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by PAM
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| Happy Christmas to one and all! |
A few days ago, the Rector of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) gave his Christmas greetings to the Thomasian community. This happened, just a few days after the "Reproductive Health" Bill (in its "bicameral version") was ratified by both the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives, and its authors celebrating and crying tears of "victory". Pres. Nonoy Aquino, who certified the enactment of the Bill as urgent, hailed the passage of the Bill by the lawmakers as a way forward in bringing about the "solution" to our "population problem". Therefore, the Aquino government has something to celebrate for this Cristmas.
Meantime, the UST Rector's greeting geared the Thomasian celebration of Christmas toward how it should be: a celebration of the "greatest Love". Please allow me to share the Rector's Christmas greetings with my fellow Thomasians worldwide. Here goes...
In this joyful Season that speaks of the greatest Love,
May our hearts be inflamed with our commitment to the Truth,
For Christmas is a celebration of lives offered in the service of veritas in caritate.
May the cross atop the UST Tower be our Star of Bethlehem
Our beacon of faith, source of hope and reminder of Christmas love -
The timeless message of Christmas.
With the abiding presence of the Child Jesus and His unending grace
May you and I walk together in unity rooted in our shared vision
To build the Church, the country and the family.
Maligayang Paskong Tomasino sa Lahat!
- Fr. Herminio V. Dagohoy, O. P.
Rector, University of Santo Tomas
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It's a "purple world"
So, yeah, this is the 'last time' that we, as a nation, celebrate Christmas with the parents of teenagers among us seeing the beautiful glow on their children's faces as they wholeheartedly appreciate their Christmas presents, innocence radiating from their faces. Some of these teenagers probably glow in the spine-tickling sweet excitement of 'puppy love', and yet, they look up to their parents for guidance and love, afraid to make mistakes, eager to preserve their innocence until such time when their love for one person is sanctified in a blessed union... because that's what their parents, the Church, and the society teach them... because that's how it should be.
Next year, and the following years, parents will be holding their children close to themselves on Christmas morning, wishing that they could hold on to their children's purity of heart and mind long enough until such time when they have matured enough to be able to distinguish right from wrong and wisdom from foolishness. Parents will be wishing that they could protect their beloved children from a society that tolerates experimentation of the human spirit, starting from one's body, under the guise of one's freedom to explore one's (and specifically a woman's) sexuality without 'suffering' from the consequence of such 'exploration', and to manage population growth. Well, it's already started anyway... just listen to the DJs/presenters of radio shows on FM band these days. The way they 'freely' say 'jokes' with sexual implications and discuss their own sexualities and others' as if they were experts and as if what they say was the universal truth with loud female DJs screeching tastelessly, over morning coffee is completely jarring! Whaaaat, they allow these now on FM radio with kids listening???? How sad.... So, what's next? Abortion? Divorce? *sigh*
Therefore, we savor our last true Christian celebration of Christmas as a nation! But, as I tell my students, no human law could corrupt the spirit for as long as we allow our spirits to constantly bathe in the Truth... only then can we celebrate each day as if it was Christmas day.
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Art credit: Dante V. Lerma, M. D., "Paskong Tomasino"
