HOME FOR GOOD -- Here's where change happens.: Family Friends

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Family Friends

Last weekend, we had a couple of house guests from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City. Jong Pimentel and Ingrid Daba are former colleagues in the Campus Ministry Office. Jong is a veteran campus minister and is widely respected in the university. Ingrid is now the Campus Ministry Director (Congrats, Ing!). They are also among our daughters' godparents.
They come to Manila almost yearly in connection with their work. This time it was to attend a spirituality seminar sponsored by the Emmaus Center for Psycho-Spiritual Formation. It has become our custom to always invite them to stay at our house at least on their last day in the city.
We consider them two of our most precious friends. Although our circumstances have diverged, they were with us during a time when we were at a crossroads in our family life at which we struggled to discern how best to proceed.

We are so grateful to have been able to spend some time (short as it was) with them. Aside from being an opportunity to catch up with each other, their occasional visits are a time for us to remember what brought us together in the first place and how we have tried to be faithful to it throughout all the twists and turns of our lives.
Salamat, mga higala. Ug padayon.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: thank you for always opening your home to us. indeed, 'tis a privilege to have you as friends...congrats for raising such fine and smart kids; July 17, 2009 at 6:40 PM
marianoelle maulit said...: Thanks, Ing! you're one of the people who are always welcome at our home. Thanks and congrats, too, for becoming the first "homie"! :); July 17, 2009 at 9:23 PM

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Why We're Home For Good

Many believe humanity is on the decline and is taking the rest of the world down with it. Government, big business, and even religion are among those that get blamed for this. This is not the place to discuss whether or not that's fair. What we'd like to offer here are ways that we believe can make things a little better.
Albert Einstein, pondering how atomic power could be used for either the benefit or the detriment of the world, once said, "...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind."
We advocate enabling the family to rear more conscientious, reponsible and effective individuals. This is much more complicated than it sounds because there are economic, social and cultural factors that have diminished the family's capacity to do this, causing it to delegate its responsibility to school, church, government, mass media or chance.
There was a time when parents did not have to leave home to have livelihood. They were always on-hand to give their children not only moral guidance, but basic education, as well. (Actually, at the time, moral guidance was inseparable from basic education, unlike today.)
But then the Industrial Revolution happened. Parents then had to go off to the factory to work while children were sent to school to get educated. This caused a major upheaval in child-rearing practice which has become the norm today: Parents need to make a living so the children need to be cared for and brought up by someone else. In other words, the noun "parent" no longer means someone who parents. Isn't that ironic?
Fortunately, recent developments have made productivity at home possible again, allowing a growing number of parents to be more involved with their children. These and other related opportunities will be shared and discussed here.
We hope that through this forum, families can inspire, encourage and empower each other to devote ourselves more to making the world a better place -- in a way that only families can.