THAT gospel episode where Christ had to cross to the other side by boat and then immediately was met with a large crowd eager to listen to him, (cfr. Mk 5,21-43) somehow tells us that if we have to truly follow Christ as we should, we have to be ready to complicate our life.
Not only was Christ met with a large crowd. A synagogue official, Jairus, came begging him to come to his house to cure his dying daughter. And that was not enough. While he was on his way, a woman afflicted with hemorrhage for 12 years stealthily approached him to touch his cloak, convinced that by so doing, she would be cured. And in fact, she was cured!
That gospel episode tells us so many things. Since we always tend to get into trouble, and it can be something impossible for us to resolve, we should never forget that we can and should always go to Christ for help. With him, nothing is impossible, although his ways may not be in full accord with what we have in mind. But to be sure, he always listens to us and gives us what is best for us.
We just have to strengthen our faith so that we can overcome whatever obstacle we may have in approaching Christ to ask for help. This was the case of Jairus whose daughter eventually died but was resurrected by Christ, and the woman with that terrible ailment of hemorrhage.
We just have to train our mind and will to have that strong faith. For this, we should make many acts of faith during the day, so that more than just our reason and other human powers, we should be guided first by our faith in God.
We have to be wary when our human powers and faculties tend to take over as the main director and shaper of our life. In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if our prayers and petitions appear unanswered, if not, contradicted. Whatever happens, as long as we go to God, everything will work out for the good.
Another lesson we can learn from this gospel episode is that if we have to be like Christ, we need to deepen our sense of compassion with everyone, unafraid to tackle whatever trouble such compassion may cause or occasion.
Christ’s heart flowed always with compassion, quick to notice the needs of others and to respond to them. And all this in all simplicity, telling the beneficiaries who were so bursting with gratitude that they wanted to broadcast what they received to the whole world, to keep quiet instead.
It’s an example that we should all try to imitate. One deep desire we should have is that of making as some kind of default mode that attitude of thinking always of the others, wishing them well all the time and doing whatever we can to help.
It’s obviously not easy to do, but we can always try. With God’s grace and with our persistent effort, we can little by little and day by day hack it, such that it becomes second nature to us to think and feel for the others. That’s what compassion is all about.
Compassion starts in the heart, in our thoughts and desires. In this level, there is no limit in what we can do. Obviously, when we try to translate these prayers, thoughts and desires into action and material things, we can be greatly limited. But insofar as prayers and sacrifices are involved, the possibilities are unlimited.
CLEMELLE L. MONTALLANA,DM, CESE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III
CLEMELLE L. MONTALLANA,DM, CESE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III
Everytime the rain pound on our roof in its relentless staccatos, some people would let go of that cry of anguish.
Why, its raining again? When would is the halt?
For the long and steady January Rains came as its xommon denominator. We have known the Rainfall warning by its color Red, Orange etc.
And ib a good note, by these colors we knew that Orange is a time of class suspension and that Red is dangerous and outright deadly 9f a warning.
Yes through it all, Rains comes as a nourishment to our plant and a cleanser of our dirts and garbage on the roads and wherever else.
Rains give life, it paves for the rejuvenated throbbing of once dead frog, i saw this first hand.
A dead frog lying lifeless on the grass was given another lease of life, because raindrops touch it’s face.
While it slowly moves and finally leap in the greens, the young botly in me was amiling ear to ear. It was a ressurection of sort in my 7 year old mind.
The rain gives irrigation to our Ricefields and the raging river gives coconuts, drift wood and other floating mementos ready for salvage.
Yet. We curse its coldness and feel a little bit of exasperation because, we cannot control its ebb, its through, its starts and its end.
But if it creates life at our inconvenience and that steady drops help the farmers, then who are we to disagree.
It is better to have these hard, sustained, steady and cold rain that noirish life than that the prolong dry season that extinguishes it.
As the face-to-face classes go into full swing, the old nagging problems that had been hounding the Department of Education (DepEd) return, one of which being the lack of classrooms that could fully accommodate the swelling number of students every year.
During the pandemic’s peak, in-person classes were avoided to prevent the virus’s spread on campuses and protect the students from likely contagion. And so, online classes were resorted to using gadgets such as laptops, cell phones, etc. Aside from these, modules were used, particularly in the lower grades.
But after all these things, in the government’s efforts to kind of graduate from the paralyzing effects of the pandemic, in-person classes are finally resumed. But then again, the old problems likewise came back. Problems such as a shortage of teachers are there. There is also this lack of quality textbooks that students can use in the classroom. But these can easily be remedied. The most paralyzing of all is the shortage of rooms for the conduct of classes.
According to the 2019 National School Building Inventory, DepEd is short of 167,901 classrooms nationwide, requiring around Php 420 billion budget. Accordingly, this is the top issue that DepEd should address. The rest can follow or can wait, depending on which one DepEd would prioritize next.
Nowadays when the rain has become frequent, it would be more difficult for schools with classroom shortages to manage. Classes cannot be held under the trees as rainwater will soak everyone wet. It could get the students sick and damage their things. Indeed, this shortage should be addressed soon.
A dolphin which was wash ashore in Baybay City died while being transported to Visayas State University on Saturday(Jan.28). The cause of death of the mammal has yet to be determined. (VSU)
BAYBAY CITY– A dolphin was stranded in the waters of Barangay Kilim, this city, on Saturday afternoon.
A dolphin which was wash ashore in Baybay City died while being transported to Visayas State University on Saturday(Jan.28). The cause of death of the mammal has yet to be determined. (VSU)
The mammal, measuring 1.65 meters in length and about 80 kilograms, however, was declared dead while it was being transported to the Visayas State University (VSU) for examination.
