Building "relationships of hope"

After my father died, I felt an outpouring of support from all corners of the world, from family and friends, and people that I never knew would show up at the wake. It was a wonderful feeling to be loved and to be cared for. I am not used to it as I am usually the care-giver but as a friend pointed it out ... why not think of it as not being reminded of your loss but a reminder of how much you are cared for and loved? Very salient point indeed!

And then my mother tells me of her learning on "relationships of hope" and those that "encourages" from the Feast of Bo Sanchez.

Yes, relationships should always build up hope and encourage the people in it. Encourage in a good way to be good and loving and self-giving. I often hear that in the homilies of Fr. Tony at our church, John XXIII Parish. We must always be self-giving and be Christ-like to others. And at one of my lowest points in my life, I experienced that from the people that rallied to support me and my family at our moment of grief.

It was a loving ceremony ... we remembered my father and all his good qualities. We shared in the many good memories we had of him ... relatives, friends alike. It was a hopeful meeting. A hope that my father left in peace. He was smiling when I saw him. He looked at peace.

And I imagine what relationships of hope look like ... a big invisible web of love that wouldn't let anyone fall through the cracks of life. That even in the darkest moments, there are people to support you and to help you bounce back. And that web is supported by a greater web ... the web that is God. Because God is a God of Hope. And I'm happy that I had such a web to support me.

I would like to thank everyone for sharing in that hope. And I encourage everyone to build relationships of hope ... with the people that matter most and to strike up new relationships that continue to encourage and to build up hope ... because life is too short to despair.

Remembering my father ... Bye Pa!

My father died this morning.

I had just celebrated New Year's at a good friend's house. I was asleep and I had woken up to go to the toilet. I received a text from my brother and mother saying there had been an emergency. I immediately thought one of my brothers was hurt due to the fireworks. But when I called, our eldest said "You know Papa ..." and something like he passed away this morning. And we both broke down crying.

For all my friends reading this, please pray for the repose of the soul of my father. For those in Manila, the wake is at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish beside Claret School in Diliman, Quezon City.

I will go home probably tomorrow or Saturday and stay a week.

Thank you for all those who sent their messages already. I really appreciate all of them.

God bless.

"Service"

I first heard this song on the first night of Simbang Gabi (novena evening masses) here in Geneva and I was moved. In this season of advent, we are called to rejoice, give joy to others and help those that need it. But it doesn't have to end with advent because Christmas is supposed to be everyday. I hope that the reason for the season will continue to shine brightly in our lives and that we will live a life of service to other men just as the Great Sacrifice did.

+++

D Bm Em A7
We are made for service to care for all men
D Bm Em A7
We are made for love both time and again
G A7 D Bm
A love that will live through sorrow and pain
Em A7 D A7
A love that will never die with strain.

God sent His son to show us the way
One who shares His love every minute of the day
One who gave His life that we might live
And His Spirit to help us through the years.

Life can be so lonely when nobody cares
Life can be so empty when nobody shares
But if man gives himself to help other men
The happiness of Christ will live within.

Prayers ...

These are some nice prayers taken from the Parish Mass Book:

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Prayer to Our Lord

Lord Jesus,
I give you my hands to do your work.
I give you my feet to go your way.
I give you my eyes to see as you do.
I give you my tongue to speak your words.
I give you my mind that you may think in me.
I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.
Above all,
I give you my heart that you may love in me,
your Father, and all mankind.
I give you my whole self that you may grow in me,
so that it is you, Lord Jesus,
who live and work and pray in me.

+++

Prayer to God the Father

God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at mine end, and at my departing.

Lessons learned on the Milan/Verona trip

1. Travel light - c/o Chas. She was forced to not take any more than she needed to and she travelled lightly and peacefully. I, on the other hand, had a few extras which I didn't use. :) And I had difficulty with my bag which almost begged to be carried by two people.

2. Travel with good company - c/o Chas, Anna, Ethel. Yes, travelling with people you don't like will just be a guaranteed flop. So, thank God, I had my children instead ... love you three! Mwah!

