Tuesday 29 January 2013

Panic

“There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic, and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," narrated Luana Santos Silva to Globo TV network. The survivor was responding to a question about the blaze in a nightclub that killed 233 people and injured about 117 in Santa Maria, Brazil.

What was supposed to be a night of fun for nearly 1,500 people in Kiss nightclub turned into a horrific inferno of suffering. One report said, “There was no fire alarm. There were no sprinklers or fire escapes. And when a band member tried to put out a fire that had been started by pyrotechnics, the extinguisher didn't work.”

Many who have lost their loved ones in the tragedy are seeking not just for answers on whom to blame, but also on the question, “Why?” Author C.S. Lewis in his book “The Problem of Pain”, wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  Why? In Job, it is inscribed, Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and full of trouble. (Job14:1)

Jeff Miller in his study provides: “Reasons vary as to why God allows tragedy: At times he uses it to punish individuals or nations for their sins; other times to discipline or train up the whole individual; other times to build specific character qualities into an individual or people; other times to prepare an individual to subsequently minister to others undergoing similar tragedies. But the lowest common denominator—what God always has as His reason—is that humankind should turn our eyes toward Him.”

To those who perished in the fire, we pray for their souls to return to God’s loving care.  To those who suffer in the loss of their loved ones, we pray for God to give them strength in this moment of adversity.

To us all, may tragedies like the Santa Maria fire teach us: To be humble; to accept our humanity; to acknowledge our mortality. In our sadness, in our brokenness, we should believe God for His wisdom, for His power, for His love. “And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand.” (1 Peter 5:6)

Thursday 24 January 2013

Cultural Temptations

Decades ago, two Catholic nuns in casual clothes joined the gathering of people to spy on a religious leader who claimed to be directed by God by virtue of sacred prayers. Upon returning to their superior, they reported that if not for their strong faith, they could have succumbed to the hypnotic call of the speaker to donate all their material belongings and serve voluntarily the group. Today, that group has about 1 million followers, and its leaders control not just the material and spiritual lives of followers, but also the political and cultural aspects of their community. Though its leaders deny it, everyone else call their society a “religious cult”.

On January 19, 2012, Pope John Paul II in his remarks to workers and leaders of the Catholic charities and members of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum warned on cults that obscure God’s plan. He said, “When a person doesn't follow what God intends, he can become "the victim of cultural temptations that end up enslaving him."

The Pontiff continued that some of those ideologies include the cults of nation, race or social class "that showed themselves to be nothing but idolatry," and "unbridled capitalism with its cult of profit, which has led to crisis, inequality and poverty." He further explained, “There's a new form of atheism, he said, that sees people as independent and autonomous with happiness lying solely in realizing one's own self.”

We, therefore, should be wary on people promising better life, wealthier status or spiritual salvation that either deny or defy God. There are those “spiritual leaders or teachers” who twist God’s Word to fit their personal agenda.  “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

For those who are weak in their faith, the promise of cults of nation, of race, of social class, of profit or of self can easily persuade. We must, therefore, seek God for direction. “The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."” (Luke 17:5)

How do we strengthen our faith?  “Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17) Cults are founded on deception, imagination and false promise, faith, on the other hand, is the vocation of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Suffering in Body and Spirit

Lita worked as an executive secretary for the chairman of one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines. Then she opted to retire to migrate to New Zealand with her family. When she could have simply enjoyed a less demanding life, she took a nursing course and became certified past the age of 50. Today, she works in one of the hospitals in Auckland, contended in serving the weak and sick.

Working in the health sector is not a bed of roses; it can be thorny at times. Other than having the technical skills to attend to intricate procedures, a health worker should be alert at all times and most importantly have a kind heart and caring hands.

Which reminds me of a story I heard about a Philippine-licensed doctor who worked as nurse in the United States: a patient was brought to the hospital and required emergency attention. Absent any doctor to attend to the patient and knowing the need for immediate response, the nurse took it upon herself to help thus the patient was saved. Instead of being commended, the Filipino health worker was terminated for unauthorized practice as a doctor.

On February 11, the World Day of the Sick will be celebrated, and in preparation, Pope Benedict XVI called on people to be a Good Samaritan and give help to those in need. He said that through prayer, people can draw strength from God's infinite love in order to "live day by day with concrete concern, like that of the good Samaritan, for those suffering in body and spirit who ask for our help, whether or not we know them and however poor they may be."

Lita said that “at times, I find myself physically weak after a stressful day in the hospital.” But from the tone of her voice, I know that she finds much meaning to her life caring for the ailing, serving the helpless.

