A piece of New York in Laoag (A Repost)

October 2. I am inside a car right now which will bring me, Fr. Joel, Fr. Nars and Lo Dennis to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. It is a great time to go up north when leaves start to turn yellow, orange and red. I am a nature-lover, and it has always been my wish to see North America in autumn. Although summer seems fighting to keep itself felt and green is still the dominant color, I’m just glad to be on this road where the beauty of autumn is now written on the trees.

I, together with Fr. Joel, strolled through the streets of Manhattan yesterday, as we did last year. I love New York. What makes the home of the Knicks amazing to me is that, although downtown Manhattan is a jungle of skyscrapers, tall, verdant trees stand majestically along the streets which waves of men and women in suit as well as those trying hard to live a New Yorker’s life traverse every day of rat-race. When I walk amid pairs of maple or elm trees that line busy streets, I feel I am on that spot of the world where I just want to be.

We took the subway to 96th St. to go to Central Park. That street hits the middle of the park. We could have gone as far as 106th St. in the north and stroll all the way down to the southern tip of the park, but because it is so vast a park an hour would never be enough to enjoy it, we decided to go down at 96th. I missed Central Park last year, and I was not going to let this opportunity to enjoy nature in the middle of Manhattan, including the possibility of spotting at least a couple of Hollywood stars, pass me by a second time. And there I was relishing every inch of that American parks system masterpiece. The trees, the ponds, the bridges, the cafes are exactly where they should be. No actor appeared yesterday, but being at Central Park was joy enough. I was just a tourist in New York, but something told me this is paradise for New Yorkers and even for tourists like me, a haven amid the hustle and bustle of exhausting American life so characteristic of the metropolitan northeast. It is an oasis in the desert of what would otherwise be boring buildings. It is the crowning glory of the financial capital of the world, not the New York Stock Exchange Building on Wall Street, nor the Empire State Building, although New York is called the Empire State. New York is not New York without the Central Park. Well, that’s according to me.

I sat beside, well, not too near, a young lady who lay herself on the bench. She was reading a book. Several were just lying on the green carpet. A black man was walking his two dogs. European and Asian tourists, including a Filipino couple based in California, walked past me. A pair of what seemed to me were teen couples were enjoying their walk while chatting. Birds and squirrels had their own ways of relishing their moments. Further away, the big pockets were sipping their whisky, brandy or cognac in the café. Everything was perfect.

What if the space was used to hold more buildings and not the 26,000 trees it now protects? It could have meant more money for the city and the state. But the powers that be, visionaries as they were, opted to dedicate this portion of the land for the creation of a park, thus hallowing it, for by its ponds, on the benches, along its pathways or upon its green spread, the God of creation might be encountered.

And then I suddenly felt the intense desire for a Central Park in my home city of Laoag arrest me. I wanted to see a park, a greenery, a huge garden, in the heart of Laoag where the young and old, the big pockets and those who can hardly make both ends meet, relax and just be themselves, as I was doing.

The space where I am imagining the Central Park could be is presently the site of the Central Elementary School. There are now talks about moving the school to a more conducive location. If the transfer is carried out, I’d be jumping about to see a Central Park there, and not anything else.

It’s autumn in America. The idea of putting a piece of New York in that little space of Laoag may be nothing else but wishful thinking. Be that as it may, I’m still like a leaf holding on to the tree about that wish, praying not to blown away by a heartless, tempestuous wind or to be left taken for granted until it falls. I’m not about to hoist the white flag of surrender. Autumn may turn to winter, when everything would be frozen. But who knows, there are still people somewhere whose hearts aren’t and who share my wish of seeing spring come alive on that space in Laoag.

December 24 (Lk. 1,67-79): After John

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and set them free.”

For like forever, the Israelites had to struggle against the oppression of the Egyptians. They cried out to God for help. Mindful of his servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of his promise that he would always be there for them (for that is what Yahweh means), he wrought the magnificent event of the Exodus, through the hands of Moses, to liberate them.

But there is a far more onerous and a far harsher oppression that all humanity has to run a way from. It is the oppression of sin. Now, Zechariah, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed that God had already raised up a mighty Savior to liberate humanity from this oppression. The coming of the Savior had been foretold by the prophets as a fulfillment of the promise of God. John, his son, would be great, for he would go before this Savior to prepare his way and point him out when he came. As yet, humanity walked in darkness. And the Savior would be the Light to scatter this and to guide them as they walked the way of peace. The Savior is Jesus, the Son of Mary.

John’s mission, as his name indicates, was to proclaim, by word and action, that God is compassionate. He did this precisely by preparing the way for the Lord so that humanity could go to him. It is only by following a way that we get somewhere. Without a way, we could not reach Jesus, who is rich in mercy and compassion.

