COVER STORY: EMERGENT

THE BRIDGE The cream of the crop of this generation emerges.

2019 saw the Church of the Philippines celebrating the year-rounder theme of the Year of the Youth. Inspired by “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done according to your word.” (Luke 1:38), the Archdiocese of Cebu hosted 15,000 young pilgrims from different dioceses and Catholic organizations on April 23 to 28, making the National Youth Day 2019 the biggest Catholic youth gathering ever in the Philippines since the first National Youth Day on 1998 hosted by the Diocese of Malolos.

The staggering figures may greatly say about the current status of the youth in the Church. In a more macro scale, it is even undeniable that the Philippines today has the largest generation of young people in its history, with 30 million strong which account for the 28 percent of the Philippine population, according to the United Nations Population Fund as of July 2020.

The overwhelming number, plus the vigor, the innovative framework, the guts to never settle in the sidelines, the thirst for social justice, the forward and open mindedness, and of course being exposed to the great resource of information this century has to offer, makes the youth, a force to be reckoned with. It must not also be forgotten that the future really belongs to them, for they the heirs of the present generation’s faults and successes.

Boyan Slat. Less talk, more action

Boyan Slat, 26, has been silently undertaking the largest ocean clean-up in history!

When he was 19 years old he has successfully designed and tested an environmentally friendly, efficient and effective way to remove plastic waste from the sea, and The Ocean Cleanup was born.

As the founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, Boyan has made fantastic feats such as inventing the solar-powered Interceptor, a conveyer belt system which extracts plastic autonomosly to stop new plastic from entering the world’s oceans from rivers.

The Ocean Cleanup ultimately has a goal: of putting themselves out of business (and that is achieving 90% reduction of ocean plastic). Thus this NGO is continually developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of trash. These of course would not have been possible without Slat and his team’s ingenuity and sense of urgency that this world is actually a ticking time bomb.

Boyan Slat is a recepient of many awards. In 2014 he was awarded the Champions of the Earth award of the United Nations Environment Programme. In 2017, Reader’s Digest appointed Slat European of the Year. In 2018, he was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci International Art Award and Euronews award “European Entrepreneur of the Year”.

Ankit Kawatra. Seeing world-hunger...in history books

WITH A DREAM TO MAKE SURE THAT the next generation only reads about hunger in history books, the young activist Ankit Kwatara founded Feeding India, a not-for-profit organizationon with a mission to achieve Zero Hunger in India.

Feeding India operates a smartphone app where restaurants and individuals can sign up to donate food, which are then collected and distributed to people in need. With a network of more than 26,000 volunteers, it runs regular feeding programs in more than 100+ Indian cities, delivering food to people in need, as well as serving nutritious meals at shelter homes and beneficiaries. Recently, the vision has also extended towards feeding homeless stray animals in India.

Kawatra was awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Award, presented to him by Queen Elizabeth II herself. He was also selected as one of the UN’s Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals.

Greta Thunberg. Declaring war against climate change

THIS 16-YEAR-OLD eco-activist who might be called the poster child of the climate crisis, became a global phenomenon when she began to protest in front of the Swedish parliament, bearing the sign “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (school strike for the climate).

Featured on the cover of Time magazine in May 2019 and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, her movement is now joined

by hundreds of thousands around the world, mostly young people like her.

She again became a trending topic because of her un-sugar coated speech before the United Nations recently.

Dr. Montana Amir Cheng Dominguez. The doctor-to-thebarrio is in

Dr. Dominguez, 29, served as a Doctor to the Barrio (DTTB) in Talaingod, a community of indigenous peoples in Davao Region, wherein she is the head of the office as municipal health officer and works as the only physician in the whole municipality. She has a dream of one day making health more accessible to everyone, especially to one of the most vulnerable communities, the Lumads.

DTTB is a two-year program of the DOH to address the lack of doctors practicing in rural communities in the Philippines.

Mayor Vico Sotto. Showing the old system how it’s done

The Philippines almost always gets enamored by dazzling charisma, fresh faces, and sweet promises of change, but also almost always ends up getting disappointed when the promises fall short. Breaking off from this traumatizing stereotype is Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City.

The neophyte politician in a statement wants to challenge the system wherein he has made steps against patronizing political dynasty, regularizing the city employees, saving 150 million PHP by having public biddings, tracking foreign-owned business operating without permits, and fostering a culture of innovation especially in the education sector.

Becoming more and more popular as he makes dents to the old system, it also doesn’t hurt if you can speak the language your young constituents can relate to in the media platform most of them are using.

Sem. Cris Simon Abadilla. A future shepherd for the future of the Church

SIMON’S DRIVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE perfection of the Divine allowed him to step on the international stage to present his thesis on “Aquinas’ Concept of Concupiscence in the Lived Experiences of Self-Confessed Murderers”, during the 15th International Conference on Languages, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (LAHSS-19) held at Paris, France last November 19. Bringing the banner of philosophy and the Church, his thesis was even adjudged to be the Best Session Paper during the said conference.

