Help for Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) Victims

Typhoon Ondoy left the Philippines with 246 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Please do your share to help the victims by going to the following websites:

Catholic Relief Services - the official humanitarian arm of the U.S. Catholic community
Caritas Manila - the lead Catholic agency for social services and development in the Archdiocese of Manila

For Filipinos living in the Philippines you can visit this official website for a database of relief centers for donations/volunteers:

Ondoy Manila - http://sites.google.com/site/ondoymanila/

Vatican II, Bugnini and the Catholic Faith

I just received an Inside The Vatican email from Dr. Robert Moynihan. He was reminiscing about his last meeting with the late Cardinal Edouard Gagnon. Cardinal Gagnon was for many years the President of the Holy See's Pontifical council for the Family and he was given a task during the reign of Pope Paul VI of investigating the Society of St. Pius X. Here is the text:

A Dying Cardinal

The Pope flew to northern Italy on Monday for his summer vacation. Two years ago, I flew to Montreal to visit Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, who was on his death-bed. I spoke to him one month before he died

By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome

================================

Sometimes, a story unfolds in an hour.

Sometimes, it takes 30 or 40 years.

Sometimes, it never unfolds at all. It remains a secret forever.

================================

I've had some interesting days since my last "newsflash" three days ago, but the people I've spoken to have asked for anonymity. I have to honor that, much as I believe the words of Jesus: "The truth shall set you free."

================================

One thing I can say is that the battles around this Pope are intense, and they range in importance from fundamental issues, on the one hand, to superficial ones, on the other. I'll explain in more detail in coming dispatches, God willing...

But I think it important things to keep in mind, in coming days, these points, no matter what happens:

1) the sacraments (mysteries) of the Church are channels of grace providing direct contact with the Risen Lord of History, Jesus Christ; therefore, other mystical experiences and events, no matter how seemingly beneficial or grace-filled, are of relatively little importance in comparison to these sacraments

2) the Bishop of Rome — the current Pope or any Pope, any successor of Peter — is capable, as are all human beings, of erring in prudential matters, but is guided and protected by a special and infallible charism when he defines faith and morals ex cathedra.

============================

I was a friend of the late Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, who died two years ago at the age of 89 (his dates were January 15, 1918 to August 25, 2007) (photo).

A Canadian who was for many years the President of the Holy See's Pontifical Council for the Family, Gagnon was known in Rome for his full support of the prohibition of artificial contraception in Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. (Note: The demographic collapse of the West is often attributed, in Rome, to the rejection by the West of the teaching of Pope Paul VI in that encyclical. Inotherwords, the social, cultural and historical, as well as moral and spiritual, consequences of the rejection of that encyclical have been profound.)

He died on August 25, 2007 in Montreal at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary.

On hearing of his death, Pope Benedict XVI said that Cardinal Gagnon was a "faithful pastor who, with an evangelical spirit, consecrated his life in service to Christ and his Church."

It is widely known in Rome that Gagnon went on a special mission for Pope John Paul II in the late 1980s to investigate the Society of St. Pius X, found by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (photo), in the hope of finding a way to avoid a schism, and that his mission failed.

It is now generally forgotten that Pope Paul VI gave Gagnon a different mission 10 years earlier, in the late 1970s in Rome.

==================

The following is drawn from an interesting 2007 article by Msgr. Vincent Foy, the oldest diocesan priest in the Archdiocese of Toronto, a canon lawyer by training.

"About 1977 the Pope (Paul VI) asked Bishop Gagnon to conduct an investigation of the whole Roman Curia. There were widespread rumors of corruption and infiltration by enemies of the Church. These led to the often-repeated saying of the Pope that the smoke of Satan had entered the Church [my emphasis]. This was an immense task, which took many months of intense work and many interviews.

"Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, in a (2001) interview with Latin Mass magazine, reprinted in Christian Order this year (2007), gives this account, based on a conversation of Bishop Gagnon with an Italian priest, Don Luigi Villa of the diocese of Brescia.

