Tag: April 10, 2012

ALTHOUGH it is a no-brainer that the best way to achieve great things in life is through sheer perseverance, some people are also blessed with divine providence.

This probably rings true in the case of Reinhard Gutierrez, UST's "Neocentennial" valedictorian, and Christian Louie Gonzales, who placed fifth in the recently concluded bar examinations.

Making it to the Bar exam's Top 10 was never part of Gonzales’ plan. An average student, he said all he wanted was to pass.

“I really could not believe it since I did not graduate with honors. I just wanted to pass and being in the Top 10 is just a bonus,” he said.

THE FIFTH Filipino cleric to be elevated to the College of Cardinals has died after succumbing to multiple organ failure last March 9. He was 91.

Cardinal Jose Tomas Sanchez, who returned to the country in late 2010 after a 25-year stint in Rome, died days before his 92nd birthday at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Medical Center.

He had been in and out of the hospital and was brought to UST Hospital last Feb. 11. His remains were interred in a tomb at the Cathedral Shrine of Our Good Shepherd of the Diocese of Novaliches.

Religious leaders from all over the world convened in Manila last month to affirm a “new ecumenical vision” for mission and evangelization amid a “globalized Christianity.”

The country hosted the conference of the World Council of Churches’ Commission for World Mission and Evangelism (WCC-CWME) at the Traders Hotel in Manila last March 22-27. This was in preparation for the organization’s general assembly in Busan, South Korea in 2013.

“A fresh look in the global scenario and its implications for mission and evangelism is indeed imperative,” said Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, a moderator during the pre-assembly conference.

CHRISTIANS are caught in a raging battle between the forces of heaven and hell, but should take comfort in the fact that the devil can be defeated in the company of the holy and blessed, a Thomasian exorcist says.

Fr. Jose Francisco Syquia, exorcist of the Archdiocese of Manila, explains in his new book, Exorcist: Spiritual Battle Lines, how the Catholic faithful can fight the battle versus evil with the help of the Virgin Mary and saints. The book is a follow-up to the title Exorcist: A Spiritual Journey, which was published last year.

In the introduction, Syquia says the book is “not only about [the] evil and demonic, but [also] about God and His infinite and tender love for the humankind.”

SA DARATING na taong pampaaralan, ipatutupad ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon (DepEd) ang “Mother Tongue-Based-Multilingual Education” (MTB-MLE) sa ilalim ng K+12 curriculum, kung saan gagamitin ang 12 pangunahing wika ng bansa (ang Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanoan, Maranao, at Chabacano) bilang midyum ng pag-aaral mula kinder hanggang ikatlong baitang.

Ang mother tongue ay ang wikang ginagamit sa bahay ng isang mag-aaral. Naniniwala ang DepEd na ang paggamit ng mother tongue sa mga unang taon ng edukasyon ay makatutulong sa mas epektibo at mabilis na pagkatuto ng mga mag-aaral.

ISIGAW mo ang tinig ng iyong henerasyon.

Ito ang hamon ng mga bantog na manunulat na sina Jerry Gracio, Jun Cruz Reyes, at Ricky Lee sa ginanap na diskurso tungkol sa pagsusulat na “Ang Kuwento ng Kanilang mga Kuwento: Isang Talakayang Pampanitikan” sa Faculty of Arts and Letters Lecture Hall noong ika-3 ng Marso. Isa-isang ibinahagi ng mga panauhin ang kanilang mga karanasan bilang manunulat, mga naging pagbabago dahil sa napiling larangan, at ang kanilang mga hiling para sa bagong henerasyon ng mga manunulat.

Para kay Jerry Gracio, isang multi-awarded scriptwriter, ang pagsusulat mula ay iba noon kumpara ngayon.

SA KAUNA-UNAHANG pagkakataon, gaganapin sa bagong Quadricentennial Pavilion ang seremonya ng pagtatapos ng “Neo-centennial batch” ng Unibersidad.

Ayon kay P. Florentino Bolo Jr., O.P., secretary general ng UST, ang paglilipat ng pagdarausan ng seremonya ng pagtatapos ay nagmula kay P. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., Rektor ng Unibersidad. Mula sa Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), kung saan taun-taong idinaraos ang seremonya, piniling idaos ang seremonya ng pagtatapos sa Quadricentennial Pavilion ngayong taon sapagkat mas makatitipid ang mga mag-aaral kumpara sa PICC.