Our Metaphysics class never fails to inspire me, thanks to our great mentor Fr. Michael La Guardia, SDB. This morning we just discussed the "person". What is a person, we ask. Not to suck you in the vortex of philosophy, a person is the perfection of a being, that existing being that has an intellectual nature. You and I are persons and each of us have his sacred dignity.
When I heard these things, my heart beat faster than I realize. It felt like good news to someone who was in the dark all these time. It was the best explanation for all the anger that I have ever felt these past months over something that refuses to be helped, that refuses to see.
We remain persons, with the powers of reason and freedom, and remains so even if these powers cease to function. Thus, a zygote, a fetus and a person in coma is still a human person. Think about the ethical repercussions of this statement! We share the same dignity despite the skin color, the shape of nose, the height, the weight, the talents and skills, because we are all persons based on the One Person, who made us in his image and likeness. As human persons, we are all equals.
With this, each one of us possess rights and with it duties. We have the right to be loved, and perhaps the duty to love. We have the right to be recognized, and the duty to recognize others. We have the right to laughter and joy, and an invitation to be contagious with it. No one is less deserving for the things that God has abundantly poured out.
Then, Fr. Mike posed this question: Am I only nature and nurture? Are we limited to our nature and to the environment we live in? No, we are not limited to it for there is another element: choice. We choose who we are, so we can actually transcend our nature and nurture. How many people have gone beyond their poverty, their environment, their limitations, and their handicap? That's why we have what we call self-transcendence. To say that "this is who I am and you must respect me for remaining so", is resoundingly false. You can choose to be better. I can choose.
We choose, and we never stop choosing between choices, day by day, moment by moment. We choose to wake up or not, not take showers or not, to eat or not, to go to school or not, so on and so forth. We are always in a process, a movement forward. This is the process of human becoming. We are not just humans, we should become more human with each choice that we make. Your birth tells you you are a human being but it is you who chooses to remain so and even better.
The pinnacle of our being persons is God himself. We move forward not just in any direction but, as C.S. Lewis puts it, further up and further in! We just don't remain in the limitations of humanity, we transcend our humanity and take upon ourself the divinity that Christ has shared with us with his victory on the cross. As Christians, and quite contrary to the natural, we are called to love and pray for our enemies; we are called not to seek revenge but to forgive. This is the supernatural call that each follower of Christ has: to become more and more like Christ himself - Love.
And so, I am human becoming. I am not content with my level of "I" now, I have to become a better me, and there is no better me than becoming more like Christ.
***
This brings me to my own personal experience of betrayal, of trust and friendship. I was angry because I was not treated with respect as a person. I was angry because forgiveness was tarnished. I got depressed because I can't accept that some things refuse to change (for the better). But with acceptance, an invitation to forgive more, and self-transcendence I am brought to inner freedom. He who has eyes, see. He who has ears, hear.
There are people who refuse to grow, to become human. And there are worse people who refuses to be helped. That in their fear of being taken in, they do not allow themselves to be taken out, that not even God can help them.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Biking across the Hills
It's Sunday once again and I was very excited to bike once more. Few days ago, Bro. Donnie and I agreed to go on a biking trip, dreaming of reaching Barangay Bunggo near Tagaytay where Bro. Ramil lives. After weeks of intense Philosophical studies, I say intense because the second years' fidgeting and uneasiness is brushing on me (and that's because of the great de Universa), exams and quizzes with our venerable teachers Fr. Michael La Guardia and Fr. Reggie Porlucas, I thought it best to take a break and ease my mind.
We left at around two in the afternoon and started to bike uphill the gentle slope of Tagaytay. I recently realized that Canlubang sits on the foot of the extinct and titanic bigger-of-the-Taal's volcano. The sweet and fresh Tagaytay perches on the rim of this huge volcano whose crater is the Taal Lake which in the center is the Volcano Island where you can find the smaller and more active volcano. So much for Geography 101, we pushed ahead and lovingly embraced the scorching sun, on our backs our supplies of fresh clean water from the dispenser, a pack of Rosquillos and four pieces of polvoron.
Having watched last night the movie "127 Hours", we made sure we told our respective communities where we were going and brought along a mobile phone, just in case. I brought along my camera to capture the wonderful experience of biking with the great Donnie Duchin Duya.
The route we took was not really challenging, since it is a gradual climb. Even so, it is still a climb and I had to struggle with the Post Novitiate bicycle whose gears are on the brink of breaking and whose transmission chain has a playful habit of jumping away from them. We had to stop several times to fix my bike while at the same time catch our breath and regain strength.
The rural view was quite wonderful. It was my first time to see a plantation of tomatoes, rows and rows of them blanketing the hills like a thick green carpet. Bro. Donnie remarked how abundantly the flowers grow in these sitio's. There was a point in the road where you have this fantastic view of Mt. Makiling, a panoramic view of Southern Luzon plains with the distant Manila skyline as background. On one stop, we observed a colony of Fire Ants, where my curiosity got the better of me and I tried to poke a hole into the pasted leaves they consider their nest. I wasn't able to see what's inside because the ants were quick to detect the intruder and scared him when he saw the soldier ants rushing out of the little hole.