"Bishop Gagnon (she said) 'compiled a long dossier, rich in worrisome details. He requested an audience with Pope Paul in order to deliver personally the manuscript to the Pontiff. This request for a meeting was denied. The Pope sent word that the document should be placed in the offices of the Congregation for the Clergy, specifically in a safe with a double lock. This was done, but by the very next day the safety box was broken and the manuscript mysteriously disappeared. This theft was reported even in L’Osservatore Romano (perhaps under pressure because it had been reported in the secular press). Cardinal Gagnon, of course, had a copy, and once again asked the Pope for a private audience. Once again his request was denied. He then decided to leave Rome and return to his homeland in Canada'... (end of Hildebrand quote)

(still Foy writing) "Bishop Gagnon wrote me on June 10th, 1979, about ten months after the election of Pope John Paul II (October 1978). He said, in part, 'He (the Pope) must feel that if he started changing or contradicting the VIPs around him he would be engaged in a constant battle and would not be left enough time or strength to preach and write — all you can do for the Church is to pray and fast. We should not judge him — but I am waiting for his settling down after Poland to tell him that I am sorry for him and cannot continue working in the present set-up..."

(For a full report on this matter, see: http://catholicinsight.com/online/features/article_764.shtml)

=====================================

Having known Cardinal Gagnon, and having read these accounts of his work in the 1970s and 1980s, I was always hopeful of conducting a long interview with him. However, the opportunity did not present itself, and in the summer of 2007, I learned that the cardinal was dying. I therefore decided to buy an airplane ticket and travel to Montreal to pay my last respects to him before his passing. This is what happened...

=======================================

Two years ago, on July 22, 2007, I wrote this report to myself; it has never previously been published:

"I am writing this at 11:06 on Sunday morning in Montreal. It is a perfect summer day under an azure sky with a light breeze blowing over the square cobblestones of the piazza in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady -- Notre Dame -- in the center of Montreal.
"I first thought I would not be able to get in to see the cardinal. The courtyard was empty, a sign said the rectory was closed on Sundays, when I looked in there was no one inside, and there was no white bell. So I walked around the basilica, then inside it, spoke with an usher, and he told me I could go back to the sacristy. There, I met a priest, who told me to go back to the same door of the rectory at 116 rue de Notre-Dame. I went back, and pushed the asterisk number. No answer. Again. No answer. Then I saw a man sitting inside at the desk. He had not been there before. I knocked on the window. He buzzed and the door opened and let me in. (The following conversation then occurred.)

==============================

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"I am an old friend of Cardinal Gagnon. I would like to see him."

"He is very weak, too weak to see anyone."

"I called some days ago, they said I could see him briefly."

"Come, we will go and ask."

I walked behind him into the hallway of the rectory. "Wait here," he said. I waited in a waiting room. There was a Documentation Catholique on the table about the Pope's trip to Brazil.

The priest came back. "He is too weak. He does not wish to see anyone."

"But I have come so far."

"No, I'm sorry," he said. "He is too tired."

I pulled out a copy of my magazine. "Take this and ask him one last time." Reluctantly, he took the magazine, turned and went back down the hall.

Another minutes passed as I waited alone in the reading room. Then, his voice: "Robert? (pause) Robert?" I went to the door and looked down the dark hall. He was standing up on top of four stairs at the end of the hallway. He motioned to me. "Come. He will see you. But only for you to say goodbye to him, nothing more. You can only stay for a moment."

I walked down the hallway and into the room. Light was coming into the livingroom, and off to the left was a door leading in to a less bright bedroom. There, on a hospital bed with intravenous tubes set into his arms on each side, lay a very old, pale man. Two oxygen tubes entered his nostrils. It was Cardinal Gagnon.

"Your Eminence," I said. "I have come to say good-bye to you."

His eyes recognized me. "You are doing good work," he said. "I read your magazine."

"How are you feeling?"

"Very tired," he said.

"I wanted to thank you for everything you have done, the work you have done for the Church."

He barely acknowledged my words.

The priest stood in the doorway of the room. "Come away now, let him rest," he said. "Don't tire him any further."

I reached out my hand and took his hand.

"Your eminence, many years ago, you helped me. I wanted to thank you for that. You helped me at the very start of my career..."

"You have written well," he said. "Continue. Your work is important."

The other priest was insistent now. "Come," he said. "It is time."

"Your Eminence," I said, "you have done so much for the Church...."

He was silent, and his eyes closed.

"Your Eminence, you must be tired. All the struggles over the years..."

Silence.

"Robert, it is time to go," said the priest who had brought me to him.

