November 29, 2004, there was a flood in the towns of Gen. Nakar, Dingalan, Real and Infanta Quezon. Thousands died, many homes and livelihoods were destroyed. During the investigation, the floodwaters began in the mountains and forests with "illegal logging".
The Filipino people, made up of civic, religious, and NGOs, are quick to respond to the basic needs of disaster victims.
Kindness is natural to Filipinos. Faith can also be linked to the life of a Filipino who considers all 'fellowship'. Working together and trusting each other is common in families so "mutual", "bayanihan" is voluntary and quick to do. Such action is also faith. In the aftermath of the floods, "loving service to the needy compatriots is a concrete example of the practice of faith. heart responsiveness of the unfortunate also comes from God who loves his creatures.
Meanwhile, if we go back to what happened at EDSA I in February 1986, it can be considered a "miracle". People from various families, communities, religions and churches brought their feet to EDSA to participate in the goal of preventing the bloodshed and loss of life of the people. They have one thing in mind, stop the chaos, save the people from anarchy, keep the peace.
Jim Paredes' song of that year's APO HIKING SOCIETY is just right:
"Filipino Gift to the World"
Filipino gift to the world,
peaceful, way change.
Truth, freedom, justice
can be achieved without violence
As long as we all unite.
The song expresses united sentiments during the EDSA Revolution, rich, poor, priests, soldiers reconciled. As God's creatures, man was given the responsibility to be "guardian and ruler of the world and of all other creatures." (Gen. 27) Moral duty, not only to govern the world in which he lives but to use the things in it responsibly. As man progresses, his knowledge and ability increase so through this ability he is able to do destruction and destruction. Two negative traits of man can often motivate a person to do bad things: selfishness and hatred. It is unfortunate that because of greed, man no longer cares about the welfare of many and the harm that will be returned to man. When a person becomes selfish, it becomes an obstacle to his good relationship with others and with God. Anger is the way to separate people and the opposite of love which in turn unites people to unite.
Love, kindness, goodness are some of the attributes of the Holy Spirit that a person of faith possesses.
There are still some steps that can be taken to bring the believer to life: spiritual and corporal acts of mercy. Feeding the hungry, feeding the thirsty, dressing the naked, visiting the sick and prisoners, giving shelter to the homeless are just a few of the corporal acts of mercy. Meanwhile, the spiritual act of mercy includes: helping the sinner to repent, to advise the skeptic, to forgive, to pray for the living and the dead, to sympathize with the bereaved, to teach the ignorant, to be patient in correcting the wrongdoer.
"When all work is done out of love, we become the bearers of the love of God".