Eric Santillan Blog, society, spirituality

Tips on Practical Spirituality (Part 1)

Spirituality is having the belief that there is a power greater than oneself; that there are things outside one's control. It is living life in a deeper, more profound way, having a deep sense of life's 'truths'. Spirituality has been defined consistently by scientists as the search for or connection with “the sacred”. The Sacred … Continue reading Tips on Practical Spirituality (Part 1)

Eric Santillan spirituality

Favors

Originally written in TACKED THOUGHTS for The Freeman by Nancy Unchuan Toledo I don't usually like begging for favors, especially ones that inconvenience people who are not close to me. I don't mind granting them, just begging for them. "Maikogon" they call it in Bisaya. I'm not even sure if that's how it's spelled. But … Continue reading Favors

Eric Santillan Blog, society

Gratitude

The first few weeks of class are always stressful for me. My brain is still on vacation mode and my body is used to lying down all day. Summer for teachers means waking up late and not caring about lesson plans or test papers. It means not having to strain our voices to be heard above 40 restless chatterboxes. It is a good time. And one of the best things about teaching. (I seriously believe that if people took out summer vacation from teachers and students, we’d have a lot of cases of violence in school.)

Eric Santillan spirituality

On Gratitude and Hope

There is a blessed word in Greek which continues to escape any adequate translation in English. Anamnesis is almost synonymous to remembrance or calling to mind but both fail to render justice to the reality which anamnesis signifies. In liturgical parlance, it means much more than psychological recall. Anamnesis connotes making present in the ‘now’ that which is being recalled from the ‘past’. Such is how we speak of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, as the making present of Christ himself, and his words and actions, making possible the communication of grace to us.