"Your Eminence, the study you made for Pope Paul VI in the 1970s..."

He opened his eyes and looked directly into mine.

"The study that was stolen," I said.

He knew what I was talking about, I feel sure. He knew immediately and clearly.

"Did you keep any copy of the document?"

"No," he said, and I felt a great weariness in him. "They ordered me to destroy every copy," he said. "And I obeyed."

"So there are no copies of your report?"

"No," he said. He closed his eyes. He seemed enormously, extraordinarily tired. I felt like I was almost cruel, to continue to push him to think, to recall, to speak...

The other priest called to me again. "Robert," he said. "Don't ask him anything else. It is enough now."

But I had one more question.

"Is there anyone else you confided in, who knows the content of your report?"

"There is someone," he said, with a sigh, and closed his eyes as if he were going to fall into a slumber out of his great weariness.

"Who?" I asked.

"Monsignor..." and he coughed as he said the name, and a little spittle came out onto his thin, dry lips...

"Who?" I asked again. "I couldn't hear what you said..."

I bent my head closer to his lips. I put my ears only an inch or two from his mouth.

"Monsignor (name)," he said, and whispered the name. "He helped me prepare the report."

"Monsignor (name)?" I said, repeating the name.

"Yes," Gagnon said.

"Monsignor (first name) (last name)?" I said, giving both his first and last names.

"Yes," said Gagnon. "We worked together on it. He knows everything that it contained."

My heart skipped a beat. I had not obtained the report itself. But I had gotten something almost as good: a living witness...

"Go talk to him," Gagnon said. "As you see, my time remaining in this world will be brief now... You must pray for me."

"I will pray for you," I said.

"The other priest said, 'Come, come, he is too tired now..."

"Will you give me your blessing?" I asked Gagnon.

He lifted his thin, white, bony hand, where there was a long red splotch underneath the skin due to a hemorrage from an intravenous needle.

"Benedicat te omnipotens Deus, Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus." ("May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.")

He moved his hand about an inch and a half, trembling, in the sign of the cross.

He closed his eyes. He was simply too tired to keep them open.

The priest tugged on my arm, and gestured with his eyes towards the door.

I left Gagnon's side and walked out of the bedroom, out of the livingroom, out into the green hallway, down the steps and out to the front door.

"You were lucky," the priest said to me. "You shouldn't have been able to see him today. I am never here on Sunday mornings. I don't know why I came down. And if I hadn't come down, no one would have been here to let you in."

"Thanks for helping," I said.

"You were very lucky," he repeated.

And he let me out the door, and it closed behind me.

Who is behind your news?

News giants like CNN and the BBC have definitely changed the news cycle. Back in my day, the newspaper was the main source of what's happening and if you want to know the prevailing opinion regarding certain issues. There were only two cycles then, the morning and the evening edition. Now it has become a 24 hour cycle. At home, I watch CNN and during the day the news comes from Asia and later in the afternoon, from Europe, Africa and the Middle East and at night time, the Americas, (US, Mexico, South America). Obviously if you're a news junkie you wouldn't have enough sleep with all the information that keeps popping up every second. Now more people are turning to online news websites and blogs and twitter to keep updated.

With these developments come concern about the influence the media plays in all our affairs and how the major shift from reading the morning paper to live breaking news every hour is changing some habits in how people use that information.

Last week, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput gave a talk to Legatus, an organization of Catholic business leaders and he talked about "Catholics, and The Fourth Estate." The term 'fourth estate' was coined during revolutionary times in France where the three main pillars of society were the clergy, the nobles and the common people. They were referred to as the 'three estates' of French society. The 'fourth estate' refers to the press. Thus the talk centers around the power of the written word and the need of Catholics everywhere to understand how the media works and how they work on us.

Here in the Philippines, the media enjoys a lot of freedom and wields a tremendous influence in our society. It has the power to effect change and the power to shape public opinion. The Archbishop, though he refers mainly to mainstream media in the US, the whole sense of his talk also applies everywhere the media has a powerful influence. He explained, "Most of what we know about the world comes from people we'll never meet and don't really understand, We don't even think of them as individuals. Instead we usually talk about them in the collective -- as 'the media' or 'the press.'

