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Christmas is a time for joy and celebration. All Christians know that. Even those not Christians know it, too, and actually join in on the festive spirit. That’s why commerce booms as it does during this time of year.

Here’s something ironic, though—as Christians, nay as Catholics, we don’t really celebrate Christmas until the midnight of the 24^th (Christmas Eve), and then really let out liturgically for 12 days following that. Funny thing is, that period coincides with the end of the commercial Christmas, characterized with whopping discounts on anything to do with this Christian celebration. Ever heard of that merchant, obviously non-Christian, who tried to bargain off live Christmas trees the day after Christmas at 75% discount? That might look ridiculous and naïve, but he was actually closer to the real thing than he realized. Christmas goes on.

In a strict sense, the 4 weeks before Christmas is a time of soul-searching and preparation for the “coming” of the Lord. That’s why it is called Advent (from Latin advenire, meaning “to arrive”). It’s like a spiritual house-cleaning in preparation for a big welcome bash for our Ultimate VIP. So isn’t it odd to be starting the party before the Guest of Honor arrives? Same thing with celebrating Christmas during the Advent season.

But that’s okay. It’s great for the kids (like it was for us when we were kids ourselves). Christmas time is the best time of the year for them. What with all the colored lights, and Christmas trees, Yuletide carols, and holiday break from school. And, of course, the gifts and Santa Claus! For those who brought over the tradition, there’s also mano po, which is loosely translated as “money po”. For them, all this fun starts way before Christmas, usually on that Friday after Thanksgiving.

As mature Christians, however, let’s do the right thing for ourselves. Let’s really prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. Let’s put love and charity into the Christmas spirit, since that is what it really is all about. Otherwise, Christmas will just be another commercial event for us as well. Just another excuse to party. And therefore we should just greet each other “Happy Holidays!”, as we do our other, non-Christian friends and associates.

As Filipino Catholics, we have great and wonderful Christmas traditions. We have distinctly Christian events like Misa de Gallo, Noche Buena after the Midnight Mass, parol, Belen, and the blessings of the elders in mano po. But hey, we also have less than perfect habits as Filipinos. And these we can probably fix or improve on during the Advent season. And, as always, let’s not try to do so many things at the same time, but concentrate on just one or two virtues. Here are some Filipino weaknesses from which we could choose that one or two to work on:

- Being habitually late for Sunday Masses. This is typically a Filipino trait, markedly noticeable in American churches, Catholic or otherwise, where parishioners are mostly punctual for church services. To try to come 5 minutes early would make for a great Advent sacrifice, and a much appreciated habit for later.

- Hardly going to Confession, if at all. The proportion of Filipino Catholics who go to Confession as compared to the total population of Catholic Filipinos is really, really small. Some still blame this on the Katipunan denouncement (which may or may not have resulted from a breaking of the Seal of Confession, considering how our history has been so badly distorted). But Confession is a Sacrament, and because it is difficult to do, it will be another good Advent sacrifice. Let’s try to go to Confession during this Season as a gift to the Santo Nino. Besides, Confession has more power to get our prayers answered than even the most powerful Novena we know. But again, don’t just take my word for it; try it yourself

- $1 for Parish Church Collection. When we belong to a Parish, it really is our obligation to support that Church. Nobody else will. In America, there are churches that have been forced to close for lack of funds, and in a few extreme cases, even sold and converted to dens of sinfulness. One dollar a week per family is certainly not adequate at all, no matter how you look at it. So let’s make a sacrifice and hike it up a little to at least $2 (and the bigger, the better, of course).

God is generosity Himself and He will never be outdone in it. Because He knows what we’re doing for Him even in secret, He will definitely reward us a hundredfold for them. No exceptions. In this life as well as in the next. And on His birthday, remember that it works the other way around. We get to ask for the gift!. But first, let’s do the Advent thing, and then…

To my mind, the month just passed, October 2000, was quite a landmark. On the trivial side, two young Americans of Filipino descent figured in the news—Benny Agbayani of the Mets and Miss America 2001. On the negative side, the Philippine President Estrada was denounced for his corrupt and immoral ways, which ushered in a rush of resignations by top-level officials and a call for his resignation or impeachment. We need a lot of prayers there! On the positive side, here at the home front The Filipino Catholic was awarded by the Filipino Pastoral Ministry the Laksambayan Award 2000. This was in recognition for its significant contribution to the religious community. (Congratulations, to our editor and publisher Manny Pascual, to the volunteer staff, and to my fellow contributors!) And for me, the September/October issue marked my first anniversary as contributor to this publication—what a year that was!

In review, here are the thoughts that I shared through this column, starting from that first article:

Year 2000—Much Ado About Nothing The specter of worldwide chaos brought on by computer glitch on New Year’s Day was looming. It was a very real possibility for a great many of us, especially the technologically savvy. But trust in the Lord was the order of things as His Redemption was nowhere near completion yet. In hindsight, that was a great Divine shakedown, and religious fervor rose to a new height.

The Gift of Internet If St. Paul were here he would be writing his epistles through e-mail. Let’s use this great gift of technology to spread the Word of God, especially to the inactive Christians. They are the ones who, when re-converted to the Faith, will be its most visible proof of God’s love and the best examples to others. For isn’t love sweeter the second time around?

Rosary in the Subways Let’s not be embarrassed to be seen praying the Rosary openly, especially in public transportations. That simple act, in not so many words, attests to our Faith and its teachings. We see people of other Faith—Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants—praying openly. Why not us? (Here’s a tip: Every Friday during evening rush, a group of people pray the Rosary around a table for religious give-aways near the Lexington entrance of the Grand Central Station. Stop by to join in for even just a few Hail Mary’s, or for the entire Rosay).

The Parol amid American Christmas Lights Basically a nostalgic trip to the Christmas practices in the Philippines that we try to re-capture here in our new adoptive country. The lesson of Christmas is peace and love, so let’s just not say it but let’s actually do it. And let’s work on one virtue at a time. For now, no tsismis or back-stabbing for a few weeks.

And so, this is the Third Millenium... Well, Y2K arrived with little damage, except to our pride. We are now more aware of our own mortality and vulnerability, and dependence upon God. We have a great means of renewing our relationship with Him through the Confession. More on that next.

Confession —Not Just For "Sinners" Confession is a very difficult thing to do. Agreed. That is why this Sacrament is supposed to bring upon us so much more graces and prayers-answered than even the most “powerful” Novena or Panata can. And it’s not just for the big or Mortal sins alone, but for even the slightest imperfections. You could do it as often as you want, too, like giving your soul that bagong-ligo feeling all the time.

The Lenten “Celebration” When we fast or do a sacrifice during Lent (or at any time), let’s not do it glumly but with joy. Make it like buying a gift for a loved one, don’t think about the cost. Try forgiving and praying for persons we don’t like. That’s more like the Christian thing.

The Filipino Immigrant Martyrs Filipinos are immigrants by nature. Even our own two saints, Blessed Pedro Calungsod and St. Lorenzo Ruiz, achieved their Sanctity through martyrdom in foreign lands. This actually reflects a calling for every Filipino emigré to spread Christianity, not so much by speech as even just by example.

“I Love You”—Not! A destructive, very un-Christian thing to come out of the old country, is a computer virus called “I Love You”. It destroyed not only business and government stuff, but also countless personal ones. Let’s use technology to spread God’s love and caring, and pray for those involved in technology. And since this article came out in May, we remember our Flores de Mayo celebrations and ask Our Lady to never let us “run out of wine” during our life.

Miracles Do Happen, Even in Modern Times Miracles as a result of our prayers continue to happen nowadays. We’ve experienced them in our own lives, even if sometimes they look just like coincidences. Jesus made just one condition for our prayers to be answered—that we must have faith and believe sincerely that it will be answered.

The rest of my articles starting from July onwards are still too recent to need repeating here. But in summary, we talked about vocally standing up for our Religion when situations warrant, and for the need for lay people to be more involved in the Ministry of the Church. Then we dedicated two issues to our strong stand against Abortion, and how many of us have become complacent about it simply because it is legal and a popular way of thinking. However, it is good to see that in the recent elections, both nationally and locally, this issue which was largely ignored in the past is now finally brought to the front. And since we don’t have a President-elect yet as of this writing (from the closeness of the results), we can at least deduce that about half of the total population would probably believe that abortion is wrong rather than right. That’s all we’re asking for now. Thank you, Lord!

