Not a minute more.

"Wait a minute or hold a sec," says the person on the other line.  And you wait, and listen to the champagne music playing. Or if you dial a corporate office, the operator or call centre will say, "all our representatives are busy right now, please hold for the next available person."

There's call waiting at work.

In personal or love relationships, waiting is an endless effort. People tend to give the partner or loved one more than enough chances to change for the better, to say the "I love you," phrase, or say sorry, or ask for marriage.

Parents give children enough leeway to mend their behaviour, and in offices, workers wait for the raise or promotion year after year.

The public wait for their government officials to do the right thing.

And for those who do wrong, seeing the fault and righting it could also take forever. 

When does the tipping point come?  When does the seam snap?  When do people call it quits?

There are those who wait endlessly; there are those who say not a minute more.

There are those who can move on easily from hurt; there are those who wallow in it.

There are those who see the light; there are those who stumble in the dark.

There are those who commit misconduct, feign ignorance and never read the signs of doom.

The beautiful waiting is in praying.  We wait for God to answer our prayers in His time.

Beware the Ides.

 by Gener

You never saw the baby's smile
Nor clasped her hand nor stroked her hair,
In your ghastly gown you clung a dream
And nightmares in your eves to come.

The serpent tempted and grinned a while
While you licked the tongue that twirled,
But you bit the hand that nurtured you then
And romped the Eden of despair.

"My baby where are you?" alas you woe,
"Are you lost forever," and you query why?
And in your sane moments you saw a child
And it was you in your mother's arms.

You espy the pride in the mirror once,
But thought God had created it,
You bathed in men's starry eyes
And forgot about your elders' misty love.

Your faith has died
But should you go?
Beware then the Ides that bade doom,
In your countenance you thought the Lord has saved,
But what a fool
God sayeth you have been weighed. 

Our Philippine churches are a gem.

Church of Sta. Teresa de Avila

Yes, it's great to see the Shrine of the Fatima, the Sistine Chapel, the old churches of Spain and Europe, but if you can't, don't lose heart. Our own Philippine churches are a gem themselves.

Santiago de Compostela

Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in France

St. Francis of Assissi Shrine in Sariaya, Quezon

We went on a healing pilgrimage last Saturday, organized by GLAD, God's Love and Delight.  To Sariaya in Quezon to see the Shrine of St. Francis of Assissi, then to Lucban to the Kamay ni Hesus Shrine, and finally to Pila, Laguna for its Shrine of San Antonio de Padua.

Except for the Kamay ni Hesus Shrine, both the St. Francis and St. Anthony Padua Shrines were built during the Spanish rule.

St. Francis of Assissi (right image) was originally built in 1599, then transferred and rebuilt in 1703, and after an earthquake in 1743, rebuilt in 1748 in its present location in Sariaya.

Kamay ni Hesus Shrine in Lucban, Quezon sits atop a hill reachable by 300 stone steps

The Shrine of Saint Anthony was erected by the Franciscans from 1599 - 1617 originally in Pagalangan and in the late 18th century, due to perennial flooding, the old church along with the town center, was transferred stone by stone to its current site in Sta. Clara.

Shrine of St. Antonio de Padua in Pila, Laguna.

Interior of St. Anthony church

There are about 600, 000 churches and 20 million chapels all over the Philippines while there are only 80 provinces, 143 cities and 1,491 municipalities in the country.  This means that there are multiple churches within cities and municipalities, and even within housing projects or subdivisions.

The more popular and widely known churches and cathedrals in the Philippines are the Manila Cathedral, the San Agustin Church, Sanctuario de san Antonio, Malate Church, Barasaoin Church in Malolos, the Baguio Cathedral, Antipolo Chruch's Nuestra Senora de Buenviaje, Quiapo Church of the Black Nazarene, Church of Obando or the San Pascual de Baylon Church,  Our Lady of Manaog Church, the Vigan Church, Church of St. Joseph in Las Pinas,  and the Basilica Minore de San Martin de Tours in Taal, Batangas, among many others.

I've been to some of these great churches myself. but have yet to see more.

Antipolo Church inscription.

Nuestra Senor de la Paz y Buen Viaje of Antipolo (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage)

Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal, Batangas is considered the largest church in the Philippines and in Asia

Aso't pusa.

Nuong maliliit pa kami, kapagka nag-aaway kaming magkakapatid agad sasabihin ni Nanay, "para kayong mga aso't pusa."

Kasi naman ang aso't pusa, kontra pelo talaga.  Pag nagkita, kahulan at girian ang mangyayari.

