XSPB>SPIRITUAL

Whispering Hope

Amour-Mae C. Amor, Parent

Posted Monday, 06-Nov-2006 8:02 AM

I knew it will never fail to come! I heard it again!  The Christmas song, that is!

It was a Friday, the first day of September.  I turned on the radio in the van as I usually do every morning – what could I hear but a Christmas carol on the airwaves! Peace on earth, goodwill to men …went the song.

Was that not way too premature?  Should we not think of our dearly departed first before we focus on Christmas?  After all, All-Souls and All-Saints days come way before Christmas day.

Candle of Hope

While treading along a busy street in Quezon City, my attention was caught by a crude and improvised candle holder with a candle that seemed to glow perpetually and placed at the center of the road island.  It was not my first time to see it there.  In fact, it has become a permanent fixture there for the last two years now.  My curiosity compelled me to find out what brought this everlasting light to this peculiarly silent spot.

I discovered that the candle was placed there in remembrance of a mother who died just a few feet away from that spot.  She was a victim of a hit-and-run accident.  What makes it disheartening is the fact that the driver left her for dead.  No one would believe that the driver was not aware he hit someone - witnesses claim that the driver sped off with a shattered windshield. Worse, people milled around her tattered body, not to save her, but to pocket her hard-earned savings.  All that is left of her is the memory of a loving mother and that candle that continues to shine. 

Her grieving children painstakingly and religiously restock the candle.  The light illuminates this hope in their heart that someday, sense of justice will find its way to the driver’s conscience. 

Dice of Hope

Mooncake Game has always been a welcome treat to the Chinese.  The game basically uses 6 dice which are rolled into a bowl.  The outcome of the dice roll determines the corresponding prize of goodies or mooncake but the most important dots on the dice are the four red ones.  (Please do not ask me why this is so, all I know is that this is such an amusing and entertaining game to play.)

I got invited to a mooncake game by some special friends.  As any player would, I looked forward to taking home the major prize plus the biggest mooncake at the end of the game.  There were 14 of us vying for the prize and each time all six dice were tossed into the bowl, we anticipated the four red dots to emerge - hope then became the mindset of the day.  

Each time my turn came, my heart held on to that hope – but the mooncake was regrettably elusive and I told myself:  There is no reason for me to mope.  My friend was headstrong to win; she said she was claiming the major prize – so she prepared a huge plastic bag for her winnings.  But the mooncake was likewise elusive; her plastic bag remained empty for what seemed like eternity.  Until . . .  my friend decided to let go of her huge plastic bag – she felt she did not need it after all and that another person needed it more. 

She tossed her dice one last time – lo and behold, the four red dots came into sight! 

We were all stunned in disbelief!  Just when she decided to let go, blessings flowed in. 

Voice of Hope

Music is the language of the soul, so they say.  And what better way to lift my spirit than to witness three of my four children sing their heart out in a concert at the Philamlife Auditorium a few days back? 

Their angelic voices brought tears to our eyes and they made us, their parents, truly proud.

More than recognizing their inclination to music, my husband and I made certain that our children understood that being part of the Mary The Queen Children’s Choir should give them not just the opportunity to hone their God-given singing talent, but should, above anything else, highlight their sense of service to magnify and glorify the Lord’s name. 

How I marvel at their enthusiasm and drive to learn the highs and lows of each note, the fast and slow tempo of each beat and the crescendo and decrescendo of the volume of each measure.  What is even worthy of praise is their maturing sense to accept the constructive criticisms which are hurled at them.  I have to admit that there are times when they cannot seem to juggle their time as there are just way too many activities to attend to – school requirements, exams, family trips and reunions, school and even social activities.  Even their love for sweets, chocolates and cold drinks has to be sacrificed to give way to a great performance. 

And once up on stage, all else is set aside and seem to freeze to give way to this voice that emanates from little children – the voice that carries all their simple joys, their dreams, their aspirations and optimism - the voice of hope.

Advent of Hope

I regard advent as an extraordinarily special season.  It is a time for cleansing, for refinement, for warding off unnecessary baggage, for anticipating, for preparing, for putting oneself in order, for hoping.  Advent is the best time for introspection.

Pregnancy for me is some sort of “advent”.  Being a mother of four, I have experienced advent four times over.  Whenever I was pregnant, I looked forward to that day when I could finally give birth.  I prepared myself for that big push.   

I did all sorts of preparations – eating the right kind of food, despite the feeling of queasiness; taking vitamins, no matter how big the pills are; drinking milk even if I loathe its taste; taking really good care of myself, not that I do not do so when I am not pregnant; visiting the obstetrician-gynecologist regularly, even if it means I have to be examined internally; attending Lamaze classes with my better half, for the “huffing” sessions;  cross-stitching and crocheting dainty baby stuff; putting the letters of the alphabet up in the baby’s room with all the colorful picture clues; listening to classical music and letting that little life inside my womb listen to it, too; thinking happy thoughts all the time; praying the Mother Of Life Novena on a daily basis; and making peace with those whom I have wronged.  Best of all, I put in a special stationery and in my own handwriting, a letter for my husband, for my other children and for the baby about to be born, in case I will not “live to tell the tale”, about my love for each one of them and my prayer that all will be well by God’s grace, even if I am gone. 

That, to me, is a classic example of preparing and putting oneself in order for what is yet to come.  Just like preparing oneself for the birth of Jesus.

How do I prepare for the birth of Jesus?  How do I prepare for Christmas?  How do I prepare for the coming of Jesus who is my Source of Hope?  Am I preparing myself to be the perfect gift for the Child Jesus?

Nativity of Hope

Christmas, oh Christmas!  The long-awaited season of the year is here!  How have I prepared myself for it?      

Most people associate Christmas with trimmings, trappings and trinkets adorned in every nook and cranny of the house; with stars and lights that are made to twinkle like those real stars that fill up the expanse of the sky; with gifts that are wrapped in fancy papers and decorated with glittering bows.  But all these are external and superficial expressions, are they not?  What better way to welcome the birth of Jesus than to prepare my heart and inner being?

Yes, to give Jesus a fitting salutation to commemorate His birth would be the best present I could offer Him.  The gift of myself would outshine and surpass any other present.  To welcome Jesus is to usher in the dawn of hope – a hope that is forever held dearly in my heart.  It is that same hope that keeps me going through rough times; that hope that remains promising as I put my genuine trust in Him.  Jesus is a Wellspring of Hope – I will allow Him to dwell in me, He is all that I need.  I will let that Hope remain in me - alive, intense and true.  I will nurture that hope, cherish that hope, whisper that hope till the next morning comes. 

Go back to the top ^