TO LIVE, TO LEARN, TO LOVE, AND TO LEAVE A LEGACY: A PRESCRIPTION FOR A JOYFUL AND FULFILLING LIFE

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By

Ernie D. Delfin

TO LIVE,  TO LEARN, TO LOVE,  AND  TO LEAVE A LEGACY:

A PRESCRIPTION FOR A  JOYFUL AND FULFILLING LIFE

                     Six decades and 5 years ago this month of July, I first saw the light of day in an unpolluted village called Anis, in the town of Laoac (formerly part  Manaoag, the  town made famous by the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparition hundred years ago),  as the second child of seven (and first born son) of my simple but hardworking farmer-father and my vendor-mother who are  both  deceased,  joining my two sisters (the eldest and the 4^th child)  who died even before them, and my youngest sister joining them a few years ago  to the Life Beyond.    With that brief  family background,  I am quite grateful to my God and Creator, that I have reached this age, reasonably healthy,  enjoying life’s comfort  with a loving family that includes a son EJ and my daughter Donna (with her engineer husband Tri)  who just gave us our first  apo (grandchild)  a year ago. Life is indeed a precious gift from God and what we do with it  is our gift  to God.    Now, without the normal  pressures of professional and business work,  there is more time in a week for me to do many things that makes my waking hours even go faster than.        

                   Like some retired people, it seems that we are now busier than when we were working!  Nevertheless, my activities are really getting more  exciting  although they are no longer measured by the inflows of dollars into our bank accounts.  Life continues to be exciting depending on what we do with it. For instance,  my wife and I are looking forward to  a totally new experience, a bold adventure, travelling to  Europe by ourselves, to be hosted by fellow Rotarians in Vienna, Lodon and Paris  as a member of our International Travel and Hosting Fellowship (ITHF).  In Rome,  my Dominican nun sister is also helping us to be special guests in  their Dominican Sisters House in Rome.    In the past, we were the hosts and also enjoyed the experience. As guests  in a foreign land for the first time,   with full trust and faith in the goodness of others,   adds to our excitement,  that may also bring  us  some serendipitous moments along the way.

                 To be happy and fulfilled is one of  man’s  innate cravings.     I still vividly remember a seminar I participated over 30 years ago where the  speaker gave a   formula  to be truly happy is  simply to have an equilibrium  of all our human activities during our entire life.  Theseminar creator, Dr. Steven R. Covey, the author of the best seller “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”    opined that in order for a person to  have a well balanced life,  he  must consciously integrate  the essential quadrants into his life, namely:  the Physical Quadrant (TO LIVE) Mental Quadrant (TO LEARN)  Social Quadrant (TO LOVE) and Spiritual Quadrant (TO LEAVE A LEGACY).

            Like most professionals and businesspeople, in the   earlier years of  our careers or professions,   I  too was very much preoccupied in  working hard and long to  live and learning to get a degree while working.  With a business degree and CPA license,  I even worked harder  to reach  my own  dreams and also to  fulfill some  suppressed desires of my faded  youth:the  “earthly” games and adventures   that my rich classmates in Letran College were already enjoying  then.    Working hard and long for over 40 years  allowed me  to live  comfortably now,  but those years  left me barely enough time to get really  involved in civic work (the last two quadrants of a meaningful life) in  giving back to my own community, locally and internationally.

       Now in my 60’s  I think I am now making up with  those “missed” opportunities to love more (social work) and to leave a legacy (spiritual work nor necessarily religious).  With a redirected focus what is truly important thing worth doing,   I believe that I can contribute more time and energy in a true Service Above Self or be a Man for Others as St. Ignatius of Loyola described it.  For that blessing alone,  I am eternally  grateful to my God that I have lived this long, longer than my own father’s life on this earth.      

          On a nostalgic note, once we  the retreatants in a Franciscan Retreat Center   were asked who do we think are the genuinely happiest people?   Responses  were varied and many: good health , enough money,   good family,  successful career, world travel. etc etc.   Lo and behold we had it all wrong, according to this Franciscan retreat master-friar!  He said that themost happy people are the GRATEFUL people.  Grateful for what they are, how they are and what they have,  without complaining what they “lack” in this life.  At this stage of my life, I now believe it is indeed true.  This philosophy made me realize  now  why my only living sister Sor. Letty, a Dominican nun for almost 30 years now,  is definitely happier and more fulfilled  despite that fact that she has almost no material possessions like a car, house or  a retirement money compared to many of us who often worry about these things to make us “happier” by not worrying  about tomorrow.  

          It is sometimes difficult to make sense of all these life’s philosophies but  then  I console myself by  reflecting on an old poster in my home office that says “Life is a mystery to be lived,  and not a problem to be solved!”  Probably I am just rationalizing too much about my own life’s journey  to this day!

