The Virgin listens and God is on the cellphone!

A boy in college stopped studying, to the consternation of his parents. He was deeply involved with his barkada, and went out with them every night. Sometimes he did not come home for three days. His family did not know where he was. They were worried sick.

His mother wrote three letters to Our Lady of Lourdes, addressed to:

Monsieur L’Econome de Loeuvre de la Grotte,

65100 Lourdes, Cedes

Lourdes, France

The boy began to go out with his barkadas less and less. Soon he was home every night, regretting that he had dropped out of school. Then he went to his father, personally, and asked to be enrolled again in college. He is now working for his degree in Business Administration, and his marks are very good.

His mother says: "I asked Our Lady of Lourdes to help my son go back to school. My request was granted. I know very well that it was Mary who touched his heart, and changed him in so many ways. I believe in her divine power."

The mother is Fiameta A. Montes

Blk. I, Lot 3

Casimiro Town Homes

Admiral, Las Piñas City

There seems to be no request that the Virgin will not answer! She gives children to wives who have been barren for years. She brings funding to those who are desperately in need of money. She leads young men out of drug addiction. She saves children from delinquency. On Calvary Our Lord said to John: "Behold thy mother!" and she became the mother of all of us. She is certainly taking her motherhood seriously. She answers our requests not because we deserve it, but only because we need it!

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On Monday, June 16, the first day of school, a new texting service will be launched, both on Globe and on Smart. It is called: "One Minute With God." Brief messages from God to us – the Word of God, taken directly from the Scriptures, and applied to our normal, everyday needs.

The promoters of this apostolate wanted Bishop Soc Villegas to deliver these messages, but friends warned the Bishop that it might be mis-interpreted to mean that he was paving his way to advancement in the ranks of the Catholic Church. So Bishop Villegas approved the program with all his heart, but he felt that he should not be the one to do it.

Other good bright young Bishops, and Monsignors, felt the same way. They liked the idea of God on the cellphone, but were reluctant to be the one to do it. They did not want to run the risk of campaigning for their own advancement. So the promoters of the project began looking for someone who was in no danger of advancement. They settled on me. At 87, in the pre-departure area, the only place that I am going to advance to is from here to eternity.

But putting God into a texting program appeals to me, for many reasons. The first is this: Our producers of media are convinced that nothing sells except sex and violence. So sex and violence get an amazing share of space in the newspapers, dramatic portrayal on television, and time on radio broadcasting.

There might be 999,999 good Filipino husbands, who love their wives and are faithful to them; who love their children and work hard to give them the best education, the best of everything; who say the rosary with their families every evening. But these men do not make it to media, because they are too quiet. They are not news. Then comes one man who has nine other women, and who kills his real wife, with an axe. He gets the front page, prime time on TV, the leading story in the radio news.

There might be 4,000 Filipino priests who rise early every morning, to pray; who meditate, on their knees, before the Blessed Sacrament; who say Mass with beautiful reverence; who hear confessions for hours on end; who work hard all day, trying to bring God to man and man to God, to help the poor, to rescue street children, to house the homeless. They do not make it to media, because they are too quiet. They are not news.

Then comes one priest who is accused of something scandalous. He gets banner headlines on the front page of every newspaper. He is the feature in the television program, on prime time. He is the leading story on the radio.

This has destroyed the reputation of the Philippines abroad. The American, the European, does not live here. He only knows what media brings to him. So he thinks that all Filipino husbands have queridas, and might well kill their real wives with an axe. He thinks that all Filipino priests are bad.

And it is devastating to our children. Our teenage girls are afraid of marriage, because they feel that every marriage will end with infidelity, quarrels and separation. Our boys are reluctant to enter the seminary, because they do not want to be like the priest they see on the front page of the newspaper. They lose respect for the priesthood.

The apostolate of putting God on the cellphone is very small, and very quiet. But that’s the way God is! In the Old Testament, the prophet is waiting for the coming of the Lord. There is a great earthquake, but God is not in the earthquake. There is a wild typhoon, but God is not in the typhoon. There is a roaring fire, but God is not in the fire. Then there comes a gentle breeze, a peaceful breeze, rippling the leaves on the trees. And God is in the breeze, whispering softly in the wind.

The second reason why I like this texting program is this: John Paul has been exhorting all Catholic Communicators to get into the Internet, to use the latest, popular, efficient means of communication. The Philippines is the texting center of the world. I am illiterate in this whole area, but I am a Catholic Communicator. I have some trophies, a couple of plaques, a police record, and the military file of criminals to prove it.

During martial law I was under house arrest for two years, with four military guards, armed with automatic rifles, in our courtyard, night and day. Because they thought that I was a communicator, communicating subversion.

So I better obey John Paul. On Globe the number is 2978. On Smart it is 326. When you text these numbers, you are reaching out to God. And God will reach out to you. When God touches you, it brings you peace, happiness, joy, love, everything. You contact many people on your cellphone. Now, hopefully, you can contact God.