No one can claim right over other’s life (even the unborn)

The recent directive of President Obama to restore funding by the US Government for clinics that perform abortion all over the world was welcomed by the pro-choice advocates but drew a flak from pro-life advocates and the Vatican. In a rally held by both parties in San Francisco last week, a Filipina pro-choice advocate said in an interview that she is happy with the directive because it upholds the human rights of women. She even asserted that although she is a Catholic, she believes that her Church should not meddle with the affairs of the state. People who use the same argument would cite the separation of Church and state enshrined in the constitution whenever the Church upholds morality. They missed the point. Abortion is a moral issue on which the Church claims competence.

The Church (not only the Catholic Church) believes that life begins at the moment of conception. It is her moral obligation to advocate this reality based on divine law. Women who say that abortion is a right are misguided or are simply ego-driven. While it is true that they have right over their bodies, it is an absolute truth that no one can ever claim a right over the life of others (even the unborn).

Walk the talk and be guided by GOD

I feel privileged to be in the United States on the day Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American president and on the day of his inauguration (both events will be cherished in history). I must admit that although I do not like Obama’s liberal ideology, I admire his eloquence in speech. This gave him greater advantage during the campaign period. However, speeches are only words. As he assumes the office as a President of the most powerful nation, Barack Obama should now begin to walk the talk. He must now take the first steps to fulfill his promises and perform the task of leading a nation that is currently in recession.

I was elated to hear the Rev. Rick Warren mentioning GOD and JESUS in his opening prayer during the inaugural ceremonies this morning. A commentator in one of the cable news networks was pessimistic on whether GOD or JESUS will be mentioned because the United States is a pluralistic country not only because of diversity in race but also because of diversity in religion (there is a deliberate move by the extreme left to remove GOD and JESUS in the picture). President Obama should not fall into the prodding of Godless individuals who even look forward towards removing the word GOD in the dollar bills. When GOD is removed in our lives, it will not be a change but a transgression. Obama’s battle cry was change, and change has indeed happened through his election. However, change itself can become a hindrance if it were made merely to discredit an opponent and not for altruistic purpose. Real Change can only be achieved if it is directed by GOD through JESUS. That kind of change will surely make a difference.

The Drug Menace

The controversy that stemmed from the resolution by DOJ prosecutors for the dismissal of the case against the so called “Alabang Boys“ opened a can of worms. DOJ secretary Gonzalez and the other officials involved are making a fool of us Filipinos by playing naïve about the gravity of the matter. For, how can one explain why the lawyer of the accused was the one who penned the release order for his clients? All Gonzalez could say was that it was unethical on the part of the lawyer. This made me believe that such thing was an ordinary occurrence in the DOJ (lawyers of the accused writing the decision or order release). It is a blatant usurpation of authority to use the letterhead of the DOJ, but he (Gonzalez) seemed to have tolerated it by not investigating the matter immediately. If it were not for the PDEA officials standing their ground, these things would not have been exposed.

At the congressional hearing yesterday, Gonzalez vented his ire on Major Marcelino (who has become an epitome of integrity in public service) instead of reprimanding the lawyer who used his letterhead. As Congressman Cuenco said, “ He should have reprimanded him, scolded him, raised hell and castigated him. I don’t know why he did not do that.” The DOJ has become DOI ( Department of Injustice) under Gonzalez. He, along with the other DOJ officials involved should resign!

The present congressional hearing on the matter should result into new legislations on drug enforcement- there should be a special court for drug cases. On the other hand, the PDEA personnel should take seminars on standard operations procedure in conducting arrests and buy-bust operations so that cases will not be dismissed merely on grounds of technicality.

Merry Christmas!

May you have a Christmas filled with love- a time when the love of God and the love of our fellow men should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds manifest the presence of God. May our Incarnate Savior bless you and your love ones.


This greeting came late as I have been busy with our 5 a.m. Simbang Gabi at the Our Lady of Victories Church in Jersey City.

Pilgrimage to Padre Pio's Shrine

I celebrated the 11th Anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood last December 5 (Friday) by going on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy together with fellow Tomasino Priests- Fr. Glenn Ruiz (my classmate) and Fr. Oscar Cadayona. Joining us were our former professor in UST, Fr. Vicente Cajilig, OP with his brother and sister-in-law who was cured of cancer by Padre Pio. She related to us the story of how Padre Pio appeared to her five years ago, telling her that she will be cured while she doesn’t even know who he was. It is only when she saw the picture of Padre Pio that she was able to identify the priest who appeared to her.
I am glad to have been able to celebrate my anniversary mass at the shrine of Padre Pio this time as his remains will be re-interred into the tomb on September next year. I remember watching the life of Padre Pio on tv when I was a little boy and my father explained to me about his stigmata. He was not yet a saint at that time as he was canonized only in 2002.


