Epilogue: Seeing God's Face in the Filipino People

The trip began with a hope of enjoying some rest to be able to get a glimpse of God's face. I would say that I have achieved this goal. I was able to rest from the daily grind of routine in Victoria. It has given me a fresh perspective of what matters, more accurately - who matters. Jesus is all that matters and nothing else.

The Flight Home

We checked in at around 3:30 pm and the airport was very hot. It seemed that the air condition system was not working. It was hot when we checked in. It was still hot when we were in the boarding area.

Flight Day

I had breakfast with my brother. It was great to at least have my last day with him. I hope and pray that the Lord will bless him and his family. Bless the people who entertained us.

Day 27: Last Day before Flight

Being a Sunday, we went to mass. The gospel was the conclusion of the teaching of Jesus on the Bread of Life. Many left him because they could not understand and accept what he said. Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, "What about you? Are you also going to leave?" Peter said, "Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Day 26: Last Minute Shopping and Healing Mass

The day started pretty slow and picked up in the afternoon. We went to Trinoma to buy an appreciation gift to our host and went home. On the way, the taxi we took conked out right in the middle of EDSA! We got off the taxi and he even asked me to push the car aside. God bless the driver of that taxi.

Days 24-25: The Good Man against the Epal Politicians

The past two days were mainly focused on the death of Sec Robredo. I do not know him personally, but his actions in the department he headed speak for themselves. Likewise, the grief and sense of loss from the people show how great he could be.

Day 23: Mary the Queen and My Daughter's Birthday

Birthday Girl

August 22 is the memorial of the Queenship of Mary and my daughter's birthday. I could not believe that 21 years ago, I held a little baby in my arms. I blinked and she's all grown up. Praise God for those 21 years!

Day 22: Catching up with Relatives

They finally found Sec. Robredo's body in the plane crash. It really is a great loss to the nation. Such a great public servant. I am really impressed with the way the Filipino responded to this news. There was a sense of loss. This proves that despite what the traditional politicians (trapos) think, Filipinos are intelligent enough to discern a great man when they see one.

Day 21: Amazing New Metro Manila Cities

 The day started with mass again. I think I have been able to discern the Lord's will for me. After mass, we went to the Fort. I am amazed at the Fort. Once you enter the Fort, it looks like a city in North America. I can't help but think that it looks like downtown Vancouver.

Day 20: Eat All You Can

The gospel for today was about Jesus being the Bread that gives eternal life. The priest in his homily spoke of many advertisement that satisfy our momentary needs. None of them advertise that they give eternal life. Only Jesus gives eternal life.

First plate

Reading John 18 I came across how hard men's hearts can be. When they came to arrest Jesus, Jesus asked them, "Whom do you seek?" The men answered, "Jesus of Nazareth". It is interesting to note that they did not say, "We come to arrest you." In the other accounts of this scene, Judas kissed Jesus to identify Jesus from the others.

Day 19: Reminiscing High School

Cross with rellic

Morning began with mass again. The thought came that it really does not matter where I am, or where the Lord is leading me. What matters is Jesus himself. This is really the purpose of our lives - to know Jesus. There was also a large cross at the church. The priest said it arrived last night as part of the celebration for youth. I noticed a relic but did not know what it was. In any case, I spent some time praying before it.

Day 18: Dentist and Internet Justice

The day started with mass. On the way to church, the air was cool and the sun was up. It was a welcome change from the rain and humidity. The sun was shining throughout the morning.

We went to the dentist in Malabon and despite the sun, it was not that hot. I guess the sun melted the humidity. The road is another story though. There's lots of garbage on the road. I saw a garbage truck cleaning them up but what can one truck do to lots of garbage. I just hope they are able to clean up the garbage before the next flood.

Day 17: Malacanang and Chinatown - Trip Through History

The day turned out quite interesting. We went to the Malacanang Museum and then to Chinatown.

We arrived early at the Tita Moning's restaurant and had some time to kill. We we decided to go to the National Shrine to St. Jude which was a few blocks away. I must confess that for 12 years, I went to a school that was literally blocks from St. Jude and this is the first time I've been to the place. I did not know it is run by the SVD priests.

Day 16: Death and the Assumption

 August 15 is the Solemnity of the Assumption. It is also my father's death anniversary. 14 years ago in 1998, he died due to lung cancer.

He is currently buried at the St. Peter's Church in Quezon City so we went there in the morning. It is now the Shrine of leaders. We went there to pray and we met the parish priest who used to be our assistant parish priest.

Day 15: Refuge in a Busy Mall

I had a lunch meeting at SM MegaMall. It will take one bus ride and one MRT ride from where I'm staying to the MegaMall. I am impressed with the MRT. I won't say it is clean - but it is very efficient.

