TO KILL the RH BILL

Sep 13, '12 12:58 AM for everyone

To kill the RH Bill   

 Some friends who are aware of my seminary training (Christ the King-QC, SVD, as in Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD, or the late Fr. Jose Vicente Braganza, Edicio de la Torre, Charlie Avila, Conrado Balweg), have tried to taunt me into expressing my own view on the RH Bill.  They themselves have evidently become so emotional and all worked up on the issue that they will not allow any fence-sitters.  My stock reply has always been: “Please, don’t bother me now with such a trivial matter.  I’m busy still trying to solve the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.” No kidding aside (sic), the debate over the bill is simply too big for my britches.  It is best left in the care of people who like to play God.  And you know what they say, “whom the gods wish to destroy…they turn into congressmen.”

The thing I hate most about the bill is it’s a big lie.  It really has nothing to do with reproduction and very little about health.  It’s really more about reducing, not reproducing, the population.  It’s merely your typical publicist’s slogan.  It’s really the old “population control” program with a fancy name coined by the rich countries. They are mortally afraid about their precious world being overrun by poor, lazy, ignorant American blacks, Latinos, Africans, Asians, Catholics and, of course, fanatical muslims.  It is a massive, well-funded, worldwide campaign run by the G8 countries WHO (no pun intended) control the United Nations through its so-called World Health Organization which in turn invented the term.  If you think our local legislators concocted the term, you have another think coming. Our solons may be smart but they are not that clever.  When even the term “reproductive health” became overworked, they were advised to refer to it simply as the innocuous-sounding “RH Bill.”

Sometime in the early 1970s, Marcos established the so-called “POPCOM” or Commission on Population to direct a national population program. This was followed by the Population Act (RA 6365) in 1971.  Presidents Cory and Ramos doubtless also under foreign prodding, devised their own family planning and population management programs until our policymakers and politicians eventually began to focus on “reproductive health” (2001-2004). Condoms evidently supplied by our foreign funders were freely distributed all over the country.  Since our Filipino menfolk found it rather unmanly to use the contraceptive device, condoms were used as balloons at birthday parties. One might say that at least it was one way of getting the population control program off the ground. 

But governments and political leaders never seem to learn. It is hazardous to mess around with peoples’ lives, morals, customs, traditions.  Whether it’s condoms, safety belts, driving lights, smoking, morals, buying habits or sexual preferences, people seem to have finally realized that they were endowed with some basic and inalienable rights.  They will refuse to obey any laws that attempt to unduly infringe on these rights.

On the other hand, history has shown that highly ambitious and successful peoples and nations have always tried to impose their will on others.  Whether it was the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Chinese emperors or the Japanese Co-prosperity Sphere, Alexander the Great, Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, they all had one thing in common:  their immense success seemed to have convinced them that they must own and rule the world – to their eternal regret.  Never mind that in the process they managed to slaughter millions of Jews, pagans, heretics, Christians, Protestants, Apaches, Mohicans, starving Africans, etc. Never mind that they have to spend billions of dollars inventing and producing atomic bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, chemical and other weapons of mass destruction, money that could easily feed and educate all the starving peoples all over the world – till kingdom come.

Neither is the RH Bill a political nor religious issue.  It’s really more about sovereignty and independence.  We thought that when Aguinaldo declared our independence from the Spain in 1898, we were freed from the shackles of colonialism.  Alas, it was not to be.  It turned out to be illusory at best, merely a changing of the guard, no thanks to Admiral Dewey.  When the Americans gave us our “independence” in 1946, again we thought we were free – free to run this country, “like hell,” as promised. Finally, we thought that when we drove out the Americans from Clark and Subic, the country was ours, at last.  Sadly, we seem to have overlooked the so-called “Golden Rule” – who holds the gold, rules.

Let’s face it.  Filipinos don’t own this country any more than the farmers own Hacienda Luisita.  Despite the nationalistic provisions in our Constitution, this country has always been effectively owned and run by foreigners, Chinese, Spaniards, Americans, Japanese, Arabs, Koreans, Indians (and their mini or pseudo-Grameen banks), and of late the G8 countries.  No thanks to our current restrictive laws on mining and environment, these foreigners now literally hold all the gold.

