It's already April and i have been very busy with lots of editing. I started this daily drawing challenge and got stuck in day 3, i got 7 days to cover! Anyways, last week was the Holy Week and i had my "first station of the cross" or journey to the cross. I was with the Seed Interactive crew that day and had a photowalk at Abong-Abong. It was tiring yet fun coz i got friends with me along the way. Im not a Catholic but i like this activity coz it doesn't only burn calories, i got to meet different kinds of people, see the beautiful city lights at night, and have my own little reflections about life along the way. The week reminded us of God's sacrifice for us, and His eternal love despite of our sinful nature.

I haven't posted my photos yet coz i didn't have the time to pick and edit. I saw many photos of the Holy Week activities of my friend at facebook and their blogs. There was also this photo of a girl posing at the cross and people were just in rage. Religious fanatics were the frontliners of this protest, posting harsh words as if they have the authority to judge these people. Here are some of those photos.



I'm reposting this from a facebook user who expressed his thoughts about this issue. I definitely agree with what he has to say.

~

"Aint here to bash these people.

The only thing im gon point out is. Every single one of us do this every single day.
Y'all talking about them being disrespectful. That they'll burn in hell. They dont deserve to live. And too much cussing, swearing, cursing. D na daw sila nahiya.

And so.. My question is
Nahihiya ba tayo
When we have sex outside marriage?
When we lie?
When we cheat?
When we disobey?
When we have pride in our hearts?
When we steal?
When we are greedy?
When we envy?

and the list goes on

Aint sayin that what they did was fine. But the actions said above are and what they did are all equal. All sins are equal. No matter how big. or how small. And it doesnt even matter when it is done.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

It says ALL.

You judge a person based on what they have done?
Actions CANT/ WONT/ WILL NEVER save you.
Try reading Ephesians 2:8-9

Nuff said. This is the real thing.

Acting holy on a holy week? Get real homeys.

We should live a Holy life no matter what day it is.

peace out"

~

Indeed, we are entitled to our own opinion. It's sad to see them disrespecting one's religious belief/icon. But who are we to judge and say words without even looking at ourselves. This is just a physical cross but the real Cross is Jesus and in one way or the other, we have sinned against Him. So let's not pray that these people have sinned. Let us pray for ourselves for we are sinners, too. May we have a peaceful life ahead. :D

During our Manila-Pampanga Trip last month, we had time to visit one of the oldest places in the Philippines, the Intramuros. It is known as the "walled-city" built during the Spanish Colonial Period. We went there via taxi from Pasay and entered through the western gate. The first thing we saw is the fire department at the left and a bank at the right. Then there was a plaza and right across is the magnificent Manila Cathedral. We stopped at plaza in front of the cathedral and took some photos and entered the church to see what's inside. Here are some of the photos we took. More after the jump.

The first room to the right contains this mama Mary altar and the "La Pieta" sculture (below).

This is a replica of Michaelangelo's famous sculpture "La Pieta" showing the body of Jesus in the arms of his mother after his Crucifixion.

The heirarchy of archdiocese in the Philippines.

Let the photo tell the story in this one...

The grandeur of the cathedral from afar.

Goin to the next place to visit i took a photo of the paved road. :D

 

end

It's already the holy week and the whole country is paying tribute to Jesus's last days to his resurrection. As you can see below, I made an OBB for the airing of Sky cable's coverage of the 7 Last Words. This week is a symbol of God's love to us when He finally let's His Son die in behalf of our sins. This week reminds us of the greatest story ever told which is the sacrifice of Jesus to redeem us from our sins and finally release the Holy Spirit for us to enjoy the life-giving Spirit. Here's a link about the 7 last words of Christ :D

I just want to share my insights about this article. Actually this is my assignment in my Philo class but i was not able to meet the deadline so the teacher dissed my paper. Below is a video about the very same article created as an ad campaign for a school.




In the article, the professor shows his point that if ever a certain God exist, he/she is the one who created everything that exists. However, he pointed out that Evil is something that exist and, thus, its creator is also evil. The kid told him that Evil does not exist by presenting ideas and evidences that are supported by the laws of Physics. As to coldness is the absence of heat; darkness is the absence of light; evil too is the result in the absence of love. This proves that God indeed created everything that is good like heat, light and love. If goodness is absent, we call it badness, like coldness, darkness and evil. Thus, God is not evil, He is good.

