I don’t know about this but Sucker Punch is one of the most negatively criticized movie I have ever laid my eyes in to. Though it was played by the most beautiful and alluring stars in Hollywood (including Vanessa Hudgens), still it didn’t reach the expectations of the many.

But I am not here to add damage, I am here to try and make you believe a huge lesson I learned after I have watched the film. In fact the title says everything. I may raise your curiosity but at the same time I may not because of the nature of the movie but as I remember every scene, every dialogue, the phrase always comes out. In fact as I am writing this post (with my coffee), I keep on remembering the last line Baby Doll said before everything ended for her, “it was not my story all along”.

They were imprisoned in a mental institution slash entertainment theater slash illegal hub to entertain criminals and mobs including the mayor. Baby Doll had one special gift; she can put a person into a trance whenever she dances. She used that particular gift to gather things they needed for escape. Sadly their plans were busted by their Boss named Blue. They were 5, one was stabbed and two were shot. Yes including Vanessa.

Sigh.

Only two remained, Baby Doll and Sweet Pea. They continued as planned and at the end, only one had the chance to escape. At the very start of the movie, everything was about Baby Doll, her story, her life, her skills, her talent. Almost everything was about her. But here we are at the end of the movie and she’s telling Sweet Pea that it was not her story after all.

Sweet Pea escaped and embraced freedom while Baby Doll remained and was forever locked in the imaginary world she was always into. How sad. But that’s life for all of us. We think our daily struggles and daily fight against the negative things are for us to get better. Every day we wage war against life that’s being unfair thinking we will end up being the hero.

The reality is, it’s not about us. It’s about other people, people whom we care about; people we want to live and experience freedom. Sacrifice, it’s what it is all about. The real satisfaction is when we give way for the benefit and happiness of the persons we love the most. Suker Punch may be a criticized movie but it showed me one of the pieces of life I have always been looking for.

We have watched him grow from being an 11-year-old kid who was treated like nobody even in his own household. We have seen him fight dangerous enemies which ultimately lead us to this final epic battle and the closing of what believed to be the most successful franchise in the movie world. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is that last title of the movie, it’s the last part of the film that was made and awed fans and viewers for about a decade.



But why does this movie, the characters and it’s nature being criticized? The church itself is one of the primary critics of Harry Potter. Is it because of the word witchcraft and wizardry? Is it about the dark tone of the movie? Well, we can’t answer that as each of us has his own point of view of these things. However, since this is my blog, let me just share to you my thoughts about such things.

I am an active church man and a devout catholic. At least, that’s what you should remember before you raise an eyebrow to me. True I am obliged to follow the teachings of the church but I still have my own mind to reflect about things. This, I believe is God’s vessel in which He can transmit His message for me to realize and for you the reader to enjoy and know some things too.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is no more than just a movie. That’s it, that’s all there is to it, nothing more, nothing less. Aside from the fact that the characters are fictional, their language and their “spells” doesn’t make sense at all. But what I am struck the most is not how Harry Potter will end the movie, but I am more interested on how Harry survived the attack of the main villain, Lord Voldemort.

I’ll make this straight to the point, it’s about love. The very reason why the story began, the very reason why Harry had to suffer was all because of love. It was love that made him safe all throughout the years he lived his life. This is how I looked at the movie, I don’t see Satanism, witchcraft and all those bad stuff, I see God. I see His doings even to the darkest portion of a man’s life. His love will always reign supreme and it will never be beaten by any other methods of the enemy.

I hope you will look at life the same way too. No matter how bad the situation is, remember that God always puts everything in their rightful place even though we think that it’s not good for us. We only have to open our hearts and minds to His presence. And one more thing, when you watch a movie, always seek for a character that resemble God’s love. It’s what you call the God factor. In the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore is my God factor.

I love this statement from the Vatican, it really shows the real nature of a Christian, and that’s filling the world with love. Love that’s not only given to those who are good at us, it’s loving the most cunning and the most cruel persons. That’s how and what Christianity should be…

Jesus said "love your enemies." If only he had said how we should react when they die at our own hands.

