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A New Jerusalem
Long time ago in the sacred City of Jerusalem,
God spoke to His people through His prophets. The city was then the spiritual
center of the world and is still regarded as the home of three of the world’s
greatest religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Ravaged and pillaged by
one conqueror after another sent by God to purge them of their sins, the people
suffered much. Now humbled and divided, its glory days already relegated to the
past just as the prophets had foretold, its place in God’s design is to be
taken over by others. Some say that a new Jerusalem is already on the rise.
Over four centuries ago, the Spanish explorer,
Ferdinand Magellan discovered an idyllic string of islands that he promptly
named, Filipinas, The Philippines, after his patron and King. The Catholic
missionaries then proceeded to plant the seed of Christianity and thus set off a
chain of events destined to have far reaching effects. From these seemingly
insignificant islands as base, Christ’s teachings shall reach out to all the
countries in Asia and the Far East. It is no accident that ours is the only
predominantly Christian nation in Asia.
Under nearly four centuries of Spanish tutelage,
inspite of the many abuses and injustices that characterized the oppressive
Spanish rule, our Christian faith has taken root and waxed strong enough to
endure over two years of cruel Japanese occupation that interrupted the American
takeover from Spain in 1899. Granted independence by the Americans in 1946,
(before we proudly reset the date of our independence to 1898) we led the
rebuilding in the Southeastern Pacific region after the devastating world war.
However, we fell behind the other nations during
the tyrannical Marcos regime after the Dictator and his cohorts bled the nation
dry, stashing billions of dollars of the nation’s wealth in Swiss banks and
other untraceable, unrecoverable assets while heaping untold crimes and
atrocities in the cities and countryside in their mad, evil rush to add to their
illicit wealth and power. It is in the building up of a ruthless and formidable
Rameses that makes for a more heroic Moses.
At EDSA, unarmed nuns and priests manned the
front lines with many women and children in back of them. Grimly braving death,
they faced tank columns and heavily armed men and forced them to stop dead on
their tracks. All over the world, the vivid images flashed instantaneously on
satellite TV and incited strong feelings and emotions. And our struggles, our
pain and our victory became everyone’s personal experience, as well. As we
enter the Third Millenium, more than any other event, it was the peaceful People
Power Revolution led by Cory, Cardinal Sin and Ramos that firmly established the
Philippines as one of the most important spiritual centers in the world.
Forced out of the country to escape political
persecution and seek economic advancement, Filipinos rose to prominence in
foreign lands to become world-class professionals, artists, performers and
domestic helpers. This last not at all being the least important, we should
remember that "the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that will rule
the world." Our women are presently unwittingly thrust into the enviable
position of guiding future world leaders. Dispersed throughout the world, "Pinoys"
are now well positioned for a concerted worldwide spiritual movement.
The Lord said, "In the last days, I will
pour out My Spirit upon all of you! Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your
old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions. I will send you the
Holy Spirit."
Already, the signs and wonders have preceded the
new explanations and progressive teachings still to be more widely disseminated.
Local church attendance is at an all-time high. New Christian groups have gained
tremendous following — the Iglesia ni Cristo, El Shaddai and Jesus the Healer
to name just three. The 700 Club, countless other foreign televangelists and
healers fill the airwaves. And from the Philippines as jumping board,
missionaries are now being sent to several Asian countries.
In the mountains, countryside and inconspicuous
places where medical doctors are scarce and TV cameras do not venture for lack
of sufficient advertisement funding, a slow, silent movement has been seething
for a long time, unnoticed. Spiritual guidance is relayed through clairvoyants
and mediums who regularly see and converse with disembodied spirits and with
Jesus, Mary and the saints. Ministering to the poor sick and elderly, the faith
healers and "herbolaryos" provide alternative but effective healing.
In the 60s and 70s, our psychic surgeons performed their barehanded operations
and became famous. People from all over the world continue to come here to us.
It is amusing to note that while the rich and powerful among us went to Fatima,
Medjugorje and the Holy Land to catch a feel of the miracles and healings that
took place there, everything that ever was there, all the time was also
available to our poor and disadvantaged.
Miracles, apparitions and revelations which are
of a much higher character are commonplace here even now and in abundance. Even
so, all these things are sent to us depending on what is needed and only
according to what each person justly deserves. "Thank you Father, Lord of
Heaven and Earth, for hiding these truths from the intellectual and the
worldly-wise and revealing them to the innocent and the open-hearted."
And after the wonderment and awe, after the signs
and wonders, and the fascination is over, everyone will come to think and ask
why. What do all these things really mean? To those who are open, the answers
are given plainly, but only slowly.
As the Lord promised, the Spirits of Truth are
with us today to guide us — here in the Philippines. And according to his
plan, wonderful things are coming our way. As the old song goes:
"Peace will guide our planet and love will
fill the stars Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding All those
living dreams of vision, mystic, crystal revelations
And the minds through liberation — Aquarius, Aquarius"
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