Theme Songs

CEBU, Philippines - In his talk to the married couples in the Mall of Asia last month, the unmarried, celibate Pope Francis advised them to revive the fervour of their pristine love prior to their marriage, meaning when they were yet in their courtship and engagement period.  This papal advice comes to mind now that we are in February, the month dedicated to those in love since the 14th day is Valentine's Day.

My youngest child, a daughter, celebrates her 32nd birth anniversary on February 24.  This is the reason why my wife and I gave her the name "Liebe," which is German for "love."  Her name reminds me of the happy memories when I was in Germany for about one month. Since the pastor of the parish where I was staying was on vacation, I was offering Mass there in lieu of him. In German, of course!  Imagine a Cebuano presiding at Mass and preaching to them in their own language!

One way of reviving the married couple's fervent love for each other is to sing their theme songs.  For my part, I would sing to my wife "A Song for You," the initial lyrics of which go: "I've been to many places in my life and time. I've sung a lot of songs, I've made some bad rhymes.  I've acted out my life in stages with 10,000 people watching…"  And she would sing in response: "I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation and the only explanation I can find is the love that I've found ever since you've been around…"

Even my masteral students at Cebu Normal University (CNU) have a theme song for our subject on Philo-Social Foundations in Education; namely "Changes in My Life."  We chose this for our theme song because one of the early controversies in Philosophy was between Parmenides who taught that everything is permanent and Heraclitus for whom everything is changing.

Another relevance of this song to our course is expressed in the words: "Then I look up in the sky and I'm thinking why oh why…"  You see, philosophy goes to the deepest "why" of things.  What does not change inside and outside us as well as in society is the permanence of God's love for us which alone can truly make us happy!

This course in the Graduate School of CNU philosophizes about society.  The Church is one of the societies that we encounter in life. And a phenomenon in our predominantly Roman Catholic Philippine society is that of priests getting married.  And the following are the different theme songs related to the classification of priests due to compulsory or obligatory celibacy imposed on them:

1)For the truly celibate priests like Pope Francis: "There will never be a portrait of my love for nobody can paint a dream."  I hope this is not contrary to Pope Francis' pronouncement that "realities are more powerful than ideas."

A Cebuano celibate Roman Catholic Monsignor, while preaching about the married state during a Good Friday "Siete Palabras," or the Seven Last Words (of Jesus Christ), congratulated those who had been married  for 50 or more years already because their sticking it out together for so long is a "prima facie" evidence of mutual toleration.  Where did he get that insight since he himself is unmarried?

Maybe he read somewhere that if St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier were to live under the same roof, they would still test each other's patience.  Now, we married priests are far from being saints!  And our consolation is in the song which goes like this: "Love look at the two of us, strangers in many ways. We've got a lifetime to share, so much to say.  And love may grow for all we know…"

2)For priests professing to be celibate but are in reality having mistresses, lovers, or "kabit," their theme song is: "A time for us some day there'll be when chains are torn by courage borne…"

3)And the married priests' theme song is: "Di ba tayo ay tao lamang.  Ganyan tayong lahat…"  Incidentally, the Gospel on February 8 (Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time) is taken from the Gospel according to St. Mark 1:29-39.  It is about the cure of Simon Peter's mother-in-law.  So, the first pope was married!  To know when compulsory or obligatory celibacy was imposed on the priests of the Western Rite Roman Catholic Church, please read my book, "I Laugh Only."