Family on Mission

My family and I, along with Msgr. Allen Aganon, just returned from an 8-day mission trip to Brunei and Miri, Malaysia. We were blessed to have been invited to CFC Brunei's 17th Anniversary.  Here are some of my mission reflections:

1. Expose your family to mission.  On our way to Brunei, my wife Michelle asked my 4 year old son Sev, "Are you excited for the mission?" He answered, "No, it's not mission mom, it's a vacation." After 8 days on the way back to the Philippines, Michelle asked Sev again, "So Sev, did you enjoy your vacation?" Sev replied, "It was a mission mom!"  Sev may have just played most of the time with the other kids while in Brunei, but he was conscious that we were already doing mission. I also witnessed my one year old daughter, Kaitlyn, raising her hands and closing her eyes, mimicking us in worship.  These little actions are already part of her consciousness and will be a seed of faith that will blossom as she grows.   It's hard to let our kids understand mission by just describing it, they have to experience it.  "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6)."

2. Nurture old friendships. One of our good friends whom we visited was Bishop Sim. Michelle went on mission to Brunei back in 2003 for a Kids Conference and bonded with Bishop Sim, who was then a Monsignor.  It was good to catch up on life and get guidance from him.  Great things happen with strong, genuine friendships. Friendships also go through a time of testing, but it is for the purpose of strengthening and deepening. Friendships are our lives' treasures. Many are willing to go forego friendships because of a hurtful experience. In friendship there is love. But love has three kinds. The Eros, the Philia, and the Agape love.  Eros is more of the joy of physical attraction and Philia is about the joy of togetherness. Both can fade and be replaced. We are to strive the Agape love in our friendships, wherein love is sacrificial and is about the joy of seeking the true good of the other. We learn to love someone despite of and not only because of.  Old friendships go through a time of testing, until our love becomes agape.

3. Your community is your family. We were hosted by gracious families. It was a blessing to have shared each others' lives in our stay with with them. Opening your home is like saying, "You are family to us." Being in a community like Couples for Christ brings us to understand how the first Christian community lived. "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common (Acts 4:32)." Our hosts would always tell us, "Feel at home, tell us if there is anything you need." I believe that hosting should be a practice a Christian community should not lose. It is convenient to send our guests to a hotel, thinking that they will be more comfortable there. But we lose the essence of being community and being a family.  It doesn't matter if you have simple food or limited space, what matters is that your house is open to your brothers and sisters and that we break bread with them.

We thank God and our bretheren in Brunei for the outpouring of love upon us.  We pray for all Christian communities all over the world who share in the conviction of mission, nurturing friendships, and building more communities for Christ.

The Family and the Future of Humanity

The future of humanity passes by way of the family (Familiaris Consortio).

I first heard this statement during the 4th World Meeting of Families back in 2003 in Manila.  Since that time, I've been reflecting on the relevance of what I'm doing in CFC (Couples for Christ) in the contribution to humanity.

Gifted scientists, artists, writers, engineers, doctors and many more devote a great amount of time and energy to be able to contribute to the advancement of humanity.  They put in all their passion in their life's work. Many of these people are recognized by being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or through some other important social recognitions.

I realize that my life's work through CFC is dedicated to build strong families for the Lord. Serving Him through the kids, youth, singles, couples, and other individuals all lead to building families that are centered on Christ. CFC's vision of Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth becomes very personal and real when I hear stories of families whose relationships are healed and restored.  The vision becomes real when I witness single young men and women choosing to live a chaste life to become the best husbands and wives for their future families.  The vision is realized when I see the poor restored of their dignity and do not find the reason to teach their children to steal in order to survive.  The vision is made true when families deliberately practice waste segregation, energy conservation, and tree planting to take care of God's earth.

We do all our work in the pursuit of the vision without need for approval from men. We seek for no earhtly rewards. The reward of doing Christ's work is Christ Himself. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10).

We all agree that the family is the basic unity of society. And if indeed the future of humanity passes by the way of the family, what will happen to society and humanity if there are forces out there who want to sabotage the family?  Then these groups of people are deceived by the evil one. They are unknowingly destroying humanity because of the absence of faith, a lack of insight, short term thinking, and distortion of what is right.

