Salutation #2

If you seek peace, seek peace absolutely.

(One Whole Sky)

Look at our time today
and the world we move in
- everything about it -
is born of the will of war.

There is much despair
there is much suffering
as all our kindred peoples
labor through oceans of tears
our common human hopes

- forsaken -
in the darkness of our time.

Let us then take ownership
- of the status quo -
and instead of feeding
into war's evil ambition
- the near limitless -
potential of our own souls,
let us apply ourselves,
under the eternal vigilance
of our one Almighty God,
to the labor of each our Country
by our absolute turning away
from the descendant gravity
of war's evil ambition
into the ascendant direction
of the one whole peace
and build upon our civilization
the sheltering wings of God's peace
to serve and defend
the life of our common humanity
wheeling as numberless as the stars
shining across the midnight emptiness
of this season of the sky
toward the twilight breaking
of the new millennial age
and a better, kinder, safer, brighter world
for all men, women and children
- of every nation -
of the one covenant family
of the nations of (the children of) Mankind.
---<--@

(produced 20080914)

Never Forget

Dawn will come, this night will wane...
and it shall be 9/12/2001 all over again.



I promised to never forget and so

as for my own remembrance of this day,

I seek to banish hatred.

May all hatred whither and die! 

May all hatred find a place in our nations no more... 

May the reason of Man find its reason, 

may the purpose of the nations of the children of Mankind find its purpose. 

May the right remembrances be everywhere sought... 

And may it be the kind of remembrance 

that recalls all human hearts unto citizenship with the all of creation; 

that makes us builders in the LORD, nations under God, 

and lovers of the work of living life!

May we all be lovers of the work of living life! 

May our Mankind be joined in Justice and in Love 

and may all the nations of the children of Mankind find Peace

with each other - and  - in each other.

May we all be a family once again.
May good will triumph over division.
May this longest night end...

May the Day Star rise again in our hearts 

and may this awakening bring our midnight world 

unto the promised Morning of the new...

May the spirit of our humanity, 

by the grace of God and the aid of heaven, 

prevail forever over the spirit of War 

and may this unity break our bondage to the earth, 

that we may soar upon wings of eagles 

unto oneness with the sky...

May the glory of God be on earth as it is in heaven.... 

Alleluia!
---<--@

When anger is allowed to fester in the heart, an inhospitable and alien darkness eclipses the soul, shrouding all things in death...

For what is hatred but an ignorance of love? An enforced absence of sunlight in the soul of Man.


Embracing the Embracing

Builders of the Earth

When our spirit
becomes truly free, my people,
we shall be able to build better
and brighter things!

So let us always work
on improving our citizenship
and on bettering each ourselves.

Let us continue
to work together to restore
our own nation to its unity and
our Republic to its own native peace.

None of us
have ever truly known
what wonders we can accomplish
as a nation utterly awoken to its own truth.

Now is the time to find out
because now is the time to believe
once again - we can do marvelous things.
---<--@

NOTE: Graphic above top 7 of the posters made by Filipino high school students depicting Bayanihan or "bearing-together(ness)"; a time-honored expression of Filipino nationhood.

Salutation #136

(Change to Master Change)

Things in our world are speeding up again...
If ever you feel confused about the goings on in our world...

You must remember to focus...

You must remember who we are*, my fellow Filipinos...
all we have discovered about ourselves...

   (*So that even without the words
   we shall be the meaning in our nationhood
   and the soul that lives in our Country
   shall sing to our songs!)

You must remember to place
both your attention and your heart
in the service of everything*
that improve the peace of our Country
and strengthen the unity of our peoples
as a nation among nations.

   (*In a million forms, in a million ways, serve -
   loving one another and building up the earth.

   In a million forms, in a million ways, serve -
   dwelling with each other in the Peace of God
   being united (in Spirit) as the LORD is united.

      [As God is one, be thou one heart, one mind -
      going forth and doing what War does not expect!]