Indeed, since the time of Marcos, every Filipino is now hocked up to his neck in all kinds of foreign loans.  Since the time of Marcos, our country is committed and obligated by law (Sec. 26 [2], Adm. Code of 1987) to provide for “automatic appropriation” for public debt servicing.  It means that every year 40% to 60% of our total budget is automatically set aside to pay off our creditors.  Hence, whether we realize it or not, we are now at the mercy of our creditor countries.  They dictate how this country is run, particularly in the field of finance and taxation.  Nobody in his right mind, not even our honorable congressmen, likes the idea of the 12% VAT.  But our creditor-countries said “no VAT, no more foreign loans.”  In the simplest terms, that means no foreign loans, no money to run the country. No money means no pork barrel to divvy up. 

So, why do you think there are so many solons zealously falling all over each other trying to get the RH Bill passed as if their very lives or lifestyles depended on it. By the way, whatever happened to the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill that’s been languishing in Congress since 2008?  The what bill?  Oh, that bill.  Not to worry, it’s enshrined, nay, entombed in the Constitution.

But shouldn’t we worry that the RH Bill will be passed? For heaven’s sake, who’s afraid of another “world class” law?  If our congressmen cannot pass an Anti-Dynasty Law, why should we take them seriously?  Besides, we have arguably the best statutes any country would be proud of.  Indeed, no less than the UN special envoy Margareta Wahlstrom , a “Special DRR Representative” of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, complimented the Philippines  for having the “world’s best” climate change laws, the Climate Change Act of 2009 (RA 9729) and the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 (RA 10121). Thanks, we needed that, Master Ban Ki-moon.

Last Saturday I spent the whole afternoon at the huge Trinoma Mall.  It was packed with people - all smiles, happy, eager, and ready to splurge on their remittances from their OFW relatives abroad.  The sight would be the envy of any mall tycoon.  Now, you might say, therein lies the wealth of this nation.  Our own people, in the hundreds of millions, hardworking, God-fearing, willing to take on any job, suffer any pain or humiliation (like the Jews of old) all for the sake of their family and children. Our churches are packed to the rafters on Sundays, grandparents, parents and noisy, carefree children in tow and at play, praying to and thanking the Lord for all their blessings and good fortune.

Now, you don’t really need impressive statistics and surveys, fancy algorithms to realize that indeed “it’s more fun in the Philippines.”  I believe that’s it.  The global elite who would impose population control must fear and envy us.  We have no right to be so happy and to live free like the birds of the air and lilies of the field. Mt. 6:26. We do not deserve a God who counts every hair on our heads. Mt. 10:30.  What kind of people are we whose every breath we take is followed by a sigh of gratitude to an almighty God? May awa ang Diyos! PTL.

So what if the UN and its grossly-overpaid consultants consider us a heavily-indebted and highly impoverished country whose finances – and population -have to be closely monitored by creditor countries.  So what if the Filipinos are an oppressed people, meek, humbled and abused.  “Weder-weder lang.” So were the Jews of old. Look at them now.  They are in charge of the world financial centers in New York, Amsterdam, London.  Not that they are necessarily happy.

Time was when a fledgling people loosely called “Americans” felt so helpless, abused, and miserable against a formidable Great Britain.  It was a time when a man named Patrick Henry felt that his only recourse, before uttering the immortal words “Give me liberty, or give me death,” was to invoke the name of the Almighty in the same breath.  So, go ahead, pass the RH Bill.    But beware, “There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who…will fight our battles for us.”  Atty. JAMES D. LANSANGjeemsdee@yahoo.com

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reply sjyap60 wrote on Sep 13 Bene dictum et scriptum, as only Kuya James can. We will survive the RH Bill, just as we did with other calamities, man-made and otherwise. Life goes on, despite all the brickbats we throw against each other. We are a happy and resilient race. Yes, it's definitely more fun in da Pilipins!

reply jeemsdee wrote on Sep 13 Tnx, kuya, as I often advise, there is hardly ever any reason to be overly anxious and fanatical ... it is almost a denial of the existence of a just and loving God...it is unevangelical...

THE HAIL MARY AS MY PRAYERALL

The Hail Mary as my Prayerall

Jan 20, '12 12:50 AM for everyone

The Hail Mary as my Prayerall

Lately, I have been receiving quite a number of prayer requests, thanks to a rather efficient networking system devised by our Bro. Dante Magdangal mainly for the XVD Association members.  However, since the prayer requests vary from a death of a close relative, a sick child, a worried parent, a financial problem, a pending business deal, a dreaded disease or serious ailment, one is sometimes hard put to find the appropriate prayer to cover each and every situation calling for divine assistance.

After all, while it may be easy and convenient to simply utter “eternal rest grant unto him/her, etc.” it obviously would be inappropriate for any other situation not involving a death in the family.

