The year began with a call for Batangueños to evacuate their homes as the Taal volcano continued to erupt, bringing about uncertainty and fear to those who grew up near the shores of its lake. Even those who lived a few kilometers away also had to leave their places given the risk of inhaling the dust particles of the continuous spewing of ash. It was only that moment when the metropolitan learned of the N-95 mask’s existence or at least understood its purpose, and also the need to shut their windows and keep their lungs safe from the potential harm caused by the ash, still if we have gotten accustomed to the “natural” air pollution mixed coming from the smoke belchers and the hundreds of vehicles moving from one place to another every day.
Sometimes, I would like to think that, in the morning when I’m about to leave for classes, it’s not really sunny, but then I realized it’s just smog covering up the beauty of the blue sky, making it even difficult for daily commuters to line up and to make themselves fit into the buses and jeepneys that were already filled like sardines in a can. This makes me realize the value of empathy, a virtuous gift that allows anyone of us to see how life is however and whatever the perspective could be.
Next, the world mourned and also realized the powerful Kobe Bryant — powerful, not only of his basketball achievement but how he won the hearts of almost each and every sector of society. He grew up like any of us, especially most Filipinos, discovering how to play basketball which for me did not ‘click.’ I do remember trying out a few times when I was still young, following the footsteps of my older brother when he joined the basketball leagues for kids where my grandparents live. I also remember those days trying to compete against my brother in his videogames that included Kobe, and of course, I would always lose. Even though this sport was not for me, neither did Kobe had any particular place in anyone of us except for those devoted fans, of course.
Nevertheless, when the world comes to mourn the loss of a hero like Kobe, it goes to show the power (and more than the power is the honor) of a prized possession. Could he be a saint? Nobody knows. All we know was that he directly came from receiving Christ with his eldest daughter, a teenager, who along with his father, a best friend to the entire basketball community, and probably a legend to the whole world, received the life that was promised in receiving Him eternally.
The ‘novel’ novelty
And now, from Kobe to COVID: the world is falling unto her knees because of a singular virus that has possibly broken all the human systems we could think of — business closing, work shifting arrangements, classes stopping, etc. There is nothing more powerful than a possible ‘biological warfare,’ according to some conspiracy theorists, or perhaps a simple coincide really did prove to the world how powerful and important personal hygiene (health is wealth) is. The novel coronavirus has stopped us from our usual ways of life — we have been reduced to nothingness, perhaps even to silence, wherein we are turning into consumerists, not merely material goods, but now, thanks to the innovative digital platform this generation continues to grow up with, we spend hours and hours of binge-watching — it is now finally a thing! It’s a norm, a habit, perhaps after only two weeks! I haven’t watched my latest K-Drama, or seen the latest challenge on Instagram and TikTok! Hindi mo na mapapansin kung pangilang Binggo mo na ‘yan online, pang-ilang bidyong napanood at album na napanginggan mo sa isang araw.
It is true that there is great strength lost during these times — perhaps this would be the first time (at least in my lifetime) we would not be able to celebrate the Lenten season culminating with the services during Holy Week. However, the words quarantine and cuaresma actually stem from the original Latin Quadragesima meaning forty days — who knows, God may be calling us to celebrate his Passion in a special manner. They even used to “fast” from receiving the Eucharist and partake in the Sacrifice, calling it the “Great Fast” in preparation for Easter. According to Patheos.com, “Historically, reception of the eucharist was often limited, even when the faithful went to Divine Liturgy; the ‘Easter obligation’ of receiving communion once a year was often the only time many of the faithful would receive the eucharist during the year. This was especially true to those who did not live in the cities, but rather, in the various villages and other communities which did not have priests of their own.”
‘Change is coming’
Everything has changed, and change is not something easy to accept for anyone — no access to the bars, cinemas or places of leisure and rest. We think that we’ve lost all those good memories we were supposed to have in upcoming activities or events we planned to attend or organize. But beyond all these are for the greater good. Times are testing to have a supernatural vision but one can actually discover a ‘new Mediterranean’ when one learns to see beyond himself and others. What we have gained is a clearer atmosphere: “The EEA’s (European Environment Agency) data show an accurate picture of the drop in air pollution, especially due to reduced traffic in cities. However, addressing long-term air quality problems requires ambitious policies and forward-looking investments,” according to EEA’s website.
