Veritas PH

The WORD. The TRUTH.

 753 total views

The great need of the world right now is peace. The threat of war looms over us. The single world power, super power, is threatening to wage war in order to safeguard the peace of the world. How contradictory. We want to secure the peace of the world and we do it by war. The only way to peace is peace. Peace cannot be achieved, secured and promoted through the weapons of war.

If we want world peace, we must pray. A world at prayer is a world at peace. If we want peace, we must forget selfish ambition and think of the common good. If we want peace, we must promote unity and reconciliation, and extend a hand of forgiveness. If we want peace, we must set our hearts on this task—one hundred percent intention to make peace. If the intention is clear, the mechanism will appear. According to Blessed John XXIII, the pursuit of peace stands on four legs: truth, justice, love and freedom.

Truth will build peace if every individual sincerely acknowledges not only his rights, but also his duties towards others. Justice will build peace if in practice, everyone respects the rights of others and actually fulfills these duties towards them. Love will build peace if people feel the needs of others as their own, and share what they have with others, especially the values of mind and spirit which they possess. Freedom will build peace and make it thrive if in the choice of the means to that end, people act according to reason and assume responsibility for their own actions.

The great need of the world is peace and the great need of our nation right now is unity. We can do so many things if we are united. The poor can be better served, the youth can be better educated, the homeless can be better protected, the problem of government corruption can be better eliminated, laws can be more speedily passed and implemented, if we are united. The will of God for us is unity. He came so that all may be one.

There can be no unity without God. Let our common love for God be our point of unity. Let us not allow our unity to be simply grounded on the needs of the present. Let us root our unity in God. In this way, our unity will go beyond political plans and economic programs. Our unity will be grounded on solid rock, on our faith and trust in God Almighty.

Our pursuit of peace and unity needs three keys—prayer, heroic selflessness, and strength of will. Our beloved President has shown a fine example of pursuing peace and unity for the world and for the nation.

The President sought the guidance of God and not politicians in declaring her decision not to run in 2004. It was a heroic decision that qualifies her to ascend the ranks of statesmen and patriots. We pray for her so that she may have the strength of will to pursue her vision for the nation against all odds, for the sake of the nation, for the glory of God. Let me share this modern parable about crises and problems.

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Doesn’t it sound familiar for our country?

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on high fire. Soon the pots came to boil.

In one pot, he placed carrots. In the second, he placed eggs. And in the last, he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes, he turned off the burner. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee beans out and placed them in a mug.

Turning to her, he asked, “Darling, what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs and coffee,” she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled, as she tasted and smelled its rich aroma.

She humbly asked, “What does it mean, Daddy?”

He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water. But each reacted differently. The carrots went in strong, hard, and unrelenting but after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, the inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” he asked the daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

How about you, my dear countrymen? Are you the carrot that seems hard but with pain and adversity and national crisis, do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength?

Are you the egg, which starts up with a malleable heart? Are you a fluid spirit, but after a death, after a break-up, after bankruptcy in business, or a lay-off, have you become hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same but are you bitter and tough with stiff spirit and heart inside?

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, to its peak flavor when it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it tastes better. If you are like the bean when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you.

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Mass for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
January 2, 2003

MAKE PEACE
Mt. 23:8-12
Love Like Jesus

ads
2
3
4
previous arrow
next arrow

Veritas Editorial

Rev. Fr. Anton CT Pascual

Rev. Fr. Anton CT Pascual

President of Radio Veritas

Ningas-cogon

 31,239 total views

 31,239 total views Kapanalig, ang salitang “NINGAS-COGON” ay tumutukoy sa ugaling Pilipino … Masigasig at masipag sa simula lamang, ngunit walang natatapos sa kalaunan (NEVER TO FINISH WHAT THEY STARTED). ANG “NINGAS-COGON” AY karaniwang maihalintulad sa mga “hearing in-aid of legislation” ng Kongreso na binubuo ng Mababa(Kamara) at Mataas(Senado) na Kapulungan ng Kongreso. Kadalasan, ang Kongreso

Read More »

Job Mismatches

 42,314 total views

 42,314 total views “Job-skills mismatches”, Kapanalig ito ang malaking problema sa Pilipinas na hindi pa rin natutugunan ng pamahalaan at education sector. Sa pag-aaral ng Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), malaki ang ambag ng “job-skills mismatches” sa umployment at underemployment sa bansa kung saan hindi napapakinabangan ang potensyal ng young workforce. Ayon sa Commission on Higher

Read More »

Mining

 48,647 total views

 48,647 total views Kapanalig, nararanasan natin sa Pilipinas maging sa buong mundo ang “climate crisis” na dulot ng climate change o nagbabagong panahon. Ang Pilipinas bilang tropical country ay dumaranas ng mahigit sa 20-bagyo kada taon na nagdudulot ng matinding pinsala sa ari-arian, kabuhayan at buhay ng mga Pilipino. Ngunit sa kabila ng banta ng climate

Read More »

Kasabwat sa patayan

 53,261 total views

 53,261 total views Mga Kapanalig, ganoon na lamang ba kababa ang pagpapahalaga natin sa buhay ng ating kapwa-tao na handa natin itong bawiin ng mga iniluluklok nating berdugo sa ngalan ng pagkakaroon ng payapa at ligtas na kapaligiran? Ganyan kasi ang mapapansin sa mga sentimiyento ng ilan nating kababayan habang isinasagawa ng Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee

Read More »

Walang magagawa o hindi handa?

