LIGHT. SHADE. AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
I spent most of yesterday in Quezon (and the rest of it on the road) to extend my sympathies to my good friend Rheatia, who just lost her mom due to lung cancer. Known to us as Tita Pat, I’ll always remember Rhaetia’s mother as a “super woman” who always exuded warmth and hospitality, and made us feel right at home whenever we would visit their Lucena residence. Hence, the news of her passing away came to me as a surprise. I didn’t even know that she was ill! It turns out that the cancer, already in its advanced stages, was only discovered three months ago. Needless to say, it its way fast into her system. At least she didn’t suffer long…. Given the situation, I was expecting to arrive at their family residence and witness utter devastation among the people there who knew and loved Tita Pat. Instead, I found joyous people who celebrated her life in lieu of grieving over her unexpected demise. They did not dwell on their loss, but instead drew so much inspiration from the love and compassion that they have shown them during their lifetime. They, too, found comfort and warmth in each other’s company, hence making the burden of their beloved matriarch’s death easier to bear.
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In other parts of the globe, people of different races and creeds have also been mourning the loss of a patriarch, a role model, a friend. After struggling through his illnesses for so long, our beloved Pope John Paul II has finally commended his spirit to his Creator. He has left our world for a better place.
But then again, he did not leave us empty-handed. He taught us the values of human dignity, peace, and unity where there was war, dissent and strife. He sought to look into the commonalities in the different faiths where most of the world only saw the irreconcilable differences in them. He believed in the youth, and in other minority groups, whereas others would have just ignored the contribution of these sectors to society at large. He was arguably a greater leader and moral authority than perhaps all of the present political leaders combined could ever hope to be. And even in his very death, he has breathed new life into the Church and brought the peoples of the world together.
We mourn his death. But we also celebrate his life. We commemorate it, and hopefully, we’ll learn from it. No, he did not leave us empty-handed. His legacy of compassionate service has been passed on to us. It is now up to us to make it a reality in our own little worlds, our own humble lives.
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I mourn for a friend who lost a mother. I mourn for a world that has lost a father. But even then, I am joyful for these two souls, for they are now able to rest in God’s loving embrace. I celebrate and bask in the legacy of loving service that each of them has shared with the world, and which continue to touch the lives of many.
And so, as they move on to a better place, It’s not goodbye I wish to say but thank you for showing us how to live.
