Ayoko ng Garapal

When we were young, most of us would have heard some of our elders say cuss words. Of course, all of us would become curious what those words mean. One time, I asked my late aunt Mommy Rosie. All she told me was "Piet, ayoko ng garapal." (Piet, I do not like you to be flagrant.) I never heard Mommy say any foul language. Even when she was angry, she would not say any curses. 

A teacher way back home once admitted that it becomes more difficult nowadays to teach good manners and right conduct because young people are exposed to the President's foul language. I totally agree. Remember when he swore at the Pope for causing traffic when the latter visited the Philippines in 2015? Remember his many statements impregnated with vulgarity? As the youth witness how the President conducts himself, whatever and however he speaks and acts become good examples for them.

Ayoko ng garapal.

Lately, the President called God "stupid" in a speech. I could tolerate his foul language, but to call God stupid is highly uncalled for. This is not exercising his free speech, as some of his apologists would put it. It is actually an abuse of such freedom, because his remarks is plain blasphemy. 

Ayoko ng garapal.

It got me thinking why would he call God as such? Was he angry at God or perhaps he was angry with the men of God - bishops and priests of the Catholic Church - whom he has lambasted ever since assuming office? When Fr Mark Ventura of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao was killed, instead of conveying words of sympathy to the family and parishioners, what did Duterte say? He alleged that the priest had illicit affairs! 

Ayoko ng garapal.

Come June 30, it would be Duterte's second year as President. When he was sworn in, what were the last words of his oath? "So help me God" isn't it? As pater familias, he should have known better what invoking God's help meant. Asking for Divine Providence then and calling the same God stupid later is quite contradictory. Similar to his abhorrence to corruption and allowing Ferdinand Marcos to be buried in the hallow grounds reserved for the nation's heroes or firing his dishonest friends from one government agency and appointing them to another after the issues against them cool down.

Ayoko ng garapal.

I join fellow Christians - Catholic and non-Catholic alike - in condemning the President's irresponsible remarks. As we condemn such act - we are not condemning the person, take note! - let us reflect on what God has done for us. Surely, there is a reason why we call Him loving, merciful, forgiving, generous, and so on and so forth. I'm sure it's what we experienced from Him. Did Mr Duterte not experience the goodness (or any other attributes) of God? I hope not. At any rate, let's pray that he would be enlightened and realize that there is more to know about God. Let's also become good role models for our youth through our gentle words and good actions. 

Let us remain steadfast in the faith, the way Saints Peter and Paul - whose feast day we are celebrating today - lived, defended, and laid their lives for it.

Overtaken

You were driving comfortably on a long stretch of road when, suddenly someone overtook you. No signal lights flashing. No nothing. What would be your reaction?  Annoyed, yes? Swore at the culprit, perhaps? Put your foot down the gas pedal to chase up and overtake the other driver, no? Or simply remained calm, minding one’s driving and the safety of one’s passengers (if any)?

I guess the last option would probably be our last option.  For one, the other driver didn’t have an ounce of respect for other drivers.  Should we go down to their level though?  Come to think of it, if we resort to swearing or getting even, it shows how we used such an ‘embarrassing’ experience to fuel our hurt ego. 

St John the Apostle warns us “Walk while you have the light, or the dark will overtake you.” (Jn 12:35). Of all things that would overtake us, this is something we should be wary of. I would like to think of the seven deadly sins as examples of “the dark” mentioned by St John. In our Catechism, we were taught that the seven deadly sins are: pride, anger, lust, envy, gluttony, avarice, and sloth.

Pride. In our life as individuals and as a community, pride has been lurking around.  At times, it may have overtaken us. Take for example two neighbours.  One purchased a new television set. Feeling overtaken or nasapawan, the other decided to buy a new (and much better) one too, even if it was beyond his means!

Anger. All of us may got angry at one point or another. But what if it got the better of us? I remember years ago, when I was still in Manila. Every morning, between 7:30am and 8:00am, garbage trucks roam around large streets to collect household rubbish. Sounding off the horn is normally done to let people know that it’s time for them to bring out their rubbish.  Unfortunately, that fateful morning, an irate man woke up at the wrong side of the bed and, in his rage, gunned down an innocent garbage collector. 

Lust. In our faith, sex is considered an expression of love between husbands and wives. But what if lust overtakes love? Think of the news of young girls and women being raped. Worrisome isn't it? There is no more respect for others. When I was in New York a few years back, I felt bad hearing on TV that a woman was raped in Central Park. Not only that. The crime was done in broad daylight! Overtaken by lust, sex and persons have been downgraded as tools for self-gratification. 

Envy. Whenever someone we know of (family, friend, colleague, etc.) has achieved something, be it a promotion at work or having a new car, etc. what is our first reaction? Are we happy or are we envious? If such blessings were posted in Facebook, would we like what was posted or not? If we are overtaken by envy, we will do everything just to be at par with the person we are envious of. If that is impossible, we'll resort to backstabbing, slander, or even murder. Look at what Jesus' contemporaries did to Him! 

Gluttony. Mr Gregorio Prado, my former Mathematics teacher in high school, once stressed out to us the difference between kain (eating) and lamon (gluttony). Eating is necessary, but it has to be in moderation. (Ditto drinking.) As Mrs Estrella De Leon, my philosophy teacher in UST, once cited "We eat to live, not live to eat."

