London in Flames

Not since the Blitz have we seen London in flames.

What is a city

that it should be treated - as -

a mere convenience?

That its peace should be

trampled and honor impugned?

Is this not yours too?

What you burned

you gave up.

---<--@

What's in a city?

I consider a city to be the basic functional whole of human community within a nation. In the Philippines, cities are also classified as an LGU or Local Government Unit.

But a city is more than its mere political structure. It is far richer and more complex than that!

I could say many things about it but simply put, a city is an expression - a common statement.

It is here where the air we breathe become one, the ground that we walk become familiar, and where everything about us become one "under the sun".

It is here where "the rubber meets the road" in terms of human community; the entrance way into the heart of the nation (and through the nation, all of creation).

Indeed, if you can not embrace the experience of the peace of a city, any human city, you'll find it hard embracing the peace of the greater wholes.

London is a pretty place to be - an old and proven city supported by the strength of an experienced Country; the capital expression of British community.

Having said that, the recent rioting in London is terrible. What happened over there is a condemnable instance provoked by nothing more than empty criminality, pure and simple. Indeed, I am glad and I pray thanks to God it has now abated. It could have gotten worse.

As a city rises, so must its roots deepen. If there is tension there, it must be something deep or even profound. Because in a city as old as London it can not be something superficial.

Obviouly, the rioters are so closed up in on themselves, they no longer appreciate that any city in the world is an end that if utilized becomes a means in itself - a means to achieve a measure of happiness in this world.

So you breathe the air, you walk the ground, you eat the food, you drink the beer, you enjoy the peace, you dream the dreams, and you still forget...

Buddy, you must be dreaming the wrong dream.

=^.^=

Go London 2012!

Aurora Australis

I love Australia -

the distinct quality of her

I learned to know well.

Australia's different -

as each Country must be so,

people, problems, all.

Australia taught me

many a thing - first mateship,

then fairness, and nature.

Qualities I love

because they have become mine.

And so, I'm grateful.

And so I

remember.

---<--@

The Southern Lights, have you really seen it?

The Abrahamic Salutation

So what does it mean,
when we shall greet each other -
"peace be upon you"?

By peace we bless hope
that we may in others see
needs that seek in thee -

the blest peace
of hopes met.
---<--@

Peace means, "we belong".

Human Nation

Faith is a freedom -

a reaching out to the LORD

reaching out to us.

Religion is choice,

discerned freely in the faith,

of common worship.

Its fruits

make us human.

---<--@

Do not make a burden of religion -

separation of Church (Religion) and State, yes.

But do not make a fool of yourselves either -

separation of God and human reality, no.

United, Standing Always

America the One!

United, Standing Always -

defend, defend, trust in God.

One nation, One peace,

One Republic forever -

strong, faithful, and true

From many,

one vision.

---<--@

My favorite line from the Star Spangled Banner -

"...and the rocket's red glare,

the bombs bursting in air

gave proof through the night

that our Flag was still there."

Country is a Verb

Country is a verb.

The work of building the earth;

the work of nations.

A lineage of peace,

wrought of hope of human lives

bearing together.

It is not

held by grip.

---<--@

Country is a verb!

It is the work of our returning to an Eden rebuilt.

It is the motion of every human nation reaching out toward God and destiny.

It is not about who, it is about how well.

(your Flag here)

Unconquered

DREAM, my precious Starshine,
and be thankful for the dreaming
more than the dream itself -

For as tomorrow remains unwritten
yet every hope is made secure
so trust you must in thy dreaming
more than in thy dream itself
for as the eagle soars with wings
knowing not how it must fly
so must your own freedom become
more than what can be held by hands:

Thy freedom, dear Starshine,
like thy dream and thy dreaming
is a thing held not by grip
but a thing beheld by thy releasing
for to hold freedom tightly
like it is to deny it's flight
is to lose it entirely.

For thy freedom walks
upon the unconquered grounds
and wills to take it's flight
untrammeled and untamed.

So seek of thy freedom,
my precious Starshine,
but in thy seeking know -
here and Now,
that freedom lives in the giving
like every dream is in the dreaming
for it is always in the giving
that we become free.
---<--@

Freedom that is free is free indeed.

Manong Jose

Cosmopolitan!

A Global Filipino -

that's Jose Rizal.

Remember Rizal

and his great generation

and believe again...

...in Peace and

brotherhood.

---<--@

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (18610619-18961230 of valor and love of Country, illustrious hero of the one Filipino nation, martyred scion of the one Republic of the Philippines, beloved son, brother, compatriot via on Dios.)

Equality is not a singularity.

If all our cultures were the same, we wouldn't be a family of nations. If all human beings were the same, we wouldn't be nations at all.

Every nation has something to bring to the table. Every person has something to share. This is why we are so arrayed as one family of nations and as nations distinct but not apart from each other respectively.

Remembrance as Virtue

Remember Now,

my brothers and sisters of the Promise -

Our remembrance is a virtue.

It is born from the cardinal virtue of Justice.