   In a million forms, in a million ways, serve -
   upholding the purpose of our coming together
   as one nation among nations sown upon the earth;
   dwelling always in unity, understanding now
   with an understanding of the truth
   the labor set before us and the work purposed
   for the economy of our generations -
   the labor of peace!)

Above all God.

Then we will as a Republic
stand strong against these changes
like the bamboo have evolved to master the storm.

For we will as one nation
shine out against these uncertainties
changing in our hearts to master change.
---<--@

"I am the change to master change."

Salutation #130

From the Book of Life proceeds -

   the Eternal Law!

Thus
is the way of all nations
established for all nations by God -

   for our law serves life, 
   and our life observes the Law.

'Tis but one great cycle
of exile and of exile returning -

   proceeding from peace, 
   and leading again into Peace!
---<--@



(The 2nd Cause: The Cause of Law - Unity)

The 2nd Cause
is concerned with Law
- and - the juridical processes
that guide, form, and strengthen
the evolving social consciousness
of the national community.

   (For human law
   as it is manifested - in time -
   is ever imperfect and as thus require
   - constantly - the guidance of the Eternal Law
   written in the hearts of all Mankind.)

- selah -

LAW is
what imparts necessary shape
and requisite strength to human reason
- and - human reason - as it directly relates -
with the LORD God - the one Author of Law -
and consequently, other human beings
(as well as other living beings,
seen and unseen).

Therefore,
Law must first be reasonable.

- selah -

Law must be made meaningful
to human reason - unaided by faith,
and so must draw its binding force (of truth)
out of a desire to advocate and advance
the authentic freedoms, intrinsic rights,
and the sheer quality of life
of those constituent communities
of whose citizens its necessary promulgation
is intended by the legislative branch
of the Responsible State.

- selah -

Law serves all of life.

But Law must - first and foremost -
be placed ever in the service of Sacred Life.

We
of the generations
of the children of Mankind
being both the guardians of the law [of the nations]
- as well as - its beneficiaries must dwell
in constant remembrance that:

   Life is a pre-existent good
   - life is before everything else was -
   the transcendental substance of its Truth
   is of the One Who is both limitless and eternal -
   and law inspired by the LORD
   is one written in defense of Sacred Life
   which is like clothing given for our nakedness,
   sewn as shelter for the needs of all living creation
   particularly human life.

   Therefore,
   law [human] is Law [Eternal] that serve all of life.

      (The intention
      of the law [of the nations]
      is to respond to human needs,
      and in particular, those human needs
      that are needful of its protection.

      Therefore,
      a law can not be written
      to create and/or to exploit human needs
      because this is the reverse of its original intention.

      The reverse [of law]
      can never ultimately hold true
      - against the flowing out of exile time -
      for it shall never hold fast in the one heart of Man
      being naught but a tyranny of words
      and of entire languages of words -
      offensive, empty, and barren.)

One
who beholds the law
and lives to abide with the Law
- in the heart -
must ever be aware
that those common human needs
are forever protected by the Eternal God -

That Law exists
in the service of Sacred Life!

- selah -

A law that serves
is one that is observed.

One must first observe the law
who desire to gain from its original intention.

In this way,
law is no respecter of persons
but is above all persons
(and personalities).

Therefore,
if any human community is to benefit
from the original intention of law,
then it must first be willing
to freely and completely apply itself
to its prescripts and ensure that the rule of law
both extends to all and applies to all
(which is effective promulgation and civic participation
founded on effective civic education respectively).

What precedes
this necessary civic observance
is an inherent public trust of whose original domain
is founded at the very foundation of law.

To be sure,
law was something inspired by God in Mankind
having variously revealed it to our humanity
- throughout Salvation History -
as a sign of our LORD's manifest will
to lead all hearts to the Truth.

It is an extension of His good will for all nations.

   (The highest [noblest] form of law being
   the Law of the Gospel or the Law of Christ-Love
   or the one Law [beyond which there is no more law].)

Since
the purpose of Justice - is -
the restoration of the Original Ideal,
Justice by its own virtue
seeks to preserve and to promote
what goodness there is.

We are then left with the reality of evil.

