Father Barron on Christmas

Mary Christmas everyone!

Help Typhoon Sendong Flood Victims

A few days ago Typhoon Sendong devastated my countrymen in Northern Mindanao that left 569 (and counting) dead and hundreds still missing and leaving in its path ravaged homes and properties. Thousands of families are now housed in evacuation sites. This Christmas let us share with them the true spirit of the season.

I collected these info online where you can send your donations:

1. Philippine National Red Cross

Call Hotline 143 or (+632) 527.0000. You can also visit this site for your donation.

** SMART Subscribers -- Text RED <20, 50, 100, 300, 500 or 1000>, send to 4143
** GLOBE Subscribers -- Text RED <5, 25, 50, 100 or 300>, send to 2899

2. ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya

Address: ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. Building Mother Ignacia Ave., corner Eugenio Lopez St.,
Quezon City
Trunkline: +632-415-2272 loc 3765
Direct line: +632-411-4995
Email: sagip@abs-cbn.com
Website: www.sagipkapamilya.com
Fax No: +632-411-4995
Warehouse: ABS-CBN Foundation Sagip Kapamilya Warehouse(Edongs)
#137 Mother Ignacia Ave., Quezon City

3. GMA Kapuso Foundation

Address: 2nd Floor GMA Kapuso Center, GMA Network Drive cor. Samar Street Diliman, Quezon City 1103 Philippines
Telephone: (632) 982.7777 loc. 9901 / 9904 / 9905
Telefax: (632) 928.9351 / (632) 928.4299
E-mail: gmaf@gmanetwork.com
Website: www.kapusofoundation.com

4. World Vision Philippines

You can direct your donations to this site.

Website: www.worldvision.org.ph

5. Caritas Manila

For Cash Donations:

Account Name: Caritas Manila, Inc.
BPI Savings Account: 3063-5357-01
Metrobank Savings Account: 175-3-17506954-3
BDO Savings Account: 5600-45905
PNB Current Account: 10-856-660001-7.

For Dollar Account:
BPI Savings Account: 3064-0033-55
PNB Account No.: 10-856-660002-5

Website: www.caritas.org.ph

6. La Salle Green Hills

Donations in cash and kind can be received at Gate 2 of La Salle Green Hills at 343 Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550. You may also call any of the following telephone numbers for further inquiries:

Aluimni Office — 721-2729, 722-7750, 725-4720
GS Principal — 721-2482
HS Principal — 721-8914
Buildings and Grounds Office — 721-8904 (Telefax)
La Sallian Mission Office — 726-5851 (Telefax)

7. De La Salle Canlubang's Lasallian Mission Office is accepting cash donations for the victims of the flash floods in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro. Check donations are accepted as well. All donations will be coordinated with the Lasallian Mission Office of De La Salle Santiago Zobel School.

La Salle Academy (Iligan City) is accepting cash donations to help the victims of typhoon Sendong.

Development Bank of the Philippines
Account Name: La Salle Academy
Account Number: 0820-016221-030.

Notes:
1. Please make cheques payable to La Salle Academy.
2. Kindly make a digital copy (or digital photo) of the deposit slip and email this digital file to Br. Raffy Reyes FSC (President of LSA) raffyreyes1018@gmail.com AND Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC (President of DLSZ) brodennis@gmail.com for proper documentation and accounting.

8. Gawad Kalinga

Gawad Kalinga Philippine Peso Current Account
# 3101 0977 56 BPI EDSA Greenhills

Gawad Kalinga US$ Savings Account
# 3104 0162 34 BPI EDSA Greenhills
Swift code: BOPIPHMM

9. Xavier University

1) Bank Deposit

Account Name: Xavier University
Account Number: 9331-0133-63
BPI MAIN BRANCH

2) CASH/CHEQUE:

Direct deposits may be made online from any BPI branches, pay to:

SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN (Account Name/Payee)
Bank of the Philippine Islands (Loyola-Katipunan Branch)
BPI Peso Checking Account Number: 3081-1111-61
BPI Dollar Savings Account Number: 3084-0420-12

10. Smart

Smart Money: Donors to Typhoon #Sendong may help through Smart Money acct. no. 5577-5130-6822-1104 at any BDO, Hapinoy or Cebuana Lhuillier outlets.

11. Globe

Gcash: For GCASH, donate through Red Cross by texting DONATE MPIN REDCROSS and send to 2882.

