My Mother Came Back Home

It is extremely challeging to write about something or someone you hold very dear in your heart and regard with great awe.

I have two mothers. One of them--the one who reared me in her womb and nurtured me tenderly into what I am now, passed away when I was barely in my teens.Before her passing at a young age of 39, she had inculcated in me all the values I would need to cope well in my life's journey.

This is about my second mother, the one who has not really left me. She is the one who keeps coming back despite me abandoning her-- or so I thought.The first mother introduced her to me. She taught me how to pray the Holy Rosary in recognition of this Mother's special role in the life of our Saviour. My mother convinced me that every decade of the Rosary is my staircase to heaven. She encouraged me to attend the NOvena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help every Wednesday.The said Novena adresses every possible human concerns and ideals from our personal needs-both temporal and spiritual-- to our role in the community as we travel with our fellow human beings, from God and back to God.In turn, I gifted my only daughter with this Novena prayer.

Neither my daughter nor I have been using the Novena prayers to our Mother of Perpetual Help. I just try to look at it and read a line or two from time to time. For years I have not attended the same novena. Life has taken on a dizzyingly fast turn, the devotion to Mother Mary was one of the precious treasures jettisoned out of my overloaded vessel. Even the Holy Rosary became too long and too repetitious to merit special time from my loaded schedule. Though in my mind, I value it as a string of roses that I can lay before the feet of her son, Jesus.

When I was a child, attending the Novena and going to church for that matter was not only pleasurable-- it was also rewarding. Our catechism teacher used to give us cards for every attendance. It has an equivalent points which the children can use to exchange with gifts on Christmas day. Besides, going to our church anytime of the day and night was a few lesiurely steps away. Our church, Saint Francis Xavier Parish Church of Nasugbu, Batangas was right in front of the house I grew up in. Our former house and the church still stand porch to porch till now, many decades later.

But my Mother--just like the first mother who I believed had stored enough prayers for us her 10 children in her short lifetime-- has not given up on me. Now she is making a very strong come back.

During the Last November 30 Christmas party of my Centering prayer group, a friend and elder in the Centering group, Agnes Chan, gifted me with the book "The LIFE of MARY" by Raphael Brown. It promises an intimate re-encounter between Mother Mary and Me. Another friend, Mayette Dolor handed me a laminated image of "Our Lady of Mary Mediatrix of all Grace. It fills up the void in my private altar in a prominent corner of my home office. Yesterday, Wednesday, December 5, I brought my daughter to her new station where she takes a convenient ride to Makati where she works. The station is located right inside the patio of the Marikina Church of the Immaculate Conception. The Holy Mass was ongoing. Right after the Mass was held the --lo and behold-- The NOvena to our Mother of Perpetual Help followed. Once again, I presented all my concerns, my dreams and everything else to my Mother. As if no time gap has separated me from my Mother.

This morning as I was mulling over writing this blog, yet another surprise from my Mother was waiting on the wings. It is an e-mail from a new-found mentor and friend, Bro. Ric de Leon, carrying the "Totus Tuus" prayer by Pope John Paul II.

Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea Tua sunt.

Accipio Te in mea omnia.

Praebe mihi cor Tuum, Maria.



I am all yours, and all I have is yours.

I welcome you into all my affairs and concerns.

Show me your heart, O Mary.

¯¯¯

Totus tuus sum, Maria,

Mater nostri Redemptoris.

Virgo Dei, Virgo pia,

Mater mundi Salvatoris.



I am all yours, Mary,

Mother of our Redeemer,

Virgin of God, Holy Virgin,

Mother of the Saviour of the world.

This Divine truth I now see. My Mother, Mother Mary--introduced to me by my mother, Perla de Veas Riñoza, and God's lasting and ever precious gift, has never left me. Mother Mary has always been dwelling in my psyche, and even if I abandon her ever so often, she will keep coming back home to me in my full consciousness. For after all, she has really never left and together with her Son, Jesus, will never leave me alone.

