Chalk dust and Coffee stains

Day of Reckoning

2009-10-22T14:39:19Z

TREDNE people better be ready, we will have reporting on my return on the 5th. The first two groups better be ready.

Grades Consultation

2009-09-08T10:23:36Z

Tomorrow, 9 Sept 1 pm to 2 pm Andrew 1002.

Best Storybooks:

TREDONE Mio, the Rebel Boy, L84
TREDTWO Agimat ng Pagkakaibigan C37

TREDONE Church Involvement

2009-09-07T08:43:10Z

Hi all, i'm almost done with the computation of the grades, and the following people have to check with me regarding their Church Involvement. I haven't received nor recorded them yet as of 4.30 p.m. of September 7.

L84

Alves, Ainslee
Castillo, ma. Alexandra
Chung, Don Sun
Jun, Hee Kyeong
Kim, Myung Gu
Lee, Dahee
Min Jung Hong
Oh, Seyeon
Sinajon, Peter Jason

C37

Aranzamendrez, Krizzia
Geronimo, Bea
Kim, Jae-yoon
Ramos, Camille
Sabala, Kimberly
Sapungan, Maria Laurisse
Sta. Anna, Donna
Tolentino, Justine
Torrres, Zoe

Please be advised that as per University policy, non-compliance with this requirement will mean 0.0 for the whole TREDONE course.

Of deadlydeadlines

2009-09-02T09:36:28Z

Important Announcement. I announced that the deadline for the final storybook (and the church involvement) would be two days before grade consultation day(which used to be Coursecards day), and this would be on September 8. So the deadline I announced before was Sunday, September 6. However, upon verifying with the Department Chair, I was told that the deadline for the submission of grades is September 7, and not 8, it is because of the new system in place of not distributing coursecards anymore, but just posting it online.

So, the deadly deadline would be Saturday, September 5 . However, I have a wedding to attend to from after lunch, until about 8 PM. So, I will be seeing people for submission in the morning of Saturday until before lunch, and then around 8:30 PM until around 11 at Bo’s Coffee in Bonifacio Highstreet. Text me if you’re going na…

By the way, tomorrow, I will post here my intro for the storybook, and a jpeg logo you will put at the upper left hand corner of the cover of your storybook...

A Discussion on the Beatitudes (cf Dr. Tina Astorga, PhD)

2009-08-24T06:07:42Z

A Discussion on the Beatitudes

The First Beatitude

The first Beatitude is not an acceptance of poverty as a condition. It is not poverty itself but poverty in spirit that is a condition. It is not poverty itself but poverty in spirit that is blessed. To be “poor in spirit” requires a humble recognition that one’s life must be lived in radical dependence on the goodness and providence of God, who is the source of all good things. To be “poor in spirit” means to remain open and trustful in God’s love and providence.

The Second Beatitude

Mourning is an expression of a moral attitude. We mourn over the sinful condition of our lives, the misery and suffering of others, the massive poverty, and injustice in the world. Our mourning which impels us to give comfort and consolation to others is blessed with God’s comfort for us.

The Third Beatitude

Meekness is not identical with passivity. The meekness which is blessed comes from the tranquility and gentleness of spirit in a person who, united with God, is filled not only with the passion to correct the wrong, but also the compassion to offer forgiveness and renewal to the wrongdoer.

The Fourth Beatitude

The deepest hunger and thirst of the human heart is the thirst and hunger for the righteousness of God, fulfilled and realized in justice. Justice is the first demand of love. Works of “charity” are not authentic Christian love when they maintain the position of the rich as the donor and the poor as the recipient of that which are rightfully theirs in justice.

The Fifth Beatitude

Mercy means more than pity. It is not simply an emotion. It is an action which entails the movement of one’s heart for the suffering of others in a true and genuine care for them. God’s mercy is the cause and condition of our mercy for others. Only those who have known God’s mercy and compassion in Christ can be truly merciful and compassionate to others.

The Sixth Beatitude

“Purity of heart” is centering one’s life on God, through one’s concern and compassion for others. “To see God” which is the grace and blessing of the Beatitude, refers to the communion with Jesus who has completely lived according to God’s will and plan.

The Seventh Beatitude

Peace liberates and unites people. Where the well-being of persons in all aspects of life is realized, there is true peace. But peace is made possible only through God’s grace present in men and women who work for peace. Peace is both a grace from God, and a human task. Peace is founded on love, justice and truth. When one of these human values is violated, peace is not attained. Peace is a total and integral human reality.

The Eighth Beatitude

Only a persecution for righteousness is blessed, for this is righteousness for Christ. Suffering with and for Christ and suffering apart from and without him are different things. Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake are promised the reign of God. since the reign of God is a reality in the very person of Jesus, the reward is intimacy and communion with him here and now, and its perfect fulfillment in the end of time.

P.S. Memorize the "Our Father" Prayer

All the best for tomorrow. =P

5 Questions

2009-08-23T11:58:22Z

This is actually a material that two of my former students, raye anne rafa and cassy naidas interviewed me for their ENGLRES. thought I'd post it here na rin, all this pala is just on top of my head, i weren't able to use any references for this, so bear with me. I hope it makes sense.