Avarice. How do we use God's blessings? Do we share it with others or keep it to ourselves?  If avarice (a.k.a. greed) overtakes us, we would be so attached to our possessions as though we can bring them to the after-life. We can't. Never. Everything in this world is on loan.

Sloth. As Christians, we have duties to fulfill, e.g. respect for one's parents, care for one's children, attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, etc.. If sloth overtakes us, we would stop doing those and other duties. Remember the Lord's parable of the rich man? He went to hell when he died because he failed to care for Lazarus, the poor man who waited for some scraps falling down from the rich man's table.

How can we avoid being overtaken by these seven deadly sins? Here's what St Paul has to say: "Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise." (Phil 4:8).

Bokasyon

Good Friday 1985.  Unable to bear the taunts of a few cousins, I cried to Mommy Rosie and told her that I will no longer join in the Pabasa during Holy Week. "Bakit ka titigil eh bokasyon mo yun?" ("Why would you stop when that is your vocation?")  Upon hearing those words, I stopped crying and continued my Lenten devotion until I moved to the UK. (Unfortunately, there are no Pabasa here, although some of us Pinoys have been toying this idea...)

Bokasyon. Vocation. Profession. However we name it, all of us have responded to its calling. Some of us have felt the calling to become priests, doctors, teachers, etc. Apart from one's job, some of us have also felt the calling to marriage or single blessedness. And still, some have also been called to be of service to the Church such as altar servers, lay ministers, choir members, catechists, etc. 

Living one's vocation has its peaks and troughs. At times, we are full of life and enthusiasm and people are cheering for us. But there have also been moments when our efforts seem fruitless or others denigrate us. And we want to bail out. 

Bakit ka titigil eh bokasyon mo yun?

There are also moments when vocation is eclipsed by personal ambition. Take for example our politicians whose calling is to serve the people, but have enriched themselves at the expense of the public. Or the clergy whose vocation is to tend the flock, but have sexually abused children who look up to them as their spiritual fathers. In our own lives, we may have experienced being torn between our calling and our own agenda. And we want to bury our heads in the sand.

Bakit ka titigil eh bokasyon mo yun?

A story goes that when the Christians in Rome were being harshly persecuted, St Peter tried to flee.  Along the way, he met Christ and he asked the Lord "Quo vadis, Domine?" (Where are you going, Lord?) To which, Jesus replied " "Romam eo iterum crucifigi ("I am going to Rome to be crucified again").  Upon hearing the Lord's response, St Peter came to his senses and went back to Rome where he met his end.  He could have ignored the Lord, he could have ditched his mission and go back to become a fisherman, but he didn't. Why? Because Jesus called him to be a fisher of people!

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, let us draw inspiration from these two big brothers of the Church who never stopped in listening to their calling "in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword".

As most of you may already know, this great feast coincides with my beloved aunt's death anniversary. Mommy Rosie, I couldn't thank you enough for posing to me that question. Whenever I feel down, that question motivates me to soldier on.  May God, who called you to be a loving mom to us all, call you now to enjoy His grace and peace in heaven.  We love you!

Abiding Gaze

Chiara wasn't feeling well these past few days and this may be due to the side effects of her most recent vaccine.  Gone were the days when she was a little baby that her Mom could hold and won't move but just cry when pricked by the injection. She's now more sensible - by the time she sat on her Mom's lap and I hold on her thigh, she started to say "No!"
Early this morning, she woke up crying, looking for her Mom (who was on night duty).  I have to cuddle her so she could go back to sleep.  For some reason, I couldn't sleep even when she was already snoring!  I suddenly recalled what my own mother once told me. When I was still a little boy and was ill, my late aunt Rosalina 'Mommy Rosie' Samaniego looked after me.  What touched my heart was that, according to my Mom, Mommy Rosie didn't sleep the whole time she was there for me! How she managed that is something I couldn't make sense of the first time I heard of it.  Incidentally, today is her 14th Death Anniversary.

Mommy Rosie's sterling dedication, not only in that incident, but in the many other incidents that perhaps I must have written in previous articles, reminded me of two great men called to look after the community of Jesus' believers, the Church: the Apostles Peter and Paul whose feastday is also celebrated today.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter led the Church as its first pope while Paul was its ambassador spreading the Good News through the many countries he travelled to. Their formidable tandem has been instrumental in the life of the early Church and even in our present times. They were human beings with their own frailties, but because they put their trust in God they faithfully carried out their roles till the end.

In at least two churches I've seen in the Philippines (one in the parish church of Kawit, Cavite and another in Sta Cruz, Manila), the statues of Saints Peter and Paul stand on each side of the church's patron as though they were its honour guards or trustworthy companions.  (I once dreamed of having their statues put on each side of St Joseph's statue in the main altar of Gagalangin.  Imagine the two princes of the Church flanking the patron of the Universal Church!)

Mommy Rosie has kept a watchful eye on her family to the point of forgetting herself.  She was always there for us, a help close at hand.  She didn't rely on her own efforts, but more so on the grace of the Lord that she has served faithfully.  I'm pretty much sure we could count on her abiding gaze now that she is enjoying the bliss called heaven.