THE HOME

The Home

The growth of a person begins at home where parents and all the members of the family each play an important role in molding the baby into a young adolescent who will soon grow ready to face the outer world. In this painting the home is represented by the blue area shaped somewhat like a house.

Blue symbolizes peace and calmness because the home is supposed to be the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual sanctuary to its family members and the fortress against outside threats. But the obvious appearance of cracks revealing the red chaotic areas show the existence of imperfections within the home where the presence of serious family problems affect the overall growth of the child and shape his behavior. These internal problems come in different forms and where the taste of violence at the very young age could gravely interfere with and influence the child's over-all character. But for those who have experienced real family love and true spirituality the story is positively different.

The basic molding of the child in the home determines how he could easily be influenced by outside factors. Once the family is not intact and where the parents themselves become the reason for the young kid to look for attention and love elsewhere these young souls will be easy prey to groups like gangs and brotherhoods.

Fraternities are comprised of men who pledged respect to their leader and the leader's word becomes the law. The failure of the father, as the head of the home, to educate well his sons of what being a real man is, in the yardstick of God the Father Almighty, will result in fathers themselves becoming weak and inutile role models to their young kids who are easily impressed by mythical heroes. And it is in the fraternity that these young men derive their strength and see the head as a really strong man and those successful professional frat alumni as role models.

In the current crisis in the Philippines where a lot of kids are either without a father or a mother, or where the parents are away working, the effects of this imbalance on the emotional health of the kids have proven to be destructive. The helpless, jobless father who is left at home with the kids while the mother is away abroad affects not only the self-esteem of the man but also his resistance to temptations by the opposite sex, especially if the practice of having mistresses becomes an accepted social norm. And the violent results of infidelity where the husband beats a nagging and jealous wife transforms a young innocent boy into a bitter juvenile delinquent.

This sad combination of unwanted realities becomes a ripe breeding atmosphere for disillusioned and confused kids who might find answers or outlets for their anger elsewhere. And once they enter the brotherhoods and become addicted to alcohol and drugs another soul in a sorry state add to the army of warlike fratmen.

The above illustration is just one of the many stories that add fuel to the current problem of this violent frat culture. It all begins in how the parents, especially the father, succeeded or have failed to teach their children.

On the other hand, kids from good families with strong homes and spiritual backgrounds may have just been enticed by the promises of recruiting groups of men or sadly, been forced into accepting in becoming neophytes when placed in situations they cannot refuse. But then again the strength of one's spirituality is in question here because a young man with very firm spiritual beliefs will not fall prey into these dubious groups.

The task to solve the culture of violence must therefore start from the home where true spirituality and real love becomes the strong and unwavering foundation.

THE SCALE OF JUSTICE

The Scale Of Justice

Yesterday was the last Sunday of the BAR exams. The revelry of the examinees, including an old man, and their families and friends was really a celebration. But what was more pleasing to see on TV and online news was the absence of unwanted headlines and stories about frat violence right after the BAR exams.

Usually BAR exams, especially the last Sunday, are some of the worst spectacles in the history of the Philippines. There the fratmen from different fraternities gather and show their strength to support their brods taking the exams and ready to do battle almost reminiscent of the Roman colessium. There you will find all sorts of "circus" where fratmen, drunk or probably high on drugs, meet their bitter rivals. There you will hear them shout their battle cries and all slogans of pride mixed with dirty words as if the more rowdier they are the more feared they become. And worst, when their egos rise faster up into their heads than the cooler breeze of conscience the fists, stones, rocks, bottles and even cellular phones or laptops will fly just to be sure they could score hard against their "enemies".

The question is...what kinds of future lawyers and judges will they become? By the strength of their numbers and their long history in the country's law schools and by learning their influence especially in the government and in the halls of justice the thinking man could surely measure the extent of moral corruption in society as these 'brothers" have most probably sworn more loyalty to their "brotherhood" than to their service to the country. Worst is if their codes of secrecy contribute to the obstruction of justice all these years despite the fact that they are believers of a Supreme and Eternal God as stated in their group's constitution.

