I REMEMBER PAPA

This is a short story I wrote during the wake of my father. I was on my second year in the seminary, full of hope, full of dreams ahead of me. Then as I watched his lifeless body, I could almost hear him say…"you can do it, my son… ikaw pa!"

If your father is still with you, do not fail to see the sacrifices he does for you, the love he feels for you, the lessons he teaches you. It is never too late. Tell him you love him.

God bless.

Danny

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"Incurable!"

I could hardly take the word, I mean, the comment of my professor on my reading. I went to my seat and shrank in embarrassment. i almost cried, not because I had read badly (in fact, I rattled off the words so fast the terminals were carelessly left out), but because that word reminded me of the incurable cancer that had encroached the lungs of my father and had slowly sapped his youthfulness. It would have sounded a very wise excuse for crying, but it did not. It was just as well that I kept a sense of humor, otherwise, I would have been haunted to madness by that irksome word.

"For heaven's sake, why use that word?" I murmured, as silently as I could.

"What?" the person seated next to me asked.

"Nothing. It's none of your business." I forced a smile.

Then I found myself thinking about my father.

He was still in the prime of life, but that life had begun to darken. But then, I felt that there wouldn't be any last supper at all - not this day or ever. I pictured my father blowing cake candles for his fiftieth birthday with a tinge of sadness. But for Papa it was different. He pictured himself slicing his 55th birthday cake, for he was anxious to see us all finish schooling. And I was proud of him for that.

On evenings when we lay awake, listening to the faith wash of the tide and watching the moon climb over the horizon, he used to tell me:

"If God will only give me a life long enough to witness your ordination day…" He would never finish that sentence, or I thought, he hadn't, because a lump would form in his throat and he had to clear it in embarrassment. Or sometimes, he would just sigh and turn his head away.

Never have I been so challenged in my life like that. Here's a man willing to live, to suffer, to sweat it out, for me and my vocation. It kept on troubling me, somehow. I could not snuff it out from my mind during meditation periods, especially these days when the willing victim is most likely to die.

It is not enough to be willing to live. My father's spirit was willing, but his fleash was weak. Oftentimes, I saw the crucial struggle between the spirit and the flesh inside him. But the worst thing is that, someday the spirit would yield, so would I think. It was a reality to be accepted.

There was an explosion of laughter and hooting around me. I was startled, Then I felt my face getting hotter. But it was not for me. No, not me, again! Somebody mispronounced a word when he read his piece.

"Too bad for a seminarian to mispronounce the word, "heaven," the professor remarked bluntly as he wrote HIVIN on the blackboard. They laughed again. I merely smiled.

"Sorry," the seminarian excused himself and sat down in utter disgust.

I had never been so consoled for two weeks, and never, never so glad of the consolation. HEAVEN. What a lovely word for my father! But why now when we most need him? Can't he just wait and live a little longer to support the family? Oh God, how i hate everybody. I hate the doctors, I hate the cancer, I hate the crying, I hate everything, everybody. 

The last time I saw my father during summer vacation, before I went back to the seminary, I told him:

"Pa, you can do it, you can definitely do it."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be well in a week's time. Only my body seems not to cooperate, which makes it two,:" father answered humorously, without much success.

"That's the best thing I've heard this day. I'll be glad to see you well again."

Then I kissed him on the cheek. The skin was old and dry, like a parchment, with his whole life written on it. I was waiting for the one good word that would crack the ice 'round my heart, the let the spring flow and the tears run. But the best thing I could find to say was banality,

"I love you, Pa." I turned my back, picked up my bags, and I saw the approaching bus with misty eyes.

Of all the loving days, that, I believe, was the simplest, the most joyful, yet the most hurting. We were not children. Neither of us was innocent. We had eaten the apples of knowledge and found them bitter. the moment would come, and we knew and were prepared for it, that we must leave each other. Whoever would be the first, it would still be going home to where he belonged.

All of a sudden, the porter interrupted the class and gave something to me - a telegram. With tears brimming in my eyes, I snatched a few clothing, never forgetting the sotana, of which Papa was very proud. I went home. 

At last, Papa was going to where he belonged. 

The Day My Daughter Broke Her Wrist

In the dusky afternoon of December 16 this year, my seven-year-old daughter, Danika, was playing with her friends In one of those “tom-and-jerry-like” chasing episodes she fell on her tender wrist and broke it. Unable to move her fingers, she ran home more in fright than in pain.

She immediately snuggled into me when she arrived, “Daddy, daddy, I can’t move my hand!” she said. I looked at her right hand and saw the twisted wrist, and all the step-by-step do’s and dont’s I learned just went haywire. I don’t know what to do!

