It is not hard to be good when it does not cost one so much, to be generous when one has plenty to spare. I read from the book of Mark 10:17-30 about the man in the Gospel who runs to Jesus, full of enthusiasm and goodwill. Jesus looks at him with love and admiration. He sees in him a lot of potential and challenges him to aim higher. So Jesus asks the man to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and have his treasure in heaven. The rich man walks away sad from Jesus’ challenge.

I believe that Jesus is not telling us not to work and earn for our living or after the hard days work leave nothing for us. But instead Jesus cautions us about our attachment to material possessions. Money, work, earthly pleasures and possessions can possess us and imprison us. How many of us have lost our health, peace of mind, relationships, values, honor and even our very souls because of our greed and because of our insatiable pursuit for money.

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By Jade Angelo Gascon
On Eagle’s Wings Foundation

Catastrophes that kiss our countrymen goodbye with a kiss of death squeeze out the good in us. Suddenly, everyone’s charitable.

From chatter to charity, Kris is ABS-CBN's poster girl for everything!

ABS-CBN reported on Monday that its Sagip Kapamilya has received over P100 million in aid donations for the victims of typhoon “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana). And it continues to increase every Kris Aquino minute.

Indeed, the “Ondoy” downpour is only matched by the charity that is now spilling over from every corner of the nation. Some give in cash, some in kind, others offer their time and strength as ground volunteer workers.

As we continue to lose ourselves in this euphoria of lavish charity and bayanihan (solidarity), may we not lose the foundational essence of generosity. Really, why do we give? And why should we give?

Flooded Metro

We should give because it is a tangible display of faith that is rightly aligned with the heart of God.

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?” James 2:14-16

We should give because it is our response to Christ—the soul of compassion Himself!

Why we should give

“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me… I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” Matthew 25: 35, 36, 40

Neither to be famous nor because famous people are doing it. Not because we have a deep sense of pity. Not because it’s the “in” thing today. Not because we are a united Filipino race. And certainly not because it’s human nature.

Instead, we should give for the pure and raw reason that it is the God-centered response and it is our response to God who first loved us. If we give for this right reason, our earthly acts of charity shall echo, even without media mileage, throughout eternity.

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Karaniwang minana lamang natin sa ating mga magulang ang ating pananampalataya. Tunay nga ito ay isang malaking biyaya. Ibinabahagi nila ang pananampalatayang batid nilang makabubuti para sa atin. Gayun pa man, hinahamon tayo ng Panginoong Jesus na angkinin ang pananampalatayang ito. Hindi tayo maaaring mapako sa isang hiram na pananampalataya. Kailangang tumugon tayo sa hamon ni Jesus na harapin ang krus sa ating buhay. Sa pamamagitan ng katapatan at ganap na pakikiisa sa mga pagpapakasakit ni Jesus, mapapatunayan nating tayo nga ay tunay niyang mga alagad.

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by K. Ben Quinones

I occasionally visit the Forum section of the OEWF website to see what our youth leaders are talking about. An encouraging recent development is the interest shown by the BSV BYC (Building Shared Vision – Bayanihan Youth Camp) Team in honing their thinking and writing skills. This is clearly the result of the youth leaders putting into practice what they have learned at the BSV BYC.  When the youth begin to share with each other their dreams for a better society, one day soon they will find a way to take a collective action and bold step to make their dreams come true.

For the first time today, I joined their forum and wrote this message:

“You are doing a good job! Keep writing and sharing your thoughts. The more you put down into writing your thoughts, the more organized is your way of presenting your ideas, and the more enhanced is your thinking skills. People who have a well ordered and righteous mind become good models of a servant leader.

“Dear Alfred,

“You are an articulate writer.  Keep on writing. One day you can write a book, but you cannot reach that goal unless you keep on writing. This forum is a good opportunity for you to hone your writing skills. Don’t be contented with the present state of your writing skills. Seek technical help from people who can teach you how to write well. You have a bright future as a leader and a writer. 

“Dear Jessa Luz,

“Congratulations !! You have shown what a good documentor should be doing. In the same manner that a good follower becomes a good leader, by striving diligently to become a good documentor, you are cultivating your potentials for becoming a good facilitator as well as a good inquiirer and advocate.

“Blessings to all of you”.

Why don’t you visit the Forum section and like our youth leaders, spend some time exercising your thinking and writing skills.

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In a reading from the Book of Numbers, Moses rejoices that, for the sake of Israel, God has given his spirit to the seventy elders, including two at a distance. He then invites Joshua to welcome, not resent, this manifestation of God’s generosity. This is the same openness that Jesus asks of his disciples in Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48.

