Last Friday evening, after spending most of the day handwriting my Creative Synthesis, copying the draft I made on the computer, I decided to take a break. No, not by eating a bar of KitKat, I decided to eat something better, a slice of a ten inch Manhattan Meat Lovers pizza from Yellow Cab, complete with salami, ham, lean beef and smothered with cheese. Not only that, I was also eating a slice of a fourteen inch New York Classic with lots of pepperoni and smothered with even more cheese. And of course, I did not forget to take the plunge by drinking a glass of ice cold Lemon Nestea.

     I then chanced upon Wazzup Wazzup and saw Wallace reporting on the NU Rock awards. I continued to watch, later on, I saw Bianca Valerio reporting on a fashion show. And then, after a while, Wallace reported on the typhoon relief goods operations, he interviewed a girl volunteer and was inquiring on the qualifications of volunteers, he asked her: “ Ano ba ang qualification para mag- volunteer? Kailangan ba maganda ?”

     After seeing this, I began to feel guilty and began to ask myself. Can I still go through my Noche Buena when a lot of typhoon victims cannot even eat a single decent Christmas meal? Can I still sit around the Christmas tree on Christmas day, opening my gifts in the comfort of my home when a lot of houses were washed away by the flashfloods? Above all, can I still celebrate Christmas with my loved ones when the victims' loved ones were taken away from them?

     I personally can't! I don't want to go through the Christmas season without exerting any effort to bring Christmas to the typhoon victims. This morning, I am challenging each and every Xaverian to be with me as we take ACTION to bring Christmas to the hearts of fellow Filipinos in the typhoon-ravaged provinces.

     For the duration of the last two weeks before we go on vacation, I challenge the Xavier High School Community to donate as much canned goods as we can. So go to the grocery. Inform your parents. Look in your kitchen cabinets for canned goods that you can bring for the typhoon victims.

     I challenge you not just to give but to also take ACTION, by signing-up for the Sagip Pasko Donate-a-Can booths which we will set-up in supermarkets such as Unimart, Robinson's Galleria and Rustan's Shangri-La this Saturday. You may sign up through the Xavier webpage. Details and guidelines are also found in the Xavier webpage.

     Mother Teresa said: “We cannot do great things, but only little things with great love.” Through this simple deed of taking ACTION, we will be able to, in our own little way, make Christmas happen.

     Xaverians, let your light shine through your ACTION of being men for others! Thank you!

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