Manila Pen Seige Gone Kaput? Not Really

Apparently, it was a pursuit of idealism that went pfft. But if only for the flicker of hope--though very short-lived--it generated among those longing for political reforms, the defiant stance by former Lieutenant,now inactive senator, Antonio Trillanes IV & Brigadier General Danilo Lim, was not entirely futile. This is not to condone what they did because no matter how noble their objectives were, lawlessness in their pursuit,can not be countenanced.

Trillanes & Lim bolted out of a Makati court hearing last November 29,2007, where they were being tried for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and February 2006 Mutiny respectively; followed by civilian supporters, foremeost of whom were former Vice-Pres Teofisto Guingona and former University of the Philippines President Francisco Nemenzo. They briskly walked and holed themselves up at the Makati Peninsula Hotel. As they did, they were calling for the people to reject President GMA and asking them to join them in Makati. Senator Trillanes had fiery passion in his eyes; Brig. Gen. Lim had power in what he repeatedly uttered: "Dissent without astion is consent."

The walk-out and seige of Manila Peninsulat Hotel appeared spontaneous and lacked coordination. Filipinos of common mind and stand were taken by surprise. Among them was ex-Ambassador Roy Señeres who would have joined them and said he felt bad that he was not informed of said move.

Bayan Muna Represnetative Satur Ocampo considered it naivete on the part of the two active dissenters to have carried out the seige without an organized broad support from the people.

For I while, I fantasized Trillanes and Lim doing a Ninoy for the cause of Filipino people's freedom from a widely-perceived to be a discredited and corrupt dispensation.

In 6 hours it looked like all was over. All dissenters were hauled to Bicutan detension in handcuffs, including the brave media people who have imbedded themselves in the middle of the action to the finish, after a government overkill which sent a battallion of soldiers and two war tank rambling into the Christmassy halls of Manila Peninsula.

But nothing is over. For as long as the people values democratic freedom and decent governance which majority of the Filipinos do, active dissent such as the Manila Pen seige may happen again and again when people are driven by utter helplessness and desperation.

Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) contributor and political analyst Amando Doronila has written the following warning:

The Peninsula insurrection may have collapsed, but the grievances that drove the rebels to desperate action remain smoldering underneath unless addressed seriously. XXXXXXXXXX There are more than enough grievances to feed plots inside the military to seize power. The more serious plotters have learned the lesson that they can't seize power by turning their guns at hotels. The next time around, the guns will be blazing at Malacañang. (PDI, Dec. 3,2007)

Can the Filipinos Shun Their President

Time Magazine (December 3,2007) article "What Makes Us Good/Evil" talks of social shunning as one of the most powerful tools for enforcing group morals. Social shunning can occur spontaneously when a society of millions recoil at a member's act as what happened when, outraged by the 1995 acquittal of O.J. Simpson, the people turned its back on him, denying him work, expelling him from his country club, refusing him service in a restaurant.

"What Makes Us Good/Evil?" cites forms of shunning practiced by religious believers such as the Roman Catholics, Mennonites and Jehovah's Witnesses when they resort to excommunication or disfellowshipping.

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) with 13 Million members belonging mainly to Protestant Churces and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines of the predominantly Catholic nation, both decry the leadership of the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as morally bankrupt. Catholic Archbishop Oscar Cruz was more specific when he said the President should resign because more than moral bankruptcy, the right term is amorality and that the President is so mired in corruption she can't get out of it anymore. According to Archbishop Cruz, moral regeneration under her is impossible, short of a miracle.

Can social shunning help forge the miracle that these concerned Filipinos are hoping for?

How Toxic is Jpepa?

Presently being considered for ratification by Philippine Senate is the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa). Under the Philippine Constitution, its approval needs at least 2/3 votes of the Senate.

The biggest objection to it so far is its threat to Filipinos' health and environment since according to its critics, the treaty will allow the Japanese export of its toxic waste into the country. This fear is being assuaged by the Philippine Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Manuel Tehankee. Ambassador Tehankee asserts that Jpepa does not provide for export of waste products which violates international and local laws. According to him Japan has the technology to process its own waste.

