Independence Day

I am not very good in history but I am aware that today is the 107th anniversary of Philippine Independence from the bondage of Spanish colonization. It was in 1898 when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the first President of the Philippine Republic, declared the country’s liberation from the shackles of foreign rulers. This is the only detail I can give as I do not want to mislead people, I am afraid to present false facts and figures about today's historical celebration. But I do remember someone who argued that the real independence of the Philippines was not its liberty from the Spaniards. It is rather when the country became independent from the Americans that the Philippines gained its real freedom and self-governance. I would say the demise of Japanese occupation in the Philippines although brief but cruel, can be seen as well as a celebration of independence.
Philippine history sometimes left us good humour. How interesting it was for Filipinos to live for 300 long years inside a Spanish convent and then 40 years in American Hollywood! (Plus 4 years with the ancestors of Japanese anime!)
Today I would like look at bigger picture of the dark history of Spanish colonization. History tells us that there were many good things thrived out from bad circumstances, or should I say because God is powerful that he can make good things out of evil. The “good” that I am talking about is the Christianization of the Philippines. Thanks to the Spanish missionaries who diligently converted my ancestors to Christianity.
One of the Spanish saints that became so intimately related to the Filipinos is St. John of the Cross. St. John was a small man ( not as short as 'Minime' though!) with a big heart, who was longing for intimacy and love for God along with the poorest people at his time. His spirituality is in fact the traditional imagery of Filipino poverty and meekness. His figure appears as an old Filipino farmer wearing a salakot (a hat made of nipa leaves), bare-footed and wearing worn-out clothes by the name of Juan de la Cruz. Juan de la Cruz is a common baptismal name amongst Filipino male. The "Cruz" in his name represents many impoverished Filipinos who are carrying the cross of all sort of sufferings. They those Filipinos who are the victims of the corrupt government, natural disasters, children who were deprived of education, sick people and the poverty of the country as a whole. This is the dark night of human suffering and spiritual longing which St. John of the Cross himself had experienced.
But in this darkness, we can find God’s gentle hand purifying the souls: “clearing away the debris of attachment and making room for the divine light.” St. John’s spiritual courage and endurance in suffering, is what really make the Filipino to be associated with him. Despite of material deprivations, Filipinos are happy and religious people. Poverty and hunger instead turn them to prayer, hope and confidence and greater communion to God. Inspired by the spiritual longing of San Juan dela Cruz in midst of the dark night, he said, “I abandoned and forgot myself, laying my face on my Beloved.”
Now, I look at myself in Australia, one of the richest countries in the world, I could not imagine why there are many cases of suicide among young people in this beautiful and affluent country? I do not know the answer. Perhaps, if I examine my own self and become more aware about my own spiritual poverty then I will begin to understand.
But one thing I am sure of, it is not the country or nation alone that needs liberty. Whatever our nationality or whatever country we may be, we all need freedom and liberty, most of all from our sins that stop to be good human persons that God is are calling us to be.
May we all live neither in Spanish convent nor in the grandeur of Hollywood and Disneyland but may we find ourselves in the God’s Heavenly Kingdom – a place where we can be truly free.