Homilya Para sa Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat Kay Maria Sa Langit

ni Padre Pat Falguera, SJ

Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.
Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
at pinagpala rin naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.
Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos.
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan.
Ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay.
Amen.

Sa aking palagay, malamang ito ang isa sa mga unang panalangin itunuro sa atin ng ating mga magulang. Isang panalangin ipinasa sa ating mga lolo at lola, ng kanilang mga lola at lolo. Ilang beses ko na rin kasing nasaksihan ito sa parokya. Kung paano itinuturo ng isang ina o isang ama, ang panalanging ito sa kanyang anak. Bago umalis ng bahay at pumasok sa paaralan. Bago kumain ng hapunan matapos maglaro. Bago matulog matapos gawin ang assignment.

Malamang, unang nagisnan din natin ang panalanging ito mula sa mga madre at mga katekista. Sa unang pagtanggap natin ng mga sakramento ng simbahan. Sa binyag. Sa unang kumpisal. Sa ating first communion. At tila nga nakagisnan na rin natin ang panalanging ito sa iba’t ibang panahon ng ating simbahan. Tuwing Oktubre. Tuwing Pasko at Bagong Taon. Tuwing Biyernes Santo at Linggo ng Muling Pagkabuhay.

Madalas nga, hindi tayo malay na isinasambit na pala natin ang panalanging ito sa samu’t saring ritwal nating mga Pinoy. Bilang panghele sa anak. Habang nagbabantay sa ospital. Habang nakasakay sa FX papuntang opisina. Madalas, nananalangin tayo sa ating Mahal na Ina, kung may hinihiling tayo. Bago tayo mag abroad para magtrabaho ay dinadalaw natin siya sa Antipolo. Bago tayo mag job interview ay nagno-nobena tayo sa Baclaran. Bago tayo mag board exam ay dumadayo pa tayo sa Manaoag.

Napapansin ko nga, madalas may mga rosaryong nakatago sa ating mga bulsa. Lalo nga itong patagong nakalihim sa bulsa ng mga kalalakihan o lantaran na ring nakasabit sa mga motorbike. Ginagamit man natin itong agimat o panlaban sa masama. Ito ang ating dala dala, construction worker man tayo sa site o sales lady sa isang department store. At inilalabas mula sa taguan at idinadasal habang nakatirik ang dyip sa trapik. O di naman kaya’y kung tayo ay pauwi na, sakay ang MRT.

At madalas kung tayo nagkaka-krisis bilang pamilya o sambayanan, ito ang panalanging paulit ulit nating binabanggit. Nakakailang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isang ina habang hinihintay ang results ng kanyang biopsy test? Nakakailang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isang tatay habang isinusugod ang anak na naaksidente at duguan? At nakakailang Aba Ginong Maria kaya ang isang binata habang hinihintay nya ang sagot ng kasintahang nililgawan?

At kung titingnan natin ang kasaysayan ng ating bansa, ilang daang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isinamo ng mga katipunero para makamit ang kalayaan? Ilang daang Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang ipinalangin ng mga gerilya sa gitna ng digmaan? At ilang libong Aba Ginoong Maria kaya ang isinamo sa EDSA noong 1986 at 2001 sa gitna ng di katiyakan at pag-aalinlangan.

Kung ito ang panalanging ating unang natutunan, tila ito rin ang huling panalangin ating isinasambit sa bingit ng kamatayan. Magdadalawang linggo na noong ating nabalitaan kung paano yumao si Pangulong Cory Aquino. Sa ikalimang misterio ng hapis, huling huminga raw ang ating mahal na Pangulo. At sa mga sumunod na araw, ating nasaksihan kung paano inihatid ng panalanging ito si Tita Cory mula simbahan hanggang sa kanyang huling hantungan.

Bakit kaya malapit sa ating mga puso ang panalanging ito? Sa aking palagay, may tatlong dahilan kung bakit nakagisnan at nakaukit na sa ating mga puso ang panalangin ni Maria. Unang dahilan: dahil sa biyaya at pangako. Ikalawang dahilan: dahil sa galak at pasasalamat. At ikatlong dahilan: dahil sa pagsamo at pagapapaubaya.

Ang unang dahilan, dahil sa biyaya at pangako.

Sa unang pagbasa, narinig natin ang tila isang pangako: Isang babaeng malapit nang manganak ng isang sanggol na itinakdang maghahari sa lahat ng bansa. At sa ebanghelyong ating narinig, ipinamalas naman ang biyaya ng pagdalaw ni Maria sa kanyang pinsang si Isabel. At tila itong biyaya at pangako ay napaloob din sa panalangin para sa ating Mahal na Ina:

Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.

