Aren’t All Christians ‘Saints’? (Series LXXXIX)

The Biblical Greek and Hebrew words sometimes translated as “saints” mean literally “holy ones” (Acts 9:13) or “faithful ones” (1 Sm 2:9). Typically, these are general terms for God’s people, who have a share in his holiness and are striving to become more holy (see Heb 12:10; 2 Cor 7:1). The apostle Paul was especially fond of addressing his letters to “all the holy ones” in the churches (2 Cor 1:1).

All faithful Christians, then, are indeed “saints” in this sense. In fact, the Catholic Church teaches that the vocation to holiness is universal; God speaks to all believers when he says. “Be holy because I [am] holy” (see 1 Pt 1:14-16).

Nevertheless, the Greek term for “saints” or “holy ones” appears in some scriptural passages to have a narrower sense. Mark’s gospel refers to the “saints” who rose from the dead after Christ’s resurrection (see Mt 27:52), faithful departed being taken by Christ to heaven. St. Paul speaks of the “holy ones” who accompany Christ from heaven when he returns to earth (see 1 Thes 3:13). St. John uses the same term to refer to the “holy ones” who are now in heaven praying to God (see Rv 5:8, 8:3).

It is in this latter, narrower, sense that the Catholic Church honors certain departed Christians with the formal title “saint.” This title indicates the Church’s confidence that the individual died in friendship with God and is now in heaven with him (see “What Does the Church Teach About Heaven?”).

Why is it important for the Church to designate certain Christians this way? “Saint” is actually much more than a title of honor. Because the Church is confident that these “holy ones” are now in haven, Catholics are urged not only to venerate them, but also to imitate their holiness and ask for their intercession (see “Why Do Catholics Pray to Saints and Angels?”).

How does the Church gain the confidence that a particular person is in heaven? Various kinds of evidence are sought in the process of “canonization” (formal recognition of sainthood): reliable testimony to the person’s extraordinary holiness, evidence that the person’s life has drawn others closer to God, and documented miracles occurring after the person’s intercession has been invoked (see also “Hasn’t Science Disproved Miracles?”).

RELATED SCRIPTURE — Texts cited: 1 Sm 2:9; Mt 27:52; Acts 9:13; 2 Cor 1:1; 7:1; 1 Thes 3:13; Heb 12:`10; 1 Pt 1:14-16; Rv 5:8; 8:3. General: Lv 11:44; 19:2; Dt 33:3; Ps 89:6; Lk 1:75; Rom 1:7; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH — 61; 823-829; 867; 946-962; 1161; 1474-1479; 2030; 2683; 2692.

DESTINASYON

Ni: L.V.L.

Umiikot ang mundo….Tumatakbo ang panahon.
At tila parang nag papa - iwan ka nang kusa.
Naglalakbay na ang lahat nang iyong kabalalay…
Patuloy sa kani - kaniyang destinasyon…

Tinatahak ang landasing walang nakakabatid kung saan tutungo.
Pero nagpapatuloy na sila….
Kahit na di nila batid ang patutunguhan…
Naglalakbay sila…. Kahit walang kasiguraduhan.

Pero ikaw….Di ko inakalang andyan ka pa rin….
Nananatili sa iyong kinatatayuan….
Masaya ka ba sa iyong mundong ginagalawan?
Patuloy mo bang itatanggi sa akin na may malalim kang iniisip…

Na may mga bagay na patuloy na bumabagabag sa iyo…
Na laging may kakulangan kang nararamdaman…
Na laging may mga bagay na akala mo ay alam mo, ngunit…
Takot ka lang na tanggapin…

Oo sige na... Tatanggapin ko na ang mga sinabi mo sa akin…
Na ayos ka lang…
Na alam mo ang ginagawa mo…
Na nasa plano na ang lahat…

Pero naisip mo rin ba di ka laging tama….
Na kabaliwan ang pakikipag usap mo sa iyong sariling gunita.
Tanggapin mo na ang realidad..
Magpatuloy ka na sa paglalakbay mo…

Tapusin mo na ang paglingon at pagsasaayos nang mga bagay….
Na napag lipasan na nang panahon…
Dahil alam mong walang patutunguhan ang ganon…
Pero patuloy mo pa ring ginagawa…

Dahil sa takot ka.Sa pagsisimula ulit...
At sa pagpapatuloy...Kaibigan, andito lang ako sa tuwina…
Nakaupo sa tabi mo….Tahimik….
Naghihintay na ngitian mo.
At sabihing, kailangan mo nang kausap…

Huwag kang matuwa sa iyong mumunting sulok
Itigil mo na ang mga bagay na ginagawa mo…
Na alam mong makakasira sa iyo…

Tapos na ang mga panahong iyon…
Nang mga luha…Nang mga huling halik….
Nang mga huling akap…
Nang pamamaalam…
Gunitain mo kung kailangan…
Ngunit wag kang malugmok

Kumilos ka…Magpatuloy sa iyong paglalakbay...
Patungo sa destinasyon…
Na di mo man alam ang kalalabasan...
Ang mahalaga'y nagpatuloy ka...

