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Monday, March 28, 2011
PAHALAGAHAN ANG BUHAY
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Pro-RH People never saw this coming....
The 100% Katolikong Pinoy Manila Chamber of Regulars (CORE). Blogger is second from right proudly flying the Philippine Color (and in military jargon, you know what that means...).
The I Oppose the RH Bill Team, KP's sister-group, mostly from Filipinos For Life.
I promised you a follow-up yesterday, and here it is....
Yours Truly became so excited for the Prayer Rally entitled "Filipinos! Unite Under God for Life!" that I left UST at 1 in the afternoon so that I could make it to the 3pm call time that was set by Kuya Randolf Flores, one of the Senior Admins of our group. It turns out that I was the first to arrive there: specifically in the area near that of Radyo Veritas' setup point, which is positioned at the left side of the Grandstand when facing it. By 3 in the afternoon, Kuya Randolf and Kuya Weldann Panganiban showed up; and the rest of the gang followed. Well, I got to see and meet Msgr. Pepe Quitorio in person, so as Fr. Anton Pascual; and among others. The program started with about 40,000 people praying the Holy Rosary. They are from all over the Metro and its suburbs. And take note: this was the figure that mainstream media estimated in broadcast and print.
While majority of the crowd were Catholics, there are also delegations of other religions, specifically imams and a handful of Protestant "bishops", thus making it an interfaith affair. There were also testimonies from Pro-Life legislators, ordinary people, from Bro. Bo Sanchez and Rep. Velarde of Buhay Partylist, and a video message from the People's Champ himself, wherein he said, "Kung wala ang papa ko at wala si Mommy D[ionisia], walang Manny Pacquiao ngayon" [sic]. He is currently in West-Coast America for his training in preparation for his fight against "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Also in that gathering were numerous performances by the YFC, YFL, and other youth groups. Before the Mass, there was a ceremonial tearing of the copy of the Reproductive Health Bill, in a scenario akin to the Cry of Pugad Lawin. And before I forget, The Falcons (Adamson U), the Tigers (of course, UST), and other Catholic schools sent their own delegations in the event; too bad I never had the chance to approach the Thomasian delegation. And finally, a Mass in Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and a number of priests and bishops. Before the Final Blessing, Cardinal Rosales led the Prayer of the Consecration of the Philippines to the Two Hearts--The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. By the end of the Mass, Bro. Mike Velarde of the El Shaddai community showed up and took over the rest of the night for their community's prayer meeting.
Basically, that was the rundown of the event. But of course, to make this post credible, let me give to you the photo albums of some of my Facebook friends and groups:
Kuya Weldann (mixed with the pics from the earlier PICC Prayer Rally and the MOA Meeting)
Sir Ike Jamilla (part of the Thomasian delegation)
There are also Google-able images from other sources, so do check them out....
Do also check out:
There is also a post by Filipinos For Life that goes like this. Click here.
Secular media screwed the number count, but the V did it right.
You could also check out Kuya Weldann's own blog report, as well as that of Sir Ishmael's.
Secular media screwed the number count, but the V did it right.
You could also check out Kuya Weldann's own blog report, as well as that of Sir Ishmael's.
And at this part of the entry, let the following pictures tell you that this event was absolutely jam-packed!
Me flying the Colors
KP + F4L = IOTRHB
Maging Tunay na Katoliko! Maging Tunay na Pilipino!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
An Invitation to Oppose
I don't normally blog about events, but this one is one of the most special for this year: It's what we call at KP as A-Day (and that means Annunciation Day to distinct it with A-Week which means Atheist Week). A lot of things will happen later: graduating students at UST will be going out of the Arch of the Centuries in the annual Baccalaureate Mass; another will be the Prayer Rally for Life happening at Quirino Grandstand from 4pm to 9 in the evening. Gotta have a follow-up by tomorrow....
And that's how serious we are.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
New RH bill: Deadly, anti-constitution
From the Editorial of "The Varsitarian" dated March 15, 2011
PRESIDENT Aquino III should be commended for dropping the reproductive health (RH) bill from his legislative agenda. But his minions in the House of Representatives just the same are prioritizing the passage of the bill. They have in fact consolidated several versions of the bill and rammed it through the process so that, despite the denial of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte that they were rushing the bill, it’s now on its second reading and up for plenary debates. What the right hand giveth, the left taketh.