Now,
the intention of law is to bind evil
(and defeat the Evil in all evil things) -
to deter, deflect, deny, and expose it.

Therefore,
the purpose of law is - also -
to preserve and to promote the good
but this law wills to achieve
by the discouragement of evil acts.

Law is what deters evil
from afflicting all who
are covered by law.
---<--@

The Circular Relationship of the Causes

It will be well with us

My fellow Filipinos,

I just want to say we're going to be all right.

We're going to be all right somehow

but we're going to be all right.

This is for certain,

we're going to be all right.

---<--@

Go Jessica!

It would be shameful of me if I do not openly support - with all of you, my fellow compatriots, our own Jessica Sanchez in the upcoming finals of American Idol.

(You are already and will always be a winner in my eyes.)

Go for the win, Jessica! 

You can do it.

---<--@

Salutation #93

We have a need to look out into the horizons.

Upon the high mountain peaks of our ascent into completion.

We have to become familiar with our own undertaking of Country.

That we may hope to avoid future catastrophe.

We have to find the peace of our belongings together.

And ascend the mount with the sheltering wings of peace.

From hope to hope and strength to strength.

Until we have pierced the unconsciousness of our native skies.

From truth to truth and love to love.

Until darkness has waned.

And the night has fled our souls forever.

(Salutation #6)

(Conqueror of Heights)

The peace process might seem

like an insurmountable mountain,

looming impossibly ahead...

but I tell you, my people -

This is but a small hill that

- once conquered -

shall only broaden our horizons -

for we are a nation, my people!

We were meant to conquer not just hills

but mountains - mountains true,

and much higher than these,

mountains towering and majestic!

My brothers and sisters of the Promise,

we were joined together from Eternity

- to prevail against heights -

not to tower above one another

- as War would have it -

but to know the greatness

of our togetherness.

O what shall our horizons be then!

---<--@

In Unity Dwells God.

Longing for Peace

This is my entry for the current OPAPP contest (to win a 2012 planner) - the question that is being fielded today through Twitter is this:

What's your own forecast for the GPH-MILF peace process?

This is my answer -

I long for the day when the rule of War is broken and peace to reign in our Country - I long for it like I long for breath.

Simply put, if you - like me - know the value of peace, we can not but say that the peace process must succeed. (And it eventually will because if the nations of the LORD don't do it, God Himself shall accomplish His purpose for all our nations.)

The real question here is when?

For "when" is ruled by how faithful our desire for the truth - by our remembrance of the Day.

If we are truly sincere, my brother and sister Filipinos, and if we remain steadfast in our desire for the daybreak of peace to finally dawn upon our Land of the Morning, being merciful and kind to our own true selves as a people upon this earth, the truth shall soon arrive - for us.

For peace is the purpose we are here as a nation; the sooner we remember why we are and who we must be, the sooner we shall arrive at that place in time where the dawn meets our dreams - together this time.

---<--@

Oh, and I would really, really love a planner - thanks!

The Ascent

In those great sweeps of ambiguity,

the framers of our present Constitution defined for this nation,

by the ideals they have established for our Republic,

that great and abiding paradigm

of liberty for our people.

For these ideals guide,

as a unifying sense of vision and direction,

and give us counsel

according to (1) how we interpret our freedom,

(2) how we live it, and (3) how we learn it,

ever ascending with but one ascent to the truth.

---<--@

Where is the Darkness?

My fellow Filipinos,

brothers and sisters of the Promise,

do you know why this is the Land of the Morning?

Because when the morning comes, my beloved people,

our generations will ask - where is the darkness?

---<--@

Hindi po nabubuhay ang bansa natin dahil madilim ang gabi.

Queen Esther's Prayer

Of the two important Jewish Holy Days I tend to personally identify with, this prayer forms the spiritual basis for the first one, Purim.

The other feast is Hannukah of whose main protagonist is Judah Maccabee (of the Book of Maccabees).

Both these feasts celebrate (in eternal remembrance) for all of Israel (i.e. from everywhere and from everytime) the deliverance (wrought by the LORD through His instruments) of the Jewish people as a nation from a particular form of evil that threatened to permanently and irreversibly disrupt God's own relationship with the present generations of that time.

