Christmas IS Pro-Life

Many of us are aware of the Christmas story, which starts from the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus. After some reflection, I found out that this Christmas story, which was told to us time and again when we were little children, and the very same Christmas story which I hope we are passing on to our children, and their children’s children – I found out that this story holds not one but several pro-life pointers for all of us to think about. Christmas is indeed pro-life. 

1. There is no room for Christ for those whose lives are full of worldly things. Have you ever heard of people saying something like, “I don’t want a baby because it gets in the way of the job I want.” Or something to that effect?

This is the queue to the gift-wrapping section. Every Christmas season. Every single year. 

Mary’s fiat – let it be done unto me as you say! – required a heart that was full of God’s grace, and less of our own selfish motives, and much less of this world’s empty promises of wealth, fame, and possessions. When Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, it wasn’t that they didn’t find any place to stay. There were lots of places to stay, but not one person who was willing to open their doors for them. Eventually, they found someone who was willing to lend his own manger, a little act of generosity that went a long, long way for Joseph and Mary and Jesus, the infant.

2. Help, even as you need help yourself. 99% of us pro-lifers are people in need of some sort of assistance – financial, emotional, professional, etc .Mary went out of her way to help her cousin, Elizabeth, who was six months into her pregnancy, even as she was pregnant of her own child as well. God rewards those who make great effort to reach out to other people despite their own circumstances. For some of them, however, helping others and making a difference in their lives is a reward by itself.

So don't forget to send me some gifts! :) just kidding

3. Heart of Gold, Will of Steel. Mary must have had the courage of a thousand men to allow herself to be the mother of Christ. She could imagine how her future husband would reject her and break up with her. She could imagine the backlash of her society with her being pregnant without having a husband – a sin punishable by stoning to death. But she went through with it, having total faith and confidence in the providence and ways of God.

Nowadays, being a pro-lifer means being very unpopular, going against the whims and caprices of this anti-life society. Argentinian feminists burned an effigy of Pope Francis, who stood firm on his pro-life, anti-abortion stand. If they could do that to the pope, imagine what the world can do to us, ordinary pro-lifers. The pro-life advocacy ain’t for the soft-spoken and for the mild-mannered. The advocacy requires all of us brandish wills of steel.

In Argentina, these men barricaded themselves in front of a Cathedral that these angry feminists
targeted to vandalize, following Pope Francis' statement against abortion. These men are awesome! 

4. Pro-life, Pro-poor. A lot of skeptics ask us: Why don’t you ask your God why are there rich people who have more than enough wealth to last until their grandchildren’s children, and why are there poor people who don’t even have enough to buy their own meal? If I were God, however, I would ask mankind the same thing. I gave you all the material blessings you will ever need. Why be greedy about it to the point that you have more and others have less?

Even the infant Jesus did not escape this poverty. He was born in a manger, in a place more suited for animals than human beings. This is God’s way of reminding us of two things:

a. Our priority in our advocacy should be to  promote the culture of life, family, and marriage especially to the poor, who are the main targets of the anti-life movement. The RH law was intended especially for the poor to have access to contraceptives. Ironically, they struggle to have access to a lot of things, like food, clean water, shelter, education, and jobs, and here comes the government telling them that these contraceptives provided to them ‘empower’ them, especially their women. What a twisted, confused world we live in!

b. Christ tells us that there is dignity in being alive. Period. Dignity is afforded to both the rich and the poor, no matter how the former tries to rob the latter of it. There are two groups of rich people: the ones who make a system that will make them rich people richer, and the poor poorer; the other group of rich people are being paid by the first group to sustain this corrupt system. An example of this is the RH law, which purportedly was passed to address the needs of women and the poor, but in reality pays lip service to them by failing to address the real root of their problems.

On the other hand, there are groups of people on the opposite end of the pendulum who think that wealth is all the poor needs. I had this discussion with an atheist a few weeks ago, and he said that the Vatican should sell its riches and give it to the poor; moreover, the Church should stop collecting from the poor during masses. I told him of personal encounters I had with the poor, who, despite their poverty, have no qualms giving much of the little they have for the Church. I told this atheist that it would be insulting for these poor folk to tell them not to give to the Church.

Makes sense, right? 

Part of our work as pro-lifers is to uphold the dignity that the poor have in themselves, and to fight the corrupt systems that deny the poor of their rights.

5. Wisdom that comes from Christ’s Light – The Three Wise Men are some of the most mysterious characters in the Bible. We do not know where they came from, we do not know whether they knew each other prior to their journey towards the infant Christ, we do not know how they came to know about his birth. We do not even know why they were called wise men, but this we do know: they tried to follow that bright star that lead them to the infant Christ, the light that came from God Himself, and by this they deserve to be called wise.

This is the same light that made them aware of King Herod’s ulterior motive of finding baby Jesus and having him killed, and the same light that prompted them to go back to their homeland through a different way. Our encounter with Christ should lead us towards a similar change of heart. We should turn our backs against evil and wrongdoing and turn towards the Light of Christ.This is perhaps the best gift we can give to God this Christmas – that  our lives may be shining lights that all point towards Christ.

