John's Institute - Hua Ming is the NOPSSCEA Season 46 18 U Champion

 St. John's Institute - Hua Ming is the NOPSSCEA Season 46 18 U Champion.•

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Living in the Philippines as a German expat

Living in the Philippines as a German expat means trading strict structure, punctuality, and quiet privacy for a world of overflowing warmth, loud community life, and tropical spontaneity.

Cultural Contrasts: Germany vs. The Philippines

Social Rhythms: In Germany, life happens indoors and quietly behind closed doors, people move with strict purpose, and streets remain orderly. In the Philippines, the street is an extension of the living room—filled with neighborhood chatter, sari-sari stores, and spontaneous gatherings.
Punctuality & Planning: Germany runs on precise schedules (Pünktlichkeit), efficiency, and rules. The Philippines operates on "Filipino time," requiring you to let go of rigid expectations and embrace a more relaxed, flexible pace.
Communication Style: Germans value direct, blunt honesty and clear facts. Filipinos are deeply sensitive to harmony (pakikisama), often using indirect language to avoid hurting someone's feelings or causing loss of face. 
Friendliness & Hospitality: While Germans can be initially reserved and keep physical or social distance, Filipinos offer an immediate, open-hearted welcome culture where strangers will go out of their way to help you with a smile.

Common Ground

Food and Drink: Both cultures share a deep appreciation for hearty meat dishes (like roasted pork) and ice-cold beer. (Filipino adobo often reminds Germans of a savory goulash). 
Celebrations: Both countries love a good festival—from Bavarian Volksfests to local Philippine barangay fiestas packed with food, community, and music.

Tips for Adapting

Let go of control: Accept that traffic, bureaucracy, and schedules will not always work efficiently. Patience is your best tool.
Embrace the community: Say yes to invitations, learn basic local phrases (like Tagalog or regional languages depending on where you stay), and lean into the friendliness of your neighbors.
Connect with others: If you ever miss home, networks like InterNations Germany in the Philippines can help you connect with fellow German expats.

The one thing we cannot afford to lose

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WE live in an age that celebrates multitasking. The busier a person is, the more important he appears. Calendars are packed, phones never stop buzzing, and the to-do list grows faster than it shrinks. We have become experts at doing many things at once, yet often forget to ask the most important question: Are we doing the one thing that truly matters?

That is the question hidden in the familiar Gospel of Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42). Martha is not doing anything wrong. She welcomes Christ into her home and works hard to serve him. Hospitality is a virtue, not a vice. Her problem begins when activity crowds out intimacy. She becomes so absorbed in serving the Guest that she gradually loses sight of the Guest himself.

Mary, meanwhile, sits at the Lord's feet, listening to his words. To many, she appears unproductive. Yet Jesus surprises everyone by declaring that she has chosen "the better part," the one thing necessary that will not be taken away from her.

What is that one necessary thing? It is not inactivity. It is not abandoning work, family, or responsibility. Christ is revealing a principle that gives meaning to everything else: before we can do anything well for God, we must first be with God.

Everything begins there. Prayer is not an interruption of life. It is the foundation of life. A branch bears fruit only because it remains attached to the vine. The moment it separates itself, it begins to die, no matter how green it may still appear.

The same is true of the Christian. We can fill our days with worthwhile projects, charitable works, successful careers, and even religious activities. Yet if these are no longer nourished by a living friendship with Christ, they slowly become empty performances. The hands keep working while the heart quietly drifts away.

This explains why Jesus gently corrects Martha instead of praising her efficiency. "You are anxious and troubled about many things." Anxiety is often the sign that we have allowed secondary concerns to replace the primary one. We become exhausted not because we have too much to do, but because we try to carry everything without constantly placing ourselves before the Lord.

Ironically, the more deeply we pray, the more effective our work becomes. Time spent with God is never wasted time. It purifies our intentions, sharpens our judgment, strengthens our charity, and gives peace that no schedule can provide.

The saints repeatedly discovered this paradox. The most active among them were also the most contemplative. Their astonishing works flowed from long hours of silent union with God. Action and contemplation were never rivals. The first was the fruit of the second.

That remains the challenge for every Christian today. Our homes, workplaces, and even churches can become filled with activity while becoming strangely empty of recollection. We risk becoming managers of religious affairs instead of disciples who first listen to the Master.

