We know Gregor Mendel as the Austrian scientist who cross-bred pea plants to determine the law of how genetic traits of the parents, such as tall and short, are passed on to their offsprings. But he is not only the Father of Heredity. As a parish priest ordained in 1847, he was also the father [...]
Archive for December, 2008
20 Dec
Tale of Two Ateneos
In her Inquirer commentary entitled, “Ateneo’s Freudian slip,” Minyong Ordonez wrote about the two Ateneo de Manilas:
Many Ateneo alumni are asking questions. Whatever happened to “Ratio Studiorum,” the Jesuit-conceived curriculum concept that inspired many Ateneans in the past to pursue excellence of mind and spirit? What is happening out there in Loyola Heights? Are there [...]
19 Dec
Of the Birth of Christ
by St. John of the Cross [1,2,3]
When the ancient dispensation
Its predestin’d course had run,
Straight from out His bridal chamber
Came the Bridegroom, God the Son.
Once on earth, with arms extended
He embrac’d His heavenly Bride,
And His blessed Mother laid Him
In the manger, at her side.
All around that helpless baby
Animals were standing by;
Men sang songs [...]
17 Dec
Aquinas: Is the Star of the Magi a Star?
As Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.), it is clear, for many reasons, that the star which appeared to the Magi did not belong to the heavenly system:[1]
Because no other star approaches from the same quarter as this star, whose course was from north to south, these being the relative positions of Persia, whence the [...]
16 Dec
Instruction Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions: Allowed and Not Allowed
The Instruction Dignitas Personae on certain bioethical questions was released by the Congregation for Doctrine and Faith last 8 September 2008, Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The full document is here. The body of the document consists of 37 articles, each article consisting of a paragraph or two. So I’ll [...]
13 Dec
Mass without Microphones: A Glimpse of the Old Mass
Last Monday in our parish in Makati, I went to a 6:00 am mass after a short procession for the Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion. At the middle of the mass, the electrical lights and sounds turned off. The priest continued speaking, but his voice now unfamiliar, so remote, so distant, like the [...]
11 Dec
San Ignacio: Noon at Ngayon
(St. Ignatius: Then and Now)
by Fr. Jett Villarin, S.J.
Based on a talk delivered at the Klima Conference Room, Manila Observatory,
Ateneo de Manila University Campus, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines
28 July 2008
I. Bukas
Before talking about St. ignatius then and now (noon at ngayon), let me start first with tomorrow (bukas) because Ignatius always begins his Spiritual [...]
4 Dec
Rebuilding Sodom and Gomorrah: UN Draft Declaration on Non-Discrimination of Homosexuality
Parliamentary questions
4 December 2008
H-1009/08
ORAL QUESTION for Question Time at the part-session in January 2009 pursuant to Rule 109 of the Rules of Procedure by Dimitrios Papadimoulis to the Council
Subject: EU Presidency’s draft declaration in the UN on the decriminalisation of homosexuality
On 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the [...]
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