Those Assumptionistas Who Looked Back at the Jal-o a Year After Yolanda

Today is the first anniversary of Yolanda, internationally known as Typhoon Haiyan, which has been regarded as the strongest of those typhoons that ravaged communities all over the world. I intended to let it pass without so much ado, for after all, most of my trees have never recovered when she battered them last years. My neighbor is still without a decent house to live in--despite the reported many humanitarian aids coursed through either the government or the non-government organizations. But there are those who knocked on our doors today, inviting us to see through the bitter experience that we had last year and reflect on the way we chose as we tried to stand up from its havoc.

Ms. Viel Aquino Dee, Vice Chair of Assisi Development Foundation
and Mayor Bobby Calizo of Balete, Aklan surveyed the boats
made by the fisher folks themselves.

The callers are the volunteers of the Associate Missionaries of the Assumption or AMA for short. I know them not personally, but I met and befriended some of their peers sometime when they rowed down the Jal-o a long time ago--yes, but not that very long time ago. They brought with them their smiles, their friendship, their affirmation, their faith, their hopes, their stories. They came from as far as Europe and the United States (a friend and I found it amusing seeing a French animatedly chatting with a British volunteer), from Mindanao and North Luzon and even from nearby Iloilo, all to break bread with us today as we remember the sad incident of last year. They brought with them some means to help restore the lost livelihood of the fisher folks by the Jal-o. Yes,they brought us the Assisi Development Foundation which in turn capacitated the fisher folks to build boats out of the fallen trees.

Small group sharing: Here I am a year after Yolanda.

On that simple yet grace-filled gathering by the Jal-o today, we were informed that AMA and the Assisi Development Foundation opted to be with us for the occasion to witness the blessings and turn-over of boats (34 for today--and 50 last September 28) as part of the their Tabang Visayas reach-out program. And yet, they admitted that more than helping us process our trauma, they intently chosen to be with us for Balete has a special place in their hearts. One AMA "graduate" confessed that it was in Anao many years ago when she decided to give her yes to serve God through the poor by living the "Simple Life" They looked back at us to say thank you for that grand and wonderful immersion that they experienced while living with the kind people of Sitio Anao, Aranas.

The new batch of AMA volunteers rendered a special song
especially composed by one for Tabang Visayas. 

Today's interaction between those Assumptionistas, with Ms. Viel Aquino Dee and Ms. Vicky Borres, and the marginalized fisher folks by the Jal-o was a living testimony of the truism that the friendship of the rich and the poor is mutually enriching. It was a quiet yet eloquent love story of neighbors electing to carry the cross of one another.

Yolanda may have caused us much damage and even to some, tragedy; but like the Pandora's Box, she brings out with her moments of grace that lift up the human spirit to soar higher to remind one of his lost calling of living simply, kindly and responsibly along with his neighbor by the Jal-o River. A year after, may he finds the courage to echo the words of St. Marie Eugenie of Jesus, "My life must a be constant yes to my God."

Seduced to be God

This piece is also posted in my other blog, "Our Restless Journey"

Pope Francis' commentary on Mark 9:38-40 last Wednesday, May 22, 2013 during the Feast of St. Rita de Casia, OSA, the patron of impossible things, draws much attention in a society that is fast becoming secular. His words were headlines and the next most shared item in social media. Why is that? Sermo humilis? 

The other day, he was talking about the possibility of all men of goodwill entering the Kingdom of God, and he means, "all" including even those who refuse to believe in the existence of God. Yes, my friend! Even if you're an atheist or an agnostic, you can inherit New Heaven and New Earth. The proviso is simple. Do good works. Be good and shun evil. 

Now, this reminds me of a youthful desire brought by an "entanglement" with Sartrean Existentialism. Human reality desires to be God. To Sartre, this is bad faith. Man is deluded to believe that he can be happy in the afterlife. He refused to accept the fact that he is thrown into a world bereft of meaning. Ours, Sartre asserted, is an absurd world, and our existence a nauseating facticity. 

Sartre's Ontological Dilemma

Man is invited to return to freedom. He is asked to be responsible for himself, not to desire to be God but to accept that he is his own god. He must be honest to see things as they are. They are nauseating because they are "de trop", superfluous and meaningless.When, after undergoing "existential psychoanalysis", he starts his journey as a forlorn being-for-itself, man gains lucidity and assume a "positive existence". He now creates meaning where originally there was none. He begins to be responsible for himself, for his actions. He begins to be good, to be his god. 