It’s true the Lord Jesus himself taught us the “Lord’s Prayer” which can cover many situations usually the subject of many requests for divine intervention.  However, there simply is no line item in that prayer that sufficiently pertains to death or the hereafter.

That’s how I learned to appreciate the “HAIL MARY” as a convenient or suitable prayer to utter for most prayer requests.  It is a prayer to our heavenly mother, who is also known as the mediatrix of all graces.  After all, who can know and feel with us in our hour of great need or desperation than our mother?  Remember the little incident at the marriage at Cana?  The wine supply for the poor desperate newly-weds and their guests was running out.  Mama Mary then tells the steward and waiters: “quodcumque dixerit vobis, facite,” or “do whatever he tells you.” (Jn. 2:5) Then, lo and behold, there was wine aplenty and of excellent quality.

Of all things too and almost sacrilegious is that so-called “Hail Mary pass” in American football.  It’s a term used for any long forward pass (a desperation attempt, really) with little chance of success resorted to by a losing football team, such pass usually being batted down or intercepted.  Personally, I find the football term uncannily descriptive of the faith we have with our Mama Mary and the miraculous or intercessory powers she has been known to wield as the Mother of God.

Or, let’s say, you’re in a crazy, stupid, infuriating meeting or situation. You’re about to lose your mind or temper.  There is no time nor are you inclined to recite an entire rosary.  How about a “Hail Mary” instead?  Before you even finish the prayer, a wave of good thoughts will have washed away most of your foul mood or evil thoughts.  It beats counting 1-10 because you can’t be calling on Mama Mary and thinking bad thoughts.

So, how about saying a little “Hail Mary” for me.-Bro. James Lansang 

Tags: prayer requests, xvd, hail mary

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reply xvdph wrote on Jan 21 if you pray hard you recall your password.

DANTE MAGDANGAL - THE XVD 1-MAN PRESS CORPS

dante magdangal - the xvd 1-man press corps

Dec 5, '11 5:27 AM for everyone

DANTE MAGDANGAL – The XVD 1-Man Press Corps

Because most of its members are your typical modest and shy characters who loathe trumpeting their talents, good works and good fortune, the XVD Association composed of ex-seminarians from the SVD-run Christ the King Seminary is hardly known outside the seminary walls. It is nevertheless no exaggeration to cite the XVD Association for what has evolved and developed into its own laudable mission-vision: to provide a support group and continued Christian formation for its members and their families, support the plans and programs of the Society of the Divine Word, and provide assistance and care for the retired, elderly and/or disabled SVD priests and brothers now living out their days at the “Villa Cristo Rey” retirement home at CKS-QC.

From its humble beginnings as a motley group of basketball and tennis-addicted ex-seminarians who would hang out at Christ the King Seminary, the XVD Association through the years has become a regular appendage of SVD in the Philippines, now known to and acknowledged by no less than the Filipino Superior General of the SVD in Rome, Fr. Tony Pernia, who recently met with some of the XVD leaders at a recollection in Tagaytay City. As an offshoot of its various activities and projects, the XVD Association was instrumental in organizing the Perpetual Rosary Movement and the Lay Society of St. Arnold Janssen, both of which are now active apostolic endeavors.

However, as with any human institution, a key ingredient for its sustainability is communication. As it has developed, the XVD Association – providentially - found such a man in the person of Bro. DANTE MAGDANGAL. One might say that Bro. Dante is the tie that binds the XVD Association together. Any news, update, prayer request, or important announcement or information about the XVD and any of its members or their families is immediately circulated via the magic of text (sms).

Bro. Dante is the XVD’s 1-Man Press Corps. How Bro. Dante finds the time and money to accomplish this task is a modern-day miracle in itself.

However, Bro. Dante being such a quiet, humble and unassuming character, much of his efforts have apparently gone mostly unnoticed or taken for granted. This little note is a feeble attempt to acknowledge and recognize Bro. DANTE for his valuable and indefatigable efforts to keep the XVD alive and well. Thanks again, Bro. Dante. Indeed, Mama Mary must love you... and vice versa.

Bro. JAMES LANSANG. 

Tags: xvd dante m

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reply goldencorridor wrote on Dec 6, '11 Alleluia, we have a Dante Magdangal now. May his days be unnumbered, and may his tribe increase amongst us!

reply elmersarmiento wrote on Dec 9, '11 Thank you, Dante.

IN FAIRNESS TO THE CAMELS ...