12. One Meralco Foundation

One Meralco Foundation is accepting cash & in-kind donations in G\F Lopez bldg, Meralco Center, Ortigas. Call 6328301, look for Joy.

13. News5 Aksyon Center.

Address: San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City.
Telephone: 938-6393.

Cash donations may be sent through the following bank accounts:

BDO Peso Account
Account name: TV5 Kapatid Foundation Inc.
Account No. 005310-410164

BPI Peso Account
Account name: TV5 Kapatid Foundation Inc.
Account No. 1443-05333-2

14. LBC

LBC is accepting relief goods for the victims of Typhoon Sendong and will be delivering them for free to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. You may drop off your donations to any LBC branch nationwide or for inquiries, please call their hotline at (632) 8855999.

You can also send food items, drinking water, used clothing, blankets, medicines, cash and what you have to the following dropping centers:

Cagayan de Oro City and Misamis Oriental:
Panday Bulig Relief and Rehabilitaion Center
Tabang Mindanao Center
12th-22nd streets, Nazareth
9000 Cagayan de Oro City
T/F: +63 (88) 856 6413
E: pandaybulig@gmail.com
(look for Ms. Beryl Tranco)

Iligan City:
Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
Northern Mindanao Sub-Region
Room 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center
0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde
9200 Iligan City
T/F: +63 223 5179
E: rmpnmr@gmail.com
W: www.rmp-nmr.org
(look for Ms. Ida Melody Bucog)

Bukidnon:
Bukidnon Peoples' Center
1st Floor, Montero Residence
Purok 4, Pantaron St.
Poblacion, Valencia City
Mobile #: 0926-592-1806
(Contact Zaldy Galamiton)

Dropping Center in Metro Manila:
c/o StartArt Project
10A Alabama st New Manila Quezon City
Mobile: +63926 7112450
email: info@startartprject.org or nikkiluna@startartproject.org

For cash donations, please send to this account:

Bank Name and Address:
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
Quezon Avenue branch, 9200 Iligan City, Philippines

Account number: 009359-1348-08

Swift Code: BOPIPHMM

Account Name and Address:
RMP-NMR Inc.
Room 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center for Interfaith Resources 0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde Iligan City 9200, Philippines

Weekly News (Third Week of December 2011)

1. Pope Speaks of Something Greater Than Answered Prayers

Says God's Most Valuable Gift Is the Gift of His Friendship

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 14, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says God's greatest answer to prayer is the gift of His friendship and presence. [Read More]

2. New Manila Archbishop Expected To Speak On Critical Issues

HARDLY had Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle warmed his seat as 32nd Archbishop of Manila, the faithful already expected him to lead the Catholic Church across “stormy” waters brought about by political bickering and glaring poverty that sends more Filipinos abroad. [Read More]

3. Record Drop In US Marriages Caused By Social Changes

Washington D.C., Dec 16, 2011 / 06:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The fact that the number of Americans getting married is at a record low is due to changes in society’s values, public policy decisions and economic factors, says sociologist Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox. [Read More]

4. Consumers Contributing to Sex-Change Operations?

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest homosexual activist group, is lauding companies that provide medical coverage to change one's gender. [Read More]

5. Red Cross: Women Should Have “Access to Safe Abortions”

New York, NY (CFAM/LifeNews) — A recently issued report from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent has caused concerns that the organization may start advocating for abortion rights. [Read More]

6. Study Reveals How Pregnancy Can Help Fight Heart Disease

From the Gawker science blog io9 comes a particularly cool revelation about pregnancy that might seem apolitical at first glance, but holds powerful implications for one of the abortion movement’s more callous talking points. [Read More]

7. Nigeria’s Bishops Praise Ban on Public Expression of Homosexuality

ABUJA, Nigeria, December 14, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nigeria’s Catholic bishops are praising the country’s Senate for its “courageous and hope-inducing decision” to pass a bill outlawing same-sex unions and public displays of homosexuality last month. [Read More]

8. Student Sues School Over Punishment For Stating Religious Objection to Gay Lifestyle

HOWELL, Michigan, December 15, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Catholic student in Michigan is suing a teacher who reportedly punished him for stating his religious belief against the gay lifestyle when that teacher asked him his opinion on the issue. [Read More]

9. Bringing Tim Tebow & Others To The Fullness of Truth That Is The Catholic Church

A very interesting debate broke out recently following my article on the attacks Denver Quarterback Tim Tebow is coming under from militant liberal secularists concerning his public displays of faith. [Read More]

10. Father Barron's Commentaries on Christopher Hitchens

We've assembled a handful of archived videos of Father Barron commenting on his work and illness for your reference. Please pray with us for Christopher Hitchens and his family. [Read More]

Why Do People Stay In The Closet?