Such was the seduction Sartre was offering man as an alternative. Yet as a young man, how can he carry the responsibility of being his own god? How can he endure the loneliness of worshiping himself without a community to belong to? How can he meet others and start doing good together? 

The Possibility of Good in Sartrean Philosophy

Atheism is always a lonely path, reserved for the strong and the courageous who care less to be deviant. The believers on the other hand are the lowly, the weak, the fearful, the marginalized, the humble, the contrite of heart, the common man who choose to walk along with his fellowman in the hope of returning home together to the House of the Father. Redemption is indeed offered to all at the cost of the blood of the Lamb. But even then, each and all is asked to choose to inherit Heaven or to be condemned into Hell, be it existential or otherwise. By our standards, this seems impossible. Precisely that Pope Francis prays for the impossible things to happen:

"Today is [the feast of] Santa Rita, Patron Saint of impossible things – but this seems impossible: let us ask of her this grace, this grace that all, all, all people would do good and that we would encounter one another in this work, which is a work of creation, like the creation of the Father. A work of the family, because we are all children of God, all of us, all of us! And God loves us, all of us! May Santa Rita grant us this grace, which seems almost impossible. Amen.”

KATO ANAY SA BALETE: Estorya it Katilingban nga nagakinahang-ean it Pagbueong ku Dios

(A similar entry has been also published as a note in SaintRaphael the Archangel Parish Facebook Account) 

Nagapangutana ka, “Ham-an gid a nga si San Rafael Arkangel do patron it Balete?” “Ham-an gid a nga sa bug-os nga Dioceses it Kalibo o Provincia it Akean, ro Balete eat’a ro may patron nga Arkangel?”

Iya sa Amon (Sinipi halin sa Apdo ni San Rafael)

Mayad nga pangutana. Mabudlay ugaling sabton. Pero bisan pa, dapat gid man nga atong tinguhaan nga hangpon eamang nga maintiendihan ta rong aton nga gin-umpisahan. Sa rato, mabanta ta kun siin rong aton nga paadtunan.

Amat-amat eang. Aton rong higayon makaron. Ibhi kami sa rayang pagpanikangon sa Daean. Estoryahan naton rayang mga bagay-bagay. Basi pa man, sa aton nga pagbaeayluhan it ihibaeo ag experiensya, mahangpan ta ag malingling rong kamatuoran.

Umpisahan ta anay sa nahanabo kato. Mamasyar ay kita ku tiempo it mga Español iya sa aton. Partikular sa dag-on 1882 sa Balete. Kato nga tiempo, ro Balete hay isaea sa 33 ka “pueblos” ku provincia it Capiz. Ro parokya hay parte man ku Dioceses it Jaro. Do census it 1870 hay nagasugid nga may una nga 3,023 ka pumueoyo rong Balete, ngani nga ku 1804 nahimo eon ra nga “pueblo” o banwa (bisan pa nga ro policy kato hay dapat nga may una nga 5,000 nga populasyon rong sangka comunidad bag-o mangin banwa).

 Masubo rong sitwasyon ku 1882. Haeos sa kada pamaeay hay may nagapanangison. Ro awtoridad hay nagapaninguha nga mataw-an it solusyon rong problema. Sa listahan, may una eon nga sobra sa ciento quarenta (140) ka patay sa sueod eang it sangbuean nga nagtaliwan. Sa pagkamatuod, 144 gid tanan rong nagkaeamatay, suno sa report kung gobernadorcillo nga mabasa mo una sa manuscript nga Memoria dela Provincia de Capiz (Mayo de 18, 1882) sa National Archives of the Philippines.  Suno sa report, cholera outbreak rong kadahilanan ku andang pagkamatay.

Rong mga tumueo-o, sa pamuno ku andang cura parocco (tiempo eon da ni Don Padre Vicente Guanco) hay naghimo it novena para sa andang patron, Sr. San Rafael Arcangel. Dayon may ginhimo sanda nga procesyon. Pangamuyo nanda nga rong Ginuo hay magbueong kanda. Rāfāʾēl, buot hambaeon, ro Dios hay gabueong.  Pangamuyo nanda nga sanda ag rong andang pinalangga hay pagabuengon it Dios paagi kay San Rafael. Pangamuyo nanda nga rong andang pagpanaghoy sa kasubo hay mangin hugyaw sa kasadya.

