The Separation of Church and State

No perfection without God



God made Religions many but the Waters that nourish them, God made one.

The LORD when He gifted with Free Will, the First Man, deigned to multiply his freedom - and secure his happiness forever, but caused Adam to grow only upward - unto Him - that He may know of the freedom of God and that God is his Freedom.

This was disrupted by the Devil (but not without the foreknowledge of God) and now we are, for our own safety and the forbearance of all human hope, exiled from our own Eden in a long darkness that is dark because the Truth to each our hearts is now veiled. But we are not without help.

- selah -

Wars of religion and the Remembrance they have - at such a great and terrible cost - afforded all our present generations, are not conflicts that are of the ordinary sense known to our Nations, nor can these Wars be contained by the Power of our States - these Wars, when they are allowed to break into our world and impose its will on the Peace of our Nations, are automatically wars of utter annihilation - their lust for violence, one that  burdens our need of Justice to such an extent that entire peoples lose sight of the Debt we must owe to the Memory of the lost and the fallen, who are our kin forever and responsibility under God as free Nations upon the earth and as such, one that only an act of Heaven - one short of tempting the LORD Himself, can bring to an end.

Religion is a requisite of the life of Man, through religion Man does Justice to God and God deigns to bless with truth, the faith He has sown in the Soul of every Man - the fruits of this intimate encounters from within the Soul of Man brings him to an understanding of Peace and this knowledge nurtures wisdom and the spirit of our humanity is made bright by it - all in its natural course, every variety of Religion musts produce fruits that withstand the darkness of time and the corruption of evil things; their strength, a necessary element of Nationhood, and their natural functioning, integral to the Peace of every Country.

Heaven and Earth can not be one Power (before the Last Day): To preclude the appearance of Wars of religion (and save our posterity from their unbearable burden of Justice) and to preserve the freedom of our religions, in the individual as well as in their necessary corporate exercises in human community, and the blessings of each its noble fruits necessary to the health and well-being of the spirit of our great and honorable Republic, it musts be necessary that Church and State are made distinct in their purpose and power and that their functions especially from within the State remain clear and separate from each other always.
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No religion shall be the State religion of the Republic nor shall the government require religion as a standard among themselves, whether elected or appointed, nor shall religion be a measure of the excellence of public service nor favored over each other in matters of State or through affinities, formal or informal, with any of the Offices Executive, Houses Legislative, Chambers Judiciary, Commissions Constitutional, and each their necessary Institutions and as a whole or through each their individual representations be given to transgress their equality in particular with each other being apart from the Powers and Purposes of the Republic State.

The government of the Republic shall reserve religious freedom as a distinct freedom granted to the exercise of individual choice exclusively and forever prohibit any form of grant within the State and among the religions that prevents or distorts the plurality, the fullness, the harmony, and depth of religious expression in the national community, that together enriches distinctly the human spirit of a common people - each their ageless wisdom strengthening the inherent Truth embodied by our Liberty through a unity in diversity that strengthen the freedoms integral to the functioning of our democracy and necessary to the well-being and civic virtue of a free and enlightened citizenry.

Therefore, religious prejudice, religious hatred, and the carrying on of the dishonors of the divisions that have marked with untold death and terrible suffering the memory of the past in all religions shall be the right or the province of no one.

All places of Religion shall be protected and preserved, all forms of prayer shall be allowed at all times to endure and persevere as a personal recourse - in private and public places together, religious equality and plurality and harmony being recognized and upheld by the government of the State - with neither fear, nor favor, nor prejudice - of or against any and all religions to their fullest expressions granted - save those who endanger these same freedoms and empower the past against which this Separation of Church and State has been established for the safety and progress of the life of the Nation and the Peace of the Republic that stands in its defense forever.

Thus, a Christian is to govern by the fruits of his or her religion and enriched by the common experience of the national community, establish by the virtue of its truth, him or herself in Public Service by a calling to serve all souls without distinction particularly in the State.