“As such, the current crisis and its multiple impacts on our society work against what we are trying to achieve, which is a just and well-managed transition towards a resilient and sustainable society.” This relates to another problem particularly in Metro Manila — traffic congestion. According to an October 2019 report by Waze, Metro Manila remains “the world’s worst city for drivers,” while now, we barely have cars on the road and this could lead to another proposition — many businesses have shifted to a work-from-home arrangement, following the directives of the community quarantine imposed by the government almost two weeks ago.
A few of my friends explained that there are different advantages and disadvantages to it, one being a break from the workplace environment: “Honestly for me, it’s a good break from the office set up because as a marketing professional, it helps me when I find myself working in different places to find a new source of creativity and ideas,” according to Ate MG, a friend from my family called Universitas, and also the Marketing Officer of Pet Warehouse Philippines, an online store for pet supplies based in Bambang, Pasig. “I’m thankful that I can continue to work from home with minimal adjustments and save a lot of time, money and effort from commuting,” she explained, however, there are also distractions as expected when it comes to the leisure of the home “when work blends with your personal time especially now that it’s shared in the same setting… I just make sure that I continue to fight challenges, such as avoiding distractions, maintaining a strict schedule, and maintaining the same amount of intensity and effort I give when I’m in the office and still deliver what is demanded of me.”
For Ate Hannah, who works as a PR and Social Media Head at Art Personas, Inc., a marketing agency based in Makati City, it’s quite difficult to make such adjustments for the events their agency planned: “When the COVID-19 quarantine was announced, our superiors immediately went for a work-from-home arrangement. We had to cancel our events and had to coordinate with everyone who was affected with the postponement — such as suppliers, invited guests and partners.” For her situation, however, “business is still business.” She explained that even if “we are working at home this does not mean that we are on a vacation — we continue our daily tasks which we normally do at work. Since the nature of our work is very collaborative — meaning we have to really have to be together in one place to produce efficient output, it is challenging to work with us not being able to meet physically.”
Not all occupations, however, are compatible with the work-from-home arrangement such as those who have on-site jobs, or even the health workers themselves who are running the risk of getting infected with the COVID-19 disease. They are at the heart of their vocation as physicians and nurses, confronting perhaps one of the most difficult times we all together have faced urbi et orbi — as a nation and all of the states combined.
My cousin Ate Clarisse, who works as a preschool teacher at The Seed Montessori School, Quezon City, had to stop working completely due to the indefinite suspension of classes (I say indefinite because, who knows, that this “community quarantine” would extend for months — we hope for that “curve” to happen soon, in Deo spero!) When the quarantine came up, “[o]ur superiors opted us to prepare roughly 2 months’ worth of worksheets and activities for the children to accomplish at home, therefore we had to go back to school to prep all of the work then arrange them for the parents to pick up the work from the school’s office. Afterward, all faculty and staff went home for the community quarantine,” she continued, “There wasn’t any other way for us to teach due to the quarantine. Hopefully, when the virus dies down and everyone’s routine can get back to normal, we could finish off the school year properly because at this point we don’t know exactly if there is still a school year to cap off. “
‘Corona-retreat’
The uncertainty of our education has led to questioning mainly by the students and faculty of universities and schools — what will happen to our diplomas, especially for those who are graduating? What will happen to the jobs that are barely even paid, especially our beloved sanitary workers, the same dedication of those sanitary workers in the hospitals congested by the COVID-19 victims? What will happen to our lives? The truth is obvious to everyone, not just students, not just workers; but everyone: we don’t know. It’s not simply a matter of lifting each one’s spirit from this trying time or providing outlets for our poor mental stabilities, but it is every faculty of the human person that is being tested now whether he or she holds on to the faith, having the belief that nothing is impossible and we will get through this.
