| Sex and Sensibility | 2/12/2014 05:22:00 PM |
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SEX.
This three-letter word has been overused and abused time and again. Frankly, society has trivialized and made it utilitarian to the point that makes it bereft of any meaning.
When we get back to what is the essence of this God-given power to transmit life generation after generation, it is only then that one sees its innate beauty.
The mutual self-giving of one man and one woman makes sense only within the bonds of matrimony wherein each one gives the gift of self to the other, mutually and exclusively, until death do them part. This mutual self-giving is so powerful that it can bring about a new life into the world. In any other setting, it would be a lie.
One cannot say that self-giving is total if the two parties involved are not bound to each other through marriage, or if one or the other party is married to someone else. How does one give oneself totally and exclusively to each other when there is no matrimonial bond involved? The act would be a lie, too if the married couple has recourse to contraception. How would the conjugal act be a total gift if the couple refuses to be open to the possibility of welcoming a child?
Dear Lord, who art high in the Heavens,
Giver of Love and Passion,
And He who strings the heart’s cords,
Lead the Lovers this day, February ten plus four.
The day during the month of two,
When the date is the perfect number of God
Greater two souls and two hearts.
Some Loves are fleeting ,
But that which is built on you will never fail.
So guide the Lovers to know what is to be.
Your truths the Lovers’ mouths should speak,
For Your truth is that which is honest to the heart.
Only this, then, should pass over the red lips of the Lovers.
Your art, the Lovers simply a medium.
It is only with True Hearts that You can create a Masterpiece,
So let the Lovers remember that their Soul’s Desire
Is the one for which You light their Fire.
And let it be You who creates the Art of the Lovers;
The art of two into one.
Amen.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Read about St. Valentine here.
| Of Fathers and Daughters | 12/01/2013 11:25:00 AM |
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I enjoy looking at pictures of my married friend's husbands with their daughters, especially if the picture is that of their infant or toddler kids. You see the mutual adoration and unconditional love of a father for the little girl and the little girl's pure trust in her father who takes her up in his arms.
My own relationship with Papa had its up and downs but today I do enjoy mundane conversations with him about one topic or another that this jack-of-all-trades father of mine knows about. He's a chemical engineer who raised pigs to support himself through college while on a scholarship, has worked in Saudi Arabia, travelled to Japan and the Netherlands, put up his own business, planted his own mangoes and still oversees a farm in the province. He has a lot to still teach me.
It is important for a woman to be able to relate with God the Father in her own spiritual life as well. That is the essence of divine filiation that springs from knowing you are loved for your own sake as a daughter of God, and at the same time you develop a personal relationship in prayer, gaining knowledge from your conversations with one who is All-Knowing.
In my own experience, that time of prayer and conversation with my Father God has been such a source of comfort. Knowing He is there ready to listen to me anytime , anywhere, no matter what
may come my way, good or bad has made all the difference in my life.
All human fathers have to give just those two things to their daughters: A love that can be a source of their strength in times good and bad and that opening up of the world around full of knowledge that can be used for the common good.
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| Faithful | 10/21/2012 10:32:00 AM |
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Just looking around me, I realize that there is a lot more to be done in this world regards with the faith. I have noticed that Catholics where I live are generally pious, but are not actually particular about receiving the sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Confession more frequently. There is a certain compartmentalization of one's life where in the message can be read as: "I am a Catholic inside this parish church", but elsewhere: "Earning as much as I can to the detriment of others remains supreme." Then there are those who say firmly: "I'm a Catholic who is a member of so-and-so organization/movement/charismatic group", and then will declare: "Well... ethics is relative!"
I guess this might be the effect of a lack of firm doctrinal formation, and the ability to live one's life true to the Catholic faith wherever one is. Catechesis seems to be reserved only for children, and the little that a lot of adult Catholics get is what they may-listen-to-if-they-chose-to during Sunday mass homily. There is so much to the Catholic faith that a lot of people are missing out on. As human beings, we can always improve in the knowledge of the faith the same way that we can always delve into another hobby or go into more specialized studies in our respective fields of interest.
I believe that one can only call oneself a faithful Catholic if one has made the effort to at least read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. When better to start doing so than during the Year of Faith?
| Not Quite Sick | 10/09/2012 01:08:00 PM |
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I was diagnosed with atypical varicella zoster (a.k.a a not-so-usual presentation of your supposedly childhood chicken pox) which gave me a few crops of typical lesions with no other associated symptoms...
Owing to the fact that I was busy and felt otherwise fine, it took almost a week for me to see a dermatologist and got a delay in the diagnosis...
Still, I was made to stay in quarantine at home for another week... What was this usually busy radiologist to do, cooped up at home?
Looking back in the week, I actually had several things going on:
- preparing in advanced talks I will be giving
- readings of Porta Fidei and the accompanying Note with Pastoral Recommendations on the Year of the Faith
- a bit of spring cleaning
- going over old pictures in CD's to pick the ones for a slide show
- working at home with a provided portable viewbox a.k.a. negatoscope and x-ray films brought in for twice a day reading
- more time in prayer
I guess I was busy afterall...
;-)
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| Beyond Birthdays | 9/22/2012 09:20:00 AM |
Murphy's Law: "If anything can go wrong, it will..."
This year's birthday turned out to be a comedy of errors and mishaps, beginning with people thinking my birth anniversary was the day before and ending with a three day last song syndrome from the only song in the world I dislike which can induce an extended LSS for me.
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| My Half-Eaten Birthday Cake ;-) |
And yet, there is more to this world than having the prefect birthday:
It's to be surrounded by people who love you just because you are you.
It's staying at a wonderfully conducive place for rest (which is a change of occupation from what you are usually up to the rest of the year).
It's to be able to sleep well and eat well.
It's to have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered specially for you and your intentions.
It's coincidentally attending a First Friday Benediction, when you had just intended to go on a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to Our Lady.
The list just gives me the reasons why my birthday was the best!
And now that my two week hiatus with a birthday is done, I can get back to all the work that awaits me, refreshed and with a more optimistic outlook.
| Homecoming | 6/28/2012 10:28:00 AM |
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My only (and younger) brother (a.k.a. Kuya Monster, a.k.a "Gifted Child") will be arriving dawn tomorrow from his 2 years in Europe to earn a master's degree in Vision and Robotics via the Erasmus Mundus Programme. The lucky guy has been studying in 3 different university campuses is three different European countries (Edinburg in UK, Girona in Spain and Burgundy in France). He did the semester of research in Barcelona, Spain. He has spent his semestral breaks and free time road-tripping in Spain, watching a football game, visiting Paris Disneyland, and resting for a while in Italy on the invitation of a classmate. He even saw the Pope pass by in the Popemobile while he was in Edinburg.
The wonder of modern day communication is that, by just using Skype, it sort of felt like he was never away. I personally do not even feel like I missed him (although I'm sure our mother does). The female members of the family can just badger him regarding the length of his yet uncut hair, ask him if he has found a European girlfriend already or inquire about any asthma attacks. He was usually just a private message away on YM when you wanted to schedule the video chats. Emails were exchanged back and forth when his passport was lost to a pickpocket and we had to settle his documents at our end and send it back to where he was. His pictures of the myriad of places he visited (albeit without any captions - he's always been a man of a few words...) are well within our reach via his Facebook account. There was even one or two times when we "met" one of his fellow scholars who was around while we talked over video chat.
This was a far cry from the time we only had long distance telephone calls or snail mail to count on with regards a loved-one who was at a distance for a time or permanently.
Welcome home, Kuya!
I wonder what other things you are planning with your life, from hereon now...
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