The face of hunger

By JUAN L. MERCADO
December 15, 2010

The grime-streaked beggar, at the church, door wouldn't budge. Misa de Gallo had just ended. If delayed, I'd miss that overbooked flight for Bangkok. . As a "martial law refugee", Thailand was my United Nations station for 17 years. Four of five kids were flying in, from US schools, for Christmas.

Shifting his battered tin can, the beggar persisted. "Don't you remember me?" Seeing my blank, he murmured: "We were classmates in elementary school… I’m Candido….."

Memory scraped away the wrinkles, dirt and in-between years. We had played the games of childhood. Together, we built model airplanes and sailed toy boats. Vacations, we'd swim in nearby pools.Today?

Tiene cara de hambre. "You have the face of hunger," the orphan boy tells the Crucified in the film classic: “Marcelino, Pan y Vino”.

We managed snatches of conversation. Airline schedules are unyielding. Couldn't I have dropped, into his tin cup, more than what was hurriedly fished out of a shirt pocket?, I fretted even as the immigration officer waved us on.

We're all invited to journey to Bethlehem.

For some, like Imelda Marcos, the invitation comes, as the “Guardian” notes, while she “clicks a button for servants in a Manila penthouse cluttered with masterpieces by Picasso, Gaugin, priceless antique Buddha statues --- and gold, gold, gold.”

Others, like my beggared-classmate, wearily limp to "the City of David" with empty tin cans. Billionaires here lodge in "gated enclaves" while many lack frugal livelihoods. "There was no room in the inn."

Yet, "Christmas is the only time I know of when men and women, seem by one consent, to open their shut-up hearts freely," Charles Dickens wrote in 1843. Like the re-engineered Ebenezer Scrooge, they "think of people below them, not as another race of creatures bound on other journeys, but as fellow passengers to the grave."

I've never seen my beggar-friend since. But he forms part of Christmases past. As the years slip by, these faces remain. Revisiting them, one discovers a bittersweet (chiaroscurro) tone overlays the montage.

Images include kindnesses by friends one now rarely sees. I dashed out to talk with a pediatrician, glimpsed midway through an Advent mass. Dr. Miguel Celdran lavished care on my now-grown kids. I wanted “Mike” to meet my lawyer-daughter and her doctor husband from San Francisco, visiting for Christmas. But he had left.

ROME: "That season comes wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated / The bird of dawning singeth all night long," At the Divine Word fathers’ Verbiti headquarters, Filipino OFWs sang carols. These included, of course, “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit” -- the Tagalog adaptation of the 1933 Visayan daygon: “Kadsadya Ning Takna-a.”. English carols have long blotted out Spanish carols like “Nacio, Nacio Pastores”.

Star lanterns festooned Verbiti. Lights blinked from a Nativity crib or “belen”. Even lechons were on the table. But corrosive loneliness contorted the faces of many, separated from kith and kin, in "this "hallowed and gracious time".

Tears slipped past tightly-closed eyes. Here is part of the overseas worker diaspora's untabulated costs. Hidden behind those foreign exchange remittances are: pain, separation, alienation, trauma even. Tiene cara de hambre.

Christmas is "Emmanuel – God with us" in the dark, loneliness and pain, Filipino SVD fathers told their expat flock "There are no more unvisited places in our lives."

JAKARTA: Illnesses in absent family is shattering, specially so for expatriates. We trudged to the Crib in Gereja Theresia (St Therese's Church), behind the giant mall Sarina. Half a world away, alone in a Los Angeles hospital, a diaspora statistic – my younger brother – lay dying.

Jesse called in January. . Life is fragile, he began. We don't know when we’ll see each other again. “Let's meet in Cebu”. So, he flew in from LA. Our only sister came from Toronto. The wife and I took the flight from Bangkok. We had a laughter-filled week with our then 86-year old mother.

Our mother went July. "Please. No heroic measures," our sister-in-law told the cardiac team that rushed in. And by Christmas, Jesse was gone too.

The Child of Bethlehem enables us to glimpse beyond the grave. "Death is not the extinguishing of life," the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote. "It is putting out the lamp because dawn has come."

BANGKOK: From our third floor flat, we'd watch this Thai lady slip into the deserted courtyard of Holy Redeemer Church. Draped in the Advent dawn's darkness, she'd pray before the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help – until Misa de Gallo, introduced by Filipino workers, started.

