God resides in Reposo
Out of the ordinariness of the day, something extraordinary happens when I bike.
Lately, 30 minutes after our very early dinner at home, I take my bike from the garage and head for a night ride in the city. My canteen is filled with icy water. My headlights and backlights fully charged. (So is my cellphone.) My red helmet is sturdy, with the inner lining washed the night before. I have a yellow bracelet ID with an emergency phone number on it. My tires are strong enough to navigate the roads. Thank God, there are many bike lanes now in Metro Manila.
As usual, one Saturday night, I did not have a set destination. I allowed the wind to carry me where the traffic was friendly. From Pasay Avenue in the village, I crossed EDSA, onwards to Arnaiz Avenue. Makati Avenue’s traffic light was green; I turned right there. I crossed Ayala, Paseo de Roxas until the light turned red at the corner of Gil Puyat. The green bike lane on Gil Puyat was inviting, I turned left there. I meant to go straight but for some reason, I turned right to Reposo (now called N. Garcia Street). After crossing Jupiter, I navigated Reposo until I heard the tolling of the bells.
The long-time Makati dweller in me only found out that day about St. Andrew the Apostle Church. I was in shorts and beads of sweat were running down my face, down my back. I turned right and entered the premises of the church. A stack of black chairs was outside the church. I got a chair as the backlight of my parked bike by the wall of the church still blinked.
The Mass was in English but I couldn’t understand a word. I just prayed. “How else can I love you, Lord?” the sinner in me asked. Silence was the answer. And I was engulfed with so much peace at that time. I found God in Reposo.
From then on, I have returned to St. Andrew (said to be the fisher of men) almost every day, at night, in the morning, on a bike. I take down notes on my phone during homily and reflect on them when I write the lessons in my journal.
God’s love changes everything
June 13, 2021.
That’s my take-away today from the homily of Msgr. Dennis Odiver, parish priest of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Reposo, Makati.
“God’s love will change everything. No human pain can compare to His pain. And with His pain we are saved,” said Monsi, the term of endearment for the parish priest.
It was a profound experience for me at Mass this morning.
“We need to humble ourselves more to really see, feel, and experience God,” added the charismatic Msgr. Dennis, who has kept the portals of St. Andrew the Apostle Church open to people, albeit to a bare minimum number of faithful, even during the strict lockdown last year.
“God is alive. God continues to give life when we are happy. God continues to give life even when we are sad. We continue to witness and harvest the love of God,” he said in the vernacular.
He went on to discuss the parable about the man who sowed seeds onto the ground and slept after doing so. “That’s full trust of man in the Lord. The sower sleeps and the seeds grow. In between his sleeping and the germinating of the seeds is the handiwork of God. God moves, acts and fulfills his promises even when we are asleep,” he said.
“We grow, mature and bear fruits with the Lord,” he ended. That last line he repeated nine times in the homily.
Today, again, I found God in Reposo.
Praying, forgiving, biking
June 18, 2021.
The wind caressed my face when I started to navigate the roads of Makati. There was spring in my feet as I pedaled down the bike lane on Gil Puyat. In a few heartbeats, I knew I was approaching my destination.
Biking has become a religion of sorts and Lover, my white mountain bike, and I have become devotees of the road. God resides on the streets, in every nook and cranny, even on the eight potholes along Makati Avenue from Arnaiz to the corner of Gil Puyat.
Biking is a form of salutation to the Divine because it engenders faith — my faith on the road, my faith that I will be safe. I am left to my own devices when I bike and it’s a sublime blessing — a stark miracle — that I leave and arrive home safe.
Lately, Lover and I have been frequenting St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Reposo in Makati for the 6:30 p.m. Mass. The church, with some 30 faithful hearing the Mass in masks as they sit far away from each other, is seemingly barren but not deserted. The zeal and zest of the churchgoers proves that the virus will always fail in stealing people’s joy. Where there is faith, fear finds its own death. Faith is essential, everybody needs it.
It’s beyond my grasp that I always have a profound understanding of myself and others every time I visit St. Andrew the Apostle Church. I’m not holier than thou; I’m a sinner like the next biker on the lane. But I always have a better understanding of my folly and fortitude every time I am at St. Andrew.
Today, the gospel and the homily focused on The Lord’s Prayer. “It’s the only prayer taught by God,” began Fr. Allan Dichoso. (The parish is home to priests who are eloquent, inspiring and insightful homilists.)
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” the priest recited in the homily.
Then he reflected, “The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer of the heart.”
He continued reciting the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Amen. My mouth, covered in black mask, said “Amen.” My heart, covered in grace, said, “Amen.”
Fr. Allan then zeroed in on forgiveness and the need to forgive. “It’s difficult to forgive because it involves so much of ourselves,” he said.
I deduced that when our hearts tread the sinewy road to forgiving others or ourselves, the best thing to do is to recite The Lord’s Prayer. The answer is there. The magic is there. The grace is there. The miracle of forgiveness is there.
“The ultimate benefit of praying The Lord’s Prayer is freedom,” Fr. Allan said.
Forgiveness, methinks, is the key that unlocks us from the heaviness of the world. Freedom. And it’s achieved when we forgive. I was reminded again of why angels can fly — because they don’t carry weight.
“Make time for prayer,” Fr. Allan engaged the few in the pews. “It’s not enough to be prayerful. You have to be the prayer. A prayer is not a luxury. It is a necessity.”
I left the church feeling luxuriant in faith. The sinner in me will sin again. That’s for sure. But I had spring in my feet as I biked back home. *
(For your new beginnings, e-mail me at [email protected]. I’m also on Twitter @bum_tenorio and Instagram @bumtenorio. Have a blessed weekend.)
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