Remembering Da King

Ave Maria:-)

We had a much loved actor..whom the people would nickname Da King - this was of course our action star Fernando Poe Jr ---incidentally his father too was an actor , tho twas Ronnie who ruled the movie kingdom for decades...he was the Filipino counterpart of John Wayne --- always taking the role of the underdog hero-- fighting ( most times )all by his lonesome self the hoodlum characters, evil crime syndicates --he was a cop, a cowboy..he was Juan Dela Cruz on the silver screen.. and oh how the masses loved him.

How they could relate to his sufferings, the rough deals he'd be subjected to, injustices served... his loved ones either killed , maimed, raped , robbed, ridiculed -you name it- they filmed it And they, the fans  would wait for the part when he'd finally say "ENOUGH!" and more often than not take the law into his hands because -- quite often the law enforcers themselves were corrupt or inutile.. Legend goes that in far away Mindanao, Muslim  Filipinos who too were diehard fans of Da King hated it, when the king would die in the movie. This was unacceptable... no..no..no! Fernando Poe Jr had to win all the time.. his boxing prowess speedier than Manny PacMan... and you could hear the uppercuts , jabs , knock-out punches when they landed on his enemies...bla..bla..bla...bog-bog-boom --boinkkkk How the audience loved it..how it made the people forget if only for 2-3 hours that they would have their sweet justice..their day in court..their sweet vengeance.

Ronnie got so popular he ran for president..and lost ...or did he?

He suffered a stroke..and many suspected, he could not take the loss..the possibility that he was robbed on his presidency.

So we did not have our Ronald Reagan.

I'm reminded of poor Ronnie because of his monicker Da King - how he was idolized... how he represented the people, especially the "voiceless" -- 

admit it... we hunger and search for our heros..whether we are aware of this or not..hence we look at super athletes... Obamas...(ok,ok  pls no violent reactions) ..we look at Nobel prize winners... we take long hard look at our gov't leaders..and then we have to take a 2nd, third harrd look at them -- finally , many will shrug and give up ..." H--k , there are no heros...forget it. " 

Some will try looking at the workplace...check the stuff that bosses are made of? Are they worth giving our full commitment and respect... our devotion and blood, sweat and tears. But even if they are not worth it..we are forced to obey them or we lose our jobs, hehe.

ahhhh but Fernando Poe.. was not Da King for all the success he reaped... riches, awards, the respect of his peers ... he was a good man... but not The King .

Because THE  KING  celebrates his feastday tomorrow.The glorious Feast of Christ the King.

Funny how we look for all kinds of excuses to celebrate whatever idea we deem is worth celebrating and remembering .. mother's day... Independence Day...Valentine's... there are official holidays as well as unofficial but romantic holidays nonetheless ..and we love to fuss about them.

Yet the feast tomorrow , if we dared to understand it changes our perspective of who and what we are. Holy Mother Church declares it as Feast of Christ the King.

If Christ is King..then He rules a certain kingdom ..and He will have His subjects or His own people. A people who love ,and respect Him, who wait and believe and hang onto every word He says..because His Word  is Truth, His Word is Eternal Life and Love.

Recalling all those fairytales of our childhood and even current adult fairytales (c'mon dear ...think..., Lord of the Rings, or Greek gods and godesses sagas filmed -- where Brad Pitt plays Achilles or where we cheer the 300 SPartans) 

We know that the people stand by their king. They work for their king, give offerings... fight and enlist as his loyal soldiers in whatever war he chooses to join... and if need be , they suffer and die on the battlefield. How we love these epic Braveheart type movies, we just drool over the heros -- so valiant, strong and true.

We don't have to rely on fairytale books, or movies.. to be satisfied of our longing for a True Worthy King, for there is none worthier than Christ.

And Jesus Christ is like no other..because He is a Shepherd-Saviour King ... He takes care of His people to the point that He laid down his life for us... His Blood the only acceptable Foundation for His Unshakeable Kingdom. 

