Hello, Dalai

A few years ago, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama said that when he turns 90, he would decide whether he should be reincarnated. I suppose some of us have a choice.

The Dalai Lama is now 85 and CNN believes that when the Dalai Lama dies, his reincarnation will be a religious crisis.

When the current Dalai Lama shuffles off this mortal coil most observers believe the Chinese Communist Party will attempt to pick the 15th incarnation.

Should the D.L. choose to reincarnate, he says the responsibility for locating the 15th D.L. rests with a group he founded, the Gaden Phodrang Trust.

As I wrote in June, 2015, the D.L. as gone so far as to hint that the 15th D.L. might be an attractive blonde female. At the time, quite a few progressive, Western Buddhists took offense to the D.L.'s "sexist" remarks. I'm surprised he hasn't been cancelled.

According to the CNN report, in December 2020, the US threatened to sanction any Chinese government officials who chose a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama over the wishes of the Tibetan people. Of course, that was when Trump was POTUS and I'm sure POTUS Biden will soon sign an executive order overriding that - if he hasn't already done so.

No Via Crucis in 2020

Today is Good Friday, and normally in Philippines we'd be participating in a massive Via Crucis procession. This is my fifth Good Friday in Sibulan, and I've been looking forward to joining the procession again this year. This was to be my sixth Via Crucis in a row, and my seventh total. The first one I attended was during our visit in 2007.

Unfortunately, this year's Via Crucis was canceled due the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) brought about in response to the covid19 pandemic.

To my understanding, this is the first time the Via Crucis has been canceled nation wide. I don't know if even an isolated, local procession has ever been canceled, for that matter.

No Palm Sunday Masses; no Maundy Thursday observance. It's not been a typical Holy Week in Philippines.

Unless extended by the provincial Governor, the ECQ is scheduled to be over by the end of next week. It's unfortunate that the 14 days that the authorities believed was needed to stem the advance of the virus had to include Holy Week.

Let's hope life returns to normal soon, and we have a wonderful Holy Week in 2021.

Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf

Two weeks ago, I recommended George W. M. Reynolds' novel Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf. I stand by my recommendation albeit with a word of warning to the 21st century reader.

The novel was first published, in installments, almost 175 years ago. As reading was, in most cases, the only distraction available to the average person during the19th century, novels of that period tended to have more elaborate plots than novels written today. The stories just seemed to go on and on. That's certainly the case with Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf. Characters aren't just mentioned in passing; it seems every character in the novel has a detailed story that needs to be told.

I actually wonder why the novel was named after the Wehr-Wolf. If we calculate the space given to each character, I doubt Wagner would be number one. That honor might very well go to Nisida—the deaf and dumb daughter of Count of Riverola.

I don't know of Reynold's religious affiliation, but I suspect that like most of his English contemporaries, Reynolds may have been a Protestant. He doesn't appear to have much love for the Catholics in the novel - he's more tolerant of the Jewish and Moslem characters.

The most surprising turn in the novel, from my perspective, was the appearance of the founder of the Rosicrucian Order, Christian Rosenkreuz (spelled Christian Rosencrux in the novel).

I'm not about to give spoilers, but note that should you be inclined to read this novel, be prepared for a long read.

Route of This Year's Via Crucis in Sibulan

For the 5th year in a row, I participated this morning, in the Good Friday Via Crucis procession, which starts at the St. Anthony of Padua parish church in Sibulan. It began at 4:30 AM.

To the best of my knowledge, there are two routes for the Via Crucis in Sibulan - either thru Brgy. Magatas and Brgy. Tubtubon or a route which goes mostly thru Brgy. Cangmating and parts of Maslog.

Last year, the Via Crucis went thru Cangmating. This time, as seen in the photo to the left, we went thru Magatas and Tubtubon. Today's procession took a little less than three hours.

The image at the end of this post shows the two routes side by side. The two images are not scaled.

House Rules Might Now Allow Hijab on House Floor.

Normally, I tend not to disagree with Rush Limbaugh very often, but I believe that with a recent Facebook post, he's needlessly causing a fuss over nothing.

When posting a link to his comments on Democrats' plans to change a House rule that bans the wearing of hats on the House Floor, in order to accommodate Minnesota Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar, a Muslim who wears a headscarf, he added this line above the Facebook entry :

"A 181-year-old rule in the House of Representatives says no religious head wear may be worn. She’s the one challenging that."

