Loreto
“I have come to see that every Hail Mary, every greeting to Our Lady, is a new beat of a heart in love.” - St. Josemaria I have been to Italy a number of times but never gotten the chance to visit Loreto, a hill town...
Category Archives: Across Cultures
Martyrdom
I should like to seal with my blood the virtues and truths which I have preached and taught.” ―St. Anthony Mary Claret Work-related migration will continue to be an issue that families and communities face given current trends in globalization and inequality in economic opportunities in...
May as the month for Heritage
“As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer.” — William Shakespeare Prior to the declaration of the month of May as National Heritage Month (Presidential Proclamation No. 439), I have always looked forward to May, a month...
From a Forest in La Vang
“From this day on, prayers said on this spot will be heard – and answered.” - Our Lady at La Vang, 1798 I was recently in Hue City in Vietnam for the International Conference on Religious Tourism. While the event was rich with opportunities to learn,...
Kakanin
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” ― Charles Dickens Christmas holds such a special place in people’s hearts that in anticipation, countdowns are observed. In the Philippines, it is now a common practice for mainstream media to...
Kingship
“Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude; And in the calmest and most stillest night, With all appliances and means to boot, Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down! Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” ―...
The Column
Zaragoza is a less popular destination compared to the first cities we visited in Spain. Although considered a pilgrimage site, seasoned pilgrims would prefer to follow the road to Santiago de Compostela, the burial site of St. James the Apostle, which UNESCO declared a world...
Two Davaoeñas
Davao is an ideal city template for the practice of unity amidst diversity. Besides the Visayan settlers who now compose the majority of the people in Davao, also present in the city are migrants from Luzon and other countries, as well as 11 ethnolinguistic groups:...
At the Foothills of Mt. Apo
“Some days he climbed over the foothills of indifference to see the landscape of his life and future for what it was: mappable, traversable, achievable.” - Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King I have lived my childhood in Davao, and in its entirety, have considered...
Wings
UP Manila just had its first face-to-face Recognition Rites since the COVID pandemic last July 26, 2022, and to the delight of both students and members of the faculty, the venue was no less than the newly renovated Manila Metropolitan Theater. The Manila Metropolitan Theater is...