Sunday, November 29, 2009


News & Commentaries


1. Pope Invites Faithful to Imagine a Changed World [weblink]

2. CBCP Condemns Maguindanao Carnage [weblink]

3. Manila Cardinal Bans Weddings Outside Churches [weblink]

4. EU Commission Strikes Down British Religious Freedom Exemptions from Anti-Discrimination Law [weblink]

5. Setback for Same Sex 'Marriage' in New York? [weblink]

6. Liberty Counsel Files Complaint with the FCC for Indecent Acts of Homosexual Adam Lambert [weblink]

7. Adam Lambert Unapologetic Following 'Lewd and Filthy' S&M Routine on Network Television [weblink]

8. "Manhattan Declaration" Embodies U.S. Christian Pushback against Abortion, Same-Sex "Marriage" [weblink]

9. Catholic Insight Opposes Homosexual Office Seekers [weblink]

10. Happy Thanksgiving – Pray that America Would Return to God [weblink]
Quote:

"Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise."
- George Herbert

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Bro's Journey with Courage


This is "Bro's" journey with our Courage group. This guy never fails to inspire all of us especially when it is his time to share in our sharing meetings. For me personally, "Bro" is inspirational because he struggles like most of us do and yet his life continues to be a strong witness and testimonial to the power of grace at work and the power of prayer in keeping him chaste for more than a year now. Way to go "Bro!"


A Journey with Sacred Heart of Jesus & Immaculate Heart of Mary

Mary said, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for HE has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness. Behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly." Ito ang mga katagang binanggit ng ating Mahal na Ina na si Maria nung nalaman niya na mananahan sa kanya si Jesus. Gaya niya buong galak kung masasabi sa buong taon na ito totoo nga naman nanahan sa akin ang Panginoong Hesus at tunay nga naman namunga ito ng masagana. Kahit ako sa sarili ko ay namamangha at nagugulat sa aking sarili kung paano ako binago at hinubog ni Jesus bilang maging isang matatag na Kristiyano.

Hayaan ninyo ako balikan ang aking mga kahinaan hindi para ipagmalaki kundi matuto sa aking mga pagkakamali at muling bumangon sa pagkakabagsak. Aaminin ko dati ay nagpupunta ako sa mga lugar na di dapat, ang sobrang self-abuse sa sarili ko, at ang pagtingin sa mga pornographic materials. Oo masarap at masasabi ko nagenjoy ako pero ang kapalit na sandali na kaligayahan ay punong-puno ng guilt sa isip at sa puso at pangliliit ng tingin sa sarili ko. But with God’s grace and mercy all of these changes into the fruits of the Spirit that produces love, peace, joy, kindness, patience, meekness, goodness, obedience, and self-control. I thank God because of His help to me. He used my spiritual director to be an instrument para makilala ang Courage family ko na masasabi kong malaki ang naitulong at nagawa sa akin para lubos ko makilala ang tunay na ako at higit sa lahat makilala si Hesus bilang aking tunay na hari at tagapagligtas.

As I journey with my Courage family, I can really say that I learned a lot from them, most especially during the sharing meetings and experienced the real presence of Jesus during the Sacrament Sundays, fellowships, retreats, and prayer meetings where all of us as one family kneel and bow down before the Blessed Sacrament, recognizing our nothingness and sinfulness to Him. I thank God because my Courage family gives me the strength para mas lalo ko pa ma-i-explore ang journey ko with Jesus. Ito ay nung nawala na ang takot ko humarap sa taon ung naging lector ako sa simbahan namin at di ko malilimutan sa kaunaunahang pagkakataon na kumanta ako ng solo nung Easter Vigil.

Higit sa lahat binigyan nila ako ng lakas para tuparin ang isa sa mga pangarap ko na pumasok sa seminaryo, at ito ay naganap last April 19, 2009, Feast of the Divine Mercy. Kahit sa maiksi kong pag-stay dun at di man natuloy ang dream ko maging pari di ko pinanghihinayangan ang pagstay ko dahil mas dumami ang aking mga tunay na kaibigan at mas lalo kong natutunan pahalagahan ang vow of obedience, poverty, and chastity. Masasabi ko hindi na naging madali ang lahat ng mga trials at temptations na na-experience ko pero sa kabila nito eh hindi ko naramdaman na nag-iisa ako sa Laban na ito dahil sa love and support ng Courage family.

Just recently I suffered from depression at naisip kung kumalas na sa Courage at bumalik sa dati kung makasalanang gawain. Pero bakit ba di ko kayang masaktan si Hesus? Siguro nga masasabi kong mas minahal ko na si Hesus higit sa aking sarili. Tanong nga ng isa nating brother, “Have you already experienced the suffering of Jesus on the Cross?” And I realized it cannot be measured by only one year of chastity and I should not be boastful because it happens for the reason of God’s grace and not just my own strength and effort. I learned that this spiritual warfare is not my fight but I place and offer it to God’s hands and will.

Once again with a joyful heart I thank God because I am really blessed because he gave me a very supportive family, true friends and unforgettable and learning experience together with our Lord Jesus and Mama Mary.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ang Ladlad and the Gay Agenda



I hope that the gay community will not interpret this post as bashing although I make it clear where I stand. I stand on the side of truth based on reason and sound morality without any prejudice towards any person who does not share my views because I believe there is charity in espousing the truth about the matter.

This whole issue with Ladlad is not about "religious bigotry" or "discrimination". The way I see it (and have seen it), there is a move from the gay community not just for recognition but for acceptance of the homosexual ideologies by our society under the guise of legislating laws that will move in favor of "equality of rights". I have heard Ang Ladlad say that they are not bargaining for "special rights" but for "equal rights", and that they are also not lobbying for "same-sex marriage" legislation as it is going to happen anyway according to their views.

At this point I want to borrow some of the arguments by a friend of mine that he posted in an online group on why Ladlad cannot be considered a party list or sectoral minority in our society and these arguments basically say it all:

1. LADLAD cannot be classified as a sectoral party under R.A.7941 since they do not represent any of the following sectors enumerated in Section 5 :labor, peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals.

2. LADLAD cannot be classified as a sectoral organization, or a group of citizens or a coalition of groups of citizens who share similar physical attributes or characteristics, employment, interests or concerns. This is because there are support groups and organizations of persons with same-sex attractions (or what popular media calls homosexuals), but do not share the same interests and concerns of the group LadLad.