With his background in psychology, Simon has always been the “go-to” person of his brothers in the seminary. His unsung feats and contributions to the seminary just made him more likeable as a real protagonist of change.

Sem. Simon currently is a 2nd year theology student at San Jose Seminary in Ateneo de Manila University, while serving as the president of the Seminarians’ Network of the Philippines. He is also co-authoring a coffee table book about the history of Sacred Heart Seminary - Bacolod as she celebrates her 75th Diamond Jubilee this coming 2021.

Via Lucis, Way of the Light

LOOK: Thousands of pilgrims join the NYD Pilgrim Walk from the Cebu Capitol grounds to the Cebu City Sports Complex last April 27. (Photos by Elmarc Lim)

REALIZING THAT A NUMBER OF youths are making strides in their own communities innovating, inventing, leading, and working, there is a great hope that this generation will see to it that the mistakes of the past will be lessened, if not erased entirely. Previous generations may shun them as “keyboard warriors” or “pa-woke” or “cellphone generation” but it does not deny the fact that this generation really is, well, thinking, that the destructive constructs in the past cannot continue. It is good that the youth must have realized that it was them and the generation after them, who shall suffer if they would remain in the sidelines. just a chaotic wave of independence; wisdom is the most important variable in the equation in order to steer the youth towards being a life-sustaining tree, which must start as a seed. A seed will most likely be going to end up shriveled if the love and wisdom of the planter is absent. Such a waste of potential to grow and become a tree in which every part can give and sustain life: the fruit – food and healthy drink; the oil – for cooking; the husks – scrubber and craft material; the leaves and sticks – for brooms and nipa roofs; the trunk – for construction. Some trees like coconuts, need to be tended carefully, but when grown right, is a valuable resource.

Seminary, also filled with youths who are all aspiring to be priests of Christ, are formed in this wisdom, and this wisdom has a name: the time and structure of the formation. The farmers in the person of the priest-formators, in their love and wisdom, do their best to keep seminarians within the square of the structure, for this structure, which has formed saints like St. John Bosco and St. John Mary Vianney, can also make a saint out of a seminarian. At first glance, these seminarians do not seem to be ‘free’ for they cannot go out of the seminary halls, have fixed schedules to every activity, and do not have access to social media platforms. What is neglected to be seen is that these young men are somehow freer than most people, for they live within a reasonable boundary for the development of each aspect of their humanity (a bookworm has no choice but to play basketball every afternoon). Much like plants who were tended carefully, these men who will become priests someday shall also give life to the communities whom they shall serve in the future, as niyogs wherein every single part is for the sake of others.

Seeing thousands of small beautiful lights filling the venue during NYD’s Via Lucis is a testament as to how powerful the youth is: powerful servants of the Lord who are prepared to give every part of themselves, according to His word.

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Catholic Apologetics I: The Bible

by Sem. Michael John Sarad and Sem. Jearim Leandro Famoso

Photo taken from the Internet. Standing for almost two thousand years amidst persecutions and criticisms, the Catholic Church still stands strong. She appeals through man’s intellect, drawing from the fount of the Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium to defend the Church which Jesus Christ founded on 33 AD. Thus came forth ‘apologetics’. Apologetics is the intellectual defense of truth of Catholic teachings. It aims to clarify the doctrines of the Church in an intelligible way, a very good example of the inseparable relationship of faith and reason. In this issue, the part one of the Catholic Apologetics tackles the Sacred Scripture, the point of unity and disunity in Christianity.

The Bible The Bible has been the source of dispute among Christian denominations: from the number of books it has, to its interpretation of the verses, all the way to its origin. While the Church, regards the Bible as one of the one of the three sources of its authority, along with Sacred Tradition (doctrines, practices, creeds passed on by the early Church Fathers which were not written in the Bible) and Magisterium, other Christian denominations would see the Bible as the sole authority when it comes to the faith. This is where the issue comes in, for Catholics are always accused of always putting tradition over and above the Bible.

The Alleged Suppression One argument raised against Catholics would be that the Church during the Middle Ages tried to forbid the masses in reading the Bible so that the priests and bishops can continually manipulate the minds of the simple peasants. Before answering that, it would be an eye-opener if you would step back and see the whole issue in its own context, and it would be fitting to ask the question, “How was the Middle Ages like?” Surely, it did not have the advancements and comforts brought about by technology. Life was simple: peasants farm, writers write, knights protect, the Church offers physical and spiritual help, and monarchs rule. Focusing on the “writers write” part, literally every book, parchment, scroll, and everything with words on it were handwritten by literate persons and/ or clerics, including the written Word of God, the Bible. The printing press, invented on 1450, allowed the mass production of the Bible, but prior to that, each bible had to be written by hand. Thus, each copy of the Bible was considered as a very rare treasure, that even monasteries and convents would only have a single copy. So what did the Church do so that ordinary persons, even the uneducated ones, can understand the life of Christ in the Gospels? The Church looked to art for help, adorning cathedrals and churches with stained glasses depicting Bible accounts, allowing Christians to know the life of Christ even with the scarcity of the Bible. It is not then true that the Church suppressed the reading of the Bible, for what it suppressed were the erroneous translations.