Ang magkakapatid madalas nag-aaway lalo pa't malilit pa lang. Kasi nag-aagawan ng laruan, kendi, komiks, at pagpansin ng magulang.

Pero ang nakalulungkot ay kung ang magkakapatid ay mag-aaway kung sila ay may mga isip na, may gulang na, magulang na. 

Tingnan natin ang mga artistang magkapatid na Christine Reyes at Ara Mina; awayan sa pera nauwi sa demanda. 

Nandyan din ang magkapatid na Gretchen Barreto at Claudine Barreto; hindi ko alam kung ano ang ugat ng awayan nila.

Sa aming pamilya, wala namang awayan, knock on wood, ika nga. Kung mayroon mang maliit na tampuhan, agad naisa aayos.  Palibhasa't nakikinig sa paliwanag ng bawa't isa, at nakiki ayon sa abiso ng pinakamatandang kapatid, o ate.

Malungkot kapag ang magkakapatid ay nag-aaway tungkol sa salapi, o ari ariang naiwan ng mga magulang. Magpupukulan ng masasakit na salita na hahantong sa di maikukumpuning lamat sa kanilang relasyon.

Iba ang away magkakapatid sa away ng magulang at anak. 

Sa away magulang at anak, mas malalim ang ugat at sugat. Nababatay ito sa mismong kautusan ng Dios.

Ang mga anak na naghurementado at di- iginalang ang magulang at di-nagpasintabi at di - humingi ng patawad ay sa impiyerno ang tuloy ng kaluluwa.  Nasa ika - apat na utos ng Dios. "Mahalin at igalang ang magulang."

Ang tanging magiging kasalanan ng magulang sa anak ay ang pagpapabaya at di pagkupkop sa supling.  Ang mga obligasyon ng magulang ay iluwal, arugain, mahalin, palakihin ng tama, at pag-aralin ang anak.

Hindi nga balanse.  Mas mabigat ang responsibilidad ng magulang. At ang tanging hiling ng Dios sa anak, ay igalang at mahalin ang magulang.

Kapag nakakakita ako ng mga batang namamalimos sa kalye, o pudpud ang gomang tsinelas o kumakaway sa labas ng Jolibee upang humingi ng tirang hamburger, sumasakit ang dibdib ko. 

Kasi naman pinalaki namin sa masaganang kapaligiran ang anak.  Inaruga, dinamitan, pinadala sa pinakamagaling na escuela.  Pinagpawisan ang bawa't pisong matrikula, ang pambili ng uniporme, ang pamasahe, ang pagkain sa mesa. Ipinagpakasakit ang pansariling luho para lang maibigay ang luho ng anak.

Napakalaking kawalanghiyaan kung ang anak na minahal at inaruga, at kinalinga ng magulang ay magiging suwail sa bandang huli. 

Ang walang utang na luob ay di magkakamit ng tagumpay.

Sabi nga ng iba't ibang pananaw, " ang mga taong di lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay di makararating sa paruruonan, at ang karma ay darating sa mga gumagawa ng mali.

Sa kristyanong tradisyon, ang anak na suwail at di gumalang sa magulang ay sa impierno ang bagsak. 

Mainit duon. Kaya ingat kayo.

Rebirth.

Water has always signified cleansing; that's why water is used in baptism.  John the Baptist baptized for the remission of and penance for sins.  But when he baptized Jesus of Nazareth at the River Jordan, he surely didn't mean to cleanse him because Christ has no sin and is perfect.  What John was asking was for Jesus to baptize him, but Jesus insisted that John baptize him.

Baptism in the Roman Catholic tradition is a signal that an individual becomes a member of the Church.  Jesus said, "Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

For Catholics, the sacrament is not a mere formality; it is the very mark of a Christian, because it brings us into new life in Christ. Baptism is thus, a rebirth.

In today's world, rebirth is an abused word.  It is used in promoting beauty and health products, in re-inventing oneselves, in proclaiming new discoveries, in labeling art, music and other activities, products, and concepts that are meant to attract sales and followers.

Sometimes, cosmetic products or cosmetic surgeries proclaim a "rebirth," a new you.  Drugs flaunt "new youth, new vigour."

But there are genuine "rebirths."  For instance, Born again is a dynamic Christian movement, being born anew into the Christian belief.  Likewise there are episodes in people's lives that connote a transformation into a newness,  a better state of being.