                                                           ----------------

         While we are into this topics of  “Leaving a Legacy and to be a Man for Others”,  I invitethe my readers to  visit our www.gkerotaryclub3780.org  about our Global Kalinga e-Rotary Club that I just founded this summer, as one effective and proven way to render a true Service Above Self.  As a Rotarian for about 15 years now, I find that Rotary International is an excellent vehicle to do humanitarian service because through it, one’s efforts are compounded a thousand times throughout the world.  One of the oldest organizations in theworld, Rotary is 106 years old with over 1.3 million members in  about 200 countries and territories throughout the world. With matching grants from the Rotary Foundation,  one’s contribution to alleviate poverty or any humanitarian project can be multiplied many times over.

           Our new GK e-Rotary Club is embarking  some ambitious long term project in thePhilippines that was never been done before  on a national scale. It will be our flagship project called Entrepreneurship Development for Socioeconomic Advancement (EDSA) Training Seminars for the Filipino  YOUTH.  Rotary  experience in other countries,  that  out of 100 students going through this Entrepreneurship Training,  20 go into their own business, who in turn employ 4-6 employees each entrepreneur,  is very encouraging!  It is our hope that this project (where we can train, mentor the young entrepreneurs and even help capitalize the best business plans of the students)   can make a dent on the massive unemployment of our youth, to reverse the trend of millions of  people, including college graduates,   leaving the country to do menial jobs,  maids and helpers in foreign lands where many are exploited and maltreated or even sexually abused.     This is  our big dream in unchartered waters, but we have theexperience and the unselfish  passion to do it.  But we  still need  more  supporters (morally and financially)  to make it a reality.   God willing, we can start implementing this project  by next year.

          If you, dear reader, would like to inquire about the details,   just email this columnist, and I personally will  send you a brochure  or answer your questions that you may have. These projects will have no pecuniary benefits for  us,  volunteers but we are doing it for humanitarian reason to follow our Rotarian’s motto of Service Above Self, Reaching Within To Embrace Humanity!

          We hope to get some support from others to make this bold gargantuan project possible.  If you are moved, please help our GKeRotary, to help us  help others.  Thank you and  God bless us all!

                                                          ------   3 0  --------

The Metamorphosis’ Food for Thought this  week:

        The Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most; he said, "Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in thepresent or the future. He lives as if he is never going to die, then he dies having never really lived.

       A noted theologian C.S. Lewis wrote, “Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you get neither.”  

Email:   ernie.delfin@gmail.com,  drbannatiran@yahoo.com

“NEVER CHOOSE YOUR ROLE MODELS AND HEROES LIGHTLY!”

“NEVER  CHOOSE YOUR ROLE MODELS

AND HEROES LIGHTLY!”

                   “Where there is no vision, the people perish”

                                                                                  Proverbs 29:18

             The month of June has arrived,  the beginning of another  summer, and also the end of another school year in  the United States   when thousands of our young people  graduate from elementary, high school or university.  Many families have  children, nephews and nieces graduating,  and the graduation parties that follow are a good reason to get together and celebrate.  Although education is  becoming a very expensive commodity, but then, try ignorance!  The lack of  good and  solid education will  be ultimately more “expensive”  and probably  more disastrous to any young person’s  future.

             It’s been half a century since my own high school batch graduated from  the only Catholic high school, Holy Rosary Academy, run by the Franciscan sisters, then (now a Dominican college, affiliated with UST and Letran  University) of  our town of Manaoag, Pangasinan, Philippines.   The last  50 years,   I have witnessed the evolution of the education system both in the Philippines and   in the USA and in many respects the quality of education  has deteriorated.  I know I am not alone in this conclusion  as I shared my observations with many friends and contemporaries, especially if we were to compare the present crop of our  graduates with their counterparts in Japan, Singapore or Taiwan.

              In our Rotary travels to these countries,  we have observed that their school system takes their children’s education more seriously than we do in the USA or in the Philippines.  Their schools expect and demand more focus and  rigid discipline in  subjects  that matter most: reading, writing, math, engineering and sciences. In Japan, school children spend much more time in schools studying than playing sports  or engaging in  extra-curricular activities. To our surprise,  the students even in elementary grades were even assigned to help clean their classrooms on a rotation  basis,  hence there were  less janitors or custodians  hired to maintain them! 

* * *

        My baby boomers generation (born between 1946 and  1964) seems  oceans apart from the current  millennial generation in so many respects.  Our generation became the beneficiaries of our parents’ generation who worked very hard and practiced in ‘Saving for the Rainy Days” philosophy  and generally speaking  my generation  sacrificed or struggled less  to obtain  our education that our parent’s generation.  By extension,  our children’s  generation  has become the YOLO (You Only Live Once) generation.  I shudder to think what will their own children become if this  trend continues. Twenty five years from now, there will be another billion or more people inhabiting this planet, resulting to keener competition for fewer opportunities and consuming declining resources that are being produced.    Will the Malthusian theory on population that  opines that the exponential increase in population (while food production increases only arithmetically)  can only be checked by war and famine  visit future generations?    

           NOW,  let me go back to the heart of my intended topic,   MY CHALLENGE TO THE YOUTH, ESPECIALLYTHE NEW GRADUATES, as they prepare to  enter into the real world  to earn a living and then  sooner or later, to start their own families too.     

