Day of the Resurrection: “Gaze at life in Me the second time”

        Easter Blessing from "Apo Resurreccion" 

Dr Abe V Rotor

We wish to ask in prayer the blessings of our Apo Resurreccion to all our visitors to the Living with Nature Center (San Vicente, Ilocos Sur), blog members, followers and viewers (avrotor.blogspot.com), radio listeners , and to all whose lives they touch in turn, and to the management of Google (Blog), and TATAKalikasan Ateneo de Manila University 87.9 FM Radyo Katipunan, and former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School on Air) 735AM Radyo ng Bayan.

 Apo Resurreccion has been with us, Rotor Family, in our ancestral home for five generations now. Life size to a typical Filipino, the icon is enclosed in a three-side glass housing for better viewing of visitors and pilgrims.

Nothing has changed in the Apo except his linen and some signs of getting old, so to speak. The icon is made of one-piece wood carved faithfully from head to foot. No one can tell in my generation and that of my dad's who the model was. No explanation can be offered on how the holy icon transformed beyond the limits of any mortal model.

San Vicente is traditionally famous for furniture and icon saints. It is the Paete of the north, as often compared; it is a local seat of Renaissance art. The town takes pride with a distinction of producing professionals, leading farmers, artisans, and leaders, notwithstanding, in practically all fields of human endeavor. The ratio of professionals per one thousand population is one of the highest in the country, and in fact, in the world. ~

Henry Knox Sherrill: “The joyful news that He is Risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline and make the sacrifice.”

“Gaze at life in Me the second time”

Dr Abe V Rotor

Prayer is a universal element of Human Nature. It comes in many ways irrespective of creed and culture. It is ingrained in the rationality of the human being, emanating from a deep source which we cannot fully grasp. It is by believing in something beyond our comprehension that undermines our ignorance, arguably but true, as a unifying factor of humanity.

"Gaze at life in Me the second time,

     whatever the past had been;

a new beginning is what matters now,

     most beautiful you’ve never seen."- avr

"Touch Me now that I am risen,

     with your mind, heart and soul,

for you have chosen the path

     of life with Heaven its goal."- avr

"Redeemer of our postmodern world,

     we come to You, our Recourse

to find peace and accord

     on life’s rugged course."- avr

 

“Few people seem to realize that the resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone to a worldview that provides the perspective to all of life.” - Josh McDowell

 

Arthur Schopenhauer: “Every parting gives a foretaste of death; every coming together again a foretaste of the resurrection.”

“The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances.” - Robert Flatt.

Basil C. Hume:
“The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.”

Author's Note: Apo Resurreccion (Ilk) is a wooden icon of the resurrected Christ which has withstood the ravages of typhoons, earthquakes and the atrocities of the Second World War at the author's family residence.  Prayers are offered by quests who visit the place, which is gradually being developed into a Living with Nature Center cum Botanical Garden, in San Vicente Ilocos Sur.  Articles linked with the features of the Center can be sourced out in this Blog avrotor.blogspot.com

Cry of the Lawin in Driftwood and Backboard

                                              Cry of the Lawin

in Driftwood and Backboard 

Lawin symbolizes the young generations. It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generation.

                                                             Dr Abe V Rotor
We are blessed with having a rare bird called Philippine hawk or LAWIN in our language.  It is a close relative of the Philippine eagle, which is considered a symbol of our culture.

Country lass Angie Tobias 18, displays a driftwood version of the 

Lawin against a landscape mural, both artworks of the author, 2024

 

Painting of a lawin on a basketball backboard by the author 

On a clear day we may see the lawin* hovering over our subdivision, alone or with a partner in dalliance, simply gliding and circling up in the sky, in a spectacular kind of show that this bird now categorized as threatened is still around. Its home is the La Mesa watershed, just across our subdivision. It is in deference to this bird that our association has adopted it as our symbol and acronym - LAWIN. 

We thank our gazette editor Mr Fil Galimba who brought the idea of the organization, and Atty Riz Quiaoit for adopting Lawin as our symbol.

