With Christ as our foundation, we see more meaning in our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We offer our prayers for those badly hit by these calamities. Connected with our prayer-life, we fast and abstain from meat (and other pleasures) so we could continuously seek God in our lives. Whatever we give up this Lent, we offer to those who suffer particularly the earthquake victims.
Apart from the need to rehabilitate, we also need protection. Protection from future disasters (I’ve seen a number of people sending e-mail messages or posting a shout out in Facebook asking the Lord to spare our country from such calamities.). As I prayed for Japan, I cannot really help, but pray all the more for my loved ones in nearby Philippines. (I soon realized that I also have some relatives in Japan who lived away from the epicentre, but still felt the tremors.) I’m glad that no tsunami has hit the country, but the fear of radiation is there.
Protection is two-fold. The first is in the hands of competent builders and the government. It’s high time the Philippines take a serious look at our edifices and how these could withstand earthquakes. High standards have to put in place and with it, stricter penalties for those whose buildings are not up to scratch.
The second is in God’s hands. When we have done our best in ensuring that people are safe and prepared ourselves should disasters come, we entrust the rest to God.
Rebuilding and protection are synonymous with St Joseph. During his time, he was a carpenter engaged in construction. He too was a husband and father who was there to defend his family from all harm (I have in mind the Holy Family's flight into Egypt which was actually St Joseph's sorrow and joy that I reflected upon early this morning.)
We pray that St Joseph would inspire us all to help our suffering brothers and sisters across the globe rebuild their lives.
St Joseph knew well the importance of building houses on rock. May he also intercede for all government officials, engineers, and architects that they would design and build safe structures.
We ask too St Joseph’s help that like him, we may also see the wisdom of having one’s life founded on God, of being rooted with our family (in spite being ‘uprooted’ to another country), and of putting our complete trust in His fatherly care when all things fail.
My heartfelt congratulations to my cousins Bianca Alcantara, Tara Mendoza, and Leia Albano who would be graduating with a BSc in Nursing on 17 March! Now that you have completed your studies, it’s time to share what you've learned - be it from the formal or the hidden curriculum - with the community. Be a channel of healing and protection to the sick and vulnerable!
Greetings too to Fidji (God-speak writer) and Von Sarmiento for their newborn baby daughter, Norina Graziella (a.k.a. Naya)! Naya is the first daughter in the Rivera-Sarmiento family (to Fidji’s delight!).
May St Joseph pray for you all!
