Love Jesus

THIS

is our battle cry and this is the ultimate objective in life. This is a nation that loves Jesus. But we have to inculcate this again and again as the succeeding generations come and go. Once we have this foundation we can build on it to the heights. Together with Dorothea Brande, we can say, “It is impossible to fail.” We become semi-Pelagians. The Pelagians thought that they can do anything. That is not true. On our own we can be confident that we will succeed but the Lord has to help us in the beginning and in the middle and in the end. So we are semi-Pelagians because we cannot do it by ourselves. But with God’s help we can do everything and well. With the battle cry “Love Jesus,” we can do the impossible.

Nothing is impossible. With God’s help we can do everything. Not only our heroes but every Filipino must cry this battle cry. The La Salle brothers taught us to work for God and Country,” the Jesuits to do everything for God’s greater glory. Our ancestors used to shout when frightened “Susmariosep,” the corruption of the prayer “Jesus, Maria, Joseph.” We still keep the custom of asking the elders for a blessing while kissing their hand. And their response when we kiss their hand is “God bless you.” Or, in old Spanish, “Tage Santa” – a corruption of “Que Dios te haga santa. (May God make you a saint.) This is a beautiful custom that we have kept. And hope to pass on from generation to generation. Just as we pass on our faith.

The Filipino is blessed as we have the best of both worlds. We have the faith and democracy. We are the envy of our neighbors because we know the way both in this world and in the next. All over the world we have Filipinos reviving the faith in the old countries that have sort of lost their way. The Filipino lover of Jesus is spreading this love all over the earth. Wherever there is a Filipino, and that is everywhere, the faith or love of Jesus is there.

We have Filipinos who have made great sacrifices for their country, not only the heroes but also the unknowns who have made sacrifices for the nation and for their faith. The Filipino Christian faith is all over. The Lord bless them. Our problem is how to pass it on from one generation to the next. We have to learn about Jesus and to love Jesus. Then we can do great things. There is nothing impossible. We have the mandate to do great things for our country and for the world.

In a way the Lord allowed the Protestant revolution because we were not emphasizing the commitment, the personal dedication and love for Jesus. When the Protestants gave up the sacrifice and Mother Mary, they only had the Scriptures and personal dedication to love of Jesus. This one thing we have to recover. We must love Jesus personally and commit ourselves to love Him and our neighbor. Then we have the mandate to do great things for Jesus and our neighbor. Love Jesus. It has to be personal commitment and fervent dedication to do great things for God and country.