Naturally, thousands of comments were left on that post - most probably ridiculous and over the top. Of course, I didn't read all of the more than five thousand comments, but those I did read were highly critical of changing the 181 year old rule in order to accommodate a Muslim - separation of Church and State and all that.

If one were to take a moment to do a bit of research, it becomes pretty clear that the ban has nothing at all to do with "religious headwear". Put simply, it's a ban on hats and all head coverings while on the House floor.

I don't really see the harm in allowing female Muslim members of the House of Representatives to wear a head scarf, if they choose to wear one. That's contrary to one comment, however, which reads:

"She will brazenly wear her hijab. And NO ONE will stop her. Muslim Privilege. IT will be the DEMISE of America and Western Civilization".

There were also comments on the (current) ban on yarmulkes, like this one:

"Why do we have to change our rules/laws to accommodate when Jewish members never asked asked [sic]."

I'm no authority on Jewish law, but it is my understanding that there is considerable debate as to whether or not wearing a yarmulke at all times is required. I'm quite sure that, had a Jewish member of the House felt he was required to wear one, he would have been accommodated.

The current ban would also apply to House members wanting to wear baseball caps in support of their local team. House members from Massachusetts can't wear Red Sox caps to celebrate their team winning the World Series this year. That would probably suit the New York and Los Angeles Representatives just fine.

I'm sure the rule change will be supported by all House Democrats - there may be some grumble from a few House Republicans. The shoe would've been on the other foot, so to speak, had a newly elected House member asked to have the ban dropped in order to allow him to wear his MAGA cap.

It would then be the Democrats supporting the 181 year old tradition.

This Year's Via Crucis

For the 4th year in a row, I participated in the Good Friday Via Crucis, which starts at the St. Anthony of Padua parish church in Sibulan. It began at 4:30 AM.

 Like last year, this year's Via Crucis headed off toward the north, but soon turned to the left, before getting back onto the National Highway, going south. We turned off the highway again at Maslog school.

The route continued thru Barangay Cangmating, arriving back at the church.

The map shows my crude attempt at tracing the outline of this year's route. The white spot at the top indicates the approximate location of the church. According to the pedometer app on my phone, the distance traveled was 6.01 kilometers (3.73 miles).

At about the 3rd station, I was able to get within a few feet of the priest and the men who were taking turns carrying the cross. I wanted to remain near them throughout the walk. This wasn't easy. It wasn't that the priest was walking particularly fast, but people would appear out of nowhere and wedge themselves between me and the group I was attempting to follow. Of course, the ones directly in front of me would always slow down, forcing me to find a path around them.

Two hours after it began, the Via Crucis passed in front of my apartment. I fetched my camera for a few shots.

Urbain Grandier

In was in the early 1980s that I first learned of Urbain Grandier, a 17th century French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake, after being found guilty of witchcraft in a case involving "demonic possession" of nuns in the town of Loudun, France. One of the cable movie channels (Showtime, Cinemax, or HBO) was running the 1971 Ken Russell film, The Devils. The film was based on the 1952 non-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley, The Devils of Loudun.

Being curious, I went on a search for Huxley's book. A copy of the book was supposed to be available at my local public library, but I was told that the book was frequently stolen when placed on the shelf. There was a copy available behind the main desk, but it could not be checked out. The book could only be read in the library.

Fortunately for me, there was a very nice used book store in town. The owner could find any book - for a price, of course. I purchased a copy from her. I cannot say what became of the book.

I bring this up now because the story of Grandier is told in volume four of Alexandre Dumas' Celebrated Crimes. Sadly, the series could have been entitled Celebrated Crimes by Christians. A good many of the crimes described by Dumas illustrate the horrors committed by some using God's name.

According to a Wikipedia article, the French historian Jules Michelet discussed Grandier in a chapter of La Sorcière. An English translation of La Sorcière is available at Project Gutenberg. That book is now on my list of books to read in 2018.

The Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki wrote an opera, Die Teufel von Loudun based on the story. I was unable to find a copy of the opera on Spotify - although many of Penderecki's works are - but a TV version of the opera can be found on Youtube.

National Catholic Reporter Should Become National Islamic Reporter

I mentioned in Friday's post that the high cost of electricity here on Negros island, and the surprisingly large amount of electricity used by my PC, has put a dent in the time I've been spending on the computer lately. That has naturally put a crimp in my blogging.

