A Man of God

By:  Jonathan Edwards J. Olabre
As lifted from his original  FB post entitled Good Christians.

Days before he (Pope Francis) came here, I had an acrimonious discussion with another Facebook friend. My point was that how come the pope was not issuing anything stronger about Islamic Terrorism after the Paris terrorist attacks. His message was that he condemns violence. That was ambiguous for me. As a leader of the largest Christian denomination, I expected something stronger. I perceived it as weakness and an inability to protect Christendom. After that heated exchange, I offered my apologies and just kept silent. . . . . Although a few of my correspondences with others continued. I resolved to be more circumspect in deference to many of my countrymen whom I have no aim of slighting in any way. That it is just a matter of doctrine and dogma that makes the difference.

WE SHOULD BE CRYING BECAUSE OF OUR APATHY.

We should all be crying because we are all to blame! During that exchange, there were those who cannot condone the course of action that I advocated even though they were my natural allies. In the end I just told them that after the victory against the Muslim Heathens, they can just hold their War Crimes trial and indict me and those like me during the conduct of the war of extermination and annihilation of another civilization. My main point was that nobody cares now what the Romans did to Carthage and our civilization is a result of that. It was one civilization over the other.

So I kept silent and thought about it more. I have no love for liberal agendas and I realized that as I grew older, I tended to be more conservative in my views. A product of learning and experience. And as I reflected some more, I thought about what kind of civilization that I was defending.

The answer came in three stages. When Pope Francis spoke in Malacanang, he made a sweeping condemnation of corruption. No political party was singled out. It was a statement that all those who are in positions of authority have a responsibility not to be corrupt. That they are all equally guilty of allowing a system that takes away from the poor. That a system such as that is not only immoral but an obscenity before the eyes of God and Man. He did not do it in a combative way. No fire and brimstone sermon but what makes it strong is on the manner how he delivered it. It was like an old school teacher, knowing all the tricks of students, aware of styles and manners and methods and say that “You cannot fool God” . Buking ko kayo!

The second stage was on Saturday. Going to Tacloban. He went there inspite of the risks because of the weather. I know how it is like to fly in airpockets and even had on occasion took a flight fleeing from a storm. That was in 1997 coming from Boracay. But this Pope, knew a storm was coming. He knew that danger lies ahead. He knew that the people there were the real reason he came here. He must be here. As he said “Am a little bit late. But I am here” . He deliberately flew into the teeth of the storm. He did not make great statements after hearing the hurts and pains of the survivors. Instead, with a show of great humility, he just kept silent. He knew that none of his words will be enough. He chose to keep all of it and suffer their plight in his heart. He was not after votes and approval. He was there to be able to share the feelings of suffering and despair. He had to learn how it was. As he said, the trip was for him. He discovered that he had to partake of the contents of the cup. He had to be there. A truncated trip because of exigencies and situations beyond anyone’s control, he apologized for leaving early. Many would not appreciate the fact that when the airplane took off at 1:00 P.M., the storm was just 50 kilometers away. Like the distance from Manila to Tagaytay or Dau, Pampanga. At 3:00 P.M. the storm made landfall. It was that close. But there was no bravado involved. I realized that inspite of my idea that he was “ soft”, he had a backbone of steel. He had courage and bravery not seen in the world for many years. It was courage and bravery not borne out of temporal or worldly power but a strength based on faith. If Josef Stalin were alive today, he cannot utter “ how many divisions does the Pope have?”. Josef Stalin cannot fly into the teeth of a storm and leave with its jaws biting at his heels. Mao Zedong cannot say “Power goes out from the barrel of a gun” in the teeth of a storm. It was bravery and courage borne on faith.

The 3rd Stage was when he was at UST. Of hearing the words of Glydell, of a question on why God would allow children to be victimized by prostitution and drugs. I was choking in order to prevent tears. I lit a cigarette and went out the door. My chest felt like it was being held in a vise. Glydell made the unanswerable question. It was a question that I have made myself and heard others who scoff at the thought of a God allowing such things to happen. It was an existentialist question. He could have answered using tracts in the Bible, instances of miracles and even divert the issue. He chose to meet it head on. He said it was a question, not even expressed through words but conveyed by tears. It was a question he has no answer. Again, he showed that he was human and not all knowing. By doing that, he showed that he was not unlike all of us who have such questions with regards to the faith.