Her silhouette brought Isaiah's lines to mind: "The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light. Kings shall (stream) to the brightness of thy rising."  That silhouette, like the image of a prisoner, also forms part of our Christmases past.

MUNTINLUPA: Clad in stained orange togs, the prisoner wouldn't budge. If delayed, I'd miss a dinner appointment. Seeing my blank look, he murmured: "Don't you remember me? We were playmates in Cebu. My name is Policarpio…."

There is, we're told, a geography of the heart. Like the Magi, we travel its byways, not merely from place to place, but from grace to grace. It is a search for what endures amid the transient. Without fail, we find it in those with cara de hambre.

"And they found the Child with Mary his mother," the story goes. Venite adoremus.

Declaration of Ceasefire
Central Committee
Communist Party of the Philippines
December 7, 2010

We hereby declare to all commands and units of the New People's Army (NPA) and the people's militia a ceasefire order to be effective upon the reciprocal and concurrent ceasefire order from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) to its military, police and paramilitary forces, within the period of 0001H of 16 December 2010 to 23:59H of 03 January 2011.

In conformity with the mutual ceasefire between the GRP and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), all the commands and units of the NPA shall cease and desist from carrying out offensive operations against the armed units and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police and paramilitary forces of the GRP.

While the mutual ceasefire is in effect, all commands and units of the NPA and the people's militia shall be in a defensive mode at both the strategic and tactical levels but shall remain vigilant against any encroachment on the territory of the people's democratic government, surveillance or offensive operations by the armed commands and units of the GRP. Active self-defense shall be undertaken only in the face of clear and imminent danger.

All hostile actions or movements of the enemy armed forces shall be monitored and reported upwards in accordance with the command structure of the New People's Army and the leadership structure of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in order to provide continuous, timely and accurate information to the NDFP Negotiating Panel regarding compliance with or violations of the mutual ceasefire.

Officers and members of the AFP and PNP who have no serious liability other than their membership in their armed units shall not be subjected to arrest and punitive actions. They may be allowed individually to enter the territory of the people's democratic government to make personal visits to relatives and friends.

This entire ceasefire order is issued on humanitarian grounds and as an act of good will in order to allow the commands, units and personnel of the contending armies of the GRP and the NDFP to observe the traditional holidays and enjoy the spirit of the yuletide season and the New Year.

We hope that our act of good will and the mutual ceasefire between the GRP and the NDFP will improve the atmosphere for peace negotiations and inspire the release of political prisoners, the full implementation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, the end of human rights violations in consonance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, the holding of preliminary talks between representatives of the GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels in Oslo in January 2011 and the resumption of formal talks between the aforesaid Panels in Oslo in February 2011.

Central Committee
and
Military Commission
Communist Party of the Philippines

National Executive Committee
National Democratic Front of the Philippines

8ID remains apolitical

By CMO Battalion, 8ID PA
December 6, 2010

In response to an article written by one Gina Dean-Ragudo published in Samar News.com on 18 November 2010 [ http://www.samarnews.com/news2010/nov/a702.htm ].

In her article, the author wrote the following allegations against personnel and units of the Command: First is against 2LT Eduardo Mendoza of 34th Infantry Battalion under this Command for distributing unsigned letters forcing barangay captains of Paranas, Samar to attend a meeting in Barangay Calapi, Motiong, Samar. Allegedly, the said unsigned letter was expressly directing the said barangay captains to attend an orientation seminar on Integrated Territorial Defense Security System (ITDSS) and to witness some talks initiated by officials of the province on development projects of the barangay to be given by Congresswoman Milagrosa Tan; Second is about the name of Sgt Romeo Paldez also of 34IB who was also maliciously dragged in again distributing the unsigned letters forcing the barangay captains and SK officials of San Jose de Buan, Samar to attend a similar activity; and Lastly, Ms Gina Dean-Ragudo also indicted certain SSg Guillermo Daga of 52IB of allegedly exerted his influence over some CAFGUs and threatened them to be relieved from duty by transferring them to another area if they refuse to support their SK and ABC candidates in the upcoming elections.

