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Featured Article
Jun
24
Typhoon FRANK (International Codename: Fengsen) caused vast damage to life, property and livelihood of our follow countrymen over the weekend. As of the latest report, the number of casualties has been increasing. Damage was greatly felt in some regions where the actual path of the typhoon crossed. Almost the entire province of Iloilo is submerged in water. People are still stranded on top of the roofs of their houses for two days now in some towns of Iloilo. Other areas of the Visayas are also calling for aid.
*DONATION MECHANISM*
============ ========= ====
GOODS
You may directly bring your donations of goods - ready-to-eat food, clothing, water - to Room 102, Cervini Residence Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
Contact Person : Mr. Tim Gabuna
Trunkline : 426-6001 local 5932
Direct line : 426-6119
Mobile number : 0920-9609802
CASH/CHECK
Direct deposits may be made to:
SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN (Account Name/Payee)
Bank of the Philippine Islands (Loyola-Katipunan Branch)
Peso Checking Account Number :3081-1111-61
Dollar Savings Account Number : 3084-0420-12
Or channel to:
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
Loyola House of Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights 1108, Quezon City
Contact Information:
Landline: 426-6101 loc. 3440/3441
Telefax : 426-5968
Mobile : 0922-8600-752 (SUN-8600-SLB)
Web : www.slb.ph
Look for: Ms. Marj Tejada
For proper acknowledgement:
-Please fax a copy of the validated deposit slip to SLB through telefax 426-5968
-Kindly indicate contact information: Name, address, email, landline/mobile
-Those who wish to be anonymous may skip this procedure
FOR GCASH TRANSACTION:
1. Any Globe or TM subscribers should be registered first in Gcash before doing any Gcash transaction.
2. To register, just text the syntax
REG_4 digit M-PIN/mother’ s maiden name/first name/last name/address and send to 2882
Ex: REG 1234/Getino/ Liwanag/Ferdinan d/766 Metrica St. Sampaloc Manila and send to 2882
3. When the subs already done with cash in, he may now able to do donate or any Gcash transaction he wanted
To Donate: Just text the syntax
DONATE_AMOUNT_ 4 digit M-PIN_INSTITUTION CODE and send to 2882
Ex. DONATE 100 1234 SLB and send to 2882
BRO. ISMAEL JOSE CHAN-GONZAGA, S.J.
Executive Director
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
MR. ADEL BRIONES
Associate Director, CCS
Ateneo School of GovernmentConvenor,
ADMU DREAM (Disaster Response and Management) TEAM
Jan
4
Am sure we all have plans for major personality (and physical?) overhauls this coming 2008. Or maybe there are work/ relational goals that we want to target for the new year. Either way, before we get too excited by all the planning and the listings, let us remind ourselves of the disposition in making resolutions. Reflecting quietly on the year that was, and a humble surrender of our plans to His will are prerequisites to our newfound commitments. We need first to be “poor in spirit.”
I have found the following reflection, based from the words of Jesuit counselor Henri Nouwen, helpful in this endeavor. Have a blessed 2008!
‘Poor in the Spirit” Silence
Moving from the good to the best…not every silence is productive for coming to solitude. All quietness does not lead to inner peace. Henri Nouwen says: ‘It is [in] the silence of the “poor in spirit” wherein you see life in its proper perspective. This silence is the product of an inner disposition characterized by abandonment and hope.To be ‘poor in spirit’ is not to be poor-spirited—that is, pasive and without drive and initiative. Quite the opposite. It is to be full of spirit— full of plans, desires and ideas. But also full of the knowledge that everything we plan and desire should not necessarilly be carried out; that everything we desire does not always have productive outcomes—and that therefore we need to learn the art of abandonment by subjecting our plans and desires to the scrutiny of God’s wisdom.
In doing this we become candidates for hope. For God’s wisdom will open up new possibilities. In laying something aside, fresh perspectives can be gained. And in acnowledging that we don’t have all the answers, insight can come from the most unexpected sources.