3. LADLAD may be a political party, since their desire to be represented in Congress is to speed up the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill (currently House Bill 956 and Senate Bill 11) pending in Congress. This is clearly part of LadLad’s agenda (http://www.angladlad.org/about.asp), and together with their desire to repeal the Anti-Vagrancy Law, they will attempt to legalize every homosexual behavior in the Philippines, and possibly introduce same-sex marriage in our country. Please note that the bills they are endorsing have a repealing clause that will incapacitate all our criminal laws. Through these laws, homosexuals will have a freehand on any behavior they choose.

4. LADLAD does not represent a group that is marginalized by society. I argue that because homosexuality is something that is vaguely understood by the people, discrimination springs from ignorance and misconceptions (quoting Hon. Etta Rosales on her introductory note for HB634), and not from a malicious intent of judgment. After all, persons with good experiences with homosexuals tend to love homosexuals – notwithstanding the efforts of the gay community to desensitize the public through their independent “gay” films like DayBreak, Dose, Ang Lihim ni Antonio, just to name a few. If truly the gay community is marginalized, gay parades, gay beauty pageants, gay films, gay magazines and other manifestation of “gayness” will not be allowed in Philippine society. But the fact is they are accepted by the public, and the true cases of homosexual discrimination may be caused by poverty or ignorance.

5. LADLAD represents a behavior-based group, not like the other sectors enumerated in Section 5 of RA 7941. They do not rest on substantial distinctions (People v. Cayat) that have relative permanency (such as the elderly or women), but only on superficial difference that changes relatively in time. As such, they may represent a group that may recklessly impose their own behavior standards on the public. They represent a group that promotes and celebrates the homosexual lifestyle – cruising, gay-bars, same-sex relationships and sexual activities. I don’t think the law (RA7941) was created for the purpose of including behavior-based groups. If you will allow LadLad to be a candidate for partylist, then we should also allow shoppers, car enthusiasts, pedophiles and mountain hikers to file their candidacies as well.

Basically the whole thing about this issue is that Ang Ladlad will always cry foul whenever it does not get what it wants and is quick to resort to labels such as “discrimination”, “intolerance”, “homophobia”, etc. If you think about it really, all this boils down to a crisis of identity and the false identity that many gay people have come to embrace for themselves. The totality of the human person is too complex as to be defined by one's sexual struggle. Our truest identity lies in God, who has created us in His image and likeness and as such we are called to order our lives to live up to this dignity inherent to every man, woman, and child regardless of one's sexual orientation or preference.

One thing that I observe about the rabid gay activists in general is that they are the people who are most likely not to “tolerate” things despite being a group that demands tolerance from society. Whenever an issue like this comes along and hit the frontpage news it gets magnified a thousand times over. I can still recall similar incidents like this in the not so distant past and the arguments have been the same time and time again.

In all fairness to the gay community, they have gained more recognition now in most places in society – politics, showbiz, business, work, etc., than they have a few decades back because of their outstanding contributions to their respective fields. Having said that, why then is there a clamor for the so-called "equal rights"? Is there really discrimination happening around or is this a self-serving agenda among the LGBT groups?

For the gay community to impose their own sense of “morality” (if you can call it that) by passing laws that would accord rights and privileges on the basis of their sexual orientation and that would promote tolerance of their homosexual behavior in public life is going way beyond the limits already.

I say these things because for quite some time now I am very much aware of the unravelings of gay agenda in the US and how it is impacting their society. I don’t want that to happen here in the Philippines.

On the part of the Comelec commissioners, I believe they have done the right thing. You can call them all the hateful words you can come up with, but these men also have a duty to defend the rights of the greater majority of people from the onslaught of homosexual tyranny and activism.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

News & Commentaries


1. Pope: Humanity Must be Healed of Spiritual Deafness [weblink]

2. Bishop Backs Ruling on 'Ang Ladlad' [weblink]

3. COMELEC: Many Gays in Congress; No Need for 'Ang Ladlad' [weblink]

4. HIV Infection on the Rise Among RP Youth, Says UN Agency [weblink]

5. Christopher West Presents ‘Profoundly Troubling’ Idea of Christian Freedom, Catholic Writer Says [weblink]

6. Archbishop Calls for Overturning Territory’s Recognition of Same-Sex Unions [weblink]

7. The Obama-Care Health Bill's Stealth Homosexual Agenda [weblink]

8. Interim Report on Catholic Sex-Abuse Says "Homosexual Identity" Not a Predictor of Sex Abuse [weblink]

9. Obama-Supporting Homosexual Activist to Out Sexually Involved Priests Unless they Support Gay 'Marriage [weblink]

10. Largest U.S. Homosexual Publisher Shuts Down, Closing Major Gay Newspapers [weblink]



Quote:

"It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship." - Henry Ward Beecher

Friday, November 20, 2009

Perfectionism Fuels Addiction



I like this one from Candeo. Because perfectionism is seen as a positive trait especially in the workplace, we tend to overlook how it impacts other areas of our life. In this article, Mark Kastleman tells us why perfectionism is at the core of our sexual addiction.


“No one would ever see a drunk, passed out in the gutter, and say, ‘There lies a perfectionist!’ But that’s exactly what I was! If I couldn’t do life perfectly, then I wouldn’t bother even trying.”

These were the words of a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, describing himself before he was “restored to sanity” by the principles and practices of humility contained in the Twelve Steps.

The following comments were sent to me by a dear friend. See if they ring true in your life experience.


Perfectionism Is At the Core of Almost All Addictive Behavior

I know it sounds like a glaring contradiction, a cruel paradox, but it’s absolutely true-most addicts are obsessed with perfection! They perceive that in order to be of any real value; to be loved and accepted, they have to be perfect. And when the pursuit of perfection wears them out, they seek escape through addiction. This then piles on the guilt and shame, and once again they clench their fists and grit their teeth and start the whole perfection thing again-and so goes the cycle, over and over again.

I think we react so negatively and mercilessly to imperfection in ourselves and others because we have fallen for a lie that suggests there can be no allowance for learning by our own mistakes. We are constantly shaming and blaming ourselves for not being perfect and we are filled with disgust toward anything less-than-perfect about ourselves or the world around us.

If you think about it, this is really a kind of “perfection idolatry”- worshipping perfection as the only way we can be valuable, loveable or “good enough.” The irony is that this harsh and unreasonable approach to ourselves and others, only separates us from God, others and ourselves. The fact is, our chance to experience imperfection in this life is exactly the way God intended it to be.

I couldn’t agree with my friend more! She is absolutely right–perfectionism often triggers and fuels addictive behavior. Many of us (I suffered with this for 30 years and I still feel the residue) believe that if we do “everything perfect” then maybe, just maybe we will be “good enough” for God and others to accept us.