One does need to be a Mother Teresa or Florence Nightingale to make a difference in the lives of the suffering. Each one of us must be servants to the afflicted praying for them, attending to them, and encouraging them. “Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

Thursday 10 January 2013

Dead Bird

January 7, 2013 was my first day of work after the long Christmas break: going back to the routine of waking up early, rushing to the bus stop, observing ‘milagroras’ (1-hour prayer aboard the bus) and walking for 20 minutes towards the office.

Business as usual it seemed, until I was about to enter the main entrance of the Auckland High Court building.  There lay a dead bird. Calmly, I picked it up, placed it farther away. Later I brought it to a garbage bin. The entire morning, I couldn’t get the dead bird out of my head. 

I searched in Google to find out the meaning of ‘dead bird in the entrance.’ Some were outright funny, others were more serious.  The most hilarious, “A dead bird on the step means either a cat loves you and has brought you an offering of food, or it means a bird flew into the window/door and killed itself. That happens a lot around windows; they see the reflection of the sky and fly right into it.” 

A more profound answer was, “I can only tell you that from experience. Without fail every time there was a dead bird found in my home someone I loved passed away. I started to believe that it was more of a warning. It has happened with my grandmother, grandfather, my sister’s fiancĂ©, my Nana and my dad. Every single time we found a dead bird in the house and within weeks they were dead. All of them had illness except my sister’s fiancĂ©. So maybe coincidence but, whenever I do find one, I take it very seriously and pray for nothing to happen.”

I am not superstitious. But in the Bible there are countless passages on signs most prominent of which is the star over Bethlehem when the infant Jesus was born. Revelations provide for signs of the end-of-time, which is often used by false prophets and doomsayers in every generation.

Saint Timothy wrote: “But understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)  If you think about it, that could mean this age and time.

Heed these words: “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)

One source tells of a demonic premonition called an omen, “This type of premonition is a sign of things to come. We are forbidden to seek it - even to know its Interpretation. Christians are to stay as far away as possible.” “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer.” (Deuteronomy 18:10)

God has planned for us our lives, and He wills for us to join Him in his Kingdom. Therefore, I won’t let a dead bird bother me of what is to come. Rather, I resolve to pursue the path of God shunning temptation and sin. I resolve to lead a prayerful life, asking for forgiveness, and seeking protection for my loved ones and for all His people.

For surely, God listens: “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil.” (Isaiah 1:15-16)

Saturday 5 January 2013

Stop Mass Killings

For the past few days I have been trying to pursue my annual ritual of reviewing life in the past year and writing down goals for 2013. But I have failed doing so, having read the latest news on the death toll in Syria’s civil war. According to the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, the total death toll has risen to more than 60,000 since the conflict began in March 2011.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was quoted as saying, "The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking."

What started out as peaceful protests seeking political change, the conflict  has become a full-blown civil war because of the adamant behaviour of President Bashar Assad who continues to cling on to power. He reacted with iron-fist hostility using the full-might of the military to quell the rebellion without regard to the growing number of civilian deaths.

The major power players in world politics cannot make up their minds; thus Assad remains focused in his armed campaign to overcome the growing number of opposition who now have obtained support in arms and ammunition compliments of countries who believe in their cause.

The United States and a good number of European and Arab nations have sought Assad’s resignation, while Russia, China and Iran maintain that the conflict is internal and should not have intervention from outsiders.

Why should not countries intervene? Why should we be concerned? When a leader turns the gun on the people that he has sworn to serve, then something is very wrong. I have always seen Ferdinand Marcos in bad light because of the institutional corruption, the human rights abuses and the curtailment of freedoms but there was some good in the man, and that is, he prevented bloodshed in EDSA where nearly a million gathered to seek his ouster. The United States had a part in that peaceful transition of power.

But in these times, the US no longer holds as much clout as it used to have.  Russia and more particularly China have balanced the world’s most powerful country in terms of weaponry and infantry.

What can we do? As sure as the sun will rise, Assad will continue to murder his people to keep himself in power.  Now that the ‘fiscal cliff’ was put to a stop in the US, President Barack Obama must use his Inaugural Speech to tell Assad that his time is nearly up.  If Obama does that – then he will not only prevent more bloodshed, but he will place the US in a higher moral ground and earn goodwill among many nations in the world. Russia and China will realize that they must heed the call from nearly all nations in the world for an end to senseless killings day after day.

Pope Benedict XVI, during the traditional Christmas mass called for an end in the conflict. “I once again appeal to end the bloodshed, to provide refugees access to care and to open a dialogue in search of a political solution to the conflict…there is hope even in the most difficult of times and in the most difficult situations”. He prayed that “peace may return to the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by the conflict, which does not spare even the defenseless”.

All nations must unite under the flag of the United Nations. We must never allow leaders to get away with mass murder. Not in the past, not today, not in the future.