A warning on presumption

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

CHRIST said it very clearly. We have to enter by the narrow gate if we want to

survive the trials and challenges of our earthly life and arrive at our proper eternal

home. (cfr. Lk 13,22-30) We cannot deny that we are prone to fall into presumption. Of

course, we can also fall into the other extreme of despair which is not good for us.

To be sure, Christ is not trying to be a killjoy here. He always wants us to be

happy and to be at peace, if not always then at least most of the time. But he is just

being realistic, given our wounded condition that is prone to be easily spoiled by any

good thing we can have in this life.

In fact, in another instance he spells out what is needed if we want to follow him.

And that is that we deny ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) Of course, as the

pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, he knows perfectly

well what works for us and what does not, what is truly good for us and what is not.

We have to see to it that we are always aware of this necessity and requirement

in our life if we want to be truly human and Christian. There is no other way we can

attain the perfection and fullness of our humanity.

We know that the anomaly of presumption leads us to think that since God is

always merciful, compassionate and understanding, then we can do just about anything.

We would immediately rationalize that God will always understand and forgive us of our

sins that we could have avoided. 

In fact, we would think that we have some kind of license to sin, since God is

always merciful. A presumptuous person is usually a reckless, over-confident person.

He is deaf and blind to the possibility of divine retribution. He most likely has a lax

conscience.

Entering by the narrow gate means that we have to wage to lifelong interior or

ascetical struggle, since in this life we have to contend with all sorts of enemies of God

and of our soul.

As long as we struggle interiorly, there is spiritual life, the very wellspring that

produces the living water for our river of life. As long as we struggle interiorly, we can be

assured of our fidelity to whatever commitment we have entered into. Interior struggle is

essential and indispensable in our life.

Our life is very dynamic, with all sorts of challenges to face, problems to solve,

issues to be clarified. We need to see to it that our interior life, our spiritual life, our

thoughts, desires and intentions are firmly rooted on God, their proper foundation.

We need not only to purify our thoughts and intentions from any stain of pride,

vanity, lust, envy, sloth, gluttony, anger, etc. We also need to fill them and rev them up

with true love and wisdom. These are the reasons why we have to engage in a lifelong

interior or spiritual struggle.

The ideal situation should be that we are always in awe at the presence of God in

our life, making him the principle and objective of all our thoughts, words and deeds. We

have to be spiritually fit before we can be fit anywhere else—family-wise, professionally,

socially, politically, etc.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Davao de Oro: Making change happen

Davao de Oro Province--- From farm to market roads, to schools in the hinterlands, sustainable agricultural developments, livelihood for the marginalized sectors, infrastructure projects, digital innovations, tourism circuits, pandemic mitigating initiatives, and the eradication of insurgency are some of the significant achievements of Davao de Oro in the last five years.

Through its strategic 4Ps+ program which stands for Planet (Environmental Management and Disaster Preparedness) People (Social Protection and Human Development), Prosperity (Economic Development), Peace (Peace, Justice and Security) and Plus (Good Governance), PLGU-Davao de Oro proved that change could happen, bringing its name into the limelight.

On October 25, 2021, Davao de Oro Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy delivers his 2021 State of the Province Address (SOPA), at Session Hall of the Legislative Building, Provincial Capitol, Nabunturan, Davao de Oro.

Not only did Dabawenyos witness this year’s SOPA of the Governor at the comfort of their homes, but also people from across the globe as the event was live-streamed via official social media platforms of the province reaching thousands of views and engagements.

Following health and safety protocols, the event was attended by the officials of the provincial government of Davao de Oro, municipal mayors of the province, Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and partners from the National Government Agencies.

The highlight of this year’s SOPA are the feats of Davao de Oro as a province that brought substantial changes to the lives of every dabawenyo.

“We had surely come a long way. We used to be the hotbed of insurgency, now our peace and order situation is one of the most stable in the Davao Region. From a place feared by many, we became one of the most visited provinces in the entire country by tourists even in the middle of a pandemic. From a laggard economy four years back, we are now one of the most competitive provinces in the Davao Region. Kaning tanan, atong kadaugan! It is our collective work that made the change happen. We made this change happen and let’s continue to make change happen. Dabawenyo, sa tanang panahon, magpabilin kitang bulawanon!”, said Governor Uy.

Just in time with the Governor’s SOPA is the celebration of the country’s golden festivity, Davao de Oro’s “Bulawan Festival”, from October 25-29, 2021, which will happen via online platforms.

The 5-day virtual celebration will highlight events such as “Pre-SOPA Broadcast Talkshow” giving a glimpse of the governor’s SOPA, “Bulawan Opening”, and “Sayaw de Oro” in the first day. On the second day will be the Bahandi, which will feature the “Peoples of Davao de Oro”, “Bulawanong Kalinaw” which will showcase peace initiatives of the province.

