The Other Side of the Church
Good day, beautiful writers and readers of read. cash! I hope you are fine right now and for the rest of the day, weeks, months, and years.
**Warning:** ***This article did not intend to mock people or to say something bad to people in the church nor to influence the believers to believe what I am about to share. What I am about to share is purely my experiences and my observation. I am a devoted Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ faithfully and my loyalty is to Him alone.***
Catholic Church is God's home on earth and the shelter of all Christians who are devoted to Jesus Christ. It is the organization that will devote itself to pray for people, giving charitable acts to those who are lowly and weak. The church relies only on the devotees who will give donations that will serve as the church's bread and butter.
Catholicism was brought by the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan to the Philippine shore in the year 1521. The first Catholic Church in the Philippines was established in 1595, is the **Church of the Immaculate Concepcion of San Agustin**, in Manila. Going back to the Spanish Era, the church and the state were united. The government had the right in any way to the church and vice versa. There was a time in Philippine history that the highest leader was the bishop. Bishop Manuel Antonio Rojo became the governor-general during the British Invasion. But as of now the church and the state are already separated as stated in the 1987 Constitution, Article II, Section 6.
In the Spanish period, it was noted that some priars were cruel to the Filipinos. Unfortunately, the Spaniards took advantage of the Filipinos innocence and ignorance about the words of God. Thus, sometimes the use of religion for corruption and personal interest was highly evident.
But as I observed right now, there are still cases just like before that the church is used for personal interest, (not all of them but few) to earn and to gain money from its believers. There are few men of the church, who gain money from devotees and spend it in luxury like buying cars, lands, and other assets or even help their direct families to have a good life. Soon enough, the church become dirty because of the people who managed it. The church mainly survived with the donations but how come donations have some range? From P2,000 for the mass payment during burial, P2, 500 for the weddings, and P500-100 during the special intentions and different ranges during christening and other occasions.
The intention of Jesus Christ founding the church is to spread His words about the salvation of mankind. Through sacrifice, penance, and atonement of sins of mankind. The men of the church must be role models to the believers and uphold Jesus' Christ teachings but how come some of them did not abide Jesus' teachings?
I knew some priests who have secret families outside the convent.
I knew that some of them used the church money for their personal interest in buying a lot of luxurious cars. lands, and other assets even if the church needs to be renovated.
I knew some of them that helped the poor by providing scholarship to the youth but they only choose those closest to their hearts. In fact, I knew an orphan who lost her parents but did not get the scholarship maybe because she is not beautiful in the priest's eyes. Recently, the priests' diary was discovered and the contents there were about his unrequited love with some of his beautiful girl scholars.
I know some of them who hated the LGBTQ community and sometimes include them in his homily mocking them and so on...
I knew some of them who mocked the drug addicts and the youth who lead astray. Why mock them? Why not pray for them?
I know some of them who used the name of the Lord just to fund more money to be used in the project of the church kuno...but there is no progress seen in the church.
I know some of them who molested or even raped some girls using their power as the head of the church and the man close to God.
I know some priests who did not have a ceremonial mass for the dead because the family could not pay for the mass.
***Final Thoughts***
I knew a lot of priests who abide by Jesus' teachings religiously. They even have a simple life as Jesus had in His time on earth. Jesus is too simple and humble, he was even born into a manager just to let the people know how humble He is. He showed that He can do anything for His love for us. He even died brutally on the cross to show how He sacrificed for us. In short, He is everyone's role model.
The priests are Jesus Christ's followers, but sadly few of them are not following Jesus anymore by living in luxury. Instead of helping the people, they are taking advantage of people by using Jesus' name or the church. Thus, the church will be dragged into its undesirable image.
But the priests are still humans, they aren't saints and most especially they aren't perfect. They are sinners like normal people, we can't blame them for doing those things that disobeyed Jesus' teaching because they are also weak and vulnerable. But nonetheless, the priests and the aspiring ones should know the doctrine they should follow before entering this holy profession and these are: To pray, to spread the words of God about salvation, repentance, and forgiveness of sins, and the acts of kindness that will become contagious to the believers of the church.
As believers of the church, we should pray that the men of the church will be enlightened by God's grace and power. We will pray that God will give them power and strength to fight against evil so that they can lead the church in the right way with integrity and devotion as Jesus wants them to lead so that the sanctity of the church will remain the same throughout the ages.
Thanks for reading my dearest friends. This article is purely based on my observations and experience. Do you have any thoughts about this? Just let me know your comments below.
God bless everyone and keep safe always.
Lead Image is taken from: **Unsplash.com**
**Date Published: October 18 @ 9:46 PM (Philippine Time Zone)**
**Always be your friend,**
Thank you so much dear @Bloghound for sponsoring me once again. Your sponsorship means so much to me. I will try my best to write more. Your articles inspire to write here. More blessings to you and your family.
