This we often hear
No love is greater
Than of a mother
And so I counter
A child’s love to her!
The sun shines brighter
Though dark clouds gather
In the atmosphere
When voice of mother
Thru the night I hear
Vanished all fear
Love is forever
Of a dear mother.
Though I grew older
I sought mother’s care
For sweet are the years,
Under mother’s care.
Though no longer here
No more together,
In year after year
Since the Lord called her
Into door younder!
Only by prayer
Could reach my mother.
So, today’s prayer -
“Thank you, dear mother
For your love and care.
E n d

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. “
T.S. Eliot -- "Little Gidding" (the last of his Four Quartets)

somehow the quote from t s eliot above reminds me of hometowns,
this time, your town infanta whose fiesta you celebrate on 25 april,
the feast day of st mark. st mark's the patron saint of notaries
and his symbol is the lion.

there's always an enigmatic air around hometowns and infanta's no exception:
an enterprising mosaic of distinctive cottage industries--lambanog production, buko, charcoal, coconut oil...
a captivating tapestry of townsfolk religiosity and culture--misa cantada, procession where folks at home
pray as they light candles on their windows, nonstop comedia for two days, the simple carnival joys --ferris wheel, karera ng daga, mga magpeperya, beto-beto...on the church patio--itinerant vendors of penoy, balut, gulaman, nilagang mais, other kakanin...

our legendary hospitality and friendliness as townsfolk share with one another the customary fiesta fare of morcon, embutido, beefsteak,
kare-kare, lechon and other delectables, not just with guests but also with priests in the convent.

reminds one of a t s eliot quote:
to arrive where we started...
and know the place for the first time.

we're hit by nostalgia: home is where it all begins.
after having sought better lives elsewhere, trying to find one's niche, enriching nooks and crannies of
this interconnected planet, reconfiguring families
at the same time preserving our own culture and identity...
as brains may start to atrophy on this the second act of our lives, we ponder:
where have we been...how far have we come?

stop for a moment then and think,
are we no longer the people who left our hometowns many moons ago
or are we still?

friends from infanta: as you recall it was the infant jesus after whom the town was named
and you summon images of faces you once knew, emotions you once felt,
memories of those you once loved...

surprise yourself: savor how good today really is
after all, who's to say
you could be happier than you are right now?
so, here's to all of you, infantahin:
enjoy your town fiesta, do eat a piece of cake
may GOD bless us all. . .

Ka Gloria captured the elusive nostalgic memory of one who left his hometown many moons ago and still dream of days gone by of his youth how town fiesta was celebrated. And we started again where we began our journey to seek what lies in the outer world beyond the confines of our hometown bounded on the West by the forbidding long range Sierra Madre mountains, and on the East by the shimmering blue waters of the Pacific placid - as the old folks of the town described the sea - “parang hinipo ng bulag”- so tranquil that even a blind person could feel with his bare hands its tranquil waters - but sometimes angry with noisy tidal waves dashing against the sandy and rocky shores.

We started where we began many moons through our memories of days and experiences gone by, of parents, families, relatives, friends, townfolks we left behind and then when town fiesta comes around those memories like in a rewinded cassette we see again and even feel the persons, the atmosphere, as well as the environment we left behind. The image of St. Mark to whom many prayers and petitions were directed; songs offered; the long town procession which seems to have no end through the narrow and dusty streets of the town, muddy and full of puddles during the monsoon. The entertainments offered by the townfolks rain or shine such as the komedya, the beto-beto, ferris wheel, etc.

Ka Gloria aptly summarized such experiences and memories in a few words which remain etched in the hearts and minds of those who had the privilege and opportunity to read them.

I hope she would not mind if I reproduce her musings on a town fiesta for posterity and for everybody to read thru the MIF Website.

San Markos kaarawan
Ay ipinagdiriwang
Ng Infanta kong bayan
Manunulat ng aklat
Ating patnubay-tanglaw
Rito sa Kapuluan-
Kapuluang dagatan
O maging sa kalupaan
Sa mundo na mapanglaw.
Wakas

Seventy years ago today, we heard the Voice of Freedom announced:

"Bataan has fallen: The Philippine-American troops on the war-ravaged and blood-stained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody and unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy . . .Bataan has fallen, but the spirit that made it stand - a beacon to all the liberty-loving peoples of the world - cannot fail."

