EASTER STORIES
For most Christians, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are designated days in the Church calendar to commemorate the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But in reality, we too, have our own good Fridays, black Saturdays and thank God, our personal Easter Sundays. Often in our lives, we experience the renewal and rebirth of our Linggo ng Pagkabuhay after passing through the Biyernes Santo of misery, disease or loss - though it may take months, even decades in between. But if we trust and cling to the Lord as he guides us through our pain, our little deaths, He shall see us through our resurrection.
We are featuring three such inspiring Easter stories as shared by our parishioners.
If you have your own Easter Story to tell, do share it with us by emailing this to us at sjb.makati@yahoo.com. A Blessed Easter Season!
Born With Everything I Need
by Carlo Antonio Makalinao
I had lived most of my life believing that I had to work so that I can acquire all that I will ever need. That changed by the end of Sept 2008 when I lost everything that I had worked so hard for but gained back so much more in return.
I was the Country Manger and COO of the Philippine Development office of a HK-based software development company from 2003-2008. Although I would acknowledge and thank God for my blessings, I had developed a materialistic culture and treated money as a quick fix to everything. My successes I primarily attributed to what I perceived as my own greatness.
In the 2nd quarter of 2006, the company finances started taking a hit. To help the company survive, I used my savings to absorb the shortfall from the salary cuts I took on being a partner. However, the finances continued deteriorating up until itwas forced to close at the end of Sept 2008 when the owner and his investor friends got hit by the US financial crisis (Lehman Brothers, etc.). I lost my job along with my 8 employees.
The burden of that reality of letting my employees go and the responsibility of assisting them to transition to new jobs opened my eyes and helped me on the road to appreciating what I had. This was when I got my strength and hope from the grace of God.
Greater still was the way my wife and daughters, then 15 and 9, handled our situation with calm, faith and hope. When I broke the news of the closure to them, my wife expressed her full support and faith in me to get us up and running again. After a day’s discussion, my daughters approached me to assure me of their willingness and understanding of having to quit school, if needed. Likewise, I was so overwhelmed with the support from my dad and siblings; they gave us even more hope.
Then I realized that all I had lost were things I could live without and that I was already rich with the riches that really mattered.
From then on, God has helped me, my wife and children develop a simple and positive way of looking at life. Both my children say that despite our struggles and difficult financial situation we had become closer to each other and to God. All of us knew and felt that there was nothing to fear because God will always be there to take care of us as He has done throughout our lives.
by Carlo Antonio Makalinao
I had lived most of my life believing that I had to work so that I can acquire all that I will ever need. That changed by the end of Sept 2008 when I lost everything that I had worked so hard for but gained back so much more in return.
I was the Country Manger and COO of the Philippine Development office of a HK-based software development company from 2003-2008. Although I would acknowledge and thank God for my blessings, I had developed a materialistic culture and treated money as a quick fix to everything. My successes I primarily attributed to what I perceived as my own greatness.
In the 2nd quarter of 2006, the company finances started taking a hit. To help the company survive, I used my savings to absorb the shortfall from the salary cuts I took on being a partner. However, the finances continued deteriorating up until itwas forced to close at the end of Sept 2008 when the owner and his investor friends got hit by the US financial crisis (Lehman Brothers, etc.). I lost my job along with my 8 employees.
The burden of that reality of letting my employees go and the responsibility of assisting them to transition to new jobs opened my eyes and helped me on the road to appreciating what I had. This was when I got my strength and hope from the grace of God.
Greater still was the way my wife and daughters, then 15 and 9, handled our situation with calm, faith and hope. When I broke the news of the closure to them, my wife expressed her full support and faith in me to get us up and running again. After a day’s discussion, my daughters approached me to assure me of their willingness and understanding of having to quit school, if needed. Likewise, I was so overwhelmed with the support from my dad and siblings; they gave us even more hope.
Then I realized that all I had lost were things I could live without and that I was already rich with the riches that really mattered.
From then on, God has helped me, my wife and children develop a simple and positive way of looking at life. Both my children say that despite our struggles and difficult financial situation we had become closer to each other and to God. All of us knew and felt that there was nothing to fear because God will always be there to take care of us as He has done throughout our lives.
Blessings
by Ana Casas
Having spent most of my life as a daughter of the Assumption, from Kindergarten until I retired as a high school teacher of 30 years, I looked forward to attending the canonization of our Mother Foundress, St. Marie Eugenie even though I knew I couldn’t afford it. So it was truly an unexpected blessing when my students informed me that they would sponsor my trip to Rome.