There are moments in the article that I found very striking. For example, the professor said in front of the class that God is evil. This gave me an idea that God is the creator of everything including things that we consider bad or evil. However, I also doubted it because of the idea that God is evil. How could God create something that will harm its creations? I started to recall about the Genesis and the creation. It is written that in the beginning there was nothing but darkness which means darkness is something that is not created but is the absence of everything. Hence, it is true that there are things in this world that exist but is not necessarily created. Then, God created light to fill the darkness and it was good. In the bible, it is always repeated that God’s creation is good, thus, everything that He created is far from evil.

Another thing that struck me most is when the child, Albert Einstein, proved that evil does not exist. I find his ideas very rational and very true to most of the things that God created. For example, aside from the light, heat and love, He also created water. And the absence of water is dryness. God did not create dryness but the absence of water caused its existence. This simple idea proves that God is, indeed, not the creator of bad things. Everything that we see around us is essentially good. We only perceive bad things in the absence of the creation that makes it good.

But how did evil started? I believe that God did not create evil. In the bible, I learned that it started with an angel, Lucifer, who lose his goodness and became the origin of sins. He was the one who started sin when he spread his lies and corruption among the angels and human beings. Man is not evil in the beginning but when they were tempted by the devil, they committed a sin.

Nonetheless, the main point of the article lies on its title, Is There A God and How Can We Prove It? For me, the only way to prove God to those who do not believe is through presenting evidences scientifically and philosophically. Through explaining ideas like what is presented in the article, we will be able to reason out and provide proofs that will lead us to the clear view on God’s existence.

It has been an odd season for me, i think. There have been lots of things that has greatly changed and it has been bothering me lately. My December was just weird. During the Atfest, i had lots of fun, but i had more headaches and burdens. I was not focused in my studies and i screwed up in some of my subjects, i can’t even remember the last lessons i had before the break. I really hope i can put my head back to it. Christmas celebrations were also fun. I had three, actually. The first one was the CSIT Christmas/Victory party. Next was the Zabala family reunion, and last, the Safety/Unique Thanksgiving party. I enjoyed all parties but still, something’s missing, or lacking, i suppose. I am really disappointed with myself because I didn’t join the year-end training of our church. I’m really a procrastinator. Well i have my reasons too why i didn’t showed up, but because of this my sibling didn’t also joined the event. All the burden was just on me. It doesn’t mean that i don’t want to have time with Him, it’s just that i have to deal with my relations to the people there.

Anyways, i think my Christmas was just bitin. I haven’t spent my time with my friends and family fully and i was so lazy. There were also deviations in this year’s New Year celebration. There were no games, it means no money and prizes.hehe i think i was just being childish those times. There were less fireworks. Wala ba namang sparklers, ano ba yan. I only had one stick of roman candle and the others was enjoyed by our bunso and dad. Bitin talaga, hindi nga mausok and loob ng bahay. And that was just odd. I missed the aroma of burning gunpowder and the smokes in my room. but its ok, next year I’ll make sure that there will be tons of fireworks.haha. The time was just running fast. Upon arriving home, we prepared our homemade nicker bucker and the next thing i knew, the people were having the final countdown. Anyways the dessert was just delicious. Next year we should have more. I also enjoyed the whole night singing karaoke and dancing with my siblings and cousins. I rested after the fourth hour and woke up during lunch time. We went to La vista and enjoyed the beach. I enjoyed having time with my family.

They say that the way we start the year will tell how we will be throughout the year. For the first time in my life, I’ll be havin’ my new year’s resolution, and it will one single one word: FOCUS. This year I have to focus in my relationships, to my family, friends and most importantly to God. I have to focus in my studies over affiliations and do my best to have excellent grades. The past year, i was just not satisfied with my grades (tons of 85’s). I have to perform my best this year just to make sure that the Chinese people are wrong in saying that the people born in the year of the horse will be unlucky this year.haha I also include blogging in my list. I realized that blogging will help me in honing my skills in writing and it will be an instrument to express my views and opinions.

Before saying goodbye to oh seven, i like to thank everyone, people that i knew throughout my life and the ones that came lately. All of you are just great. You were very supportive and you believed in me, you know who you are. In case I had any shortcomings to you guys, I’m sorry. I would also like to forgive all people who made mistakes and leave all of these along with the year. Twenty o seven was just great. I hope Oh eight will be one too. I have so much to say but i don’t want to bore you guys. To cut it short, i want to bid goodbye to oh seven and hello oh eight. yeah!