Heart of Africa

Division once stood

to shatter thy native rest -

hear me, Rwanda!

Thou must now stand firm

at the heart of Africa -

one soul; one whole one!

Ne'er again

Ne'er again.

---<--@

Deny the spirit of War

a footing in thyself, O Beautiful Rwanda - forever!

Unity (the one peace that prospers).

Work (the labor of nations - building up the earth).

Patriotism (an indivisible love of Country).

All nations are endowed by God with just one heart -

one spirit to inspire her peoples, embracing their souls,

calling their generations forth from timelessness into time,

establishing upon their midst one rule, one abiding will of peace -

one undertaking of Country, one ascent, one lineage of victory;

one unity that shelters against the darkness and against War

binding all her sons and daughters together unto one soul,

from generation to generation to the last of her generations

so that they belong together: one love, one labor, one destiny.

Stand for thy own native peace;

serve and prosper thy peoples;

defend the life of thy one nation -

steadfastly, always, and with virtue.

Mabuhay, Rwanda!

Christmas to Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Peace, I salute you -

Christmas to Christmas,

we go - each year to each year -

and from hope to hope.

Have we forgotten

the hope of two thousand years?

Christmas to Christmas...

Let us now

remember...

---<--@

Come see -

To each of us is born this day,

in a manger surrounded with love - and only with love,

and in all hearts sincere, willing, humble, and contrite -

Emmanuel, Jesus Christ the Lord!

Alleluia to God,

alleluia to the LORD -

Peace is among the nations,

good will to all men and women of peace.

Vaclav Havel

I am drawn to thee -

even now that thou art gone...

I am drawn to thee!

Thou art gone, dear sir -

the earth mourns at thy passing...

but thy spirit, soars!

Thou art gone,

but not quite...

---<--@

Vaclav Havel (19361005-20111218) - recalled by God, of natural causes - Czech poet, patriot, enlightened leader of the Czech Republic, loyal son of the Czech people, singer of hope, exemplar of peace, friend of all free nations of the earth - via con Dios.

On purposeful politics: "True politics, worthy of the name — and the only kind I will practice — is the politics of service to one's neighbor. Service to the community; service to those who will succeed us ... If you are modest and do not lust after power, not only are you suited to politics, you absolutely belong there."

On globalization: "An amalgamation of cultures is taking place. ... We are in a phase when one age is succeeding another, when everything is possible and almost nothing is certain."

On hope and persistence: "The only lost cause is one we give up on before we enter the struggle."

On revolution and retribution: "Violence is well-known to breed violence, which is why most revolutions have degenerated into dictatorships, devouring their own offspring - not knowing that they were digging their own graves and confining society in a vicious circle of revolutions and counter-revolutions."

On a keeping a sense of humor: "Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not."

"Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed."

O Sophie

O Sophie, Sophie -

thou put men like me to shame.

Leaving me breathless!

Thou art a bright star

that in the darkness may not

be consumed - ever!

In thy heart,

Germany.

---<--@

Sophia Magdalena Scholl (19210905-19432202) of valor and love of Country - Young Flower of the White Rose Movement, gave her all to help obtain and preserve for captive Germany the image of her own true self, murdered in the paroxysm of the last days of Hitler's lunatic dream - brave and true to the very last - a citizen of both heaven and earth - I salute you, Sophie, and I love you - glory to God and honor to you and your companions forever - via con Dios.

Awkward

Awkward is that space

between two moments - frozen -

between two strangers.

At the threshold of

welcome and friendship - it's there -

The caution of love.

The choice is...

must be made.

---<--@

If you can't live with awkward, you can't live with brave.

Of Torties and Torbies

Torties and Torbies

are the best - pretty and cute -

bright and sunny too.

Torties and Torbies!

No wonder I love them both.

I love calicos!

I just can't

resist 'em.

---<--@

Icha, icha... icha cat.

Beauty

Beauty is a state.

T'is a Home to come home to;

a heaven on earth.

It resides within.

Beyond the control of Man.

Light shining for all.

And beheld

by God alone.

---<--@

My Anne is beautiful. I can not touch her, I can not hear her, I can not see her, but I experience her in the love we have and I know she is truly something wonderful, amazing... beautiful!
---<--@

one Jerusalem

O Holy City!

Place at the heart of three faiths -

when will thou find peace?

O Jerusalem,

Jerusalem in my heart -

be thou always one.

Forever.

Forever!

---<--@

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy."

(Psalm 137: 5-6)

EMHC

I stand by my God

and introduce Him to you

at the Eucharist.

I walk with my Lord

and I shall bring Him to you

when you most need Him.

This is my

vocation.

---<--@

An EMHC is an Extraordinary Minister for Holy Communion and is a parish ministry of the laity in the Roman Catholic Church.

I am an EMHC.

There are many ways to serve in the Catholic Church...

Go and find your vocation today.

Saint Josemaria Escriva

Don't say: 'That's the way I'm made... it's my character'.

It's your lack of character: Be a man.

- The Way, Chapter 1, 4

---<--@

In a dream, I saw -

a mighty priest at burial

with glasses, I knew.

