‘Do not stay afraid’

We had a scare over the weekend when Nanay had a fever. These days, in the time of the pandemic, being feverish is a cause for great alarm. Her fever, after given medication by her doctor via tele-consult, was only overnight. Her ingrown toenail was the culprit. Quick remedy came. She’s feeling so much better now.

She felt weak and our world turned upside down. She barely ate for a day but the nourishment she did not get from food was the nourishment she got from her faith.

“Huwag kayong manatiling takot (Do not stay afraid),” she told me.

“Pahihinain ka ng takot. Mag-iingat tayo. Pero hindi mananatiling takot. Manalig ka. Lalakas ka (Fear will make you weak. We will take care of ourselves. But we cannot remain afraid. Have faith. You will be strong),” she continued.

She has faith in God and she has faith in her being fully vaccinated.

“‘Sinivac’ na ako ng dalawang beses. Kung naniniwala tayong may proteksyon na tayo sa bakuna, nababawasan ang takot. Nakakapagod nang matakot. Ano pang magagawa natin kundi magdasal (I am fully vaccinated with Sinovac. If we believe that full vaccination is our protection from the virus, our fear is lessened. It’s tiresome to be afraid. All we can do now is pray),” she added.

Then she got healed. By Monday, her appetite was back. She went to the backyard, her playground for so many months of not going out of the house because she is a senior citizen, and harvested patolang Tagalog from the balag (trellis). She was craving bulanglang so she dunked the sliced patola and crushed ginger in a pan with hugas-bigas and sprinkled it with a pinch of salt and voila — her simple lunch was ready.

Her bulanglang lunch was as uncomplicated as her faith.

***

Two Sundays ago, on the Feast of the Assumption, I attended the online Mass of Fr. Mardie Javier Maligat, parish priest of St. Polycarp in Cabuyao City. (I wrote about the 250-year-old St. Polycarp Church three Fridays ago and its call for generous hearts for the rehabilitation of its belfry and facade). He discussed faith and why, in the time of the pandemic, we need to be strong in faith. It is because of our faith, he said, that “we are destined to be in heaven.”

In Fr. Mardie’s homily, he mentioned that the importance of Mary’s faith can be summed up in three points.

First, Mary’s assumption to heaven is about moral revolution. “We need to be upright in our thoughts and deeds.”

Second, her assumption also talks about social revolution. “Let’s respect and uplift the dignity of each other — so we can all uplift the community, the country.”Lastly, it is also about economic revolution. “Magmalasakit tayo sa mga nangangailangan, sa mga nagugutom (We should have compassion for the needy, for the hungry). And those hard up in life should still do good — and not resort to evil ways.”

According to Fr. Mardie, in the time of coronavirus when people are afraid, they ought to experience heaven amidst the pandemic.

“A happy family is already an experience of heaven,” he said. “When you do the right thing, that is an experience of heaven.”

He added, “When you help your sister or brother, that is also an experience of heaven. And if you give him or her dignity, that, too, is an experience of heaven.”

Will fear hinder you from doing that? Do not stay afraid.

***

Fear dissolves in a heart that forgives. Strength belongs to a heart that also forgives.

Those are two lessons I learned from Fr. Michael Laude, a priest at the Shrine of Saint Vincent Ferrer in Mamatid, Cabuyao, Laguna, in one of his homilies that centered on God’s forgiving nature.

God, he said, is unlimited in His capacity to forgive. “Ang namamagitan sa Diyos at tao ay awa. Awa ng Diyos. Ang habag ng Diyos sa tao. Walang hanggan ang awa ng Diyos (What connects man to God is mercy. The mercy of God. God is merciful to man. He has infinite mercy),” said Fr. Michael.

“We continue to experience the love of God because He is merciful and kind,” he added.

The kindness of God is everywhere. He never runs out of grace. He never gets tired of showering us with blessings and miracles — even in times when we are most desolate. He knows we are human so He keeps on giving us the grace.

God’s grace is abundant inside us — it is evident in our ability for compassion and understanding even the most difficult of people and situations.

God’s grace is abundant in nature — the setting sun teaches us not to be afraid of darkness because, aside from the stars to accompany us in the night, it promises that tomorrow is another sunrise. In between sun and moon is a moment of rest, of pause, of renewal, of forgiveness.

It was in the homily of Fr. Michael that I learned the forgiveness happens when man goes to confession. “God is always with infinite mercy. He forgives man without limit. That’s why there’s confession — it is in confession where God manifests his mercy and kindness to us. That is the importance of the confession,” the priest said.

The sinner in me thought at that moment that when we go to confession, the one who hears our sins is not the priest but God. I figured that one of the most intimate moments we can have with God is in the confession box. Because it is a holy act, God is present in that moment. God’s forgiveness of our sins is the definition of His perfect love. Up to the end, God will gift us with mercy — and this is the kind of mercy we find in the confession.

“Lagi nating tatandaan na ang awa ng Diyos ang nagdurugtog sa atin sa Kanya. Kung walang awa ang Diyos, wala rin tayo (We just have to remember that it is the mercy of God that connects us to Him. Without that, we are nothing),” he said.

Because God can forgive, Fr. Michael asked, shouldn’t it also be the nature of man?

“Dapat pagpapatawad at awa rin ang mamagitan sa tao at sa kanyang kapwa. Sana matuto din tayong magpatawad ng bukal sa puso. Kung matututo kang magpatawad, pinapalaya mo ang sarili mo sa galit, at binibigyan mo ang kapwa mo ng pagkakataon na magbagong buhay (Forgiveness and mercy should also connect man to his fellowman. We should learn to forgive from the heart. When we forgive, we free ourselves from anger and we give our fellowman the opportunity to change),” he said.

“Let’s not be afraid to forgive,” he said in the vernacular. “Let’s not be afraid,” he concluded. *