A Single Moment (Part 1)
Good day read. cash readers!
At last, I finished the draft of the story I want to write here. But this time I will write it in my language Filipino nakaka-nosebleed na kayang ang laging pagsulat ng English may naka-relate ba dito? Tinapos ko talaga ang draft kasi gusto ko na hindi na ako mahihirapang magkwento dito. Ito ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit medyo matagal din akong nakapagsulat dito bukod sa super busy sa work. Sana magustuhan ninyo ang aking kwento.
Simulan na natin ang pagkukuwento mga kaibigan.
_________________________________________________
"Dumating na ang hinihintay mo." Iyon ang saad ni Sandra sa kaibigan niyang si Sophia. Biglang lumingon si Sophia at nakita niyang pumasok ang isang matangkad at matipunong lalaki. Hindi niya gaanong naaninag ang mukha nito dahil medyo malayo ang kanilang pwesto sa kapapasok lang na lalaki. Pagalit pa siyang umirap sa kanyang colleague na si Sandra ng napagtanto kalaunan na ang inasam niyang makita na lalaki ay hindi pala ang lalaking kakapasok lang sa opisina ng kanilang principal.
Hindi naman si Tony yun and saad ni Sophia kasi matipuno yung lalaki na kapapasok lang at si Tony hindi naman ganoon ka matipuno ang built ng pangangatawan. At hindi rin ganoon ka-chaka?, matipuno nga at matangkad ngunit chaka naman, natatawang saad ni Sandra habang patuloy na kumakain ng sandwich na malapit ng maubos, maya-maya pa ay uminom ng orange juice. Break time nila noon at katabi lang ng cafeteria ang opisina ng kanilang principal kung saan nakita nilang pumasok ang lalaki. Nasa bandang pintuan sila ng cafeteria at nakaharap pa ang mesa nila sa pintuan kaya kahit sinong paparating doon sa office ng kanilang principal makikita talaga nila.
Niloloko ni Sandra si Sophia kasi excited itong makita ang long time crush nitong si Tony. Magkaklase kasi sila ni Tony noong second year hayskul sila. Transferree si Tony from famous private school to public school. Simula noong nagkrus yung daan nila ni Tony ay crush na niya ito. Si Sandra lang ang may alam ng damdamin niya para kay Tony. Pagdating ni Tony sa kanilang campus nakitaan agad ito ng skills sa pagiging leader kaya noong may halalan sa pinakamataas na organisasyon sa kanilang school ang SSC or Supreme Student Council nanalo agad si Tony sa pinakataas na posisyon ang Presidential position. Napakatalinong bata ni Tony at aktibo talaga ito sa lahat ng mga school activities famous din ito sa mga girls kasi may itsura talaga ito.
Noong malapit na ang kanilang pagtatapos sa hayskul nabalitaan na lamang niya na doon mag-aaral si Tony sa malayong lugar hindi naman niya alam kung saang lugar ayaw niyang makiusisa kasi takot siyang malaman ng iba na may interes siya sa binata. Sila naman si Sandra ay sa local public university lang sila pumapasok na malapit sa kanilang lugar. Sa University of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, doon din sila na-absorbed after ng kanilang practice teaching. Nakitaan din kasi sila ng kanilang mga professor ng exemplary skills sa pagtuturo. Limang taon na silang nagtuturo sa school na ito. Noong napagdesisyonan nila sa kanilang groupchat na magkakaroon sila ng reunion sa kanilang highschool alumni, dali-daling nag-announce sila na magkakaroon ng registration sa opisina ng kanilang principal mismo ang Vice-President dati ng kanilang oraganisasyon sa paaralan ang SSC or Supreme Student Council. Kaya akala nina Sandra at Sophia na si Tony na ang pumasok sa opisina ng kanilang principal para sa registration. Pero mali pala sila dahil ibang tao pala ang pumasok doon. Malapit na pala ang araw ng huling registration kasi sa makalawa na ang kanilang reunion. Unang beses pa silang magkakaroon ng reunion sa almost 10 years after highschool. Batch 2012 pala sila noon sa NNHS or Nara National Highschool.