The consolidated version incorporates the President’s version of family planning, “responsible parenthood,” and further pushing the envelope, now uses the word “population,” making Edcel Lagman and his battened likes eat their word since they had been claiming before that heir original version of the bill was not a population-control measure. Considering that just about every shade and nuance of the population-control movement has been incorporated into the consolidated version, the bill is now known as “The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011.”
With 35 sections and more than 5,800 words, the bill promises to become the most extensive measure by any Congress in history, and should leave no doubt to anyone about its Stalinist conceit and social-engineering intentions. Just about every possibility of unwanted pregnancy and regeneration by the poor is checked by the bill. While ostensibly declaring it does not set “demographic and population targets,” it declares that the ideal family size is two, which is just about saying that the population growth target should be zero. (The ideal population growth for the Philippines is zero, according to RH backer and former health secretary Alberto Romualdez!) The bill adds that the state “shall assist couples” to achieve that size.
Those who say that there’s nothing wrong with this should be reminded that the state is not exactly wet behind the ears: it is after all the state and its bureaucracy that have fostered the corruption and waste that characterize the debacle that is the Filipino republic. Considering the sorry tale of the tape as far as the Philippine state is concerned, should the state, which has an overpopulation of bureaucrats battening themselves like Lagman and congressmen on people’s money, have the right to suggest, much less, declare that there’s such a thing as an “ideal” number of children for couples to have?
Much more, should the state have any right to add what follows after the bill’s arrogant discourtesy of declaring how many children Filipino couples should have: “Attaining the ideal family size is neither mandatory nor compulsory. No punitive action shall be imposed on parents having more than two children.” One should rightly cringe at that.
“Assisting” couples to attain the ideal family size wouldn’t be hard for the state since the bill sanctions just about any contraceptive means and, making free use of taxpayer’s money and funding from foreign donors that support abortion, makes them available to all. Those who argue that the bill is pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion should look at the bill’s liberal sanction of contraceptives, some of which even physicians admit are technically abortifacient. And they should look at sections 2 and 3 on “Declaration of Policy” and “Guiding Principles.” While the bill enshrines “reproductive health” as a “universal basic human right” and exalts “freedom of choice” – where do you find such in the Philippine Constitution? – it doesn’t mention key state policies in the charter that should be the guiding principles of any law relating to family, life, demographics, and sex education for the young, the most important of which is:
“Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.”
Why the very telling bypass of such a very relevant constitutional policy in a bill that seeks to use hundreds of millions of pesos to shower contraceptives and abortifacients on the poor; to provide sex education to the young and teach them how to have “safe sex,” even if the education ministries, the biggest bureaucracies, can hardly teach school kids properly the three R’s; and generally to neuter the poor by mass ligation and vasectomy?
Amid the mass of words and declarations and provisions and platitudes of the consolidated RH bill, try to search for constitutional principles such as “the sanctity of family life,” “(protection of) the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception,” “promotion of social justice,” and “dignity of every person.”
So sorry, but you search in vain.
Ona, Akbayan, Jalin
Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona, should also be praised for sticking to his job as health agent of the state and shunning outlandish stunts like the ones staged by his hopeless predecessor Esperanza Cabral, who distributed condoms at Dangwa Flower Market last year during Valentine’s Day.
Eager to strike back at the bishops who had been holding back the passage of the RH bill, Cabral found a bogeyman last year out of the increase in HIV cases to press for safe sex. Insisting that she was within her jurisdiction as a state health official, she distributed condoms near UST on Valentine’s Day. In doing so, she merely showed the arrogance of the state because Valentine’s is a Catholic feast. Apparently, she had thought February 14 was Motel Day.