But I realized that he actually gave the answer. His answer of “If we don’t learn how to cry, we can never be good Christians.” . As I understand it, it was more than a cry of pity for Glydell and the unfortunate and downtrodden, as I realized, we must cry for ourselves. It is not God who allows such a state of affairs, it is us who allows such. We do it by being apathetic. We do it by selling our votes. We do it for working for a system that creates such iniquities. But most importantly, those in power, economic and political must learn how to cry. Those in government, regardless of political affiliation must cry. The captains of Industry must cry. Crying in this case goes beyond Corporate Social Responsibility. Crying in this case is more than giving scholarship foundations and medical outreach activities. Those who are in power must cry to be able to understand the plight of those who are in despair. Crying entails that they take stock on what they have and what it means to have much in a land where there is want and need for many. Crying for them must mean that they transform themselves not only as agents of change but agents of re-distribution. That they cry because they can afford to eat more than 3 times a day. That they have cars, boats and planes when so many have no shoes. He does not have to directly attack the injustices of this world, attack by naming names. He did it by just showing up. By being an example. He did not say "look at me, look at me and how simple I am" . The bar for faith and leadership has just got a notch higher. Pope Francis sure showed them! No better and louder shout of rebuke and condemnation than the silence of example.They must cry for themselves because whatever they have done, they cannot be good Christians.

That is what it meant to me these past few days. I kept silent and reflected. Not a Vicar of Christ in my belief but Definitely a Man of God.

(The writer claims that he is a Protestant who don't believe in apostolic succession but gave an interesting reflection on the Pope's visit.)

You may also like reading related post:  What a God Loving and Believing Nation Really Is?

'All levels of society, [to] reject every form of corruption,' - Pope Francis

Below is the full text of Pope Francis' speech at Malacañang after his courtesy call on President Aquino on Friday, Jan. 16.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you, Mr President, for your kind welcome and for your words of greeting in the name of  the authorities and people of the Philippines, and the distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps. I am most grateful for your invitation to visit the Philippines.

My visit is above all pastoral.

It comes as the Church in this country is preparing to celebrate the fifth centenary of the first proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on these shores. The Christian message has had an immense influence on Filipino culture.

It is my hope that this important anniversary will point to its continuing fruitfulness and its  potential to inspire a society worthy of the goodness, dignity and aspirations of the Filipino people.

In a particular way, this visit is meant to express my closeness to our brothers and sisters who endured the suffering, loss and devastation caused by Typhoon Yolanda.

Together with many people throughout the world, I have admired the heroic strength, faith and resilience demonstrated by so many Filipinos in the face of this natural disaster, and so many others.

Those virtues, rooted not least in the hope and solidarity instilled by Christian faith, gave rise to an outpouring of goodness and generosity, especially on the part of so many of the young. In that moment of national crisis, countless people came to the aid of their neighbors in need.

At great sacrifice, they gave of their time and resources, creating networks of mutual help and working for the common good.

This example of solidarity in the work of rebuilding teaches us an important lesson. Like a family, every society draws on its deepest resources in order to face new challenges.

Today the Philippines, together with many other countries in Asia, faces the challenge of building on solid foundations a modern society – a society respectful of authentic human values, protective of our God-given human dignity and rights, and ready to confront new and complex political and ethical questions.

As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good. In this way they will help preserve the rich human and natural resources with which God has blessed this country.

Thus will they be able to marshall the moral resources needed to face the demands of the present, and to pass on to coming generations a society of authentic justice, solidarity and peace.

 Essential to the attainment of these national goals is the moral imperative of ensuring social justice and respect for human dignity. The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor.

It bids us break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities. Reforming the social structures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor first requires a conversion of mind and heart.

The Bishops of the Philippines have asked that this year be set aside as the “Year of the Poor.”

I hope that this prophetic summons will challenge everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption which diverts resources from the poor, and to make concerted efforts to ensure the inclusion of every man and woman and child in the life of the community.

 A fundamental role in the renewal of society is played, of course, by the family and especially by young people.

A highlight of my visit will be my meetings with families and with young people here in Manila.

Families have an indispensable mission in society. It is in the family that children are trained in sound values, high ideals and genuine concern for others.

