Amidst the Noise, a Persuasive Silence

Batulao. January 1, 2016. 12:05 AM. 

Sunset at Mt. Batulao (as seen from Don Bosco Batulao)

The firecrackers fill the darkness that blocks this place from the houses and revelry nearby.  The fireworks I see from this window are all far away… like small dandelions popping in the mixture of darkness, rainclouds and the night fog.  And in 

the interval of pop’s, boom’s, whistles and horns, 

the frightened dogs bark. 

It has been 14 years that I haven’t experienced New Year in the Philippines.  My last New Year’s eve was in Atsugi, Japan.  We had the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 7 PM.  Families — many from South America — came and went. Then, there was the Benediction at 11:30.  And the Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God at exactly 12 MN.  No fireworks.  No firecrackers.  This was Japan.  The only noise were all in the train stations and the temples and shrines were the ordinary, “no-religion” Japanese would traditionally go.  But for us in this Catholic Church, we wallowed in the solemnity of the Holy Mass!

2015 will go down in my personal history as a violent roller coaster.  I can even make a highlight per month!  There was the strong impact and renewed zeal watching Pope Francis in the Philippines (through live streaming in my office in Japan), which led me to finally nail my decision to go back.  There were low emotional moments that led me to spend the time watching a movie, intentionally ignoring any text or call from worried parishioners.  There were moments of sleepless nights, palpitations, difficulty in breathing or even overeating.  There were moments when I literally felt I was the rope in the tug-o-war between sensibility and selfishness.  Anxieties.  Daring courage.  Surrender. 

But God is kind.  God is good. 

And so, here are the 5 lessons I learned from the roller coaster ride of 2015:

1) Prayer works!  Yes, not just the usual prayers, but silence, personal dialogue with God and a good investment of PRAYER TIME.

2) We may have our plans in life.  But it is always wise to remind oneself that this life is FROM God, this is life is FOR God.  My plans will only be secondary to His. 

3) It is never wise to ask God for a sign.  The SIGNS have always been there.  Better ask God to open your eyes to see those signs He had already placed all along. 

4) Less of self, more for others.  The years in Japan that taught me that discrimination is bad, that there are people in worse situations than myself, that any person around me is a CHILD OF GOD… it’s time to apply them now. 

5) Be faithful to your vocation, to the life God calls you to be.  That is the simple route to being happy. 

It is 12:35 AM.  The firecracker sounds have died down.  Yet, silence prevails.  Silence has won again.  Ah yes, silence is a good teacher.  It makes you pray… and makes you continue being generous to yourself by sifting through memories and find even the smallest of graces.   

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS!  

FOR BETTER THINGS

It’s 7:23 PM here in Japan.

Just a few more hours and we bid 2011 goodbye. Well, with the great suffering a lot of people, especially in Northeastern Japan, had experienced and are still going through even in this cold, cold evening, who would want to remain in 2011? Who would want to say 2011 was a great year, he’d like to let time stop.

No one.

No one likes to stay suffering. No one enjoys suffering at all. Even if one has the courage to face suffering, it does not really mean he enjoys it. In the inner cries of a sincere heart, he can only pray to the Lord to make him be free from this cross that he carries. He only carries this cross because he knows it leads to better things.

Yes, better things.

Whenever we celebrate the New Year, it is a way to tell our own hearts, a way to encourage our families, a way to show to our communities (and the world!) that we long for better things, we want to be better persons, we resolve to build a better world.

No wonder they (the Church “people”) always encourage prayer in New Year... silent prayer. More than the loud music, the parties, the booze, the noise of firecrackers... there is no other more “deafening” than SILENCE. Is there any better way to welcome the New Year than silent prayer? Don’t we all long for better things? Ah yes, better things come without the distractions, without the decorations, without the externalities. Better things will come from within.

As you welcome the New Year, STOP. Keep quiet. Pray.

We long for better things. Let us immediately opt for the One who is far better than food, far better than wine, far better than any noise, any laughter, any boom.

It’s 2012. We are for the BETTER!

image taken from: http://scripture-for-today.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

MARY or AKEMASHITE, OMEDETOU GOZAIMASU

Akemashite, Omedetou Gozaimasu!... this is how Japanese greet one another in the New Year.



Here in Japan, people do not face the New Year with a bang. New Year revelry and parties are influences of the west. The traditional New Year here would be family, prayer and rest. If Christmas is to Filipinos, then New Year is to the Japanese. Airports, train stations and bus stations are crowded to the max. This is the only time of the year they go back to their homes, bringing their kids along and enjoying the time in their own inaka (birthplace), aside from the visit to the family cemetery in August. This is also the time of the year when they go to Temple Shrines and pray for blessings at the start of the New Year. Not a few would go at the very strike of 12 MN to the Shrines. Not a few, too, would wait for the first sunrise of the year. And this is the only time of the year when most stores and business are closed for the holidays.



Honestly, I have come to love this type of New Year, especially that it is my first time to be here in Shizuoka, a provincial city. I am sure there were a lot of people who have come back for the holidays. It was really a delight to see families (from grandparents to little grandchildren) walking along the main road to the Shrine in their thick coats, scarves and knitted hats, the youngest usually sitting on dad's shoulders. It was more delightful to see not a few in their kimono.



Of course, for us Catholics, our New Year celebrations must all be put in perspective. It is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. That's why we have the mass... we had it here right at 12 MN and 10:30 this morning. What better way to start the New Year than entrust ourselves to the arms of the One who held Jesus in the first stages of His life!



And so, dear Mother, thank you for being here. Lead me to the blessings that this New Year has in store for me.



(P.S. This Japanese Madonna and Child was painted by a Japanese Carmelite sister.)