 54,822 total views

 54,822 total views Mga Kapanalig, kasabay ng malakas na ulang dala ng Bagyong Kristine dalawang linggo na ang nakalilipas ang buhos ng batikos kay Pangulong Bongbong Marcos Jr.  Ika-23 ng Oktubre, kasagsagan ng pananalasa ng bagyo, nang bigyan ng situation briefing ng mga pinuno at kinatawan ng iba’t ibang ahensya si PBBM. Papalapit na noon ang

Read More »
catholink
Shadow
truthshop
Shadow

Related Story

Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

3 Cs OF MARY

 8,827 total views

 8,827 total views Sunday is the Lord’s Day. Today is September 8, Sunday. It is also Mary’s day. When we have a choice between the Lord’s Day and Mary’s day, the Lord’s day takes priority. That is why the Mass is not the Mass for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the Mass celebrating the 234th

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

Lord Save Us! We Are Perishing! (Matthew 8:25)

 23,877 total views

 23,877 total views Lord Save Us! We Are Perishing! (Matthew 8:25) Pastoral Letter for the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan to be read as homily for all Masses for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 15 and 16, 2024  Beloved people of God in the Church of Lingayen Dagupan:  The threat is no longer imagined.  It is

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

WOUNDED FOR LOVE

 27,890 total views

 27,890 total views I am sure you know at least one person who has left the Church due to a hurtful experience within it. This individual, once identifying as Catholic, has abandoned their religion because of disappointment with a priest or with people in the Church. Perhaps they encountered a priest who was unfaithful to his

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

ASTONISHED

 54,596 total views

 54,596 total views In one short paragraph, Jesus astonished the people around Him for two significant reasons. Firstly, they were astounded by His preaching. Secondly, they were astounded by His healing. Why were they astonished by His preaching? Because He spoke only the truth. Truth possesses its own power. It requires no sugar coating. It needs

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

ASTONISHED

 55,237 total views

 55,237 total views In one short paragraph, Jesus astonished the people around Him for two significant reasons. Firstly, they were astounded by His preaching. Secondly, they were astounded by His healing. Why were they astonished by His preaching? Because He spoke only the truth. Truth possesses its own power. It requires no sugar coating. It needs

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

GOD DOES NOT LIKE MIRACLES

 55,237 total views

 55,237 total views By nature, we like miracles. When we hear about a miracle or read about it, we rush to the miracle site because we want to experience the supernatural through those miracles. Human beings probably like miracles a lot, but God does not like miracles. That is why miracles happen very rarely. God does

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

DISBELIEF

 55,235 total views

 55,235 total views The story of Zechariah is our story as well. Zechariah received a blessing. We all have been blessed at one point or another in the past. After Zechariah received the blessing, his response was doubt. His response was fear. His response was disbelief. Isn’t that what we often do after we are blessed

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

INSPIRATION!

 55,252 total views

 55,252 total views Once in a while, we come across children who have plenty of toys and children’s books, and yet go to their parents and say, “I am bored.” We see college students shifting from one course to another, not knowing what career path to take, and then they say life is boring. This attitude

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

BLINDNESS

 55,282 total views

 55,282 total views The blind man could not see. That is a fact. Yet, he warns to me that even if he could sense or see with his being, he could not see with his eyes, but he could sense with his heart. That is why he immediately felt the disgust of the crowd. That is

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

BE GRACIOUS

 55,562 total views

 55,562 total views In Grade 3, I learned a poem about good manners: Hearts, like doors, will open with ease With very, very little keys. But don’t forget that two of these Are thank you, sir, and if you please. People who are grateful, people who know how to say thanks sincerely, win the hearts of

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

WHY DO YOU GIVE?

 56,216 total views

 56,216 total views Why do people give? Why do people do good things for other people? Unfortunately, our motivations are not always clear and good. Unfortunately also, we are not always aware of the impurity of our motives. Why do people give and why do people do good things for other people? The first motivation, unexpressed

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

CLAY AND POTTER

 57,958 total views

 57,958 total views Most of us are familiar with the Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The prayer has been adapted by many rehabilitation programs for dependents on drugs, alcohol, gambling, and even

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

RESPECTFUL GOD

 58,946 total views

 58,946 total views Children are expected to respect their parents. Younger people are expected to respect their elders. The laity are expected to respect priests. The priests are expected to respect their bishops. And the principle is—the higher, the more experienced, the older, the more deserving of respect. If we follow the same principle, then God

Read More »
Father Soc - Everyday Jesus
Most Rev. Socrates Villegas

PRAYER IS STRENGTH

 59,371 total views

 59,371 total views Prayer is our strength. Prayer is a strong tool. Where does prayer get its strength? The strength of prayer does not come from the one who prays. The strength of prayer comes from the one to whom it is addressed. In other words, prayer does not become a strong tool because we pray.

Read More »

Latest Blogs

Scroll to Top