When we set total “perfection” as the daily level of performance we “must” attain to be acceptable to ourselves, God and others, we set ourselves up for failure.Why? Because we have placed a rigid, unreasonable, unattainable burden on our own back that we can only bear for so long until it wears us out. And, it also wears out those around us because we often require the same level of perfection from them as well. Then, when we are exhausted–physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, our “perfectionist–all-or-nothing” attitude says, “If I can’t be perfect, then why try?” So, we seek out self-medication to help sooth our feelings of unworthiness, shame and guilt–and to simply have an outlet and get a reprieve from our internal “merciless dictator/critic.” If we don’t release in this way, we will simply collapse under all the pressure.

Then, after we escape and self-medicate (which comes in many forms including substance abuse, pornography, food, anger, depression, as well as outlets that are neutral or even healthy) we feel “guilty” for failing to pursue perfection so we start the whole process over again.

The grand key is to realize that there is only one overriding feeling we should have for ourselves and others-unconditional love. Our Creator’s love for us is completely unconditional-we cannot earn it, nor can we make ourselves unworthy of it. It is always there, unconditional and constant.

With UNCONDITIONAL LOVE as the motive and fuel for everything we do, we realize that we and all of us are in this life to learn by our own experience, by our own trial and error. And hopefully, over time, baby-step by baby-step, we are “becoming” better at choosing that is which is good; that which is light and love.

If you go back to the origins of the word “perfect,” it means “complete” or “whole.” Each of us has our own unique potential–our own place of “completeness” to be evolving toward. It is a process of making mistakes, learning from them and moving forward. In some things, it may take us 763 of the same mistake before we finally say “I get it! I’m ready to move on!” Does that make us evil, hopeless, flawed or “not one of the good ones”? Of course not-it makes us “human.” It’s called “life.”

Does all of this mean we shouldn’t try to improve. Certainly not. But, we would all do well to lighten up and be far more gentle, forgiving and compassionate with ourselves and each other. Amidst all our noble efforts to learn and grow and overcome, let’s not forget to notice and embrace all of the simple joys and wonders along the way.


Acknowledgment: To learn more and sign up for a FREE sample Candeo mini-course click HERE.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Porn Can Cripple Your Will Power



Here is a great article on porn addiction forwarded to me by Candeo when I signed up to their free online program. This article will give you an oversight to help you understand a bit the brain science behind your porn addiction and why it is difficult to quit.

Porn addiction has been a struggle for me ever since, but lately things have been very encouraging for me. I'm not that yet confident to divulge the details. I feel thankful that God is showing me the way out of this mess. The road towards recovery is long, but I want to encourage everyone trapped in this addiction that there is a way to break free. Keep persevering.



by Dr. Bernell Christensen

After decades of helping individuals work through their addiction to pornography, I’m still amazed by the consistency of the responses I see in both the addict and those who care about him or her. When one is shackled in porn use, he or she is usually deeply frustrated and greatly perplexed by the power of their addiction—especially by the fact that when they feel the “urge” wash over them, they temporarily jettison everyone and everything they care about to indulge in porn or some other sexual behavior. Afterward, they can’t understand why their will power and self-discipline were so weak! At the same time, those who care about the addict feel tremendous frustration each time he or she gives in to the addiction—“Why can’t you just say no!” “You just need to learn to control yourself!”

To understand why an addict has little or no will power and self-discipline when faced with the overwhelming urge to indulge in his addiction, you must first understand what addiction does to the brain. In the forehead area or Frontal Lobes area of the brain is the control/executive center. This is the most advanced part of our brain—what makes us human. It is the area of the brain that has to do with will, self-discipline, anticipation of consequences, reasoning, planning, and goal-setting. Addictions inhibit this part of the brain and reduce these capacities. This is one reason why addicts are so “surprised” after they have indulged in violation of their own values, beliefs, resolutions, goals, memory of past consequences, etc.

Because addictive behaviors spawn from the Limbic System or reward-pleasure-appetite-emotion-driven part of the brain, and are accompanied by a tidal wave of endogenous chemicals (natural morphine-like chemicals produced by the brain) once the individual makes up his mind to start down the path of indulgence, the frontal lobes are, as it were, “blocked out” dramatically reducing “will-power” and “self-control”. It’s like battling the addiction with only 50%, 30%, or even 20% or less of one’s will, self-discipline, and self-control in operation. This is one reason why people who have never been addicted will say, “Why don’t you just quit”? or “Why don’t you just stop looking at it?” assuming that if they were addicted they could control it.

Of course they arrive at this reasoning with 100% of their will, self-discipline, and faculties in-tact. What they don’t realize is that with the logic/self-control centers of the brain severely handicapped, overcoming the urge to indulge is like running a race severely crippled. For the addict, the whole process is extremely frustrating and disheartening, because they want to quit, but it seems the harder they try the more powerless they become.

What we know, is that without the correct knowledge, tools and relevant skills, facing one’s addiction is really not a fair fight!


We Live in an Age of Addiction

We all are prime targets for addiction. We lead hectic, fast-paced, anxiety-filled lives. We often base our self-worth on our accomplishments. We drive ourselves further and further to achieve. Peace and confidence are often elusive for many good-hearted souls. As we continue to push ourselves harder and faster, we become more tired, stressed, and often more isolated.

To help you consider further “how your addiction has advanced to where it is today,” consider the example of the college student. Keep in mind that this example with just a few adjustments could describe the burned-out businessman, financially-buried single mom, and many other individuals who are struggling with the trials of life. As you read this example, ponder how it reflects your own situation:


The College Student

Imagine an individual who excitedly enters college with a burning desire to gain valuable knowledge and skills. He wants to invest in himself and develop his talents and abilities. However, he soon discovers that he is surrounded by other bright, talented and ambitious people in a very competitive and rigorous environment. He’s not only in school, but he has a job in order to finance his schooling. He finds himself not just jogging, but sprinting in a rat race to just to keep up. Before long he is exhausted, but he doesn’t give up; he can’t slow down. He continues to work, study and sacrifice day in and day out, week after week, month after month, often for years.

He finds himself isolated and lonely because of a lack of time, social opportunities and energy. The intense daily competition leaves him feeling insecure and questioning his own worth, uniqueness, talents and abilities. He often rises early in the morning to study, attends classes, works to earn a little spending money, studies some more in the evening, and arrives home exhausted. He has little opportunity to really “play” and enjoy leisure time. He begins experiencing emotional burnout and mental and physical fatigue. Before long he finds himself craving pleasure and escape. He doesn’t have much time for such things. He is a prime target and set-up for Internet porn.