After my last piece on abortion, I had in mind to give the matter a rest to let the thoughts sink in and the Spirit to take hold. Apparently that is not to be. We were just basking in the momentous joy of watching one Presidential candidate finally stand up publicly against abortion, when a new bombshell was dropped in the background—RU-486.

This innocent-looking name, that sounds like a brand of obsolete PC, is actually a most deadly instrument of mass destruction. It has the potential to annihilate a number of lives equivalent to about half of the total human population. At least one for every woman on earth, and counting. Translated into actual numbers, that’s a potential to kill a horrible 3 billion of the most innocent, helpless, “has-not-done-us-any-wrong” lives!

The reason: RU-486, a recently FDA-approved abortion pill, can be self-administered in the privacy of one’s own place (I’m sorry I cannot refer to a place of abortion as home; you know what I mean). To snuff an innocent life thus will become as common place as brushing one’s teeth. And will be thought of as nothing more.

Let’s not talk big numbers for a while and let’s just concentrate on one. That one life is being denied his or her potential to become somebody great. He or she is being denied love, joy, material possessions, knowledge, even a chance to have an offspring, too. That one is a unique person, permanently lost. The next pregnancy won’t be him or her. It will be a totally new person, with different sets of characteristics and potentials… Oh please, Lord, don’t let this next person be slain too!

Notice how the proponents of abortion try to refer to it with different mellowed-down names, like “pro-choice”, “terminate pregnancy”, “planned parenthood”, etc. Why? Because the word “abortion” sounds awful and sounds so wrong—because it is. But now, RU-486 makes it sound even farther from the horrible truth and more like a “life-saving” medical procedure. (But as if on cue, it’s medical term of “mefiprostone” so aptly comes close to the name Mefithiel, the Angel of Death). And sadly now, it is legal...

It is too late for the lives that are presently being lost to this RU scourge already. But it is not too late to be praying for and working towards neutralizing it. No, not by direct assault on it, but by actively trying to convince everyone around us that abortion is wrong. This is the most effective and lasting way, and it is the way of Christ. And for those who feel they cannot do the convincing, just say a little prayer each morning or each night that those who are doing the convincing may have the eloquence for it. If women can thus be convinced that abortion is not right, then RU-486 or any other future RU’s, will not even be an option at all, legal or not.

Man has truly overdone himself this time. He has actually discovered a means to wipe himself off the face of the earth over time. This is exactly what the Lord came to earth for; to save us from our self-destructiveness, both spiritually and physically. Let’s open our souls to Him, so that He can work His saving grace on us and through us, to the rest of Creation.

Yes and No! First, the resounding "no!". No, because no one has the right to take another person's life, be it born or unborn. And yes, because it is the women's right to fight against it—being the ones most affected by this all. And yes again, because men have already messed up this fight and have become ineffective at it.

Abortion is the highest and worst form of selfishness. Make no mistake about it, it is worse than killing another human being in the heat of anger or in a moment of lunacy. And what could be the most urgent, earth-shaking reasons for this act? No, not to protect or save one's own life. But because it is most "inconvenient" to have a baby at this time. The mother's future is at stake here, there's a career to be pursued, or the father wouldn't take responsibility. What about shooting your new baby because you found out you don't have enough income to support it? That's the same logic. Only a few months later.

Please pardon the sudden shift from my usual light-hearted style to this "morbid", graphic tone. The latest laws enacted in certain states that allowed late-term abortion and the recent removal of parental consent to teen-age abortions, have brought the matter to a head for me. Even practicing Catholics in politics and public office openly support this modern-day "Holy Innocents" massacre, in the guise of supporting women's "right to choose". But morally, there is no choice here. Remember, the State might have the last word in law, but it is not the upholder of the Truth. And what it may decree as legal, may not necessarily be right—only that more voters support it. So now that we're at it, why not legalize prostitution so that men may have the "right to choose", too? And let's legalize drugs so that young people may also have the "right to choose". I'm still amazed at the hypocrisy of this society that is horrified at a newly-born baby thrown into trash bin, but is callous to the plight of the one, just a few weeks younger, that was crushed to death in a woman's womb during abortion.

That having been said, I urge you our mothers, our wives, sisters, and girl friends, to pick up the banner and continue the fight against abortion. We men have lost the battle, as can be clearly seen, and we are humbled. For who would they listen to us who do not have to carry the weight of a new life for months? Or who would listen to us who do not have to be sick each morning, or lose our figures, or compromise our future? No matter how much men work for it in earnest, we will not be as effective as women actively declaring their love for the unborn child. That they would sacrifice everything to see to it that it is brought to life. That any and all pregnancy is a gift from God and to nurture it is an act of submission and adoration. Believe me, I've seen many more of the happy, fortunate, and obviously-blessed women from those who went through pregnancy, than from those who terminated it. Do you need any other signs?

Let's reverse the roles this time around. For centuries, men went into battles and women stayed behind and prayed for them. Now men should maybe stay behind and pray, while the Christian women face off with their usually aggressive and noisy counterparts. It's time. We cannot anymore disregard the millions of unborn children being brutally slaughtered, everyday. They have no choice. We do, and so let's exercise it.

(If you feel offended by this article, please let me or my publisher know. If a lot of you are, then I'll give up my column, because I would clearly be in the wrong forum. But if not, and if you're a woman, I sincerely hope that you would find a way to actively participate in any anti-abortion movements or to disseminate the message to your friends, family and associates about the evils of abortion. And if you cannot do any of that, at least pray to God that this scourge and shame of our society be taken away from us in our lifetime. Thank you. - R.T.)

Yes, you! And me, and them, and everyone else that has a moment to spare for the Lord. It doesn't matter how much time that is—just as long as you care to give it to God, you've got the calling. That's the other word for "vocation".

"Many are called, but few are chosen". That was my convenient excuse for doing nothing more in the service of God, when I left the seminary many years ago. I was not chosen, so good-bye Lord, let me be about my business now… Little did I know then, that once you're called, you can never be un-called!

"But who are the ones being called?" you might ask For starters, those who have been to a seminary or have been aspirants for the Sisterhood are obviously at the top of the called list. Then there are those who might once have thought, even for just a brief moment, how nice it might be to be a priest, a brother or a nun (and then thought nothing more of it). That is a form of calling. Everyone who likes to serve at Mass, or be a Lay Minister, or just help out at Church outings, is being called. In fact, everyone who goes to Church on a regular basis is being called.

"Called to what?" you might ask again. We are being called to see to it that Jesus' message of Peace and Redemption is being enjoyed and shared throughout the world. We are being called to start a ripple within our little circle of family, friends and associates. And the "chosen" ones, the priests and the Religious men and women, are being asked to do a bit extra by dedicating their entire life towards the success of this all-important undertaking. We on the other hand, are being asked to also actively work towards the spreading of the Word while going about our usual business. Remember, just because we were not "chosen" does not mean we're off the hook, so to speak. We have now been elevated to a new status of the "called" ones. (Don't worry, though; being in the service of Lord has its own perks and rewards, even in this life. But then again, don't just take my word for it. Try it yourself.)

"How to do it?" your question again. Spreading the Word in modern times can take many forms. The most basic and perhaps most effective way is how the early Christians did it-"active charity". Active charity was a new concept then. It was not just the usual kindness to friends, relatives and loved ones, but to everyone, including strangers and even enemies. (These days, this still seems to be a new and weird concept.) But it worked then, as we ourselves 2000 years later are the proof of it, and so it will work again now. People asked then—after probably being made a beneficiary of this active charity—why they were so loving. Was there a catch, do they want anything in return? And so when the Message was finally served, the listener was already a captive audience.

Active charity is directed towards everybody. It is being understanding, being helpful, being considerate, being friendly, being honest at work or at home. The best part of this role in the evangelization process is that we don't even have to talk about religion. All we are asked to do is just to prepare the ground and plant the seeds. If the Lord deems it that we would be the instruments for finally swinging them around, we will be given the words to say. And those will be the words that would be so good in timing and would be so convincing!

St. Paul, in his letters, puts Charity above most other virtues or gifts, even better than speaking in tongues or having the gift of prophecy. The latter gifts may be more amazing and dazzling, but will probably have less convincing value than the slow steady power of just paying attention to someone. But, of course, those who have been given the talent for words should make full use of it. There are many avenues for that nowadays, especially in the technological world.

