I Feel Your Pain

I know pain. When I had a quadruple by-pass open surgery, I had one of the most painful injections in my life for the general anaesthesia. But nobody could beat the one I experienced when a five inch syringe penetrated by flesh to pump out a near-bucketful of blood that strayed to my lungs weeks after the heart surgery.

For the past two weeks, I’ve agonized of pain that has left my entire right arm sore as a result of carrying heavy court files at work.  When I went to the doctor I was told that it would heal in time, and simply recommended intake of paracetamol that provides little relief.

When I went to a therapist, she said that I needed to come back one week later for a session. What a long painful week. It reminded of a line from Job: “The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.” (Job 30:17)

I asked for God’s healing power as I attended the Sunday Mass, and the priest answered me with a story about a lady he knew who was referred as a “friend of God” as she spent most of her time helping in the church chores and people in need. She underwent a knee surgery, and everyone prayed for her healing. But she was not cured, and continues to suffer much physical pain.

The woman asked the priest to explain why she was tormented. The clergy responded, “I cannot give you an answer. Go ask God.”  After praying in church, she came back and told the priest: “God responded to my question.” Surprised, the priest asked, “He did. What did He say?” Replied the woman: “As He hung on the cross, with hands nailed to it, He told me, “I know and I feel your pain. I am in such great pain. “”. She added, “Who am I to complain?”

It was in carrying the sins of the world that Jesus freed us from Satan’s spell. It is in doing good work that suffering and pain can be subdued, if not eliminated. “Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1 Peter 4:19)

For one in pain, becoming selfless will allow the Spirit of God to take charge. “Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.” (Proverbs 20:30) But more importantly, be confident of what is to come. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  (Romans 8:18)

Good Deed

FR. MARIO DORADO is a survivor. He went through a scary cancer episode last year but his strong faith overcame the disease. In a mass he officiated, he told the organizers that they need not any more pray for his healing and instead say thanks for he is totally healed.

In the Eucharistic celebration last Sunday, he told of a different danger he underwent as a missionary in Papua New Guinea. He said that during that time, tribal wars were common and there were times when one tribe would raid a rival community.

To ensure that their enemies won’t be able to retaliate, they would cut the arms and legs of the males so that they will be totally incapacitated.

In one of such raids, the village where he was assigned in the aftermath found a life-size image of Jesus with both arms and legs cut.

The villagers were shocked, and many offered to restore the image to its original state. Fr Mario told them instead to keep the image in its damaged state.

He explained that, as Christ no longer lives amongst us, He is like one who is without legs and without arms.

Those who believe in Him, we who are Christians, are the legs, and the arms, and the lips and the ears of Christ. We are the ones who do the work that He did when He once walked on this earth. Truly we are all His disciples.

In the aftermath Typhoon Yolanda, one of the worst disasters to hit the Philippines and which has caused more than 5,000 deaths and left millions homeless or with damaged abodes, we can see the goodness of people. We have become channels of help, of hope and of healing.

While there may be those who do not care or take advantage of the misery of people, they are so few compared to the multitude that come forward to donate their resources, their time and their efforts.

The good thing about doing a good deed is that it is contagious. We can see this around us, so much help not just from within the community but from abroad as well.

Like last Monday, when we were trying to persuade a group of people to support GigAlive-Thank You New Zealand. We came across Fr. Mario and without hesitation he asked and paid for 60 tickets that he said he would distribute among his friends and parishioners.

I was moved by his gesture. A few days later, an individual who witnessed Fr. Mario’s generosity paid for 100 tickets that she intended to distribute to friends.

It is rather sad that at times it is the wicked and the wrongdoers who get attention, while the good and the kind are left unnoticed. As Earth Wind and Fire would sing, “That’s the way of the world.”

But that shouldn’t deter us from continuing to help those in need, especially during desperate times. Not only does it feel good inside, but it also makes the world better outside.

Let Us Rise Up

It has been difficult to write as a result of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that brought deaths and destruction in the Philippines. Yet I sat one afternoon, and the words simply came out for the song called "Let us Rise Up". This is for all the victims, those helping them, and for all Filipinos.

The sky darkened

The wind gained strength

Beware of the danger

That lurks ahead

The typhoon surged

Left many a-homeless

We grieve for the dead

What lies ahead?

Refrain

Let us rise up

From the wrath of destruction

We will not succumb

To hopelessness and despair

Let us rise up

Let us hold on together

We shall be free

From the hurt and suffering

We see you marching

Help’s on the way

We may be bruised

But we remain hopeful

We are all brothers

We are all sisters

We need each other

To conquer fear

(Repeat Refrain)

…We shall be free

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.