Virtual Community is Real Community

I don’t think I completely agree that virtual community is real community. Yes, in some ways virtual community is real community but not absolutely. For sure this is only true for some members of the virtual community. I think there are many aspects to consider in order for a virtual community to be real. One must have to consider every member of the virtual community; the place where they live, the gadgets or devices they owned, their time or schedule, etc. For sure those who see virtual community is real community are those members who owned computers, tablets, or any gadgets and are always connected to the internet. But how about those members who lived in a very remote barangay? How about those members who do not own computers or laptops? How about those members who do not have an internet connection? How about those members who do not have time to check their emails or any social network because they are very busy with their business or work?

The article we read made mention that online communities of faith are real to members who have come to rely on them for inspiration and support. I don’t have problem with this because that is what they believe. In fact I can say that online communities not just of faith, played a very important role in our lives. Recently, we had our 2^nd reunion with my classmates in my high school years. I really can say that that activity became successful because of online community particularly facebook. Actually I was the one who created the group in facebook last year. That is why we had the chance to gather last year and this year for our reunion. But our gathering was never successful if not of the social media. Before the reunion, we had countless of posts and messages. The good thing was that for this year’s reunion, we were able to have our class t-shirt. And this class t-shirts were paid by some of our classmates whom we contacted online. We were able to gather at one place because of facebook. But as I mentioned earlier, it is not enough because many of our classmates were not able to join. Maybe because they were not informed or their busy schedule or they had other important things to attend to. My point is that it is not enough to announce activities online but there is a need to inform all members personally. It is not an assurance that every member will be able to read your posts online because of the circumstances I mentioned earlier.

It is a fact that online communities is of great help to us because it is where we interact with each other, Through this interaction, we will be informed of many things, and will be able to acquire new ideas. This importance cannot make the virtual community real but it helps the community to achieve unity. Thus, I can say that virtual community is real community only to those who are always connected to the internet, and always rely online communities for inspiration and support.

Reflection on the Immaculate Conception (Lk. 1:26-38)

The Blessed Mother is chosen to become the Mother of God because of her great faith and obedience. In the stories we heard, Mother Mary did everything that was being told to her. Like the Blessed Mother, we too should have this great faith and obedience to God so that we too will be blessed by the Lord. In today’s Gospel, Mary was told not to be afraid. This is also my source of strength everytime I face a problem or difficulty. I can still remember the trials and difficulties that I experienced before entering the seminary. I always kept saying to myself then not to be afraid because if God is really calling me then He will guide and lead me in everything I do. 

Reflection

Mt. 18: 12-14 The Parable of the Lost Sheep

"It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." When I was still outside the seminary walls, it seemed like I moved father away from God. The reason for this is that I was so pre-occupied with my work. What I always do was to rest after work, and there were times where I cannot do my Sunday obligation anymore. I remember those times after reading today's Gospel. I can say that I was lost and God finds a way for me to go back to Him. And I see it as one of the reasons why I am here in the seminary.

Personal Reflection on the Gospel of Matthew

Mt. 15:29-37 The Healing of Many People and The Feeding of the Four Thousand

“My heart is moved with pity..” This line of Jesus struck me most because I have many experiences in the past wherein I can really say that God had pity on me because He helped me. Those experiences tell me that God indeed is a merciful God. It is a reminder for me that whenever I will face problems and difficulties in the future, there is no need to worry for God is always there watching me. All I have to do is to pray and to have faith in Him.

Personal Reflection

Lk 21:20-28 The Great Tribulation and The Coming of the Son of Man

Let me focus my reflection on the following passage in the Gospel that says, “for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth..” This part of the Gospel struck me because it reminded me of the two great calamities that I experienced last year. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake on October 15, 2013 and the super typhoon, Yolanda last November 8, 2013. During those times, I was able to say that maybe it’s the end of the world. But I was wrong. In fact I witness other good things happening after the incidents especially after the super typhoon. It was very evident that many people realized including me that we don’t own this world. Those calamities made me reflect how I lived my life during the past days. I was able to remind myself to always strive hard in doing good things because the end of the world may be coming. Yes, the two calamities did not end the world but eventually it will come. Since I don’t know when it will be, then I should not let my guard down. I will always do the best that I can do by doing what is right and what pleases the Lord. Thus by doing so, I will be redeemed in the last day as promised by Jesus in the Gospel. 

Personal Reflection on the Gospel of Luke

Lk 21:12-19 The Coming Persecution

“You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” This is the promise of God to us, so if ever time will come where we will be persecuted because of His name just like what our early brothers and sisters, we should be brave enough to face it. We should always bear in our hearts and minds that God always loves us and always there to help us. All we have to do is to have faith in Him.

