Monday, November 24, 2008

Pwede pala pinoy

RECENTLY two of our volunteers visited a computer school. They were there to talk before five classes about an initiative popularizing heroic Christian citizenship and leadership. Each class averaged 12 to 15 students in their late teens until early 20s.

The team started with the question: “Is there still hope in the country today?” The results were an eye opener. On the average, about a third of the class would not raise their hands either way. Usually only two would be in the affirmative while the rest said “no.” Although the survey laid no claim to being scientific, the results were nevertheless disturbing. They were, after all, young people who are supposed to be brimming with hope. Nor was this the first time we had encountered such phenomenon. Why is this so?

Even more recently, the same two volunteers asked the same question before a different group of around 30 young men of the same age range as the aforementioned group. All but two of them confidently raised their hands when asked if there is still hope in the country. They were college seminarians. Why is this so?

There is an unfolding drama in our country today. It has five acts: Ganito na lang ba tayo? Tama na, sobra na! Kaya natin to! Pwede pala! Masarap pala ang magpakabait at sumama sa mga nagpapakabait.

The first two acts could lead to a quite kind of quiet desperation perhaps manifested by the computer students, who, for whatever reason, may feel they are facing a blank wall and may feel that only by working abroad would they experience hope. The seminarians, somehow, felt hopeful. Is this because of their regular exposure to the transcendent dimensions of life? One would like to think so.

Hope is key to a meaningful human existence. Without it, people cannot do anything substantial and sustained. Remove hope and the present has no meaning, the future cannot be planned. Despair paralyzes. A person in despair does not feel any space for meaningful and productive action. He or she is hemmed in from all sides. There is no breathing space, just a pressing void.
How do we ignite hope? For the Christian, “All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action” (Spe Salvi 35). This explains why all 25 hands of women from a nearby barangay shot up when asked if there is still hope in the country. They were involved in a program called Kuwarta sa Basura and impelled by their faith to work together with others to improve their lot. Solidarity, i.e. a “firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, i.e., to the good of all and each individual because we are really responsible for all” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 38), manifests and contributes to hope. “The problems of modern society are too complex and interdependent. They have to be approached through the moral and social virtue of solidarity” (CFC 1194).

But our little hopes need to be united to the great hope. As Benedict XVI puts it: “We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain” (Spe Salvi 31). Individuals who have connected their little hopes to the God of hope can be living examples that ignite hope in others.

Thomas Friedman, author of the well-known book, The World is Flat, writes about the power of example: “One good example is worth a thousand theories.” Moral theologians have recognized the power of good as well as bad examples. “The bad example may bring about an obscuration of values and norms,” as Piet Schoonenberg wrote. It is not far-fetched to surmise that bad examples of leaders, elders who are supposed to lead by example, contribute to the damping of hope of the aforementioned young people.

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) is about the risk God takes when He endows human beings with gifts and resources. Those who multiply the gifts by “investing” these in faith are given even more responsibilities and share in God’s intimacy. There is no guarantee, however, that it will always turn out this way. Fear, sloth, and rationalization can lead to unfruitfulness and uninspiring lives. Yet for those who respond positively, their work benefits others, as shown by the succeeding passage in Matthew 25:31-46 (Last Judgment). Such individuals who respond with courage, compassion, and creativity become living examples of hope who ignite hope in others.

There are many sparks of hope in our country today. They are people who, impelled by their Christian faith and their love for country, have crossed borders to work with others for the common good. Their stories need to be told, heard, and retold to as many people as possible. They pass with flying colors the questions Romano Guardini raised in Power and Responsibility: “Does their sense of responsibility affect their public as well as their private lives? Do our rulers (leaders) impress us as a people who know what their duties ultimately involve and who tackle them accordingly? Is every public servant’s measure of power counterbalanced by strength of character, adequate understanding of human existence, and a fitting moral attitude? Has an ethic of power evolved from a real coming to grips with the phenomenon of power?”

One is a simple and honest Protestant PNP colonel who, as a young captain, had worked closely with a barangay captain, a Catholic woman in her late 60s, and their collaboration bore much fruit for the common good. There is also a retired university professor who doggedly promotes scientific methods and a marketing perspective among farmers to improve their lot—and data show the program is succeeding. Another is a middle-class family that has made a difference in the lives of the students of a public elementary school. Still others are elected officials who show that moral and effective leadership is still possible. Talagang masarap pala ang magpakabait! Pwede Pala! Pwede Diay!

On Saturday 29 November 2008, Dilaab will feature these and several other Christian witnesses in Pwede Pala Pinoy at the Sacred Heart School—Jesuits in Cebu City. The event is a story-telling festival, highlighting 4 story themes in a creative and youth-friendly manner. The stories will be told to a large crowd of more than a thousand, with several participants coming outside of Cebu. If there are gatherings featuring certain aspects of the Church’s life, e.g. the Bible, liturgy, etc, why not something on faith-impelled social transformation?
Yes, there is hope!

(For comments, kindly email: exposition@dilaab.net)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

padre,
may nabuo po ang barkadahan naming mga bloggers na isang blog prayer brigade. ito po ay naglalayong ipanalangin ang darating na 2010 National elections. Bagamat di naman po kami nga politically driven na bloggers o isang formal na organisasyon (minsan nga po eh puro lang po kami kalokohan o kababawan sa blog namin), naniniwala po kami na tunay na makapangyarihan ang panalangin upang maghatid pagbabago para sa ating bansa. Medyo may mga nahikayat na kami sa mga kaibigan namin at unti unti na pong dumarami kami na nananalangin para sa ating mga susunod na pinuno. Pakidalaw na lang po, padre ang mga links na ito at tingnan nyo rin po sana ang mga naglinks na sa amin. Nakakatuwa po kasi halu-halong katoliko at protestante na po ang mga sumali at nagdasal. Maraming salamat po!

http://bluepanjeet.net/1588/blog-prayer-brigade-for-the-future-president-of-the-philippines/

http://utoysaves.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/magdasal-dasal-ka-na/

http://ifoundme.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/blog-prayer-brigade-for-the-future-president-of-the-philippines/