Scandals and the duty to give good example

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          IN the gospel, Christ told us clearly that scandals cannot

be avoided in this world. “Things that cause sin will inevitably

occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur,” he said. “It would

be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be

thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to

sin.” (Lk 17,1-2)

          We need to be prepared to properly handle this unavoidable

condition in our life. We should try our best not to scandalize

others. Instead, we should do all we can to give good example and

edify others. And since we cannot avoid scandals, we should learn how

to toughen ourselves so as not to be scandalized by them. Instead, we

should see how we can correct and help those who cause scandals.

          We have to be most careful about the danger of scandal, both

in its active and passive aspects, since this danger is now rampant.

In fact, we can say that the danger has become part of the world

culture, promoted not only by individuals, but also by big and

powerful institutions like the media, and in the fields of politics,

business, entertainment, sports, etc.

          For this, we truly need to have the very love that God has

for all of us. It’s a love that is not scandalized by anything. It, of

course, continues to maintain that what is wrong is wrong, what is

sinful and evil is sinful and evil. It does not compromise the truth

of things.

          But that fact should not take away one’s love for the person

who happens to be wrong not only in some matters of opinion but also

in some very serious matters, like matters of faith, hope and charity.

          It’s a love that clearly shows one is with God and is

following the new commandment Christ gave us—that we love one another

as he himself has loved us. (cfr. Jn 13,34) It’s a love that was

clearly described by St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians:

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures

all things.” (13,7)

          To avoid scandalizing others, we should focus more on giving

good example. That way, we would be most sensitive to our duty not to

scandalize others. We would be aware that we are following Christ’s

command and will, and not just pursuing our own agenda in life.

          Let us hope that we can echo sincerely in our heart what St.

Paul once said: “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor 11,1)

This should be the motive and the attitude we have in desiring to give

good example to others. It is to imitate Christ, to have his mind, to

identify ourselves with his will and ways.

          Everyday, we have to come out with a concrete plan to

fulfill this duty of giving good example to others. It may just be as

little as smiling, or reacting calmly when some disappointment comes

our way, or saying something nice about somebody whose faults and

mistakes are obvious, or showing compassion to those in difficulty and

offering mercy to those who may have done us wrong, etc.

          Part of our sense of accountability at the end of the day

should be to present to God in our examination of conscience the

concrete things we have done to give good example to others.

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE

Our globe and its population bear innumerable strange facts. Following many people's opinion, this world shows mostly worried characteristics and symptoms nowadays. No wonder. Just try to consume and digest today's headlines and news from all around the globe.

The stranger whom we meet for the first time during a business meeting, for example, maybe an uncommon, odd and extraordinary guy. He may be someone from a foreign country, who speaks another language and whose skin is of another color. He may be a migrant, a restless hiker or the expatriate in our neighbourhood.

The foreigner beside you and me can become a provocation or a challenge. Strangeness can become exoticism. Maybe that's why my family and I decided to move to the Philippines. On the other hand - going abroad can open other and even better horizons. We must not feel as "a stranger in paradise". By the way, I never did since I have been touring around the globe many times. The pandemic with its ups and downs thwarted the bill.

However, a migrant bears a juxtaposition of optimism (even calculated optimism!), confused feelings, nostalgia, and homesickness. Yes guys, during the first two years of my expat's life in the Philippines, the round trip ticket was always in my mind, because no one among us can escape his native roots.

But, I am really a lucky guy. I experienced an amazing tolerance in the Philippines. A real practicing tolerance. Already, during my first business meetings, I met supportive, forbearing and  broad minded people. A wonderful mix of different cultures without giving up their own identity... .

Every new challenge in a strange country means a change. Changes in life are necessary and important. Let's alter or make a difference; let's put one thing for another; let's shift; let's quit one state for another; let's take fresh clothing. Let's burn the "lock fat" away. And remember: nothing comes from anything.

Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change. ... Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference.

PH to observe, learn from Thailand's experience in reopening country to foreign tourists

Phra Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand (Sumit Chinchane/ Unsplash)

by Ellson Quismorio, Manila Bulletin

The Philippine government will try to learn from its neighbor Thailand as the latter opens up to fully vaccinated foreign tourists for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic last year.

“Tinitingnan din po natin ang magiging karanasan ng Thailand dahil isa siya sa pinakauna na nagbukas ng turismo (We will look at the experience of Thailand because it is among the first to reopen its tourism industry)?” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual press conference Friday, Nov. 5.