- selah -

Queen Ester's Prayer

Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, likewise had recourse to the LORD.

Taking off her splendid garments, she put on garments of distress and mourning. In place of her precious ointments she covered her head with dirt and ashes. She afflicted her body severely; all her festive adornments were put aside, and her hair was wholly disheveled.

Then she prayed to the LORD, the God of Israel, saying:

"My LORD, our King, you alone are God.

Help me, who am alone and have no help but You, for I am taking my life in my hand.

As a child I was wont to hear from the people of the land of my forefathers that You, O LORD, chose Israel from among all peoples, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, as a lasting heritage, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them.

But now we have sinned in Your sight, and You have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we worshiped their gods. You are just, O LORD.

But now they are not satisfied with our bitter servitude, but have undertaken to do away with the decree You have pronounced, and to destroy Your heritage; to close the mouths of those who praise You, and to extinguish the glory of Your temple and Your altar; to open the mouths of the heathen to acclaim their false gods, and to extol an earthly king forever.

O LORD, do not relinquish Your scepter to those that are nought. Let them not gloat over our ruin, but turn their own counsel against them and make an example of our chief enemy.

Be mindful of us, O LORD. Manifest Yourself in the time of our distress and give me courage, King of gods and Ruler of every power.

Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion, and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy, so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.

Save us by Your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but You, O LORD. You know all things."

(Esther C: 12-25)

I simply love Queen Esther. She is one of my all-time favorite heroines of the Old Testament!

We could indeed take a page from the memory of Israel through the Book of Esther to help guide us through these difficult times.

Glorified be God in all His Angels and in all His Saints - forever!

Salutation #78

Typhoon Sendong is portentous.

It was not only out of season -

it is an indication of a much larger change.

No words can convey my distress at the loss we have sustained

at the passing of this most recent typhoon...

These are ours, O my Philippines, these are ours...

Arise therefore, O my nation - serve -

and pray for the victims of Typhoon Sendong!

(Hidden in Plain Sight)

Each year,

my fellow Filipinos,

our Country is tested

and the endurance of our nation

stectched to a point...

We are -

by the natural cycles of the seasons

and the excesses that the forces of nature

- earth, wind, fire, and water -

a nation yearly inflicted

with much violence

upon our communities

by the evils that arise from

these natural calamities.

But never have we thought,

O my beloved people,

never have we even begun to consider,

the slightest hint of surrender

to the limiting and random nature

of these evils!

Rather,

these typhoons

only serve to strengthen

our resolve

- no matter the pain -

to stand together

as one people.

For in the midst of these trials

we always choose to be the victors

and we always have.

Do you understand this?

We are -

a people whose virtues

have always been - as such -

hidden in plain sight.

So let us bear

- into mind and heart -

the strength and reality of

our own native resilience

as well as bring into the fore

of our social consciousness

- these present days -

the excellence of the virtues

embodied by our national identity

which are all the things that make living

the Filipino Dream worthwhile

as well as possible.

For the greater cycle of the seasons

is shifting -

These shall be times

- unprecedented -

in the history of all the nations

of the children of Mankind.

Winter indeed in coming

(after the autumnal dusk of our faded Eden)

- here in this season of shadows -

and there is a testing ahead

that shall require all our virtue

(as individuals giving freely

and as nations dreaming together

as one family).

Therefore,

let us always have meaningful recourse

to the sacred remembrances

of God and of Country.

- selah -

Our unity as a people

shall be our greatest guarantee against calamity.

Our peace as a nation

shall be our safest shelter against the darkness.

Our vision as a Country

shall be our surest way ahead

out of this long night - this longest night -

and into that new morning of Promise

for our Land of Promise.

2011 have revealed to us our weaknesses.

2012 shall temper for us our strengths.

---<--@

Let us help our brothers and sisters in Northern Mindanao -

Contact -

Tel. (632) 931 - 8101 to 07

Click -

http://www.redcross.org.ph/donate

Salutation #77

Let our Banner be unto thyself a symbol of unity, my people,

and let it fly in thy heart out of love of God and Country.