After President Obama announced that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been shot dead in Pakistan, ebullient crowds gathered outside the White House and at Ground Zero to cheer the demise of the world's most wanted terrorist, smoking cigars and breaking into chest-thumping chants of "USA! USA!"
Watching from her home in suburban Virginia, Christian ethicist Diana Butler Bass felt a growing sense of unease.
"What if we responded in reverent prayer and quiet introspection instead of patriotic frenzy?" she posted on Facebook. "That would be truly American exceptionalism."

At the Vatican, too, where church leaders had just wrapped up joyous celebrations elevating the late Pope John Paul II to one step below sainthood, officials urged caution. "A Christian never rejoices" in the death of any man, no matter how evil, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said, but instead "reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us has before God and before man." For many Americans, bin Laden's death was quite literally an answer to prayer.
Muslims who saw bin Laden as an apostate breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Ethicists and pastors searched for the appropriate space between vindication and vengeance. U.S. special forces did what they had to do. How everyone else is supposed to feel about it is a little less clear.

"As Christians, we believe that there can be no celebrating, no dancing in the streets, no joy, in relation to the death of Osama bin Laden," Christian ethicist David Gushee said. "In obedience to Scripture, there can be no rejoicing when our enemies fall." Indeed, the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel warned that our enemies are not necessarily God's, who takes "no pleasure in the death of wicked people," preferring only that they "turn from their wicked ways so they can live."
The questions around bin Laden's demise tended to break into two different camps: Were we right to kill him? And is his death something to cheer? For many, what set bin Laden apart was his defiance, unrepentant violence and coldly calculating designs to rain destruction upon Americans, innocent civilians and even fellow Muslims.

"While vengeance is not a responsibility of us mortals, the pursuit of justice is," said a statement from Agudath Israel, an Orthodox umbrella group.
"As believing Jews, we see in bin Laden's demise the clear hand of God." In a larger sense, removing the singular threat of bin Laden can also lessen the violent threat of radical extremism and terrorism. Put another way, taking one life can save countless others.

"It is a sad truth that one man's death can represent a step forward in the progress of human relations," said Zainab Al-Suwaij, president of the Washington-based American Islamic Congress. For many people, bin Laden's guilt or innocence never needed to be adjudicated in a court of law, and an American bullet to his head was judgment enough. Scholars cautioned, however, that there's a difference between judging a man's actions and judging his soul. The Rev. John Langan, a Jesuit professor of Christian ethics at Georgetown University, said killing bin Laden to prevent future attacks is morally valid, but cautioned that vengeance is ultimately a divine, not human, right.

"I knew people who died in 9/11," Langan said.
"I feel deeply the evil of that action. But I am part of a religious tradition that says that we don't make final, independent judgments about the souls of other men. That rests with God." Which all leads back to Americans' response to the death of a madman.

"You have to have compassion, even for your enemies," said A. Rashied Omar, a research scholar at the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. "The Quran teaches that you never should allow enmity to swerve you away from compassion, because without compassion, the pursuit of justice risks becoming a cycle of revenge." Others said there is a difference between rejoicing in bin Laden's death and finding a certain degree of satisfaction — a "subtle but important difference," said the Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson, an Episcopal priest who teaches at the Pacific School of Religion.
"I'm not sorry Bin Laden is dead," Johnson posted on Twitter. "That's not the same thing as celebrating his death."

Source:
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/spirituality/story/2011/05/Is-it-OK-to-cheer-Osama-bin-Ladens-death/46759110/1

Let me just share this blog post I have read which talks about a student whom the writer claimed to be Albert Einstein. Regardless if it’s true or not, just focus on the story and really reflect on it. May it open your eyes into something more important than reason, and that is God’s love.

Does evil exist?

The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists? A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything? The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are then God is evil". The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"


"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."



To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name — Albert Einstein.

I have read a tweet from EWTN news talking about a missionary priest who noticed a change in the spirituality of the people of Japan after the huge catastrophe that happened to their land. It’s sad to know that we have to experience one huge blow before we can feel God’s presence but nevertheless it’s a huge blessing for us too. Let’s just face it with love and humility.

Father Olmes Milani, a missionary priest living in Tokyo, says he has noticed new signs of faith in a largely non-religious society, one month after the deadly March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan.

