One step out of the comfort zone.

01:54PM

Today, I was oriented about my job - Publication Staff for a scientific journal. It doesn't seem too tough, although the task of constantly asking people to submit materials for the paper is not very much my forte. Aside from that, I have to do other activities in the office as well, such as managing our website, writing letters and minutes of meetings, and a little accounting too (numbers! aaaaaah!).

Whew. I hope I can do all these things. Of course. there is (and has always been) a faint voice in me that says I can't. The tasks, in a way, terrify me. But knowing myself, this has always been my pattern whenever I'm faced with something unfamiliar. And, unlike the past, coward me, I won't let these thoughts turn me down.

New things alienate me. No, they terrify me. Being outside my comfort zone is, well, uncomfortable. But I could never run away from change - it is constant, and sooner or later I'm gonna have to deal with it, no matter how much I resist. All I have to do is accept and embrace it. Because if I don't, will I ever grow?

Finally, an encouraging quote from my favorite Catholic apologist: "Only when we cease to rely on our own strength can we discover that God's strength is always with us." - Scott Hahn

Pre-birthday jitters. Just kidding, I have no jitters.

12/13/12 11:30pm

Thirty minutes from now, I am turning 22.

This year, I don't want to make my birthday a big deal. I have plans to go out - file a police clearance, photocopy some papers, jog for at least an hour, and have a little date with the Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If possible, I might attend a choral concert before the day ends.

I might even prefer quiet celebrations than loud surprise parties at this point; I think I may have outgrown these practices. Or maybe I'm just not in the mood. Of course, the surprises are sweet and thoughtful, but they're not a necessity. No cake will be fine, no spaghetti will be fine, no fancy gifts will be fine. In fact, I anticipate it - a quiet birthday for a wimpy kid who grew a year older and gained a few pounds.

But nonetheless, I couldn't thank enough the very sweet people who remember my birthday and make an effort to greet. Of course, those who prepare special stuff for me are the most appreciated (those would be my family, my best friends, my lisyu family and the good souls who pray for me).

My wish? Well... Earlier this week, God already granted it. so I guess there's nothing else to do but to thank Him.

I thank the Lord for 22 years of unfailing love. 

I thank Him for giving me blessings, despite knowing how ungrateful I have been.

I thank Him for not giving up on me, though I said many times this year "Ayoko na po. Di ko na kaya." (Turned out I was just freakishly scared).

I thank Him for taking this tiny speck of dust in the universe called Mich, and breathing life into it. I thank Him for loving this girl, so excessively that He willed to die for her.

I thank Him for Mama, my spiritual mother who continues to lead me to the path to her Son.

I couldn't thank Him enough, that if I were to offer all the days of my life and repeat my life to offer it to Him all over again, it still wouldn't be enough.

And my only wish is for Him to use my life to glorify Him.

Twenty two years. And still, God's love never waivered.

Miserere.

If the desert is dry and sad
And the heat is just too deadly
I look up for the oasis
That comforts the weak and thirsty.

But what I find is endless sand
And in my hand, an empty cup
The spring is now nowhere to find
Maybe somehow, it just dried up.

Where on earth is this wondrous spring
That has always restored my zeal?
Where else can I find the spirit
In life that the spring made me feel?

Maybe the spring did not exist
Or maybe I am just too blind
Is this beautiful spring over
Or am I just too tired to find?

Why meddling is important (and my real stand on the RH Bill).

The Church openly opposes RH Bill due to its teaching about the unitive and procreative role of sex in marriage. For Catholics, the conjugal act is a sacred act that it couldn't mean anything less than "procreation and union" (these two cannot be separated; sex would unite the two people and at the same time be open to a life that may form). RH Bill promotes contraceptives, a device that would split union apart from procreation (meaning, the purpose of the conjugal act would be only to unite but not to procreate). Contraceptives deny openness to life, as it blocks a life that is supposed to be formed by the conjugal act. It destroys God's original plan of the sacredness of sex.

One might argue that the Church keeps on infringing this belief on contraception when everyone may choose to just refuse to accept the contraceptives the government will fund.

