Light of the Spirit

ON SUNDAY, we joyously commemorate the sacred occasion of Pentecost. During this momentous event, we honor the glorious descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles who had congregated in the upper room in Jerusalem, their hearts filled with trepidation.

This extraordinary occurrence signifies the inception of the Church, ushering in a new era of spiritual enlightenment and divine guidance.

The Scripture says that on the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

due to the confusion caused by divergent systems and implementations by the LGUs. What the MMDA and the LGUS have failed to do was to return to the roots of the problem – maleducation.

Thankfully, a private firm has taken important steps to educate young Filipinos about the importance of road safety.

Manny Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Tollways has partnered with youthoriented channel, Nickelodeon, to feature safety messages on its cartoon program Paw Patrol.

As in the gospel story, it took the intervention of Jesus to expel Legion. But first, the light of the Spirit showed me the way – to repent and ask for forgiveness especially for what I said and did for someone I considered a best friend.

It is vital to remember this.

Through the sacrament of penance, the Holy Spirit works to forgive our sins.

We firmly believe that mercy brings hope and transformation to our souls. Christ assures us that His power will always be with us, so there is no reason to lose hope after encountering setbacks in life.

Instead, the Holy Spirit’s purpose is to lead us from mercy to a deeper likeness to Christ, enabling us to spiritually bear and reveal His wounds to a world lacking faith.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” This concise passage concludes with a profound blessing bestowed upon us by Jesus during His final days on Earth: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” and uncertainties.

One of the greatest blessings bestowed upon us by God is the Holy Spirit, a gift that empowers us to live a virtuous life through its presence.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit empowers us to bear witness to the transformative power of Christ in our own lives.

By yielding to the Spirit’s guidance, we receive spiritual gifts such as wisdom, discernment, and boldness, enabling us to effectively share our personal testimonies and experiences with others.

The Spirit equips us to demonstrate the love, grace, and compassion exemplified by Jesus, becoming living illustrations of the gospel message.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit enables us to proclaim the profound message of the gospel to the world.

Through the Spirit’s inspiration and guidance, we are emboldened to share the good news of salvation, forgiveness, and reconciliation found in Jesus Christ.

The presence of the Spirit empowers our words and actions, making them impactful and transformative.

It is through the Holy Spirit that hearts are convicted, people are drawn to God, and spiritual awakening and conversion are brought forth.

To cultivate our connection with the Holy Spirit, we must be willing to forgive.

The Local Government Units have tried NCAP or the No Contact Apprehension Policy. But that has also been questioned because it is lacking in studies and the infrastructures are not properly installed such as traffic lights with countdowns, as requested by motorists. The NCAP was pelted with complaints

Metro Pacific Tollways, which operates the North Luzon Expressway and the Cavite Expressway, has acknowledged that road accidents on the road, including major highways, kill thousands of Filipinos annually. Metro Pacific has also initiated education programs about road safety involving truck and bus drivers. With the advent of social media and digital media, the LGUs and the MMDA should start refocusing their energy on long-term road safety programs.

Instead of flogging hapless sidewalk vendors and lowly riders, they should go to school and educate our youth about patience, humility, cleanliness, and courtesy on the road.

Education, not violation tickets, is the real key to attaining road discipline both for motorists and commuters.

OUR relations with China over the issue on Taiwan is rather speculative.

It opens our foreign policy to a fathomless possibility like asking what if China invades Taiwan?

Or what are we going to do?

A wiser speculation is asked -- how will the US react to the grim prospects that could result in the possible obliteration of Taiwan?

Would the US sit idly to witness the specter of full-scale war instigated by it? Will it not invite the possibility of arms race in the South China Sea? We should not speculate that the US alone could determine the future course of events in the region.

The arms race theory is more likely to demolish the US naval fleet that would attempt to block Chinese warships, or that geopolitical analysts believe China would be able to gather supporters in the region and are most likely to counter the arms race the US would be instigating.

The numerous conflicts with which the US has initiated and participated in Asia attest that even in war, many of its allies have doubts about the resolve of the US; whether the pending war with China is for real or an extension of propaganda blitz or to reassure its allies in this region.

Many doubt the capacity of the US to sustain another land war in Asia.

The US has left an inglorious history of retreat in many of the recent conflicts it participated.