Roque noted that the economy of Philippines, like Thailand, is dependent on its revenues from tourism, which took a big hit the world over due to the emergence of the deadly COVID-19 early last year.

“Kaya lang mas dependent talaga sila sa tourism ‘no kung ikukumpara sa atin (But compared to us, they’re really more dependent on their tourism),” he said.

Still, stakes are high for Philippine tourism to get back on its feet as soon as possible, especially with the local hosting of the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in March 2022.

Asked by a reporter if the Philippine government plans to reopen to international tourists in time for next year’s event, Roque replied: “Tama po kayo, pupuwedeng mangyari iyan ‘no. Pero kaya nga po, kinakailangan ma-achieve natin ang population protection by December (Yes you’re correct, that could happen. But that’s why we need to achieve population protection by December).”

The nationwide vaccination rate against COVID-19 stands at around 37 percent (full vaccination).

Over in the National Capital Region (NCR), nearly 89 percent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated. This high rate of vaccination along with the plummeting daily new cases have allow the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to de-escalate the region’s status from alert level 3 to alert level 2.

“So in due time po. We will open tourism in due time ‘no. At ngayon nga po na alert level 2 (And now that we’re under alert level 2), that’s very encouraging,” Roque said.

Be most generous without feeling entitled

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THIS is what Christ is telling us and is doing so with his

own example. Being God, he emptied himself to become man and to bear

all the sins of men by dying on the cross, all for the purpose of

saving mankind. (cfr. Phil 2,7)

          He reiterated this point when he lamented about the

domineering sense of entitlement of some of the leading Jews of his

time while praising the poor widow who put all that she had into the

temple treasury. (cfr. Mk 12,38-44)

          While it’s true that we obviously are entitled to our

rights, we should not feel entitled to privileges and favors that are

above our rights and needs. If they come and we cannot avoid them,

then let’s be thankful.

          But let’s be reminded that these privileges, favors and

blessings are meant for us to strengthen our desire to serve and not

to be served. But as it is, we should try to avoid them, since they

tend only to spoil and corrupt us.

          We have to be most wary when we happen to enjoy some

privileged positions or status in life because we tend to think that

we deserve more entitlements. And not only would we expect them. We

may even demand them for us.

          We should banish this temptation as soon as it makes its

appearance felt in us. On the contrary, we should follow the example

of Christ who, in spite of who he was, just wanted to serve.

          Remember what Christ said once: “Be careful not to practice

your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do,

you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Mt 6,1)

          We need to acquire the mentality of a servant which is

actually the mentality of Christ himself. Let us readjust our human

standards to conform to what is actually proper to us as taught and

lived by Christ. We usually look down on the status of servants. This

has to change! We should be convinced that by becoming a servant we

would be making ourselves like Christ. Let’s say NO to entitlements.

          In the meantime, let’s learn the precious lesson Christ

wants to impart to us in that episode where he praised the poor widow

who gave two small coins to the temple treasury more than the rich

ones who put a lot of money.

          The lesson to learn is that generosity is not a matter of

how much we give but rather of total detachment from the things of

this world so that our heart can only be for God. We therefore have to

be wary of our strong, if often subtle, attachment to the things of

this world such that our heart would at best be a divided heart, which

is actually an impossibility.

          That’s because in our relation with God, there is no middle

ground. It is either we are with him completely or not at all. We have

to overcome that strong tendency to think that we can be partly with

God and partly with our own selves, even if we can say that we are

giving God 99% of what we have and keep only 1% for us.

          We have to give all. In fact, with God we have to give our

very own selves, and not only things, not only some possessions.

Remember Christ telling us that we have to love God with “all your

heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Mt 22,37)

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

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

What is it like to live near The Hundred Islands, Pangasinan?

Bisaya

, https://barokandtakya.com/

Ah, a delightfully serene place. You can hear the call of the howler monkeys from the top of any one of those hundred tiny islands from my bamboo bridge with no interruption from all, but your soft footfall stirs the leaves and rustling trees. The water is always so clean, especially after it's been rained on, or perhaps after a gentle morning haze has recently risen to meet you there. Taste it if you like! Bubbling freshness made available to all without cost should be expensive indeed! Truly this must be paradise... But alas, I fear not enough for some it could be challenging to coexist alongside its neighboring islands which each feel entitled share in this bounty; Yet should that strife reflect upon you?

I dare say not! One can easily ignore the inconvenience of others from a comfortable distance, but so long as you accept everyone and show kindness in return, you will never be disappointed. My recommendation: Learn to swim! As there is no shortage of food nor means to happiness here. And nothing could ever go wrong with that attitude!

