The Prayer

The Prayer…

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

The prayer should be said with heartfelt sincerity,

not only to ask for favor but also, thank Him with alacrity.

 

The prayer is a spiritual instrument for communication,

with Him in mind, it should be made with sincere intention.

 

The prayer need not be said loud as for others to hear,

as it is enough that  we bow our head and say it in whisper.

 

The prayer may be short oozing with love and humility,

the better for it to be heard and appreciated  by the Almighty.

 

 

The Prayer

The Prayer…

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

The prayer should be said with heartfelt sincerity,

not only to ask for favor but also, thank Him with alacrity.

 

The prayer is a spiritual instrument for communication,

with Him in mind, it should be made with sincere intention.

 

The prayer need not be said loud as for others to hear,

as it is enough that  we bow our head and say it in whisper.

 

The prayer may be short oozing with love and humility,

the better for it to be heard and appreciated  by the Almighty.

 

 

My Sincere Prayer of Gratitude…as a simple blogger

My Sincere Prayer of Gratitude

…as a simple blogger

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Thank you Lord,

…for leading me to people whose good deeds need to be exposed that they may inspire others;

…for giving me the courage to call the attention of fellowmen for their misdeeds;

…for the prayers of those who appreciate what I do, and which provide me with strength;

…for the encouragement of friends who give me inspiration;

…for the vintage laptop that has been helping me a lot;

…for the cellphone with camera that a cousin gave for quick photo shots of my subjects;

…for the strong wi-fi signal in the home of a cousin where I do my blogs;

…for the hi-tech communication system without which, my effort would be futile;

…for the tranquil nights and dawns during which I wake up to jot down prospective blogs;

…for words that come into my mind, and which I could develop into blogs;

…for the fingers that have recovered from carpal tunnel syndrome, so that I could work fast;

…for the effort of a nephew who provided me fast mobility with his motorcycle;

…for a stomach that could withstand pangs of hunger;

…for the lungs that have resisted the onset of respiratory ailments;

…for the nose that have been straining the polluted air;

…for my overall health to keep me going;

…for the strong comments of viewers who affirm my views;

…for the extras that I could spare for others;

…for making me wake up with sprite at dawn to prepare myself for the day;

…for the compassionate viewers who make donations for blogged needy people.

 

I pray that You continue to keep me and the rest with similar advocacy as mine, in the shadow of your protection at all times.

 

Amen!

In Praying (haiku)

In Praying…

(haiku)

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Just look up to Him when in…

sorrow, joy, anguish, even pain;

We should do this with humility…

So that we can pray with sincerity.

 

 

 

Dasal Para sa Mga Dapat Pasalamatan at Dapat Magbago

Dasal Para sa Mga Dapat Pasalamatan

At Dapat Magbago

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

 

Lord…

Salamat sa mga biyayang ibinigay Mo at kasabay niyan ay isinasama namin ang mga sumusunod, pati na rin ang dasal para sa mga dapat magbago….

 

• ang mga sardinas na nagpakatanga upang maisiksik sa lata at may makain ang mga kinakapos ng budget o tamad magluto

 

• ang mga isdang itinahaya sa ilalim ng matinding init ng araw upang maging daing na paboritong pangsahog sa mga gulay

 

• ang mga isdang tunsoy (variety ng tamban) na pinausukan upang maging masarap na “tinapang tunsoy” ng Cavite

 

• ang mga hayop na kinatay upang ang kanilang bangkay ay malaplapan ng mga karneng gagawing bacon, tocino, steak at marami pang ibang mga pagkaing pina-“gwapa” ng mga kemikal upang malapang ng mga carnivorous na human beings

 

• ang mga isda sa karagatan na nilambat upang mailutong paksiw, inihaw at pinirito

 

• ang mga tanim na tinalbusan upang maging green salad ng mga vegetarian

 

• ang mga mister na nagpapakabayani sa pagluto para sa mga tamad na asawa at anak na walang ginawa kundi magkipagtsismisan sa kapitbahay at mag-chat, respectively

