Miracles more for our salvation than mere cure

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THAT beautiful gospel episode about a man with palsy who was

brought to Christ by his friends for a cure in a very dramatic way

(cfr. Lk 5,17-26) teaches us the lessons that a strong faith is needed

for miracles to happen, that miracles are meant more to forgive our

sins and for our salvation rather than just curing an ailment, and

that we have to be wary of our tendency to be fault-finders due to our

unbelief.

          Indeed, miracles require a strong faith since they are an

extraordinary divine and supernatural intervention. They are like

asking God to go beyond but not against our natural capabilities that

will always be hounded by our limitations, weaknesses and the

consequences of our sins.

          God never abandons us and is always solicitous of our needs.

The problem is simply ours because we tend to ignore him and, worse,

to be weak in our faith or even not to have faith. We need to do

something to address this predicament of ours. Let’s study the

doctrine of faith, start to live it by making many acts of faith

throughout the day, etc.

          Let’s remember that if we have faith, Christ assured us that

nothing would be impossible. Let’s relish his words: “If you have

faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain,

Remove from there, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be

impossible to you.” (Mt 17,20)

          Also, we have to realize more deeply that miracles are meant

more for the forgiveness of our sins, for our salvation, rather than

just giving us some cure or remedy to an ailment of ours.

          In fact, we can say that any miraculous cure is meant for

the purpose of our salvation. It’s not just to give us some earthly

relief, though there is no doubt that such relief would already

constitute a tremendous favor. We should never miss this aspect of a

miracle that can come to us, otherwise that miracle would go to waste

or would spoil us.

          In this particular gospel episode of the man with the palsy,

Christ did not immediately cure him of his ailment. Rather he forgave

the man’s sins which led to some of the unbelieving Jews to question

him. Christ used that occasion to clarify that he has the power to

forgive sins, precisely because he is God who became man to save us.

The miraculous cure served as some kind of proof to his divinity.

          We also have to be wary of our tendency to be unbelieving,

especially because we have to contend with spiritual and supernatural

realities that may challenge our understanding. Here, we simply have

to be humble to be able to receive what is told to us by faith. We

have to realize that our life, being a life with God and therefore is

supernatural, needs to be lived by faith more than just by our reason

alone.

          We have to constantly struggle against our tendency to be

dependent only on our reason and our feelings. These human faculties

of ours can only capture a part of the reality that governs us. It is

the faith that gives us the global picture of things, since it relates

us to God, our Father and Creator, and tells us everything we need to

know and do to be able to be with God, as our life ought to be.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Advent and our ultimate goal

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THE gospel of the Second Sunday of Advent (cfr. Lk 3,106)

somehow reminds us to appreciate the role of St. John the Baptist in

the whole economy of salvation. It’s definitely a role that encourages

us to be very clear about our ultimate goal in life for which we have

to do everything, so we can attain it. Let’s remember that this is the

most important concern we have in this life.

          And this ultimate goal is nothing other than that we be

“another Christ” who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of

our damaged humanity. All the other things in our life—our personal

circumstances, our profession, our politics, etc.—should only serve as

means to our ultimate end.  While we have to be immersed in them, we

should see to it that we are not confused, trapped and lost in them,

diverting us from our true goal.

          We have to be more sharply and continually aware that all

the things in our life serve simply as the occasions where Christ is

intervening in our life to create and redeem us, to shape us to be

like him. For this, we have to avail of the appropriate means to keep

that awareness alive. Ignoring this condition in our life would

compromise the real purpose of our life here on earth.

          Thus, we have to come up with the proper plans and

strategies that would help us effectively act on this condition and

purpose of our life. They obviously should be plans and strategies

that should be inspired by our faith and not by some human motive or

ideology alone.

          Let’s remember that our faith gives us the complete picture

of the reality and purpose of our life. Any awkwardness or difficulty

we have in living our faith should be overcome. This obviously will

require some discipline. But we need to study our faith, and start

living or putting into practice what our faith teaches us.