We will continue to experience the loss of lives, the loss of certainty and stability, and the loss of humanity itself at the expense of the true common good called love. Over and over again have we been reminded of our calling to love which has been lost and neglected over the generations. The Church is true in saying that “never before has the Church experienced the power of the communion of saints, raising to her Crucified and Risen Lord her vows and prayers, especially the Sacrifice of Holy Mass, celebrated daily, even without the presence of the people, by priests.” This season has given us the opportunity, with the heightened experiences of the loving virtues gifted to us by God himself, to receive the necessary indulgences to sanctify each moment as the pandemic slowly creeps into society and our respective lives. As both the Father and the Pope have advised, let us “resolve to confront this situation “with the strength of faith, the certitude of hope and the fervor of charity” (Francis, March 8, 2020). The situation varies in the different regions of the world, but the Communion of Saints leads us to make our own what affects the others, because ‘if one member suffers, all suffer with him.’” Even the Church has digitized our access to the ordinary means — who would have ever thought a thousand of Masses, united in the one Mass our Lord offered twenty centuries ago, would be streamed online each day, adorations, benedictions and visits to the Blessed Sacrament would take place in our homes? Why would Our Lord cancel the public participation in the services that will allow us to experience closely His Passion and Death? This truly is a blessing in disguise.
The recent feasts of the Annunciation and of Saint Joseph help us put this extraordinary Lenten season in perspective because amid the monotony of our interior reservoir comes Jesus. If we exclaimed during the Advent season Veni, veni Emmanuel, He now chooses to passes by our houses and places of self-quarantine, like that Samaritan woman who was distraught by the request of Our Lord: “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” This quarantine which almost takes place during the entire Lent is an opportunity for us to realize that it is He who is offering us this gift of the interior life, reaching out to the masses the Masses of the Holy Sacrifice we’ve been missing a lot these days. It was a joyful moment for me to witness Pope Francis’ live-streamed Mass when he started concluding his private Mass with a benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, when he called the world of every believer and non-believer to join in prayer and sympathy, in the intonation of the Pater Noster, a prayer that unites all Christians throughout the world, Catholic or Orthodox, Baptist or Born-again. He again surprises us with true joy and peace that lasts for eternity.
‘Frontliners and forgiveness’
Our Father Josemaria exclaimed: “My life is so monotonous now!” This thought will eventually surround our consciences, and perhaps it already has, nevertheless, we can choose to shine by “hiding and disappearing” into His hands, forget our critical takes of the different issues we see online today. Imagine all positivity lost in the river of criticism, the thousands of comments, memes and posts shared online towards the issues in the political arena which we ought to trust in this difficult time in spite of their frailty (and also ours). We do have the right to speak against evil, but we can never do so if we lose our charity. If we have nothing nice to say, then it’s the best interest of everyone not to say anything. It is also important to keep ourselves far from the harm caused by the phenomenon of fake news which has infected the globe many years ago, a pandemic like COVID-19. We need not invent new things but to be objective amid all the error of our ways.
We have no reason to complain when we know, through His vision, that we have many opportunities now to rest in all ways possible — cultivate our hobbies, learn new skills, get in touch with other relatives, and pray and bond with each other at home. Many of us have been venting out our ire towards those who lack compassion for the people who don’t have shelter and a roof to quarantine themselves. Some people have walked for hours because of the mass transportation shutting down, and the outbreaks are getting worse because of people refusing to sincerely submit themselves for testing.
Most of all, we should honor those front-liners who have given up their entire lives, their entire future, and those others’ futures affected by the loss of their loved ones — in other words, all those who have given up their peace for the sake of our serenity. They deserve and merit our quarantine, which is not inaction but the best we can give. If we can give more, we should not stop ourselves from doing so. We live a life called to give, and this is what thousands have done to protect and save us from this unsparing disease. Our consciences are not bothered but are graced by the witness these servi servorum populi, and we secretly hope that our public servants could learn one thing or another from them. No matter how bad people act today, let us learn to forgive without forgetting so we can learn again, begin again. Our Father wrote: “I didn’t need to learn how to forgive, because God has taught me how to love.”
We’re just about to end the third month of a new decade; much more is to come. Omnia in bonum, always hope for the best! We are called to rediscover all the values and virtues dear to our hearts — patience, hope, faith, etc. “When this is over, may we never again take for granted: a handshake with a stranger, full shelves at the store, conversations with neighbors, a crowded theatre, Friday night out, the taste of Communion, a routine checkup, the school rush each morning, a coffee with a friend, the stadium roaring, each deep breath, a boring Tuesday. Life itself. When this ends, may we find that we have become more like the people we wanted to be, we were called to be, we hoped to be, and may we stay that way — better for each other because of that worst.” (Laura Kelly Fanucci)