Dumating na lang ang hapon at napapagod na si Sophia sa kahihintay pero wala talagang Tony ang dumating para magpa-register. Bukas na ulit, Saturday mag-resume ang registration at Sunday na ang reunion. Ipinagdarasal niya talaga na makadalo si Tony. Wala pa naman siyang balita nito ayaw kasi niyang makibalita sa takot na malalaman ang kanyang hidden feelings dito. Si Tony ang dahilan kung bakit 26 years old na siya hindi parin siya nagkaka-boyfriend. Hindi pa naman siya makapag-stalk doon sa principal's office kung nakapag-register naba si Tony kasi may importante siyang lakad bukas. Bukas nalang kasi siya makapaglaan ng oras upang bumili ng damit para sa susuotin niya sa reunion. Kaunti pa naman ang budget niya kasi nauubos yung pera niya may maintenance na kasi ang magulang niya ng gamot. Siya kasi ang bunso sa limang magkakapatid. At siya lang ang nakatapos ng kolehiyo sa mga ito. Kung hindi lang city scholar siya noon hindi talaga siya makapagtapos ng kurso.
Kinabukasan, pumunta na sina si Sophia sa isang mall sa kanilang lungsod para bumili ng maisuot for the reunion. Apat na dress yata ang naisukat niya bago pa siya nakapili ng casual dress na kulay purple. Si Sandra naman ang kanyang taga-tingin kung anong dress ang mas bagay sa kanya. Ang sabi ni Sandra bagay na bagay sa kanya ang purple dahil maputi siya at hapit sa katawan ang sukat nito at almost hanggang tuhod ang haba sexy din ang damit sa likuran kasi U back ito. Ang napili naman ni Sandra ay itim na damit kasi hindi raw siya gaanong maputi at kung magsusuot siya ng kulay itim ay feel na feel niya daw na maputi siya. Pumili din sila ng wedge sandals kulay brown sa kanya at kulay itim naman ang kay Sandra gusto kasi ni Sandra ang ternohan ang kulay.
Excited na excited siya kinabukasan lalo pa at napag-alaman ni Sandra sa isang klasmyt nila dati na nakapag-register pala si Tony last minute bagong mag 5PM. Parang may namumuong butterflies sa tiyan niya at kinikilig siya at the same time kinabahan siya sa kanilang muling pagtatagpo ni Tony. Hindi talaga siya makatulog sa kakaisip. Gusto niya talagang matulog ngunit si Tony lang ang laman ng isip niya.
**To be continued...**
Salamat sa pagbabasa mga kaibigan sa susunod ulit kasi inaantok na si Lola Basyang... bye for now. Thanks for reading my friends.
**Lead Image Source: Unsplash.com**
**Date Published:** October 12, 2021, 11:13 PM (PH Time Zone)
Always be your friend,
Good day beautiful read.cash readers!
I just want to thank my sponsor @Bloghound. Thank you Sis for the sponsorship I am so pleased about it. I am following all your articles and they are very interesting and timely. To those readers who haven't visited the articles of @Bloghound, you should visit them and you won't really regret on spending your time reading her articles. Aside from enjoying her articles, you will also learn a lot from them. God bless you Sis, and more blessing and earnings here.
The Two Brothers (Chapter 1)
Good day everyone!
As I have promised in my introductory article that I would focus more on fiction particularly stories or novels. And here it is, I have written my first article for my novel. Please bear with my writing because I am not really good at it. I am still improving myself a lot. I hope that you will enjoy reading this.
**Chapter 1**
**Life or Death**
He slightly opens his eyes. He cannot see even a little glimpse of light. He felt the excruciating pain all over his body. He cannot move his arms because they are strongly tied sideward above his head. His legs are also bound sidewards away from each other. His lips are dried, and he badly needed water. He cannot say anything because his mouth is bind with a sturdy filthy cloth. He is overtired and felt that death is closer to him. He has the sense that he could not stand the exhaustion and the affliction. He passed out once again and felt the torment no more.
The four men are talking with amusement. "Is he dead?" said the huge man, who looked like an incredible hulk with his voluminous and rigid muscles. We can get huge money from this abduction if we contact his affluent father to give us ransom. He did not bear the pain we inflicted him, said the other man with a slightly bulging stomach and sizeable eyes than usual with a freaky face because of the deep scars in it. Stop the nonsense! We will not need money. You are paid to torment and kill this man, not to let him live for ransom. Untie him this instant and throw him away like a useless dog, said the third man who acted as the boss of this crime. He wore a black hat and with long curly hair beyond his shoulders that conceals his face. The last man is the youngest among the others. He had tattoos all over his body. He looks so scary with piercing and rings in his nose, ears, and even his tongue. He moves in haste, unties the man, and drags him like garbage. The night was so dark, and the weather is harsh and unpleasant. The thunder begins to roar and devastates the tranquil environment, and the whetted lightning shows itself in the darkest night. The sky starts to cry deliberately with the minute tempest. The men happily leave the area and celebrate the success of their mission.
The thunder and the lightning are persistent with the heavy pouring that lasted for hours.
