Experiencing a mystery
Early Christmas morning I went for a walk through our farm in Lala, Lanao del Norte. There was a gentle breeze blowing through.
Early Christmas morning I went for a walk through our farm in Lala, Lanao del Norte. There was a gentle breeze blowing through.
The country has a great deal to worry about when P1.6 million is given as a Christmas cash gift to each of 18 senators and another P250,000 each to four other senators while millions of Filipinos are starving and thousands of displaced typhoon victims are in dire need of food, shelter and clothing assistance from the government.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile played god last Christmas—with the people’s money. He distributed cash gifts, totaling P30 million, to senators and Senate employees, taken from public funds. Signing checks on his Senate podium like a paternalistic landlord, Enrile was heard saying, “Gusto ko, happy kayo.” He gifted a total of 22 senators: 18, [...]
“What’s in a name?” Juliet asked Romeo in Shakespeare’s play. “That which we call a rose by any other name will smell as sweet.” True. Hence, a bribe by any other name still stinks. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile calls the P1.6 million (or a total of more than P30 million of the people’s money) [...]
I found myself wary of hearing Christmas Eve Mass except in Xavier School, where I have heard it since I was six. I shockingly realized this was because I trust the Jesuits not to give a Christmas homily on the Reproductive Health Law. The emotional exhaustion wrought by our bishops’ endless political commentary has alienated me from my own Church.
Some years back, a child named Virginia asked, “Is there a Santa Claus?” An editorial responded, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He lives in the hearts of children.”
The Year 2012 is now almost out the door. Was it an undiluted “Annus Horribilis” or “Year of Horrors”? Queen Elizabeth II dusted off that phrase in a 1992 address. Fire had gutted parts of Windsor Palace, and family scandals were capped by the Prince of Wales separating from Princess Diana.
Everyone has favorite Christmas memories, and these usually revolve around the family. No doubt the reader also has his own. I have many favorite Christmas memories, but the ones I treasure most are those about my young family during the Christmas season. For aging people like me, quiet moments are usually spent thinking back to when the children, now grownup, were babies, toddlers or grade-schoolers. By dredging up such memories, the happiness of those bygone years comes back and stays with us every time we look back.
The Inquirer recently featured photographs of three local Christmas trees made of recycled materials, an encouraging sign of growing awareness of environmental conservation.
How does good come about in the world?
Christmas, or at least a semblance of it, came early to a homeless man in New York about a month ago—whether he knew it or not. On a freezing night in November, New York police officer Larry DePrimo saw a barefoot drifter wandering about in Times Square. The cop then reportedly darted into a store [...]
I wrote about it early in July. We had barely gone past half of the year and the death toll had already risen. Of a special group of people particularly, who are the musicians, writers and entertainers. The year has been exceptionally cruel to them, both here and abroad. At the time I wrote it, [...]