Photo taken from the Internet.

A monk meticulously copying the Bible by hand.

A stained glass recording the events in John 19: 25-27.

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Sola Scriptura “Okay, okay, but that doesn’t explain why you have your Traditions and Magisterium; Jesus himself said that the Bible is the only standard of truth!” The doctrine from which this question stems, which other Christian denominations adhere to, is called the Scola Scriptura, which means “Scripture alone”. It teaches that anything not written on the Bible is not true. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, regards both the written Word, called Sacred Scripture, and the oral or unwritten Word, known as “Tradition,” as valid sources of truths about the faith. The teaching authority or “Magisterium” of the Catholic Church (headed by the Pope), has the mission to interpret and teach both Scripture and Tradition. The funny part about Sola Scriptura (following the line of thinking that anything not written on the Bible is not true) is that there is not one verse anywhere in the Bible in which it is taught. Another ironic and funny thing is that adherence to Tradition has biblical foundation, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth (the unwritten Word or Tradition) or by letter (the written Word or Scripture)” (2 Thess. 2:15). Also, did you know that early Christians continued the faith even with the absence of the written Word of God? The Apostles and the early Christian communities did not carry any sort of semblance of the bible when they went around preaching. It was only sixty-five years after the Lord’s Ascension that the New Testament was completed. The question that begs to be asked, therefore, is this: who or what was the basis that something is correct or not, if there was no Bible yet?

Point of Disunity Another ‘did you know’ is that there are over 30,000 different Christian denominations existing worldwide. This is a case that quantity is never quality, for unity was what Christ wanted, that “all may be one.” So what caused this division? What is the secret of the Catholic Church that, though scattered all over the world, there is unity in everything, from rituals to interpretation of the Scripture? Simply, the answer is Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church. “But this limits my understanding of the Bible! The Church is restricting my personal relationship with Jesus.” Actually, personal interpretation of the Bible does more harm than good. Imagine yourself reading a particular verse in the Bible, while another person living in the next barangay is also reading that exact same verse. How sure are you that you will end up with the same interpretation, given that you have your intellectual, emotional, and other differences that will influence your ‘interpretation’ of that biblical verse. Apply that logic to the growing number of different Christian denomination, wherein disagreements in biblical interpretation usually ends up with another church suddenly popping out. The Church then presents the Magisterium as a teacher equipped with treasuries of wisdom from the early Church Fathers, writers, and even from the apostles themselves. Jesus, in his wisdom, promised that He would send His Holy Spirit as a guide, thus the Magisterium will always be guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Without the presence of the Magisterium, there would be anarchy in doctrines and Christian beliefs. It would seem illogical for Jesus to leave his people without anything to look up to for answers and guidance. The Bible, Church, and Tradition are all necessary to arrive at truth, and if you knock out any leg of this three-legged stool, it collapses. In this part one of Catholic Apologetics, we pray that the desire to defend your faith will be planted in you. So take up the mantle of Justin Martyr, fire up that inner crusader in you, and make God and Mother Church proud.

N.B. Let us not forget to thank the Catholic Church for compiling the Bible.

Photo taken from the Internet Jesus giving the keys of heaven to Peter.

Photo taken from the Internet.

A copy of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, a translaton from the Greek Septuagint.

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YOUNG SAINTS FOR YOUNGSTERS

by. Sem. Ricky Minerva Jr.

Most of us are unaware that the Catholic Church has a rich deposit of youth saints who participated and contributed to the Church’s mission. Pope Francis, in his post-synodal Apostolic exhortation entitled Christus Vivit, mentions some of the many young saints who can be models of living a holy and worthwhile life.

Our very own patron saint in the diocese was a young Praetorian Guard captain who lived during the 3rd century, a time when the Roman Empire still persecuted the early Christians. He persistently preached about Jesus to convert his companions but he was reported to Emperor Diocletian. The Emperor was already infamous for ordering the deaths of hundreds of Christian so he ordered Sebastian to be killed by having him used as target practice. Because of that, he was shot with arrows but remained alive. Once he has regained his strength, Sebastian went in search of Emperor Diocletian to criticize him publicly for his persecution of the Christians. The surprised Diocletian did not want Sebastian to escape death for the second time. He ordered his former guard to be beaten to death with clubs, then thrown into the sewers. Aside from being the patron of the Diocese of Bacolod, he is also the patron of soldiers and athletes.