              I had my fair share listening to many commencement speakers from politicians, community leaders, church leaders, authors and intellectuals  to business giants.  I also had been invited to speak before a few commencement exercises in the past two decades in California and in the Philippines.     

              If I have my wish,  commencement speakers should be delivered by people of substance in the likes of heroes and real achievers who  have impacted the world, like  Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, and not just elected politicians, government bureaucrats or pseudo intellectuals.

           I read that many commencement speakers  left almost nothing to remember after they have delivered their “commencement” advice,  a few years or even a  weeks after they are delivered.  The few times I had the honor of being invited as a commencement speaker,  I still vividly remember my theme:   “NEVER CHOOSE YOUR ROLE MODELS AND HEROES LIGHTLY” to the graduates not only in their chosen careers but also throughout their life’s journey.

         Allow me to elaborate. 

         Our choice of heroes and role models can leave  indelible marks in our lives.  We become what we want to become largely because of the people and ideals  we pattern our lives after. Even the Good Book says:  “Where your treasure is, is where your heart be!”  It’s been proven that there are  primarily only two factors that can mold our lives:  the people  that we  associate with constantly and  the kinds of  books we continue to read even after school.  They are  the water and fertilizer that contribute greatly to our growth as  human beings.

              I was a teenager in 1961  when a young charismatic  leader,  John Fitzgerald Kennedy  was inaugurated asthe 35^th U.S. president.  As a visionary leader,  JFK established the Peace Corps and started the exploration of thespace that eventually landed a man on the moon.  His immortal admonition to his countrymen “Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country” still reverberates  to this day, and  I believe, that that advice is  more needed today  to reverse more and more takers than givers especially in the  government social programs (aka dole-outs) the last  several decades!

           These days,     critical thinking and high,   lofty  goals  among the YOLO

generation have dramatically declined.  Recent statistics about the aspirations of

many students are disheartening when you analyze and ponder  that a  majority of

university students would love to work for the government as “civil servants” rather

than in business or entrepreneurship,  or in  research and development  

laboratories.  In the Philippines,  even the  Cardinal Luis G. “ Chito”Tagle of the

Archdiocese of Manila  narrated his dismay in his book ‘Easter People: Living Community’ .  Quote: “ I was talking with a young woman who had just graduated from college. I asked her, “What is your dream in life?” “Father, my dream is I want to have the best cell phone available!” You call that a dream? If that is a dream, you will not have energy, for that the type of dream that will stir in us the flames of energy!”   HOW SAD!

              Many young Filipino students’ role models and heroes have become a

laughing  matter as they wanted to be like their aunts, sister or cousins who are

domestic helpers or nannies or caregivers in Italy or Hong Kong or caretakers in the

USA or Canada.    Some of their role “models”who have made to Congress are

college dropouts, basketball players, comedians and actors!   Dollars  and consumer

products have become the number one magnets  that influence their career paths

           To all  students and graduates everywhere,  my challenge and admonition to you and  your generation:    “Aim high and pursue lofty goals even when they seem impossible to reach.  Do not equate success with  just money as the sole criterion.   Many people have rich bank account, but do not live a rich life. Never be contented of the status quo  and just become  lackadaisical consumers of what others have produced.   As you  continue your life journey, there will be  many forks in the road, some roads are already paved where you probably do not have to exert much  effort to move forward,  but that road may not lead you anywhere that is challenging,  meaningful and rewarding.  Go where the road has not been cleared, instead make a trail for others to follow.  Your library is filled with thousands of stories or biographies of great men adwomen who have done exactly that   Let their life stories inspire and give you a true north compass to guide you.   Never, never  CHOOSE YOUR HEROES  OR ROLE MODELS   LIGHTLY!”    Find one  who is worth following so that 50 years from now, you will never regret and say “My life had no meaning, after  realizing that you were just existing and not living your full potential and have not contributed much to improve the quality of life for  the next generation  on this Planet Earth!  My hope and prayer is that you will also leave this world a better place than how  you found it!”

             Good luck and  May the Omnipotent Lord guide you in your  journey and may your life be filled with purpose and meaning!    

                                                  --- --  3    0 - - - - -

The Metamorphosis’  Empowering Thoughts for today:

     THE SEVEN SINS IN THE WORLD

                       According to Mahatma Gandhi

1.     Wealth without work.

2.     Pleasure without conscience.

3.     Knowledge without character.

4.     Commerce without morality.

5.     Science without humanity.

6.     Worship without sacrifice

7.     Politics without principles

Email writer at:   ernie.delfin@gmail.com  

Visit:   www. rotaryeclubGlobalKalingaD3780.org

A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION: THINGS THAT MATTER MOST (12/2014)

THE METAMORHOSIS

By

Ernie D. Delfin

A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION:  THINGS THAT MATTER MOST

(when one becomes a “senior” citizen)

                                        “ Life with a purpose is a life of fulfillment….

