In the mid-90s this writer was a college student . And one of the most popular bands then was a group good looking dudes who call themselves as Introvoys. They have this song entitled called Will I Survive? Paco Arespacochaga and Jonathan Buencamino headlines the group. That song has this Chorus ”

Tell me, will I ever survive?
Stop my tears and keep it inside
Holding back myself from being close to you

Right now the ditty evokes a sadder note , will we ever survive World War 3? Come to think of it , can we really survive when the lunatic leaders of our time lost their minds and launch Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles?

The Philippines is a country that has been experiencing strong economic growth and development in recent years. However, like any other country, it is not immune to the potential impacts of global events such as a hypothetical World War III.

While it is impossible to predict the exact course of events in such a scenario, it is possible to analyze potential outcomes and impacts on the Philippines.

According to an article by Esquire Philippines, World War III would be fought in five domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace1. The use of nuclear weapons is a possibility, but it might not be necessary due to the deterrence theory and mutually assured destruction1. In the event of a global conflict, the Philippines could potentially be affected in several ways.

Firstly, the country’s economy could be impacted by disruptions in global trade and commerce. The Philippines has a vibrant economy that is supported by strong consumer demand, a growing middle class, and robust remittances2. A global conflict could disrupt these economic drivers and potentially lead to a slowdown in growth.

Secondly, the country’s security could be threatened by regional instability. The Philippines is located in a region that has several ongoing territorial disputes and potential flashpoints for conflict. In the event of a global war, these disputes could escalate and potentially draw the Philippines into the conflict.

Finally, the country’s infrastructure and population could be at risk from direct attacks or collateral damage. In a global conflict, military targets such as ports, airfields, and communication facilities could be targeted. This could result in damage to infrastructure and potential loss of life.

In conclusion, while it is impossible to predict the exact course of events in a hypothetical World War III scenario, it is clear that the Philippines could potentially be impacted in several ways. It is important for the country to continue its efforts towards economic development and security to mitigate these potential risks.

Conrad Kellog once said “The thing about happiness is that you only know you had it when it’s gone.” Let this quote be just an on line quote made fAamous by the break up songs and soap opera we hear and watch , let the Earth be as real as it can be, not a memory.

For so long we have been harboring the wrong notion that Catholics do not use the bible. If we see people roaming around carrying bibles, we can be sure they are not Catholics. The practice is still true in this era and generation, for Catholics are not even required to own a bible. While other sects are using the bible in their activities, Catholics do not as they are just made to listen to the Word of God during Holy Masses. The faithful are not obliged to carry the Holy Bible during liturgies. Studying the Word of God is not part of the liturgy unlike other sects where bible reading is done as part of their activities.

While young Catholic kids are made to attend Catechism before receiving first communion, other sects expose their kids to the bible based on their misconstrued explanation of the faith. We adhere to the teaching authority of the Catholic Church and do not delve studying the bible on our own personal interpretation. Other sects are too assuming in making private interpretations and teaching the word of God to their followers without consulting the Church magisterium as to how bible is to be reflected on and understood.

It is precisely the wrong practice of reading the Bible and delving into private interpretations that do not conform to the teaching of the Catholic Church that was built and established by Jesus Christ that had caused the proliferation of many sects. The Church which Jesus Christ entrusted to Peter had been given the authority to teach the faith when the apostles were commanded to go and preach the good news. No one of the apostles was told to write the teachings. This is why the Holy Bible came much later as a compilation of product of the discernment of the Catholic Church. It was compiled from manuscripts that were scattered in different places and times.

Sects that make the Holy Bible the fundamental source of their faith and teaching are lost in their chosen path. The fundamental truth that these non-Catholic sects miss or just refuse to recognize is that the Catholic Church was established by Jesus Christ long before the Holy Bible was completed. This means that the Catholic Church had already been preaching the Good News immediately when the apostles received the command to preach which was too long before the Holy Bible came into being. This shows that not all teachings on the faith are contained in the Holy Bible as teaching begun even without the Holy Bible yet. This fact is supported in the last verse of the gospel of Saint John where it was mentioned that not all that was taught be Jesus Christ were written in the Holy Bible.

Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Jesus Christ according to the great theologian Saint Jerome. He it was who painstakingly gathered the various manuscripts that were included in the Holy Bible. The compilation of the sacred writings was completed with the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit guiding the judgment and discernment of the Catholic Church. The Holy Bible that we now have is the product of a long and tedious process undertaken by the Catholic Church. The challenge for us Catholics is to learn our faith by knowing Jesus Christ through the Holy Bible, that Sacred Scriptures that truly belongs to us. We must be able to defend our faith against the attacks emanating from the misguided misuse of the Holy Bible by non-Catholics who make wrong interpretations in affront to the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. Divine revelation comes from three sources, church magisterium, sacred tradition and the holy bible. It is not bible alone.
comments to alellema@yahoo.com

The Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap (DPTR) of the Philippine government is on the right track with the involvement of farmers and agri producers sectors, it was announced by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This was done formally when BSP signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA), with the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office-Cordillera Administration Region (DA-RPO-CAR) inviting farmers and other agricultural players to the Paleng-QR Ph Program recently.

Briefly, the afore said program promotes quick response (QR) technology as a convenient, safe, and efficient payment solution to build the collective financial resilience of more Filipinos and help them maximize opportunities through their inclusion in the formal financial system. This program will also benefit market vendors from the convenience and safety of using QR technology.

In particular, the MOA specifically outlines financial education programs to be conducted by the BSP with a focus on the effective use of digital payments in business, financial services for micro and small enterprises and consumer protection. Also, this expands the scope of Palenmg-QR Ph participants from Baguio City’s public market vendors, public transport drivers, and other merchants who joined the program in August (2022), to now include the region’s agricultural supply chain players.

MY COMMENT:

I find the BSP-DPTR program a broader approach with the inclusion of other players in the agriculture sector such as the farmers and the agri producers. Started in Baguio City, I pray that the program will spread all over the country for a more comprehensive implementation of the laudable program on digitalization.
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THE Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, celebrated on August 15, definitely reminds us that our body also shares in the dignity of being image and likeness of God. This is what our Catechism teaches about the basic truth of faith about ourselves:

“The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit: Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity.” (CCC 364)

It’s a truth of faith worthy of being studied very well so we would know what practical consequences and implications are involved, especially with regard to our duties towards our own body—how to look at it, how to take care of it, etc.

Let’s remember that at the creation of man in Adam and Eve, there was a state of original holiness and justice, and because of that there was no malice at all in seeing them without any clothing.

That is how the Italian painter, Michelangelo, portrayed the creation of Adam in a fresco painting which forms part of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling in St. Peter’s Basilica. The same with both Adam and Eve in Eden just before the fall. They were both naked. Of course, now with the effects of sin, we cannot dare to go out naked unless something is wrong with our head.

The Solemnity of Our Lady’s Assumption definitely urges us to take care of our body in such a way that it too should give glory to God. For that to happen, we obviously have to exert a lot of effort to discipline its worldly urges with God’s grace, so that it gets totally animated by the proper spirit of God, which is a spirit of love as shown by Christ.

This means developing the virtue of chastity which needs to be grounded on a life of authentic piety, of spirituality, of an intimate and abiding relationship with God from whom all good things come. Absent this grounding, chastity can only be at best a shell, a matter of appearance only, of some form of social or political correctness devoid of real substance. Such condition only leads to cases of hypocrisy.

Let’s never forget that man is both body and soul. And because of the spirituality of our soul, we are meant to unite ourselves to God, our creator who made us to be in his image and likeness. It is God who gives us the grace so that our natural disposition toward what is good that ultimately is God, is actualized. In other words, we are meant to live not just a natural life, but a supernatural life with God.

To be blunt about it, any virtue that we ought to develop should have God as its cause and effect. It just cannot be the result of our human efforts alone. We need to ask and to correspond to God’s grace.

And the way to correspond to God’s grace has been shown to us and even given to us by Christ, the son of God who became man to redeem us, giving us “the way, the truth, and the life” that is proper to us.

A quick look at the life of Christ can tell us that we have to learn to pray, to offer sacrifices, to deny ourselves and carry the cross, to live a certain detachment from the things of the world, etc. That’s how we can develop chastity.