PARENTS should be wary of this DepEd plan to teach sex education to school children. I feel they have to register their concern more vocally, because this move is fraught with danger.
It’s funny that in spite of the enormous logistics problems besetting the department, it prefers to give more attention to this sex ed experiment. Priorities are twisted.
Classrooms are lacking, teachers are underpaid, the whole educational system is peppered with holes, and yet, here we are, talking about sex ed whose taunted benefits are seriously put in question.
I know many private individuals and groups who on their own initiatives have helped schools by supplying desks, repainting the buildings if not putting up new buildings, giving scholarships to students and incentives to teachers, etc., precisely because the DepEd cannot cope with the problems.
There is no doubt that this sex ed affair is ideologically driven. Hardly any consultation with parents was made. It’s just shamelessly pushed by groups that happen to have money and positions of influence. As such it has become a wedge issue, very intrusive and divisive.
In spite of the many good things said of it, we cannot deny the fact that this move is part of a global effort to redefine and reengineer morality, culture and society itself. The local supporters cannot claim total independence from this worldwide network, since the whole idea originated from there.
Obviously, the DepEd officials are saying that the sex ed they are offering would have nothing to do with eliciting prurience. It would not be talking about the sexual act, but about responsibility and health. Tell that to the Marines! We’ve had enough of this meme, but such reasoning is reckless.
Sex is a most delicate topic, and it cannot be dealt with only with scientific or social and health purposes in mind. This is the main infirmity of the sex ed programs so far formulated by different groups. They get stuck in that level.
Sex always has to be situated in the general milieu of chastity and of true love that can only come from God and follow a certain God-given natural law. Chastity is the effort to integrate the constitutive bodily and spiritual elements of sex. It’s not just a kind of open field where anyone can contribute anything he likes.
My experience in inculcating the virtue of chastity to the young has always required of me nothing less than heroic prayers and sacrifice and endless monitoring of developments.
A youth’s mind and heart are delicate, unstable, easily affected by all sorts of things. As much as possible someone has to be there whenever they need help, clarification, reassurance, etc.
In this task, it would be better to be pro-active, able to read minds and predicaments, and not to wait for them to come and tell. They have to be given the whole picture of sexuality and chastity, not the slanted and distorted ones often presented by some ideologies that have different agendas.
In the UN formula which is what our local sex ed program follows, this ideological approach is quite clear. There are references, for example, of different forms of families, what we may call alternative forms that are not keeping with our nature.
This approach has gathered greater notoriety since no less than the current US president is strongly supporting it, reflecting a very liberal frame of mind. During the Father’s Day celebration, while he rightly praised the role of fathers in the family, he also said that families can have two fathers, instead of a father and a mother.
This is the kind of development we in our country should try to avoid, by nipping in the bud whatever initiatives can lead to it. I have no doubt that the present sex ed program touted by the DepEd has this pedigree and possibility. We should be very discerning and prudent.
The problems that the sex ed is supposed to solve are usual problems in any given society. Yes, we need to do something about them, even something drastic. We have to empower the families to fulfill their responsibility to teach chastity and the nature, meaning and purpose of human sexuality.
We also have to clean up our society—the media, the entertainment world, etc. We have to put in place a more responsive social network aimed at helping everyone in this area.
But definitely, the sex ed proposal is out of the question. It is a wedge that can allow many more harmful elements to enter our society.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The nearness of God
THERE used to be a very romantic and sentimental song that mesmerized a generation of men and women many years ago. Its title was “The nearness of you.”
A line from it reflected the intense passion embedded in the song. “It’s not your sweet / conversation / that brings / this sensation / oh no / it’s just the nearness of you.” And the song continues to wax senti.
At that time, of course, things were simple and people in general still have the leisure to think and reflect. Life then was not in a hurry. Just listening to the song was enough to alter or deepen one’s perceptions and feelings without suffering bad effects.
The song had been revived some years ago. Yes, it caused some nostalgia, but I’m afraid things are different now. People in general, even those belonging to that generation, have become less affected by its melody and lyrics.
