Monday, June 4, 2007

THE UNLEAVENED BREAD (part 1)

Once in the past I was brought to East Avenue Medical Center because of a severe internal allergy after eating crab. For more than a day I had diarrhea and vomiting and can't breath well because of the allergy. The hospital refused to allow me in not because of money that I have to give as a deposit but because they claimed they had no water at that time. So I went around Quezon City to look for one.

Some of our country's hospital also lack funds probably and cannot accommodate more patients. My sister, a medical technologist, used to work at the Rizal Medical Center and whenever I pick her up during her midnight shift I usually see patients in beds right in the hospital corridors. That's how crowded these hospitals for the poor are. But I heard that there are some hospitals that won't allow patients in because a deposit is needed or because some of the rooms are being reserved to some doctors for their own use if they have patients coming.

Let's admit it that not only in the law profession that fraternities have their tentacles working but also in medical profession. Would you believe that frats in med schools also have bloody rumbles? I hope there's no more nowadays. I lambasted some of them in the past ( my very own frat bothers during our anniversary) why they allow this culture of violence (between frats in or in other med schools) when in fact they are trained to protect lives. It's the same in the law profession wherein students are trained to uphold the rule of law yet fratmen go around the law!

So, could this mindset and culture be responsible for the policy of not allowing people in distress if they have no money to deposit...or to bar other professionals' promotion if they do not belong to the frat in power? Besides, some of the patients coming are victims of frat wars. They have no worries probably because they have doctor brods, lawyer brods and belong to the rich and could easily be accommodated. That's maybe the reason why fratwars continue., yet these victims of stupidity compete with patients in need of real help!

Professionals should examine too their priorities...either to help the poor or make money.

One kindhearted doctor I know very well in East Ave. Medical Center allowed his patient to be operated without demanding a deposit (for that expensive operation) only to find out later that the poor guy has no money at all. So the doctor and his spiritual sister facilitated an application for a funding from PCSO just to help the patient and his mom.

A person's attitude reflects his/her spirituality. This is true too with fratmen who claim they believe in God yet are ready to hurt or kill their rivals. I believe that religion cannot save us and Darwin is wrong about man's evolution. But I believe in spiritual evolution which starts from ignorance and moves on to progress into spiritual enlightenment. That's what we need to achieve so that there will be no fights and no hospitals that won't allow patients in or no candidates who will buy people's votes!

With religious images landing in the homes of the wealthy as expensive relics and pieces of art collection they cannot serve anymore as books to the ignorant because people are nowadays more well-informed thanks to media and the age of information. The materially wealthy has no power to monopolize heaven and they need to look beyond their high walls to see the needy, of whose kind Lord Jesus Christ belong after he was born in a lowly manger.

People should understand the message of Lord Jesus Christ well that they cannot love God the Father Almighty that they cannot see if they cannot love their neighbor that they can see.

Come to think of it, are the winners of this year's election happy about their victory and can sleep well at the thought that nobody bought people's votes in their name?

As an analogy, Mother Theresa claimed that it was the voice of God the Father Almighty that commanded her to leave that comfortable convent to let herself be available to the needy in the streets because in the poor homeless beggars she sees Lord Jesus Christ in need of love and care ("if you do this to the least of my brethren you do this to me"). Therefore, if a candidate wanting to "serve" the people wants to win he has to buy people's votes, especially the poor who welcomes dole outs because they are poor (just like what Randy David realized). This means he is buying the vote of and exploiting the Son of Man, the very person he/she wants to "serve"!

Everytime someone in the family dies and we go through all the hardships of sending them to the hospital while they were still alive but sick it is always money that remains the pain in the neck. We have successfully solved those monetary problems thanks to our God the Father Almighty, only to find out that the problems do not end in the hospital. Even dying is a problem and even going to heaven is another problem if you have no money!

To satisfy people's eyes and one's pride lavish funerals are available to the rich. But how about the poor? This is good business for funeral homes who see the need to compete with their rivals and convince their clients for what is even better as if these things could surely send off love ones to heaven.

Lastly the mass. One mass cost an equivalent to a meal in Jollibee I guess for those beggars outside. How many masses are needed as a sure ticket to heaven? Why not pray sincerely ourselves for our love ones in the silence of our rooms... or together with them? Why pray for them when they're already dead but don't give a damn about their spiritual enlightenment while they are still alive to make sure they go to heaven?!!!

As an experience, my prayers were answered one by one. It happened to me in the past that I got a big project and so I got big money in my account. I and my wife excitedly planned for a trip abroad only to realize this remained a dream.

My father had an accident. He was hit by a van and was hospitalized. He became inutile and for five years he went in and out of the hospital only to die eventually. Reflecting on what had happened, I was thankful to God the Father Almighty that He was able to control me, mind and heart, to accept what had happened and to recognize the fact that He sent me the much needed amount beforehand so that it will not be hard for us to face this ordeal. He gave me wisdom not to cling to money but to have stronger faith in Him instead, for He will provide for whoever loves, obeys and have faith in Him.

To the poor...and to the rich as well... a deeper understanding of why that bread during the last supper is unleavened will help in our understanding about spirituality. That's what the Philippines, my country, a Christian country, needs.