José was born in 1913 in Sahuayo, Michoacán, México. José loved his faith and grew up with a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. When José was twelve years old, the Cristero Wars began in Mexico. During this period, the Mexican government attempted to extinguish the influence of the Catholic Church throughout the country by closing religious schools and convents, and executing Catholic priests. In defense of the Church, many peasants in Mexico rebelled against the government, and called themselves Cristeros. Jose begged his mother to let him be a Cristero. He was eventually allowed to join the effort as a flag bearer.

San Sebastian

Saint José Luis Sánchez del Rio

During a battle, José was captured and was asked to deny his faith. José refused and was tortured terribly. Refusing to renounce his faith, the government soldiers cut off the skin of his feet. As José was forced to walk through town, he recited the rosary and prayed for his enemies and proclaimed, “Vivo Cristo Rey y Santa Maria de Guadalupe! (Long live Christ the King and Holy Mary of Guadalupe!)”. Saint José’s intercession is asked in behalf of all persecuted Christians, children, and the people of Sahuayo, Michoacán, México. Blessed Chiara Badano

Blessed Chiara was a thoughtful and generous child, giving her toys, even new ones to poor children. She often invites the less-fortunate to their homes on holiday and visits the elderly the sick persons in their homes. At 17, she was diagnosed with bone cancer and was paralysed but this illness did not stop her from doing charitable works. In her death bed, she said, “I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, and with that I can always love.” She died in 1990 and was beatified in 2010. In her short life, she showed us that the quantity of time does not guarantee a quality life. We can be holy even if we are given a day. Her feast is celebrated every October 29.

St. Joan of Arc In 1412, St. Joan was born and despite her young age, she became a soldier and during the Hundred Years War, Joan led French troops against the English invaders. On May 30, 1431, at the age of 19, she was burned at the stake and was martyred because her actions and her way of living the Faith were misunderstood. She is the patron of France and of soldiers.

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Movie Review: “A Walk to Remember”

by Sem. Aldin Constantino

“A Walk to Remember” is a 2002 released movie adapted from the inspirational novel book of Nicholas Sparks. Directed by Adam Shankman, the movie has made a mark to the hearts of many viewers and is now included in the top 10 best love story movies of all time by thetoptens. com.

Call me hopeless romantic but the movie “A Walk to Remember” is probably one of my all-time favorite movies. It was for me a kind of movie whose learnings about love, life and self-conversion was well presented and delivered.

The movie revolves around the two main characters; Landon Carter, a cool but troubled North Carolina teenager played by Shane West who fell in-love with the character of Jaimie Sullivan, a preacher’s daughter played by former MTV pop princess Mandy Moore. Their unexpected love story bloomed when Landon, because of his rebellious acts in school was punished by their principal to join the spring play where Jaime was also part of. He asked Jaime if they could run lines together. The dilemma arises because of the different status quo of the two characters. While Landon was famous in school, Jaime on the other hand is barely noticeable and is even branded as one of the nerds.

The soundtracks and background music were very appropriate and suited to the scenes of the movie that it highlights the best parts and make you feel the moment. Some of which even became famous after the movie such as: “Only Hope”, “Dancing in the Moonlight” and “Cry”. The cinematography is good and the transition from one scene to another was smooth and not dragging.

For some, the movie might be a run of the mill tweetums love story, but if you dig deeper to its content and lessons it wants to convey, you will definitely find it moving and worth watching. And as the Church celebrates this year the Year of the Youth, I highly recommend this movie to the young generation of today, hoping that they might change their concept of what love is.

Song Review: “Live Christ! Share Christ!”

by Sem. Ricky Minerva Jr.

We Filipinos are known for our being cheerful amid crosses and trials. This unique value was really seen during these times, and one of the reasons of this prevailing attitude is our faith, a faith that was planted 500 years ago in our shores as we will celebrate with warm hearts our quincentennial as a Catholic Christian nation. This same cheerfulness is what insired to the contributors in the theme song of our celebration namely, Most Rev. Socrates Villegas D.D., the lyricist and the master himself, Mr. Ryan Cayabyab who fitted the words into music.

Turning to the musicality of the song, Mr. C has established a familiar timbre on our ears and he used it as a tool to make us sing along without losing the message of the lyrics. It even complemented each other. The tune is bombastic but at the same time subtle. When I first heard the tune, my first impression was,” This is a church music”, an entrance hymn, hearing blasts of trumpets, horns and strings which will make you feel like marching. The form or structure of the song is in AABABC, a common form nowadays. It means that the same melody is repeated twice, serving as the first and second stanzas then followed by a chorus, and finally ending with a triumphant coda. before, both music and lyrics complemented each other since the message of Bishop Socrates Villegas is that of being a church militant marching towards holiness. Along with the first stanza is the message of gratefulness for “the cross of Jesus Christ in our holy shores is now 500 years”. The second stanza drives us to go on mission “to the poor, to the children, and to the rest of the world” bringing the Gospel that will bring them to salvation. The chorus reminds us of God’s love and blessing to us and our response to Him is “we will teach, we will serve” for “we are Christ’s, we are Church.” The third stanza is our plea to our saints, San Pedro Calungsod, San Lorenzo Ruiz and all holy Filipinos in heaven, to “bring to the good Lord our praise and gratitude, our offering of love, our pledge to be faithful to the last drop of blood”. And lastly, in the coda, we proclaim our celebration of “500 years of Jubilee, 500 years of blessings, 500 years of graces unto life everlasting!