Ag ro Dios hay nag-ulikid kanda. Si San Rafael hay nag-unong kanda. Pareho nga gin-ibhan na si Tobias sa anang pagpamanawon, gin-ibhan na man do kada Baleten-on sa anang pagpamanawon sa Daean it Kabuhi. Kato. Makaron. Kaibahan naton si San Rafael nga Arkangel, patron it manugbueong ag ku mga nagapang-eakaton, ku nga bulag ag ku mga nagapangasawa, patron it Baleten-on. 

A restless heart's supplication through St. Raphael

A Prayer for the Christian Community who Journeys into a Better Balete than Yesterdays

        O, Ginuo, amon nga Diyos nga Amay, ano kanami tan-awon ro imong mga tawo nga nagakabuhi sa gugma ag pag-ambitanay. Ano ka sadya pamatian ro andang kanta it pag-iegmanghuran ag pagbueuligan sa oras it pagtilaw!

      Ikaw ro amon nga ginadayaw sa tiempo ngara it pagbag-o. Kabay, nga sa rayang panahon padayon kami nga ibhan ni San Rafael nga Arcangel sa among nga pagpamanawon sa daean it pag-eigmanghuran kay Kristo-Hesus. Ro imong presensya hay magtao kamon it inspirasyon nga panestigusan rong kamatuuran sa pihak kung pagtilaw it kapurilan. Ikaw ro among kaisog sa pagbag-o ku dapat bag-uhon, rong kaaeam nga nagagiya kamon sa paghimo it tama ag matarong nga desisyon.

        Ro Imong Espiritu ro among manuglipay ag kabulig sa pag-abaga ku mga paeas-anon daea ku among responsibilidad bilang mga lideres ag miembro kung Kristianong Katilingban. Kabay, nga padayon imaw nga mag-tao it kaaeam kamon, eabi eon guid sa rayang adlaw it pagbag-o, sa among pagpang-eakaton nga nagapas-an ku krus it pag-eigmanghuran pauli sa baeay nga imong gintigana kamon.

        Guinapasaeamatan namon ikaw sa imong mga manuggiya nga ginpadaea kamon riya sa Katilingban. Kabay kunta nga sanda hay magpanistigos man sa kamatuoran it Gugma nga nagatubod una sa imong pagka-Dios kaibahan si Kristo ag rong Espiritu Santo. Mangin hueuwaran namon sanda sa pagtao it katumanan sa imong Pulong para maibantala ron sa tanan, eabi eon gid sa mga kubos kamon.  

Sa gahum it Imong Espiritu, magpadayon, kami nga magmatutum sa among sinumpaang responsibilidad, magpadayon nga madaea namon sa kauswagan rong amon nga comunidad sa pihak ku mga sab-eag nga among gina-atubang.

     Amon rang ginapangayu, paagi kay Kristo, kaisa ku Espiritu Santo, Dios sa walay katubtuban nga tanan.

       Amen.

       O Maria nga ina it Dios, ig-ampo mo kami. 

Where Have You Hidden, Beloved?

I have been fascinated by the manner John Michael Talbot interprets pieces of those great men and women of the faith. He is gifted with such contemporary aura and creativity to attract the attention of the younger generation to take a third look --or rather to lend their ears, into the rather "obsolete" and unattractive works of the rather "conservative tradition" of the Roman Catholic Church.

Below is a sample which will surely evoke something of the romantics out there. The poem is by Juan dela Cruz, a Spanish Carmelite mystic who lived around the time Ferdinand Magellan set foot in Mactan. The cut is entitled, "Where Have You Hidden" from JMT's 1990 Album, "Meditations from Solitude."



Also, herewith are some additional links which you may find relevant:

• On St. John of the Cross 
• On St. Teresa of Avila 
• Works of St. John of the Cross
• The Music of John Michael Talbot

St. Nick and Paskwa sa Banwa's Christian Paradigm

Today is the feast of St. Nicolas of Myra (December 6). Of course, only a handful know about it. Less even cared about it. Saints are no longer popular these days. Much more their feast days.

What people cared is that Piolo Pascual, their idol set upon a pedestal, remains true to the image he let his fans made of him all these years. As for old St. Nick, well, (pardon the word) he stinks--unless we reinvent him and call him by his popular name. And of course, by presenting him as the one who makes dreams and wishes come true, especially this Yuletide season.

