No Shortcuts ---!

No shortcuts! That's how Monsignor explained the gist of today's gospel reading.  I did not intend for this blog to be "religious" or anything of that sort.  But after hearing the essence of this passage, I decided to write about it just so it won't fade into the recesses of my brain (again).

Today's Gospel came from   Mt 16:21-27

²¹ From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go toJerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.

²² Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. 'Heaven preserve you, Lord,' he said, 'this must not happen to you.'

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.'

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.

²⁵ Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake willfind it.

²⁶ What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?

²⁷ 'For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then hewill reward each one according to his behaviour.

Monsignor began to talk about how ironic Jesus' treatment of Peter is after praising him last week.  (...Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

¹⁸ So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.

¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.', Mt 16:17-19) While Peter obviously became vulnerable like most of us, the essence of Jesus' remark was His preference to perform things properly according to the will of His Father.  He refused to go through "shortcuts."

For many of us, we bypass bureaucracy and hence succumb to bribery to get our transactions done -- fast and hassle-free.  We try to achieve power and position to provide ease and security -- at the expense of others of course.  We'd rather pay for convenience than go through the rigors of labor and sacrifice to get something we want -- be it food, recognition, protection, etc.  Oh, we are even willing to kick some *ss just to feed our bloated egos...  Nobody wanted to be trampled upon.  Everybody wants to be on top.  In the front line.  In charge.

But not Jesus.  Not the Son of God.

He welcomed the opportunity to suffer and die for our sake.  He obeyed His Father without any protest.  He did not want shortcuts in order to save us.  He, the Only Son of the Almighty, who was very much in the position to beg and convince His Father to spare Him from the agonies that awaited Him chose to submit Himself to the Will of His Father.

He could have opted for a shortcut and reaped a seat immediately beside His Father in Heaven.  But if He did, then this...

Source

...would have been completely become meaningless.  And we ---would not have been -----moved.

Sorry Seems the Hardest Word..

Its been a year since the bloody Manila bus hostage siege.  And to many, the incident is but another story of case of senseless killings. Hapless murders happen everyday anywhere in the globe.  But for some reason, my heart does ache for this particular incident.. And I couldn't quite explain why.

The victims' families arrived the other day to commemorate the event and to reach out once more to the Philippine government in their attempt to seek justice for their love-ones.  Among their demands was a simple "apology" from President Aquino himself.  Such, they claim, is the least they deserve to assuage their grief.  To their dismay, Pres. Aquino vehemently refused to yield to such demand.

The victims' families on a short media conference held for them after they arrived in Manila to commemorate the Manila bus hostage incident a year ago. Image source.

The President explained that seeking apologies for what happened would connote that the state is taking responsibility for what happened.  He says that the incident should be attributed to the gunman alone and to nobody else. 

"This was the act of one man, in the same token that some of us citizens have been affected elsewhere in the world, we do not blame the entire population," Aquino said.

Sorry does remain to be the "hardest" word.  For a  man as principled and as important as the president of this country, "sorry" isn't just a word.  It speaks alot about his conviction.


On the contrary, I wish he said "sorry" instead.  Not to defeat himself nor assume full responsibility for what happened.  But as a human being, isn't it the least we can do even to total strangers?  We say sorry when no other utterance can enunciate the sympathy we feel for another's loss?

Nothing would suffice... No words. No tears. No fortune can ever fill the void left by another man. Even by those of total strangers.

So to them...

Image source.

...I send my deepest, sincerest apologies...

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

July was filled with rains.  And rains ushered August too.  While this may be the perfect time to sport the trendiest rain/cool weather gears, rain always brings so much inconvenience, anxiety, and distress in general.  A vessel sank middle of last week brought about by the perilous weather, my birthplace, Bicol was again castigated by the typhoons, many people have lost their homes in Olongapo after their houses (in popular subdivisions) were washed away by the mudslide.  Unhappy news is everywhere and all these came with the rain.

A few years ago, in June, a surprise disaster also struck our place.  Floodwaters inside our abode rose up to the waist level.  It happened on broad daylight without the rains.  All the areas which used to be considered "absolutely" flood free before were hit by the flashflood.  And while many lives were claimed, many lives were also wrecked.

In that flood, I have not lost much...only a few material things.  But what crushed my heart more was the hapless sight around me.  Residents of the plushiest subdivision lost to the flood many of their newest, priciest cars, appliances, clothes, etc.  The awesome furniture which used to adorn their lovely homes were also wrecked. Truly, we all become helpless when Mother Nature unleashes her wrath.

Over and over again, we've been told to always be prepared.  None of us knows what awaits in the future.  The cherished material possessions we have can be snatched away in a second -- and we will be left clinging only to that which matters the most:  our lives.  Many of those who lose much are those who have much.  Those who have few know exactly what to safeguard. 

Things happen for a reason.  But my heart still aches for those who have been hit by these various disasters. 

Tonight, as I go under my warm sheets, I shall whisper prayers for you.  I shall be grateful not only for the roof above my head, but for the reminder that constantly, I have much to thank God for, and even much more work to do to make this world, a little better.

So please go now Rain.. Go away!

In Retrospect

When I was a young child, I had lofty dreams.  I dreamed of a grand wedding, of a nice house with a huge garden, of an enormous library filled filled with the books I want, of a chic law office...  Of a law office.  I have always wanted to be a lawyer.  I cannot remember how young I was when I started day dreaming about being a trial attorney -- defending especially women's causes.  Thirty years after, here I am.   Sadly, none of those childhood dreams have come true yet.

Next week, I will be a year older and those dreams have not much changed.  So two nights ago (yes, just two nights ago), I made up my mind. I decided that I will keep inching my way to reach those childhood dreams.  Thanks to that inexplicable, unfathomable Power/ Force that roused me from a state of despondency.  So while I'm at it, I will persist.

At this point, I do not yearn for much anymore, save for that last item in my list.  That of being a lawyer.

No time to lose.  On with the fight.  I've a battle to win.

Making up my Mind

I made up my mind: I will conquer my fears.
No I am not strong, but being weak is never an option.

If I take the bar now, great odds are against me.
If I defer it, those great odds remain.
Plus two agonizing years of floating into nothingness.

There will be financial constraints. 
But bar or no bar,
financial constraints are always present.

Time is my greatest enemy right now.
But as it was said, "it's a matter of perspective."
Time can be my ally.

For now, I shall endeavor myself
into gathering all the positivity that I can collect.

I cannot afford to be weak,
I cannot afford to yield into negativity,
I cannot allow anxiety to defeat me.

So yes, I am making up my mind.
I will take the bar this year.
May the Good Lord bless me.