Salutation #147

Because time is a flow
and once it has gone out of the timeless

within our hearts, 

once time has flowed out of the Sanctuary of the LORD 

in our every hearts, 

it is no longer time but consequence 

and is near impossible to change. 

(You may refer to the River in Ezekiel 47: 1-12.)

(Nation, Mission, Commission)

My people,
our spirit is strong and virile -
at par with each our kindred nations!

Believe this today with me
and we will build everything else
around this belief -

In you and in me,
there dwells our Country;
'tis a will of peace and of good will
as well as the unity to build up together
from star to star, our one whole sky.

It is the love
that binds us together
in the freedom of human citizenship
and the belonging that holds us together true
in the completeness of our Republic one.

It is that intimated promise
we must hold in our heart of hearts;
the unspoken truth upon which is established
the lineages that leads us back from exile
unto our own Eden rebuilt!

Believe this today with me
and we will build everything else
around this belief -

For in this spirit is realized
the sheltering wings of our nationhood;

the strength to shall carry our generations forth
and the safety to see our vision through to the LORD
across the desolation of war and the darkness of exile time.

Believe this today with me
and we will build everything else
around this belief -

THAT
we are a nation,
one and distinct -

a nation
ordered and purposed
to shelter our common humanity
and to build up the inhabited earth -

a nation
commissioned by the LORD, 
to preserve the dignity and the promise

of all our generations in every generation -

a nation
faithful to our own remembrance
being endowed with justice and freedom
sufficient for the good of every present generation -

a nation
true to our own vision and lineage
and allied to the peace of all the nations
of the earth under heaven -

a nation
united and able through our unity
to overcome the evil of every present time -

THIS 
is in each our spirit first
before anything else
or not at all.
---<--@

spirit is energy

Salutation #101

Think about our national identity

- our being Filipino -

(being the quality of our being citizens to each other)

meditate deeply on how other nations perceive us

and how we perceive ourselves as a nation among nations

does it not suffer the pain of these divisions?

War is the bane of all nations.

(Divided in our Lands, Divided in our Soul)

My fellow Filipinos -

a nation divided on the outside

is a nation divided on the inside.

This conflict among Filipinos

is more internal than we might

want to allow ourselves to think.

The spirit of War

stultifies our very thinking,

our common identity is confused by it,

it obscures our Republic vision

and worse of all,

the concentrated spirit of our nationhood

is severely weakened by it

We are only a shadow

of our potential

divided in our lands

and therefore,

divided in our soul.

Numerous are the challenges

of this new age, my beloved people,

and we shall never be met enough

to meet and overcome these

- unless -

we are one.

Truly,

there is no other time

in our history as a nation

that we are in need of peace

than today...

---<--@

The Filipino soul is affected by this war among ourselves

more than the ordinary Filipino might want to think.

Herein lies the problem -

we, the people, become complacent

and accept a vision of our Philippines

which is but a fraction of our fullest potential.

No, this is not where we should be, my people!

Ang Pilipinas

Isa-diwa -

Ang Pilipinas ay hindi bagay,

na maaring hawakan at kulungin -

ito'y parang isang pangako

na maari mo lamang tanggapin.

Isa-puso -

Ang Pilipinas ay hindi luha,

na pilit mo lamang didibdibin

ito'y parang isang paglayang

sa katotohanan ika'y kukupkupin.

Isa-buhay -

Ang Pilipinas ay hindi galit

na sa 'yong puso'y dadamdamin

ito'y parang isang panaginip

na sa 'yong buha'y dapat gisingin.

Isa-gawa -

Ang Pilipinas ay hindi sukat

na sa ibang tao'y iyong kukunin

ang katunayan nito'y pag-ibig

na sa iyong paglisa'y aalalahanin.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Manatili nawa tayo sa alaala nang ating diwa.

Gathering Sense

My fellow Filipinos,

how shall we know each other?

We shall know each other

by the love that we profess for this Republic - and -

to the people for whom we, together, stand

to serve and defend forever.

Fly Old Defiant,

arise like a swift and sure sunrise,

arise in hearts of all thy servants,

making us ready, making us one.

Nameless

We know we are Filipino because our nation knows us - equally, individually, each by our own true names written in heaven.

