CHRIST said it very clearly. “This is eternal life,” he said, “that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (Jn 17,3) Of course, we have to clarify that knowing God and knowing Christ can only take place if also love God and love Christ.
With God, knowing and loving always go together. One cannot be without the other. This is what is involved when we say we believe in God. We have to know and love him. Both are needed for us to achieve that union and identification with him so that we can share that eternal life that only God can give and share with us.
As we have clarified before, the process of knowing makes the knower (us) have the known (God) in him. But in loving, the lover (us) is brought to the beloved (God). In both these processes, the union and identification are made complete.
This union and identification with God is necessary for us since we are his image and likeness, meant to share in the very life and nature of God. We are not mere copies of God that can exist on our own independently of God, the original. We are meant always to live our life intimately with God, the original from whom we are the image and likeness.
That is why we can also say that while all creatures of God have a certain connaturality with him since every creature shares something with God the Creator, our connaturality with him as his image and likeness enjoys the highest degree.
That’s because while all creatures come and belong to God, we of all creatures come and belong to him in the most intimate way, since we are supposed to share in God’s very own life and nature. The other creatures do not have this kind of dignity. In fact, they are there to serve us who in the end and always should love and serve God through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
This is a truth of our Christian faith that we need to understand very well so that we can act on it and live it as best that we can. It is obviously something that we consider incredible. We certainly feel awkward about it, if not skeptical.
But we just have to level up our understanding of who we really are and start to feel confident that we can live up to that dignity because insofar as God is concerned, he has given us everything that we need to achieve our real identity.
That God has to become man to save us from our self-inflicted alienation from him due to our sin, and that this God-man, Jesus Christ, has to offer his life as a ransom for our sins, can only mean we are so special to him. Thus, a psalm expresses that amazement by saying, “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps 8,4)
Besides, that Christ had to offer himself as Bread of Life to be eaten by us so we can achieve even in a material way our union with him while here on earth, can only show that we are truly meant to be united and identified with Christ.
That is why, saints and theologians have described us to be “another Christ” if not “Christ himself.” And since Christ lives in eternity, transcending the limitations of time and space, then we too, if we unite ourselves with him, can live in eternal life, even while we are still here on earth!
RPOC chair Romualdez noticed lack of forest guards
RPOC Chairman Alfred Romualdez
TACLOBAN CITY– About 286 police officers are to help forest guards protect the region’s forest against illegal poachers and in the process, help preserve the region’s forest covers.
The police personnel had just completed their two-day seminar on deputation on enforcement of environment and natural resources law last Tuesday(May 23) with Tacloban City Mayor and Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) chairman Alfred Romualdez in attendance.
The graduates, in turn, will duplicate the lessons to their co-police officers in their own respective areas.
Turning these police officers into protectors of the region’s forests was the idea of Mayor Romualdez who said he had observed that in his visits to the different parts of the region as RPOC chair, he learned on lack of forest guards.
In his message, Romualdez made emphasis on the cooperation to maintain the natural resources of the region.
Aside from Mayor Romualdez, the occasion, held at the Matapat Hall of PNP Regional headquarters at the Camp Ruperto Kangleon, was also attended by police regional director B/Gen. Vincent Calanoga and his regional staff chief, Col. Michael David, and Regional Director Arturo Fadrequela of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources(DENR).
Multiple fiber cuts due to construction activities cause service disruption in Central, Eastern Visayas
On Wednesday, May 24, Globe lines in Central and Eastern Visayas were affected by multiple fiber cuts, disrupting services for customers using Globe Prepaid, Globe Postpaid, Globe Platinum, TM, Globe Business, Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi, Globe At Home Postpaid and LTE@Home.
The incident, which was caused by government-contracted construction activities, impacted millions of customers who experienced difficulties in making and receiving calls, texts, and internet browsing.
Fiber cuts were traced to Tagkawayan, Quezon due to activities by Joey Ding Contractor, and Tagbilaran City in Bohol, because of construction work by Cebu 7H Technochem Industries.
Globe’s technical and network teams worked double time to restore services to normal. Services were back up in all affected areas by early afternoon of the same day.
Globe is currently coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways, which leads construction activities in the affected sites, to investigate what caused the fiber cuts.
Globe appeals to contractors to exercise utmost care in excavation activities and roadworks in consideration of utility lines that may be affected, as unintended cuts cause service interruptions that affect customers and result in costly repairs. (PR)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Leyte Second District Engineering Office (L2DEO) has reported the completion of the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and upgrading of the Mayorga-La Paz road.
Engr. Leo Edward Oppura, L2DEO district engineer, mentioned that the project was reported completed on April 28, 2023, with an allocation of P14.56 million sourced from the asset preservation program for CY 2023.
The project involving the laying of asphalt overlay is located in Barangay Bonifacio, Mayorga traversing the Mayorga-La Paz road network.
The provision of thermoplastic pavement markings was included to provide guidance to drivers on the intended vehicle path and to enhance visibility, particularly at night and during wet conditions.
Motorists and travelers can expect easier and speedier access to schools, health care facilities, government buildings, and various other private and public entities in the area with the improved road.