5 Questions

1. Do you believe in God? What makes you not believe in Him?

Ok, really, what do you think? I’m a TRED prof, am I not? Hehehehe. But seriously there are a couple of ways that we can view your question. First would be how we understand, or what we mean when we say “believe” . to believe could be taken to mean simply as to hold true in one’s mind any concept to be existing. Therefore, we even an atheist can believe in God as a concept. And then, there is this believing that necessarily orders or rather, demands that anyone who does so (i.e. to practice believing) to orient one’s whole life in order to fulfill or put into concrete particular actions, that which is abstractly held true by the mind, in this case the particular object, God. of course, when we say or use the term object here, that is not to means that we are objectifying God, we are merely using the term so that we will have a “handle” so that we may be able to talk about this phenomenon, that is, believing in God. as per the follow-up question ( Which makes it 6 questions, hehehehe) I cannot, for myself find any plausible reason to contradict what I have arrived at through an honest personal search of what to believe in. for some people however, it might be that the matter you asked for the third question, would be enough reason for them not to believe in God. And no one can blame them, they probably have gone through really tough times. Although I believe that if they would be able to see beyond the suffering, which again, I repeat, is not an easy thing to do, then they would probably believe. And if I may add, without prejudice to answering the third question a little later, it is when people have gone through this difficult process of coming to believe that we see real conviction in faith, much more than those of the people who haven’t had the same difficult experience.

2. As we know, the Bible was written by different people and therefore has many contradictions which is inconsistent in a way. What is your comment on this/ Religion and religion doctrines are also self-contradictory, how can they all be true?

If I may also add, the Bible was also written spanning several hundred years. So saying that there are some inconsistencies in it are of course an understatement. However, we should bear in mind a couple of things whenever we talk of Scriptures, and this will be further clarified when you take TREDTRI, that the inspiration that God gave to the sacred writers of the bible is not like a divine dictation, whereby he actually whispers into the ears of the authors. Rather, God respected the autonomy and freedom of the writers to write the way they want to write and how they write. We can cite for example, the accounts of the evangelists when they write about the birth of Jesus. One writer said Jesus was born in a house, and yet another mentions he is born in a cave. Another example we can look at in the Old Testament this time is the number of days it rained during the days of Noah. Two figures were given. 40 days and 40 nights, and later in the same chapter, there is mention of 120 days. Now for my “comment” which you are asking. No comment. Hehehehe, just kidding. Uhm, ok, the short and sweet answer to it would be that though the Bible has a lot of inconsistencies, it only shows how god always at all times respect the inviolable free will of all human persons. At the same time, despite the inconsistencies, the Bible is still inerrant in the matters that pertain to the essential salvific truths. There are some secondary details in the bible, and they can be subject to human errors, part of the human foibles, however, the overarching theme of the Salvific story of God is recorded quite accurately. As regards your follow-up question, I cannot for a fact think of any example. i think that the church is as consistent as it should be. Although at several points in history, misinterpretations of its doctrines have led to the falling out of a lot of its members. However, be that as it may, the Church still keeps on going, and better at that, than the Energizer bunny.

3. Why do you think there is still human suffering?

Human suffering, I think is intrinsic to our existence, which means to say, it is an integral component to out being human. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to sound nihilistic when I say this, but what I mean to say is that it is a part of human life in that it is necessary for us to be able to achieve our fullest human potential. Suffering is something that is properly attributable to human beings alone, and yet, by extension, we attribute it also to animals. However, strictly speaking, suffering involves the component of the will. This is what makes it different from just experiencing pain. Suffering can take up a lot of different forms. Buddhism teaches that the root of all suffering is attachment to impermanent things. It teaches that suffering would cease when we are no longer enamored by things that are impermanent. Christianity on the other hand, does not seek to eliminate suffering, but instead use it in order for human persons to transcend, or go beyond the limitations and boundaries that are set in his life. To quote Philippians Chapter 2 (and it is quite rare that I quote Scriptures, hehehe) “Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at, rather he emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of man, it was thus that he handled himself over to death, a death on the cross.” The example Jesus set dfor us is that we ought not to escape suffering, but if we face it, it will teach us a thing or two on how to achieve happiness, which is, ultimately, the other side of the same coin.

4. There are so many Gods and religions which are contradictory to each other. How would we know which one is true or not? Is it possible that all of them can be true?

Let me tackle the second question first (which makes it 7 questions na, hehehehe). The possiblity is there, that ultimately, all religions pertains to the same reality. However, our limited capacity for understanding all concepts come into play. We have differences in opinion, which contributes to, and is at the same time, is partly shaped by a lot of different factors, like our culture, age, gender, even our geographic ethnicity, to name a few. So certainly, the religion of some remote South African tribe which teaches them that their God is the Crocodile, is very different from our religion that says that god is loving Father, who sent his Son and became human with us, Emmanuel (Although there are some who worship the crocodile in the brand of Lacoste, hehehehe). One of the documents of the Church from Vatican One, Nostra Aetate, states that in most of the world religions and world-views, there is what can be called, “semen veritate” or seeds of the truth, and thus all religions should be respected. As regards your first question (in this number, that is), Knowing which one or true or not, takes a back seat to finding out which religious system one finds most meaningful, at a personal level. That is to say, if you find that worshiping Lacoste is something that personally makes sense to you, then by all means, worship the crocodile! We are a people who subsist with meaning, more than bread and water and oxygen. For most part, it is meaning that we live for. You want proof of this? Try the concept and meaning of Love. Now, don’t get me started with the topic, as we could go on and on talking hours on end about that.