But consider this scenario: I am a Catholic employer. RH Bill mandates me to provide reproductive health services to my employees, and that includes providing them contraceptives. As a faithful Catholic, I have a moral obligation to keep others away from sin, so I do not want to give away contraceptives as I find them immoral. If I give my employees contraceptives, I actually invite them to sin. However, RH Bill mandates me to do this; or else, I will be sued as violating the RH Bill. Isn't that infringement of my religious freedom? How do I exercise my rights as a Catholic here? Do I choose to break the law of the state or the law of the God I believe in?

Another scenario: I am a teacher opposed to contraceptives. I am teaching sex education to students, so I say "Class, do not engage in sex unless you're married... But if you really can't resist, here are the contraceptives you may choose from." I do not want to teach contraceptives to children because I believe it is my moral obligation to not teach them that. However, RH Bill mandates me to teach about it, no matter how my conscience objects. If I don't follow this, I could get arrested. Where is freedom of choice here?

It is for this reason that the bill is coercive; while it claims to be "pro-choice", it respects no religion and no standard of morality whatsoever. It may seem that the Church is forcing her beliefs on people regarding the immorality of RH Bill. But isn't it the other way around - the bill forcing its godless ways down our throats?

Another issue about the Law that the Church so passionately fights against is its leaning towards abortion. You might ask: how will the RH Bill lead to abortion? That horrible act is directly prohibited by the very same bill. I couldn't decipher it too before, until it has been pointed out to me.

Contraception varies from simple bought-over-the-counter condoms to complicated surgical IUDs and vasectomies. Much of these contraceptives are taken after the sexual act is done, such as morning-after pills and IUDs. The sperm and egg might have been united already (so life has already begun), but then blocked by the contraceptive. That, clearly, is abortion.

The Church is firm on her belief that all life is sacred, and even the little zygote that has been formed in the womb is sacred, regardless of its consciousness (a pro-RH Bill congressman argued otherwise). But the Church will never change her stand that life is sacred from the very moment of conception. For her, God breathes life to a human being the very moment it is conceived in the womb. Even if the zygote is not yet attached to the uterus, but once the sperm and egg has united, life has already begun (which other people argue otherwise); thus, the life, no matter how frail its state is, must be taken care of. In fact, all the more it must be taken care of.

In politics and other similar affairs, the Church (usually, but not always) doesn't have a say. However, if the sacredness of life itself is getting compromised, you can't expect the Church to just shut up. Issues regarding abortion and contraception are the ones that the Church will fight against until her very last breath. The Church will protect her people - those who are already born and those who are not yet. What an irresponsible Church it would have been otherwise! This is the reason that the clergy meddle so furiously and tactfully with RH Bill in the country.

These issues, among others, are the basis of Catholics in rejecting the RH Bill. The Church rejects it for other reasons, too (political, economical, etc.) but their statements are not infallible regarding these matters. In matters of politics, governance and other non-religious aspects, you are not supposed to regard the Church as infallible. However, in matters of faith and morality, the teachings of the Church are infallible.

The Church's teaching on the sacredness of sex is infallible. Her teaching on the immorality of abortion is infallible. Using sex apart from God's plan was, is and always will be a sin. Abortion was, is and always will be a sin. This is because Truth was, is, and always will be truth. When God says abortion is evil, there will be no time when it can be good. When He says contraception is contrary to His will, contraception was, is, and always will be evil, even if everybody else outside the Church believe otherwise.

It is for these reasons that I, together with the Catholic Church, reject this horrifying bill. I stand with the Catholic Church, the Bride of Christ, my religion and my spiritual family, whom I believe cannot err in matters of faith and morals. I firmly believe that she had been guided by Christ so as to assist me in these issues, and I entrust moral judgments, especially modern issues, in the Church's God-given charism of infallible discernment. I believe that Christ did not leave His flock lost and helpless; thus, He left us with a community, the Church, in whom He will be ever present and working. I stand with the Catholic Church. I REJECT RH BILL.


(A large chunk of the explanations here was taken from seminars in St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, Los Banos; and Defensores Fidei Foundation apologetics classes. I thank them so much for shedding light on the issue.)