As the number of years of being a Church increases, may our knowledge and praxis of our Creed be truly rooted in our minds, hearts, body and soul so that we may personally bear good fruits so that when the time comes for us to face the Harvester, we can be with Him forever. Let us live Christ and share Christ!

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TRIDENTINE AND NOVUS ORDO RITES: A Comparison towards Holiness by Sem. Michael John Sarad

Photo taken from the Internet.

Photo taken from the Internet. (Top) The theme of the unbloody sacrifice is given more emphasis in the Latin Mass. (Bottom) The Novus Ordo rite centralizes on the Last Supper.

The grandeur of the Catholic Church lies on her prolific tradition, customs, and charity. The Church’s elegant basilicas, orphanages and other charitable institutions, masterpieces of arts and music, plus the heroic and selfless acts of her Martyrs and Saints are only some of her exposed wealth and possessions. The most important among of the Church’s treasures is the Celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It’s been a half century ago when the good Pope, Saint Pope John XXIII convened the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Church – Second Vatican Council, and with it, numerous reforms and changes happened, resulting to the two rites of the Mass. These are the Traditional Latin Mass (or Tridentine Mass) which would henceforth be known as the Extraordinary form of the Mass and consequently, the Novus Ordo Missae (New Order of the Mass) would be called as the Ordinary form of the Mass, typically used by most parishes and dioceses. May-October| The Bridge | 26

It is important that the youth, as the present and the future of the Church, must understand the gravity of the Mass. Wondering that despite attending numerous praise concerts, but after the euophoria, you would still feel empty? Maybe it is time that you give your soul that chance to experience what it is longing for: the sense of the sacred, of the divine, of home.

THE LANGUAGE

For most Catholics, what they are used to is the Novus Ordo, the one they experience when they go to church on Sundays, wherein they hear the celebration of the Mass in the local language.

The Traditional Latin Mass retains Latin as the language of worship, and the priest celebrates the Mass facing a high altar. Although the Extraordinary Form is conducted entirely in Latin, the sermon or homily is delivered in the vernacular and is usually preceded by a reading of the Epistle and Gospel for the day, also in the vernacular.

THE FOCUS

The themes of the Last Supper and Sacrifice at Mt. Calvary are central to the theology of the Mass, but in the New Mass the theme of Jesus’ Last Supper with his apostles is highlighted, focusing more on the Mass as a Eucharistic meal among family, friends, and Christ. The altar is now is more commonly referred to as the “table of the Lord”.

Meanwhile, like the Jewish priests who slaughtered lambs on the altar as sacrifices to YHWH, the Tridentine Mass focuses more on the sacrificial function of the priest

AD ORIENTEM AND VERSUS POPULUM

People now are used to seeing the priest facing the people during Mass, and this is what we call versus populum, the liturgical orientation which means “towards the people”. This aims to allow the congregation to truly be a part of the celebration rather than just being an audience.

In the Latin Mass, what is adhered to is the orientation called ad orientem, meaning “to the east”. Tradition narrates that when Jesus returns, he would be returning from the east, the direction which the sun rises. Jesus, now present in the Tabernacle, is now the new east, henceforth the priest faces the tabernacle during the Mass. Also, the consecration of the bread and wine are considered to be an intimate moment of the priest and God, that when the reforms were implemented, one priest commented that allowing others to see the rite of consecration is just like asking a couple to kiss intimately in public. Pope Benedict XVI had long expressed his desire to see a wider use of the Tridentine Latin Mass, and, on July 7, 2007, the Supreme Pontiff released his own motu proprio entitled Summorum Pontificum that allowed all priests to celebrate the Tridentine Latin Mass in private and to hold public celebrations when requested by the faithful as long as the local bishop

has given his approval.

The Holy Mass is a prayer itself, even the highest prayer that exists. It is not a worship service, a bible study session, nor a venue for your entertainment; the Mass is where heaven meets the earth itself. If you believe that God can do everything, even bend space and time, just to bring you back during that time when Jesus offered himself on the cross, then you can also believe that during the Mass, you are brought to that very setting.

Above the “smells-and-bells” of the rituals, may you only not know and appreciate the Liturgy of the Mass but also lead you in the road towards holiness. Your youthful energy might still pervade your whole system, but it is good to stop once in a while and enter encounter God in silence, solemnity, and sacredness of the Mass. Don’t you think that is what the noisy world needs now?

