Prayer for the nation - JAYWALKER By Art A. Borjal

Last Sunday, October 22, former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga appeared and spoke before two groups – in the morning, at the worship service at Cosmopolitan Church in Manila, and in the evening, at the reunion of student officers of Buklod Atenista, at the Ateneo University campus at Loyola Heights in Quezon City. Instead of delivering a speech, Senator Salonga uttered a solemn prayer for the nation.

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Everyone in the audience, both at the Cosmopolitan Church and at the Ateneo, was touched and inspired by Senator Salonga’s prayer. They asked for a copy of his prayer, but he could not give out any since he had only one copy prepared for the two occasions. I am thus reproducing, in its entirety, Senator Salonga’s Prayer for the Nation, so that other Filipinos can be likewise touched and inspired by the important message conveyed by this great and highly respected leader of our nation.

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Here is the Prayer for the Nation delivered by Senator Salonga last Sunday:

We acknowledge You as the Lord of history, the final arbiter in the affairs of persons and nations. The Transcendal Power to which all our public officials, from the highest to the lowest, and the rest of us who hold no public office, are ultimately accountable.

You have taught us that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without your knowledge, but why do we sometimes believe that our situation in this moment of crisis is hopeless and that we who are not in high positions of authority are powerless? Why do we sometimes act as if our high public officials are not accountable to You and to us, Your people, from whom they have drawn their authority?

Even as we come now to Your throne of mercy and grace, we humbly ask for Your forgiveness. Forgive us for the many times when we who compose Your church are haunted by the memories of our failure to speak out against the evils and injustices in our society – the wrongs and corrupt practices that threaten to divide our people and tear our nation apart today.

Many of us would rather escape from the problems of society and confine ourselves to "purely spiritual matters" where we find more comfort in talking about abstract principles and platitudes, forgetting that this is our Father’s world, the world with all its wrongs and injustices for which our Master bled and died, the world in which we must now witness and serve, like Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Forgive us for the many times when we could have spoken out, like Your prophets of old, against the social and economic inequalities that have reduced the many poor among us to extreme want and misery, even as some of us, in the comfort of our homes or in the security of our offices, prefer to be blind to their sufferings and deaf to their cries. Forgive us, O Lord, for our preoccupation with rituals and titles in our respective churches, forgetting the demands of social justice and compassion for our oppressed people.

Give us the discernment to distinguish between the trivial and the essential, the wisdom to distinguish between the hard right and the easy wrong, and the courage to do that which You have empowered us to do so that justice and truth and righteousness may prevail in our sinful world.

Though we may find it extremely difficult, give us the grace and the humility to pray for our high public officials, many of whom we do not respect, partly because what they often say is the opposite of what they do, and partly because they do not seem to know the difference between right and wrong. We realize that all of us are somehow responsible for our current situation, due to our silence, our apathy and failure to go out into the world to live and work in lowly service to You and our people. Nevertheless, we pray for all our public officials, so that in Your infinite wisdom, they may come to know when and what they must do for the sake of this nation we loved beyond measure.

By Your wisdom and mercy, help us raise a new generation of young men and women of idealism, integrity, wisdom from on high, and the courage to do Your will, knowing that only when we follow and carry out Your will may we expect this nation to have peace and justice, genuine unity and mutual trust.

In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

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It is really inspiring to see our fellowmen, continuing to do their share in lending a helping hand in pushing through socially-oriented projects for the less fortunate in life. For instance, after the October 18 Wednesday forum at La Dolce Fontana, hosted by STAR publisher and colleague Max V. Soliven, a gentleman who did not identify himself handed over to me a P5,000 donation to the Good Samaritan Fund. And two days thereafter, at EDSA Shangri-La Garden Cafe, a kindhearted fellow, who wants to be anonymous, handed over P1,000 which he asked me to use for the beneficiaries of the Good Samaritan Foundation.

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Yesterday afternoon, five kindhearted and thoughtful ladies, all parishioners of the Most Holy Rosary Parish, came all the way to my office, from Rosario, Cavite, riding in two cars lent to them by Ferdie Abad and Benny Ronquillo. They dropped by to turn over 67 boxes of instant noodles, other food items, and assorted goods, all for the clinic of Oblates of Mary Immaculate missionary, Bro. Noel P. Garcia, in the faraway village of Sibutu, at the southernmost tip of Tawi-Tawi. The items came from donations given by parishioners of the Most Holy Rosary Parish, whose parish priest is Fr. Romeo Ner.

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The five ladies were Emelita P. Garcia, who is the mother of Bro. Noel, Caring Legaspi, Suzie Buendia, Bing Carrillo and Meding Manas. They were accompanied by Joseph Laxamana, Quintin Riana Jr., and Jonel Barrera, all volunteer workers from the parish church in Rosario town. As the bighearted, gentle ladies and their companions left my office, I uttered a prayer that other Filipinos will continue lighting candles, small they may be, that will light up the darkness in our troubled land.

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In the meantime, let me extend a million thanks to the following who shared some of their blessings with the less fortunate in life, through their donations to the Good Samaritan Foundation:

* An anonymous lady from Cainta, Rizal, P5,000

* An anonymous lady from Quezon City, P3,000

* LVJ and LVY of Grace Park, Caloocan City, P1,000

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Art A. Borjal’s e-mail address: <jwalker@tri-isys.com>