Celebrating Life

ON THE eve of my 57th birthday, my wife and I visited a family friend who had undergone the first phase of surgery to remove a cancerous cell in his liver.  Bro G is an active member of the Couples for Christ, and together with his wife, they coordinate the activities of the youth in their assigned area.

When we arrived, he was resting on his bed, having undergone a three-hour operation. He must have heard our voices that he woke up, and clearly he looked weak and uneasy. He said he had not eaten for nearly 20 hours, and that he felt both thirsty and hungry. Good enough that his ration was delivered and his wife gave him water to drink.

The space allowed only two people at a time, but visitors started to arrive, and the number swelled to nine. Bro G then told us how the cancer was discovered a few weeks earlier: “I went for a routine checkup and just to make the nurse more attentive, I told him that I felt pain in my stomach, though I was just making it up.” 

A few days later he was asked to return to the hospital for more examinations. He thought that was the end of it, when a third request was made for him to visit the doctor. He told the doctor that he was tired of going back, and asked if there was any reason to be worried.

It was then that the doctor told him that they had discovered an advance stage of cancer in his liver, with an addendum that there was nothing more than they could do, not even surgery. From that moment on, he started to feel sick.

I queried if he asked the question, “Why me, God?” He replied, “No, I remain hopeful that He will heal me.” He then narrated of how at one time, he noticed an unusually ultra-white dove flying right in front him as he was driving the car. He claimed it was the Holy Spirit who heard his plea, for the doctor had changed his assessment by having an operation to remove the cancerous cell. Prior to his surgery, he got to know the doctor and the nurses who attended to him, and observed that all of them had names of saints.

When we left the room, Bro G was lighthearted and never showed sadness about his situation. He thanked us for the visit, and looked forward to seeing us again. We could only respond with a promise that we would pray for him. We then realized that the image of the Sto. Niño had settled in our home for our assigned nine-day novena, and it must be for the reason of healing Bro G that the Holy Child has made the visit in our home.

The next day, Nov. 6, I marked by birthday. It was work as usual, and later in the evening, my family treated me to dinner in a Japanese restaurant. What made it special was that everyone was accounted for: my wife Debbie, my three children Kim (with wife Krizia), Jam (with husband Rey) and Me-el. And to complete the picture, my two grandchildren–Jeydi and Emjey. 

In response to greetings from friends on FB, I wrote: “One is never too old at 57 when you feel the love of your family... You are my greatest gifts.” Thank you, Lord for the good health. Thank you, God for life.

Seeing a Ghost

As we pray for our dear departed, we acknowledge the existence of God and life hereafter. So it is silly to ask the question, “Do you believe in ghosts?”

People of faith take the words of the Holy Bible as Truth, and we know that we transcend from our earthly life to either the eternal company of God or in the burning flames of Hell.

Ghosts do exist, but many people, luckily, do not encounter them. There are some who do – and I can say that I belong to that exception.

In 1998, my family and I were invited by a friend to spend our vacation in their palatial home in Dumaguete City. We then went dolphin watching in Bais City, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

After dinner, we were ushered into two rooms located at the second floor of the house.

Since our three little children were with us, my wife slept with two of them in the inner room while the youngest stayed with me in the adjacent room with a window.

All dead tired from the trip, we easily fell asleep. It must have been about 12 midnight when I thought I was dreaming: I saw a woman in white standing at the foot of the bed where I was lying.

I opened my eyes, and shook my head. I realized that I was awake and that there was a ghost in the room. I called my wife, but she remained sleeping.

I closed my eyes and prayed the “Our Father.” When I opened my eyes again, the ghost

was no longer there.

Immediately, I stood up carrying our youngest son with me, and slept with my entire family on the bed in the other room. In the morning, I told my wife about it, but not our host, afraid that I might be laughed at.

About two years later, while attending to a case in Dumaguete, I had a chance meeting with my friend. He invited me for lunch, so I joined him in his home. He said that he usually took a short afternoon nap, and as the boat back to Cebu was yet to leave in the evening, he convinced me to take a rest as well.

He then ushered me to the same room where I encountered the ghost. This time though, I narrated my experience with my host. He then responded that while he had not seen a ghost, he was told by their house help about seeing a woman in white in the room while she was cleaning it.

The house help then pointed to a woman in a family portrait, who was a departed aunt of my friend and who used to live in the house. She was buried in the family cemetery a few meters from the house.

Knowing that, I then offered a prayer for her.

There had been other times that I had felt the presence of a ghost, but that experience in Dumaguete was the most vivid encounter.

