THAT gospel episode where a leading Jew, Nicodemus by name, asked Christ about what was to be born again (cfr. Jn 3,7-15) tells us that we need to give due attention and care for our doctrinal formation. And that’s simply because our Christian faith, supernatural and mysterious as it is, also comes to us in the form of doctrines that we need to study and understand.

We need to see this vital connection between God and the doctrine that we need to study and meditate on. Hopefully, we assimilate this doctrine such that it becomes flesh of our flesh.

Our usual problem is that we tend to disconnect the two, raising all sorts of reasons why such vital link between God and the doctrine cannot be possible, if not always, then from time to time.

There’s obviously some point to why the doctrine cannot fully capture God and his teachings. And that’s because of the human elements involved in the doctrine. But in spite of that, we need to realize that in its substance and in its core, the doctrine is actually divine.

We just have to know how to distinguish between its divine character and its human elements that would unavoidably include some limitations. This is actually part of our human condition and we just have to learn how to live with it.

Truth is God always intervenes in our life and makes use of our humanity to come and be with us. We should not waste time making a big fuss about the human limitations that accompany this abiding divine interventions.

That’s why God through Christ in the Spirit has endowed the Church with the proper power and authority to teach his doctrine integrally and infallibly, much like we as a nation entrust our government with certain power to govern us in spite of the many limitations in the men running the government.

Except that in the case of God in relation to the Church, the act of empowering goes far more radically than what takes place in our empowering of our government to rule over us.
We need to consider the Church doctrine as the true and most precious doctrine that can bring us to our ultimate joy and end. It is not just a man-made doctrine that can give us some benefits and advantages, some social or economic progress, but not our ultimate supernatural end.

We also need to see the Church doctrine as the proper spirit that should animate any human doctrine we may make for some practical purpose we may have in the different aspects of our life—personal, family, professional, social, political, etc.

Thus, it is essential that we learn to know the Church doctrine or the doctrine of our faith such that this doctrine becomes the moving spirit behind our every thought, word and deed, behind our every plan and project, big or small, ordinary or extraordinary.
There is need for us to know how to relate the doctrine of our faith to our daily affairs and to our very serious and big projects and plans, and vice versa. At the moment, this expertise is hardly known, its need hardly felt.

This is the challenge we are facing today as we tackle the increasingly rapid, complex and complicated developments. Let’s hope that we can overcome whatever biases we have that hinder the appreciation of our basic need for Church doctrine in our human affairs.

While many of the destinations around Tacloban City and nearby districts have had decent, air-conditioned mini-buses transporting the passengers to and from their places of residence, the passenger vehicles plying the San Jose route are still the same old jeepneys and multicabs—emitting dark fumes, congested with passengers, smelling of cigarette smoke, packed with perspiring bodies, and inconvenienced by rotten vehicle innards.

This makes people from San Jose district wonder—where are these “savior” vehicles? Why are there no such alternatives to these old and falling apart jeepneys? Who is the powerful figure behind the endless utilization of these ancient vehicles? When can the people from San Jose enjoy the coolness of an air-conditioned ride, especially now when the heat is terrible? Why stick to these uncomfortable vehicles when there are already new and very convenient ones? Why deprive the San Jose passengers of such privilege and comfort?

Mind you, San Jose must have the bulky passengers of all places around Tacloban. You know why? That’s the only route with a 24-hour, non-stop passenger service. At midnight and shortly after that, passenger vehicles to other places already retire for the night such that, if you are bound to any of these places, you will have to hire a tricycle exclusively just to get there, the reason being that there are no more passenger vehicles on the roads.
But not in San Jose. One can go home to San Jose anytime at night, or vice versa as passenger vehicles seemingly don’t stop from plying the route. Given this bulk of passengers, then, air-conditioned mini-buses will never run out of passengers should they opt to take the San Jose route. But why is it that none of them are taking that line? There must be some powerful figures who monopolize that route, not allowing modern vehicles to get in.

Passengers don’t really care who decides for the people’s welfare or deprivation in relation to this issue. They don’t care about the reasons behind. What they demand is that they should be made to enjoy what other passengers to other places are enjoying. They demand for a more comfortable ride, cool and safe from the increasing air pollution along thoroughfares. Why can they not enjoy it, if others can? The San Jose passengers obviously comprise the biggest number of passengers, yet they are deprived of these comfortable vehicles? That’s the amazing thing there.

The City Lords and policy makers should intervene in this regard. Just because some controlling authorities are that powerful enough doesn’t mean people should continually bear with the age-old discomfort that these rotten jeepneys have been providing. We make do with such vehicles if there are no more options to choose from. But if there are, why continue to stick to these Jurassic vehicles that would sometimes pluck your skin off with their protruding rust eating up the vehicles?

And don’t make these San Jose passengers wait. Provide them now with those far better, spacious, and cool vehicles. They deserve to have them around.