Those who cry separation of church and state whenever the bishops and the clergy criticize the RH bill should learn from Cabral’s case. The constitutional provision is really a re-expression of the republican dictum, “non-establishment of religion”; thus, separation of church and state is really a prohibition against the state, not against the church. Cabral’s case shows that it is often the state that transgresses on the church. And whatever the alleged meddling of the church on state affairs is, it’s merely one that is suasive, unlike that by the state which, because of its police and taxing powers, is coercive. For example, where did the condoms that Cabral distributed in Dangwa come from? Didn’t they come from the money of ordinary people who were taxed by the state into supporting such an unsavoury stunt as condom distribution during a religious feast which is supposed to enshrine human love, not animal lust?
Meanwhile, the blasphemous stunt of Cabral last year was restaged on Valentine’s this year by the Akbayan party-list group at the Nepa Q Mart in Quezon City. Its youth arm, Akbayan Youth, is the same group that criticized UST Theology professor Aguedo Florence Jalin for giving incentives to students who would post criticisms on the Akbayan stunt and the RH bill on Akbayan’s Facebook fan page.
It is quite galling that a group that by and large receives international funding, some of them from groups that espouse “reproductive rights,” should take to task a Catholic educator who gives incentives to students doing a completely optional assignment to defend the pro-life stance of the Church against RH and safe-sex proponents. Considering too that the professor did not force his students to do the posting, even making it clear to those who support RH among his classes that they need not join the opposition to the measure, considering further that hardly anyone fails Theology (except those always absent) in UST, Akbayan doth protest too much. Hasn’t Akbayan heard of “academic freedom” and “intellectual honesty”? Jalin was teaching Social Issues of the Church and he had the perfect right, nay the responsibility, to tackle the RH bill and the threat it poses to things which the Church holds dear—the natural law, the dignity of the human person, and the sanctity of life. By urging his students to post their criticisms of RH and of Akbayan’s attack on religion through its distribution of condoms on Valentine’s, a religious feast, Jalin was merely asking them to stand up for what they believe in. To put their money where their mouth is. Which cannot be said of other educators, such as the Ateneo 14, who oppose Catholic teachings on birth control and flaunt their defiance despite teaching in Catholic schools: they put their money where their pocket is while completely chucking intellectual honesty.
Akbayan should be reminded that it is part of the administration coalition and technically, a part of government. Since it has representation in parliament and its people occupy key posts in the administration, it has no choice but to consider criticisms and opposing views. No one in power has the right to be onion-skinned.
Agony of Japan
No words can fully describe the magnitude and shock of what Japan suffered last March 11: the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and 30-foot-high wall of ocean that the undersea upheaval unleashed were never conceived even in the exacting calculations of the Japanese, probably the most disaster-prepared people on earth. The deadly combination of temblor and tsunami has left in its wake whole towns, industries and populations swept away from the map. Now, Japan is struggling to contain the damage of the disasters on its nuclear power plants. We pray that they will be successful in that regard.
The crisis is the worst that has happened to Japan since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War and the surrender that followed. Judging from that experience, the world knows that in due time, Japan will heal and recover. We know from the history of the Japanese people about their remarkable resilience and strength of spirit. We know that in the face of many calamities, the Japanese compose themselves with admirable dignity, honor, and optimism. We pray for—and expect that—Japan will heal and be back on its feet. In this terrible time of adversity, the Japanese should not forget that the world is with them in prayer and commiseration.
PRESIDENT Aquino III should be commended for dropping the reproductive health (RH) bill from his legislative agenda. But his minions in the House of Representatives just the same are prioritizing the passage of the bill. They have in fact consolidated several versions of the bill and rammed it through the process so that, despite the denial of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte that they were rushing the bill, it’s now on its second reading and up for plenary debates. What the right hand giveth, the left taketh.
The consolidated version incorporates the President’s version of family planning, “responsible parenthood,” and further pushing the envelope, now uses the word “population,” making Edcel Lagman and his battened likes eat their word since they had been claiming before that heir original version of the bill was not a population-control measure. Considering that just about every shade and nuance of the population-control movement has been incorporated into the consolidated version, the bill is now known as “The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011.”
With 35 sections and more than 5,800 words, the bill promises to become the most extensive measure by any Congress in history, and should leave no doubt to anyone about its Stalinist conceit and social-engineering intentions. Just about every possibility of unwanted pregnancy and regeneration by the poor is checked by the bill. While ostensibly declaring it does not set “demographic and population targets,” it declares that the ideal family size is two, which is just about saying that the population growth target should be zero. (The ideal population growth for the Philippines is zero, according to RH backer and former health secretary Alberto Romualdez!) The bill adds that the state “shall assist couples” to achieve that size.
