Kaluoy sa Diyos

Unya, kumusta na man ka, Sir, okay ka na? The voice at the other end, still palpably feeble, replied "Kaluoy sa Diyos." I was struck by that answer. I never realized how, in just three words, a man can encapsulate the widest meaning and the truest sense of what it means to be humble. Here was a man, wealthy, popular, and accomplished far more than most people and still recognize what glory there is in God's grace.

This is Ambassador Francisco L. Benedicto. Though retired many years ago from 25 years of exemplary and distinguished diplomatic service for the country (he is, I think, now 83 and had been the country's longest-serving politically-appointed ambassador) people continue to call him ambassador, out of respect for his dedication to duty and plain love for a lovable man.

I had a relatively lengthy phone conversation with Ambassador Frank a few days ago that lasted probably a good 15 minutes. It had been quite a while since we heard each other's voices on account of me having left Cebu. The reason I made kumusta to him was because he intimated that he had just returned home from the hospital after nearly two weeks of confinement.

The reason why his "kaluoy sa Diyos" answer struck me deeply was because Ambassador Frank was a man who can very well afford the best of everything. And yet it was to God that he surrendered the grace for his well-being. For a man whose kindness made him a prime example of one who lived by God's example, he certainly sounded like he did not expect to be rewarded divinely for his goodness.

To those of us who cannot hold a candle to the kind of life he lived, it is easy to assume God cannot be oblivious to Ambassador Frank's good deeds. We sort of expect God to always be on his side, as opposed to us of lesser mortals of smaller measure who need to cry and beg on bended knee to make God even just listen. But to Ambassador Frank, never expecting anything, "ang kaluoy sa Diyos" is everything.

My friendship with Ambassador Frank began in the early 1980’s when he used to drop in on Juanito Jabat, his very good friend and editor-in-chief of The FREEMAN when I joined the newspaper in 1982. As it was I who was most of the time with Mr. Jabat when the reporters were out in the field, I became, by extension, also Ambassador Frank's friend.

It was not until we talked on the phone a few days ago that I realized my friendship with Ambassador Frank has already spanned 40 years. Marriages have lasted in fewer years, some friendships even less. To be friends with anyone for 40 years is something I find truly amazing. And yet, in all those 40 years, it was only in that phone conversation that I discovered what truly makes Ambassador Frank happy.

If you Google Ambassador Frank, you will find he is an accumulation of service to country, a pillar of business, civic leader, an educator and, quite naturally, recipient of every conceivable award there is (this column will not have sufficient space to list down all of them. And yet, it was the gift of divine grace, the "kaluoy sa Diyos" that gave him his sense of purpose.

If God is happy, Ambassador Frank is happy. He used up his share of our 15-minute phone conversation on how it made him an accomplished person just to help those in need. He talked about the foundations he headed and how, in ways big and small, any help given brings a sense of peace and fulfillment. He said nothing of things society prefers to talk and write about him. Magpadayon unta ang "kaluoy sa Diyos " nimo, Sir.