MARGIENARY

I was listening to the last three lectures on my course in TheologyII which is a study on the doctrine of glorification, one of the major themes in the process of salvation when I came across this analogy of the sun and moon and glory. "We know that the sun is a source of light. It is because of the intense combustion which takes place in it that the sun produces both light and heat. The moon by contrast is a dead body in which there is no heat on the surface and in which there is no intrinsic light. But the moon does appear as lighted because it reflects the light of the sun. The glory of the moon therefore is reflecting the glory of the sun by reflecting the rays that come upon it and sending them on toward those who are of service upon the earth. This is exactly the situation of the Christian in this life already to some extent, but even more fully at the point of the ultimate consummation of the purpose of salvation. For in heaven indeed, our major purpose will be to g...

I heard one lady from a minority tribe down under in NZ told a Hawaiian presenter to let the art of hula dancing die peacefully rather than having people who do not belong to the culture, and who do not understand the heart of the art, perform it for the sake of entertaining foreigners and tourists at hotels. She said that performing an art outside of its original context will not revitalize the culture but rather it is short of turning the art into something like a dead piece of stone on a shelf in a museum. That comment made me wonder, is that what we are doing with our culture? In our effort to preserve our dances by performing them at school and other festivities, are we actually uprooting these dances from their meaningful place in our culture and history? Much of the Kalanguya (and probably other Igorots) dances are performed in a specific occasion, for a particular purpose. Much of their meanings are associated with our animistic religions except probably for our wedding d...

Author Unknown A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right off he was crazy. He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale. I told him he had a funny idea of beauty. Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful. That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country ...

For countless times last week, I blurted out the phrase, "...and I'm an Igorota!" Then one insomniatic night I thought, "Ain't I becoming too proud of my ethnicity?" Is that possible? (I'm just wondering... cuz I didn't get to hear my classmates say, I'm Ilocano, I'm Tagalog,.. except for the Japanese, the Korean and the Mongolian.) (It so happened that last week consisted of first days in class so every time you get into a room, or meet new people, there was a need to intro the self.)

I'm at school again!  Yes, I am!  I like school! :-)  One of my courses this semester is Greek I.  Last Thursday was our first day, and Greek 1, being my last subject for the week was a breath of fresh air.  Last Thursday, we learned our alphabet.  It wasn't too different from the way our teachers taught ABC in first grade.  So Greek is my favorite subject so far, although the professor likes to pick on me just because I am a Bible Translator. Funny thing is, there are only two ladies in the group and we seem to be more linguistically inclined than the rest of the male population of our class.  Of course I am biased because I am one of the two.    My only worry is that our professor is one of those who like to talk a lot; lots of ad libs and sidetracks on every other Greek letter we learn, when all I wanted to do is to plunge right into the subject matter.  Well, I'm sure it will work out just fine but I can't help my m...

I'm at school again! Yes, I am! I like school! :-) One of my courses this semester is Greek I. Last Thursday was our first day, and Greek 1, being my last subject for the week was a breath of fresh air. Last Thursday, we learned our alphabet. It wasn't too different from the way our teachers taught ABC in first grade. So Greek is my favorite subject so far, although the professor likes to pick on me just because I am a Bible Translator. Funny thing is, there are only two ladies in the group and we seem to be more linguistically inclined than the rest of the male population of our class. Of course I am biased because I am one of the two. My only worry is that our professor is one of those who like to talk a lot; lots of ad libs and sidetracks on every other Greek letter we learn, when all I wanted to do is to plunge right into the subject matter. It's hard enough to learn a new ABC where the P is read as R and the V as N. Another subject which I decided to be my s...

(The following is something forwarded by a friend.  I'm posting it cuz I think it can encourage some of us, and it's a nice read too.)  A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force it's body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the ...

Last Monday, my sis, myself, and a few colleagues from the NPMTTA (Northern Philippines Mother Tongue Translators' Association) flew to Bangkok for the Conference on Language Development and Multilingual Education. It was jointly sponsored by UNESCO, UNICEF, SEAMEO (Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization), SIL, Mahidol University in Bangkok, and a few other notable international organizations. Other than the fact that I did not get to see any of the Bangkok Sights, the conference was a success as far as I am concerned. I came home with lots of plans and acquaintances that would help make a go of those plans. Well, just one plan actually, but it entails a lot of workforce and more planning. We were able to network with people from the Philippines (people whom one can't just approach readily here in the country) especially key people from DepEd who can help us kickstart the 'correct' multilingual education; i.e. first language first education in my tribe. I sa...

Last Monday, my sis, and a few colleagues from the NPMTTA (Northern Philippines Mother Tongue Translators' Association) flew to Bangkok for the Second