Faculty from the Dept. of English & Communication: Dennis G. Infante (Chair); Mrs. Josie Cunanan (former Chair); Virgie Bautista (Vice Chair); Ms Remy Janda (ESL Coordinator);
Mr. Jojo Dingal; Ms May Dulalas-Diongon and Mr. Robert Guzman
The faculty from the College of Arts & Sciences during the Retreat in Baguio City.
WE hold retreat every year to remind ourselves of the most important things we value in life. Last April 2-4, our retreat was held in
Our retreat master, so far, is the best one. Unlike other retreat masters, this one (but sorry, I don’t remember his name)didn’t bore us to too much prayers and didn’t insult us with too many jokes. Instead, he was able to balance among prayer, inspirational songs, anecdotes and content.
PRAYER
The retreat provided the best time to find real silence where communication with God is possible. The retreat master set the mood for prayer in silence. He even encouraged all of us to stop for two minutes every day and pray for each other. This is a good suggestion. Wouldn’t it be great to know that some people are praying for us? Actually, because of this suggestion, I also requested my whole family to allot night time (before bed time) for a family prayer. I taught my kids to pray but we usually do this on our own. I told them to pray every night but we don’t really pray together. After the retreat I realized it’s a good idea to start having a daily family prayer so that the kids would also have stronger faith in God.
INSPIRATIONAL SONGS
Who could ever thought of God when the song Forevermore is played on air? Forevermore by the Side A band is my all-time favorite love song but every time I listen to the song, I think of my husband J. Then the retreat master sang the song with God in mind. And I guess, it’s a good idea --- to say “You’re all I need to be with forevermore” to God made it an inspirational one. Oo nga naman, to those who have strong faith in God, there’s no one else who could make them want to live their lives with but God.
ANECDOTES
The short stories he told us not necessarily sounded so true but his stories, particularly those about himself, might lift the spirit. I actually was reminded of the most important things in life: time, family, and most especially God. I used to think that family is the center of my life. But at one point, I thought, during the retreat, my family may soon leave me. The only one who would never leave me is the One who’s up there – listening to and watching over me.
CONTENT
The retreat master talked about the DEATH culture which destroys people’s faith and values. DEATH refers to divorce, euthanasia, abortion, t ______ (I forgot) and homosexuality. Well, obviously, he was speaking for the church and I am very much aware of what the church says about these issues. I don’t believe in everything he said about the DEATH culture, of course. But it’s good to be reminded of all these things that are happening in the world. He had one good point which I won’t forget: He said that the main reason for the weakening of values among Filipinos is their exposure to the commercialized world created by the powerful countries to the third world countries. His example was the use of contraceptives. He said that the commercialized world will always support the use of contraceptives because “there’s no money in being faithful.” Oo nga naman, who will gain profit if all the people are faithful? What can be sold kaya that would promote fidelity? He even said, “Simple lang naman yan, kung hindi mo asawa, magtigil ka!” I think he has a point here.
Most values get weakened because of the media exposure of the people. It is important to track the media exposure of the people because the media content is influenced by the people who have hidden agenda in using the media. One specific example is the TV commercial for Frenzy. This brand of condoms targets the youth – the fact that the models in the ad are teenagers and the ad says, “When she’s in the mood, you’ve got to be ready.” So what does this imply? It’s simple: teenagers are free to engage in pre-marital sex as long as they are using condoms in order for the girl not to be pregnant. OMG. MY daughter would soon be a teenager and this kind of message is something that I don’t want my kids to be exposed to. Constant exposure to such messages can actually influence the viewers into believing that the message is true although it is not. Oh well, it’s a matter of values. That’s exactly the point. The country should guard against any action that would demoralize the values of the Filipinos.
But going back to the retreat content, I appreciate the effort of the retreat master to read and share what he read to us. Most retreat masters do not really include any information that they have read. Some just want us to pray all day; some just tell funny stories.
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