In tandem with Charity, the majority of us might wish to take up the apostolate of example. Evangelization of non-believers sounds exciting and conjures up images of exotic and far-away places. But that's really beyond reach for most of us. What's closer and more practical for us to work on are the Believers around us who have stopped practicing their Faith. They're everywhere, in our places of work, among our friends, sometimes within our family circle even. This is our Mission. They are the ones we should try to turn back to the Lord—no, not by advice or preachings, but by example. Let's practice our Faith openly before them, without judging them or even asking them to do likewise. Let show them how much happier, how much more positive, and more peaceful we are simply because we have found the Lord. And of course throw in the element that will count most in the end—pray for them.

This is our calling, our vocation. We may call it "late vocation" because it's a calling we're only now responding to, not earlier. But then again, it's probably not "late" at all because in God's plan this might just be the right time for this kind of calling. This is the time when the world sorely needs disciples they can relate to, who live among them, talk like them, and suffer the same worldly ills as them. In the end, we won't be just the "called" ones anymore; we'll be "chosen" ones, too. Only a bit later. And as the saying goes: "Huli man at magaling…" You know the rest.

“Signs of the Times” — Signs that We Make

What’s the similarity between Ted Turner, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sean O’Connor? Nothing significantly much, except that at some point in the past each had publicly attacked the Catholic Church or her main spiritual figure, the Holy Pope. Actually, these people are just the tip of the hostile iceberg. There seems to be no lack of people who are just too willing or too quick to snap a barb towards our Faith and our practice of it. Even movies, novels, TV shows are just rife with misrepresentations and outright lies about things we hold dear and near to our hearts.

To a degree, we are just as well to blame for this. The widespread complacency of Catholics, or lack of enthusiasm towards matters of Faith, has allowed an open season on our Religion. The impression that comes across is that we ourselves are a bit unsure of Church teachings, so it’s okay for non-believers to “set things straight”, sort of. When was the last time we defended our beliefs when people talked ill of Our Lady, the Holy Father, or our Faith in General? When was the last time we spoke in defense of priests, the practice of celibacy, fasting and abstinence, respect for life, and other “controversial” issues? For many of us, including myself, we had chosen to keep mum when confronted by smart alecs launching diatribes on the “fallacies” of Catholicism—in the interest of “keeping the peace”. But that will have to change. It’s time to take a stand.

Consider this. Can you imagine what would happen if the same public attacks on the Church were directed towards the Ayatollah, or to Islam in general? There would be jihad—a holy war! Those people would be wise to hire 24-hour protection for dear life. Salman Rushdie learned exactly that when he wrote bad things about the Moslem Bible—the Koran—and so was promptly marked for “holy” assassination. Judaism, on their part, has the B’nai B’rith, or the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, to take care of their detractors by taking them to task in litigation. We of course know what that will do to the material possessions of the objects of this counter-attack. It’s the age-old adage: Hit them where it hurts most!

Now killing or impoverishing the enemies of the Church is certainly not the way of Christ. But a show of indignation, I believe, is now acceptable and even called for. Holding one’s peace just doesn’t give the right impression anymore, and in fact encourages even more attacks. Here’s what we should do (which would work well in New York and vicinity, where being aggressively vocal is an appreciated trait): whenever we hear bad or degrading comments about our Religion, let us please speak out. On the spot. Let it be known that we hold our Faith sacred and with the highest of respects; that we don’t look kindly on attacks against it. Where appropriate, especially in the work place, we could pick up a trick or two from the Jewish anti-defamation attitude, and outright cite such comments as harassment.

By so defending our Faith, we proclaim that we sincerely believe in the truth of the Church teachings. That’s what makes us Catholics. As disciples of Christ, we should even be out there spreading these truths. But that’s another story, for another issue; for now let’s just concentrate on not undoing the work laid down by the Apostles. If we ourselves have doubts about certain of our tenets, don’t discuss it with people hostile to our Faith. You know where that would lead to. Pray about it to the Holy Spirit, and discuss it with proper spiritual directors, priests, or even friends serious in the practice of their Faith. They may have already found the answer—that’s why they’re so much involved in it now.

Above all, let us be forthright and not be “ashamed” of our Faith. Let us openly wear medals, scapulars, display Rosaries, make the Sign of the Cross, and pray with the visible signs of veneration. When Vatican II shifted the practice of our Sacraments from giving so much attention to rites, ceremonies, and ancient language, to the more practical and commonly understandable forms, it brought religion closer and thus more meaningful to the Faithful. However, in the process of adapting to vernacular and the laity, some practices were dropped or just fell out of practice, replaced by the more common ways. Example in point—genuflection, double-genuflection in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament, putting the hands together in a prayer position, the Sign of the Cross, etc. While it is now all right not to have to perform these simple acts, it is still better if they are actually practiced. The priests and altar servers still do them. The gestures and signs associated with prayer have been the practice over the centuries because they do help and make us pray better. They improve our concentration, plus they are symbols of our humility and adoration of our Lord. Like singing at Church, by clasping our hands we pray twice—by words and by our gesture. In fact, the gestures, like genuflection and Sign of the Cross, are forms of wordless prayers by themselves. (I first started doing this last year when I attended a Korean Mass by mistake. I saw how almost everybody prayed with prayerfully clasped hands. I followed their example and have been praying that way ever since.) But don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself. Hold your hands together like in your First Holy Communion picture, close your eyes, and talk to the Lord this way. You’ll notice too, that it is quite addicting.

Miracles happen all the time. Everyday. Even to us regular folks. We just don’t recognize them for what they are. Most of the time we think they’re mere coincidences or just plain suwerte. But, remember these things could go either way—towards the good or the bad. Except in these instances, for us they went the better, sometimes well-nigh impossible, way. And so, there’s your miracle.

On the flip side, punishments for evil deeds are usually meted out swiftly, too. We call these things malas. In fact, one doesn’t have to wait till death to have his just recompense in purgatory or hell (depending on the gravity of the deed). He gets it even in the here-and-now, daily. He would probably have freak accidents, would keep losing his job, be unhappy with his relationships, or even just be constantly banging his head and stubbing his toes. Consider this Filipino guy who made big news recently by robbing passengers in a plane, giving them the worst scare of their lives, and jumping out in a parachute—the cords snapped!

It is not for us to judge this person, or any other person for that matter, who seems to be having a string of bad lucks. Oftentimes, the Lord makes people suffer a little bit more, shortly before He gives them a huge gift or the great answer to their prayers. This serves to make us humble and more appreciative of the gift when it is finally given us. Besides, we will then recognize that this is actually a gift from God, a miracle. Not something of our own making. So when we seem to be getting the reverse of what we’re asking for, don’t worry. That is actually a prelude to receiving it in a big way. So hang in there, God is just giving us a final test to see if we’re indeed worthy of the miracle. The bigger the trial, the bigger the reward.

To qualify for the miracle, or any number of miracles we want, we must ask for it. God likes it that way. Whenever we do, we humbly recognize our helplessness and allow God to work His plans in us and through us. Let us then ask Him for everything in our day-to-day living, like getting a cab when we need it, letting your computer start with no problems, not getting to work late, or if you do, hoping your boss doesn’t mind. Stuff like those. Go ahead and ask away. Let’s not leave the praying for just the big things. They are usually rare and far between. It would also reduce the number of instances we could be calling out to Him and of course, the number of times we could be saying “Thank you, Lord”.

One final word regarding miracles—Believe! Believe that you will receive it, and it will be done. This is God’s own condition. Not how many times or how long we pray, not even whether we make sacrifices or panata. It was the Lord Himself who said: “If you had faith only as big as a mustard seed, you could even tell a mulberry tree to uproot itself and be replanted in the middle of the sea, and it will obey you.” Do you think He was just kidding?

When we share with others the miracles that happen in our lives, it is not vanity but one of being grateful and of giving glory to God. Let’s share with as many as would care to listen about those miracles. Here’s mine.