To those of you who wonder why some people don't want to 'come out' of the closet, please read this guest post from Bro. A.


You don’t want to be in the position of a famous actor these days. After his ex-girlfriend made a monster hit of a tell-all on TV, telling the whole world everything except ‘out’ the guy, he has since been subjected to a humiliation by the public through heartless video exposes, parody involving Hitler, and the most vicious comments. If homosexuality is caused by such public embarrassment in the first place, then it’s easy to imagine how the actor is reliving his childhood trauma right now. No amount of his money can comfort him, with the fame and celebrity image he carefully built now more of a curse. If he doesn’t know how to counteract with positive thinking the steady assault of mindless, merciless public judgment, he would want to evaporate right now wherever he is, one can only imagine.

Whether the accusation against the actor of being closeted is true or not, the fact is there are a number of men who would rather suffer quietly than ‘come out’ or admit in public that they are gay or keeping the secret of homosexuality. I’ve interviewed a number of people and here are their answers to the question.

"I want to shield my family from shame and spare my old and ailing parents in particular from the horror of knowing how much they have contributed to it." – Roger, investment house employee

"Why should I come out? I already came out to myself! I have no moral obligation to explain myself to the world. I do not feel compelled at all to do so." – Dennis, dentist

"I don't want to expose myself and others, especially the fact that I was sexually molested by an older boy when I was four or even younger, and was raised by an angry, alcoholic, and verbally violent father and a temperamental, overbearing grandmother. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I am not ready about the possibility of people talking about these terrible, dark secrets of mine. I don't think I ever will be ready." - Jun, computer shop owner

"I am afraid to be humiliated, made fun of with dares and unfair jokes about whether I want to wear makeup and skirts (I certainly don’t!), and worst of all, the most hateful of all, be offered a boyfriend and propositioned with sex (I never had any nor I ever intend to!) How I love to slap their faces!" – John, salesman

"I won’t be understood, so why bother?" – Jon-jon, call center agent

"I am scared of being thought of as having a crush on all them men. I don’t. I do not get easily attracted, not even when muscular guys get naked in front of me. I am attracted only to a particular type. Muscular, athletic types and old men are actually a turnoff to me, but who will ever believe me, right?" – Jeffrey, computer programmer

"I dread the mere thought of the endless explanation I needed to make for something that is so complicated, and the high chances of not being understood in the end." - Darwin, PR man

"So what? So they’d make fun of me? I’d rather that they made fun of me behind my back. I won’t be able to stand being bullied all over again. – Daniel, journalist

I don’t want to be called gay or homosexual. To be a man, to be accepted as a man – that’s what I want." – Ryan, student

"Because I can’t consider myself wholly gay or homosexual. I’ve changed a lot after many years of counseling and therapy. Looking back, I shouldn’t even have called myself that because I kept an attraction to the opposite sex all along. I was just more preoccupied with my same-sex attraction problem, wishing it to go away in an instant because I wanted to marry my girlfriend." - Vincent, doctor (now married)

-oOo-

Just some personal comments on that popular actor mentioned in the intro. I don't have to mention his name here because if you are a Filipino chances are you know by now who is being referred to. Bro. A is right. No guy would ever want to trade places with what this actor is going through right now - not even with all the fame, money, and success that he enjoys. I can only imagine the emotional pain amidst this controversy. Actually he is not a stranger to this as he has been through with similar situations before only that this time the attacks have become more ferocious with all the technology that we have right now like the social media. He is being bullied and dragged 'out of the closet' so to speak by those same people you would see on gay pride parades decrying homophobia and intolerance and perhaps some of those lobbying in the congress to pass the anti-discrimination bill. So much for the gay agenda!

