AS CHRIST LIVES
by Bp. Gerardo A. Alminaza, D.D.
Don’t Worship Your Emotions
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean (Mk 1:41-42)
For this week, I decided to share with you in toto a beautiful piece that Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI (one of my favourite author and spiritual guide) wrote on love based on the Gospel quoted above rather than quoting him or summarizing his thoughts. It will certainly challenge us to live as Christ lives. Here it is:
Don’t love only when you can feel natural sympathy. Don’t love only when you can feel good and clean about it. Don’t let your moral decisions be dictated by your emotions, even when they seem to be operating at their highest level.
What’s at issue here? Fuller maturity and what’s highest in Christian discipleship. When Jesus tells us that all the commandments can be boiled down to a single one, love, he adds a caveat: Love, as I have loved you.
How did he love? He continued to love, forgive, and give his life even when those he was loving were destroying him. That’s the challenge, but it isn’t easy. Why not?
If you were bullied as a child, laughed at, humiliated, and shamed before your friends and classmates, it isn’t easy (no matter how much you have grown and matured) to feel sympathy for the bully who, as you have learned since, was only acting out the abuse he had received from someone else, probably from his own father. It’s more natural to continue to hate him and rejoice that his later life is as laden with problems and unhappiness as were his school days.
If you are a woman who has been hit by a man, perhaps even by your own spouse, and made to feel the helplessness and humiliation of that, it is hard, emotionally impossible perhaps, to feel real empathy for the plight of men (let alone for the man who struck you) just because you now know that men are more wounded than women, that their suicide rates are infinitely higher, and that they struggle much more than women to express themselves, to give and to receive love, and to enjoy life’s simple joys.
If you have been sexually abused it is understandably impossible, at least at one level to feel compassion for pedophiles and sexual predators of any kind, even once you know that every victimizer was himself first victimized and that this wound is the cause of his deep sickness and that the stigma of that sickness is the new leprosy in our society.
And if your emotions are normal it is hard to be opposed to the death penalty when the person awaiting the sentence is unrepentant, rationalizing, hard, and is blaming everyone else for his problems. It’s easier to oppose the death penalty for someone whose heart is repentant and tearful and who wants only to make amends to the family of his victim.
But that’s the stretch! That’s precisely what we are invited to when scripture says: “Sing a new song!”
What is our old song and what is wrong with it?
Our old song is the song we naturally sing, even at our best, when we let our emotions, our natural instincts, and our bruised and needy egos dictate our sympathies. When we do this, we give out our love and empathy only when our emotions, naturally protective and wounded, allow us to, namely, whenever we can feel clean, good, and cathartic in loving and forgiving. That is why it is so difficult for us to have a consistent ethic of life within which we are as solicitous to save the life of a guilty murderer as we are to save the life of an innocent unborn child.
We struggle with this because emotion rather than our discipleship is dictating our sympathies. We are naturally loving and empathic, but in a very restricted way, namely, we give out our love and empathy only when we can feel good about it, that is, when it is clean, wanted, respected, and appreciated. We can love, forgive, and bless someone who wants to be loved, forgiven, and blessed by us, but, we find it existentially impossible to do the same when that person has hurt us, hates us, blames us, and wants us dead.
But that’s precisely what Christian discipleship and full human maturity call us to, namely, to be able to have real empathy, forgiveness, and love for those who have hurt us, humiliated us, blame us for their unhappiness, remain unrepentant, and, in essence, curse us.
A couple of years ago, when all the negative publicity about sexual abuse among clergy was at high fever, a very sincere, good-hearted, Catholic man said to me: “I’ll never give another penny to the Catholic Church! I will not have any of my money supporting a pedophile!”
That’s nature speaking, but it’s a long way from the love and understanding that Jesus preached. In essence, what this sincere man is doing is worshipping his emotions by saying: “I can give my love and support when I can feel good about it, but I can’t give my love and support when I can’t feel good about it, no matter that a pedophile suffers from the most unglamorous of all diseases.”