Those who say that there’s nothing wrong with this should be reminded that the state is not exactly wet behind the ears: it is after all the state and its bureaucracy that have fostered the corruption and waste that characterize the debacle that is the Filipino republic. Considering the sorry tale of the tape as far as the Philippine state is concerned, should the state, which has an overpopulation of bureaucrats battening themselves like Lagman and congressmen on people’s money, have the right to suggest, much less, declare that there’s such a thing as an “ideal” number of children for couples to have?
Much more, should the state have any right to add what follows after the bill’s arrogant discourtesy of declaring how many children Filipino couples should have: “Attaining the ideal family size is neither mandatory nor compulsory. No punitive action shall be imposed on parents having more than two children.” One should rightly cringe at that.
“Assisting” couples to attain the ideal family size wouldn’t be hard for the state since the bill sanctions just about any contraceptive means and, making free use of taxpayer’s money and funding from foreign donors that support abortion, makes them available to all. Those who argue that the bill is pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion should look at the bill’s liberal sanction of contraceptives, some of which even physicians admit are technically abortifacient. And they should look at sections 2 and 3 on “Declaration of Policy” and “Guiding Principles.” While the bill enshrines “reproductive health” as a “universal basic human right” and exalts “freedom of choice” – where do you find such in the Philippine Constitution? – it doesn’t mention key state policies in the charter that should be the guiding principles of any law relating to family, life, demographics, and sex education for the young, the most important of which is:
“Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.”
Why the very telling bypass of such a very relevant constitutional policy in a bill that seeks to use hundreds of millions of pesos to shower contraceptives and abortifacients on the poor; to provide sex education to the young and teach them how to have “safe sex,” even if the education ministries, the biggest bureaucracies, can hardly teach school kids properly the three R’s; and generally to neuter the poor by mass ligation and vasectomy?
Amid the mass of words and declarations and provisions and platitudes of the consolidated RH bill, try to search for constitutional principles such as “the sanctity of family life,” “(protection of) the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception,” “promotion of social justice,” and “dignity of every person.”
So sorry, but you search in vain.
Ona, Akbayan, Jalin
Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona, should also be praised for sticking to his job as health agent of the state and shunning outlandish stunts like the ones staged by his hopeless predecessor Esperanza Cabral, who distributed condoms at Dangwa Flower Market last year during Valentine’s Day.
Eager to strike back at the bishops who had been holding back the passage of the RH bill, Cabral found a bogeyman last year out of the increase in HIV cases to press for safe sex. Insisting that she was within her jurisdiction as a state health official, she distributed condoms near UST on Valentine’s Day. In doing so, she merely showed the arrogance of the state because Valentine’s is a Catholic feast. Apparently, she had thought February 14 was Motel Day.
Those who cry separation of church and state whenever the bishops and the clergy criticize the RH bill should learn from Cabral’s case. The constitutional provision is really a re-expression of the republican dictum, “non-establishment of religion”; thus, separation of church and state is really a prohibition against the state, not against the church. Cabral’s case shows that it is often the state that transgresses on the church. And whatever the alleged meddling of the church on state affairs is, it’s merely one that is suasive, unlike that by the state which, because of its police and taxing powers, is coercive. For example, where did the condoms that Cabral distributed in Dangwa come from? Didn’t they come from the money of ordinary people who were taxed by the state into supporting such an unsavoury stunt as condom distribution during a religious feast which is supposed to enshrine human love, not animal lust?
Meanwhile, the blasphemous stunt of Cabral last year was restaged on Valentine’s this year by the Akbayan party-list group at the Nepa Q Mart in Quezon City. Its youth arm, Akbayan Youth, is the same group that criticized UST Theology professor Aguedo Florence Jalin for giving incentives to students who would post criticisms on the Akbayan stunt and the RH bill on Akbayan’s Facebook fan page.