The third day of the virtual festivity will feature the “Shoplokal Launch”, an online portal that will showcase Davao de Oro’s local products, “Agri Oro” showcasing the best practices and stories of the farmers and fisherfolks of the province, and the “Byahe ni Gov” a virtual tour giving pride to the tourism circuit destination of the province.

The fourth day of the celebration will brandish the “Pasasalamat”, a tribute concert for the frontliners of Davao de Oro, featuring the renowned band in the country, “Ben&Ben”, and the last day of the online Bulawan Celebration will be the “Bulawanong Pahalipay”, a raffle activity inviting dabawenyos for the chance of winning special prizes and the “Tiktokan Bakunation Campaign” highlighting the province’s Bakunation Campaign. (Jasteen P. Abella, Information Division, Davao de Oro)

Never belittle the little things

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

IN the gospel, the Kingdom of God is often compared to the little things. Christ

said that the Kingdom is like “a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the

garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush…” Again, he said that the

Kingdom is like “yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat

flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” (cfr. Lk 13,18-21)

These words have no other purpose than to tell us that the magnificence of

heaven can be reached through the little ordinary things of our day as long as we

handle or do them with faith, hope and charity.

We need to reconcile ourselves with this happy truth of our faith that we do not

have to wait for extraordinary circumstances for us to reach heaven and even to have a

taste of it even while still here on earth. With the little, ordinary things in our life, we

have all the means and chances to have heaven within our reach.

Sanctity, our ticket to heaven, certainly requires heroism, even to the point of

martyrdom. But we can be sure that by being consistently loving in doing the little things

of life, especially when they are hidden and unappreciated humanly, we would already

be very heroic indeed, even approaching the level of martyrdom.

What we have to do is to learn to find Christ in the little things which comprise

most of our day, if not of our whole life. Another way of saying it is to learn to refer

everything to Christ, no matter how little or insignificant it is.

We should always be with Christ at every moment of our day, offering things to

him, asking him questions like, “Lord, how should I deal with this particular situation, be

it an exciting work, a boring and tiring moment, etc.?”

We should never dare to do things simply on our own. Especially when we find

ourselves in difficulties, in a quandary, in moments of temptation, etc., we have to go to

Christ as quickly as possible and cling to him as tightly as possible.

And we should never forget to thank him all the time, for such gesture connects

us with him in an abiding way. When we are with Christ especially in the little things of

our day, how can we doubt about having heaven in us while still here on earth?

We therefore have to learn to find Christ in everything, doing so not in some

generic, theoretical way, but in a specific, practical way, one that is abiding and active.

This, of course, is a great challenge to all of us, but if we believe in this truth and we try

to conform ourselves to it and to persevere in it, for sure we can achieve a certain

degree of success.

It should be something normal to all of us to feel Christ’s presence in all things,

especially in our little ordinary events of the day, and to correspond to that presence as

actively as possible. This ideal is not only for some people who we usually regard as

mystics and very special people.

We can always find Christ anytime, for what it takes is only an act of faith that we

try to pursue as far as we can. If we persevere in this effort, for sure, sooner or later we

can find Christ even in the most ordinary and even the ugly things of our life.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

What causes typhoons in the Philippines? Is it because of global warming and climate change?

 

Holly Benedicto

Bisaya. Has travelled all over the Philippines, some Asian countries and the United States. Scientific background. Has worked extensively with Americans.

The Philippines is next to the Pacific Ocean where the typhoons are formed.

Typhoons have always been a problem in the Philippines and other countries like Japan that are near the vast Pacific.

Every year, without fail, during the months of June to December, we are plagued with monsoons, typhoons and rain, while we get super hot temperatures and little rain from January to May.

The flooding you see could be from climate change but many areas ALWAYS get flooded, especially those that are low-lying.

This is to be expected on a yearly basis like clockwork…and yet, many are still caught unawares. I wish I knew of a study that explored disaster preparedness across the Philippines so I can give you stats but all I have is opinion: while government agencies like the Philippine Coast Guarda and the Philippine Red Cross are prepared to help in times of disasters, the average Filipino is NOT.

Definitely something we need to be thinking about.

What are some traditional Filipino family names?