One of the things I ask of the Lord everyday is for good health. My miracle happened 2 months ago. A person I work with who is also a close friend, was complaining of chest pains. Accordingly, he went for a complete medical, including a thallium stress test. By the grace of God, it was discovered that he had no heart disease but just a case of overworked chest muscles. I, on the other hand, had absolutely no symptoms of any serious heart conditions because I regularly get negative EKG readings. But getting a cue from my friend, I thought it best to also get a thallium stress test. Wouldn’t you know it, I had an 80% blockage in a major coronary artery! I was a fatal heart attack waiting to happen. Any moment now. So I was quickly sent up for angioplasty with stent insertion, and the results were successful. More importantly I had averted certain death in miraculous circumstances—for people have been known to die from less blockage than I had—by being made aware of my serious predicament. So, again, thank you, Lord!

Isn’t it ironic that those words that are meant to accompany the sharing of good feelings and happiness is now synonymous to wanton waste and destruction? I’m, of course, referring to the malicious computer virus that was let loose into the world at about the same time we were celebrating God’s LOVE in His Resurrection! And the worst (and shameful) part of it all is it originated in the Philippines—the land of Christian Love and unparalleled hospitality.

Unleashing a destructive computer virus is not a joke. It drastically changes people’s lives; usually not for the better, like death or violence. In a world where technology is intricately interwoven into the fabric of our daily lives, computers play an indispensable role. It affects everything, including relationships, even our practice of Faith. Hence, unleashing a computer virus into a world that depends on technology for its material existence is, to my mind, nothing short of evil!

The billions of dollars lost because of this—let’s please rename it—“I Hate You” virus only scratches the surface. That’s just the quantifiable material part calculated for the benefit of the material world. But even here, the staggering amount of money lost in actual equipment repairs and updates, the man-hours lost from vanished works and subsequent rebuilding, could have been used for other more productive, even more humane endeavors. Think about food that could have been delivered to starving nations, money donated to research for cancer or AIDS, funds that could have generated jobs, and millions of other uses. But no, they’re all gone! Wasted. And that, merely to fan the vanity of some people who want to make a mark for themselves in the computer world.

Here’s the worst part. We cannot begin to imagine how many people would have been affected by being so “loved” by this bug. Anyone who’s been through a computer crash would know. It’s serious. It could make a person lose one’s mind. In this instance, many could even stand to lose their livelihood. There might be some violence, suicides, murders, broken homes. Exaggeration, you say?—Consider this, just one such incident as a result of this prank is already one too many! That’s blood in someone’s hand…

Then, again, maybe this is a wake-up call for those of us who have been blessed with technical know-how or who are just plain everyday computer users. We can try to reverse the negative effects of this wildfire, by doing things positive. (Besides, after this infamous mischief we Filipinos should try to redeem our good name in the technical world). First, let us pray for all those affected by this virus, that they may be able to quickly recover from this disaster. Then, let’s try to find good and exceptional uses for technology in our daily lives or daily use of computers. Let’s use email, webpages, chat, newsgroups, Internet broadcasts, to spread God’s Love—not “I Love You’s”—in any way we think appropriate. Let’s be creative about it. And pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance. For those of us who are not engaged in technology, please pray for those who are. Because the cyberworld is truly an amazing place, but the temptations there abound.

And lastly, remember this when we were kids: “Araw-araw kay Maria, Kami ay nagdarasal.”? Yes, it’s May again and it’s time to lay flowers at Our Lady’s feet each afternoon. Actually, I believe the Blessed Mother prefers “gems” to flowers. So let’s instead gather gems of good works, acts of charity, or prayers, each day in honor of Our Lady. Let’s ask her to guide us in our search for means to spread her Son’s love to the ends of the world—both the real one and the one in cyberspace. And, remember, our Blessed Mother will never let us run out of wine during our party.

For the current and budding Internet evangelists, this is truly a welcome news. Finally, we don’t have to put up with America Online or any other Internet Service Provider’s monthly fees, for services that we can now get gratis. Anybody who has a computer with a modem can access the Internet unlimited, and get an email address and a webpage hosting to boot, all at the resounding price of “FREE”. No strings attached, nothing to buy. The only concession is a little banner containing advertising on your screen once you are connected., which can anyway be re-positioned anywhere. It will go away when the connection is closed.

There are now a number of such free Internet access providers. Go to their websites below and just sign up. You can also have multiple providers in one computer, so you can just switch to another if the other is too busy or not responding. Visit these websites and look for links to words like “free web access” or “free ISP”— www.excite.com , www.juno.com , www.xoom.com, www.netzero.com . Each one of them provides free email account, or you could go to www.yahoo.com or www.hotmail.com . Free web hosts would be www.geocities.com, www.tripod.com , www.homestead.com .

There was a joke some years back about how we Filipinos love imported goods so much that even our very first Saint—St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the Martyr—was actually made in Japan. Now with the recent beatification of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, who was also martyred elsewhere (or, in the same vein, made in Guam), this joke has now put on a new and more serious meaning. For one, this matter of two Filipinos giving up their lives for the Faith in foreign lands, has a special significance for the 7.3 million of us Filipinos scattered around the world. Now we have a common spiritual standard for the kind of discipleship we émigré Filipinos are called to.

Aside from the innate wanderlust passed on to us by our ancestors, there is another reason why we Filipinos like to move to foreign lands—God sends us there! Yes, we originally leave to find greener pastures, but really, we are being called to spread the Word by living it. Haven’t we wondered why most of us find ourselves in positions of absolute trust? We are the doctors, nurses, medical staff, babysitters, homemakers, accountants, chauffeurs, U.N staffers (“attendees” to the world-movers). We don't even have to preach and argue the Gospel. We just have to live our daily lives in the way we learned back home—by being industrious, caring, and prayerful. That's all. Soon the people we care for or work with will come around wondering what makes us tick. Maybe some of them would want to have what we have. And know what, we have just laid the groundwork for the Holy Spirit!

As for martyrdom, I used to think how great it would be if I could just die for my Faith. No matter how many sins I've committed, past or present, they'll all be forgiven. And I will go straight to heaven. But looking at the lives of our two holy Filipinos, martyrdom now looks easier said than done. I probably wouldn't have made it. I'll probably buckle under torture, or cringe at the sight of an itak poised over my neck, or even fight back for dear life. Remember, even St. Peter buckled, too, at the beginning, and even denied he ever knew Jesus. But he came back penitent and we know the rest of the story.

Martyrdom is really closely linked to “Discipleship”. It is not like a spur-of-the-moment thing: “Okay, I think I’d like to be a Martyr today; so, I’ll just preach the Gospel in the subways and hope someone will slay me for it”. That is not martyrdom. That, sadly, sounds more like a death-wish! Martyrdom, on the other hand, is like a crown, a prize for something done exceptionally well. St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Blessed Pedro Calungsod were both allowed to offer this great final profession of Faith, because they have already been professing their Faith in little ways, daily. They've already been doing good, assisting in the Ministry, praying and sharing God’s love in both word and deeds. That was their discipleship—not even so much as preaching. So when the last big opportunity came, they were well prepared and were deemed worthy of it.

Very, very few of us will have the chance to die for our Faith that way. But, let’s just look around us. We are ever being given lots of opportunities to “die” for our Faith a little each day. In the current mentality of the world, religion is obsolete, backward, counter-productive, non-sophisticated, out-of-touch, not “cool”, etc. And if one so much as showed signs of religious fervor, then one is thought to be weak, non-dynamic, or weird. So people will always try to step all over them, exploit them, or to take advantage of them. Well, the world thinks this way because we have allowed it to think this way. Now is the time to turn the tables around.

“What, there is no God? C’mon, that mentality is so last century. This is the new millenium, everyone knows there is a God. And He loves us to the max!” If we can get many modern, sophisticated, intelligent men and women to be talking openly like that, then we would be starting a new wave of mental conditioning. So here is the challenge for those of us who would like to take on this mini-martyrdom for the Lord: “Do I object when people talk ill about my Faith, the Blessed Mother, the Pope, or our religious practices? Or do I just timidly keep quiet—as most of us Filipinos tend to do (Remember the SIR, or Smooth Interpersonal Relationship, trait?)—or worse, do I agree with them? Do I hesitate to do an act of charity, like giving palimos or giving up my seat to a pregnant woman, for fear of being ridiculed? Do I pray openly in public places, like in buses, train, or while waiting for somebody (if I feel like it)? Or do I try my best to hide it? If I’m in the habit of crossing myself when passing in front of a Church, do I make it a big Sign of the Cross, or just a teeny-weeny shake of the fingers over my face? Do I even tell somebody who is in trouble to try to pray because you’re sure that will help? Or do I think that’s a very naïve thing to say?