But like all God’s gifts, the family can also be disfigured and destroyed. It needs our support. We know how difficult it is for our democracies today to preserve and defend such basic human values as respect for the inviolable dignity of each human person, respect for the rights of conscience and religious freedom, and respect for the inalienable right to life, beginning with that of the unborn and extending to that of the elderly and infirm.

For this reason, families and local communities must be encouraged and assisted in their efforts to transmit to our young the values and the vision which can help bring about a culture of integrity – one which honors goodness, truthfulness, fidelity and solidarity as the firm foundation and the moral glue which holds society together.

 Mr President, distinguished authorities, dear friends:

 As I begin my visit to this country, I cannot fail to mention the Philippines’ important role in fostering understanding and cooperation among the countries of Asia.

I would also mention the oft-neglected yet real contribution of Filipinos of the diaspora to the life and welfare of the societies in which they live.

It is precisely in the light of the rich cultural and religious heritage of which your country is proud that I leave you with a challenge and a word of prayerful encouragement.

May the deepest spiritual values of the Filipino people continue to find expression in your efforts to provide your fellow citizens with an integral human development.

In this way, each person will be able to fulfill his or her potential, and thus contribute wisely and well to the future of this country.

I am confident that the praiseworthy efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation between the followers of the different religions will prove fruitful in the pursuit of this noble goal.

In a particular way, I express my trust that the progress made in bringing peace to the south of the country will result in just solutions in accord with the nation’s founding principles and respectful of the inalienable rights of all, including the indigenous peoples and religious minorities.

 Upon all of you, and upon all the men, women and children of this beloved nation, I cordially  invoke God’s abundant blessings.

Source:  gmanetwork.com

You may also like:  Pope Francis Message to the Youth 

We Are All God's Children: FULL TEXT of Pope Francis’ homily in Quirino Grandstand mass

Source:  gmanetwork.com

Below is the full text of Pope Francis' homily during his mass before millions of Filipinos at the Quirino Grandstand.

“A child is born to us, a son is given us ” (Is 9:5). It is a special joy for me to celebrate Santo Niño Sunday with you. The image of the Holy Child Jesus accompanied the spread of the Gospel in this country from the beginning. Dressed in the robes of a king, crowned and holding the scepter, the globe and the cross he continues to remind us of the link between God’s Kingdom and the mystery of spiritual childhood. He tells us this in today’s Gospel: “ Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10 :15). The Santo Niño continues to proclaim to us that the light o f God’s grace has shone upon a world dwelling in darkness, bringing the Good News of our freedom from slavery, and guiding us in the paths o f peace, right and justice. The Santo Niño also reminds us of our call to spread the reign of Christ throughout the world.

In these days, throughout my visit, I have listened to you sing the song: “We are all God’s children”. That is what the Santo Niño tells us. He reminds us of our deepest identity. All of us are God’s children, members of God’s family. Today Saint Paul has told us that in Christ we have become God’s adopted children, brothers and sisters in Christ. This is who we are. This is our identity. We saw a beautiful expression of this when Filipinos rallied around our brothers and sisters affected by the typhoon.

The Apostle tells us that because God chose us, we have been richly blessed! God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens” (Ep h 1:3). These words have a special resonance in the Philippines, for it is the foremost Catholic country in Asia; this is itself a special gift of God , a blessing. But it is also a vocation. Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia.

God chose and blessed us for a purpose: to be holy and blameless in his sight. He chose us, each of us to be witnesses of his truth and his justice in this world. He created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care for it. But through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.

Sometimes, when we see the troubles, difficulties and wrongs all around us, we are tempted to give up. It seems that the promises of the Gospel do not apply; they are unreal. But the Bible tells us that the great threat to God’s plan for us is, and always has been, the lie.

The devil is the father of lies. Often he hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being “modern”, “like everyone else”. He distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes. And so we squander our God-given gifts by tinkering with gadgets; we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves. We forget to remain focused on the things that really matter.

We forget to remain, at heart, children of God. That is sin: to forget at heart that we are children of God. For children, as the Lord tells us, have their own wisdom, which is not the wisdom of the world. That is why the message of the Santo Niño is so important. He speaks powerfully to all of us. He reminds us of our deepest identity, of what we are called to be as God’s family.