3. Travel with a light hand bag - c/o Ethel. A very practical advice! I have been lightening my bag eversince! Ethel suggested that I take out things that I didn't use throughout the day and so I did. According to her, very poetically said "Not only will you feel better, you will be lighter, not just in your life, but in everything". And she even added something like ... and you will become a better worker ... I forgot. Please excuse my age. ahahaha.

4. Travel with a smile - c/o Anna. Anna is trigger-happy with the camera and tends to take pictures at will. So, for those unguarded moments, always wear a smile, because as the saying goes "You never know who's falling in love with your smile!" :) And so that you don't come out with a frown on your undeveloped digital pics! :)

Peace begins with a smile ...

That's what my mom tells me ...

So, when I feel out of sorts sometimes and I feel there is an earthquake in my heart or in my soul, I smile ... I did that today and it felt good.

Have you noticed too that when you smile at people it becomes infectious?

So pass on that peace ... pass on that smile ... you never know ... you might be making a difference in someone's life.

Plus it's hard to argue when you're smiling ... :)

The sacrifice ...

I was greeted with this video this morning from a friend of long time ago ... Thanks Vanessa for sharing this ...

Quote from Yeats

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
— William Butler Yeats

Storytelling ...

"The sum of our stories are our collective unconscious ... of who we are ... as human beings ..." - Isabel Allende

I believe that everybody has a story to tell.

I remember listening to my grandfather who used to tell us stories when we were children, of how his own father, in his youth, carried him across the river because he had no slippers, so he could go to school. He would recount his love story of the woman he loved from high school, the kind and wise, Lola Cristina, who willingly gave up her scholarship, though she was the top of the class to my Lolo, so he could finish his studies to become a good provider. He would talk of the Japanese war and the death it had caused, even at his own hands.

My grandfather came from a family of intellectuals and musicians, who were traditionally poor because of their craft. They would sit around talking for hours on end and chew on the stories that each one gave. Our last name was originally "Per" as my mother tells us but because my kinsfolk were known for their talent in entertainment, it would soon become "Princesa" because we were known throughout the village as the musicians, storytellers, entertainers of that time.

And Lolo would quip up his stories during family gatherings. Even if it was repeated more than once, I never tired of listening. I liked looking at the animated face of my Lolo and I liked looking at the equally animated faces of my cousins as the imaginary dog with sagging breasts, "Tapik tapik" would come running down a deserted street and bare its teeth to the horror of the younger children and then screaming would ensue. We would gather round Lolo and just listen. And he would oblige us and tell us how beautiful and handsome we were, us, from his loins, to his children's, we were his wonderful progeny.

He would tell us the stories of the characters in his own Ranao-Ranao in the now-city of Ligao. And he would sing the songs about him and Lola that the villagers sang. Of the songs, sung about my Lola about her parents. Their love song.

I love stories ... not just Lolo's but everybody's. I am a word junkie and even more a story junkie. I love listening to old people tell their stories of how it was in their time. I love hearing of people's stories now, of their triumph, of overcoming struggle, of living life, of love, of death, of everything.

Sometimes, I am hooked to a telenovela because I like to follow the story from beginning to end. So, I don't start one lest I don't have the intention of finishing because that is also another penchant of mine - finishing what I started and making sure that I end things in the proper way, never abruptly and never in the middle. It would feel like a cliffhanger and I would never be able to rest in peace if that were so.

When I read a book, I can feel the characters come alive and until now I can see Ms. Marchmont from Charlotte Bronte's Villette sitting up in her bed, whispering her last spirited words to her maiden as she realizes that her sorrowful life had been wasted in fret and that she had just to accept the will of God to embrace the love that she had once had when Frank was taken from her. That in her old age and 30 years of loneliness and sorrow, death was now her consolation to be reunited with him. And alas, as the wind blew its screams that night which had envigoured the body of the once beautiful Ms. Marchmont, the following day, the same wind from her life was taken.