As such, the same degree of respect and courtesy of Republic Ideal and Tradition shall be required of faith traditions and their religions when they are likewise called to respond to the same life vocation to serve in the government of the State - to be human beings and citizens to each other alike - without any religious syncretism or hypocrisy but in fullness of truth; a faithful keeper and a loyal servant - bound to each other in peace and kinship by the freedoms that bind us together through all our generations, past, present and future, unto one Nation distinct among one great family of Nations - under God, the LORD, our one Sovereign.

For this is intended the Separation of Church and State - not to cause more confusion but to end it, not to make us vulnerable to the sins of the past, but to repent of it and, God-willing, be ever spared from a recurrence of their insufferable evil in our times and in every present time, preserved by the strength of human community and defended at all times by our Republic, prevailing as citizens together.
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Salutation #59

Dakilang Liwanag,

halina't manahan sa aking kalooban.

Hubugin Mo kami upang maging debotong misyonero/a;

ang maging liwanag sa mundo,

ang maging ilaw sa aming kapwa.

- A Prayer from the Candle Chapel

at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine in Baclaran

(That Point of Forgetfulness)

When in our prayers we forget, we proceed to remember.

- selah -

When in our seeking the LORD in prayer

- our efforts suddenly cease -

and for a moment - just for a moment -

all our thunderous longings, all our anxious needs, all our turbulent wants -

they dissipate like so much gray clouds

into the infinite embrace of God

and there is a calm in thyself

that moment is Peace.

God comes to us and just for a moment;

a mere instant in time - in a twinkling of an eye -

you are struck with the realization that God is and He is God

that moment is Peace.

It is as if one is sitting outside of time and of self,

detached from all thy human worries - in the quiet of thy heart -

when at the rising of thy heart and mind in prayer -

as thy freedom ascends to the freedom of God

every need, every care, every fear is vanquished from thought

and you lose sight of everything - everything but God -

that moment is Peace.

You will ask to stay in that one moment

- forever and for always - and forget everything but God -

immersed in a luminous sea of unconsciousness,

but just as soon as you are in it,

just as soon as you glimpse the limitless vistas of the timeless,

just as soon as you feel yourself wanting to stay -

you emerge back out of the unseen waters

into the dimness of consciousness.

These moments are like desert oases

meant to sustain thee in the wilderness of everyday living.

O my beloved Starshine,

so (just) be with Jesus in the quiet of thy prayer - walk with thy God -

especially at the pauses within Holy Mass, during Holy Communion, in the rosary,

in thy daily commune with thy Creator in His garden of waking dreams

and in thy every prayer of the heart open to wonder.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

And be gentle when you do. Be slow but certain in pace.

For practice makes one patient and patience makes one persevering.

And perseverance in prayer makes prayer perfect.

And not because there is a from of power in thy prayer

but because of the God Who hears all our prayers of the heart.

So persevere in thy prayer, my darling Starshine,

through the longing God plants in thy heart, persevere in thy prayer -

like the dream desires to become itself, persevere in thy prayer -

like the sapling hopes to become the oak, persevere in thy prayer -

like the stars strive for every journey's end, persevere in thy prayer -

like the Night seeks for the Day, like the love pines for the Lover -

shut yourself from the rest of the world and pray.

Remember the calm in the storm?

The Stillness is in the stillness - so be calm -

develop a constant awareness of the God in your life

- be gentle and be certain and be thoughtful -

for the Master is asleep in the vessel of thy heart.

If you feel out of place, if you feel undeserving,

so much more should you feel the need to understand -

- one must pray -

one must pray because one has a need

to pray and to pray well.

It is the needy who calls out and not the satisfied.

And ours is a God of infinite mercies!

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The Love of God in government is the safeguard that preserves the bond that must exist between the Nation and the Responsible State, without it our freedoms become troublesome.