(Left) Bishop Emeritus Vicente M. Navarra faces the congregation in the New Order of the Mass for a more communitarian participation. (Bottom) The priest faces the tabernacle in which, Jesus the new East, resides.

Photo taken from the Internet.

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IBAT-IBANG KLASE NG SEMINARISTA

by Sem. Daveson Dalguntas Lahat tayo ay nilikhang magkakaiba, natatangi sa bawat isa: mapa-talento man, personalidad, mukha, kulay, pangangatwiran, pananamit, at napakarami pang iba. Dahil sa pagkakaiba nating ito ay mas nakikilala tayo sa bawat katangian natin; salamat sa Maykapal na lumikha sa atin. Ang sumusunod ay ang aking pag-uuri sa mga seminarista. Naayon ito sa kung paano ko sila nakikita o nakikilala. Paalala lang, ito ay katuwaan lamang at wala akong layunin na saktan ang damdamin ng sinumang babasa nito, bato bato sa langit ang tamaan ‘wag magalit. Enjoy!

1. The Volcanoes 5. Concert Artists

Nangunguna sa ating listahan ang mga binansagang “the Volcanoes”, dahil sa mga katangian nilang maaring maihalintulad sa isang bulkan. Minsan, dormant sila, yung tipong walang kibo at kalmado lang. Minsan naman ay nasa active state sila, at sa ganitong punto, para silang sumasabog na bulkang bigla-bigla nalang nagiging ganun pag nagagalit, o naiirita sila.

2. Highest Heavens

Sila yung may mga super lutang moments. ‘Di lang basta-basta ang pagkalutang nila, ‘yung tipong abot nila pati langit dahil sa kalutangan nila. Kahit simpleng tanong nga lang ay nagiging malabo, dahil sa sobrang lutang nilang sumagot minsan.

3. Deepest Oceans

Sila yung kasalungat ng mga nabibilang sa highest heavens, dahil kung gaano ka lutang ng mga nasa number 2, ganun naman kalalim mag – isip ang mga taong ito. Sobrang lalim na minsan na ‘di na nila mismo naiintindihan ang mga sinasabi nila. Madalas nga lang na tahimik ang mga ito dahil mahilig silang mag-isip ng mga bagay-bagay; hinahanap ang mga kabuluhan nito.

4. The Cat - Nappers

Sa unang tingin, aakalain mong ang mga taong ito ay nanguguha ng pusa. Hindi! Ang salitang “Cat – Nappers ” ay nanggaling sa dalawang salita; Cat, o pusa, at “Nappers” na kinuha sa salitang nap, na ibig sabihin ay pahinga, o tulog. Nabansagan silang ganun dahil gaya ng pusa, halos buong araw ay makikita mo silang nakapikit - mahilig silang matulog, parang pusa, na tulog buong araw. Ang nakakamangha lamang sa mga taong ito ay kahit na nakapikit ang mga mata nila, matalas naman ang kanilang pandinig, at lalong – lalo na ang mga memorya nila. Kaya nilang makinig sa mga lessons o kahit sa homily, kahit na nakapikit ang mga mata nila. Sila yung tipong parang nagkakaroon ng isang concert sa loob ng banyo, tuwing naliligo; o kahit minsan habang nasa choir. Maririnig mo agad sila dahil sa madalas lumalabas talaga ang mga boses nila tuwing kumakanta sa choir.

6. Ghosts

Hindi po totoong multo ang tinutukoy ko dito, pero dahil na rin sa katangian nila ay nabansagan silang ganyan. Hindi naman sila nakakatakot, at wala rin silang balak na manakot. Buhay pa din naman sila. Yung mga taong di mo aasahang bigla-bigla nalang susulpot, o di kaya’y mawawala. Para silang multo kasi naman, nagpapakita lang sila sa mga taong gusto nilang pakitaan.

7. Chibog Masters

Pagdating sa kainan, hari ang mga ito. Madalas nauuna sa pila tuwing may kainan. Di papa-awat sa pagkain ang mga ‘to. Taga-sagip rin sila minsan ng iba kung napasobra ang nakuhang pagkain ng kasama nila ay sila na ang sumasalo. Minsan magtataka ka nalang kasi kakakuha palang nila ng pagkain sa mesa ay, maya-maya lang balik na naman agad sila. Tila ba hindi napupuno ang tiyan.

8. Brainiacs

Sila naman yung mga walang pake, yung importante sa kanila ay makapag – aral ng mabuti at makakuha ng mataas na marka; naiintindihan nila nang maigi ang mga leksyon, lalong-lalo na ang asignaturang Pilosopiya. At dahil diyan, naibabahagi rin nila sa iba ang kanilang natutunan. Sa maikling salita, hindi sila madamot sa kaalaman.