Nameless.

Known only to God.
And faithful to God alone.
Both men and angels together.
Friendships meant to last forever.



Nameless.
Unknown and invisible.
Ordinary in the eyes of men.
Extraordinary in the eyes of God alone.
Beautiful for being beheld by Beauty Itself.



Nameless.
Who live in the heart of Christ.
And walk this world together alone.
Who brave the hard and narrow Way:
The spiritual sons and daughters of the One.



Nameless.
Born of the one firmament of stars.
Numberless lights spread across the sky.
Shining with forbearance, twinkling with hope.
The common patrimony of our Father Abraham.

---<--@

"You shall love the LORD thy God as one LORD alone".

"Make peace with the all of creation. Divide it not. Say peace to the river, to the sky, to the earth, to the animals (and the trees) of the earth and the fishes of the seas, to thy nations good will and to all thy fellow human beings, life and abundance. Do this if you love me."

Go and be a good citizen!

Filipino

Who is a Filipino?

But the heart that lives

to love the Filipino

and the one Republic

of the Filipino people.

How is the Filipino?

But through faith that seeks

to find itself alive

in the eternal remembrance

of God and our people.

Where is the Filipino?

But in the will that accepts

the trust that embrace

our lives and our fortunes

together as one nation.

Why is the Filipino?

But with every dream that begins

ever like a single breath

to become our breathing together

of the many into one hope.

When is the Filipino?

But at every present rising

from the deep of Eternity

in the every moment that breaks

upon the awakening reality

of the dawn of a new Philippines.

---<--@

Love our own and others like our own.

---<--@

Who is a Filipino?

Citizen

My name is Filipino citizen.

The name of my nation is Peace.

Peace means, "we belong".

My work is Freedom.

My ambition is called Happiness.

My calling is known as Truth.

My name is Filipino citizen.

My family name is called Endless.

It means, "I love".

My Country is called Promise.

The land of my fathers is called Bountiful.

The name of my city is Friendship.

The name of my religion is Sacred Life.

My God is called Beautiful.

Beautiful means, "We are one".

My government is Service.

The name of our leader is Servant.

It means, "Great Soul".

---<--@

20111023 PM

Sunday Evenings

Good evening, the Philippines - mabuhay!

This evening, I just want to share with this with you -

The Stranger at the Tabernacle

On 20110908, the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I went to pray the rosary in front of the Tabernacle located on the right wing of our parish church to honor Mama Mary on her birthday.

During my prayer, three visitors came to Jesus.

The first one was a young mother and her young daughter; the second was a devout woman; and the third was a strange man, seemingly crude and unrefined, who ignoring all the norms of piety came with his footwear on and dirty clothes, snapping his fingers at the Tabernacle, mumbling strange words to God.

I was becoming concerned at the spirit of the latter for it seemed alien to the quiet of the place and then my Jesus made realize: the first visitor was led to Him by her love for her daughter; the second by her love for God, and the third by the grace of God.

All are children of the Father. But of all of them, I was more like the last one.

When I pray to the Father and feel helplessly inadequate as I oftentimes do, it is the welcome of Christ that constantly reassures me that I belong. It is the Spirit of Christ that prepares me to receive the invite of the Father to attend the wedding feast of His beloved Son, my most loving Jesus.

How can I go wrong by listening to Him Who came to save me? And we listen to Jesus when we pay attention to the Gospel.

- selah -

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22:34-40 -

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

---<--@

Let us pause and reflect on the timelessness of this Wisdom, alleluia.

For it is this love that binds us together as one nation.

Whatever challenges the new week shall bring, if we face it together, if we persevere in our unity, if we keep in mind all that unites us more than what divides us, not only shall we overcome, my people, but in God we shall prevail.

So may the Holy Spirit of God sustain each of us, especially in our continuing quest for peace and righteousness in our Country, as we enter as one nation together into another working week.

My salutation is peace to you all.

---<--@

The DOST Juan Time Campaign -

Juan time starts tomorrow!

No more advancing the time to make up for Filipino time. Let us all set our watches to Juan time and be on time all the time.

Filipino time is a myth.

The truth is we move to the beat of just Juan time.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Filipino

Who is a Filipino?