                                   I value the freedom   to serve more than the power to rule!”

                                                             Tony Meloto,  GK Founder & Builder of Dreams        

          

           It’s  just 8 days before Christmas, and the “Simbang Gabi” has started and I feel mixtures of human emotions as  I am all alone  in a big  4-bedroom house, as my wife is still in the Philippines (attending the funeral of her 94-year-old mother who passed away a day before Thanksgiving) and my only son, EJ,  now has his own apartment  near  Arcadia High School where he teaches English, more than an hour away from home.  For  more than a month this Christmastime,  I have  plenty of time to do “nothing” in solitude or do as many activities that I want like:  reading, writing, volunteer or ministry  work and APOStolic work, and above all reflecting about my own life, its purpose and meaning.

          Since the week before Thanksgiving up to this moment as I write this Christmas column,  I have a gamut of human experiences that were never planned nor expected: from a witnessing a rare but very solemn  Catholic baptism of a woman inmate in Orange County jail on the Feast of Immaculate Conception, where about a dozen of her fellow inmates were witnesses, and me serving as sacristan to the officiating priest;   to an uncommon power outage last week over  several blocks, that included the high rise  hotel that we were staying I the Union Square in Downtown San Francisco, with my daughter’s family where I played the  role of a male “nanny” for four days,  to  going to the gym and Barnes & Noble bookstore oftener than usual as the rains have taken over my work in our farmyard. It’s been an emotional roller-coaster and physiological cul-de-sac going through another death in  the family then Thanksgiving and now Christmastime!

            Attending the start of the Simbang Gabi (“misa de gallo” or mass of the rooster), brought back fifty plus years of memories and inspired  my mind to write about life, its natural cycle, and “What Matters Most” in my  life.   With  the theme of hope and preparation that Advent brings to all Christians, I am writing this  Christmas column  to verbalize my thoughts centering on my own TOP TEN things that matter most,  at this stage of my earthly life, with the Season’s hope that they will also prompt you, the readers,  to come up with your own TOP TEN :

1. FAMILY:     Somewhere in the distant past,  I read that “No success can compensate the failure at home.”   More common expression that we hear often is “there is no place like home.”    These  expressions, however, are just taken for granted during one’s youth.   But once a person reaches his Medicare eligibility age,  love and family become more important  and the love for self decreases whereas the love for his family, especially his  grandchildren, increases.   Instinctively,  as the person gets older,  he longs more for his family and often creates varied  reasons or events, like birthdays or anniversaries, just to get together to enjoy the company of family and friends.   

2.  FRIENDS  =   Like the family,  true friends are equally important as  they motivate  you to  become a better person . True friends are great assets that you do not have to  buy but nurtured.   Friends that you admire can become your inspiration to  become  like them.  A genuine friend is someone that can also say no to you, and but always be there to  help you overcome your own human frailties to become a more useful and better human being.  A great friendship is one that elevates each other to reach your  greatest potential, like how Jesus made his apostles the best they can be --- from where they were to where they have become. 

3. FREEDOM:     Like the birds in the sky,  senior citizens, like me, love to be free as they are no longer obligated  to do the work that they used to do to make a living, either as an employee or a business owner.    To do or not to do  something during one’s retirement  becomes an option every day.  Even the activities of daily living, including eating at a particular time or showering in the morning or afternoon become priceless  options once you are retired.

4. FULFILLMENT  =   Before retirement, a person primarily works for compensation  (to be able to purchase the  material things he needs to survive or just to show off that he  can also  afford  some luxury) or simply to be recognized by others.   At 65,  many people do things not only for money   to have that feeling of fulfillment,  the third side of that invisible Recognition-Fulfillment-Compensation (RFC) triangle. Fulfillment is invisible but felt deeply  inside that makes the person feel joy and contentment. It cannot be bought nor given by someone but self-generated. 

5. HEALTH  =    ‘Health is wealth’  becomes the retiree’s  mantra and his most valued possession.   With the advance of health care technology coupled with the fact that the vast majority of jobs no longer require back-breaking  efforts under the extreme heat in the sun,   65 has been called the new 45. Today, actuarial science indicates  that retirees who are relatively healthy at 65 has 50 percent or higher that they will reach the century mark. It’s  God’s  priceless gift to us, to be healthy and alive and still have all the human senses intact.   

6. BOOKS, CULTURE, ARTS,  THEATER AND MOVIES  =  I could not imagine a world without these things as they  provide beautiful colors and different flavors to enjoy. They supply all the oxygen to energize our  minds and spirit.  These things, however, are often more expensive than just biking or walking along the beach that are equally enjoyable.  They stimulate the mind, bring us to distant places where we have never been, meet people we have never met while enriching our lives beyond our expectations.  