We weren't able to reach our intended destination because time ran out for us. We were already in Barangay Laguerta, a few kilometers away from Bunggo. We surrendered to fate and sat down on a grassy area sheltered by a towering tree. We consumed our provisions, the polvoron and all, before making a U-turn and head home. I had to admit I suffered some cramps in my knees because of all the hard pedaling uphill. Other than this, there was nothing more wonderful than feeling the blast of air across your face as you and your bicycle glide down the slope towards home.
It was wonderful to bike again while chatting along the way. Thank God for the great Donnie Duchin Duya. Thank God for biking. Cheers!
Having watched last night the movie "127 Hours", we made sure we told our respective communities where we were going and brought along a mobile phone, just in case. I brought along my camera to capture the wonderful experience of biking with the great Donnie Duchin Duya.
The route we took was not really challenging, since it is a gradual climb. Even so, it is still a climb and I had to struggle with the Post Novitiate bicycle whose gears are on the brink of breaking and whose transmission chain has a playful habit of jumping away from them. We had to stop several times to fix my bike while at the same time catch our breath and regain strength.
The rural view was quite wonderful. It was my first time to see a plantation of tomatoes, rows and rows of them blanketing the hills like a thick green carpet. Bro. Donnie remarked how abundantly the flowers grow in these sitio's. There was a point in the road where you have this fantastic view of Mt. Makiling, a panoramic view of Southern Luzon plains with the distant Manila skyline as background. On one stop, we observed a colony of Fire Ants, where my curiosity got the better of me and I tried to poke a hole into the pasted leaves they consider their nest. I wasn't able to see what's inside because the ants were quick to detect the intruder and scared him when he saw the soldier ants rushing out of the little hole.
We weren't able to reach our intended destination because time ran out for us. We were already in Barangay Laguerta, a few kilometers away from Bunggo. We surrendered to fate and sat down on a grassy area sheltered by a towering tree. We consumed our provisions, the polvoron and all, before making a U-turn and head home. I had to admit I suffered some cramps in my knees because of all the hard pedaling uphill. Other than this, there was nothing more wonderful than feeling the blast of air across your face as you and your bicycle glide down the slope towards home.
It was wonderful to bike again while chatting along the way. Thank God for the great Donnie Duchin Duya. Thank God for biking. Cheers!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Because They Knew Him Well
Living most of my life near Don Bosco made me realize one thing: the presence of the Amazona's of Don Bosco in Salesian settings. They're not an official group of the Salesian Family, in fact they are not a formal group, but they are more reserved than the VDB's and equally dedicated. I want to honor them because they have been one my inspirations in my vocation.
We jokingly call them Amazona because most of them are single, and not only single but also single-hearted, in serving Don Bosco! You find them working almost quietly (I say 'almost' because most of them are quite noisy, active, and youthful) in offices and classrooms.They may not be consecrated religious but they have chosen to dedicate their time, talent, and even treasure at the service of the Salesian mission da mihi animas, cetera tolle.
I call them "ate's" or elder sister and "kuya's" or elder brother, an address that falls short of the merit that is due them. They spend more hours working than the office hours, with passion and zeal that couldn't be understood outside the Salesian culture. Such dedication, I say, could only come from a real encounter with St. John Bosco. I believe only when you have been touched by the spirit of our Father and Friend can you learn to understand and become what he was for the young.
Most of them have met Don Bosco in the persons of Salesians and Salesian Sisters who have equally lived the Salesian charism and spirit and passed it on to them! Working for, with, and among young people, taxing though it may is a sweet burden of loving service. I remember one of them telling me that it no longer matters to them how much remuneration they receive monthly because the fact that they are sharing the mission of Don Bosco is enough consolation and joy already that money cannot buy.
As a Salesian, I see them as examples and inspiration. Woe to me if I am to go slack in my vocation, these admirable people will surely shame my laxity. I would have like to name them here but, reserved as they are (but in truth they will kill me if I mention them because I just called them "amazona's"), I respect their silent and joyful work. Viva Amazona's!
We jokingly call them Amazona because most of them are single, and not only single but also single-hearted, in serving Don Bosco! You find them working almost quietly (I say 'almost' because most of them are quite noisy, active, and youthful) in offices and classrooms.They may not be consecrated religious but they have chosen to dedicate their time, talent, and even treasure at the service of the Salesian mission da mihi animas, cetera tolle.
I call them "ate's" or elder sister and "kuya's" or elder brother, an address that falls short of the merit that is due them. They spend more hours working than the office hours, with passion and zeal that couldn't be understood outside the Salesian culture. Such dedication, I say, could only come from a real encounter with St. John Bosco. I believe only when you have been touched by the spirit of our Father and Friend can you learn to understand and become what he was for the young.
Most of them have met Don Bosco in the persons of Salesians and Salesian Sisters who have equally lived the Salesian charism and spirit and passed it on to them! Working for, with, and among young people, taxing though it may is a sweet burden of loving service. I remember one of them telling me that it no longer matters to them how much remuneration they receive monthly because the fact that they are sharing the mission of Don Bosco is enough consolation and joy already that money cannot buy.
As a Salesian, I see them as examples and inspiration. Woe to me if I am to go slack in my vocation, these admirable people will surely shame my laxity. I would have like to name them here but, reserved as they are (but in truth they will kill me if I mention them because I just called them "amazona's"), I respect their silent and joyful work. Viva Amazona's!
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