“If my people will humble themselves and pray
If they seek my face and humble themselves
And turn their wicked ways
I will heal form heaven and forgive their sins
I will hear from heaven and heal their land.
Lord heal our land
Hear our cry and turn our nation back to you Lord.
Heal our Land, hear us oh Lord, and heal our land. Forgive our sins and heal our broken land, Lord,
We bow our knees, we humble ourselves
And turn from our wicked ways,
Father in your mercy, come heal our land
Hear our cry and turn our nation back to you Lord, heal our land, Forgive our sins
And heal our broken land
Father heal our land, hear our cry and turn our nation back to you.”
This beautiful song was composed by Rivera, Jamie. If my memory serves me right, this was composed for the occasion of the visit of Pope Francis in the Philippines. I missed to include this in my 2021 book titled “Heal Our Sick Society.” How appropriate this song is also to our Davao-based “Kilos Pederal sa Pagbabago” (KPP) Movement`s advocacy of Real Social Transformation. I was reminded of this wonderful song when this was replayed last Holy Week in a TV program. I asked my daughter Portia to download the lyrics of the song.
No doubt about it. The conversion of our people and healing of our predominantly Christian sick society are God’s work. However, we the Filipino people, particularly leaders of our various institutions must cooperate, with God using His instruments, in this challenging task. “Nasa tao ang gawa, nasa Diyos ang awa.” Unfortunately, up to this writing, our people and leaders are indifferent and complacent to the call for renewal for many reasons. Hence, the sickness of our society or brokenness of our land continues to worsen each passing year. This is our sorrowful situation. The cry for renewal is loud and clear. However, our leaders are deafeningly silent forgetting that comfort is the enemy of progress!
May we remind our new President in 2022 that our hope “springs eternal”. Our hope now rests on him/her. We pray that he/she will line up to our expectations. The duty to lead our people and nation in collaborating with God in the healing of our land and truly liberating our people and nation falls now on the shoulders of our new President. Strong unity or solidarity of our people is/her first order of the day. Solidarity is one of the Principles of Social Doctrine of our Catholic Church. Jesus P. Estanislao in his 1999 book titled “Towards a National Culture of Excellence” wrote about the urgent need for solidarity:
“There are times, in searching for evidence of national solidarity, when we really have to scrape the barrel. Signs of national solidarity are few and far between, but proof of domestic discord are plenty. Broadsheets and tabloids as well as radio and television talk shows eagerly lap up the debris of political word wars. Indeed, the infectious cynicism that good news is news that’s too good to be true seems to be the public battle cry. Rare is the man in the street who doesn’t expect some anomaly to erupt within days of a good story. Few politicians and political wannabees can resist the urge to water down the honest victory of a hardworking colleague. And the observation, already a cliché more from repeated verification than from empty use, that we never seem to get anything done because we`re too busy arguing about how increasingly threatens to become a permanent part of the outsider’s view of Filipinos”.
How true even today or even worse is Estanislao`s observation 27 years ago. The big question: “How do we achieve solidarity in our divided nation?”
Let’s start by formulating a Common or Shared Vision and Mission. Our new President should call for a nationwide multi-sectoral “Summit on Solidarity” for the main purpose of formulating and adopting a Shared Vision and Mission for the Philippines. This must contain the dreams and aspirations of our people taking into consideration even their idiosyncrasies. Knowing where we want to go and how to get there could be an inspiring move leading to solidarity of our people crucial for authentic development. Our small group headed by Norma I. Monfort of South Davao Rotary Club popularly known as “Bat Mama ” drafted already the methodology of said “Summit on Solidarity” (SOS). To save time, effort and resources, it is most advisable for the new President to seriously consider the adoption of our “Format” on the matter.
Our proposed “Dream Philippines Shared Vision and Mission” could likewise be the “working draft” in this regard. Allow me to restate these “V and M” below for the benefit of our readers:
Shared Vision: “A Nation of God-Loving and Healthy People, United in Diversity, with Modified Democracy, Diamond-Shared Humane, Just and Innovation Society, Sustainable Prosperity and Lasting Peace.”
Mission: “Pursue Real Social Transformation for Total Integral Human Development and Rebuilding of Our Nation”. What do our readers think?