But love calls us to more than that and, in order to get to that higher level, we must stop worshipping our emotions.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Love Story
A Love Story
Heartbeats by Rev. Fr. Philip Vincent S. Sinco
At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last
- Etta James, At last
I am a self-confessed hopeless romantic. I usually get this giddy feeling every time I watch dreamy love stories on the boob tube or listen to soul-gripping ballads on the radio. At times, it’s nice to lose myself to every scenes of the movie or to every lyrics of the song because I am constantly presented with the many facets of love---the joy, the fulfilment, the confusion, the loneliness, the pain, and the anger it brings. But just when I thought that I already had this utter indulgence on the quintessential longing of the human heart and spirit, there is still so much to learn, especially if you deal with love in real life.
I am saying this because I was reminded of a couple I met a year ago. In my own experience, perhaps I can say that they are regarded as the most bizarre yet if there’s one great love story ever told, it would have to be theirs, since they have stood all the dire odds just to fight for each other. They have shown me that love is not just an implied sentiment that can satisfy one’s yearning for companionship, but a journey that defies time and circumstance, liberating an individual from all the suspicions of this seemingly disapproving world, leading him to truth and serenity.
Allow me to share to you their story:
He’s 75 and she’s 50. They have been together for more than twenty years, but every day, they are being sneered at by the prying eyes of their neighborhood because of the fact that their relationship was allegedly incestuous. According to their family story, the woman was believed to be the granddaughter of the man and we know for sure that in a culture defined by religious moral codes, this case is scandalous for most. Thus, they would often stoop down their heads every time they meet groups of people because of shame and guilt which they don’t actually deserve. For the longest time, they have been the recurrent subjects of mockery and gossip because their neighbors would at times swear that they are such a disgrace to the community.
One fateful day, the man was asked to do a menial job at the convent and he had a conversation with the parish priest. As time progressed, they became friends and the parish priest knew about the couple’s sad plight. They were actually eager to get married in the church in order to end all speculations but because their relationship was still considered a taboo by the unsympathetic community, they just decided to be tight-lipped on the matter and eluded their desire of sanctifying their union, even if their children are already getting older. In an attempt to help resolve the issue of this couple, the parish priest submitted their case to the chancery office for deliberation. An investigation followed. As a result, it turned out that the grandmother of the woman, who believed to be the older sister of the man, was not in fact, his real sister. The mother of “her” mother is just “his” half-sister and that made their relationship valid because it was not incestuous at all. As soon as the records were validated, everything was prepared for their wedding. The parish priest’s insistence to clear out the issue of this couple was inspired by the fact that they have truly loved each other. They stood up for their relationship despite the many years of unkind treatment from people who can’t seem to understand the real meaning of love. Their journey was really gruelling but then they have managed to cross the boundaries, unfazed by constant insults, indifference and rejection. Their triumph has become a testimony of a commitment that is for keeps and their unwavering love for each other has indeed explained all the ambiguities brought about by human logic and justification. It is a revelation of a mystery, gradually unfolded through constant witnessing that enables the individual to let go and be free to love and be loved in return.
I wasn’t able to attend their wedding, but I’m pretty sure that they were the happiest couple in the whole world. Lately, I just heard from somebody that whenever they pass by the neighborhood, their happy faces would show the dignity and self-respect that were once deprived from them. They can now bump into anybody with much joy and confidence. In this crazy-making life, it is never too late to be at peace with your one true love...and finding that one true love is enough reason to face all the odds. At last, love has given them so much freedom to choose happiness and meaning despite the adversity. Their union is more than just a fairy-tale because they have proven to everybody that love does not have happy endings for it simply never ends. Now, I do not wonder why love is coupled with forever.
Happy Valentines Day!
Heartbeats by Rev. Fr. Philip Vincent S. Sinco
At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last
- Etta James, At last
I am a self-confessed hopeless romantic. I usually get this giddy feeling every time I watch dreamy love stories on the boob tube or listen to soul-gripping ballads on the radio. At times, it’s nice to lose myself to every scenes of the movie or to every lyrics of the song because I am constantly presented with the many facets of love---the joy, the fulfilment, the confusion, the loneliness, the pain, and the anger it brings. But just when I thought that I already had this utter indulgence on the quintessential longing of the human heart and spirit, there is still so much to learn, especially if you deal with love in real life.