5. Who do you think made God and how did (this concept) come to exist?

I remember in one of my philosophy classes back in college, the “terror prof” asked all of us to define God. We almost banged our heads against the armchairs trying to come up with a definition that would please him. In the end, one of my classmates, the rather slow one (ok, ok, I’m mean) defiantly stands up and declares, that god cannot be defined, because the very action of “defining” means delimiting, or putting boundaries on something, which is of course impossible to do in the case of God. He got 1.0, which is equivalent to 4.0 in the DLSU grading system. The bastard! Hehehehe) So when you ask who made God, the question is absurd in that God in the proper sense, necessarily means that S/he is not made, has no origin or ending. Of course you understand that when I say “S/he”, that is because god is beyond the categories of gender. Now, how the concept of God came to exist shows us that there is a universal longing for something that is beyond what is apparent, more than just what is here and now. Some would argue that God is merely an intellectual construct that man used to explain the things that used to be unexplainable. Remember the Greek and the Roman gods and goddesses, for example, like Zeus, who was the god of lightning, and Vulcan, the god of volcanoes. However, if that were true, how come, in our day and age, where science is at its peak, people would still turn to God and religion? I go back to what I said earlier, that meaning is what God mediates for us, and somehow, in our deepest core, our heart of hearts, it makes sense. Di ba? =P

ONe Big Fight!

2009-08-16T05:28:37Z

Hehehehehe, Guys, I'd be posting here more. After the Big Fight! =P

Reposting here

2009-07-05T14:01:58Z

There's a mightily profound reason why i haven't been posting anything for the longest time ever: some of my colleagues have discovered this blog. hehehehehe. But then again, i suppose i don't have to pretend that i'm sane with them no more. hehehehehehe.

Posting more often is my _ _ _ _ _ _ a _ resolution.

Having said so, i ought to welcome my new students in TREDONE and TREDTWO. =P

Where did summer go?

2009-05-15T00:58:56Z

I was telling people I really don't think I have in me what it takes to teach TREDTRI. But I'm one who'd always be open to try things out, even once. So I did, this summer term. And I've gotta be honest, I'm bad enough as a TRED prof, but I feel I've grown worse. Hehehe. Anyway, here's my schedule for next term, 1st Term S.Y. 2009-2010. So that you can warn people to drop while there's stil time. =P

Mondays and Wednesdays      9:40-11:10    TREDONE    L84   A 1705
Mondays and Wednesdays      11:20-12:50    TREDONE C37   A 805

Tuesdays and Thursdays         9:40-11:10      TREDTWO    C37    Y 604
Tuesdays and Thursdays         4:20-5:50        TREDTWO     A55    L302

Enjoy what's left of the summer; by the way, my TREDTRI class is watching Angels and Demons later in Rockwell. Wanna join? =P

Thank you for the term!

2009-04-21T04:36:14Z

Guys, I really am thankful for the term. This has been one of my better terms so far. For the people I had to fail, it is more upsetting for me, than it is for you, but i really had no choice.I guess we'll just have to take this as another painful learning experience. In the fin summation of things, this will just be a footnote to your broader education in life, also known as the "school of hard knocks".

For everybody, always, always remeber, at least one thing you've learned with TREDONE: FQI. Faith that is Seeking Understanding. Fides Quaerens Intelectum. RIght, Mister Isla? =P

Submission Schedule Tomorrow

2009-04-19T13:28:44Z

Guys, I forgot I will have a meeting tomorrow morning. So we will have the subnission instead from One PM until around 8 in the evening. Afternoon submissions in one of the tables in SJ Walk. please pass the word to all.

Final Instructions, you may want to print this out as a checklist

2009-04-17T14:14:44Z

Guidelines for the Storybooks

1. Again, please observe the following format. Those who fail to do so will be deducted accordingly.

2. THE DRAFT FOR THE STORY, AS WELL AS THE ILLUSTRATIONS, SHOULD BE PRESENTED FOR APPROVAL FIRST.

3. For the Special power of attorney WHICH I REVISED AND POSTED IN THE YAHOOGROUP NA, it should be printed on LONG SIZED bond paper, signed and duly notarized. THERE SHOULD BE TWO COPIES

4. For the storybook itself, please make sure you follow the format I specified to you. 6 LONG (not short) bond papers folded in the middle. That will give you 24 pages, plus an extra board that you will use as cover.

5. The very first page which is the bond paper(not the board), should be a title page. The page right after it, on the left side should be kept blank.

6. The inside cover page should be reserved for my introduction, which I will upload in the Yahoogroups first thing tomorrow.

7. The inside back cover should have your pictures and a brief write-up of the members of the group and me as well. I give you creative license to write whatever about me or my method of teaching. You may use any of my pictures in my Facebook or Multiply.

8. The back cover should have a short synopsis of the story.

9. Put the 5 copies of the story book, and the SPA forms in a LONG brown envelope. Submission is from 9 A.M. until 8 P.M. of Monday, April 20.