The biggest benefit of Jpepa, says the ambassador is the resulting greater revenue of from Philippine Pesos: PhP6.5 to 110 Billions worth that will accrue from an improved economic activity. This according to him far outweighs the revenue losses of about PhP3.69 to 4.15 Billions due to products coming in tax free.

Former NEDA Director and University of the Philippines economist, Solita Monsod, in her statement made to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Nov. 23, 2007 also recommended Jpepa ratification by the Senate saying that: "The benefits of Jpepa far exceed its cost." According to Ms Monsod:

There's a lot at stake for the Philippines here. It is well to keep in mind at this point that Japan is our largest source of Official Development Assisstance (ODA), which is more than 10 times larger than the United States ODA to us; Japan is our second largest source of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs); our third largest trading partner with whom we now enjoy a trade surpplus; as well as our third largest source of tourists. Japan is also the larges employer of overseas Filipino workers in East and Southeast Asia (2005), accounting for roughly 12% of total OFW remittances. She has been on the whole, a steadfast, non-bullying development partner of the Philippines.

Despite these assurances, the Filipinos are not jumping up and down over Jpepa. It might be because, its toxicity is emanating from somewhere else. One is our collective horrible memory of World War II with the images of comfort women, Filipino patriots being bayonetted by the Japanese and more recently, Filipino women OFWs telling harrowing stories of abuse and violence perpetrated on them by their Japanese employers. On top of these is our nagging suspicion that Jpepa will benefit only the officials of the land into whose pockets most of the Billions will be stashed.

The Sumilao Farmers' Long March to Justice

The Sumilao farmers are the indigenous Filipinos (Lumads) who were the early settlers on a piece of ancestral land in Sumilao, Bukidnon. 243.885 hectare-area of this ancestral land served as the Seat of Government of the Higaonons where the traditional paghusay and pamuhat were conducted by the Higaonon tribal council lead by Apo Manuagay Anlicao and Apo Mangganiahon Anlicao. The ancestral land is a flat agricultural terrain situated in the midst of Mt. Sayawan and Mt. Palaopao, and where Mt. Kitanglad can be seen from afar.

Then the Angeles came in 1930s. Forcibly evicting the Higaonons from their ancestral land, they converted the land into a cattle ranch. Later, the land was transferred to the Ilagans. In 1970s, the ancestral land was divided between 2 landowners: 99.885hectares to Salvador Carlos while the 144 hectares was transferred to Norberto Quisumbing. The ancestral land was eventually leased to Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) for 10 years. At this time, the Higaonons became farmworkers of the land they once owned. ( Taken from the "Statement in Support of the Sumilao Farmers" of the Ateneo-based Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.

Up till yesteday, many decades hence, they were still marching. They can not be stopped by two typhoons "Lando" & "Mina" from their march to Manila in protest of the loss of their land. They are hoping to reach Malacanang in 2 weeks if they will not be blown away into the abyss by strong winds.

As reported in the Nov. 25, Daily Inquirer, this particular march started in Barangay San Vicente in Sumilao on Oct. 10 and is expected to end on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. Making do with tattered raincoats, one of their supporters, Filipinas Palma of Balaod (Law) Mindanaw lamented: How many storms should they brave in order to attain justice?"

Indeed, how much longer do the Filipinos--workers, peasants, OFWs and everyone-- have to march, battered from all directions by the howling winds of greed, corruption, apathy--before they can come home?

Rape Victim Punished for Complaining

During the trial of Congressman Jalosjos for the rape of an 11-year-old girl, the Judge coaxed the victim under examination by saying: "Look at me as you answer, why don't you look at me? I am also handsome." It was a very insensitive and demeaning remark showing the very low regard the Judge harbored against the rape victim. Nevermind the age of the victim in this case which also requires extra considerate treatment. In the trial of the rape of the Chiong sisters in Cebu, the Judge commented, upon being shown the pictures of the victims, " Yes, I can see, they are very plain-looking." The remark tended to agree with the defense attorney's insinuation that plain looking women can not be victims of rape. These mindless remarks punish the victims by their utter lack of insensitiviy and reflect very low regard for women victims.