Madalas, kapag nagbitiw tayo ng salita na gagawin natin ang isang bagay, ito ay nagiging pangako. Ngunit madalas, mahirap isakatupuran ang isang pangakong binitiwan. Hindi na tayo lalayo pa para mamulat na napakadaling biguin ang mga pangako. Napakadaling ipangako ng kamara ang Comprehensive Agrarian Reform ngunit bakit hanggang ngayon napakahirap pa rin ipamigay ang lupa sa mga magsasaka ng Sumilao? Napakadaling ipangako ng isang pangulo na maganda ang larangan ng ekonomiya ngunit bakit hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin maayos ang mga tirahan ng mga maralita sa Payatas?

Ngunit sa kabila ng mga kabiguan na dulot ng mga pangakong hindi naisakatuparan, nariyan ang biyaya. Dito nag-iiba ang pangako ng Diyos at pangako ng tao. Kung sa tao, may hidwaan ang salita at gawa; sa Diyos, iisa lamang ang salita at ang gawa. Kung ganito nga ang pangako ng Diyos, bakit tila, walang nagiging epekto ang salita ng Diyos? Sa aking palagay, dito papasok ang biyaya. Ito ang biyayang madalaas ipinagkakaloob sa mga mahihirap. Kaya’t sa gitna ng kahirapan at pag-aalinlangan, hindi nating maiwasan manalangin sa ating Mahal na Ina. Na sa pangako ng sanggol sa kanyang sinapupunan, makamit din sana natin ang biyaya na dalawin nya tayo para magkaroon ng malalim na kahulugan ang ating mga buhay.

Ang pangalawang dahilan naman kung bakit malapit sa ating mga puso ang panalanging ito: dahil sa galak at pasasalamat.

Sa ikalawang pagbasa naman, narinig natin ang galak ni San Pablo sa pagpapahayag ng salita ng Diyos na may muling pagkabuhay sa bingit ng kamatayan. At sa ebanghelyong narinig natin, nasaksihan natin ang pasasalamat ni Maria pagkatapos mapuspos si Isabel ng Espiritu Santo. Itong galak at pasasalamat ay mababanaagan din natin sa ikalawang bahagi ng panalangin alay kay Maria:

Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
at pinagpala rin naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.

May iba’t ibang larangan ng galak. May galak na katuwaan lamang ng barkada habang nag-iinuman. May galak na dulot ng pag-awit ng alma mater song pagkatapos ipanalo ang isang laro sa UAAP. At may galak na dama ng isang ina pagkaluwal ng kanyang sanggol. Ngunit sa aking palagay, ang pinakamalalim na galak ay yaong galak na may kalakip na kapayapaan. Isang galak na nakabalot sa katahimikan. At sa kabila ng galak na ito ay ang malalim na pasasalamat.

Naisip ko tuloy, ito ata ang dahilan kung bakit tayong mga Pinoy ay patuloy na nakakaraos sa gitna ng kahirapan at paghihikaos. Marami kasi tayong pwedeng pasalamatan. Sa gitna ng gulo sa larangan ng pultiko, nakakalimutan natin na napakaganda ng ating bayan. Masaksihan man natin ang paglubog ng araw sa Caramoan o Camiguin o di kaya’y ang bukang liwayway sa Sagada o Malaybalay. Sa di pagkakasundo ng muslim at kristiyano, nakakalimutan natin ang napakagandang kultura ng Penafrancia sa Bicol at ng Ramadan sa Zamboanga. Sa tingin ko, kung patuloy tayong makapagpasalamat matikman ang tamis ng mangga at malanghap ang amoy ng kabihasnan sa Bulacan, makakamit natin ang tahimik at malalim na kagalakan. Hindi ito naiiiba sa pagtuklas katulad ni San Pablo sa salita ng Diyos at ang pagpuspos ng Espiritu kay Isabel.

At ang huling dahilan kung bakit malapit sa ating mga puso ang panalanging ito, dahil sa pagsamo at pagpapaubaya.

Sa ebanghelyo narinig natin ang pagsamo ni Maria sa kanyang Panginoon: “Dinadakila ng aking kaluluwa ang Panginoon, at nagagalak ang aking tagapagligtas..” Ngunit kalakip nitong pagsamo ni Maria ang kanyang pagpapaubaya na maganap nawa sa kanya ang kalooban ng Diyos. Itong pagsamo at pagpapaubaya ang bumubuo ng huling bahagi ng pagsamo natin sa ating Mahal na Ina:

Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos.
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan.
Ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay.
Amen.

