Prolife and Anti RH Bill Advocates won another TV Debate

Last night the Anti RH-Bill and Pro-lifers have again won another Televised  debate which was aired by TV5 'Kapatid' Network  in Hamon sa Pagbabago: RH-Bill, hosted by Atty. dong Puno and Luchie Cruz-Valdez and was uploaded in you-tube by Pinoy-ako.

The participants of the debate were divided in three groups: Pros, Antis and the undecided.

Although the pro RH People always claim that majority of the Catholic People wants the RH- Bill based on purported surveys, the result of the televised debate however, was different and went against them, since the previous undecided group have voted 100% against it after hearing the answers in all the presented questions and arguments.

 Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Litturgy of the Word - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading:       Is 22:19-23

Psalm :                    Ps 138:1-8

Second Reading: Rm 11:33-36

Gospel: Mt: 16:13-20

Brief History:

For this occasion Jesus changed the name of Simon to Peter (Rock) and gave him the keys of heaven and the authority to bind and unbind.

Reflections:

In the two thousand years of existence of the Catholic Church, it has survived everything that threatened its existence, from persecution from the different empires that it has to face to schism and even apostasy, but true to the promise of Christ  the " gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it", it remained and survived all of these turbulent  events  but not without the sacrifices of its believers. 

Today in the modern world, the Church is again facing new challenges, as a member of this Universal Church what can you contribute to its mission?

Personal Prayer

Lord Jesus, allow me to contribute the little that I have for the greater glory of Your kingdom, here on Earth, Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit fill the hears of your faithful and en-kindle in them the fire of Your Love.

Send forth Your Spirit and They shall be created.

And You shall rule the face of the Earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the Faithful, grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly be wise and ever rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen

The Pope and the College of Bishops - a reaction on Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago's Speech on The Reproductive Health Act

What generally caught my attention regarding the co-sponsorship speech that Sen. Miriam Santiago gave just recently (August 1, 2011) on the Reproductive Health Act which is currently scheduled for deliberation(?) at the Philippine Senate were the following:

"... The central issue of Vatican 2 was authority.  Before Vatican 2, the typical Catholic accepted the authoritarian structure of the Church “as a dictate of divine revelation.”[2] My generation were still children at that time.  We were taught that the Pope was a kind of superhuman potentate, whose every word was a command coming from a supernatural authority.  I recall that the autocratic procedures of the Church were positively medieval.

"But with Vatican 2, the seeds of a democratic revolution were sown.  It emphasized that the Church is primarily the whole people of God.  It called for dialogue between all members of the Church.  It asserted that the Pope and bishops are collegial.  And it called for the establishment of senates among the priests and of pastoral councils that include the laity ..."

Although I must admit that her speech would definitely be very attractive to most "typical Catholics" specially for those who keeps on insisting that they can remain Catholic while supporting a Bill which has already been denounced by our Bishops' conference, the speech already can speak for itself,  that its very contents were very carefully written, but very obviously "selective" in its entirety.

The writer simply presented the arguments in such a way that when read upon, it would seem that Vatican II have "purportedly" redefined the Catholic Church's Hierarchical authority, by making the chair of Peter co-equal with the college of Bishops, when in reality it never did. 

Since from the looks of it,  the writer had an amnesia and have totally forgotten to express what "Lumen Gentium", one of the document that came out of the Second Vatican Council really means when it comes to the Church's Hierarchy and Authority, allow me to humbly opine on the matter to the best of my limited knowledge.

The following statement which I found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) which can also be found in the Code of Canon Law (CAN), I believe, is what Sen Santiago were referring to:

     884 "The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council."[Canon 337]..." 

However, if this is indeed the statement that she was referring too, they have missed the continuing statement which says that 

"there never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter's successor."[LG 22]'

When we simply read a specific part of the Catechism and deliberately disregard the other statements attached to it, it would simply mean that you we are ignoring the simple Truth.

So what is the Truth? Lets read CCC from 880 to 884 and see for our selves how  it Explains what "Lumen Gentium" expresses in regards to "Authority" which according to Sen Santiago, was the "Central Issue" of the Second Vatican Council.