What followed the “Fall of Bataan” was worse than defeat itself. The “Death March”, where seventy thousand Filipinos and eleven thousand American soldiers were herded like cattles at Mariveles airfield in Bataan, and then forced to hike at gun-point to San Fernando, Pampanga, some 120 kilometers away. From San Fernando, those weak, sickly and hungry prisoners of war were brought to Capas, Tarlac by railway packed like sardines and then forced to walk again the final thirteen kilometers to their destination - Camp O’Donnel. From these, another fifty thousand died of torture, hunger and disease at the concentration camp.

One of those who fought in Bataan was our kababayan from Infanta, Quezon, Capt. Guillermo Nakar, who instead of surrendering to the enemy escaped to the mountains and waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese until he was captured by the Japanese Imperial forces, tortured and put to death. For his valor and faithful services to his country and to the United States of America as a member of the USAFFE, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of General by General MacArthur the Supreme Commander of he Allied Powers in the Far East.

The late S. P. Lopez who later on after the war became Philippine Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, then a soldier in Bataan, wrote the announcement which was read by another Bataan defender soldier Norman Reyes over the radio "Voice of Freedom".

Today, 09 April 2012 is observed as "Araw ng Kagitingan" and rightly so, for the spirit of freedom - "a beacon to all the liberty-loving peoples of the world - cannot fail." We must, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, go on defending and upholding freedom, for the spirit that made our soldiers who "have fallen in the night" stood their grounds and shed their blood cannot fail. It cannot fail not only within our shores but also in other lands still seeking freedom and democracy as a way of life.(Please see photo below for Shrine of Valor or Kagitingan, published in Manila Standard Today, 09 April 2012).

We should not forget the past for as a Spanish writer and philosopher George Santayana observed: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it", and "[O]nly the dead have seen the end of war."

E N D

Matapos mabayubay sa krus
Panginoong Diyos na si Hesus
Pitong salita ay binigkas
Ang huli ay “consumatum est.”

Ibig sabihin pagtatapos
Ng kay Hesukristong pagtubos
Sa makasalanang busabus
Aakyat na sa Amang Diyos.

Kaya nang magikatlong araw
Noong libingan ay dinalaw
Ni Magdalenang namamanglaw
Ay walang natagpuang bangkay.

Kay Magdalenang nasilayan
Ang kanyang kasuyong “Rabboni”
Buhay, ngunit di mahawakan
Bago umakyat kalangitan.

Si Magdalena ay lumisan
Binalita sa kasamahan
Kanilang Maestro ay buhay
Muli nilang matatagpuan;

Bago si Kristo ay umakyat
Nagpakita sa kasamahan
Kay Tomas na alinlangan
Ipinakita kanyang sugat.

Ang paalam sa kasamahan
Ni Hesus na muling nabuhay
Lahat kayo, magmamahalan
Sumainyo, kapayapaan!.
Wakas

Ni Rudy A. Arizala
Santiago, Chile
06 Abril 2012

Nabayubay sa krus
Isang Kristo Hesus
Na siyang tumubos
Sa mga busabos.

Dugo ibinuhos
Iniligtas lubos
Sa pagka busabos
Taong lalang ng Diyos.

Ngunit bakit utos
Ng ating Amang Diyos
Nilabag ng tinubos
Ng buhay ni Hesus?

Pagka’t ang tinubos
Kanyang puso’y taos
Pa rin, at busabos
Ng kasalanan sa Diyos!
Wakas

ANG PENITENSYA
Ni Rudy A. Arizala
Santiago, 06 Abril 2012

Hinagupit ng palo
Hanggang tagas tumulo
Sa katawan ang dugo
Ng penitensyang tao.

Libot ng mga tao
Ang naligo sa dugo
Ang mukha’y nakatungo
Tupad na ang pangako.