I watched today the Spirit of Storytelling - a special by CNN hosted by Becky Anderson. It related how the ancient art of storytelling has never ceased to exist because as Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nadine Gordimer said "we project ourselves as a way of exploring ourselves" to the people, to the character in our stories, those people that may be mainstays in our lives and of those that were just passing but made an impression on our lives. Paulo Coelho, Allende, Doris Lessing and Gordimer share their stories and our stories as they echo that which has been known, there are universal truths in our lives, our stories resemble one another. Coelho said there are four stories to tell: (1) Of two people and their love; (2) Of three people and their love; (3) Politics; and (4) a journey.

Gordimer quotes William Butler Yeats "What do we know but that we face one another in this place?"

And that is a story worth telling ...

Response versus reaction

This was one of the talks during our General Teaching nights. It was about having joy in our hearts at all times and knowing when to feel sorrow too.

Feelings are neither good nor bad. We hear that all the time. It's what you do after having a feeling that makes it good or bad.

That's when response and reaction comes in. When we touch a hot stove, we immediately pull our hands away. That's a reaction. When we pull our hand and decide to stop touching the hot stove, that's a response. See the difference? The latter is a conscious choice.

The same is true for joy and sorrow. Joy is not just a feeling ... it's a state of being. It's a decision to be happy in whatever situation one finds himself/herself in. One of the stories mentioned during the talk was how St. Francis defined "perfect joy". He had been on his way to one of the monasteries with his brothers when it rained. It left them muddy, unrecognizable and dirty. He told his brother that even despite all our muddiness, our unrecognizableness and our dirtiness and we still manage to reach the monastery and they don't recognize us and we suffer yet knowing the truth, that is perfect joy.

'And now hear the conclusion, Brother Leo. Above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit which Christ gives to His friends is that of conquering oneself and willingly enduring sufferings, insults, humiliations, and hardships for the love of Christ. For we cannot glory in all those other marvelous gifts of God, as they are not ours but God's, as the Apostle says: 'What have you that you have not received?' But we can glory in the cross of tribulations and afflictions, because that is ours, and so the Apostle says: 'I will not glory save in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.'"

To whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

from The Little Flowers of St Francis, The "Fioretti"

When I heard this, I couldn't help but get teary eyed. There's so much to be thankful for in life - that includes the many challenges we continue to face on this earthly life. The same challenges that mold us to become the perfect images of Christ - bearing our crosses with no regret, with no sorrow, with only joy.

There's a time to feel sorrow too. When there's a death, when there's a wrongdoing, when there's something to be sad about. But one musn't stop at sorrow.

The talk emphasized that we could be joyful in everything we do and we can find that source of joy in knowing God. And that joy is something we choose to be and not something we just feel when we're happy. We can be joyful in everything that we do, because God is there leading us.

We can choose to respond with joy at all times.

the heart doesn't count the days ...

that's an original from my mamu ...

and it inspired me to write this ...

===

so many times, in unexpected places and in unexpected times,
my heart flutters to find its love.
it doesn't say wait ... it doesn't stay stop ... it's like lightning that strikes.

so, when you're in doubt, could this be true love?
let your heart speak and let the doubt dissipate
for it's not in the days that you come to know a person
it's in the heart that understands

no time, no day, no moment appointed
just the heart that says it's time
care ...
love ...

the heart doesn't count the days ...
it only counts the ways ...
that love can be realized ...
in every possible way ...

===

bow. :)

Handling a household

There was nothing scarier than the thought of being responsible for souls. I used to not be able to sleep teaching catechism, all the more, leading a small group of single women in growing in the faith. But they say when it comes to God, the only answer is "yes" and so I took the plunge in 2006 and led a group of young ladies.

It was a totally different experience for me. I had to sing and I had to lead the worship. I had to prepare the food. But these weren't the important things, it was the pastoral formation that I was concerned about. Would I be a fitting leader? Could I lead by example? Would they respect me, follow me? Or would they be hard-headed and the like? It proved to be a challenge but it was also rewarding. It was through servant-leadership and by dying to my own fears that I was able to get out of myself and let God lead me in doing His work.

