Tropical Paradise .... a Christmas Story

They used to say that cannabis was a ‘gateway’ drug, often leading users down the dark path to the misery of narcotics addiction and death. It’s the same with sin; there are certain gateway sins, for example, self-pity, which is a rather common delusion and leads swiftly to envy, jealousy, greed and so on.

Sometimes when I tell people I live on a tropical island they can easily imagine that I work on the beach for an hour, jump on the Jet Ski and go out to my yacht for lunch, take an afternoon drive in the Aston Martin and back for a sumptuous dinner at my villa sitting on the cool marble terrace with a beautiful sunset. The life of luxury!

Of course living in the third world isn’t quite like that and at times I too can have a bit of self pity living in the cramped, sweltering, polluted metropolis of Manila where beauty spots are as rare as hen’s teeth and the average weekly wage looks more like a good hourly rate from the UK. I even had to trade in the Aston for a bus pass!

There is however one redeeming feature in the third world which is both inescapable and constant. You cannot walk more than 100 yards before you meet someone worse off than you are.

On my Christmas morning search to find an open shop to get a can of fruit salad, I came across a family who live on an island in the middle of a dual carriageway: husband, wife, mother-in-law and two children under a tarpaulin. While I was in the shop, I was prompted to get a few groceries for them too and selected a few items which could be prepared easily on the street. When I handed them over to the wife, I noticed she was also heavily pregnant..

The antidote to self-pity is probably gratitude to the God, who, whilst not giving equally to all, does nonetheless provide for all the needs of all of us in our temporary dwellings on earth. If life is uncomfortable, that’s probably a good thing, because we were never made for this world, bliss is only for the next world. This life provides us all the opportunities we need to get to the real life we were made for, eternal life in heaven.

One Nation Under God

 

In 1954 President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," to the pledge of allegiance. America was then in its golden age, still being forged by what is referred to as the ‘greatest generation’. The faith and morals of that generation being a natural endorsement of the sentiment expressed. Even into the sixties it was still evident in national identity. 

One spectacular achievement of those times during the cold war and space race was the Apollo 8 mission; the first time man had left his home planet and ventured into space beyond earth’s orbit and saw our world from above. And on Christmas Eve as they made their final orbits of the moon; there was to be a short window of opportunity for the astronauts to deliver a TV broadcast, via NASA to the people on earth. Everyone gathered around their TV’s or Radio and as we looked for the first time at the earth rise the message was given: "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."… 

It was a witness, not only to the atheistic Soviet union whom they had beaten to the goal, but a declaration to the world of who they were as a nation; a simple, faithful people who acknowledged His sovereignty. 

In the decades which followed we have seen an astonishing reversal and downward spiral in faith and morals to the degree that as Billy Graham’s late wife put it “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Decriminalization of abortion and sodomy during the seventies and more recently gay marriage and the insanity of gender ideology illustrate the extent of man’s rejection of God, now prevalent in society. 

The most terrifying prospect for the USA though is not that God would punish them or try to chastise the population and bring about repentance, no, that would be a blessing. What is worse is that He would accept their decision and withdraw His hand and leave the nation alone, to harden their hearts further (like the ancient Egyptians) until the society reaches the full extent of ruin. 

God sees the hearts of men and nations and He offers either justice or mercy as we wish. 

St Anthony's Brief

In the 13th century, a Portugese woman who’d been demonically oppressed resolved to do the unthinkable by taking her own life by drowning herself in the Tagus River. On her way to the river, she passed a shrine erected in honor of the great orator and miracle-worker, St. Anthony of Padua. She stopped to pray, one last time. As she prayed, she saw St. Anthony standing before her, saying, “’Arise woman, and take this paper, which will free you from the molestations of the Evil One.” Then he gave her a parchment inscribed with what is now known as the “Brief (i.e., “Letter”) of St. Anthony,” 1 and she was now free from demonic oppression and the desire to do away with herself.

News of this miracle spread, even to the King who asked the woman for the Brief. He placed it with the Crown Jewels of Portugal, which was fine for the King, but bad for the woman. After the Brief was no longer with her, she began to weaken and lapse, so the King made a copy for her that restored her to her healed state. Other copies of the Brief were spread to help the faithful fight the Evil One and remind them that Christ has conquered.

Behold, the Cross of the Lord! Begone, all evil powers! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, The Root of David, has conquered! Alleluia, Alleluia!

The Mysterious Chambers of the Human Heart

My doctor informed me of a 'blip' on my ECG scan, picked up as part of a routine annual physical examination. I was reminded of a saying by the stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius:- 'death stands at your elbow' and for a moment I could feel the grip of his icy fingers.

What followed was a series of heart tests to determine the problem. One in particular built on the incident and is only amusing with hindsight.

As I checked-in at the clinic for the treadmill stress test I was asked to sign a waiver, the gist of which was that if I died during the test that it wasn’t their fault and they would not be sued. Although they would make every effort to resuscitate me.