Day 14: Slowly Edging Back to Reality

The day was a bit hectic.

I had breakfast with my sister and then went to visit my mom. My mother came with us in the car to drop me off at my in-laws'.

Day 13: Back in Manila

We woke up a bit late because our flight was at 10:10 am and there was nothing much to do but to pack up. Being a Sunday, there was buffet breakfast at the hotel. We packed up and went to the airport.

Day 12: Crocodiles and Fireflies

The day started with a tour to a weaving factory. They use ordinary grass, boil it and dye them and weave them to produce beautiful materials that are later used to make bags, table runners and table mats and other things.

One of the things I see here is the intelligence of man. Imagine, something as useless as grass can be made into beautiful works of art and materials that could be useful. This reminds me of how God works. Many people think there is no hope for themselves, that they are useless. But this proves them wrong. God has made everything beautiful. There is no such thing as wasted material. Everything has a redeeming factor. God can use anything and change anything to make them beautiful.

Day 11: Underground River - the Real Bat Cave

We went to the Underground River - one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature. It is about 2 hours drive from our hotel along winding roads. If you are not used to long winding rides, take something to help you. The ride is worth it though.

Days 9 and 10: Slow Day and off to Palawan

After the flood, things settled down. I was able to go to mass. It turns out the destruction from the rain was greater than expected. Even after the rains have stopped, a lot of towns are still underwater. One thing that has come out of this disaster is the generosity of people. You hear of people who go out of their way to help others. You hear of cops and military - where these are stereotyped as corrupt - staking their lives to help others. Lord, bless this land. Bless the people and the leaders.

Day 8: Flood - Day 2

There's flood again very early in the morning at 4 am to be exact. The flood waters started to get in to the driveway. My wife's nephews and brother-in-law were already panning out the water to the road.

Day 7: Flood - More Fun in the Philippines?

Yesterday was relatively uneventful during the day. We went to the dentist at noon and finished at 5:30 pm. On our way home, it rained and as happens here, the streets become rivers.

We arrived in Monumento at around 5:45pm and the streets were a little flooded. My wife and I decided to wait because in the past few days, the rains would subside. Apparently, we were wrong. The rain got heavier and the streets started to get flooded.

Day 6: Manila Ocean Park

We went to mass in the morning and the parish was commissioning Extra-ordinary ministers of the eucharist. I cannot believe that there are masses one after the other. I'm not sure how the priests manage it but they do.

After mass was breakfast then off to Manila Ocean Park. When one enters, one gets a sense of pride that finally, we have a world class attraction.

The park has several attractions. One is the Oceanarium where it displays fishes. I cannot believe that there are fishes that are HUGE! Now, I believe it when people say they caught a big one because I have see one! The fish at the right is probably four feet long!

There was one which had four shark eggs in various stages of development. One can see the small sharks moving in the egg. The smaller ones are moving faster than the larger ones. Who can deny that these creatures in eggs are not alive? It reminds me that the 'thing' in a mother's womb is alive.



There was a fish with strange teeth. A saw tooth fish that I thought existed only in cartoons and stingrays and sharks.

There was also a penguin exhibit and a snow village. It was very cold inside. We also went to the jelly fish display. It was very good.

We had a late lunch and then watched the Bird show. The sad thing is it rained very hard and the show had to be cancelled. This was a shame because the birds were very, very good.

All in all, it was an excellent day. Seeing the beauty of God's creation made me realize the wisdom and power of God. God is Almighty and he makes all things beautiful! One of the psalms say, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Indeed, after seeing all these, one can only realize that we are all miracles of God.

Day 5: First Saturday

This is my first Saturday back in the Philippines and also the first Saturday of the month. I had breakfast of scrambled egg and carabao cheese after mass. The carabao cheese was wet but tastes good. It's not as firm as the regular cheese. It's the one on top of the picture.

Day 4: Slow Day and Observations on Filipino Courtesy

Nothing much happened. Went to mass, had my eyes examined and bought a pair of new glasses at my High School classmate's clinic.

One thing I can say is SM really is growing. Everywhere you look there's SM malls or SM whatever. Surprisingly also, there's not a lot of traffic going to SM Centris and back. Maybe it was noon time. But I'm not complaining.

Day 3: Catching up with an Old Friend

During the homily, the priest spoke of Jesus as being the pearl of great price. He is the only One that really matters. We choose him not for any reason but because of who he is. This made me think - am I seeking him because of who he is or because of what it will bring me? One thing is apparent. I need to ask for the Holy Spirit to lead me. I cannot see Jesus without the Spirit. Everything is grace.