“The catastrophe which struck the country has awoken consciences and spiritual needs and values,” said Fr. Milani, a priest of the Scalabrinian missionary congregation. He told Fides news that he had seen “an evident return to prayer and spiritual values, in a society which would normally be considered materialistic and focused on production and profit.”

Research indicates that only around 15 percent of Japanese citizens formally adhere to any faith. But in the wake of the natural disasters, now known to have killed at least 13,400 people, Fr. Milani has observed a change. Besides those “stopping to pray in Shinto and Buddhists temples,” he has also noticed that “in our Catholic churches, there is an influx of non-Catholics that stop to pray.”

Fr. Milani said the people's prayers were primarily for emergency workers and disaster victims in need of relief. However, beyond these immediate needs, he also sees the potential for a deeper change in Japanese society.

Read more: http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=3011#ixzz1JdgWYgYj

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entrance of Christ into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9), when palm branches were placed in His path, before His arrest on Holy Thursday and His Crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent, and the week in which Christians celebrate the mystery of their salvation through Christ's Death and His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Beginning in the fourth century in Jerusalem, Palm Sunday was marked by a procession of the faithful carrying palm branches, representing the Jews who celebrated Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. In the early centuries, the procession began on the Mount of the Ascension and proceeded to the Church of the Holy Cross.

As the practice spread throughout the Christian world by the ninth century, the procession would begin in each church with the blessing of palms, proceed outside the church, and then return to the church for the reading of the Passion according to the Gospel of Matthew. The faithful would continue to hold the palms during the reading of the Passion. In this way, they would recall that many of the same people who greeted Christ with shouts of joy on Palm Sunday would call for His Death on Good Friday-a powerful reminder of our own weakness and the sinfulness that causes us to reject Christ.

In different parts of the Christian world, particularly where palms were historically hard to obtain, branches of other bushes and trees were used, including olive, box elder, spruce, and various willows. Perhaps best known is the Slavic custom of using pussy willows, which are among the earliest of plants to bud out in the spring.

The faithful have traditionally decorated their houses with the palms from Palm Sunday, and, in many countries, a custom developed of weaving the palms into crosses that were placed on home altars or other places of prayer. Since the palms have been blessed, they should not simply be discarded; rather, the faithful return them to their local parish in the weeks before Lent, to be burned and used as the ashes for Ash Wednesday.

Source: http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Palm_Sunday.htm

Hachiko is not a person. He is a dog (a male one). And what’s special about this dog is the loyalty he gave to his master. Originally happened in the 1920’s the story of this amazing creature has reached the 21st century and still touched the lives of many people, including mine.

Last Friday, I watched the American version starred by Richard Gere. I watched it twice and twice I cried. Well I am not gonna write the entire details of the story (I want you to watch it). But for a little background, it’s about a dog, an Akita breed that in one way or another developed a certain bond with his master.

Hachiko always goes with his master on the town’s train station before he goes to work and in the afternoon he would wait for the arrival of his master on the same spot near the station. He would always do that for a long period of time. Until one day a tragedy happened.

While Hachiko’s master was still at work (he was a professor), he had a cardiac arrest and eventually died. Hachiko did not know what happened (or perhaps he did, he’s a dog and we don’t know what’s on their minds). So, he continued to wait for his master on the same spot and on the same time for the next 9 or so years, until he was found dead.

I don’t know what to call that but for me it’s definitely love. It’s a love that transcends beyond the physical aspects of every creature. No matter who and what we are, when true love plays its part, there will be no boundaries, regardless of the race, the nation and even religion. I hope we will all learn from the story of Hachiko.

Let love transcend beyond where we are right now. When all men in this world do the same thing, that will become the word I invented, the Hachiko effect.

Starmart 4:30 AM…

Still talking to my sweet hot coffee…

Though I was not able to watch the movie from beginning to end, I can relate to Hancock.

He is a man with superhuman abilities, pretty much like the superheroes we admire when we were still young. But what makes Hancock different is that he is not respected in his town as a savior. In fact, he is despised by everybody.

His lair is not a fancy mansion with underground facilities complete with gadgets and equipments like Bruce Wayne’s. His home is on the streets. He destroys things out of clumsiness or maybe because he is intoxicated with alcohol.