But the heart that lives

to love the Filipino

and the one Republic

of the Filipino people.

How is the Filipino?

But through faith that seeks

to find itself alive

in the eternal remembrance

of God and our people.

Where is the Filipino?

But in the will that accepts

the trust that embrace

our lives and our fortunes

together as one nation.

Why is the Filipino?

But with every dream that begins

ever like a single breath

to become our breathing together

of the many into one hope.

When is the Filipino?

But at every present rising

from the deep of Eternity

in the every moment that breaks

upon the awakening reality

of the dawn of a new Philippines.

= ^.^ =

The Truth

A Friend Like You

20110910

Land of Promise

Glorious Motherland,

Pearl of the Orient Seas,

the fire of our love for thee

pines for thy proud embracing.

Land of Promise,

Cradle of the Brave,

from the tyranny of oppression

thou shalt never yield.

Across thy shining seas

and verdant mountain peaks,

fair winds and thy native blue skies,

the splendor of this hymn and song

speaks of thy vaunted liberty!

The brightness of thy Banner

undiminished in triumph waves,

the glory of thy stars and sun

are lights that shall ne'er fade.

Land of the Morning,

worthy of honor and of love -

our home away from Home -

what happiness it is

should the enemy draw near

to die for thy liberty.

---<--@

Salutation #48

A FILIPINO is a Filipino is a Filipino. This is our national minimum.

(Soul of Country)

O my nation, who are you?

Why do we long to wear the image of other nations like a mask?

Why do we take comfort in being somebody we are not?

What have become of us, my people?

Why do we seek to imitate the way of other peoples?

Do we not have our own remembrance to honor and way to cherish?

Can we not see our own reflection in the timeless places and faces

contained in the spirit of our Country?

O where is the soul of my Filipino people?

Why should we love and honor those - wicked things -

that disrupt the peace and harm our common good?

Are we not a free Republic?

Do we not share common commitments

to look after each other's individual good

- in a true spirit of service -

laboring in hope and goodwill

- together as one -

to fulfill the promise of the present and of every present,

and be at peace with the living memory of our past

honoring our duty to all generations yet to come?

Do we not have recourse to the - strength and potential -

of our freedoms together?

Have we not learned from the pain of our martyred past

the high cost of these freedoms;

this present promise of liberty and self-determination?

Have we forgotten the native heart that - singularly beats -

for this, our beloved Motherland?

Have we forgotten the spirit of the nation

that provides for us a certain place between this one earth and sky?

How much more suffering,

how much more tears and sacred blood must be consumed

in the name of this present moment

before the dawn of the morning is come into our hearts

and the will of the one Filipino Republic

is made to shine like a bright sunrise in our souls?

We are a patient people.

But too long have we waited, too much have we suffered

- to high a price have our generations paid -

to let anything hold us back

from the promise of tomorrow that awaits us:

The vision of a united, free, peaceful and prosperous

- one and faithful Filipino Republic -

with liberty, equality, justice and opportunity

for all our citizens and our posterity

without distinction or prejudice

as to race, creed, sex, age, ethnicity or social class!

O when will I sing the victory songs of our Motherland?

When shall the troubles of my nation cease,

O LORD, and one Sovereign of All?

When shall the past end and tomorrow begin for my people?

When shall we be made again into one heart?

O my beloved people,

brothers and sisters of the Promise,

the captive soul of the Filipino nation must be set free!

We are the masters of our national destiny.

But until we realize - here and now -

who we are as a nation distinct but not apart

from all the other kindred nations

of the one Peace of the one Brotherhood of Mankind;

until we awaken again into ourselves

- and enter into the heart of this one nation -

as a people worthy of this free Republic, its mission and its sacred trust,

the dawn of our morning will seem so far away.

We, as one people, must awaken to the soul of Country.

It only takes an instant to realize - who we truly are -

together in each ourselves, citizens to each other,

and a lifetime to become for our Country - what we truly must -

faithful sons and daughters of a common Motherland;

the timeless, living community that has loved,

sheltered and sustained our generations

under the eternal vigilance of Almighty God

from the very beginning of the generations

of our one people.

---<--@

If you still want to know the name of the Angel of the Philippines, it is this - "Go and be a good citizen".