The Santo Niño also reminds us that this identity must be protected. The Christ Child is the protector of this great country. When he came into the world, his very life was threatened by a corrupt king. Jesus himself needed to be protected. He had an earthly protector: Saint Joseph. He had an earthly family, the Holy Family of Nazareth. So he reminds us of the importance of protecting our families, and those larger families which are the Church, God’s family, and the world, our human family. Sadly, in our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.  In the Gospel, Jesus welcomes children, he embraces them and blesses them (Mk 10:16). We too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage. Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.

It was a frail child, in need of protection, who brought God’s goodness, mercy and justice into the world. He resisted the dishonesty and corruption which are the legacy of sin, and he triumphed over them by the power of his cross. Now, at the end of my visit to the Philippines, I commend you to Him, to Jesus who came among us as a child. May he enable all the beloved people of this country to work together, protecting one another, beginning with your families and communities, in building a world of justice, integrity and peace. May the Santo Niño continue to bless the Philippines and to sustain the Christians of this great nation in their vocation to be witnesses and missionaries of the joy of the Gospel, in Asia and in the whole world.

And please, don't forget to pray for me! God bless you all!

'Think Well, Feel Well, and Do Well-' Pope Francis Tells Philippine Youth.

 Full text of the message of Pope Francis to the youth
University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
January 18, 2015
Source:  Manila Bulletin at www.mb.com.ph

[As delivered by translator. Text in bold letters are spoken by the Pope himself.]

Before the main message, Pope Francis exhorted the gathering youth to pray for a young woman, Crystal, 27, who died as the mass was about to start after a piece of the scaffolding fell on her. She worked for the organization and preparation for that very mass as well as for those Catholic relief services, as a volunteer worker.

This is special for me to greet you this morning. I greet each of you from the heart and I thank all those who made this meeting possible. During my visit to the Philippines, I want in a particular way to meet young people; to listen to you and to talk with you. I want to express the love and the hopes of the Church for you, and I want to encourage you as Christian citizens of this country to offer yourselves passionately and honestly to the great work of renewing your society and helping to build a better world. In a special way, I thank the young people who have helped the worlds that they’re going to meet.

PHOTO courtesy of miamiherald.com

To Jun and Leandro and to Rikki, thank you very much. And only a very small representation of females among you, too little. [laughter] Women have much to tell us in today’s society. [laughter, applause] Sometimes we’re too ‘machistas’ and we don’t allow room for the woman. But women are capable of seeing things from a different angle to us, from a different eye. Women are able to pose questions that we, men, are not able to understand. Look out for this fact today: She, Glyzelle, is the only one who has put a question for which there is no answer. And she wasn’t able to express it in words but, rather, in tears. So, when the next Pope comes, please more girls, women, among the number. [cheers, applause]

I thank you, Jun, that you have expressed yourself so bravely. The nucleus of your question, as I said, also almost doesn’t have a reply. Only when we, too, can cry about the things we just said are we able to come close to replying to that question. Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart is able to ask yourself and cry, then we can understand something. There is a worldly compassion, which is useless. You spoke something of this. It’s a compassion, which, moreover, leads us to put our hand into the pocket and give something to someone, to the poor. If Christ had had that kind of compassion, He would have walked by, just two or three people, giving them something and moved on. But it’s only when Christ cried and was capable to cry that He understood our lives, what’s going on in our lives.

Dear girls, boys, young people, today’s world has a great lack of capacity of knowing how to cry. [-unclear-] Those that are left to one side are crying. Those who are discarded, those are crying, but we don’t understand much about these people without these necessities. Certain realities in life we only see through eyes that are cleansed through our tears. I invite each one of you here to ask yourself: Have I learned how to weep, how to cry? Have I learned how to weep for somebody who’s left to one side? Have I learned to weep for someone who has a drug problem? Have I learned to weep for someone who suffered abuse? Unfortunately, those that cry [was] because they want something else.

This is the first thing I’d like to say: Let us learn how to weep as she has shown us today. Let us not forget this lesson. The great question of why so many children suffer? She did this crying and the response that we can make today is – let us learn, really learn how to weep, how to cry. Jesus in the gospel, He cried. He cried for his dead friend. He cried in his heart, for the family that had list its child. He cried when he saw the poor widow having to bury her son. He was moved to tears, to compassion when he saw the multitude of crowds without a pastor.

If you don’t learn how to cry, you can’t be good Christians. This is a challenge. Jun and Glyzelle have posed this challenge to us today, and when they posed this question to us—why children suffer, why this and that tragedy occurs in life—our response must either be silence or a word that is borne of our tears. Be courageous; please don’t be frightened of crying.