The silence of the ‘poor in spirit’ is productive in helping us move from the good and the best, from the spontaneous to the wise, from the most impulsive to the most constructive. In this silence we learn to bring ourselves, with all or plans and ideas , to the point of inner surrender and quietude. Not in order to be nothing or do nothing, but in order to know more truly and to act more creatively.
—Charles Ringma
Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen
Dec
1
Christology in the Parables
Filed Under Book Discussion, Kay Vardeleon | Leave a Comment
I find Pope Benedict’s book Jesus of Nazareth such an insightful work. Particularly, His Holiness helped enriched the way I see Christ’s parables.
Echoing the sentiment of Reynor’s earlier post, a study of the parables as Jesus’ unique way of teaching is often a worthy exercise, specially as they are just beautiful and reveals to us in simple terms the deep and mysterious. They are never outdated, as the Word of God never would be, and speaks of matters relevant to this day. The parables are deeply personal too; two people can read the same parable and come up with two different interpretations that could very well be both correct.
Benedict argues that the parables’ message is more than the obvious or the commonly held interpretation. Rather, they are usually a hidden illustration of who God is, with an insight of the Paschal Mystery embedded within it. There is always a lesson on Christology within the parables.
He takes as an example The Parable of the Good Samaritan. While most will concede that this parable talks about non-discriminate charity, i.e. stopping to help someone in need regardless of whether they are foreigner to our race, Benedict gives us another explanation—not invalidating the first, but enriching it. He said that the parable can be a representation of man’s relationship with God, an interpretation that the Early Church Fathers favored.)
As “Jesus of Nazareth” puts it:
“Is not the man who lies half dead and stripped on the roadside an image of “adam,” of man in general, who trully “fell among robbers”? Is it not true that, this creature man, has been alienated, battered and misused through the entire history?”
Benedict points us to the state of the man in the parable: that he was “stripped” and “beaten half dead.” He considers this as a representation of the human race’s two dimensions of alienation: that he was bereft of the splendor of natural grace (stripped) and wounded in his nature (beaten).
He continues:
“And if the assault victim is the image of Everyman, the Samaritan can only be the image of Jesus Christ. God himself, who for us is foreign and distant, has set out to take care of his wounded creature. God though so remote from us, has made himself seen in Jesus Christ. He pours oil and wine into our wounds, a gesture seen as an image of the healing gift of sacraments, and he brings us to the inn, the Church, in which he arranges for our care and pays a deposit for that care.”
Isn’t this a wonderful interpretation? The Paschal Mystery of the Incarnation is deeply embedded in a simple allegory.
Now, critics of the book argue that Benedict is reading into the text something that is not there. After all, how can one scientifically prove that Jesus has a Christological intention when he taught the parable? I actually agree with the critics. There is really no way of proving Benedicts claims; in fact, I don’t think a Christian scholar exists who can satisfactorily prove that Christ is Divine. In the realm of religion, logic can only take you so far. Sooner or later you’d have to take that leapt of faith and look at the Bible with the eyes of a believer. Benedict himself said in the book: “The arrogance that would make God an object and impose our laboratory conditions upon him is incapable of finding him.”
Do I agree with Benedict that the parables contain a hidden Christology? I do, but the debate on Christ’s real intention is really academic and besides the point. Even if Christ did not intend a theological interpretation of His words, which is doubtful, it is always profitable to listen to messages that resonate with sound theology, in however form we find them.
This challeneged me to look at the other parables and try to discover their hidden Cristology. At random I found The Parable of the Yeast. Could the yeast be Christ Himself, the only alive thing mixed in a race of dead and useless flour, us? God combined His Son to mankind so that we can partake of His divinity and rise into something above ourselves, i.e. we can be dough that rises.
It’s certainly wonderful to think so.
Aug
25
He scourges every son He acknowledges…
Filed Under Kay Vardeleon | 1 Comment
The strongest argument atheists have for the non-existence of God is the presence of suffering. For surely, if God exists, and God is love and God is good, He would put an end to suffering. The presence of pain therefore justifies God’s absence…or worse His rather sadistic nature.
Christianity doesn’t go around the question of suffering. It doesn’t deny its existence, neither does it does it fully ascribe it’s causality to the presence of evil or man’s fallen nature. In fact, Christianity embraces the idea that suffering is the will of God. Indeed, the Christian God is the only God who came to die, and die in a violent way He did.