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Citizenship with Fidelity

The Peace of the Brotherhood of Mankind

Maiden of the Sea

How fare thee, dear nation,

my Pearl of the Orient Seas

standing at the threshold

of another thousand years?

O dear island nation,

how came we to know thee?

O Sanctuary of my people,

a love 7,107 islands strong

emerging now from thy sleep,

awaiting the dawn!

Thy past is a mystery,

a deep longing for answers,

who were thee, O nation?

What was our name

from before the Crown

and the sword of Spain?

O dear Country,

our home away from Home

beautiful for thy people

and for thy bay side sunsets

blessed with great riches

and fruits of earth and sea.

O Land of the Morning,

my hope and my patrimony.

O how I love thy sweetness,

all our dreaming together

those days of my childhood,

'twas long as forever

fond for friends and family,

for love of God and Country

I shall soon remember -

O strong Republic,

be faithful for people

prosper thy peace together

strong for for thy faithfulness

and faithful for thy togetherness

now hearken to thy courage,

and aright to thy self!

Arise brave Republic,

become present for our hope!

For God has kept thy secrets,

thy lost memory of times before:

Thou loved the maiden

embraced by the sea!

So young and vibrant,

and promised to thee.

Thy nation to wed thee,

O for beautiful Country!

The people adored thee,

for thy spirit was free;

all the other nations

were so happy for thee.

Have thou now forgotten

that promise long ago?

Return now to the wonder

and never let go.

The night's almost over,

daybreak twilight draws near.

Aright my dear people,

the dawn will soon break.

Our Republic awaits us,

O nation most dear -

Our Land of the Morning

is soon to appear!

O dear Filipino nation,

we are who we are!

Long have the years

kept dear Country away -

through trial and sorrow,

through fear and strife,

through furious battle,

through bloodshed tears,

how long the struggle,

we fought to remain

through every opponent,

our hope overcame!

Night has not claimed us,

we are the same.

---<--@

20110709

There is an old Chinese saying - "when seeking prosperity, first build a road." I personally subscribe to the timelessness of this wisdom.

Essentially therefore, poverty alleviation in this Country of ours must begin with connection...

Salutation #33

(The Common People)

Why do you find it so difficult to believe?

Filipino ingenuity lives everywhere in our people.

There is passion in our hearts - we are a people with a lot of love to give.

Because of this fire, there is bravery too.

Sometimes, this bravery can be misplaced

and so we must open a way for courage to profess itself

- within the Republic -

in a manner that is not divisive.

Valor must find its way back to its immortal beloved

in the reality of the nation we all must cherish and protect.

There is a mighty patience in our people.

Perseverance is truly present in the soul of the nation -

if it were not so, my honorable compatriots,

we would have descended long ago

into the pits of anarchy and - consumed by endless battle -

we would have ceased to be in our heart of hearts.

Everywhere in our people

- there are willing hearts and humble hands -

productivity is rampant even in the poorest of the poor!

Is this not a reason to be glad?

For productivity when it is duly recognized

leads to more productivity.

Why be so bitter and unbelieving then?

You are not a citizen were it not for citizens like yourself.

Wise up.

We have what it takes to succeed as a nation.

We only have to return once again to an understanding

of ourselves as ourselves.

---<--@

Ignorance breeds fear for lack of understanding.

What's strange about it all is that people seem to fear the understanding more than the ignorance itself.

---<--@

"Bless our one Filipino nation,
O LORD and Giver of all good things,
each and every Filipino heart,
that yet believes with conviction
in this endeavor of Country
that we may by our own willingness
be transformed by Thy abundant mercy."

- From Prayer to God as First Defender of the Republic

(See Sidebar)

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

The National Minimum

20110620

Salutation #17

(Common Identity, Common Destiny, and the Republic Vision)

If we succeed in our time

to achieve what in our own Day

is necessary for this generation to prevail,

we will have begun for our people

a new age for our Country.

The peace of these present times

require us to return to the timeless memory of ourselves as ourselves;

a Republic with a heart of peace

built upon the strength of a people with soul of submission

- that is -

a nation unified under Almighty God

being sheltered by the prospering peace

of the one Republic standing faithfully

in our defense forever.