Ayon kay San Ignacio, ang mainam na pananaw sa biyaya ay ang pananaw ng isang pulubing nanlilimos ng biyaya. Tila ganito rin ang pagsamo. Pagsamo dahil hindi tayo karapat dapat. Pagsamo kahit tayo ay makasalanan. May iba’t ibang larangan din ng pagsamo. May pagsamo na galing sa isang bata na gustong makipaglaro sa kapitbahay. May pagsamo mula sa kasintahan na hwag muna ibaba ang telepono at ituloy ang kwentuhan. May pagsamo ng isang magulang gustong makapag aral sa Ateneo ang anak. Ngunit kung ang pagsamo ay walang kapalit na kawalan, tila sumasablay ito.

Kaya naman kalakip ng pagsamo ay ang pagpapaubaya na hindi nagiging pabaya. Katulad ng pagsamo ng isang inang nagdadalang tao at ipinapaubaya ang kalusugan ng magiging anak. Katulad ng pagsamo ng isang bilanggong wala namang kasalanan at ipinapaubaya ang kanyang kalayaan. Katulad ng pagsamo natin na ang darating na halalan ay magiging daan ng tunay na pagbabago. Ngunit kailangan nga tayong magpaubaya na kailangangan nating magkaisa at sama sama tayong lahat para buoin at hilumin an gating bayan. Kaya naman tila mahirap talaga magpaubaya. Ngunit may malalim na karunungan na dulot ng pagpapaubaya. At ito nga ang naging karanasan ng Ating Mahal na Ina. Dinakila siya dahil siya ay nagpaubaya. Sa kabila ng kanyang pagsamo na matupad ang pangarap ng Diyos sa tao, nagawa ni Mariang magpaubaya.

Sa tatlong dahilang ito ng biyaya at pangako, ng galak at pasasalamat, at ng pagsamo at pagpapaubaya, nawa’y unti unti tayong namumulat na ang panalangin ng Aba Ginoong Maria ay daan para makamit ang langit at makatawid sa buhay na walang hanggan.

Sa dakilang kapistahan ng Pag-akyat sa Langit sa Mahal na Birheng Maria, tila nababanaagan natin kung paano nakamit ni Maria ang kalangitan. Isang kalangitan na hindi lang natin maaakyat kapag tayo ay sumakabilang buhay na. Ngunit isang kalangitan na matutuklasan natin dito at matutuklasan natin ngayon. Isang mithiin ng kalagitan na ipinamamana sa atin ngayon ng ating Panginoon. At ang landas patungo dito ay nasa halimbawa ni Maria. Sapagkat ang pangako pala ay hahantong sa pasasalamat; at ang pasasalamat naman ay hahantong sa pagpapaubaya. Kalakip ng pagpapaubaya ay ang biyaya; Kalakip ng biyaya ang galak; at kalakakip ng galak ay ang pagsamo na may taglay na pangako.

At habang patuloy nating dinarasal ang Aba Ginoong Maria, mamumulat tayo na lalalim ang ating pananampalataya, pag-asa at pagmamahal. Sa gitna ng biyaya at pangako, namamayani pala ang pananampalataya. Sa gitna ng galak at pasasalamat, matatagpuan pala ang pag-asa. At sa gitna ng pagsamo at pagpapaubaya, magwawagi pala ang pagmamahal. Kaya naman, hanggang may isang batang nagdadasal ng Aba Ginoong Maria nang buong pananampalataya, malalampasan natin ang disyerto at makakamit natin ang lupang pangako. Naniniwala akong hanggang may isang binatang nakaluhod at nagdarasal ng Aba Ginoong Maria, may pag-asa pa rin ang ating bayan. At hanggang may isang lolo na nagdarasal ng Aba Ginoong Maria sa tabi ng kanyang irog, limampung taon na ang nakararaan, mamamayani pa rin ang pagmamahal natin sa kapuwa at sa bayan.

Kaya marahil sa kasaysayan ng ating mga pamilya at sa kasaysayan ng bayan, tugmang tugma ang panalanging ito. Sa panahon man ng kagipitan at di katiyakan, nariyan ang ating Mahal na Ina. Akmang akma ang panalanging ito, maging isa man tayong sundalo isinabak sa Mindanao, o isang pulis na gustong manatiling tapat kahit corrupt na ang hepe ng kanyang himpilan. Tugmang tugma ang panalanging ito, maging estudyante man tayo ng Ateneo, taas noong inaawit pa rin ito sa gitna ng pagkatalo o di kaya’y isang sastre sa Sapang Palay, tuwang tuwa na nakapasa ang kanyang anak sa UP. At masasamahan tayo ng panalanging ito sa gitna ng kadiliman at kahirapan. Sa simbahan na matatagpuan sa tagpi tagping barung barong sa Navotas na malapit nang ma-demolish. O di kaya’y sa mga nagsisilakihang mga simbahan sa Rome at Milan, punung puno ng ating mga kababayang sabik umuwi dahil malayo sa mga pinanggalingan. Mapapasaatin ang panalanging ito sa gitna ng paghahanap natin ng kasagutan sa napakasalimuot na suliranin ng ating bayan. Sa gitna ng mga tanong na tila walang kasagutan.

