October prayers for our troubled times
The days of this week have been emotionally charged with concerns both for us still alive and those who have gone ahead. As we look forward to the observance of All Saints’ Day (Todos Los Santos) on Nov. 1st, and All Souls’ Day (Todos Los Muertos) on Nov. 2nd, commonly referred to as Adlaw sa Minatay , we are shocked by reports of massacres of the Ponce family in Talisay and Philippine troops, including civilians, in Mindanao. The attacks in Zamboanga Sibulay, purportedly by Abu Sayaf members are part of a continuing series of ambushes and killings in adjoining areas in Mindanao.
Aas I wrote this yesterday, terminals for land, sea and air travel in the country have been crowded with passengers bound for their hometowns to honor their beloved dead. I remember my late husband used to go home to Moalboal town, while I had to stay in the city where we in the media were busy covering and reporting events on these special days. The same transportation crisis this week would also be repeated with the return of crowds to the city for work and classes on Nov. 2nd.
The religious holiday has been secularized into Halloween when “horrors of ghosts, vampires, et al. ” are partied about on Oct. 31st. Halloween is actually All Hallows (the blessed Saints)-E’en (evening). And those horror creatures would more appropriately belong to All Souls’ Day when they bedevil the dying and lay claim to the souls of the dead.
As of today, a couple of truly horrible (or true-to-life horrors?) happenings continue to haunt us, awaiting resolution: the drawn-out case of Bella Ruby Santos/Ian Charles Griffiths who are accused in the Ellah Joy Pique abduction and murder, and the Ponce family massacre in Talisay City. In this connection, a convention of the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children is advocating strongly against cyberporn.
This week has also seen the passing away of a number of many high profile personalities acclaimed in their fields of endeavor, and one who was dreaded and feared, their deaths eclipsed by the above mentioned tragedies.
Last week the world learned of the violent, if humiliating, death of one of the once dreaded and powerful head of Libya, Moammar Gadhafi, at the hands of rebel forces who have long sought his being brought to world justice.
But the same day also marked the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio, the beloved Italian missionary priest who had been serving indigenous peoples for three decades n North Cotabato. Ironically, this happened on the same day which the Church observes as Mission Sunday! They have now been laid to rest, including Steve Jobs, the genius who founded Apple and other technical communication innovations.
Steve Jobs’ death after a long bout with pancreatic cancer brings to current attention this little known-about cancer. My daughter Raquel V. Villalon, a nurse who served for some three decades in a well-know medical facility in San Diego, California, died last January of pancreatic cancer that was diagnosed too late. A doctor-niece and another nurse relative nurse in the States are hopefully coping, as of now, with this cancer, for which no cure is yet known. Do remember her in your prayers—Raquel—as well as my younger and only sister Francisca P. Go, who died in Manila on this day, Oct. 28th, last year, and whose first death anniversary her two daughters and I are observing today. Thank you most kindly for your prayers and may God bless you.
In connection with the troubles besetting our country, particularly in Mindanao, President Aquino has been lauded for his cool and level-headed calm in dealing with it, still hoping for peaceful negotiations to address the problem. But he has, on the other hand, been lambasted for his indecisiveness. These are the years when people speak their minds and act, as the spreading “Wall Street protests” abroad indicate. Also in the strong anti- and pro-flyover protests in Cebu. We pray for a peaceful resolution to these problems, particularly in Cebu City.
For the forthcoming observance of All Saints’ Day, we prayerfully look forward to the cannonization of Cebu’s Blessed Pedro Calungsod this year, making him the second Filipino saint after Manila’s Lorenzo Ruiz. Also in church concerns, newly designated Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle is being mentioned as a possible papal contender. So these days which many bewail as years of turmoil and trouble may yet also be days of blessed peace, God be thanked. Yes, even as I wrote this yesterday, news broke about a disastrous 7.2 earthquake that hit Turkey, for whose victims we pray.
Last Oct. 24th was United Nations Day. This year, the day was quietly observed, eclipsed by the many disturbing events of the month.
Tomorrow, our Cebu Girl Scout Council will hold our Executive Council Meeting, details of which I look forward to sharing with you next week, in addition to other happenings of the week.
Till then, as always, may God continue to bless us, one and all!