7. TRAVEL, ADVENTURE & NATURE    =    It’s  ironical that my   Bucket List  has more things to see  and places to visit now, than in the past, in  indirect proportion to the number of years that I have. To resolve this dilemma, I have learned to put several options  in front  of me, and ask  my Lord, my  God to make it happen the way HE sees fit for me.  It’s less stressful to surrender to HIM when HE wants me to do it.  A Franciscan priest friend of mine, Fr. Emery Tang OFM (Bless his soul) summed it beautifully this way:  “God will always gives us  the health and a long life for us to  do what He wants us   to accomplish before we   join Him  in heaven”.   That belief and practice  have  liberated me from my control-freak personality that I used to have, which made me enjoy life better.

8.  DOING SERVICE FOR OTHERS  =   Last Thanksgiving  weekend,  America and the rest of the world have again witnessed the   CNN Heroes  Annual Event and watching it on my  TV set, with great admiration for these TEN exemplary human beings  is pure enjoyment and inspiration.  My small contribution to make this world a better world for my children and their children, like volunteering as a prison minister in Orange County Jail,  being a member of our Parish Pastoral Council, Eucharistic Ministry  and Peace & Justice Ministry in addition to the  many volunteer hours to Rotary projects locally and internationally  are very puny compared to what these CNN Heroes are doing.  Nevertheless doing these small  services-above-self gives meaning and purpose to my own  life. Like these CNN Heroes, I too believe that one cannot be truly happy if you only think of yourself and never lift a finger to help others.

9.  RETREATS IN NEW  PLACES AND NEW RETREAT MASTERS  =     “Where your treasure is, is where your heart will be”   becomes a guiding star when  you become older. After college, our focus was on your  career, money and the pursuit of happiness often measured in material terms.  Once you retired from “work” or business,  it’s no longer necessary to drive a brand new car or to wear expensive suits,  rather, to seek other things,  go to places and  retreats to enrich  your own spirituality. Why? Simply because you might be able to count your treasure or wealthy but you can never count the remaining days of your life.   This coming year,  I will seek and attend a Jesuit led retreat in a new retreat center to learn more about their world famous “Ignatian Spiritual Exercises”  as I got intrigued and interested after reading   “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything” by Fr. James Martin, SJ.   As one admirer of Pope Francis, (a Jesuit priest but also a humble follower of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order)  I am absolutely certain  that I will learn new interesting things about Ignatius of Loyola. This Jesuit led retreats will augment my knowledge about the Dominicans (was a graduate of a Dominican run high school and college (Letran) in Manila)  as well as my acquired knowledge about the Franciscans where I have decades of friendships with several friars and attended dozens of their retreats in California.

10.  PLAIN LEISURE, THE LUXURY OF  DOING NOTHING  =    Last but not the least,   I love and enjoy  plain leisure, and just doing nothing.  Just in silent retreats,  plain conversation with yourself or  with  Invisible Spirit that  you can only hear when you are completely silent,  is one mysterious miracle of being alive and human.  Just as  miracles are happening inside your body in deep sleep, so are miracles also occurring in your being  in perfect silence.  There is  always a profit earned by doing nothing, which  I hope to  do this as much as I can the rest of my life…. If you have nothing to do, you can do it anywhere!

        Before signing off, I extend my best wishes to  my family, relatives and friends including my thousands of FaceBook  friends  around  the world,  and all who are reading this column.  I pray to the Lord, our God and Redeemer whose birthday we celebrate this month,  to grant all of us a very  Peaceful &  Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy Prosperous  2015!

                                                                ----- 3 0  --------

Email:  ernie.delfin@gmail.com or  ernie.gkerc@gmail.com

Websites:    www.rotaryeclubGlobalKalingaD3780.org

                       www.goldcrowdfunding.com/erniedelfin

POPE FRANCIS BRINGS HOPE, SIMPLICITY AND MORAL FORCE TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE (1/17/15)

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By

Ernie D. Delfin

POPE FRANCIS  BRINGS HOPE, SIMPLICITY

 AND  MORAL  FORCE TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

                      “The  world tells us to seek success, power and money;

                                     God tell  us to seek humility, service and love.”

                                                                                         ---- Pope  Francis

                  When this Asian Journal issue is out, the beloved Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis  is already in the Philippines and will cause not only historic and massive gathering of the faithful but a herd of politicians salivating to have a selfie with him or  piggy backing after his great influence and popularity.  Millions of words have been written about him, applauding his much-needed type of Servant- Leadership heart and humility. His visit is a breath of fresh air to the Catholic Church that has also produced many modern-day-Padre Damasos (men of cloth who are drawn to the trappings of wealth, opulence and women).  These unwanted Padre Damasos as well as the many leeches or corrupt government officials,  are the ones, I pray, to be transformed to act like the  repentant King David to follow the Pope’s   exemplary leadership on humility and simplicity.