I haven't been totally absent from the Internet, however. My iPhone uses a relatively small amount of electricity, so checking my email and Facebook hasn't been a problem. I can even read my favorite blogs on the iPhone.

Earlier today, I was visiting the creativeminorityreport and going through their blog links. Unfortunately, most of the links go to blogs that haven't had an updated post in years, or in some cases to blogs that no longer exist.

One of the blog links that is still active and current is to Dymphna's Road. In a post from Saturday, Dymphna provides a link to a "distasteful article from National Catholic Reporter" entitled "The Muslim Jesus provides common ground for Christianity, Islam".

The writer of this particular article bemoans the increase of "Islamaphobia" in Trump's America. The writer tries to bring together Christians and Muslims by letting Christians know in what high regard the Quran places Jesus.

The writer mentions that the Quran refers to Jesus as "Spirit from God, "Word from/of God", "Prophet-Messenger of God," and the "Messiah" who will come back on the Day of Judgment to destroy the Antichrist. He goes on to write that "naturally there are theological differences between Muslims and Christians regarding Jesus" but fails to mention that Islam teaches that Jesus was "the precursor to Muhammad" and a prophet, not God incarnate, nor the Son of God. He also fails to mention that Islam teaches that Jesus was not crucified nor raised from the dead.

The idea that "the Muslim Jesus provides common ground for Christianity, Islam" is an insult to Christianity. The writer, obviously does not understand the teachings of Christianity.

Next on the Reading List

Here in Sibulan, our electricity comes from a geothermal power station located less than 15 miles from our home. In spite of the fact that it is geothermal, the electricity here is very expensive.

After looking at our meter, I've discovered that my PC uses a tremendous amount of power - much more than I would have imagined. Consequently, I've been using my PC less than I have been. That is partly why I haven't posted anything on to my blog recently. I can check my email and Facebook using the less costly iPhone, but blogging with the phone isn't my cup of green tea.

Having finished books 1 and 2 of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, and finding book to be incredibly boring, I've gone back to reading Elizabeth von Arnim. I've just finished my tenth novel by her for this year (having read 1 of her novels in late 2016). I've begun on #11 - The Enchanted April. As only 12 of her novels are available for download at Project Gutenberg, this will be the last of her novels for me this year, unless, perhaps more will be available at a later date - copyright laws differ from country to country; I'll check to see if any of her novels are available on Canadian or Australian websites.

Breaking from my recent habit, when I've finished this last novel by von Arnim, I will read 2 printed, paper books - Volumes I and II of Sister Lucia's Fatima memoirs. I was reading these memoirs in 2005 when Sister Lucia died. These two books are among those cloth and paperback books shipped to Philippines via balikbayan box when we moved to Philippines in 2014.

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, August 15, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a holy day of obligation for Catholics.

In celebration of Mary's Assumption, the students of St. Paul's University of Dumaguete, held a procession from the school to the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Dumaguete city - a distance of about 1 3/4 miles.

The students gathered at the school at 4:30 this morning. The plan was for the students to attend Mass at the cathedral after the procession. Classes would not commence until after 8:30 (normally starting at 7:00 AM) and I was to pick up my son after Mass and bring him home for breakfast before taking him back to the school. I had not idea when Mass was scheduled to begin or end, so rather than return home after dropping him at the school at 4:30, I drove to the cathedral, parked the car and waited for the students. I needed to fulfill the obligation as well, so I'd attend the Mass with the students.

I arrived at the Cathedral around 4:40 AM, thinking I'd sit quietly in the church. I was not aware that there would be a 5:00 AM Mass before the procession arrived. This Mass was given by the Bishop, said in Bisaya, and attended by approximately 60 people (more or less).

The 5:00 AM Mass ended just before 6:00 - a few minutes before the students began to arrive. I was able to get a few photographs.

Fortunately for me, this 6:00 AM Mass for St. Paul students was said in English.

 

Not My Piggies

Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is June 13th, is the patron saint of Sibulan, Negros Oriental. The feast day is the biggest event in the Sibulan calendar (with the exceptions of Christmas and Holy Week). Just like last year - and countless years before - the people in the town will be celebrating with lechon baboy.

Days before the feast, farmers will gather as close to the poblacion area as possible in order to sell pigs properly sized for roasting. The ones in this photo are not mine. This is the first pregnancy for both my swine. After this, I will attempt to time their pregnancies to allow be to have lechon size pigs ready for different festivals.

Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Siaton - Part Two

As I mentioned in a post earlier today, this is the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima Portugal to Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Not long after publishing the earlier post, my wife, my son and I - along with my wife's mother and our domestic helper - drove to the Our Lady of Fatima shrine in Siaton, Negros Oriental.

There had been a procession and Mass early this morning before we arrived. After walking about, taking photos, we sat inside the shrine and began a rosary. We hadn't finished the 2nd Joyful mystery when a public Rosary began. Unfortunately for me, it was not in English.

When the Rosary was finished, we climbed the stairs going up the hill to the large statue of the Blessed Mother overlooking the shrine. (I had walked to the statue when we first arrived, but decided to do it again with everyone else).

While at the shrine, I used my I-phone to get the coordinates in order the add the location on to Google Maps.

I'm thinking of returning to the shrine on the 13th day of each month until October for the 100th anniversary of the final apparition.

Fatima Shrine Siaton Philippines

Today, May 13, 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima Portugal to Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto.

Later this morning, we will be driving the the Fatima Shrine in Siaton, Negros Oriental Philippines. According to Google Maps. the trip should take one and a half hours. Naturally, I'll take photos of the shrine.

We have never traveled there before, and I don't know how many visitors travel there on a normal Saturday. I suspect there to be quite a crowd to because of the anniversary.

I'll be writing more on this tomorrow after our journey.

Uncle Silas and Swedenborg

Having finished Elizabeth Arnim's delightful and charming novel, Princess Priscilla's Fortnight, I've decided to turn in another direction for reading material.

I've begun reading Uncle Silas, by the Victorian Gothic mystery writer Sheridan Le Fanu. This will be the second of Le Fanu's novels that I've read; his vampire novel Carmilla was the last book I read in 2015.

In Uncle Silas, one of the main characters, Austin Ruthyn is a follower of the Christian mystic (and some might say heretic) Emanuel Swedenborg. I'm very early into the novel and while Austin Ruthyn is a bit mysterious and creepy, it's too early to know exactly how Le Fanu may have felt about Swedenborg. I personally had never heard of Swedenborg until coming across this novel and I thought it best to read a little about the man to fully understand Uncle Silas. I don't think, however it will be necessary for me to read any of Swedenborg's work - his wikipedia article will do just fine.

This is Not a Catholic Priest

It doesn't matter what The Charlotte Observer says about it, the woman in the accompanying photo is not a Roman Catholic priest.

There is no such thing as a female priest in the Catholic church and according to the last three Popes there will never be.

Jerusalem - Part Two

I'm three quarters through Selma Lagerlöf's Jerusalem. I knew I would enjoy reading this novel after reading Elizabeth von Arnim's praise of it in her novel Christine. I haven't been disappointed. The wikipedia description of Jerusalem follows:

"The narrative spans several generations in the 19th century, and focuses on several families in Dalarna, Sweden, and a community of Swedish emigrants in Jerusalem. It is loosely based on a real emigration that took place from the parish of Nås in 1896."

The true to life emigration in 1896 involved a group of Swedish co-religionists - what we might call a cult today. In the novel, the majority of the families in Dalarna, Sweden are Lutheran and the introduction of this messianic Protestant sect into the area disrupts life in the town. Families are torn apart and friendships end.

In the introduction to Jerusalem Henry Goddard Leach quotes Swedish composer Hugo Emil Alfvén's description of Lagerlöf -

"Selma Lagerlöf is like sitting in the dusk of a Spanish cathedral.......afterward one does not know whether what he has seen was dream or reality, but certainly he has been on holy ground."

An apt description.

Dumaguete's Chinese Bell Church

I've been residing outside Dumaguete for three years, and before moving here, I had traveled here - off and on - for nearly 17 years. I was certain that I knew all there was to know about the city and its sights. However, I was very surprised, recently to learn of the Chinese Bell Church.

The church is located in an area where I hadn't roamed until a few weeks ago, and I probably would never had discovered the church had it not been for the repair work being done on one of the bridges that crosses the Banica River. It was while taking this detour that I first spotted the Chinese Bell Church.

This afternoon, I drove out to the church for photos - I took more than 75 photos. Of course, I won't be posting all of those here.

Naturally, I wanted to post a few of these onto the Google Maps website. In addition to these sample photos, I'm also including a map to the church which can be found following the photos below.