20110727

This is my initial reaction to the SONA 2011 -

My one Filipino nation, with the Peace of the LORD - I salute you.

What I noticed the most is the President's call for national transformation.

Let me explain:

Our Country seem insulated from tragedies such as that which recently befell brave Norway. This is so because most Filipinos are too busy trying to survive from day to day.

My fellow Filipino compatriots, if we as an emerging Republic get the workings of the foundations of our fledgling national culture right - here and now, when in time we become developed enough for our people to start confronting those problems developed Countries must presently confront at this time, we shall not find our nation as vulnerable to such crimes as those wrought by the terrorist intents of the likes of Mr Breivik (or Mr. McVeigh, or OBL on the other extreme for that matter).

A mature Republic is proof against War in the heart.

It is this gathering spirit dwelling in our culture that we are presently trying to awaken into here now today through all our Salutations and our conversations in this blog so that when time comes (and it will) and we are, God-willing, developed enough in our material prosperity as one Republic whole, my honorable compatriots, our present generations will also have had (as a gift from us) the spiritual maturity to seamlessly advance this Country of ours into its fourth and most fruitful age upon this earth.

(You have to excuse my language here and bear with me, I am expressing them in a form that is native to this blog alone. They shall be meaningful to you only if you have been following me in this conversation of ours.)

In a sense, I get President Aquino's speech about the wang-wang mentality. The transformation he is spearheading is a necessary thrust in the right direction away from the night that has long engulfed our Land of the Morning.

We must let go of the wang-wang mentality that says, "I will lord it over others." Jesus Christ the Lord Himself warned us about this mentality.

This is nothing more than the "them" and "us" mentality that flies in the face of our just equality as human beings and peers to each other before God and the law.

It is the elitist mentality of the so-called servant who does not actually will to respond to the Divine calling to serve the nation in the Republic but rather, seeks through selfish ambitions to possess the fruits of the virtue of others instead.

- selah -

My brothers and sisters of the Promise, you know as well as I do that this long night can not last forever. We are here now and step by faithful step, we shall lead each other away from the tired old ways of the past.

We shall break ourselves free from the gravity of the last 2000 years by the sheer brightness of our remembrances together, each to the other, a keeper and friend, all to the All, one whole sky.

No longer shall mindless division, political discord and a dissolute spirit confound, weaken and trouble our belongings to each other as citizens to this nation God has commissioned for a Country the LORD has commanded to prosper and prevail over the darkness of an unknown earth - allied to the peace of all our kindred nations.

We shall break new ground in our ways of thinking and belonging as a people, and of building, sharing, and enjoying through our labors together, this land and its fruits.

And we shall defend this endowment - continually being won for us by our people and eternally granted to us by our God - against all takers, foreign and domestic.

Indeed, we shall as citizens to each other advance this Country and its posterity into the dawn that is promised by the LORD to all those nations who love and fear Him as God to one and All, once and for all.

(So let us out of fear, dispense with thousands of years of rigid, formal introduction, Beloved of God, for there is but one God and one LORD alone: As you love God, you know Him.)

---<--@

Salutation #43

(Service)

Any undertaking of Country

- across its generations in time -

easily span the width and breadth

of human lives in their millions.

God is severe enough with sins against individuals

but to willfully sin against Country,

it is beyond my understanding what will happen to those souls

who knowingly and maliciously deprive an entire nation

and their generations their own God-given house,

which is their shelter and sanctuary against War in this world.

Indeed,

countless human lives have from different times and places

been taken from us before their time

only because they lack the shelter of Country.

Remember them today,

bring their hopes for a better world with thee...

and with forbearance, serve.

Starshine,

there are as many holy innocents in heaven

- pleading constantly to the LORD -

for an end to War and the breaking of this midnight world

as there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the earth.

So remember the LORD today,

trust in the wisdom of God even in thy midst

- do not despair in the midst of all this darkness -

for the LORD allows rain to fall on the good and the evil alike

so be thou good - Beloved of God - shine for Him

and with forbearance, serve.

- selah -

Do not be scandalized by the tares in the wheat!

---<--@

Some Suggestions:

I agree with Senator Marcos - employing the poor in productive labor gives them a much better fighting chance to liberate themselves from the clutches of poverty.

Distribute the PPP projects by region.

Triage the entire Country by region, province, then city - determine civil defense readiness and necessary requirements per LGU. Establish a national standard of readiness and a centralized, unified incident command process.