It is quite galling that a group that by and large receives international funding, some of them from groups that espouse “reproductive rights,” should take to task a Catholic educator who gives incentives to students doing a completely optional assignment to defend the pro-life stance of the Church against RH and safe-sex proponents. Considering too that the professor did not force his students to do the posting, even making it clear to those who support RH among his classes that they need not join the opposition to the measure, considering further that hardly anyone fails Theology (except those always absent) in UST, Akbayan doth protest too much. Hasn’t Akbayan heard of “academic freedom” and “intellectual honesty”? Jalin was teaching Social Issues of the Church and he had the perfect right, nay the responsibility, to tackle the RH bill and the threat it poses to things which the Church holds dear—the natural law, the dignity of the human person, and the sanctity of life. By urging his students to post their criticisms of RH and of Akbayan’s attack on religion through its distribution of condoms on Valentine’s, a religious feast, Jalin was merely asking them to stand up for what they believe in. To put their money where their mouth is. Which cannot be said of other educators, such as the Ateneo 14, who oppose Catholic teachings on birth control and flaunt their defiance despite teaching in Catholic schools: they put their money where their pocket is while completely chucking intellectual honesty.
Akbayan should be reminded that it is part of the administration coalition and technically, a part of government. Since it has representation in parliament and its people occupy key posts in the administration, it has no choice but to consider criticisms and opposing views. No one in power has the right to be onion-skinned.
Agony of Japan
No words can fully describe the magnitude and shock of what Japan suffered last March 11: the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and 30-foot-high wall of ocean that the undersea upheaval unleashed were never conceived even in the exacting calculations of the Japanese, probably the most disaster-prepared people on earth. The deadly combination of temblor and tsunami has left in its wake whole towns, industries and populations swept away from the map. Now, Japan is struggling to contain the damage of the disasters on its nuclear power plants. We pray that they will be successful in that regard.
The crisis is the worst that has happened to Japan since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War and the surrender that followed. Judging from that experience, the world knows that in due time, Japan will heal and recover. We know from the history of the Japanese people about their remarkable resilience and strength of spirit. We know that in the face of many calamities, the Japanese compose themselves with admirable dignity, honor, and optimism. We pray for—and expect that—Japan will heal and be back on its feet. In this terrible time of adversity, the Japanese should not forget that the world is with them in prayer and commiseration.
In hoc signo vinces: CBCP Monitor Editorial, Vol. 15 no. 6, March 14-27, 2011
WHILE a small band of Planned Parenthood (aka Reproductive Health) advocates were rallying in the Batasan, many pro-life activities and prayer meetings organized by Catholics all over the archipelago remained largely unnoticed by mainstream media, for one reason or the other. That was Tuesday, March 8, 2011—International Women’s Day the world over.
But the happening at the University of Santo Tomas the day after was just too big not to notice. Ash Wednesday, March 9—in just one Catholic university, 24,000 students, teachers and school personnel assembled to form a human cross that even the pro-RH media networks just had to cover. The 400-year-old UST was Ground Zero, and with a vision that pierced through the most sinister of clouds, blessed eyes from Heaven were watching.
The awesome Cross made of over 24,000 persons was meant to commemorate the beginning of the Lenten Season, but it was also meant to send a strong message against the passage of the planned parenthood-styled Reproductive Health Bill. Foreign paymasters and controllers of Reproductive Health
NGOs do not seem to grasp the sheer size of a sleeping prolife giant that is just beginning to awaken. For a while in the Philippines there might not be such a thing as a Catholic vote, but there is no doubt about the existence of a Catholic
Faith.
The parts of this compelling symbol of life are 99% young— the future of our homeland, the last country that has not formally succumbed to the culture of death.
Some have hastily predicted the arrival of a post-Christian era for the Philippines, but beyond the dark clouds hovering over a nation whose poor have been battered by foreign intervenors and our own fraudulent countrymen, we Filipinos swear yearly by the Nazarene and affirm by His cross that we shall rise up and face the challenges of life with resiliency and endurance.
And it is by this sign that the Faithful of the Philippines shall resist and conquer. Not only shall we survive; we shall flourish and we shall thrive!
Blogger's Note: Shoutout to Br. Mark Vertido for the photo and statement....
