That Religious Blog

Speaking in Tongues: A Language Learner's Guide

2012-01-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I helped promote the French studies program to 8th graders
at my alma mater, Stagg High School.

It is no secret that behind my exterior of a mild-mannered seminarian and college student lies an avid language lover. Whether they be written or spoken, words excite me, especially ones from different tongues. A language lover tends to speak a variety of languages, much to the envy of others who are amazed when the former can carry a conversation in French when he obviously is a Filipino, prompting them to question their own abilities to do the same. Language lovers recognize that they're a rare breed in this age of instant translating apps and lack of engaged students. Alas, ladies and gents, it's not a matter of genetic mutation or divine intervention that enables linguaphiles to excel in language acquisition. It's merely a matter of ... Well, read on and find out!

Recently, a friend sent me a message on Facebook inquiring about languages. It went a little something like this:

"Jeremy! Well I was talking to some friends about how I want to major in Foreign Languages and then your name came up! One friend mentioned that you know seven languages!
So I was wondering... How do you do it?? do you have techniques? Or are you just a genius? ... Have you ever struggled? What would you do if you're learning a language but at some point it gets hard?"

  Well, dear Reader, who obviously shares my passion as well since you've managed to read this far, the trick is both luck and strategy and judging from my math grades in the past, I'm no intellectual prodigy.

  Growing up, I spoke English and Tagalog. To my eternal chagrin, my parents chose not to teach Ilokano to my brother and I, which would have made me trilingual early on! In high school, I took four years of French. For some unknown reason, I have always been interested in everything French, from fries to films. (It's no wonder I'm discerning with a French religious order!) Ergo, I took four years of French in high school and loved it. Before senior year, I also decided to learn Spanish since I did not want to waste a class in my schedule on an easy A, like being a teacher's assistant or on another course where I could sit there and vegetate. I purchased a Spanish guide and began studying conjugations, rules, and words over the summer. As a testament to my efforts, I jumped to third year Spanish at the honors level and passed with an A+. Qué chido!

  French essentially gave me a background in every Romance language. The Romance languages are great because they're all interrelated since they branched off from Vulgar Latin, the lingua franca of ancient Rome. Once you know one, the rest will be easy (or at least manageable). In addition to French, my natural Filipino-ness allowed Spanish to become a piece of cake because Tagalog is at least 40% Spanish.

  After French and Spanish, I took up Afrikaans which is an easy Dutch-related language from South Africa. Since I gave my Afrikaans book away to my friend, however, I've lost my grasp of the language. I also learned Brazilian Portuguese and Italian over the summer before college (my language learning abilities must be seasonally-inclined) but am slowly forgetting conjugations and rules in both of these.

  Ultimately, the languages I'm most comfortable with are English, Tagalog, French, and Spanish. Now that I've established my experience, let's get on with the tips and tricks!

1.) Resources

For self-study, purchase a good guide concerning the language you want to learn. Helpful features would be directions that emphasize conversation, verb charts, pronunciation guides, and vocabulary lists. Others may prefer taking classes, which help reinforce the material being learned. Self-study should be reserved for people who are self-motivated and have outlets where they can practice the language. In the case of Romance languages, once you learn verb conjugations, rules, and words in one, you'll have built a mental bridge to the others. After I learned French and Spanish, I was able to skip the boring preliminary introductions in guides on Portuguese and Italian because I already had a basic grasp of the fundamentals. Between reading about a language and speaking it, I prefer the latter and so once you understand the basics it's smooth sailing towards carrying a conversation.

  2.) Repetition, repetition, repetition!
  I make sure to repeat out loud like a crazy person minus the foaming mouth conjugations, words, and rules. Studies have shown that seeing something and verbally expressing it helps in memory retention. Unfortunately, there is no use in repeating words incorrectly. I recommend listening to online radio in the language of your choice whenever you're wasting away at Facebook or reading someone's blog. You'll learn new words and expressions as well as gain better insight into imitating a native speaker's accent. Watching YouTube videos or foreign films also help. Register for sites like Livemocha or Interpals, which are social networks designed for language learners to practice with native speakers around the world.

  3.) Application
  Try to apply what you've learned into your daily life. See a chair? Refer to it as "la chaise." See a table? Refer to it as "a tabela." See one of your buddies who told everyone in your third grade class that you wet the bed? Refer to her as "la chismosa." At a French café or a Mexican taco truck, try ordering en français or en español. Your friends and family might get annoyed at your little language immersion habits but you might end up teaching them a thing or two. After all, how can you learn a language that you never speak at home or anywhere else besides the classroom?

  4.) LOVE
  My last trick is to make sure that I love the language I'm studying (which isn't even a trick really...) I make sure to study its history, its culture, and its people, all in the hope of grasping the essence of the language. If you love your languages, you'll never forget them. This may be the most difficult step to master since if your heart is not into German, I don't believe you'll ever truly get far in it.

Language learning is definitely not for the faint of heart. It takes courage, motivation, and an ability to get up after taking a fall. I've struggled in each language I currently speak, English included. In first grade I was in an ESL class, where the teacher would test me on how to say the word "apple," and look at me now, years later with an AP English Literature score of 5 and a passion for student journalism under my belt. Taking college-level French has at times frustrated me as well since I struggled with difficult grammatical concepts and rules but after some rigorous studying, I survived and am currently set for spring semester to take a sophomore-level French class as a freshman! C'est cool, n'est-ce pas?

Don't get discouraged by the difficulties you encounter because the only way to grow is to overcome, which is a lesson one can coincidentally apply to his life outside of languages. Ultimately, the world needs more language lovers. I mean who else will interpret for world leaders, translate award-winning literature, or help someone order ice cream in Québéc?

Happy National Vocations Awareness Week!

2012-01-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

"We heard a summons to give over our lives in a more explicit way. It was a call to serve all people, believers and unbelievers alike. We would serve them out of our own faith that the Lord had loved us and died for us and risen for us and that He offers us a share in his life, a life more powerful and enduring than any sin or death. It was a call that came to us from without, but also one that arose up within us, as from His Spirit."

Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross (1:3-4)

Please pray for more vocations to the priesthood, to religious life,

to consecrated single life, and to married life.

Praying with Purpose

2012-01-08T01:05:00.000-08:00

Ever since the beginning of the second week of break, my sleep schedule has been a bit off. Last night I managed to climb into bed at 9:45 PM only to get up again since I had forgotten to say compline and matins. After an hour or so, I went back to bed, slept for three hours and woke up. Since I couldn’t revert back to sleep, I resolved to stay up and pray lauds and prime at 6 AM, which was quite a feat for someone who had been waking up recently as late as 5 PM…

Alas, besides a few more snoozes before breakfast, all was not lost. As I was praying lauds, I happened across particular verses of today’s canticle that struck me as spiritually beneficial. One can say it was an epiphany (wink wink to those liturgical feast enthusiasts). As it so happens, it was contained in the opening stanza and the second stanza’s first two verses so I didn’t need to look far:

“Give ear, O heavens, while I speak;let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth!May my instruction soak in like the rain,and my discourse permeate like the dew,Like a downpour upon the grass,Like a shower upon the crops.For I will sing the Lord’s renown.Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!”

(Deuteronomy 32:1-3)

Those noble words of Moses embodied to me why I pray the Divine Office out loud when I’m on my own. I began doing so during the early weeks of seminary life in fall semester when the new guys were introduced to praying the Liturgy of the Hours. As a community, we pray the Major Hours out loud and I decided to pray out loud the Little Hours as well by myself. I did this at first because I felt like I was able to better enter into a spirit of prayerful conversation with the Lord more so than when I simply read the words on the pages.

Praying the Office out loud allows me to visualize myself proclaiming the psalms to the world and to God in a confident manner. It also helps me wake up during the semester when we rise early to pray lauds…

After reading Chapter IV of the appendix of The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an edition I purchased from Fraternity Publications, I was happy to note that several great men of Holy Mother Church had also engaged in this verbal practice. Sts. Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri, and Vincent de Paul prayed each line of the Office out loud in order to avoid the temptation of rushing for as St. Francis de Sales puts it, “Haste is the destroyer of devotion.” I feel there’s always the looming temptation to “speed read” when praying the Office, especially if one is tired or busy. Unfortunately when this occurs, prayer loses all meaning and becomes relegated to mindless lip-service.

Abbé Bacquez recommends praying the Office out loud “for by this means the words, striking the eye and the ear at the same time, are less exposed to pass underneath, and the care taken to discover the word we pronounce is one more safeguard against the tendency to routine” (Little Office of the B.V.M. 195). Having heard from old priests who have been praying the Office for decades, I can understand how the same psalms can become mundane. We should, however, never lose purpose in prayer, which is above all to demonstrate our dependence and love for the Lord.

When praying the Office, we stand together as a united Church, as an assembly before God, praying the same psalms which have praised and celebrated Him for centuries, by Jew and Christian alike. The FSSP edition of the Little Office puts it nicely when it reasons that since the psalms are biblical poetry what better way to give glory to God than by using His own words!

During break, I try to keep in mind that my brothers in community are praying the Office in their respective locales, spiritually alongside contemplative religious residing in hallowed monasteries and convents, clergy within churches both simple and magnificent, and laymen and women inside homes across the world, all of our praises and petitions rising to God as one through liturgical prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours is beautiful for its ability to bring together people from every country under one distinct form of worship.