In response to the said article, the 8th Infantry (Stormtroopers) Division, Philippine Army strongly denies all the allegations as written by the author.  MGen Mario F Chan, the Commander of the 8th Infantry (Stormtroopers) Division, Philippine Army in his firm statement stated that: “Under my watch, the 8ID remains apolitical and steadfast in its mandate of eradicating the insurgency problem in the area of operations particularly in Samar and Leyte islands to achieve genuine peace and development”.

The 8th Infantry Division has various programs and activities aimed to uplift the well-being of the people in the areas being entrusted to our care. These programs and activities include the Army Literacy Patrol System or ALPS, a national winner of the Literacy Program of the Department of Education benefiting the out-of-school youths and adults illiterates; various medical and dental civic action activities for indigents; Public information Patrol or information awareness among the populace; and the Integrated Territorial Defense Security System (ITDSS) for the barangay populace, among others. These programs and activities are being undertaken in coordination with different stakeholders such as the LGUs, LGAs, NGOs, POs, CSOs, Local Chief Executives irrespective of their political affiliations having that common end of rendering service to our people.

On the allegation of the author, she in fact stated that the alleged letter with the name of 2LT Mendoza that was distributed to the different barangay officials forcibly directing them to attend the ITDSS orientation seminar is unsigned. That being the case, the said letter is in itself an unofficial document that could have been done or made by somebody or anybody with the intention of maligning the 34IB as an organization. While the ITDSS is considered as one of the programs of 34IB, the unit implements it through the spirit of volunteerism by not forcing anybody’s involvement in it if it is against their will and belief.  However, since the said program that is aimed to safeguard the barangay from the intrusion of terroristic groups was being conceptualized in the spirit of a bayanihan system that solicit the support of other stakeholders to make it fully work as a system. On the other hand, the alleged involvement of Sgt Romeo Paldez also of 34IB, LTC WILLIAM PENAFIEL JR, the Commanding Officer of the said unit also denies the involvement of his men in any political undertaking.  According to him, there is no meeting or assembly related to ITDSS that took place in San Jose de Buan. The headquarters of 34IB is in the heart of San Jose de Buan municipality and if there is any activity related to the programs of 34IB, being the Commander, he is the first one to know. On the allegation that SSg Guillermo Daga of 52IB exerted his influence over some CAFGUs and threatened them to be relieved from duty by transferring them to another area if they refuse to support their SK and ABC candidates in the upcoming elections, is again baseless and unfounded.  A mere SSg who is only acting in his capacity as a detachment commander, could not in any manner influence the relief of a CAFGU from his duty considering that CAFGUs are geographical forces aimed to render service in their own locality as prescribed by AFP.  Also, the relief of a certain CAFGU from his post or a termination from his duties requires a process and approval from higher headquarters.

While the 8ID stands firm of isolating itself as an organization in politics, it is also a Command policy to get rid of its members who in any manner, committed any acts prejudicial to good order. While we also appreciate the efforts of our friends from the media, we are also calling on them to refrain from publishing such an article that could tarnish the good image of the military as an organization. If indeed they have any legitimate concerns or complaints on the actuations or any infractions committed by our troops, they could present it to us. We will conduct a thorough and impartial investigation on that. We will not tolerate any wrongdoings of our personnel and we assure the people that we are here to serve them, not for the interest of any individuals or groups.

Major General Chan further stressed in his statement, “We have nothing to do with politics. Our business is peace and order of Samar Island. Anyone who will go against peace and order will be subject of our actions as we implement the rule of law. Let us therefore be vigilant and continue to work hand and hand to achieve a genuine peace and ultimately development for the people of this area”. The good General concluded.

They don’t listen to God anymore!

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
December 4, 2010

WE have to say it as it is, calling a spade a spade. It may not be that politically correct. But then again, if the drift to secularism and Godlessness is just getting too obvious and strong, who cares?

A recent news item says that a majority of our town mayors are for the RH bill. The reason given is that they want the people to have an “informed choice” about family planning and population control methods.

Obviously, the news item sprang from a survey. Surveys are now the modern oracles of what is supposed to be right and wrong in society and in man in general. But God knows how these surveys are designed to arrive at a desired result!

Just look at the financiers, just look at the questions, etc. You have to be especially dumb not to know where the questionnaires are meant to head. In short, many of our surveys are nothing less than tools of black propaganda, of disinformation.