I am saying this because I was reminded of a couple I met a year ago. In my own experience, perhaps I can say that they are regarded as the most bizarre yet if there’s one great love story ever told, it would have to be theirs, since they have stood all the dire odds just to fight for each other. They have shown me that love is not just an implied sentiment that can satisfy one’s yearning for companionship, but a journey that defies time and circumstance, liberating an individual from all the suspicions of this seemingly disapproving world, leading him to truth and serenity.
Allow me to share to you their story:
He’s 75 and she’s 50. They have been together for more than twenty years, but every day, they are being sneered at by the prying eyes of their neighborhood because of the fact that their relationship was allegedly incestuous. According to their family story, the woman was believed to be the granddaughter of the man and we know for sure that in a culture defined by religious moral codes, this case is scandalous for most. Thus, they would often stoop down their heads every time they meet groups of people because of shame and guilt which they don’t actually deserve. For the longest time, they have been the recurrent subjects of mockery and gossip because their neighbors would at times swear that they are such a disgrace to the community.
One fateful day, the man was asked to do a menial job at the convent and he had a conversation with the parish priest. As time progressed, they became friends and the parish priest knew about the couple’s sad plight. They were actually eager to get married in the church in order to end all speculations but because their relationship was still considered a taboo by the unsympathetic community, they just decided to be tight-lipped on the matter and eluded their desire of sanctifying their union, even if their children are already getting older. In an attempt to help resolve the issue of this couple, the parish priest submitted their case to the chancery office for deliberation. An investigation followed. As a result, it turned out that the grandmother of the woman, who believed to be the older sister of the man, was not in fact, his real sister. The mother of “her” mother is just “his” half-sister and that made their relationship valid because it was not incestuous at all. As soon as the records were validated, everything was prepared for their wedding. The parish priest’s insistence to clear out the issue of this couple was inspired by the fact that they have truly loved each other. They stood up for their relationship despite the many years of unkind treatment from people who can’t seem to understand the real meaning of love. Their journey was really gruelling but then they have managed to cross the boundaries, unfazed by constant insults, indifference and rejection. Their triumph has become a testimony of a commitment that is for keeps and their unwavering love for each other has indeed explained all the ambiguities brought about by human logic and justification. It is a revelation of a mystery, gradually unfolded through constant witnessing that enables the individual to let go and be free to love and be loved in return.
I wasn’t able to attend their wedding, but I’m pretty sure that they were the happiest couple in the whole world. Lately, I just heard from somebody that whenever they pass by the neighborhood, their happy faces would show the dignity and self-respect that were once deprived from them. They can now bump into anybody with much joy and confidence. In this crazy-making life, it is never too late to be at peace with your one true love...and finding that one true love is enough reason to face all the odds. At last, love has given them so much freedom to choose happiness and meaning despite the adversity. Their union is more than just a fairy-tale because they have proven to everybody that love does not have happy endings for it simply never ends. Now, I do not wonder why love is coupled with forever.
Happy Valentines Day!
Profound Sense
Profound Sense
by Jesa Christine T. Capagal
Crayons… They are of different names, of different sizes and of different types. Some have weird names, and some are easy to spell out. Some are simple yet some have fancy handles attached to it making it more striking or appealing. The point there is that they are different but you could see them in the same box.
Just like us, human beings, we have different faces, different cultures, and different names but we could be seen in the same place, the earth. We share a common thing and that is what we call “life”. This life that is interconnecting us is giving us a chance to meet different people. Some are people whom you may love and some are those who may you not like. We may differ yet seen as one. Let us not put to waste the precious gifts God has given us - each one of us. Everyone is a gift to keep and is worth valuing for.
by Jesa Christine T. Capagal
Crayons… They are of different names, of different sizes and of different types. Some have weird names, and some are easy to spell out. Some are simple yet some have fancy handles attached to it making it more striking or appealing. The point there is that they are different but you could see them in the same box.
Just like us, human beings, we have different faces, different cultures, and different names but we could be seen in the same place, the earth. We share a common thing and that is what we call “life”. This life that is interconnecting us is giving us a chance to meet different people. Some are people whom you may love and some are those who may you not like. We may differ yet seen as one. Let us not put to waste the precious gifts God has given us - each one of us. Everyone is a gift to keep and is worth valuing for.