I remember as a child hearing a retreat master say that the more you suffer, the more God loves you. I remember the feeling of indignation. No, my God is not like that! It doesn’t make sense.
This Sunday’s epistle though agree with that retreat master. Hebrew 12 states:
Brothers and sisters,you have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children: “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.”
Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.
So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.
A parent would refuse a child to wander past his crib if there is a greater possibility of pain outside the crib’s limits. A parent would not give their child all the toys they want, even if they could afford it, if he senses that that this laxity would just end up creating low frustration tolerance. A parent would not let you marry someone no matter how in love you are with them, if they sense they would just hurt you in the long term.
God is parent. And all parents protect us with limits. These limits yes, crates suffering, but the suffering it creates is a training ground for bigger values. Suffering means that our character is being strengthened so that we may learn to trust completely in God’s providence and comfort. He does this because He knows that the only ever complete happiness we can find is in Him. And unless we can have complete reliance on His will, we will never grow.
Spirituality is a muscle….as well as a gift of grace. True, God’s grace makes spirituality irresistable, but at the same time it entails effort and discipline. The test of faith is not in moments of plenty, comfort and positivity. God’s test of faith is in the loss that comes as naturally as living in this finite world.
Misery as I have come to understand it, is not God’s neglect. Misery, I know now, is about man’s pride.
Aug
25
OPLAN BASILAN
Filed Under Announcement, Kay Vardeleon | Leave a Comment
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) and ADMU DREAM Team launched OPLAN (Operation Peace Plan for) BASILAN as a concrete response to the growing humanitarian crisis in Mindanao in the light of the continuous military operations against the Muslim extremists. The fund drive will start today and will run up to August 31, 2007. This will be highlighted by CGE (Citizenship by Good Example) Performances for Basilan Awareness Campaign on August 24 (Friday) 4:30 p.m. Manny V Pangilinan (MVP) Hall coinciding with the Joey Velasco exhibit closing ceremonies. The program will feature Fr. Rene Oliveros, SJ (Islamic Studies Professor), Tutok Karapatan, Entablado and Basilan operations testimony by ADZU-based Jesuit Raymund Belleza, SJ. Background
Situationer as of August 23, 2007: Philippine Marines conducted operations in Guinanta and other neighboring barangays on 10 July 2007 in search of the kidnapped Fr. Giancarlo Bossi. 50 Marines traveling in heavy rains in Al-Barka, Basilan were ambushed by some 400 Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerillas and Abu Sayaff bandits. 14 soldiers were killed in the 10-hour gun battle, 9 were wounded and 10 soldiers were beheaded allegedly by ASG. Currently, there are 12,000 soldiers in Basilan and Jolo for the continuous military offensive.
Based on the figures of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), the fighting had displaced at least 4,566 families or 23,959 persons from 40 villages in Sulu (2,775 families or 12,072 residents in 25 villages in Parang and Maimbung towns) and Basilan (1,791 families or 11,887 persons in 15 villages in the towns of Albarka, Tipo-Tipo, Sumisip and Ungkaya Pukan towns). Affected civilians are fleeing the areas in Indanan, Sulu and are now staying in evacuation centers.
Our Plea: We appeal to your kind heart for your donations. The situation in Basilan and Sulu is precarious and might become a long-drawn conflict. We are in constant communication with the organizations on the ground like the Ateneo de Zamboanga University through the Ateneo Peace Institute, Nagdilaab Foundation based in Basilan and other institutions and we are closely monitoring the situation. We are in solidarity with the statement of the various academic institutions, Basilan Bishop, Mindanao Congressmen and other organizations in Mindanao for their “CALL FOR CIVILITY AND SOBRIETY,TRUTH AND JUSTICE” in this issue. You may also visit the website of Ateneo de Zamboanga University for the complete statement on this matter. (www.adzu.edu. ph). We will also be uploading more information through the slb website: www.slb.ph.