Yea, let this Banner fly in thy heart of hearts or not at all!

For if this one kind of love is absent in the absent heart of Man,

there shall our Country be found nowhere in creation.

- Salutation #10 (Old Defiant)

(Old Defiant vs. Old Compliant)

Peace, I salute you.

I should like to emphasize in us again,

my brothers and sisters of the Promise,

the importance of unity over division -

especially in the midst of this brewing crisis

between our President and our Chief Justice.

Remember,

I am not writing here

about the impeachment trial

- or any external event that must also concern us -

I am writing primarily about you (about us) -

the citizen-servant.

For everything that proceeds in our Republic,

proceeds from the concentrated strength of its spirit

in your soul (our souls).

As regards the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona

and the divisions it is sparking in our nation,

if you are in any way interested

in what I have to think about the matter - personally,

please refer to the running commentary

I have opened here.

However,

if you are still sincerely confused about the matter,

you may inhibit yourselves from participating in the public debate

and remain in the safety of your own areas of service.

It is never fair to have to be made to choose

between two co-equal, independent branches

of our one Republic government

in the Responsible State.

Again,

our central focus here

is to make this an exercise in unity

so do not allow your own mind and heart

to become bitterly embroiled in the politics

and the divisions that must surround this event

- without having a clear mind -

as to where your freedom and your independence truly lies.

Completely refrain from adding your own flame

to the many conflagrations that threaten to consume our Country

but rather add it to the unifying light that gives her comfort and warmth,

bolstering her strength to see us all through this long night;

this longest night...

- selah -

(I am reposting this piece from 20110402.)

Something's missing from my Philippines. Something vital.

Who knows her?

These days, everybody seems to be living for themselves alone. It seems no one remembers her.

By this, she is grieved and therefore, draws further and further away into isolation.

For the spirit of Country, my honorable compatriots, is a spirit of self-belonging. It is a self-cognizant, collective sense of self.

And the Republic is a guardian to a people orphaned by war.

Thus, if the people are divided in their hearts against each other, they are scattered.

And the people are scattered because of those distant and faded hearts; hearts that seem to no longer recognize the spirit of this Republic; hearts that have come to accept the rule of War.

Hence, the spirit of Country is diluted.

And when there is no substance left in our remembrance, when there is no peace left to abide in our belonging, when there is no truth left to empower our will of Country, we shall cease to exist as a nation.

But while our history still fills the hunger in our souls, while there is yet a common longing for better days burning in our hearts, while there is yet those who remember and believe, while there is yet even a few who are brave and true, by the grace of Almighty God, war will never have us.

Truly, my nation, this is not a very good time for the spirit of war. For this is exactly why the colors of our own Country is called Old Defiant.

We have a choice. Let it mean something:

Let us defy division, let us defy corruption, let us defy poverty, let us defy evil and prosper, my fellow Filipino compatriots - together this time.

Let us defend where we must, O my nation Philippines, and leave all else to the invulnerable, omnipotent defense of the LORD, our God, the one Sovereign of all nations.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

The Truth

Pinoy Spirit

Disown the darkness.

Defend against it.

Do not fight it.

Defend.

In this place, everywhere;

in this time, forever -

we belong.

One nation united across all our generations

into one labor, one heart, one destiny.

Juan Nation

The Filipino is a kind of love and this love binds us together as Juan Nation.

All is Juan -

I am the Juan,

You are the Juan,

We are the Juan;

Juan Nation.

Salutation #69

Do you think hatred cares

what wood it may devour

to keep from burning out?

Nay!

It shall seek to devour all trees

and consume the whole orchard!

For hatred is a dark fire

and shall burn until it is out.

Hate is never meant to last.

But Love is a bright fire.

Love consumes but is never consumed.

Love burns Eternal.

