<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large;">Kristo Rai @ FIFA</b><br>
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<div class="MsoNormal">A word is set loose in human history that excuses no one
from walking the life gifted one to live. <i>Christo
Roi</i> reigns supreme. That many refuse
to live the one, unique, unrepeatable life they already have, ignoring that
there was never one like them before, and no one like them will ever come again,
leaves a lot of whining lives wasted in sidelines of history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">My daughter has a sign in her kitchen: “$5 charge for whining”. Being a Christo is a chosen role, rather than
a whine of a victim ran over by circumstances (Roman rule) or mean-spirited (Scribes
and Pharisees) external forces. My
mantra: “the situation is never a person’s contradiction; one’s relationship to
it, in fact, defines one’s personal circumstance!” We may not be able to manage, let alone
control, our situation, but we sure have the option on how to relate to it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">The Christ-the-King notion has been turned into a widespread
cult on the butt-full Jesus idolatry terrain rather than the supremacy of the
Christ-word and Christ-role as a practical option of our lives. The danger is in reducing the Christ into a
cognitive exercise, a unit of belief and “faith” <i>sans</i> grounding in existential flesh and blood. Grounding a historical image propagated by
theological reflection, be it from Augustine or Aquinas, Luther or Kierkegaard,
cannot replace the bloody flesh on the historical barbwires of reality on one's
time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">Jesus the Christ is the exemplar par excellence in my
tradition, but to be his disciple in practice means that the Jesus Christ of 2,000
years ago takes on my likeness and my name is tagged on wrestling of the terror
of death and the triumphal marquee of the emptied tomb! The Jesus of history fades and my historical
reality emerges.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">I do not long for a journey to Palestine of old, nor wish a
devotional visit to Salman’s <i>Head of
Christ</i>. In the last three weeks, secular
me stared daily on the aerial view of statue of the Christ the Redeemer above
Rio in Brazil, a figure I once saw in 1980 on a trek to South America. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">Today, participants to the World Cup of FIFA <i>(</i><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;color:#1C1C1C">Fédération Internationale de Football Association</span></i><i>) </i>discover that a team excels more when its
passionate kick-and-run supersedes its mature but calculating professional
credential. Germany lumped host Brazil
while Argentina shoved Netherlands aside in a free kick shoot-out after a
scoreless time play.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Cristo Rei in Rio begs the question. What is the Kristo Rai in our lives? Put another way, what is the <i>summum bonum, </i>the highest good in your
life? <i> </i>The answer is a choice, not an automatic
inheritance from heritage or academic expertise.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">New Canadian friend Alex thinks that all Canada wants from
its young is to be good at hockey. My
grandchildren this summer play soccer and baseball; two of them are ambidextrous
so they can hit and kick right and left, an ability of advantage when playing
the games. At their tender age, they dream
of being professional players all their lives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">Family relations reign supreme to many so we treasure the
promise of clan, shield the family name from tarnish, and develop a competitive
edge to ensure high social standing. Being
on top of standardized tests, in academia or at the workplace, is a premium for
our children on our guard. We judge a
person by commercial values; earning capacity is nurtured and guarded. Business schools tout the virtues of “Looking after
#1”. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">Where leadership indicates a position in a pecking order, being
an authority or an elected official is cherished. Sports and athletics hone the senses, command
the muscular and skeletal eptitude that gets instincts to the height of animal
survival all the way to inescapable hormonal charm. Add intuition and we move into the gracious
affirmation of sensitive and strategic maneuvering. Virtues labeled as "love and compassion"
are often used to describe attainment in this field. We obsess for adulation, to be liked and be
popular.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">Managing language and precision in numbers adds the gift of
intellect into the personality stew. We
converse with the wisdom of tradition and annotate the literary leavings of the
learned, then dialogue with the voices that command assent among the
educated. Today, it is the adoration of
the meta-brain that allows for tenure and security in intellectual circles. Expertise loquaciously clothed qualifies,
certainty confidently expressed secures.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">The gifts of instinct, the refinement of intuition, and the
sophistication of intellect is nothing if it does not translate into the
efficacy of practical intentions. Living
effectively demands a comprehensive mind, a strategic heart, a capable body and
a resolute will. Viewing one’s unique,
unrepeatable self from those four portals lead to the highest good<i> </i>of the Cristo Rai role.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">The FIFA of Brazil shows boldly its <i>Cristo Rei </i>image displayed on the hill! Soccer players from 32 countries left their marks
on the field. Argentina's Lionel Messi could
not mess up <i>das t</i><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#404040;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">eamarbeit</span></i><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#404040"> </span></b>enough that Mario Gotze's
goal on the 113 minute of play finally got Germany<i> </i>their Cup.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">For us, like everyone else, to be human is to decide roles
7/24. Decide. Alleluia!</div>
<br>
<div style="clear:both"><i>j'aime la vie</i><br>
<a href="mailto:pinoypanda2031@aol.com">pinoypanda2031@aol.com</a><br>
<div><i>yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!</i></div>
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