The Mayorga-La Paz road section is classified as a tertiary road with a total length of 5.975 kilometers, with junctions in Daang Maharlika and Burauen town proper. (LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Manila—In celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), awarded P240 million ($4.3 million) in grants to help civil society organizations address the unique climate challenges faced by local communities across the Philippines.
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson joined Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Juan Miguel Cuna and Gerry Roxas Foundation Executive Director Glen de Castro to announce the 11 grants that will support efforts to conserve biodiversity, protect wildlife, and implement natural climate solutions. The grants were provided under USAID’s Investing in Sustainability and Partnership for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Project.
The recipient organizations are BaiAni Foundation, CBCP Caritas Filipinas Foundation, Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, Diliman Science Research Foundation, Impl. Project Philippines, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, Mabuwaya Foundation, Surigao Economic Development and Microfinance Foundation, Tanggol Kalikasan, University of Santo Tomas Research and Endowment Foundation, and Xavier Agricultural Extension Services Foundation.
The Mabuwaya Foundation plans to use their grant to protect the intact forests of the Sierra Madre mountain range in Cagayan by addressing illegal logging and conversion of forest lands for agricultural use. Xavier Agricultural Extension Service Foundation’s grant will strengthen community-based initiatives to restore and protect the mangrove forests and other marine ecosystems in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Carlson affirmed civil society organizations’ critical role in translating conservation agreements into actions.
“Through these grants, we are advancing sustainable local solutions that will help communities address the unique climate challenges they face,” Ambassador Carlson said. “These grants contribute to our shared goal of a more resilient future where both people and nature thrive.”
“We are one with USAID and INSPIRE in the quest for an increased and a more meaningful participation and engagement of all sectors [of society]. DENR is grateful for the continued partnership and we look forward to deepening our engagement as we work toward creating a more equitable world for all,” DENR Undersecretary Cuna said.
For more than six decades, USAID has partnered with the Philippine government and local organizations to conserve the country’s rich biodiversity and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Since 2021, USAID has provided more than P620 million ($11.7 million) to civil society organizations to amplify their efforts in achieving environmental sustainability and uplifting the lives of Filipino communities. (PR)
NSSDEO, Brgy. Burabud, Laoang, Northern Samar-– Motorists traversing the PAMAGALA Road along Barangay Nipa in Palapag town are now benefiting from the newly-asphalted road section implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Northern Samar Second District Engineering Office (NSSDEO) that provides a smooth and safe travel experience.
The road improvement project started last March 06, 2023 under contract of ANLE Construction and was completed on April 05, 2023. Its scope of work covers asphalting of 480.00 meters roadway with thickness of 50mm and 6.70m wide. The project was funded under CY 2023 General Appropriation Act (GAA), DPWH Regular Infrastructures.
The P5.885 million asphalt overlaying of the said road section provides reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings as directional signages for the safety of the motorists.
The implementation of preventive maintenance projects helps prolong the service life of roads by minimizing premature deterioration of pavement brought by the passage of heavy vehicles as well as wear and tear implications.
Economic development and progress are also triggered and enhanced as farm and commercial products and other manpower services are easily delivered to the business center. (RHODORA R. PUJANTE, PIO STAFF/PR)
What eternal life is
CHRIST said it very clearly. “This is eternal life,” he said, “that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (Jn 17,3) Of course, we have to clarify that knowing God and knowing Christ can only take place if also love God and love Christ.
With God, knowing and loving always go together. One cannot be without the other. This is what is involved when we say we believe in God. We have to know and love him. Both are needed for us to achieve that union and identification with him so that we can share that eternal life that only God can give and share with us.
As we have clarified before, the process of knowing makes the knower (us) have the known (God) in him. But in loving, the lover (us) is brought to the beloved (God). In both these processes, the union and identification are made complete.
This union and identification with God is necessary for us since we are his image and likeness, meant to share in the very life and nature of God. We are not mere copies of God that can exist on our own independently of God, the original. We are meant always to live our life intimately with God, the original from whom we are the image and likeness.
That is why we can also say that while all creatures of God have a certain connaturality with him since every creature shares something with God the Creator, our connaturality with him as his image and likeness enjoys the highest degree.
That’s because while all creatures come and belong to God, we of all creatures come and belong to him in the most intimate way, since we are supposed to share in God’s very own life and nature. The other creatures do not have this kind of dignity. In fact, they are there to serve us who in the end and always should love and serve God through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
This is a truth of our Christian faith that we need to understand very well so that we can act on it and live it as best that we can. It is obviously something that we consider incredible. We certainly feel awkward about it, if not skeptical.
But we just have to level up our understanding of who we really are and start to feel confident that we can live up to that dignity because insofar as God is concerned, he has given us everything that we need to achieve our real identity.
That God has to become man to save us from our self-inflicted alienation from him due to our sin, and that this God-man, Jesus Christ, has to offer his life as a ransom for our sins, can only mean we are so special to him. Thus, a psalm expresses that amazement by saying, “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps 8,4)
Besides, that Christ had to offer himself as Bread of Life to be eaten by us so we can achieve even in a material way our union with him while here on earth, can only show that we are truly meant to be united and identified with Christ.
That is why, saints and theologians have described us to be “another Christ” if not “Christ himself.” And since Christ lives in eternity, transcending the limitations of time and space, then we too, if we unite ourselves with him, can live in eternal life, even while we are still here on earth!