Listen to the Beat

Music is a language of the soul. It communicates to us varied topics such as love, romance, history, care for the environment and many other things besides.

I have always been partial to classical music. This kind of music soothes me and lifts me up especially when I feel stressed out at times.

Nowadays, the kinds of music that fill the airwaves are fast and gyrating. Young people are also quick to go with the tempo. They dance, they swing, they stomp their feet to the beat of music. Call me biased if you must but I simply do not know if you can classify as one the rock music that we are being fed with through television and the airwaves. MTV’s are dime a dozen. They are all over cable television. And I am not only talking of Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Rock music is oftentimes the target of criticisms by media critics because of the negative values it communicates to young people. This kind of music speaks of lust and sex in view of love. It glorifies violence as a way of life. It regards women as sex objects.

It is easy to go with the tempo of the music and to sing the song without understanding what it means. And it is what is happening sometimes, especially with kids. They can easily memorize songs such as Barbie girl and sing it with all their heart with realizing what it means.

Vocation Story

Let me tell you a little story.

I know of a little girl who at an early age knew precisely what she wanted in life. Her dreams abound and she was determined to make them come true. She was a typical girl of her age, full of pranks and hard headed most of the times. This attitude put her in no less a number of times at odds with the Sisters at school. Her “not so edifying” experience with the Sisters at school led her to believe that she will never become a nun and never in her life will she aspire to become one.

Vocation stories fascinate me. I remember listening to a nun back in high school who shared with us her vocation story. How she could leave behind a promising career and a loving boyfriend as well as the prospect of a blissful married life was beyond me. I thought then that she was really incredible.

Now, several years after that audience with the sister, I knew better.

I have experienced being asked many times, (by young and old alike) the reason why I became a religious. Even if I try to answer as simply as I could, still the question persists. I guess it is so because to many of us religious vocation is still a mystery.

The call of God is really a mystery even to those whom he calls. When I experience some difficulties understanding my own vocation, I look up the different personages in the Bible like Abraham, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Blessed Mother, and draw inspiration and strength from their own experience of the call. I listen and reflect on the vocation stories of my own sisters in the community whose wealth of experience has become a fountain source for me.

The month of September (as vocation month) offers an opportunity for our young people to reflect on the direction their life is taking. Perhaps this is also a time for them to listen more intently to the stirrings deep within their heart and allow the Spirit to lead them where God wants them to.

A friend once asked me why I chose to enter my present congregation instead of another one. Was it clear to me from the beginning that it was the congregation I really wanted to become a part of? I said yes.

I guess it happens that sometimes we are assailed with doubts. We are not 100% sure whether this is the right community and the right apostolate for us. But then we have different experiences. God deals with us differently. One thing I am sure is that we really hit it right if we are happy and at peace with what we do, wherever we are.

Hey, you might wonder what happened to that girl in the story. Did she become a nun after all? What do you think?

Changes

In my sober moments I tend to become more reflective and serious about how my life is going. I guess it is bound to happen when one is met with the reality of having to face midlife changes. It suddenly dawned on me that I have spent the last twenty years of my life as a religious. So many changes have happened in my life. The dreams and aspirations that have become part of me during my younger years no longer matter. Even the way I view the world now is different the way I used to. Changes. Changes.

Somebody I knew used to say that change is the only permanent thing in this world. Everything, everybody changes except change. We have to understand this change because it serves as a sign for us and – without this sign, we will get lost.

Whenever I go for vacation in my home province, I could not shake the feelings of nostalgia especially when I see some changes that have taken place since the last time I was around. The rivers where we used to swim when we were still children are no longer there. They have long since dried up. The bamboo trees that used to grow in abundance and whose flexibility to the caress of the gentle breeze has always fascinated me are already nonexistent. The farmlands have been transformed into processing zones and subdivisions. So many changes have taken place, and since I was not around when those happened, I feel somewhat lost.

I used to hear from friends and even relatives who are pleased with the (good) things that I have done in my life remark: “I hope you will not change.” In other words, they mean, “I hope you will remain as you are.” Ugh! You mean stagnant? Static? Oh no! I have always argued that a person has to change in order to grow. Of course, I know their wish meant that I would remain as good a person I am at the moment and not change for the bad. “I hope you will grow and grow to be better” sounds good to my ears instead.

Truth is, change will always come, whether for the good or the bad. We are living in a world that is continuously evolving. Everything in it (people, environment and technology) changes as the world changes. It is up to us to give our positive share in order to contribute for a better change in our world.