When you let him have the helm, everything falls into place. You finish a household meeting thinking, was that me? How did I do that? It was God's Spirit. Indeed, where two or three are gathered in His name - there He is in our midst. The Spirit leads and we follow. And the household is blessed.

I could never forget what my best friend said when I asked her for advice regarding leading a group. She said ... "God doesn't choose who serves Him as long as you serve Him." And from there, as God used my best friend, Jam, to deliver His message, I became comfortable being in such a humbling position as a leader of a household. But leading is not so much teaching but learning from all the members. Everyone brings their own story and as a leader, you grow from the membership as you would like to share also pieces of your life and hopefully make a difference in theirs.

Handling a group taught me that I had a lot to learn. It taught me to love unconditionally. It taught me to be patient, to be kind, to not be judgemental and most of all to love. I learned to listen and I learned to give priority to other people's needs. It's not easy as I was very self-absorbed. I lessened my complaining and as I was regarded as a pillar of strength, it made me draw on God's strength even more because I am only human and no physical strength could withstand the challenges of facing life where good and evil interplay.

I continue to be humbled because as I grow in service and handle a group, I know that I may not be doing enough. I know that anything I do can be misinterpreted. But I have faith in God that He will use me in whatever way He can to glorify Him and to bring the souls I share the faith journey with closer to Him.

Planning ... SFC in retrospect

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope" - Jeremiah 29:11

God is a God of good order. He likes to make sense of our lives. But we have to do our part too. For God helps those that help themselves.

Last January, we had a very blessed planning session for the Singles for Christ in Geneva. Not one but four mission volunteers came to help us. Kuya Jerry Rivera (UK), Tessa Sarmiento, Chicong Laput, Raynard (Vienna) blessed us with their presence so that we could identify our SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats).

The two-day planning session was a time for worship and fellowship and coming before the Lord and offering all our plans for the upcoming year. Indeed, God proved to be a God of good order as we were able to undertake most of our activities and on time.

It was a memorable experience because we were not too dependent on our coordinators for planning our events but that we had a say too in what would happen to our ministry. It was a year of many firsts - we had our own SFC General Assembly, our own Covenant Orientation and our own Household Leaders' Training tailored and given by SFCs. It was an exercise in independence as well as empowerment. We had grown wings and it was up to us to do our part to make the changes necessary and to be the pillars of strength for our members. It was our turn to fly and test our wings.

And so a year has passed and many Christian Life Programmes after, we are thriving. We may not have achieved the Vision we set out to do which was 150 active SFCs in Central Europe but it is enough to know that the members here have taken new responsibilities and that old members have gone out of their comfort zones to plunge into the active life of SFC. It is thanks to God who has promised that our future is secure in Him as long as we serve Him faithfully.

We lift up our coming year as we embrace our service and face the new challenges ahead.

I claim the promise of God in Jeremiah, for indeed God's ways are not our ways and if we leave our plans in His hands, it will blossom into the marvelous future that He has prepared for us. It may not come in the package we asked it to be, but surely, it will be the best for us. For God is the best planner there is.

I pray that SFC Geneva will continue to grow in number, in service, in faith and in God.

Pauwi Na by Noel Cabangon

Kinilabutan ako habang pinanood ko ito. My heart goes out to all of us OFWs especially those that are so far away from their families. I join him in singing "pagsaluhan natin ang baong pag-asa" (Let us feast on our hope). For there is always hope ...