Mar 24, '11 8:19 PM for everyone

In fairness to the camels…

“We were treated like camels…” Filipino OFW Arsenio Carbal, Jr. was quoted (PDI, 3/10/2011) as saying during a congressional hearing ostensibly to look into the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers from Libya and other Arab countries now embroiled, in more ways than one,  in civil unrest and uprisings.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, flippant and facetious, my immediate sentiment naturally was that the recently-repatriated OFW was being rather unfair to camels and other animals in general.  After all, camels to the desert-dwelling Bedouins would be like the carabaos to Filipinos and other Asian farmers.  These animals are generally treated well, loved or pampered and well-fed like race horses, fighting cocks, pedigreed dogs or other prized possessions.  On the other hand, it is rather uncanny that Mr. Carbal intuitively thought of comparing himself to that particular beast of burden.

Indeed, at the risk of being offensive as well, I would venture to suggest that our OFWs have virtually become the beasts of burden throughout the world.  Wherever there is any job that’s too menial, too dirty, demeaning and unconscionably low-paying for most people, leave it to the Filipinos (or, if you would, to the Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans or Pakistanis).   Like the Jews and slaves of old, we must now scrounge throughout the world and settle for the lowliest and lowest-paying jobs, and thereby be (mis/mal)treated by our masters accordingly.  It won’t be that way forever, it is hoped.  We just happen to live at a time when it seems to be our turn to merit the unenviable title of “mga api sa mundo” or the oppressed people of the world, the “tired, poor, huddled, wretched masses” that Emma Lazarus must have had in mind when she wrote her poem in 1883.

President Erap played on this theme to drive a wedge between the rich and poor in the country identified himself by devious propaganda with the poor and the oppressed sector of society to successfully propel himself to the presidency. Alas, the poor found out too late that “Erap para sa mahirap” was merely a clever slogan coined by his publicists.

And, mind you, it’s alright or almost to be expected that our OFWs are mistreated and abused by their foreign bosses.  But what may really be rather hard to swallow is when our very own so-called public servants and government officers mistreat OFWs while proclaiming them to be our “modern-day heroes.” Just think about those wretched masses who have to line up daily and bake all  day long in the hot sun just to get a so-called police, NBI or barangay clearance,  while our little government bureaucrats sit around in their air-conditioned offices having a manicure, reading their tabloids or otherwise appear to be busying themselves generally doing nothing. 

There oughta be a law outlawing all forms of clearance requirements.  Is this the government’s idea of trying to raise more revenues – collecting clearance certification fees from jobless, hence, penniless, unskilled and unschooled job applicants while subjecting them to the inconvenience and indignity of lining up outside such air-conditioned government offices?

In the first place, why are OFWs required to secure a “clearance” of any kind from any government office?  Does such a clearance automatically assure them a job?  Is that clearance a guarantee of the good moral character of the person “cleared”?  Does the fact that a person may or may not have a pending police or court record or even a previous conviction have anything to do with the job he is seeking?

Whatever happened to the legal presumption of innocence, of regularity of transactions?  Isn’t there a law that presumes every person to be sane and acting in good faith?  Why do we discriminate against and treat jobseekers with suspicion as if it were their fault that they are jobless?  Is it a crime to be out of work and looking for work? Why do we treat laborers and unskilled workers like second-class citizens?  Haven’t we ever heard of the so-called “dignity of labor”?  Didn’t Jesus Christ himself remind us that “the laborer is worthy of his wages”? (Lk. 10:7).  If we had any sense at all, if our sense of values weren’t so distorted, if there is any class of people worthy of “VIP treatment” it must be these OFWs whose dollar remittances are mostly responsible for keeping our economy afloat during these hard times.

So, why do we treat these people so shabbily, requiring them to first prove that they are not criminals – which is the only plausible reason for requiring such stupid “clearances.”  Quite the contrary, every person who expresses or demonstrates a desire to work should be accorded and afforded all the favorable presumptions, legal breaks, assistance and accommodations as mandated by law and the Constitution, no less.  Go and try visiting any “Unemployment Office” in the U.S.A. and you realize how those government officers will assist their jobless clients find something, anything to get them employed immediately albeit temporarily.

 Instead, we stand in awe and on ceremony for known plunderers, drug and gambling lords, white-collar crooks, swindlers and criminals masquerading as bankers, investment brokers, pre-need plan companies, etc.  And politicians.  And retiring generals. And we treat them like royalty. Why, just because they made off with billions of money, albeit illegally, and out of the blood, sweat and tears of gullible, innocent little people?