Some of its alleged allies in the region suspect that many of the war it initiated in Asia were in fact conceived by those generals in Pentagon or protégées of America’s militaryindustrial complex. They suspect the US involvement in Asia since the Korean War were all calculated to determine whether they are winnable in terms of investment; to abruptly announce a pullout will give reason not compensated for the sacrifices and damages incurred by those who fought for their make-believe war for freedom and democracy.

The first time the US did this was in the Korean War in 1953.

Instead of calling for the ending of the war, the US revised the term by calling the situation “armistice” or the temporary cessation of hostilities by the conflicting parties.

US defense strategists called their pull out to mean no surrender but simply to cease fighting.

The concept of armistice gave the WWII hero, then retired General Douglas MacArthur, a graceful exit and to erase the shameful retreat of US soldiers loaded on board the retreating 6x6 troop transport trucks without talks of compensating those who fought on their side including a number of Filipino soldiers who died fighting for their vague freedom including our own hero “Boni” Serrano.

In 1973, this infamy of defeat was again repeated when the US abruptly pulled out its troops in South Vietnam despite the more than 50,000 US troops killed in action and the more 5 million Vietnamese civilians killed defending their motherland.

President Lyndon Johnson never confessed the truth that the Vietnam war began a false flag when it claimed US destroyer USS Maddox was treacherously attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The intensity of the fighting caused much to drain the US economy, thus forcing President Richard Nixon to drop the gold as a medium of currency as agreed on in the 1946 BrettonWoods Agreement. From then on, the US was allowed to print its currency solely on the basis of its gross domestic product which today is the basis of its current huge trade deficit.

Initially, it lightened the US trade deficit because the US dollar was overvalued against other currencies plus the US trade surplus then.

The US also made a sneak attack to rescue its held hostage in Tehran by the new regime.

Unfortunately, the rescue hit a snag after its

Understanding the Holy Spirit can be challenging at times, but it serves as the bridge that keeps us connected to God.

It is our responsibility to nurture this connection on a daily basis. If you ever feel distant from God or disconnected from your faith, the first step is to rekindle your relationship with the Holy Spirit within you. I have had challenging moments these last few weeks, experiencing betrayal and being used, manipulated, and abandoned. I could feel the anger and hatred take over me. But thankfully the Holy Spirit made me see how much of the mess I am in is because of me — my hubris, my feeling entitled, my selfishness.

It is as if a Legion of demons took over my mind and heart, made vulnerable by my fear of death.

Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus continually strengthens our faith, empowers us to bear witness, and enables us to proclaim the profound message of the gospel. The Holy Spirit plays a pivotal role in the lives of believers, serving as the conduit through which Jesus continually strengthens our faith, empowers us to bear witness, and enables us to proclaim the profound message of the gospel.

First and foremost, the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith by providing guidance and comfort, establishing a profound connection with God.

Through the Spirit’s presence, we gain a deeper understanding of Scripture, acquire insight, and develop a steadfast belief in the teachings of Jesus.

This strengthening of faith grants us the courage and resilience needed to navigate life’s challenges as president—a group of people from the northwestern town of Paoay in Ilocos Norte.

After Jesus bestowed the gift of the Holy Spirit upon us, He emphasized that we have the power to forgive those who wrong us. If we genuinely aspire to live a virtuous life, we must learn to forgive others and strive for harmonious living.

Undoubtedly, these actions are easier said than done.

Nevertheless, we are urged to ignite a heart filled with gratitude and forgiveness and to uphold this disposition as a disciplined practice.

I commit to doing the same.

May the light of the Spirit be upon us all so we can learn to forgive.

As my favorite Ben and Ben song goes, you never really love someone until you learn to forgive.

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THE pandemic, raised by the global coronavirus or COVID-19, appears to have forced many to go past the exit door of employment, but the more fortunate ones have found themselves still in the company payroll or were rehired.

In the Philippines, the pandemic, according to official data, has greatly affected health, jobs and rights of the population, with the highest unemployment rate at one point registering 17.6 percent during the first implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine.

To date, there have been 4.12 million confirmed cases, with 66,466 deaths. For people who work after retirement, experts say these people often remain more active and socially connected, which can mean better overall health and fewer medical issues.

Some have said: “Very often, some people work for money and/or health benefits. Some work for the money to travel and/or do things they are interested in, such as hobbies. Other people work because they feel valuable doing the work, and it gives them a sense of purpose. Or, a retiree might work due to any combination of the above.”