But what really does the lawin symbolize? 

One early morning my granddaughter pointed at the bird in the sky. I explained what I know about the bird.  Lawin symbolizes the young generations.  It brings in the morning sun, it connects us grownups with the young generations. It gives our children a break from iPads and TV. .  

One time children in the neighborhood in our place could not play their favorite game basketball. Somebody rebuilt their backboard, and games resumed. There's one difference: the other player on the back bard is a big lawin with outstretched wings seemingly playing with the kids. 

Nearby a garbage dump began to transform into a vegetable and herbal garden.  The children called it Lawin Garden. It is a local version of the Phoenix bird rising from the garbage ashes.

The lawin has a peculiar cry while in flight - clear and loud whistle of two notes. But most often, it is a silent flyer with panoramic and telescopic vision.

It can see like a satellite monitor what is happening over its broad area of vision, yet able to focus on the slightest movement - a prey or an enemy. 

Writers and artists to a great degree are like the lawin. Like the lawin, true writers and artists are a vanishing breed, they are an endangered species victim of instant and unguided social media, and worst, assassination of journalists.  The Philippines is compared to worn-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan, (now Gaza and Ukraine) for having the highest number of killings in mass media.   

The lawin writers and artists have "eyes for news and the arts," Their aerial perspective is holistic and contiguous. They see the multiplicity and unity of space and time, people and events. And they never veer away from their community which they watch over. 

At the onset of organizing LAWIN, we did some research on our trust and functions, and on the long run - our projected goal. 

Our reference is the our own Gazette. Lawin is DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION. DevCom recognizes the power of communication as a catalyst for social development. It utilizes the tools and principles applicable in the community they serve for the advancement of society.  

In an outline DevCom is

• Information disemination and education 
• Social Marketing - ideas, knowledge and wisdom
• Purposive communication - it sets targets
• Social mobilization - involvement and militancy 
• Community improvement mainly on felt needs
• Positive change  (social, political, economic, moral, environmental, etc) 
• Participatory development - bottom-up approach    
• Humanities development - applied aesthetics
• Sentinel and vanguard of code of media 
• Pathfinder - pioneering and visionary

Development Communication as the INTEGRATION OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, based on a clear understanding of real and down-to-earth situations, with people's participation and shared equitable benefits.
  
What then would be our guiding principle in our program?  It can be summarized as follows, for an anonymous source:

"If it is of high quality, people will respect you;
 If it is relevant, people ill need you;
 If it is measurable, people will trust you;
 If it is innovative, people will follow you."

If you were the lawin up in the sky over Greater Lagro, you are likely to see these -

• the need to train students in our schools in the field of mass media and applied art to run their school paper. 
• the need to take care of the trees, and plants more tree, to make Lagro an extension of the shrinking wildlife. 
• the need to expand outdoor activities, participate in wholesome games and sports, creative activities. 
• the need to guard Greater Lagro from the incursion of bad elements, vices, violations of human rights, peace and order.
• bringing in honors and prestige to the community through the talents of its citizens, particularly the young.
• unifying relationships of families, strengthening bonding, making the community senior citizen friendly, grandchildren friendly as well.

There are one-thousand-and-one other visions that challenge the organization LAWIN and its members giving meaning to their membership, above all leaving their legacy for the next generations.~ 

Neighborhood projects of LAWIN (Lagro Association of Writers and Artists, Inc

 

Sports development: Lawin Backboard; Green Revolution: Lawin Garden

About the Philippine Hawk - Lawin

by Naomi Millburn 

Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines. "Lawin" translates to "hawk" in the Tagalog tongue. Philippine hawk-eagles survive in very low numbers, so their population is considered vulnerable.
 Philippine hawk-eagles (Nisaetus philippensis) are raptors native only to the Philippines.