He discovers that pornography is an easy, quick and cheap source of pleasure and escape. It is exciting and arousing—an extreme and intense amount of pleasure in a short period of time. Reaching climax stimulates his parasympathetic nervous system, providing instant relaxation and calmness. In fact, he even begins using self-stimulation and climax as a way to “be able to relax and go to sleep.”

Within a short period of time the student develops an addiction. He begins accessing pornography more and more often. It starts interfering with his studies and ability to focus and concentrate. He feels guilty about his behavior and tries to stop, but finds himself going back again and again. He tries to avoid even thinking about pornography and self-stimulation, and begins to fear these thoughts and his “out-of-control” behavior. The more he fights the thoughts, the more they force their way into his mind. Eventually, worn out by the struggle, he gives in and finds temporary relief, only to start the obsessive/compulsive cycle all over again.

This bright, young, honorable man finds himself shackled in chains, entrapped both in an addiction and in an obsession/compulsion. The more he tries to stop, the more difficult it becomes. The intense guilt, helplessness and discouragement become overwhelming.

Change a few of the particulars, and this story might generally describe your addiction. What this young man doesn’t realize, and what you may not know, is that addiction severely alters and handicaps the Frontal Lobes, robbing the addict of his will power and self-control. While this is most certainly not an excuse or justification, it definitely explains a great deal about an addict’s behavior! If the explanation ended here, there would be little hope for those who struggle under the heavy burden of addiction. But, what I have described is only the beginning!

What I know after decades of experience helping addicts, and what the latest brain imaging studies clearly prove is this: Frontal lobes that have been damaged by years of addiction can be healed and restored to their proper function! Yes, you can fully regain your will power and self-control! It takes time and effort. It requires that you gain the right knowledge, tools and skills. The point is, it can be done! That is what the Candeo program is all about—helping you successfully progress down the path of fully regaining your ability to choose; your free will; your self-esteem and self-confidence. Many have regained their lives and so can you. All you need do is start moving forward one step at a time down the recovery path. Let Candeo help you take your first step today.

—————–

Candeo is Devoted to Helping Pornography Addicts Start Down the Path of Healing

Candeo is an online organization whose mission is to educate and train individuals about the realistic, scientifically proven nature of Pornography Addiction.

It is estimated that in the U.S. alone, there are more than 60 million individuals, including men, women and children, caught up in Internet Pornography Addiction at some level. Pornography use is having a dramatic impact on their individual lives, families and society as a whole.

Candeo’s groundbreaking training system is an online Pornography Addiction Psycho-Education & Training System. This website contains many resources to help you learn more about this exciting new approach to helping those who are Addicted to Pornography.

To learn more and sign up for a FREE sample mini-course click here

Sunday, November 15, 2009

News & Commentaries


1. Benedict XVI Surfs the Web and Uses Email [weblink]

2. COMELEC Bars Gays in House on Grounds of ‘Immorality’ [weblink]

3. Herald of 'Choice' Visits Philippines [weblink]

4. Young Muslim Writer Defends Crucifixes in Italy [weblink]

5. Europe Needs Children, Institute Affirms [weblink]

6. Gary Glenn Responds to Regrettable Mormon Church Decision to Back 'Gay Rights' Laws [weblink]

7. American Medical Association: Government Policies Bad for Health of Homosexuals [weblink]

8. Interview: Former Gay Youth Leader Re-Emerges to Tell His Dramatic Conversion Story [weblink]

9. Michigan Bill Introduced to Reverse Ban on Same-Sex "Marriage" [weblink]

10. Renegade Priest to Enter Same-Sex "Marriage" on Saturday [weblink]



Quote:

"He who loves with purity considers not the gift of the lover, but the love of the giver." - Thomas Kempis

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Kerygma Conference 2009


Finally, I will be able to attend Kerygma Conference along with some Courage brothers. I have heard and read much about how people who attended the previous conferences got some life-changing, earth-shaking experiences and I want to see for myself. Besides, I really needed a big inspirational boost to bring my life in focus.

The biggest Catholic learning event of its kind has gotten even bigger this year. Around 10,000 participants are expected to gather at the Big Dome on November 28-29. Aside from this, some 3000 people from the Visayas and Mindanao provinces will listen to the conference talks via live simulcast in Cebu. The theme for this year is "Dream Big, Win Big".


What to Expect?

* Compelling and life-changing talks by Bo Sanchez and Kerygma Preachers Arun Gogna, Alvin Barcelona, Obet Cabrillas, Jon Escoto and Adrian Panganiban;
* Dynamic worship in the company of people who love God and want to live big for Him;
* Amazing works of healing thru our guest healer Bob Canton;
* Bigger blessings and bigger surprises!

Beneficiaries of KCon 2009 include Anawim, a home for the abandoned elderly; He Cares, a home for street children; Tahanan ng Pagmamahal, a home for abandoned children; and Grace to be Born, a shelter for unwed mothers and their babies.

Tickets are priced at P100, 200, 300, 400, & 500. You can buy your tickets at SM Ticketnet outlets or you can call the KCon Secretariat at 416-7809 and 725-9999. If you really want to attend this event, I suggest you buy your tickets now.


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

My Genes Made Me Do It!


I got some great stuff here that I want to share with you. It's an e-book called My Genes Made Me Do It! - A Scientific Look at Sexual Orientation and you can download it chapter by chapter for free here.


What is the Book About?

The book is one of the most comprehensive and easily-read books in the popular market today on science and homosexuality. It is an objective review of more than 10,000 scientific research papers and publications from all sides of the debate.

The book argues for a roughly 10%/90% nature/nurture effect in homosexuality and claims that any genetic effect is very indirect e.g., any physical characteristic making a person feel gender-atypical. The book shows that homosexual orientation is not fixed but that change is possible. It contains arguments not found elsewhere.

Using cutting edge science and summarising thousands of scientific publications and papers, it is nevertheless very accessible to the average reader. The book covers the development of homosexual and heterosexual orientation, instincts, intersexes, culture, prenatal hormonal exposure, neurology, and genetics.


Chapter Headings

1. Can genes create sexual orientation?
2. The genetic implications of homosexual occurrence.
3. Are heterosexuals born that way?
4. How strong are our instincts?
5. What produces intersexes?
6. What do different cultures tell us about sexual orientation?
7. Does pre-natal hormonal exposure make you homosexual?
8. Are brains gay?
9. The "discovery" of the gay gene.
10. Twin studies - the strongest evidence
11. Path Analysis - where does it lead?
12. Can you change your sexual orientation?
13. Summary: Minimal genetic contribution to homosexuality.