I have read many mean and nasty comments and saw malicious photos that insinuate that the actor is gay. It makes me wonder why some people derive wicked satisfaction in smearing other's reputation. It may sound to you as if I'm defending this actor. I do not know him personally but even so I just want to point out that what these people are doing to him is so uncharitable to say the least. Why is his personal life such a big deal to us? So what if he broke up with his girlfriend? Whether he is struggling with SSA or not is not your or my business. Can we spare this good man with this so much nonsense? This actor is a good person and a God-fearing fellow, and quite frankly he doesn't deserve all the bad press he is getting now. I especially detest those rumors and bad jokes being spread online. It's so despicable because it's so below the belt and just plain unfair. These are offenses against the eighth commandment of God which forbids us to bear false witness against our neighbor.

Single and Blessed

What is wrong with being single? Nothing. What is wrong with being in your 30s? Absolutely nothing! But when those two come together - single and 30 something, people are starting to wonder why. And add one more thing - single, in your 30s, and struggling with SSA. These are the sort of things I try to avoid when dealing with people. Tomorrow is the wedding of my youngest brother and I will be his best man. I can already anticipate the big question that perhaps some well-meaning family friends and relatives might ask of me - "When is it going to be your turn?" I'll probably say, "Maybe in the next 10 years or so. You see, P-Noy is still a bachelor until now, so I guess I'm in good company." My policy? - Don't ask, don't explain.

This must be one of the reasons why I avoid social gatherings like class reunions, weddings, and family gatherings like a plague. I personally feel I don't have any obligation to explain why I'm still single until now or why I don't even have a girlfriend. (You see, I'm a certified member of the NGSB club (no girlfriend since birth) and believe it or not NBSB as well. I wish I can tell them straight but I fear that they are not just ready. I pray that when the time comes I will be emotionally ready and that they will understand and accept me still unconditionally.

Last November I had the chance to attend Kerygma Conference 2011 under the Single Blessedness stream. I was surprised to find a fellow Courage brother there. At least I was not alone. I noticed that the majority of the attendees were women and I felt quite out of place. There were a handful of men though.

Among the four speakers who gave talks, I was most impressed with Dr. Beth Melchor. She remains to this day a single lady and she seems to be having the time of her life! Most of her life she has dedicated in doing God's work and has found immense joy in doing so. She exuded an aura of confidence and fulfillment in her countenance and her life was so overflowing with joy she was ever so ready to surrender it to God at any moment. What a woman! Why did she choose to be single? She said it was her vocation from the very start. She thought of entering the religious life, but felt that God was not calling her to it. She elaborated two examples from the Bible for those who are discerning this road less traveled. One is that Our Lord Jesus Christ chose this vocation for Himself and that in the afterlife (heaven) the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. She also compared her vocation to that of a 'pearl of great price'. When asked about growing old alone she said we shouldn't worry about the future and let God take care of that detail and that she had no regrets whatsoever because she has dedicated all her life to the service of God and fellowmen. After the talk, I couldn't help but be inspired by this woman who is a living testimony of a life well lived and a cancer survivor as well.

So I guess being single is not that bad after all. A person who pursues this path is single but not necessarily alone and blessed because the source of that blessedness comes from Christ, who gives purpose and meaning to our lives whatever road we choose to travel on.


"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

Weekly News (Second Week of December 2011)

1. Pope: Fear Sin More Than Persecution

THE church should fear the sin of its own members more than hatred against Christians, Pope Benedict XVI said. [Read More]

2. US Might Turn Blind Eye to Religious Freedom

While Christians Suffer More Persecution Than Any Other Faith

ROME, DEC. 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Christians have become the most persecuted followers of any religion in the world today, according to participants at a recent conference in Moscow. Yet the U.S. government appears to be scaling back its work to safeguard this crucial human right. [Read More]

3. Health Chief Won’t Quit Over ‘Gay Slur’

HEALTH Secretary Enrique Ona defended himself from demands for his resignation over alleged “anti-gay” statement during a meeting on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) last week. [Read More]

4. Report Challenges Jesuit Universities’ 'Sexual Diversity' Conference

Washington D.C., Dec 7, 2011 / 03:13 am (CNA).- A new report by the Cardinal Newman Society says a conference series hosted by two Jesuit universities appears to question and even undermine Church teaching on sexuality and marriage. [Read More]

5. Gotta Be Married To Get Divorced

The Texas Supreme Court has the task of deciding whether marriage will continue to be defined as a union between one man and one woman. [Read More]

6. Obama Offers Plan For U.S. To Be Global LGBT Sex Cop

The Obama administration has announced it intends to make the United States the global sex cop, with plans to try to intervene in the workings of other nations where homosexuality is not promoted as well as plans to create special provisions for homosexuals and those with other lifestyle choices to gain special admittance to the U.S. [Read More]

7. Study Showing Abortion Hurts Women’s Mental Health Attacked

Washington, DC (CFAM/LifeNews) — It did not take long for a new study finding a link between abortion and mental health to spark unfounded criticism of the paper and attacks against the author. [Read More]

8. ‘Gayest Superbowl Halftime Show Ever’?