              Like millions of Catholics and peace-loving people,  I love most,  if not  all, that I read about the simplicity, humility and work ethic of this first and only Latin American cardinal who was elected as the Vicar of Christ in March of 2013.   His choice of Papal name as Pope Francis, after Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order,  who renounced his family’s wealth to work for the poor and the lepers, portends  what will come and is being manifested almost every time  he goes out from his Papal throne.  A good tango dancer in his younger days, he is already a very uncommon man of cloth that made him a great change to the Vatican hierarchy.  For instance, he does not relish living lavishly but quite happy living with minimalism.   As a Cardinal before he was elected to succeed Pope Benedict who unexpectedly resigned his position, Pope Francis  cooked his own food, lived in his modest apartment,   took public transportation and walked like many working people, as he enjoyed being with the common people around the Vatican.  I also  love the fact that this Pope has been depicted as one who has a very amiable and  transparent    “what you see is what you get” personality, punctuated with having a  great sense of humor and spontaneity”.

            As a Pope for less than two years, has had done away with the traditional elegant, colorful,  expensive  wardrobe and the Papal red shoes with simple  and less extravagant symbols of his powerful papal crown crown  as the CEO of the Catholic Church.  His food choices are also very  common and less expensive than his predecessors’ are. He is known to be going to places where many popes never dared to go, embracing people of other faiths, and welcoming and accepting gays in his public pronouncements, justifying his unique actions that who is he to judge God’s people?

          Any reader can read more about him simply by googling his name, and  most likely  he will be pleasantly surprised to learn more uncommon things, work habits and deportment of this well loved Vicar  of Christ in the Vatican.

                                                        --------------------    

              May I share some of his  typical pronouncements that are quite basic and biblical that are causing positive discussions in the Catholic Church, simply because they are coming from Pope Francis himself.  Like a much heavier stone thrown into the water of the church, his admonition to his priests and laity is now causing  more ripple effects throughout the world.  When   Pope Francis said that his concern for the poor and critique of the global economic system is not some novel, communist-inspired ideology but rather the very essence of the Christian faith grounded to the principle of the common good.   He often reminded his audiences about  the Gospel of Matthew, the very core and essential mission of the Church:  "I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was in prison, I was sick, I was naked and you helped me, clothed me, visited me, took care of me."

           Other examples of his homilies that priests, bishops and cardinals must learn to do and  follow are:     

        "Caring for our neighbor, for those who are poor, who suffer in body and soul, for those who are in need is not   pauperism.  No. It is the Gospel."

           "The Gospel does not condemn the wealthy, but the idolatry of wealth, the idolatry that makes people indifferent to the call of the poor.”

             "As we can see, this concern for the poor is in the Gospel, it is within the tradition of the church, it is not an invention of communism and it must not be turned into some ideology, as has sometimes happened before, in the course of history." (an apparent reference to the Latin American-inspired liberation theology)

                Both a great follower of St.  Ignatius of Loyola (Jesuits) and St. Francis of Assisi (Franciscans) , our  Pope Francis started his papacy only in March 2013, and in less than two years he has already  upset many in the Catholic Church with his relatively progressive views and attempts to change the way the Vatican hierarchy works.

                                                                     ----------

           As  a practicing Catholic and  a Filipino living in Diaspora, looking at my homeland  from a distance (California) here are some random wish/prayer lists that I hope will happen with Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines this week. Some of these wishes may seem presumptuous (as they  might be  already in place or being done already)   but  they are being suggested nevertheless with the sincere hope that it will make our homeland a better place for as many people as possible.

1.    That he will upset the status quo of the very rich becoming richer but the poor becoming poorer.  Better still,  I hope he can embarrass all  those (deserving to be embarrassed) hypocrite leaders who tried very hard to hide the “poverty” that is prevalent in the country and spending millions doing it.

2.    That he will admonish  his priests, bishops and cardinals to work harder for the poor and the powerless and do not play politics as dozens of church leaders have allegedly crossed the ethical line of being closed friends  of  some corrupt politicians to gain  economic gains or material handouts from them.

3.    That he assigns more priests in remote, poor municipalities to educate as well as influence the poor not to sell their votes for a few hundred pesos for instant gratification but instead to teach them to demand from their leaders more lasting solutions to their poverty, as part and parcel of their basic human rights and dignity  as citizens.

4.     That he encourages Catholic schools to include Social Justice more in their curriculum and provide practical ways to see it work and for churches to have working models how rich and poor people can collaborate and work  for the common good.

5.    That the working poor, like to millions of OFWs, called the modern day heroes of the Philippines, (aka milking cows of the government)  must be encouraged and taught to organize to work for the upliftment of their plight and common good.   

6.    To insinuate and  challenge the political leaders to give more teeth to fight human trafficking of young children and women that is a common knowledge in the Philippines.

7.     To require and train all priests and deacons to be able to deliver relevant and meaningful homilies that can inspire the faithful.  Many priests  put  people to sleep  with their boring homilies. Many priests are very ineffective to emotionally and intellectually challenge the laity to respond and act.  In the seminary,  before they are ordained as priests or deacons, they must learn how to communicate more effectively.  Participation in Toastmasters International can dramatically help them or they  can also  learn much from some evangelical Christian church pastors (even on TV!)   who can tell the audience to jump into the lake and some will do it!