Book Reviews

"I have not come across a more readable scientific treatise. I am no academic, and I found the book fascinating. The authors are able to express complex scientific truths in an understandable form, and even where things do get rather complex, helpfully, each chapter is provided with a conclusion which summarises the chapter in simple terms. It's a good read, and is packed with good, well-researched information, and is a vital contribution to the nature-nurture debate." (From Courage Newsletter (UK) Easter 2000 by Dave Pownall)


"....Together they have put together a very readable book that offers a wealth of useful information on the topic of homosexuality.

.....The authors do an excellent job of explaining the difficult scientific terminology involved in the study of genetics, making the topic manageable for the average reader.

Many myths surround the topic of homosexuality and its causes. My Genes Made Me Do It! does an excellent job debunking these myths with scientific research and evidence. " (Tim Ratigan, Human Life International, 2001)


"Are you tired of hearing that people with homosexual temptations are "born that way?" Are you finding recovery difficult, and have doubts as to whether or not homosexuality is a biological problem robbing you of the determination you need to keep going? Have we got a book for you!

...A most helpful book ...excellent discussions ...great documentation." (Anonymous (!) Homosexuals Anonymous, 2000)


(Acknowledgment: The book is authored by Neil and Briar Whitehead. For more information on scientific articles and research on homosexuality, visit their website at www.mygenes.co.nz)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

News & Commentaries


1. Twelve Reasons the Cross Is Not a Violation of Freedom [weblink]

2. Manila Holds Congress of the Clergy [weblink]

3. Priest’s New Book Challenges Men to Learn ‘True Manhood’ by Following Christ [weblink]

4. Help C-FAM Gather 1,000,000 Signatures [weblink]

5. Argentinian Governor: I Will Not Accept Abortion or Homosexual Marriage [weblink]

6. Massachusetts Man Fired From Corporation Over Christian Belief in Traditional Marriage [weblink]

7. Marriage Victory in Maine [weblink]

8. Statement by Mike Heath on Defeat of Homosexual Marriage Law in Maine [weblink]

9. Quebec Priest Denies Possibility of Sexual Reorientation Therapy on TV [weblink]

10. United Nations Report Pushes for Right to Sex-Change Operations [weblink]



Quote:

"It is love alone that gives worth to all things.” - St. Teresa of Avila

Thursday, November 5, 2009

It Is Appointed For Men (Part 2)




All provisionality makes us uneasy. And here on earth, as St. Paul reminds us, we have no abiding city. Time surely runs its course. And with time, so too does our life ebb away. Through the years, our vitality begins to diminish, the organism ages, our strength fails us. And finally – if we ever last long, we reach that age when we begin to realize to what extent life is but a puff of air. All we need do now is simply contemplate the ravages that time has worked upon us. Everything time may once have offered us – pleasures, successes, honors, prestige – will be but things of the past, things that used to be but not longer are. We may perhaps retain some memories of the “good old days.” But that is all they are, memories and nothing more, a little like those old snapshots of forty or fifty years ago. We take a look at them now and again, and we find them quaint. They reflect realities that were once desirable, realities which now after long usage have worn curiously thin. They are nothing but the insubstantial remnants of what once was.

Important realities are not those that vanish like this but rather those that last, that remain. They are not those that flit away and are lost forever, but rather those that persist when all else has passed away. I think we could learn a great lesson from our awareness of death’s inevitability. We could learn how to manage our lives. We cannot go through life with our eyes shut, refusing to look at the inescapable reality of death for no better reason that that it is not an event we relish the thought of. Such behavior is not worthy of men gifted with reason. On the contrary, it is a salutary experience for man to think about death. We should be vying to learn now how to face it when it comes, to face it with dignity, with integrity, with hope, and, yes, even with joy. This is the reaction proper to a man who believes that Jesus is God and that he once said: “he who believes in me, even if he die, shall live.” (Jn 11:25)

But please do not think it is easy to acquire this attitude that is to enable us to face death manfully. Do not think that faith, hope, and charity, the practice of a supernatural life, and all the pious considerations we may entertain about death produce an effect within us in an automatic way, the way some drugs remove feelings of depression and dark thoughts by inducing a state of euphoria in which everything takes on a rosy hue. It is something altogether more serious. In the Dialogue of the Carmelites, Bernanos puts the following words in the mouth of a grievously sick nun who has served God in her monastery for many years and who has already been told she is soon to die: “In all the hours of my life I had piously meditated on death, but now all that is of hardly any use to me at all.” And it is not superfluous to recall that, even if Jesus humbly accepted his death on the cross in obedience to the will of his Father with whom he was totally identified, it was nevertheless preceded by an agony in Gethsemane and was accompanied by that awful cry: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34) It seems that Christ himself did not want to deprive himself of feeling the natural repugnance that all men feel towards death. By recalling Our Lord’s own experience of dying, I want to show that the Christian view of death – and even its acceptance – does not necessarily produce a joyful feeling when the actual moment comes.

When we reflect on death in a general manner, considering it in abstraction as an idea, we may not find it bothersome at all. Something similar happens to us whenever we think or write about something in general: for example, about evil in general, or about torture and hunger in general. However, when we consider death as a particular event, as an unavoidable personal occurrence that comes nearer to us with each passing day, as something that will surely happen to us when we least expect it, then we may experience that instinctive reaction of repugnance, of fear, because the separation of the body and the soul which have been created to form a united whole and to constitute an integrated human person is at variance with human nature. (And this is true no matter that death is a natural occurrence for man). Thus, death may even appear to us to be a perplexing event of dubious meaning. And at times it may even incite us to an act of protesting rebellion against God. In spite of knowing death is one more happening in man’s real life and that we will all have to die some day, we still find ourselves asking, “Why?” Why are we made to live if we have to die? Why did God make things this way?

Yet it is not true to say that God made man in this way, subject to death. He had other plans for man. Revelation teaches us that “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might exist and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them” (Wis 1:13-14). So death was not part of God’s original plan for mankind. Immortality is not an essential quality properly belonging to human nature. Yet God conceded it to man from the very beginning. God created man immortal. Adam was endowed with the preternatural gift of immortality. He was empowered to live forever. According to God’s plan, man would have attained glory after his sojourn here on earth without passing through death. The plague of death (together with many other plagues) was introduced into the world through sin: “Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all men sinned.” (Rom 5:12) Death is the destruction of man, whose soul was created to be the substantial form of a particular body. Both body and soul constitute a human person. Both body and soul were created to be one, to be united to one another. Death, the separation of the soul from the body, does violence to human nature. It is the result of and also the price to be paid for an act that goes against nature: sin. The Book of Wisdom continues to tell us more about death: “God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy, death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it’ (Wis 2:23-24). And we all belong to his party because we have all sinned in Adam. And thus, death will ultimately overpower all of us. With the exception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all human beings carry the mark of sin. And consequently the mark of death. Thus, in the Summa Contra Gentiles, St. Thomas Aquinas talks about the “necessity of dying,” an expression that is certainly peculiar, and yet full of significance, because we necessarily have to pay the price for original sin and for our personal sins, and that price is death.

