Mabuhay

All of us here on Chapter spent the weekend in Cebu which is the birthplace of the Order and the Church in the Philippines. It is where the image of Santo Nino is kept in our basilica. This is the religious image of Filipinos. It is their national religious symbol. We had t was a great weekend which included masses, meals, entertainment and a resort.

Despite all that happened in Cebu and all that was special, I must say that the real highlights of the weekend lie elsewhere for me.

On Friday night here at University of Regina Carmeli in Malolos, we were hosted by the univeresity to a night of Filipino culture. It featured the students from both the school and the college, entertaining us with song, music and dance. It was traditional and was so beautiful in presentation. They included us as well, by getting us to join in the dance in a couple of items. It was great fun and very well done. Considering that they were not professionals but young students from generally poor communities, the night was just special and phenomenal. It stirred my spirit as I thought how these poor young students were giving us so much, how they were so talented, how I was enjoying this so much. While some may question back home how you could entertain these countries, I could only say in my spirit on Friday night - how could you not love these countries. There is just so much life and vibrancy and enjoyment of the fullness of life here, even in the midst of great shared suffering and poverty (or maybe in spite of all this tragedy). Mabuhay.

Then I return to Malolos and check my emails to see that my biggest blog fan, my niece Carmel, has just given birth to her fifth child. She now has a new daughter - Theresa Elizabeth. Mabuhay.