"Yet behind every Los Angeles Times editorial or Fox News broadcast are human beings with personal opinions and prejudices. These people select and frame the news. And when we read their newspaper articles or tune in their TV shows, we engage them in a kind of intellectual intimacy in the same way you're listening to me right now."

He also observed and this really surprised me, that most of us usually do not know the people writing the editorial to a newspaper and those who produce tonight's news broadcast and that is is worth talking about because 'the people who shape our information control the public conversation.'

When I was a Mass Communication student my professor defined news as, 'anything the editor thinks is news.' Now, I am beginning to understand what that means because today I am noticing that most of the people's opinions almost always comes from what they read in the paper or what they watched on TV. Gone are the days of reading the newspaper in the morning. Now, one has only to open a browser and read the news there or perhaps watch a video stream of a news report that was posted a few minutes earlier. There is a huge difference between the old and the new. The Archbishop in his astute observation said that during the book and newspaper days, there was a lot of time devoted to critical thinking and analyzing. Now everything is kept short, brief and sensational and this he says is dangerous.

The Archbishop has really made a lot of good points on this so I encourage you to read the article here to read more of his thoughts during that talk.

The Stoning of Soraya M.

I just watched Steve McEveety being interviewed by Raymond Arroyo on The World Over this morning. They were discussing about a movie he produced that is receiving a lot of positive reviews. It is entitled, "The Stoning of Soraya M.," and it is about a woman named Zahra who talks to a journalist about the heart-rending tale of her niece, Soraya and the cruel circumstances surrounding her death the day before. Soraya, the condemned woman, was innocent of the charges of adultery brought against her by her husband to get rid of her so he could marry a 14 year old girl.

It is a very powerful movie that tackles the precarious situation of women in the muslim world, the abuse of authority, the misuse of religion and the lack of respect for human rights. The movie was 2nd runner-up to Slumdog Millionaire in last year's Toronto International Film Festival and will open in select theatres on June 26.

The film is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh and stars Shohreh Aghdashloo (Zahra), Mozhan Marno (Soraya), Navid Negahban (Ali), David Diaan (Ebrahim), Parviz Sayyad (Hashem) and Jim Caviezel (Freidoune Sahebjam).

I really hope I could watch this film at least on DVD.

Secularization of the Church

In a homily during the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Pope said that, "Today there arises the risk of a serpentine secularization even within the Church, which can convert into a formal and empty Eucharistic worship, in celebrations lacking this participation from the heart that is expressed in veneration and respect for the liturgy."

How very true. Catholics all over have no idea of what the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is. There are those who think that it is not at all that different with the services of the other sects. In our church, it is quite fortunate for me to belong to the choir because if I end up sitting at the back during Holy Mass, I would not be able to hear the Priest because of the cacophony of noises from people who lack reverence for Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

I sometimes wonder if Our Lord is really there in the Blessed Sacrament? The majority of those who hear Mass seem to believe that He is not there because of the way they dress, and the way they behave.

I think what we need here is for Priests and laity to take the helm and educate the faithful on the tenets of our faith. I have heard a lot of stories of Catholics leaving the church for all the wrong reasons. If there is a strong emphasis on catechesis in all our parishes then it is only a matter of time before our glorious faith is restored and Catholics sticking to the Magisterium.

Mass Material!

Most folks have no idea at all. We are MASS MATERIAL! Yup. If you heard us sing at wedding ceremonies then common sense will definitely tell you that we also sing at Liturgical Celebrations.

We are accepting requests to sing for Holy Mass at:

- Chapels or Churches that don't have an established choral community
- Mass for the Dead
- Schools/Offices/Companies (Thanksgiving Masses)
- Malls / Department Stores (weekdays only)
- Feast Days

Of course, our rates as always are at an all-time low for these services. For more rates and inquiries please visit our website today.

Catholic Answers Faith Stimulus

Visit the Shop Free Catalog Sale Items In these uncertain times, Catholic Answers wants to help you grow in your faith. Everyday the political and economic climate is changing. It can be difficult to stay focused on what's really important with so much going on around you. As a Christian, you know the most important thing is the practice and cultivation of your faith. Catholic Answers has always been committed to helping others understand and practice their faith. We recognize that these economic times make it difficult to obtain the proper materials necessary to continue learning and understanding the Faith. We'd like to help you as our loyal customer by making it easier for you to purchase our great Catholic products. So for a limited time we are offering 10-40% off many of our most popular products by Catholic Answers speakers and writers Tim Staples, Jason Evert, Jimmy Akin, Mark Shea, and others. Visit our new online shop today and take advantage of these great discounts.