It was Jesus Christ who, through his passion, death, and resurrection restores the order and harmony that sin had destroyed. Christ never knew sin and he overcame death. Thus, St. Paul was able to exclaim: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” (1 Cor 15:55).

Death, therefore, is not the end, but the real beginning. It is not a door that is closed, but rather one that is opened. And even if death has not lost its natural repugnance, the Redemption has robbed it of its wickedness and transformed it into the threshold of our hope. The attitude of an atheist facing death is very different from that of a believer, of one who has faith.

At times, these two attitudes are diametrically opposed. This essential difference in attitudes is succinctly expressed by Blessed J. Escriva in The Way: “For others, death is a stumbling block, a source of terror. For us, death – Life – is an encouragement and a stimulus. For them, it is the end; for us, the beginning” (no. 738)

It is significant to note that in all the Masses celebrated for those who have died, the Church talks to us about life and not about death. Her liturgy for the dead is a canticle of hope in the resurrection and in everlasting life. It is not a despairing lament over what has been irretrievably surrendered. The liturgy gently lead us to remove our attention from what we have just lost and to lay it to rest upon what we have just acquired, because life is changed, not taken away (this is how it is phrased in the Preface for the Masses for the Dead). A temporal life is transformed into an eternal life, a mortal life is changed into an immortal life. St. Paul could then write to the suffering Thessalonians: “Do not grieve as others do who have no hope.” (I Thess 4:13)

God’s revelations concerning life and death should not become for us a dead word or a dry and useless piece of intellectualism. To avoid this, it is now necessary to assimilate all those revealed truths not only with the intellect but also with the will, if I may express myself in this manner. If we accept death as a punishment that accompanies sin, if we accept the consequences triggered off by our conceited pretensions to becoming equal with God (“You shall be like God!”), then we may still manage to be serene when faced with death’s awful atrocity. We shall attain peace only when we have paid the price of the debts incurred by us.

Now is the appropriate time for us to consider those words of Jesus on the Cross. They would situate us where we will be enabled to acquire a more total, more positive, and more exact perspective on the nature of life and death. You do surely remember those words of Christ who, at a precise moment at the end of his agony on the Cross, said: “I am thirsty.” “Then,” St. John’s quotation continues, “one of the soldiers, wetting a sponge with a vinegar, held it up for him to drink. After having drunk the vinegar, Jesus said: “It is finished; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (Jn 19:30). For Christ on the Cross, at this very moment, death is the culmination: everything has been consummated. After the last prophecy that referred to him had been fulfilled, everything was then accomplished. There were no more loose ends to tie. There was nothing more to be done. What significance would it then have had if he had continued on earth with his mortal life, when he had already accomplished everything, when he had already fulfilled the mission for which he became man? For Jesus, death was the completion of a task. But for others it may be otherwise: it may be an aborted effort, an unfinished job, a commission neglected, a task that could have been completed but was not. We should never lose sight of this possibility, because it could indeed happen to anyone of us if we do not try hard to avoid it.

How, then, to avoid it? First, we must never forget that this life set apart by itself has no meaning whatsoever, since then, given the reality of death, it would amount to living for nothing, which is in clear contradiction with reason. Therefore, we must necessarily seek its meaning in the afterlife, in that other life which escapes the dominion of time because it transcends temporarily.

Consequently, here on earth is our opportunity, the only one granted to man so that he may freely decide what his eternal lot may be. In some manner we may say that each one of us has been given the very same option that was originally given to Adam, the Father of the human race. Like Adam, we may choose to unite ourselves with God forever through faith and obedience, believing in his words and doing what those words indicate, accepting and loving the plan designed in his infinite wisdom for our present and future life, or we may decide to reject that plan because – like Adam – we too may think that we are fit to decide by ourselves the course our life should take without counting on God’s will for us.

In any case, it is nevertheless good for us to know that things are what they are, whether it pleases us or not whether we like it or not. And it is a fact that this life exists with relevance to the other life, such that everything a man thinks, desires, says, does, or omits in this life is related to his definitive destiny in the hereafter. Every single temporal human act has repercussions of eternal consequence, whether positive or negative.

The entire world is subject to God’s creative and redemptive plan: consequently creation gives glory to God through the salvation of all men. Thus, all human destiny is inextricably bound up with the redeeming task of Christ. Man is not only the beneficiary of the Redemption, he also co-redeems with Christ. This is true to some extent because, on the one hand, man’s cooperation is needed if Christ’s redeeming action is to benefit man himself, and, on the other hand, with reference to the Mystical Body, man is obliged to cooperate for the good of the entire Body. This means that he must help in the redemption of others. He must help the greatest number possible to attain the salvation Christ has obtained for all men.

In this context our life can be considered as our personal participation in the passionate drama of salvation staged in this great theater of the world. It is not for us to choose the role we wish to play. It has been assigned to us. And our task is to study our role well in order to perform it properly. Death marks the moment when each actor makes his final exit from the stage, as his part in the play comes to an end, and his presence on stage is no longer required. Then there will no longer be the possibility of interpreting our role again in the hope of improving on our previous performance, of correcting our mistakes, of learning our lines better and taking our performance more seriously. In the end, what will count most is not that we will have been given a magnificent role to play, the role of a star performer, but rather that we will have played our part well, whatever it be.

Throughout these pages we have been reflecting on the reality of death. And we have learned a principal lesson: this life on earth that passes away is not really as important as that other life that will last forever. It is that other life that is really worth all our efforts. During the reign of King Henry VIII of England, the Duke of Norfolk tried to convince St. Thomas More to give in to the King’s wishes and to submit himself to the royal will. If he did so his life would be spared. However, Thomas More replied, “Is that all, my Lord? Well, the truth is that between your Lordship and myself there is very little difference: I will die today and you tomorrow.” In fact, that is what happened. The one death came not long after the other. But Thomas More is now a saint. More played the shorter role, but his interpretation of the part assigned to him in the work of redemption was worthy of the greatest reward. It is a man’s love for God manifested in the fulfillment of his loving will that measures the degree of perfection attained by each man in performing his role. And since death marks for each the end of time, and with it the end of all pain, suffering, or misfortune, the best thing to do is to acquire eternity in exchange for brevity, and not lose eternity for the sake of a bit more of wasted time that runs away like water through our fingers.