Marianne Carandang

writer, editor, researcher, cook

Names in the Philippines will generally fall into these categories:

Names of Indian/Sanskrit origin - Laxamana, Binay, Bagatsing, Bacani

Spanish-Mexican/Latin American names - De Guzman, Lopez, Hernandez, Rodriguez, many assigned by the Spanish religious orders upon baptizing local villages and towns;

Spanish names that are Basque in origin - Sanchez, Diaz, Echeverria, Aguirre, Elizalde. This is a small subset of #2;

Chinese surnames, either in one syllable (Tan, Lim, Ong, Uy, Chan, Go), two syllables (Tanlu, Anglo, Limpe), or in three-syllables, usually a composite of a family patriarch’s full name (Angangco, Yutivo, Golangco).

Interestingly the composite, some 3-syllable names have adopted a more Hispanized spelling over time (Consunji, Syquia, Cojuangco).

“Native” Filipino (meaning non-colonial) surnames - Andal, Dimaano, Macasaet, Puno, Payumo - and apparently my own: Carandang.

The origin of tribal surnames across the Philippines deserves its own group of questions.

Our laws should lead us to God

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          WHEN Christ cured on a Sabbath a woman who had been crippled

by an evil spirit for eighteen years, he was corrected by the

synagogue leader for violating the law on the Sabbath. (cfr. Lk

13,10-17) That was when Christ made the following clarification:

          “Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his

ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of

Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to

have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”

          I imagine that a simple exercise of common sense could

easily see the point of Christ. But many times, we fall into the same

predicament when we would just blindly follow the letter of the law

without discerning the true spirit behind it.

          Ideally, both the letter and the spirit of our laws should

be in perfect harmony. But that is hardly the case in real life. The

problem, of course, is that the articulation of our laws is

conditioned and limited by our human powers that cannot fully capture

the richness of human life, considering its spiritual and supernatural

character that will always involve the intangibles and mysteries and

the like.

          That is the reason why we can go beyond, but not against, a

particular law, when such law cannot fully express the concrete

conditions of a particular case. This is when we can apply the

principle of “epikeia.”

          But first, we have to understand that our human laws are

meant to lead us to our ultimate goal which is none other than to be

with God, to be holy as God is holy, etc. Irrespective of their

immediate temporal purpose, our laws should lead us little by little

to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be. They in the

end should serve the fundamental religious purpose of our life. That

should always be the constant purpose of our laws.

          All the other objectives of our laws, let alone their

technical requirements, serve only as an occasion, a reason or motive

for this ultimate purpose. Setting aside this ultimate purpose would

empty our laws of their real legitimacy, making them rife for all

kinds of manipulations and maneuverings by some shrewd men who may

enjoy some power at a given moment.

          We have to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives

the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse

ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our

common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil

according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our

traditions and culture, etc.

          While these things have their legitimate role to play in our

legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be

the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways

that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply

and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the

one who establishes what is truly good and evil.

          With the way today’s legal and juridical systems worldwide

are drifting toward extreme positivism that simply bases itself on our

perceptual experiences and people’s consensus and systematically

shutting out any input from faith and divine revelation, we need to

remind ourselves that God’s law is in fact the foundation, the

inspiration and the perfection of our human laws.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

The Foremost Horse in a Team

Are you a guide, a commander or a conductor? Are you a leader, who knows how to play the first card in the team? Do you know how to direct, to persuade or to precede?

The classic succession “horse race” pits two or three senior executives against each other in a battle over performance — the winner becoming the next chief executive officer.

Some executives and governance observers are uncomfortable with the horse race approach — which we define as an overt competition for the CEO role among several recognized candidates within an established time frame — out of concern about the potential impact that such a high stakes contest may have on an organization. Nevertheless, the horse race undeniably has been successful in helping many admired companies choose their next leader.

I found a very nice quotation shared by Dr. John C. Maxwell, the leading authority on leadership, who says, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way!" "Nearly all men can withstand adversity. If you truly want to test a man's character, give him power", already stressed Abraham Lincoln. Character is what you are doing in the dark. By the way, nowadays, I wouldn't only mention "men"  alone when it comes to leadership. There are innumerable women holding their own. 

Remember and look around: in the past and at present one can observe someone at any corner offering us to lead our way. Politicians compete for our vote of confidence. Athletes and entertainers show us their pictures of success. A lot of different religious leaders pledge, promise and bind in flock gatherings.

Well, what are some of the traits that a great leader must have or develop character? Is character really enough? How about integrity? Are you, my dear reader, a leader? Is what you are saying AND  DOING, the same? Are your followers wholeheartedly convinced of your integrity?

Albert Einstein, one of my favorite idols, had said, "Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with the important matters!"

Leaders in politics, leaders in clergy, leaders in business - many have been lacking this specific trait in the past, because, after all, what they said is not what they did.  A leader is someone with character, integrity, discipline, and the ability to influence others in a positive way.  A leader must be able to motivate his or her people around, rather than manipulate them or run away in times of difficult decisions... !