PRAYER OF PADRE PIO

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes, death, judgement, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but, the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for. Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.

Amen

Democracy at work, but...

While in the United States during the election period, I feel privileged to have witnessed their kind of Democracy at work (not necessarily at its best). There are things that I liked and I hope that those things will be applied in the Philippine Electoral system. But, there are things that I disliked too.

What I liked:

- The two party system: This ensures that there will be no turncoats or "balimbings". Politics of issues and not personalities is promoted.

- The speedy counting of votes: As soon as the polling stations have closed, the winner can be known. It is the very opposite of our electoral system in the Philippines wherein it takes more than a month to know the winners in national elections. Our electoral system should be automated as soon as possible.

-The statesmanship of the losing candidate: Hearing John McCain conceding defeat as soon as he was informed of the final count manifested his statesmanship. It made me wonder if defeated candidate (in a clean and honest election) in the Philippines can ever be capable of such gesture. Being an active PPC-RV volunteer during elections in the Philippines, I can say that almost all losing candidates claim that they were cheated.

What I disliked:

- Mudslinging: This is an aspect of Philippine politics that happens even in the United States (or did we learn it from them?). Both parties were guilty of this in their paid advertisements. It came really harsh when demolition jobs were done against VP Candidate Sarah Palin- particularly when false stories spread that her baby with special needs was the child of her daughter and that she had to cover up for her.

- Media Endorsement: In my humble opinion, this should be prohibited. For, how can the media remain objective if they endorse candidates?

I hope that the winner will be able to fulfill his campaign promises. :)

Thanks Celine, Thanks Charice!

If not for youtube, I would not have learned that Celine Dion invited our very own Charice Pempengco to sing with her on her concert at the Madison Square Garden as I seldom watch Oprah and TV Patrol on TFC. I got misty-eyed when I watched Celine inviting Charice to sing with her. I have a soft spot on my heart towards people who have humble beginnings and are given the chance of their lives to prove their worth. And thus, for 3 days I have pondered upon whether the concert will be worth the amount I was going to spend for the ticket. I finally decided to buy a loge ticket (same price as a floor level ticket) last Saturday.

I was excited about it. I had to swap my mass schedule with another priest so that I can go to the venue earlier last Monday night. It was my first time to watch a concert at the Madison Square Garden. An old lady was seated on my left and four young Filipino Nurses who just arrived here in the US this year were seated towards my right. The old lady told me that she came to see the “little girl” in Oprah’s show sing duet with Celine. I told her that I came for the same purpose and I proudly said that I am from the Philippines. When Celine sang “Because you love me”, she stopped and introduced Charice as a young girl from the Philippines who had a painful past on account of her parents’ marital problem, who as a kid joined almost every singing contest in her hometown and as someone who sang her songs perfectly and whose voice can blow the roof of Madison Square Garden. And then she called Charice who was seated with her mother next to Celine’s husband to join her in the stage and continue the song with her. She asked Charice what she feels being given the opportunity to perform before thousands of people in one of the world’s greatest concert venues. Charice said that she is nervous but Celine said that she felt the same when she was singing at the age of 12 and that she (Charice) should think that the audience are all her brothers and sisters. And when they sang together, Celine said that the song is dedicated to Charice's mother. We were in tears as Charice belted the high notes of the song. After the duet, the audience gave her a standing ovation and clapped for about 2 minutes. I was mesmerized, got misty-eyed once more and had goose bumps. Celine asked Charice if she will also invite her when she holds her own concert at MSG in the future, Charice giggled and they hugged each other. Celine said that she love her and she can't wait till Charice performs on her own concert at MSG.

Thank you Celine for giving Charice a chance to showcase her talent! Thank you Charice for giving inspiration to millions of Filipinos amidst the quagmire of problems in our country!
You made us proud to be Filipinos!

The two-hour concert was worth every penny I spent for the ticket. It was Celine Dion's first concert in New York in 10 years. My only regret is that I did not bring my camera (not even my point and shoot) as I scrupulously followed what was written in the ticket- “no camera/video recorder allowed”. To my consternation, I saw a lot of people who brought their cameras and the Indian lady seated in front of me even took a video of the entire concert!

The photos below were taken through my phone's cam (please bear with the poor quality).