Batid kong lahat tayo dito ngayon ay mga ipinapanalanging mga biyaya at pangako. Batid kong lahat tayo dito ngayon ay may nais ipaabot na galak at pasasalamat. At batid kong lahat tayo dito ngayon ay may itinatagong mga pagsamo at pagpapapaubaya. Kaya’t sa gitna ng katahimikan at sa gabay ng ating mahal na Ina, taglay ang pananampalataya, pag-asa at pagmamahal, manalangin tayo ngayon:


Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.
Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
at pinagpala rin naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.
Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos.
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan.
Ngayon at kung kami’y mamamatay.
Amen.

A Man of Desire

When Ignatius was badly wounded from the battle of Pamplona, he hardly recovered. His health deteriorated. Worse, there were signs that death was near. His physician informed him that his days were already numbered, so he begged the Lord for him to recover the soonest. He desired for his life. Lord’s work, his recuperation was very fast that in five days he was already declared safe.

During his convalescence, he got to read the books: The Life of Christ and a book on the lives of the saints. While reading the books meditatively, he began to desire to follow the steps of the saints like Sts. Dominic and Francis. He used to say to himself, “Saint Dominic did this, so I have to do it too. Saint Francis did this, so I have to do it too.” This desire to imitate the saints lasted and brought him much consolation.

Having recovered from his infirmity, he wanted to go to Jerusalem. Every time his imagination brought him to Jerusalem, to the very places where Christ stayed and lived, his heart became restlessly yearning to fulfill this greatest desire. On February 1522, so determined, Ignatius commenced his pilgrimage and on August 31, 1523, he first set foot in the Holy land. His visits to the holy places gave birth to another desire; a desire to remain in Jerusalem and save souls. Sadly, he was not given permission to stay. Nevertheless, he was bringing with him his desire to save souls when he left Jerusalem.

His active pursuit to save souls brought him to more yearnings. He desired to preach. When faced with tribulations and inquisitions, he desired to study. He started studying Languages, earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, worked and passed his Licentiate, then took a Theological Course. While studying, he met Peter Faber, Francis Xavier and some other friends. Together they desired for partnership in saving souls and vowing to live in poverty and chastity, and go to Jerusalem to serve Christ there. When their quest to go to Jerusalem failed, Ignatius and the other companions desired to form an Order. The Society of Jesus was born.

Desire was evident in Ignatius’ love story with Jesus. He just desired for life then this desire progressed to a desire to imitate the saints to visit the holy land to save souls in the service for Jesus. Ignatius’ mastered the art of eliciting desires which got him to his authentic self and found Christ’s fundamental desire for him.

Let us pray…

Grace to Pray for:

Lord Jesus, I beg for a heart that recognizes my earnest desires so that I may be at home with them, realizing that these are wonderful reflections of Your own desires for me.

Suggested Scriptures:

a) Isaiah 65:17-25 (The World Renewed)
b) Roman’s 8:28-39 (God’s Indomitable Love in Christ)
c) Luke 19: 1-10 (Zacchaeus’ Desire to See Jesus)
d) 1 John 1: 1-4 (The Word of Life)

Points for Prayer and Reflection:

-Make a list of your desires in life. What will make me happy? Which desire/s give/s me lasting happiness?

-Pray over your desires. Dialogue with the Lord on each of them.

-Like St. Ignatius, Zacchaeus ardently desire to see Jesus. Pray over Luke 19:1-10. Feel what Zacchaeus feels when Jesus passes by and the people are like high walls blocking his view of Jesus.

- Jun-G Bargayo, SJ -
Visit jun-g.com for more reflections.