'... limit yourself but don't let others do it for you ... ' of gracie and obama

this line came from the movie "gracie". it's a movie about a girl who wanted to play soccer for the boy's team and had to fight for it even though no rules said she couldn't. it was breaking down the gender stereotypes. there was something similar in the movie "the pursuit of happyness" about not letting anybody say that you can't dream.

sometimes, it's all too easy to ride on the negativities of people and accept them as truths about ourselves. the discouraging "you can't do it" was just turned into a resounding anti-cry by obama's "yes, we can". it was and still is the american battle cry. and for that i admire the americans because they always believe in themselves that indeed they can do it. it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

watching obama give his victory speech brought tears to my eyes. i was also so touched and moved that i sat shaking in my seat. i was hoping the same would happen to the philippines. that change will come to us and that we will have a mind set of hope and that with collective action, we can improve our country. i hope the statement "nothing ever changes" will be removed from our vocabulary.

but the statement is true not only for our country but also for ourselves. in those moments of doubt and the times that we are all too willing to become victims and resign ourselves to the places people have accorded us - let us stand up and say "yes, we can!" for we truly can. it's one thing to know your limitations but it's also as the quote from gracie ... it's another to let someone else do it for you. do you want to be a victim or do you want to say "yes, i can"?

and also we should not perpetuate the negativity in other people. it's one thing to offer a suggestion for improvement. it's another to destroy someone because of over criticism. building up people to who they can be makes a difference. everybody is insecure, even the most confident of people. even a tower built on rocks when chipped away at the base collapses to ruins.

i was just speaking to a friend and she brought up the topic of unexpected affirmation and that we are so keen to notice the bad things in a person and yet neglect to recognize the good qualities in them. we are marred by the spots yet the whole person is beautiful. it's like having a driftwood and just seeing it for its deadness ... last night i saw a driftwood with the last supper etched on it. i was so amazed. who would have thought to give it a second look even more carve it into a masterpiece? it's amazing what a seemingly unproductive thing turns into a beautiful thing. and that's something even dead. what about a live human being? there's so many possibilities ... there's room for growth, chipping, changing and metamorphosing into that beautiful person every body is and has the potential to be.

YES WE CAN!!!

Wall-E's heart

Love must be so potent that even a machine can feel it! Does it really matter if we have a human heart or an idea of a heart or just a concept of love?

Watching Wall-E made my heart swell. I felt the "kilig" feeling even if it was two machines falling in love. Love can even turn machines into loving beings ... some people have become machines in a sense. I don't know if that was the thrust of the movie as it tackled many issues - for one, ecological sustainability.

Wall-E is a robot with a "directive" to clean up the earth by compacting trash into manageable blocks and stacked to clear up the clutter. Meanwhile on the Axiom, a spaceship, the people of the earth had been "externally" displaced for 700 years because of an inhabitable earth. Another story of exodus and exile!

The earth had become a universe of garbage and the toxicity levels had reached critical height that life was no longer sustainable. Sounds familiar? Kyoto Protocol and global warming aside, look at the world you live in? Are you doing your part to throw that little piece of garbage? Do you recycle? Do you turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth? Do you care about the environment?

We are all responsible somehow for our environment. We don't live in a bubble thus our actions have ripple effects. I was so happy when I saw the sign (hehe ... like Ace of Base) in Manila "Munting basura, ibulsa muna" (Little piece of garbage, put it in your pocket). I was always so irritated by passengers on a jeep, people on the street and drivers who threw away their candy wrappers on the street yet sweep their front yards and get angry at people who throw things in their yard. We all have to do our part even if it's keeping that little piece of garbage in your pocket. Would it kill one to keep that garbage on one's person until one sees a garbage can? Because if you multiply that candy wrapper by the number of people that do it, it adds up, to a mountain of garbage.

I once went to a landfill and the stench was horrible. I also saw the mutation it caused on the animals around. What more for the humans!

Going back to Wall-E, he was a machine with a penchant for all that is human. He watched dances, tried to do them and also collected human artefacts like Ariel in Little Mermaid. And it was on earth that he met Eve, another robot with a "directive" to find a living thing to prove that once more the earth sustained life. When she finally sees the plant that Wall-E gives her, she shuts down and waits for the ship to get her to return on the Axiom. Wall-E wouldn't let her go that easily. It was so sweet. It could almost be a human love story. So he braves the galaxies to find Eve and he does and loses his life fighting for her directive. She then realizes the value of Wall-E and falls "in love" with him while at the same time becoming a fugitive of law and releasing the "misfits" of machines. It doesn't seem different from a modern-day drama!!!

