On Getting “Connected”

Here’s last Sunday’s sermon I heard from a priest-celebrant at the Greenbelt Chapel in Makati that is worth sharing. He said that in today’s cyberage, everyone is so “connected” by phones, the computer, Facebook etc. He gave the example of how we become so distressed or feel incomplete if we suddenly discover that our cellphone is lost or nowhere to be found. Like “Jesus being the vine and we, the branches”, so too we can consider God as the network and we the faithful as the devices. When the “network” is lost or gone, we all become disconnected. Even the most expensive phone or most modern computer is less useful if it is not connected to a network.

Let God be the network so we always get “connected” to one another!

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FLIGHT NOT FIGHT—It’s been a week since Las Vegas but Pacman’s defeat to “weather weather” Floyd continues to haunt all disbelieving Pinoys with the elusive winner earning the title “Runner” and “Hugger”. And the fight is now dubbed the FLIGHT—not fight—of the CENTURY.

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KAINGIN—I read a recent article at the Philippine Daily Inquirer authored by a group of experts saying that it is wrong to always refer to “kaingin” or the practice of “slash and burn” usually done by our natives or lumads as the culprit in the deforestation of our forests. There is such a thing as “sustainable or renewable kaingin” that provides indigenous ways of livelihood and sustenance. Our bald forests today were caused principally by big-time loggers. Let’s all stop blaming “kaingin” and our lumads.

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ANGRY MAMA—I think the mother of MJ Veloso went out of bounds when she vent her pent-up ire on the President for the sad fate of her daughter and did not even acknowledge the effort done by the President to save her from the firing squad. Instead of appreciating the efforts of everyone, including President Aquino, she instead went ballistic. Let’s hope she realizes the mistake, given that the effort to save her daughter is still temporary and a long way from total relief.

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PADRE PIO—We visited the shrine of Saint Padre Pio off C-5 highway in Quezon City near Eastwood a few days ago. The late Italian Cappucin priest, known for being a “stigmata” or one who was found having the wounds of crucified Jesus Christ is known for his healing powers of the sick. One gets that soothing “therapeutic feeling” just visiting and praying in the quiet shrine in the middle of the hubbub of the metropolis.