Living with mysteries

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

THAT otherwise amusing story of how the baby of Elizabeth and Zechariah was to be called John instead of Zechariah as their neighbors suggested (cfr. Lk 1,57-66) somehow tells us that in our life we have to contend with certain mysteries that often defy common sense, logic, tradition and our other human and natural ways.

We should just be humble enough to realize that our natural certainties can never cope with the mysteries of life. No matter how objective and scientific these certainties are derived, no matter how deep and exhaustive our philosophies, theologies and ideologies are made, our certainties just cannot take all the mysteries in our life.

Even in the world of nature where in theory we have the capacity to know things conclusively, we often find ourselves in situations of tentativeness and even of outright error. That is why we are always in the process of discoveries and we would not know when we can end it, that is to say, when we can say that we have known everything to be known in the world of nature.

This does not mean that our certainties can never know the truth, even the absolute, and not just relative truths. Yes, we can, but the best that we can do is to project ourselves to infinite possibilities, because even the absolute truths are not things that are frozen. They are always dynamic.

Our certainties can only tackle some aspects and levels of the reality that is proper to us. We need to realize more deeply that we have to contend not only with natural and even spiritual realities but also with supernatural realities that simply are above our nature to know, unless some revelation is made which should be corresponded to with our act of belief.

We just have to learn to abandon ourselves to the mysterious ways of God who in his wise providence takes care of everything. We are not expected to know and understand everything. What is expected of us is to have faith in God so we can always be with him no matter how things turn.

With all the things that we have to contend with in this life, we certainly need to have a healthy sense of trust in God’s loving and wise providence, abandoning ourselves in his will and ways that often are mysterious to us and can appear to be contrary to what we would like to have.

We just have to be ready for wherever divine providence would take us. We have to be open to it all the time. Even as we make our plans and pursue them truly as our own, we should not forget that nothing in our life is actually outside the providence of God who can adapt himself to us, even in our worst situations and predicaments, and still lead us to himself.

The only thing to remember is that God is always around and is actually intervening and directing our life to him. That is part of his omnipotence which he exercises both from all eternity and in time since our creation and all the way to the end of time.

We need to be open to his providence, because even if God is 100% responsible for our life, we too, in a manner of speaking, are also 100% responsible for our life. Since we have been created in God’s image and likeness, we cannot help but have our life immersed also in God’s life. We need to learn to live our life with him as consciously and as freely as possible with him.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Traslacion festivities to resume in Davao

Published December 22, 2022, 10:25 AM

by Christina Hermoso

Devotees of the Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno (Black Nazarene) in Davao City have announced the resumption of all activities related to the feast of the Traslacion of the revered image on Jan. 9.

Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church)

“As the situation here in our city has slowly returned to pre-pandemic levels, we are announcing that the face-to-face activities including the foot procession will return in this year’s Traslacion festivities,” the Davao Nazareno said over Radio Veritas. 

Organizers said devotees are looking forward to the resumption of activities in honor of the Black Nazarene which had been canceled for the last two years.

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) in Manila earlier called on devotees to celebrate the feast of the Traslacion on January 9 in their respective parishes to help decongest the crowd in Quiapo.

The Quiapo Church has canceled the annual Traslacion procession in view of the ongoing pandemic and has instead encouraged devotees to go to the Quirino Grandstand for the holy mass and the “pagpupugay” in lieu of the traditional “pahalik.”

The official replica of the Black Nazarene will be enshrined at the Our Lady of Peñafrancia GKK Chapel in Buhanginan Davao City which is under the San Alfonso Maria de Liguori Parish, the Davao Nazareno said.

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“The devotees of the Black Nazarene here in the Archdiocese of Davao are hoping that with the smooth return of all face-to-face activities we will be able to spread the love and mercy of the Risen Lord, the Nazareno, to all Catholic faithful in our city as they are facing new challenges brought by complex geopolitical and economic situations,” the group stressed.

What Filipino foods can I serve to my white friends?

Ronna Lou

 · 

Philippine-Women.com Dating Coach and Matchmaking Consultant

What Filipino foods can I serve to my white friends?

According to my foreign friends, these are some of the Filipino dishes they can’t resist.

• Adobo
• Lechon
• Sisig
• Kare-Kare
• Lumpia
• Sinigang

For desserts, these are the ones they love.

• Halo-Halo
• Leche Flan
• Buko Pandan
• Maja Blanca
• Cassava Cake
• Ube Halaya

You can read more about Filipino food here: Top Must-Try Filipino Dishes

Daphne Oseña Paez appointed as Palace 'press briefer'

By Kristina Maralit  and Aric John Sy Cua

December 21, 2022 1180

(UPDATE) TELEVISION personality and The Manila Times columnist Daphne Oseña Paez has been appointed as the official "press briefer" of the Palace.

Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) Officer in Charge Cheloy Garafil formally introduced Paez to the Malacañang Press Corps in a briefing on Tuesday.

Garafil said that Paez's main role will be to give the press briefer on "every activity, program of President [Ferdinand] Marcos Jr."

Paez, who earned her degrees in Fine Arts and History from the University of Toronto, began her career in media in the country in ABS-CBN as a news reporter in the 1990s. She was also the weather presenter of the late night English newscast, "The World Tonight."

As Malacañang's "explainer," Paez will "regularly be the source of updates from the Palace."

"I look forward to working with all of you in a harmonious and collegial manner because I am also one of you. I am very honored to be communicating the message and programs of this administration, of course, in an accurate and effective way and I will do my best," the 52-year-old said.

She likewise clarified that she is not the new Palace spokesman and that Marcos will still continue to "speak for himself."

"I am just here to support the Office of the Press Secretary for now," she said.

Paez told reporters that this is her first time working directly with the government.

Antibiotics shortages as surging illnesses spur demand

By Agence France-Presse

PARIS: Europe and North America have seen shortages of the key antibiotic amoxicillin and other medications as surging illnesses particularly among children have increased demand for the drugs.

Hospitals in many countries have come under pressure from a rising number of illnesses including what has been dubbed a "tripledemic" of Covid-19, influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which causes bronchiolitis.

But ramping up production of antibiotics has proved difficult for drug makers, particularly for cheap generic medicines that offer a slender profit margin.

What and where?

Amoxicillin is a member of the penicillins antibiotic family and is used to treat a range of bacterial illnesses, including chest and ear infections, often in children.

In France, the medicines regulator ANSM said last month that there are "strong supply tensions" for the version of amoxicillin most used by children, warning the situation could last until March.

Spain's medicines agency also warned last month of potential amoxicillin shortages.

Germany, too, has sounded the alarm about shortages of a range of drugs including amoxicillin and other antibiotics.

Last week, the UK government issued "serious shortage protocols" for three penicillin-based antibiotics.

The move came after at least 19 children died from Group A Streptococcus (Strep A), amid reports that doctors and parents are struggling to find antibiotics to treat the illness.

Outside of Europe, amoxicillin has been on the US Food and Drug Administration drug shortage database since October.

The FDA told AFP that it "is currently working with the approved manufacturers and others in the supply chain."

Other countries including Canada and Australia have also recently put amoxicillin on their list of drugs for which pharmacists are authorized to find substitute treatments.

What is causing the shortages?

Winter in the northern hemisphere has brought a particularly nasty influenza season as well as spikes in other viruses such as RSV. The surge comes after two years in which Covid measures such as quarantines, self-isolation and mask-wearing significantly decreased the rate of such illnesses.

Pharmaceutical companies who had cut back production because of the previously falling demand are now scrambling to meet skyrocketing orders, causing delays.

The producers of the drugs' active ingredients have also struggled with shortages.

Sandoz, the generic drug division of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, told AFP that the "stock shortages at our competitors also contribute to the unexpectedly high sales of our drugs, and therefore to additional supply difficulties."

Sign of a wider problem?

Antibiotics are old drugs whose patents have often fallen into the public domain, meaning that generic versions can be sold cheaply.

Drug makers therefore have little monetary incentive to produce such antibiotics. Indeed, even generics producers can struggle to maintain a significant profit.

Thomas Borel, the scientific director at LEEM which represents French drugs firms, said there had been insufficient investment from the industry "in view of the growing demand for this type of medicine."

He added that the economic model makes it difficult for drug makers "to recover their costs" when it comes to antibiotics.

Another issue is that only around 10 firms, most of them in Asia, still produce the active ingredients for amoxicillin.

Solutions?

In the short term, national health authorities have recommended that pharmacists and doctors substitute the drugs in short supply with other medications whenever possible, as well as limiting treatment duration.

Manufacturers including Britain's GSK have also ramped up production speed.

Sandoz said it has hired more staff and invested in upping production at its Kundl site in Austria.

More broadly, some industry specialists have called for a new business model that combines the needs of patients and those of the companies that produce such cheap drugs.

LEEM's Borel said "the pharmaceutical industry must be considered to be a strategic sector in which public authorities must be more vigilant than they have been in recent years."

LPA enters PAR but less likely to develop into a tropical depression – Pagasa

By Arlie O. Calalo, Manila Times

December 21, 2022

A low pressure area (LPA) has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) but has less chance of turning into a tropical depression in the next 48 hours, the state-run weather agency said on Wednesday.

The LPA was spotted past 3 a.m. some 210 kilometers east-northeast of Davao City, according to weather forecaster Grace Castañeda of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

She said the weather disturbance was less likely to escalate into a storm over the next two days but it may bring rain over Visayas and Mindanao.