Once power is in the hands of these groups that finally achieved a certain level of strength and influence in the highest echelons of the government and private businesses the scale of justice will surely be tilted in their favor.

In a paper by CARLA D. PRATT titled "SHOULD KLANSMEN BE LAWYERS? RACISM AS AN ETHICAL BARRIER TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION", she highlighted a biblical passage that needs to be pondered upon by fratmen and law students alike:

Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other.

Her insightful paper could also serve as a mirror to fratmen and law students alike to see and examine the unholy marriage between being a lawyer (or judge or a man of high and sensitive position) and being a fratman at the same time should the noble ideals of these brotherhoods become inutile as it becomes buried in the slime of growing moral bankruptcy as evidenced by the culture of violence dominating their existence all these years.

Could somebody please do a similar paper to be titled "SHOULD FRATMEN BE LAWYERS? FRATERNITY DISCRIMINATION AS AN ETHICAL BARRIER TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION"?

In the painting THE WRONG SACRIFICE I attached the tilted Scale of Justice to the paddle, where the names of the dead victims (In UP alone) of frat violence are inscribed, because the clear control of fratmen lawyers and justices to our country's legal system is in question.

As a stern reminder and warning, God the Father Almighty's justice is fair! He is all-seeing and all-knowing and knows what we keep in secret. He hears the cries of the oppressed but gives time for people to repent. No one can hide from His Divine brand of Justice. The oppressed will be comforted and the oppressors will shudder in fear. His justice will come in His own perfect time.

Lord Jesus Christ prayed: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they're doing"

THE SYMBOLS

The following are the symbols that were incorporated in the painting THE WRONG SACRIFICE:


1. The Home
2. The Faith
3. The Baby And The Mother's Hands
4. The Neophyte
5. The Blindfold
6. The Crown Of Laurel, Questions Marks And Maggots
7. The Skeleton
8. The Shield, The Skull And Bones And The Halo
9. The Jagged-Edged Sword
10. The Paddle, The Death List And The Scythe - A Wrong Cross To Carry
11. The Inverted Cross
12. The Warrior's War-Torn Helmet And The Devil
13. The Watch, The Tie And The Suit
14. The Blood Red Cape
15. The Scale Of Justice
16. The Greek And Roman Alphabets
17. The Ring, The Coins and The Chain
18. The Gladiators (From The Spoliarium Of Juan Luna)
19. The Angry Hero And The Sad Hero
20. The Philippine Flag And The Threat To Peace
21. The Helplessly Hidden Sun And The Three Lost Stars

Note: while I am still writing the meaning behind each symbol you are invited to locate them in the painting and interpret them. Joel E. Ferraris

A CERTAIN SIGNIFICANCE?

I cannot explain why my path and that of the running priest Bro. Robert Reyes were destined to meet in Hong Kong. I cannot fathom why we conceptualized and discussed this piece of art at the Excelsior Hotel while we were waiting to meet actor Cesar Montano who once played the role of Rizal in a movie about the hero and who is himself an artist. But I know that Hong Kong is a significant place in our country's history when Dr. Jose Rizal practiced his profession here and where the Philippine flag was sewn here too. But I soon realized, to my surprise, that the meaning of the word "excelsior", which incidentally fall under the Latin and Greek phrases, is "Higher, more elevated" and the other meaning is "slender*, *curved wood shavings used especially for packing."

In my own interpretation, the significance of the struggle of the Filipino people during the time of Dr. Jose Rizal is now being recreated in a certain way in another time but with a different reality when the oppressors are not foreign anymore but domestic. The threat of that second world war is gone during these times of peace but many forms of silent wars are threatening the peace enjoyed by the country under a democracy today.

Today a lot of overseas Filipino workers are here abroad working and suffering while their hard-earned dollars they pump into our economy. I have seen them suffer and the whole world sees the tired Filipina domestic helpers lie scattered on sidewalks during their weekend day-offs while the well-heeled pass by. Today they are called heroes while their kids, without hands-on parental care and warmth of the parents touch, are the harbingers of havoc and mayhem in school campuses just because they decided to fight their stupid wars and continue to nurture that evil culture of fraternity violence. These young men are likened to the 300 merciless warriors adding to the agony and passion of Christ.

