Phototaxis

What does a moth, Adolf Hitler and the three wise man have in common?

A little background for us.

A moth (aka gamu-gamo) is an insect that is closely related to the butterfly species that is mostly nocturnal. Common moths have a life-span of just a week or two after growing their wings.

Adolf Hitler, was the Austrian-born German leader of the Third Reich whose racially motivated policies resulted in the deaths of as many as 17 million people, including an estimated six million Jews and between 500,000 and 1,500,000 Roma targeted in the Holocaust.*

The 3 wise men, traditionally known as Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar or the Magi, are believed to be important people (kings) from the East who visited the baby Jesus on the first Christmas eve, bearing gifts of gold (valuable item), frankincense (a perfume) and myrrh (an anointing oil).

Going back to our question - So what does a moth, Adolf Hitler and the three wise man have in common?

The answer is – Phototaxis.

Phototaxis, a scientific term mainly used in microbiology, is a kind of taxis or locomotory movement that occurs when a whole organism moves in response to the stimulus of light. Phototaxis is called positive if the movement is in the direction of increasing light intensity and negative if the direction is opposite.*

Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights, although the reason for this behavior remains unknown. One hypothesis advanced to explain this behavior is that moths use a technique of celestial navigation called transverse orientation. By maintaining a constant angular relationship to a bright celestial light, such as the moon, they can fly in a straight line. Celestial objects are so far away, that even after travelling great distances, the change in angle between the moth and the light source is negligible; further, the moon will always be in the upper part of the visual field or on the horizon. When a moth encounters a much closer artificial light and uses it for navigation, the angle changes noticeably after only a short distance, in addition to being often below the horizon. The moth instinctively attempts to correct by turning toward the light, causing airborne moths to come plummeting downwards, and resulting in a spiral flight path that gets closer and closer to the light source.*

The light it is attracted to becomes the source of its own destruction.

The light it is attracted to is artificial.

The actions of Adolf Hitler during his Nazi regime suggested that he saw himself as the light of the pure race that should inhabit our planet. And so he started his ultimate dream of mass-annihilation which included even his own people who has shown opposition to his plan.

The light he was attracted to became the source of other people’s destruction and his own soul’s eternal damnation.

The light he was attracted to was the false light.

Now here comes the 3 wise men who saw and followed the light of the star that finally led them to a manger in Bethlehem where Jesus is born. Truly, they are wise for they are mostly likely rich and respected members of their society, yet they travelled far in order to find and give their gifts to the baby Jesus as they kneel (an indication of great respect in those times). Their valuable time, talent and treasures were spent to what they believe to be one of the most (if not the most) important journey of their lives.

All three gifts are ordinary offerings and gifts given to a king. Myrrh being commonly used as an anointing oil, frankincense as a perfume, and gold as a valuable item.The three gifts had a spiritual meaning : gold as a symbol of virtue and kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of priestship and prayer, and myrrh (an annointing oil) as a symbol of suffering and death.

The light that the they were attracted to is the True Light that will save the world, the Light that ultimately gave sight to the blind, capacity to walk for the lame, healing to those who are ill, comfort and hope to the desperate and forgiveness to the repentant sinners.

The light that they were attracted to is the light of God’s love incarnate.

A few days from now and we will all be celebrating Christmas. A lot of us have been understandably busy with all the modern traditions that goes with the holiday season – last-minute shopping for gifts and Noche Buena foods, lots of parties and get-togethers to go to, house-cleaning and final preparations.

On one side, these activities are important up to some level BUT as Edward Hays noted (writer of “ A Pilgrim’s Almanac”), the supreme trick of the devil is to have us so busy decorating, preparing food, practicing music and cleaning in preparation for the feast of Christmas that we actually miss the coming of Christ. Hurt feelings, anger, impatience, injured egos (my personal additions –unforgiveness, resentments, fears, unworthiness) — the list of artificial lights that busyness creates to blind us to the birth of Jesus in its truest essence.

Edward Hays goes on to remind us that we should "take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.

Jesus Christ should be the only life-saving and inexhaustible Light of our lives.

There was a story where, in a certain church, the parish priest was anxiously looking for an image of the baby Jesus that disappeared from their manger decoration. After his relentless searching he found a small boy pulling a plastic wagon with the image of the baby Jesus inside. When asked why he did it, the boy simply replied, “Well, you see Father, I have been praying to Jesus to receive this wagon gift and I promised Him that, if my wish comes true, I will give Him a ride around so He can see the whole church. And so I did”, as he carefully puts the image back into the manger.

Jesus has done so much by being born a human like us. So it is befitting that our greatest display of gratitude is that we put utmost importance to his birth by carrying Him in our hearts so He can meet and save more people.

Let us all pause to pray.