Therefore,

if we remain true to the spirit of our undertaking of Country

and obtain to the strength at the heart of the nation in ourselves,

we will succeed in this labor of our times

for it is by the command of God that we are so arrayed

and by this same command we shall prosper.

As every nation is possessed of its own destiny -

a Republic undertaking of Country is led

by the vision of the national success.

This vision that must faithfully lead us

across the exile darkness of the unknown earth

as an undertaking of Country

and the hopes that

through common human needs

bind our generations together

is the soul that sustains our conviction

that we are

- as human beings and citizens to each other -

one nation entire.

More than anything,

my brothers and sisters of the Promise,

it is a remembrance of these things,

common identity and common destiny,

that must lead us ever onward

and forward against the darkness

to establish upon the unknown earth

the life of our national communities

like a multitude of living lights.

Its brightness in each ourselves

advances our cause of Country into its ages in time

for this vision is a thing written entirely in our hearts,

its outline is but a sketch in our Constitution -

it is spirit more than words, meaning more than form

being wrought more through action than inaction

for we must not only be Filipino by name or paper alone

we must work to become its actual merit in ourselves

by the virtues consistent to our common identity -

virtues preserved in the memory of our heroes

and in the bravery of our common peoples.

For how else can we become the citizen in ourselves,

my fellow Filipino compatriots,

than to know with conviction of heart

that we are who we ought to be

in time and in eternity?

How we appear, how we sound,

what we hold and possess in our hand today,

our family lines, our tribal affiliations,

all these things might influence our history

but it is remembrance that truly rules our destiny

as a nation distinct but not apart

from the one family of the nations of Mankind.

Mabuhay, let it be so.

---<--@

Sources of Prosperity

The LORD, our one Sovereign, will ask of you, O my nation - "Where now are thy treasures, O valiant Republic?"

"Where now are thy offerings to thy one, true and faithful God, thy most gracious King and stalwart Defender?"

"Do I not deserve thy love, thy allegiance and thy loyal tribute?"

"I, the LORD, speaks!"

Prosper therefore, abiding in thy common human hopes and rendering meaningful service, one to another - for the greatest treasure of this nation is its people.

As thus, the greatest accolade this Republic undertaking of Country may give to the LORD, our Holy Sustainer and Most Beneficent Provider is the spreading of its own sheltering wings of peace - the peace that prospers, O my people, the Peace that is over War!

Now, the nine common human needs, eternally protected by God and sanctified by our nation in time, are, in and of themselves, sources of prosperity.

These nine common human needs underpin as well as drive the prevailing reality that necessitates our gathering together into the divine endowment that is our nationhood.

They form the foundation of our industries.

Rightfully understood and individually expounded, these nine common human needs also co-relate to the UN MDG's which are a mirrored expression - observed in our behalf by our family of nations - of our particular national deficiencies in protecting and sanctifying these hopes in each ourselves as citizens to each other within the peace of our one Republic whole.

The catalyst for national prosperity, of course, is a strong national identity.

A strong national identity is like an electromagnet - it will necessarily reach out as mightily as it is enabled in itself to do so toward its own self-cognizant destiny.

And remembrance is its requisite expression - its electricity, as it were.

So let us remember, if we remain true to the nation in ourselves - time is on our side. Because however long this night might be, if we are who we ought, my brothers and sisters of the Promise, it can not last forever.

Have thou now forgotten

that promise long ago?

Return now to the wonder

and never let go.

---<--@

If in Rizal is our patriotic hope, then in Bonifacio is our patriotic daring - one completes the other, they should both be our national heroes.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Common Human Needs

Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas

Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas

Current official version -

Ako ay Pilipino
Buong katapatang nanunumpa
Sa Watawat ng Pilipinas
At sa bansang kanyang sinasagisag
Na may dangal, katarungan at kalayaan
Na pinakikilos ng sambayanang
Maka-Diyos, Makatao,
Makakalikasan at
Makabansa.

Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine Flag

English Translation -

I am a Filipino
I pledge my allegiance
To the Flag of the Philippines
And to the Country it represents
With honor, justice and freedom
Put in motion by one nation
For God, humanity,
Nature and
Country.