 

• ang mga misis na nagbubulag-bulagan sa pakikiapid ng kanilang mister for the sake of their children, kaya ayaw humiwalay

 

• ang mga balasubas na ayaw magbayad sa traysikel at jeep na sinakyan…sana sila ay madapa, eheste…magbago na

 

• ang mga estudyanteng nagka-copy/paste ng mga nire-research kuno sa internet upang gawing thesis…na sana ay magbago ng ugali, upang hindi masanay sa pandadaya na delikadong maging ugali at magamit nila kung empleyado na sila ng gobyerno

 

• ang mga walang kaluluwang mga nagtitinda sa palengke na naghuhugas ng mga gulay sa pamamagitan ng sabon panlaba at nagbababad sa formalin ng mga isa, at tawas sa mga gulay tulad ng talong, langka, kamatis, sitaw, pipino, at marami pang iba….na sana ay magbago na

 

• ang mga nagpaparetoke ng mukha hanggang magmukhang inambalsamo kaya masakit sa paningin….na sana ay itabi na lang ang pera at ilimos sa mga pulubi

 

• ang mga alagad ng simbahang ayaw pumasok sa mga squatter’s area dahil takot tamaan ng “Indian pana”…upang sana ay maging matapang tulad ni Superman at Tarzan

 

• ang mga pa-ingles-ingles na mga Pinoy kahit ang kaharap ay alam na nilang ang pandinig sa salitang nabanggit ay Latin o Greek….sana ay bumaluktot ang dila ng ilang oras lang upang magkaroon ng katinuan at magsalita uli sa Tagalog o sariling dialect

 

• Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera pa…dahil All Knowing po naman Kayo ay alam Nyo na kung sino ang mga tinutukoy kong hindi na mailista dahil nakakapagod na ang pagsambit…

 

AMEN!

Strong Faith in God and the Resilience of the Filipino

Strong Faith in God

And the Resilience of the Filipino

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

In the face of adversities, the Filipino has always been strong, steely- willed and resilient. It is this supple character that makes him adjust to any condition after a catastrophe. His unquestionable faith in God is the vigor that makes him move on and hurdle the rest of hindrances along the way.

 

No man-made or natural catastrophe can ever make the Filipino turn his back from God. For him, all these are just trials that make his faith stronger. He knows that God will never give him a challenge that he cannot muster. He knows that all these are the proverbial litters of stones and thorns along the way of his journey to the waiting arms of the Lord.

 

Life is beautiful. But everything in the universe has its end. To prepare himself for this, the Filipino has even shown greater faith in God by becoming more aware of His presence. Religious movements are on the rise. Humble prayers for mercy have grown louder. The Filipino can be likened to Tobit and  Job, Biblical characters whose lives were full of challenges that put their faith to an acid test.

 

God manifests His consolations in mysterious and unexpected ways. It could be His way of showing His love to the Filipinos as a people. The Philippines is profusely endowed with natural resources. The Filipino has an easy smile and has the habit of taking a scandal lightly and make it worthy of a good laugh, without losing its serious color.

 

God has chosen a people in the past – the Israelites, as the Bible says….they, who had to roam around the desert for forty years. Today, He must have chosen a new one – the Filipinos who are engulfed in controversies and series of misfortunes…but for how long will the Filipinos be tested by the Him?

 

 

Holding on to Dear Faith

Holding On to Dear Faith

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Tears may fall in anguish

Hearts may break in sorrow

Dignity may be lost in hunger

But always, despite all these –

Something is left of our faith.

Questions may be mumbled

Doubts may raise eyebrows

Whimpers may lessen the pain

Despair may block our sight

But always, faith gives us light!

