Thinking Freely 3

From the diary of A. Ferrer, 1985, somewhere in Hannover, Germany:

“Hunger is, as such, negative. But nevertheless, it is a much lesser evil in comparison to Greed. In fact, there is no plausible comparison between the two. Hunger can be stilled with a generous portion of a decent meal. But greed? Greed is insatiable. No amount of portion, be it generous or little, can satisfy greed. It is not a mere virus of the society, but a malignant cancer that should be taken away as soon as possible, in order to save what is still left of what has been once a healthy part of social life. Greed can be found nowhere else but in the very core of human beings infested and corrupted by it. Money, power, influence, property, or all of the aforementioned are the ‘foods’ of greed: Foods that will never fill up a bottomless hole. People from all walks of life are both victims and carriers of this cancer. I am not for eliminating walking cancers, my friend. But we can do something directly against the situation:

DO NOT FEED THEM.
DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO INFEST ANYBODY, FROM TODDLERS TO ADULTS.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM.
DO NOT WORK FOR OR WITH THEM.
AVOID THEM WITH ALL YOUR POWER AND DETERMINATION.
DO NOT VOTE THEM INTO OFFICE, WHETHER GOVERNMENTAL OR ECCLESIASTICAL.
DO NOT SHOW RESPECT FOR THEM BECAUSE THAT WILL SEND A DEADLY SIGNAL OF TOLERANCE, ACCEPTANCE OR IMMORAL INDIFFERENCE.
DESPISE THEM AND LET THEM FEEL THAT THEY ARE DESPISED.
DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY BY THEIR SWEET TALKS AND PROMISES.
NEVER EVER ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM. CANCER CELLS SPREAD RAPIDLY. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THEY HAVE GOTTEN YOU ALREADY.

And yet, my friend, every person can change from within… a thorough change… a METANOIA. Should there be clear and genuine transformation, authenticated by deeds and action, another chance should be given them. Just as we would want another chance after true repentance, so should we be to our fellowmen. But unless there is this METANOIA, be strong and determined to fight this devastating social cancer called Greed.”

Thinking Freely 2

Diary, A. Ferrer, 1985, Singapore:

"Money per se (as such) is not evil. It can be useful or it can be misused, just like power. It can be used for godly purposes or it can be worshiped as a god. It all depends upon us. Let us choose wisely. Money should be our slave. Not the other way around".



From the Diary, A. Ferrer, 1985, Karachi, Pakistan:

"Some people have a strong tendency to look for faults, loopholes, weak points, petty and insignificant matters regarding everything that is in front of their eyes. It is a pity to see them focus and concentrate on one particular imperfect leaf or bark of a tree because in doing so, they will lose sight of the grand beauty of the forest".



From the Diary, A. Ferrer, 1985, Zürich, Switzerland:

"No work is futile if done with honesty, dedication and passion. People who are good in what they do are looked upon by God with pleased and satisfied eyes. But the godless cannot bear the sight of other people's success and are slowly blinded by envy. And envy brings out the beast in man".

Thinking Freely

From the diary of A. Ferrer, 1985, Frankfurt, Germany:

"Many people have I known, whose measure of their fellowmen is: rich or poor, famous or unknown, powerful or powerless, strong or weak, good-looking or not good-looking, belongs to the upper social class or belongs to the lower social class, has lots of material belongings or has less material belongings, has the latest in fashion & trend or has old fashioned stuff, has the most expensive things or has the cheapest in the market, intelligent or not intelligent, talented or not talented, always on top or always at the bottom, has many influential friends or has no influential friends, and so on and so on until one gets dizzy with the long list of this crap.

MY FRIEND, IF EVER YOU WILL TRY TO MEASURE SOMEBODY, I ADVICE YOU TO LOOK CAREFULLY WHO IS: THE OPPRESSOR OR THE OPPRESSED, THE CHEAT OR THE HONEST, THE CROOK OR THE RIGHTEOUS , THE RUDE OR THE POLITE & KIND, THE ARROGANT OR THE HUMBLE, THE AGGRESSIVE OR THE MEEK, THE LOUD & NOISY OR THE QUIET & SERENE, THE AGGRESSIVE OR THE PEACEFUL, THE UNJUST & UNFAIR OR THE JUST & FAIR, THE INHUMANE OR THE HUMANE, THE ONE WHOSE GOD IS MONEY & WEALTH OR THE ONE WHOSE SLAVE IS MONEY & WEALTH, THE ONE WHO WOULD SUFFER PATIENCE & ENDURANCE OR THE ONE WHO WILL STEP ON FELLOW PEOPLE JUST TO REACH A GOAL, THE ONE WHO TREATS HUMAN BEINGS LIKE ANIMALS OR THE ONE WHO TREATS ANIMALS AS IF THEY WERE PEOPLE, THE ONE WHO HAS NO RESPECT FOR OTHERS' FEELINGS OR THE ONE WHO HAS UTMOST RESPECT FOR OTHERS' FEELINGS, THE ONE WHO SUCKS THE LIFEBLOOD OF OTHER PEOPLE OR THE ONE WHO WOULD DO WHAT HE CAN TO HELP EASE THE BURDEN OF HIS FELLOWMEN, AND LASTLY, THE ONE WHO TAKES OR THE ONE WHO GIVES...

