Would you forgive your own would-be killer? Last night, an Italian news channel aired a recent interview with Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981. Some reports said that after the shooting, John Paul II asked the people to “…pray for my brother (Agca), whom I have [...]
Season of Silence
I have attended quite a number of celebrations in St. Peter’s Basilica and it was always a joy to see the pope in person. Now it’s an agony just to even look at pics of him grimacing in pain. Pope John Paul II’s pontificate has entered a new phase, which some in the Italian media [...]
My Thesis on Participatory Communication
My thesis for my course in Mass Communications focuses on participatory communication. It particularly examines participatory radio and video as processes and tools for dialogue and empowerment. It is grounded on two assumptions: (1) that the process (the act of people coming together to decide who they are, what they want and how they will [...]
How to Know Who Links to Your Blog
Have you ever wondered who added your blog to their links? While your sitemeter will tell you how many visitors you have and for how long they stay, the popularity and relevance of your blog can also be determined by the number of other blogs that link to it. There are people who’d ask your [...]
Easter Sunday
I spent the entire afternoon with about 30 other pinoys in Rome. We had mass at 4:00pm to celebrate Easter Sunday. After the Eucharistic celebration we had a little salu-salo and lots of chikahan. We chatted about anything – from how the pansit tasted to how their Italian employers treated them. The pinoy migrant workers’ [...]
Holy Saturday
I just came from St. Peter’s Basilica where I attended the Easter Vigil celebration. The basilica was chock-full of people that even nuns had to squat on the floor during the readings. The Vigil began with the traditional service of light at the atrium. The readings, which were in different languages, recalled how God made [...]
Good Friday
I went out to do a "visita iglesia" this morning. My first stop was the Basilica di Sta. Maria Maggiore. Inside the church I saw more tourists taking pictures than devotees praying. These candelas are not made of wax. They are electrical lights that are made to look like candlesticks. You insert 50 cents into [...]
Maundy Thursday
She is my friend Evelyn. I happened to meet her this afternoon at the Basilica di Santa Pundenziana. Tradition has it that the basilica was built on the house where St. Peter the apostle was given hospitality when he was in the Eternal City. At present Santa Pudenziana is the home of Sentro Pilipino, the [...]
Holy Wednesday – The Caged Jesus
Jesus is randomly portrayed as Superstar, King, Judge, Legend, Son, Punisher, Lord, Ruler, Savior… the list is virtually endless. My most favorite image is that of Jesus who identified himself with the poor, the powerless, and the oppressed. Life stories of the saints abound with testimonies about how Jesus appeared to them as a beggar, [...]