Of course, I haven’t always said my Hours during break but I hope that in time, I can rise to a level of spiritual maturity that will help me enter into a deeper relationship with God via prayer. Regardless of whether one prays the Office or not, let us all strive to pray with purpose whenever we are before God.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Josemaría Escrivá, pray for us.

(Written 07 January 2012, which explains the canticle, but published today since I just got back from San Francisco.)

Today's Canticle from Lauds

2012-01-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

"Give ear, O heavens, while I speak;

let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth!

May my instruction soak in like the rain,

and my discourse permeate like the dew,

Like a downpour upon the grass,

Like a shower upon the crops.

For I will sing the Lord's renown.

Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God!"

- Moses, (Deuteronomy 32:1-3)

Un ami. Un frère. Un saint.

2012-01-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

Un ami. Un frère. Un saint.

St. André Bessette, the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross, was all these things and then some. He was a friend to the poor, a brother to his fellow Holy Cross religious, and as of October 17, 2010, a saint within Holy Mother Church.

It’s truly a testament to God’s sense of humor and purpose when he called St. André, a poorly educated man, to be a saint in lieu of one of the many scholars that composed the rest of the Congregation in the 20^th century. I view it as a call to humility for Holy Cross, an order of educators in the faith, which initially rejected God’s doorkeeper for lacking academic prowess. Who would have thought that a simple porter at College Notre-Dame would have been able to bring people closer to the Lord and eventually build an oratory to his beloved patron, St. Joseph?

I encourage everyone to learn about St. André’slife. His humility and willingness to accept his daily sufferings are worthy of envy and emulation. Rather than be corrupted by pride when many hailed him as the “Miracle Man of Montréal,” St. André always reminded the faithful that it was the Lord, through St. Joseph’s intercession, who was performing the healings that brought thousands of pilgrims to his doorstep. His warm presence brought solace to the ailing yet he certainly was no pushover. St. André would gladly rebuke others for expecting God to heal them as if the Almighty owed them anything.

At his death, St. André proved that even a holy man could pierce the fabric of popular culture and inspire many to have faith, depicted by the million or so people who filed past his coffin, giving homage not so much to the man who lay within but to the ideals he represented. He touched the lives of hundreds of men and women in an age before televangelists, Twitter, and Facebook. It was through word of mouth that his story spread and brought many to his side. After all, people can’t keep something good to themselves. They have to share it.

From my experience as a Holy Cross seminarian, I’ve realized that a central aspect of the Congregation’s spirituality centers on finding the silver-lining during times of suffering, a mentality embodied in the motto “Ave Crux, Spes Unica.” Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope! Suffering always engenders spiritual fruits. Just as Christ willingly accepted his death on the cross, so to must we carry the burdens of life with love and humble assent. St. André was the most fragile of his siblings, had lost his parents at an early age, and was mocked for his austere devotion to St. Joseph. Yet he bore all of his trials with inner strength born from trust in Divine Providence and therefore was able to share his hope with the less fortunate and those who suffered physically.

After visiting l’Oratoire Saint-Joseph in Montréal last November with other pilgrims from Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College, and Holy Cross College, I truly received a greater understanding and appreciation for our amazing Québécois saint. The atmosphere of the oratory was quiet and reserved, a spiritual haven amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. After kneeling before and touching St. André’s tomb, I was overcome with emotion. Here was a man who laid down his life for the Lord through his ministry of service to those in need. Here was a man who experienced the same trials as those who succeed him today. Here was a saint.

The Church will always have her triumphant body of saints that now praise the Lord unceasingly in heaven and I thank God for that. With their lives they proclaimed the Gospel and they continue to do so as their stories are passed on. It’s amazing to think that anyone, regardless of his station in life, can be a saint. We are all indeed called to holiness so let us ask God for the strength to fulfill it.

On this feast day of St. André, join the Congregation of Holy Cross in celebrating a man whose life exemplified how one should carry his cross with hope and charity and whose story should inspire all of us to remember the poor and suffering and render them assistance.

St. André Bessette, pray for us!

Patron Porter: St. André at Holy Cross College

2012-01-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

Although the Congregation of Holy Cross prides itself in being an academic society of educators in the faith, it was no scholar that earned the honorable position of the order’s first saint. On October 17, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI canonized St. André Bessette, the “Miracle Man of Montréal,” a Holy Cross brother who was schooled only in the ways of hospitality. Marking the beginning of the Congregation’s Year of the Brother, Prinz Jeremy Llanes Dela Cruz, a Holy Cross College freshman from the Old College Undergraduate Seminary at Notre Dame, provides a reflection on the palpable presence of St. André at HCC.

The mere spiritual presence of a person is enough to enhance one’s surroundings. The new class of seminarians from Old College has come to know and appreciate the contributions of the beloved St. André Bessette, C.S.C. Although deceased, he continues to greet Holy Cross College students via the warmth and vibrancy of the Congregation’s brothers. St. André has become a favored saint, a holy man one can encounter whenever walking through the halls of Notre Dame’s and St. Mary’s College’s younger and somewhat underappreciated brother. He may not be physically present, but his virtues of modesty, humility, and piety are embodied by HCC students and made concrete by campus architecture.

The Congregation of Holy Cross espouses a French spirituality, one enriched by St. André’s devotion to St. Joseph and expressed by the HCC chapel dedicated to our Lord’s faithful foster father. Within the Midwestern mecca of South Bend, a crossroads of the Holy Cross family, posters celebrating St. André’s canonization are plastered onto any available wall space. Wherever his image is seen, his story is heard. The tale of the humble porter whose welcoming nature allowed the poor and sick to pass through the door of faith is an inspiring one. Incoming Old Collegians are regaled with anecdotes of St. André and are encouraged to seek his intercession during the Divine Office, allowing the Québécois brother to be as very much a part of their formation as the vocation staff. Consequently, an admiration of Holy Cross’ first saint directly leads to a devotion to St. Joseph, whose constant guidance the former sought throughout his healing ministry. Gazing at the students who attend Mass at St. Joseph’s Chapel at HCC allows one to witness St. André as if he were sitting in the pews himself.

The oldest branch of the Congregation of Holy Cross lies in the ministry of its brothers, the great band of men who currently conduct Holy Cross College as an institution that continues the legacy of Fr. James Dujarié’s Brothers of Saint Joseph. Much like St. André, Holy Cross College is often overshadowed by seemingly stronger and more intelligent schools like the University of Notre Dame. Yet, as in the life of this humble porter, a silent devotion pervades the campus of the brothers’ school. Without the flash of sacerdotal songs and priestly powers, the brothers who operate HCC quietly toil in offices and in classrooms, enabling their work to become a prayer. Alas, it is not simply a random brother one encounters at HCC instructing courses, but a representative of Christ and a confrère of the same fraternal spirit that dwelt in St. André. The simple structures and unassuming brothers of HCC reflect the same austerity and fervor of Québéc’s greatest son.

St. André’s invisible presence at HCC cannot be overlooked. He continues to receive succeeding generations of students through mundane mediums like the thoughtful glance of a brother professor at a pupil confused with a problem or the friendly handshake of a campus ministry member greeting newcomers. St. André may no longer be living, but as long as his inspiring story is passed on he will remain the college’s very own patron porter.

(As featured on Issue 1 of the Brilliance Bureau Creative Journal of Holy Cross College.)

Bessette Blog Posts

2012-01-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

Check out more reflections and musings about our beloved St. André Bessette on the Congregation of Holy Cross' vocation blog!

2012-01-06T06:40:00.000-08:00

Watch this video to learn about the life and work of St. André Bessette, C.S.C.

2012-01-06T06:38:00.000-08:00

St. André Bessette was canonized October 17, 2010 and is the first saint of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Join Holy Cross in celebrating his first feast day!

St. André Bessette

2012-01-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures.”

Happy feast day of St. André Bessette, notre frère bien-aimé qui prie toujours pour la famille de Sainte-Croix!

You are the Church of Tomorrow

2012-01-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

"You guys are the Church of tomorrow.

Us old folks are dying, and it's up to you to lead the flock."

I didn't think I'd hear something this profound today during the hour of confession before Saturday Mass at St. Luke's today. But I guess, it would behoove me to expect that even something so mundane as going to confession can be a profound event in anyone's life.

When I related to an older parishioner that in three days, I'd be leaving for Indiana to meet all the guys from the Old College Undergraduate Seminary program at the University of Notre Dame, she smiled and said those words to me. I've been pretty excited and nervous about the transition to college, a veritable bottle of mixed feelings and doubts. Somehow, however, I'm more inspired to go to Indiana.

After all, I'm not just going off to get a degree or two. I'm leaving for Old Collegeto explore my vocation. It's something I've been looking forward to for the past four years. Leaving my family and friends here in Stockton is now a concrete step forward in my process of discernment.

Enough dreaming. Enough wondering. It's time to get serious and figure things out via prayer, service, and let's face it, more prayer.

I don't think it's anyone's intention to change the world when going off to college. But in reality, something as big as leaving for a university or as small as going to the grocery store should be treated as an invitation to spread the Gospel, to spread the love of Christ to all men and women, to sanctify our daily life.

Now more than ever, we need to start praying for more men and women to take up the call and discern a vocation to the priesthood or to religious life. Please pray for an increase in vocations. Even a small prayer like "God, please grant the Church more good priests and good religious" makes a difference.

St. Josémaria Escriva, pray for us.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us.

(As featured on my tumblr, That Religious Blog, 06 April 2011)

Making History!!!