Likewise, there are individuals who choose a new life - a road paved in darkness.  There are parents who neglect or abort their children; there are daughters and sons who turn their backs on their elders; there are those who commit crimes, petty or major ones. 

Being "reborn" in the path of lightness, is a gift from God.  Because no matter how a human being struggle to attain or pay for medical interventions for physical, psychological, spiritual or economic healing, it is always the Creator who steers the wheel onto a straight road.  Yes, we who seek a "new life" must pedal the gas to jump start the process, but as always, we must depend on the Higher Authority to map and clear the route.

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!

Breaking Bread with Friends.

"Friends," the 1990's - 2000's America's top sitcom was not my favorite show; "Everybody Loves Raymond," was.

But when "Friends" went off the air, and I had free time due to my part-time retirement, I found a new chance to watch its reruns.  That's when I  discovered the bits and pieces of the friendship the four characters had.

This same route of seeing a show happened with Seinfeld.  When it was on its active telecast, I rarely watched it. But when it played on reruns, that's when I started watching it.

Funny, but I seem to enjoy more watching reruns.  Maybe this explains my ongoing fascination with the movie, "Back to the Future."  Whenever I find myself alone at home and have the urge to binge- eat on unhealthy food (chips, beer, peanuts, chocolates, etc), I would pop in my old video of Back to the Future I, sit back, relax and laugh. 

The scene where Marty McFly enters Hill Valley on the Saturday of Nov. 5, 1955 and "Mr. Sandman" playing,  never fails to excite me.  It's as if I were going back in time myself.

This love for the past, or nostalgia, happened in real time yesterday.

Wednesday, we had an extended lunch with some friends over at Mesa.  We enjoyed their cuisine tremendously.  Actually, last Monday, we were also at Mesa and a friend loved the food so much she asked us to meet there for lunch to meet another friend.

On Monday, we had tawilis with mango on a spoon as appetizer, seafood bean curd wansuy soup, pinaputok na tilapia with onions and tomatoes and the pride of Mesa - chicken adobo, mixed vegetables, and for dessert, turon with chocolate topping, and a San Mig for me, of course.

Yesterday, Nang Adors ordered pomelo salad with latik, sinuigang na salmon belly, crispy boneless tilapia served with four sauces, adobo baby squid with its own ink, green mango with bagoong, and another round of turon for our dessert.

The lunch was really intended to brush up on an important issue, but as always with old friends, it was a chance at lending assurance that no matter how long ago friends met each other, there would always be that same level of trust, camaraderie and love.

It was also a fitting way to welcome the start of the Holy Week (Holy Thursday), that of breaking bread with people whom you care about and who care for you.

Cycles.

Whenever I'm in Canada or the U.S., I do my own laundry. It's a breeze. You sort your clothes , drop the right number of quarters (if you're in a laundromat), put detergent and softener, choose the cycle ( whites, colored, delicates, perma press, etc), and wait.

Condo dwellers who don't have or are not allowed to have washing machine and dryers in their units, would usually bring their laundry in the Condo Laundry Room, and after loading the clothes, go up to their Unit, go down at the allotted time, transfer the clothes into the dryer, go up again, and come down when the drying cycle is done, usually about 50 minutes. Then, the folding of the clothes begin.

In condos, and even in rental apartments, the Laundry Rooms are clean and sanitized. There's always folding tables, big trash cans for the lint, and big, well lit areas for waiting.

Doing the laundry with the aid of machines is easy. Washing manually is a difficult task. "Washing dirty linens in public" is draining.

Inspite of this, more and more people wash their linens in public, in social sites, like the blog, facebook, and lately, tweeter.

Couple of days ago, I became a victim of violent behaviour from outside family. The matter is pending; suffice to say, I believe in exacting justice where justice is due.

We cannot allow dark outside forces ruin our lives. Instead, the Summum Bonum must prevail.

Summum bonum (Latin for the highest good) is an expression used in philosophy, particularly in medieval philosophy and in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, to describe the ultimate importance, the singular and most ultimate end which human beings ought to pursue. The summum bonum is generally thought of as being an end in itself, and at the same time containing all other goods.

In Christian philosophy, the highest good is usually defined as the life of the righteous, the life led in Communion with God and according to God's precepts.

Family is summum bonum. Control by so-called beloved may lead to battery, as already seen from early stages. Heed the righteous path, child. Family always awaits.

Unceremonious.

Ceremony. Rite.  The Catholic Mass is a rite for the faithful.  It is a beautiful ceremony that glorifies God.  I read of a Protestant minister who converted to Catholicism because he found the Catholic rites so much beautiful, sacred and a true tribute to Jesus.

