THE POWER OF MOMENTS

In their book "The Power of Moments," authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath study the science behind these pivotal moments and the reasons why they have such a profound effect on our lives. They point out that defining moments are made up of four essential components: elevation, understanding, pride, and connection.

 

A quiet morning. I love it. How about you?

A hug from someone you love. I am sure you feel the same.

Sipping a warm cup of coffee or tea. Of course, I prefer coffee more than tea. 

Reading a few pages in one of those good books on your bookshelf. I miss reading many more. 

A child's laughter. My one-year-old grandchild is the best example.

Someone special wanting your attention. I am already 71, but it's always amazing how many people wait for me every morning.

What do you say is the best moment in life? - “That was my happiest moment” is better usage. It means to say that you enjoyed that mentioned moment, very much. It is one which makes you happy and cannot be forgotten in your life. What was that "one big moment," a turning point, that changed your life? 

Special moments; breath-taking feats, outstanding accomplishments, universally recognised excellence. The moments that matter happen beyond analysis; they just occur. Special moments are everywhere, always; millions of them waiting to happen – and the more you let go, the less you look, the more you see.

Moments are significant as they help us connect with others. Every shared moment, whether it's a conversation, a hug, or an experience, presents an opportunity to form a bond with another person. These bonds are what make life meaningful and help us endure challenging times.

To know Christ is to know ourselves properly

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

THE earlier we realize this, the better for us. And that’s simply because Christ is the very pattern of our humanity. How he is should also be how we should be, not of course in terms of our physical appearance and other natural attributes that we have, but rather in terms of the spirit that should animate our whole life. The ideal condition to have is first to know and love Christ so that we may know and love ourselves and others properly. 

This was what St. Augustine precisely said. “Noverim te, noverim me,” Latin for “May I know you (Christ), may I know myself.” It is when we know and love Christ first that we get to know who we really are and ought to be. Christ is not only the pattern of our humanity but also the savior of our damaged humanity.

It is Christ who will tell us what is true and false, right and wrong, moral and immoral. It’s not us who define and determine these things. And if we know Christ first, then we would know how to relate ourselves with the others, how to love them properly the way Christ loves us, as shown, taught and commanded to us by Christ himself. (cfr. Jn 13,34)

Thus, if we really want to truly fall and remain in love with our beloved, if we want our relationships to last long until forever, then we have to base it on our knowledge and love of Christ first. There can be no other way to assure us that our relationships here on earth would last!

Even in our wounded condition here in this life, Christ offers us the way how to handle it such that we can still manage to be with him. That’s because Christ himself said that he is “the way, the truth and the life.” (cfr. Jn 14,6)

Our relation with Christ should not only be in the level of knowledge. We have to live that knowledge to such an extent that we become “another Christ.” We are supposed to be ‘alter Christus,’ the goal and ideal that is meant for us, though we need also to do our part, free beings as are, to achieve that status. 

God, our Creator and Father, wants us to be that way, though he does not impose it on us without our consent that should also be shown with deeds and not just with intentions or words.

We should try our best to have the very sentiments of Christ who has everything that is good and proper to us. When he said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, whoever does not gather with me scatters,” it is quite clear that for us to be ‘alter Christus’ is a necessity. It’s not something optional, though it has to be chosen freely.

With Christ we would have the proper understanding of things. We would have a universal outlook, and we can take on anything that can happen to us, whether good or bad, because Christ himself has assumed everything human including to be like sin even if he himself has not committed any sin. “He (God) made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor 5,21)

We have to be wary when we rely simply on our common sense, or some powerful philosophy or ideology, because no matter how brilliant these are, they cannot cope with everything that is possible to happen in a man’s life. Only Christ can!

Rufa Mae Quinto says not sad losing P1 million in 'LOL: Philippines'

Jan Milo Severo - Philstar.com

August 29, 2024 | 12:23pm

MANILA, Philippines — Comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto revealed that she didn't feel sad about losing in the reality show “LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines.”

In an interview with reporters, Rufa Mae said that the show became "dirty."

“I didn’t feel bad about losing because I already knew where it was heading. The game was starting to get really dirty, so I opted out," she said.  

"Of course, who wouldn’t want to win P1 million? I could have tried to fight for it, but I decided to let it go," she added. 