2012-01-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

I just got mentioned on my favorite Fil-Hispanic blog: ALAS FILIPINAS. I feel like I'm doing my part to help bring back the Spanish language in the Philippines by reviving El Premio Zóbel!

Estaba en una conversación esta mañana con un joven hispanista se llama Jeremy Llanes de la Cruz en Facebook. Él se acaba de enterar el destacado Premio Zóbel en YouTube (vean por favor los vídeos abajo) y me preguntó de como puede ganar el dicho concurso.

For those not in the know, El Premio Zóbel is the oldest literary prize in the Philippines in regards to the Spanish language. Established by Don Enrique Zóbel de Ayala, a man from one of the oldest and wealthiest Filipino families, on 25 July 1920, this prize has rewarded some of the best wordsmiths that have come from the archipelago.

Unfortunately, due to the diminished use of Spanish on the islands due to being supplanted by English from the Americans after the Spanish American War, El Premio Zóbel has experienced vacancies and periods of inactivity, with no award given to any writer. The last Premio Zóbel was awarded more than a decade ago, leaving this Hispanic institution dormant.
Until 2011.

I had been interested in El Premio Zóbel after watching this documentary on YouTube a few years ago. Last year, I discovered the richness of the Spanish language and began studying it by myself. During my senior year, I skipped to third year Spanish and was bumped to honors level by the teacher. All of this was due in part to my 4 years of French and fluency with Filipino, a language that has many similarities with Spanish.

A couple of days ago, I was inspired by the words of Don Tirso de Irureta Goyena, who said that Filipinos think and feel in castellano and that they can better express the diverse states of their souls in this language more so than in native tongues. I then made a decision to won day enter the Premio Zóbel and possibly win haha.

So recently, I began posting in several Fil-Hispanic Facebook groups dedicated to bringing Spanish back to the Philippines, asking what are the conditions for entering the competition. One member directed me to Don Guillermo Gomez Rivera, a director of La Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española (who I coincidentally had as a Facebook friend already haha). I sent Sr. Guillermo a message but he wasn't able to reply back.

Today, I was posting in those same Fil-Hispanic groups when I came upon, Pepe Alas, who operates ALAS FILIPINAS, a great Spanish blog based in the Philippines. I inquired Pepe about el Premio, and received an unfortunate reply: el Premio was inactive and was basically nonexistent (I had not known this prior to my research.) We started conversing about el Premio and I learned that Sr. Pepe had been hard at work trying to revive the prize. He then posted a Facebook status, declaring: "¡Vamos a traer de vuelta el PREMIO ZÓBEL!" (Let's bring the return of the PREMIO ZÓBEL!)

One of Sr. Pepe's contacts commented on the status, saying that he'd write a letter to the distinguished lady from the Zóbel family who currently maintains el Premio. And since I just came home, I found out that Sr. Pepe has made a Facebook group dedicated to the revival of el Premio Zóbel.

With all this great news brewing in the air, I feel like I've contributed to something great. I feel like I'm a real Filipino Hispanist, dedicated to preserving an often ignored portion of our culture. It's like history in the making, guys! Viva el idioma español en Filipinas!

(As featured on my tumblr, That Religious Blog, 03 August 2011)

Genuine Genuflections

2012-01-06T05:32:00.001-08:00

My Lord and my God.

Recently, I've grown accustomed to genuflecting before the altar and reciting this phrase as I make the sign of the cross.

Not a half-genuflection either. You know the ones you make so that you could hurry up and sit. I've learned to make a full genuflection, with my right knee touching the ground, allowing me to assume a position of reverence. When I do this, I don't feel rushed to sit down. Instead, I can take my time to adore the Real Presence inside the tabernacle. So why should we go to greater lengths just to adore Jesus? Certainly a mere genuflection won't make a difference. But it does.

The greatest danger to faith is lukewarmness. Sometimes, we take our beliefs for granted and our actions lose meaning. Why do we genuflect anyways?

Any good Catholic who completed their sacrament preparation and catechism classes can provide a textbook response. We genuflect to acknowledge the Real Presence at the altar and to honor the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ embodied by the Blessed Sacrament. After reading a thread on Catholic Answers forum, I've discovered another reason.

To make a long story short, the thread's writer expounds on how an old man he was taking care of, Andre, shook his head after the former gave the textbook response concerning genuflection. "You still haven't got it," the old man replied. So, the writer gave up and asked him what the real reason was. Andre then said this:

“They taught me that when I genuflect before the (Blessed Sacrament in the) tabernacle, I am making reparation to Jesus for the cruel mockery -- for the genuflections of the Roman soldiers before Him as they crowned Him with thorns, beat Him, and spat upon Him.”

Wow, right? After I read that, genuflection was given a whole new meaning. A simple action like the bend of a knee can have such an impact. Our Catholic faith is a physical one. We're not called to be spectators in life. We're called to holiness through active expressions of our beliefs.

Let a regular movement like a genuflection become an extension of your prayer life. Strive to make up for how Jesus was mistreated during his Passion. Maybe then, we can fully appreciate his sacrifice.

"That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

(As featured on my tumblr, That Religious Blog)

A Big Mass-take

2011-03-27T18:38:00.001-07:00

Those who say that the flow of the faithful in Catholic churches is drying up should attend Ash Wednesday Masses, which happen to welcome a torrent of believers to my general awe every year. Should we be proud, however, at this sudden increase in numbers? After all, many of the flash flood parishioners are merely going to revert to their lapsed status as soon as they leave the vestibule. It’s a sad but true reality that Cafeteria Catholics are more numerous during special holy days (e.g. Easter, Ash Wednesday, Christmas, etc.), making it appear as though there are many dining on the faith buffet that is religion.

As soon as I entered the parking lot of St. Luke’s, I witnessed a sea of cars that even Moses would be proud of. After I genuflected in front of the altar, more people were still arriving, populating pews that hadn’t been warmed by reverent buns since Vatican II. Don’t get me wrong, St. Luke’s has a dedicated bunch of parishioners for every Mass, but rarely does one see overflowing sections unless a Franciscan Friar is preaching a Lenten mission.

After Fr. Matthew and the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion placed crosses of ash on countless foreheads, with the traditional phrase “From dust you came and from dust you shall return” or the modern “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” I came to realize that the largely standing-room-only church was slowly seating more and more as many lay people silently left. Why would they need to stay for the whole Mass and receive Holy Communion? After all, they were fortified with their ashes, a spiritual mark turned to cultural fad for too many.

So the busy bees of the parish who seemingly had more productive things to do than to wait for the consecration of the bread and wine has really annoyed me. Though receiving ashes is a special sign of penance, receiving the Body and Blood of Christ trumps it. Theologically speaking, going to Mass just for the former instead of the latter is like purchasing a telegraph thinking its more convenient instead of an iPhone. It just doesn’t make sense. These flash flood Catholics need to prioritize their spirituality some more.

St. Toribio once observed that “Christ said, ‘I am the truth’; he did not say, ‘I amthe custom.’” It is obvious that Catholicism permeates the majority of the world’s cultures. This has led to generations of faithful descendants, but the fervor seems to have died down over the centuries. Getting one’s ashes for Ash Wednesday has become more of a cultural tradition than as a sign of faith. “I get ‘em because I’ve always done it.” By ignoring the meaning of religious activities, you are basically showing the same reverence during Mass as when you make a bologna sandwich.

Maybe the individuals who were quick to leave Mass did so because they just feel it’s too long. After all, an hour seems like forever in the predominant mentality of instant gratification. St. Josemaria Escriva would argue, however, that though you may say the Mass is too long, your love may in fact be too short. Even the Buddhists would agree that spiritual enlightenment takes time to attain. Catholicism doesn’t emphasize the instant spiritual “highs” that many believe are necessary for religion to attract newer generations.

If people can watch an hour of Glee without squirming in their seats, I bet it doesn’t take a leap of faith to sit through Mass for the same amount of time, a period of contemplating on mysteries more complex than high school sitcoms.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

That Religious Guy: A Belated Goodbye

2011-03-06T12:37:00.001-08:00

..... Today is definitely a day of mourning. Last Monday, our generation lost another one of its barely blooming individuals, Jera Machuca, a person taken before her time. As a journalist, she helped make The Stagg Line a great publication. As a student, she donated her time to various extracurricular activities. As a friend, she was always there with a kind word. It's never an easy reality to overcome when someone disappears forever, gone through the thin line between life and death, between this world and the next. But as time passes, wounds heal and circumstances change. We all must continue the race of existence and must inevitably lose some companions along the way.

..... Now I'm not going to compose an eloquent elucidation about the mysteries of life and why people die. Though I'm a devout Roman Catholic, I am as clueless as the most ardent atheist. I know not what lies beyond, what is waiting on the other side. As a religious person, I may have an inkling, but I certainly do not have all the answers.

..... I must admit that Jera and I were never close friends, a fact that can sadly never change. We were merely acquaintances both on staff and in our casual lives. Yet, the most vivid memory I have of her is something mundane, something personal. I simply remember a time when we were both in charge of cleaning the counter tops in the journalism room. We made small talk and we helped each other out. Of course, this memory may not seem so great to anyone else, but it's something that will stay with me. I will always remember that Jera was always open to others and was always eager to assist in any way.