I’m mentioning this observation because the same phenomenon seems to be affecting a far more serious subject. There was a time when one can easily be wrapped in solemnity and devotion once he is before the Blessed Sacrament. I hope I am mistaken, but it looks to me that this is not so anymore nowadays.
In the first place, there are far fewer people now than before visiting the Blessed Sacrament and doing some acts of worship. And the few who still do appear to me as driven by some self-interest, furious with importunings, and not so much as to spend and “waste” time with our Lord, lost in intimate, heart-to-heart dialogue of faith and love.
In fact, the Holy Father has mentioned this observation recently. He said that the doctrine of the Eucharist and its relevance to believers are not sufficiently understood nowadays.
He also said that there is lack of witness consistent to the formally professed faith in the Eucharist. This, of course, is something well known. Thus, like the Pope, I would like to give my two cents worth in recommending a more systematic catechesis on the Eucharist that is attuned to today’s challenging conditions.
This, for sure, is a very delicate matter. In the first place, we should try our best that those who already have some vestiges of Eucharistic faith and piety be helped in purifying and enriching their devotion.
They really have to enter into a more profound and consistent devotion that abides in his thoughts and in his heart the whole day, and that always looks for ways to express itself in practical things.
They ought to understand that the language of faith and love poured in Eucharistic adoration is in earthly terms a language of sacrifice, an eager holocaust of oneself for God and for the others.
It cannot remain in the level of the sentimental and the nostalgic. It looks for action of self-giving. The Pope recently said, ¨A celebrated Eucharist imposes on us and at the same time renders us capable of becoming, in our turn, bread broken for brothers, coming to meet their needs and giving ourselves.¨
He continued, ¨Because of this, a Eucharistic celebration that does not lead to meet men where they live, work and suffer, to take to them the love of God, does not manifest the love it encloses."
And then there is that more demanding challenge of making the Eucharist truly an organic part of people’s lives, bringing it from the fringes of people’s concerns to the mainstream of their individual lives as well as of society. The Eucharistic piety is not a ghetto affair.
We have to understand that this effort of spreading the Eucharistic piety is not a matter of simply popularizing the Eucharist, relying on gimmicks and other publicity stunts. We have to go through the slow if difficult process of catechizing everyone and of instilling the proper attitudes and practices.
It´s about time we explode the myth that God is meant to be dealt with in a very private and personal manner. While that is also true, it does not mean that he should not be dealt with in a more public and social manner, which is actually proper to our human condition also.
We just have to free ourselves from the Cartesian frame of mind, where things are understood in a mathematical way, in either-or propositions. The Eucharistic piety and life in general demand a more integrative, synthetic understanding of things. The private is not supposed to compete with the public, the personal with the social, etc.
A line from it reflected the intense passion embedded in the song. “It’s not your sweet / conversation / that brings / this sensation / oh no / it’s just the nearness of you.” And the song continues to wax senti.
At that time, of course, things were simple and people in general still have the leisure to think and reflect. Life then was not in a hurry. Just listening to the song was enough to alter or deepen one’s perceptions and feelings without suffering bad effects.
The song had been revived some years ago. Yes, it caused some nostalgia, but I’m afraid things are different now. People in general, even those belonging to that generation, have become less affected by its melody and lyrics.
I’m mentioning this observation because the same phenomenon seems to be affecting a far more serious subject. There was a time when one can easily be wrapped in solemnity and devotion once he is before the Blessed Sacrament. I hope I am mistaken, but it looks to me that this is not so anymore nowadays.
In the first place, there are far fewer people now than before visiting the Blessed Sacrament and doing some acts of worship. And the few who still do appear to me as driven by some self-interest, furious with importunings, and not so much as to spend and “waste” time with our Lord, lost in intimate, heart-to-heart dialogue of faith and love.
In fact, the Holy Father has mentioned this observation recently. He said that the doctrine of the Eucharist and its relevance to believers are not sufficiently understood nowadays.
He also said that there is lack of witness consistent to the formally professed faith in the Eucharist. This, of course, is something well known. Thus, like the Pope, I would like to give my two cents worth in recommending a more systematic catechesis on the Eucharist that is attuned to today’s challenging conditions.
