Merry Christmas.

In this commercialized society that we thrive in, many of us Christians have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas.

Beyond the glistening and glittering lights, the gifts that we anticipate to receive, the party gatherings, the embellishments that add flavour and colour to this festivity, the Christmas songs, the Christmas carols, and the Yuletide greetings, lies the hidden meaning that we have gotten used to simply brushing it aside.

Christmas was made to let us commemorate and clelebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came down from Heaven, and died for us on the Cross, to save mankind from its sins. Cool, right (:

I must say I am very, very fortunate to be born in the Philippines. The family spirit  here is so much greater than anywhere else in the world. Christmas is party time, but it is also a time for God. Despite all the problems with money and stuff, even though we may not be rich, I have come to a realization that there is so much more to life other than the materialistic world everyone desires.  First, there’s God, then there’s family, then there’s friends, and many other things that money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard.

Having lived in a country where everyone believes in/that there is God, where almost everyone is Christian by faith, for fifteen good years, my parents have never failed to remind me that Christmas is Christmas because of Jesus Christ. And to me, being able to be given the opportunity to realize that the world out there is actually quite different, I have developed a greater sense of respect for those who do not believe in Christmas, for those who think freely,  for those who have faiths different from mine, and for those who share my faith but refuse to acknowledge it.

But I have begun to embrace the real spirit of Christmas even more, because it’s so much different here back home. Christmas here makes me feel much much happier, in mind, body, and spirit.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

And Happy Birthday to Jesus Christ.

(:

Pagbubunyi.

I kept looking around the concrete walls, the glass windows and the ubiquitous Ora et Labora logo, but I only saw Irrelevance. I did not notice if I grew any taller than the rest. Neither did I notice if anyone went missing and was nowhere to be found, nor if there were new youthful acquaintances in school who needed a warm welcoming smile, a hi, a how are you, a hope you enjoy here, a sweaty palm handshake and a pat at the back,  because at the back of my mind, I still believed that I was not where I was. School. The brain was intact but the mind was nonexistent, as if it temporarily wafted into a different dimension unknown to man (and woman). I thought that Today didn’t seem to be ready to welcome me, nor was Yesterday a day ago, nor will Tomorrow on the next day. Me, the same skeletal entity, the same four-eyed stress-driven workaholic organism whose seventeen year-old Catholic membership card has almost met its unprecedented expiry date. Me was lost today. Me was lost yesterday. In fact, Me have been lost for quite a long time now.

I am the laziest of all bums lah, but God just wouldn’t let me to anyhow leave my membership card un-renewed.