Travelling to the north of the Philippines with my grandparents and the rest of the clan many years ago, has been informative and instructive for me. From Manila going to Ilocos Norte, you would easily learn by heart the various provinces that you need to pass through to get to your destination: Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, and Ilocos Sur (now this province makes travel time longer as you have to pass through its entire stretch). You would also see for yourselves the old churches and other edifices, learn which is the capital of which province, etc.
As devout Catholics, Lolo Paul and Lola Piling would pray the Rosary as part of our journey. But what made me wonder was that every time we would pass by a cemetery, Lolo Paul, in his booming voice, would utter "Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord". To which, the rest of us (or at least those who know it) would respond "And let perpetual light shine upon them". "May they rest in peace," Lolo would then say. To which every one would reply "Amen". You could imagine how many times this "exchange of words" would occur in our itinerary.
Apart from this practice, I have been tagged along by my grandparents to a number of wakes and have assisted the late Fr Loreto Palafox, St Rita Hospital's Chaplain at that time, in the Mass. We would also have Masses celebrated by Fr Palafox during All Souls' Day when we visit graves of his siblings at the La Loma Cemetery as well as the cenotaph at the Manila North Cemetery erected in memory of Tito Chito and companion scouts.
I don't know where exactly my grandfather learned this devotion to the faithful departed, but I would imagine he learned this from his parents or from his older brother, Lolo Padi, whom he would have assisted in Masses for the Dead. Apart from that, as doctors he and Lola Piling would have often encountered life and death situations. Being religious, they would have that cultivated a spiritual insight on these situations; that life is something to be cherished and shared with others for the glory of God and that death is not the end, but the beginning of life everlasting.
Lola Piling told me that on his last day on earth, Lolo Paul wanted to talk about death while making their way home from church. Hours later, he would pass away. She told me how she consoled her dying husband, shouting prayers towards his ears. I am amazed at how strong a woman my grandmother was when my grandfather died. She said "I could not cry, but shouted, “Thy will be done, O Lord".
In our Catechism we are taught of the 7 Corporal and 7 Spiritual Works of Mercy. One of the Corporal Works is "to bury the dead". One of the Spiritual Works is "to pray for the living and the dead". My grandparents have shown, in their own way, how to practice these. I'm grateful that they have shown me the way. It gives me hope in what St Augustine once wrote: "Then we will be free and will see, will see and will love, will love and will praise. See, in the end it will be without end".
Lolo Paul, as we remember your 29th Death Anniversary this 19th of November, we implore that the Risen Lord would grant you, as well as Lola Piling and all the faithful departed (particularly those who died in the earthquake and typhoon that hit the Philippines recently), the eternal rest that you have always aspired and prayed for. May you now enjoy that freedom to see, love, and praise God in His kingdom. We love you!
Lola Piling told me that on his last day on earth, Lolo Paul wanted to talk about death while making their way home from church. Hours later, he would pass away. She told me how she consoled her dying husband, shouting prayers towards his ears. I am amazed at how strong a woman my grandmother was when my grandfather died. She said "I could not cry, but shouted, “Thy will be done, O Lord".
In our Catechism we are taught of the 7 Corporal and 7 Spiritual Works of Mercy. One of the Corporal Works is "to bury the dead". One of the Spiritual Works is "to pray for the living and the dead". My grandparents have shown, in their own way, how to practice these. I'm grateful that they have shown me the way. It gives me hope in what St Augustine once wrote: "Then we will be free and will see, will see and will love, will love and will praise. See, in the end it will be without end".
Lolo Paul, as we remember your 29th Death Anniversary this 19th of November, we implore that the Risen Lord would grant you, as well as Lola Piling and all the faithful departed (particularly those who died in the earthquake and typhoon that hit the Philippines recently), the eternal rest that you have always aspired and prayed for. May you now enjoy that freedom to see, love, and praise God in His kingdom. We love you!