This, for sure, is a very delicate matter. In the first place, we should try our best that those who already have some vestiges of Eucharistic faith and piety be helped in purifying and enriching their devotion.
They really have to enter into a more profound and consistent devotion that abides in his thoughts and in his heart the whole day, and that always looks for ways to express itself in practical things.
They ought to understand that the language of faith and love poured in Eucharistic adoration is in earthly terms a language of sacrifice, an eager holocaust of oneself for God and for the others.
It cannot remain in the level of the sentimental and the nostalgic. It looks for action of self-giving. The Pope recently said, ¨A celebrated Eucharist imposes on us and at the same time renders us capable of becoming, in our turn, bread broken for brothers, coming to meet their needs and giving ourselves.¨
He continued, ¨Because of this, a Eucharistic celebration that does not lead to meet men where they live, work and suffer, to take to them the love of God, does not manifest the love it encloses."
And then there is that more demanding challenge of making the Eucharist truly an organic part of people’s lives, bringing it from the fringes of people’s concerns to the mainstream of their individual lives as well as of society. The Eucharistic piety is not a ghetto affair.
We have to understand that this effort of spreading the Eucharistic piety is not a matter of simply popularizing the Eucharist, relying on gimmicks and other publicity stunts. We have to go through the slow if difficult process of catechizing everyone and of instilling the proper attitudes and practices.
It´s about time we explode the myth that God is meant to be dealt with in a very private and personal manner. While that is also true, it does not mean that he should not be dealt with in a more public and social manner, which is actually proper to our human condition also.
We just have to free ourselves from the Cartesian frame of mind, where things are understood in a mathematical way, in either-or propositions. The Eucharistic piety and life in general demand a more integrative, synthetic understanding of things. The private is not supposed to compete with the public, the personal with the social, etc.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Clarifying the priestly authority
WE need to clarify the concept of authority, especially of priestly authority, because a lot of incomplete, shallow, distorted if not outright erroneous ideas are actually suffocating it.
There’s, for example, the notion that authority is purely man-made, a matter of people’s consensus, whose substance and purpose are entirely human and temporal, if not also material. There’s hardly any mention that authority comes from God, and its ultimate objective is to lead us to God, a transcendent, supernatural end.
This kind of understanding puts authority under the sole designs and control of man. It can’t help but be purely subjective, whether in the personal level or social level. As such, it is doomed to failure, since man without God is like a tree detached from its roots. It can look luxuriant at the moment, but in time it withers and dies.
And since we are persons, ruled by reason and will, there’s a possibility that we can abuse authority to the extent of using it not only against others, but also against ourselves. This has happened and has been validated many times in history when authority became the engine of a country’s or a civilization’s decadence.
We have to be most clear about the origin, nature and aims of authority. Our Catechism gives us a good description of it: “The authority required by the moral order derives from God: ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.’” (1899)
From this truth, it should be obvious that authority requires obedience, such that one could not be without the other. Otherwise, a monstrosity would be created. Authority and obedience should be inseparable.
Therefore, a bevy of virtues is necessary for us to use and follow authority properly. We can mention a few—humility, prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, etc. Without these virtues, how easily we can succumb to misuse and abuse authority!
And of all kinds of authority here in our life, the one wielded by the clerics, from the Pope down to the bishops, priests and deacons, is the most delicate and sublime, since it is the authority needed to govern our spiritual life and the Church.
Its aim is not only for some temporal and earthly good, but rather for our supreme good. The aim is nothing less than forming Christ in the believers, letting Christ live in every faithful, echoing St. Paul’s intense sentiment when he said: “My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!” (Gal 4,19)
This is what Pope Benedict XVI recently reminded us of, in his address to priests all over the world that touched on our governing or guiding mission in the Church. The authority we, priests, wield is a tremendous one since it is a participation in that of Christ who said: ¨All power is given to me in heaven and on earth...¨ (Mt 28,18)
From here, we can deduce that if all authority on earth is a participation of the authority of God and therefore should be exercised in reference to him and his law, that of the priests requires the strictest adherence if not identification with Christ and his will.