---<--@

The Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat ng Pilipinas is the pledge to the Flag of the Philippines. It is one of two national pledges, the other being the Panatang Makabayan, which is the Philippine national pledge.

The pledge was legalized under Executive Order No. 343, approved by then-President Fidel V. Ramos on Independence Day (June 12), 1996, and subsequently by the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, or Republic Act No. 8491. The law makes no statement of what language the pledge must be recited in, but the pledge is written (and therefore recited) in Filipino.

Fly Old Defiant:

Defy War. Defy Darkness. Defy Evil. Defy Corruption. Defy Poverty.

Prosper the Peace! Prosper the People!

Panatang Makabayan

Current official version -

Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas, aking lupang sinilangan,
Tahanan ng aking lahi, kinukupkop ako at tinutulungang
maging malakas, masipag at marangal.
Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas,

diringgin ko ang payo ng aking magulang,
susundin ko ang tuntunin ng paaralan,
tutuparin ko ang mga tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan,
naglilingkod, nag-aaral at nagdarasal nang buong katapatan.
Iaalay ko ang aking buhay, pangarap, pagsisikap

Sa bansang Pilipinas.

Translation of official Filipino version -

I love the Philippines, the land of my birth,
the Home of my people, it protects me and helps me
become strong, hardworking and honorable.
Because I love the Philippines,

I will heed the counsel of my parents,
I will obey the rules of my school,
I will perform the duties of a patriotic citizen,
serving, studying, and praying faithfully.
I offer my life, dreams, successes

to the Philippine nation.

Official English version -

I love the Philippines.
It is the land of my birth;
it is the Home of my people.
It protects me and helps me to be strong, happy and useful.

In return, I will heed the counsel of my parents;

I will obey the rules of my school;
I will perform the duties of a patriotic, law-abiding citizen;
I will serve my Country unselfishly and faithfully.

I will be a true Filipino in thought, in word, in deed.
---<--@

The Panatang Makabayan (English: Patriotic Oath) is one of two national pledges of the Philippines, the other being the Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat, which is the pledge to the Philippine Flag.

Recitation of the pledge is required by law at all public schools and at private schools that are meant for or of which the majority of students are Filipinos. This guideline was set in Republic Act No. 1265, one of many national symbols laws, which was enacted on July 11, 1955. The act was implemented in schools through an order of what is now the Department of Education, known as Department Order No. 8, which was approved on July 21, 1955.

The pledge was revised in November 2001, using shorter lines with more conversational Filipino. Although Department Order No. 8 states that the Panatang Makabayan may be recited in English or any vernacular language, the pledge is usually recited today in Filipino.

20110416

The Republic Peace

THIS PEACE can not be enforced from the outside, as by force of arms.

Our Republic Peace is first and foremost, a free and willing observance. It is born of promise; a dream in the wing, born of a proven reality.

And if this necessary reality require more proving, my honorable compatriots, then let this be our striving - together this time.

Peace may only be embraced as its remembrance is honored - by all, from least to great, it is thing that must be present in the heart of the people.

Peace is a role of nations - it is the necessary atmosphere that guarantees national progress and human development. Peace is the responsibility of the national government - it is the necessary medium of political cohesion and meaningful national dialogue.

Without it, nations perish and governments fail. Entire civilizations depend on it.

A deficiency in the vision of peace is a serious lack. For the Filipino dream will always remain a counterfeit dream for as long as this dream is not our own dreaming together.

So what are we, my fellow Filipino compatriots, and why for are we born to this particular time and place?

If I say I am Filipino and you say you are Filipino, what binds us in love and truth? What makes of you and I, a nation distinct but not apart from other nations?

It is this peace. So what is it?

It is a belief, a sacred trust embraced across our generations, that we shall as citizens together prevail over the unknown earth. It is an unassailable truth founded on the guarantee of a clear vision of the national destiny.

It is a remembrance of God and Country. This remembrance is an essential component of the sacred trust of our one undertaking of Country.

So what is this undertaking of Country?

It is the indivisible labor of all our generations, under the eternal vigilance of God Almighty, to bring this peace to pass, from hope to hope, strength to strength, across the wide, barren desert expense of exile time and into our Home in eternity. It is a work of return to our Eden rebuilt.

