Oxo-Biodegradable

Davao City had implemented a ban last June banning food containers made from non-biodegradable plastics and polystyrene products across the city.

One result of this is the ubiquitous use of so-called "oxo-biodegradable" plastic bags as eco-friendly substitutes to the actual plastic bags we've come to know.

Oxo-biodegradable plastics, according to Wikipedia, are plastics added with metal salts to facilitate the rapid degradation of these in the natural environment. Usually, it takes plastics decades or even centuries to degrade into compounds which can in turn be absorbed by the soil. Oxo-biodegradable plastics remedy this since they only take years or months to degrade fully.

However, these plastics are not essentially "eco-friendly", according to the Wikipedia article above. First, there lies the danger of increasing the metal toxicity of a given environment if it be exposed to huge amounts of this kind of plastic. Second, we still have to contend with the issue of these plastics lying around for a long time. Third, the lack of research into these kinds of materials make it, at the moment, difficult to incorporate the same into existing recycle streams.

And With Your Spirit

Okay. They made some changes in the liturgy of the mass.

Foremost among these is the change in the response to the priest's exclamation, "The Lord be with you." Whereas before, the response is "And also with you", now the response is "And with your spirit."

According to this article from catholiceducation.org, the said change more accurately reflects "the Latin text of the mass and the biblical language of St. Paul". It also elevates the response from a mere reciprocal greeting to an acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit in the other person.

As for me, my response is: "Okay. Whatever".

Testify Chronicles: I Am A Man Because... (Part IV)

An excerpt from the Testify Chronicles

I have a healthy love for myself but do not indulge in acts of vanity, which can only succeed in cheapening my body. I may have rebellious hair and a big nose. My face may have more craters than the moon. My fats may be bigger than my muscles. I may not be defined as a hunk.

I reject false pride and self-conceit. Selflessness and humility are the paths I struggle hard to follow for these are the paths that bring me closer to God.

I free my mind from evil thoughts and strive hard to focus on what is pleasing to God. Therefore, I say no to anything that pollutes my mind. I choose movies to watch, music to hear, books to read, places to go.

I desire peace. Violence is not the language of my manhood. I reject war. I choose the path of peace and of love because this is the path of Jesus.

I have self-control. My flesh does not have power over me. I have dominion over it. My thorns in the flesh I bear with humility and joy, in total surrender to Him who has the power and dominion over me.

Testify Chronicles: I Am A Man Because... (Part III)

An excerpt from the Testify Chronicles

I have the grace to see a woman as whole and complete even if she were no longer a virgin. A woman does not lose any of her potentials to be a good wife just because she already lost her virginity.

I court a girl to get to know her better with the end in view of finding out if she's God's personal gift to me. I do not court a girl just because I don't have better use of my time, or because she has nice legs, or because she has a crush on me.

I court a girl with the willingness to commit and the ability to sacrifice and give of myself and not just because I'd like to collect and parade her around like I do my car or my laptop or my new cellphone.

My idea of fun are activities that liberate and not enslave me. They give me eternal joy, not momentary pleasures. They bring out what is godly and not what is beastly in me. They make come closer and farther away from my God.

I do not allow myself to defile my body, which is the temple of the Spirit. Therefore, I do not smoke. I do not get drunk or stoned. I am not a glutton. I eat right. I sleep right. I keep fit for the fight.

Testify Chronicles: I Am A Man Because... (Part II)

An excerpt from the Testify Chronicles

I pray. Prayer is not for sissies. In fact, to pray is a measure of true manhood. For to be a man is to accept that one is weak and needs the kind of strength that can only come from the Lord.

I am a good steward of the gifts and talents that the Lord has given me. I, therefore, study hard to improve and harness my abilities and competencies. I do not neglect my education for it is a tool to make me the person the Lord has planned me to be.

I see women as divine creations of beauty and not targets of conquest or objects for my gratification. Therefore, I respect them and recognize their talents and individual uniqueness as God's gifts to the world.

I am still a virgin and have dedicated myself to give up my virginity only on the night of my honeymoon with the woman I will have taken before God to be my wife. My virginity is my choice, not a product of weakness or fear. I am proud of my virginity. It may make me less in the eyes of men, but it makes me more in the eyes of God.