Wednesday, December 30, 2009

FR. JAMES B. REUTER, S.J.-


On our way to the hospital, Our Lady of Peace which Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J. helped build, I began to recall my very first meeting with the dear Father. It was at the main Ateneo de Manila campus on Padre Faura Street, (before the school was made into a university) in 1952. I was in my junior year in college pursuing an A.B. Journalism degree.

Fr. Reuter was originally assigned at Ateneo de Naga right after World War II. He, together with other Jesuit priests who were caught by the war were under detention in Los Banos, Laguna until war’s end.

Fr. Reuter who is a naturalized Filipino by resolution of the Congress of the Philippines, celebrated the 75th anniversary of his first canonical vows in 1934 as an 18-year old Jesuit novice, last September 8, 2009.

His first project at the Ateneo de Manila was to produce a weekly one hour radio play with strong Catholic themes under the name of AVE MARIA PLAYERS. He got me and other boys and girls willing to act over the radio to play parts in the radio plays that he often wrote himself. I remember some of our lead actors included Celia Laurel, Sixto Roxas, Mitos Sison and the Powell sisters playing big and small parts week after week.

When television reached the Philippines Father Reuter presented TV shows under the title of MARY ROSE AND STA. ZITA aired over ABS on Roxas Boulevard. I continued playing supporting roles in these one hour Saturday evening TV presentations.

It was a delight working with Father Reuter for he exuded confidence, commitment and above all warmth. He was always patient with us. So, when I was preparing for my own wedding I immediately thought of asking Father Reuter to officiate and thus posed the question and invitation which he readily accepted. And so we were married on August 5, 1959 at the Pinaglabanan Church, on San Juan Rizal.

Little did I foresee that our dear father would eventually officiate in the weddings of our three children, the last one being that of our son Antonio, Jr. in 2005. I must say he was a real trouper despite his difficulty in walking. He abided by the dictum of actors and performers “The show must go on!”

So, at 6 a.m. Manila time Father Reuter assisted by his walker – for he was already having difficulty walking - arrived at the Altar of San Agustin Church in Intramuros Manila ready to officiate at the wedding of our son Jay and bride to be Jenny.

Over the six decades in the Philippines, Father Reuter presented plays not only at the Ateneo where he shared honors with Fr. Henry Lee Irwin, S.J. who was known for years as the accomplished Shakespearean actor and director ever.

He also presented many plays for the St. Paul College recruiting Ateneans in many of them acting together with Paulinian actresses.

In 1960, Fr. Reuter was entrusted the establishment of a group known as the PHILIPPINE FEDERATION OF BROADCASTERS, which later became known as Catholic Media Network (CMN).

During the dark days of Martial Law under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Father Reuter, acting as spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, with much courage and even defiance in his stance that led to his house arrest for several years.

As I drove towards Our Lady of Peace Mission Hospital where Father had been staying since the abolishment of his office I recalled the fact that it was this very hospital which he helped established during the administration of President Joseph Estrada. The hospital was constructed precisely and primarily to serve the poor people in the community. Free of charge.

Not many, by now, realize that Fr. James B. Reuter first arrived in Manila in 1938 at the age of 21, to join other Jesuits to teach at the Ateneo de Manila .

It is interesting to note that during the 63 years of his working in the Philippines, Fr. Reuter was able to achieve what many would imagine a team of two or three other individuals to achieve. Moreover, in the process of the good father’s interaction during his projects he has left an indelible imprint of his own on the lives of countless Filipinos including non-Catholics who have become by now his close and loyal friends.

As a result of this achievement many boys and girls from Catholic schools where Father had presented plays have dubbed themselves "Reuter Babies."

When we arrived at the OUR LADY OF PEACE MISSION hospital in Paranaque we were brought up to the fourth floor where Fr. Reuter had a room and with an assigned caregiver to care for him for 24 hours..

Before we were ushered in with my wife Chita, we were required to wear a cloth mask to check any possible infection for Father was weak and susceptible to infection and so he had to be kept indoors under sterile conditions as much as possible. We were met with a big smile by Father who was in his wheel chair. He looked a bit frail and my wife and I took turns in embracing him and then we proceeded to chat. He did not sound a bit sick and not a trace of pain showed on his face.

Before too long we knew that he would need to rest so we prepared to say our goodbyes but first I requested him to bless us, which he agreed to do. Then right after his blessing, Father Reuter asked the both of us to bless him in return. We were honored and a bit thrown off but we managed a small prayer and ending with our blessing over him as he sat with his hands folded in prayer and making the sign of the cross.