          We have to understand that our formation in this regard

should be a lifelong business. We need to realize that our Christian

formation will take our whole lifetime. This should come as no

surprise to us, since our ultimate goal in life is none other than for

each one of us to be “alter Christus,” another Christ. And can anyone

dare to say that he is Christ-like enough?

          We always have to remember that our march toward full

development and maturity, human and not to mention Christian, never

ends in this life. It’s supposed to be an ongoing affair, a work in

progress. We should never say enough.

          The duty to take care of our formation is coterminous with

life itself, which will always give us lessons. And that’s because the

basics and essentials, the absolute, old and the permanent truths,

which we may already know, will always have to cope and somehow need

to get enriched by the incidentals in life, by the relative,

innovative and changing things.

          In his second letter, St. Peter urges us to go on with our

formation: “Strive diligently to supply your faith with virtue, your

virtue with knowledge, your knowledge with self-control, your

self-control with patience, your patience with piety, your piety with

fraternal love, your fraternal love with charity.” (1,5-7)

          And as we all know, charity is a never-ending affair, ever

making new demands on us, and introducing us to more aspects,

dimensions and challenges in life. It will always push us to do more,

to give more, to be more!

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

MUSIC, CHRISTMAS AND GOD

Are all terms in the right order? In logical sequence? For some of you, my dear readers, they must have passed out by a dozen. 

Honestly, writing about political topics is really tiring me. Especially now and today. While writing this piece, I am getting tons of political news.Yes, I am very well understanding everything. But why do I choose "Music, Christmas and God"? Again, the right (or wrong?) order doesn't matter. Really!

Christmas is just around the corner. Almost.  I become very thoughtful and melancholy during the season. That's okay. Maybe also you. I try to delete topics such as war, corruption, killing, pandemic,natural disasters et cetera et cetera pp. I even try to delete them here in my opinion. I try to look forward to Christmas with a happy heart.

Christmas is just around the corner. God is with me daily. He is my companion during every second of my life. And, what has this to do with music?

Music has been my second life companion for many years. I remember the day my parents first lugged the heavy accordion up our front stoop, taxing the small frame. They gathered me in the living room and opened the case  as if it were a treasure chest. And guys, it really was. And, it was several days BEFORE Christmas. 

"Here it is," my parents said. "Once you learn to play it, it will be with you for life!" Thank God, it is. Believe it - up to now. Here in my house in Davao City. My very first instrument... .

Anyway, back to the past: if my thin smile didn't match my parents' full-fledged grin, it was because I prayed for a piano! It was at the end of the 1950s, and I was glued to my AM- and ShortWave Radio Stations, playing classical music 24/7. Accordions were nowhere in my hit parade - even later during the 1960s and 1970s... .

Sometime on a Sunday, one of my favourite days till now, I started taping radio shows with classical music. It seemed that I was hanging on every note. I joined the college band. But I admired classical composers such as Beethoven and Mozart, just to mention two. I never became perfect in my piano play to coax sweet sounds. I also admire people who can do so. But I developed a passion for music.

Music, God - and, yes: Merry Christmas to all of you - also from this corner, even there are still some more days.... .

Carefree Fun South of Surigao and Agusan

What good vision and blindness really are

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THAT gospel episode where two blind men approached Christ

asking for a cure of their condition (cfr. Mt 9,27-31) somehow reminds

us of what really is to have a good vision and what true blindness is.

I believe that our common understanding of these two realities in our

life does not go far enough to enter into the question of what they

really are.

          We usually say that we can consider ourselves as having good

vision when we can see things clearly, as in having what some eye

specialists term as 20/20 visual acuity. And blindness is understood

as when we do not see things at all or clearly enough. Obviously,

these are correct descriptions. But they are not enough.

          Let us remember that all our human powers and faculties—our

intelligence, will, all our senses, emotions, memory, imagination,

etc.—are given to us by our Creator so that we can be what he wants us

to be—his image and likeness, sharers of his divine life. They are all

meant for us to be able to be with God, since our life is not meant

only to be a natural life, but is also meant to be a supernatural life

with God.