An Example
An Example
Francine Caram
SPED I-SEC
Our obedience has become vague nowadays; it has made a great impact on us especially the youth which see the group as “our hope”. We have learned to go against the will of our parents even without authority. Our respect has wilted; the flames on our candles have gone out leaving us in the darkness.
The Blessed Virgin Mary immediately obeyed what was asked of her by the Lord and she conceived our Savior Jesus Christ and was then crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Disobedience to our parents is very similar to disobeying God. We have no authority.
Sins separate us from the Holy Family, from our loved ones, and most of all, from God. We know without God, we are nothing; therefore utmost respect must be given to Him.
Let us be good followers as God wants us to be. Offer Him obedience and sincerity. Let the Blessed Virgin Mary serve as our inspiration, as an example, as a Leader.
Francine Caram
SPED I-SEC
Our obedience has become vague nowadays; it has made a great impact on us especially the youth which see the group as “our hope”. We have learned to go against the will of our parents even without authority. Our respect has wilted; the flames on our candles have gone out leaving us in the darkness.
The Blessed Virgin Mary immediately obeyed what was asked of her by the Lord and she conceived our Savior Jesus Christ and was then crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Disobedience to our parents is very similar to disobeying God. We have no authority.
Sins separate us from the Holy Family, from our loved ones, and most of all, from God. We know without God, we are nothing; therefore utmost respect must be given to Him.
Let us be good followers as God wants us to be. Offer Him obedience and sincerity. Let the Blessed Virgin Mary serve as our inspiration, as an example, as a Leader.
ANO GID BALA ANG PAGHIGUGMA PARA SA AKON?
PAMALANDONG SA HIGAD DALAN -
ANO GID BALA ANG PAGHIGUGMA PARA SA AKON?
By Armando A. Suñe
“…Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” (John 13:34). These words from our Lord, Jesus Christ, reveal the true meaning of love. And with His mother, our Lady of Fatima, being here with us on February 12-14, 2009, which we call Valentine’s Day, we are immeasurably blessed. With this outpouring of love amongst us, Ilonggos, we asked our parishioners this question: Ano gid bala ang paghigugma para sa akon?
1. Rose Marie R. Piamonte, Ladies of Charity - Jaro Unit
Love can never be explained. It is beyond definition. It can only be experienced deeply. Each person has his own unique experience of what love is.
2. Fe Marina S. Siacon, 67, Candle Light Newsletter
Love is the total surrender of both persons who are committed to one another.
3. FranZ, Seminarian, SVFS
Love is a matter of choice, and with it is the price of sacrifice.
4. Jessie Cris M. Gopetio, 23, Jaro Cathedral Parish Catechist
Love is patient, accepting, respectful, trusting, and sacrificing… in other words, Love is the whole of the PARTS.
5. Lalaine D. Pasquin, 45, Jaro Cathedral Parish Pastoral Staff
Love is sacrifice.
6. Albert Yanga, Jaro Cathedral employee
Ang pag-ibig talaga ay hindi mo malalaman kung saan at kailan pinag-uusapan. Nguni’t ang mahalaga’y nasa puso’t isipan ng bawat taong nagmamahalan.
7. Shiela A. Moreno, Jaro Cathedral Parish Youth Ministry
Love is more than knowing. It is not merely a feeling. If you give the mind a chance to think, you can always rationalize. If you give the heart the chance to feel, you often tend to give up because of the hurt and pain. It is the endurance of pain and suffering, the justice to the other and to oneself, and the faithfulness to love whatever it may bring. I felt the loving presence of God when I participated in the Vicarial Youth Encounter in Janiuay (Iloilo) in April, 2000.
8. Linda Arellano-Guarin, Catholic Women’s League (CWL) – Jaro Chapter/ Ladies of Charity/ Mother of six children, including Seminarian Peter John A. Guarin)
Ang paghigugma amo ang pagpahumok sa balatyagon kag pagpa-ambitanay sa tagsa-tagsa. Kon wala sang paghigugma, waay sang peace. Mabatyagan naton ang paghigugma ni Jesukristo tungod sang Iya mga blessings.
9. Emma Mistrante-Victoria, 60, Regent - Daughters of Mary Immaculate International, Inc. Vicariate (DMI)/ Secretary – Parish Finance Council
Ang paghigugma napun-an sang pagpaambitanay sa isa kag isa labi na gid sa material kag spiritual nga aspeto sang pagpangabuhi.
