Time for renewal: Lent and RE

There were more churchgoers yesterday, Ash Wednesday. Again, the reminder to all that from dust we are, to dust we shall return. Other more recent versions remind all to repent and to read the gospel.

 Ash Wednesday ushers in the Lenten season.

 On this day and for this Quaresma, why not emphasize and remember instead or as well, the beauty of God’s creation, the depth of God’s love for all through the birth, the death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son so that all will experience the joy of returning to Him, for all those who believe and who live loving and serving God?

 For isn’t that the meaning of Lent - that God gave His only Son Jesus Christ to go through His passion, His death and crucifixion, so that all may be saved and be reconciled back to the Father through His resurrection and ascension?

 Beautiful event reminding us, not about the grim message of death but resurrection, not of sin but of redemption, not of fear but of faith, not of sorrow but of joy!

 Ash Wednesday reminds us about lent and renewal, about lent and hearts opening up once again to return to God. About Lent and the commitment to reconcile with the Lord.

 Upon reflection, I thought it was a fitting continuation, an apt connection and reminder of the just-recently concluded Renewable Energy ( RE) Summit attended by hundreds of interested and committed participants and sponsored by just as committed groups and city officials who believe in the protection of our people through the protection and conservation of our earth, of our resources.

 The summit reminded all about the need for commitment for the sustainable use of renewable energy which can also be paraphrased spiritually as commitment to renew ourselves, our world for the sake of all, for the sake of honoring God’s creations.

 On commitment and renewal, we would like to share several sterling examples we were privileged to witness during the two-day RE summit.

 Very few, for example, knew that one of the prime movers of this summit, Vince Cinches, a very active and committed environmental advocate who busily engaged and immersed himself for the preparation and the coordination of the two-day event, had to rush back and forth from Cebu City to Talisay, to join his father who, before the summit, succumbed to heart attack at the tender age of 54. Vince stayed on till after the end of the summit, together with the other organizers. You may all wish to offer prayers please for the eternal rest and peace of Vince’s father, peace for their grieving family, but most of all, thanksgiving to the Lord for sharing Vince with the rest of the world.

 Then, there was Bob Bajenting, who was still manning the booth for the Cebu Coalition for Food Security, long after the summit participants had left. Despite coughs and his frail condition, Bob shared his precious time and energy at the summit to remind all about the beauty, the wisdom of organic farming.

 We also need to mention about Atty. Golly Estenzo Ramos who was physically challenged with stomach cramps on the first day of the RE summit but who, despite lingering pain, brought her active, committed self up on the stage and down with the rest of the participants, sharing her reminders about including good governance in the road map for RE prioritization that includes everyone’s participation, strict observance of transparency, accountability, and the rule of law.

 We also have to acknowledge the sustained commitment of the never-give-up pioneer environmental and RE advocates who from the 1990s till now have not given up on their commitment to empower the people at the community level to better manage their resources so they can go beyond the challenges of poverty and disempowerment.

 “It all boils down to lifestyle,” one young committed advocate from Argao shared. Pushing the movement and campaign for the use of renewable energy starts with each one, how one lives one’s life through this earth.

 Beautiful time to include in your thoughts, reflections and daily habits, the renewable energy agenda within your prayers and renewal period from this Lenten period onwards.

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