A Christmas prayer by Meister Eckhart (Living Faith)

Lord, we do far too much celebrating your actual coming in our hearts. I believe in God, but do I believe in God-in-me? I believe in God in heaven, but do I believe in God-on-earth? I believe in God out there, but do I believe in God-with-us?

Lord, be born in my heart. Come alive in me this Christmas and stay in me all year long.

Amen.

God bless and Merry Christmas to all.

40

Wow.

I am all smiles today because I just turned 40 years old.

And what amazing years it has been for me.

If I were to look back at each quarter of my 40-year life and select out my top 3 highlights, it should be these.

Years 0-10

1. I was born (yep, otherwise my 40 years in existence would have been totally moot) through my loving parents who guided and provided for me and my siblings through all these years.

2. I was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic religion which my parents have piously imparted through their devotions and integrity in both their public and personal lives.

3. I was untouchable, not because I was a toughie, but on the contrary, I was a sickly, asthmatically thin dark boy who shuffles from bed-rest to hospital wards with all kinds of ailments easily finding refuge in my weak body. This is why even the most despicable bully around would take pity on me.

Years 11-20

1. I entered the seminary for 3 years. On the first 2 years, I never had the inclination to pursue priesthood and instead willingly did or participated in unmeritorious activities, yet I was not expelled. On my 3rd year, I thought I felt the vocation only to be "regent-out" by the end of that school-year. I made a few half-hearted attempts to go back to no avail (Thank you, Lord for not choosing this vocation for me). Nevertheless, the training and experience there has been a good foundation for my present beliefs and thinking. And the friendship I established with some fellow seminarians have withstood the test of time.

2. I got involved and learned about a lot of adolescent stuffs and activities like - writing articles, reading books, playing table tennis (in 3 years of representing our class, I made 2 quick elimination round exits and managed a semi-final trip on my last), shooting hoops in basketball (I never made it to any varsity team though) and guitar playing (with our eventual garage band touring, well, inside the garage).

3. After 3 failed attempts to court 2 girls (yes, I was denied twice by the same girl, aaargh), I met Menchie and charmed my way (sorry, my article so my own interpretation of events ha ha)to her heart and we started dating when I was 19 years old and she was 16 years old (yes, I was guilty of brain washing a minor but for a very honorable intention, in my defense).

Years 21-30

1. My wife and I started our respective professional careers.

2. After 8 years of nurturing and enriching our relationship, we finally tied the unbreakable knot on April 11,1999. Oh, I will never forget the sweetest look and "yes" from my wife as we declare our solemn marital vows.

3. The first opportunity to work outside the country came and I took it with high-hopes that my wife and I can start our family in China.

Years 31-40

1. My wife and I were blessed with our first son Zek after 4 years of waiting. Our daughter Maia closely followed only to be abruptly taken back to heaven after just 22 months of her young life (it was our single most devastating and painful moment of our family life). Our youngest Aim is nearly 7 months old to this day.

2. As inspired by very good Catholic writers Fr. Jerry Orbos and Bro. Bo Sanchez, God's calling for me to use His given talent of writing to spread His message of love started. And so 4 years ago saw the birth of my blogging in "People, Places and Praises" that kept me writing my reflections and musings about God's personal messages in all the wonderful people I meet, in all the places and events that I continue to witness and be part of.

3. I enjoy every moment with my family (yes, including both ups and downs because as Rick Warren beautifully puts it, life is like travelling on a railroad track - one side representing good experiences and the other bad moments yet both essential to make the travel in this so called life).

Thank you, Lord, for the forty meaningful years of my life.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me all these years despite my iniquities and frailties.

Looking forward, my goals for the next 10 years shall be, but not limited to:

1. I will keep an open and obedient heart to God's prodding no matter how illogical it may seem, as long as it will serve His divine purpose for my family.

2. I will keep my family together no matter what.

3. I will grow my financial literacy to make a few sound investments that hopefully will grow so that my family can remain good stewards of His blessings to benefit others in need.

4. I will become a semi-vegetarian (means zero pork and beef already) to compensate for my lack of physical activity.

5. I will continue to write for God's glory.

Surely 40 years is not the age for the dreaded and cynically termed mid-life crisis but it is the beginning of great things and abundant blessings yet to come.

Here I am, Lord.

Purify my heart and intentions.

Lead me always so that I may be able to lead others to you as well.

PS

Just for fun, I googled-up some significant biblical events relating to the number forty and the results were:

- Before the temptation of Christ, Jesus fasted for "forty days and forty nights" in the Judean desert.

- Forty days was the period from the resurrection of Jesus to His ascension.

- In modern Christian practice, Lent consists of the 40 days preceding Easter.

- In the Old Testament, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights in the great flood in which all land living being perished except those on Noah's ark.

It's a good company of number 40's to be with. :)