Then came Leandro Santos II and his question. He also posed the questions, the world of information. Today, with so many means of communications, we are overloaded with information. Is that bad? Not necessarily. It is good and it can help. But there is a real danger of living in a way of accumulating information. We have so much information, but maybe we don’t know what to do with that information. We’re on the risk of becoming museums of young people that have everything but without knowing what to do with them. We don’t need youth museums, but we do need holy young people.

You might ask me: ‘Father, how do we become saints?’ This is another challenge. It’s the challenge of love. Which is the most important subject that you have to learn in university? What is the most important subject you have to learn in life? To learn how to love and this is the challenge that life offers you: To learn how to love and not just accumulating information without knowing what to do with it. But through that love, that information bear fruit.

After this, the gospel offers us a serene path and way forward. Use the three languages: of the mind, of the heart, and of your hands. And the three, to use them in harmony: What you think, you must feel and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart and you realize it in real works. And this, harmoniously. Think what you feel and what you do. Feel what you think and feel what you do. You do what you think and what you feel—the three languages. Can you repeat this? To think, to feel, and to do. To think, to feel, and to do. To think, to feel, and to do. And all that, harmoniously.

Real love is about loving and letting yourselves be loved. Let yourselves to be loved. That is why it’s so difficult to come to perfect love of God because we can love him, but it is so important to let yourselves be loved by him. Real love is opening yourselves to the love that wants to come to you, which cause a surprise in us. If you only have information, then the element of surprise is gone. Love opens you to surprise and is a surprise because it presupposes dialogue between the two: of loving and being loved.

And we say that God is a God of surprises because He always loved us first and he awaits us with a surprise. God surprises us. Let us allow ourselves to be surprised by God. Let us not have the psychology of the computer: to think that we know it all. All the responses on the computer screen have no real surprise. The challenge of love: God reveals himself through surprises.

Let’s think of St. Matthew. He was a good financier and he let people down because he imposed taxes against his own citizens, the Jews, to give to the Romans. He was full of money and charged these taxes. But then Jesus goes by, He looks at him, and He says ‘follow me.’ He couldn’t believe it. If you have time, go and see the picture that Caravaggio painted about the story. Jesus calls him and those around him said ‘this one? He has betrayed. He’s no good and he holds money to himself.’ But the surprise of being love overcomes him.

It is this way. The day when Matthew left his home, said goodbye to his wife, he never thought he was going to come back without money, and worried and concerned about how to have such a big feast—to prepare that feast for Him who have loved him first, who surprised Matthew. It’s something very special, more important than the money that Matthew had. Allow yourselves to be surprised by God and don’t be frightened of surprises. They shake the ground from underneath your feet and they make us unsure, but they move us forward in the right direction.

Real life, real love leads you to spend yourselves in life, to leave your pockets open and empty. St. Francis died with empty hands, with empty pockets, but with a very full heart. So, no young museums, wise young people. To be wise, use the three languages: to think well, to feel well, and to do well. And to be wise, allow yourselves to be surprised by the love of God, and that’s a good life. Thank you. [applause]

He who came with a good plan was Rikki, to see how he can go in life. With all the activities, the multiple facets that accompany young people, thank you, Rikki. Thank you for what you do and your friends. I’d like to ask you, Rikki, a question: You and your friends are going to give help, but do you allow yourselves to receive? Rikki, answer in your heart.

In the gospel we just heard, the beautiful, which, for me, is the most important of all… He looked at the young man, Jesus Christ, and He loved him. When you see young group of friends, Rikki and his friends, who love so much because they do things that are really good. But the most important phrase that Jesus says, “You lack one thing.” Let us listen to these words in silence: “You lack only one thing. You lack only one thing… [Repeat] with us: “You lack only one thing. You lack only one thing.”

What is it that I lack? To all who Jesus loved so much, I ask you, do you allow others to give you from their riches to you that don’t have those riches? Sad to see that doctors of the law, in the time of Jesus, gave much to the people. They taught them but they never allowed the people to give them something. Jesus had to come to allow Himself to feel compassion, to be loved. How many young people among you are there like this? You know how to give and yet you haven’t yet learned how to receive. You lack only one thing: Become a beggar—to become a beggar. This is what you lack, to learn how to beg and to those to whom we give. This isn’t easy to understand: To learn how to beg. To learn how to receive with humility. To learn to be evangelized by the poor.