Merry Christmas to you, your family, and to the people you love. 

5 of the Most Unintelligent Things To Say in Social Media

I have been glued to social media, Facebook in particular, ever since I had an account about four years ago, partly because I use it to promote our pro-life advocacy as well as to preach the Gospel. The other reason is because like everyone else, Facebook, and social media as a whole, has inevitably become part of our daily routine. Ask the gal on the beach taking a picture of her sandy toes and posting in on Instagram. Or the guy who took a selfie on top of the mountain he had just conquered. Social media has become a totally new world in itself, a world dominated by vanity - and sometimes outright stupidity.

I have been part of countless online discussions and debates since I joined Facebook, and I have compiled a list of the most boneheaded comments and posts I have ever read. Take note that a lot of people adhere to these beliefs without really trying to understand what they really meant.

1.  "Don't be so judgmental!"

Most popular usage: 

• Defending Chito Miranda against his naysayers when his sex scandal broke out. e.g. "Bakit, perpekto ba kayo? Huwag nga kayong mapanghusga!"
• Trying to exonerate Anne Curtis who was said to be so intoxicated (some say she was high), she drunk-slapped the heck out of John Lloyd Cruz and his friends, and creating a scene in a bar. e.g. "Tao lang naman si Anne, nagkakamali, buti nga inamin niya, don't be so judgmental!"
• Trying hard to make Noynoy Aquino look like a saint, and that he was beyond fault during his mismanagement of the Yolanda tragedy. e.g. "Kung makahusga ka 'kala mo ang dali-daling maging presidente. Tutal ikaw henyo ka, ikaw na kaya maging presidente?" (followed by SHATTAP TUMULONG KA NA LANG!) 

This should be self-explanatory. Pointing out someone's mistake isn't the same as being judgmental. In fact, the one who cries "don't be so judgmental!" is the one guilty of being judgmental. 

2. "You're so narrow-minded/be open-minded!" 

Most popular usage: Somebody has the audacity to post something bordering on the pornographic on Facebook, and concerned users comment that it is inappropriate and should be taken down... expect some to reply:

• "Napakakitid naman ng utak mo. Buksan mo nga nang maintindihan mo na art ito."
• "Sus, konting open mindedness naman tol, 21st century na tayo."

What they're actually saying is that we should stop being such buzz killers and "just enjoy the damn video". It has nothing to do with being open-minded. In fact, by saying that we're such prudes and that we should be open-minded, they're being narrow-minded themselves - AND judgmental too. 

3. "You (insert race/nationality/religious affiliation) should be more tolerant!"

Most popular usage: People trying to make you accept a lifestyle or ideology that your faith/religion/values system has taught you not to accept. 

• "Catholics are the most intolerant people I know. Disgusting!"
• "I don't know of a more intolerant religion than the Catholic Church. Shame on you for going against gay marriage. Love is a right."

First of all, when you tolerate something, it actually means you don't like it, but you put up with it. For example, I don't like it when kids are too noisy, but I tolerate it since I have to let kids be kids. I love a clean house but tolerate some dust and dirt when my flatmates don't do their share of the chores.

Their meaning of tolerance borders more on acceptance, because these guys don't let you object to what they propose, to begin with! And when you post your objection, they tell you that you're a...

4. "Hater!  Bigot! You're so homophobic!"

Most common usage: Usually mentioned after number 3, in discussions about the LGBT agenda. 

When people disagree with the homosexual lifestyle, that doesn't make them homophobic. Disagreeing is not fear. 

Two years ago, Lito David of Ang Kapatiran and I went to UPLB to debate Carlos Celdran and Bishop Efraim Tendero about the RH bill. During his explanation, Lito pointed out a verifiable scientific fact: that the highest incidence of HIV belong to the MSM - men having sex with men. Carlos did not take this well, flew off the handle, and said (not verbatim)

"You are the most homophobic person I have ever encountered!" 

I really don't know why Carlos said that, since Lito was only pointing out the truth. A lot of people react that way too. Give them the truth, and you become a hater. In fact, as someone pointed out, the truth has now become the new hate speech. 

Other people may say it differently, but they mean almost the same: 

• "Enough with the bigotry. You're so hopelessly homophobic."
• "The reason why I left the Church was that Jesus taught us to love, not to hate, and that means loving homosexuals."

The last comment is just full of turd and confusion. Yes, Jesus taught us to love, and yes we must love the person, and hate the sin. Hating the sin and loving the person, however, actually means you have to call that person's attention out when it comes to sin. Some people tend to compound issues by combining number 1 and number 4 : Don't be so full of hate, you judgmental piece of crap. 

5. "There is no objective truth/morality."

Most common usage:  Used by atheists and non-believers who make so much fuss trying to disprove the existence of the God they don't believe in. 

They use this to explain that Christian morality isn't THE ultimate morality that everyone should follow. In fact, they would argue that the truth is different for everyone, depending on how one sees the truth. 

This is the easiest to debunk, actually. Next time you hear someone saying that there is no absolute truth, the most succinct way of shutting him up would be to ask: is that true?