Oh, I do apologize. Dear reader, it appears I must depart. The call of the sea is ever so strong on this refreshing day! Perhaps see you again some other time! Adieu.

What is the best thing you can do in the Philippines?

David Tomlinson

The best thing about the Philippines is the people. Do whatever you can do to meet, talk, drink, eat with Filipinos. Even if you don’t speak Tagalog or Cebuano or any of the other Philippines languages, many times they will speak or at least understand English. The further you get out into the provinces, the more important it is to have someone who understands both to help translate.

The people are resilient, funny, usually kind to us poor foreigners. That is if you make an effort to treat them like people. Get out and eat and drink with people, dance and sing karaokke… don’t hang out with only your fellow countrymen, make an effort. I’ve been to more funerals, weddings, christenings, and birthdays in the last 10 years than in the first 50 in the States. Gatherings of friends and family are a very important part of social life here.

Oh, and, as long as you are living in a tropical paradise, with over 7000 islands and beaches, enjoy swimming, scuba, snorkeling, eating seafood, drinking cheap beer. Go to some of the clubs and music venues and enjoy the local music. Get out and golf at the dozen golf courses within 100 km of central Manila. And the dozens more in Cebu, Davao and elsewhere. Go up into the mountain provinces and enjoy the forests, cool air, different food and the coffee that’s grown there.

Marry a Filipina, grow a family, build a house on a hill overlooking the sea. Enjoy life.

The dishonest steward and the world’s unavoidable evils

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          ONCE again the parable of the dishonest steward (cfr. Lk

16,1-8) presents to us some intriguing questions and issues that we

have to try to resolve and reconcile with our Christian faith and

morals.

          We can ask if God, who must have been personified in some

way by the rich man in the parable, is just ok with some cheating,

with being dishonest, with being calculating as leverage for one’s

personal gain and interest.

          Remember that the conclusion of the parable was that the

master praised his dishonest steward for his ‘cleverness,’ saying that

the “people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own

kind than are the people of light.” (Lk 16,8)

          I suppose what the parable is trying to tell and teach us is

that Christ is being realistic with our situation in this world. We

try to put everything in our life right, clean and moral. But no

matter what we do, we would always be hounded by evil and by all kinds

of dirt, physical, moral, spiritual.

          This parable seems to tell us that we should just learn how

to live with this condition and do our best to come out ok in the eyes

of God in the end. What may be considered as aggravating circumstance

in human justice may be regarded as a saving grace in God’s eyes.

          We may have to handle dirt in our life and deal with

situations that are fraught with moral irregularities, but as long as

we do not compromise what is essential, which is love that comes from

God as shown by Christ who became like sin without committing sin

(cfr. 2 Cor 5,21), then things will just turn out ok.

          We have to learn to distinguish between what is a tolerable

cooperation in evil and an intolerable one. With the former, we should

feel the obligation to do whatever we can to clean up what is evil in

a given situation, system or structure.

          So, we have to be ready to properly live this unavoidable

condition of our life here where evil and its increasingly powerful

structures are sprouting around like mushrooms.

          Some of these immoral structures are already large and

well-entrenched in our culture and systems like the old acacia trees

that we still see around. They really pose as a tremendous challenge

to anyone who wishes to be consistent with his Christian life.

          For sure, the attitude to take toward this unavoidable

reality is not to escape from this muddled world. We would be like

fish out of water that way. Yes, we might be able to flee from the

mud, but then we would die instantly if we are taken out of our proper

place.

          Neither should our attitude be of just indiscriminately

accepting what comes or what is around. We are supposed to be the lord

and master of this world in the name of God whose best creature and

children we are. And so, we just have to do some discerning, some

purifying and some struggling. It cannot be helped.

          Christ himself said, “Behold I send you as sheep in the

midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves.”

(Mt 10,16) It’s quite a combination to attain. But if we have faith in

God and follow what is taught us, we can make it. Truth is we have

been provided with more than enough to be able to reach this ideal.

What is the meaning of “po” in the Philippines?

 

By Dayang C Marikit

In modern times, "Po" is an honorific commonly used on statements directed towards elderly people or your work superiors… this is to make the statements sound more "pleasant" and "respectful".

Ex:

• Sa'an ka nanggaling? - Casual
• Sa'an po kayo nanggaling? - Respectful

Both of the statements above translate to the same exact thing, (Where have you been?), however it is "socially frowned upon" to use the first statement when conversing with elderly people or your work superiors.

---

So what does "Po" mean?