Indeed, the terrible truth is that animals in general are treated better, at least in so-called civilized countries, than human beings.  My late father, who lived in the U.S.A. for more than a decade during the so-called “roarin’ twenties” used to tell us as kids that Americans treated their dogs and cats better than Negroes (as they were then referred to) and the Filipino sugarcane workers in Hawaii in those days.  Speaking of which, the poor unskilled Chinese peons who laid out the transcontinental railroads in the U.S.A.  in the 1850s-1860s must have given rise to the so-called anti-peonage laws which are mostly responsible for the inability or unacceptability of our unskilled laborers from entering the U.S. job market, an otherwise rich source of jobs for our American-loving Filipinos.

I realize of course that through the ages, man’s inhumanity to fellowman has been well-documented. From the cruelty of the Pharoahs in ancient Egypt, to the systematic extermination of the Jews, the enslavement of Africans in Europe and America, the racial riots in Mississippi, Alabama, man has somehow always managed to devise all sorts of unimaginable ways to act inhumanely to his fellowman .

I would venture to calculate, for instance, that Americans spend more on their pets and pet products and services in any given year than our government would spend in our lifetime for the education of the children in our public schools.  Go figure that in dollars and you readily see why we merit the classification as a “highly impoverished country” by creditor countries.

This is not to mention all the scams and abuses perpetrated by unscrupulous illegal recruiters who promise our gullible would-be overseas workers non-existing jobs and fictitious employers.  Many of these poor jobseekers will sell their souls to pay purportedly for exorbitant placement fees, documentation, passporting, plane tickets, and other miscellaneous fees only to discover too late that they have been had.  Indeed, it has been considered such a despicable and heinous crime to victimize these already destitute people that our legislators made it a non-bailable crime like first-degree murder.

Indeed, it should be considered downright insulting and cruelty for animals to be compared to humans.  Animals don’t get drunk – habitually.  They don’t do drugs.  They have sex only for reproductive purposes (and only when the female is “in estrus”).  Animals don’t “overfish” nor rape the environment. 

So, let’s stop comparing ourselves to animals.  It’s not fair to the latter.  It’s a not a dog eat dog out there.  It’s man versus man.  It’s not a rat race, it’s a human race.   Our people are not swimming in shark-infested waters. Those are smart lawyers looking dapper in their sharkskin suits.  Those are not pigs making off with millions or billions. Those are retiring generals acting and looking like pigs only because they seem to have forgotten their diet. Our policemen are not crocodiles. They merely love the logo. Cockroaches live better than some of our squatters. Some who have worked in Malacanang call it a “snake pit.”  Many houses have signs that say “Beware of Dog” instead of “Welcome.”  So, Mr. Carbal, shouldn’t you be glad somehow that you and your hardworking fellowOFWs were treated like camels?  James D. Lansang (jeemsdee@yahoo.com)

Tags: ofws, police clearances, cruelty to animals

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reply paga65 wrote on Mar 28, '11 Wonderfully reflective and humorous article, Kuya James. You always make our day.

WHY DO I BLOG

Feb 24, '11 10:28 PM for everyone

Why do I blog

A few years ago, it didn’t mean anything.  The word simply did not exist.  Just as back then, the currently popular terms “oxymoron” and “no-brainer” would have best described what “blog” meant, i.e., it was mostly unheard of.  Nowadays “blog” has virtually replaced the word “essay.”  Nowadays when people want you to write an essay, they will tell you to “blog it” instead. The “essay” I am told is derived from the French infinitive essayer, "to try" or "to attempt".  Which almost perfectly describes what it is – an attempt, mostly futile, to put into words what the writer or “essayist” feels, recollects, reflects, believes, has observed or learned about a particular subject matter, and desperately wants to share it with others – for posterity, as his legacy, or for some such similar noble, lofty or dubious purpose.

I think I got into blogging mostly because I learned about cyberspace.  There is something about “www” that fascinates and attracts me.  I like to think that I may be communicating some of my innermost thoughts and feelings with someone, something, “somewhere out there.”  And that unlike those hieroglyphs written in stone, my blogs will be there floating in outer space for all eternity…theoretically. My blogs are not meant to preach, crusade, convince, much less to demand acquiescence from others.  At my age, it would be almost ridiculous to think about launching a political career or spearheading an advocacy by blogging.  I like to think that I blog for blog’s sake.  Some people paint, others grow rose gardens, some sing. I blog.