At sa ilog nagtungo
Doon naghugas dugo
Sa batisan naligo
Sakit, kirot, naglaho.

Nagpenitensyang tao
Kahit may pusong bato
Tiyak, lalambot ito
Kapagka Biyernes Santo.
Wakas

Metro Infanta Foundation has found new partners for the Gabaldon Project. Now that the school building is in full use by schoolchildren, the next phase of the project is to fill the library with books and the computer room with computers.

KABATAANG INYONG DAPAT SUBAYBAYAN or K.I.D.S. Foundation and the Library Renewal Partner have joined forces with Metro Infanta Foundation to provide much needed books for the new Gbaldon library.

Roxanne Oquendo, operations manager, presented Dr. Carlos Crisostomo and the Infanta Central Elementary School with their initial offerings of books recently. In addition to books, Roxanne brought more than 500 notebooks to the delight of the teachers and school children.

"We will try to have an official launching of the library in September," said Roxanne.

Soon the stacks of books will line the walls of the new Gabaldon Library. There were even talks of providing a couple of computers for library use.

Dr. Crisostomo and the teachers gladly accepted this blessing from K.I.D.S. Foundation and the Library Renewal Partners.

Sa kay Hesus huling hapunan
Tinapay ay naging katawan,
Ang alak naging dugo naman
Upang hugasan kasalanan

Noon din nakita, natupad
Ang kay Hudas na binabalak
Buhay ni Hesus ay ipalit
Sa tatlumpong pirasong pilak!

Sa Gethsemaneng halamanan
Matapos silang maghapunan
Doon si Hesus nanalangin
Sa ating Amang nasa langit.

Habang nagdarasal si Hesus
Ang pangkat ng mga Escribas
Na pinangunahan ni Hudas
Dinakip si Hesus sa dahas.

Dinala kay Kaypas kaagad
Upang siyasatin, hatulan
Mga paratang ng alagad
Na laban kay Kristong pangalan.

Hapunan, himalang natanghal
Pagdakip sa kay Kristong mahal,
Pagdadala upang hatulan
Sa templo ng kabulaanan.

Ito ang mga kaganapan
Pagtubos mga kasalanan
Ng mga taong tampalasan
Na hindi dapat kalimutan!
Wakas

Nang pumasok si Kristo
Sa lungsod na sagrado
Sakay sa isang asno
Nagdiwang mga tao.

“Osana, David na bunso”,
Sigaw ng mga tao
Hawak dahong palmero
Kaway lahat ng dako.

Herusalem, narito
Maestro at katoto
Na si Hesukristo
Tao, Diyos na totoo!

Ngunit sa daan nito
Ng lungsod na sagrado
Papas-anin ni Kristo
Ang krus puntang Kalbaryo.

Matutupad, pangako
Tutubusin ang tao
Sa kasalanan ng mundo
Ng isang Hesukristo!
Wakas

Manaka-naka ay binubuksan ko ang MIF website upang alamin kung anong
mga bagong balita o sanasay ang aking matatagpuan. At kangina noong
buksan ko ang Website ng MIF, ako ay biglang binulaga ng napakaganda
at makahulugan sanaysay-paggunita na sinulat mo hinggil kay Presing
Ruanto. Hindi ko alam na may maganda tinig pala si Presing. Naging
kamag-aral ko siya sa mababang paaralan ng Infanta Elementary School
ngunit di ko napansin na mayroon pala siyang ginintuang tinig.

Napakagandang ala-ala / paggunita ang inialay mo sa kanyang pagyao sa
daigdig na ito. Napakaganda rin ang awit na iyong ibinahagi noong
yumao ang kanyang mahal na ama na noong kami ay nag-aaral pa sa
mababang paaralan ay siyang Principal ng Infanta Elementary School.
Maganda ang awiting "Tao" na kung hindi ako nagkakamali ay siyang
tampok ng parirala sa Banal na Kasulatan na "Alpha at Omega". Ang
bawa't simula ay katapusan at ang katapusan ay simula. Ito rin ang
mensahe na ipina-aabot sa kapistahan ng Abu na siyang simula ng
kuwaresma.