---<--@

Just a Thought:

Is it so hard to take care of a nation? Heck, it practically takes care of itself.

A nation is like a seed; a labor endowed by God with the power to fulfill its own destiny.

It already has in itself everything it needs to grow and to succeed.

Now, the work of government is to just help it along its own way and - most importantly - avoid suffocating the life of the people.

---<--@

Let us continue to pray for the Kingdom of Norway and her people, for peace in our nation, the Middle East and in Asia.

Let us also pray for CGMA who is presently in hospital - despite everything that is happening - let us remember to her credit as well as ours that she did our nation a measure of good as well.

---<--@

Lastly, let me and my Miyang share this with you - Utak Wang-wang

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Service is a call (not an ambition)

One Nation

Breaking the Siege

20110725

Starshine, peace be with you -

Have you prayed for Norway and her people recently?

What happened in Norway, of our one family of nations, is a terrible thing.

What had cost that nation many lives, mostly young lives, is a spirit that once led into the human heart divides it against its own humanity.

It is not the fault of Norway.

Most certainly, it is the fault of Mr. Breivik. But most of all, it is the fault of the enemy of God and of all our kindred nations.

Do the innocents justice, our beloved Starshine, and tolerate no division, no enmity, no chaos within thy own selves - preserve the reign of the LORD within each thy own worlds within.

Of whatever name or doctrine it may fashion itself as, Beloved of God, when it shall propose itself - with lies - at the door of thy soul, you must never allow this spirit of War into thy own heart of hearts.

With due diligence preserve thyself, precious Starshine of the nations of Mankind, in the good graces of God and in common good will to each other as free citizens of His creation, for by thus thou wilt strike at the very heart of the spirit of War itself.

The law of the land of Norway will bind the evil of Mr. Breivik. But the justice of your own souls, Beloved of the LORD, must work to continue to preserve the common good in our societies outside of the courts of our nations.

Let us review the following -

Salutation #3

(Darkness)

TO THE NUMBERLESS LIGHTS
of our kindred belonging,
greetings of sincere hope
and good will -
my love and prayers:

There is evil in our days,
as it was in those days of old.

Evil where it is allowed to endure
into every present time
to stand against the line
established in the Now of the moment
is an enemy that is never meant
to defeat the will of the good.

For the arrangement of all past things
in every person's life
like a romance between human choice
and the serendipity of God's grace
is always intended in such a way
by the beneficence of Divine Providence
so as to culminate into every present time
which is always sufficient in its own Day
with regards to the particular evils
that each and every individual soul
must in each their own time and place
learn to recognize and vanquish
by and through the grace of our LORD
in and with the support of our human communities,
civic and religious, national and international,
that exist for our benefit

- in exile time -

to safeguard and foster our common good.

Should there be evil in our day,
even if the past had a large part to play
in its appearance in our present time,
indeed, it should not be here to give us reason
to conveniently dwell on the darkness of past things.

Where evil is allowed to endure
into the present reality
of souls and communities of souls,
it is so that we may learn in our own lives
how to effectively close the doors of past things.

Believe that evil endures
not to defeat the human being
but to allow him or her the opportunity
to recreate in every present moment
in God and with each other,
the beginnings of better, brighter and nobler things.

Peace.
---<--@

Salutation #5

(Freedom)

PEACE, I salute you.

Even the smallest of lights
shines in the darkness -
so shift your focus, my friend,
if you haven't already done so
for each and every good thing counts
regardless of the darkness.

What is praiseworthy is right action.
It is what makes us distinct from the darkness -
it is ignition -
the actual point of contact
between human will and divine grace.
Right action is, in the painting by Michelangelo
of Adam reaching out to God
with their fingers extending out to each other,
that bright spark at the imagined point of contact
between the freedom of Man and the freedom of God:
Right action always results in good works.

What motivates the will to act
must also be what inspire the heart to love.
Therefore, evil action is always the result
of false inspiration -
the idolatry of sin!
So if we are to do good,
we must first learn to love the good -
and shun all that is evil.

For we profit not from evil,
my dear friend,
but from the good;
our motivation being derived
from purposes that are good,
our hopes being anchored upon things
that are true and therefore, good,
and the wings of our surrender to prayer
being ever vigilant and discerning
in its ascent
to the one Giver of all good things.