880 'When Christ instituted the Twelve, " he constituted them in the form of college or permanent assembly, at the head of which is placed Peter, chosen among them" [LG 19] Just as "by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic college, so in the like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successor of the apostles, are related with and united to one another."[LG 22]' (Emphasis mine)

881 " The Lord made Simon alone, whom He named Peter, the "rock" of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head."[LG 22] This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope." (Emphasis mine)

882 'The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful."[LG 23] "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."[LG 22]'(emphasis mine)

883 '"The college or body of bishops has no authority unless united with the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, as its head." As such, this college has "supreme and full authority over the universal Church; but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff."[LG 22]' (Emphasis mine)

884 '"The college of bishops exercises power over the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council."[Canon 337] But "there never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter's successor."[LG 22]'

Moving out from the CCC, lets now refer to the Code of Canon Law,  CAN 337 also states that "The college of bishops exercises power [over] the universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council.." as used in the CCC, it is worth noting that CAN 337 also has the following statements when read in full:

 "§2. It exercises the same power through the united action of the bishops dispersed in the world, which the Roman Pontiff has publicly declared or freely accepted as such so that it becomes a true collegial act." (Emphasis mine)

 "§3. It is for the Roman Pontiff, according to the needs of the Church, to select and promote the ways by which the college of bishops is to exercise its function collegially regarding the universal Church." (Emphasis mine)

Also in  CAN 338 

  

"§2. It is for the Roman Pontiff to determine the matters to be treated in a council and establish the order to be observed in a council. To the questions proposed by the Roman Pontiff, the council fathers can add others which are to be approved by the Roman Pontiff." (Emphasis mine)

and lastly in CAN 341 

 "§1. The decrees of an ecumenical council do not have obligatory force unless they have been approved by the Roman Pontiff together with the council fathers, confirmed by him, and promulgated at his order." (Emphasis mine)

In summary, what are the facts and the Truth in regards to the Church's Hierarchal Structure and Authority? Was it really change by Vatican 2?

I believe the document can speak for itself, it remains that the Supreme Authority in the Catholic Church is the Roman Pontiff. [LG 22, LG 23]; and although the College of Bishops can Exercise the same power (as the Roman Pontiff) when acting as an Ecumenical Council, "this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman Pontiff, "[Lg 22] which just happen to be the one that Catholics often referred to as the Pope. (I guess we're still in the medieval age.)

The following cited explanations are very important when it comes to understanding what Vatican II was all about and in truly understanding what Humana Vitae is, which I will try to cover in my succeeding blogs.

References:

Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition on-line - Retrieved on Aug 18, 2011- http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p4.shtml

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "Lumen Gentium" on-line. Retrieved on Aug 18, 2011 - http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html

Code of Canon Law on-line. Retrived on Aug. 18, 2011 - http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P17.HTM

The reproductive Health Act, part 1: The Primacy of Conscience in Catholic Theology. Retrived on Aug 18, 2011 - http://miriam.com.ph/newsblog/?p=388

Prayer for Daily Neglects

Eternal Father, I offer you the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its Love, all its Sufferings and all its Merits.

First - To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. 

(Glory to the Father...)

Second - To purify the good I have done badly this day and during all my life. (Glory to the Father...)

Third - To supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have neglected this day and during all my life.  (Glory To the Father...)

The Golden Arrow

(Prayer to heal the wounds inflicted by blasphemy)

May the most Holy, most Sacred, most Adorable, most Mysterious and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in heaven on Earth and under the Earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

(This prayer was revealed by Our Lord to a Carmelite Nun of Tours in 1843 as a reparation for blasphemy.  " This golden Arrow will wound My Heart delightfully," He said," and heal the wounds inflicted by blasphemy.")

imprimature: + T.J. Toolen, Archbishop of Mobile-Birm

Prayer to defeat the work of Satan

O Divine Eternal Father, in union with your Divine Son and the Holy Spirit, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg You to destroy the power of your greatest enemy - the evil spirits.