The gay and lesbian news outlet Xtra is predicting that the 2012 Superbowl halftime show will go down in history as the “gayest Superbowl halftime show ever.” [Read More]

9. European Parliament Urges Access to Abortion to Stop The Spread of AIDS

December 9, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The European Parliament, the European Union’s representative body, has passed a resolution urging the use of abortion and contraception to stop the spread of AIDS, while making no mention of abstinence education. [Read More]

10. Archbishop Dolan Discusses Church Teaching on the Dignity of Human Life

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (EWTN News/CNA)—New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan gave the inaugural lecture for Notre Dame’s Project on Human Dignity Dec. 6, citing the worth of each human life as a basic principle of Catholic faith. [Read More]

Purity Matters

Watch this short clip with a powerful message on the importance of purity in our lives.





Today, Dec. 8, we honor Our Lady under Her great title of Immaculate Conception, our model of purity.

On Christian Hope

Reflections from our annual Courage recollection in Anawim.


Pope Benedict XVI released his new encyclical letter, "On Christian Hope," Nov. 30, just two days before the beginning of Advent. Not surprisingly, the Holy Father's timing was perfect because Advent, more than any other season of the year, is rooted in the virtue of hope.

For Catholics, the real new year begins not on January 1, but on the First Sunday of Advent, the day when the Church begins her annual new cycle of Scripture readings and worship. The season of Advent, deriving from the Latin verb advenire, meaning "to come" or "to arrive," has a two-fold purpose: first, to remind us of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and all that it implied for the salvation of the world; and second, to ready us for Christ's Second Coming at the end of time as King and Judge of creation. Like Lent, Advent is a time of preparation. Also like Lent, Advent is a penitential season - but not in the same strict way. Rather, Advent embodies the words of the liturgy, which remind us that "we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ."

Benedict's new encyclical is a rich and challenging document. It's not easily absorbed in one reading. But one of its most important lines can be found right in the opening sentences. The Holy Father reminds us that for Christians, the virtue of hope enables us to face the burdens of daily life, no matter how heavy. He writes that "the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey" (1). Faith in Jesus Christ leads us to hope for eternal life. Christ's life gives our lives meaning. If we really believe in Jesus Christ, we will have confidence in the future, no matter how bleak some days or some problems seem. For in the end, Jesus has already won our salvation and the happiness that comes with it.

The source of the word "virtue" is revealing; it comes from the Latin noun virtus, meaning "strength." The virtue that Christians call hope is not a warm feeling, or a sunny mood, or a habit of optimism. Optimism, as the great Catholic novelist Georges Bernanos once wrote, has nothing to do with hope. Optimism is often foolish and naive - a preference to see good where the evidence is undeniably bad. In fact, Bernanos called optimism a "sly form of selfishness, a method of isolating oneself from the unhappiness of others."

Hope is a very different creature. It's a choice; a self-imposed discipline to trust in God while judging ourselves and the world with unblinkered, unsentimental clarity. In effect, it's a form of self-mastery inspired and reinforced by God's grace. "The highest form of hope," Georges Barnanos said, "is despair, overcome." Jesus Christ was born in a filthy stable and died brutally on a cross not to make a good world even better; but to save a fallen and broken world from itself at the cost of his own blood. Such is the real world; our daily world; the world of Christian hope - the world that Pope Benedict speaks to when he writes in his new encyclical that "all serious and upright human conduct is hope in action" (35) and "the true measure of humanity is [determined by our] relationship to suffering and to the sufferer" (38).

In the words of Benedict: "To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love, and in order to become a person who truly loves - these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself" (39).

As we ready ourselves for the joy of Christmas this year, let's live Advent well and remember why we're supposed to be joyful. In the end, Christmas is not about gifts or carols or parties, though all these things are wonderful in their place. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, who brings meaning and hope to a world that needs redemption. In Him, and only in Him, is our hope.