A world-wide uproar is presently on-going over a November 21,2007 CNN report that in Saudi Arabia, a 19-year-old married woman who was abducted and brutally gang raped was meted a jail term of 6 months and 200 lashes for bringing out to the public the crime committed against her. Even the lawyer working for her defense was stripped of his license to practice law and her 24-year-old husband who is supportive of her fight for justice is being heavily ostracized. The revolting punishment has been affirmed by their supreme ruler, King Abdullah.

Until now, African women are subjected to circumcission procedure severing their clitoris to assure their fidelity to their husband.

These atrocious and barbaric treatment of women only show that women up till this modern times are treated as chattels or possessions and being looked down as sinful objects deserving of scorn and brutal punishment.

The case of the Saudi Arabian woman has jolted human rights groups all over the world. Even the very conservative Saudi society is being shaken at its patriarchal roots and awakened to its judicial system's need for serious reform.

Extreme irrationality and ultimate repulsivenes of any institution, system, government and the like,can also serve a good purpose. It can usher in the beginning of their end. Humanity can only take so much.The innate nobility of humankind will always break through apparently insurmountable odds.

Good Shepherd Nuns Demand Philippine President GMA to Step Down

Giving life to the truism that every human concern is the concern of the Church, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd thru the call of Sr. Maureen Catabias,RGS, assert that the Arroyo administration has lost its moral ascendancy to govern the country. They are strongly demanding that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo step down.

The Religious of the Good Shepherd sounded their call in a letter to the editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (NOv. 22,2007) where they said partly:

Inspired and challenged by our mission to continue to be "Life-bearers with and for the Poor" and called to heed Micah 6:8 to "act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God," we believe that the common good and wellbeing and security of the Filipino people should be a great concern of the national leadership. The fact is the majority of the Filipinos are insecure and fearful in the midst of grinding poverty.

The Good Shepherd Sisters decry the recent bombing of the Batasan Pambansa which resulted in the loss of lives and severe injury to many on top the long list of suspicious events and scandalous deals and scams hounding the Arroyo administraion.

"Braveheart", Philippine Brand

"Tell me, for I have never come across it; at what period in our history did our people stop fighting oppression? Armed with little more than an enduring heart, an ear for music, and a longing for justice without which there could never be harmony, they have for centuries pursued a dream that will not die: the dream of a noble society. They have been - they still are - deceived and deprived, defeated and defamed. Yet they struggle on, however humbling, mistaken or misguided their efforts may at times seem to us."

The above is a quote from "The Land and Martial Law" by Jose W. Diokno. Diokno, a Filipino lawyer, champion of human rights, street parliamentarian was arrested during the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos and held without charges for two years. Jose W. Diokno, a brave man believed in the steadfast courage of the Filipino soul. Many Filipinos believe he should have been a very good President.

In the midst of the present day widespread corruption and despotism in our country, the Filipino spirit which Diokno saw among his people may yet ignite the flame of passion for liberation from another era of economic, political and moral tyranny. Signs are a-borning. Young people with fresh ideas and pure intentions are getting involved in governance as shown in the last Barangay (smallest unit of government) elections. The not-so-young but with youthful idealism--like the Ang Kapatiran Party members-- going to the grassroots to conduct basic values and political education. The priest-on-leave and new Pampanga Governor-elect, Among Ed Panlilio, embarking in an audacious quest for honesty and pro-people, pro-God leadership. And many more... showing that the Filipinos are by nature, righteous, freedom-loving and a decent race.

Can the Philippines Be Saved?

Yesterday,I was "entertained" on the evening news by Davao Congressman Nograles and Davao's City Mayor, Mr. Duterte. They were exhanging verbal skirmishes on television. Their verbal duel was an offshoot of the suicide of Manette Amper due to poverty. She happened to be a constituent of the mayor. In closing, the "Honorable" Mayor called on his citymates not to render assistance to the "Honorable" Congressman in case he suffers a heart attack in his territory.

No wonder no one came to the aid of the poverty stricken family of Mannette. Their mayor has that depth of ill-will and the braggadocio to flaunt it.
How can there be room for compassion in his heart for the poor in his neighborhood?

