Cory Aquino: Woman of Faith and Freedom
Photo Credits: Yahoo
This “global country” officially mourns for 10 days for the passing of a great leader and human being. In 10 days or more, I would sense more the outpouring of gratitude than the darkness of grief, of the lonely feeling of missing a friend more than human being’s tendency to deny death of a loved one. After all, we sensed it was forthcoming amidst prayers for healing miracles. Tita Cory died with dignity equal to how she lived her life with the dignity of a child of God and country. Let’s put it bluntly – what better death will there be than one surrounded by families and friends and the passageway to the eternalsphere cleared by millions of prayers? Tita Cory taught us all the way to the freedom of dying. Freedom is a spiritual concept and force, grounded in the belief and conviction that all, yes all, are created in the image of God, children of God. Oppression happens the moment one sees and treats from a haughty superiority another person less of a child of God or human being. Freedom is also the ultimate realization that I will depart anytime from my human body and fly back Home. It takes faith to appreciate true freedom.
I am witnessing waves after waves of gratitude for Tita Cory as one ‘gifter’ of freedom for us Filipinos and for the rest of the world to see. It is expected. It has long been etched in our national consciousness. It is fitting the sustained adulation, the endless queue of those near and far from her casket who want to say to ‘thank you’ for the gift that is Maria Corazon Aquino.
“Live your life from your heart,
share from your heart,
and your story will touch and heal people’s souls, said author Melody Beattie.
From President Aquino who lived up to her name, I have seen and felt a different kind of political leader who merged faith and freedom. Many of her former aides attested political games had never been Tita Cory’s turf. She never had the political and economic acumen from the start of her term, only a tried family and soul long cast into the sea of suffering. Political naivete aside, she stood up to the challenge of the moment, trusting neither her American education nor the wealth of her clan but her heart. Sincerity, that is, freedom from pretensions, or as purity of heart, she said is what she can offer for the Filipinos. From Tita Cory, the issue of duplicity, or the influence of the shadowy self is irrelevant.
Now hearts speak to heart as we the living continue being misty-eyed moved into some heroic nostalgia of EDSA I, and the endless thoughts of her. Imperfect as she was personally and as a public servant, I am still moved by such inner purity, inspired by her leadership by heart. If only she could keep going. But then again, my gratitude for the life she lived trumps over my wish for her to live longer under the shadow of a stage IV cancer. I am grateful because Cory embodies even if inadequately the best in us – freedom as a spiritual force and our hunger for it. You be the judge whether the many-faced freedom remains our poverty…
Ladies and gentlemen, netizens of Barrio Siete, please welcome dFish!!! Who has been one uber tambay over at Chocolateword na nakuyog ni Bluep to blog in Barrio Siete! (Good work bluep! Hehehe!)
“I traverse churchwork, hospitals, and the academe, blessed by the sheer grace of God to take up philosophy in college and then theology; as a Ford Foundation scholar for my grad studies in social science and health from the De La Salle-Taft; a grad fellow in St. Louis, Missouri; and as an alumnus of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, all on top of being a Catholic lay and family man. This background bespeaks of the areas I often wrestle with, or draw out some delights from. Muse with me if you have time… For my convenience into silence, I gathered and grouped some of my reflections from DF into a simpler blog at Loweringnets. It’s a place of the more silent side of me… “
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dFish is born out of three convictions. First is the conviction on the healing magic of self-expression through writing just as shopping or blogging are often anesthetic to many. Second, on the conviction over the power of prayer moments that are not totally different from a websurfer who curses every now and then when the server is down. Third, on the conviction over the ambiguity of self-emptying, or in simple terms, caring for the voiceless in our society, much more those who cannot blog due to some crippling illness or poverty, is a time-tested wisdom. Visit him at http://desertfishing.wordpress.com/
Hahaha. Base! At si Kapitana na mismo ang naglatag ng Barrio Siete carpet. Yes, merong ganun dito…
Wooo! sabi ko na nga ba. prelude na ang pagpapakita ng mukha para babanat ang dFish dito sa Barrio Siete. Welcome dFish!