These are the kinds of little dying that most of us can handle. So shouldn’t we? And as with all forms of holy martyrdom, it does not end there. If we can offer it up alongside Jesus’ own Great Martyrdom being celebrated this Holy Week, we will join in the blessings of His Resurrection. Both here in this world and especially in the next. Let us then ask our two holy Filipinos up there—St Lorenzo and Blessed Pedro—who must have looked, talked and behaved just like us, to intercede for us immigrant Filipinos everywhere. That, so we may learn to share God’s love to everyone around us in the way they did. They’ll know what we need, they’ve been there.

Happy First Millenium Easter to everyone!!!

P.S.-

“STIGMATA” – A Movie with Bad Message!

By the way, please skip the movie Stigmata. First, the movie was obviously created by the enemies of the Faith (as were so many others, lately). So the Church is made to look like a conniving, evil empire. Secondly, there are just too many wrong and misleading information, and too many half-truths and poorly-researched information paraded as facts. Most importantly, the occurrence of stigmata is used in the movie as a poltergeist phenomenon, not as an edifying spiritual experience that it really is.

The “stigmata” is a gift from God, which in rare occasions is requested by persons who have already attained a high level of sanctity. Because of this person’s great love for Christ, he or she wants to actually participate in His sufferings. Thus the wounds of the Crucifixion. It does not happen to just anybody, especially not to a foul-mouthed, non-believer like the woman character in the movie. The account of St. Francis’ life in the movie is all wrong, the priestly collar is not Roman Catholic but Anglican/Episcopalian, the nuns and priests wear pre-Vatican II habits (I haven’t seen those for decades), and the Communion rite is Lutheran. The Dead Sea Scrolls—portrayed in the movie as the “Lost Gospel of St. Thomas”—is, in truth, a compendium of ancient scrolls about the Old Testament and text of prayers belonging to a Jewish sect in Qumran. Nothing to do with Christianity, much less with St. Thomas who was supposed to have gone the other way to evangelize India.

If you enjoy scary movies though, this might in a way work because it borrowed some techniques from the Exorcist. Otherwise, it’s just a ridiculous, badly-acted pretentious movie. So please refrain from throwing things at the screen.

Table of Contents

March, 2000

Excuse me? —Isn't that some kind of a contradiction, Lent and celebration together? Well, yes and no. It is a contradiction when taken in the liturgical sense. In the Church liturgical cycle, Lent is a time of repentance and sacrifice. So you will notice that even the color of the priestly vestments and altar mantles is violet—subdued and laid back—as opposed to Pentecost red, or Christmas and Easter white. And, no, it is not a contradiction when taken in the spirit of the joy of our redemption. It's a celebration of the fact that after we repent of our sins, we can now receive forgiveness. Imagine what it was before Jesus Christ. No amount of sacrifices nor acts of atonement on our part would be good enough to get us forgiveness from God. Jesus had to come and earn it for us, by his ultimate sacrifice on the Cross. Even Moses, King David, and all the holy prophets, in all their sanctity, didn't get the complete and full pardon, until Jesus died and rose from the dead.

Actually, we can combine the two. The Lord himself said about fasting: "When you fast, don't do it like the hypocrites who put on a sad look on their faces. They neglect their appearance so that people would notice that they are fasting. I tell you they have already been rewarded in full. When you fast, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others cannot know that you’re fasting And God who sees in secret knows and will reward you accordingly".

The forty days of Lent is a tradition taken from the Jews. In fact, the Lord went on a 40-day period of fasting and prayer himself just before He went into public life. Even the Muslims have their 40 days of fasting, called Ramadan, during which they would go without food and water daily until sundown. We have continued this beautiful tradition in the Catholic Church as a preparation for Holy Week and Easter. And about the ashes used on Ash Wednesday, this also is a symbolic gesture that finds its roots in ancient times. When people wanted to court God's favor, or avert disaster, or even when in mourning, they would put ashes in their hair and wear sackcloth. This was supposed to be a form of sacrifice pleasing to God. Now, putting ashes on our forehead is just a symbol reminiscent of that and also a symbol signaling the onset of Lent. The words spoken by the priest is a reminder of our own mortality ("You are dust and unto dust you shall return.") And since the ashes have been blessed, they have the power to give us special graces, too.

During Lent, we are enjoined to offer some sacrifices, as a form of self-imposed penance for our sins, and to be a bit more prayerful and charitable than usual. But let's not do it glumly and with a feeling of “I-don’t-want-to-but..” Better not do it at all, if it has become like an obligation, because it loses its spiritual value anyway. Let's do our sacrifices with gladness, like buying a birthday gift for a loved one. It may hurt in the pockets, but we like and enjoy doing it. That's when Lent becomes a "celebration" of sorts.

Now, let's look at the kind of sacrifices that we should be doing. First, sacrifices are not only a beautiful and powerful form of prayer, but it's also psychologically good for us. By denying ourselves these little pleasures, we learn to control our basic urges and re-direct them to more useful and self-fulfilling endeavors. Secondly, a sacrifice should be a "sacrifice". If we say, "Okay, today's Friday in Lent, so I'm not going to eat meat; I'll just have lobster! ", where is the sacrifice in that? Or, we might say: "Today is Ash Wednesday, so I'll fast. I'll skip breakfast." But if we've already been skipping breakfast regularly, probably for dietary reason or other, that doesn't count either. Better have some breakfast and skip lunch.

By the way, the official take on fasting and abstinence: Fasting (avoidance of food) is only done twice a year—Ash Wednesday and Good Friday—and Abstinence (not eating meat) is required every Friday in Lent. Fasting is accomplished by having just one full meal, and one or two other mini-meals (about half of what is consumed during that regular meal). The less food is taken, the better. The idea is to get our bodies to feel the pang of hunger for just a while. Abstinence is abstaining from all kinds of meat—beef, pork, chicken, goat, etc. However, if you already don't eat meat, choose to give up a kind of food that you usually eat and particularly relish, like sugpo, kinilaw na tahong, sushi, shrimp tempura, a particular salad dressing. You choose, it's between you and God.

As you will notice, the Church has become more practical since Vatican II. She is more concerned now with the "spirit" of the law than with the "letter" of the law. More concern now on how better or how closer to God a person becomes because of the rules; less concern on the actual, strict observance of the rules. Sacrifices that improve a person spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically is definitely desirable. But let's do one better by involving other people, or getting charity into the sacrificial mix. Wasn't it St. Paul who said that " I may be able to speak with tongues of men and of angels, prophesy, move mountains, give up my body to be burned, but if I do not have charity I am nothing".

So here are some suggestions for sacrifices that would really be pleasing in the eyes of God:

· Coming to Church 5 minutes before Mass (being late is disruptive; the minds of people who should be praying or listening to Scriptures are distracted into other thoughts, like being annoyed with us).

· No tsismis (talking about other people and their misgivings ruins the persons reputation and may even have ill effect on their jobs or relationships).

· Being cheerful around other people (even if one does not feel so cheery oneself)

· Not thinking ill of people or groups of people that you don’t like (just be neutral and let it go)

· Say “Good Morning” and “Thank You” to bus drivers and token booth clerks.

· Pray the Rosary in buses and in subway rides (this might encourage others to do the same)

· Be patient at the most testing places, like waiting at check-out counters, while walking in city streets (especially NYC), while queued for a bus or taxi.

· Be ready to offer help for anything at all, like give directions, holding an elderly person’s hand, offering to use your MetroCard to someone without change...

And the most challenging part of all, if we’re ready—which, by the way, will reap for us the most spiritual rewards—is pray for the people we don’t like, and especially forgive and pray for those who have harmed us in a way. Tough, right? But remember what the Lord says: “If you only love those who love you too, what kind of blessings do you get. Even sinners and heathens do that too! No, love your enemies and do good to them. Your reward will be great and you shall be called children of the Most High”.

Ring! Ring!… Remember in the Philippines what that meant for the priest who is making the sermon? That's right, it's the signal for the priest to begin wrapping up his homily. We don't have that here in the States—probably considered rude. So some of our priests, human beings that they are, sometimes get carried away and could go on and on. And if for some reason, there was a lack of preparation, there might be a tendency to belabor a point, with the same thoughts going around and around in circles. We on the other hand, might find ourselves in some weak moment, too—human beings that we are—saying things in our minds, like: "Enough already, please... Oops, I'm sorry, Lord, I didn't mean to have that thought. The devil made me do it." Well, all right, the Lord will understand and forgive us.