 Physical Appearance

Philippine hawk lawins are typically about 26 or 27 inches long. The top portions of their plumage are deep brown, and their lower portions are reddish-brown and adorned in black markings. Philippine hawk-eagles have pale throats, yellow limbs, deep gray beaks and dark crests. Their crests are made up of four to five feathers, some of which can reach 2.75 inches long. It takes about four years to develop their mature feathers. Fully grown Philippine hawk-eagles tend to have lithe physiques.

Living Environment

Philippine hawk lawins inhabit numerous islands throughout the Philippines, including Mindoro and Luzon. They haven't been confirmed as migratory, though they might occasionally travel between islands. They are prevalent around outer portions of forests, sometimes even in airy settings. Philippine hawk-eagles spend a lot of time hidden in the top layers of forests. They do a lot of high flying within their habitats.

Population

The number of Philippine hawk lawins in the wild is dropping swiftly. Their total population is thought to be 1,000 and 2,499 specimens, two-thirds of which are adults, according to BirdLife International. Key factors in their decline are the clearing of trees for logging, farm animals, and farming expansion in general. People also sometimes hunt Philippine hawk-eagles. Efforts to conserve this species include captive reproductive programs and protected locations such as Bataan National Park.

Vocalization

The signature call of the Philippine hawk lawin is a clear, loud whistle of two notes. These birds call out over and over again, sometimes in intervals of three seconds.~

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* Inaugural speech of the author upon assuming the position as first president of LAWIN (Lagro writers and artists) Association Inc, June 20 2016  Barangay Greater Lagro QC

Karamay (Ilk), Karmai or Iba - The "Acid" Fruit. The "Summer Season" fruit in the Tropics.

                                                                 PUL-OY (Breeze)

San Vicente Ilocos Sur RP to the World Series

Karamay (Ilk), Karmai or Iba

- The "Acid" Fruit

  Phyllanthus acidus {Cicca acida (Linn.) Merr. Family Oxylidaceae}

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

A bountiful harvest of Karmai (Karamay Ilk), San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

  

You don't have to climb the tree, just shake a branch - or the small tree -  and pronto, you have a shirt- or skirtful of this  fruit curiously known by its scientific name Phyllanthus acidus - Cicca acida, which means in Latin, acidic seed membrane. It got a stone hard core surrounded with thick cartilaginous flesh that is very sour. In botany they call this kind of fruit, drupe. And would you think you can have your fill even with the ripest pick? 

Kids we were in our time, would simply relish the fruit, fresh or pickled. Our folks would join cautioning us not to eat too much especially with empty stomach. But in the process, they compete for the choice sizes leaving the small and immature ones. You see, when you harvest, ripe and young fruits fall at the same time to a waiting inverted umbrella, or a stretched blanket, unless you handpick only the ripe ones - which is tedious. When pickled with sukang Iloko (native Ilocos vinegar) and salt, all sizes, mature and immature, become grossly inviting.  

What do you get from karmai?  It may be poor in food value but it contains appreciable amounts of minerals and vitamins the body may need.  Per 100 g of edible portion examined, 92 percent is water.  It is low in protein (0.155 g), fat (0,52 g), fiber (0.8 g).  It got some calcium (5.4 mg), phosphorus (17.9 mg). iron (3.25 mg), ascorbic acid (4.6 mg), and traces of carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin. 

Other than pickled, karmai is made into sweets, either sweetened and dried, or as jelly or jam sans the seeds. Preparation is not easy though because of the high acid content which is first neutralized with salted water for a day or two, before it is drained and dried, then candied or jellied. 

But have you tasted sinigang with karmai instead of kamias (Averrhoa)  or tamarind (sampalok)?  Try it with the unripe fruits and savor the pleasant sourness and mild acrid taste. Then after meal have a dessert of pickled karmai to remove the aftertaste of fish or meat. And for a change, try the young leaves cooked as green, like malunggay and kangkong.  

Karmai may not be popular in times of plenty, when imported fruits - apples, oranges, grapes - dominate the fruit stand, when in our life of haste we would rather pick from the shelf packed fruit juices, when schools and communities seldom promote the "lesser" fruits native to our country.   