Traditional retirement age

Some researchers have said people of traditional retirement age don’t want to stop working. Does this sound strange? Isn’t the whole point of retirement to sit back, relax, and enjoy your life?

We had the opportunity to exchange views with one, Philippine-educated medical technologist but is, while nearing the elderly zone, still working at Kaiser Permanent Regional Laboratories as the Assistant Director of Operations in California.

The Paoay, Ilocos Norte-born Marjorie Perdido was recently given the GEM (Going the Extra Mile) Award for Southern California Regional Offices for supporting the Kaiser Permanente mission, vision and values. October, 2022Outstanding Manager of Southern California.

The 59-year-old mother of one daughter— she’s turning 60 on May 30—says “I am living my life to the fullest each day, trying to be more active by walking” and remains active with the civic organization Annak Ti Paoay Foundation sophisticated radars, communication equipment, and the added cost of constructing additional bases and the regular supply of updated arms.

While she admits stress is always present in life, “it is how you handle and avoid the stressors.” monthly benefit that is 8 percent higher for each year he or she delays collecting benefits until the latest claiming age of 70, at which point benefits are 132 percent of what they would have been at the normal retirement age.

In the Philippines, people who reach 60, assuming good health, can opt for early retirement.

But in California, Social Security’s full-benefit retirement age is increasing gradually because of legislation passed by Congress in 1983.

Traditionally, the full benefit age was 65, and early retirement benefits were first available at age 62, with a permanent reduction to 80 percent of the full benefit amount.

Official sources say when the full benefit age reaches 67, benefits claimed at age 70 will be 24 percent higher because of that delay.

The maximum retirement benefit in 2017 for someone who waits until age 70 to collect benefits is $3,538 a month.

‘More active’

Perdido, replying to a question, said people who decide to go back to work after retirement remain more active and socially connected, which means being more active in mind and in better health.

But she admits that recently, the erstwhile physically energetic person – she goes to bed at 9 and sleeps at 10 or 11 pm and wakes up at 5.30 am – felt her body getting weaker.

The 1.65-meter Perdido philosophizes: “I think that age is just a number. I might say I am 60 but, in my heart, I am only 40. Everything gets better with age. I never let my fear get in the way of my dreams. I have created a life I am proud of. I enjoy my life each day.” helicopter was shot down.

She adds: “When I was younger, I used to worry so much about what people say. My value goes up with age. I feel like I am an antique, the higher the age, the more valuable.

Yes, the US also participated in numerous wars: in Iraq; in Afghanistan, Serbia, and Libya and made an spectacular pullout in Afghanistan, leaving behind a number of equipment including helicopters, armored vehicles and aircraft – not to mention their surreptitious involvement in Syria, Sudan and Yemen for fear it would only add to their number of infamous defeat.

US involvement was precipitated by the fall of the Soviet Union. US policy makers began to entertain the notion to subdivide Russia by enticing the former Soviet states to join NATO. This is now the root cause of the current Russia-Ukraine War.

American strategy to hasten the increase in its land area by annexing either Russia and China is typical of the US expansion in North America.

Today, they want to extend NATO by imposing a two percent contribution of their GDP with the novel idea of extending the alliance to Asia.

That way, the US military industrial complex will have less difficulty in selling arms to its expanded allies like the sale of US-made aircraft, warships, patrol boats, submarines,

The US sees many items which could help boost its economy when its military-industrial complex (MIC) allowed the manufacture under license of nuclear-powered submarines and the production of stealth F-35 stealth jet aircraft to various countries.

This system of licensing has greatly contributed to the widespread sale of arms and rejuvenated the US economy. Admittedly US policy makers made us to believe that the US desire to secure additional arms under the expanded Enhanced Cooperative Agreement (EDCA) was meant to assure their defense in the event of an attack from China. They do not explain that having military bases is in the Philippines is in violation of our Constitution more so if such agreement is not ratified by the Senate in a treaty and by a mere executive agreement.

The demand for additional military bases was to pressure the Marcos government to justify the demand to our security because of our dispute over some of the islands in the South China Sea without mentioning that there are other countries in the region equally eager to take slice of the area.

Our proximity to Taiwan provided added reason for the US for additional bases considering that Taiwan remains principal objective why China wants to have that island reunited with their mainland.

The US thought that having more military

Currently, the full benefit age is 66 years and twp months for people born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Early retirement benefits will continue to be available at age 62, but they will be reduced more.