Albert Einstein claimed that he had no special abilities, only persistence. But that was enough to develop the General Relativity Theory. I learned from my Philippine mentor and book author (German-Philippine Relations), the late Monsignor Professor Dr. Hermogenes E. Bacareza already during the 1980's: "It's important to become your own best friend. Be your own coach. Take to your inner self  as if you were talking to another person you care deeply about. And, pray!"

Why do Filipinos like to make indirect potshots ("patama") ...

... instead of directly saying their issues to the person they're saying the remarks to?

Holly Benedicto

Bisaya. Has travelled all over the Philippines, some Asian countries and the United States. Scientific background. Has worked extensively with Americans.

Filipinos are non-confrontational.

We prefer passive aggression to actually getting into an altercation with someone.

There is a stigma against people who are too assertive, too “strong”, too vocal, especially when it’s a woman. But because we are non-confrontational, we just avoid these people or keep quiet until we reach a boiling point. Same approach with any problems. Many Filipinos strive for “peace” and love the quote, “be positive! “. To a point, it becomes toxic positivity.

That boiling point differs. For some, it never comes. For others, it might fizzle out. Some might never forget and it gets passed down from one generation to the next. But it never gets addressed.

What can one do to help enrich, contribute, and improve the Philippines and the Filipino culture?

By Holly Benedicto

Bisaya. Has travelled all over the Philippines, some Asian countries and the United States. Scientific background. Has worked extensively with Americans.

Don’t leave it and migrate to other countries. You can work abroad but don’t get a foreign citizenship. Brain drain is a HUGE problem here.

Buy Philippine-made products/support local. Market them on social media and in any international event.

Exercise your right to vote. When you allow the under-educated/uneducated masses whose votes were bought by a pack of groceries to vote but you as a well-educated and disenfranchised individual refuse to vote, you doom the country.

Speak up about cultural issues and problems. The reason why so many issues persist is because many choose to silent in the interest of “pakikisama”. Filipinos are conflict avoidant and pacifist. Have some self-respect. Fight for the future you want and deserve.

Our blindness and our faith

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THAT gospel character Bartimaeus, the blind man, gives us a

precious lesson with respect to a certain blindness that we all have.

Like him, we have to acknowledge our blindness and humbly beg Christ

for a cure by repeating Bartimaeus’ words, “Master, I want to see” (ut

videam). (Mk 10,51)

          Though we may enjoy good vision at the moment, we have to

realize that to be able to see things properly and completely, we

simply do not rely on our eyes nor any of our senses.

          Our eyes and senses can only capture a little part of the

whole reality that governs us. They can only perceive what are called

the sensible realities, still light-years away from the intelligible,

not to mention the spiritual and supernatural aspects of reality.

          Still what they get and gather are very useful and in fact

are indispensable, since the data they give are like the raw materials

that will be processed by our more powerful faculties of intelligence

and will. In this sense we can already consider ourselves as suffering

from some kind of blindness.

          We need to be more aware that nowadays there is a strong

tendency to base our knowledge of things mainly on the material and

sensible realities alone. That’s why we have these disturbing

phenomena of materialism and commercialism comprising our mainstream

world of knowledge and understanding.

          We have to correct this tendency because that simply is not

the whole of reality. Our senses can only have a limited view of

things. And what is worse, that limited condition is aggravated by the

effects and consequences of our sins that not only limit but also

distort reality.

          We should imitate Bartimaeus in that when he realized it was

Christ passing by, he immediately screamed, “Son of David, have pity

on me!” We have to acknowledge that we are blind and that we are in

great need of help that can only come from God who is our Creator,

Father and Provider for everything that we need.

          Being the Creator, God is the one who has designed

everything in the world. He is the one who knows its ins and outs,

what is real and not real, good and bad, etc. It is from him and with

his light that we can see things clearly and completely.

          We should not simply depend on our senses, nor on our

intelligence and will and the other faculties we have, like our

memory, imagination and other talents, no matter how excellent they

are. At best, they are meant to be mere instruments.

          We have to acknowledge our blindness, ask Christ for a cure

with a lot of faith, so that we can actually see and know things as

they really are. We need to humble ourselves so that our pursuit for

knowledge will always be inspired and accompanied by the desire for a

growth of faith, for an insistent faith like that of the blind man in

the gospel, so that that knowledge will lead us to have greater

charity.

          We should be wary of our usual problem which we should

resolve by always deepening our humility. If we notice that the growth

of our knowledge of things does not lead us to a greater love for God

and for others, then it is bogus knowledge no matter how scientific

that knowledge may appear to be.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com