IWAS PUSOY !

Adopting Filipino children
Q. How does the Philippine Immigration deal with minors or persons under 18, who are brought to the Philippines by their parents in order to study or reside, or what kind of status are they given?
R. Even before Republic Act No. 9225 was enacted, Philippine Immigration authorities allow such minors of dual nationality, to file what is known as a Petition for Recognition. It is in reality, an administrative recognition of the dual nationality of the minor. The effect is that while in the Philippines, the minor is allowed the privileges of a Filipino citizen such as residence and enrollment in Philippine schools and is even allowed to travel using the foreign passport. This procedure allows the dual citizen-minor to reside and study in the Philippines without having to apply for resident or student visas, thus sparing them from the high costs and bureaucratic procedures associated with such visas. (More information about this and related matters would be in the section of immigration.)

Q. What are the ways under Philippine law of losing Philippine citizenship?
R. Philippine citizenship may be lost through any of the following acts:
1. By naturalization in a foreign country through express renunciation of Philippine citizenship.
2. By taking an oath of allegiance to support the constitution of a foreign country.
3. By enlisting and serving in the armed forces of a foreign country.
For the moment, the Supreme Court has not yet decided on a case that puts into test the implications of the above acts specially after the enactment of RA 9225 and whose benefits have been availed of by former natural born citizens of the Philippines. But previous Supreme Court decisions indicate the general rule, that an express renunciation of Philippine citizenship and allegiance to its Constitution and laws will mean loss of Philippine citizenship.

Q. How does a former natural born Filipino reacquire or retain Philippine citizenship under RA No. 9225?
R. Memorandum Circular No. AFF-04-01 of the Bureau of Immigration (the implementing agency of RA 9225) requires the following:
1. Applicant must file a Petition to under oath with the Commissioner of Immigration (if the applicant is in the Philippines) or with the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate (if outside of the country);
2. Attach to the Petition three (3) recent 2” x 2” photographs (front, left side, and right side views over a white background);

...To be continued

Santacruzan Ave Maria at Sagalas

Schizophrenia

(Continuation)
Mortality: In a study of over 168,000 Swedish citizens undergoing psychiatric treatment, schizophrenia was associated with an average life expectancy of approximately 80–85% of that of the general population. Women with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were found to have a slightly better life expectancy than that of men, and as a whole, a diagnosis of schizophrenia was associated with a better life expectancy than substance abuse, personality disorder, heart attack and stroke.[132] There is a high suicide rate associated with schizophrenia; a recent study showed that 30% of patients diagnosed with this condition had attempted suicide at least once during their lifetime.[133] [134]Another study suggested that 10% of persons with schizophrenia die by suicide.[135] Other identified factors include smoking, poor diet, little exercise and the negative health effects of psychiatric drugs.[6]

Violence: The relationship between violent acts and schizophrenia is a contentious topic. Current research indicates that the percentage of people with schizophrenia who commit violent acts is higher than the percentage of people without any disorder, but lower than is found for disorders such as alcoholism, and the difference is reduced or not found in same-neighbourhood comparisons when related factors are taken into account, notably sociodemographic variables and substance misuse.[136][137][138][139][140] Studies have indicated that 5% to 10% of those charged with murder in Western countries have a schizophrenia spectrum disorder.[141][142][143]

The occurrence of psychosis in schizophrenia has sometimes been linked to a higher risk of violent acts. Findings on the specific role of delusions or hallucinations have been inconsistent, but have focused on delusional jealousy, perception of threat and command hallucinations. It has been proposed that a certain type of individual with schizophrenia may be most likely to offend, characterized by a history of educational difficulties, low IQ, conduct disorder, early-onset substance misuse and offending prior to diagnosis.[141]

