The Da Vinci Code

I’ve just finished reading the book (well, a week ago)…and being a Catholic I was not the least affected by it. The heck, if it’s Dan Brown’s amusement to make a mockery out of the Catholic faith. I was not amused.

However, it was nonetheless a cannot-put-down read…but equally frustrating (I’m talking here of the ending).

Anyway, here are some points I thought I should express:

1. Brown’s making Da Vinci’s paintings mirror to the “real” story of the Catholic’s history...
For example, the person seated at the right side of Jesus in The Last Supper was a woman. So what if it was indeed a woman! Does that really tell that Jesus was really romantically involved with a woman, particularly Mary Magdalene? Brown might want us to believe so but I found it far-fetched which leads me to my next argument.
2. If Mary Magdalene (MM) was a famous member of the royal clan why was she not mentioned in some religious books? Granted, the Church had successfully erased her from the earlier editions of Bibles, her popularity would still be found in some books, aside from Brown’s DVC. In the New Testament, she was a prostitute. A royal-blooded prostitute?
3. Another, if the lives of MM and Sarah (purportedly her daughter by Jesus) were chronicled, why didn’t we know about it? (only Dan Brown told us so)
4. Brown also stated there that all Jewish men must marry someone that was why Jesus “married” MM. And on the later chapter he mentioned that Jewish apostles were single. Huh?!
5. Then, he said Jesus was a mortal but one who was revered and called a great man. But on the next part he said Jesus was a Saviour. Oh my…

Among many others…
When Vatican released a statement forbidding its followers to read the book Down Brown said it was purely fictional. But note that he mentioned on the first part of the chapter (author’s note?) that everything: the places, art works, secret organizations, were real which means he was telling a real story (and only the plot was fiction).

But Brown succeeded…in making his book a bestseller. The book was full of anagrams, codes, riddles, etc…it was fun following and even solving some. But the major turn off is the ending…after all the deaths, the travels, the clues, the story ended in the same place where it started. Had I known…

Rated: 3 stars and 1 moon

Why Women Cry

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said:

"When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

(This was emailed to me by a woman friend.)

Farewell to the Great Man

Today, the world bid goodbye to Pope John Paul II…a great man (a saint no doubt). Here in Cebu, we also had our own funeral mass for the pope. It was held at the Archbishop’s Palace grounds where in February 1981 the pope had sat down to ‘listen’ to the more than 3,000 young people (that was probably how the World Youth Day was conceived).

In that same grounds, a life-sized statue of the pope standing in a Cebu-shaped concrete platform was erected symbolizing that he was once there. And on that statue, people offered flowers and lit candles (they had been doing it since the day he died). It was really amazing how this simple gesture of love touched everyone there, including myself. When the choir begun singing “Tell the World of His Love,” people silently wept. The song was used during the World Youth Day in 1995 when the Pope last set foot in Philippine soil. This was in Manila. I have to note here that during that day, no single crime was committed in that place, that was a miracle as Manila is a hive of criminals of all types. Most probably they, too, were awed by the Pope’s overpowering presence.

The Pope’s death had practically stopped the world. But one thing’s sure (except that he really is dead) the world became one, today. Leaders, including those with conflicts, met at the St. Peter’s Basilica, where the funeral services were held. Some even sat together, and even talked (they seemed to on TV). Another miracle!

Personally, I hadn’t had a time to reflect on his death. Since it was announced (I was informed early morning of Sunday-Philippine time) I had been busy talking with priests, bishops, and our Cardinal (a member of the Conclave) asking them their reactions and messages. And when I got at the office, I researched and then wrote about what I gathered during that day.

Only this afternoon had I given a chance to really think of what a man he was. I cried, yeah I did, like all the hundreds of people who attended the funeral mass. I did not know why…when he was very sick I did not pray that he stayed as I knew he would go eventually. And when he died I did not feel thankful either. I cried probably because in some way or another he had touched my heart…through his words...through his deeds. And I would miss him…