Aside from the mass itself, other beautiful Catholic rites include baptism, confirmation, and wedding.

My father was a Catholic while my mother was an Aglipay.  So we, children except for two, were all first baptized as Aglipays, then were converted to Catholicism. 

Unceremonious.  Without the due formalities, abrupt. Some relationships, engagements, and friendships are ended without any formal notices.

The parties involved could choose closure; others simply coast along, some get hitched, for the right or wrong reasons; still others wander from one relationship to another.

Monte Maria. Awesome!

Left - Replica of the Statue which will rise at the Monte Maria Shrine in Batangas.

Father Jeff officiating at the Sunday Mass, Oct 25, 2009

Mountain View - 

Here is where the Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be located.

View from Monte Maria Shrine.

Witness.

I speak from the heart. And from what I actually saw. Others won't believe. May even laugh. But it actually happened.

The other day, we went to attend Fr. Fernando Suarez' healing mass at the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Makati. A friend who lives in the parish got us tickets to the mass.

Father Suarez "touched" all the people who attended. He even asked what ailed me, and when told I suffer from a right ear impairment due to bike accident, he blew into my ear, and now, my hearing has improved a lot.

But another GREAT miracle happened to Toys (not real name). As we were exiting the church area, I decided to buy rosaries which were hand-made by the children whom the Foundation was helping. I only had 150 Philippine money and American money in my wallet at that time, and the local money translated into three rosaries.

I wanted more to give to relatives. Toys gave another 100 pesos for two more rosaries. And Toys gave 100 pesos during the collection.

Going home, Toys got hungry and asked me to drive to Glorietta for lunch. At the Food Court, I told Toys I'd get money from the ATM; no credit card accepted at the food stall.

No, Toys said; she'd pay for lunch. But Toys needed to go to an ATM too as her wallet was almost empty of cash; we, people nowadays don't carry cash, do we?

Anyways, Toys just had enough cash for the lunch. And lots of coins in a sandwich bag. I saw her wallet as she was paying.

I drove Toys home. When it was time for me to collect the car from the parking lot, Toys opened her wallet and screamed " where did this money come from?"

I looked when she showed me the wallet. Right there, staring at us, were a bunch of bills, FRESH TWENTIES AND ONE HUNDRED BILLS! Six hundred in all when Toys counted.

All together, Toys spent 200 pesos during the healing mass, and me, 150 pesos. Three hundred fifty in all. Six hundred filled her wallet out of nowhere. So the money spent got doubled.

Until now, Toys has not told a soul of this heavenly incident; she feels people won't believe if she's the one to tell it. I told a sister. And wrote in this blog so people may know.

Toys gave me 120 Philippine money from that "miracle heap," and told me not to spend it. Of course, I won't. She's giving her daughter some, also as keepsake and good (GOD) luck.

We couldn't believe. Then, we believed. A miracle.

Toys was not praying for money. She has enough. So we were asking ourselves the meaning of the miracle. Before the mass, we were talking of each other's relatives - of aiding, of tough love, of teaching certain people how to fish instead of giving them fish.

Father Fernando's Foundation seeks to build a city-village to empower the poor through economic and spiritual renewal. I believe the multiplication miracle took place as an answer to our dilemma - do we actually help loved ones through dole outs or shall we teach them how to fish? The answer can be gleaned from one of the objectives of Father Suarez' Foundation and that is, to help the poor by teaching/training them in livelihood projects.

Toys is a most generous person in this planet. She gives. She feeds relatives. She was blessed again during the healing mass.

I already got money from the ATM; in Manila, you have to get from the machine almost everyday as money disappears almost the minute you take it out. But the "miracle money" is tucked - neatly folded - inside my wallet.

Multiplication of bread and fish. I witnessed it.

Be healed.

Father Fernando Suarez is a Fil-Canadian priest, well known for his healing masses. His foundation is spearheading the construction of Monte Maria, a village soon to rise in Batangas City which will boast of the world's highest statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I remember a well-known female writer who recently wrote about the lack of historical and important edifices and landmarks in the Philippines in her newspaper column;  I guess this is an answer to your "dream."  

I have never attended any of Fr. Suarez' healing masses in Canada.  But today, I did. At the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Bangkal, Makati.

A friend got us tickets for the mass, so we drove, got lost and finally found the church located in Capinpin, an area where the streets are named after famous Filipino generals, like Gen .Tinio, Luna, and Lucban.