He was even put to jail and rehabilitation. What kind of superhero is that? He has special powers but he made himself look stupid in front of people. He does not live the way he should.

But I cannot blame Hancock for being one. He is a damaged man. He had amnesia because he protected the woman she loved a few years back (when Frankenstein was a box-office hit). His love for that woman paved the way for his memory to be erased and life destroyed.

And the rest is history, he entered the new millennium being marked as a**hole. That is until he finally met his beloved by accident. Of course, he didn’t remember her because of memory loss. And the story started there.

At the end of the movie, a surprising revelation happened. The woman whom Hancock loved was also a superhuman. They have this “curse”. Every time these people fall in love with each other and be near with one another, they lose their powers. They become weak. But the moment they go on separate ways, far from each other they become stronger and more powerful.

How sad.

I guess Hancock and I are the same. Maybe the answer to all of these is to go away, far from the person I care for. It’s painful. But at least, she’ll become stronger because of my absence.

At least, my only reason for being happy is the fact that it was not an imaginary love.

It was genuine.

It was true.

Sigh.

5:30 AM…

Starmart , it’s a place I also call sanctuary.

It’s quiet. It’s peaceful especially in this time of day.

I am alone with my best friend. Sad to say, he is no human. He’s a super hot sweet black coffee; at least, that’s what’s written on the machine.

I look at the glass wall as I wait for the sunrise. People start to get thick as the morning breaks. They are happy; they seem to be hopeful on what’s going to happen to their lives today.

Strange, I feel the opposite. As the sun slowly rises, my life drifts away together with it, and then, sadness. For the 10th or so times, I found myself crying again. I feel like dying. I am perfectly healthy. I don’t have any illnesses but it’s as though I have Cancer of a rare type which is taking every bit of my life as the time ticks.

Thankfully, my coffee gives me warmth amidst the cold air that surrounds me.

The very day I was supposed to be born again became the day I died. I tried to fix things with all the effort I could do, but it wasn’t enough. I have collected the pieces of my life only to be scattered again.

Ouch!

The end does not justify the means.

I had my own reasons. But nobody has the courage to listen, or even try to lend their ears. Nobody believes me. It’s my fault. I started it all. Maybe this is karma, and whoever invented this word, I hate him. I am suffering down to my bones. I don’t know where to start again. I don’t know what to do. The only place that gives me solace is the sanctuary where I am sitting right now.

But until somebody dares to listen, it will be me and my cup of coffee.

It’s just amazing to know how our neighborhood becomes so addicted with my mother’s ice candy. It’s a dessert (though some children make it their breakfast or lunch or dinner. Believe me) made of some secret ingredient (milo and sugar) and placed inside plastic wrappers and then allow it to freeze.

One morning I woke up late because, I was tired. In my dream, I was also lying down and suddenly, somebody from the door shouted “bakal!! Bakal!!*” I was so tired so I ignored the little voice. I slept. And after about thirty minutes, I woke up and was surprised because the voice I heard a while ago was not a dream after all; the poor child was standing (still saying “bakal!!”) at the place where the voice in my dream was coming. And after a split second, a stampede occurred; she wasn’t the only one who was standing there. I found out that an army of young selfish little aliens were waiting for me to appear on the door which was a signal for them to attack our house and buy lots of ice candies. Am I exaggerating? Well, if you were in my place at that time, you would. I was deprived of my right to go to the restroom and do my thing, make a coffee and even pray! Because of the event, I forgot everything. And for the next hour I was busy going in and out of the house catering to the young aliens.

After the chaos, when I was finally left alone, I sat and I remembered the child who stood at the door for 30 minutes or maybe more. She did not stop shouting until I woke up and get what she wanted, the desire of her young heart, the refreshing, sweet and delicious ice candy.

And again, I learned an important lesson in life, persistence. When we ask for something, when we need something, when we desire for something, we should pray without stopping or losing hope. Don’t stop praying and asking for what you need. I remember this woman in one of Jesus’ story who wanted justice; she never gave up knocking on the judge’s door until she was given what she needed. I saw this image on the little girl, though I was a bit irritated and annoyed, I appreciated what she thought me (isn’t it funny? The children are teaching the adults nowadays). Never give up when you need something.

So guys, ask for your Ice candy now, and remember, don’t give up.

