Advent reminds us
of life and death

Yesterday was the first day of Advent and the Church reminds us of the inevitability of death and our need to answer for our life.

The Reading of Ecclesiastes reminds us of the saying that all is vanity. And that nothing really is more important in life that its beyond death.

That is why sometimes, I smile at the very rich who proclaim that they can afford to prolong their life because they have money for stem cell therapy.

And some of them flex their muscles and show their faces unlined as if they had never aged.

But it seems they never realized that soon they, too, are going to die. Stem cell therapy does not guarantee immortality. It can prolong life. But the problem, prolong for what?

I have also heard of several stem cell clients who have remained good until they finally succumbed to whatever they had before they underwent their surgical operation.

In short, whether stem cell patient or not, life still will have to end up somewhere in the near future.

Worse, there will always be the awareness that what one had hoped for its expenses cannot guarantee life.

And the Gospel, itself, reminds us not to depend on wealth as the source of life. One may have everything that one wants, but still when your time is up, that’s the end of the road for you.

Sometimes, I find myself wondering what happens when somebody who had amassed wealth in his lifetime think at the end of his life. When confronted by death, he discovered that all the ill-gotten wealth is useless. It does not guarantee him eternal life.

And, then, before he finally expires, he is confronted by the question of how to answer God for the way he had spent his gifts with others. And usually, what happens is that we find ourselves remember how we overlooked having with others, including our loved ones, what they rightfully deserve.

Then, at that point, we ask God for a chance to redeem ourslevs. No more second chances. Boy, the end is in sight and you have to make an account of how you lived your life.

It must be excruciating for the very rich and greedy to confront the end of the road. There are regrets. A begging for a second chance to redeem one’s self.

Unfortunately, the chance is no longer possible. The period given each person has been exhausted. Now the accounting is on.

***

Now, I wish to call the attention of Bacolondon to the Holy Infant Nursery in our midst. Holy Infant is in Brgy. Sum-ag, and takes care of children for local adoption. Their parents include those from Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Spain, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Canada and the United States of America.

Others are adopted locally and reunited with their families a placed in foster care.

When the children turn 6 years old, they are transferred to other institutions.

The nursery has 17 paid personnel, Eleven of these are caregivers who take-care of 30 to 35 children at any given time.

The nursery also has a full-time social worker who is responsible for case management and preparing the children’s “case study reports. These include preparation of documents such as birth certificates, health records, psycho-social assessment affidavits, deeds of voluntary commitment, etc.

The Nursery depends on donors to sustain their project.

“We continue to persevere in this work because of our desire to offer in opportunity for these poor children to have a better future,” as how Dr. Hestor Villanueva, Nursery foundation president put it.

You can be a one-time donor or regular supporter. Whatever you give will be used to pay the salaries and allowances of nursery personnel and for the maintenance of the nursery premises. Part of it will also be used to pay for the hospitalization and needs of the children., as well as for their milk and food.

Donation may be given through telephone number (034) 444-1905 or 704-4658 says, Dr. Villanueva.*

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