            In conclusion,   I hope and pray that this humble successor of Jesus Christ on earth, Pope Francis will see the real beauty of the Filipino people.  I pray that he encourages and prods   them to reach their God-given potential to become the best dignified human being as they can be, and  not just  blind followers of corrupt leaders who perennially desire to maintain the status quo for their own selfish interests. The Pope must challenge them to garner enough courage to become more assertive human beings to work for their common good.  He must explain that the beatitude  “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3) does not mean that God wants them to be poor.  God never meant nor wanted the poor to become slaves since the beginning of the world, and now under the 21^st century Pharaohs who exploit  them  for their own selfish benefits.

          A  tailor-made and succintly expressed homily for the  Filipino audience can be a timely catalyst for change that will affect the lives of millions of Filipinos who have been exploited by those who are in power for so long. It’s high time to share the blessings from God with everyone, especially those who have almost nothing.  That is the primary mission of  the Church from the very beginning.  Pope Francis is just reminding the world and the Filipino people about to work more diligently about it.

              Viva Santo Papa!   May you live a long  healthy life!

                                                                    

                                                         ---- 3 0 ----

Email me:  ernie.delfin@gmail.com

www.rotaryeclubGlobalKalingaD3780.org

www.goldcrowdfunding.com/entrepreneurshipmentor

SADNESS, SELF-PITY, SUICIDE AMIDSTT SUCCESS AND LAUGHTERS IN OUR LIVES

THE Metamorphosis

By

Ernie D. Delfin

SADNESS, SELF-PITY,  SUICIDE AMIDST

SUCCESS AND LAUGHTERS IN OUR  LIVES

               "Human Suffering is a part and parcel of our life on Earth:  it has not changed   since the fall of   Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise.   Such Suffering to have its intrinsic value for our purification is to offer it as a part of the sufferings of Christ on the Cross for our redemption. " 

                                               Some notes taken by the author from one of His  Spiritual Retreats

          The recent untimely death (is there such thing as a " timely " death?)   of a talented actor and laconic comedian, Robin Williams, 63,   caused my medulla oblongata    to ponder, rationalizing and examine my own life   of over 6 Decades.   Like millions of Mr. Williams' fans who were made ​​to laugh at his comic and his sterling performance in movies like the "Dead Poets Society", I too was not only shocked but deeply saddened by His reported suicide.

                    B ombarded by countless demonic bad news and happenings in our world, around the country, in our own local communities, or Even in our families, it is Both a blessing and a mystery that there millions of us who continue to live our lives, Even In quiet desperation and silent sufferings!   How then, can a normal person continue to live happily and   fulfilled, without going Robin Williams?

           Even there was short lived debate in Facebook that Mr. Williams was    a 'coward' person doing what he did to end His Earthly life, on one side, that is equally opposed by others, who think that  he was a "brave" and generous  man doing what he did!    Personally,   I believe, Neither is it cowardice nor bravery that  can really describe this tragedy of laughing in the outside but inside crying desperately.   BUT,  if I had to select just one adjective, I would say, he possibly was a "brave man",   a compassionate human being ,  simply Because he probably did not think only  of himself but  also the potential 'sufferings' and anxiety that His   deteriorating physical condition (mental illness and Parkinson's disease)  will Eventually Affect  His  own family, especially His children that he loved so much.

          Somehow,   I can empathize with and could relate to such a human condition when "the entire world seems going against you,  when everything you do is wrong "   and   that life is not worth living no more! 

            Due to this tragic news of Mr. Williams  death, I could not help but reminisce,   with mixed emotions of sadness and gratitude,   my personal experience along this human predicament of appearing happy in the outside but very melancholic deep inside.    About two scores   ago,  I had a terrible accident in Dagupan City , Philippines, During my first 'returnees' (homecoming) trip to the Philippines   with my wife, and coming back to California physically disabled, and aggravated by the unexpected  closure of the convalescent  hospital where I was working then,  by the government authorities   due to allegations of endangering the health and safety of the patients and other criminal acts.   An investigator from the District Attorneys Office wanted to get some depositions from me, as I was then the Controller.   At the same time, my employer,   then,  wanted me to go back to the Philippines and was willing  to give my "salary"   for a continued vacation, that could  result to a "permanent exile" from America! (Mysteriously or coincidentally, my very first  employer in America, was  a former professor in Auditing Knights   who got me to America just to be "exploited" as I did not have a legal status to work then,  was also sued by the government in the mid 70's   for some shenanigans,  years after I left my professor's management  firm!   And,  in the mid-1980s, another employer, the infamous Eminiano "Jun" Reodica   is  currently    in jail awaiting trial for   myriad of fraudulent financial scams that he has been accused of masterminding . His trial, it was reported, is   scheduled next November 2014,   in a Los Angeles Court. Catch! )

                What would a person, like me,   without much experience in life, then,  do with those God-given trials?   ....   In those darkest hours of the soul,   death (suicide or any other cause) seems the only way out, and for  one lonely winter   night   near the  Santa Monica pier,   I also contemplated suicide!    BUT, some inexplicable voice from above,  barely audible in the fury of the waves in the cold blue ocean, was whispering to me  that "I do not own my life ,   that it is just borrowed from my Creator, my God ".    Mysteriously, I remembered some lessons from  my Theology classes that "suicide is a mortal sin and it was  a taboo in the Catholic Church   that prevents Even a person from being buried in a Catholic cemetery. "   For a suicidal person, however,   those considerations of where to be buried   or what happens after death His Futile and are totally  irrelevant!