“Human Freedom and Responsible Freedom”

The question whether we human beings are free or not is not a new issue anymore. Even the great thinkers in the past dwell regarding this matter. Some philosophers say that we are free while others say we are not. But what is the stand of the Church with regard to freedom? How does the Catholic Church define human freedom? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1730) says that “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. God willed that man should left in the hand of his own counsel, so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.” It is very clear here especially in the second sentence that God endowed us with free will, therefore, we are the master of our own actions. The next point of the book is its specific definition of freedom. It says that, “Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward good, our beatitude” (CCC 1731). Here it mentioned man’s free will wherein through it, we form or build our own life. So which of the following is true? Are we human beings free or not? In my own understanding, I can say that we are not absolutely free. Yes, we are free but not totally. It is because there are many things in our lives that we cannot do away with no matter what we do. These are our own race, our family background, our gender, our physical appearances, etc. We are not free to choose to be an American or Korean because we are born here in the Philippines. We also are not free to select the time or place where we were born. We were not free to choose that I want to be born in a hospital. Unquestionably, we are not free to choose who will be our parents or our grandparents. And with regard to our gender, we are not free also to choose that I want to become a male or a female. And as regards to our physical appearance, we cannot to choose to look like Piolo Pascual or Jericho Rosales. We cannot choose the color of our eyes, the position or size of our nose, the blood type we have, etc. With these things mentioned, we cannot deny the fact that we are not absolutely free. That is the reason why we have to accept freely and joyfully whatever we have right now. I can say that what we have or what we are now is a gift from God. If we are born this way or that way, we have accept it. As much as we can, we shouldn’t change what God gives us because if we will alter it, for sure God would not be happy. There is nothing else for us to do but to accept and to love what is given to us by God. 

Now, another topic for us to ponder is about “responsible freedom.” This so called “responsible freedom” is what we practice here in the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos. But, do we really understand what is it? Do we know how to practice it? I think we have different understanding with regard to practicing “responsible freedom.” Some of us may think that because of this “responsible freedom,” we can do whatever we want. For example, it is our freedom of choice not to attend morning prayers & Holy Mass together with the community; or it is our choice not to attend the regular class hours; or we are free to go out in the seminary anytime and come back anytime. If this is our understanding, I think we need to discern more time with regard to our chosen vocation. It is because my personal understanding about “responsible freedom” is dissimilar to what I mentioned earlier. I think the purpose of having a “responsible freedom” is for us seminarians to learn how to discipline ourselves. We have to form our own self because we ourselves are the primary agent of formation. I think the priest formators are pre-supposing that we seminarians here in the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos have embedded in our system the trainings during our college formation. So, regarding the waking up early in the morning and attending the Holy Mass, we ourselves should realized how important the Holy Eucharist is. It is expected from us to know that having a prayerful life is very essential especially for us who are aspiring to become priests. The next example is about the choice not to attend classes. In this case, a matured seminarian should also know how important the aspect of academic formation is. We have to identify that we need to study because sooner or later we will become ministers of the Church. How can we preach if we do not learn many things especially the doctrines of the Church? How could we answer questions regarding Church issues if we don’t have the knowledge about them in the first place? In this regard, we should be responsible to our own actions because we know for sure what will happen in the future. The last example is about the freedom in going out and in going back to the seminary. Here in the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos, most of us if not all are already in their mature age. So, we are expected to know and to understand already the schedule of the seminary. Yes we cannot do away the fact that there are times wherein we really need to go to somewhere because of some important things or business. But we have to make sure that upon going out, we cannot affect another schedule. And in going back to the seminary, be sure to go back in time especially if ever there is a community schedule. If we have plans to go out in the seminary, we should have the responsibility to know and to remember the seminary schedule of that day. 

If I connect human freedom and responsible freedom, I can say that they are somewhat the same. Both of them would tell us that freedom is not absolute. As discussed in the first paragraph, we are not absolutely free because there are things about us that we do not choose to have. Also in responsible freedom, there are things that we have to set aside. We have to set limits in everything we do especially here in the seminary wherein we are under formation. And since it is a fact that there are things that are happening in us which we do not chosen, all we have to do is to accept and to love them because they are precious gifts from God.

Vocation Promotion in 40 seconds :)

How does neo-scholasticism shape me as a person?

Truth

When I was still a kid, my mother already taught me some Church teachings. And since I love and trust my mother very much, then I also believed that what she taught me is really the truth. As I grew older, I was still thinking that if the Church teaches a particular doctrine, then it is true. But, when I studied philosophy few years ago, I started to question many things. I realized that there are many things that I am not sure of. I realized that there are indeed many things that I still do not know. Even until now, there are still many unanswered questions in my mind. The problem is that, I do not know who is going to answer these questions. Even the professors in the seminary have different approaches in discussing certain issues. I do not know who is telling the truth and who is not. Because of this, I told myself not to easily believe to what others are saying, and not to treat Church teachings as the absolute truth. I realized that I should give more room for possibilities, and continue to ask questions. By doing so, I can give more time for the truth to come out. For now, I will continue to reflect on the questions that bothers me through my day to day experiences. I don’t know if I can come up with an answer to my questions, but the important thing is that I keep searching for it.

Personal Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 10:21-24

Lk 10:21-24 The Privileges of Discipleship

My personal reflection of this Gospel passage is focused on the word, “blessed.” It is because I really consider myself as blessed for I was able to experience the life of a seminarian. It has been my dream to study for priesthood. And despite our financial difficulties, I was able to continue my studies until now because there are people who supported me. The study for priesthood really helped me learn a lot of things. In the Gospel, Jesus said “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” The word blessed reminded me of how blessed I am. Aside from having the opportunity to study for priesthood, I really can say that God blessed me for having with me my family and friends who always there to support me. Now my challenge is that how am I going to respond to this grace of being blessed. I think it is good to start with being faithful to my chosen vocation. If God really called me to become a priest, then I should be more blessed because I got the chance to help many people in many things not just spiritually.