Weekly News (First Week of December 2011)

1. Vatican Council Calls for Universal Access to AIDS Treatments

Vatican City, Dec 2, 2011 / 12:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- To mark World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers appealed for universal access to life-saving treatment for all AIDS victims and urged others to show solidarity with them. [Read More]

2. Cohabitation and Marriage: Not Equal Alternatives

Studies Continue Confirming the Need to Strengthen Families

ROME, DEC. 2, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The popularity of cohabitation as an alternative or a preliminary step to marriage continues to grow. Data published this week by the British Office for National Statistics for England and Wales confirms the trend. [Read More]

3. Church’s AIDS Drive Targets Young

THE Philippines Catholic Church is focusing its HIV and AIDS awareness campaign on the “high risk” groups of youth and migrants, a priest involved in the campaign today said. [Read More]

4. On World AIDS Day, Let’s Be Honest by Teaching Kids that Male Homosexual Sex is High Risk [Read More]

5. Philippines: Pro-Abortion Groups Funding RH Bill Backers

Pro-abortion groups have been showering “reproductive health” (RH) lobbyists with millions of dollars in funding for years to promote the Western agenda of contraception and population control, documents showed. [Read More]

6. England’s Top Catholic Bishop Endorses Gay Civil Unions

December 1, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - According to The Tablet, the Archbishop of Westminster, England, has publicly expressed support for homosexual civil unions, a move that appears to put him at odds with a clear Vatican decree against supporting such unions confirmed by Pope John Paul II and then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict) in 2003. [Read More]

7. Lawsuit Against New York’s Homosexual ‘Marriage’ Law Moves Forward

WASHINGTON, December 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A New York state judge has allowed a lawsuit that could overturn the state’s homosexual “marriage” law to move forward. [Read More]

8. Entrepreneurial Evangelization

Where’s the “Silicon Valley” for Catholicism? Allow me to explain.

We Catholics give a ton of money to some really, really great charities who do amazing work. But most of it goes toward only one part of the “need chain” - the end product (or the bureaucracy to deliver it). [Read More]

9. Should We Seek Economic Equality?

The Occupy movement in light of Church teaching.

The wealthiest people — the top 1% — have experienced the greatest income growth in recent years; the 99% have seen smaller growth. The rich aren’t getting richer while the poor get poorer — all income groups have increased in wealth. But the vastly rich have gotten much wealthier (hundreds of times so) than the not-so-rich and the poor. [Read More]

10. Why Hating Is Too Easy and Forgiving Is Too Hard

Psychologist Considers the Reasons People Choose Bitterness

ARLINGTON, Virginia, NOV. 29, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Though hatred ferments within a person and prevents positive achievements, still, it seems to be on the rise. Doctor Paul C. Vitz, associate professor and senior scholar at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, is asking why. [Read More]

Angry Birds and AIDS

Do you know what is the most popular post on the Courage Philippines blogspot? According to my Feedjit stats it's about HIV Testing Centers in the Philippines. It's both good and bad news - good because those who are most at risk are taking a huge step to confront HIV/AIDS and bad because that could also mean the cases are rising at a very fast pace, and this we know for a fact.

One brother from Aftercall, a Catholic ministry for persons struggling with SSA, works in the Department of Health Manila and is conducting free and confidential HIV/AIDS testing and counseling. Consultation is free as are the medicines for selected STDs. You can contact him at 09224537826.

If you love yourself enough, get tested now. If your results come back positive, they can refer you to appropriate support groups and facilities for treatment. If your results come back negative, give thanks to God for giving you a second chance. And please, please, as much as possible, abstain from future sexual encounters. Also, don't buy the idea that condoms can protect you from future infection; that's a big lie. For the majority of gay men, the root cause of the escalation of HIV/AIDS epidemic is risky behavior and not merely ignorance, and using condoms only makes you indulge in riskier behaviors because of the sense of security that it provides. By doing so, it effectively neutralizes whatever benefit the condom may offer you. Please take note that anal sex puts you at a very high risk to contract this disease because the linings of your anal canal are thin and rupture easily, providing an easy route for HIV to enter your system.

I have always believed that true love does not contribute to the spread of AIDS because it is a love that is ever ready to sacrifice for the sake of the beloved. True love does not put others at risk; it does not compromise.

In the final analysis, only abstinence, education/awareness, fidelity (for married heterosexual couples only), and a proper understanding of human sexuality are your best weapons against HIV/AIDS and so please control your angry birds (with pun intended).

Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day.