Dakilang Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat sa Langit sa Mahal na Birheng Maria

Noong nakaraang linggo, nagluksa ang buong sambayanang Pilipino sa pagpanaw ng dating Pangulong Corazon C. Aquino. Sa huling pagkakataon muling nagbuklod ang buong sambayanan upang ipakita ang ating pagmamahal at suporta kay Pangulong Cory, na siyang naging instrumento ubang maibalik ang demokrasya sa ating bansa. Patunay dito ang libo-libong mga taong nagpakita ng suporta at pagmamahal kay Cory sa araw ng kanyang libing sa kabila nang malakas na buhos ng ulan. Maging sa kamatayan, patuloy pa rin tayong pinag-kakaisa ni Pangulong Cory. Tunay mang masakit para sa ating mga Pilipino ang paglisan niya, nakita pa rin natin ang pagkilos ng Diyos sa ganitong pagkakataon. Naipakita natin na kaya nating muling magkaisa para sa isang adhikain. Sa pamamagitan nito, nabuhay at nag-init muli sa bawat isa ang pag-asa para sa ating bayan.

Ngayong buwan ng Agosto ipagdiriwang natin ang Kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat sa Langit sa Mahal na Birheng Maria. Ito’y isang mahalangang katuruan ng Simbahang Katolika na nagsasaad na si Maria, sa pagtatapos ng kanyang pag-iral sa lupa ay iniakyat ng Panginoon sa langit, “kaluluwa’t katawan”. Mas makatutulong marahil na unawain natin ang pagdiriwang na ito hindi batay sa pisikal na pag-akyat ni Maria sa langit kundi ang mas malalim na kahulugan nito sa ating buhay pananampalataya.

Ang pag-aakyat sa langit kay Maria ay bunga ng kanyang pagtugon sa tawag ng Panginoon na maging Ina ng Diyos. Ipinakita ni Maria ang kanyang buong pusong pagtugon sa tawag ng Diyos kahit hindi niya lubusang batid at nauunawaan ito. “Narito ang lingkod ng Panginoon. Maganap nawa sa akin ang ayon sa wika mo.” (Lucas 1:38) Para sa ilan sa atin, mahirap sumuong sa isang sitwasyon na hindi natin lubos na nalalaman ang kahihinatnan. Sa kabila ng maaring nadamang takot o pagdududa, ipinagkatiwala niya pa rin ang kanyang sarili sa Diyos. Pikit matang nagpaubaya si Maria sa naisin ng Diyos. Nagpamalas siya ng pagtataya ng sarili sa ninanais ng Panginoon hindi lamang para sa kanyang kapakanan ngunit para sa kaligtasan ng lahat. Dahil sa buong pusong pagtanggap ni Maria, biniyayaan siya ng natatanging lugar sa langit kapiling ng Panginoong Hesus.

Gaya ni Maria, si Pangulong Cory ay naharap din sa katulad na situwasyon. Bago niya tinanggap ang ‘tawag’ sa kanya upang maging Pangulo ng Pilipinas, siya ay isang pangkaraniwang maybahay at ina. Ngunit sa kabila ng kawalan ng katiyakan, buong pananampalataya at tiwala niyang inialay ang kanyang buhay at pagsisilbi para sa kapakanan nating mga Pilipino. May malalim na pananalig si Pangulong Cory, hindi lamang sa Diyos, kundi sa sambayanang Pilipino.

Si Maria ay tunay ngang pinagpala ng Panginoon. Isinabuhay niya ang langit sa sangkalupaan hanggang matamo ang kaganapan nito sa piling ng Panginoon nang maiakyat siya sa langit. Ang misyong ginampanan ni Maria ay hindi nangangahulugang iba siya sa atin. Ang niloob ng Panginoon para kay Maria ay siya ring niloloob ng Panginoon para sa ating lahat. Nais ng Panginoon na tayo ay Kanyang makapiling habambuhay. Ang karanasan ni Maria na makapiling ang Panginoon sa panibagong buhay ay nagbibigay sa atin ng pag-asa at pag-asam na balang araw ay makakapiling din natin ang Panginoon na siyang lumikha sa atin. Dahil sa espesyal na grasyang natamo ni Maria, tayo rin ay nakikinabang sa biyayang ito dahil naipapaabot natin ang ating mga panalangin kay Hesus sa pamamagitan ng kanyang inang si Maria.

Manalangin tayo…

Panginoong Hesus,
Gaya ng halimbawang ipinakita ng pumanaw na Pangulong Cory Aquino, dumulog din sana kami sa iyong Ina, nang maipaabot niya ang mga panalangin namin sa Iyo. Sa paraang ito, mabuo nawa ang aming bayan sa mga gawain ng pagkakaisa at sa pagdarasal namin para sa isa’t isa. Pahintulutan niyo nawang maranasan ng bawat isa sa amin ang langit sa sangkalupaan hanggang bigyan mo ito ng kaganapan sa pagdating ng araw na iyong itinakda. Amen.