Cast them into the deepest recesses of hell and chain them there forever!  Take possession of Your Kingdom which you have created and which is rightfully yours.

Heavenly Father, give us the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I repeat this prayer out of pure love for You with every beat of my heart and with every breath I take.  Amen.

Imprimature, March 1973, +Richard H. Ackerman

Bishop of Covington

source: 

Pieta Prayer Booklet, p33

Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

In the Catholic Church, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life.  It teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."[1] It is a major feast day in some countries and is celebrated as a Solemnity every 15th of August [2]. 

This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus.[3]

Notes:

[1] Assumption of Mary. (2011, August 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:45, August 14, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assumption_of_Mary&oldid=444799270

[2] Calendar of the Liturgy of the Hours 2011. OCDS St. Teresa of Jesus Manila, p40 

[3] Defining the Dogma of the Assumption. Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII. Retrieved on August 14, 2011, from http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-xii_apc_19501101_munificentissimus-deus_en.html

Image from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia retrieved on August 14, 2011, under the GNU Free Documentation License

Litturgy of the Word - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading - Is 56:1-7

Responsorial Psalm - 57:2-8

Second Reading - Rm 11:13-32

Gospel - Mt 15:21-28 - The Canaanite Woman's Faith

Historical Background

The normal policy of the historical Jesus'  mission is clearly seen in this biblical passage, to gather the people of Israel for the end times [1], but despite of this the Canaanite women continues with her plea.  When Jesus said "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." It shows that Jesus' mission at this point in time does not include the Gentiles.   However, the woman was very quick to catch-on Jesus' message and used it to her own advantage[2].  Thus, her reward.

Biblical reflections:

1.  Jesus' have acknowledged the Canaanite woman's faith as "great",  contemplate on this faith of the woman and ask ourselves of how deep is ours compared to her.

Personal Prayer after reflection:

 Lord Jesus, teach us to Love in order to have faith.

 

Notes:

[1] "The Gospel According to Mathew", The New Jerome Biblical Commentary 1993, pp 658-659 

[2] Ibid

Reference:

The New American Bible - The New Catholic Edition 1987

Act of Love

My god, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all love.

I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you.

I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured.



Image from:


Praying Hands Clipart, retrieved on August 14, 2011 - http://prayinghandsclipart.com/

I was born for you - A Methodological Study of The Way of Perfection (June)

Discalced Carmelites preparation to the 5^th Centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Jesus, “a return to the sources of our Teresian Charism, to have a renewed understanding of our identity and mission in today’s Church.”

Scheduled Reading of the way of perfection

June 2011: Chapters 1 – 3 

Summary: 

The way of perfection of St. Teresa of Avila was written at the height of the "reformation" that was started by Martin Luther, a German Friar , in Germany.  Although it was the Calvinist founded by John Calvin that was causing troubles in Europe, specially in France when the way of perfection could have been written.  It was also a time of great distress in the Church, since a reform was indeed needed to address the noted abuses of some members of the Clergy and Religious Orders.

It is also worth noting that when St.Teresa was writing the way of Perfection, it was also the time that she has decided that a reform is needed within the Carmelite Order, since  a great deviation from the primitive rule of St. Albert has already been committed in "Ecarnation".  Thus, the way of Perfection can also be  viewed as the rules of St. Teresa on how the first nuns of the Discalced Carmelites should live as they return to the primitive rule of St. Albert.

It is also obvious that St. Teresa was bothered by the effects of the reformation and instructs the nuns under her care to pray for those who were defending the Catholic Faith, so that through their prayers God will make our Theologians and Preachers " highly proficient in the way of the Lord" and that "they may advance in perfection" in fulfillment of their vocation.

St. Teresa also mentioned the different hurdles that these learned men (Clergy) needs to face in order " to help the Lord", and is hopeful that through their prayers "they may gain the divine Favor" of increasing their numbers who are "qualified", and to "prepare the others who were lacking anything."

She also emphasized that "offering their petitions continually is not useless", and instructs her nuns to pray for the prelates of the Church, most specially the Bishops and said that if their prayers, desire, discipline and fasting were not done for the intentions she mentioned, they are not carrying-out the work of fulfilling the object of their calling.   