          In other words, the proper object of all our faculties and

powers, including our sense of sight, is God himself. If we only use

them to engage ourselves with earthly and temporal things but failing

to relate ourselves to God, then we would actually be misusing them.

That is when, in the case of our sense of sight, we can be regarded as

blind, even if we can see things clearly. Unless we see God through

our sense of sight, we can consider ourselves as somehow blind.

          Obviously, our sense of sight would need a higher faculty to

put it in its proper condition. That is where our intelligence and

will have to do their part in connecting themselves with God’s gift of

faith so they can train our senses, including our eyes, to discern the

presence of God whom they have to see, hear, taste, etc. Our senses

just cannot be on their own. They need to be guided by our

intelligence and will that in turn should be enlightened by faith.

          When one has faith, even if it is just little, we can

actually see the marvels of God taking place all around us everyday.

Our eyes can see God everywhere. It is faith that lets us enter into

the spiritual and supernatural world. It brings us to share in God’s

wisdom and power. Remember those stirring words of Christ: “If you

have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain,

Remove from there, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be

impossible to you.” ((Mt 17,20)

          It is faith that tells us that God is present everywhere,

and more than that, he is actually and abidingly intervening in our

lives, since he is still creating and redeeming us through the

ordinary events and circumstances of our life. In other words, God

speaks and shows his will to us through the all the things that

comprise our day. It’s when we fail to realize this truth that we

truly become blind.

          This is a truth of faith that we should be constantly aware

of, so we can do our part in corresponding to God’s actions on us. We

need to train all our faculties and powers, including our senses,

especially our eyes, to capture that basic reality of our life.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

TS 'Nyatoh' to enter PAR soon; rains over northern, central Luzon due to 'amihan' — PAGASA

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, Manila Bulletin

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) continues to monitor a tropical storm, with an international name “Nyatoh,” as it may enter the country’s area of responsibility between Wednesday afternoon and evening, Dec. 1.

PAGASA weather specialist Aldczar Aurelio said the center of Nyatoh was located 1,330 kilometers east of southern Luzon at around 3 a.m., Wednesday.

It has maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 105 kph while moving west-northwestward at 15 kph.

Aurelio said Nyatoh will be assigned its local name “Odette” once inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) Wednesday afternoon or evening.

He added that the storm is only expected to stay briefly inside the PAR and may have no direct effect on the country in the next few days.

However, Aurelio said PAGASA will continue to monitor this weather disturbance for a possible change in the scenario.

PAGASA said the northeast monsoon, locally called “amihan,” will be the dominant weather system, particularly affecting Luzon.

In the next 24 hours, cloudy skies and rains may prevail over Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, and Aurora.

PAGASA warned those in these areas to stay vigilant against possible flash floods or landslides, particularly in the event of moderate to, at times, heavy rains.

Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will only have partly cloudy to cloudy skies and isolated light rains due to the amihan.

Meanwhile, Visayas and Mindanao may experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms.

Those in Visayas and Mindanao should also remain vigilant as severe thunderstorm activities may sometimes trigger flash floods or landslides, PAGASA said.

From intention and words to deeds

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          “Not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into

the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is

in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 7,21)

          With these words of Christ, we are clearly reminded that we

should not only have good intentions and beautiful words of promise,

but rather the strong conviction to bring those intentions and words

into action. What is important is that we do the will of God, and not

just wish and promise to do it. This is what to be a true Christian

is, and not just a Christian in name.

          Let’s remember also that parable Christ said about the two

sons who were asked their father to work in the vineyard. (cfr. Mt

21,28-32) One said ‘yes’ but did not go, while the other said ‘no’ but

actually went. The conclusion of that parable, of course, was that the

one who initially said ‘no’ but went to the vineyard was the one who

did the will of his father.

