After All

Last night, I was at home watching EWTN. I saw in the video the path Jesus took when He was in the Holy Land doing His ministry. It was amazing seeing the synagogue, St. Peter's House, the jar used in the wedding feast at Cana, Mt. Tabor where the transfiguration took place, Mt. Olives where Jesus taught the Beatitudes, Sea of Galilee, the well where Mama Mary and Jesus fetch water and many holy places touched by our Lord Jesus Christ. I really felt humble seeing those places. There was a feeling of contentment deep in my heart knowing that those places bear witness of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the narrators, those places and some of the things existed way back 100 B.C. The Jordan river where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist looks calm, clear and refreshing.

The Bible tells a lot of story about Jesus and seeing the setting in the video gives me a clear picture how the things happened.

The word of God says that everything will pass. Only His words will remain. The world is in constant change but some places and things may have changed due to the passage of time. Their age only tells that once, they have been part of God's salvation of human kind. From the Bible, Jesus told us about three things that will last - faith, hope and love but the greatest of them is love.

Sometimes, I forget these things due to circumstances I encounter but it doesn't diminish God's Love. If I fix my eyes on heavenly things, I feel that everything is useful and meaningful. Everything will end but after all, we are content in God's loving embrace.

Muslim Holiday: IDIL PITIR

This is one of the landmarks here in Koronadal, "The Rounball", a guide that points to different cities and municipalities connecting the parts of Mindanao.


October 1, 2008

Dear Blog,

Today is declared holiday by the President in observance of the last day of Ramadan or fasting of Muslims in the Philippines. For us Christians, we respect their celebration because it is their freedom to worship and exercise their beliefs.

It is good to know that Muslims are given the chance nationwide to perform their religious activities. It is one way of showing that we are in a free country where Muslims and Christians can co-exist and live in peace. For a long time, war in Mindanao has been a problem for the government. But this kind of war should not be construed to be a religious conflict because it is entirely different. Actually there is no problem with being a Christian or a Muslim because the right to worship is provided in our constitution. We are all brothers and sisters and as Filipinos, we should not prevent anybody whether Christian, Muslim, Taoist, Buddhist, etc. to freely exercise the freedom to worship.

The freedom to worship as provided by our constitution does not require a particular god to be worshipped. Yes, there are differences in our beliefs and practices because we have different religions and interpretations but let us be aware that in any religious order, the basic foundation is love. Deep in the bottom of our hearts is the discernment of love against hate. If there is one thing I have learned from studying in Mindanao State University, a free campus where Christians and Muslims study, that is the understanding that rather than discussing the many differences we have, let us take into consideration the similarities in our beliefs.

One of the similarities we have is the fact that we are all human beings. We are not animals. There is only One who created us. We are rational. To act against one's welfare is against human rights. The rights we have given in our constitution are all based on the Divine Law.

Brian Adams in his book How To Succeed has written that the Golden Rule is the same in all Holy Books. Let us look at these:

• CHRISTIANITY    : All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them.
  
• ISLAM        : No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
  
• JUDAISM        : What is hurtful to yourself, do not to your fellowman. That is the whole law, the rest is commentary.
  
• BRAHMANISM    : This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain, if done unto you.
  
• BUDDHISM        : Hurt not other in ways that you yourself finds hurtful.
  
• CONFUCIANISM    : Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.
  
• TAOISM        : Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain; and you neighbor's loss as your own loss.
  

Indeed, they bear similarity that is to love our fellowmen in the same way we love ourselves. When we do something good to our brothers without prejudice, we will feel the real peace within ourselves. Peace in Mindanao is so elusive because somehow the real root of insurgency is not cured. To attribute this kind of war to differences in beliefs is superficial for deep down lies a "cancer" that threatens not only the Philippine government but even the smallest unit of our society.

We are so blessed here in Mindanao because we have not experienced the blows of calamities unlike in other parts of our country however; the pace to move forward is slow due to existing war. Let's start to get up in the slumber of pitiful fate of Mindanaoans. Let's bring real peace to grow in the once known as Land of Promise and make Mindanao soar like it never did before. I urge the different parties of war to give peace a chance so that we can take off. Let's drop bombs of challenge to everyone.