Last January 15, 2015 the leader of the worldwide 1.2 billion Catholics arrived in the Philippines via Villamore Airbase. He has the mission of bringing the message of Christ of Mercy and Compassion to the 80 million Filipino Catholics. Arriving in the said airbase he was greeted by scores of Filipinos including church officials and that of the government. He was greeted with smiles by both the Filipino youth and seniors alike. Also, he was greeted by his constituents in church matters and was greeted by the President as leader of a state - the Vatican.
Cabinet members of the Philippine government pile up to kiss the ‘Ring of the Fisherman’ which is the sign of the pope’s leadership to the flock of Christ. “You are Peter, the Rock, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Matt. 16:18 says Jesus to Peter, making him the leader of the Church. Their kisses reminded me with the kiss that brought death, death on the cross. After the tragedies happening in the Philippines they seem to wait for the pope before they would do some charity and find a place in the limelight of that Church affair and be dubbed as one of the Good Samaritan. They are like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time who follow and follow the Lord not to learn from his wisdom but finding holes to discredit him. They are kissing and kissing the ring of Peter and yet they forgot the message of Jesus carried by this man: “Tend my Sheep.” John 21:15
I left General Santos City in January 16, 2015 for the Papal Visit. At 7:45 I arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. I rode a shuttle bus going to Taft Avenue for an MRT ride going to our host parish. This will give us lodging for our next 5 day sojourn in the country’s capital. The parish convent is a modern design building. It has a common air-conditioning system not including the rooms for every room has its own air-conditioning. Life in that parish is very smooth. With parishioners coming from the upper social strata, no jeepney ride comes in front of that Church. Only taxi is the available public transport in that area. With such commodities present in a convent who can ask for transfer? After we arrived in the parish we took dinner offered by the parish priest.
After making it to the parish convent we made our way to the host family who will be giving us also an accommodation. My companions were first to arrive in Manila in the 15th so they told me about the ‘wonder’ inside the house of our host family. We reached the house inside a private village. We were asked what business do we have inside the village and we said the name of our host which they eventually called. After calling we were asked to log in our names in a log book in the guard house and we proceeded. Upon reaching I was amazed by the truth they were telling me. It has three floors and an elevator. 48-inch television is catering our recreational needs and it has an ‘azotea’ overlooking Quezon City. It took me some time to process the feeling I have with the house of our host family. Thinking that we have an unfinished house in a remote barangay in Mindanao the feeling inside this three-storey house is amazing!
For three days in Manila I was in the midst of the upper social strata of Manila. Living and doing everyday things in the way how a Quezon City rich club member would do. I do shower under hot and cold and spent time inside a spacious C.R. Touring and touring Manila with nothing in mind but enjoying life. We also joined a Saturday mass in the parish chapel. We were in the midst of the rich and when the offering part came bills not smaller than Php 100 came out from the pockets.
From my experience inside that village of the Rich I saw the real other face of men. I realized that we should stop stereotyping the rich and realize that they too keep their pace in their spirituality.
The other side of the face of man that I saw is that of the more common – the Poor. I saw that the face of the poor of Manila is different from the poor I was used to. Atleast in Mindanao the poor can be seen but the poor in manila is ignored more. I saw a man pleading just for rice and he was sitting in front a fast-food chain. Nobody who heard him ever listened to him. It broke my heart for during at the papal mass in Luneta there is about 7 million who participated, cried and said: “Oh! I was really transformed!” I doubt if they ever listened to the pope of his pleadings of mercy and compassion and ready to turn the word upside down or were they only there hoping to take for themselves a Papal Selfie.
I stopped at him and later on realized what I asked to the man: “What happened to you!” in Tagalog. I normally don’t do that to strangers but in that moment my feeling was so different that I need to explode. As I look into my wallet for what to give to the man I saw him crossing himself with the sign of the cross. Thanks God he has not lose his hope – in Jesus.
He told me after I asked that exploding words that he was finding a job. But, why? He is lame! How can one man could be so hardworking and not be given the opportunity? How heartbreaking it is to hear from the news the millions and millions or even billions of pesos being lost in the hands of those who promise hope, justice, equality, progress and many other things which could make the lives of these simple people better. Last election we hoped of the best from the son himself of the couple who fought in the front for the people against the regime of martial law and we again were disappointed. He is always there talking and talking about the corruption of the past government that he mask his own puppets in their money laundering spree.
This is the problem with kind words. Rhetorical words put great people to death. Nice and appealing words which took the hearts and souls of those who listens away from God. The Socrates of Athens and the Jesus of Nazareth were speaking of truth and yet put to death for it. The Rizal of Dapitan was shot because of the truth he spoke. The Gandhi of India was assassinated due to the truth he fought. All for the words that pierces more surely than the two edged sword. Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafsai, Ninoy Aquino, Aung San Suu Kyi and scores of others who suffered from the rhetorics of selfishness.
Rhetorical words disillusion us from the truth. As we listen and continue to hope, there come those who take advantage. Most often they are those who has promised. An old anecdote goes that: what differentiates us from those who are in the prison cells is that they were caught and we are not.
At UST I met thousands of others who is ready to meet with the Pope. They were mostly from top institutions of learning such as Ateneo, UST, FEU, etc. In essence we are all the hope of the fatherland for in our hands lies the future. We are the future. This was actually a very old saying said by a man born almost 150 years ago and was also killed because of his fight for truth – Dr. Jose Rizal. Yet, after the years spent where are we?
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