For evil no longer hold us captive.
We have come to know it
and forever bless the LORD for His Light.
Therefore, we seek now to unknow it
upon paths of repentance
that lead away from darkness
and into peace -
peace in our hearts -
peace with our fellow human beings -
peace with all of heaven -
and peace with our God.
---<--@

Anything fashioned purely out of hatred and the spirit of revenge bring only darkness and grief at its wake. Do not be by evil-inspired.

---<--@

Mabuhay po tayong lahat! Peace be to Norway and her people. God bless us all.

Lastly, just a final reminder for all my honorable Filipino compatriots - mamayang hapon na po:

We will certainly be discussing this - constructively - in support of the mission of our Republic and in the context of the goals of the Aquino administration.

Mabuhay ang ating Presidente at mabuhay din po ang kanyang Bise Presidente!

20110723

Salutation #42

(The Peace of ASEAN)

To my honorable Filipino compatriots

and to the kindred nations of our ASEAN -

Our ASEAN Neighborhood has the potential for much good

not only for our region but for Asia and the world.

But only if we apply ourselves

to the understanding

that the Peace of our ASEAN

is wrought in virtue and human community.

We are the ASEAN Neighborhood.

A region that is distinct but not apart

from the problems that the nations of our world

must presently confront as a planetary community.

Problems we must work out and confront together as one

to bring about the close of the last great age of War.

If we fail, we shall all fail together.

For the planet itself is at stake.

But if we shall succeed

- as nations dreaming together this time -

we must triumph as ASEAN first.

It is essential that we believe with our hearts

in what strength there is in our unity

over what darkness there was in our past -

The strength of this unity is evident in the Flag of our ASEAN!

O my beloved ASEAN nations -

we can not hope to pull our home region in Asia

away from the descendant gravity

of the last great age of War

if we cast away our unity, covertly or overtly,

and pull ourselves apart in all directions:

War will surely scatter our peoples to the four winds.

If we remain divided in spirit,

O my Philippines,

O my kindred ASEAN nations,

we will have hoped in vain

to develop the inherent potential of our region.

If we hope in vain, we labor in vain.

For we all have inherent strengths

and we all have inherent weaknesses too

because our civilization is not complete

as individual nations in our ASEAN.

We will capitalize on our strengths

and work together to encourage, develop and fulfill them

in our nations for our region.

And we shall through weaknesses become empowered

to rely on our faith in each other and in God - more and more -

with a sense of humility and sincerity.

We will strive to realize - without direct interference -

that our ability to succeed as nations

depend largely on our being adequately cognizant and understanding

of our essential human natures,

its weaknesses as well as its common needs,

invested to the call of each our nations

and entrusted to the care of each our undertakings of Country.

By this we shall strive to be an example to each other in ASEAN

so that while we understand that we can not without coming into conflict

disregard the common experiences of our peoples,

each nation being as unique as each individual human being is unique,

we may also affirm in our own times

within each our own particular undertakings of Country

that the destiny we all aspire for as nations is one and the same

as the Peace we all strive to live in as Countries in ASEAN.

The spirit of War will eventually flee us

by the strength of the Peace of our ASEAN.

Therefore,

peace be to Brunei Darussalam,

peace be to Cambodia,

peace be to Indonesia,

peace be to Laos,

peace be to Malaysia,

peace be to Myanmar,

peace be to Singapore,

peace be to Thailand,

peace be to Vietnam,

and peace be to our ASEAN!

(And to East Timor

- waiting in the wings -

the Peace of our ASEAN as well)

Mabuhay po sa ating lahat - past is past -

we will ascend with one ascending

as one ASEAN Neighborhood.

---<--@

Attack on Norway

The twin terror attacks on innocent Norwegians yesterday at a youth camp and at the city center is appalling. Initial reports that placed the casualties at less than 10 have now risen into around 80 with people still unaccounted for.

This crime is a condemnable act of terrorism indeed.

Let us stand with Norway in this hour of tragedy, my Filipino compatriots, and let us pray for the victims and their families.

---<--@

SONA 2011

Let us pray for our President Noy. May his SONA 2011 be a sweeping success!

Lastly, let us ask the LORD in prayer (especially at Holy Mass tomorrow) to bless our nation with a strong succession of presidents beginning with our PNoy to lead our Country out of this long night.

Better yet, let us constantly desire this in our prayers to God as a nation that the LORD may bless, preserve and prosper the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines and that God may likewise bless, preserve and prosper the Office of his or her Vice President.

(Yes, we need more than one and so may all of them be blessed by God with a lion's or a lioness' heart. Refer to Daniel 12 since we are running on this timeline.)

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Being Present for Peace