So the whole Axiom is jeopardized as the autopilot mutinies! The captain learns of earth and decides to return at all costs. And then they land and start life anew on earth. And they lived happily ever after. :)

Going back to love and ecological sustainability. Wall-E and Eve shared a love for their purpose. They both accomplished it while the love growing between them blossomed. They helped each other achieve their purpose. This could be referenced in today's world too. We are called to help one another and to care for the environment that we live in. Not just the ecological environment but the environment of people we meet every day.

We not only face the material garbage but the many emotional dumping we subject ourselves too. Oftentimes, we are blinded, just like the people on Axiom by the things that appear to be the "norm" and never really looking beyond a certain "reality". But like Wall-E, I hope that something will cause each one of us to look beyond our comfort zones and to see what's really out there and to ask ourselves, what can we do to help maintain all that comprises our environment?

Wall-E in his human clumsiness awakened the senses of some humans on Axiom and this made them realize how beautiful life really is. I thought that was very moving. Life is beautiful. There's so much to love and enjoy. There's so many opportunities to destroy life as well as to help build and sustain it.

What would you do with 100 million pounds?

I watched the movie "Flawless" today. I didn't know how the story was going to shape up. It was almost a mixture of suspense and thriller but in the end, it was a story with a moral lesson.

Given all the money you could possibly have, what would you do with it?

As the film asked in the end: Will you be a taker or a giver?

A story about the London Diamond Corporation, the sole buyer of diamonds in that era (60s), it was the best target to steal the world-craved diamonds. But it wasn't for money that the robbery was carried out ... it was to achieve freedom. I encourage everyone to watch it because at the end of it all ... what can we do with money? What should we do with money?

My mom told me that we should not invest in things but in people because when the money is gone, the things cannot love you back, it's the people that do. That was wise advice especially because I was considered a miser in my family - I was the modern-day Scrooge until a few years back. I would cry over giving money. But now, I just give and I use it with joy in my heart. Yes, I try to invest for the future but I am also living for the present. I try as much as I can to share that little that I have because I can't take my money with me. It's best to share it with others so that the joy is multiplied.

In one of the CFC teachings on financial stewardship, it reminds me that we are indeed stewards and not owners. And what better use to give your money than to help people.

I was touched by an officemate who I think is terribly misplaced in our work. I think she should be a development worker because I never see her so passionate as when I saw her last week handing out letters and pictures, asking for donations for the poor AIDS-stricken children of a hospital in South Africa. Day in and day out my colleague would complain about work but once she spoke about her South Africa and the children, she would melt and you could see that her passion lay with those children - with the orphans, with the children who were abused by their fathers, brothers, relatives - girls, especially, even as young as months old. It's a sickening thought but witch doctors perpetuate rape because it is believed that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS.

It was also very moving that our other colleagues did not economize but gave of themselves. My colleague was asking on behalf of the nurse that handled these children - they were asking for four TVs and plastic chairs to hold up babies after feeding so they wouldn't vomit because there weren't enough nurses to carry them.

My colleague was able to collect more than a thousand francs. It was enough to buy all the TVs and the chairs. I can just imagine the look on the children's faces, the look on the nurses' face, the world is not devoid of love. We can all give love and we can all give the tangible support of money.

In Flawless, when Laura Quinn, a senior negotiator was passed over for promotion after 15 years of service because she was a woman, she decided to quit. She left her ambition to become managing director and she lived life. Burdened by the ranson given for the diamonds, she soon found life outside of herself, she donated to all the causes that she could find and she lived her life in service and in giving to others.

Although the message was crammed in the end, it was the catharsis that I was hoping for. Succinct and salient! Direct to the point - in this life, will you be a giver or a taker?