We, priests, should be most aware that the power we have demands that we be most united with Christ. It is not something to be exercised in our own name, but in the name of Christ, and therefore should be discharged as the most exquisite form of service for Christ and for souls.
To do that, priests should be vitally connected with Christ through prayers, study, recourse to the sacraments, continuing formation in doctrine and virtues, and abiding ascetical struggle.
It cannot be any other way, since otherwise the whole process will surely be corrupted, deceiving people and creating a mess sooner or later. Priests should be wary of the dangers of complacency, hypocrisy, bureaucratic mentality, clericalism, etc.
We need to constantly rectify our intentions and to rev them up to measure up to Christ´s standards. Like Christ, we have to empty ourselves in imitation of Christ´s example, who ¨emptied himself, taking the form of a servant...humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.¨ (Phil 2,7-8)
Pope Benedict said: ¨To be a pastor according to the heart of God there must be a profound rootedness in living friendship with Christ...and the docility itself of the people to their priests depends on the docility of priests to Christ.¨
There’s, for example, the notion that authority is purely man-made, a matter of people’s consensus, whose substance and purpose are entirely human and temporal, if not also material. There’s hardly any mention that authority comes from God, and its ultimate objective is to lead us to God, a transcendent, supernatural end.
This kind of understanding puts authority under the sole designs and control of man. It can’t help but be purely subjective, whether in the personal level or social level. As such, it is doomed to failure, since man without God is like a tree detached from its roots. It can look luxuriant at the moment, but in time it withers and dies.
And since we are persons, ruled by reason and will, there’s a possibility that we can abuse authority to the extent of using it not only against others, but also against ourselves. This has happened and has been validated many times in history when authority became the engine of a country’s or a civilization’s decadence.
We have to be most clear about the origin, nature and aims of authority. Our Catechism gives us a good description of it: “The authority required by the moral order derives from God: ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.’” (1899)
From this truth, it should be obvious that authority requires obedience, such that one could not be without the other. Otherwise, a monstrosity would be created. Authority and obedience should be inseparable.
Therefore, a bevy of virtues is necessary for us to use and follow authority properly. We can mention a few—humility, prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, etc. Without these virtues, how easily we can succumb to misuse and abuse authority!
And of all kinds of authority here in our life, the one wielded by the clerics, from the Pope down to the bishops, priests and deacons, is the most delicate and sublime, since it is the authority needed to govern our spiritual life and the Church.
Its aim is not only for some temporal and earthly good, but rather for our supreme good. The aim is nothing less than forming Christ in the believers, letting Christ live in every faithful, echoing St. Paul’s intense sentiment when he said: “My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you!” (Gal 4,19)
This is what Pope Benedict XVI recently reminded us of, in his address to priests all over the world that touched on our governing or guiding mission in the Church. The authority we, priests, wield is a tremendous one since it is a participation in that of Christ who said: ¨All power is given to me in heaven and on earth...¨ (Mt 28,18)
From here, we can deduce that if all authority on earth is a participation of the authority of God and therefore should be exercised in reference to him and his law, that of the priests requires the strictest adherence if not identification with Christ and his will.
We, priests, should be most aware that the power we have demands that we be most united with Christ. It is not something to be exercised in our own name, but in the name of Christ, and therefore should be discharged as the most exquisite form of service for Christ and for souls.
To do that, priests should be vitally connected with Christ through prayers, study, recourse to the sacraments, continuing formation in doctrine and virtues, and abiding ascetical struggle.
It cannot be any other way, since otherwise the whole process will surely be corrupted, deceiving people and creating a mess sooner or later. Priests should be wary of the dangers of complacency, hypocrisy, bureaucratic mentality, clericalism, etc.
We need to constantly rectify our intentions and to rev them up to measure up to Christ´s standards. Like Christ, we have to empty ourselves in imitation of Christ´s example, who ¨emptied himself, taking the form of a servant...humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.¨ (Phil 2,7-8)
Pope Benedict said: ¨To be a pastor according to the heart of God there must be a profound rootedness in living friendship with Christ...and the docility itself of the people to their priests depends on the docility of priests to Christ.¨
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