Sources:
The way of perfection
St. Teresa of Avila

Picture of St. Teresa of Avila
Wikipedia.com - St. Teresa of Jesus
under Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 (Unported). and the GNU Free Documentation License

Act of Hope

My God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.

Image from:


Praying Hands Clipart, retrieved on August 14, 2011 - http://prayinghandsclipart.com/

NASA-SDO Detects another X6.9 Class Flare

Another solar flare with an intensity of X6.9 in a scale of 1to 9 was detected by SOHO last August 9, 2011. Although the Flare is Earth directed, the Corona Mass Ejection  (CME) was not, thus there is no expected earth bound effect.  However the X6.9 Flare still has the possibility to affect satellite communications and humans in outer space.

Image as captured by SOHO LASCO-C2 Credit NASA-SOHO

Video by NASA-SOHO

Act of Faith

My God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons: Father, son and Holy Spirit;  I believe that your divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because you have revealed them who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

Image from:


Praying Hands Clipart, retrieved on August 14, 2011 - http://prayinghandsclipart.com/

Prayer to our Guardian Angel

Angel of God my guardian dear, 

To whom His love commits me here,

Ever this day be at my side, 

to light and guard, 

to rule and guide.  

Amen

Image from:

Free Classic Images dot com - retrieved on August 11, 2011 - http://www.freeclassicimages.com/Angels_&_Fairies.html

Memorare

Remember, oh most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided.

Inspired with this confidence I fly unto you, Virgin of virgins, my mother.  To you I come, before you I stand sinful and sorrowful, Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Hail Holy Queen

Hail holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.  To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.  To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.  Turn then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this exile show to us the blessed fruit of your womb Jesus.  O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Latest Solar Flare / CME Emission

Last week, new Solar flares and Corona Mass Ejections (CME) were detected by NASA Solar Dynamics Laboratory in which three (3) flares accompanied by CMEs were seen.  

The First CME was detected on August 2, and arrived on Earth on August 4, while the 2nd and third CMEs combined, and arrived on August 5 with the 3rd  CME  given an M9.3 on a scale of 1-9, and predicted to be of a "K-7 storm" in a 1 to 9 scale and is expected to cause aurora displays in countries located at the Mid and High Latitude areas of the Earth.

 

NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory's Recorded 3rd Solar Flare. Credit NASA/SDO

Animated model showing the expected path of the August 4, 2011 CME cloud. Credit: NASA/CCMC

The third flare from Active Region 1261 as captured by SOHO. Credit: ESA/NASA SOHO program

However, according to spaceweather.com as the third flare hit the the Earths' magnetosphere on August 5, it  registered 8 on a the 0-9 "K-index" on magnetic disturbance, and is considered to be one of the strongest in years.

"Creation is a Scientific Fact"

Here is something that I manage to have discovered in youtube that you might also find interesting.

It is a four (4) part video presentations on why creation can be  proven as a scientific fact.

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Prayers and the teens of today

We only need to look around and it is not hard to notice the kind of attitude that most teens have when it comes to faith and belief in the existence of God.  With so much to distract their attention, most of our teens no longer have time to pray.

During our fraternal meeting with our Provincial Superior, one of the topics that came in to discussion was an observation that was made by one of the Elders of the  Bataan Community in regards to a comment that was given by a teen when they asked them to try to experience what an OCDS community can offer to them,  (in Filipino) "hindi namin kaya ang ginagawa ninyo" we find it hard doing what you do", the teens were referring  to the kind of prayers that the OCDS does.  Well I guess, they know that as Carmelites, our charism is prayer, thus the answer.

When our Provincial Superior learned of this answer, he said ," sadly, to some, prayer is just a job, instead of a way of life".  He explains that to some people, prayer simply means "asking", which is, sad to say is very common to most people.  

As members of the Carmelite Secular Order we are indeed required to set a portion of our time to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and do our  mental prayer.   Yes! we also include petitions in our prayers, but these petitions  are secondary to our true purpose, which is according to St. Teresa of Avila,  we pray in order to have an "intimate sharing between friends".