A consistent finding is that individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are often the victims of violent crime—at least 14 times more often than they are perpetrators.[144][145] Another consistent finding is a link to substance misuse, particularly alcohol,[146] among the minority who commit violent acts. Violence by or against individuals with schizophrenia typically occurs in the context of complex social interactions within a family setting,[147] and is also an issue in clinical services[148] and in the wider community.[149]

Screening and prevention: There are no reliable markers for the later development of schizophrenia although research is being conducted into how well a combination of genetic risk plus non-disabling psychosis-like experience predicts later diagnosis.[150] People who fulfil the 'ultra high-risk mental state' criteria, that include a family history of schizophrenia plus the presence of transient or self-limiting psychotic experiences, have a 20–40% chance of being diagnosed with the condition after one year.[151] The use of psychological treatments and medication has been found effective in reducing the chances of people who fulfill the 'high-risk' criteria from developing full-blown schizophrenia.[152] However, the treatment of people who may never develop schizophrenia is controversial, in light of the side-effects of antipsychotic medication; particularly with respect to the potentially disfiguring tardive dyskinesia and the rare but potentially lethal neuroleptic malignant syndrome.[153] The most widely used form of preventative health care for schizophrenia takes the form of public …

...To be continued

Salawikain (5)

FILIPINA

By: Ed J. Titular, 05.22.08; Chasan-ri, SK

Like flowers that bloom everywhere
She's a fighter of truth without fear
A soft spoken woman with integrity
And someone who upholds the value of morality.

Filipina, someone who is graceful and witty
A family oriented and an advocator of Christianity
Someone who adhere to the holy sacrament of matrimony
Filipina... a hero to her family and community.

Filipina, are you still there?
Do you still bear the fruits of true love and care?
Why you easily change?
Where is that Holy Rosary that you ought to bring everyday?
Filipina, you are known by your purity and virtue
A woman of honor and valor
A woman that most men of the world wants to be with forever
Filipina, don't lose the perfume of your essence...as Filipina.

Daan ng Pagkakaisa tungo sa Isang-Tatlo

Dakilang Kapistahan ng Banal ng Isantatlo:

Ang tanyag na Italyanong si Dante Alighieri, ang Divina Commedia, ay nagwawakas sa isang madamdaming pangitain ng Diyos. Sa katapusan ng kanyang matulaing paglalakabay sa daigdig ng Inferno, Purgatorio, at Paraiso, nasaksihan ni Dante ang pakikiisa ng sangnilikha sa pagkakaisa ng Banal ng Isantatlo. Ang pagkakaisang ito ng pag-ibig na namamalagi sa Diyos ay nagpapahayag sa atin ng isang katotohanan na hindi natin maitatanggi: na sa kaibuturan ng ating puso, ninanais din natin na makiisa o maging kabahagi ng pagkakaisang ito ng Banal na Isantatlo.

Sa pagbasang hango sa Aklat ng exodo, matatagpuan natin ang panalangin ni Moises sa Diyos na nagpakilala sa kanya at nagpalaya sa bayang Israel mula sa pagkaalipin: ‘Patawarin na ninyo kami at tanggapin bilang inyong bayan!” (34:9). Isang pagluhog ito sa Diyos na pagkaisahin ang Israel bilang isang bayan. Inilalatag ng Diyos ang kanyang kundisyon: Siya lamang ang kikilanin at sasambahin nilang Diyos.

Ang Diyos na nagpakilala din sa atin sa katauhan ng kanyang bugtong na Anak (monogenes) na si Hesukristo. Ibinigay sa atin ng Ama ang kanyang bugtong na Anak (bas. Jn 3:16) hindi lamang sa pagkakatawang-tao nito, kundi lalo’t-higit sa pagpapakasakit at pagkamatay ni Hesus sa krus. Ang Diyos na nanatiling tapat sa kanyang bayang Israel ay nananatiling tapat din sa atin. Sa pamamagitan ni Hesu-Kristo, itinuturo niya sa atin ang tunay na daan ng pagkakaisa gaya ng pagiging isa nila ni Hesus na kanyang Anak. Ayon sa Ebanghelyo ni Juan, inihayag ng Panginoon ang katotohanang ito nang sabihin niya: “Ang nakakita sa akin ay nanakita na sa Ama” (14:9).