The day before, another "Honorable" official, Senator Juan Pnce Enrile was lambasting another "Honorable" , the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Joe de Venecia. The Senator accussed JdV of gargantuan corruptions and cite several examples of the latter's corrupt involvement--NorthRail, ZTE projects among others--Enrile called JDV hypocrite who has no right to call for moral revolution and threatened to rat on him some more saying, "Tell the Speaker not to badmouth me... I know more things about him xxxxxxxxx and if I am forced to reveal them I don't know where he will pick himself up from. I know his true character."

I believe that many Filipinos also know the true character of the Senator and the true characters of many of our leaders-- foremost among them, our President. They have become so brazen in their corrupt practices, in their lying and cheating, in their greed and exercise of unbriddled power. They are openly insulting our intelligence and projecting the stance: "get us if you can". Last year, one congressman ally of the President haughtilly dismissed a protestor to their arrogance by retorting, "I am the congressman, you are just an spectator." The gall by which they are spilling their innards in public is indeed revolting.

Before I finally sink in despair over the apparent helplessness of our people, the Philippine Daily Inquirer was delivered with a full page manifesto calling for the immediate resignation of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro and for holding of Special ("SNAP") elections within 60 days.

The manifesto asserts: "Fellow Citizens, this corrupt government must go."
The 1st Whereas clause states:


Whereas, because of the numerous unresolved scandals involving the present administration, including but not limited to the "Hello Garci" Election controversy,the ZTE, Northrail Project, Diosdado Macapagal Highway scandals, the Joc-Joc Bolante Fertilizer scam, Jose Pidal Caper, hundreds of unresolved extra-judicial killings and the latest Malacanang bribery incident, Gloria Macapagal has completely lost her moral authority to govern this country.


Right. Our president has hit rock-bottom and most of her allies have been swirling around her in the pit of moral and political bankruptcy. Asking them to resign is one of the remaining options for the salvation of our country. We can not be saved with them. Their corruptions and bad examples have brought us all this low and pulling all of us down to damnation.

For a little doze of hope, I signed the online petition at http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Snap/08 For unbounded hope that springs eternal, I pray to the Ruler of the universe.

Discord as Pains of Birthing

Discordant voices fill our surroundings. And it is not only in the political arena --where discord is the prevalent norm--that wrangling pervades the air. It is not simple disagreement but wrackful disputes that are dividing our people.

During the burial of Mariannet, secular priests and religious were thrown into a squabble over the right of the "martyr of poverty" to be entitled to a funeral mass inside the Roman Catholic church. During the anticipated Mass yesterday, Nov. 10, 2007, at the Church of the Risen Christ at UP, Fr. JBoy gave a catechetical instruction on how the strict rule of the RC Church against those who commit suicide has been laxed especially in this instance when a child is involved. This morning, the Mass celebrant in our village was adamant against forgiving the child and condemned her to damnation.I did not have the chance to share with our Priest celebrant the essence of Philippine laws on children below 18 years of age. Under our civil law, a person below 18 is considered a child and thus not capable of giving consent; under the criminal law, he/she is exempted from criminal liability due to minority. How can our Priest convict Mariannet for sinfulness. If her age exempts her from civil and criminal liability, she can't be judged a sinner.

In another display of disunity among the Church heirarchy, 3 progressive Catholic Bishops are repeatedly calling for Pres. GMA to step down. 18 Bishops from Mindanao opposed their brothers' call and the latter were joined by some more from Luzon.Ironically, it is my elders in the Church from whom I used to hear that one of the last will of Jesus for us Christians is unity among His disciples and followers.

Just a few months ago, our cmmunity the Couples for Christ (CFC), in scandalous and dramatic media pronouncements called for a division of the house over apparent disagreements on how Gawad Kalinga--its most socially uplifting pro-poor ministry-- is being managed. A Council Statement dated August 20, 2007 formalized this division from top to bottom. It gave birth to another community also serving Christ's mission of bringing "God to the ends of the earth.