The revival of ethnobotany - the study of plants and man on a historical and evolutionary perspective - has started in schools and research institutions. It can be a significant approach in providing indigenous food, medicine, and curbing environmental degradation, including global warming in a broad sense. Karmai grows best in Ilocos and other regions on uplands and hillsides, favored by a long dry season. It blooms in the peak of summer, and may have more fruits than leaves to our delight in childhood days.    

Remembering the author of Alternative Medicine,responsible in its passing into law, Senator Juan Flavier, I did a little research on the medicinal properties of karmai.  Here is a short list among many potentials which pose a challenge to the scientific mind. These may be folkloric and therefore tested in certain societies.           

- Decoction of leaves is used externally for urticaria, the fruit given at the same time to eat.
- Decoction of the bark used for bronchial catarrh.
- Some believe the roots to be poisonous, but the Malays boil it for steam inhalation in use for coughs.
- In Java, root infusion used for asthma.
- In Borneo, used with pepper
- Poultice of leaves for lumbago and sciatica.
- Root used for psoriasis.
- Used in chronic liver diseases.
- Decoction of leaves is diaphoretic.
- Leaves used for gonorrhea.
- In Burma, fruits are eaten to promote appetite; sap swallowed to induce vomiting and relieve constipation.

- In Indonesia, leaves are used as counter irritant in sciatica and lumbago. 

- In Malaysia, vapors from boiling of roots inhaled for coughs and headache.
- In Bangladesh used for skin diseases - eczema, abscesses, acne, etc.
- In India, fruits are taken as liver tonic. Leaves, with pepper, are poulticed for sciatica, lumbago or rheumatism. Leaves taken as demulcent for gonorrhea.
- In Maharashtra, India, decoction of seeds used twice daily for asthma and bronchitis.
- In Malaya, root infusion, in small doses, taken for asthma. The root is used for foot psoriasis.
 NOTE: For more details about the medicinal uses of karmai, medical advice is recommended.   

Next time you see a karmai tree, take time to study and appreciate it.  It is not really a handsome tree. In the first place it is small and may not provide a good shade. But truly karmai deserves a place in the orchard and in the wildlife.   

Reference and acknowledgement: Internet, Living with Nature AVR

Red, Hot Summer 2024

Red, Hot Summer 2024

Original Title: Red, Hot Summer 2023

“When all else fails, take a vacation.” – Betty Williams ~

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

 

Fire red gummamela (Hibiscus rosa sinensis)

San Vicente Botanical Garden (SV Ilocos Sur)

Achoite or annatto (Bixa orellana) flower, Silang, Cavite

Cadena de Amor ) Antigonon leptosus), UPLB Laguna

Umbrella Tree or Talisay  (Terminalia catappa) loses  

leaves (deciduous) for new ones to grow in place

San Vicente Botanical Garden (SV Ilocos Sur) 

Bangar or kalumpang (Sterculia foetida) tree in bloom

Leaning fire tree (Delonix regia), Fairview QC

 

Lobster's claw plant (Heliconia rostrata), SPU-QC 

 

Medinilla (Medinilla magnifica), UPLB Laguna

 

Dr. Anselmo S Cabigan shows the unique flower of 

pongapung (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius), SPQC

 

Author's youngest son Leo delights in examining and slicing 

red dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) from Vietnam.

Ornamental pineapple (Ananas sp.)

San Vicente Botanical Garden

A composite bouquet of flowers

Art of flower arrangement in a flower shop, QC

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...”

― susan polis schutz

Doña Trining (Mussaenda erythrophylla)

Institute of Plant Breeding, UPLB Laguna 

A basketful of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa)

La Trinidad, Benguet

Macopa (Syzygium samarangense)

San Vicente Botanical Garden

 Fire tree (Delonix regia) in full bloom

UST Botanical Garden, Manila 

Colorful balloon in a glass dome, Fernbrook, Parañaque MM

 

 Fireworks celebration at UST Manila

A dish of upo (Lagenaria leucantha) with achiote (Bixa orellana)

 at home.  San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

Author's son, Marlo takes a siesta with the mythical dragon, 

after a sumptuous meal at Manila Hotel 

Author's wife, Cecille in red, poses under a fruit laden nangka 

tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus), at her brother's residence 

in Agoo, La Union ~

Lent and Easter: Tradition and Reformation

 Lent and Easter: Tradition and Reformation 

Pope Francis' Lenten Message:

 Laudato si' (Praise Be to You) has the subtitle "on care for our common home." In it, the pope critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action."

