Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts

Someday..... someday......

By Lani Medina

In His appointed time
Will surely come......
When the New Jerusalem 
Be established
When the King of kings and
Lord of lords rules
All things, He conquered 
And destroyed into
Eternal perfect state
Ages of the ages....
Infinitely forevermore.

Erlando Almaez Ayuste Finds Solace and Strength

In His Volunteered Spiritual Undertakings

By Apolinario Villalobos

Orly, as his friends call him has been living along F. Torres in Sta. Cruz district of Manila for more than 50 years. He used to occupy a small studio-type apartment on the second floor of an old building that unfortunately got razed more than 20 years ago. The incident made him sleep on the sidewalk for several months until a friend took him in temporarily while waiting for the vacancy in another old building. He moved on to the new studio room and with a found makeshift table, sold coffee and costume jewelries that he assembled out of beads from broken ones that friends give him or he buys from junk collectors. The owner of the small building allowed him the use of the studio room for free but the electricity and water are on his account.

The portion of the street along which he lives is where one can find sellers and buyers of second-hand cellphones, watches and jewelries. F. Torres is stretched parallel to Arranque St, the famous “thieve’s market”. At five in the afternoon a short portion of the street teems with the curious and ambulant “merchants”. To them, Orly sells coffee, and from some of them he buys broken jewelries. The earning is meager, just enough to buy him three meals a day and replenishment for sachets of coffee and small bags of sugar for his business.

The first time I saw him, I thought he was some kind of an office worker who just dropped by the place to buy cheap jewelry or cellphone. He was then attired in a collared shirt which was neatly tucked giving him a sleek countenance. The next time I saw him, he was in walking shorts that exposed the varicose veins in his legs. And, as it was early in the morning, before 8AM, he was washing a couple of shirts in the makeshift lavatory in front of the slim table where his coffee mugs and some plates were stacked. As he was aloof, I did not bother to talk to him while ordering a mug of coffee.

As I felt that his life could be colorful, I kept on observing him, until after several mugs of coffee and days of dropping by, he sort of trusted me with a modest smile. That broke the ice. During our talks, I led him to open up and share his experiences when he was just a stranger in Manila. According to him, he arrived in Manila from Tacloban during the 60’s when Ramon Magsaysay was the president of the country. He initially worked as a houseboy. He did his best to save out of his earnings so that in no time, he was able to get a small room and supported himself by selling snacks and coffee on the sidewalk.

I was surprised to learn that despite his meager formal education, as he finished only Grade Five, he is able to speak a sprinkling of German, though with fluency of Spanish and English. He told me that he is a fast learner and a voracious reader. Another surprise is that he can read musical scores despite the lack of a basic music education.  He plays the piano and organ but admits that he needs musical sheets to guide him. He learned to read music during the early years of his membership in the Sta. Cruz parish choir, as he was then, fond of observing their pianist. In this regard, he has been singing with the Sta. Cruz parish choir for more than twenty years now.

Orly’s sister, Lydia lives in Masangkay with her own family, and which is not far from F. Torres where he lives. Today at 77, he dreams of owning a piano so that he can put to life the melodies that have been bugging his mind. He dreams of translating them into musical scores. I told him to go on dreaming for this blessing, as it is free anyway…for who knows, some day, we might meet a musician who got tired of his Weinstein that needs just a simple retuning of strings.

Every time I drink at least two mugs of Orly’s coffee, I wonder if others can muster life just like he does sans bank account or just a few pesos stashed away, and only with a few decent shirts and pair of pants to wear on Sundays for his scheduled singing with the choir in honor of the Nuestra Seἧora del Pilar. That’s Orly …strong and gutsy guy, who at 77 sings and plays the piano for the glory of the Blessed Mother!

Who Says God has a Day Off?

By Apolinario Villalobos

Although, one of the Ten Commandments says that the Sabbath should be considered as a day of rest, what I understand is that it refers to the people, because such day should be devoted only for worship. The Roman Catholic Church even changed this to the pagan day worship of the sun – Sunday. Anyway,  what I understand is that the said commandment does not refer to God, as He is supposed to be everywhere every time of the day. To put it bluntly, this is about some Roman Catholic parish offices being closed on Saturday, the original Sabbath. Are the non-secular parish priests who are running most of the parishes emulating the ways of the Pharisees….the so-called hypocrites of the Old Testament? If this is so, these Roman Catholic priests might as well take off their priestly garb and join a Christian sect that is literally following the Old Testament to the letter!