One who is guided by remembrance

can not be by evil inspired.

For no virtue may be used for evil purposes.

Remembrance does not serve

to throw the present into the confusion of the past.

It serves to add to the momentum of the present

the present hopes of every generation past.

If the present seem dim, O my nation,

it is because the future seem distant.

And the future seem distant

because the glories of the past is somewhere forgot.

Remember the good things and build upon it.

Remember the evil things

and let this lead you to a remembrance of the good things.

Never build upon evil inspiration.

It is not remembrance to hold on to a hatred of past misdeeds

and remain in thrall of the gravity of War.

For what redeems is virtue sufficient for every generation.

By virtue the long night is overcome.

---<--@

June 19, 2011 is the 150th Birthday of Manong Jose.

One

There is but one peace
and but one final outcome;
many worlds within...

Observe, O Mankind,
the unity of heaven:
The mandate of Truth!

As God is,
so must we.
---<--@

Let's us fill our earth with living lights... of knowing love and virtues bright!

I saw in a vision, a crystal blue sphere, shining with a multitude of living lights. The vision came to me quite abruptly while I was awake in the day, riding a jeep home from work.

The vision stayed for a time before me as I wondered. I wondered at how wondrous and beautiful beyond imagination it was that I thought I was seeing through the eyes of angels.

Then a darkness came over the vision and it seemed to me for an instant that it was no longer there. But it was, O my nation, before me was a world so overrun by sin and war that it was no longer distinct from the nothingness of the void - an unknown earth bereft of light, forsook by heaven, and forgot by God.
---<--@

Stars

I saw them, the stars!
Numberless, shining with hope,
against the darkness...

Embraced by heaven,
understood by exiled earth,
avoided by hell.

Do you know
the difference?
---<--@

Martin Burnhan

I remember thee,

Martin Burnham! You're a friend -

a friend forever.

In Christ, you have lived

and in your living, you gave -

and Now - we belong.

My nation

honors thee.

---<--@

Martin Ray Burnham (19590919-20020607 of Peace in the love of Christ and of others in Christ, Christian by grace of God, an American citizen by virtue of birth and a Filipino citizen by right of honor - via con Dios.)

Thank you, Gracia - peace be with you, your family, and your Country.

For the victims -

Guillermo Sobero, Gabriel Canizares...via con Dios.

Never Again. Never Again.

War in the Heart

The War in Heaven

is not in some distant sphere -

it is very near!

Nations fall apart,

Mankind weeps, Country burns - for -

War is in the heart.

Babel reigns

with no heir.

---<--@

TO BE SURE, War is never won - War only waits till we, all of humanity - in spirit (heart) as well as in form (our one family of nations), are utterly defeated by it.

For the cessation of conflict that heavily involves our nations - as their wholes, relies on attrition, exhaustion or petition and none of these constitute as victory over War.
---<--@

War can only be deferred. For the spirit of War has no other ambition than the utter annihilation of all our human nations and through this, all of our shared humanity and by extension, all the life of visible creation.

War confers victory to no one, not even itself. For War has no place either in heaven or here on our earth, in exile time as well as at the beginning of all things new.

We are always left with two things where the focus of the will is on War, the degradation of the human spirit and the defeat of the truth.

Where there is any virtue in conflict, that is exclusively the merit of good human beings. We must always be mindful of this and confuse not the nobility of man with ignoble, base and evil things.

To every battle, an outcome. War has no outcome. In the Art of War, the Tao (a dynamic system or climate) of War is deception. But the Tao of peace is victory.

It is good for the military to study battles but know that War must be understood. For War has no outcome that is favorable to the military.

In the Art of War, Sun Tzu states that it is inhuman to prolong conflict. For the prolongation of conflict favors no one - it exhausts the state, dulls the noble military, and brings great suffering to the people.

In my view, the Tao of battle is no battle - that is to say, a way of decisiveness of spirit; a clarity of purpose.

For the greatest battles of all are those that are won but never fought. And the battles we must fight must be won without War.

For War as a paradigm whole is not to be fought, only God Himself can slay this Beast, because as it is from Heaven thrown down, it must on earth be refused.

Peace as a paradigm builds on its own truth, a reality that is very distinct from that of War, along a path that takes our nations far away from the midnight darkness of War -

• It serves the people.
• It guards our hope.
• It defends where it must.
• It teaches our nations.
• It ennobles our states.
• It fosters our own undertakings of Country.
• It preserves the order of our generations.
• It prospers the spirit of our humanity.
• It is sufficient in and of itself, being confident of its own truth.
• And it leaves all things to the invincible and omnipotent defense of Almighty God.

---<--@

"Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it."

Revelation 12: 7-9

Forsake War, Embrace Peace!

Prosper the Peace. Prosper the People.

One Whole Sky

A community
is one whole sky, full of hope,
united in trust...

For humanity
is defined by common lack,
advanced by our needs.

Let's press on
in service.
---<--@

Common Human Needs

Prosper the Peace

Peace is a shelter -

the belonging that make safe

our generations.