- selah -

What limits War from prevailing over our communities

is the presence of those who despite all the violence and the rage,

continue to hope, pray and work tirelessly for peace in this Country

all those who in spite of this unhappy state

of a prevailing temporal enmity among brothers

have chosen - in their heart of hearts -

to place unity over division for the good of all Filipinos.

What limits the darkness

of the Night from devouring our nation

is the presence of these living lights

who are of the stars of our Father Abraham

and born to that one promise of old

that we shall bless our national communities;

a promise made not by any Man

but of the one God of all Mankind.

(A Message to the Bangsamoro)

To the Bangsamoro -

Peace, I salute you.

I acknowledge each of you,

my brothers and sisters of the Promise,

as you are - and so -

as you cherish yourselves,

I cherish you.

And I tell you no lies.

Because what I want for us is peace.

You possess through your lineages

a distinct cultural and ethnic identity

containing within each yourselves,

a noble and lasting heritage,

worthy of our one Republic undertaking.

I also realize

- there still lingers -

the evil of days past.

I offer you no apologies for them.

For I too am hurt

by the pain of those evil days.

Though I am not born from thy own descent,

I am hurting as you are hurting.

For I am different yet I am the same.

(And I am certain there are many others

who are like myself - a citizen not unlike yourself.)

- selah -

O Bangsamoro peoples,

there are some things we can never undo,

for they are not meant to be undone.

Some pains are meant to bear us away

from the evil of things past.

The darkness of the night

can never flow back into itself.

It may only deepen - if we are not wise -

and darkness that is deep is madness.

If we focus on the pain of our history,

we shall be found forever looking backward

being without a present and without a future.

For the hurt that we witness in our history

- goes deeper and deeper into the darkness past -

but the wound we need to commonly address

must always rise into the present.

Truly, the past can be painful

but we can never heal these hurts

without first letting go of them.

We have a history and also a destiny.

We are one nation - Now.

We are one people

beloved of God and bound

to the freedom of each others' gifts

into one Republic undertaking of Country.

We represent each other's common human hopes.

Therefore,

I will not allow you to be forsaken in the night.

Believe thee with me

we have suffered enough

and the recompense we desire

is a just and lasting peace

for our one undertaking of Country.

This is why I am ardently supporting

a lasting and meaningful peace in Mindanao

specifically to bring to your homelands,

a measure of prosperity and freedom

that is met for you - and -

to bear our Country away, here today,

into a future that is met for all Filipinos.

For we are a forward looking nation.

and must now look eastward to the dawn.

I realize - that -

we shall face many difficulties

along the way - this for is certain -

but a nation is intended by God

to overcome these difficulties.

No one individual, family, or tribe

can master the untamed earth

nor can any human community

short of a nation among a family of nations

- build up the inhabited earth -

and fill the darkness of this world

with living lights.

However,

only a nation united

- as one truth in the heart -

shall prevail over the unknown earth.

Indeed,

we shall do this work of raising a Republic

worth all our sacrifices and common dreams

as one nation - together this time -

one whole sky.

We shall build a shelter of Country

for all our generations - mabuhay!

If we are merciful to ourselves, O my nations,

if we value the life that take their shelter under our wings,

we shall ardently seek peace, one with another.

We shall look to the dawning of the new age and never look back.

Eid'l Adha Mubarak!

---<--@

20111028

Salutation #62

I am hopeful not because there are words.

I am hopeful because there are people with listening ears

and hearts who are able to hear the meaning to the words...

(Nations Like Trees)

Wisdom is in the people -

(and discernment is in the Responsible State)

if we remain in ourselves, a nation united

- through thick or thin - by and by,

our Republic shall be enlightened by the peace we profess as a people

and our leadership enabled - inasmuch -

as we are empowered by the unity of our peace.

The more mature the peace we profess as a nation,

the better the age of our Country in time.

The deeper the roots of our citizenship is planted

upon the earth - far into forever -

as one Republic undertaking,

the more trusted shall be its fruits.

For nations are like trees

and the labor of Country is the labor of bringing the promise

of our nation into full fruition - for all Filipinos.

It is a labor of cultivation and nurture.

This is why I am passionate about the peace process.