Without the family, there will be no future for humanity. Let us then start by loving our own families.  If there are hurts, we set aside pride, overcome it with Christ's love, and initiate healing and forgiveness.  We don't have to look far if want to change the world for Christ.  Let us do our part in building strong families for Christ and make it our life's work.

Home At Last!

I thank God for the blessing of the mission He's given me. After long hours of travel and sleeping vertically (while in the plane), I'm finally back with my family. There's no place like home. There's nothing compared to holding my wife and children back in my arms again. There's nothing like the embrace of those whom you love. Michelle cooked my favorites: spaghetti and salad (harvested lettuce from my garden) and many more. What a feast!

God must feel this way too. When we are apart from Him, He misses us and longs for us. And when we return to Him from a long journey of search, confusion, and being lost, he embraces us and prepares a feast for us.

While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.' But his father ordered his servants, 'Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast (Luke 15: 20-23).

To be united with God, our Father, is His joy and our salvation. But we are to be aware of sin and it's intentions:

Sin separates us from His love. The longer we are into sin, the farther we stray from God's love. We know we should be returning back to God, but the problem with sin is that it heightens our pride. Even if our lives are in totally misery, even if we 'eat with pigs' we will still try to muster some pride.

Sin tricks us into a life of temporary pleasure and diverts us from real happiness. While living a righteous life seems to be bound with many 'restrictions,' like don't get drunk, don't do drugs, don't watch porn, don't do this, and don't do that. Some of us get the impression that a life of sin is a life of freedom, a life of pleasure. Like the temptation of the forbidden fruit, sin has it's consequences which is death and eventaully a life in hell. Now we don't want that. But we are to be aware of the enemy's tricks. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Sin will let us forget our true identity. We are sons and daughter of the God of all Universe, creator of Heaven and earth, most High and most Holy of all. Sin will tell us to forget who we really are and waste our lives on worldly pleasures. We are His children and we are always welcome in His home.

Everytime we pray, we are in the embrace of His love. Everytime we decide to do the right thing and forego temptations, we are living a life of real hapiness and freedom. Everytime we love and serve other people, we are with His children, our brothers and sisters. There's no place like home, there's no place like being with our Father who loves us eternally.

Homeward Bound

I'm in Doha airport, awaiting for my connecting flight. After 3 weeks of mission, I'm going home at last. I can't wait to be with my family. Patiently I let the hours pass, in anticipation to hold my loved ones again. It's not easy being away from family.

While on mission, I get to meet people who are away from their spouse and kids. Filipinos who work abroad to better provide for their families at the cost of being apart. Around 3,400 Filipinos leave the country everyday to work abroad. Around 1,750 of them go to Middle Eastern countries. How hard must it be for them. Many even take big risks staying in a foreign land, without legal papers, hoping for amnesty and approval from government.

Poverty has driven many Filipino families to be apart. Greed, corruption, disunity, and a lack of love and sharing, has resulted to many families in poverty. Others blame it on the population, i blame it on our own sinfulness. The greatest wealth of a nation is its people. Life is a gift from God.

Abortion, divorce, and other anti-family policies have greatly affected many first world countries. There are underpopulated countries that give much care and incentive to families with more children. For each child under 18, the parents get an allowance. Maternal leave can be as long as 2 years. Rich countries are realizing the tragedy of the reality of negative population growth rates. They do not have enough young people to support and replace an aging population. When a people embraces worldly thinking and rejects God's wonderful plan, the unnatural happens.

If our sinfulness is the cause of our poverty, then what we need as a people is a formation of our values, recovery of our morality, a proactivity of our faith. Let those who work to bring Christ to others in words and actions continue with zeal and passion. We bring Christ to one person at a time, one family at at time, one community at a time. It is a tough and challenging task to conquer poverty, but we will not stop hoping. One day, maybe in our children's lifetime, no family has to be apart because of poverty. Many Filipinos will come home and be reunited with the people closest to their hearts.

"Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, For the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. (Isaiah 60:4-5)"