Balete LGU employees sing Christmas carols for the poor

Take for instance our Paskwa sa Banwa. Considering that Balete was the first in the Aklan to stage a grand Christmas decoration by lighting trees within the Municipal Park and Plaza, we deemed it proper that the Baleten-on constituencies have a responsibility in sustaining this laudable pageantry through collaboration with the local government and the various civil society organizations as well as the private sector. Christmas is however not just about pageantry. It is more about sharing and caring. As a matter of fact, it is about the birth of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Hence, we reinvented it by introducing certain variation by doing away with glamour and at times scandalous display of lights and introducing the Christian paradigm of sharing and caring. We have encouraged participating agencies to go out of their way and reach out to the underprivileged instead of spending their monies on Christmas lights and decors. We facilitated their meeting at the town plaza where these agencies, CSO's and PO's impart the spirit of Christmas to the poor through Christmas carols and gift-giving. 


To put it simply, we tried to celebrate Paskwa sa Banwa in a manner old St. Nick did it many, many years ago.  He went out of his way just to reach out--even risk his safety by climbing chimney just to help. Not for his own glory but for that of his God. Incognito and especially during nighttime, he carries bags of goods and discreetly threw them into the abodes of the poor.


One particular story, I love to tell my kids about is St. Nick's encounter with a poor widower who raised singlehandedly his three daughters. He was particularly concerned about their plight that when its was time that the poor man's daughter are to be wed, he slipped into the nights an threw in bags of money to enable the father to pay for the dowry of his daughters. It was said that the poor man was so keen at knowing the persona of his unknown benefactor that he labored staying at night locking the windows and watching the only entrance. He was outwitted by Bishop Nick who made his entrance at the chimney just to avoid being recognized.  


So today is the feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. He won't mind if we failed to remember though. But he would mind if we endeavored to live out the spirit of Christmas--not just about sending cards, giving gifts and singing carols to our loved ones during this season; not just about completing the dawn masses and giving alms to the poor. Old St. Nick would really mind if we make room for the homeless Jesus in our lives day by day. Can we make it happen? 


By the way, St. Nick is popularly called in other countries as Kriss Kringle, Pere Noel, Santa Claus. 

In a Distance: Lolek was Sent to UST one Sunny Morning Telling the World of God's Love

Photo courtesy of Catholic Online

I have been hunting down my old notes, photo albums and journals these past few days. I was particularly interested on those memorabilia associated with the last visit of the late Pope John Paul II who is due to be beatified on May 1 to coincide the celebration of the Divine Mercy Sunday. I was unlucky finding my journal of 1995 though. Nanay helped me out digging up the dusty bulks of photo albums in a nook behind the altar of our house. The activity though had her sent back through those captured moments into some bygone years when life was simple and quiet. 

Pope John II addressing the faithful at the
UST ground in 1995 on the occasion
of the 10th World Youth Day.

But I was a single-minded mule, determined at finding just anything that is associated with Blessed Lolek. I take anything by that degree as something worthwhile to pan on the dying embers in the hearts of men, mine primarily.

After a while and a few sneeze, I got my price: a couple of photos of the Pope which I took in January of 1995 when he came to the University of Sto. Tomas, that Royal and Pontifical University in España, Manila--the oldest in Asia which had just celebrated its 400 years anniversary last January 2011.  I took many photos of him though for I was carrying 3 cameras at that time, the two of which were by some friends who were not lucky enough to have a pass--the proximate areas were exclusive of the Dominicans and for some select faculty members, student-leaders and a few seminarians. (A friend-seminarian gave up his privilege and lent me his pass just to give me the leeway to frame the Pope) Yet I can't find all of them saved the two.

The Pope as he descended from the
stage after delivering his message at
the UST ground. 

I have always believed that ours is a special time. Our contemporaries are saints and martyrs and yet we failed to recognize them. They have been calling us out in their quiet and simple lifestyle and yet our attention are drawn to the spectacularism and the grandstanding of men. They have given witness to Truth and have kept the Word alive not only in their hearts but in their day-to-day dealings. They keep on telling us in their very lives of the unconditional love of God for each and all of us.

Ora pro nobis, Blessed Lolek!

_______
P.S.
 What a nice gift to your kids as they take their summer break: Lolek-The Boy who Become Pope John Paul II