Si Tiya Iskang Madasalin

Si Tiya Iskang Madasalin

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

 

Sa aming bayan, nakalakhan ko na si Tiya Iska na madasalin.  Ang apelyido niya ay Peñalosa. Maliit siyang babae, may lampas balikat na buhok at maliit ang boses. Bago pumutok ang araw ay makikita siyang naglalakad ng halos isang kilometro papunta sa simbahan, may belo ang ulo. Dahil debuto siya ng Mahal na Birhen, ang kanyang puting damit ay nasisinturunan ng sutlang kulay asul na mapusyaw.

 

Sa misa ay nangingibabaw ang kanyang boses sa pagkanta. At kung oras na ng komunyon, siya ang unang tatayo at halos takbuhin ang harap ng altar upang unang mabigyan ng ostiya. Kung may prusisyon naman, siya ay palaging nasa unahan ng karo ng imahe ng Mahal na Birhen. Namumuno din siya sa mga nobena at pagdasal ng rosaryo. Tuwing Flores de Mayo naman, tumutulong siya sa pagturo sa mga bata ng dasal at kantang pangsimbahan. Nanghihingi din ng tinapay sa mga panaderya upang maipamigay sa mga bata.

 

Ang hindi ko maintindihan ay kung bakit siya nililibak noon, sa kabila ng kanyang mga ginagawa. Wala naman siyang ginagawang pagpapa-istaring. Ang nakikita ko sa kanya ay ang kaseryusuhan niya sa pagsamba sa Diyos, lalo na sa pagtupad sa kanyang debosyon sa Mahal na Birhen.  Isang beses ko lang siyang nakausap, at noon ay nang inalalayan ko siya papunta sa kumbento dahil nahilo. Pauwi na ako nang hapong yon galing sa klase at nakita ko siyang nakasandal sa puno ng kaimito dahil nahilo. Hindi pala nakakain ng tanghalian.

 

Nasa high school ako noong masubaybayan ko ang ilang yugto ng buhay ni Tiya Iska. At naalala ko siya sa panahon ngayon na kailangan ang pagbabalik-loob ng tao sa Diyos. May mga pagpipilian ang mga tao: magbalik-Islam, magpaakay tungo sa iba’t ibang sekta ng Kristiyanismo o magbagong-loob bilang Katoliko.

 

Kung wawariin, hindi dapat ibatay sa kinaanibang grupo o simbahan ang kabanalan o pagkamaka-Diyos ng isang tao. Maging bukal lang sa kalooban ang pagsamba at pagdasal tulad ng ginawa ni Tiya Iska, palagay ko ay maaari na. Dapat walang pagkukunwari ang pananampalataya, tulad din ng ginawa niya.

 

Alam kong marami pang Tiya Iska ang makikita sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo. Sila ang salamin natin sa buhay pagdating sa mga bagay na ispiritwal. Iwasan natin ang magng bulag sa katotohanan, bagkus ay dapat maging mapagpakumbaba sa pagtanggap ng ating mga kakulangan upang mapunan natin kung ano man ang mga ito.

The Prayer

The Prayer

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

First of all, it must be known that there are many forms of prayers or ways by which a prayer can be expressed, such as, silently, loudly, and by sign language. But generally, the prayer can be classified into just three, such as, memorized, read, and extemporaneously expressed straight from the heart.

 

The Roman Catholic Church has hundreds of prepared or printed prayers with specific intentions, such as, those for the dead, for Christening, for the wedding, for the sick, for job hunting, for wooing a woman, for damning an enemy, etc. One will just have to go to Quiapo to see piles of printed prayer books sold like candies outside the cathedral. These prayers become more effective according to the vendors if candles are being burned while specific prayers are mumbled, till the candle completely melts. Some “faithful” even hire a “praying professional”- a person who prays for a fee. Each candle is distinguished for a particular intention by their color.

 

The voodooistic practices are being done right under the very nose of the Catholic priests, and while the amplified Mass is going on inside the massive historic structure where the Black Nazarene is enshrined.  If these are wrong, why can’t the Church authorities put a stop to them? Why can’t announcements be made during the Mass so that even those outside the church will hear them? Why can’t this simple act of correcting a wrong right within their community is not being done, while Catholic bishops are against and very vocal about the killing of drug personalities who are criminals?

