Cogito

MY UNIVERSITY

2012-01-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

Cogito: A PILGRIM IN HOLY LAND

2011-04-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Cogito: A PILGRIM IN HOLY LAND

A PILGRIM IN HOLY LAND

2011-04-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Holy Land 1 Slideshow: Rubans’s trip to Jerusalem, Israel was created by TripAdvisor. See another Jerusalem slideshow. Create a free slideshow with music from your travel photos.

Un milagro eucarístico en nuestro tiempo

2011-02-11T12:01:00.001-08:00

Nicholas Wolterstorff on Faith in liberal democracy

2010-11-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

‘Visible sign of the invisible God’

2010-11-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

“The joy which I feel at presiding this ceremony became all the greater when I learned that this shrine, since its beginnings, has had a special relationship with Saint Joseph. I have been moved above all by Gaudí's confidence when, in the face of many difficulties, filled with trust in divine Providence, he would exclaim, ‘Saint Joseph will finish this church’. So it is significant that it

Priests still have a future

2010-11-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI, in his Letter to the Seminarians, recounts his experience in December 1941 when he was “drafted for military service, the company commander asked each of us what we planned to do in the future. I answered that I wanted to become a Catholic priest. The lieutenant replied: ‘Then you ought to look for something else. In the new Germany priests are no longer needed’. I knew that

Quid divinum

2010-10-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

“Hay un algo santo, divino, escondido en las situaciones más comunes, que toca a cada uno de vosotros descubrir” (There is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it). In these few words, Saint Josemaría Escrivá described the message he was preaching all the years of his existence, since the founding of Opus Dei, a

Homily of Saint Josemaría at the University Campus, October 1967

2010-10-24T03:52:00.000-07:00

San Josemar - Amar al mundo apasionadamente mp3

Life is not a tragedy

2010-10-24T03:47:00.000-07:00

Life is never a tragedy, although we see tragedies happening in life. Behind the dark clouds of life’s tragedies is always the sun of hope shining so brightly. This conviction is no mere romanticism for this is the truth that lies behind the meditation of the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. These mysteries remind us that the darkness and evil do not have the last word and that if

Looking at reality under God’s light

2010-10-24T03:41:00.000-07:00

We always see reality under a certain perspective. Our way of thinking, talking and doing things are – consciously or unconsciously – influenced by the perspective under which we see the world – our world. That is why, we say that a pessimistic person tends to see only the negative aspects of his or her experience while the optimistic one tries to find and to emphasize the positive side.

Strength in sorrow

2010-10-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

In a world where suffering is a taboo, many would find it totally absurd to meditate the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and pick up from such meditation some spiritual benefits. I find it really mind-boggling that while many find violent movies entertaining, only a few comprehend that human suffering can be salvific because Christ has already transformed it through His own passion

Meditating on Jesus’ joyful moments

2010-10-24T03:15:00.000-07:00

As the month of September commences, what comes immediately to my mind is Christmas: the “ber-months” have come. The other day, we explained it to our residence director: in the Philippines, we celebrate the longest Christmas in the world. Part of being a Filipino is that joyful character. We cling more to what gives us joy than to what makes us sulky. And in case we lose our joys for some

Vocation, a loving dialogue

2010-09-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on the Holy Father’s message for the 46th World Day of Prayer for vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life held last May 3, 2010, with the theme: “Faith in the divine initiative - the human response”, I found a crystal-clear affirmation of my longtime-held conviction: that the response to God’s call to priesthood or religious life is born out of one’s firm faith.

Jornada de Familias de Filipinas en Torreciudad

2010-09-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

ANC’s half-Truths

2010-08-31T04:04:00.000-07:00

ANC’s edition of Truths last Monday left me preoccupied. Aside from the fact that clearly the mentality behind is a latent support for the legalization of abortion in the Philippines (as can be deduced from its arguments), I am deeply troubled by the misunderstanding it feeds on our people regarding the Church-backed Natural Family Planning. As the Church ordained minister and the people’s

Fallacies of legalizing abortion

2010-08-20T02:57:00.000-07:00

(A response to an article entitled “Filipino women need safe and legal abortion in RP” by EnGendeRights, August 2, 2010, posted in ABS-CBNews.com. See http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/insights/08/06/10/filipino-women-need-safe-and-legal-abortion-rp). One needs not study Logic or Philosophy to see how this article is replete with lots of fallacious arguments. I am not exaggerating when I say that the

Life is a game

2010-08-17T04:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a thought that makes one think...short but substantial...

God never wastes time!

2010-08-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

God does not waste time. This was the conclusion I arrived at upon reflecting on this experience. One Sunday afternoon, while waiting for Luis, a friend of mine in his 50’s and a native of Zaragoza, who volunteered to take me in his car to Salou (a 20-minute drive from Tarragona) where I had a Mass at 8:00 P.M., I started the first glorious mystery of the Holy Rosary in front of the house where

Should a seminarian have a girlfriend?

2010-08-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

At the outset, the question is mistakenly formulated. And the mistake is in the “should”, for if we insist on this formula, my immediate answer is a big NO! Clarifying some ideas on this topic would explain my point. Our aim? Clear ideas. The choice of this topic is occasioned by an email sent to me by a certain confused young girl (she calls herself the “Confused One”) two months ago. Her

If I love my GF, why can’t I make love with her? (Part II)

2010-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

In the first part, we have said that only in marriage can sexual activity be truly an expression of true love between man and woman because the institution of marriage assures two characteristics of true love: exclusivity and being forever. Hence, our thesis is that if one truly loves his/her GF/BF, he/she should wait until marriage before indulging in sexual activities. -- But scarcely anyone is

Miracles in Torreciudad

2010-07-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Conversion and interior peace for many souls: these are mainly the spiritual graces that St. Josemaría Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, wished every pilgrim would receive upon venerating Our Lady of Torreciudad in Aragon, Spain. “Graces that the Lord will give to whoever venerates His Blessed Mother in Her sanctuary. These are the miracles I desire: conversion and peace for many souls”, he once

It’s worth being a priest!

2010-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

The sight of long, disorderly queues and of the slow flow of people passing through four metal detectors with its corresponding X-ray machines was frustrating. It was almost 8:00 AM and the possibility of entering quickly and finding a seat near the altar was practically null. We thought that arriving two hours before the Mass would begin was more than enough to get our objective. Obviously,

If I love my GF, why can’t I make love with her? (Part I)

2010-07-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here’s an article that most “Romeos” would not want to read and most “Juliets” would ignore because it tackles some basic questions that today, most young people in love would not want to confront. “If sex is making love and if I love my girlfriend, why can’t I make love with her?” asks a seemingly fallen in love, 21-year-old guy. Here’s the answer. First, let me make it clear that I don’t doubt

What’s happening in Maguindanao?

2009-12-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Over a month of literary slumber (I have not written for a month in my column in The Davao Catholic Herald, named Cogito) is shaken and awakened by the horrors of Maguindanao carnage, of such repugnance that it could even make a mute shout. In these last few days, everyone here in Pamplona (those who know that I am from Mindanao) is asking me, “¿Qué está pasando allí en tu tierra?” (What’s