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9. Exactly Precise

Sila yung sobrang metikuloso sa mga bagay; kailangan lahat ay umayon ayon sa kung ano talaga ang pinagplanuhan. Kailangan lahat ay nasa tamang at saktong pagkaka-ayos. Kasi kung hindi, nasisira ang araw nila, at nagiging mas madali silang naiirita sa buong araw.

10. “Carry” Lang

Napakapositibo ng mga taong ito. Yung kahit anong dagok man ang dumating sa kanila, ay nagagawa parin nilang maging masaya, at kaya pa rin nilang pasayahin ang iba. Nagagawa nila ang mga ito dahil sa pananampalataya nila sa Dios; walang humpay na pananalig sa Maykapal. Ni hindi mo sila makikitang umiiyak. Ngiti lang, tuloy lang ang buhay.

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11. Jokers

Sila yung mahilig magpatawa. Yung may mga pagkakataon minsan na ang seryoso na ng lahat, nakukuha pa rin nilang magpatawa; minsan sa mga gimik nila at mga kalokohan. Siyempre kaya rin nilang maging seryoso, lalo na kung oras ng panalangin.

12. Holy Ones

Yung mala – anghel sa kabaitan ang mga ito. Madasalin din sila, at napakaseryoso nila pagdating sa pagdadasal. Lalo na tuwing oras ng panalangin, napaka-seryoso nila at bawal talaga silang istorbohin. At di talaga sila namamansin.

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Ito ay nagpapakita lamang ng ating pagkakaiba sa isa’t-isa, ngunit huwag sana nating gawing hadlang ang ating pagkakaiba sa ating pakikisama sa iba, lalong – lalo na tayo ay nagiging isa bilang mga seminarista dito sa ating komunidad. Magkaiba man tayo, ngunit tayo ay pinag -isa sa gitna ng pagkakaiba. Dahil ‘yan ang gusto Niya.

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Home visits and free afternoons are the time for buying our needs. When buying your groceries, refuse plastic packaging if possible. But if you can’t, do the plastic bag folding hack so you can reuse the plastic bag.

PLASTIC BAG FOLDING HACK: Make the plastic bag just as it was before it was used. Fold it in rectangles part by art until you have a rectangle, then make small triangles. Use the handle to keep it folded.

Learn to refuse straws, plastic cups and cutlery. Straws and other plastic materials usually end up in our seas. We have seen in social media some animals being hurt by straws or their growth affected by plastic being wrapped around them. Having reusable straws, tumblers and steel cutlery is a great alternative. Buy in bulk if possible. If the budget permits, refuse products packed in sachets.

Laundry and toiletry items produce a lot of plastic waste if bought in sachets. Bamboo toothbrushes and combs are also available in the market which would reduce plastic waste as well. Also, try to refuse products with micro-plastics such as facial washes with “micro-beads,” these will more or less end up in the ocean and get consumed by sea friends.

Food products packed in small quantities are also discouraged. 3-in-1 coffee not only produce so much plastic sachet waste but is also actually very high in sugar content. It is highly encouraged to buy ground coffee sold locally. This supports local coffee farmers and you get to control the sugar and cream you use.

Refuse other things not in your grocery list. So, follow this time and money saving tip – stick to your list and buy only what is really needed in the seminary. Remember – if it is not really necessary, learn to refuse. Generally, we try to reduce if we could not totally refuse some products we use, or if the alternatives are not achievable due to factors like budget.

Reduce shower times and shower duration. Two showers will do, or if you are sports-inclined maybe three. More than that is really wasting more water. Reduce laundry times as well; do it once a week.

You have to reduce the waste you produce the most. REDUCING HACK: Before throwing out the trash in your room or dorm, have a waste inventory – which waste is present in most number? Then try to think of ways to reduce that waste or even try to refuse it if possible.

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A project that can be started by the House Management Committee is starting a garden, may it be a vegetable or an ornamental one, then to cultivate it, start a compost pit.

Rotting waste will only be possible if we segregate our waste. If we segregate wastes which are biodegradable, we could rot them to become compost. We only then throw nonbiodegradables.

Recycling is actually different from reusing. Reusing is when you use an item for the same purpose, just as old clothes, still being used as clothes. Recycling gives the items, used or already thrown away a new life like using your old clothes which cannot be worn anymore to be rags. Very handy when the House Management chairman calls for waxing the floors.

Shoe boxes can be recycled to organize your cabinet or closet by placing your items in them.

This one is already being done by everyone but you can give life to bleach bottles (usually Zonrox) by cutting them into roman collars. This by far is the most efficient Roman collars - they stay white, they can easily be cleaned, and they last longer.

For your laundry time, you can use your old socks (socks that are already loose and may have holes) as faucet filters. When going outside the seminary for free afternoons, or invitations, always bring your own water tumbler. You will not only save money from buying a bottle of water but you also don’t produce plastic waste.

Try to think second-hand. When you need to buy something, buying something second-hand is cheaper. Clothes and bags are items you want to consider buying second-hand. Or you could wait for Christmas, for usually second-hand clothes are given to seminarians.