 

Many Roman Catholic prayers are outright funny, especially, those which have not been “updated”, having been written during the heyday of fanaticism, particularly during the later part of the Spanish colonization. The prayers are full of outright ignorance as regards to what prayers are supposed to be about. For this, one just has to check the “marathon prayer” or “chant” used during the “pabasa” of the Lenten season. These supposedly solemn prayers are “updated” using hip-hop tunes, to purportedly encourage the youth to participate. Also, for other interesting discoveries, one may check the prayer being chanted by sleepy “faithful” Roman Catholics during the “pasiyam” of the dead brethren in which the “tower of David” is mentioned. Every night it is done for the duration of the nine-day wake. I would like to make it clear that I have nothing against these prayers of the Roman Catholic Church…I am just sharing what I know about them.

 

For me, the best prayers are those that are extemporaneously said by New Christians as they are obviously coming from their heart….not read from “prayer books”….that is my personal opinion and nobody should question that.

 

 

On Life, Love, Faith, and Death

On Life, Love, Faith, and Death

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Nobody chose to be born. The new life developed in the womb of the woman is the result of her copulation with a man, done either with love or just plain lust. That is why there are so-called “bundle of love or joy” of married couple some of whom sign divorce papers after five years or a little more of companionship, or “unwanted child” of a rape victim. When the fetus is delivered into the world as an infant, its innocence and fragility make it helpless in the hands of the people who take care of it. Lucky are those who are born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth, but, woe to those born of impoverished mother whose dry and wrinkled breast cannot provide even a single drop of milk.

 

There is a very popular counsel from the religious conscience groups which says, “…thank the Lord for the life He gave, and that He alone can also take back…” which implies that He is responsible for all the life on earth. They add that man should do the rest to survive as God also gave him intelligence. If this is so, can man be blamed if he decides to do the easiest-to-do crimes?  If a criminal committed rape and murder resulting to the distress of the victim’s loved ones, why can’t he be penalized justly, instead of being “rehabilitated”  which the God-fearing human rights groups are insisting, when there is no guarantee that he will not repeat such vicious acts and eventually claim more victims? As the choice to commit crimes is man’s decision, God has nothing to do with it, hence, His will is not being violated, so that whatever corporal penalty imposed on the criminal is just appropriate. On the other hand, if man is pre-destined, why work hard, if everybody is destined for his or her place in this world as willed by God?

 

I have heard stories of people struggling for a better life and even witnessed some of them doing all the best they can to provide decent meals to their families three times a day. The desperate are pushed by circumstances to commit crime. The weak who cannot bear the suffering commit suicide. Along this line, many valedictorians and summa cum laudes are beaten to better and best opportunities by those who have barely earned passing grades in college…proof that “being at the right place, at the right time” really works and not the “God-given intelligence”. In other words, shall we go back again to the presumption that God willed man to live according to His plan?

 

On the other hand, many disease-ridden patients who are suffering for long are not given the choice to “rest” for good. It is against the law of the land, governments would say. It is against God’s will, the religious groups would say. In the first place, if it is not the choice of man to be born, why not give him the option to end his life if he finds that the world is not for him or if he feels that he is already exhausted or burned out…having done everything even for the sake of others? Most especially, why burden for instance, the family of a dying man with mounting hospital and drug bills just because choosing to die translates to committing a sin? Why wait until the hopelessly sick man has become comatose before a doctor may give consent to the family to unplug the machine that makes his heart beat, as he is already brain-dead?

 

I would like to make it clear that I am thankful for my life, though I did not choose to be born, and this dissertation is not meant to influence others to leave their religious communities. I know that so many humans have the same confusing questions that I have stated earlier. I am just being loud about them, while they may have chosen to be quiet. What I ask is of them at this juncture, is to do what is universally accepted as good, based especially, on the simple Golden Rule…be they, are atheist or religiously zealot human beings who believe every word uttered by their preacher. Just do good and nothing shall definitely go awry…