It is very sad to think that the very few people privileged to have really good education and might someday hold the reigns of our government are allowing themselves to be trained with the culture of violence, deception and thirst for supremacy and power in their make-shift war laboratories and battlefields in our countries campuses.

Equally significant is that the Philippine flag was sewn here in Hong Kong then. But now some elements of this national symbol that were depicted in my painting, The Wrong Sacrifice, which is also produced here in Hong Kong, show a badly tattered representation of the blue area because our own faults as a "free" people has silently infected our peace like cancer.

The solution to our people's existing problems cannot be solved by violent means but by concerned people-turned-servants of God the Father Almighty humbling themselves to Him who is high above there for us to be able to elevate our countrymen to a better status as true believers. And it was the example of a humble carpenter's true and real obedience to His Father's will that we need to emulate.

And this message has to be delivered fast by a running priest to our people's hearts and minds...especially those who are deeply influenced by the Greeks and the Romans of olden times.

May our Almighty God the Father be praised! All glory belongs to Him!

THE WRONG SACRIFICE

THE WRONG SACRIFICE
The Artist's Statement
By Joel Eugenio Epistola Ferraris

Introduction

"A picture paints a thousand words", so the saying goes, and this painting is rich with symbols describing the fraternity culture and its intricate but bloody history tainted with the culture of violence and death. And through the years since the Philippines saw the first of this kind of Western-inspired brotherhoods, with their mostly Greek and a few Roman influences, a trail of deaths and serious physical and psychological injuries that has left deeper physical, emotional and psychological scars to victims and their families along its warpath has silently but gravely affected the already suffering Filipino nation.

While the Philippine national hero Jose Rizal dreamed of the youth becoming role models like him to help the fatherland, while Bonifacio used violence to fight the more violent colonizers and while the painter Juan Luna powerfully depicted the insanity of violence and the atrocities of man against his neighbor through his painting the Spoliarium, there is a more compelling reason to be had in the Christian faith which clearly teaches the real way of sacrificing one's life as a sign of love for the One True God the Father Almighty and for fellowmen.

Sadly, fraternity men, locked in and blinded by the vicious cycle of hatred and vengeance all these years, turned a blind eye on the real meaning of Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross although ours is a predominantly Christian nation.

An illustration of the comparison between these two contrasting principles could be seen in the movie 300 and the Passion of Christ. In 300 the tribe trains hard beginning at a very young age in the ways of survival by perfecting the art of combat and to kill mercilessly is to ensure that fear, as a powerful weapon, will be felt by the enemy. On the other hand, Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed everything that He had, including His pride and dignity, up to the point of accepting death. The Spartans used violence to preserve the freedom of the tribe while the Lord Jesus Christ absorbed all violent acts and all the pain for the freedom of the soul. Those hardened warriors reacted by human nature while the Son of Man fought human nature. The former fought and died for an earthly, short-lived kingdom while the latter was preparing and showing the way for an eternal Kingdom. And Lord Jesus Christ knows and is the Son of the Supreme Creator who is Holy, Living and Eternal.

I am a survivor of the culture of violence of fraternities in my ten long years of stay in and out of the University of the Philippines Visayas and Diliman combined from 1976 until 1986 and I know the nature of this problem. I for one have failed my father in his dream for me to graduate and become an architect. This in turn gravely affected my family especially my siblings. We are all artists and we see the beauty of life juxtaposed over the insanity and the rottenness in this world and in people's lives. We hardly live through our art but we use art to let people understand their weaknesses and the means to reach the Source of their real inner strength.

Now as an artist I have presented a visual analysis in this painting, supported by literature, to serve as a clear representation of an abstract social and spiritual disease in contrast to the sick "patient" who refuses to be healed and how a lot of factors at play here affect one another. I have survived not because of my ability to resist viciousness with viciousness but because, unknown to others, I have my faith in the Almighty God the Father that eventually helped me out of that quagmire. It was my prayers to Him that saved me.

