GMA’s pilgrimage to the Mt. Pinatubo Shrine

A reader of my "A Point of Awareness" weekly column, Ricardo Liong, sent me the most meaningful Easter prayer poem I have ever read. Inspired by the Easter shrine of the Hidden Temple of Mt. Pinatubo which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, he composed it himself.

For our dear lady President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and for all of us, Filipinos, who are searching for Our Lord, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Light, let this be our prayer :

Where is My Risen Christ?

Alleluia, it is Easter Day
Christ has risen we all say
Look around, look around
Where is Risen Jesus found?
Look around your house
Around the flowers in the yard
Look around your garden
Around the benches in the park
Look around your church
Around the rich and nice
Look around your temple
Around the money and wise
Wait... Listen...
Look around your children
With God’s blessings given
Look around your wife there
With her kind and loving care
Look around your neighbors
With not a daily single meal
Look around your many foes
With love for hatred healed
Look not East and look not West
Look not far for your eager quest
Look into your compassionate heart
There is Christ in His Holy Ark.

Every day is a new day. Let us face it with grace. The President’s pilgrimage to the Mt. Pinatubo Hidden Temple Shrine on its 10th anniversary is a pilgrimage to the "Source of the New Life" for the Filipinos. Our lady President is looking forward to a new country for she hopes to inspire Filipinos to change heart and be united.

The Trinity of Shrines was established during the three national disasters. Hacienda Tamsi Shrine in Cadiz celebrates the hopeful recovery from the hunger created by the drop of sugar prices in the world market. The Shrine Avenue in Greenhills celebrates the hopeful recovery from the EDSA revolution, which ended the lengthy dictatorship of former president Ferdinand Marcos. The Mt. Pinatubo Hidden Temple Shrine celebrates its anniversary every Easter, ever since Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption in 1992.

This shrine on the mount is the modern version of the numerous small mounts in the Holy Land where Jesus gave His famous sermons. That it is in the middle of a huge desert plain reminds man of the desert land of Israel. This cannot be mere coincidence. It is therefore not surprising that it would be referred to as the "altar of the nation" by Filipino visionaries, who have no connection whatsoever to our mission and therefore have not been pre-conditioned.

Let us review the numerous sermons on the mount in the Holy Land confirmed by major events in the life of the Lord of Love and Redemption: The devil tries to tempt Jesus while He fasted in the desert before His public ministry. The sermon on the mount where Jesus taught His disciples and the crowd the Beatitudes. The multiplication of the loaves to feed the hungry multitudes. Before His Passion, the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus prays in Gethsemane, a small mount overlooking Jerusalem. The Ascension, 40 days after His Resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven from a hill.

The message of the Mt. Pinatubo Hidden Temple Shrine is PRAYER. That is why our Praying Blessed Mother of Mt. Pinatubo has her eyes closed, to symbolize the need to continuously commune with the Lord since He is within us. Thus, the inner transformation of Filipinos can happen – from indolence to love for work, from disorder and anarchy to love for what is right and lawful, from greed to selflessness and caring for others, as well as from dependence to independence. This is expressed by our Pagsasarili Mothercraft program, which is used in the Shrine community of Sitio Palan, San Marcelino, Zambales. This fascinated the President so much.

Isn’t this the key to eradicate the extreme poverty of our country? For years, government after government has conditioned Filipinos to beg, to get everything free without working for it. MAY GMA’S GOVERNMENT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE – that is to let Filipinos discover their self-respect, their sovereignty among nations – by helping Filipinos to help themselves.