Catholic Answers Lenten Special

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Visit the Shop Free Catalog New Titles Special Lenten Offer from Catholic Answers! Do you dread this time of year? Do you wish that you could make it a more grace-filled period? A time of cleansing and strengthening of your relationship with God, as opposed to just a chore—a period to be endured? Catholic Answers has two products to help you make this Lenten season count. Spirituality for Beginners: On Retreat with Fr. Benedict Groeschel and A Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience by Fr. Richard Rego are great resources to help bring you closer to God this Lenten season. SPECIAL OFFER! For a limited time, purchase Spirituality for Beginners: On Retreat with Fr. Benedict Groeschel for the special price of $29.95 and get the booklet A Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience FREE. Purchase now Are you ready to begin making real progress in your walk with Christ? Do you want to live your life more fully in-tune with God's will? Would you like to experience the inner peace and true joy that only comes from union with God? In light of a resounding yes, Fr. Groeschel's Spirituality for Beginners is for you. Spirituality for Beginners is a terrific guide for your spiritual journey through the three stages of the interior life—the purgative (beginning) stage, the illuminative (progress) stage, and the unitive (perfect) stage. It's a journey every Catholic must take—yet most Catholics are sadly unaware of it, and thus remain mired in the purgative stage their entire lives! In this four-CD series, Fr. Groeschel will help you discover which stage you're in now and show you how to make steady progress toward the next stage. Perhaps best of all, he'll help you turn those inevitable dry spells, hard times, and "dark nights" into tremendous opportunities for spiritual growth. In the second part of this Lenten offer, A Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience, Fr. Rego makes the observation that we, as a society, have lost the sense of sin, based solely—or at least in part—on the presumption that nearly everyone goes to heaven. The reality, however, is that sin is still very much present. We need the sacrament of penance, perhaps now more than ever. But lest he leave his readers discouraged and depressed, Fr. Rego offers a way to overcome the bind that sin has on us. We do this through the sacrament of reconciliation. And in his book, Fr. Rego gives his readers the tools to make the most reverent and complete confession possible. If you want to dramatically advance in your spiritual life this Lent, purchase these two powerful materials now! You'll be glad you did once you see the impact and improvement on your life. You'll soon be a compelling witness to those around you. Act now and get Spirituality for Beginners for the special price of $29.95 and receive A Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience FREE. Purchase now More on These Fine Products Spirituality for Beginners audio series by Fr. Benedict Groeschel: When you listen to the CD's and immerse yourself in the personal retreat of Spirituality for Beginners, you'll be both humbled and moved by Fr. Groeschel's wisdom. And, as you begin to put his ideas into practice, you'll soon notice real changes in your spiritual life: a renewed and more inspired prayer life, a stronger faith in God, deeper contrition for your sins, more progress in avoiding sin, a sense of inner peace and growing faith, and a closeness to God like you've never experienced before. And, while no one can claim that walking with God is easy, Fr. Groeschel certainly helps make it easier, no matter how rough your road has been so far. Here are some of the things you'll discover in these inspiring talks: What it means to live a truly Christian life—there's more to it than most Catholics know What to do when you can't forgive someone who has hurt you How to tell if you are making progress through the three stages Why trusting God is so difficult—and how to make it easier How to find God in the details of your life Why mystery is a fabulous ally—not something to be deciphered or solved—and the heavy price you pay when you lose your sense of mystery How the parables of Jesus refute the idea that salvation can ever be assured The hidden danger of using logic to prove your faith or to interpret Scripture—what you lose in the process Bonus: Fr. Groeschel prays the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament during a Holy Hour; plus, meditations on Scripture and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas And much, much more! It won't be long before you find yourself making steady progress on your spiritual journey—regardless of the frustrations you've experienced in the past. The journey itself is full of peril and opportunity. But with Fr. Groeschel's guidance, and the help of the Holy Spirit, you'll soon be making your way to the place God wants you to be. Spirituality for Beginners is an inspiring program that's indispensable for true spiritual growth. In his booklet, A Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience, Fr. Richard Rego uses the knowledge he has acquired from thorough study on the teachings of the Catholic Church to explain what the Church considers sinful behavior, and consequently which behaviors must be confessed. Fr. Rego begins by defining venial and mortal sins and discusses how best to confess both types of sin. He then takes you on a step-by-step examination of conscience and explains the elements necessary for a worthy confession. The examination of conscience is incredibly thorough, including everything from sins against God and faith, to sins against ourselves and others. And with each overall topic, Fr. Rego breaks it down into even more specific subheads. Here are just a few of the topics he covers: Sins of disobedience Sins against human life Sins of racism Sins against chastity And many more This easy-to-read booklet is the first step in growing closer to Christ. Fr. Rego gives you all the tools necessary to unbind yourself from sin and strengthen your relationship with God. Act now and make this a Lenten season to remember! SPECIAL OFFER: For a limited time, purchase Spirituality for Beginners: On Retreat with Fr. Benedict Groeschel for the special price of $29.95 and get the booklet A Contemporary Adult Guide to Conscience FREE. Purchase now Shipping applied at purchase. New Online Shop Now Open Catholic Answers has upgraded its ecommerce platform and completely redesigned its online shop. The new shop boasts a fresh, contemporary design, easy navigation and checkout process, refined search, state-of-the art security for safe online shopping, easy navigation to other Catholic Answers websites, and much more.... If you haven't been to the online shop lately we invite you to come take a look. As always you can trust the products at Catholic Answers...if you are not familiar with an author or product there is no need to worry. All of our products have been reveiwed by our apologetics staff. You can be assured that all the materials we carry and promote are faithful to the magesterium of the Church.