Exodus

You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. (Ex 22:20)

I remember the first time when my mother left us to work abroad. I was young then and we were left in the care of our minders. It was temporary and only lasted a month. When it happened again when I was 15, I still couldn't comprehend how a mother could leave her children in search of money. It lasted almost two years. In my youth, I reasoned that I didn't need the money but her presence. I spent many nights crying and hating the fact that we had to be in that kind of situation.

I am only one of millions who experienced this. The Philippines has 1 in 8 people who go abroad. That's 10 million people and if multiplied by the families it affects, it could reach 50 million people. There are families who have been separated for more than 25 years.

But due to economic reasons, it has become almost a national strategy to send out people so that the Filipinos could search for greener pastures abroad. The remittances of the Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs has kept the Philippine economy afloat that they have been called the country's "new heroes".

But what do the OFWs go through when they're abroad? I have been witness to the attempted suicides, abortions and predicaments of the OFWs when I was in Abu Dhabi. I remember the blood stains of an abortion on the carpet that I spent hours trying to scrub off. I saw a bloodied wrist as it was getting bandaged after a suicide attempt. I heard the many horror stories and saw the lashes in the women's prison when a young Filipina (almost my age 15) was hit on her bare back 100 times with a reed leaving red blood marks on her skin because she had killed the man that raped her. Rape was common and yet the women kept it to themselves because they had to send money back home for their families. I saw the cramped quarters of the takas or runaways whose employers had abused them.

I am now in Switzerland and I am still privy to the many stories of broken homes, mistresses, depression and wayward children back home because of lack of adult supervision. It haunts me that families have to be apart because parents seek to provide a better future for their children, a brighter tomorrow that they couldn't have imagined if they had stayed back home.

But I understand now, I am an OFW myself. I am sending home money to my family and I am far away with only friends to call family. It is difficult and it is still painful but I have learned to live with the situation because as a migrant here, I am treated with respect and dignity.

I reflect on the reading for today in Exodus. It is not the first time that people have left their countries of origin in search of better tomorrows. To reiterate Dr. Manuel Dayrit's talk during the Workshop on Migration and Development a few weeks ago, we weren't the first to migrate, it was the Jews, then the Africans and the massive exodus of all the nations. And migration had a spiritual aspect.

And in those times, migrants were treated unkindly and unjustly, oftentimes becoming slaves. These days, there's the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and what Atty. Cej Jimenez calls for is that migrants' rights be included in the basic human rights. Everybody needs to be treated with dignity and that migration is not dealing in commodities but in human persons.

There are three different types of aliens or strangers.

1. One is to be feared - those that are deemed to be dangerous and are a threat to society.
2. One that needs to be taken cared of - like the victim in the story of the Good Samaritan.
3. One to be respected - like the Good Samaritan.

This is the line of thought of the Couples for Christ thrust to build the Church of the Pilgrim. When the Jews were slaves, they not only brought themselves but also their faith. Each pilgrim or migrant brings with himself his culture and his belief system. Thus, migration does not only have an economic or political value but also a spiritual face. It is in those times that introduction to the one God - Yahweh - began. And from then on, whenever a believer travels, he spreads the Good News or spreads his belief. And because migration is rampant, there is a need to build a Church for the Pilgrim and to take care of the spiritual needs of the migrants.

Since we are all pilgrims on this earth, one way or another, we should not forget to remember that we should treat strangers and aliens with the utmost respect befitting a human person and a person who is created by God in His image. In today's Gospel, we are reminded that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind and strength and also to love our neighbour as God has loved us.

This call brings us the challenge of loving every person in need and not to oppress anybody because if we were in their shoes, we wouldn't want to be taken advantage of or to be subjected to ill-treatment. We would like to be respected and to be treated as human beings worthy of living with our dignity in tact.