10. Put the names of the members of each group in front of the Envelope, with the Group number AND SECTION as well.

11. A soft copy of the story book should be burned on a cd, with matching cover for the cd case. Submit this in the envelope as well PLEASE INCLUDE ALSO A PLAIN TEXT VERSION (Just the story, no illustrations) in RTF MS Word in the CD.

12. As the envelopes are submitted, I will be asking the group how the participation of everyone had been. I will then give grades accordingly. NOT ALL ARE REQUIRED TO COME FOR THE SUBMISSION. JUST THE GROUP LEADER.

13. Congratulations! You had IVAN Pineda for TREDONE! The toughest TRED prof! You now have bragging rights, and can tell others to avoid getting me during enrolment. =P

chalkandcoffee @ 2009-04-14T18:57:00

2009-04-14T10:55:39Z

Entries must be stories written in English and intended for children age 6 to 12 years. The theme must be something that seafarers’ families – especially children – can identify with. The story must, in the judges’ opinion, resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea, and preferably promote positive human values (e.g. love, respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility, responsibility, understanding, strength, courage, resilience, etc.). The word count must be 1,000 words or less, and the plot and sequence must be capable of sustaining a 24-page illustrated book.

Extension

2009-04-14T10:51:41Z

Ok, for the betterment and interest of all, I am extending the deadline of submission of your Final Storybooks (5 copies) to Monday, the day before the course card distribution. Please make the extra effort to make it well. Also, I am making a tremendous change. I will no longer require you to copyright the storybooks with the National Library. Instead, we will submit all your works as entries for the Storybook Writing Contest, which will pick 5-10 stories from all entries nationwide and award Php 20,000 for each story. To qualify for this, please read my previous post, but more notably, that is why I am adamant about having you guys write something pertinent to the plight of the kids whose parents are overseas contract workers. As such, I will ask you to accomplish a Special Power of Attorney, so that i will be able to transact matters regarding your stories even after the term. =)

Of Storybooks

2009-04-14T10:39:01Z

Some practical points for the storybooks. I'd prefer as much as possible human characters, rather than animals, or other inanimate objects. But it doesn't mean I am banning them absolutely. Foremost, it is important that you develop or establish your main character, or protagonist first. Say something about his or her past, his or her family background, his or her likes and dislikes, then you can hinge to that the conflict. Or, in other cases, you can begin with the conflict right away. Most importantly, have your drafts approved by me first! How do we go about doing this? Have at least one person in your group (hopefully, the responsible one) come by and show me your draft. I will then discuss the merits and demerits of your story, and propose some suggestions. Also, have the drawings approved first. I am always in school, in my office in William Hall, 703. No more online editing for me!

Finals Sked

2009-04-12T16:39:58Z

Guys, please come for grade consultation on the scheduled Final Examinations for TREDONE in your mylsalle account. We'll use the time for you to get a feel as to your standing in the course. =)

Tuesday Sked

2009-04-04T12:23:21Z

Uhm, for the MW people who missed the special make-up class today, 04-04-09, you can come on Tuesday, April 7 and join my EF class 11.20 at Andrew 1204. Blessed holy week!

on a side note, just bought myself provisions for the week ahead, and all i'm having is tuna angel hair spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and my comfort food, cream of mushroom the whole week. hahahaha.... anyone want some?

Make-up Classes

2009-04-03T12:18:01Z

Guys, Yes, its true, we will have a make-up class tomorrow, April 4 9:40 am at ANDREW 903 please spread the word Oh, this is for my C33 and C37 classes only, M/W
=)

Guidelines for the Children's Storybook

2009-04-01T06:13:03Z

Guys, this is additional guidelines for making the storybook. To qualify for this contest ( which I am requesting the deadline to be moved to April 16) Only the text is needed. But for the finished project, the 6 completed storybooks will be due on April 17

Gig Book Storywriting Contest

Call for Entries: March 9, 2009

Official Contest Rules

1. The Gig Book Storywriting Contest hereinafter referred to as the “Contest” is organized and sponsored by Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc. hereinafter referred to as the “Organizer” with business address at Suite 600 The Gregorian, 2178 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila, Philippines.

2. The Contest starts on March 9, 2009 and is open to anyone age 17 years or older, except the officers and employees of the Organizer and their relatives up to the third degree of consanguinity.

3. Entries must be stories written in English and intended for children age 6 to 12 years. The theme must be something that seafarers’ families – especially children – can identify with. The story must, in the judges’ opinion, resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea, and preferrably promote positive human values (e.g. love, respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility, responsibility, understanding, strength, courage, resilience, etc.). The word count must be 1,000 words or less, and the plot and sequence must be capable of sustaining a 24-page illustrated book.

4. By entering the Contest, entrants warrant that: (a) their entry is their original creation; (b) it has not been previously published; (c) it has not been entered in another contest where it won First, Second or Third prize.