John taught that the way to Jesus is repentance for our sins. Repentance makes “the windings straight and the rough ways smooth”. With a repentant heart, Jesus can come to us and we can go to him so that we may be forgiven of our sins. There is no other way by which we can meet God and gain salvation. Jesus himself appeared proclaiming, “Reform your lives!” Repentance is the way to salvation. This is the way we are all enjoined to go. There is no better way to prepare for his coming than to stop our sinfullness and set straight the way that leads to us. Reaching us, he, the Light, may begin to shine anew in our life.

The Light did not come to shine only for us. It is our vocation to be a little light for others who are finding their way to Jesus. Let us not leave them wandering in the dark. Let us show them the way – the way of repentance, of reform, of change of heart.

Following the way of John and trusting in the tender compassion of God, may we all find our feet on the way towards the peace and salvation of Jesus.

December 23 (Lk. 1,57-66): What Will This Child Be?

I consider my family my greatest treasure. I am how I am today largely because of my family. I am the Fr. Tom standing before you today because of my family.

When a child is born, people get to ask: “What will this child be?” Will he be a doctor, or a lawyer, or an engineer, or an executive, or a manager, or a priest? Will she be a nurse, or a teacher, or a midwife, or a religious? Will he be respectful and obedient, intelligent and talented? Or will he be a drunkard like his father, or a gambler like his uncle? Will she be a gossiper like her mother, or unfaithful like her aunt?

When you and I were born, this question might have also been asked. Many things might have run across the minds of our parents and relatives, many dreams woven into their minds. As we grew up, we may have achieved some of these, or we may have missed whatever was dreamed for us. There is one basic dream for every child: that he grow up in grace and wisdom, just like Jesus under the loving care of Joseph and Mary.

But how are our children raised these days? They are left under the care of the nanny, who leaves them in front of the television unsupervised. A few years back, a TV channel carried the news about a four year old boy who always watched TV – guns, killings, violence. One day, after watching on TV a man killing somebody with a gun, he went to his parent’s room, took his father’s gun, went to his yaya, pointed the gun at her, and, puuuh, the yaya lay lifeless on the floor.

Several years ago, computers were only accessible, aside from office workers, to college students. Now, almost everybody, including pre-schoolers, can take advantage of the wonders of the computer, where everything is just a click away. In this age of information technology, one can hardly keep in step with the world without a computer. Use the computer, we must. But who knows what other sites our children are visiting? Consider the stream of negative influences the internet may have on a person.

“What will this child be?” Such a question of great importance! A question that must be asked by both parents and children.

All of us are children, reared by our parents. Perhaps, we children should look at ourselves and ask: How am I? What am I doing with my life? What are my dreams? What are the things that matter to me? What are my priorities? What are the things I believe in? Where is the family in my world, in my consciousness? Is my family my greatest treasure? How is my relationship with my parents, my brothers and sisters? Am I open to them? Do I care about how they feel? All parents wish the best for their children. This is why parents work so hard to be able to send their children to the best schools and assure them of a brighter future. Do I value the way my parents care for me? Do I think my parents, my family, are happy with how I am now? We forget that it is in the family that we learn the basics of life. It is in the family that we feel most secure, energized and revitalized. It is within the family that we find real peace and sense of belonging. Regrettably, many of us take our families for granted until it’s too late. Scripture says, “Jesus went down with Joseph and Mary and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them . . . and increased in wisdom.”

Parents, do you honestly think you had been and continue to be the best parents that you can be to your children? Do you make an effort to bring yourselves close to your children and understand them? Do you care about how they feel and what they think? Are you aware about the difficulties they go through, their problems, their confusions? Our children may be okay and silent in the outside, but exploding and screaming in the inside. Are you happy to see what your children have become? Do you think your children are happy that they have you as their parents? Parents should realize that every child wants to belong to a good, holy, peaceful and respectable family. Parents need to be keenly aware with everything that happens inside the family and listen to what God may be saying. They must imitate Mary who treasured everything in her heart. There were many tragic events that happened to her family, things that were hard to understand, but she meditated on them in the light of God’s word. Parents must remain aware that they are the primary educators of their children. Not the television, not the laptop or the internet or any other medium of communication, not the barkada. They must be vigilant and protective of their children so that they may become like Jesus, who grew to be an obedient child to Joseph and Mary, or like John, who must have been docile to Zechariah and Elizabeth.

“What will this child be?” This question is important to God, too. Every one of us has been created in His image and likeness. He has great plans for us. But we frustrate his plans because we just do what we want to do although what we want may be contrary to his will. As God’s children, we must follow the example of Jesus who said, “I must be in my Father’s house. I must be about his things. I must follow what he wants.” No father or mother desires the ruin of his or her children, but that they become as God intended them to be that they may be happy in this life. Do we think God is happy with how we are spending our time on earth?

I love my family. If I were given a second shot at life, I would happily choose to be born again into the family built by my father and mother with love and care. Our life as a family may be ordinary and simple, but there is genuine loving and caring. Having my family as I know it, I can say, “It’s great to be alive.”

Can you say that, too?

(Some points were shared by a friend, Sherween Saquing.)