While she was crying, and my wife went looking frantically for ice (in the microwave oven), I said a short prayer “Lord, please take over!”

In the midst of all the panic, I told my wife that we should go to the hospital, instead of doing something that might result to a permanent damage to my daughter’s arm or wrist. As I drove the car to the hospital, a certain calmness overtook me - somehow assuring me that everything will be okay.

In the emergency room, the orthopedic surgeon had my daughter’s wrist x-rayed. My mouth dropped as I saw the x-ray film - the wristbone was cracked and another was dislodged. The doctor looked at it for what seemed like eternity. Finally he said, “I think i can push this bone back, and put the hand in a plaster cast. The cracks will heal naturally.”

“Is there a way we can make it less painful for my daughter?” I asked.

“The anesthesia should take care of that,” he assured us. And the next thing that he told me and my wife was the most amazing thing I heard. “You will need P9,000 for the whole thing and another P1,000 for the x-rays charges,” he said. It’s amazing because that is exactly what I have in my bank account!

When I prayed to the Lord to take over, it never dawned on me that He will not only tell me what to do, but he also made sure that I will have enough to pay for it.

This may be a simple story of faith, but the full impact of “LIVING IN FAITH” brought me to my knees in gratitude for His faithfullness in my life.

You may not have realized this fully, but when you ask the Lord to take over your life, He will really take care of everything.

God bless.

LOST AND FOUND - A sermon on the Parable of the Lost

Most speakers consider Luke 15:1-32 as three parables, namely The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Lost Son (or most commonly named The Prodigal Son). But I share the opinions of some theologians who consider this as only one parable with three parts.

One of the parable's great ironies is made graphic by the use of literary space. The younger brother who had been outside is now inside, while the older brother who had been inside is now outside. Can you see the imagery.

The younger brother was lost but repented and made the bold decision to go back and ask forgiveness. On the other hand, the older son was lost because of his self-righteousness, and he might not even know it!

Learn more about this beautiful drama in three acts. Please email me if you want the transcript of this semon. (sorry, I cannot fix the links).

God bless.

GOD IS FAITHFUL - A sermon on 1Corinthians 10:13

God provides a way out!

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it." 1 Cor. 10:13

This is one of my favorite verses. It is so reassuring that when trials come, as they certainly do, we know that God is there to help us out. All we need to do is ask for his help.

There is something alluring about the idea of temptation. It sounds like there is something on the other side of yielding to temptation that will usher us into pleasures we have not yet known but always wanted. Temptation has a fascination about it. It takes us on a flight of fantasy. It appears that it may be a new and exciting adventure that just might make us happy beyond our wildest dreams.

Unfortunately, choosing to follow that fascination is where the illusion ends. For those who have followed that dream found a nightmare quickly unfolding, one from which they could not awaken feeling relieved that it wasn't true.

But there is hope. 

Please email me if you want the transcript of this sermon on 1 Cor 10:13. Sorry I cannot fix the links. 

God bless.

THE LORD’S GAMBIT

 A Sermon on the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

This is a message on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This was delivered during the study on the Fourth Purpose of our Life which is "YOU WERE SHAPED FOR SERVING GOD" from the book, Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

The bible has so many lessons on this matter, but we will use the Parable of the Good Samaritan as the main framework of the message.

The whole story consists of 13 verses, Luke 10:25-37, and within that story is another story - the parable itself. The frame story is the conversation between Jesus and the lawyer. It has two parts, each structured similarly (i.e. question, counter-question, answer, then command). It actually looks like a chess game, and I call it The Lord's Gambit.

Please email me if you want the transcript of this sermon. (Sorry, I cannot fix the link). Thank you and God bless.

 Danny 

EX ABUNDANTIA CORDIS…

“EX ABUNDANTIA CORDIS OS LOQUITUR” which, in English, simply means “OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART…THE MOUTH SPEAKS.”

Giving this site a latin title is the writer’s effort not to sound like an intellectual (which I am not), but rather to sound truthful and sincere (which I am trying to be), because everything that I publish here comes from my heart.

Most of what I will post will be the sermons I have written this year, and some short stories I have written in the past. I will also post some short stories and literary works by my brother, Babok. Please feel free to post your comments, opinions, violent objections, or clarifications, to what I have written.

The verses that I quote in my messages are taken from The New International Version, (except when I specifically mention another bible translation).

May these messages bless you, as they have blessed me even before I have written them.

God bless.

Danny Ninal