And it does us well to know that if we are not capable of learning this particular lesson, then any other lesson we may team in this life will be totally ineffective.


“…just as it is appointed unto men to die once and after this comes the judgment, so also was Christ offered once to take away the sins of many.” Hebrews 9:27-28

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

It Is Appointed For Men (Part 1)



I am not going to scare you to death with this article, but we must learn to accept that there are things which are not pleasant to ponder. Death is an inescapable reality in our life regardless of who we are and so it is profitable for us to reflect upon this subject from a Christian perspective. In his book The Afterlife, Fr. Federico Suarez discusses this topic at great length and provides us with a deep insight.


Some truths are not very enticing to reflect on and their recollection usually makes us decidedly uncomfortable. And yet in a strangely paradoxical way, or, better still, in a way that is rather more than just obviously paradoxical, the Church seems to possess some kind of propensity for frequently urging those very truths for our consideration.

I am referring to three of those four truths traditionally called “The Last Things,” the subject of what is known as eschatology: death, judgment, and hell. The fourth truth – heaven – though as much a truth as the other three, does not provoke the same allergic reaction as do these others.

Since some decades back and up to our present times, these truths have, it seems, slowly been consigned to oblivion, Circumstances of diverse characteristics have brought about such a state of affairs, but I do not intend to enumerate them here now. What is indisputable is that hardly anyone nowadays ever speaks about these truths. Most certainly, they are not pleasant topics to talk about. They are obviously not popular. In general, men do not seem to be too interested in knowing more about them. Somehow the teaching of these truths has been interrupted: someone has enclosed them in parenthetical brackets. And it is possible and even very probable that those who introduced such a parenthesis harbored the illusion that people who have strayed away from the Church would the more easily be able to return to her fold if these truths were allowed discreetly to fade into obscurity. Also, if we try to keep man’s attention away from them, who knows? Maybe even non-believers might be attracted to the Church. Perhaps there are some who have come to think that without such gloomy realities – death, judgment, and hell – the Catholic Church would project a much-improved image. Maybe it would become more youthful and even more dynamic? Would not such an image be attractively enhanced if the Catholic Church would refrain from exhibiting such gloomy and inhibiting visions of punishment and death, and instead present a panorama of inspiring programs with goals that are more appealing to men, with objectives that more immediately concern them?

Well, we cannot but admit that death, judgment, and hell are not exactly pleasant topics to consider. They are agreeable neither to the listener nor to the preacher. They are equally disconcerting for the one and for the other. And the Church knows this perfectly well. Yet in spite of them, these truths continue to occupy a firm place among the teachings of the Church. Throughout the centuries, she has not refrained from recalling them to us. I presume that there are many reasons to warrant such an insistence. At the moment, though, I would like to refer to only two of them. First, it is because such truths as death, judgment, heaven, and hell reflect realities that we will all one day inevitably encounter. And since the Church is our mother, she frequently reminds us of these realities, so that we may be sufficiently prepared to face them when the moment comes. She is under the weightiest obligation to teach us the truth: she should, therefore, not deceive us by hiding part of it from us simply because it may seem too somber, too inconvenient, or too exasperating for us to accept. Second, it is because such truths are useful for us that we may live our lives the right way here on earth. They provide us with light and perspective that enable us to journey through life like people in control (and not like slaves), who can confront reality, head-on, and who dominate events rather than allow themselves to be swept along by them.

Any exposition on the last things should logically begin with an explanation of death, since this truth is the door that leads us to the others. Chronologically, it is the first of them to take place – only after death can the other truths become reality for a man. And the first thing that we can affirm about death is its inevitability. In fact, I don’t think there is anyone who looks upon death as something that must necessarily happen to everyone else except himself. On the contrary, we all know that we are bound to die. We are so sure of this that it is impossible to find a man in his right mind who thinks that he is not capable of dying, that he is immortal. What we are most certain of in this stage of our existence is that no one ever leaves it alive.

And yet, though we are very certain about dying, there are a number of other things about death that we can never be sure of. Certainly, we are all convinced that we shall one day die, but no one knows when this will happen, where it will take place, and how he shall meet his end. It could happen any day now and in any place whatsoever. We can never know in what circumstances it will happen to us and what the experience will be like when it comes. No one who has ever been through what has been called “the trance of death” can be of assistance to us with information about what our death will be like. First, because death is an absolutely personal experience that is unique to each individual and untransferable. And also because no one who has gone through this “trance” has ever emerged alive from the experience. Neither can our observations about the deaths of other men give us much information about our own death since we can never know whether our own death when it comes will be caused by similar circumstances and whether it will trigger anything like the same reactions in ourselves.

To complete this first stage of our reflections on death, we can go on to look at one more fact about it that we are equally sure of. We find it solemnly expressed in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “It is appointed unto men to die once” (Heb 9:27) Thus, each man’s death is an absolutely unique event. This means that we live out our lives on earth once, and that is it. In other words, regardless of whatever value or content we might give to our existence here on earth, regardless of whatever significance we might give to our exit from it, this life, our life here on earth, appears as a once-and-for-all opportunity. It is unrepeatable. Consequently, it is final. Early in our reflections on death, therefore, we have stumbled upon three certainties concerning it: it will most certainly happen to us; it without doubt happens only once; and we have not the faintest idea when or how it will come upon us. We might now wonder whether an awareness of these certainties is going to be beneficial to us in some way. And we could provide our own answers. Yes, absolutely speaking, it is clearly beneficial for man to be aware of such certainties and it is well for us to have foreknowledge of them. Yet, relatively speaking, the knowledge may be useful to some people but useless to others, depending on the attitude they adopt towards death and the consequences for their conduct that may derive from such an attitude. This is what I will try to explain now.

Suppose we begin reflecting on the transitoriness of this life here on earth, as an immediate conclusion that we might come to as a result of considering those three certainties about death. Man is a pilgrim here on earth: he is a wayfarer. This life is no more than a place of transit where we cannot stay very long. Life is like a road to be traversed: we do not detain ourselves along the path of our journey to build a permanent abode. We keep moving on. It is a road for covering the miles and not for lingering on. This sense of impermanence, of precariousness, can provide different reactions in men depending on whether or not they permit themselves to believe in a “hereafter,” in life after death. Some men do believe in an eternal life, another life after this one. Others, on the contrary, choose to consider death as the conclusive reality: death extinguishes life, they maintain, as if it were the flame of a candle, dissolving man’s being into nothingness.