..... Today at 5 pm, Jera's friends and family will be praying the rosary at Frisbee-Warren & Carroll Mortuary. It didn't hit me until today that she was really gone, spirited away from this earth. Hopefully I'll be able to attend the rosary and pray for Jera's soul and for the consolation of her family. Maybe then I can make my belated goodbye complete, my overdue farewell to a friend I hardly knew. But I'm careful not to use the phrase "final goodbye" because as long as someone's memory remains with you, they live on. It's a cliche that should comfort all of us when we come face to face with our own mortality. Ultimately, Jera will continue to be in my prayers for years to come.

May God bless her and her family,

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Smokey Francisco (SF)

2011-02-20T18:35:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, my friends and I took a trip up to San Francisco to celebrate Claire and Sarinna’s birthdays. Apparently, Sarinna, who was born and raised in California, had never been to SF, preposterous right? It’s like if an Englishman says he’s never been to London, which oddly enough, was the comparison which was given to me by an actual British person. But I digress as usual.

So we were basically tourists from the Central Valley exhibiting typical out-of-towner behaviors. We’d walk a couple of steps and take a picture. Oh a building! Take a picture. Oh a bicyclist!! Take a picture. Oh our reflection in a store window! Take a picture!!! It was a day of constant walking as well; we made our way to such staples as Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 3, Musee Mecanique (Gosh I know I don’t have the accent aigus… It’s just a pain to place them!), and Blondie’s Pizza (which should be called Blondie’s Greasy Pizza…).

Throughout our journey, however, we were practically engulfed in second hand smoke! For all the relative advancements of San Francisco, that’s one attribute that makes me proud of living in the Port City. I mean I found myself actually saying, “Geeze, I could go for some Stockton air right now.” I made a point to cough hysterically whenever we passed by individuals with death sticks in hand. After all, they can huff and puff all they want, but they don’t have a right to blow MY lungs away.

One of the weirdest things I saw in Smokey Francisco (See what I did there? haha), besides the freaky laughing lady game in the Musee Mecanique, was a strange incident illustrating the relative casualness of smoking in the big city: an old man was busily puffing away at a street corner when all of a sudden, a random lady walks up to him and grabs his lighter, lights her cigarette, and walks away. The man didn’t even bat an eyelash.

When I was being my regular Jeremy self and complaining to the gang about all the smoke, I caught the attention of two SF women, who promptly rolled their eyes at me. Hmm, I guess smoking is such a sacred institution over there that any jeering can get you branded as a health heretic.

Stockton may be the Most Miserable City in the U.S. according to Forbesmagazine, but at least a breath of our air won’t kill you. Just stay away from Wilson Way though (That’s some local humor for you!). The moral of the story? Wear a gas mask when you go to SF. And make sure to see the silver lining in wherever you live, even if it’s Stockton, CA.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

That Religious Guy: All the world in your webcam!

2011-01-29T11:54:00.001-08:00

..... Whoever said that one couldn't see the world while staying at home was definitely living under a rock.

..... But of course, if he was living under a rock, he probably couldn't see the world, so we'll forgive him this time. That's the beauty of aboveground housing: Internet capabilities. As in many posts, I tend to digress and meander, making my way by some sheer luck to the whole point of why I'm writing... Skype!

..... Skype is not only a great way to distract friends from home work on a Saturday afternoon but is also a tool to get to know people from other countries. I've met a few individuals online on forums and Facebook groups myself. It's one thing to talk to someone online via IMs or e-mail but it's another thing to actually speak face-to-face. Of course, I don't recommend simply going online and meeting total strangers. Get smart before you Skype with someone!

..... There's basically two different ways to use Skype: the call function and the video call option. The former is basically a hands-free telephone; you'll be talking to the other person using you're webcam's mike. This is probably the safest and less expensive way to get to know people from other countries. No more racking up the phone bill with calls to France... In order to utilize the video call function, one needs a webcam however. This feature allows you to actually see the person you're conversing with and so it's like you're speaking to them in person. I do want to stress once again that people should be familiar with Internet etiquette and such before meeting random people online!

..... From speaking with "foreigners" (a word which I place in quotation marks since it's sounds negative) on Skype, I've learned a lot about how others perceive America and our values. Practically everybody I've met from the UK to Canada loves Barack Obama... One also gets to hear different accents and forms of slang (i.e. in Canada, people say "settle your kettle" to say "calm down"), which is something we language nerds love! All in all, Skype allows people to become well-rounded in terms of knowledge about the world. You also get to appreciate fun facts you pick up along the way like how the British refer to AP Calculus as Further Pure 1-2. Sounds so futuristic right?

..... Any technology like Facebook and Skype, however, has it's cost: safety. Be sure to get to know the person you want to talk to on Skype before actually calling them. Anyways, one can always have fun simply speaking to friends from school so people, Skype on!

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Faith and Reason

2010-10-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

*Who's in the picture? : Fr. Georges Lemaitre, the man who laid the groundwork for the Big Bang Theory (surprise surprise!) and Albert Einstein, the man who said to the former, "This is the most beautiful and satisfactory explanation of creation to which I have ever listened."

..... Sooner or later, I would've had to break out an actual post about religion! For the past months, I've simply been generating posts on secular topics, placing more emphasis on languages then the divine. Fortunately, I was inspired by a quotation from St. Augustine of Hippo which reads: "Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand." Herein lies the problem of those who deny religion as mere superstition.

..... Recently, I've been entering into debates with atheists, deists, and all manners of "-eists" to the point that I was losing many of the battles since they wanted physical proof of the existence of God. To try to appease them, I attempted to utilize St. Thomas Aquinas' Five Proofs for the existence of God. Sadly, they would still not open their eyes. So I argued using the First Law of Thermodynamics and then the Big Bang Theory. All of these attempts hit rock solid walls because we all knew we weren't going to convince anyone.

..... I guess one cannot really prove the existence of God to an unbeliever who tries to logically approach this problem. One must first believe before he can understand. In my view, there really is physical proof of God's existence. Just look around you. But in order to take this opinion, one must first believe in God in order to credit Him for creation.

..... I myself don't see a total conflict between my science classes and religion. Whether it be chemistry or biology, all seem to be explaining the way God works. It's only when my teachers profess science to be an end in itself that I digress from their teachings. Science shouldn't be treated as an unofficial religion by the educational system. Let's stick to the hard facts of metabolic equilibrium and move away from songs that relegate angels along with unicorns as myth. But I digress [again]...

..... The Roman Catholic Catechism states that there is no conflict between faith and reason, that revelation can coincide with logic. Still, precedence is given to faith because through it, one can accept religion for what it is: a system of proofs for the existence of that which we do not see. Surely the mystery of faith is that there isn't one. One just needs a little time, effort, and some divine intervention to receive it.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Making up for lost time

2010-10-04T16:27:00.001-07:00

..... So where does this typical Monday afternoon find me doing? Well, I'm finishing AP Government definitions while listening to 89.0 RFI Monde French talk radio. It always seems that the last week of break is the moment when people choose to kick it into gear and start doing home work, something that could have been done earlier. I am notorious for procrastination, for that sloth that corrupts students and leads them down the terrible path of going to movies with friends instead of writing their college personal statements. Yet ironically, I tend to wish I had more time to complete all the things on my to-do list. But it's time for me and many of my procrastinating pals to learn that wishing for more time can never affect our 24 hour day. We have to make time, to get time.

..... Wishing for more time merely begets regrets (Am I not a poet?). A two week break is certainly a time to relax and enjoy life, hence its name, but as high schools seniors, we can no longer afford such luxuries. Time is literally money, money in the sense of future income rather than present profit.

..... Not wanting to get left behind, I have my whole year planned out in terms of my college future. Tomorrow, I will accompany many of my friends to a visit to University of the Pacific where the plan is to that we each shadow a student who has the same major as we are deciding to take. October will also be seeing me travel on an all-expenses paid flight to Divine Word College, run by the very generous Society of the Divine Word. At DWC, I'll be experiencing World Mission Sunday and a multicultural festival as well as seeing for myself what seminary life holds. In November, the Congregation of Holy Cross is paying half price for me to attend a come-and-see retreat for the University of Notre Dame's Old College program.

..... I still, however, have to get down and dirty to get my personal statement finished for the University of Portland. Deep down, I know I can complete it, but I have yet to begin. The first step in any endeavor is definitely the most challenging. I keep thinking I'll do it eventually. But eventually soon becomes inevitably and inevitably soon festers into someday. "Someday I'll finish my personal statement." Doesn't really have a ring to it like "I've finished my personal statement guys!" right?

..... Sooner or later I'll have to buckle down and get to writing, but alas, my schedule is just to full of relaxation days that I can't seem to find an opening. For all of us in the same boat, let's begin making time for such college preparation activities by setting a day of pure trabajo because the more we wish for more time, the less time we end up having.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

On the brink of Change

2010-07-20T19:28:00.001-07:00

..... One aspect of the novel I absolutely love is that the whole story is at a standstill for what's to come. Everything in Francisco Franco's Spain is at the brink of change. All the characters can do is accept the new and try desperately to preserve the old.

Social Change

..... Spanish society, a mix of its conservative Catholicism and repressive regime, is about to experience a dose of modernism. Antoni Fortuny experiences a minor shift in clothing tastes when business slows due to the fact that men no longer wore hats. Rumors of the eventual revolution to be caused by television make some declare that the visual machine will replace religion itself. San Gabriel's School is a testament to the toppling of established elitists by nouveau riche. Once the poor ascended the economic latter, they began constructing their own schools and left San Gabriel's traditional upperclass shadow.

