LAST Tuesday we were able to find a little time to sift through our voluminous document files that date back as early as 1978 that were just stocked in a little bodega at the back of our house. Our intention was to check which of those can be done away with and which needs to be kept for good reference purposes.
Lo and behold; we did not expect to find a gift given to us some 26 years ago by former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., the father of incumbent Sen. Koko Pimentel. It is a booklet; a compilation of prayers said by senators during opening of sessions of the lawmakers at the Upper Chamber.
Knowing that we are in the midst of the season of Lent even as we are literarily toasted by the extremely hot climate due to the ongoing El Nino and according to the PAGASA, the official on-set of the dry season, we want to share these prayers to give everyone a “glimpse of the religious faith which inspires the hearts of our Senators.” This prayers though, we compiled from those said to open sessions of the Third Regular Session of the Senate from the period January 3 to June 7, 1990 where the elder Pimentel was a member.
And if only to prick the minds and hearts of our incumbent lawmakers it may be worthwhile to share first the foreword by Rev. Antonio B. Lambino, SJ, on the compiled Senators’ prayers.
The Rev. Lambino’s foreword goes this way:
“If media reports were to be the only basis for forming an image of the Senators, one might think that the Legislature is inhabited by men and women whose thoughts and aspirations are set on little else than public affairs and secular matters. The present collection of prayers largely intended to open sessions of the Senate belies such an impression and gives us a glimpse (fleeting though it may be) of the religious faith which inspires the hearts of our Senators. ‘God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but God looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7).
“May these prayers help us to see the more warmly human side of our Senators and lead us to effective solidarity with them. May we all be involved with the spirit of the prayer in every moment of our lives for ‘we are taller when we kneel or bow.’
And may the loving God in His compassion listen to our prayers and grant our people wisdom, courage and consolation especially in these critical times of our national history.”
One such prayer was given by former Sen. Victor S. Ziga on April 2, 1990. His opening prayer:
“Let us all remember that we are in the holy presence of the Lord.
“Lord, today, we humbly bow our heads before You to implore Thy divine guidance and blessing in these trying times.
“May the Lenten season help us reflect on the sufferings of Christ, and let this serve as a beacon to our actions. This we ask in Your Name. Amen”
The next day, Tuesday, April 3, 1990, it was then Sen. Heherson T. Alvarez’s turn to say the opening prayer for the Senate session. And his prayer was this:
“Lord, we meet once more to tackle the great and nettlesome issues facing the nation against the grim background, a drought that is likely to worsen as the dry season intensifies.
“The omens, while not terrifying, are cause for alarm: brownouts, water rations, crop failures; and in its wake, untold economic losses for our small farmers, hunger, worsening poverty, greater suffering for the great masses of our people.
“For the one fifth of our population who receive one half of the country’s income, much of this may just be vexing. For the 60 or so families who control the economy, this may just be annoying. But for the rest of our people the ordeal has assumed the proportions of a calamity.
“It is fruitless to seek to assign blame for our predicament. What is urgent is to know the root cause of the disappearance of our forests – these once majestic crown covering 16.6 million hectares of valleys and mountains, now almost totally gone. In the twinkling of Your eye, we have wasted away Your priceless gift with a profligacy unparalleled in the annals of man.
“Today, bless us with a little of Your Divine Wisdom and Eternal Love that we may be able to guide our people to show prudence, kindness and caring for us to be able to preserve for ourselves and for those generations still to come what is still left of Your wonderful gift. Amen”
On April 5 of the same year, it was former Sen. Leticia Ramos Shahani’s turn to deliver the session’s opening prayer. And this she said:
“Our Most Heavenly Father;
“With the advent of our Easter recess, we look forward to some moments of direct communication with Thee through reflections and meditation.
“During this period, help us to detach ourselves from the turmoil and often unnecessary confusion of our national life and make us reflect on the abiding realities which make a nation and a people great.
“As You have revealed to us, O Lord, a people is great if they have the capacity to work towards common goals and accept the responsibilities of nationhood. Furthermore, a nation is respected if its government becomes an instrument to provide basic needs and fundamental rights to its people. A Third World democracy like ours can survive if it can create consensus and mutual benefit, despite diversity and divergence.
“As we reflect on Christ’s death and resurrection, help us to remember that if our nation is to prevail, politics cannot be divorced from ethics and that our social and economic existence must be based on moral and spiritual foundations. Amen”
Indeed at this time when the Filipino people are pushed to the wall because of the ongoing economic and social calamities borne out of the existing deadly phenomenon and the apparent stranglehold of the country’s economy by only a very insignificant number of the rich and famous the question now is: How much of those prayers and real supplications and how much are simple talks? And assuming that those were both genuine prayers and talks combined were those talks being walked by the senators then and now? We hope we can assume.
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