On entering the room the test was being conducted in, I observed little to offer any reassurance. There was an enormous treadmill, a bench; presumably to lay out the corpses of those who don’t complete the test and the menacing hum of a conveniently located defibrillator.

The only thing missing, as I later emerged undefeated, was a disappointed looking undertaker handing me his business card for the 'Happy Ending' funeral parlor and the quip, ‘see you later’.

Medieval art often contains a skull or skeleton to remind the viewer of death. And in a way it’s good to reflect on its inevitability so that our hearts are prepared for it by living lives of faith, adorned with works of mercy. Perhaps especially now in November, we have that chance to reach out to the Holy Souls through our prayers; they were once as we are, and we will soon be as they are …but not yet.

You have saved the best wine until last

The founder of the Catholic TV station EWTN, Mother Angelica, often reminded the elderly members of her audience that ‘old age is the best wine’ when it comes to our prayer life and our dynamism as intercessors or prayer warriors. 

This is counter cultural as in our day, youth, strength and beauty are idolized by society at large and the elderly are often overlooked and forgotten. But for believers who have spent their lives walking with their Saviour, deepening their relationship with Him and have experienced His power and love in their lives – this is the time to sprint the last hundred yards into His Kingdom!

I saw a good illustration of this in Star Wars (Episode 3) where the contemplative Jedi Master ‘Yoda’ engages in battle with the Sith Lord (the devil character). Yoda has a face that has seen many winters, his back is bent over, he walks slowly with a cane but as the fight begins and he draws his light saber, he is animated by the force (the Holy Spirit character) and flies through the air, bouncing around the room as his inner life becomes visible in all its strength and energy for good. The sword ‘does not sleep in his hand’.

The elderly are the treasure of the church and every prayer, ache and pain are useful in building the kingdom; for some, walking upstairs to the bathroom is like a climb to Calvary, a mighty act of intercession it can be…

Perhaps Tennyson spotted this when he wrote:-

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' 

We are not now that strength which in old days 

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; 

One equal temper of heroic hearts, 

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

A Light in The Darkness

There are many good charities here in the Philippines (and all are needed) but mostly they serve the ‘easier poor’ where a scholarship or livelihood training program can yield a tangible and swift result. Below this are levels of more intense suffering, that of the scavengers and beggars who have no voice and very few to speak for them or reach out to them.

Drop-in Center 

During the pandemic however, when things were about to become catastrophic for them, a Catholic group stepped in. The Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation run by the Divine Word Missionaries were already running a drop-in center for street people where they could get a hot meal and take a bath and wash their clothes as well as receive instruction in the faith. So it has faith as its primary focus. 

Drop-in Center

They quickly formed partnerships with some Catholic universities whose facilities were opened up to house the homeless and missionaries and volunteers provided the food for several months. They also provided for many others who had lost jobs and fallen on hard times during the lockdown; a local park is still the venue where several hundred people a day queue in for lunch. 

 

in De La Salle University during Lockdown

Near Luneta Park ... daily meal distribution

Best of all is a new residential community they have opened to enable some to get off the streets and to finish their education and/or undertake skills training to lead them back into work and the mainstream of society. Its first intake are both young and old, each with their own story, from former gang members, or drug users and many others discarded by society. But here their often tragic past can be redeemed and the future infused with a new hope. Like in Luke 19:10 ‘for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.'

Bahay Kalinga Center

For more information or to help viait :-    AJ Kalinga Foundation

A tree and its Fruits

 

The road to racial equality in America has been a long and bumpy one; fortunately the leadership of the movements that progressed it successfully have done so in a particular way. 

The early abolitionists were escaped slaves; one of the most prolific was Harriet Tubman who had a wonderful simple trust in God. After escaping herself to the north she began her work of leading others to freedom and made countless journeys to the south to rescue slaves and lead them back. The slave owners placed a bounty on her head but she had no fear of capture despite often being within a few feet of search parties. Her trust in God was absolute, a legacy from her own father who despite being a slave almost all his life trusted and loved his Savior, fasting every Friday to remember the sacrifice that sets us all free. Later Harriet helped the Union army during the civil war as a spy and scout. This is the pedigree and conviction of those who helped end slavery. 

A century later the civil rights movement under Martin Luther King showed the same source of inspiration and power. Prayer and the humility of non-violence also led to substantial change as it brought about the end of segregation on buses, schools etc, another major step forward. 

Both Harriet and King both realized the nature of their struggle. In the latter’s case he framed it as seeking unity with his white brothers, winning them back. Harriet, even more astoundingly when asked how she viewed the white slave owners said that they ‘didn’t know any better’ they had learned to think that way which is reminiscent of Jesus’ own words on the cross, ‘forgive them Father for they don’t know what they are doing’. Graciousness in spite of great suffering and opposition, their focus was always reconciliatory. 

The more recent events in America and the Black Lives Matter movement seems to be a very different narrative and as such is likely to have a very different result.