Dr Abe V Rotor

The Philippines is the only Roman Catholic country in Asia, a heritage from Renaissance Europe from the 15th century onward to postmodern times. Catholicism was deeply ingrained during the 400-year Spanish colonization. Today as a basic right and freedom, many Filipinos particularly among the young, find other religions and sects inviting and attractive - cults notwithstanding. 

On the other hand, there has been a noted growing passivity among the faithful, so too, within the church organization itself, arguably on the relevance of the church towards current and forthcoming issues, among them the wanton destruction of nature and the environment. Degradation of the environment has become a global issue, and in response on the part of the church the Holy Father launched a second encyclical, Laudato Si'
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The Message of Pope Francis for Lent 2023 Excerpt: "Lent is a time of truth, a time to drop the masks we put on each day to appear perfect in the eyes of the world," he said, and to "reject lies and hypocrisy. Not the lies and hypocrisies of others, but our own."

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Keeping with age-old tradition - a procession of holy icons in observance of Holy Week in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.

A Prayer before Christ on the Cross

                            Dr Abe V Rotor

         We ask Your Blessing and Guidance,

            this Lenten Season -

- Make us elements of peace and unity that we may live as brothers and sisters in harmony with the environment and Nature;

- Make us catalysts of change, and an anchor against chartless and undefined destiny;

- Make us conveyors of knowledge, skill and values rolled into a holistic well-being;

- Make us healers by bringing solutions and enlightenment to human misery of all kinds;

- Make us agents of rational thoughts and decisions towards our fellowmen, and humanity as a whole;

- Make us good housekeepers of Mother Earth in accordance with her laws and order.

- Make us sentries to our family, community, starting with ourselves,to fend off wasteful, ostentatious living;

- Make us strong and determined to protect the pillars of our institutions that make an ideal society; 

- Make us custodians of the environment through responsive and relevant ways compatible with traditional and contemporary means;

- Make us guardians in the way of the Parable of the Sower, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan, 

- Make us realize the primordial importance of sound ecological principles and apply them to our lives and everyday living.

 - Make us involved and determined to carry out reforms to protect us and our world from force majeure and man-induced calamities. 

Strengthen our resolve and commitment as good Christians. 

- to reach out for one another;

- to listen;

- to care;

- to comfort;

- to encourage one another when we fail;

- to pray for one another when we falter;

- to be strong together as one community.

- to be one in unity and harmony with Nature.

Amen

Selected Quotes for Reflection

"As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you." – St Teresa of Calcutta

"Prayer does not change the purpose of God. But prayer does change the action of God." -- Chuck Smith

“God shapes the world by prayer. The more prayer there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces of against evil …” -- E.M. Bounds

"It is difficult to travel with heavy bags and baggages. Like Jesus, let us travel light."
- Cardinal Tagle

Site of one of the 13 Stations of the Cross – Dr Peroma L Pacis’ Residence, San Vicente Ilocos Sur, 2019


- The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.” – St. John of the Cross

- “God is not interested in your art, but your heart.” ― Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

- “No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.” ― John Chrysostom

- Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It's a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are. - Thomas Keating

“During these 40 days, let me put away all my pride. Let me change my heart and give up all that is not good within me. Let me love God with all that I am and all that I have.” – Genesis Grain 

"Lent is like a long 'retreat' during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a period of spiritual 'combat' which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism." -- Pope Benedict XVI

“If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask him simply to fill you with charity, the greatest of all virtues; with it you can accomplish what you desire. - St Vincent Ferrer ~