Sunday, December 20, 2009

THE ACTOR-HERO - TEDDY YABUT

Teddy was a campus figure in the early fifties at the University of the Philippines. He directed campus plays and in one production I, the only Atenean, decided to join as performer together with others all from UP. It was the summer stock presentation of ALOYAN a complete original play by UP artists writers, composer, and director. I joined them for raising funds for the chapel of the Holy Sacrifice of Rev. Fr. John P. Delaney, S.J. who was a new chaplaihn in this state university.
He was there upon he request of the UP Catholic Action or UPSCA.

But no one including Teddy would dream of being a hero during the country's dark ages under Marcos' Martial Law.

Friday, December 18, 2009

LOLA - directed by Brillante " Dante" Mendoza

Here is Dante's background data. Barely months after his award winning movie KINATAY (Butchered) in Cannes we find Dante winning another best director film award for his film "Lola" in the Taiwan film festival.

I admire and envy this young Filipino whose real-time mind focuses on extremely serious human situations in the Philippines that thousands see daily but does nothing. We need someone like Dante to sit as President of the Republic (hoping he does not get corrupted in the process) and address these basic human issues of being dirt poor in our country.

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VENICE - Two Filipino grandmothers scraping a living to get by in Manila's slums are at the center of Brillante Mendoza's new film "Lola," a story about the resourcefulness of people living in abject poverty

The movie, a surprise entry in the main competition at Venice film festival, tells a fictional tale but is shot like a documentary, leaving the audience wondering throughout whether its scenes are from real life.

Each of the two elderly women bears the consequences of a murder involving their respective grandsons -- one the victim, the other the suspected killer.

Frail and destitute, both have little time to give in to misery as they desperately need money, one to pay for a decent funeral, the other to get her grandson out of jail. Pragmatism prevails.

"You can't be too emotional when you live in a condition like the Philippines, that kind of condition and situation in life ... You just have to move on and live your life," Mendoza told Reuters in an interview.

"When you live in the Philippines and you are exposed to this kind of story every day, it is not difficult to show it in your work. I wanted to show it in a very natural and very spontaneous way, like you are watching life right in front of you."

"Lola" -- which literally means grandmother -- gives a glimpse into the country's inefficient judicial system, prison overcrowding, loan sharking and life in the flooded shanty towns where people get around by canoe.

"That part of Manila is flooded all year round," said Mendoza, who shot the film during this year's rainy season. "But the thing is that people stay there because they have nowhere to go, they have no choice."

Critics in Venice praised "Lola," with Italian daily Corriere della Sera calling the performance of the two lead actresses -- Anita Linda and Rustica Carpio, aged 84 and 79 -- "extraordinary."

Mendoza won the best director award in Cannes this year with "Kinatay," also a grim depiction of modern-day life in his homeland.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Of Laughter and Tears by Sarah K. Joaquin

"Do not worship money, earn it honestly and spend it wisely. Love conquers all difficulties. And above all put a good supply of forgiveness in your heart. You will feel much
better inside.

Jesus Christ has set the example.
Thank you, all of you, who have made my life on earth a very fruitful one."
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This is the middle part of my mother Sarah's “Farewell Letter” which with great effort she wrote in her own elegant penmanship just days before her death on January 30, 2002.

Before she became very ill, our mother Sarah began to write an autobiography which she tried to complete had it not been for her kidneys that had deteriorated too fast leading to her death at age 93. She was a couple of chapters short.

My brother in law Fred de la Rosa [married to my youngest sister
Josefina] and I were able to complete the final chapters just to make her
autobiography end appropriately.

We, her children, are now happy to announce that the book is finally out and
available for anyone desiring to purchase a copy.

We hope to have copies available in a select San Francisco, California bookstores
named ARKIPELAGO BOOKS as well as in Manila's major bookstores like
POWERBOOKS
, NATIONAL, AND BOOK MARK.

A copy has been priced at $15.00 each plus shipping and handling of $3.00
[only in North America.]

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Butch Dalisay's- Pinoy Penman


I just thought of showcasing -a definitely amazing and fine Filipino writer who, to my mind, is a terrific example of excellent writing in English (and Tagalog) whose name is Jose "Butch"
Dalisay and his latest summary of new literary events in UP campus.