Donation Mechanism: Funds will be sent through ADZU for purchase of relief goods to be distributed to the displaced families in Basilan. A portion will also be budgeted for Ateneo Peace Institute’s Peace Program and SLB’s assistance. Cash/Check Direct deposits (online from any of the BPI branches) may be made 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 For proper acknowledgement: Please fax a copy of the validated deposit slip to SLB through telefax 426-5968Kindly indicate contact information; Name, Address, Email, Mobile Those who wish to be anonymous may skip this procedure Or you may handcarry the cash/check donation to: Loyola House of Studies (Lobby Porter) Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Heights, Quezon CityOpen from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. or SLB Office Loyola House of Studies ADMU, Loyola Heights, Quezon CityOpen from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. O.R.s will be immediately issued at these LHS donation centers.
Aug
25
EGAY TYPHOON MEDICAL MISSION
Filed Under Announcement, Kay Vardeleon | Leave a Comment
Typhoon EGAY (International Codename:Sepat) affected 631,262 individuals, 455 villages, 17 cities in Metro Manila, Cordillera, Southern and Central Luzon. Damage to property is estimated at P20 million. 5,700 persons have stayed in 40 evacuation centers and many have become ill.
In response, SLB-ADMU DREAM Team (Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan- Ateneo de Manila University Disaster Relief and anagement Team) will conduct a Medical Mission on September 2, 2007 (Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) for affected communities in Laguna. For this, we humbly request the following:
MEDICAL DOCTORS (Target: Minimum of 20)
To volunteer, please contact: SLB Project Officer for Disaster Response RC Batac through: Mobile 0921-3509565 / Landline 426-6101 local 3441 / Email: blueblooded32@ yahoo.com / Telefax: 426-5968
MEDICINES
Needed: Paracetamol, Antibiotic (Amoxicillin) , Cough Medicine, Ascorbic Acid and Multivitamins.
In addition, the houses built by the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the Cabuyao Laguna Communities do NOT have roofs and families have suffered from this extraordinary situation for years. Thus, we also request for any roofing materials including used tarpaulins for emergency installations.
You may deliver the medicines and roofing materials to Cervini (Male) Dormitory, Ateneo de Manila University (back of the Church of the Gesu) and look for the security guard on duty.
Should you have any concerns/inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the SLB Office through telephone numbers: 426-6101 locals 3440/3441 or hotline SUN 8600 SLB (0922-8600752) .
Manalangin.
Manindigan.
Makialam.
SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN
www.slb.ph
Aug
15
God will know where it went
Filed Under Kay Vardeleon | Leave a Comment
When I was in third grade, I embarked on a little experiment: I marked my bills with a rubber stamp and a signature before spending them, afterwhich I would wait for the marked money to return to me. In the limited perspective of a child I thought this was rather exciting; envisioning myself later as an adult, having forgotten about the experiment, exclaiming surprise from receiving a bill with my signature on it. Of course like most childhood obsessions, I soon forgot about this one; or perhaps I grew weary waiting for the bills to return.
About three years later in high school, I had an interesting dream. I remember this dream still because I ended up writing it in a diary we were obliged to accomplish daily for Values Education class. In the dream I was in a simple room with other kids my age, and Jesus was teaching us. I forgot what the lesson was but before we all went home, Jesus gave each of us a thick envelop filled with money. “This is not ordinary money,” He told us. “These bills are all marked with My signature. It’s your job to make sure everyone in the world gets one for himself and keeps it rather than spend it. For only those with these bills would be able to purchase a place with Me at the end of time.”
I remembered there was a catch. We cannot give away the money in one go, like donate the entire amount in one place. Rather we should give the bills away one by one, explain to each person what is the importance of the marked bill, and why it should be kept despite what the world tempts you to buy. He reminded all of us there, that we have the freedom to decide how to dispose of the cash, He will later check where it was spent. What He said to us in that dream was striking to me, even now: “You don’t have to tell me how you plan to use it. But remember, I will know where it went.”
God gave us time, talent and treasure for a purpose. Not to serve personal needs but so we can give it away. All that has been entrusted to us exist to be used to glorify Him and spread His message to the world, so that more people may be saved. And later on there will be no need to justify our use of these trust. God will know where everything went.