"A Community is Reborn"-- heralds the CFC newletter "Ugnayan"( July-August 2007. The birth brings about "new winds of change sweeping across our community", as stated in the article. It continues to lament,"We mourn the loss of friends and comrades-in-arms but most of all, we morn the loss of our unity."

The same article also gives us a consoling thought in the midst of these altercation and states:


It is said that whom the Lord calls, He first purifies and refines through the fires of trials and challenges. Our community has passed through such a fire of purification. With His grace, we have emerged, not perfect for that can never be, but refreshed and ready for whatever our Master would require us to do.


Even the discord among Church leaders can bring about a reinvigorated study of the rules and a re-internalization of one's roles and missions in our community, society and country. Looking at this discords as pains of birthing can inspire us to look at the future with hope rather than despair.

The discord and disharmony in our midst might as well bring about a divison of the house. Hopefully this labor pains can bring about the birth of a new era-- better than the one we live in now.

A Case Is Won, But Fight Goes On

Yesterday, Novevember 8, 2007, I received a Supreme Court order in a "bloody" inheritance case-- thicker blood is spilt in a case between blood relatives. For me as the lawyer, this one spells and smells victory with finality. It took all of 17 years of in-fighting among the heirs,--topped by the young step-mother, the surviving wife of the decesed whose estate has been the subject of the squabbe--the moneyed & powerful people who connived with the erring heirs, "blinded by the estate by the sea that gleams under the hot summer sun", the register of deeds and the lawyers, even the fake notaries who conspired in the fraudulent dispositon of big portions of the decedent's estate.

I recall the most poignant scene during the trial. During direct eexamination, when asked how the fraudulent acts of the other heirs affected her, the plaintiff who filed the case to recover the estate of her father replied: More than losing the estate, more than losing my share, the most painful part is losing my roots. How could I ever come home again, knowing that some of my brothers and sisters have sold our family homes, estate, heirloomss. That's a whole family memory of growing together in love & harmony, in sound family values and affection, going down the drain, with a few pieces of dirty silver. How could I come home to a memory tarnished by greed and betrayal?

It was beyond everyone's expectation that the Regional Trial Court, the Court of Appeals and all the way to the Supreme Court restored everything back to the estate, penalized the buyers in bad faith by forfeiting everything-- every cunning cent paid the scheming heirs, every dazzling piece of improvement done in bad faith.

In a divine twist of fortune, the erring heirs are blessed with the impending rcovery of what they had sold in betrayal of the estate. They just stood there, while the aggrtieved heirs fought in grief to restore the father's estate, the integrity of the family and the memory he built for his family.

Now, the aggrieved heirs who have found justice, are back to a muddled square one. The scheming heirs are expecting their share in the inheritance which they once sold without regards for the rights of the co-heirs. And now, they have turned more demanding. And vicious! The victorious heirs are ready to give it to them with charity and generosity, and in honor of their parents who have loved them all. But the cheating and selling heirs have been sharpening their tools and positioning themselves once again! The better, to extract more from the estate they had once bastardized.

I now propose to mediate. I know I would need no longer the positive human law but the wisdom of Solomon, in this new task. And the blessing of the Divine Mediator.

"Gir!,11, loses hope, hangs herself"

This news item is in the frontpage of the Philippine Daily Inquirer today, Nov. 8, 2007. Mariannet Amper committed suicide losing hope "that her family would ever rise from poverty". Manette wiggled to his death during this season of tragicomedy when the rabid supporters and cohorts of our President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo are fumbling their way and stumbling all over themselves covering her up from liability for the scandalous and messy distribution of oodles of money as cash gifts--in other words, bribes-- to congressmen and local government officials who trooped to Malacanang upon the invitation of the President herself.

Lingayen-Dagupan Catholic Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz called the suicide a "summit of desperation" and indicted each & everyone of us saying that if one girl goes hungry due to poverty, then we are all part of it.

In law school, I encountered a narrative on a Judge hearing another heartwrenching case and rendered a similar judgment. A child was being tried in his court for stealing a piece of bread.
Instead of punishing the child, the wise judge passed a hat for contribution as fines for the adults in the community. He pronounced that it would the fault of the whole community whenever a child would be forced to steal to assuage one's hunger.

