Meeting God as a child: Filipinos’ simple spirituality
“ Our understanding of God speaks of a low Christology: the God of the Scriptures, the God who became human like us, and the God who entered our broken human…
Category: Life & Style
Covering the week’s most noteworthy life & style news stories impacting the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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The wonders of Pegan diet
WE are what we eat and drink, philosophically and medically. Diet plays the most significant role in our health and longevity — more than genetics and exercise in most instances….
The Presidential guards and the press
“Once upon a time, the US Secret Service had to be an all-embracing elite force—self-respecting, fearless and valiant. They took charge of the security and decorum of every event that the president…
Santo Niño and our childlike faith
A MAN was inside a church kneeling in front of a big statue of Santo Niño. In his prayer, he said: “Santo Niño, please help me win the lottery. I…
The woman in black
IT happened faster than it took her to draw a breath. Anybody can become a widow—there are no special qualifications. It did not require planning to become a wife, mother, or…
Beauty is simply skin-deep that could either be enhanced or altered
THE most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion, which is hard to find and never sold. Makeup simply defies the degradations of time and not the marks of life’s…
A review of popular health news
LOOKING back in review, there was some fascinating news in medicine in 2015 — a few of them controversial, especially infectious diseases and cancer screening and prevention. E-cigarettes more dangerous…
Oh, if I were a man
A woman is not spared from humiliation, servitude and abuses. She could get raped in a dark street. She has to make use of a pretty face to be accepted…
Aboard a floating carnival
THE most interesting about spending time in an ocean voyage is that it is purely relative. Like a fragment in space, a moment is in time. We sailed in the…
Revisiting Filipinos’ devotion to the Black Nazarene
I FOUND myself in the middle of a wave of people, mostly young men, parading barefoot before the image of the Black Nazarene. We were like bees or small fish…
One Sunday at FACLA
BBM-USA Chairman Fernandico Q. Gonong guided his guest, Greggy Araneta through a throng of folks, men and women alike, swathed in all shades of red. It was not a social…
The Master Showman’s curtain fell with finality
THE fangs of death could be dreadful especially for one whose faith isn’t strong enough to enable him to either come face to face with his Creator or cushion his…
Writing an unchaste novel
Do we seriously think writing is all joy? It is also half pain. Sometimes it is pain that makes us write. Think about the atrocious solitude of a room that…
When is writing not a joy?
DO we seriously think writing is all joy? It is also half pain. Sometimes, it is pain that makes us write. Think about the atrocious solitude of a room that…
A strong message this new year from Pia!
PIA Wurtzbach, the newly crowned Miss Universe, the latest pride of the Philippines, has become a celebrity with her interviews on almost every television channel here in the US. Her…
Greggy Araneta’s winsome drop by at the BBM-USA Assembly
LOS ANGELES—We had big excitements in our neighborhood at the Historic Filipinotown last Sunday, Jan. 4. There were predictable enthusiasm, pleasant surprises and enterprising constancy. Most astonishingly, what we learned…
Prayer in time of transition
“FROM that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:23) Many of us are deeply concerned about the things that…
Yoga for beginners
From the Sankskrit root “yuj” which means “to yoke,” yoga is an ancient practice and philosophy promoting inner peace by joining the spirit and physical body together. The physical postures…
Filipino singing superstars on the international stage
EVEN before the advent of reality talent show competitions on TV, we had capably established and stamped our distinct mark, as Filipinos, in the international music scene. The unprecedented record…
Rizal, the Literateur
HIS country absorbed him as affectionately as he absorbed it. His poems are easy to read, even to sing, to take to heart and put meaning into its ability to…
A haphazard scrutiny and pragmatic dissertation on Philippine pageantry
IT has been weeks after the worldwide telecast of the Miss Universe 2015 staged at the Axis of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas last December 20 which…
BBM-USA: A quest for a legacy
A FEW Ilocanos together gathered one Tuesday night, around six until over just before midnight, while the hardcore stayed up till 2 am. The spirit of Ilocandia joined us that…
A New Year’s reflection
SOME friends invited me to go out with them for breakfast after a Simbang Mass. I accepted their invitation without hesitation so that I could spend time with them before…
Making 2016 the best year yet
Hello kababayans. It’s that time again when we resolve to change some of our habits for good. We’re naturally feeling optimistic with the arrival of a new year, a cosmic…
Cheers to a new year!
Across America, given the fractured state of our collective hearts, attempts to embrace the New Year will be paddled with reverence, or a little whoop, a bit of holler and…
Sylvia Labial Avanceña Buhian: Her life beyond being a cancer survivor
Cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, is the second most common cause of death in the US and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths in 2012 based from the World Health…
2016 wish list
In every wish, there will be glimpses of kind virtues, to encourage and console. It could be something modest or even mundane, something fantastic or utterly practical. It can take…
Reflecting on a Simbang Gabi homily
MANY Filipinos worldwide posted pictures of Simbang Gabi Masses on social media such as Facebook. Their photos showed happiness, harmony and contentment. There were even pictures of parishioners attending Simbang…
The uninvited celebrant: Where’s the birthday boy?
WHEN international celebrity Marilyn Monroe, in her sexy tight-fitting gold gown that hugged her shapely figure, sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President,” in May 1962, the attention of the world was…
A Christmas wish
A week before Christmas, we’re crammed with Christmas wishes, checking them twice, the naughty or the nice part. It is a seasonal splendor of a heart’s wish for Christmas. I…