Halo-halong ewan....

A lot of things (and I mean A LOT) happened during the interval between this post and my previous one.

-the Liturgy discrepancy...
-the earthquake in Visayas...
-the upcoming presidential elections in the United States...
-Pro-life month...
-the Chief Justice Corona Impeachment saga...
-tons of schoolwork and extra-curriculars...
-and those I have no freakin' idea of.

Anyway, this post just shows how bored I am, and how I waste my time in a mandatory seminar. What a way of wasting time, eh.

Sorry for the sarcasm.

I Blogged Anyway….: The Second Anniversary Post

Well, I would be out in the Second Anniversary of this blog. PRELIMS. 


But I would be leaving you with this thought:

Two years have now passed since I started blogging. I knew that it is not my flagship media online, since there would be other things that I may be involved in the future.

And I was right. I was appointed Admin at 100% KATOLIKONG PINOY! last August, and since then, this blog took a back seat when it comes to airing my sentiments. But this blog is very important since this is where I air my personal sentiments on what is going on with the Catholic Church, as well as what I observe in Philippine Media and Politics.
 

I blogged anyway.

There are things that really transpire in this little sandbox of scribbles and thoughts. May mga pagkakataon na feeling ko, nilalangaw 'tong blog na 'to kaya mga reposts na lang ang nagagawa ko. But there are really a number of original stuff from Yours Truly that really needs to be published.

I blogged anyway.

There are really times that I am frustrated to use my fingers and pick up a pen and paper to make drafts of my written works; or put them into a keyboard and just type with no or little revisions. It turns out that they're beautiful the way they are.

I blogged anyway.

I have beaten my previous number of posts last 2010 by more than a half. And just because of this, I would try to beat that record again this year; because no matter how busy I would be this year, if there is something worth blogging…

I blog it anyway.

The 2011 Year-ender Blogpost

Okay....

I wanna keep it short and simple before we start 2012 with a bang. It would be a prayer:

First of all, I thank the Lord for 2011. The Pro-life victory, the Quadricentennial Year of UST, and everything that happened this year. We return to you, O Lord, the glory.

Second, I hope that Your countenance would be felt still in the new year. May the motherly care of the Blessed Virgin be felt on us.

And finally, whatever I may see as an opportunity to serve You, may I do it for You.

This I ask through Christ, Our King and Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Mother and all the Angels and Saints.

AMEN!


And as I did last year, here's the best of 2011:

Life vs. Death

Catholicism, a Balance of Heart and Mind

Umaasa

the March 25 Pro-Life rally

UST's Human Cross

The Tax Collector at the Temple

Prophecy or Mass Panic?

O Birheng Kalinis-linisan

Christ in the Hands of His Priest

Father's Day Letter para kay Rizal

A Leningrad in the Making

Humanae Vitae Week

The Grassroots Project

Theotokos

The Battle for Existence Continues

My Youth

St. Nicholas a.k.a. Santa Claus

A Nativity Hymn

A Reflection on St. John

A Personal Reflection on Saint John the Beloved

My name is Ian, and as I searched for what my name means, I discovered that it was a Scottish variant of the name John, and parallel to the Russian "Ivan", the Irish "Sean", and the Greek "Ioannis". That means, if my name (Ian Joseph) is Latinized, it would be Ioannes Iosephus (correct me if I'm wrong); and in Spanish, strictly speaking, Juan Jose.

Anyway, aside from that, I could really relate to the name, since it is actually Biblical, though the foreign variation. It actually means "God is gracious" (and its cool because we Catholics believe that it is grace that moves us to something). I said that it is Biblical because there were two characters with that name and are related to Christ: one was His Forerunner and relative (John the Baptist); the other His Apostle and an evangelist (John the Beloved). I'm more close to that of the latter.

Saint John was an ordinary fisherman's boy prior to the call of Jesus, where he, alongside his brother James and their neighbors Peter and Andrew, were called to become "fishers of men". John was actually reckoned as the youngest of the Twelve, basically in his teens or early twenties. It was him who sat beside Jesus at the Last Supper, an event where the Apostles were ordained priests. It was him who, in behalf of the Church, stood at the foot of the cross and in his care the Lord entrusted His Mother--to become our Mother too. It was him who ran ahead of Peter yet entered after him at the tomb where Jesus lied as a corpse, to discover that it was empty and that He is risen. It was him who recognized the Lord when seven of the Apostles gone fishing. He is sometimes called "the Theologian" for his outstanding writings--the Three Epistles, the Book of Revelation, and the Gospel attributed to him in which it starts as "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." (1:1;14) These writings in the Scriptures are reserved for Christmas and Easter, especially the Gospel, which was the undoing of the sinful acts in the Book of Genesis.