Tomorrow marks the day of a week-long forum on migration and development. Many nation States will come to Manila for the Global Forum on Migration and Development and will deal with issues relating to the many migrants who have made the world a smaller place because boundaries are blurred. Let us continue to pray that migration will become a migration out of choice and not out of need. And that if we are faced with becoming migrants that people will treat us with dignity and if we meet migrants that we will answer the call to love our neighbours as God has loved us.

collective energies

i am a product of collective energies - a sum of all the parts that define me. a friend of mine asked me once - where do i get the time and energy to do what i do, to write and to have insights ... it's primarily God - he's the oil that keeps me running smoothly. but it's also everything around me - the people i meet, the situations i am in, the places i go to and the "sunshine" that enters into my life. i simply digest all that is given me and give out the product.

some people say i am an intense person. i think they say that because i am sometimes very animated and enthusiastic about people and things. i get that way with everything because every thing has meaning for me. i get that way even with people i've only met for the first time. sometimes, i can't help myself like i'm on autopilot.

i believe things happen for a reason. i don't try to analyse every situation as to what the particular purpose may be but i cherish the moment that leads me to discovery. i take pleasure in each step of the journey. i stop to smell the flowers, observe the dirt, kick the stone, take mental images, sing, think, walk, run, reflect, bask in the sun or moon.

i used to be a maniacal multitasker. i get restless and i start moving around in circles. i didn't like quiet time because i thought that it wasted energy. why did i need to sleep when i could be doing so many other things? but i now know that i need it because this is the time that all the energies that i've collected in my life is processed to make a product or byproducts and to produce more energy.

oftentimes, i get sick when my mind has outrun its body. and that's when i stop to think, why am i doing all these things and i start reprioritizing and looking for energies to rejuvenate me. God is always an ample source so he's the first pit stop. next are the people that give me much love and make me feel special. i like to bask in their light because it refreshes me. when i've soaked enough, then i start producing my own light and then try to give of that energy. then it becomes a myriad of energy fields touching one another so that energy is never depleted.

if i ran on my own energy pack, i think i would have burnt out a long time ago.

i am grateful for all the energies that have touched me ... especially the love that multiplies itself in me ... i am a product ... of all your energies. thank you for sharing your energy with me.

serendipity at lunch

have you ever felt sometimes that when you meet someone, it's like looking into a mirror? you share the same spirit, the same visions, the same journey? i think i met a fellow wanderer today and someone who shares the same passion for life.

it was such a light meeting and we exchanged hearty smiles over lunch and just spoke of life. it was as we both used the word many times, "beautiful".

it was great to talk to someone who understood what it's like to give and to give freely. to have the same passion of giving of one's self not because it's asked of you, but because you're happy to give of yourself - no questions asked. there were no pretentions, no ifs and or buts. if i had a tape recorder, i would have recorded the whole conversation so i could recapture the moment here ... in this blog.

she spoke with much passion for her former profession as teacher. she loved seeing the children open up and to discover things. but most importantly she said that it was important to pass on the "passion" for teaching to teachers as much as to teach the children. it isn't enough just to teach mechanically, you need the passion to serve as she called it. she likes to serve and to give of herself because it's what makes her happy. she spoke that her life's mission was not just to "be" but to "inspire". i said she inspired me. it was an inspirational meeting for me.

i felt light to talk to someone who had dreams she wasn't afraid to pursue and to appreciate and be grateful for every moment because it served a purpose. it was time to move away from the "standing water" of life. and she made her resolve to move forward. i pray that she will achieve and attain her heart's desires as she embarks on a new journey in her life.

she said that at 7 or 8 years old, she felt the need to write her experiences for future's sake. i understand how she feels as i cannot live without writing. i need to share my thoughts if not just to let them out of my self so that i can examine each thought, each feeling, each situation as it is reflected in the written words.

she mentioned "flower" and that a "seed" was planted. i said i liked her analogy as i onced asked a question while i was still in iraq and was working there ... as to how some documents had come to be. i am now part of the team that makes those documents. after some years, i had gotten my answer. indeed, there is a perfect time for everything and every question is answered in due time.

i had a tear in my eye when i ended lunch. i was happy and light.

so i am grateful and i feel blessed to have met such a person today. i now call her friend. she is a friend. thank you for inspiring me and thank you for being you.