William and Kate marry!
"Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves."
The same afternoon we got back from the office outing, I kept my tired eyes open just to watch the royal wedding in BBC. From a shallow point of view, the parade of hats made me long for the hats I owned (and lost) and Kate’s Alexander Mcqueen wedding dress reminisce old world charm when Hollywood star Grace Kelly’s married the Prince of Monaco. Who wants flowers when you can have trees inside the church?
I’m not a psychic, but I think they have what it takes to make their marriage work. Aside from the fact that they’ve known each other for almost a decade, Kate, I mean Princess Catherine, has gracefully handled the pressure and attention throughout the years while William seem to have grown into a good and decent prince. He could have chosen almost any beautiful upper class girl; she could have her own life and could have dished out insights about the royals for a fortune. From stalking news of the upcoming wedding, it does sound like true love. ;)
Despite the usual reserve the British Royal family exude, the two managed to come across simply as a couple in love, conversing throughout the wedding, beaming at the cheering crowd, exchanging loving glances…you get the picture.
I don’t normally waste my time writing this kind of stuff, but it will go down in history (hopefully not just as the wedding of the century). As it also happens, I believe in the advice Princess Di gave to his son before her death: Marry your best friend. But please don’t just befriend cute and charming guys in hopes you’ll find your match.
Long live the Royal Couple!
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| My favourite part of the wedding: Still holding hands when they made their exit in the balcony. |
*****
Pope John Paul II is beautified
Back in Summer of 2004, I had parked myself in front of the TV and vigilantly watched news from Vatican through CNN. Although he looked so frail, the pope had appeared several times in his balcony waving at the growing crowd in St. Peter’s Square praying for his recovery. Days later, he eventually passed away and I had stationed myself morning ‘til evening in the living room to wait a little bit longer for the white smoke to appear in the Sistine Chapel's chimney…
Nearly six years later, I watch him make the first step to sainthood. Indeed time flies so fast.
Being such a skeptic, I take note of the quick time interval between his death and beautification as compared to many others lined up for sainthood. Commentators mention the existence of a group called the devil’s advocate composed of experts like psychiatrists, doctors and psychologists that aims to disprove miracles as part of a stringent process in declaring who’s going to be venerated. In the Philippines, people line up in objects (second-class relics) that the pope used during his 1995 visit in the Philippines for the World Youth Day, among them the pope mobile once displayed weeks later at the school I went to in Alabang.
It must be special treatment. It would be interesting to have a career in that special group but it has long been dissolved. When they brought the blood of the pope to the altar inside elaborately-styled silver vial case, I though, wow, these people actually reserved his blood for this occasion years ago…
Believe.
“Why do you think did the centurion believed?” My spiritual director asked me when I relayed to him my meditations on the faith of the Roman soldier who asked Jesus to heal his servant by just saying so. After short pause, I lamely told him it was probably because he was powerful and was used to giving commands to his servants who would carry it out immediately. After a moment's breath, I slowly added that it was probably because of love; the love of his people who told him about Jesus and the love he had for his sick servant - love that gave him the confidence to believe. What else would defy reason and motivate us to trust in the absence of any concrete evidence?
Up until now I can’t fully understand even my own answer to his question. For the meantime, I try to suspend my judgement and just believe for a change. So far it is better than to burden myself with too many doubts no earthly wisdom can erase.
"Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed" (John 20:29)
I suppose that instead of considering it as plain ignorance, it may just be a gift, one I have yet to receive after a long time of disbelief.
*****
Bin Laden is dead!
If my mom hadn’t pointed it out, perhaps I wouldn’t have noticed the irony of people rejoicing over someone’s death. It was all over the news, website and social networks – posing updates from Washington, flashing pictures where the ceasefire took place, looking back to the events of 9/11 (I had turned on the TV that fateful morning, flipped through the channels and paused momentarily at one particular scene of a smoking tower, trying to deliberate whether what I was seeing was real or a stunt). I suppose it is a monumental event, but I also fear that this could spark more radical measures as a form of retaliation. And it’s just 2011! No more tsunamis, nuclear plant breakdowns and tornadoes please…
I hate wars. It gives me the chills when people lose their temper and argue over petty issues which are often fueled by how people handle with it and do not actually focus on the problem at hand. Whenever someone release a string of curses and naively think it’s so cool to call someone a b*tch and the like, I’d like to see how would they would actually fare if they were caught in the middle of a ceasefire. *insert sarcastic tone here*
The b*tch culture is in, but it will never be cool. I admit having a hard time sticking to the kind of life I choose for the meantime with all the supposedly cool stuff I could have and do. I see it everywhere, or at least in the net.
I just need to remember what really makes me not just happy but elated. And nope, it is not finding the cutest pair of high-heeled pumps, although that would be awesome acquisition. Maybe if I get to read and watch all the books and movies I had long wanted to watch. Maybe get that one trip I could share with people who matter to me. Maybe hold a hand. Maybe world peace! =)
Hmmm…I have asked too many if not hard questions in this post. I might as well scare people off at this rate. I’ll end this one in a simple question then: what’s your side of the story when all these things happened?
Sources:
Will and Kate pic - http://www.popsugar.com/Kate-Middleton-Prince-William-Royal-Wedding-Pictures-16158967?page=0,0,25
JP2 pic - http://lionswordwriting.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/the-beautification-of-the-late-pope-john-paul-the-second/
Transcript of Royal Wedding Homily - http://www.interaksyon.com/article/2705/full-transcript-bishop-of-londons-sermon-at-the-wedding-of-prince-william-and-kate-middleton