10. Sr. Marilou S. Edurese, C.M., 57, Carmelite Missionaries professed religious sister
Love is the giving of oneself and sharing with one another. From Almighty God come our blessings because of His love for us. The fact that He called me to be a religious sister is all because of His love. I feel the love and support of my family especially during trials, difficulties, in times of joy, and most especially during family gatherings. On occasions like these, we feel united as a family, especially now that our mother needs us by her side. In my community (the Carmelite Misionaries), we remain united and faithful to our religious calling , considering that our sisters come from diverse cultures and have different attitudes, temperaments, breeding, and family backgrounds. It is the Love of God that sustains us!
11. Jules E. Calopez, 33, Married, Security Guard- Domber Security Agency; assigned at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Kinder School
Indi masambit ang love, mabatyagan lang.
12. Jose A. Calopez, Jr., 48, single, jobless, drives a trisikad beside Jaro Cathedral; collects empty cardboard boxes to earn a living; lives alone; rents a room space on Diversion Road, Jaro. All of Jose’s nine siblings died in the Ruby Towers earthquake disaster in the 1970’s. When his father died after his high-school graduation, financial difficulties forced him to quit his studies.)
May ara man nagapalangga sa akon. Wala niya ako ginapabay-i. (Referring to his girlfriend, Pane, 37 yrs. old, and a salesgirl at a department store.)
13. Braulia Pedalizo-Cababasay, 76, Principal, Basic Educ. Dept.- De Paul College/Retired Asst. Chief of Secondary Educ. Div., Reg. 6, DEP-Ed/DMI Scribe/Lector/Mother of 6 children; grandmother of 12)
It is something that cannot be expressed so well. It is a feeling. No words can explain it so vividly. But what I know is that it is more of a sacrifice for one whom you love. God is always there to touch the hearts of husband and wife in our midst. We sacrifice especially for the children. All our efforts are directed towards their education.
14. John Nickon M. Tongol, San Juan, Molo Iloilo City,21 yrs. old, Valentine gifts vendor at the Colegio de San Jose gate
Bisan kami pigado, ginapahilayo kami sang aton Dios sa disgrasya.
15. Jonathan N. Lim, 40, Volunteer Officer/Asst. Operations Chief- Crisis Disaster Mgt. – Iloilo City Mayor’s Office; J.B. Lucky Fire Volunteer Foundation
Love is responsibility to God and family. Love is doing the right things…what God wants us to do.
16. Simplicio C. Griño, Sr., 75, former Governor – Iloilo Province
When I was young and courting my wife, love was something that we shared together through our presence to each other. Later on I found out it had to grow. We went through our mutual sacrifices but we still found love. And we found out our love grew through the years. Today, our realization is that love continues to mature through our service to others and through our share of sacrifices. Our love matured and our love for God grew in our desire to serve and accept others as they are.
17. Gemma J. Javellana- Paras, 63, Retired Asst. Div. Chief – DILG
Love is the love of Mama Mary to us and the whole world. She is always our bridge to God.
18. Carl R. Malburg, 68, Munster, Indiana; Custodian/Director - International Pilgrim Virgin Statue Foundation, Inc. (Our Lady of Fatima); Father to 6 children; Grandfather to 15 grandchildren.
God is the source of our love, and only Christians can understand best the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was really Jesus who taught us about love. Of all God’s creations only human beings and the angels can understand the experience of the love of God. For us, we treasure the loving relationships in our family – husband, wife, and children.
by Armando A. Suñe
ANO GID BALA ANG PAGHIGUGMA PARA SA AKON?
By Armando A. Suñe
“…Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” (John 13:34). These words from our Lord, Jesus Christ, reveal the true meaning of love. And with His mother, our Lady of Fatima, being here with us on February 12-14, 2009, which we call Valentine’s Day, we are immeasurably blessed. With this outpouring of love amongst us, Ilonggos, we asked our parishioners this question: Ano gid bala ang paghigugma para sa akon?
1. Rose Marie R. Piamonte, Ladies of Charity - Jaro Unit
Love can never be explained. It is beyond definition. It can only be experienced deeply. Each person has his own unique experience of what love is.