Homily for the Funeral of Former President Corazon "Cory" Aquino

By Fr. Catalino Arevalo, SJ

If I may first ask pardon for what might be an unseemly introduction. In the last days of President Cory’s illness, when it seemed inevitable that the end would come, the assignment to give this homily was given to me. By Ms Kris Aquino, in fact. She reminded me that many times and publicly, her mother had said she was asking me to preach at her funeral Mass. Always I told her I was years older, and would go ahead of her, but she would just smile at this. Those who knew Tita Cory knew that when she had made up her mind, she had made up her mind.

What then is my task this morning? I know for certain that if liturgical rules were not what they are, she would have asked Congressman Ted Locsin to be here in my place. No one has it in him to speak as fittingly of Cory Aquino in the manner and measure of tribute she uniquely deserves, no one else as he. Asked in an interview she said that the address before the two Houses of Congress at Washington she considered perhaps the supreme shining moment of her life. We know who helped her with those words with which she conquered America. These last few days, too, every gifted writer in the press and other media has written on her person and political history, analyzed almost every side of her life and achievement as our own “icon of democracy”. More powerfully even, images of her and of EDSA UNO have filled hour after hour of TV time. Really, what else is left to be said?

CORY AQUINO FUNERAL HOMILY (this follows the INTRODUCTION)

So, Tita Cory, you’ll forgive me if I don’t even try to give a shadow of the great oration that should be given here this morning. Let me instead try to say some things the people who persevered for hours on end in the serried lines at Ortigas or here in Intramuros can (I hope) more easily follow. This is a lowly tribute at one with “the old sneakers and clothes made tighter by age, soaked by water and much worse for wear” of the men, women and children who braved the rain and the sun because they wanted to tell you, even for a brief and hurried moment, how much they love you. You truly ”now belong among the immortals”. But these words are for those mortals who with bruised hearts have lost “the mother of a people”. Maybe less elegantly than the seminarian said to me Monday, they would like to say also: “She was the only true queen our people have ever had, and she was queen because we knew she truly held our hearts in the greatness and the gentleness of her own.”

One of my teachers used to tell us that if we really wanted to know and understand a position held, we would have to learn it from someone fully committed to it. Just as only one who genuinely loves a person, really knows him or her also. So to begin with, I turned to three real “experts on Cory”; to ask them where for them the true greatness of Cory Aquino lay. My first source thought it was in her selflessness, seen above all in her love of country - surely above self; yes, even above family. Her self-giving, then, for us; what she had received, all became gift for us. The second, thought it was in her faith her greatness lay, in her total trust in God which was also her greatest strength. And the third said it was in her courage and the unshakable loyalty that went with it. It was a strength others could lean on; it never wavered; it never broke. . . . . . Cory’s selflessness and self-giving; her faith (the Holy Father just called it “unwavering”); her courage, her strength. -- May I use this short list to frame what I will say? O, let me name my experts now, if I may. They were three, all of them women close to her: Maria Elena Aquino Cruz, whom we know as Ballsy, Maria Aurora Aquino Abellada, Pinky to her friends; and Victoria Elisa Aquino Dee, Viel to the family. Kris and Noynoy are the public figures; they can speak for themselves. I hope they will forgive me that I did not ask.

First, then, her generous selflessness. For us this morning what is surely most to the point is her love of country. When her final illness was upon her already, she said, -- most recently at the Greenmeadows chapel (her last public words, I think) --that she was offering her suffering, first to God, then for our people. I heard that grandson Jiggy asked her why first for country and people, and she said that always the priority line-up was God, our country and our people, and then family. On radio, the other night, the commentator asked an old woman in line why she stood hours in the rain to get into La Salle. “Ito lang ang maibibigay ko po sa kanya, bilang pasasalamat.” “Bakit, ano ba ang ibinigay ni Cory sa inyo?” “Di po ba ang buhay nya? Ang buong sarila nya? At di po ba ang pagasa? Kaya mahal na mahal po namin siya.” Early on, on TV, they ran many times the clip from a last interview. She says, “I thank God, and then all of you, for making me a Filipino, for making me one of you. I cherish this as one of the truly great gifts I have received.” A few weeks from her death, she could say that; without put-on or the least insincerity. “I thank you, for making me one of you..”
Her selflessness, her self-gift. Pope Benedict likes to say that the God whom Jesus Christ revealed to us, is Father. A Father who is wholly self-gift; the God “whose nature is to give Himself” – to give Himself to us, in His Son. And, the Pope says, that is what is the meaning of Jesus and the life of Jesus, and, by discipleship, what the Christian’s life is meant to be. We Christians too, we must give ourselves away in the self-giving of love. “Ang buhay po nya at sarili. Kaya po mahal na mahal namin sya.” In the last days, when finally and reluctantly still she admitted she had much pain, I kept thinking that only a couple of weeks before, for the first time publicly, she said that she was offering it up first of all for us.”