Now, there are many undertakings of Country upon the earth, yet we are each called to the labor of one and this one undertaking of Country is our Republic of the Philippines.

So what is a Republic undertaking of Country?

It is a guardian to a people orphaned by War. It is this guardian spirit that preserves the necessary Republic form - for the nation. If we are to remain true to the Republic form, we must come to realize its potency in ourselves.

We shall be to each other, a keeper and a friend.

For just as a nation is not a nation without the LORD, a citizen is not a citizen by his or herself alone.

Our Republic government must be a shepherd state; a responsible steward of the Causes that advance the peace of our people - a servant after God's own Heart, a Responsible State, willing and able to be generous enough to freely respond to the needs of a hurt and wounded people in disinterested, selfless and loyal public service.

We have to work to realize in ourselves with conviction of heart that as a Republic, we are across our generations to the last of our generations, under the eternal vigilance of God, one work, one people, one destiny.

The deeper the roots of our Republic peace (that is, the more this peace becomes present among our people), the stronger its hold on the ground of its own truth, the more trusted its fruits.

If we do not understand Country, we shall be as wandering stars, scattered, having no certainty of its own light; without a past, without a present, and without a future.

If we are to be as real stars, those that arc in the sky, being certain of its own light (that is, my fellow Filipino compatriots, being certain that this light is not its own and shall therefore end up possessing that Light) we must know that we are as a nation commanded by God to -

build up the earth,

love the least,

protect all minorities,

preserve and uphold justice,

observe the law,

and cherish Sacred Life

- and that we are as thus arrayed as a Republic because of our common will to carry out this divine command, for our own good and the good of all nations.

That we are gifted with a will of Country is proof that the nation is alive in ourselves and that God has preserved this reality in our hearts not because of what evil there is but because there is merit in our people.

So we are a Republic, my honorable Filipino compatriots, and the first rule of service in the Republic form is this - know that the real treasure of this nation is the people.

Therefore, O my people, you shall live to love the LORD, thy God, in everything and with everything.

We shall be victorious according to what dignity and promise we shall together work to accord and help to realize in the very least of our Countrymen.

So we are a Republic - a lineage of hope 7,107 islands strong, one work, one people, one destiny.

Only one thing shall ruin us, my honorable compatriots, War in the heart.

Because the craft of all nations is peace.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Vision.

20110405

Diyos ay Katotohanan, Bayan Ko

Ang Diyos ay Katotohanan! Lahat ay pawang panaginip lamang kung ang mga ito ay hindi malayang bumubukal sa Katotohanang ang Diyos ay Diyos at wala nang iba pang Katotohanan maliban sa Kanya.

Kung ang isip at malay ng tao ay pawang gising at malaya, ito ay dahil ang Diyos ay gising sa ating katotohanan sa Kanya.

Kung tayo ay malaya ito ay dahil tayo ay gising din sa katotohanang ang Diyos ay Diyos at wala Siyang katulad sa langit o sa lupa, maging sa lahat ng mga bagay na nakikita o hindi nakikita.

Iisa lamang po ang Diyos nang lahat nang mga ito; ang Poong May gawa nang lahat ng bagay sa lupa man o sa langit.

Sadyang napakabuti po ng Diyos sa tao. Alalahanin natin ang Diyos, Bayan ko. Siya po ang ating mahal na Diyos at Siya lamang.

Ang Diyos po ay ang Katotohanang nagbibigay tanglaw sa tao at laya sa mga bansang iniluklok Niya sa lupa para na rin sa buong sangkatauhan; mga bansang patuloy pa ring naglalakbay patungo sa katuparan ng Kanyang ipinangakong kaligtasan sa atin.

Ang Diyos ay malapit sa tao. Ang Diyos ay Espiritu at ang lahat nang ating mga saloobin ay Kanyang nalalaman. Ang ating mga isip-isipin at mga inspirasyon ay tanglaw ng katotohanang ang Diyos ay Espiritu. Kung ang Diyos po ang lalayo sa atin, tayo pong lahat ay maglalaho sa dilim. Kung magulo ang lagay ng mundo sa ngayon ito ay dahil sa tao na malimit ay nagpupumilit na lumayo sa Kanya.