5. All entries must be submitted by email to gigbookcontest@gmail.com. The subject heading must be the word “Entry” followed by a space, dash, another space and the title of the story. (Example: Entry – My Dad is a Sailor and I am a Mermaid) Furthermore: (a) The main message of the email must contain the following items only: the title of the story, and the contestant’s complete name, age, mailing address, cellphone number, and landline. (b) The entry itself must be sent as a Microsoft Word attachment. It must be set in 12 points Times Roman normal (no bold, no italics, no underlining), double-spaced, with no accompanying or inserted artwork or graphics or identifying marks whatsoever, on letter-size paper (8.5 inches by 11 inches) with a 1-inch margin all around. Entries that do not conform to these specifications may be accepted by the Organizer at its discretion and reformatted accordingly, or rejected outright. (c) By submitting an entry via this method, the entrants agree that the primary mode of communication between them and the Organizer will be via the email address that they used to submit their entry.

6. The deadline for the submission of entries is April 9, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Manila time.

7. The winners will be selected by a Board of Judges consisting of three (3) or five (5) individuals, depending on the number of entries received. The individual judges will be selected by an Executive Editor/Book Designer who will also serve as Chairman of the Board of Judges. The decision of the judges will be final.

8. There will be five (5) to 10 (ten) winners. Each winner will receive a cash prize of PhP 20,000.00, a Winner’s Certificate, and the opportunity to have their winning story published as a full-color, fully illustrated storybook.

9. Barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, the winners will be announced on or before May 9, 2009. On the day of the announcement, individual winners will also be notified by email.

10. The Organizer reserves the right to declare that there are no winners if the judges decide that no entries were deemed acceptable. In this case, the Organizer shall have no right whatsoever over all the entries received, and no entry will be published by the Organizer in any venue or format without the prior written consent of the author.

11. By entering the Contest, the entrants individually and independently agree that the Organizer will be the exclusive publisher of their winning story, if the Organizer decides to publish it. In this case, it is understood that: (a) the winners automatically grant and transfer to the Organizer all intellectual property rights to their winning story, including the right to publish it in whatever venue or format the Organizer deems fit, as well as the right to translate, adapt, and/or make modifications to the winning story as the Organizer deems fit; (b) aside from the cash prize received from winning the Contest, the winners are not entitled to any other additional payments, royalties, or fees whatsoever resulting from the Organizer’s publication of their winning story in whole or in part, in whatever venue or format; (c) the Organizer shall have full and exclusive editorial and artistic control over the publication of the winning entries, resulting books, and other derivative works.

12. Barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, the printed books will be launched on either August 4, 2009 or March 9, 2010, but not any later than May 9, 2010. Otherwise, the Organizer forfeits its right to publish the winning stories. In this case, the winners shall be free to individually and independently submit their winning stories to other publishers.

Deadlines, Cute Goats, Church Forms and Other Matters

2009-03-30T12:26:57Z

Ok, for the benefit of all, Here's how you will go about with Good Goats. There are about 22 chapters. Please summarize each chapter and give your own reflection regarding the topics that are discussed. The thing is, I have to see that you in fact understand what you have read. How do you do that? By not only agreeing, but also by disagreeing and citing your reasons for so doing. It'll be good also if you'd cite personal experiences whenever they are related. Thus, this project will be Personal. Thing is, it has to be about a page per chapter. I'm encouraging you also to use pictures of yourself and your family or friends or even enemies[ hehehe, i won't tell naman] basta its related. Please, don't add pictures just because you think they're cute. Color Coding: For C33, Green Folder For C37, Blue Folder and for EF, Black Folder. April 7 is our deadly deadline. So also for the Church Involvement, Unless you make prior arangements with me.

Lastly, by now, you should be conceptualizing stories for the Final Storybook Project. The Rule of Thumb is simple. What is one valuable lesson from the religion you reported on, which you think is worth teaching kids? By kids, we mean young children more or less Grade 2 to Grade 5. Weave a story with chracters and situations as well as twists, and have them approved ASAP. Refer to an earlier post I made regarding Pagsusulat ng Kwentong Pambata.

Just Do It! =P

2009-03-23T01:35:48Z

Sorry, it took me another lifetime to get back to posting here. The third aspect According to Thomas Groome is the Doing aspect of faith. At the outset, the first analogy that comes to my mind (I don’t know why =P) is Loving and Giving. It has been said that you can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. In the latter, the concept of loving is necessarily reinforced by the act of giving. I suppose we can say the same thing about Faith-ing and Doing. One can do things without the necessity of having faith, but to have faith, it necessarily entails action. Notice how I say Faith-ing. (and my spell check in MS Word does not acknowledge that word to exist to begin with!) The contention of some theologians is that Faith should be considered a verb rather than a noun. Following their argument, it should not be the case as we speak of “having” faith, as though faith were something that we can own or possess, like having or owning a PSP, or a car, or a laptop. However, faith is among what may be considered “intangibles” which is heavily dependent on the vehicle of human language in order to be understood. As such, limitation on the part of language would almost always leave us with an incorrect idea of reality.

Taking this into consideration, faith actually means “faithing”. That means, our action follows our faith. I know it is quite difficult to grasp, so let’s try to simplify it. We do not say that Sasha Paz has faith; we’d say instead that Sasha Paz is a faithing person. In the same token, Jake Bocanegra has not “lost” his faith. Jake Bocanegra has simply stopped faithing (of course, this is just an example).