Girl Power

MOVE over Miley, Selena, Lady Gaga; you’ve all been misbehaving and don’t deserve to be role models to girls. There are three teenagers who are worth emulating, and they’re just 16 years old. They are Malala, Lorde and Lydia.

Though she didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai was nominated for her courage as an advocate for girls’ education in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Instead of playing Candy Crush or similar addictive games, she used the internet to espouse her views through a blog starting at the age of 11.

She earned the ire of the Taliban as she started to gain headway in her campaign. On Oct. 9, 2012, she was shot in the head and neck while returning home on a school bus.

She survived.

Instead of keeping a low profile, she went on to become an international celebrity, and her courage and articulateness have left so many people impressed, including Daily Show host John Stewart who stuttered at her presence. When she spoke at the United Nations, diplomats and the world listened.

“The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born,” she said.

Lorde is a New Zealander who knocked the songs of Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus from the top of the American pop chart with the highly infectious, “Royals.” The 16-year old, who remains a student in Takapuna Grammar School (North Shore Auckland), has made the rounds in top US TV shows and sold out concerts in Australia.

She started writing songs when she was 13 because, as she said: “I've always been a huge reader. My mum's a poet and we've always had so many books, and that's always been a big thing for me, arguably more so than music."

Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor is no dummy, as she speaks out her mind (in Twitter as well as in interviews). Already, there are those who have analyzed the verses of “Royals,” some call it “racist,” while others say it is about the plasticity of fame.

Then there is Lydia Ko, a 16-year old student at Pinehurst School also in North Shore Auckland, who is the top-ranked woman amateur player and no. 4 ranked woman golfer in the world. The New Zealander is the youngest person to win two LPGA Tour events.

On Oct. 24, 2013, she announced on social media (not in a press conference) that she is turning professional. (As an amateur, she could not claim the cash prizes in the tournaments she’d won).

Finally, girl power comes with new meaning and respect. With Malala, Lorde and Lydia, it’s about courage, it’s about creativity, it’s about excellence.

Not twerking, Miley.

Evil Lurks

 Even in the safest places, evil lurks. New Zealand prides itself as one of the most peaceful and safest countries in the world, and I can attest to that. But you can never be complacent for Satan’s minions will strike without notice.

On Sunday October 13, 2013 at about 8 pm, my son Kim entered the compound and parked his car in the garage of the unit he shares with his wife Krizia in Hamilton.   When my wife, Debbie, went out fifteen minutes later to get her cellphone and laptop, she had the shock of her life:  the car was no longer there. Yes, carnapping can happen in peaceful and safe New Zealand. Satan is at work in Godzone.

In places of worship, the devil is busy as well. Haven’t you noticed signs placed in churches reminding churchgoers to watch over their personal belongings? There have been many incidents of thievery occurring as the Holy Mass is celebrated.

No one is safe, not even the first Pope. “Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."” (Matthew 16:23)  One writer explained, “But it seems rather to mean the devil, who took the advantage of Peter's weakness and ignorance; and put him upon dissuading Christ from suffering, for the salvation of his people”.

So let us be always on guard. To fend off Satan, say the perfect prayer that summarizes all that is written in the Gospel: Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Custom-made Life

The restaurant is buzzing with people; as clients pass through the cashier swiping their cards. Suddenly, everything comes to a halt, as one customer takes cash out of his wallet to pay for his order.  Everyone looks at the cash-paying individual like he had done something wrong. Things go back to normal when he moves on and the succeeding clients swipe their cards.  If the episode seems familiar, it comes from an advertisement of a credit card company.

In this age of plastic money, mass-production and fast food, there is a notion that we need to follow the template of modern living if we are to succeed. You are a fish out of the water if you don’t conform. Modern living, though, means attachment to worldly things.

Christians are expected to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Son of God lived among men to bring the Good News from God the Father and died to give us salvation. The Holy Spirit remains in the world so we can be guided in our ways and be protected against the snare of Satan.

But God does not want us to live a drag-of-a-life. He made each one of us unique, to make our impact in the world through the talents He endowed on us. While He set the rules for us to live a holy life, He intends us to make decisions to fulfill our custom-made life.

Life is much like a canvass. When we are born the canvass is empty. For thereon we fill the canvass with living colors. But we must not go beyond the canvass where there is Satan’s emptiness and worthlessness.  God wants us to make a beautiful masterpiece of our lives which we can present to Him after we transcend from this world.

God wants us to make good decisions with the gifts given unto us. He does not want us to simply conform to what modern society expects, rather He wants us make a difference by revealing Him in our deeds. For those who fall into the pit of materialism and for those who misuse talents, Satan can lay claim to their souls for eternity. “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:29-30)