          Obviously, the ideal is that what we intend, what we say and

promise, should be carried out into deeds. St. Paul has something very

relevant to say about this. “Not the hearers of the law are just

before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Rom 2,13)

St. James says something similar: “Be doers of the word, and not

hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (1,22)

          Christ himself lived by this principle, even at the expense

of his own life. “I do nothing of myself, but as the Father has taught

me...” (Jn 8,28) And in the agony in the garden, he expressed that

most eloquent submission to his Father’s will, “Not my will but yours

be done.” (Lk 22,42)

          We need to understand that our whole life is a matter of

conforming ourselves to God’s will, the very seat of our ultimate

identity as persons and children of God. This would involve the stages

of knowing that will, believing it, then professing it and putting it

into action. In short, receiving our faith, then turning it into life

itself.

          All saints and the parade of holy men and women all through

the ages have done nothing other than this. They had their ups and

downs, their wins and losses, but they always stood up after each fall

or loss, they repented, and went back to action again.

          Of course, the epitome among the saints is Our Lady, who was

praised by Christ himself to high heavens. When someone in the crowd

told him his mother was around, he said: “Behold my mother and my

brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in

heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mt 12, 29-50)

          We should see to it that we are good not only in words and

in intentions, but also and most especially in deeds. Our usual

problem, given our human nature and the current condition of our

woundedness, is that we tend precisely to be very good in words and in

intentions but really poor in performance and consistency.

          We have to remember that what is truly important is that we

always live by God’s will. This is how we become truly human and

Christian, image and likeness of God as he wants us to be.

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

roycimagala@gmail.com

Reisehinweise für die Philippinen

 

Auswärtiges Amt

www.auswaertiges-amt.de
==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ====

Philippinen: Reise- und Sicherheitshinweise (Teilreisewarnung und COVID-19-bedingte Reisewarnung)

29.11.2021

Lagen können sich schnell verändern und entwickeln. Wir empfehlen Ihnen:
- Verfolgen Sie Nachrichten und Wetterberichte
- Achten Sie auf einen ausreichenden Reisekrankenversicherungsschutz https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/-/350944
- Abonnieren Sie unseren Newsletter https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/newsroom/newsletter/bestellen-node oder nutzen Sie unsere App „Sicher Reisen“ https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/app-sicher-reisen/350382
- Folgen Sie uns auf Twitter: AA_SicherReisen https://twitter.com/AA_SicherReisen
- Registrieren Sie sich in unserer Krisenvorsorgeliste https://krisenvorsorgeliste.diplo.de 

Aktuelles
Die Ausbreitung von COVID-19 https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-gesundheit/gesundheit-fachinformationen/reisemedizinische-hinweise/Coronavirus/-/2309820 kann weiterhin zu Einschränkungen im internationalen Luft- und Reiseverkehr und Beeinträchtigungen des öffentlichen Lebens führen.

Vor nicht notwendigen, touristischen Reisen in die Philippinen wird derzeit gewarnt.

Epidemiologische Lage

Die Philippinen sind von COVID-19 stark betroffen, wobei von einer hohen Dunkelziffer bei den Infektionszahlen auszugehen ist. Das Gesundheitssystem ist sehr belastet. Die Philippinen sind als Hochrisikogebiet https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html eingestuft.
Aktuelle und detaillierte Zahlen bieten das philippinische Gesundheitsministerium https://www.doh.gov.ph/ und die Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/ph.

Einreise

Reisenden, die sich innerhalb der letzten 14 Tage in bestimmten Hochrisikogebieten, in denen die neue Omikron-Mutation des Coronavirus festgestellt wurde, aufgehalten haben, und die nicht die philippinische Staatsangehörigkeit besitzen, ist die Einreise in die Philippinen derzeit untersagt. Aus diesen Ländern ankommende internationale Flüge wurden bis auf weiteres ausgesetzt. Nähere Informationen können bei der philippinischen Botschaft http://philippine-embassy.de/ erfragt werden.

Passagiere, die sich in diesen Ländern lediglich im Flughafentransit aufgehalten haben, sind von der Einreisesperre nicht betroffen. Sie unterliegen den aktuellen philippinischen Quarantänevorschriften.

