An Enduring Love

A constant flow of people visiting and praying for their dearly departed is a beautiful Filipino family value worth practicing. It shows our enduring love for our relatives who once shared existence with us, now etched in memories. Like them, we all are given gifts by God which carry responsibilities necessary to accomplish our mission. There are numbers engraved on tombstones – there is a beginning and an ending number. Time itself is also a gift. God needs all of us to help and be a part of the salvation history. Those enlisted and said ‘yes’ like the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah, the Twelve Apostles, the saints, and countless people like our parents – who gave themselves to us and many times forgetting themselves – all found fulfillment. Certainly, they were asked by God how much love they gave… all within those numbers engraved in their tombstones.

Even up to now, those in heaven and in purgatory help us with their prayers. Their work continues because in God’s loving goodness, not only did He will us to exist, but He wants us all to be saved and to share His life for eternity despite our shortcomings. And when we materialize our potentials, it is God’s glory. Isaiah’s prayer says it all, “O God who accomplishes all things, with us.”

The Blessed Mother whom God enlisted to help bring about the beginning of our liberation said her fiat. It is time to imitate her.