• "Po" is a contracted version of "Po'on", and "Po'on" is also a contracted version of "Pangino'on".

All three of these terms mean the same thing, they all translate to "Lord".

• Back in ancient times these terms were used as honorifics when speaking to the royals and nobles who were seen as "divine" or "semi-divine", however in modern times, the terms "Po'on" and "Pangino'on" are exclusively used on deities, while "Po" became a honorific, specifically used when conversing with elderly people and work superiors.

This is just one example of how Filipinos show our respect to people who we think deserve our respect.

The lost sheep and the lost coin

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THE parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin (cfr. Lk

15,1-10) remind us that instead of distancing ourselves from those who

are in error or even who are in some conflict with ourselves, or with

whom we have serious differences, we should rather give them some

special attention, concern and care. That is what Christ wants to

impart in us through these parables, and we should just try our best

to learn and live it with God’s grace.

          Like Christ, we should have the same love for everybody,

irrespective of how they are with us. They can even be our enemies.

Thus, Christ himself told us very clearly that we should love our

enemies. (cfr. 5,44) This is the kind of love that is the very essence

of God and that is also meant for us. It has a universal scope even if

it never compromises the truth. It can prefer to suffer and die for

the truth.

          On our part, we just have to learn to adapt our mind and

heart to this kind of love that God through Christ in the Holy Spirit

is actually sharing with us. We have to develop a certain compassion

for the lost sheep and know how, like Christ, we can fraternize with

those in error spiritually and morally, or at least with those wrapped

up with all sorts of weaknesses.

          If we are truly Christian, we should have a true and abiding

compassion toward everyone, especially the poor and the needy. But we

have to understand that compassion should have a universal coverage.

It should not be limited to the sentimental aspects of things, nor to

relieving the economic and material needs of people alone. It lets us

enter and get involved in the life drama of the others.

          It should cover the whole range of human needs in their

proper order of importance, foremost of which is our need for God. We

have to learn to distinguish between the pressing and precious needs

of man, and to cope with the tension that sometimes arises in our

effort to put these two kinds of needs together.

          The material needs of man may be pressing and urgent, but

these should not detract us from giving priority attention to the

precious spiritual needs of man to relate himself with God and others

in true love, irrespective of whether he is rich or poor, a prince or

a pauper.

          It’s true that looking after the pressing material needs of

people can already be an overwhelming task. This should not be

attended to on an ad hoc basis only, giving dole-outs and temporary

relief. This has to be given stable and effective solutions, like

creating jobs, enabling poor people to find work through education and

continuing training, especially considering that the world economy is

rapidly evolving, etc.

          But over and above this concern is the care of the more

important necessity of man—his spiritual life, his relation with God

that should be developed according to God’s love and concern for

everyone, and thus, his relation with everybody else. Christ himself

gave more importance to forgiving sins than to curing the paralytic.

(cfr Mk 2,1-12)

          We have to learn how to fraternize with everyone, especially

replicating 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

TIME TO DECIDE

What is the right time to decide what to do in the future?

I think there is no right time to decide, because in your childhood you want to become something, as you grow your field of interest changes. Most importantly your wish doesn't remain the same life time, at every stage of life it will differ. When you explore many fields your interest will keep on changing. Whenever you decide what you want to become at that point only start preparing for that and that is the right time you can say. Off course, there is a limitation for this. If you are a hard worker it will take a long time, but if you are a smart worker you can finish the same task in optimal time.

Anytime actually, you can decide now, right now what you want to do in future, but the wish to follow up that decision is up to you.

Life changing decisions come from the most humbling moments in life, like when you are taking a dip or having a bath. 

If you mean matters such as education or decisions that may or may not shape your future, then I should say anytime that is well beforehand and can be easily planned.

You can go through much of life deliberately avoiding hard decisions. But sometimes you have no choice: the situation forces you to make a decision. Consider an example from the sport of mountain climbing.

Sooner or later, every mountain climber faces a dreaded section of slick granite that offers no ledges or cracks to grasp. When you climb such a wall, you can abandon the climb. Or, you can risk a move like "the pendulum". The pendulum works the way it sounds: as high above you as you can reach, you fasten a loop with a metal nut and slide the rope through the loop. Then you climb down a few feet, dangle on the rope's end, and try to swing across the sheer section. It takes nerve!

The author of Hebrews wrote to people who faced just a climactic, can't-turn-back decision. It involved not a mountain climb, but their entire future.

My motto is always: Whatever makes you feel bad, leave it. Whatever makes you smile, keep it. Have fun living it too. Follow your passion.