You might also say I think.  Ergo, I blog.

What do I blog about?  Mostly anything that comes to my mind. Since I’m not paid to do it, I only blog whenever I feel it.  And I admit I am rather whimsical and capricious about my choice of blog topics.  As much as possible I avoid blogging about current, sensational, earth-shaking issues.  I leave those for the professional opinion writers and journalists.  However, I take my cue from what the Apostle Paul has long ago suggested:  “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] anything worthy of praise, it is good to ponder on these things.” (Philippians 4:8). 

To ponder – now there’s a good word.  But I do one better, I not only ponder, I contemplate. I try to discern.  In short, I blog. And, therein lies the difference between a good blog and a bad one.  Nevermind the style, grammar and syntax.  Particularly for us Filipinos who have yet to decide what language finally we should adopt and use, language has to be a secondary consideration.  What we must emphasize is content.  The English language is not our own. So, we must constantly apologize for our atrocious English.  But there is no excuse for poor content or bad taste. That’s what pondering does.

Pandering, now that’s something else. There is just too much trash already out there in cyberspace.  In just a matter of a few years, we have managed to pile our literary junk in the Internet in the name of blogging. It has become a chore sifting through the garbage.  It’s no longer called “junk mail.”  Now it’s “junk e-mail” or“SPAM.” Now half of the time I’m deleting unwanted e-mail just to access what I’m looking for.  Sadly, it has also been estimated that 90% of all materials in the Web are pornographic in character or content.

Throughout history, man has always found a way of turning good things into bad or using them for evil. In 1864, the chemist Alfred Nobel found a useful way of using TNT as an explosive device for practical use in the mining industry.  Soon after, man found a way to use it as a weapon to maim and kill hundreds and thousands of people in the battlefield. In the early 20^th century, someone discovered the so-called atomic or nuclear energy.  Not long thereafter, the war freaks devised the atomic bomb and nuclear-powered submarines. Some dedicated scientist successfully isolates a potent microbe in his desire to combat a dreaded disease. Immediately thereafter, it is converted into a weapon for mass destruction (WMD).  What is drug abuse if not medicine taken or used not for medicinal purposes but for some inordinate pleasure or bad habit?

It’s true of course that many have turned the medium to send hate-mail or be downright offensive.  The scientific name for such specie of the homo sapiens I believe is the Anglo-Saxon term “jerk.”

For a while I thought that blogging was the new medium.  Since I couldn’t manage my own website (there were already millions on the Web anyway), I settled for the social networking group called“multiply” which I still use from force of habit. Then came Twitter and Facebook and Youtube and things have never been the same. This week it’s Facebook.  Tomorrow it will surely be something else.  Now it seems there’s another thing becoming quite popular called “viral video.”  No, it’s not a disease, but it’s just as infectious. Lately, some Middle East countries have been engaged in “Facebook revolution” to try to topple their autocratic governments.

A few years before he died, and well before “blogging” was invented, my father would spend most of his waking hours typing (no word processors then) and writing what we thought would be his “memoir.” When he finished, it turned out to be a book(“Cockfighting in the Philippines”) which he made sure got published.  It was a technical book on the little intricacies and trade secrets of this popular Filipino pastime as well as some bits of homegrown wisdom only a septuagenarian can accumulate through the years. Schooled under the Spanish-American transition period, his English had the characteristic Spanish flavor, unidiomatic, stilted and rather awkward. But at least it kept him busy, focused and away from the dreaded visits of a Mr. Alzheimers. Plus, the book earned him a place in the National Library of Australia; and the last time I looked in Amazon.com, the book if you could find a copy was selling for the princely sum of US$43.95, which is something I still have to earn from all of my postings.

Maybe it’s genetics.  The Lansangs like to think they can write. Just as some people naturally or instinctively become woodcarvers, painters, pianists, or banduria players (Cebuanos, mostly), we have cousins who became newspapermen, journalists, poets, copywriters, and ghostwriters.

For me, though, thus far it’s strictly ars gratia artis, art for art’s sake, as the MGM icon goes.  It’s not the money, not yet anyway.  I believe that blogging must not be commercialized.  There’s all kinds of medium for that, i.e., print, radio, TV, etc. which all pay good money for professional writers and publicists.