Truth be told. ang power of suggestion may effect talaga sa akin. personally,
before your prayer na ni-link ko,
before the parade of litanies,
before the pouring of emote and
before the continuing bombardment of personal reflection ng mga taga barrio siete, para kay Tita Cory, from mula kay kamahalan, silver, mahalia, bloop, snow, glo, chi, malensky, mel at sa lahat na mga enkantos at enkantadas… medyo nag bago konti ang aking pananaw.
Before all those, uulitin ko, si Tita Cory hanggang, famous woman lang talaga sya para sa akin no more no less. dahil nga walang pinag-iba.
Pero aaminin ko slowly, I accept there is another perspective na inyong pinapakita na naiibang perspective na wala sa akin.
For now I accept that she is indeed the People’s Power Icon…
Yes, she was…
Kaya magpakita ka na rin ng mukha haha. Si Lucio Tan nga, nagpa-interview na kagabi hahaha…
hahaha! welcome to barrio siete! hahaha! like you’ve never been before! but at least you’re moving from the comments section to the headlines! hahaha! thank you! merci beaucoup monsieur!
Merci beaucoup for the welkam La Kapitana…
Wow! What a post, pwedeng pwede na sa foreword ng life story ni Tita Cory! Great job friend!
Welcome…Thanks to the convincing powers of Bluep, we can enjoy your though provoking view in life, love, lost, news, and blues.
Hahaha – pwede ba. Malaki din pala ang tulong ng pagkainip hehe.
Rabz? since when? kayati basad!
[...] Barrio Siete Tribute to Cory Friends, if you have time, you may want to visit Barrio Siete and take time to read the burning tributes to our beloved former President, including mine hehe [...]
Welcome! Please have a seat and enjoy. Hihihi
Thanks Mel – guest lang muna kasi busy pa ako sa barrio “jobsdb at jobstreet” hehe…
Wow, bits and pieces of history Bluep…Cory was really put into the acid test of governance, no thanks to those power hungry like Enrile.Cory passed in so many ways without necessarily fixing everything…Are we seeing more reconstruciotns of our democratic institutions, or more destructions instead? The people know the answer…
Dfish!
Welkam sa barrio siete!!! Nice to see you here!
Congrats!
Regards,
Silver
Board Member
San Lorenzo Village Padyak Operators and Drivers Association
Hahaha, Silver hindi kaya hinanap ka doon ng Association kahapon sa Makati.
dFish
Re-electionist
Brgy. Forbes Park Magtatahong Association
Kapatid, thank you for this well thought post. With you of course I expect nothing less than excellence.
It seems that the brilliant readers before me have said it all…
In Cory, we remain in gratitude…
Our family stayed home to commemorate what happened to our
country in the past years from the first time you touched
our hearts President Cory. I am 1 of the Scholasticans
who are inspired by the way you lived your life in a
Benedictine way. We prayed to St. Scholastica to hold the
rain the way she did to his twin brother the last time
they met. My siblings & I wonder if Sir Noynoy would be
the Noble Knight to continue the battle his parents have
dedicated their lives to. If he would run as a president
we will support him. Being the eldest among 5, 3 of us
will vote on May 2010…we have never thought nor
discussed whom to vote because “nobody is
worthy”…finally…we wish Sir Noynoy would allow himself
to be used by God in further touching our lives. I am 24
years old and I thank President Cory for the free country
I’ve grown to know. Globalization has more challenges to
offer and we need someone with a pure heart, unbiased
intention and groomed with just perspective by his
parents. Ask for support & the whole country is with
you…in time some might be inconsistent but please take
the challenge to continuously remind us the true essence
of unity. Sir Noynoy, the country needs another Aquino
and may you take the responsibility to share your life
with us too.
to the family of the late cory aquino condolence po. Me and your mother have the same birthday and also the same death anniversity with my mother (aug 1). I am so grateful that my birthday is the same with birthday of the former Phil president
I’ve watched ‘A Dangerous Lives’ sa ABS-CBN kagabi. Grabe, I salute you Tita Cory for doing your very best to restore democracy in the Philippines!