Bis auf weiteres ist Ausländern die Einreise für touristische Zwecke in die Philippinen verboten. Erteilte philippinische Einreise-Visa wurden für ungültig erklärt, neue touristische Visa werden derzeit grundsätzlich nicht ausgestellt. Ausnahmen gelten ausschließlich für Flugzeug- und Schiffsbesatzungen, für Familienangehörige (Ehegatten, Kinder, Eltern) von philippinischen Staatsangehörigen, für Diplomaten und Angehörige internationaler Organisationen, die in den Philippinen akkreditiert sind, sowie für Ausländer, die bereits im Besitz von Langzeitvisa sind. Die Quarantänevorgaben richten sich nach dem Aufenthalt in den letzten 14 Tagen vor Einreise aus einem der vom Gesundheitsministerium definierten Länder der „Green“ oder „Yellow List" und dem Impfstatus. https://iatf.doh.gov.ph/?page_id=77 Einreisen aus Ländern der „Red List https://iatf.doh.gov.ph/?page_id=77“ (darunter derzeit Österreich, Tschechien, Ungarn, Niederlande, Schweiz, Belgien und Italien) sind bei Voraufenthalten in den letzten 14 Tagen verboten. Ausschließlicher Flughafentransit fällt nicht unter dieses Verbot. Deutschland gehört bislang zu den Ländern der „Yellow List“.

Als vollständig geimpft gilt, wer einen Impfnachweis über eine in den Philippinen erfolgte vollständige Impfung oder einen von den Philippinen anerkannten ausländischen Impfnachweis vorlegt. Deutsche Impfnachweise in Form des gelben WHO-Impfbuches oder das Digitale COVID-Zertifikat der EU https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_de werden anerkannt. Kreuzimpfungen werden akzeptiert, eine einfache Impfung nach einem durchgemachten Infekt ist hingegen nicht ausreichend.

Green List (derzeit ausgesetzt):

• Vollgeimpft, PCR-Test nicht älter als 72 Stunden vor Abflug → keine Quarantäne, 14 Tage Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome.
• Ungeimpft, nicht vollständig geimpft, Impfstatus nicht feststellbar oder vollgeimpft, aber kein PCR-Test vor Abreise → Quarantäne in Quarantäne-Einrichtung, Buchung muss bei Abflug vorliegen, PCR-Test am fünften Tag, nach negativem Ergebnis Entlassung und Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome bis zum 14. Tag.
Yellow List:

• Vollgeimpft, PCR-Test nicht älter als 72 Stunden vor Abflug → Quarantäne in Quarantäne-Einrichtung, Buchung muss bei Abflug vorliegen, PCR-Test am dritten Tag, nach negativem Ergebnis Entlassung und Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome bis zum 14. Tag.
• Vollgeimpft, ohne PCR-Test vor Abflug → Quarantäne in Quarantäne-Einrichtung, Buchung muss bei Abflug vorliegen, PCR-Test am fünften Tag, nach negativem Ergebnis Entlassung und Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome bis zum zehnten Tag.
• Ungeimpft, nicht vollständig geimpft, Impfstatus nicht feststellbar → Quarantäne in Quarantäne-Einrichtung, Buchung muss bei Abflug vorliegen, PCR-Test am siebten Tag, nach negativem Ergebnis Entlassung und Heimquarantäne bis zum 14. Tag.
Die Quarantänevorgaben für Minderjährige richten sich nach den Vorgaben für begleitende Sorgeberechtigte/Eltern, unabhängig von ihrem eigenen Impfstatus oder Herkunftsland.
Vollständig geimpfte Diplomaten und Angehörige internationaler Organisationen müssen bei Einreise aus einem Land der „Green List“ einen negativen PCR-Test vorlegen, der nicht älter als 72 Stunden ist. Die Quarantäne entfällt, an deren Stelle tritt 14-tägige Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome. Bei Einreise aus einem Land der „Yellow List“ sind Heimquarantäne und am fünften Tag ein PCR-Test zu absolvieren. Nach negativem Ergebnis endet die Heimquarantäne und es erfolgt Selbstbeobachtung auf Symptome bis zum zehnten Tag.

Reisende müssen sich vor Einreise über das Portal „One Health Pass https://www.onehealthpass.com.ph/e-HDC/“ registrieren. Der Nachweis in Form eines QR Codes ist den Fluggesellschaften beim Einchecken vorzulegen.