Pagasa said the shear line, the point where the cold and warm air converge, is affecting the eastern section of Southern Luzon while the northeast monsoon locally known as "amihan" is affecting the rest of Luzon.

The rest of the country, meanwhile, may experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to the trough of LPA and localized thunderstorms, the weather bureau said.

A HAPPY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

Yes, indeed: 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.

I am looking forward to a two weeks vacation "between the years" - meaning to say between December 22 and January 8. No teaching at Ateneo de Davao, although most students wish to be prepared for their January exam in Manila; no office hours in my agency.

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. Some 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 not 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... 

Make sure that during this season Christmas is in our hearts and do not allow this heart to be like a crib, full of dirt, broken glass and nails. Time out from our busy schedules and seemingly endless work and tasks - to take a pause should be really important for all of us.

Praying in the quiet chapel or somewhere in your surroundings, time to forgive and mend a broken friend- or relationship, time to think about people, who we need in life, time to do good deeds.

+++

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .

Send Christmas cash gifts digitally – BSP

By Eireene Jairee Gomez

(UPDATE) THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is encouraging the public to exercise the giving of digital cash gifts this Yuletide season.

"We encourage our countrymen to take advantage of the ease and safety provided by digital finance in sending their cash gifts during the holidays," the BSP said in a statement on Monday.

The central bank noted that ninongs, ninangs (godparents) and other gift givers who intend to give cash as pamasko (gifts), as well as Filipinos who want to donate to charitable institutions, can transmit money conveniently through a wide array of digital payment channels available in the country.

These include interbank fund transfers through InstaPay and PESONet, electronic money issuers that are more commonly known as e-wallets, and QR Ph, which entails code scanning and offers consumers faster, easier and cheaper payment options.

QR Ph is based on the Europay-Mastercard-VISA standard, the global standard for secure payments.

According to BSP, the giving of e-aguinaldo supports the central bank's broader thrust to foster the wider adoption of digital payments, which promotes financial inclusion and the efficient flow of funds in the economy.

The BSP pursues this under its Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap, which aims to convert at least half of the total volume of retail payments into digital form and to onboard at least 70 percent of Filipino adults to the financial system through transaction account ownership by 2023.

Own your content

Published December 19, 2022, 10:35 AM

by Professor Rom Feria, Manila Bulletin

I have been saying this for quite awhile already, and now is a perfect time to repeat it. I never thought that I’d be saying this, but it is time to re-think your social media presence, specially if you use Twitter. For companies and organization, you need to re-think your social media strategy.

For the longest time, I have been advocating that you setup your own website or blog, and if you can afford it, get your own domain. I am not saying that you self-host your web page and/or blogging software, but if you can, it is way better! Anyway, publish your content on your own site, get the link and promote it on your social media accounts. This way, whatever happens to your social media accounts, all your content are intact, safe within your control!

I have heard the “it is where the students/readers are” reason far too often. What I advocate does not really prevent them from posting to social media if they are promoting their content, but it surely provides greater coverage for their content. Readers can bookmark your website or blog and directly access your content without the distractions of the algorithm-driven social media timeline. 

If you have it exclusively on social media, then you are limiting its reach to those who have accounts (this is true for Facebook), and believe me, not everyone is on these closed social media sites. Doesn’t that defeat your main reason for reaching your readers or students if it is only available on the site? The other social media site that is more open compared to Facebook, Twitter, is now a site where rules are made depending on the whims of its owner. If you have been living under a rock (or are ignoring what is happening on the site), then think about these: Twitter banning journalists, banning accounts that post publicly available information, and banning anyone who posts links to other social media sites, all under the cover of “free speech.”

Whilst there is nothing wrong with having rules, but I urge you to look how these are being formulated and enforced, in some cases, couldn’t even be defended when challenged. Would you risk having your account suspended or blocked and not knowing why, nor having a way to appeal? Having your own site obviously means you control what is on it and you own it!

Nobody can censor it. Nobody can easily block it (unless, of course, it contains unlawful content). Best of all, if there is another social media site that becomes popular, you can post links to your content and promote your site! If your site has RSS support, then it is even better! RSS readers can pull your content and allow readers to know when there is new content available. So what are you waiting for? Time to move and own your content. The coming year is a perfect time to start. Do it before it is too late.

What are top 10 professional life hacks?

By: 

Victor Makau

Lives in Nairobi, Kenya (2017–present)

1. Be punctual. People respect you for it.
2. Your colleagues are not your friends.
3. Don’t gossip about the boss to a colleague. Tides turn.
4. Experience matters. The 10,000 hour rule is not a myth.
5. Think of the interview as an opportunity to get acquainted with your future employer. Don’t panic.
6. Know something that no other person does. Be unique. Be needed.
7. Leave work at the office, if possible.
8. No sexual relations with (close) colleagues.
9. Do more than is expected. And make sure the boss knows you did.
10. Be honest.