Everything in this day and age - as far as our Philippines is concerned -

is invariably tied to its success and its success is likewise tied

to the greater forces that are now driving our world

toward interdependent community.

For there are many rooms and many trees...

---<--@

One lineage of hope - 7,107 islands strong -

"In the longer view of things, divisions don't make a difference, unity does."

You know, I used care a lot about where we've been - about one's upbringing, how one looks, how one sounds, what's in a name, from which school, from what religion, from what province, and from what family, and from what social class...

Now, what I truly care about the most is where we are ALL going.

I have awoken to the truth - that -

there can only be one Philippines for ALL Filipinos!

---<--@

An Accounting of Time

Time is not distance for time is distant

only to those with distant hearts.

Nor is distance a hindrance to our hearts

that in the timeless, beholds and is beheld.

PEACE, I salute you.

---<--@

Our dearest Starshine -

Let me teach you
the way in which thy heart
does perceive the idea of numbers
and the concept of its operation
in those realms where
the mathematics of physicality
and the limits of its reality
in terms temporal
and in measures finite
does never and shall never agree
with the reality of things within.

Because the substance of thy soul

is the abode of the timeless
that in terms eternal
and in measures infinite
are an accounting of thy heart
that amidst thy comings and goings
perceive things as they are
like a vision of love forever
in moments standing still
and not as they seem to be
amidst the darkness of things
that appear and disappear
with the rise and fall
of the tides of exile time.

One is not the beginning

for one is time neither begun
nor is one perceived to have an end
because one is an infinity
and two is not two things together
but two things that become one
for three are not three things apart
but two things made one whole one
by the Love that visits
each our longing for itself.

And so when you shall perceive

each of thy friendships, dear Starshine,

(e.g. family and friends, above all conjugal love,

as well as all natures of relationships.)

among all truly human relationships
you shall think only of one.

And when you shall seek to perceive
each our own expressions of hope
in the sharing and the bearing of Sacred Life
(e.g. complementarity of the sexes, the freedom of thy gifts, etc.)

you shall think only of two.

And when you shall seek to perceive
those things born to thy own heart's longing
and felt through the beauty of remembrances

(e.g. the creative ideal - cooperation with the Creator,

Peace and the labors of peace, etc.)
awakening to thy slow awakening dream
you shall think only of three.

And ever be aware that the medium

of thy constant reality from within
is an emerging continuum of gratitude
spread as luminous stars upon thy spirit
bursting with the joy of living life
born from things that cleave as truth
unto that vast universe in thy soul
that make you think of the many
but return you always to one -

the One, O my Starshine,

the LORD!

The one Giver above His gifts.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Patient Perseverance

Remembrance: The Ages of Country

Salutation #52

O most beneficent LORD

and one God of all creation,

rekindle in the hearts of Thy nations

the desire for meaningful peace.

(To the Philippine Representation to the United Nations as Regards the Palestinian Initiative on September 23)

Mabuhay!

Peace, I salute you.

I bid you to act with caution.

Allow not the noble ideals of our young Republic

to get drawn into the invisible but all too real gravity

of the subtle spiritual division that exists

between Israel and Palestine.

Take no sides but the side of peace.

And the peace that takes no side but the peace;

belonging to God first and from the unity of LORD

unto the brotherhood of the nations

embracing all to the last.

Say the peace

- implicitly or explicitly -

of the one people of the Philippines

to Israel and to Palestine both.

Do not take your focus away

from both these kindred and most beloved nations

- especially in the lead up to September 23 -

and always see them as Nations first;

apart from the Common Market,

apart from the Responsible State.

Speak only for the people,

act only to address their needs,

and always be mindful in thy soul of County

of the cause for which nations exist upon this earth.

Listen to the plight of the Palestinians

and be aware of the frustrations of that nation.

Acknowledge their nationhood - first and foremost -

and the cause for which they now stand together;

recognize from the needs of our own nation

the justice it demands and the peace it requires.

Stand with them in their hour of need.

Listen to the anxieties of Israel

and be aware of the realities of their concerns.