Official sources say when the full-benefit age reaches 67, benefits taken at age 62 will be reduced to 70 percent of the full benefit and benefits first taken at age 65 will be reduced to 86.7 percent of the full benefit.

There is a financial bonus for delayed retirement.

An individual reaching the full-benefit age in 2017 (66 years and two months old) receives a bases in the country would provide Taiwan the security blanket imagining that bases in the Philippines would help placate the awaited invasion.

Realistically, there is no valid and legal reason why the US should come to the defense of Taiwan.

Some even speculate the request by the US Department of Defense made through their favorite Amboy Philippine Ambassador to the US “Babes” Romualdez to increase the number of US bases in the country was more of a ploy the US will come to our security to give our policy makers the assurance, unaware that is was only intended to raise the ante in the event that day of reckoning comes.

We never learned our lesson that in politics the US has equally mastered the art of weaponizing to get what they want.

In 2016, then State Secretary Hillary Clinton was quoted saying the US will not defend the archipelago in the event China opted to invade the Philippines. Her statement earned headline in the US weekly Time magazine.

Thus, then President Duterte threatened to declare the US ambassador persona non-grata and wanted the US to pull out their bases.

The younger Marcos has opted to gamble the destiny of the country by forsaking the country’s economy buoyed by the economic assistance from China.

The country likes to remain in the backwater economically. Everywhere China goes, there is progress and development, and a general upliftment in the livelihood of our people thanks to the

“In the beginning, I was not mentioning my age. But I realized that it is achievement to get to this age. So now, I am no longer ashamed to tell my age when they ask for it. (and) make every moment count; live in the present moment.”

Like many we have met, she stands by the Golden Rule as her personal philosophy, adding “treat everyone well.”

Some attribute the Golden Rule to the influential Chinese philosopher Confucius, who made it an unrivaled centerpiece of his philosophy of life (The Analects, 1962).

But the ancient Greek rhetorician, Isocrates, not to be confused with classical Greek philosopher, Socrates, taught his students the following: “Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you.”

More Opinion Online

(www.manilastandard.net)

Escrow insertion in draft seafarers law is unconstitutional

development assistance which undoubtedly runs to billions of dollars. As one commentator would put it, if the younger Marcos wants to put at risk his family’s somewhat dynastic governance, he is not that naive how his family were once kicked out by the Americans.

The US refuses to think twice that getting rid of them happened all because of the value of the RMB that now seems to influence the word’s currency.

(pkapunan@gmail.com)

Man arrested after four killed in Japan

Gun And Knife Attack

TOKYO – Japanese police on Friday detained a man who had holed up in a building after allegedly killing four people, including two police officers, in a gun and knife attack.

Masanori Aoki, 31, was taken into custody at his house outside a farm near the city of Nakano in the Nagano region, police said.

They also confirmed a fourth fatality overnight – an elderly woman who was found injured at the scene and later pronounced dead.

Another woman and two police officers were earlier confirmed dead in the attack.

Aoki has initially been formally arrested with suspicion of murder over the death of one of the police officers, Nagano regional police chief Iwao Koyama told reporters.

He is likely to be rearrested later in connection with the other deaths, in a process that allows law enforcement to detain a suspect for longer while investigations continue.

Aoki is not contesting the charge, Koyama said, adding 100 officers are investigating the case.

"This case was an extremely heinous act that shocked not just regional residents but society as a whole," he said.

"We need to thoroughly investigate this and see the whole picture including the how and why," he said.

The rampage in a rural area of the central region was a rare instance of violent crime in Japan, which has a low murder rate and some of the world's toughest gun laws.

Several local media reported Aoki is the son of the speaker of Nakano's city assembly, and lived with his parents and aunt in the house where he holed up overnight.

"We pray for the souls of the deceased and express our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families," top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

"Police are investigating to uncover the whole picture of the incident, including how the crime developed and its background." - 'Because I wanted to' -

The attack started on Thursday afternoon, when a local man working on a farm saw a woman "running from the road saying, 'help me'," he told national broadcaster NHK.

"Behind her came a man wearing camouflage and carrying a large knife, who stabbed her in the back," the 72-year-old witness said.

He said he called emergency services while neighbors tried to resuscitate the woman.

The attacker announced: "I killed her because I wanted to," according to an eyewitness cited by Kyodo news. AFP