"Lord Jesus, teach as how to pray, so that we can share our day-to-day experience with you."

Liturgy of the Word - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading - 1Kings 19: 9-13 

Responsorial Psalm - Ps 95 9:14

Second Reading - Rm 9: 1-5

Gospel - Mt 14: 22-33

Historical background

The Disciples were told by Jesus to cross over the Gentile territory via boat, while  He pray by Himself on top of a mountain.

Gospel Reflections :

Peter is known of being impulsive at times, and in this event, upon seeing Jesus walking on the water, Peter's faith and love out of his impulsiveness, had asked Jesus to command him to come to Him.  However, Peter out of his own fear, had doubts, that caused Him to slowly sink and called upon Jesus' Help.

As we journey this pilgrimage of ours, many of us often times doubted the Goodness of God, but even so, we only need to call upon His Son to be saved.  

As we meditate upon the Gospel, let us asked ourselves on how many times have we doubted God's goodness, what  were the causes of this doubt, was it our fear?  Lack of faith?  How did God offered His Saving Hands to strengthen our faith.

Our Promotion to the Next Level as Members of OCDS-Subic

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

After a long wait this morning, at 10:00 AM, our long awaited promotion which was affected by a moratorium two (2) years ago took place at Subic Carmel of the Holy Spirit.

The event was officiated by our Provincial Superior, Very Rev. Fr. Angelo Madelo, OCD, and was graced by the Nuns of Subic - Carmel; our  Spiritual Assistant Bro. Pete Ganon, OCD; by our OCDS Philippines President Sis. Celia Timbol; and by the Bataan-Angeles OCDS Community.

The Ceremony was held during a special mass for the Discalced Carmelite Family.  The Celebration was followed by a luncheon and a Fraternal Visitation meeting conducted by our Fr. Commissar.

Novitiate

1. Sis. Irma P. Rabanes of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Temporary Promise

1. Bro. Jov Mark B. Felarca of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
2. Sis. Agustina T. Ecleo of St. John of the Cross
3. Sis. Mercedez V. Gamez of Our Lady of Guadalupe
4. Sis. Rosa M. Levi of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
5. Sis. Cridivi P. Melegrito of St. Therese of the Child Jesus
6. Sis. Eufrocina J. Verzosa of Mary Immaculate Mediatrix of all Grace
7. Sis. Purification C. Soriano of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
8. Sis. Emilia T. Acabado of the Immaculate Conception

Definitive Promise

1. Sis. Elsa R. Pineda of the Holy Trinity
 

I will be posting our pictures after I get copies from our official Photographer.

Ito ang Araw by - Arnel DC Aquino, SJ

You can download this video from YouTube by clicking here

Liturgy of the Word - Saturday - Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus

1st Reading : Dn 7:9-14

Psalm: Ps 97:1-9

2nd Reading: 2Pt 1:16-19

Gospel: Mt 17:1-9

Historical Information

One of the Three suggested possible Mountains where the transfiguration took place

• Mount Tabor. This is a traditional location, but is not as high as Mount Hermon. The Church of the Transfiguration is located atop Mount Tabor. The earliest identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century. It is later mentioned in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis. [1]

Suggested Gospel Reflections:
Why were the Apostles became afraid after hearing the voice that said " This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him."? (Mt. 17:5 NAB)

Why were they able to conquer their fear when Jesus touched them and said " Rise, and do not be afraid."? (Mt: 17:7 NAB)

Source:

[1] Mount of Transfiguration. (2011, July 27). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 01:32, August 3, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_of_Transfiguration&oldid=441637415

Solar Storm of 2012-2013

For a time now I have been doing some research on solar storm and its possible dire effects on Earth should a really big one starts hitting our planet as the sun reaches its solar maximum in the next two years.