Jul
5
The Selfless Side of Self-Esteem
Filed Under Contributors, Kay Vardeleon | Leave a Comment
Many orthodox Christians have waged a battle against the psychological concept of self-esteem, arguing that the very nature of personal worth is inconsistent with the fact that we human beings are only as good as the work of grace in our lives. God-esteem is better than self-esteem — for all things we accomplish begin and end with His glory.
This is true and sadly, something we often forget. Even looking at this concept through secular eyes, self-esteem is really overrated. We cannot get everything that we want in this world— whether we believe in ourselves or not. And perhaps we aren’t supposed to. You can be as self-assured and as assertive as you want to be, but if something is really not meant to happen (or is simply not within God’s plan for our lives) it will never come to fruition. The world doesn’t revolve around our desires and plans and all of us depend upon Divine Providence, there is really no such thing as the self-made man.
But did God intended for man to have no faith in himself? See, self-esteem is not necessarily arrogance, or being puffed up, but rather self-esteem is having a positive view of one’s self. While God intended for man to hate his sinless nature, I don’t feel that God intended for man to remain in an area of self-loathing. While by nature humanity has no value, for we are but dust and to dust we shall return, I feel we have some degree of worth simply because in Christ we have become God’s children. It would be an extreme insult to the Savior if we persist to wallow in self-pity or suffer abuse and claim that in God is our strength. In our relationship with God we begin to have value —simply because God loves us.
And isn’t this how a child learns that he is worth something, by an experience of his parent’s love? When we feel that someone loves us for who and what we are we begin to trust ourselves; in it we realize that we are worth loving and that we can risk making mistakes without fear of rejection. We learn freedom and the desire to grow from this love.
And so it is the same with the love of God. While we are all worthless by our very nature, we know we have value, because God loves us enough that He saved us at the cost of His Son. And no matter message of inferiority this world sends us, perhaps through neglectful upbringing or our subsequent rejections in adult relationships, we must never forget that He loved us first, and this love is always more than enough to erase what needs to be erased and forgive what needs to be forgiven.
God tells us: “I love you (John 15:9). I have called you by name, you are mine (Isaiah 43:1). Before I formed you, I knew you. Before you were, born I consecrated you (Jeremiah 1:5). You did not choose me, I chose you (John 15:16). A Godly self-esteem which gets its strength from God’s love means that a Christian must make the most of his gifts— develop his talents to serve His purpose. He must resist abuse and work towards a higher standard of living — not because we want to make much of ourselves, but rather as an appropriate response as the Church of Christ . Christian self-esteem is not the arrogance of a “saved nation,” rather a humble strength so that we may better reflect His glory.
Jun
12
Chastity And The Temple
Filed Under Contributors, Kay Vardeleon | 1 Comment
We live in a sex-saturated culture; it’s in the air we breathe, the people we meet, the movies we watch. Catholic convert Malcolm Muggeridge describes it aptly when he said that “the orgasm has replaced the Cross as the focus of longing and the image of fulfillment.” Chastity is viewed by the world as an unreasonable denial of self and of urges that are just “natural.” As Christians we are expected to counter this culture. The Pontifical Council for the Family defines chastity as that “spiritual energy capable of defending love (and sex) from the perils of selfishness and aggressiveness, and able to advance it towards its full realization.”
How many times have we heard that we are Temples of the Holy Spirit? Many, am sure. How many times have we allowed ourselves to fully comprehend what great thing it is that one Person of the Blessed Trinity resides in our very being? Probably almost never.
St. Paul reminded the Corinthians “Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you! So if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy and you yourselves are His temple”
He goes further to remind us “Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of sexual morality sins against his own body. Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God’s glory. ”
A temple is a place of worship, holy ground, a place where man goes to be with God. A temple therefore is respected and treated with great care, not because the rocks and the cement have value, but because it houses the Lord. It is similar to a person knocking first before entering a high ranking official’s office. You do not just enter because the person in there is to be honored. It’s the same as the Asian practice of taking off footwear before entering a stranger’s house. You do not want to dirty the home of someone you are not supposed to act with familiarity with.
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