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This is why Tibetan culture is precious -

Wisdom is timeless

who in the midst of darkness

illumines to the one heart of Man the way back into himself

that he may live complete.

"Practice. Practice. Practice."

- The Dalai Lama

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Glory to God the Father!

Adoration to Jesus Christ!

Alleluia, peace be unto our nation

and peace be unto all our nations;

good will to all men and women of Peace.

20111016 PM

Salutation #58

Lead me, Lord Jesus, to where I end and You begin and all these things shall fall into place behind Thee, my God and my All.

(The Peace of Jesus Christ)

The Peace of the LORD escapes human comprehension

- God encompassing God -

but the Peace of Jesus Christ is given to you,

O Beloved Starshine

of the Christian communities from among all the nations,

- as a blessing, a sign, and a promise -

and with it, a joy without limits.

May the Peace of the Lord Christ be to you, a blessing.

For the Peace of Jesus Christ is the one whole peace

unto which All of living creation forever belongs.

May the Peace of the Lord Christ be to you, a promise.

For within it, you acquire a foretaste of the things to come -

the restoration of the reign of God at the consummation of time.

May the Peace of the Lord Christ be to you, a sign.

For through it you gain strength in the unity of all things -

a truth in thy heart that give thy prayers their ascent to God.

Cherish this gift entrusted to you -

embrace it freely and with an understanding spirit

that thou may stand at one with Christ and the victorious hosts of God

against the War in thy own heart

and the divisions wrought by it upon the earth.

Multiply the Peace of the LORD, thy God

- in all thy Churches, in all thy Masses, and in all thy prayers -

that you may pray to God, beloved Starshine,

- united - as one nation among a family of nations.

For the Peace of Jesus Christ is not a cause of division

but of strength for our national communities.

Neither is the Name of Jesus Christ

a source of division, discord, dilution and dissolution

among the nations but of peace!

- selah -

The beginnings of a better world

begins with Jesus Christ in our heart of hearts.

Therefore,

incline thy hearts to Peace -

forsake War today while it is still today.

As it was before must never be again!

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Sunday Evenings

Good evening, the Philippines - mabuhay!

Today's Gospel: Matthew 22: 15-21

To give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar and to God what belongs to God is the usual Biblical reference for the Separation of Church and State.

However, the doctrine of the Separation of Church and State does not mean the exclusion of the reality of Man from the reality of God.

- selah -

To God belongs everything first. Know this, O my nation, and all things shall fall into their proper places before the face of the LORD.

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God never fails -

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus the Lord, I am not the most suitable of persons to proclaim to you the Word of God or the Peace of Jesus Christ which is the Peace of the Times so know ye that I am like you utterly reliant on Jesus Christ!

I know my failings and I know my short-comings and because of these I have no reason to boast and so, my brothers and sisters of the Promise, let me offer to you instead, this one, abiding truth about my little life - our Lord, Jesus Christ, has never failed me - not once!

Truly, my greatest desire is and must always be to serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, in whatever capacity He assigns to me and to fulfill this vocation with a constancy of devotion worthy of the title Christian - an Alter Christus!

Though I want to return to the safety of my previous ignorance of God, there is no more holding back once the Spirit of God calls thee from the heart. How can one resist the one Irresistible!

My refuge now is the LORD!

I must repent of my sins and if I fall a thousand times over, it shall always be the same with me - for I want my repentance to bear fruit for Christ Jesus, my Holy Redeemer, my God, my All - He has never failed me!

It is I who is a constant failure to my Savior. But never again shall I fall into the pits of despair - my Savior has never once failed me!

I have already absolutely determined to give to God what belongs to God - not I but He, I will decrease and He will increase until I am no more - God never fails!

Not I but He - the LORD, He Who Is, He is God and God never fails!

Therefore, if you are a fallen-away Christian of whatever denomination, know this now - come home to Jesus:

Give to God what belongs to God!