We pounded away

at the ashes of the old,

I little, him much.

The greater

work is God's!

---<--@

Saint Josemaria Escriva (19020102-19750626) elect of God, eternal and blessed of the Church, faithful son of Spain, founder of Opus Dei, venerable teacher of the Catholic people, friend to the youth, of the peace of Jesus Christ, of the spirit of Country, holy and mighty companion, one of the principal Saints of my little life.

O mighty teacher, teach me discipline, teach me love, teach me Jesus Christ!

Purple Heart

Unity is strength

born of the conviction - that -

these are worth keeping.

May we remember

the cost. The heart in thee that

ever must prevail.

From many,

one heart.

---<--@

May your heart, America, always be one.

I made a promise that day - never forget.

Dawn will come, this night will wane...

and it shall be 9/12/2001 all over again.

Eagles in the Night

Brave America,

has thy own vision fled thee,

elder Republic?

These skies above us

seem dark - only for a time -

till we find the morn.

For the shattering

must find its own conviction

from our unbelief.

Hence darkness has strength

inasmuch as we forget

we are like eagles...

We are like eagles

that must rise above this night

to believe again...

in God and

in ourselves.

---<--@

Freedom that is free is free indeed.

---<--@

I made a promise that day - never forget.

Dawn will come, this night will wane...

and it shall be 9/12/2001 all over again.

Never Forget

T'was the clear of day

that heralded the approach

of this longest night.

Nobody could know

the distress that was to come

out of that morning...

When the blue of sky,

shattered by the bursting flames,

fell with the darkness!

The towers, the field,

the soldier's shield... lay broken

and the world was changed.

This night was begun

as was the longing for morn -

this hope made us one.

We were all

one accord.

---<--@

That Morning After

I woke up the day after September 11 to a daze -

it was that morning after -

a surreal sense of awe and disbelief -

seem to be draped -

over the whole of the Country from east to west -

everybody seemed to just want to wake up -

and find out it was all just a dream -

that it was all just a dream!

For a moment, just for a moment -

the whole nation seemed to want to forget -

the nightmare that happened the day before -

if only things were all right -

if only we could just carry on with normal living -

if only -

if only -

and then it all began -

everything proceeded from that morning after.

I will always remember that moment -

I will keep my experience of that morning after -

because it is the moment that best encapsulates for me -

the undying hope that was begun -

by the promises our humanity lost the morning before -

and all the many days after -

as the aftermath swept us all away... into today!

When I reflect on September 11 -

here and now -

ten years from where it all began -

and I see all the war and the darkness it has wrought -

I find comfort in that morning...

I will always remember that morning after -

to me, it is just as important as the day before -

because it was in that moment when -

in the midst of all the confusion, the fear, and the grief -

the deception of War and hatred was met

with much skepticism and unbelief -

and the oppression of terrorism, absolutely rejected.

It was the calm before the storm.

---<--@

I made a promise that day - never forget.

Dawn will come, this night will wane...

and it shall be 9/12/2001 all over again.

Harbinger

Thy blade is afire

with the brightness of mem'ry -

keeper of my flame.

Harbinger come forth

restore peace to my people

and glory to God!

Come against this Night

shine against darkness and War -

the sword of nations.

Come defend

remembrance.

---<--@

He expelled the man, stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3: 24)

The Angel of the Nations

All the Holy Angels of the LORD serve God and God alone.

Now, the Angel of the Nations beholds the face of the LORD, constantly giving worship to God.

Therefore, when the angel of the nations faces its own nation, it provides light to the generations of its people who in turn accept it.

Its sword is then turned away from its own nation in its defense.

When the people reject the peace of this unifying light, the face of the angel is turned away.

And the sword of the angel is then turned toward its own nation to fight against the darkness that keep it from its own remembrances.

As nations, we can only really either surrender to the peace of our belongings together or fight against the angel that guards the memory of our people from the darkness of War.

Remember this - nationhood is a spiritual endowment. It is therefore, a truth in the heart. You can not see it - it is not just a face, not just a sound, or anything purely material - it is wrought through a particular kind of grace, of peace and the love of the same (good will).

It is a labor, a mission, a vision and a destiny.

You feel it in your being, you know it in your heart because it is an unseen reality that calls out to you and all of your peers in the nation that you may be gathered into your own true belongings in time.

It is your gift of nationhood that fosters you according to the peace of your own citizenship - one to another - as a human being among human beings and as a nation among a family of nations.

It is not a work of War.

---<--@

If you still want to know the name of the Angel of the Philippines, it is this - "Go and be a good citizen".

---<--@

Suntok Ginto

Kamaong bakal

at bangis Pilipino -

yan ang gusto ko!

Manalig tayo

sa pag-asa sa boxing -

tapat sa tapang!

Ilaban.

Mahalin.

---<--@

Go for boxing gold.

Wildflowers

Thy soul is a quest

to undestand exile truth -

Thy heart is afire!

And grew to adorn

these far away, distant lands -

thy brave blossoming!

Thou art wildflowers

who in thy seeking blossomed...

for a moment, lost.

Now thou art

Home again.