But know what, here's actually a perfectly good chance to do a charitable deed, by praying for the priest and for ourselves. For the priest, that the Holy Spirit may give him eloquence and convincing power. (And while we're at it, pray also that he may be given the necessary grace that will make him succeed in all aspects of his consecrated life; in these age and time, that is becoming increasingly difficult to do.) Let’s pray for ourselves too, that our minds and hearts may be opened to pick up the gems offered in that homily and to disregard the manner of delivery.

I'm bringing this up because you'd probably want to "Ring!" me and "Enough already!" me for what I'll be talking about next—CONFESSION. Yes, this is a continuation of my dissertation on the matter last month. The reason being, Confession is one of those major sources of blessings that has been largely untapped! In fact, we know of many who's been to Confession only once in their life—the one before their First Holy Communion. Others may have done it one more time during the preparation for Marriage, or during a Cursillo, or for the truly lucky ones, on their deathbed. Isn't it such a waste of a perfectly good opportunity to get ourselves really pleasing to God, so we can ask for any favors? This Jubilee Year 2000 then, let's make a resolution to avail of this powerful prayer-form as oftentimes as we can.

In this era of "political correctness”, which sometimes can be taken to ridiculous lengths, even Confession was not spared the change. It's now called the "Sacrament of Reconciliation". But this one is a good change, more positive—one that we can better relate to. Confession, nowadays, sounds like a matter for the unforgiving courts of justice or the tabloids. Reconciliation, on the other hand, describes a going back to a relationship of love that was temporarily lost. There is an element of forgiving and accepting each other again in there. Such is what this Sacrament is all about.

First, let's consider its value. As a Sacrament, it belongs to the same category as Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Holy Orders, and the rest. When one goes to Confession, he or she is not only forgiven of the sins confessed, but is also showered with an abundance of blessings and grace. Oftentimes, these are not mere spiritual blessings but also material, in the form of good health, good jobs, good fortune, happy family. You name it. Whatever we can ask for in a 9-day Novena or a difficult Pilgrimage to a Shrine, we can also receive through this 5-minute session with the Lord. Why is that, you may ask? The reason is found in the rarity of people who go to Confession regularly—it is an act very difficult to do. And so if we can do it, the rewards are great!

Secondly, Confession is really not for the "big" or Mortal Sins alone. It is for all kinds of sins, big or small. Since nobody is perfect, everyone is actually a sinner. Everyone needs to Reconcile—even Saints have been known to go to Confession more often than others, whilst they were on earth. It is all right to go to Confession to say, for instance, that you're sorry you'd been impatient with your mother, or that you were late at Sunday Mass (yes, it is a Venial Sin), or something even less. And, here's the clincher, the more we do it, the easier it gets, and the more blessings we receive. Believe me, the priest will not mind when you come into the Confessional and say: "Father, my last good Confession was last week..." That, in fact, is a sign that you have grown one step higher towards the attainment of sanctity.

It is of course only natural to feel that judgmental eyes may be directed at us when we're waiting in the Confessional line. Actually, they're not. Most people who are in Church at that time are those who'd be more concerned about their own sinfulness and their relationship with God. In fact, they're probably preparing for Confession themselves, asking God for the courage to do it. Seeing you there might be all the "push" they needed. So think of it as a good example, rather than a source for embarrassment.

In most Churches in the commercial districts of the cities where we work, like Manhattan, for example, they would have daytime Masses, especially around noon. Chances are they'd also have priests hearing Confessions before, during, or after Mass. There are also monasteries, seminaries, Religious Houses where we can come at any time during the day and ask for a priest to hear our Confession. Then again, let's not forget our own Parish Church where there would be regular schedules and at times, maybe even private sessions. We're allowed to go anywhere we are comfortable.

When you do go, talk in the normal way to the priest. Just remember the important things necessary for the Sacrament of Reconciliation to take effect: namely, that you're sorry for your sins because you have offended God, and that you resolve not to do it again. The priest will tell you what you need to do next. You'll feel better for it, I promise you.

"Ring! Ring!"... All right, one last thing. We Filipinos don't subscribe to the pilosopo’s idea of, “Why take a bath when you’re going to get dirty again, anyway?” We are a people that relish taking baths so much, we do it everyday, even in the coldest of winters. Shouldn’t we also give our souls that same refreshing, bagong-ligo feeling all the time, too?

And so, this is
the Third Millennium...

Funny, but doesn't it look and feel about the same as the last one? Apart from the big hype over the Y2K glitch and the spectacular world-wide bash in the New Year, everything has settled back down into the old grind. The same weird weather that has been with us these last 3 years (imagine, 65° in January!). The same situation back at work, the same people. The same buses, train...

There were no planes that dropped off the sky. No black-outs. No ATM machines refusing to give money. No nuclear detonations. No computer problems...Well, not exactlyCone of my old computers at home went back to 1980 and the other, to 1998. However, it was just a matter of correcting the settings like you would your bedside alarm clock/radio. (For the technically-inclined, double-click the time on the lower right corner of your screen in Win 95/98, and for Windows 3.1 go to the Control Panel.) My more recent computer on the other hand went into the Third Millenium without even a blink. It was so smooth. Much like the many of us who have continuously updated our Faith through prayers, the Sacraments, and good-doings. There was no Y2K scare.

But wait. It may look the same on the surface. If you however look deep down where it matters, things have changed a lot. Call it a sense of a "second lease on life" syndrome. A sense of relief that we came so close to being destroyed, but were not. It was a new humbling experienceCone that made us aware of our own mortality and vulnerability. And that when technology and science let us down, there's nowhere else to turn to but back to our ultimate recourse: God the Maker Himself.

God has many ingenious ways of calling us back to Him. Peter, He called while the poor fisherman was about his daily chores; Matthew, from his lofty IRS-like tax collecting office; Mary Magdalene was snatched right out of the "electric chair", or public stoning in those times; and Paul, He struck blind with a flash of lightning. Well, you know the rest. In more recent times, St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuit Order, was formerly a soldier who was struck down in battle and came close to dying. And, of course, our very own St. Lorenzo Ruiz, had his opportunity to profess his Faith by Martyrdom because he was first accused of murder and had to get away.

This Y2K spectre of "Doomsday", was one such call. Along with stocking up on de lata, milk, water and rice, many of us came back to the Church, or at least to calling again to God . More people now attend Mass and other Church Services, more people are openly prayerful, and more people are genuinely more charitable, more thankful for their gifts, and more willing to share. This could only be good. Let's keep it up. In fact, let's ask God for the grace to be His instruments so that through our examples, may others continue to maintain this new-found closeness to God, and also that many more may be swayed to re-open their hearts to Him.

Pope John Paul II has declared this year "Jubilee 2000". A jubilee is really a time for joyful celebration and renewal. And appropriately, this one is. It is a celebration of God's Kingdom having come upon earthCand now already spread to its farthest reaches. It's also a time of renewal of vows and the rekindling of love, like we would during our Silver or Golden Wedding Jubilees. What better time is there then than now to start renewing our vows of love for God, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is of course the better-known Confession. Forget about how many years or even decades that we've not done so. God's memory is short on our faults, but long on forgiveness!

When we do decide to go to Confession, let's treat it as something of a conversation with a healer. Such is the role of the priests in Confession nowadays, and less like the judge of old times. It's good to go through the standard formula, but if we've forgotten or we're not comfortable with the old way anymore, it's not that important. Say something like "Father, I'm here because I'm sorry about my sins and I'm seeking your advice and forgiveness..." Cor something to that effect. The priest will walk you through the Reconciliation process. And he is authorized by none other than the Lord Himself when He told them: "Whatever you shall bind on earth will be bound in Heaven; whatever you loosen on earth will also be loosened in Heaven".

One very important thing to remember about Confession is that it is a Sacrament, just like Holy Communion. The more one receives this Sacrament the more blessings and graces are received. It has more value in the eyes of God and His Saints than even good practices like novenas, mga panata, or pilgrimages (of course, the best is if these are combined with Confession). Anyone can and should go, even if one has not committed a "mortal" or grievous sin. Trust me, we'll always find something to go to Confession about. In fact, let's go to Confession every other week or every three weeks, and immediately after doing one, let's ask for a grace that we normally would ask for in a Novena. Remember that the act of Confession is a prayer in itself and in fact a very powerful form of prayer. Then see how much faster your prayers will be answered this time...