Religious Change

..... The Shadow of the Wind contains many allusions, but by far my most favorite is a religious one. I actually laughed when I read it! Zafon alludes to the turmoil before, after, and even today caused by Vatican II: "(After Fr. Fernando reads a poem by Pablo Neruda in place of the ever popular 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, many denounce him as a communist or Bolshevik,) while others looked in the missal for those verses of intense pagan beauty, wondering whether this was already one of the first effects of the impending Ecumenical Council (Zafon 477)." Throughout the story, characters are divided between sheep and goats, believers and nonbelievers. For example, Bernarda is a devout Catholic, who freely prays and confesses, never wanting to miss Mass for fear of the wrath of the Lord. Gustavo Barcelo, however, leans more casually towards agnosticism, considering religion merely superstition.

..... The clergy and religious (nuns, friars, etc.) are seen as archaic and part of an elitist Church whose authority is already waning. Thus, Vatican II is called into order, the second ecumenical council of the 20th century, and one that will prove to change the face of Catholicism for years to come! Many changes arrive from this council, from the Novus Ordo Missae, non-cassock wearing priests, lapel-pin nuns, modern hymns, and less emphasis on traditions like meatless Fridays all year long. Ladies and gentlemen, the Church you see today is but a mere reflection of the Church of our forefathers, pre-1962.

[I recommend that for an even more in depth look as to the changes made, watch these videos:

- POSITIVE view of Vatican II

- NEGATIVE view of Vatican II (Note that many stated abuses have been fixed.) ]

..... To further expound on the importance of this allusion, I bring to mind Zafon's portrayal of Catholicism's role in Spain. As in any other Catholic country, Spain is culturally Catholic, which means that many of its citizens are Catholic because of their heritage. Therefore, new generations like Daniel and Beatriz are lukewarm in faith: they feel no scruples when they miss Mass or engage in un-Christian sexual behavior. Everyone, except for a devoted few, treat religion as part of routine, unimportant. Though born as Cradle Catholics, they grow up to be Cafeteria Catholics, picking and choosing what to believe. Zafon places religion in the background, as part of the scenery and as an addition to the exposition, creating more of a Spanish flavor. Allusions like Vatican II, though, are left for the readers in the know like little pieces of gold.

..... Zafon depicts religion as out-of-style in the story to ultimately comment on the real Church of the time. The Church was unable to stop Franco's oppression. It was unable to combat new ideas and inventions. Zafon's Vatican II allusion is his side joke that plays on the fears of the devoted as to how much the Church was willing to change in order to modernize itself.

..... Ultimately, change is everywhere in the novel, even in its title. The Shadow of the Wind connotes a feeling of nostalgia and reflection. Moving forward like the wind, time leaves the past as a shadow, easily forgotten by the future.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Religion in The Shadow of the Wind

2010-06-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

..... It's a subject that Jeremy Dela Cruz cannot resist bringing up. It's a subject that his friends are always annoyed with and try to avoid at all costs. It's a subject that he wishes more people were interested in. What is it? Religion of course!

..... The Shadow of the Wind is peppered with allusions to religion. One need only ask their neighborhood religion lover to find them all. After all, I'm no laodicean when it comes to matters of faith, especially when it's the Catholic faith. Zafon's story has references to missals (Books used as guides during Mass) and once alluded to the Angelus. These references should be interpreted deeper and not ignored as mere words on a page.

..... For instance, when Fermin Romero de Torres exclaims that "these fascists will turn us all into a race of saints and frogs (Zafon 82)," I understood his comment to depict the relationship between fascism and religion. During Francisco Franco's regime, Spain was under a government bent on preserving Iberian values and above all, it's Catholicism. I believe fascism and Catholicism go hand in hand because of their mutual emphasis on the importance of authority. Frogs often symbolize rebirth and so Fermin might have been saying that Spain was indeed entering a religious metamorphosis. Then there's the allegorical conflict between Daniel representing good and the mysterious stranger, Lain Coubert (who might just be the Devil), representing evil.

..... I think the main reason for Zafon's religious allusions (besides complementing his Spanish exposition) is to highlight the debate between faith and reason. Characters like Bernarda, Gustavo Barcelo's house maid, represent piety and feror. The people in the story who most often are the devout Catholics are the poor and needy. People like Gustavo Barcelo stand for liberal intellectualism and logical reasoning. These characters are ones who believe they have been enlightened by books and must therefore free the rest of the world from the chains of superstitious faith. As a commentary on the state of Spanish Catholics, Barcelo says: "These people who see sin everywhere are sick in their souls and, if you really press me, in their bowels. The endemic condition of the Iberian saint is chronic constipation (Zafon 44)." I've always believed hell resides in the mind of the holy meaning that those people who he says see sin everywhere are simply trying to lead good lives and so avoid temptation.

..... Barcelo says this as a reaction to what he sees as zealot behavior from Bernarda: She is a "serial churchgoer with an ecstatic devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes ... and she confessed no less than three times a week, four in warm weather (Zafon 43)." I only see a case of scrupulosity in Bernarda; she's golden in my eyes. Bernarda for her part believes her employer's agnosticism "might be a respiratory condition, like asthma, but afflicting only refined gentlemen." I do believe that without the proper tempering of religion, logic can confuse smart individuals into questioning and even denying the existence of God, the need for morality, and the importance of the Church. According to Bernarda, excessive reading can cause brain rot.

..... Zafon uses humor whenever he makes a reference to religion (See the above quotations) since his message tends to always be serious. Each individual, the zealot and the intellectual, have their downfalls. Bernarda, though brimming with love, fails to meet men of virtue to share her love with. Instead, she gets beaten up by her boyfriends. Behind his sophisticated exterior, I see Barcelo to be weak and empty. His life is without meaning and so he desires to be noticed by others to fill the void. The one common characteristic between the zealot and intellectual is that they both need sources of positive energy to heal their wounds. For Bernarda, it's the Church. For Barcelo, it's the library. Both are helpless people searching for happiness, yet at the same time, both are productive members of society. Zafon reveals the concept that everyone wears a mask in real life and that sometimes the happiest people are often the saddest. What do others think of the relationship between faith and reason in the novel?

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

The Empire strikes back ... at Mother Teresa?

2010-06-08T14:02:00.001-07:00

..... Catholic League president, Bill Donohue, has made a name for himself defending the Church against rampant anti-Catholicism. He doesn't look for trouble. Trouble finds him. And just recently, trouble did find Donohue in the form of a rejection letter.

..... Like many people, Donohue admires Mother Teresa's contributions to society. Out of a desire to honor her on her 100th birthday, Donohue applied to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners in February to have the structure light up in blue and white, the colors of the Missionaries of Charity. After all, the Empire State Building has been lighted up in red, white, and blue for America and has featured Yankees colors whenever they win. The U.S. Postal Service is even going to publish a Mother Teresa commemorative stamp in honor of her birthday. In May, however, Donohue's request was denied for unknown reasons. Was it because the Empire State Building doesn't try to promote religious groups? Nope, since it apparently flies holiday colors for Christmas, Hannukah, and Islamic holidays. So why can't this structure honor a woman who dedicated her life to helping the poor? When it all boils down to it, it's anti-Catholicism at its best, or should I say worst?

..... Last year amid the protests of human rights activists and U.S. congressmen, the Empire State Building chose to honor the 60th anniversary of the 1949 Maoist Communist Revolution. The communists are after all, the ideal role models for society right? It apparently didn't matter to the Empire State Building Lighting Partners that the Maoists can now live in infamy for intolerance and murder. Donohue puts it best when he observes, "Yet under its founder, Mao Zedong, the Communists killed 77 million people. In other words, the greatest mass murderer in history merited the same tribute being denied to Mother Teresa."

.....Though she didn't commit hundreds of human rights violations, Mother Teresa did receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Medal of Freedom. She has also been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and is on her way to becoming a saint. So you decide. Why is the Empire State Building Lighting Partners refusing to honor Mother Teresa? Is it because she helped care for refugees, gave homes for orphans, and fed the hungry? Or is it simply because she's a Roman Catholic, a member of a religion that faces a lot of prejudice to this day. So readers, you decide and post a comment.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Of Priests and Nuns

2010-06-08T14:01:00.001-07:00

..... Well, a certain splinter group of our neighbors to the north have just recently "ordained" a women "priest." Now, it's not the Canadians I'm speaking of, after all, les Quebecois are too conservative for that. The organization Womenpriests, which seeks to persuade the Roman Catholic Church to extend priestly ordination to women, has given its blessing to Diane Whalen, 58, of Olympia, Washington.

..... It's not surprising that I'd find this "ordination" offensive and strange. Some might say that the Church is too traditional, too Medieval for the modern world. These people will say that the Church's policy on male-only ordination is sexist and demeaning to women. Well, I find Womenpriests worldwide ordinations to be sexist and demeaning to women and men!

..... As a Roman Catholic discerning a vocation to the priesthood, I'm insulted that many of the women ordained by Womenpriests are married or have been married. Whalen says that she felt the call to the priesthood in high school but also realized that "she also wanted to have boyfriends and to marry." One cannot just pick and choose features of vocations and blend them into something else. Each vocation has its virtues. Married life has the benefit of loving families and consecrated life (That is the life of priests and nuns) provides an opportunity to serve God's people. The Church isn't some sort of Baskin Robbins where people can say "Hey, I want a scoop of married life... and a side of priesthood too." The new "women priests" should maybe take a page from their many male contemporaries, who never married and stayed loyal to the discipline of chastity.

