When the writer’s family was winding down their annual winter sojourn in the Philippines – to catch up with family and friends – they packed the inspiration of their Lenten retreat with precious souvenirs from home. Thanks to a family friend who’s taken it upon herself to put them through this periodic stirring experience.
How to reconcile the spiritual and the secular? The foreign investor’s view of the country’s economic performance and potential is mixed at best: while short-term investors participate in our stock market, our foreign direct investments, on the other hand, are below regional norms. We ourselves poked those (irresponsible and greedy) American bankers for celebrating their trillion dollar balance sheets; but being blind to the toxic assets they kept in CDOs, CDSs, etc. – and thus went belly up, because their net worth was effectively negative? (Some even cooked the books to no avail!)
Yet, every time the writer is in the country, he would sense the power of the Filipino’s spirituality. And it is probably why the Filipino keeps a happy disposition – truly a gift.
The country’s economic malaise is finally being perceived more objectively – as a presidential adviser admits to our failure to arrest poverty? And if we assume that the conspiracy theorists are wrong – that we’re not being setup and conditioned to accept a failed election? To be sure, change is never easy – to a person and more so to a country? That’s why Born Again Christians truly attribute their conversion experience to a higher being?
As the Bishop stressed during the retreat, the gift of blessedness must bear fruit. Its absence comes from our rejection of the gift. And there is blame to go around in spades – from government to industry to education to the Church, and of course, Juan de la Cruz, himself? Shrinks will say we need to psyche ourselves up given the enormity of the challenges we face – but we need to go beyond that . . . and step up to the plate? Adam and Eve tried pinning their misstep on Satan but the verdict was: “Out” – take personal responsibility!
We need to admit to more missteps – because to bear fruit we must first properly cultivate the soil and sow the right seed? We can’t confess the sins of our neighbors; or in secular parlance, we can’t keep pointing the blame on our parents or colonizers or enemies? For example, the Vietnamese have embraced the Americans and are today their biggest investors!
But precisely because the gift of blessedness is not man-made, it is not characterized by man’s impatience – or secular assessments coming from the writer or whoever. And the Bishop has a great example: a well respected priest is asked by seminarians if he struggles keeping the seal of confession; and his ready response: my sins are worse than theirs and yet I know I am forgiven, and so are they; and so I forgive and forget.
We may have bungled the last 60 odds years but we know we have been forgiven – notwithstanding the conspiracy theorists, our culture of corruption and whatever else ails us? And as the writer’s family travels on to other parts of the world, he is confident that one day we would be seeking and bearing the fruit of our blessedness. For example, a Manila Times article reads: “The great news is that . . . reforms in . . . six important government agencies have been going on . . .”
And the words of the Bishop will always ring true: Meekness is not laziness. It is not lack of backbone. It is not just tolerance. It is not false gentleness. Mourning is grieving for others – to hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness, for their sake.
How to reconcile the spiritual and the secular? The foreign investor’s view of the country’s economic performance and potential is mixed at best: while short-term investors participate in our stock market, our foreign direct investments, on the other hand, are below regional norms. We ourselves poked those (irresponsible and greedy) American bankers for celebrating their trillion dollar balance sheets; but being blind to the toxic assets they kept in CDOs, CDSs, etc. – and thus went belly up, because their net worth was effectively negative? (Some even cooked the books to no avail!)
Yet, every time the writer is in the country, he would sense the power of the Filipino’s spirituality. And it is probably why the Filipino keeps a happy disposition – truly a gift.
The country’s economic malaise is finally being perceived more objectively – as a presidential adviser admits to our failure to arrest poverty? And if we assume that the conspiracy theorists are wrong – that we’re not being setup and conditioned to accept a failed election? To be sure, change is never easy – to a person and more so to a country? That’s why Born Again Christians truly attribute their conversion experience to a higher being?
As the Bishop stressed during the retreat, the gift of blessedness must bear fruit. Its absence comes from our rejection of the gift. And there is blame to go around in spades – from government to industry to education to the Church, and of course, Juan de la Cruz, himself? Shrinks will say we need to psyche ourselves up given the enormity of the challenges we face – but we need to go beyond that . . . and step up to the plate? Adam and Eve tried pinning their misstep on Satan but the verdict was: “Out” – take personal responsibility!
We need to admit to more missteps – because to bear fruit we must first properly cultivate the soil and sow the right seed? We can’t confess the sins of our neighbors; or in secular parlance, we can’t keep pointing the blame on our parents or colonizers or enemies? For example, the Vietnamese have embraced the Americans and are today their biggest investors!
But precisely because the gift of blessedness is not man-made, it is not characterized by man’s impatience – or secular assessments coming from the writer or whoever. And the Bishop has a great example: a well respected priest is asked by seminarians if he struggles keeping the seal of confession; and his ready response: my sins are worse than theirs and yet I know I am forgiven, and so are they; and so I forgive and forget.
We may have bungled the last 60 odds years but we know we have been forgiven – notwithstanding the conspiracy theorists, our culture of corruption and whatever else ails us? And as the writer’s family travels on to other parts of the world, he is confident that one day we would be seeking and bearing the fruit of our blessedness. For example, a Manila Times article reads: “The great news is that . . . reforms in . . . six important government agencies have been going on . . .”
And the words of the Bishop will always ring true: Meekness is not laziness. It is not lack of backbone. It is not just tolerance. It is not false gentleness. Mourning is grieving for others – to hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness, for their sake.
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