The principle of active faith is a recurring theme in the New Testament, but is very explicit in the letter of St. James. In a nutshell, he says, “Faith without action is dead. “ (Jas 2:14-17,24,26) And so it is. Faith, that is, real, authentic faith, is really active and dynamic, and not merely a static possession. I like how this guy Jesus said it once, “Faith that moves mountains.” Wow! When was the last time you moved mountains with your faith?

This is still unofficial, but i thought I'd post it just the same

2009-03-11T13:44:36Z

Guys, remember what I've always said that i feel i cannot teach TREDTRI? Well guess what... I've been assigned to tech TREDTRI for the Summer Term! This is still unofficial though, but the secretary showed the Course Offering List for the Summer, and i was surprised to see my name there. My class is TREDTRI Section M73 from 1-3 in the afternoon. Wow! I hope I don't fall asleep in front of class! Hehehehe.

Again, this is not yet official. But As I've told people, the best class so far I've had in this school is the Summer class. So we'll see... =) Know anyone who might take TREDTRI this summer?

More on Faith

2009-03-11T13:29:38Z

I should mention, because I forgot in my previous post, that many of the concepts and ideas I expounded are not really my own. I am standing on the shoulders of the great TRED Prof Ian Knox. This time around I’d hope to make sense of Fr. Thomas Groome, S.J. I’d also be quoting, and heavily at that, Ian Knox.

When we talk about faith, there is always these three components: Believing, Trusting and Doing. Let’s get the ball rolling.

People almost always equivocate (that is, to see as interchangeable and the same) the concept of Belief, with Faith. Many a time, when we are pressed in an argument that we cannot resolve, we just say “Basta, it’s a matter of faith, that’s my belief.” But there’s a difference. And the difference is this; by the way, don’t tell others ha? A belief is a concrete expression of our commitment that is our faith. Ok, ok, let’s unpack that a little. If we ask for example Pohan Chen why he doesn’t eat meat on Fridays, he cannot just simply say that it is his faith. Rather, his abstaining from eating meat (despite the fact that he is a carnivore) is his way of expressing, or living out his faith. (Di ba, Pohan? Batang Xavier kasi ito!) The verb “believe” (origin Latin: Credo) in its original meaning means “to hold dear,” “to prize,” “to give allegiance,” “to be loyal to”. Thus, it involves not only the mind, but the entirety of the person. However, in our day and age, when we say believe, that usually just pertains to our cognitive dynamics, that is, our intellect and rationality.

We can contrast “believing” from “knowing”. We believe when we accept things without actually having concrete proof. We believe when we agree to things we cannot fully grasp or control without the benefit of scientific and mathematical certainty. (Too bad we cannot apply the same principle to Accounting no? Just imagine if you can just walk up to your prof and say, “Ma’am, I believe the sheets are balanced.”) However, when we say we know something, it implies that we can explain something without the shadow of a doubt. For example, to keep your sanity, it would be better to believe that whenever I come to class, I am wearing uhm… undergarments (Right, Fitz Ignacio? Refer to an earlier post); because it would be quite weird for you to be able to say that you know it for a fact. Sorry for the gross example.

Why do we believe then, when it comes to “Religious” faith? Well, we believe because these things are revealed by God, and that we believe that God will not deceive us (CCC 156). Secondly, when we believe, it makes a difference in our lives. It makes our lives more meaningful, and it helps us to cope with bumps we may encounter along the way. Karl Barth, a great theologian once said, “If a man believes and knows God, he can no longer ask, ‘What is the meaning of my life?’ Because by believing, he actually lives it out.”

A second aspect of Faith according to Thomas Groome sees faith as Trusting. What does it mean to trust? Without sounding too much cheesy, to trust someone means that we give up control, ehem, let go, ehem, stop trying to manage things, ehem, and allow somebody else to do it. The example that comes right to mind is when a person driving has a “back seat driver” for a passenger. What keeps us from trusting people? Most probably it is the fear of being hurt, or being blamed for someone ele’s mistakes, or being pahiya with our classmates and friends, or worse, our crush! We do not trust easily because we are afraid of being defrauded, or losing property. The sum total of all that we are afraid of, I guess would be our fear of death. All other fears re just small ways of dying. They are ways of being deprived of things we value, like health, or wealth, or reputation, or even our loved ones.

Trusting was much easier when we were younger. We probably look back with glee during the times we were so naïve, and we believed everything our parents told us: from knights in a far away kingdom, to aswangs who will eat us if we are not behaved. Hehehe, it took me some time to grapple with the fact that Santa Claus is not real. Ooops, my apologies to those who still believe he does.

By the way, the word Faith has its origin in the Latin word Fidere. It means, yeh, you guessed it, “to trust”. When you say to your boy/girl friend, “I believe you” , it means you regard what the person says or stands for to be correct, even though we have not checked it out for sure. But when you say “I believe in you”, Oh men, it conveys a deep personal trust, an expression of confidence that comes form a loving relationship. Hay naku, I’d have to cut this post here muna, its getting much too intense for me. I know you guys know why. Hehehe. The third aspect will be discussed later na lang.

