Kristel Mae…..for Kristel Mae “Mhai” Padasas

Kristel Mae
(for Kristel Mae “Mhai” Padasas)
ni Apolinario Villalobos

mga pangarap na sa isang iglap
ay nalusaw nang hindi sinasadya
patunay na ang buhay sa mundo
ay hindi hawak ng sino mang tao

ang buhay, wari’y parang kandila
‘di man mahipan, ito’y nalulusaw
kaya ang tanglaw nito’y nawawala
na sa paligid ay dilim ang nalilikha

may kabuluhan naman ang kandila –
na sa paligid ang dulot ay liwanag
hangga’t ito’y malusaw, o mahipan
at magdudulot naman ng kadiliman

sa nangyari kay Kristel Mae sa Tacloban
marami ang nagitla at di makapaniwala
nguni’t kung ginusto ng Diyos ang lahat
walang makakahadlang kung nararapat

ang ilang araw na kanyang naiambag
ay naging bahagi ng dakilang gawain
‘di mawawala sa isipan ng mga mahal
dahil para sa taong turing nila’y banal!

(Kristel Mae “Mhai” Padasas was a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), and was a volunteer during the papal visit. She was hit by a scaffolding that collapsed due to strong wind at the site in Tacloban where Pope Francis officiated a Mass. She reached the age of 27 without having been spoiled despite her being an only daughter of hardworking parents. Her mother works in Hongkong. She was characterized by friends as humble, jolly and compassionate, finding satisfaction in her involvement in humanitarian and civic activities.)

Do We Deserve the World and our Life?

Do We Deserve the World and our Life?
By Apolinario Villalobos

In times of our lowest moments, sometimes we cannot help but blame the Almighty for the life He gave us…the life that gives us the hurt, despite its good intention. And, there’s the legend that says the first couple, Adam and Eve, let the opportunity for a blissful life in paradise pass, when they gave in to the first temptation.

Man never seemed satisfied. God gave us the world with vast bodies of water, endless stretches of green forests, valleys that resonate with wild life, sky that shields us from the searing sun, and air that gives us the breathe of life. But in gay abandon, we converted the oceans, lakes and rivers into vast septic tanks of human waste, green forests are practically shorn by unscrupulous loggers, we tear the sky and pollute the air with belches of factories.

Human lives are wasted senselessly with the pockets of war that pockmark the face of the earth. Unwanted infants are dumped in garbage bins or flushed in toilets, and those who struggled to grow, suffer from deprivation. People kill each other because of drugs and money. Governments that should have been the protector of lives are themselves, the machineries of destruction with their incessant exploitation of the weak and trusting constituents, all in the name of greed!

And, for all the tragedies and our sufferings we sometimes, unfairly blame God!