Blogging then forces me into a reflective and meditative mode. Since writing also requires more careful analysis and precision than idle thinking or even serious contemplation, blogging becomes a disciplined form of meditation. That’s it – writing requires more precision.  After all, once it’s written, especially in cyberspace, it’s there.  It can’t be erased, only consigned to the recycle bin.   To paraphrase Pilate, “quod scripsi, scriptum est.”  Jn. 19:22. Blogging helps to sharpen one’s focus on a particular subject matter.  It is illuminating.  It is not only inter-active, it’s cosmic – you have the whole universe to converse with, theoretically. While you’re not paid to do it, you don’t have to pay for doing it either. There is no need to find a publisher and neither is there any danger of receiving a rejection slip.

Naturally, blogging tells quite a bit about the blogger.  It is a window into the blogger’s state of mind. If you want to know a little more about me, read my blogs.  Since I am not a paid publicist, nor do I have a hidden agenda, you might say that you learn more about the real me in my blogs.  Hence, an essential requirement of true blogging must be authenticity.  It’s hard to plagiarize these days without being found out.  Google the Big Brother now knows virtually everything. To thine own self be true must now be the watchword.  Otherwise, it’s not a blog.  Instead, you end up becoming a fabulist, like Aesop, or a weaver of fairy tales like the Wizard of Oz. Blogging, anyone?  James D. Lansang(jeemsdee@yahoo.com)

Tags: contemplating, discerning, blogging

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reply paga65 wrote on Feb 25, '11 Well said Kuya, our idol blogger. You have chosen well to blog in Multiply. I have categorized social networking sites as follows from the most abstruse to the most superficial: Wordpress - Blogspot - Multiply - Facebook - Twitter - AdultFinder (^#$%^).

reply butchcelestial wrote on Feb 28, '11 Thanks, James for making my day today! Keep blogging. 'What you blog in life echoes in eternity.' (Plagiarized from Gladiator).

HEARD A GOOD SERMON LATELY?

Feb 17, '11 3:32 AM for everyone

Heard a good sermon lately?

     Fortunately, I have.  Most recently, last Sunday in fact, at the Parish Church of our Lady of the Abandoned (“OLA”) in Marikina City.  Since a good sermon these days is as rare as a pearl of great value and therefore just as precious, I thought I would share with you this rather exhilarating and refreshing experience.

     To begin with, he was a young priest, at least he looked that way to me from where I usually sat (at the rear where like me sit most sinners, publicans and tax collectors).  I had always thought that young (read that as “inexperienced”) priests should not be assigned the formidable if daunting task of delivering the Sunday sermon. Still wet behind the ears (or “uhugin,” to use a grossly graphic local term) and lacking exposure in the vicissitudes of life, the anguish, disappointments, “the heartaches and thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to,” I was almost convinced that most young priests lacked the depth and breadth to impress especially the elderly folks in the audience; and therefore a whole waste of limited if precious time for these people in the “pre-departure lounge.”

     Their initial attitude would ordinarily be typical of most old folks.  “Bata ka pa. Wala ka pang alam tungkol sa mga bagay bagay na iyan.”  Then they shut off their hearing aids, take their mandatory daytime nap or walk out for a smoke.

     Indeed, therein lies the basic problem:  how to address a congregation composed of people from all walks of life, social status, with ages betwixt 1 and 100 years, and facing a whole range of problems or preoccupations.  Whoever said that what sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander has obviously never tried being a gander.

     As it happened, it was just a day before Valentine’s day, a day when most Filipinos twixt ten and sixty seem to lose their mind for their heart.  In other words, all thought is about affairs of the heart and therefore such people cannot be bothered with any other matter except affairs of the heart.  On the other hand, the prescribed Liturgy of the Word for that Sunday had to do with absolute, ultimate or perfect “holiness.” How then to combine issues of the heart with the issue of perfection as Christ enjoined on that particular occasion (Mt.5:17-37.

     It turns out that this young priest (a security guard informed me later that his name is Fr. Jose “Rock” Cabral Berdos, an Asst. Parish Priest at OLA) may have found the way.  He began by serenading us with a love song “KUNG MULA SA PUSO.”  I must admit that he also had a good singing voice, and he knew it.  He was generously applauded when he finished singing.  After that he could do no wrong.  And, mercifully he did not.  Instead, he tackled the matter of Valentine, the assigned readings, the current political issues and the so-called RH bill pending in Congress – all in a matter of five (5) minutes.  When he finished, you were almost tempted to ask for more.

     Was it a good sermon because it was brief?  Well, that too, but a little more than that.  I know it’s been said that “a good sermon should be like a woman’s skirt – long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to keep you interested.”  