Kung kaya’t sinasabi sa atin ni San Agustin na “ang Iglesya ay dapat pag-isahin sa Isangtatlo tulad ng isang bahay sa may-ari nito, ng templo sa Diyos nito, ng lungsod sa tagapagtatag nito” (Enchiridion, c. 57). Ito ay isang pagninilay at pagpapahayag ng kalooban ng Diyos para sa lahat ng tao mula pa nang lalangin niya ang unang tao: ang makiisa tayo sa Kanyang buhay ng pag-ibig at kabanalan gaya ng pagkakaisa sa pag-ibig at kabanalan na namamagitan sa Ama, sa Anak at sa Espiritu Santo.

Ang pag-ibig na dumadaloy sa kaibuturan ng Diyos ay nahahayag sa biyayang ibinibigay sa atin ni Kristo sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo na siyang nananatili sa ating piling, sa Iglesya Katolika. Ito ang dahilan kung kaya itinatagubilin ni Apostol San Pablo sa pagwawakas niya sa kanyang ikalawang Sulat sa mga Taga-Corinto: “Sikapin ninyong maging ganap at sundin niyo ang mga payo ko; magkaisa kayo, at mamuhay nang payapa. Sa gayon sasainyo ang Diyos ng pag-ibig at kapayapaan” (13:11).

Ang pagkakaisa ng sangkatauhan, ang pagkakaisa ng sambayanan, ang pagkakaisa ng mga Kristiyano… ang pagkakaisa natin sa pag-ibig at kapayapaan.. Iisang napakadakilang pagpapala, isang mabigat na tungkulin at siya ring tiyak na daan natin tungo sa Diyos, Ama, Anak at Espiritu Santo.

~ Rdo. David O. Reyes, Jr. ~

Does the Church Teach That Only Catholics Can Be Saved? (Series LXXXIX)

In Revelation, the inhabitants of heaven sing to Christ: “With your blood you purchased for God / those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation” (5:9). The Catholic Church affirms this wideness of God’s mercy in Christ, embracing the whole world, desiring with him that “everyone… be saved and… come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tm 2:4). Nevertheless, the Church also recognizes that the gift of salvation must be accepted to be effective, and human beings, having free will, may choose to reject or “ignore so great a salvation” (Heb 2:3).

The Church accepts Christ’s declaration about himself: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). She also recalls his words to her that warn those who would turn away from her: “Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16).

If Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, and the Church is his Body on earth, we can understand why the Church fathers often declared: “Outside the Church there is no salvation.” Or to put it another way: “All salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body” (Catechism 846). Does this mean that only Catholics can be saved?
The Second Vatican Council made the following affirmations about the possibility of salvation for those outside the Catholic Church:

* Those who know that God founded the Catholic Church through Christ as the necessary means to salvation, yet still refuse to enter it or remain in it, cannot be saved (see Lumen Gentium 14).
* “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience — those too may achieve eternal salvation” (Lumen Gentium 16, emphasis added).

* “Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men” (Ad Gentes 7).

RELATED SCRIPTURE — Texts cited: Lk 10:16; Jn 14:6; 1 Tm 2:4; Heb 2:3; Rv 5:9. General: Mt 8:11-12; 10:40; 28:18-20; Lk 13:28-30; 1 Cor 9:16; 2 Cor 5:14-15; Heb 11:6; Jas 2:21-23. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH — 816-822; 846-856.

MI INSPIRACION, RECUERDO, AMOR ET. AL.

(Dedicated to Rev. Fr. Salvador "Dong" V. Marcaida, MSP)

The valleys has no worries as I stare up high,
And that soft touch of the wind whisper some sigh,
Great I am.... for that very momentum,
For the clouds so blue, and that was autumn.

Along the railway of a very traffic mind,
I sense that most of all are left behind,
Then you came to rescue the unguarded soul,
For I sense everyone is not that cool.

Gradually, I realized that no one is forsaken,
And that all must take his share to be forgiven,
Those tickling words that you have been thrown,
All must be remembered and must live in one's heart forever.

Always love GOD above all things,
Love your neighbor as you love your self,
Peace be with you and increase more your faith with HIM
These are some of the magnifying words you injected in everyone's vein.

The night is far spent and the day is at hand,
Believe in HIM and your faith must not be bending,
Let your heart be filled with joy and share your blessings,
This must be the conscience of every human being.

Now, you will be leaving with that traces so bold,
All your teachings, I hope all of us must uphold,
In your journey with GOD in some sphere of this world,
I know more souls will be touched and gathered.

'Till we meet again in some times and places someday
With that dreams of mine became a reality
Up above the sun shines so bright
Like your teachings that serves as my undying light.


By: Ed J. Titular
05.15.08, Chasan-ri, SK