The Soul of Excellence

2009-03-11T02:53:07Z

This is the speech delivered by Br. Armin for the 154th Commencement Exercises last February 9. I personally asked his permission to publish it here, and he so graciously agreed. I'm sure you guys will be inspired as well. =)

(photo from wikipedia)
The Soul of Excellence

Br. Armin Luistro FSC

Message to the Graduates

De La Salle University

February 2009

He may not be too well-liked at Harvard, but in one of his first speeches to freshmen students, University President Larry Summers gave this advice:[1] “First, follow your passion, not your calculation. What you will remember of your time here will be the special experiences, the things that really catch your imagination. Choose courses that cohere. Follow a program towards your objectives. But most importantly, do what catches your imagination. If there is something you really want to do, some curiosity that you want to pursue, make sure that you do it, and don’t let anything stand in your way.”

As you leave the hallowed halls of De La Salle University, I might as well ask you how well you fared in your imagination: What kept you going as you pursued your curiosity? What did you do with the things that blocked your way? What got you out of bed in the morning? What kept you awake at night? What did you really read…and still remember? What were the lessons that you would never forget? What places on campus will stick to your memory best? What broke your heart? What have you been really passionate about? Since we’re close enough to Valentine’s Day, let me get mushy and add: Who broke your heart? Who were you in love the most? Whom will you miss the most?

Beloved Lasallians, those are the enduring questions I wish you would answer before I proclaim you officially as De La Salle University graduates. If you are honest with yourself, and if you take the time to live those questions, then maybe the ceremony today will really mean much more than just another event that you have to attend and keep pictures of but truly as a rite of passage to life’s exciting adventure. Did you follow your passion and not just your calculation?

Close to fifty years before the incoming freshmen at Harvard heard the advice from Larry Summers—who incidentally had Jewish roots—the German Adolf Eichmann was given a psychiatric interview in a court hearing for his crimes against humanity. As Chief of Operations that led to the deportation of three million Jews to extermination camps from 1941 to 1945, the court wanted to determine his state of mind presuming perhaps in all charity that he is at least suffering from some form of mental disorder if not completely insane. But the psychiatric assessment declared him “perfectly sane.”

Your Lasallian education has allowed you to mingle with some of the best minds in this country. You were privileged to have been mentored by some of the most sought-after professors and some of the most accomplished researchers. You had the opportunity to access the best books and use state-of-the-art facilities not so common in other Philippine universities. I concede it is not a perfect campus and apart from the few weirdoes and geeks that one would occasionally bump into, it is still one of the best universities you’d find in this part of the globe.

But before you blow your horn and get intoxicated with the reassuring qualifications and privileges of your La Salle diploma (which I have painstakingly signed individually), it is best to think through in a state of sobriety the next steps of life’s exciting adventure. For after all, we live in a world that is truly disturbing where the best minds and the perfectly sane make decisions that threaten and violate our humanity. Just think of Wall Street, Gaza Strip, the Iraq war, and, closer to home, the crises and conflicts and scandals that define politics and leadership in our country. It is a year of living dangerously. Children, women and men die and are considered collateral damage in wars fought in the name of God and justified as the only means to lasting peace. The hard-earned savings of the poor are lost because of the unbridled greed of rich investors with insatiable appetites for risk-taking. When money is lost, we can always recover that. When jobs are lost, we can always create new jobs. But when the soul of a nation is taken from its citizens, how do we breathe life into it again?

In his Devout Meditation in Memory of Adolf Eichmann, the contemplative monk Thomas Merton writes and I quote him extensively:[2]

One of the most disturbing facts that came out in the Eichmann trial was that a psychologist examined him and pronounced him perfectly sane. I do not doubt it at all, and that is precisely why I find it disturbing. If all the Nazis had been psychotics, as some of their leaders probably were, their appalling cruelty would have been in some sense easier to understand. It is much worse to consider this calm, “well-balanced”, unperturbed official conscientiously going about his desk work, his administrative job which happened to be mass murder.... He was thoughtful, orderly, unimaginative. He had a profound respect for system, for law and order. He was obedient, loyal, a faithful officer of a great state. He served his government very well.

He was not bothered much by guilt... Apparently he slept well. He had a good appetite it seems....” and while he was disturbed, it was “just the routine unpleasantness of the daily task.... It all comes under the heading of duty, self-sacrifice and obedience. Eichmann was devoted to duty, and proud of his job.

The sanity of Eichmann is disturbing, we equate sanity with a sense of justice, with humanness, with prudence, with the capacity to love and understand people. We rely on the sane people of the world to preserve it from barbarism, madness, destruction. And now it begins to dawn on us that it is precisely the sane ones who are the most dangerous... The whole concept of sanity in a society where spiritual values have lost their meaning is itself meaningless.

Beloved Lasallians, it is with sincere pride and great joy that I congratulate you today on your accomplishments. But it is also with fraternal affection and profound concern that I dare disturb you. After the glitter and pomp of our ceremonies, go home and enter your secret sanctuary to discover the soul of excellence and the heart of your being. Life is not about calculation. It is not just about passion. It is not about winning at all costs. It is not about power and neither is it about getting rich. It is not even about success. It is not about graduating from the top university in the country or in the world.