Thank God the Father Almighty that it did not reached the point that I have to take another man's life... or me being maimed or incarcerated...for me to be able to attain enlightenment. I just prayed every time we had rumbles then when I was still in UP Diliman that He will see to it that I will not hurt others or will not be hurt myself. And I prayed to Him one day in 1988 and said "enough of this evil life!... Please help me". Unknown to my frat brothers I was entering the point of enlightenment even before I left the university for good. And I'm sure other fratmen did too.

I have known violence long before I first joined our fraternity in 1976. In my elementary school years I was bullied several times by the sons of the rich and the sons of the poor alike. But I never fought back. Instead, I cried. But I soon realized that I have in me a gift from God the Father Almighty that worked as an effective tool to make the bullies forget their unfavorable behavior and befriended me - ART. They asked me many times to help them in their assignments which required my talent.

The same is true today. In the hope of giving answers to this lingering and stubborn problem of frat violence in our country where neither the academic community, the religious groups nor those in the legal professions were able to solve I pray that through art, coupled with the right explanation about the Will of the Almighty God the Father, there will be a solution.

Art could be a tool for understanding or, sadly, an addiction to idolatry clouding the minds from the real essence of Christianity. It could serve as a medicine to heal one's innermost being by serving as visual aids to further explain and elaborately describe God the Father Almighty's message instead of these objects of religion merely becoming vehicles of idolatry.

I for one do not approve of religious objects to be venerated or used in worship because although in our country there is an abundant supply of these relics still there is rampant immorality, corruption and apostasy where the culture of fraternity violence is one of them. Instead I agree to use visual aids such as films, like the Passion of Christ, to deliver effectively the message of the Gospels more clearly to an audience to make them understand rather than push them backwards into spiritual ignorance. That instead of hating, maiming and killing their neighbors, while hand-made idols are being paraded around with utmost care, they should instead love their neighbors the way Lord Jesus Christ loved His disciples. And moreover, there is a clear difference between the purpose of a place of worship without objects of idolatry and libraries fully equipped with tools for education.

Let the people be educated in the school libraries and see all the visual aids to fill-up their thirst for understanding and let them go to the places of worship devoid of idolatrous objects to enable them to concentrate their worship, adoration and love for an unseen Holy and Living Eternal God the Father Almighty. And let them understand that there is no need for insane and vicious competition at the expense of the lives and the future of others when in fact they can have the things that they need in life once they have successfully established their strong link with our Almighty God and Father who will open the floodgates of Heaven for them.

Allow me to describe this painting through a story by using the many symbols incorporated on it. I will focus on men because they compose the fraternities and most of all because men are supposed to be not only the heads of their family as a unit of society but as servants of an Almighty God and Father.

In the ongoing issue about the effects of fraternity violence and the much-awaited favorable response of fraternity members there is no assurance that all will go well and smoothly especially when it comes to justice for those who died in all the fraternity-related incidents. But as I have experienced in my life, plus the testimonies of other trouble-weary fratmen from other groups that I met all these years, there exists a silent undercurrent of sentiments amongst us longing for change. It is this kind of awakening that fratmen and those who support the fraternity culture of violence need to help others save themselves too. But this will not succeed without the grace from and guidance of our Almighty God and Father.

It is written, "He will make a way when there seems to be no way." So our initial action must be forgiveness. The movie CRASH has a lot of examples to derive very good lessons from which are clear expressions of the Gospels about love in the book of Corinthians. If only we were slow to anger we didn't have any regrets now. If only the voice of the spiritually wise amongst us triumphed above the wicked who perpetuate the culture of violence there will be no cowardly acts now and in the future.

The University of the Philippines Administration have tried several formulas all these years to solve the problem of fraternity menace in the UP System. That includes the Inter-Frat Council, the Ambassadors for Peace and the immersion to Gawad Kalinga. But sadly all these efforts failed to offer any firm and effective solution. Fraternities will make all sorts of creative means to continue and make the brotherhood alive and exist not only because men are born with free will or UP is a venue for free exchange of ideas but also because men will always want a sense of belonging and love that they might not have found in their respective homes. But let us not forget that the real solution will only come if and only if people will accept our Almighty God the Father's invitation for genuine change that will start from within each person.