Happy New Year to everybody from me and my family,
and may we all have more blessings and peace in the Jubilee Year 2000!

Christmas songs on radios as early as October...Simbang Gabi… sweet aroma of hot bibingka and burnt banana leaves outside the church...Puto bumbong with lots of coconut and sugar… Carolling door-to-door with friends and cousins...Tansan, bao and empty milk cans for accompaniment..."Thank you, thank you. Ang babait ninyo, thank you"...Midnight Mass, with choirs and colorful Belen...Noche Buena, keso de bola, salty hamon, and sometimes ube, suman and latik...Apples and grapes that really smell like Christmas (funny, we don't seem to have this variety in the States!)...”Mano po, Ninang"...Daming laruan, new dress, new shoes…Ninos Inocentes and the ubiquitous pranks… Bagong Taon… Paputok, lusis, watusi…

For most Filipinos in the U.S., these are the nostalgic thoughts that the Christmas Season brings. Here we don’t dream of a “White Christmas”, we are in a white Christmas. And for that matter we rather dream of a green, colorful, warm, and food-smelling Christmas. Sometimes, tears even accompany these thoughts as we remember the loved ones we left behind and the things we used to do during the Holidays. Melancholy thoughts—but they are good thoughts and sentiments. They bring home the point that “we’re not really home”. We have a true home far away, where those memories come from.

Because of our Westernized culture, and especially with the strong American influence, it is just so easy for us to be assimilated into the American society. Pretty soon, we begin to talk like them, dress like them, behave like them, at times even look like them. For most of the year, we forget that we are Filipinos. We bury in our work and “pressing business” the memories of the Old Country and sometimes even our deep-seated Filipino values. But Christmas brings them all back.

This melancholy and homesickness for Christmas at home means we had a good thing going there. In fact, it is proof that we are truly a blessed people—the only Christian country in Asia! Jesus Christ was “born” into our country and we had not turned Him away. Now we are being asked to share Him, in the way that we discovered Him, to the rest of the world.

What better people is there to do the modern day evangelization than the seafaring, widely-traveled Filipinos. We are in every nook and crannies of the world. Probably not the shakers and movers of the earth but we are the care-givers to the world. We provide comfort and healing. We are the doctors, nurses, therapists, teachers, babysitters, housekeepers, drivers, builders—positions of absolute, or near-absolute trust. As such, other people listen to us, and in fact, with affection or open hearts. What a great opportunity to share our Faith!

From caregivers of the body to caregivers of the soul—actually, there’s very little else that we have to do. We don’t need to preach and argue our Faith (that doesn’t seem to work any more these days!). We just have to live a Christian life, praying and especially practicing the Lord’s message of love. That’s all.

St. Paul sums it all up in his letter to the Corinthians: “I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned – but if I have no love, this does me no good. Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs…”

However, let’s be practical and not try to do everything at one time. This Christmas season, let’s focus on just one application of love—for example, “love is patient and kind”. How about no tsismis till Christmas Day? Yes, it will be difficult; for some it may even require an effort of heroic proportions. But we would like to make this as our special gift to the Baby Jesus. So for the next few weeks, let’s hold off on talking about another person. For any reason, be it good or bad. Talking about another person, even in good or neutral terms, could very quickly slide into ill-talk. It’s just our human nature. And tsismis is really unkind, hurts a person’s reputation, and smacks of a sense of superiority. Maybe the Lord will appreciate this gift more than giving alms or other kinds of physical charity that require mere digging into one’s pockets. After all, even non-Christians can and do alms-giving and helping the poor.

If by doing these things we can move just one other person to also practice love, then we are on the road to a more peaceful world. After all, this is what Jesus came for on that first Christmas day. This is also what He taught us to pray for when in the Our Father we say: “Thy kingdom come”. God’s kingdom is a world of peace. Let it come then, and let it begin with us. And as Filipinos celebrating Christmas in America, let our love for neighbors be like a parol —unique, bright, colorful, and above all, beckons a warm welcome to our homes.

The early Christians of Rome had their "subways". They're called the catacombs. Under threat of torture and death, they retreated to this subterranean maze to pray and live their Faith. They have in fact so sanctified the Catacombs that to this day it is still regarded as a Holy place with, in fact, the rank of a full Cathedral. (The Salesian Congregation currently looks after it and strictly requires visitors to respect the premises like a Shrine—so, no picture-taking!). Far cry from the New York Subways, but it has some similarity to the Catacombs before the Christians took it over. And to stretch the similarity a little further, the subway could then be a good place to pray, especially the Rosary.

Firstly, what better use of time is there than to pray during the 45 minutes or so that we spend sitting or straphanging on a train. Reading is good, too, but it could get tedious, it could hurt your eyes or even give you a headache. Besides, we all know how difficult it is to read in a crowded train or while standing. Watching and looking at people around you could invite trouble, and sleeping is definitely a no-no. Daydreaming is a total waste of time and can be spiritually dangerous.

Praying the Rosary, on the other hand, can be done any which way—sitting or standing, crowded or not, with or without beads (using fingers). And the beauty of it all is, we don't even have to finish the entire 5 Mysteries. We can, for example, save a couple for the trip home.

What Our Lady would most appreciate these days, though, is praying the Rosary openly. It is a positive attestation of our Faith as Catholics and a proof of our love for the Blessed Mother. This is especially meaningful in New York where the fad seems to be the disrespect and dishonor of Her name.

When the Brooklyn Museum of Art continued to exhibit a feces-smattered image of the Holy Mother, many Catholics were appalled beyond description. And rightly so, because to our minds, the next most important, the next most loved Being after God, is God's own Mother and our Mother, too.

For the moment, lets keep the facts straight for the sake of her detractors who, too quickly, like to cry out, "idolatry!". No, we do not adore the Blessed Virgin Mary—not like we adore God and her Son, Jesus Christ. But we accord to Her the greatest honor and veneration, the greatest love, in the highest possible level that we're allowed to give another Being, because she is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. That means she is greater than all the prophets, all the angels, and all the saints.

Personally, I'd classify the Museum's gross insensitivity right alongside painting swastikas on Jewish synagogues, Salman Rushdie's distortion of the Koran in Satanic Verses (who, by the way, has a death warrant issued by an Iranian Ayatollah), or the devil-worshippers' ritual desecration of holy places and images. And to call them art! However, to fight them head-on will somehow just draw attention to them, and in fact give credence to their distorted musings. Oftentimes, people who are avowed anti-Catholics will even support them if only to spite our Beliefs.

If the Holy Spirit moves you to an active Crusade to counteract this, by all means go and give your all. But if you cannot go and wish to make a point, this is the way—pray the Rosary in public. It is of course easier said than done, which makes it so extra special. In New York subways this is even close to heroic. Our New York street-smart sense prevents us from showing any signs of weakness, like probably appearing too prayerful. There is also the matter of human respect, like we’re afraid people may think we’re backward and unsophisticated, or that they may think we’re “show-offs”.

Let’s stop for a moment and consider this. If they’re non-Catholics, they probably don’t know what we’re doing. If they’re anti-Catholics, nothing we do would ever be right anyway, so we don’t have to impress them nor try to get their approval. If they’re Catholics, they’ll probably think what a good idea it is and may even be moved to try it themselves later. It’s a win-win situation.

Lastly, Martyrs are Saints because they attested to their Faith even at the ultimate price of losing their lives. Remember, St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino Saint, is a Martyr. Martyrdom is so pleasing in the eyes of God that all past sins, no matter how grievous, are all forgiven and one’s soul is brought straight to heaven closest to God.

These days we are not asked to lay our lives for our Faith. But sometimes we are asked to attest to our Faith a little at a time, and in so doing die a little to ourselves and our sense of pride. This is martyrdom, in a sense. Thank God for the chance and take the plunge—your reward will be great!

In the early days of the Church, Saul Tarsusian, a.k.a. St. Paul, after a series of high-level and prayerful meetings with Simon-Peter Johnson, a.k.a. St. Peter, decided to go hi-tech for his role in the efforts to spread the Word of God. He therefore proceeded to go the way of the "worldwide web" to preach his message, and was prolific in his use of "e-mail" (e as in Epistles) as a follow up to his teachings.

