Blessedness

(Another thought on vocation)

In Roman Catholic Church, the term blessedness is used as a title before the name of one who has been beatified like Blessed Mother Teresa and Blessed Pope John Paul II and the Blessed Virgin Mary is the model of all the beatified people in the Catholic church. But Mama Mary will always be The Blessed Virgin Mary because she is always in God’s grace and favor especially that according to Mr. Webster blessedness is a state or condition of being in God’s grace or favor.

But this article will discuss about blessedness in the context of vocation. I have written before that I am single and I am blessed because that is what my vocation says: single-blessedness.

But let me tell you that whether one is married or single as long as her/his life is offered to God or that s/he is in-love with God then I say that their state of life is blessedness.

It was summer of 1994 and I was only 27 years old when I went to a Mangyan community in Sepuyo in Occidental Mindoro with the MIC sisters (Missionaries of Immaculate Concepcion) and with Vangie Castillo (now a religious nun). The purpose in going there was to handle the literacy mission of the MIC sisters. For the whole summer, I was teaching the Mangyan kids the ABAKADA and also teaching them write their names. I would teach them in the morning and played with them in the afternoon. On weekends the MIC sisters and Vangie and I would cross a long river four times to reach the town to attend Holy Mass. That was the routine for the whole summer.

In one afternoon while playing with the Mangyan kids in the rolling hills like that of the movie The Sound of Music, a feeling of serenity and deep joy engulfed my being. I could feel the presence of God playing with us. There has never been a moment in my life that God was so near and so comforting. The coming weeks became heavenly bliss to me even on that fateful day when we were visited by the NPAs (New People’s Army).

On my last week, I made a promise to God that I will not marry neither will enter nunnery. I made that promise atop a rolling hill surrounded by idyllic scenery amidst the young laughter and giggles of the Mangyan kids. I guess I can say that I found my vocation in the Mangyan community in Sepuyo. The innocence and purity of souls of the Mangyan kids made me realize that my vocation is to teach and mold young minds to better their life and to draw them closer to God.

I know that vocation is a calling and also a decision. The decision would always come from the individuals who are called. Just like marriage, it is a decision to commit; a decision to fulfill.

My calling was neither marriage nor religious order. My calling was to remain single and be blessed in life. How sure am I that I was called to remain single? I have a simple answer. My life is blest since I was 16 years old the day I said “I love you LORD”.

Had I decided to marry, there might have been more than two miserable people now — my husband, my kids, and myself. Had I decided to become a religious sister, the community and I might have become miserable too. Up to this day, I have not known what miserable life is. I have been sad; I have seen bad days; I have been bumped out by people. But those have never made me miserable. Instead, those made me kneel before God to forgive and be forgiven. Then love the humanity again.

So, what is blessedness in the context of vocation? It is living a life for others; becoming the voice for others; and offering everything to God. As the song goes: “Take my life a living sacrifice/ knowing it’s the least that I can do/ Make my life a living sacrifice/ Holy and acceptable to you”.