Cory's Prayer

Our "little flock" of Filipinos here in Rome had the chance of "being-with" the millions of Filipinos mourning the demise of our late President Cory Aquino back in our home country.
In the Eucharist that we celebrated together this morning in the Church of Sta. Anna in Vatican City, I came to discover that Cory also composed a Prayer for a Happy Death and I would like to share it here.

Almighty God, most merciful Father
You alone know the time
You alone know the hour
You alone know the moment
When I shall breathe my last.

So, remind me each day,
most loving Father
To be the best that I can be.
To be humble, to be kind,
To be patient, to be true.
To embrace what is good,
To reject what is evil,
To adore only You.

When the final moment does come
Let not my loved ones grieve for long.
Let them comfort each other
And let them know
how much happiness
They brought into my life.
Let them pray for me,
As I will continue to pray for them,
Hoping that they will always pray
for each other.

Let them know that they made possible
Whatever good I offered to our world.
And let them realize that our separation
Is just for a short while
As we prepare for our reunion in eternity.

Our Father in heaven,
You alone are my hope.
You alone are my salvation.
Thank you for your unconditional love,
Amen.

Indeed let us thank the Lord for having gifted us with Cory Aquino, with her integrity, her faith, her selfless dedication for the good of our country. As the Philippine ambassador to the Holy See, H.E. Philippe Lhuiller shared briefly after the communion rite this morning, Cory awakened what is best in us Filipinos -- the sense of heroism, deep faith, dedicated service.

May she now rest in the loving arms of the Father whom she has served with all her strength. May she receive the reward of heavenly peace and may she continue to intercede for us too especially in the search of a worthy leader in the national elections in the Philippines next year.

Cory Aquino - Philippine President of post Marcos dictatorship years

While listening to Vatican Radio's morning news today I learned of the demise of former Philippine President Cory Aquino. She ended her painful struggle with colon cancer early this morning and entered into eternal light.

Cory will be dearly and deeply remembered by many of us who prayed and fought for freedom during the world famous Philippine People Power Revolution of February 1986 toppling the twenty-year-Marcos-dictatorship.

Personally, what I admired in this "soft-iron lady" was her strong faith. Only that could have helped her withstand all the trials she needed to face during the political exile and later assasination of her husband Ninoy. I'd like to believe too that the same faith accompanied her in taking up the challenge to be Ninoy's substitute as presidential candidate in the snap elections called forth by Marcos in 1986, three years after her husband's assasination. As the first lady president of the Philippines, she used her faith as anchor in navigating through the murky waters of politics and in fighting against 7 coup attempts by the same people who protected her during the People power revolution.
Her faith is a constant reminder for all of us that with God on our side, there is nothing to fear. I cited Cory as one of the modern day icons in my article Mark's Open Ending in the book The Personal Voice in Biblical Interpretation. Despite all the criticisms hurled against her, she remains for me a personification of "fearless following of Christ and selfless servant-leadership."