Prayer power at 24

(first published on Sunday, 21 February 2010 in the Faith section of Cebu Daily News)

We will begin celebrating the 24th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution of February 22-25, 1986 tomorrow. As we celebrate, we must not forget that the EDSA event was more than just a political milestone, historical watershed, or fluke of romantic populism. EDSA was and is a spiritual reality.

EDSA had many principals. Vote tabulators abandoned their posts when it became evident that the snap poll results were tampered with to orchestrate a Marcos victory over Corazon “Cory” Aquino. Troops followed Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos in their rebellion against the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. The historically fragmented political opposition, united but newly under Cory, demonstrated an amazing oneness behind her.

Members of the shackled press used alternative media or reported from hidden locations to counter the government’s spin-doctoring and report the news truthfully. The Catholic hierarchy led by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, then-president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines courageously convicted the government of moral illegitimacy for its rape of the elections. Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, through Radio Veritas, called on the people to protect the military men opposed to the dictator.

But EDSA would not have ended on a peaceful note without prayer.

Nuns in contemplative communities across the country knelt in their cloisters and chapels to ask God for the peace of those four days. At EDSA, priests and seminarians were among the first to place themselves between rebel and loyalist soldiers. The nuns of Carmel of the Holy Child protected Aquino in their monastery with prayer and emotional support. At EDSA, there were more rosaries and crucifixes and images of the Blessed Virgin Mary raised in peaceful protest, and prayers offered, than there were, if there were, placards or streamers of angry revolt.

When I was younger, I frequently came across newspaper articles and heard and watched broadcasts that referred to EDSA as not just the People Power but also the Prayer Power Revolution. Such an appreciation of the revolution should not be forgotten.

The revolution, a collective action, was embodied by Cory, a woman of faith and prayer, and her husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Jr. Come to think of it, our peaceful return to democracy is easily God’s reward to Aquino and her husband who together for the nation were conjugal intercessors (one in this world, the other in the next), in contrast to Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos who were conjugal tyrants.

The prayerfulness of Ninoy, who led the opposition to Marcos’ misrule long before EDSA, and whose martyrdom in 1983 quickened the movement to EDSA, is not so well-publicized. But I remember an interview in which Cory shared how Ninoy prayed the Holy Rosary as much as 50 times daily in the cells where the dictator had him confined for more than seven years. Suffering converted the political star into a contemplative luminary.

Apart from acts and words of prayer, many of which Cory have written down, contemplation also bears fruit in poetry. Poetry was an expression of Ninoy’s poetry. He once wrote, in a plea for his mission of peace to be taken up by others, these lines:

“I am burning the candle of my life

in the dark with no one to benefit

from its light,

The candle slowly melts away

soon its wick will be burned out,

and the light is gone!

If someone will only gather

the melted wax, reshape it,

give it a new wick

for another fleeting moment

my candle can once again

light the dark

be of service

one more time

and then

Good-bye.”

Cory on the other hand had much time to write down her prayers. She remained prayerful long after EDSA. Can we say that of our leaders and of our people as a whole? That is something to think of in the days to come. In the meantime, let us ponder the words of one of Cory’s prayers:

“Almighty God, Our Father

Come, come to my aid

And put my enemies in dread of You.

Have pity on me, O Lord

And relieve the troubles of my heart.

My words no longer matter

For ears that can hear

No longer want to hear.

My deeds seem worthless

For eyes that can see

No longer want to see.

You alone are my hope, Most merciful God

To You alone I surrender my soul.

I know that You will hearken to the sound of my prayer

For great has been Your kindness to me

In times of suffering and distress.

Teach me to humbly wait

And to be constant in my prayers.

Let me praise Your Holy Name

From the rising to the setting of the sun

Proclaiming Your Goodness before

Your faithful ones.

Thanks be to God, forever and ever.

Amen.”