Callused Soles vs Calloused Hearts

The emancipation of the tenants has been the battle cry of every Philippine administration and agrarian reform has been their centrepiece program.

Agrarian reform is meant to reduce inequalities as social justice demands. The intent of the Philippine Constitution and R.A. 6657 is crystal clear: the promotion of social justice through an equitable distribution of land by making it easier for the disadvantaged to be able to acquire land.

Why are the Filipino farmers marching all over the country for the right to own a piece of land? After losing at every stage of the battle against landowners, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) officials, the lower to the highest courts, they are now pounding every trail into the hot asphalt and concrete jungle of the seat of government—Malacañang—hoping that they can stumble upon a piece of a soft and caring heart.

In my morning prayers I touched the legs and feet of the farmers by massaging those of my husband that God may let them walk on soft soil with sturdy legs and strong soles. Then I laid my hand on my husband’s heart that the Lord of Compassion may soften our officials’ hardened souls.

It's God's Decision, not the Lightning's Call

At about 12:30 this afternoon, a thunderous explosion engulfed our village and simultaneously shut off our electric supply. I heard splintering sound from our roof garden and dropping of some hard objects. Except for the falling debris, it sounded much the same as the past two occasions when on each instance a Meralco transformer in our subdivision was hit by lightning.

It turned out that, our house and only our house had the blackout. The lightning hit the tegula roof of our roof garden. Considering the exploding bomb-like sound, it was a wonder of wonder that only two tiles were blown off, splattered all over and leaving just enough gaping hole on our rooftop for us to see a small space of sky directly on top our head.

And the most divine wonder of it all was that the lightning strike failed to fry me while I was steaming fish in the kitchen and my daughter who was sleeping in her room on the second floor and closer to the blasted spot.

As I write this I still can’t fathom the enormity of the Protective Hand of God who shielded our house and us from the tons of electric volts which came very close to strike.

Praying w/ Val, My Third Child

My third child, Val–he’s now a dashing man of 29– slept over. Before leaving early this morning, we prayed together thus:

“Dear Lord thank you for this rare chance of sleeping together with my son in this home where the children grew up. And thank you for helping us get up with our faculties intact, with us capable of continuing with our dreams, with the strength and resources to pursue them.”

Mom: “Continue to cover my son with your mantle of protection and hugs of love and affection that he may feel your presence wherever he goes, whatever he does and make him feel he is always loved. Touch him with your healing love, every part of his body, especially his eyes and pancreas...and his soul... and bless him with the power to do what is right for himself, for his associates, friends, loved ones and all others..”

Val: “Amen”

All I Have to say to my Lord

I have been singing it all too often. Yet it was only in yesterday’s Holy Mass that I caught the full meaning of the following lines:

“All that I’ve been through, I offer them to you oh Lord
Make my life a worthy offering to you.”

And I realized, that is all I have been trying to tell my Creator in so many words and in so many ways–oftentimes, bumbling ways–sometimes right, sometimes not so; sometimes true, sometimes not a bit too; always human, but by God’s grace can be noble and divine.

Yesterday I had a date with the Lord in a very meaningful way. It doesn’t happen often.

How to Give Back

To be able to love, it is necessary to have experienced love. The love we share is also the love we enjoy. To be able to love in a Christian manner–pure and selfless, self-sacrificing and Christl-like–presupposes an experience of God’s love. We can give only what we have.

I did experience God’s generosity. Now I can give away the same. Even my husband and children could not fully comprehend why I could be passionately lawyering for a client–even the most difficult and demanding character–who can’t pay and who I even treat with meals and free ride with allowances. That is an expression of the love of God which I have richly encountered in my life.

Date with the Lord

Whenever the urge to pray beckons, listen and be still. That’s the Lord asking for a date.

You will then encounter a moment in time which is connected to an eternity.

The Combo is Playing

Yesterday, August 22—a day after he spoke of the “Perfect Combo (see the earlier post)--at 04:47:32pm, I received a stunning SMS from my son, Joey. It says: “A truck nearly hit the car by 2 inches. Must be your prayers working to save me.”

For a few seconds I became too dumbfounded to reply. I hugged my son tight from a distance… then raised my voice to the Lord in thanksgiving.

I praised God for letting our combo play beautiful music!