May the Feast tomorrow open our eyes to the glory that is ours...simply because we choose Jesus as our King. We want to help build His kingdom...and we will not allow anything or anyone to destroy this Kingdom.

Christians/Catholics can be sweetly funny at times ... becoz we think that Kingdom exists only in heaven, and we get to be a part of it... to experience it only when we die.

Oh my dearest love... please, please understand that the moment we choose to take Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, repent of our evil ways..and rely on His grace to obey his commmands..then right then and there..right here and now..we are in His Kingdom. A Kingdom right in our heart... within us... for His Holy Spirit rests  in us, hallelujah!

Dwelling on that should make us jump and exult for joy... well betcha by golly wow... I belong to a Kingdom that lasts forever and where only God's goodness and mercy reigns forever... 

the fullness of this Kingdom of course unfolds to us when our earthly life ends and  when we enter heaven. How marvelous, how good God is!    

So..please...be happy..rejoice..let us celebrate our King Jesus...let us tell others about this Kingdom.. let us share the Good News! God bless you all.... te mye

   

The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man's thinking and living and organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking and effective manner Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, and nations.

Today's Mass establishes the titles for Christ's royalty over men:
 1) Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things; "All things were created by Him"; 
2) Christ is our Redeemer, He purchased us by His precious Blood, and made us His property and possession;
 3) Christ is Head of the Church, "holding in all things the primacy"; 
4) God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.

The Only One

Ave Maria:-)

Ah.. the holydays of All Saints and All Holy Souls Day are not without its benefits.

In prayer this morning , so thoroughly enjoying the quiet walk in our oh so short street named Yakal ( no doubt a sturdy Philippine tree) was so grateful for the empty street, the cooler air as November sets in and Christmas nears... slowly praying the rosary while walking ..it must be the most healing thing ever... physical and spiritual exercise at its best - I love the rosary because the mysteries contain what we need to know the most... of course there is the Our Father, the Hail Mary's , the Glory Be's yes... but the mysteries... that is what sets the pace -- that is where endless treasures can be found -- the most priceless wisdom freely given to us as we reflect on the Lord's humble life, and everything He went thru for our sakes. No wonder the BLessed Mother gave us this devotion.. it is not so much about her ..as it is a powerful and sure means to gain greater knowledge , faith and conversion to our Saviour -- she is a conduit -- she comes to us as one blessed soul who had first-hand knowledge of the gift of salvation and the Savior -- hence , rather than pick on her , and find ways to dishonour her -- tis better to simply thank her, thank Jesus for giving her to us as our spiritual  mother  ..and entrust ourself to her motherly care - Jesus benefitted from this ..surely He wants us to savor the same love and care. Amen to that.

Walks can either be boring, tiring -- or walks can help settle us , help us be in touch with our inner self..make us aware of surroundings and God's presence everywhere.

The Lord is so generous , He grants bonuses for us -- so that rather than we seeing ugliness and whatever is wrong with something, someone at a given moment - our heart and mind attunes instead to see only the beauty and goodness the Creator gives to His children. It is a positive preference, I guess. Praise the Lord.

the morning's treat for weary eyes:The neighbor's lawn has green velvety carabao grass, a neighbor has a tree that grows this queer seed-like fruit that in our youth at Biak-na bato, San Juan -we'd gingerly use for our "bahay-bahayan" games , for make believe cooking and all -- the blooms , little flowers really ---pop out of nowhere, begging to be noticed as they are also beautiful. Some days , if not most days --we can be in our typical rush -rush-rush ..trying our darnedest to catch appointments, to earn that buck- ---to accomplish, accomplish...accomplish -- hahaha -- we take ourselves too seriously becoz really even if we have built the highest skyscrapers in town --we can't take that to heaven can we? --- as for the gold and riches --as the good book warns us --- somebody else will surely inherit and use the treasures we painstaykingly accummulated thru the years --- isn't that life's perennial joke.? Vanity of vanities indeed.