Seek a deeper knowledge of thy faith and cling to Jesus Christ believing in the Word despite thy own self and in spite of all things and you will surely come Home in thy heart first and in Eternity with God forever when forever comes around again.

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Before You, O Christ,
I knew only darkness!
I was a child of the void
destined for destruction.
Until Your Spirit came
I knew no Peace, my God.

But You came to me
to make me anew...
I do not understand, LORD,
but You came to me.

And as Thy Love hovered

over the waters of my heart
to calm the raging storm
I began to see... myself.

- excerpted from Foundling

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Everybody have a great working week ahead! Remember, there is always work in the vineyard of the LORD - do not be worldly-wise, be wise with Jesus in thy heart and God in thy world and all will be well for thee - God never fails!

Glory to God the Father!

Adoration to Jesus Christ!

Alleluia, peace be unto our nation

and peace be unto all our nations;

good will to all men and women of Peace.

20110713

Salutation #35

(WYD Madrid - The Peace of Jesus Christ)

We live in a world of contradictions,

a temporal world hidden from the Eternal,

where the One divine reality cause being to exist

and so cause existence to also be meaningful to us

because God is infinitely wise,

incomparably good and full of loving kindness to all His creatures.

We could live in a world of chaos and disorder

where all things and thought in time

float in utter meaninglessness

but the human soul will not do so well

in an environment that is void of spiritual essence.

For like outer space is void of air to breathe,

the soul of a man will suffocate

in a place apart from what God knows is best for us.

So let us praise the LORD and bless His Name!

- selah -

Hear me, Starshine

of the Christian communities from among all our nations!

PEACE, I salute you.

A truly Christian life is a truly human life -

recast in the original purpose of God - in us and for us -

as His image (Love) and likeness (Life) upon the earth,

to be counted among the true living lights of the universe,

the living jewels in the crown of His glory and majesty in all visible creation,

His stewards and co-creators, servants and friends to Him alike;

the preservers of the Sacred Life of all His nations

of the one family of the nations of the children of Mankind.

We are among the many -

as numberless as the stars of our Father Abraham

and allied with the peace of all His nations -

one whole sky.

Rebuild the Church around the Holy Father

and from within thy nations

serve all souls without distinction.

For our Christianity is not a source of division

but of strength for our human communities.

Neither is the Name of Jesus Christ

a source of division, discord, dilution and dissolution

among the nations but of peace.

The beginnings of a better world

begins with Jesus Christ in our heart of hearts.

Therefore,

incline thy hearts to Peace -

forsake War today while it is still today.

As it was before must never be again!

(Refer also to Generation Y)

Viva la Espana!

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The Separation of Church and State in our Republic

As regards to the PCSO issue, I do not think one can completely blame the CBCP for what happened. Though it is painful and disheartening to witness these kinds of issues, my honorable compatriots, it is better to learn the lessons now than later.

We are not yet as established as other Countries after all. I think what history will remember most about this time is how we managed to pull together to make it better in behalf of those generations to come.

We can not look at another Country (better or worse than ourselves) and with false comparisons fail to grasp the reality that is presently confronting our common will of belonging that we must presently confront as a nation. If we do so, we only allow for evil to flourish again in our times.

Therefore, it is not the weight of these present divisions but our will of unity above all that will matter for us in the long run.

I will refer us to the current topic of our monthly exercise.

And bid each one of us to say a quiet prayer invoking God to preserve us from the evil of these present times.

Let us bear in mind and heart, my brother and sister Filipinos, that the healing of the wounds of this nation of ours depends on the strength of individuals.

No generation is ever remembered for the evils they have failed to overcome. And no evil is ever truly overcome by a nation divided against itself.

My own thoughts on the matter is this -

It is just not right for the Church to accept donations from the State.

There must exist a distinct separation between Church (Religion) and State (but not between God and human reality) in our Republic. Because the Church is not part of the Republic per se (i.e. its three elements).