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Teenagers and Abortion: A Blog Post by Celine Laroza (with Reactions)
This blog has to credit Ms. Celine Laroza, one of my fellow members in 100% Katolikong Pinoy for this post. [All my reactions will be in this form.] To those who wanted to see the original post, visit her blog here.
Being a teenager is like being a scientist. You’re always “in” to experiments and you discover new things. It’s the time of our lives where curiosity strikes the most. [Indeed, teenagers are very experimental....] Suppose your in front of a machine where attached on it is a tiny switch. Of course, you have no idea what could happen if ever you do turn that switch on, and because of too much curiosity, your hands are itching and you couldn’t help yourself but to turn it on. [I remembered a cartoon character with a line like this: "Oooooo.... What does this button do?"] When we speak of teenage, the concept of having relationships will never be erased. [You bet, Sis Celine...you bet!] From textmates to friends, then you become closer and closer to each other, and next thing you know, you’re already celebrating your one year anniversary! One problem of teenage relationships is that they get to the point where they think that their relationship is getting “cold”, and the solution, sex – which probably results to teenage pregnancy. And when they realize that they can’t handle it, they have this “prepared and ready solution” – ABORTION. Abortion for me is never an answer when it comes to pregnancy as an “accident” because you’ll be the “Neighborhood’s most talk about” princess and it is against the laws of God. [Even if we put it in a secular view, abortion really isn't healthy.]
They say that abortion is an easy way if you want to get rid of that small “accident” of yours, but I say it’s not. [Some may say that a fetus is not a baby, but a mere clot of blood. I say they're insane.] Not only is your body at stake after having all the “unsupported” medications you’ve undergone, but also your reputation and name is on bad shape. Every time you go outside, you’ll see people looking at you, and you can hear how they whisper to each other. Even though you can’t clearly hear what they are talking about, you know inside of you that its your big tummy being discussed, and the worst part of it, no matter how many times you say that you never regretted being pregnant, that “not so good” reputation of yours will remain forever. [Ergo, physical, psychological, mental, emotional, and social disorder.] Well, what do you expect anyway? Teenagers are supposed to be at school worrying about their quizzes and research papers, and not at home worrying about where to get money to buy their baby’s milk and diapers. [Every teenage girl who will read this must remember that there is an appropriate time for the latter statement.]
“Thou shall not kill.” This commandment of God tells us that we, His creatures, have the right to live and experience Earth. Every human creature has their chances of stepping in on God’s holy grounds. Haven’t you ever think how sad it would be if the child on your womb died because of abortion as your decision? [You're like committing murder on an innocent person, actually.] You are killing an innocent child’s chances of having the opportunity to experience how great it is to be on God’s given Earth. You made the biggest mistake of your life and you just had yourself a ticket to the opposite path of heaven.
Abortion is never an answer. We should keep in mind that everybody deserves to see God’s given world. Admit it; you wouldn’t like it too if you were the child that is about to be aborted. If you’re not ready to enter the real world, then stop and start thinking. Think about your parents. You have to admit that it is because of them that’s why you are who you are right now, and never did they taught about aborting you. Abortion is not a solution, but rather the key to enter a miserable life.[Very well said.... Need I say more?]
Blogger's Note:
Aside from the brief intro, Celine Laroza is also studying at De La Salle University-Dasmariñas. She is maintaining a blog of her own, and is actively participating in KP's posts.
And to the boys, I'll have my version of this; so watch out....
Being a teenager is like being a scientist. You’re always “in” to experiments and you discover new things. It’s the time of our lives where curiosity strikes the most. [Indeed, teenagers are very experimental....] Suppose your in front of a machine where attached on it is a tiny switch. Of course, you have no idea what could happen if ever you do turn that switch on, and because of too much curiosity, your hands are itching and you couldn’t help yourself but to turn it on. [I remembered a cartoon character with a line like this: "Oooooo.... What does this button do?"] When we speak of teenage, the concept of having relationships will never be erased. [You bet, Sis Celine...you bet!] From textmates to friends, then you become closer and closer to each other, and next thing you know, you’re already celebrating your one year anniversary! One problem of teenage relationships is that they get to the point where they think that their relationship is getting “cold”, and the solution, sex – which probably results to teenage pregnancy. And when they realize that they can’t handle it, they have this “prepared and ready solution” – ABORTION. Abortion for me is never an answer when it comes to pregnancy as an “accident” because you’ll be the “Neighborhood’s most talk about” princess and it is against the laws of God. [Even if we put it in a secular view, abortion really isn't healthy.]
