The Unbroken Reverie

We went to St. Dominic Savio Parish for the tutorial and feeding program for the poor children in the community of Mandaluyong city as a part of our class's community development program. It was a great experience for me for I was able to gain knowledge about some social and economical issues we have today. We did some crafts with the kids, we talked with them, played, laughed and many more.

Those kids in the feeding program are actually there because they are malnourished. They lack nutrients because they are poor and their parents cannot sustain them. I asked one of the kids I was handling about his daily allowance in school. He said he only gets five pesos each day. What nutrition can you get from that small money? One of them told me before we left the parish, “Kuya, buti nalang sayo ako napunta. Salamat. Balik ka ah. Sayo ulit ako.” That was so powerful. He was really grateful that we came to the parish that day. It was so rewarding to see the instant benefit of giving them food to eat and their nice response.

July 18-19:
We had a two-day recollection at Yahweh Villa in Laguna, for the intentions of paying closer attention to God’s presence, evaluating ourselves, learning, nurturing solidarity and togetherness among us, and completing our CLE requirements (yes!). We had lots of fun, peaceful moments, rest, sing-along, swimming, and spiritual activities. The foods were great, the dormitories were big, the restrooms and shower rooms were clean, and the furnishing of the entire house was cool.

Our most memorable experience, as a class, in our recollection this year would be the sharing session, with lots of emotive and pitiful stories similar to what we usually screen on Teleseryes. In that activity, we were free to express anything that we wish to tell someone and share it to our classmates. It was such a relief for all of us that we got to be ourselves and free our sentiments that we had been keeping for a long time.

I really enjoyed our recollection. It was an unforgettable experience for me. I got to know my classmates better and I learned to appreciate them more. I have grown up a lot because of this and I am very thankful for this experience.

Freedom:
Our main topic during the recollection was “Freedom”. Philosophers divide ‘Freedom’ into two, ‘freedom from’ (inner freedom/freedom of thought) and ‘freedom to’ (outer freedom/freedom of action). Achieving ‘freedom from’ depends on yourself, on how you accept things, on how you look at the world. ‘Freedom to’ happens when you have already attained inner peace because it is what makes you decide and do something. When you have peace of mind you know that what you are doing is right, then, you have inner freedom; when there is no obstacle that hindrances you to do what you would like to do; you have outer freedom. As Christians, we also consider ‘freedom for’. Giving others freedom, liberating our brothers and sisters from slavery, setting their thoughts free, and allowing them to live their own lives. Those types of freedom are integral to one another, and true freedom can only be attained when they are united.

Freedom is a gift given to us by God, but because of this freedom we often do things so badly. We make mistakes because of this. We commit sin. We suffer from evil. We ask ourselves, why has God given us freedom if it causes affliction and death? God has given us freedom because He loves us. Yes, He could have made us puppets, given us a finished world, counted our kisses, regulated our embraces and controlled our friendships. But if God has made it so, would we be happy? He created us free to shape our own lives. He made us responsible in building up this world. He blessed us richly with the freedom to love. But then, we become fed-up with this gift. We abuse it. We take the freedom of others, make them our slaves and make ourselves their masters. We become victims of slavery through sin. We never realize that the more we choose what is true and good, the freer we become.