THAT gospel episode where Christ in the synagogue in Nazareth faulted the people for their lack of faith (cfr. Lk 4,24-30) reminds us that we have to learn how to live by faith, with our thoughts and intentions and everything in our interior world mainly inspired and directed by faith rather than just by our human estimation of things. We have to be wary of our tendency to literally disparage this divine gift of faith.

“There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land,” he said. “It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

The reaction of his townmates to these words was one of fury. They even wanted to throw him from a cliff. That’s how bad we can also be with respect to our attitude toward being guided by faith. We prefer to think and live simply by ourselves, as if we can handle all the challenges and predicaments we can encounter in our life.

Living by faith is actually meant for all of us, since our life is a life with God. And living by faith is completely practicable, though it obviously would require a certain discipline. Yes, it will require a lot of effort and sacrifice, a lot of self-denial. But let’s also remember that there is also God’s grace given to us that would enable us to enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life.

To live by faith means, first of all, that we believe that God is always with us. And he is not with us in a passive way, but is actually actively intervening in our lives. We should not question this basic truth about God and us since as Creator, God not only creates us but also keeps us in existence.

And given the way we are, with our intelligence and will, plus his grace since we are God’s image and likeness, we are meant to have a personal and intimate relation and connection with God all the time. We are supposed to have an abiding sense of his presence in us, discerning always his promptings.

We are not making this up. We are not fantasizing here, although it’s true that feeling his presence and discerning his promptings will certainly require a lot of effort. That’s because God is way above our nature to comprehend. It’s like having a case of “being so near yet so far.” God is present everywhere. We can always connect with him anytime, but he also remains as the most mysterious of all the mysteries.

That is why we need to go through a certain plan of life that would help us establish and maintain this abiding and intimate relation with God, always conversing with him, referring things to him, asking him questions as well as for help and enlightenment, etc.

We have to study the doctrine of our faith, now clearly and authoritatively taught by the Church, and then avail of certain ascetical and spiritual practices, like regular meditations, contemplation, recollection, retreats, etc.

The ideal to pursue is that of becoming a true contemplative even while being in the middle of the world. A contemplative person is always in conversation with God in all the events of his day and of his whole life!

As a young boy I used to watch some good movies that showcase the talents in Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh.

Jamie Lee Curtis is 64 years old. Curtis came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom Operation Petticoat (1977–1978). She made her feature film debut playing Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s slasher film Halloween (1978), the first film in the Halloween franchise, which established her as a scream queen and led to a string of parts in horror films such as The Fog (1980), Prom Night (1980), Terror Train (1980), and Roadgames (1981). She reprised the role of Laurie in the Halloween sequels Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022). Looking at it’s a lifetime of Film Biography that runs for 45 years.

Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng PSM; born Yeoh Choo Kheng; 6 August 1962)[1][2] is a Swiss-based[3] Malaysian Chinese actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early films in Hong Kong, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own stunts, such as Yes, Madam (1985), Police Story 3: Supercop (1992), and Holy Weapon (1993). She later moved to the United States where she gained recognition for her roles in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in Ang Lee’s martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). The latter role earned her a BAFTA Best Actress nomination. After a career resurgence with a multi-year recurring role on Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2020), she received worldwide praise for her performance as Evelyn Wang in the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Brendan James Fraser born December 3, 1968[3]) is a Canadian and American actor[4] known for his leading roles in blockbusters, comedies, and dramatic films. He has received several awards including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award with nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.

He graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts in 1990, he made his film debut in Dogfight (1991). Fraser had his breakthrough in 1992 with the comedy Encino Man and the drama School Ties. He gained further prominence for his starring role in George of the Jungle (1997) and emerged a star playing Rick O’Connell in The Mummy trilogy (1999–2008). He took on dramatic roles in Gods and Monsters (1998), The Quiet American (2002), and Crash (2004), and further fantasy roles in Bedazzled (2000) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008).

Today, these ladies who are Senior Citizens and one 56 years, are Oscar winners. They have been around the corner waiting for their turn, lining up. The Brendan Fraser we love, the Michelle Yeoh who I know before as Michelle Khan, who is high flying and feisty. Jamie Lee Curtis was gorgeous and funny in True Lies.

In all, the story of the three, not so young actors are veterans in the wild world of movies. The fact that they have endured rejections and by pass , multiple times show that we are not hopeless. Their run are manifest destiny of how we can win even after several defeat years prior.

It give us hope and it transcend a lot of things. Today, the old became new.

There is no doubt that RE or Renewable Energy is one of millennials’ most heard-of buzzwords. Many factors are attributed to its popularity, but Science, specifically research and development (R & D), gets the credit. It may sound bias considering that the columnist’s academic make-up is founded on science.

Objectively, it is the reality of the time – Climate Change, dictates that in order for mankind to be able to roam in Planet Earth longer, it has to change mindset, castaway dependence on coal-generated power/energy in favor of RE, instead. Science has never cease from searching, discovering environment friendly energy sources. Thus, the advent of Wind generated power, and even energy from ocean or tide-generated power as leading renewable energy providers, are slowly gaining popularity in the Philippines and globally.
The Philippine National oil Corporation (PNOC), through its Renewables Corporation (PNOC-RC), commitment to hasten the implementation of the country’s RE development and program implementation, is a positive, laudable action in anticipation for the government’s plan to digitalize all transactions.

Moreso, is to meet the country’s energy needs as it opens its economy to more foreign investments, and invite them to explore, develop, and utilize the Philippines renewable resources that include solar, wind, biomass, ocean or tidal energy.

Noteworthy of mention was last year’s (2022) inclusion of the Philippines in the world’s top 40 most attractive renewable energy investment and deployment opportunity markets. Also, the Philippines landed number 27 among four Southeast Asian markets that made in the recent Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Attractiveness Index.

The PNOC-RC leads in the country’s march to renewable energy development aimed at increasing its share in the power mix from the current 22 percent to 35 percent by 2030 and further to 50 percent by 2040. The state-run PNOC-RC has ongoing RE projects that include waste-to-energy, hydropower, and floating solar PV developments.

MY COMMENT:
My science orientation have made me an advocate to fast-tracking the development of RE in the Philippines. I look at this advocacy on switching RE for the economy to shore up from the quagmire that was the 2 years plus of the pandemia. Likewise, is honoring the protocols set on during the 2015 Paris climate change Forum. Therefore, projects at developing the country’s rich RE resources, it is fair to say, should be given a bigger slice of the annual appropriation/budget pie.
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