Love Never Fails
(Advice to Newlyweds)

Almost every marriage starts out as a huge celebration. Together with their family and friends, each couple is full of hopes and dreams for their future life together. But the road to a happy marriage is far from easy. My advice to you is a paraphrase of St. Paul's teaching on the virtue of love, which I would like to apply, in particular, to marriage. My hope and prayer is that you will find it useful in completing your journey to a happy and durable marriage.

If you give away everything you own to your spouse, and if you hand over your body to him or her so that you may boast, but do not have love for your spouse --- you gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous. Love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude.

Love does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury.

Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing that you may inflict on your spouse.

Love bears all things, hopes all things and endures all things for the sake of the marriage.

Love never fails.

The matrimonial duties of mutual fidelity, faithfulness, respect, care, help and support are founded on the fundamental duty of mutual love. No marriage can survive without love. St. Paul said that the greatest supernatural gift that God has given us is love. In the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, God gives you the supernatural grace that empowers you to fulfill your marital obligations towards each other. It is therefore important that, as husband and wife, you should invite God to direct your relationship. If you would like to do so, I encourage you to pray the following:

"Dear God, thank you so much for bringing us together as a couple. We know that you have a plan and a purpose for our marriage, and we pray that you forgive us for our past self-centeredness. We invite you, O God, to come into our lives, enrich our relationship with your grace and shine your light on our steps from now on. Please give us the strength to put you first in all decisions we will make now and in the future. We pray that you bless our marriage so that it will be a blessing to the children you will give us, to our relatives and our friends. By your grace, O God, let our marriage give glory to your most Holy Name. Amen."

God bless and keep you always.

Grandpa’s Letter to Patricia on her 18^th Birthday

Dear Patricia:

When you were a baby, Grandma and I used to carry you in our arms. You were then too young to talk, so we had to learn how to baby talk so we could baby talk to you.

When you grew up from a baby to a little girl, you used to come to our bedroom to play with your doll. Your favorite place was a corner in the bedroom where you would sit down on the floor and carry on monologue conversation with your doll and an imaginary friend.

Then you grew from a little girl to a school girl. The most memorable thing I can remember of those days was that you used to sleep in our bedroom. You slept in the big sofa and I remember you would say a prayer before going to sleep. And this went on until one day you grew bigger and the sofa became too small for you to sleep on. So it was time for you sleep on your own bed in your parents’ bedroom.

Time has passed so fast. It seems it was only yesterday when you were just a kid. And now you are celebrating your 18^th birthday! You are now a young adult, a beautiful young lady.

At 18, you are of legal age. You have the capacity to enter into contracts. You are qualified to vote. I have a gut feeling that very soon there will be young men courting you. And, as nature has it, soon you will fall in love. But let me remind you that as you enter adulthood, you will encounter many challenges in your life as you journey along. A word of advice from Grandpa might help you face those challenges.

1. Use the Word of God as a principal guide for living, rather than the culture of modernism, feminist movements or peer pressure. Study God’s Word faithfully so that you may be instructed in the way to righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

2. Keep away from friends who are a bad influence on you, and surround yourself with friends who will encourage you in godliness. Cast out any outside corrupting influences, such as movies, TV shows and other activities with no moral redeeming value.

3. I encourage you to strengthen your relationships with your family members. Your relationship with your family should be the most important relationship to you, second only your relationship with the Lord. The members of your family should be your best friends; hence, make the most of the time that the Lord has allowed you to be with them. Be an encouraging and inspiring example to your younger sisters. Love, honor and respect your father and your mother so that it may be well with you (Exodus 20:12).

4. Cultivate a deeper and honoring relationship with your father and mother, in word and deed (Sirach 3:1-4, 8). Confide in them, pray for them and let them know that you are behind them so that they may become even greater parents.

5. Clothe yourself with the godly quality of a quiet and gentle spirit, which is precious in the eyes of God. Let it blossom in the inside and shine through the outside. A lady is one who acts more gracious, keeps her dignity, and her manner and voice are gentle and quiet.

