BY  LPJ

My Easter ’25 was unusual in many ways. Though to be expected, it was a glorious celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, following a somber, introspective season of Lent, the powerful reminder of God’s unconditional love depicted in the sacrifice and death of Jesus on the cross. The significance of Easter is the victory of Jesus’ resurrection, the son of God’s power over death. The sovereign Lord is alive.

Somehow, God gave me other gifts to be grateful for this Easter. Last year, I started a modest family charity in Naga City, Philippines, the place where I grew up and spent my youth. JMP Group (Jacob-Manuel-Pandes family charity) held Easter Joy event at the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) residence in Naga this April. Started in Jamaica, this international order of Catholic brothers and priests over the decades has faithfully and painstakingly served the poor, homeless, abandoned and disadvantaged in various countries. In the Philippines, MOP has established homes in Manila and Naga city.

At Easter, adults, youths and children in our JMP team (some from Manila, Laguna and La Union provinces) gathered with Naga team members to serve abandoned elderly, and abandoned paraplegic and sick children housed in a facility at Cararayan, Naga.

The celebration started with Easter worship celebrated by MOP priests and brothers. The mass was followed by a lively program led by my niece Hazel Gile and cousin Monette Valencia. Our Manuel matriarch, my Auntie Rosie Manuel Cruz, greeted the missionaries, residents, workers, volunteers and guests with a warm welcome and comment about our JMP mission. Song and dance added to the entertainment that delighted even those in wheelchairs who eagerly tried to raise their arms and sway to the rhythm of the music. MOP brothers and seminarians sang a zesty rendition of a  hymn that drew some residents to cheerfully sing along.  Lunch was served for all. Donations of rice, milk, bed sheets, wheelchairs, cleaning tools, good, used clothes, etc. were given. Batchmates from the University of Santa Isabel Batch ’63 joined the event and brought with them the batch  donations of rice and electric fans.  There was great joy in the room.

Watching the event from California. I was touched by the eagerness of our JMP team to serve residents of the MOP facility. It was most heartwarming to see my little nieces, nephews and youths wend their way through the crowd in the room to bring food to the elderly, the wheelchair bound and the sick and paraplegic adult and  children. Noting the smiles in the faces of those served, I got misty-eyed in rejoicing that that indeed is the true message of Easter – the joy of God’s love in Jesus radiated in those grateful faces. They felt loved, and I wondered if those served knew how much they had blessed those that served. Our JMP team members certainly looked like they felt blessed, too. And as I watched, I felt the blessing flow to me as well, even from afar — God’s mysterious gracious gift at Easter, in the humble sharing of love and kindness.

Naga is a lovely city that boasts of progress and boosting commerce that have transformed the place into a booming metropolis with finely developed and fast growing suburbs. Alongside the steady growth of industry and business is the proliferation of universities and other academic institutions of higher learning that have raised to high standards the level of education. Strong in the communities is the religious fervor for Mary, the Lady of Peñafrancia, peaked to the annual week-long fiesta in September, attended by crowds from neighboring cities and provinces. The festivities start with the “Traslacion”, the transfer of the Lady’s image from its home in the Basilica to the city’s Cathedral. This event is followed by civic and military parades colored with intricate performance by the schools’ bands and majorettes. The week-log celebration culminates in a fluvial procession on the Bicol River, a joyously rowdy transport of the Lady of Peñafrancia’s image back to the Basilica. And of course, through all these festivities, every home in Naga gets busy preparing food for invited and random guests.

That’s Naga, vibrant and progressive, But as in many localities, pockets of population composed of poor families take residence in shacks or make-shift shelters. In the same plight, these families strive to build a community with meager resources and the least developed infrastructures. The challenge to those who have or have more is to follow their compassion and help those that don’t have or don’t have much. In this spirit of humble giving, our JMP team identifies poor communities in Naga to distribute rice, canned goods, and hold a program to motivate residents to maintain cleanliness in their neighborhood. Inspirational and informative talks are given to encourage especially the youths to strive for higher education, or make use of educational opportunities in the city.

One such community, the Barangay Balatas, was the site for JMP’s project in February this year. Our event was called Valentine Charity. JMP hopes to hold similar help projects in other identified poor communities in succeeding years.

I am thankful for our JMP families who eagerly take interest in, support and participate in our JMP mission.  JMP, in modest ways, aims to continue the joys of Easter in sharing the blessings of love and kindness in humility with God’s beloved ones, the poor, sick and less fortunate.

Linda P. Jacob