What prompted me to do this research is when I chanced upon on youtube a recorded interview of Dr. Michio Kaku in 2009, a Theoretical Physicist of CUNY by Fox news, regarding the warning that the US National Academy of Science has given on the possibility and dire effects on our existing technology, of  a "grand" solar storm hitting our planet every time that it gets near the end of its eleven (11) year Solar Cycle.  Aside from the fact of course that more than a year ago Discovery Channel has featured on its program "Perfect Disaster", the possible consequences of being hit by a Perfect Solar Storm.

So here I am, posting what I was able to gather as posted in my column at subic-examiner (still remember?) last week. 

From Subic examiner which was posted in three (3) parts

In an interview conducted by Fox News in 2009 to Dr. Michio Kaku, a Theoritical  Physicist of CUNY, he was quoted as saying that a “Massive solar flare in the years 2012/2013 could throw us back 100 years”.

Relatively, as early as 2008, the US National Academy of Science, the highest scientific advisory body to the United States Congress, has issued a report  on the adverse effect of a Massive Solar Storm should one hit our planet.

Entitled Severe Space Weather Events – Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts Workshop Report, the report stated in its executive summary that “because of the interconnectedness of critical infrastructures in modern society, the impacts of severe space weather events can go beyond disruption of existing technical systems and lead to short-term as well as to long-term collateral socioeconomic disruptions.”  The report also mentioned the critical part of electrical power in the threat of a solar storm since it is “the technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend.”

Although it was careful in stating that “the probability of a wide-area electric power blackout resulting from an extreme space weather event is low,” it stated that “the consequences of such an event could be very high, as its effects would cascade through other dependent systems.

What is a solar storm?

SOHO coronagraphs captured this movie of a coronal mass ejection (CME) heading towards Earth (NASA)

Solar winds are caused by tremendous explosions in the Sun's chromosphere, often times associated to the presence of a very high number of sunspots which normally occurs as the sun approaches the last years of its eleven (11) year solar cycle.

This massive explosions within the Sun's surface could result to solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejection/s (CME) that can heat space particles to millions of degrees in a few minutes, that could release energies in the forms of electro-magnetic (Gamma and X rays); energetic particles (protons and electrons); and mass flows with an amount of energy that can be compared to billion megatons of trinitrotoluene (TNT),

As these emitted energies moves away from the sun, it can change speed due to streams of colliding and interacting particles that are moving at different speeds which can result to shock waves that can accelerate from less than 300 km/s to over 800 km/s depending upon the conditions in the corona, and on the Sun's rotation.

These constantly changing solar winds, can alternately pass by the Earth which is, if severe enough can produce storms in the magnetosphere which can be seen by people who lives near the magnetic polar regions in the forms of Aurorae, Borrealis (for the northern region) and Australis (for the southern region).

Its Effect on Earth

Under normal condition these solar storms simply pass by the Earth and be deflected or absorbed by its Magnetosphere, and for some time now this has been occurring without us in our country even noticing it.  In my lifetime and with the Sun's 11 year solar cycle of "flipping magnetic poles" ( the time where the magnetic poles of the Sun changes from north to south and vice versa) I have already passed at least three cycles without me noticing any dire effect. This is true, so long that the Earth’s Magnetosphere and Atmosphere remains intact and continues to protect us from these dangerous solar radiations.

Eventually, the same is not true when it comes to the technology that we currently have. This is because the energy that the Solar Storm carries can damage Electrical and electronic based equipment and can overload power plant generators, transformers and capacitors.

Recorded Solar Storms with damaging effects

1859 - A solar storm that is considered to be the largest geomagnetic storm to hit Earth in recorded history has paralyzed the US telegraph system by overloading its telegraph wires. Though the damage that the storm have caused compared today could only be considered to be minimal, with the kind of technology that we currently enjoy and with our heavy dependence on Electricity, Dr. Kaku in his blog " A possible Solar Storm in  2012?" said,

"From the damage done we can calculate how massive the solar storm was, and it was a whopper! In fact, if that solar storm of 1859 were to hit us today it would cause (according to the report) trillions of dollars in property damage and hundreds of billions of dollars in damage for each of the countries that were affected" [1].