The "one thing necessary" is therefore not one task among many. It is the center from which every task receives its direction. It is loving communion with Christ through prayer, faith, and obedience. Once that center is secure, work becomes worship, service becomes joyful, and ordinary duties become paths to holiness.

The lesson of Martha and Mary is not to choose prayer over work or work over prayer. It is to ensure that every action springs from a heart that first listens to God.

When Christ occupies the first place, everything else finds its proper place. Lose that one thing, and even success becomes empty. Keep that one thing, and every moment—even the busiest—becomes an encounter with the Lord.

 

The world did not end

byBrett Andrew Rikke P. Bungcayao|October 5, 2026

I always thought 2026 would be my year.

A year of elevation. A year of going beyond the limits. Because honestly, my 2025 was a year of breakthroughs.

I got into my dream university to pursue my master’s degree. I realized that my career is both rewarding and empowering, and it lets me inspire younger generations. Most importantly, I was able to pursue passions like graphic design and feature writing.  

I came into the first month of 2026 with radical optimism, ready to take on the challenge of what lies ahead. Then, all of a sudden—reality slapped me. I had the will to defy gravity, but the force was too strong for me to pick myself up and face the aftermath of the mistakes I’ve made.

I was slowly unravelling a thread of mistakes that resurfaced and exposed my incompetence, inconsistencies, and negligence. I became a cautionary tale. I became the subject of people’s conversations. I became either a narrative that deserves pity or intense criticism. Sometimes, I couldn’t bear to look at people in the eye and flash them a smile because I was too busy overthinking what they thought of me.

It came to a point that after committing one mistake, followed by a couple more, I slowly realized that instead of becoming a strategic asset, I had turned into a replaceable disposable. It dawned on me that maybe I did not deserve to laugh or smile after what I’ve done. I wanted to morph into the darkness, remain unnoticed, and just keep on working silently.

I wanted to admit that I was okay, even though it was hard to keep being strong when I felt weak.

There were sleepless nights, a lot of contemplating, and recognizing the anxieties I’ve been so afraid to talk about. Some moments made me question if the mistakes I’ve made automatically made me a bad person. That’s the sad part: when you make a mistake, no matter how hard you try to clear your name, no amount of good you’ve done could replace the impact of the mistakes you’ve committed.

But after some time, you realize that all the pain and vulnerability that you’ve felt was necessary. That the consequences of the mistakes you have made needed to be felt to truly grow and transform in the pursuit of becoming the best version of yourself. At some point, it’s not adding salt to the wound, but as the pain pierces through our hearts, we also realize that we are still alive, we’re still standing, we still have a chance to make things right and not just merely allow people to equate our mistakes to the entirety of our being.

For the longest time, I always cared about what other people had to say about me, but this time, I am emancipating myself from people’s perceptions of me. I’ve made peace with the fact that no matter what I do, whether it’s a mistake or a good deed, everyone will still have an opinion about me—but I do have a choice. I can keep on trying to change or convince them of what they think of me, or I could just simply let them be and let go, knowing that people are going to talk about you since it is the price when you make a mistake.

There were three things that I’ve learnt throughout this entire experience.

First, I never thought how strong I was, because while the thought of giving up was barely an option that presented itself as a choice, I kept showing up, living life, and accepting that it is innately within the nature of human beings to make mistakes. Of course, a part of me wanted to go back in time, and if I could, I would’ve done things differently—but we must not keep on regretting because this could limit us from becoming truly happy. It may take years, but you must eventually learn to forgive yourself.

Second, while you may feel that the entire world has turned its back on you—it actually did not. During the toughest times, the compassion, love, and support from genuine people eventually find their way to you, and you will feel comforted, making the pain a little more bearable.

Finally, I have come to realize that the world did not stop when I made a mistake. Life did not stop when I experienced the lowest of lows. When I committed mistakes, it was not the epilogue of the story, but a prologue of what’s yet to come and what’s still out there for me to experience. Let the mistakes we have made become a reminder that life is not all about consistency and winning, but sometimes even in failure we can see that we dared to try, and we can see growth. Mistakes don’t define us, but the courage to continue does.

Life goes on even after you make mistakes, and so must you.

2027 cash gift budget set for elderly Pinoys

 

2027 cash gift budget set for elderly Pinoys who will reach age milestones

Senior citizens (Photo from FB)

The lawful cash incentives meant for qualified octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians have funds under the proposed national budget. The allocation includes P10,000 cash gifts for those who reach the ages of 80, 85, 90, and 95; and P100,000 for those who reach 100 under the Expanded Centenarians Act. Read more

What are 5 habits that can improve my life?

