The Only Hope for the Philippines by Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J.
December 1, 2007 – 2:10 amTHE ONLY HOPE FOR THE PHILIPPINES
by Father James B. Reuter, S.J.
The signs are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack of effort.
We’ve seen many men and women of integrity in andout of government, NGOs, church groups and people’s organizations devote themselves to the task of nation-building, often times against insurmountable odds.
Burt not even two people revolutions, bloodless as they may be, have made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, we have moved one step forward, but three steps backward.
We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm.
It’s time to claim God’s promise of healing of the land of His people.
It’s time to gather God’s people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. is prayer really the answer?
Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I’d like you to consider some lessons we can glean from history.
England’s ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fueled by intense prayers. The early American settlers built the foundation that
would make it the most powerful nation today—a strong faith in God and a disciplined prayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.
In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today, led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho.
No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around it are
faltering.
Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For where there is genuine humbling and seeking of God through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this in turn will lead to general prosperity.
YES, we believe prayer can make a differnec.
It’s our only hope.
TODAY, WE LAUNCH THIS EMAIL BRIGADE, TO INFORM FILIPINOS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO PRAY, AS A PEOPLE, FOR THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND MORAL REFORMATION OF OUR NATION. WE DO NOT ASK FOR MUCH. WE ONLY ASK FOR 5 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME IN A DAY, TO FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR CLOSE FRIENDS AND RELATIVES.
This is the kind of unity which can make a big difference. Of course, if you feel strongly
as I do. about the power of prayer, you can be more involved by starting your own prayer
group or prayer center.
We have tried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short. Maybe it’s time to try prayer power. God never fails. Is there hope?
YES! We can rely on God’s promise, but we have to do ourpart. If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, God will heal our land.
By God’s grace, we may yet see a better future for our children. God bless and God save our country.
“If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from the wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)”.
2 Responses to “The Only Hope for the Philippines by Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J.”
(This comment was included in a forward of this prayer brigade)
A SINNER’S COMMENT.
Father Reuter is absolutely correct. I totally agree. In addition to prayer, however,
it seems that Scripture points to another indispensable ingredient in successfully
overcoming evil. Read Exodus 17: 8-13.
“At Rephidim, Amalek came and waged war against Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua:†Pick out certain men and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.†So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight. Moses’ hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. Meanwhile, Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua mowed down Amalek WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWORD.â€
Moses did not just pray. He asked Joshua to engage Amalek in battle. And Joshua mowed down Amalek with the edge of the sword. Which to me means that prayers are necessary but prayers alone will not succeed unless we engage the enemy in combat—even in physical combat. Moses and his staff was the prefiguration of Jesus Christ with his hands raised to the staff of the Cross in crucifixion. As long as our hands are raised in crucifixion and prayer like Christ on the Cross, we will win the battle against evil in the Philippines. We are losing the battle because we languish in selfishness, greed, pride and all kinds of immorality—especially sexual immorality. If we humble ourselves and pray and turn away from our wickedness and seek God’s face, we will win. But we cannot win by prayer alone. Moses had to stay on top of the hill and pray, but Joshua had to go down to the battlefield to fight Amalek.
America is strong because it seems they read the Bible correctly. Prayer alone could not have freed Europe from Hitler nor Asia from the Japanese. Soldiers and civilians needed to sacrifice their very lives to end secular tyranny. I believe the same thing is true in the Philippines. The first, most important step, a prerequisite sine qua non is
2 Chronicles: humble ourselves in prayer, turn away from our wicked ways and seek God’s face. The Pink Sisters must pray and do penance and everyone else must pray and do penance. But there must be Joshuas sent to engage the enemy in physical combat if necessary. I don’t think Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent strategy would have worked against Hitler and Japan in World War II. The sword without prayer is futile. But prayer alone without the sword—per Exodus 17—will not win the battle.
I suggest that the Catholic Bishops Conference take up Father Reuter’s call and use the CBCP website to coordinate and promote a nationwide sustained Prayer and Penance Movement for Reconciliation and the Reconsecration of the Philippines to GOD. The CBCP should reconsecrate the Philippines to Jesus Christ and Mary because in reality the Philippines needs reevangelization because it seems we have become a pagan country—maybe because corruptio optimi pessima, we were chosen as the only Christian country in Asia for a long time; we have desecrated our inheritance, we have degenerated into wanton depravity. The CBCP should start with themselves, the hierarchy and the clergy—because the Church would not have descended into such a sad state if the bishops had exercised the needed leadership by word and deed and example. The hierarchy and the CBCP must accept a large portion of the blame for the country’s sad state because a vast majority of Filipinos are Catholics and the country’s failure as a Christian country must necessarily lie on the doorstep of its pastors. After cleansing itself and the clergy, perhaps the CBCP will, like Joshua, obey Moses’ command and engage the Amaleks of the Philippines in battle, starting maybe with Mike Velarde of El Shaddai. I SUGGEST A NATIONAL MOVEMENT CALLED EXODUS 17 WITH THE CROSS AND A BOLO AS ITS SYMBOLS.
By admin on Dec 1, 2007
Dear. Fr. James,
Kindly send me your email address as I wish to meet and clarify with you some issues re. the Pestano Case.
thank you very much and I hope and I pray that Fr. James would respond to this request soonest.
Bro. Mel
By Mel S. Rebutica on Dec 3, 2007