But just when I finally got my Schengen visa and confirmed my booking, I learned that I had a tumor in my pituitary gland which needed immediate surgery. The tumor was impinging on my optic nerves.
If a capillary burst, I could go blind instantly. I realized that God had other plans for me after all. More worried than disappointed but resigned to God’s will- I had no doubt that He loved me and wanted only what was best for me - I asked everyone to pray for me, and I, too, bombarded Father God, Jesus, Mother Mary and of course, St. Marie Eugenie, with prayers.
Because so many were praying for me - my family, relatives, friends, students and the Sisters - the 5 ½ hour surgery went smoothly. Never before did I feel so enveloped by prayer! What’s more, I did not
experience any of the expected post-surgery discomforts and was out of the hospital in 5 days when I was supposed to stay at least 10. My vision was blurred, but I was told it would improve in time and I
was assured that I would never go blind! Praise God!
But the good news didn’t end there. I learned that I was still booked for the trip as the travel agent overlooked my booking cancellation. But I still needed clearance for the trip from my neurosurgeon. Two days before our scheduled departure, he gave it to me! By God’s grace, I went with the rest of the pilgrims to France and Italy, with blurred vision, wobbly on the feet, but full of gratitude and joy!
Truly, everything God, our loving Father, does is Love, even when we don’t understand it. At every moment, through every circumstance of our lives, He is working for our best interests. We only have to trust Him and be open to His grace.
by Ana Casas
Having spent most of my life as a daughter of the Assumption, from Kindergarten until I retired as a high school teacher of 30 years, I looked forward to attending the canonization of our Mother Foundress, St. Marie Eugenie even though I knew I couldn’t afford it. So it was truly an unexpected blessing when my students informed me that they would sponsor my trip to Rome.
But just when I finally got my Schengen visa and confirmed my booking, I learned that I had a tumor in my pituitary gland which needed immediate surgery. The tumor was impinging on my optic nerves.
If a capillary burst, I could go blind instantly. I realized that God had other plans for me after all. More worried than disappointed but resigned to God’s will- I had no doubt that He loved me and wanted only what was best for me - I asked everyone to pray for me, and I, too, bombarded Father God, Jesus, Mother Mary and of course, St. Marie Eugenie, with prayers.
Because so many were praying for me - my family, relatives, friends, students and the Sisters - the 5 ½ hour surgery went smoothly. Never before did I feel so enveloped by prayer! What’s more, I did not
experience any of the expected post-surgery discomforts and was out of the hospital in 5 days when I was supposed to stay at least 10. My vision was blurred, but I was told it would improve in time and I
was assured that I would never go blind! Praise God!
But the good news didn’t end there. I learned that I was still booked for the trip as the travel agent overlooked my booking cancellation. But I still needed clearance for the trip from my neurosurgeon. Two days before our scheduled departure, he gave it to me! By God’s grace, I went with the rest of the pilgrims to France and Italy, with blurred vision, wobbly on the feet, but full of gratitude and joy!
Truly, everything God, our loving Father, does is Love, even when we don’t understand it. At every moment, through every circumstance of our lives, He is working for our best interests. We only have to trust Him and be open to His grace.
Out of the Shade
As related by Prodigal Son Jr.
By the time I dropped out of 2nd year high school, I had graduated from marijuana and mandrax to LSD, from sniffing cocaine to shooting heroin. My family had just moved into another cramped, windowless apartment, a far cry from our 1800 square meter mansion with a fleet of Benzes which my father had to sell along with our 60-foot yacht to pay off creditors. His family blamed him for bankrupting their business; so he lost not just the business, but family.
For the first time in her life, my mother had to work to send four sons to school; I decided to drop out to “help”. Besides, I would have been kicked out anyway as I would stay away from school for weeks at a time, jamming with the bands in Olongapo and running around with my equally drug-crazed friends.
As my addiction worsened, each day became a wilder roller coaster ride than the one before with euphoric highs in between hellish crashes. As the excruciating pains of withdrawal set in during those crashes, I would desperately ask myself, “Is this it, is this all there is to life?” I thought the answers would never come even as I always managed to earn or steal enough for still another hypodermic stab at heaven – until the day I finally decided to end the maddening silence of unanswered questions.
By the time they found me, the bottleful of sleeping pills that I overdosed on had already entered my bloodstream and could no longer be pumped out. The doctors said it was just a matter of time.