2. Fe Marina S. Siacon, 67, Candle Light Newsletter
Love is the total surrender of both persons who are committed to one another.
3. FranZ, Seminarian, SVFS
Love is a matter of choice, and with it is the price of sacrifice.
4. Jessie Cris M. Gopetio, 23, Jaro Cathedral Parish Catechist
Love is patient, accepting, respectful, trusting, and sacrificing… in other words, Love is the whole of the PARTS.
5. Lalaine D. Pasquin, 45, Jaro Cathedral Parish Pastoral Staff
Love is sacrifice.
6. Albert Yanga, Jaro Cathedral employee
Ang pag-ibig talaga ay hindi mo malalaman kung saan at kailan pinag-uusapan. Nguni’t ang mahalaga’y nasa puso’t isipan ng bawat taong nagmamahalan.
7. Shiela A. Moreno, Jaro Cathedral Parish Youth Ministry
Love is more than knowing. It is not merely a feeling. If you give the mind a chance to think, you can always rationalize. If you give the heart the chance to feel, you often tend to give up because of the hurt and pain. It is the endurance of pain and suffering, the justice to the other and to oneself, and the faithfulness to love whatever it may bring. I felt the loving presence of God when I participated in the Vicarial Youth Encounter in Janiuay (Iloilo) in April, 2000.
8. Linda Arellano-Guarin, Catholic Women’s League (CWL) – Jaro Chapter/ Ladies of Charity/ Mother of six children, including Seminarian Peter John A. Guarin)
Ang paghigugma amo ang pagpahumok sa balatyagon kag pagpa-ambitanay sa tagsa-tagsa. Kon wala sang paghigugma, waay sang peace. Mabatyagan naton ang paghigugma ni Jesukristo tungod sang Iya mga blessings.
9. Emma Mistrante-Victoria, 60, Regent - Daughters of Mary Immaculate International, Inc. Vicariate (DMI)/ Secretary – Parish Finance Council
Ang paghigugma napun-an sang pagpaambitanay sa isa kag isa labi na gid sa material kag spiritual nga aspeto sang pagpangabuhi.
10. Sr. Marilou S. Edurese, C.M., 57, Carmelite Missionaries professed religious sister
Love is the giving of oneself and sharing with one another. From Almighty God come our blessings because of His love for us. The fact that He called me to be a religious sister is all because of His love. I feel the love and support of my family especially during trials, difficulties, in times of joy, and most especially during family gatherings. On occasions like these, we feel united as a family, especially now that our mother needs us by her side. In my community (the Carmelite Misionaries), we remain united and faithful to our religious calling , considering that our sisters come from diverse cultures and have different attitudes, temperaments, breeding, and family backgrounds. It is the Love of God that sustains us!
11. Jules E. Calopez, 33, Married, Security Guard- Domber Security Agency; assigned at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Kinder School
Indi masambit ang love, mabatyagan lang.
12. Jose A. Calopez, Jr., 48, single, jobless, drives a trisikad beside Jaro Cathedral; collects empty cardboard boxes to earn a living; lives alone; rents a room space on Diversion Road, Jaro. All of Jose’s nine siblings died in the Ruby Towers earthquake disaster in the 1970’s. When his father died after his high-school graduation, financial difficulties forced him to quit his studies.)
May ara man nagapalangga sa akon. Wala niya ako ginapabay-i. (Referring to his girlfriend, Pane, 37 yrs. old, and a salesgirl at a department store.)
13. Braulia Pedalizo-Cababasay, 76, Principal, Basic Educ. Dept.- De Paul College/Retired Asst. Chief of Secondary Educ. Div., Reg. 6, DEP-Ed/DMI Scribe/Lector/Mother of 6 children; grandmother of 12)
It is something that cannot be expressed so well. It is a feeling. No words can explain it so vividly. But what I know is that it is more of a sacrifice for one whom you love. God is always there to touch the hearts of husband and wife in our midst. We sacrifice especially for the children. All our efforts are directed towards their education.
14. John Nickon M. Tongol, San Juan, Molo Iloilo City,21 yrs. old, Valentine gifts vendor at the Colegio de San Jose gate
Bisan kami pigado, ginapahilayo kami sang aton Dios sa disgrasya.