..... The whole mission of Womenpriests also ends up demeaning women. Their advocates say that becoming nuns or sisters isn't enough for women. Apparently we need women to be in leadership. Of course I agree with this. You know why? It's because the Church has had women in leadership positions for centuries: they're called the female religious. Womenpriests is underestimating the contributions and influences of the nuns and sisters in the life of the Church. Women hold high positions in Catholic education, social services, and other venues. Women, both lay and religious, have become saints. As Catholic.org says: "The history of the Church is full of many women Catholic saints, who received recognition for great deeds or meritorious conduct. Many lost their lives in defense of the faith, while others were themselves the mothers of important saints. Many were also honored for their contributions to the Church and their community." Let's not forget the historical trend of women maintaining the faith in their families. Mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers have all contributed to the family's religious life by preserving traditions and encouraging Mass attendance.

..... The Church owes its longevity to all its members, both male and female. Each has his or her role and purpose. Womenpriests is too busy trying to look for imperfections in the Church that it ends up shortchanging the female gender.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Cowards and their Keyboards

2010-04-08T18:18:00.001-07:00

..... I've always found it interesting that people are so civilized, polite, and nice... In public that is. Sure there's the occasional playful teasing from friends and politically incorrect jokes, but both actions aim to entertain rather than offend. I guess being out in the open, in front of judging eyes, prevents people from exposing their real personalities, which reminds me of a good proverb I read somewhere: A man's character should be determined not from what he does in public but what he does in private. Sadly, in this morally gilded age lies a dark underbelly of rudeness and prejudice, a lesson I learned from revisiting my Yahoo! Answers account.

..... I've had a Yahoo! Answers account since December of last year, but I hardly ever used it. Recently, I've discovered how fun it is to help others with their problems. I usually frequent the language questions, helping certain users with dilemmas concerning French, English, or Tagalog. So far, I've only had one best answer, but I aim to sooner or later hit the jackpot and have a "Top Contributor" logo underneath my alias, That Religious Guy. I digress however. So, I realized that I myself could start posting questions about my new favorite subject: languages. My interest was sparked a couple months ago by Philippine Spanish, or the brand of Castellano spoken by Filipinos. Through my limited research, I learned that native Filipino hispanohablantes have their own accent and use different phrases as opposed to the Mexicans, Cubans, etc.

..... I wanted to know more, however, so I posted a question on Yahoo! Answers along the lines of wanting to know more about the specifics of the Philippine Spanish accent and how I could mimic it. Sadly, instead of gaining helpful information, I got this as a response:

"Just keep following the road to El Dorado, and USA will back your scrawn.y wetbac.k spi.c as.s up.

The thing about the Spanish language is that it is originally phonetic. It is probably more phonetic than Italian language, and its transcript sticks true to the sound, and thus becomes the fore front language of Empires, and just like That Religious Guy, religion (old).

French on the other hand is like saucy language, where there are flying accents here and there, as if they are being naughty and Julius Caesar needs to spank them to bed."

..... Now I have a thick a skin as the next guy, but still, being called a "wetback" even though I'm not Mexican hurt a little. I knew that whoever posted that answer meant to truly offend me for desiring to know more about the Spanish language. I also believe that the person in question, we'll call him Scrooge, thought I was living in the Philippines and therefore thought me inferior. Though I am "a little brown brother" as the old U.S. imperialists would say, I'm also an American citizen and I do not take to being treated badly too kindly. Scrooge's comment was mildly amusing since it described the French language in such a hmmm.... What's the word? Interesting? Yes, in an interesting way. (Note: I mentioned that I was going to take AP French next year in my Yahoo! Answers question.)

..... There are so many issues with Scrooge's response. Not only did he insult an ethnicity and linguistic group, but he proves to be one of the many cowards sitting at home trying to rain on the parades of others. I don't understand why some people, once they get behind closed doors, become savage creatures bent on insulting others. Where do they get their courage from? Probably from the notion that no one can hold them accountable for whatever they say or type in private. Still, this should never be an excuse to be rude like Scrooge. His weapon of choice? The keyboard. His target? People trying to get an informative answer. His reward? A semi-angry post by yours truly, That Religious Guy.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

1- 800 - Confession

2010-03-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

..... There have been many attempts over the years to spice up religion. Some have tried substituting upbeat modern tunes in place of traditional hymns during worship. Others have resorted to filling gigantic stadiums with parishioners, dazzling them with lights, cameras, and plenty of action. All such attempts are mainly concerned with getting the faithful back into the pews, bringing new life into old churches. France, however, takes the cake for the most inventive, if not dumbest idea, yet: a dial-a-confession telephone service.
..... "Cord to the Lord" is the brainchild of a concerned group of French Catholics who saw a problem in the Church: indifference and disinterest. So, they thought of a way to bring the Church to the people, through the phone of course. For 20 to 50 cents, individuals can call Cord to the Lord and confess their sins. During the call, the Gospel is read, the person is allowed to confess, and is then led through the Act of Contrition. Cord to the Lord's creators understand that their service doesn't grant absolution for sins, but is simply an outlet for people to empty themselves.
..... Cord to the Lord is doing people more of a disservice however. I was raised under the idea that it's all or nothing, that you have to risk it to get the biscuit. Why would anyone want to confess their sins to an automated voice and not be forgiven than confess their sins to a priest and receive absolution? Sure, actually going to a local church and kneeling in the confessional requires legs and spiritual motivation, but isn't it worth it since one can be truly cleansed of sin? There may be some embarrassment at first, since going to confession means you have to verbally expose your dark deeds, but this emotion is reasonable. When you do bad things, you naturally feel shame.
..... The Catholic Church in France officially condemns Cord to the Lord since it trivializes an important sacrament. The hot-line is trying to dehumanize the act of confessing. After all, confessing to a priest symbolizes how one is acknowledging that his sins affect the whole community, the whole Church. This neighborly relationship is a human one, not a mechanical one.
..... I myself just went to confession hours ago and love the sacrament because it gives me a fresh start. Hopefully Cord to the Lord gets disconnected soon since its separating people from their faith instead of bringing them closer. Besides, if God really had a phone, I doubt he'd just limit himself to accepting confession calls. He hears enough every two weeks from me to keep the line busy.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

From Como esta to Kumusta ka

2010-03-06T22:15:00.001-08:00

..... Hablas Español?
..... Nagsasalita ka ba ng wikang Español?
..... It's common knowledge that the Philippines was once a Spanish colony and therefore many of its languages still retain Spanish loan words. In 1987, the Philippine government abolished the mother tongue of the conquistadors as an official language and relaxed the requirement obligating all college students to study it. Many Filipinos have lamented the loss of this language from the mouths of younger generations, but they may soon be comforted in knowing that Spanish is making a comeback.
..... Under Philippines' Education Secretary Jesli Lapus and the Spanish education ministry's Jose Manuel Martinez Sierra, an agreement was signed restoring some life into the Spanish language in the islands. As of 2012, Spain will be training language teachers and sending electronic teaching aids to the Philippines. In addition to the help from Madrid, Spanish will become a compulsory subject in the Philippines.
..... There are only a few native Spanish speakers living in the Philippines; thousands more speak a creole language Chavacano. This minority of individuals have kept the language alive, due to hereditary tradition more than necessity. Still, some Filipinos are still trapped in a colonial mindset. They believe that learning Spanish is equal to selling out to the colonizing Kastila ("Spaniards" in Tagalog, coming from "Castillian"). Up until recently, speaking Spanish had its own stigma; hispanohablantes were supposedly elitist, rich, and supercilious. This ignorant stereotype, however, is just that, a stereotype. Learning Spanish and indeed other foreign languages broadens one's mind and perception of the world. Learning a language doesn't make one more close-minded.
..... 300 plus years of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines have left their mark in our religion, customs, cuisine, and languages. From our barrio fiestas to flan, Semana Santa to Santo Niño, and our surnames, Filipino culture has been spiced by the Iberian peninsula. It's time that we embrace our collective history and embrace the language of revolution, the language of Rizal and Bonifacio, the language of Spanish. I for one will do my best to take Spanish 1-2 senior year, just to get ready for the coming decades when Spanish will be revived in the Philippines. Hopefully in the years to come, Mexicans, Cubans, Spaniards, and other hispanohablantes will be able to communicate easily with their Filipino cousins.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Parlez-vous Français?

2010-02-26T19:45:00.001-08:00

..... In January, I was sitting at home watching ABC World News with Diane Sawyer. The ABC news team was doing a special on the economic struggle in Haiti after the earthquake. One reporter was trying to speak broken French to a group of Haitian children. In her American accent, she said, "Ça va? Ça va?" The little boys and girls politely nodded their heads in comprehension, but it was clear that they were laughing at her poor pronounciation. I noticed her stumbling over the basic phrase one learns in French 1-2 myself. In the past couple of weeks, I've sort of regretted my decision to take French freshman year, but after seeing the reporter's attempt, I'm glad I study the language of Napoleon, Lafayette, and Rousseau.
..... The reason for my loss of French fervor earlier this year was that I've come to appreciate my own language, Tagalog. 40% of informal speech between Tagalog speakers a day is made up of Spanish loan words. I filled my head with doubts as to whether taking French was a smart choice, given the idea that learning Spanish could enhance my Tagalog. One of the main reasons I took French, however, was to be different from what was expected of me.
..... My parents encouraged my brother to take Spanish in order to help translate for our Mexican customers. Like me, my brother had wanted to take French ever since he was young, but conformed to their wishes. I, however, broke from what my parents desired and instead took French since I thought Spanish would be too similar to my native language. French provides me difficult challenges, but ones that allow me to grow in my understanding.