EDSA: Catalyst for Change?

I vaguely recall the events that led to the EDSA People Power Revolution. It was 1986 and I was eight years old. Honestly, I was not fully aware of what was happening during that time. I was too young to understand what went into the minds of grownups. As a child, I strongly believed that grownups should solve their own problems and leave us kids alone.

Shortly after EDSA, my mother, myself and together with my siblings went to Saudi Arabia where my father worked to spend our summer vacation there. It was my first trip spoke, dressed (and smelled) differently, where essential freedoms (freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.) were curtailed and where Islam is the state religion. It was there that I felt the impact of EDSA. Suddenly, our OFW's gained a lot of respect wherever they are. It was truly a glorious time for Filipinos everywhere. I personally experienced it one time when my mother asked me to buy some chocolates at the local commissary. They don't have 'sari-sari stores' in Saudi Arabia and since we live in an area where workers in a nearby oil company are housed what they have there is a commissary which is a huge grocery store and boy do they have chocolates! I walked there only to find the store vacant. An arab gentleman saw me and recognized that I was a Filipino because I was the only soul there who did not realize that it was time for noon prayers (Salatu-z-Zuhr). He warmly welcomed me inside and he even gave me a bunch of chocolates for free!

Growing up I have learned the history and a little background on what went on during EDSA. With every passing year I have always relished the hope that somehow things would change.

23 years have passed after the day when the people united in a common goal to rid the country of dictatorship and corruption and restore true democracy. Today, our country is well placed within the top 5 of the world's most corrupt governments and we really do not have a true democracy. Social injustice is still the norm and immorality is an everyday indiscriminate consumption for the masses.

It seems that we have not learned anything at all. However, let me offer you an interesting insight. I have thought about EDSA as particularly unique in that it is not really a revolution which involves drastic change by destroying the present setup and building a new one. It is also a movement that was sparked by the Catholic Church. In the frontlines you would see nuns and priests 'kapit-bisig' driving off tanks and winning the soldiers' loyalty.

I also noticed that the famous statue of the Blessed Mother that was paraded was none other than the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. This alone is really significant because Fatima is a call to prayer, repentance and total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

I think what Our Lady is presenting to the Filipino people during that time was an opportunity not to topple the government of Ferdinand Marcos and institute social change. But Our Lady was inviting us Filipinos to a sincere repentance of our sins and to personally consecrate ourselves, our lives, our businesses, our government and indeed our whole nation to Her Most Immaculate Heart.

The lesson of EDSA is this: Spiritual renewal through sincere repentance and a firm intention to follow God's will well as a government that promotes these ideals fervently coupled with true Catholic social action is key to a strong nation and that is the only way my friend.