When Alwyn arrived at their house, he did not see even his brother's shadow. It has been beyond 24 hours since he last saw him. Alwyn was quite worried about his ill father. What if he will know that his youngest and favored son has lost contact with them? He went to his father's room to pay some respects. But his father was sleeping soundly, that Alwyn never bothers him at all. He goes to the wine cellar and gets a wine, Bordeaux, a famous wine from France. Alywn poured an amount into the stemless wine glass and started drinking. He recounted some events in his life when he was still a child. He can still remember how his father denied him indirectly to be his child. He knows that his father did not hate him, but he can feel that there is something odd about how he treated him. But despite that, he loves his father and his brother dearly.
He consciously feels the dense surge of raindrops in his body even though he was placed in a large and thick bag firmly tied up. The water from the heavy rain slightly carried his body away from the area where he has thrown away. His arms and legs are still solidly bound. He dragged his body from the water using his elbows. He kicked the end of the sack, but to no avail. He can imagine that the water is about or beyond his knee. He can feel the agony of pain in his entire body once again. He spends all his strength left in him. He is clinging to the tiny hope that he can still save his life from death. The water begins to rise because the rain is constantly pouring too hard. He felt his body once again carried by the water that starts to flow forcefully.
Can he still survive this torment? Will he accept his death? Because he was overly worn-out with fatigue, he wants to end this struggle to be at peace?
Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it, guys.
The next episode will be coming soon. Please keep in touch.
**Lead Image Source:** https://unsplash.com
I like to find out if my writing has no plagiarism and I just use Grammarly to check it. If you know some free cite to check plagiarism please inform me in the comment section.
**Date Published:** September 4, 2021
Always be your friend,
Third Chance, not Second
Give yourself a second chance if you cannot make it on your first try. If the second chance is not well enough, a third attempt will do. For sure, you have learned your lessons to make yourself better.
Good day everyone!
I am a user here for a month. I am not so active in writing and reading articles just like other members. If I am not mistaken, I published eight articles in my previous account. Just recently someone told me that I am on the spam list. He suggested that I should make another account. I was sad and devastated by what happened because I had 14 subscribers in that account, and I love that account. I decided last night to quit for good, but at the back of my mind, I said, "If I quit, my efforts will be wasted" I do not know if you feel this way in writing an article, but for me, writing an article is so hard because you need to think of some interesting stuff to write that your audience would love. That is why I considered that those eight articles I have written are a great achievement for me even though they are not so fascinating. I am sure some users here feel the same way too. However, this platform encourages me to write and to improve my writing skills. Especially when I have read some excellent articles here, I am greatly motivated. Therefore, I decided to make a fresh start by creating another account. Sometimes, we need to let go of the past so that we can move on to the present that holds many opportunities for us. Although it is sad, I need to give up that account and accept the circumstances that come about.
I would tell you about how I have to try for the third time. I will be honest with you as much as possible. I am a user of noise. cash for 3 months. I discovered this platform when I became a user of noise. cash. The discovery happened accidentally. I am often active in noise at my work. Noise is my stress reliever. Whenever I got a little spare time to see my noise account I will visit it and try to get in touch with other users to relieve my stress. At home, I have a lot of time on my laptop browsing noise and it happened one time that I forgot my password in noise that is why I search the noise platform on google and when I searched it, read. cash popped up. That was the first time I have known read. cash and I made my account for the first time that night but I was not active at all. I never had the chance to publish an article in my first account since I was not able to keep my seed words. Until I have read so many things about read. cash in the noise platform, so I got very curious about it and I made another account once again. I used the account until last night the moment I knew that I was marked as spam I stopped using it and contemplating making another one for the third time.
This account will be my third. I consider this as my last chance and I hope that this account would give me my best of luck. I am planning to do what I love the most here but of course, I will still be learning a lot for I am not an expert writer. I will try to write more on fictional stories and I hope the reader would love it. I will be very positive this time that I can make it all the way. That I can improve my skills in writing and can share my thoughts and ideas with the readers of this platform. I believe that this platform can hone and improve my little knowledge about writing stuff.
**Closing Thoughts**
Everybody deserves a second chance or even third or fourth and so on. What is essential is that those anticipations will be well spent to the best of our ability to strive to be better than before. Every chance is learning and advancing to what was started. Some people might be afraid to try once again because they do not want to fail for the second time, third time, and so on. Nevertheless, if we only stop there, we could never reach what we are trying to attain. We should never stop trying until success is on our hands. Failure is never the end for us because there are still chances that could bring us a triumph in our lives.
Thank you for reading!
May God bless us all.
**Lead Image Source**: https://unsplash.com
**Date Published:** *September 4, 2021*
Always your friend,
@Sunflower29