February 11, 1958 - Radio blackout cuts US off from the rest of the world. Aurora was visible in Los Angeles, Tulsa, Boston, Seattle, Canada and Newfoundland. Voltages in electrical telegraph circuits exceeded 320 volts in Newfoundland. Although not seen over New York, it was so intense over Europe that people wondered about fires and warfare. [2]

March 1989 - A solar storm much less intense than the perfect space storm of 1859 caused the Hydro-Quebec (Canada) power grid to go down for over nine hours, and the resulting damages and loss in revenue were estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.[3]

1994 - A solar storm caused major malfunctions to two communications satellites, disrupting newspaper, network television and nationwide radio service throughout Canada. Other storms have affected systems ranging from cell phone service and TV signals to GPS systems and electrical power grid [4]

October 29, 2003 - The Halloween Storm - This Halloween Storm spawned auroras that were seen over most of North America. Extensive satellite problems were reported, including the loss of the $450 million Midori-2 research satellite. A huge solar storm has impacted the Earth, just over 19 hours after leaving the sun. This is one of the fastest solar storms in historic times, only beaten by the perfect solar storm in 1859 which spent an estimated 17 hours in transit. A few days later on November 4, 2003 one of the most powerful x-ray flares ever detected, swamped the sensors of dozens of satellites, causing satellite operations anomalies….but no aurora. Originally classified as an X28 flare, it was upgraded to X34 a month later. In all of its fury, it never became a white light flare such as the one observed by Carrington in 1859. Astronauts hid deep within the body of the International Space Station, but still reported radiation effects and ocular 'shooting stars'.[5]

(For a complete archive of solar storms since 1859 unto 2003, based on newspaper reports click here: http://www.solarstorms.org/SRefStorms.html )

Why it affects Electronic Devices, Electrical Appliances and Power Plants

The effect can be compared on the way we generate electricity in our power generating plants.  Electricity and Magnetism are related to each other, that their existence cannot be denied once the presence of the other is detected.

When electricity passes to a wire conductor, a magnetic field perpendicular to the flowing current is generated. 

When the intensity of this magnetic field changes as the amount of flowing current varies, a counter electromotive force known as “induced voltage” can develop across the wire conductor (Lenz' Law).

This is a natural phenomenon in electromagnetism that lead to the invention of modern day transformers that allowed us to transfer electrical energy on an adjacent wire conductor, without these wires even touching each other.

Similarly, the effect of electromagnetism can also be explained using our method of radio transmission, where electrical signals from a transmitter (cell phones, TV and Radio Stations) are propagated via antennas that converts electrical signal to electromagnetic energies during transmission, and vice versa during reception.

During solar storms, the energy released by the Sun includes electromagnetic energy. Thus when this energy of tremendous amount hits a wire conductor, it can generate an induced voltage across the wire that can simulate the effect of an electrical transformer.  Although, the amount of induced voltage may vary as dictated by Faraday's Law of induced voltage, history in itself will prove that this can cause damage to telegraph lines in the early days of communications, and radio communications, including power plants, in our modern day technology.

Solar Storm of 2011 - 2012

In December 21, 2006, David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center and his colleague Robert Wilson presented at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco their findings and predictions of a "Big Solar Cycle" that is due on 2010 and 2011.

Cross correlating sunspot numbers vs. 150 years of geomagnetic activity of Inter-hour Variability (IHV) indices, derived from magnetometer data taken every day since 1868 and recorded at two points on opposite sides of the Earth: one in England and another in Australia, they found that the IHV predicts the amplitude of the solar cycle 6-plus years in advance with a 94% correlation coefficient. [6]

"We don't know why this works," says Hathaway. The underlying physics is a mystery. "But it does work."[7]

According to their analysis, the next Solar Maximum should peak around 2010 with a sunspot number of 160 plus or minus 25. This would make it one of the strongest solar cycles of the past fifty years—which is to say, one of the strongest in recorded history. [8]

Prior to Hathaway and Wilson's presentation, earlier on March of the same year, Mausumi Dikpati of the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) using the "conveyor belt model" which Hathaway, like most experts of the field, have confidence with, have already predicted that a storm is coming -- the most intense solar maximum in fifty years.[9]

However, their forecast regarding the start of Solar Maximum differs.  Dikpati's forecast puts Solar Max at 2012. Hathaway believes it will arrive in 2010 or 2011. [10]

But just how big will it be in simple layman's term?