Tiyak na si Presing ay may ngiti mula sa sinapupunan ni Bathala
habang tinatapunan niya ng sulyap ang daigdig na nilisan ng kanyang
katawang lupa.

Harinawang magtamasa si Presing ng pagpapala, mapayapa at buhay na
walang hanggan sa kandungan ng Dakilang Lumikha.

Rudy

Parang kailan lang. Sa pangunguna ng Obispo Patrick Shanley kasama ang mga paring Karmelita. Fr. Andrew, Fr. Herman, Fr. Dominic, Fr. James, Fr. Basil, Fr. Elias, at Fr. Sebastian ay sinundan ng marami pang masisipag at butihin paring Karmelita, kabilang rin sa hanay ang dalawang batikang carmelite Brothers Bro. Vincent at Bro. Mark, ang bayan ng Infanta ay tulad ng isang bituin na biglang sumilang sa daigdig ng SIMBAHANG KATOLIKO! Ulo ng isang Prelatura!

At sumilang ang mga samahang humubog sa isip, diwa at puso ng tao upang higt na makilala, sambahin ay paglingkuran ang Dakilang Diyos.

Ang Legion of Mary, isang samahang pambansa ang nagpakilala sa kadakilaan ng Ina ng Diyos, si Maria,. parang isang Inang humubog , nagpalaki at nagpaunlad sa pagkatao ng mga kabataang lalaki at babae. At sa isa sa mga Praesidium si ate Presing Ruanto ay nagbigay ng matapat at mahabang paglilingkod bilang bise-pangulo ng Our Lady of Good Counsel. Ang mga naging kaanib sa kanyang prasidium ang saksi sa kanyang kasipagan at walang kapagurang paglilingkod.Ibinahagi rin niya ang masusing pagtuturo ng wikang Pilipino kay Fr. James Meldrum. Siya rin ang naging tagapagsalin ng mga panglinggong pahatid ni Fr. James sa mga tao. Isa sa maraming mga kaloob ng Diyos sa kanya ang magandang tinig kaya sa 'choir' ang tinig niyang 'alto' ay tangi. Ang Adeste Fideles kung Pasko na sa tinig ni Teddy Moises ay nakakapagpatahimik sa lahat ay naging makulay sa pagsabay ng alto ni ate Presing.Ang kanyang hinhin ay sapat na upang ang mga kaanib niya ay maging maayos sa pagpupulong. Hindi namin siya nakakasama sa mga 'gawaing misyon' sa mga barangay dahil sa ang panahong nalalabi sa kanyang pagtuturo bilang isang guro sa Mataas na Paaralan ng Infanta (Infanta Junior High School) ay ginugugol niya sa mga gawain sa Legion at pagtuturo kay Fr. James.

Nang pumanaw ang kanyang tatay, doon ko nakita ang kanyang malalim na pagmamahal sa kanyang ama.Sa Bible Service na ginanap ng mga guro para sa tatay niya, hiniling niyang awitin ko ang paborito niyang awit"ANG TAO." Nakalimutan kong wala akong ginintuang tinig. Ang nagtulak sa akin na pagbigyan siya ay ang kanyang pakiusap...'Thelma, sige na"

Ref. Ang buhay mo ay di sa 'yo
Napagisip-isip mo na ba? /?
Ilang taon ang lumipas na, lumipas na, lumipas na
Bawat tao'y simula
bawat simula'y hangganan
magpasiya ka, saan ka pupunta.

Bawat simula'y siyang hangganan
Bawat hakbang ng tao'y may baitang
Bawat baytang panahon ng buhay
Bawat buhay mayroong simula.

Si Rudy Arizala ay kaklase ni Presing Ruanto noong elementarya sa Infanta.

Pumanaw ka at kami’y naulila
Rito sa lupa bigla kang nawala
Edeng maligaya aming adhika
Sinapupunan Dakilang Lumikha
Iyong maging himlayan sa simula.
Ngayon ikaw nagniningning na tala
Gabi’t araw sa langit ni Bathala.
Wakas