The actress said the show became "dirty" when the remaining contestants Chad Kinis, Jerald Napoles, Empoy Marquez, Victor Anastacio and Pepe Herrera started playing the game of cards, kissing each other. 

Rufa said she did not want to "lock lips" with her fellow contestants. The actress has a husband and a child and she did not want them to see her doing it on TV. 

She added that she her brand of comedy is different from her fellow contestants. 

Wen asked what she learned from the show, Rufa Mae said, “Keeping one’s self from laughing is so difficult that you would eventually cry. Also, the secret to not laughing is to keep yourself feeling hungry. You will eventually get angry at everyone around you and won’t feel like laughing at all." 

The comedienne revealed that she ate too much during the lunch break and it made her rush to the toilet in the middle of the competition. 

The first edition of the "LOL: Philippines" also featured Jayson Gainza, Kim Molina, Negi and Tuesday Vargas.

The 10 contestants vied to win the P1 million prize money, which will be won by the one who will be able to stop smiling or laughing at the end of the challenges. Chad Kinis eventually won the show's first season after its six-episode airing last July. 

SC to husbands: Your infidelity, unjustified absence, failure to support are grounds for marriage nullity

BY REY G. PANALIGAN

Aug 29, 2024 01:24 PM

  

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A husband’s “infidelity, failure to give support to his wife and children, and unjustified absence from his family are all indicative that he is not cognizant of the duties and responsibilities of a husband and father.”

Thus, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the marriage in 1984 between the husband, Alfredo, and wife, Leonora, should be voided on the ground of psychological incapacity.

The ruling was contained in a decision that was promulgated last April 17 and posted on the SC’s website – sc.judiciary.gov.ph – on Thursday, Aug. 29 under GR No 242363.  It was written by Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen. 

The SC decision granted the petition of Leonora as it reversed the rulings issued by both the Court of Appeals (CA) and the regional trial court (RTC).

Case records show that Alfredo and Leonora separated in 1994 after 10 years of marriage.

When Leonora found that Alfredo married another woman, she filed a case for bigamy against her husband.  But the case was archived because Alfredo could not be located.

Alfredo was a police officer.  He was dismissed from the service because of the bigamy case. 

The records also show that Alfredo married another woman in 2000.

Leonora said that Alfredo abandoned his family and did not provide any financial support.

She underwent a psychological evaluation and the psychologist concluded that Alfredo was psychologically incapacitated to comply with his marital obligations. 

On Dec. 27, 2017, the RTC dismissed the nullity of marriage case filed by Leonora. The trial court ruled that the pieces of evidence presented to prove Alfredo’s subsequent marriages were insufficient.

The RTC said that assuming Alfredo had two subsequent marriages, it also establishes infidelity which is sufficient to prove psychological incapacity.

It also said that there should be other circumstances and situations showing Alfredo's actions and inactions to show his aberrant attitudes and behavioral patterns demonstrating his total personality and his psychological illness.

When Leonora’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the RTC, she appealed before the CA which, in effect, affirmed the trial court’s ruling due to a technicality.  She then elevated her case to the SC.

The SC said:

“Based on the facts, respondent (Alfredo) left his family in 1994 and appears to have contracted marriage several times, with different women. He never gave financial support to his children and only visited them once, for less than an hour. These indicate that respondent did not understand his obligations as a husband and father. 

“To restate, the gravity of respondent's personality disorder is shown by his lack of recognition that he has responsibilities to his wife and children. His personality disorder appears to have been fostered by how he was raised by his family as ‘he was deprived of appropriate parental supervision and guidance’ and ‘his parents' lenient and tolerable attitude encouraged him to become extremely assertive.’  This shows that there is juridical antecedence. His psychological incapacity developed during his formative years and existed prior to his marriage to petitioner (Leonora).

“The incurability of respondent's personality disorder was also explained by the psychologist when he stated in his judicial affidavit that those who are diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder  ‘strongly deny that they are mentally ill, reject the idea of seeking professional help and therefore refuse any form of psychiatric treatment.’

“Accordingly, the Petition is granted. The May 31, 2018 and Oct. 2, 2018 Resolutions of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 155807 are reversed and set aside. The marriage of petitioner Leonora… and private respondent Alfredo… is void on the ground of psychological incapacity. So ordered.”