If these hypocrite Roman Catholic parish priests would like to give their lay staff a day off, why not come up with a rotated schedule so that for all days of the week, at least one of them is left in the office? If the regular parish priest would like to go on a day off which is unbecoming, why not request a “roving priest” to take over for at least one day, as all of them are supposed to be helping each other for the sake of the “Christian flock”?

Here is a classic story: In a southern parish, the family of a departed kin requested their parish priest for a Requiem Mass for their loved one. The requested day was Saturday so that relatives who have absented themselves from work could go back home the following day, a Sunday, in time for their return to work still the following day, a Monday. Unfortunately, there was a vehement rejection because the parish office was closed as scheduled…no staff to attend to the bereaved family, although, the church would be open.  Not even the suggestion of the family that they will find another priest to officiate the Mass could move the parish priest to change his decision. Sunday is not allowed for requiem Mass, so that was out as a solution to the problem. At the end, the arrogance of the parish priest prevailed as the schedule was moved two days later to Monday which means, the visiting relatives would be able to report back to work on Wednesday or Thursday, practically missing several days of precious daily earnings!

By the way, hubs of air travel operations in any country has no day off, the police has no day off, the hospital staff has no day off, even the mall staff has no day off, etc. How come, the parish office of the Roman Catholic Church whose reputation is deteriorating every hour of the day cannot open its door to the so-called “Roman Catholic flock”, in an effort to counter the negative impression that is mounting every day? Is it the way of the parish priest in “helping” the seemingly helpless new pope? Or is the parish priest acting like a crab?

The parish priest in question who I was told was newly- assigned in the area has a record of arrogance, and he would like to show to the already restless parishioners that he is the “authority”. Obviously, he has a problem with psychological insecurities. He even allegedly fired parish lay personnel who have spent more than twenty of their precious years serving the church. He is making decisions left and right without proper consultation with the Pastoral Council as a whole, choosing to speak only with the favored members whom he think would support him. In other words, his decisions may be illegal as they are without the consent of the majority of the council members, and may not even be properly covered with signed documents.

The above-mentioned priest is among the embarrassments of the new pope that he mentions every time he has an opportunity, and for which he always ask apologies from the Roman Catholics. An interesting blog about the pope taking off his papal robe before holding a Mass is a clear manifestation that he is not in favor of the un-Christian attitude of many priests of the Roman Catholic Church who are either accused of fund misuse, arrogance and sexual assault.

The attitude of the mentioned parish priest shows that the Anti-Christs could be within the Roman Catholic Church – they, whose ways are contrary to what the true Catholic Church stands for. Anti-Christs in priestly robe are heavily groggy with arrogance because they have the impression that being parish priests they can “play” with the parishioners many of whom are suckers in the name of salvation…parishioners who think that their salvation depends ONLY on their parish priest who is “protected” by the white “sotana”, but could be devils in disguise!

Now, are we still wondering why the Roman Catholic Church is reeling from uncontrolled deterioration and may find it hard to recover unless the hypocrites in white priestly garb and who are heady with arrogance,  are calling the shots despite the reminders of the new pope?

For this kind of arrogant priest, the parishioners should join hands and boot him out before he can do more harm to their community!

Bakt Hindi Pwedeng Paghiwalayin

Ang Ispiritwal at Materyal na mga Bagay sa Tao

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Kaipokrituhang sabihin na dapat paghiwalayin ang mga bagay na ispiritwal at materyal sa buhay ng tao. Ang dalawa ay mga bahagi ng tao. Sa isang banda, maaari lamang mangyari ito - ang paghiwalay ng ispiritu ng tao sa kanyang katawan kung siya ay patay na. Ang tinutumbok ko rito ay mahirap ipaunawa sa isang tao ang mga salita ng Diyos kung siya ay gutom. Ang taong kung ilang araw nang gutom ay kadalasang nawawala sa sarili o di kaya ay hinihimatay dahil sa kahinaan ng katawan, kaya paano niyang mapapakinggan ang mga salita ng Diyos? Paanong mapapalakad ang isang tao patungo sa simbahan o religious rally kung nanghihina ang kanyang mga tuhod dahil sa gutom at upang matiis ay namimilipit na lang sa isang tabi? Common sense lang…dapat busugin muna ang katawan ng tao bago siya magkaroon ng hinahon nang sa ganoon ay pwede na siyang makinig ng mga salita ng Diyos dahil hindi na maingay ang kanyang bituka!