---<--@

To every flower, a field;

to every heart, a home;

to every human life a blossoming;

unto every truth a true belonging.

But every blossoming that braves

the valley of the shadow of exile -

these are known as "wildflowers"

and they belong to every field

and they adorn every home.

- selah -

In the end, we are all wildflowers.

---<--@

Every stranger given welcome becomes strangers no more.

Summer Blossoms

Farewell to promise -
O light of my life, my sweet!
Until forever.

In my heart, I keep -
thy hope and thy spirit true...
till Time comes around.

Here I am, my sweet -
in the winter of our love!
O sweet Summertime.

My love longs
for Summer.
---<--@

A Summer Blossom is a love that is promised...

theirs are flowers that can never again be lost;

a fragrance that belong only to a heart that loves.

Punctuality

Punctuality - is -

respect of self and others.

T'is a well regard!

We hold it as truth

that time is something we share -

and love it as such.

Time: yours, mine,

ours - always.

---<--@

Punctuality is being on time, all the time.

The Academy

The Academy.

Thou cradle of leadership,

O school of the brave!

Thou home of heroes!

Guardian of martial virtues -

O flame that inspire!

My desire

rests in thee.

---<--@

Courage that defends.

Integrity that inspires.

Loyalty that preserves.

The Hero of Tirad Pass

Remember,

O noble Filipino soul -

you gallant keepers of the peace,

the virtues that keep thee steadfast

in the spirit of the defense.

Love of God,

love of Country,

love of Sacred Life

- even to the point of giving it -

in the midst of the nation in thy selves

and the assembly of the nations before God

- freely and with joy -

with courage and honor intact

for that same cause.

Remember our own

General Gregorio del Pilar,

the Hero of Tirad Pass!

---<--@

Faithful Keeper

I am yours only through desire now.

Life has led me down another path.

I was never so clear in my youth -

many things kept me from myself.

But the inspiration thou gave to me,

O Academy, I have kept as a trust.

And from this trust I have gained,

for thou taught me from a distance.

From thee I learned many things,

for thou has truly kept my desire.

And in the darkest times of my life,

thou was to me a light upon my way.

O Academy! Let all questions be -

How then can I not honor thee!

---<--@

Vision 2020

The purpose of peace
is the triumph of nations.
Clarity is this!

Knowledge of wisdom
gained through sacred remembrance -
Vision is made clear.

Let's press on
to safety!
---<--@

Vision 2020 is the vision of the national success.

It is a decisive clarity we derive from the completeness of our sacred remembrances -

That all nationhood is a gift.

As such, our particular nationhood belongs to all Filipinos.

It is something every present generation must choose to receive from the Providence of God.

It is not something random, obscure, fleeting, or beyond our control.

It is something every present generation inherits from the merits of all generations past.

It is not something evil or evil-inspired.

Corrupting Spirit

The spirit of War

is a corrupting spirit -

deceiving nations!

Each nation subdued

is its own mem'ry forgot -

scattered to the winds!

Dividing!

Shattering!

---<--@

The Blitz

Battle of Manila

Battle of Manila

Dresden

Hiroshima

War is a form of national insanity.

It seems right only in its own context and in its own time. But for all nations without exception it is an historic fact that it is always painful to have to eventually wake up to its aftermath.

And ultimately, all nations that must succeed must wake up.

War serves no nation...

The Banality of Evil

Our long march begins...

- selah -

Night has descended,

evil has stolen our dreams -

darkness is spreading.

Eden is faded,

faded forever it seems -

daylight is fading.

Exile dusk.

Starlight dawn.

---<--@

I have often reflected about the dangerous tendency for evil to become commonplace in a society which is the essence of the phrase, "banality of evil".

A deepening darkness has pervaded our world since the long march of our nations was begun out of the autumnal dusk of our faded Eden.

This darkness is a climate of the spirit; that unseen element of the visible universe which is our human habitation. It is a darkness of distance; the distance of our exile.

Within this deepening darkness lurks a corrupting spirit, the spirit of War.

We experience this darkness as a kind of forgetfulness in ourselves that the common religion of Man is peace.

Because human community is present in all our hearts and this is opposed by the darkness of our exile.

This original peace is the common trust of all nations.

And it is this particular trust at the heart of all our kindred nations that the spirit of War seeks to corrupt.

- selah -

We are upon this world laboring as nations to subdue the spirit of War - in spite of the darkness - through our remembrances of the peace that begot us and of the God Who has forever loved us.

And if we look at the night sky full of stars - we are the stars - and the darkness is the darkness.

To me, this is the banality of evil - the darkness and the corrupting spirit of War.

Which is why I have a special place of honor in my heart for people like Anton Schmidt, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wilhelm Canaris, Claus von Stauffenberg, and other such German citizens known or known to God alone who for every right reason opposed the Nazis.

Indeed, they are included among the stars.

For the Nazi ideology is a corrupting spirit and it has never escaped me that the first nation that the Nazis subdued was Germany and Germany was also its final victim.

---<--@

"The Banality of Evil" is a phrase coined by Hannah Arendt and incorporated in the title of her 1963 work Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.

A very good read.