Secondly, her faith. Pinky says, it was her mother’s greatest strength; it was what was deepest in her. Her faith was her bedrock, and it was, bedrock . Frederick Buechner the ordained minister and novelist likes to say that through his lifetime, he’s had many doubts, even deep doubt, daily doubts. “But I have never really looked down into the deep abyss and seen only nothing. Somehow I have known, that underneath all the shadows and the darkness, there are the everlasting arms.” I think Cory’s faith was like that, not in the multiplicity of doubts (even if. in a life so filled with trial, there surely were doubts too), but in the certainty of the everlasting arms. More than once she told me, “Every time life painted me into a corner, with seemingly no escape, I always turned to Him in trust. I knew He would never abandon us if we trusted in Him. And you know, somehow, He found a way out for us.” And so Pinky says, “Mom was always calm even in the most trying times. She trusted God would always be there for us, She was our source of strength. She made this world seem so much safer and less cruel for us. And now that our source of strength is gone, we have to make our faith something more like hers. But we know in our hearts that in every storm she will watch over us from heaven.”

Within this faith was her devotion to Mary, the place Our Lady of Fatima and the rosary held in her life. All we can say on this, this morning is that Our Lady truly had a special, living presence in her life: Mary was, for Cory, true mother and incomparable friend; as we say in the hymn, - vita, dulcedo et spes, - life, sweetness and hope. No, Mary was not the center of her faith, but its air, its atmosphere; and the rosary, her lifeline through every trial and crisis. In the long harsh months of her illness, Sister Lucia’s beads almost never left her hands. She was holding them, as last Saturday was dawning and her years of exile were at last done, when we know her Lady “showed unto her, the blessed fruit of her womb.”

Lastly. Her courage, her strength. Her children tell us that their father was only able to do what he wanted to do, because her loyalty and her support for his purposes was total, so she practically raised them up as a single parent. Ninoy himself wrote, again and again, that he endured imprisonment and persecution, leaning so much on her courage and love. And after his death, when she could have withdrawn in a way “safely”, to her own life with her children at last, she stayed on her feet and fought on in the years that followed, through the snap elections and what went before and after them, through her presidency and the seven coup attempts which tried to bring her down. Even after she had given up her rule, could she not have said “enough”, and we would all have understood? But with not the least desire for position or power again, whenever she thought the spaces of freedom and the true good of our land were threatened, she went back to the streets of struggle again. Once again she led us out of the apathy we so readily fall into; once again she called us out of our comfort zones to the roads of sacrifice.

Here, even hesitantly, may I add one trait, one virtue, -- to those her daughters have named? One day Cardinal Stephen Kim of South Korea asked if he might visit her. Through Ballsy, she said Yes. It was a day Malacanang was ‘closed’; they were making up the roster of members of the forthcoming Constitutional Convention. Someone from the palace staff ordered us turned away when we came; it was Ballsy who rescued us. Stephen Kim, hero and saint to his own people,--perhaps, along with Cardinal Sin, one the two greatest Asian Catholic prelates of our time,- = spent some 45 minutes talking with her. When we were on our way back, he said, “I know why the Lord has entrusted her with power, at this most difficult time. … It is because she is pure of heart. She has no desire for power; even now it is with reluctance she takes it on. And she has done this only because she wants to do whatever she can for your people.” He said, “she truly moves me by the purity of her spirit. God has given a great gift to your people.”

With this purity of heart, in the scheme of the Christian Gospel, there is joined another reality which really, only the saints understand. It is suffering. How often (it is really often; over and over through the years) she spoke of suffering as part of her life. Much contemporary spirituality speaks of suffering almost as the epitome of all evil. But in fact for all the saints, it is a mystery they themselves do not really understand nor really explain, Yet they accept it quietly, simply as part of their lives in Christ. There is only one painting she ever gave me. Kris said then, when her mom gave it to me, that it was her mom’s favorite. The painting carries 1998 as its date; Cory named it “Crosses and roses” There are seven crosses for the seven months and seven weeks of her beloved Ninoy’s imprisonment, and for the seven attempted coups during her presidency, and many roses, multi-colored roses all around them. At the back of the painting, in her own hand, she wrote a haiku of her own: “Crosses and roses/ make my life more meaningful./ I cannot complain.” Often she spoke of her “quota of suffering.” When she spoke of her last illness, she said: “I thought I had filled up my quota of suffering, but it seems there is no quota. I look at Jesus, who was wholly sinless: how much suffering he had to bear for our sakes.” And in her last public talk (it was at Greenmeadows chapel), the first time she spoke of her own pain: “I have not asked for it, but if it is meant to be part of my life still, so be it. I will not complain.” “I try to join it with Jesus’ pain and offering. For what it’s worth, I am offering it up for our people.” Friends here present, I tell you honestly I hesitated before going into this, this morning. But without it, part of the real Cory Aquino would be kept from view. Quite simply, this was integral to the love she bore for her people.

