Tag: December 12, 2011

WHEN President Aquino III addressed the justice summit recently at the Manila Hotel, he attacked the Supreme Court for its alleged partiality toward former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the motion she filed to be allowed to leave the country and seek medical help amid the election and plunder charges that have been filed against her by the new administration.

“There is no doubt as to the gravity of your task. Your decisions and the steps you take have implications integral to our democracy,” Aquino said. Present in the summit was Chief Justice Renato Corona.

I WATCHED the Indian film 3 Idiots (2009) because of a friend’s relentless nagging. I have never been a fan of Bollywood films, but I must admit that its story has a philosophical and existential dimension that makes great sense when applied in life.

The movie tells the story of three college friends, Ranchoddas Shamaldas Chanchad, Farhan Qureshi, and Raju Rastogi, and how their friendship survives the challenges across time, especially the materialism that is eating up the younger generations.

The movie shows how young people eagerly embrace the rat race of modern life in order to accumulate wealth and fulfill their ambitions. It shows how today’s generation chase success at the expense of missing the essence of life.

THERE is one in 32,468,436 chances you will win in the 6/55 lottery. This means it’s close to impossible for you to win. Our family took the gamble of a different sort and won.

Our family did not see it coming when my grandfather, whom we fondly call Papang, had to be admitted to the hospital due to his failing heart. The doctor said that Papang needed to undergo angioplasty, which however would be no guarantee his life would be prolonged. This made us resort to the other option—a bypass surgery—in which the results would be better.

But the surgery would also be more expensive. Every relative was asked to contribute to the costs of the surgery. But despite pooling resources, our clan still could not pay for the astronomical costs of the bypass.

IT WAS quite a sight to see the two seated at the dining room in a business-like fashion—my youngest brother with a smug and inquisitive look, and my mother seemingly taken aback and flabbergasted by his question: "Is Santa Claus real?"

I've always lauded how my parents brought us up but this one was tricky and boy, was I waiting to see how they'd break it to my hopeful sibling. Alas, once the situation was explained to my father, he dogded the bullet and played it safe by telling my brother that believing in something does not require proof.

UPON seeing patients admitted at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) with only coins to pay their hospital bills, a Thomasian doctor dreamt and sought to change this status quo.

And because of that dream, Lingkod ER was brought to life 10 years ago.

“Before Lingkod ER was brought to UST, it started back in UP (University of the Philippines) Manila, where Dr. Luisa Tecson took up her pre-med,” said UST Lingkod ER president Monica Perez. “The story even goes that because of the small size of PGH, some patients were treated while sitting on a monoblock.”

After taking her pre-med, Tecson transferred to UST to pursue medical studies. Along with her transfer, she brought the cause of Lingkod ER to the auspices of the University.

THE REASON Jesus Christ was crucified was because people “cannot stand the light” He emanated, a former dean of the Faculty of Philosophy said.

Fr. Enrico Gonzales, O.P. told students from nine seminaries across the country that “Lumina Pandit” (Latin for “spreading the light”) is what guides people in their path.

This year’s meeting of seminarians, dubbed 2011 Bukluran, was held in the University for the first time since the yearly fellowship started in 1997.

“Ask the light and it will help us. But it must come from the purity and sincerity of our hearts,” Gonzales said in the forum held at the Medicine Auditorium last Nov. 26.

POPE BENEDICT XVI revamped the interreligious Assisi Convention in Italy last Oct. 27 to lessen “misinterpretations” on the relationship between the Catholic Church and other religions.

One of the changes was the nature of the gathering, which was more of a pilgrimage than prayer, said Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in an article posted on the website of the Catholic News Service.

This was to address criticisms hurled at the 1986 convention, where participants from different faiths held a common prayer service.

IN THE dark days of the Spanish Civil War, one man rose above adversities, his faith unshaken even when everything else fell apart.

"There Be Dragons" (2011), directed by Roland Joffé, delves into the life of Opus Dei founder Jose Maria Escriva (Charlie Cox), whose faith was put to test amid the dangers posed by war before “good triumphed over evil” surrounded by fictional characters.

Joffé, however, weaved Escriva’s life into a set of fictional characters to make a moving story about forgiveness.

MOST people perceive cancer as an inescapable predicament almost synonymous to a death sentence.

But sheer optimism helped this human rights advocate and journalist survive a 13-year-long affair with this deadly malady that has killed millions.

Thomasian and former Varsitarian staffer Edgardo "Ed" Lucas Santoalla lost the fight of his life last Nov. 1 when he succumbed to leukemia or cancer of the blood. He was at 52.

If there was one thing that could distinguish him from others suffering from the same disease, it was that he never lay flat on his back and waited for his time to come.

"He never stopped living," his wife and life companion, Annie Calma-Santoalla, 47, said.

ASIDE from gift-giving, street carolling and reunions, Christmas itinerary of Filipinos won’t be complete without attending the Holy Mass at an unholy hour, as simbang gabi.

The Church practice involves attending nine consecutive dawn Masses in anticipation of the Savior’s birth.

Human sacrifice

The simbang gabi is a Filipinized tradition that originated from Germany. It is originally known in Latin as rorate, an antiphon, a devotional composition sung responsively as part of a liturgy, found in Book of Isaiah.

“This was celebrated in the dawn to signify the light that comes after which was Christ who dispels us from darkness and sin,” said Msgr. Nestor Cerbo, Manila Cathedral rector.