I ponder on the fact that he was the youngest of Christ's inner circle of followers--the first bishops. For my part, I happen to be the youngest in organizations I'm affiliated to outside the four walls of UST: the youngest admin of 100% KATOLIKONG PINOY!, one of the youngest members of Filipinos for Life, one of the youngest aspiring apologists, and so on. In the spirituality of Saint John's youthful status in the Twelve, I see myself as a manifestation that his namesakes would be young, yet inspired by Divine Grace to be what he wants to be for God's glory.

Ranting Bloggers

I admit, I rant whenever I write a blog. Remember Alter Ego? I was told by a friend of mine to watch what I'm writing. He said, though it's good, some people would be offended that they'll run after my neck. But anyway, that's not the point.

The point is when you rant, you're more egoistic than you could ever imagine. Of course it is an opinion, a violent reaction, perhaps. But sometimes, there are some bloggers out there who, for the love of God, the sanctity of life, the Church, Tradition, and of the Pope, will scrutinize EVERY SINGLE MOVE the local Churches do (and I mean, the Dioceses and Archdioceses here in the Philippines as well as other Ecclesial hotspots over the world).

As a fellow ranter, here's my unsolicited advice:

I once was told by a media practitioner about watching TV: "If you don't like what you see, change the channel." Now, if you don't want the shepherding style of a Bishop, transfer to another diocese. If you don't see the beauty of the Church here in the Philippines, why not reside in Rome? I guess you'll realize how beautiful our faith is through its structures. Or better yet, tell the Bishops what YOU feel before leaving. Tell them everything you know until they understand what you mean.

The REAL Santa Claus worships the Christ Child

Who says Santa Claus is the man of the Christmas season?

JESUS IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE MAN OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!

The Santa you see on TV, and virtually everywhere, is just the secular impostor.

He's the REAL Santa Claus: Saint Nicholas of Myra. Even he pronounces that Christ must be the Center of the Season.

And take note: he was the one who beat the hell out of Arius when he can't take what the heretic was saying.

hahahaha

Well, according to a story, when Arius was arguing that Jesus Christ was not God (which Manalists and other anti-Catholic sects follow unkowingly), Saint Nicholas rose up and smacked Arius in the face. Because of this, he was stripped off of his episcopal authority, confiscating his copy of the Gospels and the omophor or pallium, and was detained.

While inside the cell, Jesus and Mary appeared to him and asked him why the saint was in prison. Bishop Nicholas replied, "Because I love you, my Lord and my God." Christ gave him a new copy of the Gospels and the Blessed Mother vested him again with the omophor, bringing back his authority as bishop.

Years later, Dutch people transformed the traditional Saint Nicholas into Santa Claus, and since then, became a popular culture figure every Christmas, which secularists copied and made impostors.

I find it ironic though that secular Santa impostors have the nerve of shouting "Ho ho ho! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I guess, they should realize that they're saying OUR line.

But imagine, Santa Claus isn't just making a list of who's naughty or nice, he's also beating the hell out of anyone who disregards the Reason for the season, Jesus Christ, the Child in the manger of Bethlehem two thousand years ago. So you better watch your theological thinking and prioritizing this Christmas, or you'll get a knuckle sandwich from Ol' Saint Nick aside from coal while shouting "HO HO HO!".

Can he also be the Patron of boxers? hahahahaha

Anyway, here's what Sir Ishmael Ahab and Fr. Jojo Zerrudo have to say.

My Youth: The Transition Blog Post

This would be the last day this blog would be called "Media, Society, and God". Tomorrow, it will have a new name, and I hope a new format would be expected here. But before I bid goodbye to the old title, here's what I can say on the recently-concluded National Youth Day, and also a reflection on it.

My Youth: The Final Post as Media, Society, and God

Being young is, traditionally, being underestimated or inexperienced by most of your older peers, and even by your own age bracket. I feel this. All of the time.

Ever since I failed to become an honor student, teachers and fellow students never expected something out of me other than graduating High School. In college, it’s the same thing, but I felt that it was already jaded too much that I said to myself “Nah. A lot of people happened to be in the position I am in, so why should I worry too much?”

But there was a significant change in my life.

Joining the two most practical organizations in UST isn’t just actually mere choice of org or what; I initially based myself on what will I learn from them, and eventually, how I would face the world with all that I have. 

I admit: I’m an attention-hungry person.

But it all changed when I realized “Why should I grab the attention of others than being you? Why should I even care about it?”

Until I realized there’s a lot of things I can excel, maybe not in academics, though I should keep it top priority, and I could master it little by little. I found about Katolikong Pinoy, and I became active ever since.

But the inferiority complex remains, being the youngest of its five active Administrators. And with a background in media, since I’m a Communication Arts student, I feel that they’re expecting me to be more than just a Facebook admin, which a lot of people are taking for granted. Besides, some pages on Facebook are just nonsense.