Consider this—in a world where not knowing how to read and write was the norm, having these skills was definitely high technology. The state-of-the-art hardware was hand-made papyrus and the quill. Those who were the experts at writing even had a special name attached to them—scribes (they were the "nerds" of the time). Their "worldwide web" was actually a vast web of interconnected high-quality roads built by the Romans to facilitate the governing of the empire—the entire civilized world then. It was the backbone of Pax Romana, the Roman-sponsored peace, and of course the “router” of the means of communications. St. Paul used it to the max and the result being where we are at the present time, 2000 years later. His Epistles are even now still being read all over the world, providing spiritual guidance and consolation to the members of the modern Church.

Somewhere along this line of thought, we might be able to perceive a special kind of calling for Christians intent on helping share the Word of God. If St. Paul were here today, do you think he would pass up the chance to get “wired”? He'll probably be somewhere writing email to all the parishes that he had been a Pastor to, or setting up a website for a one-stop shop for spiritual and practical goodies. His motto would probably be: "Whatever it takes to bring Jesus into your homes", or "I love you to death, as Jesus does", or something similar. And he would probably be laughed at and ridiculed sometimes, maybe harassed or even sued, or blamed for being politically incorrect. But the Holy Spirit will be there behind him in all this, and he would just be doing it right over again.

Contrary to the belief of many that it is the work of the Devil, the Internet is really a gift from God. It is a wonderful, inexpensive vehicle whereby people can have instant communication and interaction even if they are thousands of miles apart. It is also a great medium of free broadcasting, where your message can be made available to millions of people at one time. However, like the sword-enforced Pax Romana, the bad comes along with the good, too.

Let’s be positive, though, and let’s not waste our time trying to fight this “evil” head on. Remember how the Lord admonished Peter: “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” Some of us will be chosen by God to specifically fight the bad that’s in the Internet. But for the rest of us, our share of the evangelization effort should more like be the “love” approach. The early Christians, too, were as much a part of the spread of Christianity as the great Apostles. But they didn’t actually preach. They just lived their Faith as prescribed, loving their fellowmen. They were probably just nice, and helpful, generous and understanding—in a world where greed and selfishness were the main tools for survival. Naturally people started asking why they were so full of peace, so unafraid like nothing fazed them, and, specially, so loving of one another. That was when they’d convincingly share their discovery of Jesus Christ and His Message of love.

We too are called to evangelize. Not always in a big way like preaching or debating our faith, but just in a quiet “loving-like-Christ” way in our daily lives. A smile here, a helping hand there, patience in check-out counters, being friendly in a NYC bus (this one is heroic, indeed!), not telling ethnic jokes, and the like. In fact, to dedicate one act of charity a day for this purpose is ample enough. That’s 365 good deeds per person per year! And if the Holy Spirit moves the other person to ask what makes you so nice to them, then that’s the time to move in with your Message. But that’s another story we’ll talk about another time.

For those of us who are computer-savvy or are just plain Internet users, we could do the same “love-approach” of St. Paul and the early Christians. We don’t necessarily have to dedicate an entire website for this purpose (although that’s most desirable), but we could spread God’s love in many other little ways. We could use email for sending inspirational thoughts of prayer, peace, understanding. We could add a line of spiritual message in our webpage, a quotation from the Holy Scriptures, a link to some religious site. We could set up a chat page, an advice website, a contest, a freebie site for things like prayer estampitas. See if your local churches are trying to build a web presence so you could contribute your time and expertise. Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and you’ll be surprised at how you’d be led to something you actually enjoy doing.

Finally, it is not so much the pagans or atheists that we should seek to convert. They are the minorities now. Sadly, the majority are the people who call themselves Christians but who knowingly or unknowingly have rejected Jesus Christ in their lives. They are the ones we should do every effort to bring back. They are the ones who, when re-converted, will provide a more solid foundation for the return of the Peace of Christ. For isn’t love so much sweeter the second time around?

Simply put, the year 2000 is just another nice round number. So were others like it--9/9/99, or better 7/7/77, or worse 6/6/66. When I was little, I thought 1961 was really cool. You can turn the calendar upside down and still read 1961! Yet I also have scary memories of that year when some seers predicted that the world was going to end that July 14.

But why this big deal about the number 2000?--Closure. It seems like it took such a long and arduous time to get here that surely something big must happen. Many prophets of doom beat their drums and proclaim the coming of the end. What's sad is they even go into the Holy Scriptures to pick out such passages as seem to bear them out. Of course there are many such signs spoken of in the Bible, especially in Revelations. But there are signs for everything in Bible, depending on how one interprets them. And good signs, there are plentiful too; signs that promise the coming of a new dawn. Actually, this "Armageddon" or end-of-time is bound to happen to each one of us--the day that we die. So, isn't it better to prepare for this than for the "end of the world" (which may or may not happen in our lifetime)? Maybe if we just did this, there won't even be an "end of the world" to worry about.

Compounding this bleak perception of impending doom, and ranking right up there alongside earthquakes, hurricanes, and volcanoes, is the year 2000 (Y2K) computer glitch.. This, of course, has nothing to do with the Bible, or Nostradamus, or the prophets. Yet this was supposed to be the one that can bring on chaos and finally self-destruction. Actually, this Y2K glitch is just another of man's basic tendency to err and make a fool of himself. (And to think, he is always on the verge of making himself like God for creating such "marvels"). But look how man's wondrous creation, almost like an intelligent being of itself, having trouble working with just a set of simple numbers. Their original creators probably thought that the world was not going to make it beyond year 2000. So finally this last half a decade saw an incredible mad scramble to make the corrections. It's mostly fixed now and so we can at least rest assured that no nuclear bombs will be accidentally detonated. (By the way, some practical advice to the computer-literate. If you are not sure that your computer is Y2K compliant, on the first day of the New Year, "boot" your computer to DOS and go into BIOS. If the date year has not been automatically changed to 2000, set it manually. A simple task, and theoretically your machine is now good for another thousand years. If it could not be reset to 2000, either just don't use it for date-sensitive work, or just change your computer altogether. They're dirt-cheap these days and hey, it's not the end of the world.)

The other half of humankind, which is not Christian, think it is odd that we would be so concerned about the year 2000. They have adopted our Gregorian Calendar more for reasons of commercial and political convenience than for the belief that Jesus Christ is Lord come to redeem the world. Hence, the year 2000 A.D. (Anno Domini, which means two thousand years after the coming of the Lord), is to them just another year, maybe one that's busier than usual. The Jews for instance will celebrate the year 5760; the Muslims know it as the 1420th year; and the Chinese will be having a ball to welcome the year of the dragon. The number 2000 is totally irrelevant to them.

Finally, to say that the end of time is near is to say that God has given up on us. No way. God loves us too much for that. He wants each and everyone of us to go to Him for all eternity. That's why He took the trouble of sending here His only-begotten Son to show us the way. If He destroys the world now, how many of us do you think could get there to His heavenly mansions?

For a moment here let's have a more positive point of view. Don't you think the year 2000 is beginning to look like the dawn of a new era in Christianity? Look in the Holy Scriptures for this, too, and there will be many signs and references. The new era will most probably be like that time when Sts. Helena and Constantine finally brought Christianity into the whole world (remember the story of the Santacruzan and Reyna Elena?). There are many things that will help this along: advancement in science, technology and communications, the Internet, a new wave of re-conversions, the laity and women sharing in the Liturgy and Ministry, and young people finding more meaning in their faith, maybe even peace in the world (if we just played our cards right). The wheel has started turning. There are evidences of more people praying, sometimes openly in buses and subways. It's not uncommon anymore to see men and women praying the Rosary in such public places. There are more attendees in Retreats, Prayer Meetings, Holy Hours, and of course the Liturgy. Former seminarians, nuns, brothers, and priests are slowly coming back and putting their Ministerial training and rich background into God's service again--this time armed with a better understanding of the life of the common person. In short, God-liness is "in" again!

So what's all this fuss about? There shouldn't be. But it would be good to thank God for this new lease in spiritual life come the year 2000. And for our part, let's start with a clean millenium.

PART II

“Signs of the Times” — Signs that We Make