DE ELLO, Philip Edwin S.

Dom Rembert Tumbali Seminar 4/Benedictine Spirituality 2C2 December 5, 2011 First Assignment: Reflection on One's Spirituality Philip's Spirituality Spirituality, based from the classroom discussion where the writer of this reflection (the writer) is a part of, is what a person does with, or the way he or she handles his or her desires, unrest, madness, erotic energy or inner fire. The way Philip Sheldrake, a theologian who has been closely involved with the emergence of Christian spirituality as an academic field, puts it, spirituality* is the 'deepest values and meanings by which people live.' It can be seen in many instances in the different aspects of a person's life. In the case of the writer, he would like to share five: family, school, work, fraternity and love lives. Family life The writer is a member of a broken and an extended family, in that his parents are separated in fact and the parents of his mother and some other people live with them in one roof. These are his concerns, both with respect to their family structure (the 'other people' part): he does not share the opinion of his parents (mother and grandparents), and he does not share the opinion of his brothers. School life The writer is a first year irregular working student. He is underloaded so that he could finish his Bedan law course in at least five years. His school concerns are: he is bombarded with projects, and he is bombarded with recitations. Work life The writer is a Court of Appeals clerk. He has been working for the court for almost three years since February 2009. It is his first work after graduating from college. He proofreads promulgated decisions,verified final, by the court to be published by the Court of Appeals Reporter in the Official Gazette and/or the Court of Appeals Reports Annotated. His concerns with his work are: he is faced with deadlines, and he is faced with conflicts with office mates. Fraternity life The writer has been an active member of the Alpha Phi Beta San Beda College of Law Fraternity since 2010. He has been the 2011 Bar Operations head of his fraternity. According to feedback, because of being able to take good care of the last bar operations, he has been elected as the next Resident Vice Lord Chancellor (student vice president in layman's term) of his fraternity. These are his concerns with his fraternity since he became a member : he is stuck in a situation wherein there are external fraternal conflicts his fraternity is not in good terms with some other

fraternities, and he is stuck in a situation wherein there are internal fraternal conflicts not all of his fraternal brothers are his friends. Love life The writer has been in a relationship for the very first time since birth (he is now 24 years old). He is the proud boyfriend of Ms. Jeana Lyn Caceres, his classmate in the law course. Their love story has started during the Bar Exam Blast when she came to his rescue after getting wounded. They will be celebrating their first Christmas as a couple together soon. His concerns with his love life are: his girlfriend misunderstands him, and he misunderstands his girlfriend. His Spirituality The writer is a Bedan since College. Because of this, he has been introduced to the concept of monastic life (prayer and work, peace, and community life) since then. Although he has been acquainted with the same since college, it has been relevant to him even before, because he has been unconsciously practicing it since high school. Simply put, the writer has matured during his secondary education. Prayer The lyrics of the song 'The Warrior is a Child,' they don't know who picks me up when no one is around is very much applicable to the writer, because in times of trouble or when it seems he cannot handle things anymore (like his above concerns), he turns to God by praying. He prays that he may be able to go through his problems. Peace When he thinks that he is taking too much of everything, he takes a rest for a while so that he could have peace of mind. When he has peace of mind, he is able to think clearly. When he thinks clearly, he can now be literally at peace with others (e.g. his parents, etc.). Involvement of Community According to the movie Zathura, not all games could be played by a single player. The same is true in one or in another part of everybody's life. The writer, when he gets the opportunity, asks people around him about what he should do most especially those who are more experienced. An example of which is when the writer talks to his elder brother regarding the problems of the heart. Work As seen in the kasabihan, 'Nasa Dyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa,' prayer should be paired with work. After being able to ask God for help, to take a rest, and to ask some for advice, one should put everything in action. A student, like the writer, may not possibly earn his college (or law) degree just by praying, because prayer does not work like magic. One also has to study his lessons.

* From an article in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia entitled Spirituality.

Information retrieved last December 5, 2011. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality#cite_note-1>.