The struggle to be immaculate

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THE Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed

Virgin Mary, celebrated annually on December 8, reminds us of that

most wonderful truth of our faith that we all are actually meant to be

immaculate, that is, sinless, completely holy which means we are truly

and entirely identified with Christ who is holiness himself.

          Yes, we may not be conceived immaculate like what the

Blessed Virgin Mary enjoyed as a divine privilege given to her, but we

should strive, with God’s grace, to be sinless, always fighting

against sin and against anything that can lead us to sin. In a sense,

we have to develop a zeal to be immaculate, like Our Lady, which

definitely would involve constant struggle against sin and

temptations.

          That may be an impossible pursuit, since we all know that we

are all sinners, but it should not prevent us from doing our best to

struggle to be as sinless as possible. In this regard, we should never

forget to develop and strengthen our personal skills in handling

temptations. This concern never goes passé, and it touches a basic,

indispensable aspect of our life in all levels.

          These days, temptations can come to us in the subtlest and

trickiest of ways. This can be due, at least in part, to the increased

level of sophistication both in people’s thinking and in world

developments, especially in the area of technology and ideology.

          With these developments, temptations can easily come

undetected, and sin can be committed in a most hidden way and can even

be easily rationalized. How important therefore it is for us to always

grow in humility and simplicity, aggressively finding practical ways

to achieve them! If not, we would just be lost.

          As can be easily noted these days, the healthy fear of God

is disappearing. In its place, a most heinous sense of self-importance

is dominating. The criteria to determine what is good and bad have

become blurred. They have gone almost completely relativistic and

subjective, declaring total independence from any absolute and

objective rule or law that comes from God.

          Truth is, we always need God in our battle against

temptations. We should disabuse ourselves from the thought that with

our good intentions and our best efforts alone, we can manage to tame

the urges of temptations.

          We cannot! That’s the naked truth about it. We only can if

we are with God. And we have to be with him in a strong, determined

way, not in a passive or lukewarm way. Do flies flock on a hot soup?

No. But they do on a cold or lukewarm soup.

          We need to do everything to be with God. Our mind and heart

should be fully and constantly engaged with him. We always have reason

to do so—at least, we can thank him for what we are having at the

moment: health, food, air, work, etc.

          And to be with God can mean that we have to be actively

involved in the lives of others, since our relation with God always

passes through our relation with others. The more we get involved in

the lives of others, knowing them well, praying for them, helping them

in any we can, etc., the more we get to be with God. And the more we

are with God, the stronger we become to resist sin and temptations.

This is the way toward the ideal of becoming immaculate like our

Mother Mary.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Christmas and vacation

During the Christmas holidays, we tend to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season that we sometimes forget the essence of Christmas. We even remove Christ from the word Christmas, reducing it to X’mas or substituting it with the name of a product or a shopping center.” Yes, guys, honestly, that’s it… I really don’t enjoy receiving “XMAS GREETINGS”…

Somehow, I am looking forward to a two weeks vacation “between the years” – meaning to say between December 23 and January 7. No teaching. I might spend only a few hours in my agency office.

A rest from some occupation, business and other stressful activities is waiting for me. Strictly speaking, vacation concerns those who are in school or studying in colleges and universities. “Furlough” would be the appropriate term…

Christmas and vacation: Speaking about myself – I want to bring back Christ to the holiday season and indeed wish to share my blessings with the less fortunate. One of the best-known religious poems is “The Hound of Heaven” written by Francis Thompson, who tried to run away from God. He wanted to have a vacation from God. In reality, it is Thompson’s own life. His poem shows clearly the fact in this world that we can have a vacation from physical and mental activities, but never from God.

As I stated before: according to the book of Genesis, after God created the universe in six days, he rested on the seventh day. In other words, he took a vacation. So if God rested after working for some period of time, there is no reason why man, who is finite and limited in his physical strength, should not take a vacation.