But the more serious issue here is also the quite clear reality that many of our public officials are not anymore listening to God. They are simply listening to themselves, perhaps making some kind of consensus and compromise among themselves, and with the people also. But God hardly has any place.

I’m sure the assertion will raise a howl of protest and questions. What is listening to God anyway? What does it involve? Who can say one is listening to God or not? Why does God have to be dragged into our government affairs?

In the discussion of many social issues, like the RH bill, faith is often set aside, since it is considered as anti-reason, anti-human, not politically or socially correct, a nuisance to the deliberations, etc. But how can we say we are tackling the issues adequately when faith is a priori discredited?

Truth is religion has become a meaningless affair to many people, especially those occupying positions of power and influence in our society. It has been reduced to a formalistic activity, a social custom still practiced more to meet social expectations rather than a matter of belief and conviction.

Many are still stung by the supposedly Enlightenment bias which pits reason with faith and gives no place to faith in human affairs.

If there’s still some regard to God, it is just to make God a mere idol, a pious ornamental statue that does not hear nor talk. That he is a living God who intervenes in our life all the time, who directs and governs us with his providence is lost on many people.

The proof of this is that any of our public officials refuse to tackle the moral dimension of the RH bill. Its morality is considered above their pay grade. They’re contented simply with the practical and convenient aspects of some of its parts. They obviously are happy that such bill will entitle them to some funds. The worst case is when they consider morality simply as a function of practicality and convenience.

And yet they dare to say that it is for giving the people an “informed choice” that they support the bill. How can it be an “informed choice” if they systematically avoid the moral angle as defined by the Church?

Obviously, what they can do is to arrogate to themselves the right to make a moral assessment of the RH bill by ignoring the voice of the Church. This has been done in many other countries, those that are precisely suffering from secularist tendencies. They just ignore God and go on with their agenda.

They will spare no effort to destroy the organic connection between God, Christ and the Church. And with some help of theologian-dissenters, they will propose the idea of conscience as the lone way where one can hear the voice of God, detaching conscience from its inherent need for Church magisterium.

There is now little doubt that some of our public officials are embarking on a path that sooner or later will end up attacking the Church, our Christian faith and culture. We have to be ready for this eventuality. Our public officials can pose as a potential threat to the Church and our Christian way of life.

We need to voice it out, loud and clear, that listening to God, heeding the indications of our faith, the requirements of morality as taught now by the Church, is an indispensable element in any discussion of public issues. Ignoring it will just make our reasoning get into a dangerous adventure.

Press statement on the peace talks preliminary meeting

Luis G. Jalandoni

Chairperson

Negotiating Panel

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

December 3, 2010

Preliminary informal meetings on the peace talks were held on December 1 and 2 in Hong Kong between Atty. Alexander Padilla, Chairperson of the Negotiating Panel of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and Mr. Luis Jalandoni, Chairperson of the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Also in the meeting were Atty. Pablito Sanidad, a member of the GRP peace panel, Ms. Coni Ledesma, a member of the NDFP peace panel and Atty. Rachel Pastores, legal consultant to the peace process.

Jalandoni described the meeting as fruitful, meaningful and cordial. During the meeting, Padilla and Jalandoni both expressed willingness to resume the formal peace talks. The formal peace talks are tentatively set on February 19 to 25, 2011 in Oslo, Norway. They also agreed to have preliminary talks tentatively set on January 14 to 18, 2011 also in Oslo. The schedules for the formal talks will be confirmed after consultation with the other Panel members of both sides. The tentative dates of the meeting and formal talks will be presented to the Royal Norwegian Government, the Third Party Facilitator of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations through Ambassador Ture Lundh.

Both Padilla and Jalandoni also agreed to highly recommend to their respective national leaderships the unilateral declaration of a reciprocal and concurrent ceasefire within the period of 00:01 hours of 16 December 2010 up to 23:59 hours of 3 January 2011 in observance of the yuletide season and the New Year.

During the meeting, Atty. Padilla also gave Mr. Jalandoni a copy of the Order lifting the Hold Departure Order (HDO) dated June 29, 1992 against Mr. Luis Jalandoni. The Order Lifting the HDO was issued by Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III on November 30, 2010.

Atty. Padilla also handed to Mr. Luis Jalandoni his letter informing Mr. Jalandoni that the JASIG remains effective since the GRP lifted its suspension on July 17, 2009. Atty. Padilla further gave assurance to Mr. Jalandoni that he could safely come to and leave the Philippines for a private family visit, citing the statement of President Aquino.