 

After living for 37 years and having faced enough challenges and set backs, I have made my own list of habits that I like to call powerful:

1. Talking to yourself: Try asking yourself the questions that you wish someone would ask you. Like how are you, are you ok, what’s wrong, hungry-angry or just tired… That’s an important part of self-care. Self care and self love go a long way in shaping your life
2. Not giving a f*#@k: There are plenty that say we should speak up if we see something wrong. But in this world of citizen journalism, trolling and cyber bullying, I think learning to not pay attention to the noise is important to maintain good health and happiness. Learn to have faith in the Almighty and just carry on as if nothing happened
3. Live like there is a tomorrow: What you do today has an impact on what your tomorrow will be. Understand what is sustainable. Most of us get to live for years and years. If we trash our life today, we will be sitting on a pile of trash tomorrow.
4. Sticking to your decision making process: Most of us have a decision making process (if you don’t have one yet then make one). Mostly it’s, identifying goal, making a strategy to achieve it, working on the strategy and review the progress at each stage. Now, learn to apply it in everything you do.
5. Pushing your limits once in a while: you may be doing just fine and you may be happy about it. But once in a while, get out of your comfort zone, do something you have never done. This teaches us to value what we have and makes us know what we are missing

The picture has whatsoever no relevance. Thank you for reading

WHEN I THINK BACK SOMETIMES

by Klaus Döring

Not long ago, I passed a milestone marking 55 years since I began writing my first published article in a newspaper. I began keeping all the clippings since then. Time changed. Yes. I have my only online-archive. Believe me, it's like a book. As I reread my first articles, I was amazed, I ever kept them  up.

Back to my clippings. Can you imagine that there are some benefits from keeping them? From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both parts of my journey. My columns are mostly a view into a mirror. I am reminded of God's grace when I read (and wrote before) how He helped me to find solutions to problems. I also gained insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing. I remember one of my previous columns entitled "If failures get results".

God has indeed been faithfully working in my life.

I read a story by Dennis Fisher, who didn't keep publishing clippings but a spiritual journal. He advised: "Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life's journey. To begin a journal, record your struggles, reflect on a verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or write a prayer of thankfulness for God's faithfulness."

Our brains prioritize rewarding memories over others, and reinforce them by replaying them when we are at rest.

It may help strengthen bonds with friends and family. It makes me optimistic. Optimism is having the ability to think positively of the future, and recalling moments that made you feel courageous, happy, successful, or any other positive emotion gives you an optimistic lens to see the future through.This can help us live each day to the fullest or even help us see the beauty that is in everyday life.

Yes, I am 73 now. I will complete my biography during these days in the middle of my wonderful Philippine family.

ANNE CURTIS RESPONDS TO ‘RETOKADA’ CLAIMS, COMMENTS ABOUT DAUGHTER DAHLIA

By

 Panay News

 -

Friday, September 25, 2026

Anne Curtis and her daughter Dahlia. @ANNECURTISSMITH/INSTAGRAM PHOTO

Anne Curtis spoke out against a netizen who claimed she underwent facial surgical enhancements and even made comments about the physical features of the actress-TV host’s daughter, Dahlia.

The “It’s Showtime” mainstay responded to an X user who shared a zoomed-in photo of her taken at the recent Preview Ball and wrote, “Retokada yarn? Exhibit A – anak.”

Curtis—who shares one daughter with her husband, Erwan Heussaff—dismissed the claim and replied, “Can proudly say I’m not retokada at all and for me, for me lang naman, my daughter and I are both beautiful.”

Despite the negative remark, Curtis opted to show grace and extended kind words to the netizen.

“I usually don’t give people like you the time of the day but wala lang. I don’t know who hurt you or why you’re so angry with me but nonetheless sending you some kindness maybe you [need] some in your life,” she wrote. “Big virtual hug. I mean that, sincerely. Good night!”

Meanwhile, the netizen’s comment came as Curtis was praised anew for her effortless beauty amid her latest partnership with an aesthetic equipment manufacturer.

Speaking about how she approaches beauty, the actress-TV host emphasized that her goal is to not look different but to be the best version of herself.

Just prior to this, Curtis also drew compliments after her guest appearance at a fitness competition, where she showed off her toned physique at 41. (Anne Pasajol © Philippine Daily Inquirer)