Vacation is freedom or release from tension or pressure of work. And, believe me, I learned already from my students that they will enjoy Christmas and vacation. Many of us feel tired and weak. We are stressed, overwhelmed, depressed and worried about the future – the enumeration, in any order whatever, could be incessant.

Relaxation, meditation, and reinvigoration are badly needed for most of us nowadays. Life, affected by the “burnout syndrome” needs to be animated with energy and strengths.

Yes, Christmas has always been equated with all these worldly ways. Sure, there is indeed nothing wrong with this. Let’s don’t only focus on non-stop merrymaking and countless gifts. Let’s take a break, and let’s try to imagine and enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas again to everyone – also from this corner…

Charity requires toughness

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          WHEN Christ talked about the lost sheep and how the good

shepherd would do everything to find it (cfr. Mt 18,12-14), he must be

telling us that we should be tough in our love and care for one

another, such that even if someone is in grave error, we should do our

best to help and save him rather than leave him to remain lost.

          This is the charity Christ is showing us. It’s the charity

that is meant for us. With God’s grace, let us learn to develop that

charity, cultivating the relevant allied virtues of optimism, patience

and fidelity, so that instead of being turned off or scandalized by

the evils of others, we would even rev up our concern and solicitude

for those in some form of disorder.

          We need to be tough in this life, otherwise we will fail to

follow Christ who is the epitome of how we should be since he is the

pattern of our humanity, the savior of our damaged humanity, the “way,

the truth and the life” for us.

          Christ was tough to carry out his mission of saving us. He

knew from the beginning that he would be betrayed by someone close to

him, that he would suffer and die a most ignominious death, but these

did not deter him from pursuing his mission. His love for us was and

is such that he can take on anything that would come his way.

          Christ already warned us of the kind of suffering to expect

in our life. “They will seize and persecute you,” he said. (Lk 21,12)

“You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and

friends, and they will put some of you to death.” (Lk 21,16)

          All these should not affect our charity. If anything at all,

we should even be more charitable with those who give us trouble.

Thus, St. Paul described such charity when he said that “love bears

all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all

things.” (1 Cor 13,7) Christ already reassured us that as long as

suffer with him, we will also have the victory of his resurrection.

          In other words, we have to learn how to be friends with

everyone regardless of how they are, because only then can we help

them to attain the ultimate goal common to all of us. We also have to

learn how to deal with any situation, no matter how difficult and

ugly, not so much in physical terms as in the spiritual and moral. If

we are truly Christian, we would have his desire “not to condemn the

world but to save.” (cfr. Jn 3,17)

          As one saint said it, we should be willing to go to the very

gates of hell, without entering it, of course, if only to save a soul.

This obviously would require of us to be tough and clear about the

real goal to reach, and yet flexible and adaptable to any person and

to any condition.

          In this regard, we have to learn how to fraternize with

sinners. We have to replicate Christ’s attitude towards sinners, who

actually are all of us—of course, in varying degrees. We have to give

special attention to the lost sheep and to the lost coin. We have to

open all possible avenues to be in touch with all sinners.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

What are some major social faux pas to avoid when visiting Philippines?

Ethan James Coronel

Pragmatic humanist

Interests include history, politics, philosophy, culture, economics, law and science. I love writing, playing video games and watching movies and anime.

Pragmatic humanist, as the bio says. “Pragmatic” in the sense that truth, for me, is whatever unbiased and unfabricated empirical data says is both effective and appropriate for solving issues according to their contexts and constraints. “Humanist” in the sense that social constructs NEVER reduce the worth of any human being; the only constraint to this is my abhorrence for heinous crime, which makes me support the death penalty. They keep each other in check so I don’t become a dumbass who thinks in black and white terms.

I abhor dogma and malicious propaganda. I will attack both of them relentlessly. That’s why I attack American exceptionalists and Chinese ultranationalists equally.

I am usually open-minded until you are a bigot who dehumanizes people on account of either their sex, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, creed, physical or mental disability, or socioeconomic status. Bonus demerits if you are a Nazi or a Social Darwinist.