Mr. Jalandoni also expressed that the release of the Morong 43 health workers and other political prisoners and NDFP consultants, like 65 year old Angelina Ipong, and the withdrawal of false charges against the NDFP panelists and consultants (in compliance with the JASIG) are goodwill and confidence building measures for the resumption of the peace talks.

Maguindanao massacre case demonstrates the delusion of the existence of a justice system

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
November 24, 2010

It does not take much time for any rational person to agree that the families and the victims of the Maguindanao massacre must obtain justice. Anything less is unacceptable. The sheer evil that the perpetrators demonstrated in killing 57 innocent people, 32 of whom were journalists; and to disappear one person, in the manner that is already widely known, obviously stimulates outrage and condemnation.

But to demand for justice must also involve conscious thinking as to whether the institutions of justice to whom these demands are addressed can deliver it in a real sense. It is madness and foolishness for one to demand justice knowing full well that it is something that could not possibly be given. It is nothing less than self deception for a person to believe that something can be created from nothing. Water cannot be squeezed from boulders; nor can boulders be softened by hammering.

Demands that are detached from reality will have no real contribution and are meaningless when attempting to afford redress to victims. It rather perpetuates, consciously or otherwise, the delusion of something that is not there. To make demands without any regard as to whether they would make sense in reality is nothing less than echoing popular demands, to satisfy a person or a group's desire of having supported a cause. This is the usual gesture by politicians to show solidarity as they gain more by supporting rather than ignoring popular causes. If this is done to sustain interest in a massacre that most Filipinos could not fathom, that could still be done as it appears logical, but it should have been more on the realities and substance. What made this wrong is the denial to acknowledge what is reality.

The quest for justice must confront head-on the realities. Witnesses and families of the victims are being bought, over a hundred suspects remain at large, the criminal justice system allows out of court settlements, the continuing lack of protection to families, journalists and persons who are testifying and the repeated delays in court hearings that are endemic in Philippine courts is allowing this to happen. The quest must not also place limits on the punishment imposed upon the perpetrators, but should also have a clear judgement on the certainty that the perpetrators have committed the crime. That they would be convicted based on the evidence that the police and the prosecutors have collected in establishing their guilt; not due to popular demands and the public pressure and political consideration that is prevalent in political cases, like the Abadilla Five case.

If that case has taught us anything it has revealed that in the Philippines, cases are often decided not because of their merit but rather political pressure and consideration. The more pressure is applied, the more likely the possibility of redress for victims and punishment to perpetrators. Thus, in reality the system of justice functions contrary to how most people in developed systems of justice thought it should be. The question must be: can this type of institution of justice be considered competent, impartial and effective? Can this system of justice function on its own without pressure? No. If it is the contrary of what makes a system exist in a real sense, the country does not have it.

While it is easy for all to agree on demanding justice, that the perpetrators of the massacre must be punished and that murders of this magnitude must not happen again, but there is no real certainty that justice will be done. The people know full well that the case will not be resolved any time soon; not even in ten years to come. The journalists, the lawyers, witnesses, the widows and families of the dead also know this to be the case.

In the Maguindanao massacre hearing, the failure and inability of the police and the prosecutors--for example, of having all the accused arrested, the collection of forensic evidence, the DNA of disappeared victim Reynaldo Momay; the failure of the prosecution to admit a murdered witness to the Witness Protection Programme before he was killed, would draw negligible attention. But these failures have already rendered the delays of the trial of other accused due to them not being arrested and read with charges in court. The murder case of Momay could not be filed in court because his family do not have his body. The accounts of the murdered witness will never be heard in court. These types of failures will obviously have a consequence to the prosecution of the case.

Even the failure of the police to arrest the remaining accused is incredible. Part of the province has, for over a year now, been placed under a questionable State of Emergency. It is also in Mindanao where the largest military contingents are often deployed--who also share intelligence information with the police in arresting wanted persons; yet they fail to arrest them. This illustrates the incompetence of the law enforcement agencies. They are capable of arresting in no time at all ordinary persons and file fabricated charges on them in other cases; but they are incapable of arresting an accused in a high profile case.