Enjoy! : )

God Bless.

“Twilight what?” it was my first question when the movie was released. I’m into reading novels but this one never came into my sight. I did not even know it’s a phenomenon that conquered the hearts of most of the teens nowadays until the movie was shown.

So out of curiosity, I watched it, with my date of course. I find the movie nice, though I find the atmosphere quite gloomy. Well, it’s a story about a vampire who fell in love with a mortal blah blah blah.. (I won’t tell the whole movie, its not reason why I am writing here plus, I might get carried away and get sued for piracy hehe )

I like the part where Edward (the vampire guy) showed Bella (the mortal girl) why his family do not go out in public when the weather is fine. I was amazed when Edward went under a sunlight (I was thinking something bloody might happen, you know, the usual Vampire-burned-by-the-sun thing), and glowed as if his skin was filled by diamonds.

There, at that precise moment, I felt time stopped and a realization came into my mind(no, I did not fall on love with Edward).

Vampires are dreaded (whether they really exist or not), they are known to cause or do something bad. But in this story, though he was one, under the light of the sun, he glowed with full of splendor and beauty.

Aren’t we the same? We all have negative things in us, the reason why some people get annoyed at us. We have these attitudes or addictions or even vices which affect or make people angry (especially our parents). We get discouraged to renew ourselves because we are afraid that we will fail. Or worse, we fall into a wrong belief that we are hopeless, that there is no solution to our concerns, that we are of no use in this world.

But here is the twist, we are so much loved by the Lord, that the moment He made us in the wombs of our mothers, he implanted diamonds in us which also grew in numbers as we grow old, as our cells multiply. It means that no matter who or what we are (maybe vampires in that case). There is always something good in us. There is always hope for us to change, that whenever we fall down, we can always stand up and continue our journey.

You see! There is much reason to rejoice and be happy.

You are loved. Let the good in you shine.

You don't know it but , you might be touching a person’s life.

Enjoy.

God Bless.

If you don’t know what friendster or facebook or multiply is, you better be careful.

Why?

People might ask you, “What planet from the galaxy far way are you from? (I’m a Star wars fan), even Darth Vader has a friendster account!

I’m exaggerating.

But really, it’s the “in” thing nowadays.

You go to all these internet café’s and you will see people checking their sites if their friends or “crushes” or boyfriends sent them some glittering comments or quotes.

Most of all you will see different “profiles” with different designs and different features.They beautify their sites for it to be attractive. And if it’s attractive, some strangers will look at it and boom! A new friend comes along.That’s what I call virtual socialization.

I enjoy it; in fact I have couple of accounts too. That’s why I wrote this blog.

So, what’s the lesson for today?

Simple, as the title says, pimp your profile. Make your life beautiful. Be attractive.

If you’re still single and you feel God has taken you for granted because He didn’t give you the man of your dreams, well sister, if you keep on waiting for signs and stuff, you will end up just as that, dreaming. Make your self attractive, dress well and for sure somebody will notice you.

If you’re in a relationship, beautify it too, go on exciting dates, instead on focusing on your intimacy and eventually developing sexual urges, go into sports, or any activities that will lead you away from sexual intimacies.

If you’re in high school, don’t rush up with having relationships. You are still young, instead, develop you talent have as many friends as possible. Do your chores at home with a twist. Don’t waste your time with one person, the world is so vast so explore it.

See, there is more in this life than all the chaos that we experience. More than the corruption of our government, more than the economic crisis that we are having, more than the diseases that are attacking us.

You know why?

Because we are loved, not just by any kind of lover, but by the one who made us. By the one who from the very beginning of this world never stopped believing in us. We are loved by GOD! He is crazy for us and He wants us to enjoy our life that’s why He sent Jesus so that we can live without worries, everything has been paid. All we have to do is beautify it and touch as many lives as possible, yes just like what we do in friendster, we make friends. But always remember, your number one featured friend should be Jesus, not in your account but in your life, for He is the true BFF that we can ever have. He said in John 15, “…I shall not call you servants anymore, for servants do not know what their master is about, but I call you friends since I have known to you everything I learned from the Father.”

Don’t just be a servant, be a friend of God. You will know how it is to love, more.

Enjoy.

God Bless.