Angeli Vidal, a staff of the coastal resources management office staff, said that the dolphin was discovered by village residents.
The dolphin, she said, was stranded due to huge waves and cannot swim back into the deep.
The dolphin was brought to the VSU Marine laboratory for rehab but was declared dead on arrival at about 6 pm, Vidal added.
A necropsy of the dead dolphin is scheduled to be done this week to find the cause of its death before it will be buried. (ROBERT DEJON)
Manila—On January 19, the United States government donated two vehicles valued at P2.1 million ($39,400) to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to enhance its international anti-drug operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Clark International Airport.
Donated by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the vehicles will assist PDEA’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (IADITG) in its efforts to prevent the entry and exit of illegal drugs and substances used to manufacture illegal drugs through the two airports. In particular, the new vehicles will boost the mobility of law enforcement personnel and transport narcotics-detection dogs in both airports.
“The United States is committed to this partnership, through which we believe we can foster and enhance the international cooperation needed to effectively combat transnational criminal networks and drug trafficking,” visiting INL Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Lisa Johnson said at the turnover ceremony in Manila.
The IADITG was established to bolster the government’s efforts to address drug interdiction challenges in major entry points.
In 2021, Clark IADITG seized a total of 3.34 kilograms of shabu (methamphetamine) worth P22.3 million ($410,000) while NAIA IADITG confiscated a total of 8.96 kilograms of shabu worth nearly P60 million ($1.1 million).
PDEA expressed appreciation for the continued partnership with the U.S. government to support its campaign to stop the transit of illegal drugs through the Philippines.
This vehicle donation is part of a broader INL counternarcotics program in the Philippines through partnerships with PDEA and other agencies. (PR)
Residents of Barangay Opong in Catubig town, Northern Samar received food aid and hygiene kits from several charitable groups and the PNP-8 press corps on Jan.27. The said village was hard-hit by flooding. (Photo by: ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Residents of Barangay Opong in Catubig town, Northern Samar received food aid and hygiene kits from several charitable groups and the PNP-8 press corps on Jan.27. The said village was hard-hit by flooding. (Photo by: ROEL T. AMAZONA)
TACLOBAN CITY – The members of the PNP-8 press corps and other charitable groups extended assistance to flood victims in Barangay Opong, Catubig town, Northern Samar last Friday (Jan. 27).
Opong is one of the hard-hit areas of Catubig when it experienced heavy and continuous rainfall which resulted in flooding and affected all the 218 families of the village which is located near a creek.
“Flood water was so high that we have to use a boat,” village chairwoman Silma de los Santos said.
“We are thankful for all those who extended help to us,” she added.
The residents of the village received food packs, hygiene kits, and clothings from the groups which were assisted by soldiers from the 8th Infantry Division.
de los Santos said that it took several days before the flood subsided in their village.
The village official added that aside from the inconvenience brought by the flooding, their livelihood was also affected as the majority of the villagers work in the farms which were also inundated.
Opong had earlier received assistance from the provincial government.
Be ready to complicate your life
THAT gospel episode where Christ had to cross to the other side by boat and then immediately was met with a large crowd eager to listen to him, (cfr. Mk 5,21-43) somehow tells us that if we have to truly follow Christ as we should, we have to be ready to complicate our life.
Not only was Christ met with a large crowd. A synagogue official, Jairus, came begging him to come to his house to cure his dying daughter. And that was not enough. While he was on his way, a woman afflicted with hemorrhage for 12 years stealthily approached him to touch his cloak, convinced that by so doing, she would be cured. And in fact, she was cured!
That gospel episode tells us so many things. Since we always tend to get into trouble, and it can be something impossible for us to resolve, we should never forget that we can and should always go to Christ for help. With him, nothing is impossible, although his ways may not be in full accord with what we have in mind. But to be sure, he always listens to us and gives us what is best for us.
We just have to strengthen our faith so that we can overcome whatever obstacle we may have in approaching Christ to ask for help. This was the case of Jairus whose daughter eventually died but was resurrected by Christ, and the woman with that terrible ailment of hemorrhage.
We just have to train our mind and will to have that strong faith. For this, we should make many acts of faith during the day, so that more than just our reason and other human powers, we should be guided first by our faith in God.
We have to be wary when our human powers and faculties tend to take over as the main director and shaper of our life. In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if our prayers and petitions appear unanswered, if not, contradicted. Whatever happens, as long as we go to God, everything will work out for the good.
Another lesson we can learn from this gospel episode is that if we have to be like Christ, we need to deepen our sense of compassion with everyone, unafraid to tackle whatever trouble such compassion may cause or occasion.
Christ’s heart flowed always with compassion, quick to notice the needs of others and to respond to them. And all this in all simplicity, telling the beneficiaries who were so bursting with gratitude that they wanted to broadcast what they received to the whole world, to keep quiet instead.
It’s an example that we should all try to imitate. One deep desire we should have is that of making as some kind of default mode that attitude of thinking always of the others, wishing them well all the time and doing whatever we can to help.
It’s obviously not easy to do, but we can always try. With God’s grace and with our persistent effort, we can little by little and day by day hack it, such that it becomes second nature to us to think and feel for the others. That’s what compassion is all about.
Compassion starts in the heart, in our thoughts and desires. In this level, there is no limit in what we can do. Obviously, when we try to translate these prayers, thoughts and desires into action and material things, we can be greatly limited. But insofar as prayers and sacrifices are involved, the possibilities are unlimited.