Never get on my bad side. There is only one thing you can do for that to occur: making assumptions about who I am without providing any evidence to back up your claim. You can disagree and criticize with me but please do so civilly. If not, I will treat you like shit.

DP is Violet Evergarden from the anime of the same name.

Down to brass tacks:

As a sign of respect (unless you’re told its ok), don’t step inside a house with your shoes on. Politely leave it outside the door.

If you’re offered food casually or asked if you’ve already eaten, don’t take it at face value. In the Philippines, it is more a sign of courtesy than it is an invitation. However, if you’re a guest in a house, accept the offer and eat but don’t forget to leave a little morsel in your plate otherwise, you’ll be branded a glutton.

Never criticize a political leader no matter how strong the urge to do so or asked by your guest or a local. Just say something vague.

If you have local friends and you’re visiting, it would be a welcome treat if you bring with you some small items (‘pasalubong’). Not bringing anything creates the impression that you’re a tightwad.

Not many Filipinos appreciate their heads being touched as a sign of greeting. Shake their hands or nod to acknowledge them.

Don’t take offense when Filipinos call you “Hey, Joe.” To most of us, any Caucasian male/female is American unless you are pointedly asked what your nationality is.

Filipinos are non-confrontational so if you find yourself in situations where you need to assert yourself or correct something, avoid raising your voice or using profanity. We respond better to level-headed and even-handed treatment.

Filipinos are very sensitive and like the Chinese, we have an acute sense of “face” (or saving face). If you can, be diplomatic and never embarrass a local in front of everyone else. Talk to him/her in private if you can. Otherwise, let it go, especially if its small stuff.

We’re big on respect for elders so learn a few terms - use uncle or auntie to people older than you; or lolo (grandpa) or lola (grandma) to the seniors. Calling them merely by their names can be construed as being “fresh.”

A lot of Pinoys are lawbreakers (crossing a street while the stoplight is red, dropping cigarette butts on the streets, throwing candy wrappers or other small thrash items indiscriminately, etc.) but don’t interpret that as a license to imitate the behavior. I once saw a foreigner crossing the middle of Roxas Boulevard while the cars whizzed past. It was totally off-putting.

Fil-Am beauties crowned at Ms Philippines USA 2021 pageant

 

by Robert Requintina, Manila Bulletin

Cheska Angeles, 23, from Tracy, California has been crowned 2021 Ms Philippines USA.

Ysabella Sapienza, 17, from East Brunswick, New Jersey won the title of Ms Young Philippines USA.

Presented by the Geoffrey Jimenez Group of Companies, an evening of glitz and glamour filled the stage at the City National Grove of Anaheim last Nov. 21, during the grand Coronation Night of the Miss Philippines USA 2021 Beauty Pageant, the longest-running Filipino American beauty pageant in the US, now on its 10th successful year.

The 28 outstanding contestants were carefully selected after an arduous nationwide search.

Runners-up for Miss Young Philippines USA were Sophia Salon (Miss Tourism), Hanna Uyan (1st runner-up), Alyanna Santos (2nd runner-up) and Lorraine Mendoza (3rd runner-up). For Miss Philippines USA, runners-up were Bianca Tapia (Miss Tourism), Ericka Zayas (1st runner-up), Samantha Frank (2nd runner-up), and Khayzel Cornel (3rd runner-up).

Annually hosted by TV news correspondents Tony Cabrera of ABC 7, and Cher Calvin of KTLA TV, the star-studded extravaganza was graced by celebrities, including: Gazini Ganados, Miss Universe Philippines 2019, Marc Anthony Nicolas, two-time Emmy award-winning producer of CBS’s “The Talk;” Ben Baller, Jeweler to the Stars, with special guest performances from Jake Zyrus, JayR, 13th PMPC Star Awards for Music Male RNB Artist of the Year Garth Garcia, international singer Angel Bonilla and Michael Keith.

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