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Strengthening interfaith ties
SINCE the tragedy of September 11, 2001, in New York City, many leaders have seen the need for interfaith dialogue in a world of such diversity. During those interfaith dialogues, participants have sought to erase misconceptions and misunderstandings that have already caused so much grief and pain.
A childless village
THERE are no children in the Indian village of Bhaupur not because only adults live there but because they are not registered. Officially, therefore, they don’t exist, and when these children grow up, they can’t get jobs in government, as their parents hope, because they have no birth certificates. And, as a UNICEF official pointed out, they will forever live on the margins of society.
Past due
WE, Filipinos have always put our faith in elections, seeing it is a powerful democratic exercise and investing all our hope in it that finally, genuine reform will arise out of a new set of elected leaders.
For Filipino youth: Self-mastery and life-long learning
THIS being the graduation season all over the country, I find it fitting to express some thoughts for the aspiring Filipino youth who will be our leaders of the future. Self-discipline, self-reliance, self-mastery, and life-long learning provide the self-confidence and unswerving resolve to lead effectively. Our elected leaders and the young Filipinos aspiring to succeed them should remember that Philippine freedom from foreign colonization was secured by the blood of our youthful and courageous forebears. Our country, to this day, is being shaped by the idealism of the youth – in varying degrees of passion in all of our 108 years of history as a nation.
Provocations of faith
SR. Maria Agnes Karasig, OP, celebrates today her Golden Anniversary as a Dominican nun. In one of those rare moments when she allows herself to speak, I asked her what she has done these past 50 years. She smiled and told me instead about her life before she became a nun. It was her way of telling me: "It does not matter what I have done these past 50 years; what matters is what I have become."
A modern Constitution & a modern military
(Speech at the graduation rites of the Philippine Military Academy ‘Mandirigma ng Dangal ng Lahi’ (Mandala) Class of 2006 in Fort del Pilar, Baguio City, March 25, 2006)
Paradigm shifts for PUP
WITH the Polytechnic University of the Philippines centennial behind us, it is time to look forward to a new beginning, for academe and the nation as well. This means new paradigm shifts in philosophy and orientation, in instruction, in research and extension. Higher education institutions and systems like PUP should find the right balance or the right mix of specialist education with liberal education, and empower learners and teachers alike to respond to societal changes. Globalization presupposes individual national growth. We cannot have a stable international order unless the individual members of the global community are developed first.
In praise of women
A MAN was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed, "Dear Lord, I go to work every day and put in eight hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through, so please exchange our bodies and respective roles."
‘New improved’
HAVE you noticed how the "soap opera" commercials advertise their products as "new,’’ improved," etc.? Whether it is really a better product is immaterial, the spin is that since it is "new and improved," it must be better. So it is with political ideas that are sold by the spin masters in the market of public opinion. Remember the 1986 revolutionary government’s "new improved" Constitution that was proposed to the electorate? … That would end abuses of government, establish democracy under a stable government? When the opposition pointed out the many defects of the new constitution as proposed by the 1986 Constitutional commission, the political mantra of the party in power which was installed by the EDSA Revolution was simply this, that the "defects could easily be amended." To reject the proposal would prolong the revolutionary government.
Nicodemus
JESUS said to Nicodemus: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life."
Fascinating Biblical trivia
THE Holy Bible is a fascinating treasure of stories of people and incidents that evokes tears and laughter, as well as provides innocent amusement to a reader. No wonder the Holy Bible throbs with human life. Let me share with you some Biblical trivia that will entertain you. Confirming once again that the Holy Bible is an interesting book, not a dry book by any standard.
The overactive thyroid
"Fear came upon me, and trembling
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