Ang hihilig magsabi ng mga pastor o pari o kung sino mang hangal na “okey lang basta busog ang ispiritu ng tao ng mga salita ng Diyos kahit gutom ang katawan”. Sila kaya ang gutumin ng ilang araw? Masasabi pa kaya nila ang mga kahangalang linya na nabanggit?...o di kaya ay makakaya pa kaya nilang magbukas ng bibliya dahil nagkakanda-duling na sila sa gutom?

Hindi dapat ipangalandakan ng mga “spokespersons” ng mga simbahang Kristiyano ang ginawa ni Hesus na pag-aayuno ng 40 na araw sa disyerto. Sabihin mang totoo ito, dapat hindi i-encourage ng simbahan ang pag-aayuno nang ganoon na lang. Dapat ay may kasamang pasubali na ang gagawa nito ay mag-ingat o magpakunsulta muna sa doktor.

Ang pinagpipilitan ko dito ay: dapat hindi gutom ang katawan ng tao kung siya ay makikinig sa salita ng Diyos. Dagdag pa rito, dapat makialam ang mga simbahan sa mga isyu na magiging dahilan ng pagkagutom ng mga tao, tulad ng kapabayaan ng DSW na mas gusto pang mabulok ang mga inabuloy na pagkain para sa mga sinalanta ng kalamidad, kesa ipamahagi agad. Dapat din silang makialam sa pamamagitan ng pagpuna sa mga kurakot sa pamahalaan. Hindi sila dapat dumistansiya sa mga problema ng mga kasapi nila pagdating sa kahit isyu man lang ng pagkain. Kapag patuloy silang hindi makikialam ay para na rin silang buwitre na nakatanghod sa isang tao habang ito ay unti-unting namamatay dahil sa gutom!

Kung sasabihin ng mga pilosopo na bawal makialam ang mga simbahan sa mga bagay na nabanggit dahil ito ang nakasaad sa Saligang Batas….aba, eh di dapat ay wala na ring eleksiyon dahil ang pagboto sa mga kandidato ay isang paraan ng pakikialam ng mga simbahan sa pulitika sa  pamamagitan ng mga kasapi nila!

Dahil lahat ng mga kasapi at opisyal ng lahat ng simbahan maliban na lang sa mga sektang hindi naniniwala sa eleksiyon, ang nagluklok sa mga opisyal sa pamahalaan, may karapatan silang magreklamo kung ang mga ito ay nagkamali, lalo pa at naging korap. Ang ibang sekta ay may mga programa sa radio at TV. Bakit hindi gamitin ang mga ito sa pagpuna sa mga korap na mga opisyal upang sila ay “masindak”, sa halip na puro na lang mga linya sa bibliya ang inuulit ng kung ilang libong beses ng mga nagsasalita na may kasama pang sigaw at kumpas, at paninira ng ibang sekta?

Ang payak kong interpretasyon sa nakasaad sa Saligang Batas na bawal ay ang pagtakbo ng mga opisyal ng simbahan para sa anumang puwesto sa gobyerno. Dapat unawaing may obligasyon ang mga opisyal ng mga simbahan na tumulong sa mga tao upang sila ay iligtas mula sa anumang kapahamakan habang sila ay nabubuhay sa ibabaw ng mundo….hindi lang mula sa hatak ng demonyo!

Spirituality cannot be Imposed

… it is a Choice

By Apolinario Villalobos

Spirituality cannot be imposed, instead, it can only be manifested to inspire and give guidance. It is a choice…unfortunately, the most difficult option.

A clear indication that it cannot be imposed is the failure of baptism given at a young age. The new born or young child is helpless and cannot resist the imposed rite being administered as a pre-requisite for acceptance to a sect or religion. As he grows, the child becomes exposed to other faiths and inadvertently, he develops the tendency to compare what he already has with those around him.

Patient evangelization also plays a great role in the decision of the faith bearer to choose what is aptly right for him. Sometimes the imposed faith is overwhelmed, most especially, if his family has a weak spiritual foundation.

For the faith to develop, the faith bearer should be helped with testimonies, with the most effective as the pious acts of the people around him. If a person is a baptized Christian for instance, he should see Christians doing acts expected of them to confirm that indeed, what is in his heart is the right faith. If the faith bearer sees the contrary, then there is a great probability that he will decide to be converted into a more meaningful faith.

With the proliferation of different “faiths”, the fundamental ones, especially, the monotheistic, should work hard to show their worth. Unnecessary competition that results to badmouthing should be avoided, as they are preaching THE SAME GOD, anyway.