They went through the basic Catholic service common in a Catholic church. However, the priest spoke in English especially for us for half of the sermon. The rest of the sermon and prays were in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. What struck me as strange we that certain words they used were in Spanish. They used the words dios (God), Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit) La madre Maria (Mother Mary), and Jesu Christo (Jesus Christ). They had not translated these words into their own language. Are there equivalent words in Tagalog?
I imagine that these words are a result of Spanish missionaries converting the heathens hundreds of years ago. It was interesting to see such a strong Spanish influence on the Filipino culture. Colonialism.
Everyone at the congregation was very friendly and welcoming. After the service there was a birthday party for the priest and we were all invited to attend. They had prepared a few Filipino dishes and also had pizza and tuna fish sandwiches.
For a few of the students, this visit was a shocking experience. Most of the students grew up with Christian parents. Many of them have totally revolted from the Christian faith. It is interesting that the students have been so open to participation in Daoist Temples and Buddhist temples, but were so averse to participating in this Catholic Church. Why are travelers so averse to their own culture? Why are we so much more willing to participate in cultures other than our own? Are other travelers like this, or only those from the USA?
3 comments:
There is a time in the maturity of humans called, "The Terrible Twos," it is when a two year old says No.
Emotional growth has been stunted in the world, the Terrible Twos rules the planet.
It is the time in childhood when a child define themselves, to me the stunted emotional growth is because most parents are not brave enough to be adults for fear of losing the love of their children. Ergo, Children raising Children
All young people go through, in their late teens/early twenties, a time of revolting against the norms they were taught growing up. This can be mild or severe. I think this might be a way of releasing yourself from constraints so that you might be able to more freely form your own opinions of the world around you. For some this works, for others, it is like removing an old worn out coat, and putting on someone elses old worn out coat. I think the most honest of us re-aquire many of the morals and beliefs we were taught when young, hopefully with a better understanding of them and some added real world insight.
Here are a few old time quotes (some may even be real quotes) on "young people".
"The arrogance of the young is a direct result of not having known enough consequences. The turkey that every day greedily approaches the farmer who tosses him grain is not wrong. It is just that no one ever told him about Thanksgiving."
--Harry Golden
"The deepest definition of youth is life as yet untouched by tragedy."
--Alfred North Whitehead
"The world is passing through troubling times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
--Peter the Hermit, attributed, probably apochryphal ~~1110
"One's mind suffers only when one is young and while one is ignorant of the world. When one has lived for some time, one learns that the young think too little and the old too much, and one grows careless about both."
--Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, 1772
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
--Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato
"I believe what really happens in history is this: the old man is
always wrong; and the young people are always wrong about what is
wrong with him. The practical form it takes is this: that, while the
old man may stand by some stupid custom, the young man always attacks
it with some theory that turns out to be equally stupid."
--G. K. Chesterton
Bob L
Hi Andy and Bob,
Thank you for the comments. I really think that young people need more wisdom from older generations. Maybe this is the problem with American culture. We have stopped listening to the wise.
Thanks,
Peace be with you,
Mira
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