6. Do not be a compromiser on moral issues. Remember, we are in the midst of a spiritual warfare. When you compromise on moral issues, you lose the battle. Win the battles for Christ, your Lord and Savior, by fighting his battles in his way.

7. Your parents are active members of the St. James Parish Renewal Movement. I encourage you to join the youth group of this renewal movement. It is important that you fellowship with young Christian men and women who are committed to the Lord. They will be a good influence on you.

8. You are a college student, focus on your studies. Do not get seriously involved in any love relationship because it will only distract you from your studies. I earnestly hope to see you graduate from medical school.

9. Someday, after you have completed your college education and have become a doctor, you will seriously think of getting married. In anticipation of that future event, preserve yourself by remaining pure physically, emotionally and mentally. Prepare yourself to become a worthy bride for a godly man.

10. Finally, Proverbs 3:5-6 is a good Scripture for you if you want to get inspired directions from the Lord: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

Grandma joints me in wishing you a happy birthday. May the Lord bless and keep you always. Amen.

I love you.

Grandpa

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Core Message The core message underlying the Moral Renewal Movement that I am advocating may be stated as follows. A. Reconciliation and Moral Values Historically, the Philippines is a nation with high moral values. This is expressed, in part, by how our people were united and determined to fight against the excesses of foreign colonizers. After we became an independent nation, we had insurgency problems with the Hukbalahap and the Communist Party of the Philippines in the 1950s and 1960s. The insurgency was actually an arm struggle of the peasants and the proletariat classes against the landed and the capitalists classes for a more meaningful social justice. We dealt with the insurgency problem with commendable success initially by police action, then followed by peace negotiation and reconciliation and finally by President Magsaysay’s land for the landless program. The repressive Martial Law era from 1972 to 1986 resuscitated the Communist Party of the Philippines with its armed component, the NPA, in Luzon and the Visayas; while a rebellion by the Moro Liberation Army under Nur Misuari broke out in Southern Mindanao. After the ouster of the dictator, President Corazon Aquino and President Ramos both undertook in earnest negotiations with the leaders of the insurgents with the end in view of achieving lasting peace. Leaders of the Communist Party were released from detention by order of President Aquino; while Misuari and his army of rebels surrendered and were later integrated into the Arm Forces of the Philippines. Misuari himself was later elected governor of the Mindanao Autonomous Region. With the dismantling of the Moro Liberation Army and with the failure of the national government to address the grievances of the Moslems in southern Mindanao, a new group of insurgents, the MILF, took up arms for the avowed purpose of establishing an independent Moslem state of Mindanao. The armed struggle continues to this day, although there are on-and-off peace negotiations between the government and the rebels. These experiences have taught us to understand the root cause of the insurgency problem of our country and the imperative need to resolve the problem through peaceful negotiation and reconciliation and implementing a meaningful social justice the common good, particularly for the benefit of the poor and the marginalized. For it is not good for Filipinos to be killing Filipinos. The process of reconciliation and nation building, across cultural, ethnic, religious and political lines, underlines the moral character of the Filipino nation. B. Moral Renewal The Constitution of the Republic of Philippines provides a framework for the realization of this country’s moral values. All Filipinos can play their part in promoting national morals and values. Although the underlying principle of the crusade is moral values, it is not just the religious institutions that are called to promote and uphold these values. The contribution of citizens in the crusade for moral renewal is necessary and should be encouraged. C. Sustaining Moral Communities The building of moral communities is a necessary requirement for the fight against immoral behavior in our communities and public institutions. We need to build vigilant communities which can identify potential acts of immoral behavior in government and in private institutions and refer these to legitimate institutions with a mandate to deal with such issues.

Objectives of the Moral Renewal Movement

To provide an opportunity to diagnose the past and the present state of the moral crisis in the Philippines;

To reflect on strategies and measures to reconstruct the social values of Philippine society;

To facilitate the evolution of a dynamic mass movement to help and support thegovernment-civil society initiative in planning an effective program of action for the renewal of our society;

To design a vigorous program of action for a sustainable moral renewal campaign;

To promote national advocacy for the creation of an ethical, caring and corrupt-free society;

To strengthen the foundations of our hard-earned freedom.