Durch- und Weiterreise
Reisen zwischen den Provinzen sind eingeschränkt möglich. Es müssen Gesundheitszeugnisse, gegebenenfalls ein negativer PCR-Test oder philippinische/anerkannte ausländische Impfnachweise vorgelegt und in der Zielprovinz im Einzelfall Quarantäne abgeleistet werden.
Die Ausreise ist Ausländern, die sich im Land aufhalten, jederzeit erlaubt. Viele Fluggesellschaften verlangen für den Reiseantritt in den Philippinen einen negativen PCR-Test oder einen Impfnachweis.

Reiseverbindungen
Für die Einreise über die Flughäfen in Manila, Clark und Cebu bestehen Kontingente. Fluggesellschaften erhalten ihre Kontingente mit geringem zeitlichen Vorlauf, was zu kurzfristigen Umbuchungen oder Flugstornierungen führen kann.

Beschränkungen im Land
Die Quarantänemaßnahmen sind regional unterschiedlich. Derzeit gilt im Großraum Manila eine Quarantänestufe mit Einschränkungen in der Versorgung und der Bewegungsfreiheit sowie eine nächtliche Ausgangssperre für Minderjährige. Stadtbezirke können diese Einschränkungen eigenständig verschärfen.
Die zwischenzeitlich unterbrochenen regulären Verkehrsverbindungen zwischen den Inseln des Landes wurden wieder aufgenommen, können jedoch jederzeit kurzfristig wiedereingestellt werden.
Die touristische Infrastruktur ist eingeschränkt, zahlreiche Hotels und Resorts sind geschlossen.

Hygieneregeln
Im öffentlichen Raum (in Gebäuden, aber auch im Freien) gilt die Pflicht, einen Mund-Nasen-Schutz zu tragen, in medizinischen Einrichtungen zusätzlich einen Gesichtsschutz (face-shield). Es gibt das Gebot, sozialen Abstand zu wahren. Massenansammlungen sind verboten. Verstöße sind mit Geld- bis hin zu Gefängnisstrafen bewehrt. Im Fall einer Infektion erfolgt die Isolierung grundsätzlich in staatlicher Unterbringung.

Empfehlungen

• Seien Sie bei allen Reisen weiterhin besonders vorsichtig und beachten Sie unsere fortlaufend aktualisierte Infobox zu COVID-19/Coronavirus.
• Achten Sie bei Einreise nach Deutschland auf die geltenden Einreisevoraussetzungen zu Anmelde-, Quarantäne- und Nachweisregelungen (vollständige Impfung oder Genesenennachweis oder aktueller negativer COVID-19-Test).
• Achten Sie auf die Einhaltung der AHA-Vorschriften und befolgen Sie zusätzlich die Hinweise lokaler Behörden. Bei Verstößen gegen die Hygienevorschriften können hohe Geldstrafen oder Gefängnisstrafen verhängt werden.
• Informieren Sie sich über detaillierte Maßnahmen und ergänzende Informationen der philippinischen Regierung.
• Falls Sie im Besitz eines Langzeitvisums sind oder eine Sondereinreisegenehmigung mit Touristenvisum beantragen möchten, erkundigen Sie sich bei den philippinischen Behörden, in Deutschland z.B. bei der Philippinischen Botschaft, ob Sie zur Gruppe derjenigen gehören, für die eine Einreise möglich ist.
• Erkundigen Sie sich bei Ihrer Fluggesellschaft über die genauen Vorgaben.
• Bei COVID-19 Symptomen oder Kontakt mit Infizierten kontaktieren Sie das lokale Gesundheitsamt.

God’s providence and our needs and limitations

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          IF there’s anything we can learn from that beautiful gospel

episode of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (cfr. Mt

15,29-37), it surely is that God will always provide for our needs and

limitations. He will, in fact, do everything to snatch us from the

worst evil that can happen to us through the most effective and wise

redemptive work of Christ.