Let us therefore not forget these lines from Matthew 7: 1-5...

¹"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

⁴How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Next: THE SYMBOLS

ATTENTION FRESHMEN!!!

Hazing is not only a serious issue in the Philippines. Overseas, especially in the US, the years of fraternity hazing-related deaths and all ensuing bloody and fatal fraternity conflicts continue to be a cause of alarm.

Here is one of the useful links that could help first year students understand fraternity hazings well before they become lured into a fatal trap:

http://www.hazing.cornell.edu/index.html

Cornell University in the US has provided useful guidelines and warnings about hazing in this link above.

In the Philippines, despite the Anti-Hazing Law, fraternities continue to recruit members to replenish their "army" in their ongoing fratwars that lie dormant for some time only to resurface again. There is therefore a need for a system other than the internet blogs that needs to be formalized to educate the public, especially students, about the relevance and the evils of the fraternity system and how to reform them if it cannot be totally eradicated. This additional source of education could become new subjects or new course of utmost priority in our country's schools.

The Death Of A Child - The Grief Of The Parents: A Lifetime Journey

The title above was taken from an article on the link in the last part of this topic.

Here are my own reflections:

As a fratman myself, ever since the issue about frat violence came into the picture even as I was still a student, I have deeply reflected on it in my moments of solitude. My two sons and daughter are still very young. Every time I and my wife lull them to sleep after our family prayer time each and every night I look at their sleeping faces one by one. Truly, I fear for their future especially that the culture of violence, in many forms not only among fraternities but in all sectors of society, are like demons ready to devour another victim.

But are parents in control of events? Are they the author of life? Do they have the power to take away the Breath of Life?

As parents I and my wife are the ones personally giving spiritual guidance to our children. We started with the Ten Commandments given by God the Father Almighty to Moses, the Two Great Commandments given by Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples and the New Commandment He taught them before He was crucified. The connection between all these thirteen commandments makes a very strong spiritual foundation for children to equip them in their life to face this world.

God the Father Almighty will make a way when there seems to be no way...if one will strongly have faith in and obedience to Him.

In the course of these debates whether to abolish hazing in particular or even fraternities in general just to eradicate the culture of violence, what comes to mind is the general mentality of Filipinos in supporting this evil culture all these years.

If you are in a room full of people watching the fights of Pacquiao and all those boxers you will begin to question these viewers' spirituality or the lack of it once they start cheering for their "idol" who are in pain and deep pressure in this modern day gladiatorial combat. Subliminally, there is still this culture of blood lust in people disguised behind the shallow cosmetics called sports. But if you listen to their cheers they will shout unspeakable abhorrent and unChristian battle cries like "hit him! hit him, f__k!, t___na!", etc.

What comes to mind here is the teaching of Lord Jesus Christ regarding adultery...

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

The same could be true with violence. The fact that hatred for an enemy boxer by a group of people or fratmen against their rivals could start a web of violence is already an act of murder in one's heart. And when I went to the US last year I heard stories from our countrymen how the rivalry between the Filipinos and Mexicans because of boxing sparked violent conflicts between these two Christian races.

This means that there is a need to overhaul the whole system of the Filipino mentality and focus on one's spirituality because being religious is a lot different from having a deep sense of spiritual enlightenment.

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Watch the video of a father in grief here

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Children are not supposed to die...Parents expect to see their children grow and mature. Ultimately, parents expect to die and leave their children behind...This is the natural course of life events, the life cycle continuing as it should. The loss of a child is the loss of innocence, the death of the most vulnerable and dependent. The death of a child signifies the loss of the future, of hopes and dreams, of new strength, and of perfection. - Arnold and Gemma 1994, iv, 9, 39

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When a parent dies, you lose your past; when a child dies, you lose your future. - Anonymous

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This space is with me all the time it seems. Sometimes the empty space is so real I can almost touch it. I can almost see it. It gets so big sometimes that I can't see anything else. - Arnold and Gemma 1983, 56

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A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. But...there is no word for a parent who loses a child, that's how awful the loss is! - Neugeboren 1976, 154

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The Death Of A Child - The Grief Of The Parents: A Lifetime Journey