Mea culpa!

Freedom to Be Free

"Veronica Decides To Die" by Paulo Coelho, in lucid and smooth prose relays how 4 characters of different shades of "apparent" insanity found sanity inside the mental asylum. They did because in the house for the mentally sick, they stumbled upon the freedom to be free. Their trek to freedom led them to the road to their cure and sanity. This newfound freedom led them all the way out into the road back to the world of the "normal" and discovered a way of life more normal than most "normal individuals observe: being free to be themselves -- free from unreasonably high expectations, unshackled from norms & conventions of a rigid family, community and society, released from traditions which serve only as a link to the past and meant to assure continuity, right or wrong, rational or not.

Corollarily, it recognizes our freedom to commit mistakes-- even a lot of them-- as long as they are not fatal enough to destroy ourselves....... & I dare say, destroy others.

And more. Freedom that liberates gives hope and regains it again and again. It gives rest. According to Thomas Aquinas, exhaustion & sorrow can be alleviated with sleep, bath and a glass of wine.

Freedom brings about creative balance between conflicting forces, wants, desires. It creates a system of priorities and releases you from the agony of paralyzing dilemmas .

Ultimately, freedom is right. It is to be free to do what is right, to exercise one's belief, to keep one's faith, to worship one's God and pursue ones ideals.

Paralysis of a Mother's Heart

Nothing is impossible with the Divine Healer. But the sickness of the human heart seems to be the most difficult for the God of Love to cure & heal. In the same way that a physical heart that completely stops beating can no longer be revived except through a miracle like the raising of Lazarus from the dead; a human heart that has stopped beating for the beloved is a formidable challenge even to the Giver of Life.

A mother who has given her all to a dear son is under extreme anguish struggling to revive her heart through forgiveness. The dear son has turned vicious against his own mother upon finding new loves. He finally found a woman who has fuelled his viciousness further and in tandem the two has battered the hapless mother with their combined haughtiness. The mother was left with no choice but to leave them alone and get out of the harm's way.

Then the wedding day has been set. The mother can not see herself still part of it--after the disrespect and verbal abuse, even a curse the fiancee has thrown her way-- with the tolerance of the son.

Thinking of convention and tradition, the mother wants to walk down the aisle with the entourage. But she can not find any other meaningful reason behind being present during the wedding ceremony of the pair. The young pair who has treated her in the most cruel way she had never experienced before and hope would never come her way again, has taken away every reason for the mother to to celebrate with them. She simply wants the ceremony to be done with, so everyone can move on their separate ways.

The "separate lives" can be a fulfilling event. It can be some kind of a graduation into the next major threshold, with the son gaining independence, and starting on his own. After all, his parents have amply prepared him with a very excellent education from a top school and supported all his endeavours for growth and development. But a separation like this can slay a mother's heart into pieces and bring about numbness to the core of her motherly being.

The mother started pleading to the Divine Healer. Day & night she has been asking the maternal and paternal heart of God to make her own human heart right-- to make it beat once more with
forgiveness and affection for her son and for his new love.

Even God is having a very difficult time curing the paralysis of this mother's heart.

The Universal Healer.

Our Divine Parent is very much involved in our day to day affair, including our good health. It goes without saying that we have to cooperate by recreating our good health through a healthy lifestyle--physically, morally and spiritually. This is true not only on the personal level. It can happen on all levels of collective existence-- community, national, universal. We can harness the power of prayer and God's life-force for individual and collective health.

Asking God to be my Divine Physician does not mean I distrust medical personnels and man-made healing machines - after all, the human intellect is God-given. It's just that I prefer to ask God first and be guided by the Holy Spirit on how to proceed with my journey towards cure & healing. Many times God does me the favor and takes my healing and those of my loved ones in
in His/Her Divine Hand. I experience miraculous cure and Divine Healing over and over again.