               Serendipitous revelation that  brought me to my senses, and the User is following day I went to visit a trusted Dominican priest, Rev. Greg Raymundo, OP (Bless His Soul) who was then a pastor of St. Clement's Catholic Church in Santa Monica, (he was also one of my theology professors in Letran and the Secretary General who knew me throughout my college years) and sought His wise counsel.    After confiding the heaviest burdens of my heart,  (that Even MIGHT wife did not know then), one   sentence coming from His holy man, dissipated all the   dark clouds hovering over me. In His unique soft voice, he simply said, "Ernie, I believe what you are telling me is true, so you have nothing to fear .. all you have  do is tell the truth! "   That advice compelled me to call and visit  the District Attorney's Office in LA,  the next day!   (What happened the next few months is another interesting  roller-coaster, but story)

            Looking back, with a few   more  seemingly insurmountable problems that have come my way, the last four Decades in America,  I  firmly believe that God gives us  trials that we can handle, to make us stronger and better children of His, if we Allow Ourselves to listen to His  very soft  voice.   And that can only happen in a Heartfelt   prayer of trust,  in complete surrender to His will.   After all, as our Catechism book ŢĖŁŀŞ us the real purpose of our life here on earth is very simple:   To know HIM, to love and to serve HIM HIM.    To paraphrase the    Book of Ecclesiastes "There is a reason for every season:   there is a time to Weep and a time to laugh, a time to be born, a time to die! "

*

              

              Although it is quite Difficult and a great challenge to be happy and have a balanced life amidst all the bad news in our world (the beheading of two Americans, wars in Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan,   children being smuggled into the USA, drought in California , two Malaysian Airlines lost, Ebola epidemic,   typhoons and hurricanes, etc etc),   it is still possible to be happy and contented, if we have the humility to  follow the beautiful  Prayer of Serenity:   "God give me the courage to change   the things I can, the   patience to accept the things I can not change, and the WISDOM to know the difference. " 

              The unassuming life of the lotus plant can  give us a lesson  to inspire us.  Thrown into  a pond of polluted muddied   waters, the lotus flower plants    seek the sunlight  to survive, and They Eventually  l blossom and their colorful  flowers celebrate life and through this natural  process, They Even Purify  the dirty and   fetid   water Beneath !.   This analogy also comes to mind as Prison Ministers Whenever we visit the Orange County Jail weekly  to provide hope and some BIBLE ( B asic I nstructions B efore L eaving E arth) lessons to the dozens  of inmates, who for the most part never had    Bible or religious education in their previous lives.

               Interfacing with dozens of deacons, priests and  fellow  Prison Ministers   in our Diocese of Orange,   I  believe that  these unselfish  Christian volunteers are happy and fulfilled individuals.   investing  hundreds if not Thousands  of hours of their     time to help guide and teach these inmates,  who have fallen  from the right path. Living out their faith,   these prison ministers are giving hope to the inmates   as They Follow Christ's  admonition to "feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and visit those in prison to."

             Generally speaking, the inmates who attend  our  classes voluntarily are  hungry to know more about God and the Bible.  We guide,  study and share the lessons  with Them from the   last Sunday's readings,  and also give communion services to those Catholics who have been baptized and   have received their first communion. A part of the services is Encouraging Them to lift up their personal  petitions and   pray for one another.   During that solemn day of being together in one room, it is very hard to imagine that these   inmates and prisoners are the same persons who  have been accused or convicted of some serious crimes in the state's  criminal justice system, especially when They behave just like any other human being:   expressive, receptive and grateful Even  for volunteering our  time to visit Them and ministering to their spiritual needs. (BTW, many inmates do not have families nor friends visiting Them and all!)  

          Our Restorative Justice & Prison Ministry's   main goal is to give our Undivided   presence to the inmates, to share with Them  lessons in the Bible, and the Good News of Christ and many facets of our Catholic faith. All of us   are plain  gone volunteers who have gone through a certification process by the Diocese as well as having  passed a rigid  police clearance system enter these country jails  anytime with our official badge. From time to time, we hear that   some  inmates,  who have gone through our  Diocese Prison Ministry classes,    have turned their lives around when released from prison They are both back to society and Become  better citizens.   prison To all of us ministers,  just learning that good news is   a priceless   reward for our time invested to  this  ministry for the  "lost sheep" that are now found!

  

                                                                            *

Email:   ernie.delfin@gmail.com  or   zhunrize.foundation@gmail.com

Visit:        www.rotaryeclubGlobalKalingaD3780.org

Please shop on our online mall:      www.foundation4nextgen.zhuncity.com