Moments
The Trinity and us
By Fr. Jerry M. Orbos SVDThe story is told of three senior citizens, who were a bit hard of hearing, having a conversation. The first one said, “Today is windy, isn’t it?”
The story is told of three senior citizens, who were a bit hard of hearing, having a conversation. The first one said, “Today is windy, isn’t it?”
As the saying goes: “Defeat is an orphan while victory has many fathers.”
“WHY WOULD someone with the name Asuncion [a great feast of Mary] find time to pass judgement on the Catholic Church?” (reaction to “Spiritual but not religious,” Inquirer, 4/27/13). Once in a while I do get such rebukes, friendly and not so. A prelate once commended me for a column but remarked that “the institution can’t be destroyed; many have tried but failed.” But he got me right; it’s the institution that I twit, not the wonderful works of the people of God. Probably for my ears, a priest said that the Church “is like an elephant”—that is, big and indestructible.
The story is told of a boy who was admiring a very expensive car. “It is a gift from my brother,” the owner of the car said. “Don’t you wish you had an expensive car like this?” The boy answered: “I wish I had a brother like yours.”
This refers to Tomas Achacoso’s letter titled “Reminder to bishop of need for a humbler Church” (Inquirer, 4/20/13). First of all, I congratulate him for his sincere and prophetic concern for the entire People of God. His Christian courage to remind Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa about his pastoral duty is indeed impressive. I pray that when a similar incident occurs in the future this will become a precedent to be considered by the Catholic laity. As members of the People of God, the laity also have the rightful duty to remind their holy ministers when necessary.
The story is told of a man who is so shy that when he steps into the elevator, he comes in quietly with his head bowed. The elevator operator asks him, “What floor, sir?” And he says, “Ah, fifth floor, please… if it’s not out of the way.”
There is an INC vote. But it is INComplete. According to the Inquirer’s May 7 “In the Know,” a total of 2.25 million Filipinos were members of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in 2010, and 1.37 million of them were of voting-age. We can only ask the question: “How many INC members do not blindly follow the ‘command votes’ of their officials?”
Reginald Tamayo’s reaction (“Scripture-based homilies needed,” Letters, 4/26/13) to TJ Burgonio’s news report (“Priests blame boring sermons, 2nd collections,” Page 1, 4/12/13) is laudable. He is not putting the blame on what he thinks is possibly ailing our Church; instead, he offers a practical solution (coming from the Catholic people) to a seeming concern of the Catholic Church.
On the surface at least, the current election campaign appears to be a slight improvement over past ones. The Commission on Elections’ strict enforcement of its rules on poster size and common poster areas, for instance, has drastically reduced the blizzard of banners and posters that used to choke every available space in the country come election time. Airtime limits have also generally held despite the late-breaking status quo ante order by the Supreme Court, sparing the public of airwaves clogged day and night with political ads.
Poverty in the Philippines cannot be effectively and substantially resolved. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot raise at least 5 million Filipino families out of poverty, not for as long as they do not change the way they look at the poor.
The various rumors and sightings and reports and postings about “leftist priests” encouraged by the election of Pope Francis took on solid shape the other day, when the Associated Press ran a major feature story with reporting from four cities in the Americas. With the midterm elections looming, I could not help but read the story with the May 13 vote—and specifically with Risa Hontiveros, the senatorial candidate who to me most embodies Catholic social teaching—in mind.
I am picking up a phrase from Randy David’s column “Is the Catholic Church in crisis?” (Opinion, 4/14/13): “the transformation of religious practice from one that is Church-oriented to one that is solitary and private.” One such “transformation” is going on. It’s a current trend, especially among the young, expressed in the statement “I am [...]