Those that we help, the poor, the infirm, orphans, they have so much to offer us. Have I learned how to beg also for that or do I feel self-sufficient and I’m only going to offer something and think that you have no need of anything? Do you know that you, too, are poor? Do you know your poverty and the need that you receive? Do you let yourselves be evangelized by those you serve, let them give to you?

And this is what helps you mature in your commitment to give to the others, to give to others: to learn how to offer up your hand from your very own poverty. There are some points that I prepared: to learn how to love and to learn how to be loved. It is a challenge, which is a challenge of integrity. This is not only because your country, more than many others, is likely to be seriously affected by climate change. It is a challenge to [have] concern for the environment. And finally, the challenge for the poor—to love the poor.

With the bishops, to ask in a very special way, for the poor. Do you think with the poor? Do you feel with the poor? Do you do something for the poor? Do you ask the poor that they might give you the wisdom that they have? This is what I wish to tell you all today. Sorry, I haven’t read what I prepared for you, but I’m consoled. Reality is superior to ideas. And the reality that you all have is superior to the paper in front of me. Thank you very much. Thank you. [applause]

What a God Loving and Believing Nation Really Is?

By:  Gilbert M. Forbes
DepEd Quezon
Region IV-A CALABARZON

Our country has been proclaimed as a God loving and believing nation in the far east.  We are also tagged as the only Christian country.  Apart from Christianity are other religions also proclaiming belief in God.

A the center of this are people we could see who are all religious and faithful to their respective beliefs.  But isn't all these religion teaches extra ordinary things such as love, discipline, honesty, excellence, patience and industry?  But what are we doing in return?

POVERTY AND LAZINESS: Where is God in this midst?  (Photo: 
seanakizuki.blogspot.com)

What could be seen are people divided working for their respective families upkeep forgetting the larger community.  God is set aside for this matter so there are massive dishonesty and corruption, anyway, God is loving and forgiving that's why it is alright to be theft next door.  It is alright to throw garbage right here and there and violate basic traffic rules.

Excellence is not the common name in the work place, comfort and at times pride is.  Industry is weak and so their is massive poverty.  To be poor is acceptable and could be noble for those who really don't have all the necessary means but to those who are living within large tracts of arable lands where all sorts of vegies, root crops and fruit trees could be grown is unacceptable.

Traditional politicians are happy maintaining and tolerating the later type of poverty for they capitalize on this and yet, they themselves are also God-loving and God-fearing.  In tandem with the politicians are the rich employers and businessmen who don't give what is due to their workers in terms of salaries and other benefits including tax.  They are the worst people on earth because they capitalize both on human weakness and lapses in government.  They too are God-loving and God-fearing.

Sociologists and historians attribute all these frailties to everybody, not to the established organized religion.  They have this to say that ours is 'folk Christianity' together with other religions, sad to say, adjusted or twisted in our favor and needs.  Everybody can see the result and the proof by just walking in the streets or driving along.

One of the biggest religious festivals in the country. (Source:  Google) 

We have lots of religious festivals, prayer rallies, but did it make any better for the greater good?  For the third time in most of our life time, a leader of the universal church in the Philippines is coming, how is it getting to impact the faithful?

World Youth Day 1995 with St. (Pope) John Pual II. (Source:  Google)

Those who have witnessed the first and second visit of St. John Paul II, how were they touched and worked in return in doing the 'will of the Lord.'  What was the ripple effect that could have at least transformed the country?  The first visit could have helped ousting the dictator.  What about the World Youth Day twenty years ago?

Where are those youth now?  Have they already been eaten by the system or are still cautiously and patiently working towards a better society.  Almost 20 years, the challenge is still loud and clear. 

"Let us tell the world of His love.  The greatest love the world has known.  Search the word for those who have walked astray and give them hope.  Fill the worlds darkest corner.  With His Light from up above.  Walk every step, every mile, every road, and tell the world, tell the world of his Love."

We pray, that after another twenty years, this country of ours is the best country that we can be proud of.  It may not be a progressive one but it is a country where God could be seen in each one of us.  From the simplest thing that we do in the work place and for others.

This should be what a God Loving and believing country is.  What a dream.  Hope not a utopia.