The vocation to cure is God-given. Doctors & medical personnels are trained not only to cure physical illnesses but also to heal psychical and emotional malaise. The fact that they are paid--even handsomely-- to do their work, does not at all detract from the fact that their work is not only scientific and secular. When they study to understand the intricate design of the human body and how to restore it in its normal & right conditions, they do study God's divine design for the highest form of creation. And they glorify the Creator!

With God's help, each one can "stand and walk" individually & collectively. And give glory to the Universal Healer.

God is Chipping at My Brain Tumour.

Headache can occur without any warning, anytime. It does knock on my head--sometimes first on the line--in the morning, after a long and restful sleep. I conveniently refer to it as migraine. It gives me the sensation of round pebbles rubbing loose against each other and knocking down all the live cells all around within my head. Until they knock me down to sleep very still, with nary a move or tilt of my head, or the pebbles will knock me down convulsing in pain.


For someone like me who has been coddling grainy pebbles in my head and surviving it for decades, headache is no cause for alarm. Until last January 24, 2007, when a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) exposed a tiny alien growing from the membrane covering my brain located somewhere deep from my dura matter in between my brain hemisphere. It is a brain tumour medically described as intensely-enhancing well-marginated extra-axial mass involving the right posterior frontal parafalcine region, called meningioma and measuring 1.6 x 1.1 x1.5 cm. Said MRI/MRA also reveals sub-cortical white matters usually associated with migraine.


Now, my miracle--fully documented.

My neurosurgeon, having my best interest in mind, insisted I should have it removed within a maximum period of 2 months. He said it could grow big fast enough, press against the healthy brain cells and casuse damage which can be permanent or could take time to cure. All the neurologists and neurosurgeons I consulted were one in saying my tumour was likely to grow bigger. And the earlier I have it removed, the better. Not one of them said it could be neutralized except by means of gamma knife or radiation bombarding the tumour from the outside of my skull for approximately 7 hours. It could cause side effects like inflamation of the surrounding cells which will have to be managed with the use of steroids.

I kept my faith in the Divine Physician and placed myself at God's disposal. I prayed for Divine Guidance for the right direction towards a healing and cure that will not involve the use of man-made machine such as the gamma knife or the human hand in a brain surgery. It's not that I distrust medical advances and medical personnels. I believe they are God's gift and their vocation to heal is also God-given. But I preferred to first ask God to do me the favor.

God uses people to send us help. A dear friend, Agnes Chan who has always been God's generous instrument, led me to a healing priest, Fr. Efren (Momoy) Borromeo. Through Fr. Momoy, the Lord agreed with what I asked for in prayers. He told me not to undergo operation and invited me to his healing Masses every Monday morning at the Delaney Hall of the University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City. Fr. Momoy is gifted by the Healing God with what can be called Divine MRI. As he laid his hand on my head he gave a description of my tumour which fits almost exactly with the MRI/MRA result.

On my fifth healing session, sometime mid- April 2007, Fr. Momoy declared my tumour already a scar. During the period of healing, I felt better & better, from head to toe. Even my migraine has become sweeter & lighter. When ever I sense it dawning, I down a cup of ice cream- pistacchio flavor- go to sleep and wake up really feeling pleasant and light.

The following Oct. 24 I finally had the courage to undergo another diagnosis with the same hospital, the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital which is located along Wilson Street at San Juan, Metro Manila. I enjoyed its MRI laboratory. It is clean & cool with friendly staff. Last October, their simple, yet elegant Christmas tree reflected a soft glow. It kept me focused in prayer and subdued my anxiety while waiting for my turn.

The comparative result shows my brain tumour has shrunk. The shrinkage is not much - 1 mm on three sides. From 1.6 cm. x 1.1cm x1.6 it is now 1.5cm x 1.0cm x 1.5 cm. But the fact that it has shrunk is for me, perfect miracle enough. The prognosis of all doctors was that it can stay the same or grow bigger, at a rate not one could predict with 100% accuracy.

Indeed, the Divine Healer is alive and present in all of us. Even my meningioma has become a a fleshy yet concrete proof of God's presence deep within my brain hemisphere. I can feel the Divine Hand chipping at it so lovingly in a way only my God can do.