The church was in the interior of one-way streets near a Police Station.  By God's grace, we reached the place at exactly 10 am, found a parking spot in a side street and as we approached the church, the group of Fr. Suarez was entering the church premises.

Fr. Suarez' homily was both funny and a bit scathing; he talked about the country as being the only Catholic nation in the Far East and yet, the most corrupt.  Where churches and communities, while professing their faith, also have neigbourhoods and church leaders who fill their time with gossips and acting like the Pharisees - the know it alls. 

I agreed to attend the healing mass because of my mother's condition and ailment; I was told to bring a photo of my mother which I offered to Fr. Suarez so that she may be "healed" of any pain and physical suffering that she may have.

When it was my turn to be "touched" by Fr Suarez, he asked what ails me;  As I have many, I told him of one - my right ear which lost some hearing to a motorbyke accident ( I was a passenger and it landed on its side so I broke my right big toe and hit my ear in the pavement which resulted in impaired hearing).

Fr. Suarez blew air into my right ear and touched my upper torso.  I felt good and from what I can tell, my hearing in my right ear has improved.  Previously, I can hear fine all the sound, even the faintest ones - but I find it difficult sometimes to hear the exact words, especially if I don't wear my eyeglasses, and if people don't enunciate properly.

Thank you, Fr. Fernando and Praise God!

Some people got "slain," which I've never experienced personally.

On the way back to Sucat, we ate at Glorietta in Makati; it was so different from the Glorietta I saw in 2005.

I salivated for siopao and mami at Kowloon, and also for buchi.

The day was complete.  Healing is what I really needed.  From a lot of things. 

The Church in the Mall.

LEFT - Sta. Ana Church in Manila

Left Below - Santiago de Compostela in Spain

First cousins Elaine, Lorna, Jun, Bebot, Kirth, and Abe took us "four balikbayans" to Trinoma in Q.C, then to Greenbelt in Makati for some great food and conversation.

At Greenbelt, we went to visit the chapel and in progress was the Anticipated Mass for October 4th, Sunday. We were lucky because it just started.

On our way to a restaurant, one of my sisters said that was her first time to be in a church inside a mall. I told her there are several malls in Manila now which house chapels and hold masses.

I don't know if this church-inside-a-mall is a unique concept in the Philippines; all I know is that it is a very good idea. And I know this set up got started right after EDSA I when the EDSA Shrine was constructed outside the Robinson's Mall/Galleria. Then SM MegaMall built a temporary chapel, and other malls followed suit.

Today, even condominiums hold Sunday masses in their premises; residents don't have to travel - mass goes to their residences.

What do all these lead to or mean for us?

Are we blending personal entertainment and worship of God too much? Are we getting so lazy that we could no longer travel to go into God's House? Or have the merchandisers and developers gotten shrew-der that they started to use "religion and worship" as one of the "amenities and features" and USP's of their products?

Last Thursday, driving through Quezon Avenue, I passed by the Sto. Domingo church. And because of the traffic, I was across the church for a good ten minutes. I remember Sto. Domingo as the church where the late Sen. Benigno Aquino was interred after he was gunned down at the tarmac. It was the site of endless queues of people who went there to get a last glimpse of Ninoy. Cardinal Sin was still alive at that time.

I miss the great old churches of Manila. Sta. Ana Church of my childhood days; Quiapo Church to which my aunt took me on Fridays; San Antonio de Padua on Loreto in Sampaloc every Tuesday with my aunt; Baclaran on Wednesdays, with my aunt and mother, and the Paco Church in Plaza Dilao, the church of my alma mater, Paco Catholic School. And later on when I was already grown up, St. Jude by the Malacanan Palace on Thursday afternoons after classes in U.P. Diliman.

When I migrated to the U. S. and then to Canada, the first church I went to regularly was the Holy Cross in Steubenville. It was a small and modern structure; none of the grandeur of the Manila churches I used to go to. In New Jersey, I went to two churches - both old and big. And in lower/downtown Manhattan during my lunch break, I used to attend mass in a Presbyterian church for lack of a Catholic church. But soon, I found a Catholic church.

Of course, there was the occasional mass at the St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue.

In Canada, my first church was St. Patrick's in Mississauga, then later, St. Anne's at Gerrard. Next was the Perpetual Help in St. Claire, then St. Anselm, and finally John XXIII and the St. Michael's Cathedral.

In Spain, the churches evoke so much of Catholic and Philippine history. Seeing them, you are transported in time and you'd suddenly realize that those were the churches where the friars sent to the Philippines probably came from.