15. Jonathan N. Lim, 40, Volunteer Officer/Asst. Operations Chief- Crisis Disaster Mgt. – Iloilo City Mayor’s Office; J.B. Lucky Fire Volunteer Foundation
Love is responsibility to God and family. Love is doing the right things…what God wants us to do.
16. Simplicio C. Griño, Sr., 75, former Governor – Iloilo Province
When I was young and courting my wife, love was something that we shared together through our presence to each other. Later on I found out it had to grow. We went through our mutual sacrifices but we still found love. And we found out our love grew through the years. Today, our realization is that love continues to mature through our service to others and through our share of sacrifices. Our love matured and our love for God grew in our desire to serve and accept others as they are.
17. Gemma J. Javellana- Paras, 63, Retired Asst. Div. Chief – DILG
Love is the love of Mama Mary to us and the whole world. She is always our bridge to God.
18. Carl R. Malburg, 68, Munster, Indiana; Custodian/Director - International Pilgrim Virgin Statue Foundation, Inc. (Our Lady of Fatima); Father to 6 children; Grandfather to 15 grandchildren.
God is the source of our love, and only Christians can understand best the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was really Jesus who taught us about love. Of all God’s creations only human beings and the angels can understand the experience of the love of God. For us, we treasure the loving relationships in our family – husband, wife, and children.
by Armando A. Suñe
COMMUNION: OUR HEART’S GREATEST DESIRE
COMMUNION: OUR HEART’S GREATEST DESIRE
What do we really desire? As I try to listen to my own deepest yearning as well as to the yearning of others, the word that seems best to summarize the desire of the human heart is “communion”. Communion means “union with”. God has given us a heart that will remain restless until it has found a full communion. We look for it in friendship, in marriage, in community. We look for it in sexual intimacy, in moments of ecstasy, in the recognition of our gifts. We look for it through success, admiration, and rewards. But wherever we look, it is communion that we seek.
As I looked at the faces of the gold medallists at the Olympics, with more than sixty thousand people applauding them and millions watching them on television, I caught a glimpse of that momentary experience of communion. It seemed as if they had, finally, received the love they had worked for with unwavering dedication. And still, how soon they will be forgotten. Four, eight, or twelve years later, others will take their place on the platform of success, and the brief moment of glory will be remembered by very few.
Still, the desire for communion remains. It is a God-given desire, a desire that causes immense pain as well as immense joy. Jesus came to proclaim that our desire for communion is not in vain, but will be fulfilled by the One who gave us that desire. The passing moments of communion are only hints of the Communion that God has promised us. The real danger facing us is to distrust our desire for communion. It is a God-given desire without which our lives lose vitality and our hearts grow cold. A truly spiritual life is life in which we won’t rest until we have found rest in the embrace of the One who is the Father and Mother of all desires.
Henri Nouwen, Here and Now
What do we really desire? As I try to listen to my own deepest yearning as well as to the yearning of others, the word that seems best to summarize the desire of the human heart is “communion”. Communion means “union with”. God has given us a heart that will remain restless until it has found a full communion. We look for it in friendship, in marriage, in community. We look for it in sexual intimacy, in moments of ecstasy, in the recognition of our gifts. We look for it through success, admiration, and rewards. But wherever we look, it is communion that we seek.
As I looked at the faces of the gold medallists at the Olympics, with more than sixty thousand people applauding them and millions watching them on television, I caught a glimpse of that momentary experience of communion. It seemed as if they had, finally, received the love they had worked for with unwavering dedication. And still, how soon they will be forgotten. Four, eight, or twelve years later, others will take their place on the platform of success, and the brief moment of glory will be remembered by very few.
Still, the desire for communion remains. It is a God-given desire, a desire that causes immense pain as well as immense joy. Jesus came to proclaim that our desire for communion is not in vain, but will be fulfilled by the One who gave us that desire. The passing moments of communion are only hints of the Communion that God has promised us. The real danger facing us is to distrust our desire for communion. It is a God-given desire without which our lives lose vitality and our hearts grow cold. A truly spiritual life is life in which we won’t rest until we have found rest in the embrace of the One who is the Father and Mother of all desires.
Henri Nouwen, Here and Now
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