Sometimes…It is Okay to Give Up

“MERALCO ka lang, hindi ka NAPOCOR…kable ka lang sa poste ng kuryente..”                                                            —  Bo Sanchez on “How to Love Difficult People”

Those words have been my life mantra in the last 2 years alongside serious contemplation of whether to let go of someone that had been a part of my life yet had been too hard to handle. Many people have been asking me if lay Catholic preacher, Bo Sanchez did really say those words and what he meant by that. My answer is yes and you won’t be able to hear where and when exactly did he say them unless you join his Kerygma Family online community. But for the benefit of non-members, I’ll give a short explanation in the best way I can.

Difficult people. I bet everyone of us has their own share of them. They can be the most demanding and nagging persons, or they tend to blame everything to you or criticize your every move with the foulest mouths, or somebody ungrateful to what you’ve done or somebody utterly stubborn or anyone who do cringe-inducing things that makes them a pain in the neck.

But why love these people? Well, it’s a commandment: Love your neighbor – even if they are really more worthy of our loathing. Tough isn’t it? But these guys desperately need the love and attention of people willing to listen and understand why they are like that. Also, consider them as blessings too. Because God will not give them to you if He doesn’t have a plan for you. 

Say for instance, your demanding boss who have been nagging you here and there is actually a way for you to improve your patience meter or a means for you to quit your job so that you may be able to look for greener pastures. Another example could be like a female friend keeps on calling you at night because she is depressed about her bad break up from her boyfriend. Although you hate your sleep being interrupted, your sparing of some time just to talk to her is actually helping her release the pain and stopping her from doing or even thinking about doing bad things like committing suicide.

However, if in situations that you have already exhausted all the means to help or show your love that difficult person and the response is not equated or surpassed by what you have done, this is the time we back-out and give up so that other people may be able to help him/her. You have done your part, you can only do so much. Remember that they are blessings from God and let Him decide who should receive them next. As for you, allow God to recharge your energies.

In short, as the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) provides the electricity that the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) distributes in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, God, on the other hand, is the key source of our love and strength and we are his distributors of that same love and strength to the people who needed them most.

Come to the Table of Hope

“Come to me all who are weary and burderned and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28

A few days ago, as I checked my YouTube account, I saw an uploaded video of a Probe Team documentary on Joey Velasco, the famed artist behind “Hapag ng Pag-asa”. For those who do not know about the artwork, well, this is a Last Supper-themed piece but instead of your usual Apostles, you see street children flanking Jesus at the supper table. This image had been featured in countless calendars, magazines and even mounted on churches. But what really struck me most about this painting is not really the artistic and aesthetic detail of it but true the story behind it.

As I watched through the entire documentary from Youtube to Probe TV’s website, I came to understand that the late Joey Velasco (yup, he had indeed passed on last year, July 20, 2010) was never really an artist in the first place. He used to be a successful businessman who put material wealth over everything else but that changed when he was diagnosed with the BIg C – cancer, that is. His world collapsed, he succumbed into depression. But God does work in mysterious ways. In that darkness, Joey was able to find a way to cope up with the pain — through the paintbrush. With that paintbrush, he came with a mission to remind not only his family but all the people in the world that there is light of hope at the end of the dark tunnel of despair.

In one way, I can relate to his story and like him, I did spend some time in the dark due to some traumatic experiences. But instead of a paintbrush, God showed me an old Apple on the very moment that thoughts of suicide was lingering in my mind. I opened our aging Mac Powerbook and led me to an online forum where I started to simply let everything go, bit by bit. For some strange reason, people whom I’ve never met personally are the ones who really pushed me to move on and reconnect with people I love – God, my family and friends.

I know I will be never be able to do masterpieces like that of Mr. Velasco but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to carve out a legacy for people to remember that in times of despair and hopelessness, there is Someone Up There who will never abandon you no matter what.

Below is a video that I made in celebration of the artist and our Savior’s never ending love for us:

A peek into Bulacan’s treasures…

Living in a historical place sometimes makes someone so passive about the beauty it really possesses. But after spending sometime with my dad in a pilgrimage organized by our local parish, well, I simply realized that there’s something a lot to be proud off.

This is where I spend my Sundays. Barasoain Church or the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Parish. Re-learned to appreciate the place again after seeing it countless times, doing cameos on TV and the movies. A front spot on the rehashed 200 peso bill just made me realize that it this no ordinary church

 

This is St. John the Baptist Parish in Calumpit, Bulacan. One of the oldest churches in the province. The church has one main altar but pews are arranged in 3 wings.

 

 

 

Left wing of St. John the Baptist

 

 

 

 

 

This is the church’s right wing.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the famed San Miguel Arcangel Parish, of course, in San Miguel, Bulacan. Check out the belfry located at the top of the structure.

 

 

 

 

Sta. Monica Parish in Angat. This is the place where I probably had the most shots. Although it already look majestic from afar, the nearer you get, the more details show up.

 

 

 

This is the overview of the door which unfortunately does not fit my cell phone camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is detail of the entrance door. I managed to snap this one while no one had came in after me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Now this is Sta. Monica’s fabled interior, reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel but with Pinoy touches.

 

 

 

 

We actually visited nine places but those with pictures above are the ones that really struck hard on me for sheer beauty. There will be another post about this topic anytime soon.