By now we realize that if one wants to be remembered after death -- the memories that stick and will be cherished are the acts of goodness and love that the deceased has left behind. Thank God that for that -- one need not be a millionaire, the most learned or the most gifted to do these acts of love and goodness.One needs only the Spirit of God.

After the rounds of walking cum rosary, went home to the beloved garage, where the good ole monobloc grey chair was waiting...  ahh now it's time to reflect -- othertimes, I read /pray liturgy of the hours, a good book/pamphlet, devotional --thank God there are so many things we can use for prayer and growth.

Was led to just be quiet... it isn't always easy to be quiet... but there are moments like this when nothing stands between you and reverie... until an old faded picture of my father and me , at perhaps age 3 came to mind... we must have been at the zoo.. it's the most splendid picture ever because my father is at his prime - quite handsome, perhaps to me the most handsome man who ever lived, haha..and he had to stoop down as I was very little, so that the camera lens could frame us -- he totally shrouded me -- even now ..I'll cry again because the picture speaks of how my father loved not just me but countless other "children", my sister, my brother..cousins..his brothers and sisters..adopted sons and daughters - others older than him... so many men and women not even related by blood.

The real lover is the one who can make you feel the most special , the most precious, the only one at the time you are with him - this was a gift Danny had -- for the few minutes you were with him..perhaps just an embrace..an endearing word ..teasing or even scolding -- for that golden moment - you were the only one...the only one.

I am what I am because of this father's love... mother's love too (God is much too good - it is not as if I did not have my share of woes and pains -' could write a book on that but the love I recieved as a child prepared me for life's battles) .. we are who we are because of souls sent us by God the Father for us to stumble on the amazing truth  , that God does exist and that HE loves us  to the point of death ( not a pun -- but really twas what Jesus did for us on the cross)... 

We joyfully discover these realities and have faith in God because of these people who too loved us with an unconditional love...thru them we know God exists...because such love is never possible without a Source... and this source must be divine....and that what they give us is but a foretaste...just an appetizer of the love God would lavish upon us. 

and because They love us as God loves us -- with this love comes not just acceptance - but a wholehearted desire to ground us in what is good and true and pure -- with this love must come as well discipline and correction. Go thru the bible...read Old Testament accounts of how time and again... God the Father had to punish wayward, hardhearted, unfaithful Israelites -His beloved Chosen People who had this amazing capacity to choose other gods...false gods...this is real love , a love that will claim and rescue us from the devil's snares...... a love that brings us to our senses..a love that makes us painfully aware we are nothing without GOD --and how It Spells Death and Destruction to live a life apart from Him.

Some cousins were born rich..with vast resources at their disposal..some might have been materially poor..and yet the Lord made up for this by giving these cousins parents who were so strong in their faith with fervent spousal love..and who   were able to impart values that make them rich in the truest sense of the word. Some marriages have worked, even bearing sweet fruits of children, grandchildren... professional success... as some marriages didnot survive -- many have had their hearts broken over love affairs that remained purely affairs and never lifelong commitments... some remain single... some have migrated abroad... others chose to go home ....many endure hardships of all types... Today, the Lord asks us to stop and spend quiet time with Him.. to replay our life and to go thru it with Jesus by our side. To watch the people who have touched our lives..some with love...others passing thru our life with pain and malice.... 

We are who we are... we are where we are here and now..for a purpose ..and may it be so that we can be signboards that say to others:" GOD loves you... and God has a marvelous plan for you..one that ends all the way in heaven."

Danny towering and shrouding me was God the Father telling me...everything will be alright my daughter  for I am always with you...go then... Love others as I have loved you.

I remember you my dearest father Ramon, my beloved mother Lydia, Monsignour Nonoy, my Yaya Pilar and all whom the Lord has used to make believe  in a god Who is Pure love, pure forgiveness  , justice and truth.

Happy All Holy Souls Day to all.............................................................love and prayers... te mye