Nakasisilaw po kasing tumingin sa araw. Pero tayo po ay nabubuhay dahil ang araw ay palaging nakasubahbay sa ating mundo. Hindi naman kailangang itapat ang ating mga mata sa araw para po natin malamang may Liwanag. Dahil po ang Liwanag ay nakikita at nararamdaman po natin sa paligid natin at higit sa lahat sa pusong marunong magtiwala sa Diyos na Siyang tunay na araw na nakasubaybay sa puso ng lahat ng tao.

Sa mga kapwa ko Kristyano, ang Liwanag ng Diyos ay si Kristo Hesus.

Iisa lamang po ang Diyos. Alamin mo ang Diyos, Pilipino. Hanapin mo Siya ng buong puso, buong lakas at nang may kababaang loob.

Hanapin mo Siya sa iyong puso at sa iyong kapwa Pilipino.

Hanapin mo Siya sa mga taong nauuhaw at nagugutom, hanapin mo Siya sa mga taong hubad sa karapatang pangtao, sa mga api at inaalipusta ng lipunang bulag sa kakulangan ng Liwanag at tamad sa mga gawaing nagbibigay buhay sa tao at dangal sa mga bansa ng tao.

Sa bansa nating Pilipinas, Pilipino, magi kang tunay na matapat, maka-Diyos, at makatao. Ikaw ay matutong magsilbi ng mahusay at maligaya.

Walang taong nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang. Walang taong naliligtas dahil sa sarili lamang.

Gawin mo ito ng buong tapang at nang may pananalig sa Katotohanang ang Diyos ay Diyos - wala Siyang katulad at wala nang iba pang diyos maliban sa Kanya.

Hindi relihiyon ang problema, hindi dahil sa tayo ay marami at may iba't ibang kulay, boses, pangarap at pag-iisip ay wala na tayong saysay bilang bansang Pilipinas.

Ang bansa po natin ay itinatag po hindi ng tao kundi ng Diyos para sa tao. Lahat po ng mga ito ay ginawa ng Diyos para sa atin na rin.

Ang ating kasaysayan ay binigyang hugis ng Diyos - lahat ng mga sakit, lumbay, paghihirap, at mga tagumpay nito - upang tayo ay Kanyang akaying unti-unti patungo sa panahong atin na nagayong inaangkin at dapat pangalagaan.

Dahil ito po ay panahon na natin para magising sa mga katotohanang ito.

Ang puso ng Pilipinas ay iisa lamang, Pilipino.

Kung ito ay ating tatanggapin, pangangalagaan at pauunlarin, sa Ngalan na rin ng PANGINOON na Diyos nating lahat, mga kapatid ko, ay walang dahilan para hindi tayo umunlad at umani ng tagumpay.

Masdan mong maiigi ang puso ng ating mga bayani, Pilipino.

Masdan mong maigi ang kagandan, kagitingan, galing at pagmamahal sa kapwa na nabubuhay sa mga puso nila Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, GomBurZa, Gregorio del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini, Emilio Jacinto, Ramon Magsaysay, Ninoy Aquino, atbp. masdan mo ito, mga kapwa ko kapatid sa pangako sapagka't ang pusong ito ay puso mo rin.

Ipinagdasadal ko, kapatid kong Pilipino, na iyong pagninilaynilayan ang tawag ng ating panahon.

Hanapin mo ang Diyos at nawa'y makita at malaman mong muli kung sino ka talaga, Pilipino. Hindi po ito madali. Pero wala na pong makagagawa nito para sa bayang Pilipinas kundi tayo lamang, Pilipino - ikaw at ako.

Ang bayan natin ay lupain ng pangako. Marahil po ay hindi na rin natin makikita at masisilayan ang katuparan ng marami sa mga pangakong ito. Pero kung hindi natin sisimulan ito - naghahari ba talaga ang Diyos sa puso natin? Kilala ba natin talaga ang Pilipinas na ating bansang nagmamahal at naghihirap ngayon.

Mahal mo ba talaga ang Pilipinas - totoo ba siya sa iyo?

Maglalaho po nawa lahat ng balakid, O Diyos, para sa ating mga Pilipino.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang Pilipino.

Mapalad ang Bayan na ang Diyos ay ang PANGINOON.