For those who consider death as the ultimate reality beyond which there is nothing more, life and death become equally meaningless considered as realities. They continue being real but without meaning. This attitude is best described in the Book of Wisdom, written, as you may know, several centuries before the coming of Christ: For the reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, “Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. Because we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been; because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts. When it is extinguished, the body will return to ashes, and the spirit will dissolve like empty air. Our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be scattered like mist that is dispersed by the rays of the sun and overcome by, its heat. For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back. (Wis 2:1-5)

Through the eyes of an atheist, of one who says he does not believe in God, death is viewed as nothing more than just that, the end of life, darkness, senselessness, a blank, nothingness. And through the very same unbelieving eyes and with the very same light, life itself becomes nothing more than “traces of a cloud,” “a mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat,” hardly “the passing of a shadow.” If everything must have a stop, if everything is annihilated and nothing of anything remains at all, then what meaning could we possibly give to existence, to the world, and to man himself? Could love and suffering conceivably have any meaning at all for us? Would there be any meaning in pain? In joy? Would man’s endeavors be worth anything? His striving for survival? His attempts to become someone or to achieve something? The endeavors of entire generations to attain knowledge? Would such expenditure of energy make any sense at all? In the final analysis, would we have any reason to work? To struggle to dominate nature and to overcome sickness? The only possible motive would be to obtain the greatest possible pleasure for ourselves during the few years of our life here on earth. Well, with such a way of thinking we could justify any amount of egoism, and even an egocentricity brutal in the extreme. If everything ends with death, then this is the only logical attitude to adopt: “Let us eat and drink now for tomorrow we die.” Thus, to the extent that faith and hope in an afterlife diminishes and disappears, the world runs the danger of being cruelly transformed, metamorphosed into a jungle, and life itself into a fight to the death for the acquisition of the greatest personal satisfaction possible. This is a logical consequence: if absolutely everything is resolved into nothingness, then man has nothing intelligible left to do but to maximize the advantages he can obtain during his lifetime. He may use any means whatsoever to maximize his private gain. He may do whatever he pleases, since there is nothing that could serve him as the foundation for a set of norms by which to guide his behavior. Yet, of course, this happens to man only when he refuses to think; once he begins to use his intellect, all sorts of questions arise that show up such profitable hedonism as self-contradictory. And they are questions that clamorously make demand for an answer.

Death: this is the key to the whole mystery, to the entire puzzle. It is a reality that requires an explanation, that needs to be explained. It has to be integrated with the life of man and of the world, so as to provide the universe with a minimum of coherence. Otherwise, it would have been vain for man to have been provided with an intellect. We know that death has a purpose because God has told us so. Through divine revelation, we know more about death than we could possibly have learned through observation and through our natural power of reasoning, although it by itself can tell us much. But when divine revelation is rejected or thrown aside and forgotten, then death becomes for many, as it is described in the Book of Wisdom, a useless absurdity, meaningless, and empty. When faced with the utter pointlessness of death, the only way to escape the crushing effects of its immense vacuity would be to refuse point-blank to think, to fall into a state of stupor, to become somehow anesthetized against its prospect.

And there are many ways of attaining this state of stupefaction. For our so-called democratic western civilizations, the process usually followed consists in keeping oneself continuously occupied in the pursuit of material well-being, the more energetically sought after, the better. Such activity is usually accompanied by the search for a way to pretend not to see what we have no wish to see, because of the distaste it produces, there being simply no pleasure in its contemplation. At times such pretensions border on the ridiculous, like the expensively soothing burial practices savagely satirized by Evelyn Waugh in The Loved One. On the other hand, the countries which used to belong to the eastern bloc, the former Marxist states, espousing as they do a more philosophical materialism, have followed a quite different stupefying process. They achieve a similar effect by dedicating all their efforts to the “historically determined” struggle against the capitalist oppressor, supposedly for the benefit of the working classes, until the imaginary final utopia of a classless society will be attained. In both cases, due on the one hand to an ignorance about reality and on the other to a refusal to accept it as it truly is, man has provided himself with a theory that serves as a tranquilizer. He has not solved the problem at all, but at least he no longer feels the need to think further about it. In end, however, no matter how stylishly and ingeniously we devise our theoretical alternatives to avoid confronting a problem, a problem ignored or side stepped can never be transformed into a problem solved. We may choose to ignore reality, but, in spite of our choosing, things continue to be what they really are. And everything that refers to the meaning of life and death continues being what it truly is. We either know it or we ignore it. We know it when we accept divine revelation and through faith acquire truths which to an appreciable extent the human intellect alone is capable of acquiring through its own power. We ignore the intellect as well when we dispense with revelation. No theory can every change reality.

The Church is greatly concerned with keeping us vividly aware of the transitory character of this life. It is vital for us to refrain from deceiving ourselves about this. Guided by a solid common sense, St. Teresa of Avila rightfully characterized as things of “little weight,” all that accumulation of objects and concentration on activities that paradoxically enslave us and attract the attention of not a few Christians impeding them from seeing those things that are permanent and consequently possess a value that is the reverse of the ephemeral. St. Teresa could not help but spot, with shrewd and piercing clarity, the lack of significant firmness in what is provisional, the scant entity of what is fleeting, the tenuous substance of what is temporary. She once wrote that “all these things are as light as air and lack weight, such that they are carried away by the wind, because even if they have meant much to us, what is it of them that we retain?” And let us admit it, we have all experienced the very temporary character of any delight derived from a good once it has been possessed. Such transitoriness keeps us from enjoying that good to the fullest. It seems that the evanescence of any pleasure permeates it with dissatisfaction and disillusion.


(to be continued...)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

News & Commentaries


1. Pope: Spread the Word Using New Media [weblink]

2. “We Visit Cemeteries to Pray for the Dead, Not to Disturb Them,” Says Catholic Editor [weblink]

3. Catholic Leader Lash Out at Halloween [weblink]

4. Believe It: Abortion Funding Is In Healthcare Bill [weblink]

5. Gay Activists Despise AFTAH Because We Expose their Radical Agenda [weblink]

6. New Study Shows Parents Play a Significant Role In Teen Sexual Decisions [weblink]

7. Kenya to Launch Homosexual Census [weblink]

8. Google Supports Ref. 71 Favoring Same-Sex Unions [weblink]

9. Study: Fatherless Childhood May Injure Brain Development [weblink]

10. Book Review of "Light in the Closet: Torah, Homosexuality, and the Power to Change" [weblink]

11. Catholics in Spain, France and Chile find Christian alternatives to Halloween [weblink]





Quote:


"Gaily I lived as ease and nature taught,
And spent my little life without a thought,
And am amazed that Death, that tyrant grim,
Should think of me, who never thought of him."

~ René Francois Regnier