I remembered sitting in a dark place like a theater staring at a bright screen where a movie was showing, except that it wasn’t a movie but vividly real: an indescribably lovely meadow, bathed in bright light with the most beautiful and brilliantly hued flowers I have ever seen. Was I dead? In the distance, I could barely discern an image forming in the meadow. It got bigger as it started moving towards me. Soon, I could recognize the unmistakable figure of a man in white flowing robes except that I could still see the meadow where his face should have been. Still, I knew it was the Lord! Suddenly, He was standing before me and in a voice so full of love, comfort and understanding, He gave me the answer I was seeking for, “Come out of the shade; there is more to life”.
I was still pondering on what He meant when I woke up, three days after I overdosed. I was in the hospital, “Am I back in Makati Med’s basement?” As usual, my mother was crying, my father stoic. Outwardly, everything was the same, only I knew that things were going to change.
Looking back, after thirty years, I realize that my life didn’t change overnight after my Lord’s dramatic answer, but change it did. I did stop seeing my friends immediately. I didn’t quit drugs cold turkey as I wanted to finish my stash first. I did get my girlfriend pregnant. I didn’t have my baby aborted. I did marry my girlfriend after two years. I did find a regular job again – cleaning cargo planes of hog dung (like the original prodigal son), I did find and keep a better job as salesman until I rose to Director. I did keep my faith though ,actually, I never lost it, as I never stopped going to daily Masses either, even while I was frying my brains. I didn’t tell anybody about my life-changing “dream” for fear of ridicule. I did share it after 3 decades with a grieving friend who needed assurances of heaven. I did turn my life around by simply reliving that heavenly moment whenever I weakened . . . I did come out of the shade.
As related by Prodigal Son Jr.
By the time I dropped out of 2nd year high school, I had graduated from marijuana and mandrax to LSD, from sniffing cocaine to shooting heroin. My family had just moved into another cramped, windowless apartment, a far cry from our 1800 square meter mansion with a fleet of Benzes which my father had to sell along with our 60-foot yacht to pay off creditors. His family blamed him for bankrupting their business; so he lost not just the business, but family.
For the first time in her life, my mother had to work to send four sons to school; I decided to drop out to “help”. Besides, I would have been kicked out anyway as I would stay away from school for weeks at a time, jamming with the bands in Olongapo and running around with my equally drug-crazed friends.
As my addiction worsened, each day became a wilder roller coaster ride than the one before with euphoric highs in between hellish crashes. As the excruciating pains of withdrawal set in during those crashes, I would desperately ask myself, “Is this it, is this all there is to life?” I thought the answers would never come even as I always managed to earn or steal enough for still another hypodermic stab at heaven – until the day I finally decided to end the maddening silence of unanswered questions.
By the time they found me, the bottleful of sleeping pills that I overdosed on had already entered my bloodstream and could no longer be pumped out. The doctors said it was just a matter of time.
I remembered sitting in a dark place like a theater staring at a bright screen where a movie was showing, except that it wasn’t a movie but vividly real: an indescribably lovely meadow, bathed in bright light with the most beautiful and brilliantly hued flowers I have ever seen. Was I dead? In the distance, I could barely discern an image forming in the meadow. It got bigger as it started moving towards me. Soon, I could recognize the unmistakable figure of a man in white flowing robes except that I could still see the meadow where his face should have been. Still, I knew it was the Lord! Suddenly, He was standing before me and in a voice so full of love, comfort and understanding, He gave me the answer I was seeking for, “Come out of the shade; there is more to life”.
I was still pondering on what He meant when I woke up, three days after I overdosed. I was in the hospital, “Am I back in Makati Med’s basement?” As usual, my mother was crying, my father stoic. Outwardly, everything was the same, only I knew that things were going to change.
Looking back, after thirty years, I realize that my life didn’t change overnight after my Lord’s dramatic answer, but change it did. I did stop seeing my friends immediately. I didn’t quit drugs cold turkey as I wanted to finish my stash first. I did get my girlfriend pregnant. I didn’t have my baby aborted. I did marry my girlfriend after two years. I did find a regular job again – cleaning cargo planes of hog dung (like the original prodigal son), I did find and keep a better job as salesman until I rose to Director. I did keep my faith though ,actually, I never lost it, as I never stopped going to daily Masses either, even while I was frying my brains. I didn’t tell anybody about my life-changing “dream” for fear of ridicule. I did share it after 3 decades with a grieving friend who needed assurances of heaven. I did turn my life around by simply reliving that heavenly moment whenever I weakened . . . I did come out of the shade.