..... Now in Journalism: Graphic Design and Photography, Tiffany and I are making a brochure to promote the French program at Stagg. French is a language spoken by 6 million people in the U.S. as a second language. Plus, French is spoken worlwide in five continents. Other than English, it is also taught in every country as a second language. Spanish may be a growing tongue here in America, but French still retains its relevancy. (That's right Mrs. Weir-Graham, au contraire!)

..... For people trying to decide whether to study French or Spanish, I recommend thinking about the following. Spanish is easier to pronounce, but with diligent practice one can achieve the refined French "r" and other phonetic sounds quickly. French also has easier grammar, something quite foreign to my friends studying Spanish and its four different words for "you." Whether, you're more of a Francophone than a Hispanohablante (or the other way around), at least your taking the steps to learning and experiencing a different culture through its language. So don't be intimidated in trying something new, since twenty years from now, you won't want to be the reporter messing up the native language of a country your assigned to report about.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

The Haiti Syndrome

2010-02-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

..... We've all heard of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January. Many nations and individuals have rushed to the impoverished country, offering humanitarian aid. How are the local Delta Kings and Queens helping out? Members of AVID collected change for Haiti in little takeout boxes. Mr. Walter even held a donation jar for Haiti as well. Some students, however, find that it's their duty to remind others to not be wasteful of food and other goods for the sake of the Haitians, even though they sound condescending when they do it.
..... When someone fails to consume their pizza crust, a stray fry, or even an abandoned carrot stick, these concerned citizens immediately respond with, "That could feed the starving people in Haiti you know." One person even came to the insulting conclusion that one pizza crust could feed many Haitians. Though possible, this idea basically reduces the Haitians into poor animals fighting for food. Instead of reminding people to clean their plates, individuals who love to bring up the plight of Haiti should actually do something more productive with their time like raising funds.
..... Every person has dignity. A natural disaster doesn't lessen this fact. Haiti will soon be forgotten as the place where people are suffering once another earthquake or typhoon strikes a country. Then the retorts trying to stand up for Haiti will be replaced with the name of said country. Like the struggles in Haiti, hopefully people will stop trying to be sarcastic in their championing of causes. The real heroes for Haiti are actually there, not in some cafeteria or classroom nagging others.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

The News Anchor, The Bruise, and Biden's Forehead

2010-02-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

..... Just recently, Sky News news anchor, Kay Burley believed she saw a large bruise on the forehead of American vice-president Joe Biden, saying that he must've gotten it from an accident in the Winter Olympics. How embarassing! Didn't anyone tell Mr. Biden that he had a boo-boo on his face? Oh, wait. It was Ash Wednesday, and as a Catholic, Biden received a sign of faith on his forehead. Burley, however, didn't stop her downhill descent into rudeness there however. After she was properly informed of her error, she tried to make amends during the commercial break by saying, "I know I'm a very bad Catholic. I know I should know that today is Ash Wednesday and that's why he'd got ash across his forehead. I've said three Hail Marys, everything is going to be fine."
..... Her initial mistake that the mark on Biden's forehead was a bruise is harmless enough. She's only an accomplished journalist who must've studied at prestigious places to get to where she is today. But apparently, no one growing up ever exposed her to the Ash Wednesday custom. I guess not one of the 1.166 billion Roman Catholics in the world bothered to tell her... It's no wonder that people think the press just doesn't get religion. The press butchers religion pieces every day, as you can see from the many entries at Getreligion.org. Burley is just another example of a journalist misinformed about the communities that she reports to. One would think that being educated members of society, journalists would be able to relate to their viewers, readers, or listeners more. I guess a good education can only get you so far...
..... The main reason why I sit her tonight, slapping the letters on this keyboard (That's a nice mental image haha), is that her second comment is so irritating because it exposes her impertinence. Yup, that's right. Impertinence. Ms. Schut's vocabulary list comes in handy at times! Burley admits she's a bad Catholic but just doesn't leave it at that. Then she mocks her faith by saying she's prayed three hail marys and so she is obviously absolved of any wrongdoing. Burley was alluding to the practice of penance after confession, a custom almost always involving the Marian prayer. It's so annoying how certain individuals, especially lapsed Catholics, make fun of the Church by ridiculing its traditions and sacraments. Why can't they pick on someone their own size? Humph!
..... A journalist should be a Jack-of-all-trades in terms of knowledge about others. He should learn about many cultures, ideas, and religions to the point that he would never think of offending one particular group. Burley should've had some cultural sensitivity. Instead, she assumed one thing and when you assume, you make an... Well you know what comes after that.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Proud to be Pro-Life

2010-01-25T16:33:00.000-08:00

..... This past Sunday, Fr. Joe's homily made an impact on me. Fr. Joe Maghinay has been with the parish at St. Luke's for a couple of years now, leading the weekly bible study and ministering to the Filipino Catholic community. His speech is spiced with a mild Filipino accent, but his vocabulary is never less than proper and refined. People sometimes complain that he is hard to understand and his homilies are too long, but he's still important to the parish. He's probably the most outspoken Pro-Life priest at St. Luke's, peppering his Sunday sermons with reprimands of society's pro-choice tendencies.
..... Today, however, I woke up repeating his words to the parish. As usual, he went up to the pulpit on the right side of the altar and opened with a joke. He continued the homily and slowly but surely, began raising and lowering his voice, a sign that he believes what he says. Like an undulating wave, his words crashed into me, imprinting their meaning in my mind. He faced the congregation and said, "Europe used to be the Christian capital of the world. Well, name a Christian country in Europe now." Those words were building on his previous thoughts in his homily, how Catholics are no longer the majority in the world's populations and how Muslims are overtaking us. His homily was not so much a tirade against the birthrate of Muslims, but against the abortions committed on the unborn in the U.S., many done by Catholics.
..... How can we claim to be Catholic, yet stand idley by and let this infaticide continue? How can you be pro-choice and Catholic at the same time? It's not only a theological oxymoron but pretty moronic itself. With the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade being spent with Pro-Life marches in the East and the West Coast Walk for Life in California, true Christians are letting the world know that we won't stand for further injustices. I'm glad that Roe supporters like Robert MacCartney are starting to realize that the Pro-Life movement is not ending anytime soon. Younger generations are now taking the charge.
..... A Pro-Life advocate came to our youth group once and told us that the Pro-Life movement is the civil rights movement of our day. I for one firmly believe this since we're fighting for an individual's right to life, something that supercedes another's "right" to choose murder.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

The Adventures of Fr. Robin Hood

2009-12-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

..... Simony is the act of selling the sacraments, paying for holy offices, or simply making a business out of the Church. Not many people are accused of such a canonical crime these days, but one priest in Mexico has been. Fr. Raymundo Figueroa has been removed from his parish by Archbishop Rafael Munoz for selling the sacraments, being a true Robin Hood in black.

..... Of course, Fr. Figueroa had good intentions at first. He came from a struggling parish, that of Santisimo Sacramento (Translation: Blessed Sacrament, which makes his deeds more ironic...) The church had a bare concrete floor and little heating during cold times. In an effort to raise construction funds for his flock, Fr. Figueroa traveled back and forth from Mexico to the U.S., charging for quick and expensive baptisms, first communions, and confirmations. For first communion, the Robin Hood priest charged $160, but for an additional $20 one could have flowers and chairs at the event! At one point, people from Los Angeles and San Diego were crossing the border in order to receive the sacrament of confirmation, the highest price being $75. All this "fund raising" financed the parish's cushioned pews and loudspeakers. Santisimo Sacramento parish grew to an astonishing 8,000 people, all praising Fr. Figueroa.

..... Why are his actions so bad? Well, Fr. Figueroa mislead many American Catholics through his administering of the sacraments. He would send deacons to substitute for him or clergy from the breakaway Old Catholic Church. Instead of a holy atmosphere in a church, first communions and confirmations would be held in parks, living rooms, or backyards to the sound of mariachis instead of choirs or organs. All of these ceremonies were treated as simple gatherings, like a birthday party that happens every year. Unfortunately, these sacraments are important because they happen only once in your life. You prepare for them for years because the Church wants you to know your faith in order to defend and spread it. A few months of Fr. Figueroa's catechism aren't enough to prepare you for any sacrament.

.....Yet possibly the worst aspect of Fr. Figueroa's crime is that he made the Church into a business. He made something sacred into something on-sale. Parishes usually charge a small fee for sacraments only when there's an expense involved like books. At St. Luke's in Stockton, I got the impression that one shouldn't make money from holy goods. During one particular rummage sale, I picked up a rosary and was given it for free, possibly because it was a religious item. The bibles sold after Mass on Sundays there are never sold for profit but only to cover the costs of buying new bibles for sale later. Fr. Figueroa tainted the spirituality of his parish by mixing faith with literally, theft.

..... In many ways, the Robin Hood of literature was a good and bad figure. Sure, he gave money to the poor but he also stole in order to get it. Fr. Figueroa should be applauded for his original purpose of helping his poor parish, but should be reprimanded for the way he gained money. Like a thief, he stole the money of innocent people and he stole important events from their lives. It's because of priests like Fr. Figueroa that the whole priesthood suffers bad publicity. His actions just prove that sometimes bad consequences can come from good intentions.