When buying from our nanays in the canteen try to use more reusables like bringing your own plates and mugs. It has been like that when we I was a kid especially when buying iskrambol, you bring your own glass.

Don’t throw you used bond papers! Keep them neat and donate them to the Academic Life and/or Dean’s Office (as long as the other side can still be printed on).

SAVING PAPER HACK: You may also use the back side of your old calendars as scratch papers when taking notes or studying.

Reuse your plastic bags when buying things and Reuse your pens by buying a refill instead of a new one.

Another thing we could do to promote reusing of items is to declutter our room, or even our homes. Marie Kondo, famous for her decluttering show, tells us, “The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask, ‘does this spark joy?’ If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.”

Check all your items in your room, choose ‘which do not spark joy anymore’. Put it up for others to use; check with your ihados, classmates or BEC-mates if they need it. If there are no takers, place it in a box to be given to our apostolate areas. You’ll never know, your given items may spark joy to their new users. These are the little hacks we can do in order to lessen our waste. And there are still a lot of things that can be done. If we can do one little act for the environment at a time, there will also be little changes in our lifestyles and our mindset. Let’s try to change our throw-away culture and replace it with a mindset focused on necessity and focused on giving. Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si, “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue, it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.” What other eco-friendly hacks do you know? May-October| The Bridge | 31

THE WORLD STUFF DILEMMA

by Sem. Christian Perlin

Man is endowed with intellect , giving him the drive to search for what is true, and this drove man to probe the most obvious question during that time, “What makes me and everything up?” This search for arche, the world stuff, that thing which makes up all things, often resulted to a lively bickering and discussion, and has been going on for thousands of years.

Today let us join in this remarkable tradition of intellectual squabble! #phiLOLsophy #ancientphilo #timelesslytimely

Hi! I am Thales, you know I do not have any writings, but thanks to Aristotle who wrote about me, people still talk about me in the twentieth century. Oh, you came to ask what is everything made of? And here I was thinking that with all your technology, you would have solved this, and more! *sighs* No matter. Allow me to tell you that it all began in Miletus my hometown, or home island you may say. As I observed the surroundings, I saw an infinite expanse of water surrounding me and the island which I live in. Not only did I see water at a very big scale, but also in the smallest detail that water composes all things: in the leaves, fruits, tree, and even the world is floating on the water like a boat. Therefore, I conclude that water is the arche of the world. Now, child, are you satisfied?

Alas I do not think so Thales! I am Anaximander and I disagree with such tall tales. Now I present to you, boundless eternal force, which predated everything, and I call it “apeiron! You cannot see it but you can observe that this unseen force creates and destroys everything in this world.

Now, now. If you want some tall tales, that guy Anaximander is way more ‘creative’ than the guy before him. Anyway, hello friends, I am Anaximenes, and I my teachings flourished on 545 BCE. I do not agree the world stuff mentioned above for it is aer which composes all things. It is that aer rarefies into fire or condense into winds, water, earth and rock in a successive manner. Nothing in this world does not undergo the ‘aer state’. Hence, I proposed that aer is the arche of the world. #aerbending

Well I do not say that you are wrong my friend, but this is how I see the universe. Before anything else I would like to introduce myself. I am Pythagoras. Maybe you have heard of me during your geometry class. Pythagorean theorem, anyone? Well if not, give me a moment to tell you how the universe is so beautiful and harmonious, for it is made up of numbers, for numbers connote harmony. All things need to have numbers like angles, measurements, etc. It is imaginable to have something without measurements, yes? Aside from being a mathematician, I am also a music lover, for I saw music as a product of the orderly arrangement of the number of beats and time signature. For Apollo’s sake, can you even see the ecosystem? The ecoystem is so harmoniously placed! And if you remove one from the cycle, the whole system collapses. I told you, numbers make up everything.

Well Pythagoras, creation requires destruction too. Hear and I will tell you the true arche of the world! I am Heraclitus. Call me killjoy if you want but you’ll see that I am right anyway. I tell you change is the only thing that never changes! I also tell you that I have a romantic side for change is brought about by the relationship of love and strife. Wait, what do you mean you don’t know what that means. Alright but listen carefully. Take for example, the cycle of life and death (Ha! I told you I’m a killjoy). While some die, others are born, that death happens only to be replaced by life. Without strife, creation nor change would never happen, and without love, nothing can ever be created for things will always get torned by strife. Pretty neat, huh? But it gets better. Change is never random. Imagine that a building gets destroyed and the next day a giant tree replaces the rubble. Change is governed by Logos, which means world or formula. With logos, change is never chaotic. Lastly, follow me on #TikTok @ChangeisComing

Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, and Heraclitus all searched for the arche of the world. Now how about you? Why are you here? What is it that you are looking for? I tell you dear readers, your world is within you, you are the world that you dwell in. Now what is your arche? What makes you, you? Who are you?