     I like to think this young priest came prepared.  It must have taken quite a bit of thought to think of all these current events and put in his two-cents, all in a matter of a few minutes.  From experience, I know that when a speaker is not prepared, he is usually long-winded.  He is wont to take his audience on a grand tour before he finally finds his way.  Unfortunately, it almost seems that many a preacher thinks the only way to be effective or convincing is to brainwash the audience to surrender.  

     Is it a matter of preparedness then?  Well that too and a lot of substance.  But in the end, one must acknowledge talent, charisma. They either have the basic instincts and talents for the job.  Some people are just meant to be great speakers, just as others are violin virtuosos, boxers or tennis players.  We cannot all be Paganinis, Michael Jordans, Tiger Woods or Pacmen.  Fr. “Rock’s” sermon last Sunday was like a Pacman punch.  It was a knockout.

     But finally, I submit that a sermon to be good should not sound like a sermon. Gone are the days of fire and brimstone preachers. People nowadays like to think they are just as well-informed as any cleric.  They don’t appreciate being talked to, like some ignorant Catechumens.  Unlike in the Middle Ages when only aristocrats and the clergy had a monopoly on knowledge, in this day and age of the Wikipedia, there is hardly anything that most people cannot find out or analyze for themselves.  It has given a whole new meaning to the term “intelligence and free will” as every man’s God-given right which must be recognized and respected.

     So, a good sermon is best presented in powerpoint style – the presenter suggesting a few talking points, points to ponder, or food for thought, if you will.  And, like most good food, it does not have to be shoved down one’s throat but savored with gusto.  Like good food, the guest cannot help but go for second servings.  Is it any wonder then that sermons are now called homilies?  What’s a homily, anyway, but a sermon in disguise?   Anyway, congratulations, Fr. “Rock” Berdos.  May your tribe increase.! – Bro. James D. Lansang (jeemsdee@yahoo.com).

Tags: priests, xvd, sermons, homilies, clergy

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reply paga65 wrote on Feb 18, '11 Good topic, Kuya James. It's strange how delivery of effective sermons or homilies seem to be severely neglected and botched nowadays. People go to church only once a week or even rarely and the sermon is the rare opportunity for priests to pitch Jesus wonderful message of unconditional love. Kuya, post this in newspapers so priests can be challenged.

reply sjyap60 wrote on Feb 18, '11 This is a professionaly hazard of priests saying Mass. It has been ingrained into them that the Mass works ex opere operato, and that the enormity and mystery of the transubstantiation process is the main act in the whole scenario. Subsequently, they have the attitude that if the Mass is so grand, then that is the main part of the menu, and their sermon is just a poor second. Hence, they do not prepare for it as well as they should. On the other hand, in ceremonies without the Mass, the preaching takes centerstage. Hence the preachers really prepare for their homily. That is the difference. I know that the transubstantiation takes center stage. And that priests should make efforts in their homilies to match this grand event. But the mindeset is there. Let Christ increased, and oneself decrease. Hence we get poor homilies.

reply vj329 wrote on Feb 19, '11 May rejoinder sana ako....... pero mahaba akong mag-rejoinder. So 'wag na lang. Pero tama si Kuya James. Rare na ngayon ang magaling "mag-sermon".

reply pcsokaka wrote on Feb 21, '11 Ok ang ok mag-sermon o mag-deliver ng homily. Pero mas ok ang pari na isinasabuhay ang isine-sermon. Bakit? Actions speak best. Alam at nadarama ng mga tao kung isinasabuhay ng "preacher" ang kanyang pini-preach. Oo, kailangan nating lahat ang mga "reminders" in the form of inspiring and touching sermons/homilies ng mga kaparian sa simbahan man o hindi. Pero kung nakikita ng mga parishioners na talagang mala-Kristo ang kanilang pari, malamang kaysa hindi, na sila din ay magpapaka-kristiyano sa kanilang sariling pamumuhay.

reply jeemsdee wrote on Mar 1, '11 Hi, a few days ago, Fr. "Rock" emailed me the ff reply: "Peace! I received your letter last Tuesday, and i don't know if you are expecting me to reply. But whether you expect me to reply or not, i guess it would be proper for me to say thank you for that letter (blog). Thanks for the compliment! Nakakataba po ng puso ang inyong papuri and for exerting the effort to convey it to me. Compliments like that inspire us priests more to do our responsibilies especially our homilies well. May you continue to be kind and generous in expressing your appreciation into something you think is good. Muli po, maraming salamat! In Christ, Fr. Rock"