"They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.
: He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area.
: Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written: 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples'? But you have made it a den of thieves."
: The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching." - Mark 11:15-19

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

A break in the clouds

2009-12-20T09:40:00.000-08:00

..... It seems that every day is a cloudy one. The weather outside may be crisp and clear, but on the inside, it's cloudy. In the minds of most high schoolers, this is the daily forecast since we are still trying to discern our vocation, our calling. What will we be in life? A doctor? A lawyer? An artist? And for me, a priest?

..... One of the benefits of being a teen discerning for the priesthood is the feeling of assurance involved in the process. I'll know that by constantly contemplating my purpose early in life, I'll come out stronger. Stronger because I will have known whether I truly was being called to the priesthood or something else. This assurance also manifests itself in different ways. The assurance of support from family and the church, and most importantly, the assurance of guidance from God.

..... The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare meaning "to call." Basically, God calls each and everyone of us to fulfill a vocation, whether it be holy orders or married life. His call, however, might not be obvious or audible at first. This is to say that one should keep quiet and listen closely for a big booming voice from the heavens. If only it were that easy. At times, a vocation might altogether just disappear because of distractions erupting from society. After all, the secular mentality seems to be that the only way to be successful in life is to get married, have kids, and make money. Emphasis on the money part. The power to discourage also plays a major role in destroying vocations. I've personally heard a range of negativity about my thoughts on becoming a priest:

"Don't waste your life!"

"This is just a phase."

"Don't you want to get married?"

..... Then I realize that each one of these comments has a flaw. Is it really a waste of one's life if it's dedicated to serving others? In essence, the office of a priest can be described by one of the titles of the Pope. A priest is a "Servant of the Servants of Christ." In order to be first, one needs to be last.
..... The vocation to be a priest is most definitely a phase. But isn't the desire to be a doctor or lawyer also phases? After all, one doesn't just wake up and say "I'm going to be a neurosurgeon!" No, it's a long and arduous process trying to determine your future profession. If it didn't have stages, no one would ever be able to determine their calling.
..... Married life is one of the highest positions on the worldly hierarchy. That and multi-billionaire bachelor/bachelorette. Sure marriage is a beautiful sacrament, a fruitful institution that represents love and procreation. Holy matrimony, however, isn't for everyone. Some people like Fr. What's His Name and Sister So and So would rather have had Holy Orders instead. I don't see what's all the fuss about. When you're a priest, you're married to the church and will have more kids then every man in your parish since everyone will be calling you Father!

.....If I could describe the process of discerning a vocation to the priesthood, it would be like a cloudy day. The clouds are so thick with doubts, discouragement, and distractions that you can't see anything. So one day, you decide to do something. Research. Discussions. Prayer. You try anything to make those dark clouds vanish until you're rewarded with a penetrating light from the sun. I imagine that this is what it feels like to find purpose, to finally see what's coming ahead.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

For more information visit: catholicpriest.me.uk

Rosaries and Gangs?

2009-12-19T20:12:00.002-08:00

Here's an editorial I wrote for catholicpriest.me.uk (I revised it a little but it will mainly appear the same on the Web site.) :

..... The rosary is a Roman Catholic devotion that some say originated from St. Dominic, who had been given this gift by the Virgin Mary. To many, these simple beads and a crucifix are a sign of personal piety and veneration of the Blessed Mother and her Son. To police officers and school administrators in South Lake Tahoe, California, the rosary is considered a "gang sign."

..... Apparently on Wednesday, a group of predominantly male and Latino students were apprehended by a South Tahoe High School resource officer for reportedly using rosaries as gang affiliation. All the rosaries were confiscated and the students were photographed and their pictures put on a database. Some of the young men had previous disciplinary problems and so the belief that they were misusing their religious articles seemed valid. In our opinion, however, South Tahoe High School was wrong and was violating religious freedoms.

..... This little episode, however, caused quite a stir on campus as an organized students protest took place against the administration's actions. Word had spread through the electronic grapevine of a demonstration complete with signs and chanting. The atmosphere at 9 am Friday in the quad was one filled with banners reading "Stop Discrimination" and phrases of "We are one" being spoken throughout the crowds. Many were complaining that teachers were unfairly taking rosaries away from students, intolerable acts indeed.

..... If the rosaries at South Tahoe High were really being used as gang signs, why would the student population go to great lengths to show their displeasure and side with the Latino students? One student even considered it racial profiling since the administration seemed to be only selecting minority students for confiscation. It seems that the school and police officers in that area misconstrued devotion for deviance. The officers justified their policy because adult gang members had confessed to using rosaries as identifiable signs.

..... Granted that there may be a chance that some teens use rosaries as gang signs, school administrators, however, shouldn't see this sacred symbol as one of violence. Students at South Tahoe are now being encouraged to wear their rosaries under their shirts as a matter of safety. This does not attack the problem, but only reinforces the mentality that rosaries should now be associated with red shoelaces and Old English lettering. If anything, by asking students to hide their rosaries, this is a way for administrators to effectively keep religion off school grounds.

..... For Catholics, we must take offense to this since the Blessed Mother is one of our greatest guides in life. Her rosary is a sign of community, not gangs. Some Catholics may not like the practice of wearing rosaries because of the belief that it should be used for devotion not decoration, but many people wear rosaries as an expression of faith, a faith meant to be seen not hidden.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

P.S. I guess we should start worrying about nuns with guns!

Catholic Climate Covenant

2009-12-19T20:12:00.001-08:00

..... I took the pledge just minutes ago, the St. Francis Pledge that is. The pledge is part of the nationwide effort by Catholic Climate Covenant (CCC) in helping reduce individual carbon footprints and protect the poor from the ill-effects of global warming. The several goals are to:

1. PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.

2. LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.

3. ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations-contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, etc.
4. ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
5. ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.

..... So pledge now on their Web site: catholicclimatecovenant.org and be one of the so far 2,323 individuals who have vowed to help the earth as much as possible.

..... The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling the faithful to act now and do their part for the betterment of the community. “At its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family” said the USCCB. Pope Benedict XVI also has released similar statements, urging governments to moilize their citizens to action.

..... So why does the Church care about climate change? After all, is the protection of the environment really a part of Christian obligations? According to the USCCB and CCC, it is. Since God made us all in his image, we are blessed with the dignity to be someone not just something. Climate change will more directly affect the poor and the helpless, so everyone is accountable, everyone is a part of this global problem. As the sanctity of human life concerns the rejection of abortion, euthenasia, and the death penalty, it also influences the Church's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. By protecting the environment, we are indirectly caring for the poor and all of Creation.

..... Now, when I say Church, I don't just mean that building that you may or may not attend on Sundays depending whether you want to sleep in. By Church, I also don't mean just its hierarchy, that is its deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope. When I write Church in this blog and in almost every other blog, I always mean the whole universal community of believers, including the common folk or "laity." Seen in this light, hopefully, you can understand that we're connected to everyone regardless of location, family ties, etc. So, the preservation of the enviroment truly is the responsibility of every man, woman, and child.

..... The Church in Stockton, CA, under Bishops Stephen Blaire, has also taken the pledge. Bishop Blaire took the pledge for the entire diocese, to affirm its commitment to the CCC's goals. He has established an Environmental Justice Sunday during Respect Life Month. Parishes all over the diocese are also using energy efficient designs and material in the construction of new buildings. The Stockton Diocese also helped pass California's AB 32, "The Global Warming Solutions Act," which obliges the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

..... As you can see, individuals have already started the work for a cleaner future for the world. The question is, whether your here to help or not?

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

It's not easy being religious

2009-12-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

..... I spent yesterday [Friday] afterschool with Celine, the French foreign exchange student and Claire at the Dollar Tree. The topic of eternal damnation came up in conversation (as it always seems to when I'm around, although I didn't start the topic!0). Celine apparently was fully convinced she was going to hell since religious people were apparently telling her so. Oddly enough, she rejoiced with Claire, who also joked she was going to the fiery pit! This would be my response to Celine if she ever reads this blog!

..... It's not easy being religious...

..... Sometimes it takes all you have to believe in something. In my early years, I was a grade-A atheist. I regarded religion as a fable and God as fictional. If you had told me that I would grow up to be a religious kid, I would have called you a liar. Now that I have re-instated my Roman Catholic heritage in my life, I feel more at home in the world. I feel as if I can do anything, as long as God's there to help out. In the end, it doesn't really matter what you do with your life, as long as you live it in a pure manner. At least trying to be "good" sometimes is worth more than living a life of sin. Don't wait till it's too late to be virtuous. Just try.

..... Unfortunately, some people in the world are so focused on condemning people to the fiery pit that everyone else just accepts this theological garbage and convinces themselves that since they can do nothing to escape their fate, they should just keep doing what they do. Only God decides who goes to hell or heaven. Nothing man can say or do can change that fact. It really makes me angry to see people shove the prospect of hell into the faces of the average joe or jane. We're all sinners. Some just admit it while others just hide it.

.....We religious people are so fine tuned to how to live the "right" way that we condemn ourselves more since we know the differences between right and wrong. In a way, just like how a clean shirt can make a tiny red spot visible, living a "good" life can high light your sins. The main point here is that don't be so hard on yourself. God is forgiving and you can always turn back for help.

..... Maybe it is kind of easy being religious afterall...

- Jeremy Dela Cruz