"Looks like its going to be one of the most intense cycles since record-keeping began almost 400 years ago"
                - David Hathaway, Marshall Space Flight Center

"The next sunspot cycle will be 30% to 50% stronger than the previous one"
                - Mausumi Dikpati, National Center for Atmospheric Research

Basing from this information now come the big questions.

1.Does our Government know about this warning?

2.What are the contingency plans that the Government is currently doing in order to prepare our people should, as predicted by these scientist, a massive solar storm does hit our planet and starts affecting our communication system and power-generating facilities?

3.Although there is a possibility that the solar storm might not affect us directly due to our location being in the equatorial region, the aftermath of this geomagnetic storm affecting our neighbouring countries might even cause problems in our economy.  Just imagine what will happen once our modern day navigation and communication satellites get damaged.  What will be its implication when it comes to our country's importation of needed resources, like oil? Unless a more comprehensive analysis and study is made by our Government officials, we will never know.   

4.As the old saying goes "Prevention is better than cure!" Dr. Michio Kaku has already suggested preventive measures in his interviews and in his own blog, “will our government heed or even do some preventive measures?”

In conclusion

In the Earth's entire history of artificial satellite launches, the United States Space Surveillance Network (SSN) has tracked more than 24,500 space objects orbiting the Earth. Although most of these have already fallen back on Earth, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) there are approximately 3,000 Earth Orbiting Satellite in space out of roughly 8,000 man-made objects in total.[11]

Eventually, when this predicted Solar Storm hits us, the most vulnerable are these orbiting artificial satellites.

I certainly do hope that our government does something now and not wait when all these artificial satellites start to fall like hail storm. Nor wait for us to see Dancing Bright Lights in the Sky (Aurorae), because when we do, it becomes our signal that the BIG storm has indeed arrived.  And when it does, just how prepared are we?

Notes:

1]  “A possible solar Storm in 2012? “ – Dr. Michio Kaku - Big Think : Dr. Kaku's Universe March 31, 2010- retrieved on July 1, 2011, from http://bigthink.com/ideas/19371
 

[2] "Archive of the most severe solar weather" - Space Weather - retrieved on July 2, 2011, from http://www.solarstorms.org/SRefStorms.html

[3]"Solar Super Storm" NASA Science News October 23, 2003 - retrieved on July 1, 2011, from    http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/23oct_superstorm/

[4] ibid

[5] "Archive of the most severe solar weather" - Space Weather - retrieved on July 2, 2011, from http://www.solarstorms.org/SRefStorms.html

[6]"Scientist Predict Big Solar Cycle" NASA Science News Dec. 21, 2006 - Retrieved on July 2, 2011, from http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/21dec_cycle24/

[7] ibid

[8] ibid

[9]"Solar Storm Warning"  NASA Science News March 10, 2006 - Retrieved on July 2, 2011, from http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/10mar_stormwarning/

[10] ibid

[11]"How many satellites are orbiting the Earth?"  WiseGeek retrieved on July 2, 2011 from - http://www.wisegeek.com/how-many-satellites-are-orbiting-the-earth.htm

Sources:

"Solar Physics" NASA - Marshall Space Flight Center - http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/interior.shtml

Gif Image:

Downloaded from the NASA Science News: Solar Solar Storm - NASA Science News - retrieved on July 2, 201, from http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/23oct_superstorm/

Other Sources:

Youtube videos:

"NASA Warns of Super Solar Storm 2012" Youtube March 26, 2009 - retrieved on July 2, 2011 from - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_TzIUlaQok&feature=related

"Michio Kaku: Massive solar flare in the years 2012/2013 could throw us back 100 years" YouTube August 19, 201, retrieved on July 2, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPdqr2v1rTQ
 

Discovery Channel – Perfect Disaster: Perfect Solar Storm
A mixed documentary and fiction produced by Discovery Channel
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5