A lot of mistakes have been committed by many of us with the alibi – “I just wanted to do what I thought was good.” Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48  gives us some categories to consider whenever we try to discern the goodness that we feel we are attracted to:

Real goodness goes with charity for all. Jesus rebuked John. It was wrong for him to seek exclusivity of doing good in the name of Jesus. Nobody can claim monopoly of God and his Spirit, together with goodness comes not just generosity, but magnanimity. Exclusivity come from an ego bloated with pride and self-preservation. Exclusivity comes from a subtle but dangerous tendency to claim the credit and title for good acts to oneself. Read the rest of this entry »

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In a reading from the Book of Numbers, Moses rejoices that, for the sake of Israel, God has given His spirit to the seventy elders, including two at a distance. He then invites Joshua to welcome, not resent, this manifestation of God’s generosity. This is the same openness that Jesus asks of his disciples in Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48.

A lot of mistakes have been committed by many of us with the alibi – “I just wanted to do what I thought was good.” Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48  gives us some categories to consider whenever we try to discern the goodness that we feel we are attracted to:

Real goodness goes with charity for all. Jesus rebuked John. It was wrong for him to seek exclusivity of doing good in the name of Jesus. Nobody can claim monopoly of God and his Spirit, together with goodness comes not just generosity, but magnanimity. Exclusivity come from an ego bloated with pride and self-preservation. Exclusivity comes from a subtle but dangerous tendency to claim the credit and title for good acts to oneself. Read the rest of this entry »

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by Ian Naldo,   CSRSME Asia/NYSL

United we stand, united we envisioned great things to come, and united we will continue the learning journey. Today we will plant the seed of our hope and tomorrow we will see a better Philippines.

Our vision has led us to this point – that is, the conduct of the Bayanihan Youth Camp.  We had taken our little steps.  All we had to do is to put our ideas into action. Our actions revolutionized us and gave us the privilege of being one of the few individuals in the country who advance Solidarity Economy.

We also had to say “I, myself, will do it”.  I will be the first to do something about my vision for my country, by practicing social responsibility to my organization and community, by inspiring the lives of others, by sharing them the love of God, and by being an active member of the CSRSME Asia think tank group. We have to be our own practitioner of our vision and mission. We need commitment to see our vision through for our beloved country.

Along the way we had doubts and fears in performing our responsibilities and responding to the needs of the people. But we realized that it is our duty to motivate our generation to rise up and build God’s Kingdom, the economy, the nation.

With limited resources we will prove that our vision and dreams will ascend to the heights of heavens. We will defy the rule of the old economy. We will take a stand for change to take place in this country and for the benefit of its people.

by Annie Reginaldo, University of Caloocan City

The Bayanihan Youth Camp was a 3-day camp held at the Lord’s Garden in Laguna which was full of knowledgeable lessons. The camp taught me so many things.  As a  result of this camp I learned how to be more sociable. I gave and shared ideas, especially about my love for our country, the Philippines.  Sponsored by On Eagle’s Wings Foundation (OEWF) and facilitated by the staff of CSRSME Asia, the camp taught young persons like me how to give importance to our country. It encouraged us to be a part of a modest initiative that is helpful to our country, even if we can only contribute simple things.  The Bayanihan Youth Camp is surely beneficial to the Philippines. I am sure of this. One of the lessons I treasure so much is this: ” The first step towards realizing your vision consist of the most simple things you are able and willing to do”. I believe that the simple things we do become great when we always do them for better purposes.

by Kharis Quinones, VisionQ Team, Davao city

My days at the camp were totally fun.  I learned a lot.  The camp speakers and session facilitators taught us how to become a social entrepreneur.

But the lessons about “learning disabilities” really struck me out. At the same time,  these lessons were also the very ones that made me like this workshop quite a lot.

Generally, I don’t like worshops.  Maybe I had been influenced by my brother who told me that workshop means “WORK”.  He made it sound as though workshops  are boring stuff.  But the presentation and discussions on learning disabilities kept me on my toes.  I mean, I was surprised to know that I had not only one,  but all the 7 learning disabilities !…

I learned to articulate my personal vision for a better Philippines and to share it with my groupmates while they listened intently to me.  They asked probing questions to help me clarify better my personal vision. The session on sharing personal visions helped me open my mind to what’s happening around me, and how I can be an asset rather than a liability to my country.  It helped me think of things that I never thought of for my country.  I learned how to think out of the box and visualize what I want to do for my country and for myself.  Now I know that when I improve myself, I’m also contributing to the improvement of my country.

by: Joel Marcaida, National Youth for Servant Leadership Inc.

It’s been months already since my last visit to Carmelite Bayanihan Center that I’m facilitating in Tala, Caloocan City. I have regrets that I didn’t go there recently because while we are having a dialogue with the leaders they shared to me their frustration of losing some of the members. Most of the member are not attending for reason that they have already a job and some are studying but some are quiting the group when I heard in my mind I feel so sad and tell my self that it’s my responsiblity to make follow up and visit them more often.

But while having conversation with them I saw that there is still hope in the leaders face, they just need someone to lead, guide and inspire them once again. Looking in their eyes give me courage and hope that their is still hope to again start and revive the group. I remember a Pastor’s preaching about being “PERSISTENT”. I feel the persistence in them and asking me that they want to pursue what they have started. I know that God will help and continue to give us wisdom on our new start.

If you’re reading this blog, we ask for your prayers.