What is life about then? Let me attempt to answer that with this advice from a beloved Jesuit, Fr. Pedro Arrupe:[3]

Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

It is not too far away so let me greet you: Happy Valentine’s Day. And, congratulations, beloved Lasallian graduates! Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!

[1] Lawrence H. Summers, “Freshman Orientation Day Address,” 2 September 2001, http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~lsummer/speeches/2001/freshman.html (accessed 6 Feb 2009).

[2] Thomas Merton, “A Devout Meditation in Memory of Adolf Eichmann,” Raids on the Unspeakable, originally published in 1966 by Burns and Oates, www.tomjoad.org/eichmann.htm (accessed 6 Feb 2009).

[3] Pedro Arrupe, http://thinkexist.com/quotation/nothing-is-more-practical-than-finding-god-that/348324.html (accessed 6 Feb 2009).

On Faith

2009-03-10T03:12:45Z

You guys would probably have no idea as to how many times I’ve averted having to write this piece; and using all sorts of excuses, some of them more valid than others, like having my laptop crash and not being able to retrieve what I have already written on the matter. I guess that speaks a lot also about my own personal inadequacies, when it comes to the matter that we are supposed to be discussing here now. Again, I let you guys know that I am not in a position whereby I am better than anyone knowing all these, but rather, I put myself in the stance of being a fellow learner, as there are a lot that I do not know.

For starters, I quote my favorite saint, Francois de Sales when he said, “To read is a good way to learn, to listen is better, and to teach is the best.” Hopefully, the first two would apply to you guys in as much as you’ve already heard this in class, and that you’re reading this only as a matter of review. Anyway, enough of my diversions, let us get right on to the matter at hand: Faith.

One important thing for us to realize this early is that someone does not need to be religious in order to have faith. This may probably run contrary to the notion that we all have in our mind, as when we think of Faith, the first thing that comes to mind are nun, priests, brothers, CLE and TRED teachers! [To the last I say: What the Friendster!] What we do not really realize is that faith is much more, a basic necessity in our lives. Guys, we all need to believe in something to make our lives meaningful and manageable. Like, when was the last time you met a person who does not believe in anyone, or anything except his or herself. Believe me, there are people like this, I know of a couple of them. For them, nobody is ever right. Not their parents, not their profs [that is how I got to meet one], not even their friends! These people are cynical over everything. Do you think these people can ever be happy? I doubt.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t believe in ourselves. I know form my experience that one of the unwritten high school ideas that we are bombarded with is to “Believe in yourself!” “Di ba? I suppose there is nothing wrong with that. However, we cannot just believe in ourselves all the time! We’d have to believe our teachers when they tell us that -4 + 1 = -3 (nose bleed!) we need to believe the doctor in his diagnosis of whatever it is that may be troubling our bodies ( I just remember a former student of mine, Franz Pantaleon who got sick recently, the last I heard of him, he was going to go through chemotherapy. ) Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that we need to believe because it is simply impossible for us to know everything with absolute certainty. That is further complicated by the fact that there are a thousand and one decisions we’d have to make in any given day. Very few of us have the capacity to see the future and thus be spared from making wrong moves ( Incidentally, part of the reason why I do not have full trust with fortune tellers, specially the ones in Quiapo is that if they can really predict the future, how come they aren’t rich yet. I haven’t heard of any manghuhula who has won the lotto, have you? But I digress).

Since being a hundred percent sure all the time in all aspects of our lives is obviously untenable, say for example, that the Pork loin with Cream cheese which is your favorite lunch in Agno is not laced with laxative, we cannot but have faith that Ate Ems is not out to poison us. The same goes for everything else: we must have some form of faith to keep us sane; otherwise, we will end up neurotic. In this regard, we can say that Faith is a basic human phenomenon.

Ok, I guess that’s a lot already. I’ll try to keep my posts to digestible bite-sized pieces so it won’t be hard for you guys, and me as well. Hehehe Since its already 1:10 AM. I’m calling it a day. This has been Ivan Pineda, and this is TREDONE =)

Chalk dust and Coffee stains

Day of Reckoning

Grades Consultation

TREDONE Church Involvement

Of deadlydeadlines

A Discussion on the Beatitudes (cf Dr. Tina Astorga, PhD)

5 Questions

ONe Big Fight!

Reposting here

Where did summer go?

Thank you for the term!

Submission Schedule Tomorrow

Final Instructions, you may want to print this out as a checklist

chalkandcoffee @ 2009-04-14T18:57:00

Extension

Of Storybooks

Finals Sked

Tuesday Sked

Make-up Classes

Guidelines for the Children's Storybook

Guys, this is additional guidelines for making the storybook. To qualify for this contest ( which I am requesting the deadline to be moved to April 16) Only the text is needed. But for the finished project, the 6 completed storybooks will be due on April 17 Gig Book Storywriting Contest

Deadlines, Cute Goats, Church Forms and Other Matters

Just Do It! =P

This is still unofficial, but i thought I'd post it just the same

More on Faith

The Soul of Excellence

On Faith

Guys, this is additional guidelines for making the storybook. To qualify for this contest ( which I am requesting the deadline to be moved to April 16) Only the text is needed. But for the finished project, the 6 completed storybooks will be due on April 17

Gig Book Storywriting Contest