See through 2000 years of tragedy and expectation

and place yourself beyond all that shall undoubtedly be said

- into the heart of the matter -

indeed, you must come alive to their remembrance;

make sure the nation Israel does not stand alone.

Be wary of the spirit of War

who will seek to impose upon thy reason

- by any means available to it -

its will of division

causing you to set aside the peace

for which our United Nations is founded.

Proceed from unity; speak from unity;

deliberate with unity in mind; listen with unity in mind;

provide counsel only with unity in thy heart;

act only within its bounds.

With much tenacity, courage and wisdom,

deny the spirit of War a foothold

- at least as far as our Republic may -

in that august body established

for the defense of the prevailing peace

of the one family of the nations of Mankind.

My prayers,

the prayers of all people of good will in our Country

and surely, from all the many other Countries,

spread upon their own spheres of responsibility

in this one world of ours so needful of peace,

shall be with you, Ambassador,

and with you all.

---<--@

Now is the time to stop living on our problems and begin working together toward solutions. To be able to do this, we must be able to build on agreements.

So let us make the way of our hearts clear. Let us cast off the spirit of division and break the rule of War from within ourselves. For peace has to start somewhere.

Finally, whose "side" are you on anyway?

A lot of people say, "I support Israel."

A lot of people say, "I support Palestine."

Not a lot of people say, "I support Peace."

Well, I do.

Why?

Because I love both those nations, don't you?

---<--@

Mabuhay po kayong dalawa kapatid na Israel and kapatid na Palestine! Long may our remembrance serve us. God bless us all.

The Peace of the Brotherhood of Mankind

20110815

The Greatest of Marian Knights

Yesterday was the feast day of one of the principal Saints in my life, Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe.

You will notice that I take my name from Saint Maximilian.

This is so because I have a great devotion to this Saint of God. To Saint Maximilian, I owe much of my Roman Catholic formation.

In many ways, he is to me the greatest of all Marian Knights.

He and my darling Annelies Marie share a connection in my life that have proven to be more than mere coincidence.

He is the patron Saint of the suffering addict and refuge of the recovering addict.

My own Marian character was taught to me by Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe.

Glorified be God forever in all His Angels and in all His Saints!

---<--@

The Feast of the Assumption

Today is the feast day of the Assumption of our Lady.

It is the focal Marian feast that reveals through the life of our Lady the immense joy of our Christian faith.

It is equivalent to the Transfiguration in the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in that both of these are a preparatory experience in the Christian life.

Simply put, a Marian character in a Roman Catholic soul multiplies joy.

This Marian joy lends its strength to Christian endurance. It prepares our hearts to live the hope of ordinary time.

- selah -

Now, if there is anything our Lady desires of thee, O my Philippines - it is thy own heart at prayer.

You know this in your own hearts, my fellow Filipino compatriots, that God has set a labor before our hearts and a challenge for all the world to repent unto Peace and forsake War.

For these are defining times indeed, we are living in a transition from age to age.

Prayer is a battle we can not refuse to fight.

But our prayers can not ascend to the unity of the LORD, O my nation, if War is in our heart.

- selah -

We have to learn to pray as a nation:

We have to learn to desire what a nation desires.

We have to forsake the divisions that have prevented our unity.

We have to let go of the bitterness that have fed these animosities.

We have to stand up against the despair that have shackled our dreaming.

We have to see our generations through this midnight darkness

ever by the light of our faith in God and in each other as citizens together.

We have to understand -

A nation that prays as one, stays as one.

And a nation at one with its own truth is a nation at peace.

Verily, as a nation, we can not be anything else but one.

So let us pray to God for the gift of prayer for our nation. Let us desire it from God as our Lady desires it from us now so that in time we may all profess to the LORD as one the truth that the prayer of the Philippines is Peace.

---<--@

Closing Reflection -

The common religion of every Man is peace - it is that mysterious desire dwelling deep within all of us to be able to somehow return to the happiness and perfection of that one common belonging written in each our heart; the Peace of the LORD, the one God of All creation.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Hope Taking Wing

An Act of Unity