          God always provides for our needs. He is a very

compassionate God who cannot tolerate to see people suffer. That

gospel story has a very happy, uplifting ending.

          And yet, if I may, we can ask the question—that if God is

that compassionate and generous, then why is there so much suffering,

poverty and misery around? It would even look like God is completely

indifferent to this sad condition worldwide. It would look like many

people are left to rot in their miserable condition.

          The answer, of course, is that, yes, God is always

compassionate. He cannot tolerate seeing people suffer. He will always

provide for all our needs. He even went to the extent of becoming man

in Christ who had to offer his life to attain the greatest need of

mankind—our salvation. With that supreme act of compassion and

generosity freely done, what other need do we have that would not be

taken care of by God?

          The truth is that God has provided us with everything. From

our life with all its natural endowments to the air and water, to the

abundant food from plants and animals and other resources, he has

given them all for us to use and to live with the dignity of being

children of God.

          The problem is that we do not know how to manage them, how

to care and help one another. There is so much indifference and

self-indulgence, the germs that would develop into a worldwide

pandemic of social injustice and inequality.

          And when we are faced with our limitations and a state of

helplessness, we should just be ready for them and know not only how

to deal with them but also how to derive something good from them. In

these instances of the hard predicaments, for example, when we seem to

be at a loss as to what to do, we should just see at what God does,

after we have done all things possible to solve our problems.

          We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to

learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we

have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for

us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we

are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our

way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death

on the cross.

          Let’s always remember that God, in his ineffable ways, can

also talk to us through these crosses. In fact, he can convey precious

messages and lessons through them. It would be good that we have a

theological attitude toward them, and be wary of our tendency to react

to them in a purely human way, based only on our senses and feelings

and on worldly trends.

          In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always

go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and

his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions

appears unanswered, if not, contradicted.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

PH won't allow entry of fully-vaxxed foreigners; LGUs to step up COVID-19 response

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos, Manila Bulletin

The Philippines will not be pushing through with its plan to open the borders to foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on December 1 due to the threat of the highly mutated Omicron variant.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles made the statement after the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed on Friday the entry of fully vaccinated foreigners from non-visa-required countries from December 1 to 15, 2021.

In a statement, the acting Palace spokesman said the IATF made the move to temporarily suspend its resolution allowing the entry of foreign nationals during their meeting on November 28, 2021.

The recent turn of events came following the discovery of the Omicron variant which is said to be the “most heavily mutated” COVID-19 strain that was first discovered in South Africa.

With Omicron designated as a variant of concern, Nograles said the IATF approved recommendations to strengthen the COVID-19 response of local government units (LGUs) which include strongly enjoining LGUs to:

Heighten their alert for increasing and clustering of cases and emphasize the need for active case finding

Immediately conduct contact tracing and isolation of cases detected from case surveillance among the community, including domestic and international travelers

Use RT-PCR testing in order to allow for whole-genome sequencing of collected samples

The Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units are likewise directed to ensure targeted selection of samples for sequencing and address declining submissions of laboratories and regions from domestic and international travelers.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Quarantine and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with the local government units (LGUs) have been directed to identify and locate passengers from red list territories who arrived within 14 days prior to November 29, 2021. These passengers will be required to complete quarantine under a home quarantine set-up for 14 days from the date of arrival and undergo RT-PCR if symptoms develop.

The IATF placed 14 countries under the red list due to the Omicron variant.

The LGUs and the DILG are further directed to ensure strict implementation and adherence to the Prevent – Detect – Isolate – Test – Reintegrate strategy and adherence and compliance to minimum public health standards (MPHS) with the directive given to the Philippine National Police to enforce MPHS compliance.

In addition, the Department of Health (DOH) is directed to ensure the country’s health system capacity is prepared to address the increase of COVID-19 cases if any; while the Sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics is directed to begin preparing models to show the potential impact of the Omicron variant to prevailing protocols and approvals of the IATF.

On Friday afternoon, November 26, Nograles said the Department of Health (DOH) and the IATF are “actively monitoring” the developments.

He added that the government is in constant communication with the World Health Organization (WHO) on the matter.