Political trials are common in Philippine courts. The system of justice is not likely to function without pressure being applied. Thus, the more politically known the case is more the likelihood of having the case heard in court according to 'legality'. However, this type of leverage on how the system functions is absent to the ordinary people involved in ordinary criminal cases. Thus, the system of justice itself perpetuates double standards in court cases. This explains the caution of "not to be complacent" and "of being vigilant" because the people know full well the system cannot function on its own.

The reality also remains that this same judicial system has failed to obtain justice and punish the perpetrators of the 78 killings of journalists since 1986. Of these cases, only two--the case of Edgar Damalerio and Marlene Esperat--are known to have been partly resolved. Thus, this outright failure could not simply be described as an elusive justice but illustrates the impossibility of justice being obtained. The manner in which the existing system of justice function reveals that it is not capable of delivering justice. However, there is still the delusion that it is exists. The people are trapped in a society where the choice of having nothing still appears plausible.

Dense and/or malicious?

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA, roycimagala@gmail.com
November 24, 2010

WHAT a spin it was!

For a while I was frozen in disbelief as I read newspaper headlines and commentaries of what the Pope said recently about condoms. Who would not be dismayed when you read titles like, “Church has changed her position on condoms”?

There were more disconcerting takes. UN officials welcomed the Church’s change of heart. Palace told bishops should now soften their stand on the RH bill given the Pope’s statement on condoms.

Lagman, the main RH bill proponent, and the Damasonians were practically dancing in the streets. Some clerics now lawyering for the bill must be excited.

I could not believe that some officials who are supposed to have some IQ and the media would bother to publish this clear case of misinformation, since the clarification on the part of the Vatican was readily available.

It was again another field day for sensationalism. Virtually a bar room type of atmosphere, complete with the carousing and the drunkenness, with practically the whole international community as the stage.

The Pope’s words were twisted. Commentators just selected a part and blew it up according to their own agenda. They were actually expressing their own mind, not the Pope’s.

Where have we fallen into? I can’t help but think that those responsible for transmitting this piece of misinformation must be dense and/or plainly malicious. Sorry, I don’t have many other possibilities.

To make things worse, I wonder if we can expect any note of apology from any of the protagonists. What is most likely is to play the blaming game. And most likely the blame would mainly fall on the Pope for making such statement.

But the Pope did right in clarifying that matter about the condoms. What he was actually saying was that condoms as contraceptives are always wrong, are always sinful.

Yet in spite of that sinfulness, one can still distinguish shades of mitigating circumstances. The “justification” of the use of the condom arises from this – that it can prevent graver harm, that it can be a sign of a beginning conversion, etc.

Just the same, its use as a contraceptive in spite of those mitigating circumstances is already wrong. Obviously, when the condom is used as a balloon for decoration or toy, its use is not anymore sinful. It’s now moral.

So the Pope is trying to be nuanced in his approach to a moral situation. Who says the Pope and the Church in general are just dogmatic, so black and white as not to admit shades? I would say, the Pope was trying to take us a step further than our current state of understanding about condom use.

The reasoning behind the Pope’s argument echoes the one used by our Lord himself when he talked about the unjust steward, found in Luke 16. Our Lord praised the dishonest steward for his cleverness in arranging things when he, the steward, would eventually be kicked out of his employment.

So, our Lord, even in the midst of an over-all sin, managed to see bright spots in that cleverness. The parable concluded by saying, “The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence. For the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” (Lk 16,8)

As our Lord said, we need to be innocent as doves but also shrewd as serpents. We have to be very prudent and discerning, without allowing that prudence to spoil the goodness of our heart. It’s not easy, but it can be done, with God’s grace and our efforts.

This quality is necessary these days, when we know that some people and even some leaders in politics, business, etc., can be playing the devil’s games. Recently, for example, we were pleasantly surprised to hear former US President Clinton sort of giving a positive comment on our big population.

Without saying that he is playing the devil’s game, we are of course happy to hear what he said, though we should not forget what he is known for. He is good in playing games, and so we just have to decipher what game he is playing this time.

If in the end, it’s found that he is being honest, then well and good. If not, then we have to act accordingly. We should try to avoid being taken for a ride, being sweet talked to. We are living in dangerous times. We need to be familiar, for example, with the reality behind the expression, “wag the dog.”

◄◄home I next►►