one year, all the world would have been prayed for. A beautiful campaign that features a country per day and its particular need. Online pledge is on www.millionrosesfortheworld.org

Hopefully 180movie will have a million hits and a million roses for the world will bring a 180 shift for the better.

All of Humanity Was Saved by a Baby | Voices for Life

All of Humanity Was Saved by a Baby | Voices for Life

Rights! Rights! Is it Right?

The animal and the vegetable watched the people rallying for their rights and then looked at each other.
Animal said, "these humans are so weird. One right clashing with another's right". Vegetable agreed, "yes, the smokers claim their rights to smoke and the non-smokers want smoke-free air."
Vegetable was proud, "go ahead and tell me more rights and I will tell you the right it breaks."
Animal spoke, "the right to property." Vegetable answered, "that will clash with another's right to property".
Animal said, "freedom of expression." Vegetable laughed, " Yes, it doesn't leave much freedom to the eyes. Right? The eyesight, then becomes, a slave to expression".
Animal laughed, "okay, how about freedom of speech". Vegetable quickly retorted, "undermining the ears its right to hear something pleasant, harmonious, and true." Animal agreed, " oh, poor ears... it doesn't have a choice but to hear."
Animal thought deeply, "how about the right to religious belief." Vegetable answered, "clashes with other religious belief and no religious belief." Animal spoke, "so it should be no religion" Vegetable answered, " told you, it will clash to right to religion".
The animal retorted, "they have reproductive rights. A woman's right to forego motherhood." The vegetable continued animal's sentence, "and it clashes with the man's right to fatherhood".
The animal asked, "how about equal rights?" Vegetable answered, "that's good but then equality became sameness". Animal asked, "is that wrong?" Vegetable replied, "Will you give the same medicine to one who is sick and one who is not?" Animal answered fast, "no".
Animal said, "they have animal rights, would you like them to have vegetable rights?" Vegetable replied, "haha, we are minced, chopped, fried, sprayed. (pretending to cry) How could they treat us so viciously." Animal laughed at vegetable and spoke, "we should complain, too. They are always saying.. treat the animals humanely. Why can't they accept us for who we are... animals". Animal and vegetable laughed together. Vegetable spoke, "and they call the sick, immobile people as vegetables". Animal asked, "is that offensive?" Vegetable answered, "at least I am a LIVING thing. There are people being treated like inanimate objects."
Animal asked, "should they abandon fighting for their rights? Maybe they will find peace." Vegetable answered, "Oh no!"
Vegetable continued, "right is right! But when they think that right is taking away the box and left with no boundaries, then the right is wrong." Animal listened intently.
Vegetable continued, "A right has lines that allows humanity to journey into the truth. It defines identity and purpose in the hope of leading to its fullness."
Vegetable went on, "Without the lines, the rights would only make fragmented people. Everything is connected in this world, and they will lose their connection." Vegetable sigh, "chaos and death".
Animal tried another one, "abortion right." Vegetable answered, "that's easy... clashing with the right of another human being to live." Animal retorted, "well, at least that ends all the other rights." Vegetable laughed, "Yes, because that's the only true HUMAN RIGHT."
Animal asked vegetable, "would you like them to have a vegetable right?" Vegetable was aghast, "oh, may heaven forbid, or else what's the sense of being here if I do not have a purpose."

The Missing Link

Ain't it so... finding the superior genes to make a superior race.

A. grand dream of a grand humanity... more than building a tower of Babel.

Would it be as Lennon had imagined... no religion, one world, one government.

Truly... this world is a survival of the fittest... but then who is the fittest.

Intellect? Muscles? Political power? Fame? Money? Genes?

Nay! It is virtues that make the fittest - of faith, hope, love, fortitude, humility, generosity and more.

Virtues that allow people to live with who they are.

Rising above the tides and trends of the time.

Weathering life through its changing season.

The missing link, the forgotten factor.

And if we are to survive, virtues we must cultivate.

A Communion of Pain: the Cross and the Sorrowful Heart of Mary

Jesus who without sin had experienced pain when the "Word became Flesh". He had experienced the abandonment of friends. Peter, a faithful companion denied knowing Him. Judas, a disciple betrayed Him. Mocked. Crucified.
There is a suffering that Jesus had experienced which had been rarely talked about.
On the cross, Jesus watched His beloved mother suffer the pain of watching Him. Although, Mother Mary assented to be a participant in the salvific mission, it does not take away the pains and sorrows of seeing her Son on the cross.
What heartache must it have been for Jesus to watch this knowing it is His suffering that is causing His mother to suffer as well. And yet, it must be done.
Nailed to a cross, Jesus and Mary suffered with the distance between them. There can be no warm embrace between them... only painful looks at each other. In spite of the distance, there is that COMMUNION of PAIN between a mother and child.
The relationship between parents and children will always be like that - a communion of pain. The parents' pain will be with the children and the children's pain will be with the parents. It is the unbreakable bond between them, no matter how old they get and no matter what the distance between them.
The Cross and the sorrowful mother is a reminder of that bond. Although no words may be exchanged, heart speaks to heart. Heart embracing each other's pain.

Much Ado about Miss U

"Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you love? Why or why not?" Supsup answered, "If I would have to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is God, who created me." "I have my faith and my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. If the person loves me, he'll love my God too."

It wasn't an entrely difficult question. An atheist, pantheist or a Moslem would have answered the same. An atheist would not give up his/her atheism for his/her beloved.

Perhaps a more telling answer could be had with a question like "would you give up the Miss Universe Crown for the man you love?"

Back to the question. Definitely giving is far more easier than giving up. It's a good question to ask one's self, what would I give up for the people I love? Work? Ambition? Drinking? Smoking? Buddies? Television? Internet?

And what would I be willing to give up for God who is my number 1?