Choose wisely, my friend, because life is short. Live as if you will not be here tomorrow, rather than live as if you were immortal. In a nutshell, just choose the good and reject the evil. Do this and destiny will smile upon you. Do this and Mother Nature will take care of you. Do this and God will bless you and keep you. Do this and mankind will defend your cause".

Christmas Message 2009

Good morning, Parents & guests. Our short message for this Christmas Commemoration is FORGIVENESS. There will always be moments when people hurt us, offend us or oppress us. Some intentionally, some unaware. But Christmas is PEACE. And with bitterness and hatred in our hearts, peace will not have a chance. Forgiveness is the bridge to peace and the true symbol of being Christian. Let us not wait for others to ask sorry. Let us start to forgive before Christmas comes. Only then will TRUE PEACE and CHRISTIANITY conquer the world. Thank you.

Blue Danube Will Go On

To grab a toy that is not yours is bad.
To grab food that is not yours is very bad.
To grab a corporation that is not yours is very very bad.

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As early as now, we are announcing that there will be ABSOLUTELY NO INCREASE IN TUITION AND MISCELLANEOUS FEES next school year. For as long as we are Blue Danube, we will always keep the spirit of the year 2000 when we began this school.








PARENTS AND GUARDIANS HAVE AN INHERENT RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN A SCHOOL. ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE TRUTH AND THE FUTURE OF THE INSTITUTION TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN.

Update: 2nd Donations for Flood Victims

SECOND DELIVERY (Oct. 19)

The second batch of relief goods were delivered to the victims in Bay, Laguna. 2 vehicles with Marfi Atienza, Guard Teddy, Ms. Rochelle & Myra, Allan, Brando and Sir Freddie brought 87 big bags (rice, other food, medicines, etc.) plus the used clothes (separate). The repacking was made by teachers and office staff of Blue Danube. From the P5,312.70 cash donations, P4,271.70 were used to buy rice, P500 hired driver & gasoline allowance for the vehicles and P541 for the food of the manpower. The last 3 sacks of rice were not repacked anymore, but were delivered as is. We thank you for the spirit of helping the needy. God will surely give back your kindness a hundredfold. God bless you all.

N.B. As of this writing, 367 families are still in the evacuation center. Their homes are still flooded.

FIRST DELIVERY (Sept. 30)

The grade six pupils and all faculty and office staff helped cheerfully together in the repacking of your donations. It was great to see everybody working hard to prepare everything for the needy of Laguna. All in all, the cash donations amounted to P17,830.00 whereby P10,400 were used for rice, P500 for plastic bags, P1,075 for Betadine, P4,572.30 for Sioland dry goods, P700 for the supper (whole day without lunch, only drinks) of the 19 persons who delivered the goods, and P170 for their softdrinks. P412.70 are still in left and will be used for buying rice for the second batch of delivery.

A convoy of 4 vehicles with 19 manpower brought the 236 big bags of goods (used clothes are still excluded). Many thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Ocampo for the 2 vehicles with drovers and their 4 helpers, Mr. Atienza for the vehicle with Marfe as driver, Mr. Alcance with his pick-up truck, parents (Mrs. Oliva & Mrs. Sio), a security guard (Teddy), and members of the Administration (Sir Allan, Ms. Rochelle, T. Gerlie) who, all in all, made up the 19 delivery persons. They were helped by 2 social workers from DSWD Sta. Cruz (Ms. Vilma Cosio & Ms. Celia Andal). The following evacuation centers were the recipients: Pagsawitan Elementery School (80 bags), Calios Elementary School (70 bags), Calios Day Care Center (12 bags), Bubuhat Elementary School (56 bags), Duhat Elementary School (18 bags) and Bay Elementary School (all used clothes).

Again, many many thanks for all your generosity, kindness and effort. Up to this writing, many villages are still under water and many families in evacuation centers. We will therefore make a second trip after collecting the second batch of donations.

Pictures will be posted later.

Ecclesiasticus 2 (selections)

Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity. Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great.

Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. Trust God and he will help you;

You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy, turn not away lest you fall. You who fear the LORD, trust him, and your reward will not be lost. You who fear the LORD, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy. Compassionate and merciful is the LORD; he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble.

Those who fear the LORD disobey not his words; those who love him keep his ways. Those who fear the LORD seek to please him, Those who fear the LORD prepare their hearts and humble themselves before him.

Let us fall into the hands of the LORD and not into the hands of men, For equal to his majesty is the mercy that he shows.