At this point, may I, following the lead Mr Rapa Lopa has given, just speak a word of thanks to President Cory’s children, who shared so much of her service and her sacrifice. They have almost never had their father and mother for themselves. For so many years, they have been asked to share Ninoy and Cory with all of us. And because of the blood and the spirit their parents have passed on to them, they too gave with generosity and grace the sacrifices we demanded of them. – Ballsy and Pinky, Viel and Kris, your husbands and your children, and Senator Noynoy, may we thank you this morning from all our hearts, and may we offer also the gratitude of the hearts of a people now forever in your debt.

In have used up all my time, some of you will say, and I have not even approached the essential: her political life, that she was our nation’s unique icon of democracy, that Cory Aquino who, throughout the world. was TIME magazine’s 1986’s woman of the year, she who led the ending of the dictatorship that had ruined our nation, the bearer of liberation, of freedom, and of hope for a prostrate people. So, by your leave, may I add one item, along this line at last. In October 1995, Milano’s Catholic University, conferred on her the doctorate honoris causa in the political sciences (incidentally, only her twenty-third honorary degree). This was only the fifth time this particular one had been given since the university’s inception: the first time to an Asian, the first ever to a woman. She wanted, at the end of her lectio magistralis, to spell out, perhaps for the first time with some explicitness and completeness, her personal political creed. She listed seven basic beliefs which, regarding political life , she said she tried to live by. Then she spoke of one more, “one more I may not omit.” Perhaps the paragraph which followed is worth citing here, even without comment, because it has something to say to our present hour.

(We cite her words now.) I believe that the vocation of politics must be accepted by those who take up the service of leadership as a vocation in its noblest meaning: it demands all of life. For the life of one would lead his or her people, -- in our time as never before, -- such a life must strive for coherence with the vision aspired to, or else that vision itself and its realization are already betrayed. That vision must itself be present, in some authentic way, in those who seek to realize it: present, in the witness of their example; present, in a purity of heart vis-à-vis the exercise and usages of power; present, in an ultimate fidelity to principle, in a dedication that is ready to count the cost in terms of “nothing less than everything.” It is Cardinal Newman, I believe, who said that in this world, we do good only in the measure that we pay for it in the currency of our own lives. For us Christians, there is always the image of Jesus, and the price his service demanded of him. And for me there has been, as a constant reminder, the sacrifice my husband offered, and the word that it has spoken, to me and my people.” (Cory Aquino, end of citation)

Conclusion

With all this said, I am done. Ma’am, tapos na po ang assignment ko. It has been so hard to do what you asked. But I comfort myself that these so many words really do not matter. What counts in the end is really – what all this week has been; these past few days’ outpouring of our people’s gratitude and love; what will come after all this today; what we will do, in the times ahead, in fidelity to your gift. I received a text last night from a man of some age and with some history behind him. “She made me proud again, to be Filipino.” Maybe that says it all., Cardinal Sin used to put it somewhat differently. “What a gift God has given our people, in giving Cory Aquino to us.” The nobility and courage of your spirit, the generosity of your heart, the grace and graciousness that accompanied you always. They called it “Cory magic” – but it was the truth, and the purity and beauty, clear and radiant within you, that we saw. And the hope that arose from that. And when the crosses came to you and you did not refuse to bear them, more to be one with your Christ and one with your people and their pain. “Blessed are the pure of heart; for they shall see God.”

Thank you Father in heaven, for your gift to us of Cory Aquino. Thank you that she passed once this way through our lives with the grace you gave her to share with us. If we give her back to you, we do it with hearts of thanksgiving, but now, oh, with breaking hearts also, because of the greatness and beauty of the gift which she was for us, the likes of which, perhaps, we shall not know again. Salamat po, Tita Cory, mahal na mahal po namin kayo.

Photo Credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rog3rs/3784297625/