Day 2: The Dentist and the Dark Knight

The day began with mass again. The priest said something about Jesus being the pearl of great price. Jesus being the one whom our heart desires. This is what this blog is about - to seek Jesus himself. Our faith is not a matter of intellectual knowledge or ideology. It is not a matter of the right actions in worship, nor is it only a matter of going to mass on Sundays. Pope Benedict said our faith is an encounter with an event and a person.

This is what I think is wrong with society today, in the Philippines and I would say in Canada also. People have reduced Catholicism to an ideology or superstition, thinking that they are Catholics just because they say so. We see this in the way the law makers and intellectuals are talking about the Reproductive Health bill. They accuse the Church of spreading AIDS/HIV because it bans condoms. Hello!!! The issue is not the use of condoms. The issue is sex outside of marriage.

Another reason is it is good for the economy. The question is whose economy? The law-breakers, I mean law makers or the country's? Europe and North America are slowing down because they have no people to work and pump their economy. Japan and other countries are hiring Filipinos because their population is aging. I also wonder, how can less people be good for the economy? I wonder which idiot thought of that reason. President Noynoy's battlecry during the election was, 'Kung walang Corrupt, walang mahirap'. And he has proven that. He has managed the growth of the country and infrastructure spending without raising taxes. Why? Because as he said, he has improved tax collection and decreased corrupt practices. So the solution to the country's economic growth is not less population but less corruption.

As a Catholic, I respect the bishops. But I think the fault also partly lies on some bishops. You see the bishops condemning evil yet, they willingly associate with these people. Sure, you need to separate the person from the deed, but in this case, these people are not repentant. Jesus associated with people who were seeking him. For those who had hard hearts, he had harsh words for them. He sometimes had harsh words for those seeking him if they could not understand him.

For these people, they will always look for reasons to justify their beliefs just because they do not want to listen to what the Church teaches and the sad thing is these people call themselves Catholics - and they think of themselves as intelligent people.

If they pass the RH bill, it will be the end of the country`s moral compass. This will open up to the culture of death. The only hope is to pray for justice and for true conversion of heart and also that the Lord will intervene again so that this evil plan will not succeed.

One last thing about these 'Catholics'. I just do not think one should call themselves Catholics if they do not totally and fully support the teaching (note the singular) of the Church. The teaching of the Church is one single whole and we cannot pick and choose. It is alright to doubt or question the teaching of the Church but the important thing is to seek the truth not according to what thinks but according to the mind of Jesus. In the end, what we think is nothing because the Truth is dictated by Christ.

Anyway, I went to the dentist yesterday and I spent 3 hours for a root canal. I have to go back on Monday and Wednesday for the cap of my tooth.

Inside IMAX Theater

In the afternoon, I took my children to SM North to watch Batman. I am amazed at the improvements in the recent years. The theater was clean - the seats were better than those in Silver City in Victoria. We also watched the Dark Knight in IMAX - all for P1,200 or P400 per person. That's less than CA$10 per person. You can't even watch a regular movie at that price in Victoria! The sound was excellent.

The movie has a twist at the end but it was very well directed. Excellent direction and storyline.

We had dinner which was a feast because my wife`s nephew was going back to the US the next day. Still trying to adjust to the time so I went to sleep at 8:30 pm.

Day 1: Rest of the Day

Immediately after haircut

After breakfast, I had a haircut. There were 2 options - haircut in an airconditioned room or not. If it was in the air-conditioned room, the cut was P50. Cut in no air-conditioned room was P30. I choose the to have mine in a non-air-conditioned room.

Manila: Day 1 Breakfast

Slept from around 2pm yesterday (5am Victoria time) until around 10:30 pm (1pm Victoria Time). Chatted w/ my family and then went back to sleep. Woke up around 3am and had some breakfast - left over lechon.

Touchdown: Manila

The plane landed 2 hours after schedule. Not bad considering it left 3 hours late. The pilot probably drove the plane like a jeepney driver in Manila.

Victoria to Vancouver to Manila

Flight schedule showing delay

I am here at the airport. The flight is delayed for 3 hours!!! It was scheduled to fly at 12:30 am but now, it`s scheduled to fly at 03:35 am. It's almost 12 midnight and thankfully, the airline provided a $15 voucher to use for meals. I was really hungry.

2012: Seeking God's Face: Prologue

Many may wonder why the title is Seeking God's Face.

This trip is meant to be a rest for me. It has been a while since I took a long vacation. Rest is an opportunity to get a glimpse of God's perfection. One thing I learned years ago is that when one is searching for something, that person is really searching for God.