The Church is for the Nation(s) alone and the Nation(s) for the Church.

All honorable religion, in this Republic undertaking of Country, ennobles our politics not through its direct participation but by its constant illumination in the heart of the Nation.

As the Blessed John Paul II taught -

The way of the Church is Man. The way of Man is Christ.

(Refer also to Human Nation)

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Our National Golden Rule

The Faux Golden Rule of Old Compliant -

"Whosoever has the gold rules."

This is the rule of Mammon. Its cohorts are War and greed.

The Golden Rule of Old Defiant -

Our rule of gold shall be the will of the God of old for all His human nations -

"You shall love the LORD, O my people, with everything and in everything."

If we remain with this rule, as a particular undertaking of Country upon the earth, not only shall we become rich, O my nation, we shall become rich indeed.

Let this be our National Golden Rule!

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Christ-centeredness is other-centeredness.

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Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

One Nation

Loving Obedience

20110313

A Call to Christian Vocation

These days, there is a dearth of hearing the Word of God.

The wilderness is still out there in our cities - barren and desolate places they are.

In the built up places of our world, where ordinary people flock for a decent living, we find a desert.

At the very hearts of our nations, there is but a darkness for the altars of the honest labors of everyday human life are broken.

Everywhere, the virgin hope of our common humanity is sacrificed to idols.

Civilization itself has lost its living light.

What say we who understand these things with an understanding of faith?

What say we in the face of the continual desecration of the life of our common humanity?

What say we in the face of the madness of the darkness that deceives the universal patrimony of our nations?

You whose heart is shaken unto a remembrance of these things, whose soul is suddenly awoken at the depths of this winter of our mourning together, what say you?

You who fear God and believe in His faithfulness, what say you?

You Who claim the heritage of our Father Abraham of old, what say you?

You Who hope in God and seek His Holy Name, what say you?

You who live to serve the One God, the LORD of hosts, what say you?

You who love the LORD, thy God, what say you, you who love Jerusalem of old?

What say you, you sons of Holy Mother Church, what say you, O daughters of Christ?

What say we against all this evil, we who love our Lord, Jesus Christ, our Holy Redeemer?

Shall we everyday fear the nails?

An authentic call to Christian vocation and a faithful common citizenship to each other are not mutually exclusive realities - the latter proceeds from the former.

Love of neighbor proceeds from love of God - they are not two competing commandments but one commandment alone; the greatest commandment of all.

Church and State or Religion and State stand apart but both still stand as pillars of the one temple of the Sacred Life of our nations which is all the life entrusted to our nations, above all human life.

Truly, we can never hope to separate the reality of God and the reality of Man and live to prosper in the sheltering peace of our nations.

For no nation exists for war - we will either lose sight of our remembrance of the peace or persevere in its prospering embrace.

The craft of all nations is peace. Lest we forget. Lest we forget.

The War in heaven is in our hearts: This Lenten season, let us break the rule of war in our hearts - let this division die with our sins.

Let us leave off our gifts until we have been reconciled to all our hopes - together this time.

Let us live to embrace the hope of all humanity - sanctify it all to the one LORD Whose glory it serves.

Let us Christians respond to our vocations. Let us do this without shame or fear of loss. For one Who gains the God of all as his or her portion gains all true things unto life everlasting.

There are many different gifts but only one arena of service - the nation. Unto the hearts of the common people, for the sake of their common needs, is where virtue bears its fruits for all.

So discern thy gifts assiduously and with much prayer. And then let us say in response to all these questions, yes Lord, for I am my brother's keeper.

Let us rebuild the Church around the Holy Father: Two lungs has the Church, East and West; two arms has the holy bishops of the Church; the holy priesthood and the permanent diaconate.

Serve: Rekindle in your hearts a love of service.

Serve all souls without distinction.

Love God and bring forth this Love to all the barren places of our world and let's make of it, my friends, each city, each town, each place, as our Eden rebuilt - together this time.

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Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.