Anyway, what I’m trying to tell you is that I feel blessed that I covered the final event of National Youth Day for an episode on our YouTube program “TSEKPoint”, currently on post-production. Being one of the admins is one great task. I thought most of our core members are available on that day; it turns out, only me and my fellow admin, Kuya Ryan Rayos, were there—the latter as part of the documentation staff on one of the festival sites on the recently concluded event, making me, technically, representing KP. There were also some friends whom I happened to meet at the Cuneta Astrodome: Kuya Mark Vertido, one of KP’s former admins who now works on the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth; and Paolo Cobangbang, O.P. from the Rosarian Youth Movement, the youth arm of the Company of St. Dominic in which I long to become part of.

I brought with me the Philippine flag which became the rally point of our members on that Pro-Life rally last March 25, expecting that some of them would come and join in the celebration. But the opposite happened. Actually, one of our fellow members tried to come, but he’s from Bulacan, so he told me he can’t make it, and I understood why.

Being alone out there was actually scary. Good thing I noticed Brother Paolo during the Mass before the event, especially in Communion where he kneeled in front of a priest in order to receive the Body of Christ. After the Mass, the areas near the delegates were opened for the non-delegates to buy food. I was one of those who took the opportunity to get in and interact with the delegates, as well as rendezvousing with Kuya Ryan and Kuya Mark. One of the people in the ECY, Ate Nirva, asked me “Papaano ka nakapasok dito?” taking into consideration that non-delegates are hands-off in the area where the stage is realistic, if you know what I mean. I answered her, “Ewan ko nga po eh! I found the gates open and hindi naman po ako nasita ng mga taga-security.” She replied: “You are meant to be here!”

Well, I was shocked when I heard it, since I never showed up in ECY’s prep and planning—actually, only once—due to my ma-trabahong subjects, as well as my other duties as an organization officer, a student, an admin of a more-than-125,000-likes-strong Facebook page, and as a son. The night went well for me though the setbacks. And besides, it does not matter. I can still catch up with the next NYD in Visayas, wishful thinking that I can finance my trip there. I’m still considered young until I reach 30. My mom told me “Bata ka pa. Marami ka pang opportunities para maging involved.” And I guess she was right all along. But I’m never too young to do extraordinary things out of ordinary circumstances.

This leads me to the last line of the chorus of NYD’s theme song this year: “We are never too young to come as one. We can make a stand!” For the record, I am one of the youngest affiliates in Filipinos for Life, a pro-life group behind the Facebook page “I Oppose the RH Bill”, aside from being the youngest KP Admin. I’m even invited to be part of the Manila South core group of Defensores Fidei Foundation, a non-profit apologetics organization in which my apologist idols, Fr. Abe Arganiosa and Atty. Marwil Llasos, O.P., are part of.

Too many expectations. Too many opportunities. I cannot turn them down, but since I’m still a college student, the best thing that I can consider is to postpone their offers if and when it will still be available in the near future. I’m still young. I should be making the most out of my youth without compromising my duties and interests, because, as they say: “minsan lang maging bata”.

My Christmas Wishlist

Okay, so it's still very far from Christmas (and I really think you're hoping it would come soon). But I have a lot of things to consider; and yes, one of them is my wishlist.

So if you don't mind, let me have my wishlist here. Maybe my Top Three.

-A PBS (PHL Bible Society) Tagalog-English Diglot Bible (with the Tagalog translation by Msgr. Abirol, basically the best translation!)
price: P715

 Yep. That one. But I prefer a black cover than a blue one here.

Well, this IS a must for me. I really need a reliable Tagalog translation of the Scriptures. Literary passages. I consider this as the greatest gem of my library at a considerably affordable cost. hahahaha


-An altar server's BLACK cassock (with surplice, of course)
price: about P2,000 to P4,500

This one.

I know this is wishful thinking as an altar server, a freelance one to be specific. But hey, you ain't a knight of the altar without it. It's like you're fighting a horde of demons when you wear them.



 -And finally, a portable CB radio with an FM radio feature
price: P3,000-4,000 (x2 to accommodate the other side = P6,000-8,000)

Not really this model, but if I found out that it has an FM player feature to kill the boredom, I'm wishing for it! 

So you would be wondering why the hell am I considering this one of my top three items in my wishlist: 

Since my stint in signal communications, I had this hobby of monitoring things, especially events concerning the community, and even coordination with religious events in our area. Again, wishful thinking. For now, this piece of technology would cost my limb, and it may come true (I hope it will) three to four Christmases from now.

But this wishlist isn't really the primary thing I have to consider. Even if it already is the 24th of December. Because the truth is these things are but outward things I can live without (of course with the exception of the first item). And even if I may afford it, it would have the right time. 

For now, let me break the extended Christmas spirit to focus on the memory of our deceased brothers since November is a week from now. 

Thanks for reading, anyway.