A Saint's Prayer

I look from heaven and I weep

I see so much suffering and grief

Water that brings life
Rain that must feed the land
Took lives that are yet to bloom

I stand my ground and hold my heart
Pray to the Lord that He help me
To shine hope into the lives
Of those who are left behind
And once again renew their faith

In my life I faced countless risks
So short it must have been
I often wondered how it would have been
If I lived beyond
My short-lived seventeen years

Could I have reached more disbelievers
Or would I have lost my way?
Did he ask me to come home
Because it was enough, what I had done?
Was my mission really complete?

I hear the rant of those who claim
That prayers and miracles are untrue
I look at their moral virtue
Their bible wielding and anger
I shake my head and want to scream

From the clouds from which my feet barely touches
I wanted to go back home and tell them
One by one, each in a dream or awake
To tell them a message I have always known
"Faith is faith, love is love, act upon it."

If you have time to judge the man
Whose robes are different from yours
Whose prayers sound unusual or alien
Then you have time to ask him
"What do you ask for in your prayers?"

They would be surprised to hear
That they too ask for peace
That they too ask for a better tomorrow
That they too ask for love
That they too ask for forgiveness

That they too thank Him
For the love He has given
For the lives that He saved
For the challenges that made them stronger
And for the faith that they found once more

Speak to me or whisper
And I will tell Him what you said
Ours would be a conversation between friends
Comrades of the same army
Both soldiers of His Faith

Surely He can hear you
As He heard me then
He knows of your sufferings
He knows He made you to endure so much
And that your reward is to be here with me

In the halls that never tarnish
In the carpet of clouds and light
Where none suffer or grief
I will welcome them when they come
Those ill-fated children

Pedro Calungsod

I hate it when people talk about religion and they bash on each other. There is a specific reason why I don't talk about religion with my friends. I am a Catholic by birth and I know the dogma and truths behind my own religion. But I would never bash someone for being a Baptist or being an Iglesia Ni Kristo follower. I would never demand that a person read the bible or tell them they are Pagans. 

Religion is just religion. Faith is faith. I know mine is in the right place. I don't have to take attendance to make it strong. I know that I am thankful for all the blessings that I have in my life. I know that God would never let me take on more than I can bear. 

If anything bad happens, I know that I would be strong enough to keep to the values my mother and father had taught me. But I know that I can ask for forgiveness and do something to make it up to them and my God. Because mine isn't a teacher who takes attendance but a constant mentor to love others and to be true to who I am.