Peace is a labor -

the work to make past present

opening futures.

Peace is a longing -

the vigilance that preserves

our remembrances.

Peace is a prayer -

the wings that ascend our hopes

like incense to God.

Peace is a calling -

the devotion of friendship

preserving good will.

Peace is a pathway -

the long march of the nations

into brotherhood.

Peace is a threshold

and leads to the building up

of the promised morn.

Peace gathers.

Peace prospers.

---<--@

Prosper the Peace. Prosper the People.

---<--@

Old Defiant

Fly Old Defiant!

Lead on toward destiny -

in our hearts, Country!

Banner of brightness

make one thy sons and daughters

against the darkness...

The Morning

now cometh!

---<--@

Today is Flag Day.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas, long may our remembrance serve us!

May God bless all Filipinos everywhere.

Land of Promise

Glorious Motherland,

Pearl of the Orient Seas,

the fire of our love for thee

pines for thy proud embracing.

Land of Promise,

Cradle of the Brave,

from the tyranny of oppression

thou shalt never yield.

Across thy shining seas

and verdant mountain peaks,

fair winds and thy native blue skies,

the splendor of this hymn and song

speaks of thy vaunted liberty!

The brightness of thy Banner

undiminished in triumph waves,

the glory of thy stars and sun

are lights that shall ne'er fade.

Land of the Morning,

worthy of honor and of love -

our home away from Home -

what happiness it is

should the enemy draw near

to die for thy liberty.

(This is my personal English translation

of "Lupang Hinirang",

the Philippine National Anthem.)

Two weeks and a day from now, I shall be celebrating the birthdays of two of the most important women in my life (both just as lovable and jealous as hell) - my Country and my Miyang.

June 12th of this year is also Pentecost, the birthday of my Holy Mother Church - the most important woman in my life after my Mama Mary.

Flower of Fatima

O Little Flower,
remember us, poor sinners,
whom you loved so much...

Remember the world,
that you left, longing for peace,
longing for Savior.

Pray for us,
Jacinta.
---<--@

Blessed Jacinta Marto,

pray for hearts longing for Jesus,

pray for all nations longing for peace.

Jacinta Marto of Fatima (19080611-19190404) elect of God, set aside by our Lady, eternal and blessed of the Church, faithful daughter of Portugal, friend of sinners, guide of my heart...

Remember, Blessed Jacinta, your courageous love of sinners, pray for us who have recourse to you!

---<--@

O Blessed Jacinta Marto,
Flower of Fatima,
pray for us who have recourse to you.

O brave Jacinta,
intercede for me with God
Whom you see face to face!

O chaste Jacinta,
may God make use of me
as an instrument of your canonization.

O generous Jacinta,
pray for me
that I might fulfill God's will for me.

O loving Jacinta,
plead my cause to our Lady,
and tell everyone there that I love them.

O Flower of Fatima,
I pray with thee -
may I one day bring true joy to our Mother's heart.

O Blessed Jacinta Marto,
Flower of Fatima,
pray for us who have recourse to you.

AMEN.

The Miracle of Sharing

The loaves and fishes
of our good Lord, overruns,
filling every lack...

In much the same way
is our sharing made joyful,
fulfilling our hopes.

God's grace
overruns.
---<--@

Babel

From our First Parents,
all generations draw descent;
the one race of Man...

Alas, War divides
to conquer the truths within.
Differences don't curse:

In fact, they
make us strong.
---<--@

"We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools."

- Martin Luther King Jr. (19290115-19680404 of valor and love of Country) - servant of Jesus Christ and martyred scion of the elder Republic of the United States of America, beloved son of the one American nation and faithful servant of common humanity, vanguard of the civil rights movement, friend of freedom, friend of peace, lover of the common Man - via con Dios.

One Republic Sky

Amidst our problems,
and among our suffering,
gather together...

And in thy own soul,
embrace each other's longing
expanding thy sky:

We belong,
forever.
---<--@

We Are Who We Are

Profess thankfulness

in your everyday, my friend,

we are who we are...

A people of peace,

the generations of life,
those nations of hope.

Think. Believe.
Pray: own it.
---<--@

It is no small and insignificant thing that adds up to become a great thing and there is nothing of greater importance to the life of a nation than peace.

Every little thing counts!

Be present for peace.

Holy Hope

Can we ever cope
when no one ever listens
to each others' hope?

Hope makes us human.
And faith makes our hope sublime.
Virtue made divine.

When we care...

we belong.
---<--@

Citizen

My name is Filipino citizen.

The name of my nation is Peace.

Peace means, "we belong".

My work is Freedom.

My ambition is called Happiness.

My calling is known as Truth.

My name is Filipino citizen.

My family name is called Endless.

It means, "I love".

My Country is called Promise.

The land of my fathers is called Bountiful.

The name of my city is Friendship.

The name of my religion is Sacred Life.

My God is called Beautiful.

Beautiful means, "We are one".

My government is Service.

The name of our leader is Servant.

It means, "Great Soul".

=^.^=