They say that abortion is an easy way if you want to get rid of that small “accident” of yours, but I say it’s not. [Some may say that a fetus is not a baby, but a mere clot of blood. I say they're insane.] Not only is your body at stake after having all the “unsupported” medications you’ve undergone, but also your reputation and name is on bad shape. Every time you go outside, you’ll see people looking at you, and you can hear how they whisper to each other. Even though you can’t clearly hear what they are talking about, you know inside of you that its your big tummy being discussed, and the worst part of it, no matter how many times you say that you never regretted being pregnant, that “not so good” reputation of yours will remain forever. [Ergo, physical, psychological, mental, emotional, and social disorder.] Well, what do you expect anyway? Teenagers are supposed to be at school worrying about their quizzes and research papers, and not at home worrying about where to get money to buy their baby’s milk and diapers. [Every teenage girl who will read this must remember that there is an appropriate time for the latter statement.]
“Thou shall not kill.” This commandment of God tells us that we, His creatures, have the right to live and experience Earth. Every human creature has their chances of stepping in on God’s holy grounds. Haven’t you ever think how sad it would be if the child on your womb died because of abortion as your decision? [You're like committing murder on an innocent person, actually.] You are killing an innocent child’s chances of having the opportunity to experience how great it is to be on God’s given Earth. You made the biggest mistake of your life and you just had yourself a ticket to the opposite path of heaven.
Abortion is never an answer. We should keep in mind that everybody deserves to see God’s given world. Admit it; you wouldn’t like it too if you were the child that is about to be aborted. If you’re not ready to enter the real world, then stop and start thinking. Think about your parents. You have to admit that it is because of them that’s why you are who you are right now, and never did they taught about aborting you. Abortion is not a solution, but rather the key to enter a miserable life.[Very well said.... Need I say more?]
Blogger's Note:
Aside from the brief intro, Celine Laroza is also studying at De La Salle University-Dasmariñas. She is maintaining a blog of her own, and is actively participating in KP's posts.
And to the boys, I'll have my version of this; so watch out....
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Not Just for the Record...
Everybody knows Ash Wednesday.... Yeah, the start of the Lenten Season. But here in Manila, specifically in a 21.5 hectare patch of land called the University of Santo Tomas, it's more than having small ash crosses on every Thomasian's forehead. Let the pictures do the talking....
And check out other pics from a Thomasian Tumblr page.
You could also check out Fr. Nilo Lardizabal, O.P.'s Facebook album, where the last photo is credited.
You could also check out Fr. Nilo Lardizabal, O.P.'s Facebook album, where the last photo is credited.
The event started by around 2:30 in the afternoon, where the students started to enter the open field and started to take the shape of the Cross. When the outline was completed, Thomasians pitched in and filled the insides. From the air and top floors, it was way better than the QRosary even if it didn't have a dry run due to the bad weather. When the formation was complete, Rev. Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P., Vice-Rector for Religious Affairs, led the 15-minute prayer highlighted by the Oratio Imperata for the Respect of All Human Life, the tolling of the bells in front of the UST Chapel, and the UST Hymn. After the dispersion of the participants, the Ash Wednesday Mass was celebrated by the University's Rector, Rev. Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, O.P., among other Dominican Fathers.
Well, I guess Guinness would be satisfied of this after a minor issue about the Human Rosary. Nevertheless, God would be glorified by this feat. This only means that UST remains loyal to Christ (the Cross) and His Church (the Dominican Cross, with the Dominican Order as one of the leading Catholic religious orders). Many may say that this is an absolute waste of time. Who cares? They won't even dare to counter this sign.... As it is said: In hoc Signo vinces--In this Sign, thou shalt triumph.
P.S.: Also check out a report published by The V about this....
P.S.: Also check out a report published by The V about this....
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